Chapter 54 Monsters at the doorstep.

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Monsters at the doorstep.

Damian kept the game rolling forward just as planned. The idea was to let it run its course so the dance portion of the night could kick off right after. That was what Killian had been looking forward to the most. He loved dancing more than almost anything, and now that he had Noah with him, he pictured the two of them moving together on the floor, bodies close, music guiding them through the night. It was supposed to be their moment. But sadly, none of that happened. A sudden disaster struck right in the middle of everything, shattering the celebration and turning the whole party upside down.

Noah had slipped away from the noisy crowd, searching for a restroom. He walked down the dimly lit hallways, but every door he tried showed students fooling around heavily inside, making him increasingly irritated.

"Shit, isn’t there at least one free restroom around here?" he muttered, rolling his eyes. As he kept moving, he caught sight of familiar silver hair. Two figures were tangled up, trying to topple one another in a heated struggle.

Noah ignored it at first, telling himself it wasn’t his business. Then a sharp, familiar voice broke through the tension.

"I don’t want you, Sylvia, so let go of me unless you don’t love your head anymore. Have you forgotten what I did to you back at the Dean’s office?" Damian’s warning was intense and icy. But instead of backing down, Sylvia leaned in and kissed him forcefully.

"Ashton isn’t here, and I can see through your ice. You’re horny—so damn horny you wouldn’t mind anything right now. So why don’t you use me? I’m right here," she said, her words utterly shameless.

Noah paused, something hot and angry stirring inside him. He couldn’t understand why it bothered him so much. He had his freedom now. Yesterday’s events were the strange ones, not this. The story was supposed to move on, so he shouldn’t feel pissed. Yet the opposite was happening, and the confusion only made his chest tighter.

"Don’t resist. I know you want me." Sylvia pressed on, rubbing her body against him. Noah turned to walk away when Damian’s next words stopped him cold.

"You’re too late, girl. The person I crave the most is Ashton. As you can see, my cock has gone limp anyway. Thanks so much for killing the excitement." Damian hissed and walked away immediately.

Noah quickly looked the other way so he wouldn’t get caught. Damian kept moving until he picked up a familiar scent.

"Isn’t that chamomile? Is he around here?" Damian wondered, scanning the area until his eyes landed on the distinctive purple hair that only Ashton—Noah—possessed.

He started after him right away. Noah broke into a run to escape. As he hurried down the corridor, his foot caught on something and he nearly fell. Looking down, he saw a body collapsed on the floor.

"Oh fuck, just how much did you drink to collapse right here?" Noah sighed. The person wasn’t moving at all. "If I wasn’t being serious, I would say you’re playing the role of a dead person so well. Like, girl, you’re killing it." It was a guy, but the words slipped out anyway.

As he stepped forward, something else caught his attention—red liquid dripping slowly down the stairs. Noah froze.

"Wait, am I seeing things or is that blood?" he asked himself. Damian caught up at that moment and stared at the unconscious figure.

"Is he alive?" Noah shrugged. He had a sinking feeling the guy wasn’t breathing anymore.

"Check if this is blood," he said, stepping back and hoping it was just spilled wine from someone who had passed out drunk. Damian examined it closely, then turned the body over. Right before their eyes was a huge, savage bite mark tearing through the chest and neck area. Blood still seeped from where the heart should have been. The heart itself—the little pumping machine—was completely gone, ripped out.

Noah nearly bolted, but Damian quickly covered his mouth.

"Don’t make them panic. We need to call the others and find a solution instead," he suggested firmly. Noah shook his head hard.

"Can’t you see that? Something horrendous and terrible took him out, and it might still be here. Keeping quiet would put them in more danger." He tried to explain, but Damian wasn’t convinced.

"Screaming would cause more harm than good because people will start running around in total panic, and we don’t even know if this creature is still outside." He held Noah’s shoulders steady. "I’m here. Calm down. Nothing would happen to you."

Noah didn’t know how to tell him the truth. It wasn’t about himself at all. He wasn’t worried for his own safety—it was the unsuspecting people around him, the ones who had come to celebrate and enjoy the night, that weighed on his mind.

"Okay, just come with me. Let’s get your hands cleaned up." The two of them headed toward one of the restrooms, but before they could reach it, a terrifying scream echoed from the opposite end of the hall.

"What is that?" Noah asked, heart racing, hoping it wasn’t the monster getting inside.

"Just wait right here. Let me check," Damian suggested.

"Nope, definitely not doing that. I know how these movies normally end. It’s either I get butchered brutally or die, or you go check and die. I have a better option—let’s run." Noah tried pulling Damian along, but he stopped.

"No, Ashton. I can’t run. That would make me a coward. And what are we going to tell them? We didn’t even see anything yet, and here we are running? It doesn’t make sense."

Just as their debate heated up, more screams rang out downstairs—not one, but three sharp, terrified cries echoing through the building.

Noah sighed deeply. "I guess someone else found the body. Looks like we aren’t the only ones knowing now. So what difference does not screaming make?"

Damian didn’t argue further. He pulled out his handkerchief and gently cleaned Noah’s hands. They began heading downstairs together when Noah caught sight of something horrifying in a nearby mirror.

"Oh my days... are those monsters?"

Damian turned sharply toward the window. From the dark forest they had all been warned to avoid, twisted creatures were emerging, marching steadily toward the building. It was as if something invisible was drawing them, pulling them toward one particular corner of the party venue.

"Why are they coming here?" He paused, studying them. The creatures looked half-human, half-monster. They weren’t fully human nor completely twisted beasts. They had long, sharp mandibles, eyes like hawks, but their torsos and legs remained disturbingly human.

"This is bad. It’s extremely bad." It wasn’t just one or two. Dozens—maybe more—were heading straight for the doors.

"Oh shit!" Noah suddenly remembered that the main door on the lower floor had been left open earlier. They both rushed down immediately to warn everyone.

When they reached the lower level, the scene had already descended into panic. Four more bodies had been discovered, each with the same gruesome pattern—chests torn open, hearts missing. No one knew who or what had done it. Students were terrified, some crying openly, others standing frozen in shock and disbelief.

The moment Killian saw Noah, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and rushed straight to him, pulling him close. "I thought something happened to you." Right behind him, Eugene burst in with more people, his face set with urgency.

"We have to barricade this door! Do you guys know that forest—the one we’re all told to avoid? Creatures are coming out of it and heading this way." As soon as Eugene spoke, everyone saw them through the windows—walking slow and steady, eyes filled with raw hunger. The main door stood wide open. Eugene sprinted forward and locked it just in time.

Rose immediately stepped into the middle of the group. "Don’t worry. I cast a spell around the house. They can’t get inside until the spell is turned off."

A collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd, but Noah stepped forward, still uneasy. "Please tell me nothing can turn the spell off."

Rose gave him a steady look. "That’s if someone tampers with the candle. But it’s no ordinary candle, so no one can turn it off except me."

Everyone released a breath they didn’t know they had been holding. Tension eased just a little. But Noah’s question cut through the momentary calm. "Wait—if those things haven’t entered yet, who then killed these students?" He facepalmed himself in frustration.

Here they went again. And it had to happen on his birthday night. Technically it was already another day, so his birthday was over. They were safe, at least for now, locked inside with an unknown killer still lurking among them.

"In the morning the monsters will leave, so don’t worry," Killian assured all the shivering students. They nodded, clinging to his words even as fear lingered in their eyes.