FDD 3

It is no exaggeration to say that Noah Solano was the most popular student at school. He was the key player of the football team, nicknamed the “Blue Jackets” because of their blue uniforms. Noah Solano was handsome, tall, and, to top it all off, a member of the football team. Those alone were reason enough for his popularity, but Noah went overboard. He had a great personality as well.

Noah was unpretentious and got along well with most of the students. He also excelled in his studies.

However, what truly made Noah shine was his dazzling appearance.

Noah had light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and chestnut hair. It was a very common and ordinary combination, but Noah’s was different. Unlike an athlete who trains every day, his skin was smooth, and he didn’t have a single pimple that typically pops up on the face of a teenage student. And his thick hair was so fine-textured and lustrous that it seemed as though an angel’s halo was shining on the crown of his head whenever he moved.

His eyebrows, shaped like seagulls that curved slightly upward before descending to form a gentle angle, were thick and abundant. Below the brow bone, his eyelids sank, reflecting a melancholy, and his eyelids had little fat, resulting in creases where the skin folded.

His nose, which rose high from the space between his eyebrows and slid smoothly down to his philtrum, had a sharp tip. His lips were just the right size and a beautiful shade of pink. Luca had once thought that Noah’s lips were exactly what the “kiss-inviting lips” mentioned in advertisements referred to. (In fact, it wasn’t a thought that ended in the past.)

The handsome Noah Solano extended both hands toward Luca and Chloe. Chloe took Noah’s hand first without hesitation, while Luca hesitated for a moment. However, he soon grasped Noah’s hand tightly. Noah’s hand was dry and slightly rough. Although this was to be expected of an athlete, Luca felt sorry for him.

Surprised that he was feeling that emotion, he tried his best to clear his mind. It wasn’t very successful and instead resulted in him holding Noah’s hand for a long time. Noah, perhaps unable to wait any longer, pulled Luca closer, and Luca staggered to his feet. Thanks to Noah holding him, he didn’t fall.

Chloe, who had gotten up first, stretched her body, which ached from being stuck in a cramped space. Luca wanted to stretch too, but it felt awkward to do so in front of Noah. This was because Luca and Noah hadn’t met in years, and Luca had been desperately avoiding him during that time. It had been a very long time since he had faced Noah up close.

Luca substituted stretching by stealthily moving away from Noah. The latter noticed early on that Luca was keeping his distance, but he didn’t go out of his way to stop him. Because the distance between them now was closer than the distance Luca had grown all this time. While Luca and Noah were paying attention to each other, Chloe, having fully relaxed her upper body, turned her ankles and asked Noah a question.

“Did you find anything while looking around?”

Noah withdrew his attention from Luca, looked at Chloe, and shook his head. His thick, dark brown hair swayed slightly and scattered over his handsome forehead.

“No. I didn’t really see anything other than you two. I was just looking around, wondering if an injured animal had come in.”

Luca regained the tension he had lost at Noah’s words. He shook his head with a stiff face, then he barely managed to move his lips.

“It’s not an animal. Because…I heard it, they begged to be saved…”

Fear took hold of him as he recalled the terrible screams, and Luca could not finish the sentence. However, his unfinished words were enough to convey their meaning. Luca, Noah, and Chloe’s expressions gradually darkened, but Noah’s face darkened not because he was worried about his own safety.

“Then is someone hurt? Shouldn’t we go help them?”

Noah was a student of a very righteous and upright character. That was why, even amidst the terrifying screams, he was concerned for the person who screamed before himself. It was not that Luca and Chloe were not worried about the owner of the desperate screams either. However, for Luca and Chloe, their safety came first. Moreover, it would be one thing if the screamer were alive, but that person was definitely dead…

“…They must be dead…the screams cut off before they could properly finish.”

Chloe muttered in a low voice. They remained silent for a long time. They had no choice but to conclude that a threatening presence had entered the school, a place that was supposed to be safe. And this threat was coming toward Luca, Noah, and Chloe.

“Fuck…”

Someone cursed, it was Luca. And Noah, who usually never swore, looked as if he wanted to say the exact same thing.

***

Luca rummaged through the front pocket of his backpack and pulled out a crumpled napkin. It was one of the many he had stuffed into his bag because he had brought a whole bunch of them to the table at the cafe a few days ago and had left the rest behind. It was so wrinkled that he felt embarrassed to offer it to Noah, but the fact that Noah’s white sneakers were stained with blood was too bothersome. Luca tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles on the napkin, but they wouldn’t disappear. In the end, he had no choice but to hand the napkin to Noah just as it was.

“Why?”

Noah slowly shifted his gaze from the light brown napkin to Luca’s pale, delicate hand holding it, the arm to which the hand was attached, and finally to Luca’s face. He stopped at Luca’s dark brown eyes, and asked briefly.

Noah was not the type to miss a chance to strike up a conversation with Luca, but Luca was not the type to give that opportunity easily either.

Luca simply pointed at Noah’s sneakers with the tip of his chin. Noah’s sneakers were the same model Luca had worn today. He felt uncomfortable about that. However, since they were famous sneakers worn by about a hundred people at the school, he decided not to dwell on the mere coincidence. But things didn’t always go as planned.

The bloodstain on the white sneakers was noticeable, so Noah could quickly figure out why Luca was offering him the napkin. He received a napkin from Luca, and in the process, it seemed as though their fingertips had touched. Noah affirmed this fact, while Luca denied it. And, as mentioned earlier, it was a ‘fact’.

Noah bent down to wipe the bloodstain from his sneaker. However, the still damp blood only created a wider stain. Wiping the blood yielded no results, but for Noah, it certainly did. He could use this as an excuse to talk to Luca again. He smiled slightly at Luca.

“Thanks for the napkin, Luca.”

Noah’s smile was beautiful, and Luca felt so too. However, he desperately ignored Noah’s face and pretended as though nothing was wrong.

“It’s no big deal. It didn’t even wipe off properly. Anyway, do you know none of the exits here are open? They’re all closed.”

Luca felt uncomfortable continuing a private conversation with Noah, so he quickly changed the subject. Besides, that topic was a matter of survival and was more important, so it was the right time to talk about it.

“It was open just as I came in.”

Noah pointed with his thumb toward the door he had entered through. It was the door that Chloe and Luca had struggled to open for a long time, but simply wouldn’t budge. Luca shook his head with a serious expression and muttered.

“Chloe and I were able to get in. We could, but getting out is impossible. The door just won’t open. Even the windows are closed. They aren’t locked, though. We can’t get out of here right now. It’s like, it’s like right now, here…

“It’s like a trap… a trap to hunts us…”

Chloe continued Luca’s words, which he hesitated to finish. She spoke the very word Luca had been too terrified to say aloud.

A trap.

The school felt like a giant trap right now. Chloe’s words made the fear even more concrete. Luca was terrified. Would a mouse feel this way if it were trapped in a mousetrap? Fear enveloped Luca’s entire body. Luca, Noah, and Chloe were trapped inside the school. And within this place, there existed something dangerous that threatened their lives. They had no choice but to fully acknowledge this.

They had experienced school evacuation drills many times before. However, back then, the doors were properly open.

Those drills were for fires, earthquakes, or indiscriminate attacks that might occur when there were many students and teachers present; it was not an evacuation drill targeting an unknown opponent while only the three of them were trapped in a school. However, Luca clutched at straws; he slowly reviewed the details of the drills.

“Okay. There is no smell of smoke, and it isn’t hot, so it isn’t a fire. And I didn’t feel any shaking, so it isn’t an earthquake. And, haa, haa. Let’s calm down. Haa… Did I hear a gunshot? I don’t think I did. But what if they used a silencer? Ah, then, haa, haa, haa, hng…”

Luca opened his mouth to calm himself, but the more he spoke, the more confused he became. Due to the tension, he kept choking, unable to finish his sentences properly. Luca’s breathing became increasingly short. Dangerously so. Noah grabbed Luca’s shoulders and turned him toward himself. He leaned down, placed his hand on Luca’s chin to force him to meet his gaze, and spoke in a voice that was gentler and softer than usual.

“Luca? Luca, calm down. Let’s take a deep breath. Just do as I say. Inhale. Keep going. Right. And exhale. Again. Yes. That’s right. You’re doing well.”

Luca tried to clear the thoughts swirling in his head and focus solely on Noah’s voice. Noah’s gentle, dark brown eyes quickly brought Luca back to his senses. Thanks to him, Luca’s breathing returned to normal. When he noticed Luca’s slowed breathing, Noah pulled the corners of his mouth into a handsome smile. Then, he lightly tapped the tip of Luca’s nose with his index finger.

“Good job.”

“…….”

Noah’s sudden touch flustered Luca. However, he rubbed his nose and tried his best to act as if nothing was wrong. Only when his breathing returned did the warmth of Noah’s body against his shoulder stir within Luca. It was better than fear, but it still made him uncomfortable.

After confirming that Luca had calmed down, Chloe once again cleared her head to navigate the situation. Then, recalling the most basic thing, she shouted urgently.

“Right! Did you report it to the police? Noah, did you report it?”

At Chloe’s words, Noah also looked flustered and shook his head.

“Ah. No. I thought it was just an injured animal, so I didn’t think to report it.”

If Noah hadn’t reported it to the police either, there was still hope left for the three of them. With a bright expression, Chloe said to Noah,

“My phone battery is low, so I’m charging it. So let’s use yours.”

Noah took his phone out of his blue jacket pocket. He stared at the screen for a long time before looking dismayed.

“Mine won’t work either.”

Luca also hurriedly took out his phone. He looked at the screen and showed the same expression Noah had made just moments ago.

“Fuck…”

Luca cursed. It seemed like today would be the day he swore the most in his life.

“Chloe, they say we’re not in coverage.”

It was too early to give up. The three of them checked the several landline phones mounted on the school walls as well. However, they were all dead. No matter what they did, they couldn’t communicate with the outside world.

“I think we’re in big trouble…”

Luca muttered in despair. The three of them were truly trapped. However, they couldn’t afford to wallow in gloom.

Because screams were heard again immediately.

“Aaaargh! Damn it, fuck! What is this, ugh! Ugh!”

If there was one saving grace, it was that this scream had a proper conclusion. Even after the loud scream ended, curses could be heard. It seemed there was one more person at the school besides Luca, Noah, Chloe, and the unidentified threat.

“…Shouldn’t we go?”

Noah whispered. He was too righteous to hesitate, but Luca and Chloe were not. Luca remained silent for a long time. Chloe was the same. However, neither Luca nor Chloe possessed the cold-bloodedness (or perhaps wisdom) to turn a blind eye to a living person.