“PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE NOT SUGGESTING A GAME OF football right now!” Emmet shouted over the noise of the fire alarm.

“No. Put these on!” Calvin tossed the helmets to Riley and Raeburn. Then he pulled another from the cupboard and tossed it to Emmet before donning his own.

The Blood Jackets were screeching and throwing themselves against the vent. The cover was composed of thin sheet metal slats with screws holding it in place. It looked to Emmet like it was going to give way any minute.

“Here!” Calvin said. Next to the cupboard of helmets were bags of shoulder pads, shin guards, and everything one needed to suit up for a game of football. In the corner of the closet was a plastic barrel full of field hockey sticks. Everyone put on pads and Calvin handed out sticks to each of them. They were lighter and easier to handle than the music stands, at least.

“What now?” Riley said.

“Check the gym!” Calvin shouted.

Emmet cracked open the door and was rewarded with a dozen of the creatures immediately trying to claw their way through the tiny crack.

He screamed and slammed the door.

“What’s the situation?” Calvin asked.

“It’s a little south of not good!” Emmet said. “Those things are all over the place. And they seem hungry!” He looked up at the vent. One of the furry little monsters was trying to wiggle its way through one of the bent slats. They were relentless.

“Pretty soon they’re going to be all over us,” Raeburn said.

“Okay,” Calvin said. “On the count of three, we open the door and make a break for it. The helmets and pads will give us some protection, and the hockey sticks will do the rest.”

“Are you sure?” Emmet said.

“No,” Calvin replied.

“Did you ever notice you always attack monsters with sticks? You need to start carrying a bazooka in that backpack of yours,” Emmet complained.

“Get ready to run,” Calvin said, ignoring him. “One. Two. Three!”

He charged forward and threw back the closet door. It was like he had opened up a can of chaos. The Blood Jackets were on them even before they could clear the doorway. The appearance of their colony members drove the creatures in the vent berserk, and they finally pushed through, sending the cover clattering to the floor. The closet was instantly filled with a black screeching cloud.

“Don’t stop to look! Run!” Emmet shouted over the still-earsplitting alarm. For a moment he cursed himself for pulling it.

They struggled to make their way toward the gym doors, but it was like trying to walk against the onrushing wind of a tornado. The concertgoers had managed to escape into the hallways, leaving hundreds of the monsters circling in the air of the open gym, frantic with hunger. When the cries of their colony mates alerted them to the presence of new warm-blooded creatures in their midst, they dove upon the four padded humans with a blood lust.

“Keep moving!” Emmet shouted encouragement. He swung the hockey stick in a wide swath. It connected with several of the creatures, knocking them to the ground. The air was so thick with wings and fur and antennae, it was nearly impossible not to hit several of them with a single swing.

“We can’t go this way!” Calvin said. “There’s too many of them!”

Emmet looked back at the closet, but the creatures were still pouring out of the ventilation duct. Maybe they could get back in the closet and close up the vent somehow, but if that didn’t work they would be trapped in an enclosed space with a zillion Blood Jackets and nowhere to hide.

“Under the bleachers!” Emmet said.

They dashed back to the bleachers and moved beneath them along the wall. They couldn’t swing their sticks in the enclosed space, but the Blood Jackets were limited as well. Crouching, they ran along the back wall to the other end of the gym. The flying monsters followed, throwing themselves at the bleachers and heaving through the openings.

One of them flew right at Emmet’s head and latched onto the face mask, clawing at him through the small openings and giving Emmet the opportunity to see its beady eyes, large fangs, and spindly wings up close. He shook the helmet from side to side, trying to throw the beast off it, but it held tight.

“Get off!” he yelled. “Get off!”

Riley reached out with her stick and flicked the bat to the side.

“Thanks!” Emmet said.

They arrived at the other end of the bleachers and paused. The Blood Jackets hovered and darted in the air, trying to reach them beneath the bleachers, waiting for them to leave their sheltered spot. One step out and they would be covered in the tiny beasts.

“I really hate this plan,” Emmet said.

“We’ve got to use the hallway to get out of here,” Calvin said.

There was a set of doors about thirty feet away. To Emmet it seemed like thirty miles. Calvin was right. The exits leading outside were on the other side of the gymnasium. They’d never make it crossing the open floor. The hall doors were their only option.

He traced their route in his mind. Through the double doors into the hallway, turn right for about twenty yards and then left past the office. Then keep running until they reached the main doors.

“Let’s do it,” Raeburn said.

She sprinted for the doors.

Emmet, Calvin, and Riley followed her.