Chapter Warning:
This chapter contains strong language (profanity) and graphic descriptions of violence and gore. Reader discretion is advised.
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"What are you talking about? No one even dared to make a sound. You're really acting strange. Wait, is this one of your mind games?" Lovely eyed Raia suspiciously, already suspecting him of scheming once again.
"What? Of course n—" In the middle of his sentence,
Raia suddenly covered his ears in pain as a piercing shriek echoed in his head.
'They're coming! Run!' A mysterious voice rang out inside his mind again. Raia, aware of the judgmental stares his friends were giving him, stood up and quickly excused himself.
Once outside, he whispered, "Who are you?"
'Just run! Or your friends will die!' the voice urged, more desperate now.
"Run where?!" Raia felt pressure mounting.
Was he losing his mind, or was there a rational explanation for all this?'
Get out of the building! They're after you!' the voice commanded with urgency. Raia didn't waste time. He realized now that this wasn't a hallucination. Fortunately, the building was only three stories high, and he made it to the ground floor in less than a minute.
'Get ready!' the voice warned. "What do you mean?!" he shouted, confused and scared to the point he nearly soiled himself. He looked around. The canteen was just a yard away, crowded with students buying food and drinks. Everything looked… normal. Classes were ongoing, the building was intact, and the only odd thing was the sky, it was a little too cloudy, like a storm was coming.
"It all seems normal… What could happen so suddenly? Am I really losing it?" Because of how ordinary things looked, Raia began to doubt himself again. Then, the ground rumbled violently. Raia nearly lost his balance. Not far to his right, the soil burst open—and something emerged. It looked like a giant earthworm, slimy and covered in dirt.
Its body was long and cylindrical, wriggling constantly. But this was no ordinary earthworm, its massive size made it three times taller than Raia. An antenna on its head glowed faintly, and when it did, a piercing shriek echoed again. Now Raia knew, the sound had come from this beige-skinned creature.
Its maw was filled with rows of sharp teeth that stretched all the way down its esophagus. It was grotesque like a monster torn straight from a fantasy novel.
Before Raia could react, the monster lunged at him, jaws wide open to swallow him whole. Frozen in fear, he couldn't move. His legs trembled, and his thoughts spiraled. 'Am I going to die here?'
'Idiot! Dodge it!' the mysterious voice shouted.
That snapped him back to reality. Just before the creature's jaws closed around him, Raia rolled to the left, narrowly escaping. The monster bit into the cement instead. Without hesitation, Raia jumped up and sprinted away.
Seeing the shocked students nearby, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "EVERYONE! RUN!"
The students turned toward the commotion. Even those in the middle of class stepped out to see what was going on. They froze at the sight of the beast chasing Raia. Some screamed. Some fainted.
Panic spread like wildfire. Even instructors and staff started fleeing in fear. Those who kept their composure began guiding students out of the building or hiding them under tables. Raia ran past several slower students. Those caught in the creature's path were crushed or swallowed whole.
Horrified, Raia looked back and saw the carnage—he wanted to help. But the voice stopped him. 'Don't stop. Just keep running. You're the one it's after.' Raia was confused but then he noticed. The worm stopped attacking students. It turned back toward him and resumed its pursuit.
"Why is it after me?" he asked the voice.' You have something it wants. Something important. So, I suggest you keep running... or kill it.'
'Something important? What the actual f**k do I have that's so important? And how do I even kill that thing?!' Raia thought, panicking.
Just then, before he could reach the gate, a security guard ran out, weapon in hand. He raised his gun and aimed at the giant creature.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A burst of bullets hit the monster's thick body. It screeched in pain, writhing so violently that it crushed the guard under its mass, turning him into pulp. Enraged, the worm let out a deafening shriek from its glowing antenna. Raia fell to his knees, clutching his ears. The pain was unbearable; his eardrums felt like they were about to burst.
'Quickly! Get the gun and shoot it in the head! That's where its brain is!' the voice ordered. Through the haze, Raia saw the crushed guard's gun. Luckily, the worm had rolled away from that spot, leaving the weapon exposed.
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the gun and focused on survival. The monster was still convulsing from pain and disorientation. Raia circled around to the side, aimed at its head, and fired.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The monster fell still. Raia dropped to his knees, exhaling heavily. The chaos around him came into full view...blood, body parts, students crying, screaming, or lying still.
He vomited. The carnage was overwhelming. Normally, he couldn't even look at a small cut without getting queasy. This… this was beyond anything.
'Get a knife from the canteen. Get the brain out of that beast—and eat it.'
"What do you mean 'eat'—" Raia began to protest, but then he paused.
Something felt strange. His senses sharpened. He could smell something...delicious. His eyes locked on the monster's corpse like it was a feast laid out just for him. Without thinking, Raia walked into the canteen and grabbed a knife. His body moved on its own. He returned to the creature's massive head and began cutting it open. Inside, just beneath the antenna, a glowing organ pulsed softly.
The brain.