Sophia Johnson slowly approached the door. The girl outside had been knocking without a sound from inside, yet never asked if anyone was there—almost as if she was certain someone was listening on the other side.
This made Sophia Johnson even more suspicious. After all, since the disaster began, she hadn't left her house for a single step. Her routine of healthy living and good sleep habits meant she was usually asleep early, and there was rarely a need to turn on any lights in her home, let alone make noise. Moreover, the fog outside prevented any possibility of seeing who might be outside. How did this girl from the affiliated school know there was someone in here?
When no response came from inside, the girl outside seemed to lose patience, knocking louder and turning the doorknob with increasing force. But since the door was locked, she couldn't just open it. Her actions grew frantic, twisting the handle back and forth with an audible click-click sound.
From this, Sophia could tell the visitor wasn't here with peaceful intentions. In fact, she felt a strange sense of relief.
For the past day, she'd harbored intense doubts and murderous thoughts about these people. She'd even spent some time thinking about how to eliminate this ticking time bomb in her presence. It didn't align with the morals and worldview she'd followed for years, and this inner conflict had been gnawing at her mind. But as time passed, her thoughts began to shift further from normal society. After all, who knew? In a few more days, she could be swallowed by the fog too.
She couldn't be sure whether this was good or bad. Her only goal now was to survive and leave this place.
Taking a deep breath, she finally spoke, asking, "What do you want?"
The knocking and rattling of the door stopped abruptly. The girl outside paused for a moment before responding in a soft, gentle voice.
"You're at home? Why didn't you speak?"
Sophia Johnson wasn't sure whether it was the black fog messing with her mind, but she couldn't help feeling there was something unnervingly wrong with this simple sentence.
Ignoring the remark, Sophia focused on the frantic twisting of the door handle. From her actions and words, it was clear that the girl's sanity might not be intact. As a test, Sophia asked, "How many people are at your school right now?"
"Fifteen," came the quick reply.
Sophia pressed further, "How did you all come together?"
"After the government sent the notice, the class monitor went around and found us."
Sophia wasn't convinced. She asked again, "So, are you all staying at the school now?"
"Yes, the school has everything, and it's pretty safe inside."
Safe?
How could that be possible?
Sophia Johnson asked the most important question she had been preparing for: "So, there are no crazy people inside?"
There was a long silence on the other side, and then the voice responded in a low, eerie tone, "Crazy? We're students, not mental patients. How could anyone be crazy?"
"We're all normal."
Lies. And they were lies that didn't even stand up from the perspective of "normal humans."
It seemed the fog had dulled their reason, or worse, something far worse. Judging by the girl's behavior and words, it was clear they had already become something far from normal.
After getting the answer she needed, Sophia quickly shifted the topic, asking, "How did you know someone was here?"
The response was immediate, but strangely, the girl fell silent. Then, her voice turned aggressive. "Are you coming with me or not?!"
Sophia's heart sank. She knew this question had struck a nerve, causing the girl to react so violently. Sophia lowered her voice, saying, "But I have so much luggage. I'm disabled and can't carry it all. You can't do it alone."
This was a simple probe, one that would be obvious to a sane person, but from everything she had learned, this girl was no longer a normal human. So Sophia knew she would fall for it.
"Why do you have so much stuff? Come with me first, and tomorrow I'll get someone to help carry it."
...She didn't bring anyone.
"Only you are unsafe, right? Maybe you should wait for tomorrow when someone can help you, then we can go together."
Even after deducing that the girl was no longer sane, Sophia Johnson didn't fully trust her yet. After speaking, she stood up from her wheelchair and quietly approached the peephole to peek outside.
Through the peephole, she saw only one girl in an affiliated school uniform, standing outside and responding angrily to her words.
"Tomorrow? Tomorrow's not good. We've got things to do tomorrow. Come with me now!"
The girl had already forgotten her earlier promise to get help tomorrow.
In that instant, Sophia noticed something terrifying—looking into the girl's eyes, she saw that her pupils had been completely consumed by the fog, her once normal eyes now entirely black.
Sophia sat back down in her wheelchair, feigning hesitation. She said, "Okay, come in then, and help me carry my things."
Sophia tightened her grip on the knife, made sure it was concealed, and slowly opened the door.
A girl in an affiliated school uniform stepped in. Upon seeing Sophia sitting in the wheelchair, her body relaxed slightly, unconsciously letting her guard down.
Sophia didn't waste a moment. Before the girl could even speak or make a move, she slammed the door shut and locked it.
The girl was momentarily stunned. She hadn't even thought to hide her inhuman eyes and just stared at Sophia Johnson in surprise, clearly unprepared for the "prey" to lock them both in together.
Sophia didn't hesitate. In the brief moment of confusion, she drew her knife and struck. The blade sank into the girl's abdomen with precise force before she pulled it back out.
Blood gushed from the wound, and the girl's face twisted, looking more and more like something inhuman. She swung at Sophia with bare hands, and the strength behind her attack was shocking.
Sophia cursed under her breath as she blocked the girl's assault. She hadn't planned on standing up from the wheelchair for the strike, so now, she found herself unable to escape.
As the blood poured out, Sophia felt something strange enter her body through the knife's handle—something that seemed to invigorate her slightly.
It was the thirst for blood working its magic.
The girl's punches felt like iron hammers, and the wheelchair was thrown aside as Sophia collapsed onto the floor. But instead of getting up right away, she pretended to cough out blood, lying motionless as if she were entirely incapacitated.
Seeing her fall, the girl snorted. It was humiliating for her to be attacked by a disabled person, but Sophia wasn't dead yet.
She approached the fallen Sophia, intent on tearing her open and pulling out her intestines—letting the weak one know the price of attacking her.
However, in her single-mindedness, the girl forgot one thing: the "prey" was still a threat.
In the moment her attention drifted, Sophia mustered the last of her strength, drawing her knife and slicing through the girl's neck with a single, forceful blow.
Blood sprayed out, drenching Sophia's face, but she didn't blink.
The effort drained Sophia's strength completely. She felt like she couldn't even hold onto the knife anymore. Her vision blurred as she struggled to breathe. Despite the immense pain, she fought to stay alert.
As the girl crumpled, bleeding out, Sophia collapsed against her, feeling the life drain from her body. It wasn't her own blood; it was the girl's.
For a moment, Sophia just sat there, drenched in blood, trembling with exhaustion.
I won, she thought.
The blood continued to flow from the girl's body, soaking into Sophia's clothes. Though it wasn't her own blood, it still brought her some strength, allowing her to regain some energy.
She didn't know if this girl's blood had more in it than a normal human's, but in her weakened state, Sophia didn't care. She was too tired to think straight.
After resting for a while, she finally mustered enough strength to push the girl's body off her. Slowly, she crawled back into her wheelchair, her limbs still shaking, but this time, it wasn't from fear or excitement—it was from sheer weakness.
The bloodlust was still consuming her. Even after taking some of the girl's life force, she remained drained. If her condition didn't improve soon, she might not make it.
But even if her body recovered, the true danger still loomed.
The girl hadn't been alone. Her group, likely aware of her going to find Sophia, wouldn't just let her disappear without a trace. If more of them came, Sophia would be as good as dead.
In short, she couldn't stay here.
She had to leave.
But where could she go? The black fog had consumed the entire city.
Where would she go next?