How to survive an apocalypse.
How to be safe.
What are shapeshifters?
Weaknesses of shapeshifters.
How to identify them.
These were the top five trending searches globally. The world wasn't falling apart—it already had.
"Hey Theo," I asked, "how's the crime rate right now?"
"Rising fast," he replied, wearing a faint smile—like he'd expected this chaos all along.
I hesitated for a moment. "There's something I've been meaning to ask... how were you so sure I wasn't a shapeshifter?"
"Some psychological article said shapeshifters like to stay around humans," he replied casually.
Jace let out a frustrated sigh. "Can you two just shut up?" His face was tense, angry.
Silence.
"You're lucky," he said after a pause. "You're about to reunite with your family. I only have my sister left. My parents can rot for all I care."
Theo bit his lip, but tears welled in his eyes. I thought he was crying for Jace.
—
After a while, we reached a T-point.
"You two go meet your families on the bus," Jace said, his voice low. "I'll go get Lumi from her school. We'll meet on the way."
His eyes looked empty, dead.
"No," Theo said, staring out the window. "We'll go with you. She's our sister too."
For the first time in hours, Jace smiled.
We reached Lumi's school.
As we stepped out, Theo muttered, "I have something to do—I'll be there in a minute."
I turned around and saw him… smoking.
Jace was too emotionally broken to say anything. We continued on without him.
We entered Class 5-A.
A teacher sat at the front. Five students sat quietly behind her. The atmosphere was heavy.
"Lumi!" Jace rushed to her and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Thank God… you're safe."
I approached the teacher. "Why haven't you left the building?"
"This place is safe," she answered with a stiff smile.
I didn't understand, but said nothing.
I sat on one of the benches. I looked at the other children and said, "Don't worry. You're safe now. Theo will call the bus, and we'll take all of you with us."
—
Theo's Perspective
After finishing my smoke, I went to find Lumi's class.
When I entered… something was off.
The classroom had a teacher. Four students. But the rest of the school was empty.
"This place is safe," the teacher said again.
"Really? Then why is 99% of the school deserted?" I asked.
She stood up. Her lips curled into a wide, unnatural smile.
Then… she walked out, laughing.
All three of us knew what was about to happen.
—
Ash's Perspective
I was left in the classroom with the kids. Alone.
Theo and Jace had run after the teacher.
The silence was unbearable.
"Please stay here for a minute," I said to the children. "I'll go find them."
I stepped into the hallway—pitch black. My bag, along with my flashlight, was back at school.
I wandered through the corridor, eventually finding light near the washroom.
I entered.
From behind a door, I heard soft crying.
My hands trembled as I pushed it open.
The teacher was crouched inside, weeping.
"We're all going to die…" she whispered.
I stumbled backward in fear.
"Run," she said suddenly. "Run far away. Your friends are dead. Look for yourself—open the first stall."
I hesitated. Then slowly, I pushed it open.
Five small bodies. Lumi. The children.
All of them—dead.
My knees gave out. I fell, choking on my own scream.
Then I looked up.
From the ceiling above the final stall… two bodies hung.
Jace. Theo.
I couldn't breathe.
My chest caved in, not from pain—but from something worse: hopelessness.
Then I heard footsteps.
The five children entered the room. But their skin began to change, faces rippling.
They weren't children.
They were shapeshifters.
I backed away, trembling. "If they're shapeshifters... then who killed Jace and Theo?"
Then—
SWOOSH
My right arm flew through the air, severed.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
I turned in agony to see the teacher's body shifting—morphing—into me.
"Hahahahaha! Isn't this fun?" she cackled.
They closed in.
One bite tore my leg. Another ripped skin from my chest.
I cried. Screamed.
The pain… it was unbearable.
Then everything went black.
Was this how I'd die?
What did I do to deserve this?
My mind screamed one final prayer:
"Please God… just give me a perfect life."
—
I opened my eyes.
The classroom.
Daylight.
Students laughing.
The sun shining through the windows.
"Finally awake, huh?" the teacher yelled.
I stared at her.
Was it all just a dream?
I couldn't tell anymore.