SURV!VE FOR YOURSELF ... the boyz ?!

[ O8 ] - THE VALED!CTOR!AN.

Sunwoo could barely breathe.

His grip around Eric's hand tightened, almost cutting the other boy's circulation off. Next to Sunwoo, the upperclassman who had joined them visibly trembled.

All three of the boys' gazes were locked above — at the looming creature staring below at them. Sunwoo wished he could shut his eyes and it would all go away. It would turn out to be a shared dream, and he and Eric would wake up and laugh it off.

But he couldn't even look away from the monster. It's like his gaze was locked onto the monster's eyes.

This is it, he thought. This is the end.

Reaching out a long, clawed appendage, the monster slowly began to crawl down the bookshelf. That eerie grin seemed to stretch even wider, as if the creature was enjoying this. It probably was.

Sunwoo backed as far into the walla as he could as one of the monster's limbs touched down on the lbrary floor. A single, stray tear slid down his cheek, leaving a damp trail on his face.

The boy finally shut his eyes, pulling Eric closer. He waited for the final strike, to feel the pain that would carry him wherever the dead would go.

Instead, there was a squelching shink, following by an ear-splitting screech.

Sunwoo heard Eric gasp sharply. He opened an eye cautiously, still curled in a ball next to the other freshman.

The creature still stood above them, a looming shadow of doom, but... it's limbs were slack, and some of its eyes were bleeding. A long, wooden stick had gone straight through its abdomen, one side covered in a dark, sticky substance.

It emitted a pitiful gasping sound — almost as if it were asking for help. Then, it toppled over, becoming a limp pile of pointed, dark flesh and bleeding eyes.

Eric nudged Sunwoo wordlessly, and pointed across the aisle. Sunwoo's gaze followed, landing on a tall, dark-haired boy, whose eyes were glued to the monster's fallen body.

When the newcomer finally turned to the other boys and stepped into the light, Eric's eyes widened. "Haknyeon...?"

'Haknyeon's own eyes widened in relief as he rushed over to the freshmen. "Eric, what happened to you?" he asked anxiously, examining the boy's leg.

"I'm fine, Hak," Eric said with a smile. "I'm just glad you're here."

Haknyeon returned the expression, pulling his friend into a hug. "Me too." Then, he turned to Sunwoo and held out a well-callused hand. "Ju Haknyeon," he introduced himself.

Sunwoo took his hand slowly, shaking it. "K-Kim Sunwoo." He looked back at the monster, blinking feverishly. "Thank you. Y-you saved our lives."

"You're welcome." The other boy smiled. "I should get more practice, though. I was actually aiming for the head."

"Are you a freshman?" Sunwoo asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied for his friend. "This guy is our class's projected valedictorian, actually," he said, as if he were bragging about himself.

Haknyeon laughed a little, shaking his head. "I'm grateful for Eric's doting, but there's little use a 5.0 GPA will do now," he said to Sunwoo, gesturing to the monster.

"Excuse me." The upperclassman spoke up as he stood, his voice raw with fatigue. All three boys turned to him in surprise. "I love a good reunion, but do you think we could move this somewhere else?"

All four boys' gazes floated down to the seemingly dead monster. "Sorry, sir. You're right. We shouldn't hang around here for long," Haknyeon said. He pulled Eric's arm around him, helping Sunwoo to lift the boy up. "C'mon, let's get back to the dorms."

WORD COUNT // 616 words

AUTHOR'S NOTE // omg finally steadier
updates T^T sorry for the waits lol