Darren swung his hammer, and Ms. Collins ducked out of the way, struggling to get up due to whatever formed on her body. Leon tried grabbing him from behind and giving him a swift knee in the back, and that seemed to work as he screamed and fell down. The hammer in his hands quickly faded as he fell. But he gave Leon a death glare as he fell, quickly getting back up. He took one deep breath as the two women ran from the scene, and the hammer was quickly brought back. Leon brought his fists to his hands in an attempt to imitate a boxer, as Darren swung his hammer again. For such a scrawny looking guy, there looked to be some serious weight behind his swing. Leon couldn't risk blocking it, so he just dodged out of the way and let him slam his hammer into the white brick wall. As he glanced behind him, he saw a crater made where he was just standing. And Leon came to one conclusion. Fighting this guy wasn't worth it.
Travis and Elijah made their way into a random classroom and began barricading the doors. They were on the second floor, and the barrier was outside the windows, making enter exiting or entering impossible.
"So are we waiting for Leon?" Travis asked.
"Screw it, he can look after himself!" Elijah replied, kicking a table in front of the door.
"But-"
"Look, I don't know what's going on, and I don't wanna get involved, okay? If Leon knocks on the door, I'll let him in. But I'm not going out for him!"
Just then, a series of deranged knocks were heard on the door. Elijah peered over the table to find Allan on the other side, banging to be let in. Through the glass, their eyes met. Elijah shook his head, which just made Allan angrier. Until he suddenly dropped below.
Elijah took a step back. That fall wasn't a trip or something like that, otherwise he'd hit the door. He was just…gone. And he didn't know what to do, until a rumbling sound was heard behind him. He snapped his position right behind him, and Allan was right there, sporting a smug grin.
"Now, guys." Allan started. "I was ready to share this place and wait for everything to blow over. But you two decided you had to keep a hideout to yourselves. So, I've decided to evict you."
"What the hell are you on about?" Elijah yelled, putting his fists up.
"Oh, did you not feel it?" Allan said, tapping his fingers against his forehead. "Look, I think I know what's going on. Earlier on, I saw Darren summon a hammer from literally nowhere. So if I'm right, all of us got powers of some kind, and this is some kind of test. Can't say what's being tested, but whatever's at the end? I want in."
"So what, you're gonna try kill us?" Elijah asked.
"Or…we team up?"
"Absolutely not."
Allan ran towards Elijah, but fell downwards once again. He just vanished, leading to Elijah looking around the room. Travis was also gone, which was the most worrying part.
"Allan, where the fuck is Travis?"
"I'm at the back?"
Travis piped up, sounding more confused than anything, but Allan came back, striking Elijah in the side and knocking him to the ground. He leapt on him when he got the chance, landing a series of blows. Elijah was able to get him off him with one swift kick to his gut. Allan disappeared again as soon as he hit the ground, but the sound of something bursting was quickly heard behind Elijah, and he quickly turned around to see Allan in the air. He tried dropkicking Elijah, but he held his arms to his chest and could easily block the attack. Allan's eyes widened as he was about to fall off, and Elijah quickly grabbed a trouser leg to prepare a counterattack. A noise that vaguely sounded like something coming to life was heard. And following that was a brief flash of heat, right before Allan's trousers erupted into flames.
Instantly, Allan's attitude shifted. He began rolling on the ground in fear, pulling his trousers off. He looked at Elijah, breathing while trying not to spit any verbal venom towards him.
"This isn't the end!" He yelled, moving a table out of the way and running out of the room. Elijah sat down, and Travis appeared out of nowhere, causing him to jump.
"Jesus! Okay, where were you?"
"I was standing here the whole time! Look, I'm sorry I didn't do anything, but I panicked!"
"No, you were gone!" Elijah replied. "I couldn't see you!"
"Wait." Travis thought. He focused for a second, and then disappeared. A second later, he came back.
"Elijah, I think I can turn invisible."
"And I can set things on fire." Elijah sighed. "Dude, I think we're in for something rough."
Mateo ran to the top floor, where the art clubs were. He needed to know where Ines was, because she was the most vulnerable person here right now. He finally found the room she was in. She was sleeping with her head down by her box of stuffed toys, seemingly unaware of anything that was currently happening. That was fine. She could sleep as much as she needed. He could probably put his gear on for extra protection, but for now he figured he could just sit down in front of her and act as a wall. He lost Terrence at some point in the chaos. He could be trying to either calm people down or round them into an area where they can't hurt themselves. He could do what he wanted. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer, that everyone would come out of this okay.
"Oh, you're here."
Mateo opened his eyes, and Darren was in front of him, looking bored while wielding his hammer.
"Why are you here?" Mateo asked as he stood up. He was tall and broad, easily looking down on the scrawny Darren.
"I…I'm just passing by. Looking for some way out of this." He said calmly, exhaling afterward, as if his mouth had something within he couldn't let out normally.
"Were you hoping to kill Ines to get out of this?" He asked.
"Woah, now!" Darren replied, throwing his hands into the air as his hammer faded into the air. "It's a self defence thing, you get me? I don't have any plans to kill Ines, got it?"
"There you are!"
Terrence appeared from up the stairs, Leon in tow.
"Mateo, you able to help me out?"
"What's going on?" Mateo asked.
"Darren's trying to kill someone to get out of here!" Leon yelled.
"Oh, you goddamn-" Darren mumbled. His tone changed instantly, and he summoned his hammer back, taking a cheap swing at Mateo. He keeled over for a second, but he sprang back and punched Darren, sending him flying back. Darren looked at both Mateo, and the two bigger guys running towards him, and scrambled to some kind of fighting position, dashing past Mateo's arms and into the room Ines was in. He was easily the second weakest person here, and Ines was only weaker because she was born brittle. So if killing her guaranteed his survival and bought him a little more time, he'd have to go for it. It was nothing personal. He readied his hammer just as Ines was waking up, and Mateo was able to push her away just as he was about to land the blow. Ines woke up as she fell to the ground, sleepily looking around her, as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on. Mateo landed a blow to Darren once she was out of the way, which sent Darren flying to the other side of the room. Terrence stood in front of him. Not doing anything that could provoke a fight, but also trying to stop him from doing anything he'd regret. Darren summoned the hammer once again, hitting Terrence in the arm as he tried to fight back, bending his arm backwards as he tried once again to run towards Leon. Darren let his hammer fade into the air and tackled Leon to the ground, summoning it again in an instant.
Leon threw a hand out just as the hammer was about to hit his face. And the hammer stopped moving. Darren looked distressed as he switched his gaze from his hammer to Leon.
Leon felt some kind of hook between the two. It was invisible, but he was controlling it. It seemed to automatically wrap around Darren's hammer, to the point he could yank it out of his hand as it once again faded into the air. He kicked Darren off him in his moment of weakness, and he fell over while clutching his stomach. Terrence took the chance to swiftly grab Darren and throw him out of the room.
Darren hit the floor, and immediately began choking.
The three men huddled around him, trying to see what was happening. Mateo tried lifting him up, but nothing was working. He couldn't lift him. Leon couldn't either. Terrence could, and Darren seemed to be able to get up, summoning the hammer one more time. But before he could swing, cracking noises were heard from inside his body. His eyes widened, a little vomit leaked from his mouth, and he fell over once again.
Only this time he wasn't getting up.
No breathing was heard as Leon leaned in to hear a heartbeat. Terrence picked him up, and he wasn't responding.
No doubts about it. He was dead.
Everyone stepped back as Mateo let him go. Ines stepped out, her head mildly bleeding from the fall.
"Congratulations!"
A voice rang out in the hallways. The same voice as the first time, but clearer. First off, the voice was unmistakably a woman's. She sounded older, around mid-forties, if Leon had to guess.
"The first game has been completed! Terrence Nash has successfully killed Darren Hannegan!"
Terrence shot upright when he heard that, looking at the three for some kind of assurance whatever just happened wasn't his fault. Nobody responded. They couldn't.
"Now, if the remaining eighteen of you will be so nice as to leave the school, I'll explain the situation fully!"