'What's happening!' Ryan frowned.
But all his confusion cleared up in a moment when suddenly the emergency bell in the auditorium started ringing, and the principal's hurried voice was heard loud and clear.
"Attention students. The academy is under attack. Immediately lock yourself up inside the auditorium and do not get out until the situation is under control. Be careful, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."
In an instant, the peaceful atmosphere in the auditorium was disturbed. The faint hum and the sound of conversation changed into chaos. All the students panicked; some screamed, and some even started shedding tears.
'Academy under attack! How's this even possible?'
Ryan was puzzled.
The Kingston High was known as the safe haven for the students. It was one of the best and the most secure schools in the city. The entire school ground was surrounded by an invisible laser boundary that didn't react only when someone entered with an ID or permit. There were guards everywhere, and today Ryan saw with his own eyes how the entire school's security was doubled, how the surveillance cameras were capturing even the tiniest corners. How could anyone step inside?
But it happened, that too on the meet-and-greet day.
The incidents altogether indicated a specific direction — the attackers were no ordinary people; they were extremely powerful, maybe more than they thought.
Ryan's gaze went back to the podium where the elites were standing together. That familiar, friendly face was now replaced with a hardened, battle-ready expression. They discussed among themselves about something, and then the first elite who started the conversation, Carl Whitson, returned to the lectern.
"Students, it's an urgent situation; someone attacked the academy, and we have to take charge. Do what the principal advised, after we go out of the hall, close it from inside and stay together in groups. Don't go out or open the door until you're ordered to do so."
He paused, then smiled a little bit with an assuring tone. "Don't worry, everything will be fine soon. Don't panic, take it as a practical lesson before the awakening day! Because there are some awakeners among you who'll be dealing with these situations in the coming days, like us."
Without another word, they all left the podium and sprang towards the hall's main door. Opening the door like a little gap, they slid outside. The students near the door slammed the door shut from inside.
Soon, the sounds of fighting began to come from outside. Where until now there had only been sounds of attack, there were also sounds of counterattack and defense now. Sitting behind the closed door in groups, all the students' chests were heaving.
Bang!
The moment their breathing had returned to somewhat normal, there was a loud bang on the door!
Someone was trying to slam it from outside; whoever was banging must have been using incredible force! Even though the door was very solid and heavy, it still shook with every blow.
"What is this!"
Ryan heard someone muttered in a trembling voice. No one had the answer. Who or what was trying to break it possessed immense strength, they didn't know for how long the door could stand there.
"What should we do now?" The girl beside him whispered.
"Don't know," Ryan replied.
Like all the other students, he didn't know what to do; his brain had stopped working, getting in this sudden urgency. The only thing he could think of at the moment was that they had to do something; the door was about to collapse, but before that, they had to think of something.
Time was ticking.
Bang!
With a final knock, the heavy metal door fell to the ground. A loud scream escaped everyone's mouth as they saw the creature that stood in front of them.
'What is it!' Ryan's eyes widened with shock. His eyes fell on the corridor ground behind it; the deceased body of a guard lay there, in a pool of blood, the neck bent on one side, and the skull was broken. He now understood, what was the sickening thud they heard a while ago about. The creature literally smashed a six-foot-tall human into the ground. If this happened to him, what would be their state?
The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine. A fear started creeping up in his heart — the fear of death.
Ryan took a good look at the creature. It looked a lot like a human, or, better said, like an oversized version of Homo sapiens sapiens, but it was certainly not one.
With a height above fourteen feet at least, a strong muscular body, and the skin pigmented in deep green, he looked somewhat between a human and a monster.
The strange creature entered with slow but heavy steps. And with each step, they felt as if the floor was bending under his weight!
Everyone screamed in fear again when they saw it coming towards them.
The sudden scream probably had annoyed it. Suddenly, it grabbed a nearby student by his collar and sent him flying to a corner of the hall. The boy screamed in pain as his body slammed into the wall and fell onto the ground.
All the students took some steps back, and the hall erupted in chaos. And it only made the creature annoyed more. It started moving violently, grabbing students and throwing like a paper plane or a ping pong ball!
They started running here and there, which only fuelled his attacks.
"Hey, did you notice something?" The girl beside Ryan whispered again. Earlier, they were sitting in one of the corner rows; they were still far from the creature's reach.
"What?"
"Look at its face, it can't see."
Shocked to hear the girl's answer, Ryan looked at its face. It looked like it was made of stone, with countless scars all over it, and the strong jaw was slightly open, with saliva dripping from it.
Yes! She was right.
It had a major deformity — it didn't have any eyes.
"I think it only follows the sound or the vibration, if we don't make sound, maybe it won't be able to find us!"
She whispered again. Ryan thought of something, then tapped the shoulder of a boy standing nearby. As he looked, he whispered something in his ears; the boy's eyes widened in surprise, and a faint grin appeared along, perhaps clinging to a hope to escape this situation!
Soon, his message was relayed throughout the whole auditorium; at first, they looked in disbelief, but then slowly, the whole auditorium fell silent. Everyone silently took a few steps back, waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.
Surprising to them, it worked!
The creature couldn't comprehend the reason for the sudden silence; it stopped in one place, then placed its hand over one of its ears, trying to listen for any sound.
"So, it attacks by capturing sound." The girl muttered. They were safe enough not to be heard by that monstrous figure.
Ryan kept his gaze fixed on it. The creature stood there for some time more, and then suddenly, the echoes of the footsteps down the corridor caught its ears.
Noticing the source of the sound, it left the auditorium. All the students present in the auditorium let out a sigh of relief.
They just came back from the brink of death.