Chapter 8 – The Inexplicable Truth of Walter
The infirmary door burst open with a violent slam, the metal frame rattling against the wall. Walter stood there—if "stood" could even describe the trembling, unsteady form before them.
His face was white as bone, drenched in sweat. His eyes—wide, shaking, unfocused—reflected something far worse than fear. They reflected a massacre.
"I couldn't… I couldn't find the nurse," Walter gasped, stumbling into the room. "The place was empty—completely empty—but I saw something horrible…"
His breath came in broken fragments. "I saw… those armed men. They were attacking the teachers' hall—killing everyone. I saw them shooting. I saw the creature—the Beast—attacking them. I saw it escape, and I saw them follow it. I‑I came back to warn you. I think the police are coming… students and teachers are evacuating—oh, shit…"
Walter froze mid‑sentence.
Because Titus was standing.
Not leaning. Not trembling. Not broken. He was standing, completely upright. The shattered, bleeding, mutilated body from minutes earlier was gone. His skin was smooth, unbruised. No cuts. No swelling. No blood. Even his lips—split in half just minutes ago—looked untouched.
His thick glasses were on the floor, forgotten. The eyes staring back at Walter were… new. Awake. Sharp. Deep.
"Titus… are you… okay?" Walter whispered, as if afraid the answer would kill him.
Titus touched his once‑broken lip. It was whole. His body felt strong. Too strong. A steady current of power hummed beneath his skin, alien yet intoxicating.
"I… think so," Titus said softly.
Walter's mind snapped between two horrors: the massacre he witnessed and the impossible thing happening right in front of him.
"But—but—but… HOW?" Walter shrieked. "You were DYING! You were literally dying! Where are the bruises?! The blood?! What—what the hell is going on?! WHO the FUCK are you two? WHAT are you?! I don't understand anything!"
A crutch slipped from Walter's trembling hand and clattered against the tile floor. He lifted his arms, palms open, pleading.
"Please don't kill me… please… I won't say anything… Just let Titus and me go…"
Bruno approached him—not aggressively, but with the uncanny calm of someone who had seen far worse.
"Calm down," Bruno said, voice deep and steady. "No one is going to hurt you."
His golden eyes flicked toward the hallway, scanning for danger.
Titus, strangely, felt anchored—safe—because the twins were there.
"Walter… relax," he said, voice surprisingly calm for someone who had just survived death. "I don't know what happened exactly… but Cristal and Bruno saved me."
But then—
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunshots. Close. Metallic. Echoing through the hallway. Screams followed. Chairs toppling. A thundering chaos moving toward them.
Titus's new calm shattered.
"What is that?" he cried. "What's all that noise? Those are gunshots—AND SCREAMS—what's happening, Walter?!"
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Hook: And that silence hid a danger that would soon come to light…