The Hunting Grounds

Chapter Five: The Hunting Grounds

The stairwell was eerily silent.

Alex listened, his breath slow and controlled, waiting for any sign of movement beyond the heavy door they had just slammed shut. The creatures had been fast—too fast—but they hadn’t followed.

Yet.

Rachel tapped her fingers against her arm, deep in thought. “We need weapons. Anything we can use.”

Ethan shook his head. “Weapons? You saw what happened when you hit that thing with the fire extinguisher. It didn’t even flinch.”

“It still reacted,” Rachel countered. “That means it can be hurt.”

Alex nodded. “Even if we can’t kill them, maybe we can slow them down.”

The fluorescent light above them flickered. The stairwell stretched both ways—up to the rooftop, down to the first floor. Their dorm was on the third, which meant the monsters had already spread through the building.

“We need to get to the supply closet,” Alex said. “I remember seeing a janitor’s room on the second floor. There might be something useful.”

Ethan let out a dry laugh. “Right. Because a mop and some cleaning spray are going to save us.”

Rachel shot him a look. “If you have a better idea, now’s the time.”

Ethan huffed but said nothing.

Alex reached for the stairwell door handle. “We move quickly, stay quiet, and don’t engage unless we have no choice.”

Rachel and Ethan nodded.

Alex exhaled and pushed the door open.

The hallway was a warzone.

Desks, chairs, and suitcases were strewn across the floor, as if students had tried to barricade themselves but failed. The overhead lights flickered weakly, casting long shadows against the walls.

And the wardrobes.

Each dorm room had one, standing slightly ajar, their violet glow pulsing like slow, steady breaths. The doors swayed slightly, as if something inside was waiting. Watching.

Rachel moved closer to Alex, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t think they’ve stopped hunting.”

Ethan pointed to the far end of the hall. “Janitor’s closet is that way.”

They moved cautiously, their footsteps barely making a sound against the tile floor. Every shadow felt alive, every distant noise a possible threat.

Halfway down the hall, Alex spotted something that made his stomach drop.

A student.

Or what was left of one.

A boy was slumped against the wall, his face frozen in an expression of pure terror. His eyes were wide, unblinking, his mouth open in a silent scream. His body was intact—no blood, no wounds—but something was wrong.

Rachel knelt beside him. She reached out a hesitant hand and touched his arm.

It was cold.

Too cold.

She pulled back sharply. “It’s like… all the life was drained out of him.”

Ethan swallowed hard. “Did one of those things do this?”

Alex didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his attention to the nearest wardrobe. The door was slightly open, the violet glow spilling onto the floor.

Something inside shifted.

A faint whisper drifted from within.

Not a voice.

Not words.

Just… something.

Rachel grabbed Alex’s arm. “Let’s keep moving.”

He didn’t argue.

They reached the janitor’s closet and eased the door open. The room was cramped, filled with shelves of cleaning supplies, tools, and—

Alex’s eyes locked onto a row of metal pipes.

Weapons.

Rachel grabbed a broom and snapped it over her knee, creating a makeshift spear. Ethan picked up a wrench, testing its weight.

Alex took a pipe and gripped it tightly. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

A deep creak echoed from the hallway.

The three of them froze.

Something was moving.

Slow, deliberate footsteps.

Rachel peered through the small crack in the door. Her breath hitched.

One of the creatures stood in the hallway, its porcelain mask gleaming under the flickering light. It moved with eerie grace, its long fingers twitching slightly.

It stopped.

Then—

It turned its head toward the janitor’s closet.

Rachel’s heart pounded.

Did it hear them?

The figure stood still for a long moment. Then, without warning—

It lunged.

The door slammed open.

Alex barely had time to react before the creature’s claws swiped at his chest. He dodged, the attack cutting deep into the shelf behind him.

Rachel struck first. She drove her broken broomstick forward, aiming for its face.

The creature moved unnaturally fast, twisting away at the last second. But Alex was already swinging.

The metal pipe connected with the creature’s side. A hollow crack echoed through the room. The creature staggered, just for a moment.

Ethan, fueled by pure adrenaline, swung the wrench down on its arm. Another crack.

The creature didn’t bleed. It didn’t even cry out. But it flinched.

Alex didn’t hesitate. “Go! Now!”

They bolted.

The creature recovered fast. Too fast.

It lunged again, but this time, Ethan grabbed a bucket from the shelf and hurled it at its face. The impact was minimal, but it was just enough.

They burst into the hallway, slamming the door behind them.

Rachel gasped for breath. “That thing— It barely felt anything!”

Alex wiped sweat from his forehead. “We slowed it down. That’s all we needed.”

Ethan pointed toward the stairwell. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

But then—

A sound.

A new one.

From above.

The floorboards creaked.

Rachel looked up. “There’s something on the ceiling.”

Ethan’s face paled. “You’re kidding.”

Slowly, Alex followed Rachel’s gaze.

The creature from the closet was still behind the door.

But something else was above them.

A shape, shifting in the shadows.

Not one.

Several.

Their fingers curled over the edge of the ceiling, their masked faces peering down.

Watching.

Waiting.

Rachel took a slow step back.

Then, all at once—

The creatures dropped.

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