FDD 2

“Did you hear that?”

Chloe’s eyes widened and she nodded vigorously twice. It wasn’t a hallucination heard only by Luca. They should have realized it from the moment the doors didn’t open. That the inside of this school was different from usual. Luca and Chloe quietly and slowly fled into a nearby classroom. They could see the outside of the school through the transparent glass, but going out there was currently impossible for the two of them.

The hallway was bright enough to reveal everything around them, but the inside of the classroom, with its curtains drawn, was dark. That reassured Luca. They moved away from the light seeping through the gaps in the curtains, and hid themselves in the shade, avoiding the sunlight like vampires burning up in the sun.

They quickly looked around, but there was nowhere suitable to hide. The classroom contained only four rows of student desks and the teacher’s desk in front of the blackboard. The student desks were made only of thin iron pipes and gleaming wooden boards, making them inadequate for concealment. Luca and Chloe had no choice but to crawl under the teacher’s desk, which was made entirely of wooden planks.

It would not have been a cramped space if there had been only one person, but there were two growing teenagers. Luca was roughly 6 feet tall (about 182.9 cm), and Chloe was 5.7 feet (about 173.3 cm). However, neither of them was in a position to complain. They simply had no choice but to fold their legs as much as possible and squeeze their bodies under the desk.

How long had it been since the screams stopped? The two hid under the desk, and held their breath as hard as they could. Luca’s throat was numb, but he had no choice but to endure it. His breathing became increasingly short. He didn’t know if it was due to fear or because he had held his breath for too long. However, the sound of his accelerating heartbeat and his short breaths revealed that Luca was in a very unstable state.

He took a deep breath to bring his breathing back to normal. But then, footsteps interrupted the sound of his rapid heartbeat. The sound grew louder and clearer. The owner of the presence seemed quite big, as the sound of their footsteps was heavy.

Someone was walking toward the classroom where Luca and Chloe were. Luca was so focused on the sound that it felt as though the footsteps were right beside his ear. It wasn’t a severe exaggeration. Had it not been for the classroom door blocking the space, it would have been right next to him.

Luca slowly closed and opened his eyes; he tried to bring his breathing back to normal, but his efforts were in vain as the footsteps suddenly stopped. Luca tried to exhale the short breath he had taken in. However, he could not because he heard the sound of the door opening. He held his breath and listened to the footsteps that were about to resume.

The owner of the footsteps slowly looked around, starting from behind the desk where Chloe and Luca were hiding. He could hear the friction of dry trouser fabric and the sound of hard shoe soles hitting the ground. And, as if the person had reached the end of the classroom, a knocking sound was heard from a distance on the wall.

Luca felt like he was suffocating to death. However, he couldn’t breathe, and terrified that even the sound of his eyes moving might be heard, he closed his eyes. He tried to think of something else on purpose so he wouldn’t hear the sound. Whether his efforts worked or not, his hearing gradually dulled. But that was a mistake. Because of that, he failed to quickly notice that the legs encased in dark jeans were right in front of his eyes.

Large feet and thick legs were standing in front of Luca. He felt like screaming. But he couldn’t. Instead, he slowly moved his hand to cover his mouth. The owner of the legs walked toward Luca. It felt as though that person’s toes was about to touch his nose. Luca tensed his body to keep from trembling and closed his eyes tightly.

And.

Bang!

A heavy sound rang in his ears. It appeared the person had pressed his weight against the desk. Unfortunately, that desk was where Luca was hiding. His ears were ringing, and he felt suffocated, as if his eyeballs were about to burst. As fear filled his brain, Luca felt as though he were about to burst into tears. However, he could neither breathe nor cry.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound of fingernails tapping on the desk was heard. Luca struggled so hard that his face flushed with heat. He tried to keep his rough breathing from mixing with the rhythmic tapping sounds. He held his breath so tightly that he felt he would suffocate before being caught and killed.

As if the assailant did not want Luca to suffocate either, he slowly withdrew from the desk where Luca was hiding. Then, with the same heavy footsteps he had taken to get there, he slowly walked out of the classroom.

Clack.

Even after the classroom door closed, he could not remove the hand covering his mouth. And only when Chloe’s hand shook his body, did he pull his hand away and greedily fill his lungs with air.

“Hah, hah. Hmph, haa, haa…”

Luca gasped for breath. The air scraped roughly against his airway as it descended into his lungs, and the temperature of his hot face gradually cooled. He leaned his head against the desk wall and inhaled and exhaled for a long time. His breath was sweet.

After doing that for a while, his breathing returned to a stable state, and he was gradually able to regain his peace. However, Chloe’s situation was different. Unlike Luca, Chloe’s face was pale as she stared at one spot while trembling slightly. Luca looked at Chloe’s profile, then slowly moved his eyes to follow her gaze. And at the sight that entered his field of vision, Luca wanted to faint.

At the end of Luca and Chloe’s gaze lay bright red footprints of blood. The still damp blood was buried in the darkness, looking as if black ink had been spilled. However, Luca knew that it was not ink.

If a light were shone on that spot, the blood would undoubtedly shine on its glossy surface, proudly displaying its red color.

Whatever the body it was contained in would only hinder the blood from showing off its inherent red glow, and Luca did not want that body to be himself. He bent one knee, leaned his body over the edge of the desk, and said to Chloe in a quiet voice.

“This won’t do. It’s dangerous here. Let’s go somewhere safer.”

Luca reached out a hand to Chloe, and she took it. However, contrary to his intention, he was pulled further inside. Luca lightly bumped his head against the desk, glared at Chloe with a resentful look, and demanded an answer.

“Ugh! What’s wrong with you?”

Chloe had no time to listen to Luca’s complaints. She quickly covered his mouth and whispered.

“Shh! They’re coming back!”

Footsteps could be heard again.

‘Fuck!’

Luca wanted to yell out a curse. But he couldn’t. He hugged his legs, curled up as small as possible, and hid under the desk. His whole body tingled from the uncomfortable position, but the space under the desk was so narrow that it was difficult to change his posture. Luca stared straight ahead until he finally closed his eyes. His vision was filled with footprints of drying blood, making it impossible for him to remain calm.

As the light was blocked, everything went pitch black. Then, a red bloodstain bloomed in the darkness. The bloodstain formed a puddle of blood, and the body from which the blood spilled transformed into Luca. He continued entertaining terrifying thoughts, so he had no choice but to open his eyes.

It was a bit better now that the bloodstains and the floor pattern were mixed together. Luca regained some composure, so he looked straight ahead

He opened his eyes and almost screamed, “Aahh!” Blood-stained white sneakers were right in front of Luca’s eyes again.

In the brief moment he looked away, the owner of those feet had returned to Luca’s side with incredible speed. Luca nearly let out a scream, but he didn’t want to reveal his location with such a foolish mistake. He managed to move his stiff hand to cover his mouth. He held his chin with both thumbs to block the sound of his teeth chattering together. However, the trembling didn’t stop, and Luca’s jaw vibrated like a cell phone.

The white sneakers moved a step back, and Luca gritted his teeth. His teeth would be damaged, but it was better than hearing the vibration. Then, suddenly, the owner of the sneakers bent down, and the shirt that hadn’t been visible came into view.

It was a black turtleneck knit shirt, and it wasn’t stained with blood. No, since it was black fabric, he didn’t know if any bloodstains were hidden in the darkness. Frightened by the future that lay ahead, Luca closed his eyes. A moment later a voice reached Luca’s ears. It was both welcome and, at the same time, unwelcome.

“Luca, Chloe. What are you doing here?”

It was a low, affectionate voice with a soft tone. A voice as beautiful as his face. It had been a long time since he had heard it. Luca opened his eyes, and shed a few tears of relief. And even in the darkness, a face as handsome as his memories–no, even more handsome than his memories–came into Luca’s sight.

Skin slightly darker than Luca’s, thick, straight black hair, a straight, firm nose, long eyelashes, and kind eyes beneath those eyelashes.

Those eyes were staring at Luca again. He felt a sense of relief and comfort in those eyes, but suddenly felt a surge of anger.

“Why are you loitering around suspiciously!”

Even at the gentle question from Noah, the owner of the sneakers, Luca could not contain his anger. He forgot that he had been avoiding Noah for quite a long time, and kicked his knee.

“Ugh!” Noah let out a groan. A loud, groan, he was in considerable pain. However, that was better than the fear Luca had felt while crouching under the desk.

Unlike Luca, whose tension had completely released, Chloe’s expression remained wary. She did not know Noah as well as Luca did. The Noah Chloe knew was merely one of the popular, handsome members of the football team. Chloe glared at Noah’s handsome face and asked accusingly.

“But what are you doing here this morning? And what is that blood on your foot?”

Noah lifted his foot to check the sole and looked at Luca and Chloe. It was a look that indicated he had just realized it.

“Ah. So there was some. I did walk past the blood, but I didn’t realize there would be this much.”

“Blood? Whose blood is it?”

At the mention of “blood,” Luca looked at Noah, unable to hide his worry, and Noah met his gaze. Only when he saw those soft brown eyes did Luca realize his mistake. He struggled to look away from Noah’s face and pretended not to know what he had done. That was why Luca did not notice Noah’s fingers twitching. Noah clenched his fist tightly, then opened his fingers and answered in a calm voice.

“I don’t know whose blood it is. I couldn’t sleep, so I came to school early to get some exercise, heard a scream, and found a pool of blood. I was looking around when I saw you guys.”

Chloe looked at Luca’s face. It was a question asking if he trusted Noah. Luca had no reason not to trust Noah.

He nodded slowly. Only then did Chloe erase her suspicion and nod once to Noah. It meant she had accepted it.