Loki and the Kindergarteners Save the World (ONC 2023)

trust issues, instant coffee, and one tired teacher

After filling their bellies, Will had the kindergartners move the desks to clear the middle of the room. Then he bribed Loki into carrying as many foam mats from the gym to make the floor more comfortable. Having discovered the wonders of strawberry yogurt and having untied the trickster, it wasn't a difficult sell, though Loki complained the entire time. And he was somewhat annoyed at the drawings scribbled on his face.

Fortunately, the kindergartners quickly fell asleep—after a bedtime story. Will had to slip out of the room again to seek out the travelling library cart, relieved to find the cart had been abandoned in the basement. He picked the silliest, most lighthearted story he could find and told it with enthusiastic exaggeration. Even Loki chuckled.

They used jackets for pillows and blankets, and Will spun their sleeping arrangements to make it seem like they were having a sleepover. Though they were in the spooky basement, the thought of sleeping over at the school was exciting. Will surrounded the gym mats with a wall of desks to create a fort. The desks acted as a defensive barrier, though the teacher omitted that from the sleepover.

The storm raged on without an end in sight. In the bowels of the school, the rumbling was less harsh and scary. Night had fallen, allowing the long creeping shadows to sneak into the school. Excitement soon gave way to deep, rhythmic breathing; before long, all twenty kindergarteners were sound asleep.

In the still of the night, Will finally had a chance to let go. The panic had hardened into something unrelenting, the fear at odds with his need to keep going. Tired, with a pulsing headache, Will stared at the sleeping mound of kindergarteners in the middle of the room. What would have happened if he had kept his class inside like he was supposed to? Nothing. They wouldn't have been out in the woods. They would never have found that altar. Charlie would never have dropped her candies on the altar, triggering the end of the world.

He mixed the instant coffee into a bottle of water and took a sip. The sandy, bitter sludge coated his tongue and lingered in his throat. The grit was disgusting, but instant coffee was better than nothing. Falling asleep wasn't an option. Given the prowling monsters outside and how little Will trusted Loki, Will needed to stay on high alert.

The only windows in the classroom lined the ceiling. A built-in storage space sat below them. Cradling the crude coffee, Will climbed on top and peered outside. Without all the city lights, the darkness was suffocating. The classroom they took shelter in faced the houses; they were all dark and still. Strangest of all, there were no signs of humans anywhere. No one rushed to their cars to flee the city, no first responders. In the blink of an eye, everyone had vanished.

Reality hit Will harder than before. Within the confines of the school, Will could almost believe that the world was still carrying on. Ragnarok was restricted to the school's border, and when they figured things out, they could pretend none of it ever happened.

That wasn't the case. The world was ending.

Something rustled out in the hallway. Panic spiked Will's blood as he turned to see a shadow dart across the frosted window in the door. The figure had been too small to be Fenrir and human-shaped. Loki, no doubt, sneaking around.

Curious, Will climbed off the storage unit and tiptoed around his class. Like most children, they were capable of sleeping anywhere, undisturbed.

The hall was pitched in oily blackness that coated Will from head to toe. Even when he turned on his phone's flashlight, the light did little to chase away the darkness. All it did was create a weak, faded aura around the teacher as he peered down the hall.

A shadow slipped in front of him. Cool, smooth fingers brushed his cheek. Will jerked away, and a flirtatious giggle followed.

"Oh, little lamb, did I startle you?" came a woman's singsong voice. Her voice echoed through the hall. "You must relax. I only want to play."