Meanwhile, Alvin sat alone on a weathered bench in Riverwood Park, his gaze fixed on the dimly lit path ahead. The moon hung low in the sky, casting long shadows that made the park seem even quieter. Alice, Claire, and Sofia were still nowhere to be seen.

He yawned, tapping his foot as impatience gnawed at him.

I hate when someone makes me wait. he thought, a mix of irritation and amusement bubbling up as he stared into the darkness.

As he leaned back, lost in his thoughts, three figures emerged from the darkness. Alvin’s attention snapped to them, and his eyes narrowed. It was Brian, Mateo’s cousin, flanked by Brock and David, each gripping a baseball bat.

Alvin remained calm, though a hint of suspicion flickered in his eyes.

"You want something?" he asked, as he sized them up.

Without warning, Brian’s lips curled into a smug smile. Before Alvin could react, Brian swung his bat, striking Alvin’s left leg with brutal force. Pain shot through him, and he crumpled to the ground, gasping as the impact radiated up his body.

He barely had time to register the pain before Brock and David were upon him, their bats descending in rapid succession. Each blow was merciless, a blur of pain and darkness until Alvin’s world faded to black.

Breathing heavily, Brian wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked down at Alvin’s motionless body, a flicker of disdain in his eyes.

"Well, that was easy. I thought he might put up a fight, but he’s just a weakling."

Brock’s gaze shifted uneasily between Brian and the unconscious Alvin. "Are you sure we’re going through with this?"

Brian slung his bat over his shoulder with a casual shrug. "We got paid 1,000 dollars just for this. There’s no backing out now. Our job is simple—bring this guy and the other three girls to the ruins. It’s easy money."

David hesitated, his face reflecting his unease. "I know, but still..."

Brian’s frustration flared as he cut David off. "Shut up and do what I say. I’ll handle the girls."

He glanced down at Alvin, still wary despite the boy lying unconscious at their feet.

"You two stay here. From what I’ve heard, this guy is still dangerous, so keep your guard up. I’ll get the girls, and then we’ll head to the ruins as planned. After that, we’re out of here."

Brock and David nodded in agreement as Brian left to search for the girls.

...

As the homecoming event devolved into chaos, Alex pushed his way through the frenzied crowd, his shouts for Andy swallowed by the tumult. The once elegant decorations now seemed to mock the pandemonium with their bright, cheery colors against the dark backdrop of fear.

In a chaotic corner of the gym, Dwayne, his suit miraculously free of stains, was brandishing folding chairs like a man possessed. He swung them with reckless abandon at the advancing creatures, his efforts both valiant and inadvertently humorous. Each swing elicited a few startled gasps and awkward chuckles from those who witnessed his desperate fight.

Kevin was also furiously smashing folding chairs into the skeletal creatures, determined to clear a path for their escape. Each blow sent bones shattering, as he fought to keep the way open so they could run.

Alex stumbled through the mess, his foot catching on an upturned folding chair. He crashed to the floor with a jarring impact.

As he pushed himself upright, he saw a vine-covered skeletal dog creature stalking toward him. The beast’s glowing eyes locked onto him with a malevolent hunger. It lunged with a feral snarl, but Alex reacted instinctively. He rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the creature’s snapping jaws. The beast crashed into a nearby table, splintering it into pieces.

Panic surged through Alex as he glanced toward the exit, only to find the doors had already slammed shut. Andy was gone, and the harsh reality of their dire situation hit him like a physical blow.

In the midst of the chaos, Alex’s eyes locked onto Noah, who was frozen in terror as a monstrous creature charged toward him. Alex sprinted toward the stage, ripping a microphone stand free.

As he approached Noah, he shouted, “NOAH, DUCK!”

Noah dropped instinctively as Alex thrust the mic stand into the creature’s side. The impact drove the beast back, its snarls turning into pained roars as it became entangled in a mess of electric cords. The creature fell, its movements slowing as it writhed on the floor.

“Nice save, thanks, Alex,” Noah gasped.

“Come on!” Alex urged, grabbing Noah’s arm and pulling him through the crowd.

They fought their way through the chaos, eventually locating the others. Leo’s face was a mask of disbelief and fear as he exclaimed, “Why is this happening? These things shouldn’t be alive anymore!”

“Yeah, well, tell that to them,” Ava snapped, her eyes wide with terror as she watched the creatures tearing through the gym, their snarls and roars blending with the panicked screams of the crowd.

The gym had transformed into a nightmarish battleground. Monsters bit, clawed, and shoved their way through the terrified bystanders, their relentless advance making the situation even more desperate. The once joyful celebration was now a grim scene of survival, with Alex and his friends battling not just for their safety but for their very lives amidst the unfolding horror.

Lucy’s urgency pierced through the cacophony. “They’re after us! The longer we stay, the more people we put in danger!”

Leo nodded grimly. “We have to get out of here!”

Amidst the chaos, Principal Morris’s commands sliced through the din.

“Everyone, the hallway is clear! Get to the classrooms and lock the doors!”

Alex bolted toward the exit, the crowd surging with him. Panic heightened the sense of urgency, with people jostling and shoving as they desperately tried to escape. The narrow doorway quickly became a bottleneck. Monsters prowled closer, their snarls growing louder.

Emma, with a look of determined defiance, flipped over a serving table, trying to create a makeshift barricade. She strained against the weight of the creatures as they battered the table apart, their claws raking through the wood, their jaws snapping mercilessly.

The barricade crumbled under the relentless assault, and Emma was overwhelmed. Her cries for help were drowned out by the monstrous roars and the frenzied screams of the crowd. Maria, her face pale with horror, shouted, “No! Please, someone help her!”

But Emma was swallowed by a tide of snapping jaws and clawing limbs. Her figure disappeared beneath a grotesque sea of writhing beasts.

Alex and his friends pushed forward, their hearts pounding with fear, as they raced for the hallway, the sound of Emma’s final screams echoing behind them.

The hall was a frantic maze of students and chaperones scrambling to safety, slamming classroom doors shut and barricading themselves inside. Alex glanced back, his breath catching as he saw a trio of plant monsters bursting from the gym, their grotesque forms weaving through the chaos. They trailed close behind, crashing into lockers and scattering debris as they pursued.

Leo’s voice cut through the pandemonium.

“Come here!”

Alex swerved sharply, darting through the open auditorium doors just as the monstrous trio charged past. The narrow escape provided a fleeting moment of respite. The doors slammed shut behind them, muffling the creature’s enraged howls.

Everyone huddled together, gasping for breath, their chests heaving in frantic rhythm. The dim corridor seemed to pulse with their anxiety.

Kimmy’s whisper cut through the tense silence. “Are they gone?”

Lucy’s hand shook as she slowly lifted her trembling finger, her eyes wide with fear.

Her words came out in a breathless whisper, strained with panic.

“No, look…” she managed to say, her finger pointing toward the skeletal dog lurking in the distance.

Alex, crouched low, peered cautiously around the doorframe. In the eerie glow of the hallway lights, one of the creatures loomed menacingly. Its fiery eyes, glistening with malevolent intent, locked onto him.

His heart pounded as he drew back, the creature’s snout now thrust over the threshold, perilously close to Leo’s hand. The hairs on Alex’s neck bristled with fear.

Leo’s lips moved silently. “Where is it?”

Alex’s response was a whisper of movement. “Don’t move.”

The creature, its grotesque form looming large, inched forward, its breath hot and rancid against the door. Desperation flared in Alex’s eyes as he tried to devise a plan.

Just then Ava’s hand on his shoulder jolted him from his focus. She pointed upwards, where a red metal box hung ominously on the wall. Inside, an axe glinted menacingly.

Without hesitation, Alex leaped up, slamming his elbow into the safety glass of the box. The shards of glass fell to the floor with a sharp, resonant crash. He grabbed the axe with a determined grip, its weight grounding him in the chaos. His gaze flicked back to the approaching monster.

“Hey, party crasher!” Alex shouted.

The creature’s head snapped toward him, its eyes wide with startled fury as it charged. Alex swung the axe with a fierce, calculated arc. The blade met the creature’s neck with a sickening crunch, biting deep into the floor beneath. The beast convulsed, its body collapsing into a twitching heap.

The once-fiery eyes dimmed as Alex, with grim resolve, extinguished them as if snuffing out candles. The creature’s form fell motionless, its reign of terror halted.

Breathing heavily, Alex surveyed the scene, his friends’ gratitude evident in their tear-streaked faces and trembling hands. As the last echoes of the school’s alarm bells reverberated across the parking lot, they fled from the horrors within, their escape a frantic rush towards uncertain safety.

...

Kimmy gasped for breath, her chest heaving as the adrenaline surged through her veins. “Now what?”

Alex, equally breathless, snapped, “What do you mean ‘now what’? We leave, now!”

Leo glanced around, his eyes scanning the parking lot.

“We came here in the limo, remember?” His words trailed off as he realized the vehicle was nowhere to be seen.

Alex’s shoulders slumped, he spoke quietly, almost as if the words pained him. "We have to run. There’s no other choice."

Noah’s face was ashen, every muscle in his expression tight with tension. His eyes, usually sharp, were clouded with exhaustion and anxiety. He muttered, almost to himself, “I can’t take this anymore.”

Alex’s gaze hardened. “It’s better than the alternative. Now come on, before—”

Suddenly, Kimmy’s mother burst onto the scene, her clothes torn and stained with grime. Her disheveled appearance only added to her urgency as she grabbed Kimmy’s arm with a firm, unyielding grip.

“Let’s go! We’ve got to get out of here. There’s a storm shelter on the other side of the building. We can make it if we run!”

Alex, panic tightening his throat, shook his head. “No, Mayor Granger, we actually can’t stay there.”

Kimmy’s eyes were wide with desperation as she turned to her mother. “Mom, I don’t have time to explain. Please, you have to trust me.”

Her mother’s face hardened, anger flashing in her eyes. “Oh, trust you? Because that worked so well for me the last time?”

Her grip on Kimmy’s arm tightened, her tone unyielding. “Kimmy, your friends can do whatever they want, but I am your mother, and you’re coming with me! End of discussion.”

Alex, his frustration boiling over as he witnessed Kimmy’s selfless effort contrasted with her mother’s obstinacy, lost his composure. “Alright, Off-Brand Hillary Clinton, now you listen to me!”

Kimmy’s mother’s jaw dropped, her grip faltering as she stared at Alex, stunned.

“Excuse me?”

Alex’s eyes blazed with a fierce, raw intensity. “Your daughter has been through hell for weeks trying to protect you. And she’s still doing it right now! But you know what? For the life of me, I can’t figure out why! It seems to me like all you care about is your damn image!”

Kimmy’s mother’s face twisted in disbelief.

“That—that’s not true! You can’t talk to me like that!”

Alex’s frustration boiled over. “I just did! News flash, lady: You’re the mayor of a town so small it could fit in a football stadium. You’re not that important. So get over yourself and stop treating your daughter like she’s just a speed bump on your road to being someone who matters.”

Kimmy’s eyes widened, a mix of shock and worry. “Alex, what’s gotten into you?”

Alex met her gaze with an intense look. “I ran out of patience for bullies.”

Kimmy’s mother’s face softened with hurt.

“Kimmy? That’s how you felt about me? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Kimmy’s voice trembled with both anger and sadness. “I’ve tried, Mom. I’ve tried and tried and tried. You don’t listen but—”

Before Kimmy could finish, Noah’s urgent shout sliced through the tense moment.

“Uh, hey everybody, not to interrupt Drama Club, but LOOK OUT!”

Glass shattered as a dozen grotesque monsters erupted through the front doors, their snarls and roars filling the night. Their grotesque forms lumbered forward, eyes blazing with a malevolent hunger.

Kimmy’s mother shrieked, her grip loosening as she was shoved aside by Kimmy.

“Run!” Kimmy shouted as she and her friends sprinted toward the parking lot.

The monsters surged after them, their movements a twisted dance of fury and chaos. Alex, Lucy, Leo, Kimmy, Noah, Dwayne, Kevin and Ava barreled across the asphalt, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.

Lucy’s eyes darted back toward the oncoming horde. “They’re gaining on us, and there are more ahead too!”

Leo’s face was etched with despair as he glanced around, searching for any potential escape. “This is hopeless! There’s too many of them!”

In the midst of the chaos, a black muscle car roared into view, tires screeching as it careened to a halt. The monstrous creatures that had been charging forward were sent sprawling over the hood, their snarls cut short by the impact. The driver’s door flung open with a metallic clang.

Levin leapt from the driver’s seat, tire iron in hand, his face set with grim determination.

“Get in, guys, quickly!” he shouted.

They all scrambled toward the car. Levin swung the tire iron with a practiced brutality, metal clashing against the grotesque bone of a monster that had lunged at him. Each swing was a desperate bid to buy time, each clang a defiant shout against the encroaching darkness.

Alex dove into the passenger seat, his hands gripping the edges of the open door.

“Levin, let’s go!” he shouted through the window.

Levin threw himself into the driver’s seat, the door slamming shut behind him. He fumbled with the ignition, his hands shaking as he tried to start the engine. But just as he was about to turn the key, a monster’s clawed hand shot through the window, gripping Levin’s side with a painful, bone-crunching squeeze.

Levin’s eyes widened in pain and resolve. With a roar, he stomped the gas pedal. The engine roared to life, and the car lurched forward with a jarring jolt. The monster’s claws were yanked out of the window, but its savage howl followed them as the car tore away from the parking lot.