The Ones Who Survived

Mayu- Chapter 20

 The smell was potent. It was potent from the first whiff she took in. The smell of rotten meat and old memories threatening to silence her already. This was the school indeed. The only thing threatening to challenge this notion was the walls. Wood split only to meet throbbing and pulsing flesh. In this place -- with no one to keep it together anymore-- has become where normality meets the wildest imagination. 

In front of me stretched a long and daunting hallway, dolled up in throbbing flesh, lined with blood and water soaked corners. it all seemed undisturbed. The way you'd imagine a haunted house would feel-- so all in all it was fitting--. 

A deep breath wouldn't be the best in this situation. I'd choke on the smell. so I covered my nose and tried to pass, my stomach lurching at the sight passing my peripheral . On the wall amongst the meat of the school- there was organs stuck to it. The schools flesh seemed to wrap around it, almost like a hand holding it stuck into place. It seemed almost as if it was.. feeding off of it. 

I managed to tear my eyes away-- thinking about how someone would be able to be condensed to just a mound of meat made my stomach churn-- so I kept walking. The comfort of the straps on my shoulders keeping me going. Unlike last time I had essentials. even if the school separated us again we just have to find each other.  Despite the setting that would make most people wet themselves, I couldn't help but feel oddly confident. I wasn't most people anymore, most people didn't come back from this place alive, but I did, and this time I was leaving with my friends.

Each step echoed through the broken halls as I passed familiar rooms. The music room, the nurses room, all these classrooms. I knew them like the back of my hand despite the threat of all of it changing in an instant. Hugging the book close only left me with an odd sense of loneliness. I had come with  dissipated. Niko was no where to be seen.  She hadn't mind. Maybe she was at home ? she wasn't able to come with? Even so not having the extra voice telling her what she should do left her feeling vulnerable .

The walls seemed to shift even as I leaned on it, or maybe my world was turning from the sight of a corpse. Either way didn't change the fact I felt sick. My question was answered when I fell. the contents of my bag spilling- the wall I was leaning on was gone, somehow a hallway in its place. Hissing at the pain spiking in my knees I gathered up the loose water bottles and band aids. If I got hurt in here I'd need more than a band aid but you never know. Glancing around I looked for familiar faces- maybe the ghost kids, maybe Seiko, anything I recognized really. But of course I was met by nothing, Just a morbid hall.

Time passes a lot faster when you recognize things. Almost like I was in fast forward- never knowing how long I was truly in there for. There weren't as many bodies as last time.. almost as if they faded with time. If I didn't know better i'd say the school was eating them. One thing was prevalent here though.. The ghosts. I couldn't  see all of them, but you could hear them. with each step it seemed to be matched by a new groan, a new wail, a new cry. If I got lucky- or unlucky I'd see one. not up close, but a passing glance, or a figure who'd ignore me. 

Time only seemed to slow down when I saw a horrible scene, even then I'd just run. My bag was heavier than it seemed when I first arrived. It all was overwhelming all of the sudden. All I could ask- or think, was where Niko was- where Seiko was? I couldn't help but hope I'd see them. My hope was cut off by a scream behind me- I turned around only to be met with the sight of the horrid fate of---

Hey everyone! sorry its taken me so long to respond! alot of things have been happening but hopefully I can keep this going! :D