MARKS PERIL ( I )

In the scene

"Where is the infirmary?" Mark pondered as he walked through the dark hallway.

The golden humanoid being accessed the memory showing the events that happened when Leo was captured and Mark ventured into the trove of monsters, their school, in search of an antidote for his poisoned friend.

With overwhelming determination and unfound loyalty, he stepped into the hallway, moving quietly and stealthily to avoid attracting monsters.

The hallway Mark traversed was extremely dark as they had awoken in the middle of the night due to the assassination attempt of the monster spider, with the only source of light being the glow stick that he held.

"Anne said it should be here... It's too dark to discern where here even is... the glow sticks are also doing a poor job of helping me out," Mark thought to himself as he found himself lost in the hallway.

He had never fallen sick and thus had never been to the infirmary, the same could be said about Leo. Despite being on the basketball team, strangely enough, Mark had never been injured and had never sent anyone to the infirmary. He found himself lost in his own school, unfamiliar with the surroundings. The darkness, debris, moss, and spirogyra were not making it any easier.

His last memory of the infirmary was during their orientation when they were shown the various facilities of the school.

He broke another glow stick, having brought plenty with him. The glow stick added luminance to the room, revealing the moss and Spirogyra-covered walls. Debris littered the ground, and the doors were completely concealed by Spirogyra. The room's label had been entirely obscured by the moss and Spirogyra, preventing him from seeing the text despite the added luminance.

With his hand stretched, he reached out to clear the sign of the moss and Spirogyra. As a young teenage boy standing at an outstanding 6.3 feet, he easily reached the label at the top of the doors, clearing it of the foreign material that obscured it.

[RODENT RESEARCH CLUB]

"Not this one... There are some pretty strange clubs in this school," he thought to himself, believing it was a waste to spend the school budget on rodents.

He sighed begrudgingly as he turned around, trying to make his way to the next door.

The door to the 'Rodent Research Class' shook violently, breaking and releasing giant hordes of monsters, rodents that had been mutated.

Just like the rest of the animals in the world, the rodents of the 'Rodent Research Club' had also undergone metamorphosis, resulting in the creation of giant, crazed monsters.

They had mutated, with some increasing in size and power, while the less fortunate ones maintained their size, the only change being their intelligence.

They had been playing the game of survival of the fittest since their metamorphosis, killing and feasting on the weaker ones while the stronger ones banded together.

Hamsters were the first to lose in the game, as most of them had not become giants after their metamorphosis, easily becoming prey to the rest. Some escaped through the cracks formed by the flood, while others became a source of nourishment.

As a result of their battles, they had claimed not only their room, 'Rodent Research Club,' but also the surrounding rooms, serving as their territories.

Mark's footsteps had awakened them, the scent of his flesh making their mouths water. Starving, they had depleted their rations of weaker monsters. Despite going out on hunts, they couldn't find enough to satisfy their hunger.

The survivors of the game of survival of the fittest were the rats and the porcupines, with the rest escaping and living in other parts of the school.

The rats could not attack the porcupines as their defense was their offense; whenever they tried, they came back with quills sticking out of their bodies. The porcupines had also mutated into giant monsters, their quills sharper than ever, causing the death of many that we were stupid enough to try and attack them.

The rats had to sleep with empty stomachs occasionally fighting making themselves and killing the weaker ones for sustenance. Noticing Mark outside their nest, they were overcome by hunger, bursting open the door in the hope of catching the prey first.

Mark was caught off guard by the monster rats, different from the pack rats as they looked more like ugly versions of sewer rats, with fur covering their bodies like a poorly shaved head with some missing an eye or a limb, scars from their game of survival.

Mark's back was slashed by the sharp, hideous claws of one of the rats, immediately drawing blood.

He winced in pain as he skillfully jumped out of the way, dodging another slash to his back.

Immediately, he threw the glow sticks in the direction of the slash, his pupils dilating at the sight of five monster rats.

Breaking more glow sticks, he threw them around him to illuminate the hallway believing he had no way of escaping them.

In front of him were abominations that mother nature never birthed, hideous creatures that should have brought him to his knees out of fear but he stood his ground, his resolve unshaken as he saw the beast as obstacles he needed to overcome before saving his best friend.

He believed if he ran they would chase after him and look at their size which was 3 feet when on all fours and 7 feet on their hind legs.

He had only one option, and that was to fight, a battle he could not afford to lose, as the life of his best friend hung in the balance.

Calmly steadying his nerves, he steeled his resolve, and with a determined gaze, he stood his ground, ready for the oncoming attacks.

The rats had not yet moved, a bit startled by the sudden illumination of the glow sticks, rubbing their eyes in pain and discomfort. They had been living in the dark for a long time so their eyes had not seen bright light for a while including the brightness the glow sticks provided.

Noticing their conditions, Mark dashed forward, thrusting a spear he had brought with him into the chest of the closest of the five monster rats.

He pierced its skin but was unable to go further as his strength stats were a bit low at that time. The enraged beast struck Mark with its tail, sending him hurtling into the wall.

The hairless tail of the rat hit Mark so hard that it created a bright red print on his chest at the point of impact.

Mark winced in pain once again, gritting his teeth to suppress a scream as his chest pulsed with agony. He could feel that his sternum was cracked, if not broken.

Getting back up, still gritting his teeth to endure the pain, he noticed the monster rat coming his way. He jumped to the side and grabbed a shield, one that he had taken from the pack rat's nest, using it to block another tail whip from the enraged rat.

The rat monster's companions slowly adjusted to the dim luminance of the hallway. Even though they could barely see in front of them, they depended on whiskers to instantly locate their prey.

Mark found himself cornered, relentlessly blocking the monster's attacks. Unable to move from his spot, his hands grew numb from the continuous impacts of the beast's tail, claws, and occasional body slams against the shield.

"Ach," he let out a pained scream as he was hit by the sharp, brown, ugly incisors of one of the rats that had attacked him from his side. Blood gushed out of his wound as he screamed unable to contain it.

The four other rats had gathered around him, ready to attack when the opportunity presented itself as their size did not allow them to attack together.

Mark, realizing he had been surrounded, felt overwhelmed, hopelessness sinking in. He sidestepped, attempting to escape the claws of the rat that had taken a bite at his side. Meanwhile, the rat with the spear in its chest stood on its hind legs, trying to slam its large body onto Mark, aiming to crush its seemingly insignificant prey.

Another rat seized the opportunity, aiming to claw at Mark's shoulders. To evade the onslaught from the rats on his sides, he dashed forward, oddly not feeling the pounding of the rat in front of him. In a sudden move, he crashed into the rat that still had the spear sticking out of its chest.

Lady Luck, taking note of Mark's peril, granted success to his blind forward dash, propelled by instinct. His dash aligned perfectly with the spear on the rat that stood on its hind legs. Mark's momentum drove the spear through the rat monster's chest, piercing through its heart and emerging on the other side of its body.

The monster rat died without knowing how or when. The seemingly insignificant prey had accomplished what it deemed impossible, taking its life in a moment of unexpected triumph.