Aden ran.
He swung the chair like a sledgehammer.
"Hey! Ugly!" he screamed.
Jessie turned.
Aden slammed the chair into her side.
The metal legs bent.
Jessie screeched. She stumbled back, her tentacles flailing.
One tentacle whipped out and slashed Aden's arm.
It burned. Blood welled up.
Aden ignored it. He slid across the polished floor and kicked Jessie in the knee.
Crack.
The leg bent backward. Jessie collapsed.
Aden grabbed Chloe by the arm. She was frozen with terror.
"Move!" he roared. He shoved her toward Chadwick. "Get to the kitchen! Go!"
Three more monsters turned toward Aden. They hissed.
Aden raised the bent chair. He was strong, but he was outnumbered.
A blur of silver flashed past him.
Schlick.
A monster's head slid off its neck. Green blood sprayed the wall.
Elise landed in a crouch. Her silver batons were now tipped with blades.
She stood up and flicked the green slime off her weapon.
"You fight like a drunk toddler," she said.
"Nice of you to join the party," Aden panted.
He looked at his arm. The cut was already closing. Silver steam rose from the wound.
Elise noticed. Her eyes narrowed. "Regeneration? That fast?"
Another monster lunged.
Elise didn't even look. She side-stepped and thrust her baton backward. It pierced the creature's chest.
"Don't get used to it," she said. "I'm just clearing the path."
Aden saw a massive oak table flipped on its side.
He grabbed the edge. It weighed at least two hundred pounds.
He lifted it with a grunt.
"Cover me!" he yelled.
He charged forward, using the table as a shield.
Elise moved with him. She was a whirlwind of steel. Anything that came around the side of the table lost a limb.
They plowed through the crowd of monsters.
They reached the kitchen doors.
Chadwick and Chloe were already there, holding the doors open. A dozen other students scrambled inside.
Aden threw the table at the pursuing monsters. It crashed into them, buying a few seconds.
He dove into the kitchen.
Elise followed, locking the heavy industrial doors behind her.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The monsters threw themselves against the metal. The doors buckled.
Aden grabbed a mop handle. He jammed it through the handles.
Then he pulled out his bent silver fork. He wedged it into the locking mechanism.
"That won't hold forever," Elise said. She wasn't even out of breath.
The kitchen was silent except for the sobbing of the survivors.
There were about twenty of them. They looked at Aden. He was covered in green blood. His shirt was torn.
But he was alive. And he was healing.
