(NEW STORY) WORM APOCALYPSE PROLOGUE

In the blink of an eye, the classroom was gone. Taylor and the rest of her classmates—including Mr. Gladly—stood in a dark expanse where the only sounds were their own.

Taylor could only blink rapidly, head turning in every direction, even as she barely registered the ensuing cries of fear and confusion from the others. Surely this had to be a dream. Surely this was just a harmless prank some heroic cape was playing on them. 

Surely…?

But try as hard as she might, be it by pinching her thighs or even biting her lips, the scenery didn't change. She was still wherever the fuck they were.

Then, a ding sounded, a blue translucent box appearing in front of everyone, and Taylor found herself desperately wishing this was a joke. A poor, tasteless joke. 

Tutorial Initiated

Target:

???

Participants:

28

Success Reward:

Humanity's extinction postponed.

Failure:

Death.

Slowly, Taylor stretched out her hand toward the floating box. And while she was equally unsurprised and no less unsettled that her hand passed through it, she also wondered why this was a shared delusion between everyone. 

What was going on?

Sadly, the question went unanswered as Gladly clapped loudly, getting everyone’s attention. 

“Okay, guys,” the man said, his voice projecting a measure of strength his sweaty face didn't quite convey. “Do not panic. I'm sure the school has noticed that we are missing and has contacted the PRT. Until then, it is in our best interest to be calm. So come around, guys. Gather around… yes…” His voice trailed off. “…Greg, what are you doing…?”

As the teacher spoke, Taylor couldn't help relaxing slightly. She wasn't a fan of Gladly, or Mr G as he insisted on being called, but she wasn't so petty as to not give him any credit when due.

He was an adult, and though everyone could see through his mannerisms to know he was as scared as they were, he was still trying. And in a way, that was all that mattered. 

Following his directions, Taylor huddled in the forming circle along with everyone else in silence, staring at Gladly. 

Once the worst of the panic had subsided, helped in no small part by the fact that they were Brockton Bay kids and therefore more accustomed than most to cape bullshit, Gladly continued.

“I know this is… I know you’re scared,” he started, affecting a ‘cool’, calming voice. “I am too. But I want you all to know—”

Another ding sounded, and the contents of the translucent box changed. Everyone moved apart again, ignoring Gladly’s words to remain together, and stared at the new message. 

Tutorial Phase I Complete.

Psychological evaluation complete.

Physiological evaluation complete.

Compatibility analysis complete.

Commencing Class Selection…

Each participant will be presented with Classes compatible with their aptitude, disposition, and potential.

Choose carefully.

A Class cannot be changed once confirmed.

Failure to select within the allotted time will result in random assignment.

Time Remaining:

10:00

The message held everyone’s attention long enough for the darkness to fill with nothing but the uneven sound of breathing. Then someone spoke, another voice answered over them, and within moments the restraint dissolved entirely.

“What the hell does this mean?”

“I don’t have anything!”

“No, look, it’s changing!”

“My timer’s moving!”

Questions, curses, and frantic observations overlapped until they blurred into an indistinct wall of noise, leaving Taylor unable to make sense of any individual voice anymore. Several students reached for the floating window again, their hands passing straight through it. Others swept their arms through the air as though they could force the translucent box aside by force alone. The message remained exactly where it was, unmoved by every futile attempt to interact with it.

Taylor’s own window rippled. The existing message disappeared, its place immediately occupied by a new block of text.

She had only begun reading when Greg’s voice rose above the din.

“I’ve got five!”

Heads turned.

“You what?” Madison asked.

“Five classes!” Greg repeated, his face flushed with excitement rather than fear. “This is awesome!”

“It’s not awesome,” someone snapped. “We’re probably being kidnapped!”

Greg either didn’t hear them or chose not to.

“It says I can be…” He frowned, mouthing the words beneath his breath. “…Warrior… Mage… Crafter…”

His eyes widened.

“Guys… I can be a Rogue.”

Silence.

“…Or a Scribe.”

“What the fuck is a Monster Researcher?” Emma demanded, fear creeping into her voice despite her obvious attempt to keep it out.

“I don’t know!”

Taylor caught Emma glancing toward Sophia, waiting for some sort of reaction or answer that never came.

She found herself doing the same.

The other girl hadn’t joined the shouting. Arms resting at her sides, she watched the floating box with narrowed eyes, her expression unreadable. Whatever conclusion she was reaching, she was keeping it to herself.

“You sound way too happy about this,” Sparky muttered, drawing Taylor’s attention back to the exchange.

“It’s a class,” Greg replied, as though that explained everything. “Classes are important in video games.”

“Do you think this is a game?” Emma snapped, her hands rising as though she might actually strangle him.

“Greg.”

Everyone looked back at Gladly.

The teacher had planted himself at the front of the group again, his jaw set despite the uncertainty in his eyes.

“Nobody makes a decision yet.”

A few students exchanged glances.

“I mean it,” Gladly stressed, his voice hardening in a way Taylor had never heard before. “We don’t know what any of this is. We don’t know who’s behind it or what happens after you choose. Until we understand what’s going on, nobody confirms anything.”

She found herself agreeing.

Whatever this was, it had already transported nearly thirty people somewhere beyond the reach of anything she recognized. Committing to a choice before they understood what any of it meant seemed like an easy way to make a terrible mistake.

As though anticipating the thought, another message appeared.

Participants are advised to use the allotted time before confirming a selection.

The message disappeared before anyone could react, returning to the Class Selection.

Time Remaining:

04:23

“…Well,” Gladly said after a long pause, “that’s… something.”

“Mine has conditions,” someone called from the back.

“I’ve only got two choices.”

“Same here,” Madison said.

“Wait.” She frowned at the screen in front of him. “Why does Greg have five?”

“I told you!” Greg said, sounding almost offended. “I’m built different.”

The nervous laughter faded almost as quickly as it had begun, but for a moment, it eased the tension.

Sophia hadn’t joined in. If she’d heard Greg, she gave no obvious sign of it. Only the briefest narrowing of her eyes hinted at a reaction before her expression settled back into the same unreadable mask. She still hadn’t spoken a word.

Taylor looked away before Sophia noticed.

Whatever criteria the floating box was using, it didn’t seem random. Greg had six options. Madison had four. Others had three. One girl near the edge of the class looked close to tears as she whispered that she’d only been given two.

Potential.

Disposition.

Aptitude.

The words from the announcement resurfaced in Taylor’s mind.

Somehow, whatever had brought them here had already decided what each of them was suited for.

Now it expected them to decide whether to accept its judgment.

The countdown reached zero.

Time Remaining:

00:00

Taylor held her breath, but nothing happened.

The timer remained at zero, the floating box suspended in front of them exactly as before. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. They simply stood there in the darkness, listening to each other shuffle their feet as the silence stretched longer and longer.

“…That’s it?” someone finally asked, scarcely above a whisper.

Nobody answered.

Another second passed before Greg let out a laugh. It sounded more relieved than amused,

“I… guess we got lucky,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe it gives you a grace period or something.”

No one challenged him.

Someone else laughed, just as uncertainly. Then another. And within moments, a handful of nervous laughs spread through the group, brittle and short-lived but genuine all the same. Taylor felt the knot in her stomach loosen just enough for her to realize how tightly she’d been holding herself.

Maybe Gladly had been right.

Maybe waiting had—

Mr. Gladly exploded.

There was no warning, not even a flash of light or the now-familiar ding. One moment Gladly stood at the front of the group, his mouth half-open as though he were about to speak again, and the next he was simply… gone.

Taylor didn’t understand what had happened until something warm struck her cheek. Her hand rose almost automatically, fingertips coming away slick with blood as the scene finally caught up with her. The nearest students had been painted crimson, while torn scraps of clothing and fragments of bone drifted through the air before disappearing into the endless darkness surrounding them.

At first, nobody reacted. Taylor could only stare at the empty space where Gladly had been, her mind refusing to reconcile what she was seeing with everything she knew. People didn't simply… disappear like that, leaving behind nothing but blood and scattered remains.

A strangled retch reached her ears as one of the students doubled over and vomited onto the black floor. Then the screaming started.

Emma stumbled backward, her shoes slipping in something wet before she caught herself with a horrified gasp. Madison clamped both hands over her mouth, her face draining of what little color remained, while Greg stood rooted to the spot, the relief that had softened his expression moments earlier wiped away so completely it was as though it had never existed.

Taylor couldn’t move. Her body refused to obey, her thoughts unable to catch up with what her eyes insisted was real. She barely noticed the blood sliding slowly down her cheek until it fell from her jaw.

The ding rang out once more, utterly indifferent to the screams around it, and every translucent window changed at once.

Selection period expired.

No confirmed Class selections.

Penalty executed.

One participant eliminated.

New selection period initiated.

Time Remaining:

10:00

The timer immediately began counting down.

09:59

09:58

Nobody waited this time.