The central atrium of the high school smelled of ozone, scorched plastic, and the acrid stench of electrical fires burning in the ceiling conduits.
Dense clouds of gray smoke rolled through the three-story foyer, illuminated by flickering emergency lanterns mounted on massive support pillars.
Teacher Owen crouched behind a reinforced barricade built from overturned science lab tables, holding his sharpened spear in a white-knuckled grip.
Beside him, his eleven student defenders knelt in firing formation, their bows and crossbows trained on the double doors of the administrative wing.
"Check your weapon sights and keep your heads down," the teacher whispered to his squad, his voice steady despite the vibrations shaking the floor.
"The warden knows we evacuated the gymnasium, and he is sending his elite forward guard to crush our secondary barricades."
"Let them come," the track runner replied from the left flank, nocking a barbed hunting arrow onto his composite bowstring.
