The grass moved again.
At first it was subtle.
Just a ripple spreading through the tall weeds outside the school.
Marcus squinted.
“Guys… tell me that’s just the wind.”
Trevor shook his head slowly.
“Wind doesn’t move like that.”
The grass parted.
Something stepped out.
It was huge.
Its body was long and thin, covered in dark rough skin that looked almost like cracked stone. Its legs bent strangely, like they weren’t built for a normal animal. Its mouth slowly opened, revealing rows of sharp, uneven teeth.
And its eyes…
Its eyes glowed faintly.
The creature stared at them.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
Then Jenna whispered,
“What the hell is that…?”
The creature lowered its body.
Like a predator ready to pounce.
Trevor blinked.
Then he said,
“Yeah… we should run.”
For half a second, everyone stood frozen.
Then Marcus screamed,
“RUN!”
Chaos exploded.
Students bolted in every direction.
Feet slammed against the ground as they sprinted away from the school building and into the wild grass.
Branches scratched their arms.
Stolen novel; please report.
Someone tripped behind them.
“Wait—!”
Marcus grabbed the boy’s arm and yanked him back up.
“Don’t stop!”
Behind them—
The creature roared.
And started chasing them.
“Oh my God it’s coming!” Jenna cried.
The ground shook as the creature crashed through the grass behind them.
It was fast.
Too fast.
Kelvin looked back once and immediately regretted it.
“Keep running!” he shouted.
They pushed forward blindly, crashing through bushes and weeds.
Aerinox ran with the group, her heart pounding violently in her chest.
This wasn’t a prank.
That thing was real.
And it was hunting them.
Marcus suddenly pointed ahead.
“There!”
A cluster of thick bushes and fallen rocks created a narrow hollow in the ground.
“Inside! Hurry!”
One by one they dove into the cramped hiding space.
Bodies pressed together in the dark.
Everyone struggled to stay quiet.
Outside, the creature moved through the grass.
Heavy footsteps.
Slow.
Searching.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
Minutes passed.
Then finally…
The footsteps faded.
The monster had moved away.
The group slowly exhaled in relief.
But the silence didn’t last long.
Jenna turned sharply toward Chloe.
“This is all your fault.”
Chloe stared at her.
“What?”
“If you hadn’t touched that thing in the library we wouldn’t be here!”
“Oh my God, are you serious right now?”
“You saw that thing chasing us!”
“How was I supposed to know that would happen?!”
“You always do stupid stuff!”
Chloe’s face flushed with anger.
“Maybe if you stopped whining for five seconds—”
“Both of you shut the hell up!” Marcus snapped.
But the tension had already exploded.
A boy sitting near the back suddenly stood up.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
His face was tight with anger.
“No one tells me to shut up anymore.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
The boy laughed bitterly.
“You think this is still school?”
“You think you can still boss everyone around like before?”
He looked around at the group.
“Half of you treated people like trash back there.”
“Now suddenly everyone wants to act like a team?”
His voice trembled with frustration.
“I’m not dying because you idiots can’t stop arguing.”
The hiding place fell silent.
Travis rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“Guys…”
Everyone looked at him.
“Don’t you think this whole thing is… weird?”
Marcus sighed.
“No shit.”
“I mean,” Travis continued, “what if this is something like a game?”
Jenna stared at him.
“A game?”
“Yeah,” Travis said.
“Like those survival games we always play.”
The angry boy scoffed.
“Does this look like a fucking game to you?”
“I’m just saying,” Travis replied quickly, raising his hands, “maybe there’s some kind of system or something. Maybe we just haven’t figured it out yet.”
Kelvin stepped between them.
“Alright. Everyone calm down.”
“We’re trying to think here.”
Jenna shook her head in disbelief.
“A solution?”
“Does ANY of this make sense to you people?”
Her voice started rising again.
“First the school disappears, then some monster chases us, and now we’re hiding in a bush like idiots—”
Suddenly—
Everyone went silent.
Jenna blinked.
“Guys?”
No one answered.
The entire group had frozen.
Their eyes were locked on something behind her.
Jenna frowned slightly.
“Why is nobody talking?”
She slowly turned her head.
“Guys…?”
A shadow moved behind Travis.
Then—
Something grabbed him.
A massive claw wrapped around his shoulders and yanked him backward out of the bushes.
Travis didn’t even have time to scream.
A sharp spike-like tooth slammed straight through his neck.
Blood sprayed across the leaves.
His body went limp instantly.
For one horrifying second—
Everyone stared in shock.
Then Angela screamed.
“TRAVIS!!”
The creature’s glowing eyes stared directly into the hiding place.
And the monster began to crawl inside.
