Odd walked through the front gates of Kadic, the dim light of the setting sun casting long, ominous shadows across the grounds. A whisper of wind brought the cool, wet air across his face and he shivered then stopped for a moment to zip up his jacket. Across the campus, there were few lights on and several were only sputtering, the flickering lights adding to the already eerie feel of the place. A few windows were visibly broken and, aside from the wind, only the occasional scraping sound broke through the silence. Mist hovered in the air, completing the foreboding sense of abandonment. Still, there was nowhere else to go before nightfall so he picked up his M-16 Assault rifle and moved forwards, into the seemingly deserted place. The school had to have a safe room, or at least a room he could barricade for the night.
The ticking noise of the switch on his rifle mounted flashlight seemed to boom through the quiet campus. He looked around nervously, checking to see if he had attracted any attention from the zombies that had to have been roaming around. But the whitish cone projecting forward to cut away the dark gloom revealed nothing of consequence and he pressed on. At least until a low growl caught his attention and sent his body whipping around.
He stared at the empty space, every sense heightened by the adrenaline his pounding heart sent coursing through his veins. His shallow, rapid breathing beat out the wind noise in his ears as he slowly turned around, eyes peeled and ears strained to pick up anything out of the ordinary. But he found nothing and stifled a laugh as he once again took up his trek towards the, hopefully, safe environment of the dorm building. The growl could have been nothing but his imagination.
That thought lasted only a few minutes until another growl caught his attention, louder and closer than before. He clenched his rifle, nearly sending off a few stray rounds as he turned to face the sound. The flashlight beam vibrated from the force of his white knuckled grip as it illuminated the gloomy shadow cast by a nearly dead tree. The rustle of branches caught his attention and he shined the light upwards, his finger squeezing the trigger.
Yellow-white flashes rendered the environment in daylight for just a split second while the recoil hammered at his arms and the sound of gunfire temporarily deafened him. He let go of the trigger, listening to the fading retort of his panicked shots as they echoed of the walls and buildings of Kadic. In front of him, there was more rustling as a few branches came down, some snapping with enough noise to make him flinch. But it was just a pile of branches and that's probably what had made the noise.
Odd turned away, setting himself back on the path towards the dorms and trying to calm his now raging nerves. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he shuddered under the feeling that he was being watched. His light began bobbing around as he kept looking around for the source of his discomfort. A glance over his shoulder brought no relief, only the darkness stretching out in the waning light of the setting sun. Another low growl brought his attention back to the sides of the trail.
It, whatever it was, was pacing him. Stalking him as he moved like a predator would. The unsettled feeling in his gut only worsened when he snapped his body around to face the courtyard and caught only the faintest glimmer of something pink before it dipped back into the shadow. He stood, staring at the spot as he tried to rationalize what he saw. His knees shook as he searched, dragging the light around slowly in the hopes of catching a glimpse of some blowing wrapping paper or a discarded fragment of scarf.
A growl to his left erased any such thoughts from his mind and he bolted, running as fast as he could towards the dorms. An inhuman scream drew his attention and he fired at the pink blur he saw from the corner of his vision. Again the crack of the weapon and the flash from its muzzle blinded him to his surroundings for a split second. When his senses returned, the whatever-it-was was gone from sight. Something told him he hadn't killed it, that today he wasn't going to be that lucky. He resumed his run towards the doors, fighting every instinct to look back when he heard the creature's scream again.
Breathing hard and shaking violently, he wrenched open the door and violently slammed it shut behind him before locking it. A look down the deserted, dark hallway showed nothing and his heart sank. He leaned up against the wall and sank to the floor, reigning in his ragged breathing and racing heart. Until a loud screech followed by a thump at the door made him jump to his feet, scramble back and point his rifle.
There was no hesitation as he fired, spraying the door with bullets until the weapon went click, its magazine expended. Fumbling through his pockets, Odd withdrew another mag and shakily locked it into place then drew the firing bolt back to rack a bullet into the empty chamber. Only then did he realize the splitting headache that the concussion from firing in such an enclosed space caused. His ears felt wet and he wondered if they were bleeding in addition to ringing. He forced the pain aside and cautiously approached the door, hoping to see a dead monster slumped against the ground in a pool of blood. No such luck.
He turned around, quickly traversing his weapon across the open space of the hallway that was now in front of him. Along the side he saw it, the reddish glint of a steel door: a safe room. Heartened by the sight of it, he ran, forgetting about everything except for getting to the safety of that room being behind its steel, batter proof and locking door. He skidded to a stop, nearly losing his balance in the process of ending the frantic run down the hall, in front of the door and yanked at it door, more grateful than he'd ever felt in his life when it opened without resistance.
Inside the safe-room, he noticed something that stopped him cold, a person standing in front of him, facing away. The figure wheeled around and looked at him for a second before happily crying his name. Fear was replaced by relief at the sight of a friendly and familiar face. Seeing Aelita, he lowered his weapon and was just about to run to her and embrace her in a crushing hug when some nagging feeling stopped him. She smirked at him, her facial expression darkening and her perfect, smooth skin taking on a more wrinkled appearance. Next, she moved her small hands behind her back and brought them up, putting the hood of her pink sweatshirt over her head. Before shadow covered her face, he saw a gleam of green from her strangely hungry eyes.
Paralyzed by sight of Aelita's transformation, his shock and fear finally getting the better of him, Odd stood motionless while the pink clad girl crouched. Then it was gone and he tried to bring up his weapon as the scream she emitted reached his ears and she leapt. The impact forced him to the ground and the weapon he held went skittering nosily across the floor. Rendered helpless by the weight of her on his legs, he still fought, using his arms to try and prevent her from digging her viciously clawed hands into his abdomen.
He failed, his hands suddenly restrained by nothing, he couldn't fight Aelita, couldn't save himself. He could hear the faint calls of his name by a masculine voice and whipped his head back and forth, hoping and looking for rescue from someone in the corridor. He screamed as Aelita dug painfully into his belly, ripping her claws out and splashing his face and everything else in the room with his own, cold blood.
He bolted into a sitting position, coughing and still trying to scream. His clothes were drenched and his eyes burned when he tried to open them. The calls of his name grew clearer and louder in an instant and he was suddenly aware that he was not lying on a hard hallway floor but rather sitting on a soft surface. He chanced opening an eye and saw not the blood-soaked corridor and vicious, hungry expression of the not-Aelita, Aelita thing he expected but rather the lit interior of the dorm room he shared with Ulrich. A look down at himself revealed him to be drenched in his own sweat. His breath came in ragged heaves and he finally saw Ulrich looking him over with almost deathly concern. Hesitantly, he licked his lip, relieved to find water on his face. Slowly he relaxed, his breathing returning to normal.
Fear and anxiety from the dream were replaced by embarrassment as he calmed down. Jim banged on the door a few moments after Odd had stopped panting and demanded to know what had happened after checking on them. He left after having gotten an explanation and shooed away the curious students with threats of detention if they didn't go back to their rooms. Finally left to their own privacy again, Odd sank back into his bed and Ulrich sat down on the edge. Sounding like a big brother, Ulrich asked what he had dreamed.
Odd finished telling Ulrich, after being prompted a few times, and looked at Jeremy's borrowed laptop on his desk. He let out a sigh, "this stays between you and I, right?"
"That depends... I assume there'll be no more 'on till 1 am' sessions of horror games and Jeremy can have his laptop back?"
Odd made a defeated sigh but answered yes. Ulrich got up, hiding a triumphant smile, and answered "then yes, it stays between you, me, Kiwi and whoever else heard you scream." As he walked to the light switch, hesitating a moment before looking back at Odd. "You sure you're ok?"
"Yeah." Odd answered, though he sounded a little unsure even to his own ears. He rarely ever had nightmares that bad.
In the morning, after the morning stay-out time had passed, Aelita greeted the waiting members of her group with a cheery good morning and a peck on the cheek for Jeremy. Suppressing her mischievous smile, she slipped her pink hood over her head to protect herself from the morning's light rain as they exited the dorm building on the way to breakfast. Odd gulped when he saw the action and her shadowed face, took several nervous steps backwards and then bolted towards the cafeteria with a terrified expression.
Jeremy shrugged and Ulrich snickered as the boy genius answered Aelita's confused look with: "I don't know, I think you look cute in your pink hoodie."
Aelita feigned innocence, asking "Is that why you suggested I wear it this morning?"
Ulrich couldn't help himself and laughed as he turned towards Jeremy, "Don't feel bad, we all know Odd would do that to any one of us if he had the opportunity."
Aelita nodded, "And besides, Odd will find some way of getting revenge." She laughed as Jeremy gave her a why didn't you remind me of that before we did this look and pecked him on the lips before answering, "because you wouldn't have done it otherwise and it's good for you to get involved in the fun."
A/N: A special thank you to Commando Wolf, both for the story idea and permission to use it.