Project: Death for Classroom Zero

Chapter 33: One Hundred and Twenty Minutes

There was a loud shattering of mirror that has erupted beside Tristan and his group.

He heard Tammy shouting because of the sudden eruption of the fake mirror while they were running, and trying to save their lives from the black mysterious reaper following them through the mirror. Luckily, no one on his group was wounded, except for the earlier wound acquired by Caspian.

Another mirror has erupted. This time, it was a standing mirror at the left side, a few meter away from Tristan.

“What the hell was that?!” Tammy panicked.

Tristan noticed that the way the mirror broke and shattered were as if it was a made by a sharp object swung directly at its surface. He then looked back, and checked whether they were able to escape from the black reaper.

Seeing the black figure standing on the fake mirror a few meters away from them, Tristan shouted: “Cover!”

He pushed the backs of the groupmates he could push, and forced them to stumble on the ground, and lay there flatly. Luckily, the ones that he wasn’t able to push—Blaze, Rain, and Amara—were able to get what Tristan had meant.

There wasn’t a second passing when the mirror above them had shattered and exploded. Tristan saw earlier that the black figure was about to swing his scythe of death in a horizontal position, causing Tristan to push them towards the grounds. If he wasn’t able to do it, they might be a headless body in the moment.

“Run!” Blaze then shouted, “Let’s move!”

Even though their bodies were aching because of the sudden stumbling on the ground, they did not ramble. Instead, they immediately stood up, and then followed Caspian who was running fast, afraid that the clue might have shattered as well.

“Come on!” Tristan grabbed Amara’s hand who was clumsily standing up from the ground. Soon as she was able to stand, they ran after the group.

“There!” Caspian exclaimed, “the exit!” He was pointing to a small hollow path that was on the far end corner of the mirror clusters.

Tristan smiled. Finally, they could now escape away from this group of mirrors.

“Hurry, before the reaper could follow us down this path!”

They were about to accelerate their speed of running when, from that small hollow path, they saw something moving. A dark figure darker than the shadows. It was moving towards outside of that hollow space—towards them. Without any order or talking, the group had abruptly stopped. With their trembling knees, they stood up, and waited for the figure to come out.

The sound of the metal steps had billowed once again on their ears. Then the hissing of the chains being dragged on the floor. Tristan looked behind them, to check whether the reaper had followed through them already, but it did not, yet.

Because he knew it was already at their front.

The first thing that had came out from the hollow space was a real, shining from the reflection of the light, sharp scythe. Next is a growling unknown creature being covered by a black hood. It was safe to say that the creature is somehow called the reaper. With his slow, yet loud tap of steps, he was using his scythe as a support. Like an aged man’s cane.

“The hell, the run to escape’s tactic kind’a useless,” said Timmy, wiping the sweat that had crystallized on her forehead.

“Was it going to fight us? Huh! My hand’s itching to slap someone’s cheeks!” said Amara, acting tough while preparing her palm to slap, despite the fact that her fingers were trembling.

“I don’t think so. Would it fight us if he was that slowly moving? I’m certain Professor Buenavista’s not going to hire—or create—something that would physically fight us that is slowly moving like that grim reaper,” Seven reasoned. The group found sense to what he had said.

Then, upon their waiting, the reaper was finally out of the space. On his left hand, there was a cluster of chain it was dragging on the floor. The size of the rusted black chain was terrifying. That huge size was enough to restrain and bind huge beasts of the forests. After it had fully moved out, the space suddenly closed. There was something that had fallen from its upper edges, causing it to be blocked. The blocking thing on the supposed to be exit on this place was as if the type of foldable metals that was being used by convenience stores in the city.

“Welcome to your first quiz.”

When the reaper started to talk, the group was not ready from it. Tristan almost jumped when there was a sudden eruption of a coarse, robot-like voice in the surrounding. Later, he found out that it was from the reaper standing beside him.

“Got it, dudes. He must be the facilitator for our quiz,” blurted Timmy. She was saying it as if it was no big deal.

“Take your step, and start the quiz.”

On its front, there was a mirror that had rose up from the ground. At first, Tristan thought it was a mirror. But when letters started popping on its surface, he found out that it was a screen.

He and the group started to walk near that screen. Just like the letters written on the board by professor Buenavista, the letters on the screen were in jumbled organization as well.

“Was this the same kind of technique you’ve done, Tristan, on the jumbled letters made by professor?” asked Rain.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Behind them, Amara’s shriek had erupted. It made everyone panicked. When they looked at their back, Amara was not standing there anymore. Instead, she was shouting behind the screen where the jumbled letters could be seen. Their stares all travelled towards the direction of her scream. More surges of panic erupted on their chest when they found out that Amara was beside the reaper.

Her body was wrapped with chains, her neck was in critical position of being sliced or severed—because of the scythe.

“Amara!”

“One hundred and twenty minutes,” said the reaper. “Answer the quiz within that time, and you would clear this stage. If not, the sacrifice was her head placed as the trophy of the fools.”