Chapter 27: Cockroaches (2)
The source of the screaming was the new art teacher at the school. She was clutching a can of insecticide, huddled against the corridor wall, her face deathly pale, staring in terror at the art classroom.
Everyone followed her gaze into the classroom and saw a writhing mass of reddish-brown dots.
Cockroaches. Cockroaches. Cockroaches. As far as the eye could see, the classroom was crawling with them! Countless cockroaches surged out like a tide from the ventilation ducts at the top of the classroom, scuttling rapidly along the ceiling and walls. Accompanied by a spine-chilling rustling, these tiny, fingertip-sized creatures quickly spread throughout the entire room.
Desks, chairs, floor gaps, even the easel racks… everywhere was covered in crawling reddish-brown shadows. As the countless dense dots flickered across their vision, the deep-seated, instinctive human disgust for insects awakened, and a thick layer of cold sweat broke out on Everly’s back.
While she stood frozen, some of the faster cockroaches had already silently reached the door, their backs marked with conspicuous V-shaped black spots, attempting to climb up the wooden door toward the corridor wall.
“Ahhhhh!”
The students watching immediately erupted into a chorus of screams.
This time, even the teachers who had come to help joined in the screaming.
Without anyone telling them, everyone turned and ran toward the stairs leading downstairs. Thanks to a few teachers maintaining order nearby, there were no falls or stampedes—but just thinking that the cockroaches pouring from the vents would soon crawl everywhere sent chills down everyone’s spines.