Project: Death for Classroom Zero

Chapter 18: Venus

Lester and Holland swiftly walked towards the place where colorful, gigantic plants grew. Holding their sweaty hands, they quietly crept as if they were secret agents vying to find evidence for a possible national or international threat. 

As they walked, they passed to a certain spot where grasses were not found, instead, a circular flower—or was it a flower?—in the color of lavender, grown as tall as their chest, and rustling along with the wind. They passed through it, for they somehow thought that it was not as dangerous as the other plants existing in this garden of horror.

That is their mistake, however. 

Their gazes were focused on the place where they were about to conquer and explore. They were not Christopher Columbus, or Ferdinand Magellan, or Amerigo Vespucci but they feel—especially Lester—that they would find something remarkable in the forest of eye-candy plants. 

Little did they know, someone was watching them. At a hidden corner, a piece of an eye opened from its slumber. Yes, only a piece, for it was living without any pair—or perhaps, it was better to say, it was living along the bunch of other eyes, but never actually paired to each other, for they all have their own visions.

“Holland, I don’t feel we’ll be safe there.” 

“Man, everywhere in this forest or in Josen High is neither safe. We’ve got to take risk.” Holland squeezed his partner’s hand. Looking at Lester’s handsome face, he could not help himself but to admire his beauty, and could not deny to himself that he loves him. More than anything else. 

Lester bit his lower lip from hesitation. He looked back at the gigantic floral species ahead. He even saw a huge mushroom in the color of white but with red spots that grows as if a huge umbrella that would surely give them shade from the scorching heat of the sun. With that, he just found out that mists were out of its billowing. 

“Man, you’re freakin’ handsome,” said Holland. “Come give me a hug here.” He pulled Lester to him, and hugged him tightly with the use of his right hand. His left hand traveled between Lester’s legs, and cupped his bulge. 

“Damn it, man. We’re in the middle of a dangerous place. Tame your cock.” Lester moved Holland’s hand away from his crotch. 

Holland laughed from the sudden spur of his lover. “That’s what really made me fall to you. You’re cute when you’re doing that.” 

The plastered smile of Holland was perfect. But it did not take a minute when it was suddenly erased. 

“Lest…” he hesitated. His gaze passed through Lester. He was looking at his back. 

“Man, what happened?” 

“G—get out.” 

Lester’s curiosity reached the peak when he saw Holland’s frightened eyes. Having curiosity drive him, Lester looked at his back, to the direction where Holland was looking. 

The lavender-colored flowers gliding with the wind were, just like the other flowers living in this place, a disturbing specie. They knew of a plant named White Baneberry. It was also familiarly called the doll’s eyes because of its disturbing doll eye-like flower. 

But what Lester and Holland saw were surely not a doll’s eyes. It was real. 

Eyes resembling human’s. 

With pupils, cornea, iris and sclera that forms the rounded shape of the eyes. One by one, from the bunch of lavender-colored flowers, the eyes were popping open, intently gazing at them. 

“Bullshit! Run!” From the horror of the uncountable bunch of eyes looking at them straight in the eyes, Lester panicked, and started to run. Holding Holland’s hand, he was dragged by his sudden move, causing him to run as well—both of them felt the terrifying horror from the steady gazes of the plants. 

Now having no choice, they quickly travelled towards the peculiarly-colored floral species. That is the only place they could go now, because the-surely-not-a-baneberry-plant was still looking at them. If ever it has lips and mouth, they must have been smiling evilly.

Along their run towards the forest of colorful plants, Lester smelled something. His nostrils sting when a pungent smell penetrates through his sense of smell.

Now, it was Holland who was leading Lester to run faster. 

“Quick!” said Holland. He looked at their back to see whether the plant of eyes were not following or wanting to cause them harm anymore.

When he saw that they were finally far from those floral species, he smiled at Lester. “Can you smell that?” Holland asked. “Can you smell that rotten stench? That’s the smell of Titan arum.” 

“H—How do you say so?” asked Lester. 

Holland beamed brighter. “Just a f*****g guess.” 

It was probably Holland’s brightest smile which Lester saw. His smile was his most handsome angle which never failed to make Lester’s heart flutter. But it was the last smile that he saw when … something passed through him, and dragged his head. 

Lester’s mind was blank for a second. On his front, there was a headless body he was holding hands. With wide eyes, he saw that the body fell on the ground. It wiggled, as if a worm, or a human touching a high-voltage wire. On its neck where his smiling face could no longer be found, was a tube of spitting vividly cerise clots of blood, pooling on the lifeless ground. 

For a moment, he could not get to acknowledge that it was Holland’s. He could not believe that it was his lover’s body who was now headless and flat on the ground. But when he did, his body trembled. 

“H—Holl…” 

He hadn’t finished telling the name of the man his world was revolving in, when two unidentified things snatched Holland’s headless body.

With frightened gazes, he followed where the body went. It was tossed upward. The two things that snatched Holland’s body were a formidable creature. A plant specie that resembles a mouth: two inter-connected surfaces that serves as the whole mouth, with sharp thorns that serves as its teeth. 

The two creatures were pulling Holland’s body in opposite directions, as if playing tug of war. Until a crack and ripped sound cracked at Lester’s ears. Holland’s body was torn into two. Some of his flesh and inner body parts fell on the ground, along with the pool of his blood. The major parts of his body… it was there, being eaten by the Venus Flytrap—that eats humans, instead of insects. 

“HOLLAND!” Lester’s scream of demise echoed at the whole forest, alerting every students remaining alive.