Ten minutes later, inside Mr. Isaac’s room, the undead teacher stood in the living room. In front of him was an altar covered in carvings that could make normal people sick just by looking at it. Mr. Isaac waved his hand, and a cloud of smoke appeared over the altar.

Mr. Isaac knelt down right then and there.

“I require aid.”

A deep, dark voice replied.

“Speak.”

“There’s a girl in my class. Goes by the name of Katie Lockwood.” Mr. Isaac gulped. His voice nearly shaking. “She’s not normal. There’s no way she’s a human being!”

“How so?”

“I cut her apart!” Mr. Isaac argued. “I ripped her body to pieces and she healed herself within seconds! Even the Chaos Descendants I summoned couldn’t stop her from healing! And...and her reaction to the pain...” He looked like he has seen a ghost, which was quite ironic. “she was rejoicing in the pain! I pulled her apart limb by limb and she was enjoying it! Something is terribly wrong with her! I literally couldn’t kill her!”

The voice on the other end was silent for a moment before saying something that made Mr. Isaac shiver.

“You disappoint me. You ran into a self-healer with some mental issues and you contact me? Waste me time?”

“I...I’m sorry!” Mr. Isaac apologized. Here, he was no longer the god who could decide the life or death with the students, but rather an underling, talking to his master. “But she is no ordinary healer! There’s...there’s something weird about her!”

“She is irrelevant!” The voice on the other side persisted. “Ignore her and proceed with your plan! The Dark Pantheon’s decree will not be disturbed by something so trivial!”

“But…I can't just ignore her! I can't even kill...” Mr. Isaac was about to keep arguing when the smoke suddenly exploded violently. The undead’s body shook as well, and a pained look appeared on Mr. Isaac face. “as you wish.” He said quietly as the communication ended.

Kneeling in the dark room, for the very first time, Mr. Isaac didn't want to go to school tomorrow.

Katie returned to Caitlin’s school in rag-tagged clothes. Her body healed. Her clothes didn't.

Thankfully, as she walked into Caitlin’s bedroom, Caitlin and Zach were just talking.

Caitlin smiled when she saw Katie nice and well. Nice! Such a good and caring friend!

Zach smiled at her as well. What a creep! Katie snickered.

“Wow!” Caitlin’s expression changed when she saw Katie’s even more bloody clothes. If she was in a war zone after she fought the zombies, then now, she looked like she has been to hell and back. “What happened? Wait...what did Mr. Isaac do to you?”

She was almost afraid to ask.

What did he do to me? It’s what he didn't do to me that concerns me! Why can’t a girl just get a good fight? Katie shrugged. Telling Caitlin how she was pretty much dissected wasn’t the best idea.

“Ok. So, what are we gonna do today?” Katie asked as she sat down on Caitlin’s bed. “Storm Mr. Isaac’s house once again and put a bullet in his head? Or maybe go talk to the other students and form an alliance. A rebel alliance, if you will…”

Caitlin frowned. “Yeah...maybe...but you know what’s more important than that?”

Katie rose her eyebrows curiously.

Ten minutes later, Katie walked out of Caitlin’s house’s bathroom in a set of new t-shirt and jeans. She tossed her old, bloody attires into a bathroom in Caitlin’s room before sitting down on the bed once again.

“I’ll pay for the new bedsheets.” Katie said to Caitlin apologetically, eyeing the bed sheet that was stained red by the blood from her tattered t-shirt and jeans.

“Yeah...I’m sure you will.” The blonde smiled softly.

Finally, the three had a chance to really sit down and talk. Caitlin explained to Katie what she and Zach have been working on.

“Obviously, Mr. Isaac wants something.” She started. “I mean...why else is he going through all this trouble? I don’t believe killing us is the end goal.”

“Yeah, he’s probably trying to extract pain or fear or something. Nasty stuff.” Katie nodded. “Maybe he gets a kick out of this? I mean...he’s probably a demon or something, right? Honestly, I can kinda relate with what he may be feeling. But…” She paused. “I don’t see how that helps us kill him.”

If they were in Supernatural, then figuring out the incentive of the monster was 90% of finding out how to kill it, but things were a lot more different here. Katie didn't have a journal she could open and read through to just immediately locate the solution. As far as she knew, there were no records of things like the games happening.

Then again, it shouldn’t be that surprising. Katie has seen the curses at work first hand. She could kill someone or be killed in front of a police station and no one would see her, ever. In that sense, the power of Mr. Isaac was paralyzing.

“Perhaps not.” Caitlin nodded. “But in the game today, I have been wondering something. If Mr. Isaac is here, in our school...then what are the chances that something similar is happening or has happened at another school? I mean...we can’t be the first to experience this, right?”

“Yeah, but with this curse going on…”

“But people inside the curse don’t get influenced.” Caitlin cut Katie off in excitement. “So I asked my mom how many schools there are in our district.”

“4.” Katie rose her eyebrows. “Oh…”

“Exactly!” Caitlin exclaimed. “My mom said there are 3, including ours!”

Katie was silent. She knew what Caitlin was getting at. “But...but the only way an entire school is erased from existence…”

“is if the curse has spread to the entire school.” Zach added quietly. “In our school, only some of us are involved. That's why everyone else still knows about our school as a whole. If...if that school is completely gone, then...”

Then the curse has devoured the entire school.

Katie turned to Caitlin. “Which school is it?”

“Gregory High.”

Gregory High School. Katie knew it from before. It had nearly 5,000 students across all four years. Oh god…5,000 deaths...how glorious!

Katie shook her head and threw those foul thoughts out of her head.

“We’re going there.” Caitlin suddenly stood up and checked her weapon.

The others nodded.

The three took Caitlin’s mother’s car. Gregory High was around twenty minutes of drive away. Caitlin was the one that drove. Katie managed to bump Zach to the backseats as she occupied the passenger seat.

Her hands were repeatedly loading and unloading the magazine of her Glock 43, but her eyes were trained on Caitlin. Even the sight of her driving is so adorable! Her eyes...her hands...her cheeks and her neck are so cute! Oh...what did I do to deserve a girl like her?

Kill...kill a lot of people and monsters.

Caitlin glanced at the side casually and saw Katie. She let out a small smile, a rare sight in this desperate time. Katie’s gaze was intrusive, but Caitlin didn't flinch. She knew all too well that in this relationship, Katie might be the ass-kicker, but she would do everything Caitlin asked.

The car was silent as it stopped in front of Gregory High.

“Oh my god…” Caitlin’s mouth hung open. She has come to Gregory High School a couple of times before to volunteer for events. In the past, even in the afternoon after school was over, the building wouldn’t be completely empty. There would always be a few teachers or students or staff members walking around. But right now, there was nothing.

Not a single person and not a single car was in the high school. Not only so, as the three got off the car and approached the building, they realized something was really off. But what?

Katie gave the answer.

“It’s so quiet.” She whispered. “Where are the animals?”

Usually, a school like this would be the home to quite a number of birds, insects, and even ducks or geese. Yet, as of the moment, there was nothing moving as far as the eyes could see. In fact, even the trees were still from a lack of wind.

“This place feels…dead.” Zach said quietly. Usually, Katie would mock him for using ‘dead’ to describe a place, but this time she let him off the hook. Zach wasn’t wrong. Katie could sense this place reeking of death. Oddly, it wasn’t the same feeling inside her classroom, which was filled with despair, pain, and fear. No...here, there was only death.

The annihilation of everything, human or others.

The inevitable conclusion that no one and no thing can ever avoid. One day or ten centuries, death will catch up to anyone sooner or later.

Zach glanced at Caitlin. “We should be careful. I really don’t like this. I...I suggest we retreat.”

For once, Katie agreed with him.

“Caitlin, you should go home with your friend. Either that, or wait outside. I’ll go in and check out. If there’s anything important I’ll take it back.”

The smell of death was intimidating, but if anything, it was attracting Katie. She couldn’t wait to check out what’s going on! The only thing keeping her from charging right into the field was her concern for Caitlin.

Sadly, it was probably the only thing that tied this new Katie Lockwood to the Katie Lockwood that has lived for 16 years as a normal teenager. The only piece of humanity left in her twisted mind. Katie wanted to preserve it at all cost.

Caitlin glanced at Katie. Just like countless times before, when facing danger, Katie asked her to stay back while she took care of the threat. But this time, Caitlin wasn’t backing down.

This was something she had to do.

“No.” She said quietly. “Even if there is a fragment of chance to end Mr. Isaac and his games in there, I have to go in.”

Zach nodded quietly in agreement as Katie checked her weapon one last time.

Then so be it.

The three walked right into the front entrance. The large glass door that covered the entire entrance looked dusted and dirty. Katie walked ahead, pushing the door open with a single swift kick.

The door swung back. Katie turned and glanced at Caitlin with a small smile on. The moment she turned back, that glass door swung back into place and smashed Katie right in the face.

“Fuck!”

Even in this school, in the middle of the aura of death, Caitlin found herself chuckling.

Zach glanced at Katie, let out a small smile, and then proceeded to push the door open with his hand, like an ordinary human being with some common sense.

The three walked into the grand hall, which was as expected, empty. Even worse, it was completely dark. The light must’ve been cut out when the school fell. Katie took out a flashlight and walked up ahead. Caitlin followed her tightly while Zach covered the back. All three of them had handguns ready.

“There’s a classroom over here. I’m going in.” Katie pointed and reminded before pushing the door of the classroom and charging inside. She expected a lot. Mountains of reeking bodies. Fountains of fresh human blood. Even hordes of monsters or undead.

Instead, she found nothing. No body. No monster. Not even blood.

Just nothing.

An empty void.

Caitlin and Zach entered as well. Katie could tell Caitlin’s mood was off. Before she could do or say anything, Caitlin dashed out of that classroom and ran into the classroom right beside it.

Again, nothing.

The third, the fourth, and the fifth classroom yielded the same result. Finally, as Caitlin walked out of the sixth classroom, she collapsed in the empty hallway. Her head was buried between her laps.

Katie walked up and sat down beside her. Zach sat down on the other side.

“They’re all gone.” Caitlin whispered. “Every single one of the people here. Students. Teachers. Even the janitors...Thousands of people, gone without a trace left! And...and the world will never know what happened to them!”

Ever since the games started, Caitlin has always been trying to be brave. She didn't have the set of talents like Katie, nor was she consumed by the darkness of humanity like Kyle. She wasn’t even lured into despair like most of the students in the class. She has always kept her hopes up and stayed true to her ethics, no matter how much danger she faced or how little hope she had. Against all the threats and temptations alike, Caitlin stood her ground, unbroken.

But now, for perhaps the first time, Caitlin felt completely defeated. What will happen to her school? Maybe the same thing that happened here will happen there. The curse will spread. As the casualties rise, so will the number of people engulfed in the games.

And eventually, whether in a week or in a year, everyone will be dead, slaughtered in the endless array of games of pain and torment. Their bodies and souls alike harvested by the demons that sealed their tragic fate.

And then, finally, the school and everyone in it will be erased from the memories of the rest of the world.

Perhaps, some point in the future, several unfortunate souls who are suffering the same fate will wonder across their school, pondering what happened there.

And she, Katie, Zach and everyone in the school, along with those of countless other schools, will be forever devoured by this endless, ceaseless cycle of misery and torment.