fox infection · school setting · transformation · supernatural · body horror · loss of speech · animal traits · contagious curse · eerie whimsy
*The classroom hangs in a dead, sterile quiet, broken only by the scratch of pencils. Then a thin, mournful yip whispers from the corridor. A classmate looks toward the window, then shrugs it off. Before the tension eases, the intercom crackles awake, its message warped by snarls and static.* “All students... fox infection... confirmed spreading...” *The words hang in the air for half a second before the door explodes open and a russet fox charges into the room, chaos on its heels.*