The door shudders under another ferocious crack; you'd swear that the very floor is shaking beneath your feet. You scoop up the amulet, casting your eyes over the scrawled runes hastily carved onto its surface. You can't read them, but you hope they're effective against monsters, ghouls, and demon headmasters.
As the thought passes through your mind, the door finally gives way, splitting down its center with a splintering crash. A dark figure steps into the room, his heavy breaths wheezing and raw. From somewhere in his shadowed appearance, two bloodshot eyes stare at your group, and two monstrously large hands curl into fists.
Seized with a sudden, dizzying terror, you hurl the amulet directly at the headmaster. It soars through the air, hurtling towards its target…
…before bouncing lightly off the headmaster's forehead and landing soundlessly on the carpet.
Slowly, the headmaster turns to look at you. His neck bulges, his expression twisting into one of pure animal fury. A massive hand rises, reaching out towards you—
—and then Michelle has suddenly reached him, bringing her knee up into his face with a terrible crunching sound.
"Go!" she yells as the headmaster staggers backwards. "Out the window! I'll—" But before she can say anything else, the headmaster has thrown himself at her, trying to get a grip onto the teenage zombie as she rains blow after blow directly into his face.
"You heard the tin girl, mortal," Max growls, dragging you towards the window. "Let's go."
As you swing your leg over the windowsill, the last thing you see is Michelle swinging a heavy brass lamp in a wide arc, even as the headmaster hefts his own desk over his head.
You descend.
You manage to scramble down to the ground, staring back up at the window. The sound of crashing and roaring from the office above you only becomes more violent. Will is staring up at it, his eyes wide with either shock or terror. The violence seems to have stunned him; his mouth is hanging wide open.
"Mr. Stevens…" he manages eventually. "I've never… He's not…" His voice dies away, as though there aren't the words to express what he's feeling.
Suddenly, there's an impact loud enough that the ground you're standing on trembles, and a shape flies out of the window, plummeting towards the ground in front of you.
After a few moments, Michelle pushes herself up to her feet. For the first time since you've met, she staggers, unsteady.
"Well," she says, "won't be eager to do that again." She raises her head, revealing the thin, jagged crack that traces the curve of her cheek. Noticing you staring, she gives you a faint smile. "Still pretty, though, right?"
"Are you okay?" you ask her, trying not to look at the scar for too long.
She shrugs. "Got my ass kicked. Still, gave him a couple of things that should hurt when the cold air hits them. Shall we?"
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