Doomsday.

Taurus had always heard of it. They all talked about it in books, movies, videos, TV shows, everywhere. No matter under the name 'End of the World' or 'Armageddon' or whatever else, it was still the same thing.

Doomsday.

Taurus never thought it would come so soon. She thought she'd live a happy, peaceful life without anything newsworthy happen to her. She'd go to college, become a teacher, get married to the guy of her dreams, have kids, and die peacefully in her sleep with her family by her side. Nowhere in her plans was die young, be singularly responsible for the reason her home planet is in ruins, and be some kind of weird half-animal, half-human hybrid who is one of 11 other such creatures who are instrumental to ending the world as we know it.

Doomsday.

The sight was completely familiar in the worst way possible. All twelve treadmills lined up in perfect rows with numerous cables running from each one into a large pillar. The carpet-like rocky ceiling that towered above them, arching to become the walls as well. The hard linoleum flooring that made every little sound, even the squeaking of old sneakers against the floor, become enunciated. There was no talk of escape, no conspiratorial whispers, just shoes and silence.

Thirteen kids looked up at this sight, fear dorning their faces like exquisite masks. Taurus didn't know about her fellow classmates, but she kept thinking one thought again and again. Is there really no escape? This can't be the end. We have to fight back. Is there really no way? Every time she thought this, a glimmer of hope would spark in Taurus' chest, but as she surveyed her surroundings, the little hope she had would fly away, beating its wings like a little butterfly to escape the coming trauma and turmoil.

The teachers grabbed each person by the arm, shoving them onto the machines like savages. Apparently, there was no need to keep the Zodiac kids safe anymore. The final mission had started, so nothing could stop them anymore. Taurus was thrown onto a treadmill, someone with warm and sticky hands squeezing at her arm. She hit the control panel, blood spurting out of her nose immediately as she crumpled to the floor of the machine. The person who had thrown her, a man probably, snickered. "That's what you get for trying to escape." Taurus was frozen in fear, not daring to move. "Now get up, you little rascal!" She rushed to her feet, holding the side bars for support. Not daring to look back, she stood there, frozen, until the footsteps receded. She loosened slightly.

Suddenly, Taurus felt pain. Something sharp was sliced into her arm, a searing burn coming from her wrist. She looked to see an extremely tight ring, piercing her skin with their sharp metal edges, attached to the treadmill's sidebar. Taurus bit her lip to stifle the pain, drawing metallic blood. The harsh feeling doubled, a new ring adorning her other wrist like an ugly bracelet.

"That's right," a voice boomed. "No escape for you this time! I thought we could trust you, but we obviously can't after you decided to run for it. That's okay, though! Just speeds up the process for us." Taurus surveyed the room. All her friends and classmates were in the same position as her, chained to the same maniacal game.

"If you're wondering, this pillar is our beacon of hope. Not yours, obviously, no such hope exists in this room. This pillar is a huge beacon with tons and tons of electricity in it. To power it up, you run on these treadmills, and a shock of electricity will pulse into the beacon, powering up a humongous bomb blaster on top of this very room. Have I mentioned how dangerous this is? In fact, this is exactly how not to use treadmills. Kids, don't try this at home -'oh wait, you won't see home anymore after this!" A psychotic laugh ensued.

"Hf, by the way, when the electricity is traveling through these wires, the pillar will cast out a bolt and hit you guys. I would tell you to be safe, but what's the point? Only you guys have the power to do this, and anyways, you're gonna be dead anyways. The bomb blasted is directed right at the sun. It'll blow up the sun and BOOM - prepare to die slowly and painfully!" Another cackle.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Start running!"

Nobody moved.

"Move your butts or you're going to face the worst of me you've ever seen!"

Twenty-four legs began to move, soles of shoes skidding against the track. Various teachers pushed the 'Go!' buttons on the treadmills, making the track move slowly. Everyone ran faster and faster, until they were going so fast that their legs were blurs of peachy & caramel hues, oranges, and yellows, shoes colorful wisps in the air. The hum of the machines filled the room, feeling eerily and awkwardly silent, when it shouldn't have been.

"How's that beacon filling up?" the same voice called.

"It's not working, boss," someone with a thick accent of some sort said. "I think we need more power."

"You heard him! More power!"

Teachers swarmed towards the treadmills, twisting various knobs on the control panels. The speed of each track doubled, making the kids jog ever faster, if even possible. The beacon glowed slightly, emitting a strange blue light, ever so faint, yet definitely there. Taurus suddenly felt kinda strange, like something was causing her pain, but it wasn't. She felt light-headed, but then she didn't.

"More power!" the main man said. The teachers rushed to the machines again, twisting the knobs harder this time, until they reached the yellow part of the scale around it. The tracks sped up more, making everyone's feet automatically move faster, & the beacon/pillar glow much brighter. Taurus' thighs began to hurt, a distant throb in the background of a much crazier, darker setting. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a strand of electricity blaze through the wires on the ground. She reached up to wipe her forehead, only to realize she couldn't since her hands were strapped down. She closed her eyes tightly, letting a bead of sweat drip down her eyelid. She groaned, the work beginning to take a toll on her.

"It's not enough, sir!" the accented guy said. "We need a little more."

"But there's no more to go," a woman said. "The treadmills are already on the edge of the yellow. The kids can't take it."

"I don't care what they can take and what they can! This beacon needs to fill up and that's all I know. Now put it to the maximum. Now."

All at once, in a moment, at the speed of a heartbeat, the meter was up to the highest level. The track sped against Taurus' shoes at the speed of a hungry cheetah chasing a speedy gazelle. She drew in a breath and moved her legs faster, so fast that they felt numb, like Taurus didn't own legs anymore.

Suddenly, with a earsplitting crack, pain seared through Taurus' body. She screamed, loud and hard, trying to release the pain through her mouth. She squeezed her eyes tightly, her fists balled, all in a futile attempt to make it stop. All at once, the cuffs that restricted her were gone. She wasn't running anymore. In fact, she wasn't standing, not walking, not moving.

She was... floating?!

The pain didn't stop. In fact, it increased, pulsing through Taurus' body as if trying to make her explode from the inside. She shrieked louder, her arms and legs outstretched like a mid-air jumping jack. Blue light swarmed her, brightening as the hurting intensified. And like a stormcloud holding too much rain, she gave in. The blue crushed Taurus, pulling and pushing and crumbling everything human in her. It blinded her, leaving the world an electric blue blob.

And then she fell.

For a second there was peace everywhere. The silence no longer suffocated, but it calmed. She fell softly onto a hard surface - the running track, Taurus presumed. The blob faded, making way for a blurry world, which progressively cleared to show many, many people looking down at Taurus.

Why do I feel so short? Taurus thought. She looked down at her hands instinctively. At the sight, she screamed. Only the scream was inside her own head, inaudible to everyone but herself.

I'm a tiny blue bull!

"What is this?!" Mr. Stern questioned out loud, sounding like the booming voice from before.

"I don't know, sir!" the accented man, who seemed to be surly with a lot of facial hair, said.

A sudden scream echoed through the room. A bright yellow light radiated from the treadmill on which Gemini ran. The light faded out to reveal two tiny Geminis. A shriek rang from that direction. "What happened to me?!"

One by one, short bursts of light came and went from every treadmill, leaving a tiny something in place. Capricorn had been replaced by a tiny goat-like creature with a sort of tail. Virgo was now a small female with long brown hair & a light feathery dress which may or may not have done its job to cover up parts that no male should ever have. Libra was a small scale balance, unmoving and inanimate in every way. Sagittarius had been transformed into a half-person, half-horse sort of creature with a bow and arrow in hand. She screeched, "Ohmigosh! I'm a freak!" Taurus grimaced at the ear-piercing shriek.

Cancer was a tiny red crab, Pisces a small fish who was somehow able to breathe, Aquarius a small female with a jug of water held on her head Indian style, & Leo a small lion. Gemini now had a duplicate of herself, both low to the ground. Scorpio was a small scorpion-like creature who beared much resemblance to Cancer. Everyone had turned into something else, no matter living or not, that was smaller than a human's knee level.

All except Aries.

Aries stood there, mouth agape at the sight around him. Being the tallest student on a treadmill, he stood out like the glowing beacon behind him- which was bright blue, flashing from a relatively dull blue to a blindingly bright blue. He looked confused as to why he wasn't changing. Suddenly conscious, he began a clumsy and awkward jog on the treadmill. The beacon grew no brighter. He jogged faster and faster, yanking the meter to the red level. The treadmill sped up suddenly, and he ran harder, sweat trickling down his head visibly.

Mr. Stern and the surly man, who had been talking before, turned their attention to the sole treadmill still working. As Aries ran, a shock of lightning from the glowing beacon flashed Aries, making him yell. However, his yell didn't indicate surface-level pain. His screams sounded like a soul being torn apart, like a person dying on the inside, only not dying. A body refusing to give in.

It was completely human.

The lightning went out, and Aries crumpled onto the floor next to his still-running treadmill, looking completely human and whole, not like the others. He looked sick, heaving harder and harder. A red streak slashed through him, leaving his face scarred. He needed a doctor.

Mr. Stern frowned. "Aries! You're not turning into a Zodiac Counterpart? All your friends have." He gestured to the other treadmills. So that's what happened, Taurus thought. We became the zodiac creatures.

"Sir," Aries gasped. "I don't know-"

"Really, Aries?" Mr. Stern questioned, walking over to him. "Do you really not know? Cause I don't know, but..." He paused. "I think you're hiding something." He kicked Aries in the side, making him wince.

Aries gasped. "Sir, I don't know what happened. I don't know what you're talking abou-" he was stopped by another kick.

"Are you sure? Because I don't think you're telling the truth. I think-" Another kick. "You're not even a zodiac, are you?"

"Sir-"

"Oh, stop it with the sirs! Just admit it. You lied."

Aries turned over and said, "Yeah. I lied. I lied to save the world. My mom only put me in this class to save these people because-" He paused, drawing in a breath. "Her mom and my aunt were victims from before," He said, looking the principal in the eye.

Mr. Stern bent down, shock in his eyes. "What did you say?" He rasped, so quiet only the two of them could hear, plus the two people in front of and next to Aries could hear - Cancer & Taurus.

Aries was much louder. "Hell, yeah!" He exclaimed. "You go kill them for your own selfish reasons, and then when it don't work out, you don't even try and fix it." He coughed. "They had families too, you know." Cancer turned around to look at Taurus, who stared back at him, shock and confusion in their eyes.

Mr. Stern, however, looked less confused. Instead, anger boiled on his face, making him mad. "Why, you little-" He dug his fist into Aries' face, making him yelp.

"You think you're some hero," Punch. "but really you're just," Another punch. "another," Punch. "stupid," Punch. "little," Slap. "one of my victims," Slap. "You will never," Punch. "stop," Punch. "me." Slap. "You're just so insignificant." Punch to the stomach, only harder this time. "You understand?!"

No response.

"I said, you understand?!"

Aries didn't move.

"Answer me." Mr. Stern demanded. Aries remained there, motionless. Mr. Stern kneeled down, putting a finger and thumb around the still Aries' wrist. He frowned, features pointing downward in a concentrated expression. He put his hand over Aries' mouth, moving it around slowly. Suddenly, shock registered on his face. His eyes wide, he scrambled away from Aries. He looked up at the surly man and stammered, "T-T-T-Take him aw-w-w-way - n-n-n-now."

"Boss?" the man said.

"I said NOW!" He yelled, startling everyone. The man rushed in and picked up Aries body and rushed off.

He's dead, Taurus thought. He killed him. Aries isn't the Aries. He sacrificed his life for us. We won't die. Aries is dead.

He's dead.

Taurus wailed, loud and grim, but it wouldn't come out. All that came out was a mad grunt, somewhere between a cow's moo and a sheep's baa.

Mr. Stern shakily pointed at McKenna. "Turn his treadmill off." She sprung off the wall and marched up to the treadmill. She stepped onto the treadmill, and began to run to keep up with the speed. She reached for the knob to turn it off, only missing. She tried again, missing. In a last attempt, she grabbed the meter and yanked, pulling it hard - in the wrong direction. The knob snapped off, sending the treadmill into overdrive. Shrieking, McKenna flew off the treadmill.

And she stayed there, in midair.

A bright orange light surrounded her, fading as she fell down. And there, on the treadmill, wasn't a McKenna. It was a small ram.

The beacon stopped flashing, and was now simply a bright electric blue. The room began to shake, and the dome roof opened up to show a dark, stormy sky. Rain patterned on everyone, intensifying the drama of the situation. The floor rose like an elevator, becoming level with the roof. Oh my gosh, Taurus thought.

McKenna is the Aries.

♉️♎️♓️♊️♏️♋️♐️♌️♑️♈️♍️♒️

We have one more chapter and an epilogue left. It's almost over! I'll miss you guys a lot... you read this for so long! Fortunately, there's two different chapter 15s coming up - and one is pretty funny, I think! Depends, I guess.

Expect an update super soon - like tomorrow or something. Tell all your friends - goal is 20k reads. I love all of my readers! <3 Thanks so much!

Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know! :D

-ThatOneGirl083 :)