She couldn't stop crying.
Her face was in her hands, eyes burning with the rush of her tears. Her throat ached—her body shaking with the effort of trying to keep quiet.
Saphris was frantic, crouched in front of her, almost babbling as she asked: "Dude! What the hell happened to you? Are you okay?"
Dylan opened her mouth, but all that came out was a silent scream, her breath leaving her hands damp with the heat—her jaw vibrating with the force of it.
"What happened?" Saphris asked again. It came out hesitant, almost like she was afraid of the answer.
Dylan sighed, chest shuddering as she breathed in and out—trying to slow it down. Saphris was quiet—waiting for her to regulate.
It took more than a few minutes for Dylan to calm down.
Finally –when the lump in her throat subsided– Dylan, with a small hiccup, looked up and said: "there was something following me—on the way back…" Her breath hitched. "But I couldn't see it. I looked back and there was nothing."
"What?" Saphris voiced, troubled. "Nothing?"
"Yes!" She hissed, "it's as I mean! Nothing!" She gestured wildly, whacking her hand against the door and flinching away. "And the scratching was still there! Like it was chasing me through the walls!"
Her friend looked more and more horrified as she continued. "You must've heard it—it was so loud!" Dylan said.
Saphris shook her head mutely. Dylan just stared at her, dumbfounded. "What do you mean? You had to have heard it." She insisted, "I mean it! I thought it was gonna draw monsters to us—that's how loud it was." She said again.
"No, I swear I didn't hear anything…" Her friend said, the dim phone light showing the growing concern on her face.
She swallowed, looking away and staring at Saphris' phone sitting on the whiteboard's edge. The tiniest seed of doubt settled in the pit of her stomach. Did… did I hallucinate it…?
No. I can't have. This whole situation has been everything but normal—it had to have been real. But the doubt wouldn't leave her.
"… It stopped right when I got in here." She mumbled tentatively. "But I know what I heard." She continued strongly. "I know it was real."
"I believe you." Saphris assured, her expression solemn. It did little to ease her doubt though.
She didn't answer, letting the silence stew. Her mind kept playing out the last 20 minutes, and she wondered if having her phone light would've changed the sequence of events at all.
She got up, remembering that it was still sitting on the desk she slept at. Which one was it again? Her eyes flit desk to desk –she knew it was one of the middle ones– until they landed on a dark object sitting on one of the desks further back. The purple case pitch black in the shadows cast from the phone light.
She walked over to it and snatched it up, unplugging it from the charger and grumbling. "I can't believe I left it here."
"Huh?"
"I forgot my phone when I went to the bathroom." She reiterated, annoyed with herself. Would've been useful—instead I was left wandering around in the dark, like a dumbass.
"You left it?" Saphris parroted, shocked.
"Yeah, and the bathrooms didn't have any lights whatsoever." Dylan answered.
"Oh shit."
"Yeah," she repeated.
"At least you had the hallway lights to look for on the way out, no?" Saphris pointed out, sympathetic—oblivious.
Dylan paused, staring down at her phone—recalling that eternity of a moment where there wasn't a light to follow. What was that? Where did it go? It was just blackness, and then it wasn't.
Was it a hallucination…? The lack of lights, at least…?
"Dylan?"
Should I mention it? What if me saying that makes me sound crazy? Would she believe me? Again? I know what I saw—or didn't see, but still.
"Hey–"
I'm not crazy. I know I'm not.
"–are you good?"
But what if Saphris thinks I am…?
"Hm?" She turned, looking at her friend standing by the door. The girl was staring at her, perturbed, the discomfort obvious in her expression.
"Are you okay?" Saphris repeated, shifting forward and then hesitating.
"Mhmm. Just thinking." She answered absentmindedly, the reply slipping from her lips easily. "Only just realized I still need to wash my hands. The scratching started before I got the chance." She elaborated, turning away and walking towards the lab sinks. "You said there was soap, right?" She asked, hoping Saphris would take the bait and let the conversation shift topics.
"Uh… no." There was a long pause. "I thought there was, but it's just the hand-sanitizer on the wall. Still cleans just fine though." Her friend answered slowly.
"Gotcha," Dylan acknowledged, and set her phone down on the edge of the table.
She reached over and twisted the faucet knob, wetting her hands and flicking the majority of the water off when she stepped over to the hand-sanitizer—squirting some onto her hand and lathering it like soap. She stepped back to the still-running faucet and scrubbed off the filmy substance the sanitizer left.
Once her hands felt normal again, she turned the sink knob off and shook her hands of the water still clinging to her fingers and walked over to the paper towel dispenser on the other side of the sink. She yanked a couple off and dried her hands, tossing the soiled paper in the trash can behind Mrs. Lift's desk.
When she turned back to Saphris, she noticed that the girl's face was still a bit pinched—like she didn't know what to make of her.
Dylan tried to ignore the guilt worming around in her gut.
She grabbed her phone from where she set it down and clicked the button, looking at the time. 10:37AM.
She turned her head to glance at where the windows should be—seeing the blinds covering them, and knowing that more metal shutters were behind them. Blocking out all light and keeping them locked in. I hate that you can't tell that it's daylight out…
It's not even afternoon yet.
"So, what now?" She asked, turning back to show Saphris the time. "It's hardly even 11AM, and still it's dangerous outside." She continued, gesturing with her phone at the door.
Saphris' eyes went wide, and she stared past her shoulder. "It doesn't even feel like morning!" The girl replied, flabbergasted.
"Tell me about it," Dylan said.
Saphris opened her mouth to continue, but a loud gurgle emitting from her stomach caused her to stop. She looked down, startled. "Oh." She let out. "I guess that is something we need to worry about…" she trailed off, a strange emotion coloring her tone.
"Oh fuck—food." Dylan whispered, a horrible realization dawning on her. "Saphris, there's no power. Everything has gone bad by now–" her mind flashed to all of the refrigerated cabinets they saw in the kitchen the day before. "How long are we gonna be stuck in here…?" She asked, not expecting an answer. The reality of their situation was starting to truly sink in.
"… maybe that kid had the right idea—scavenging so early on…" Saphris muttered unexpectedly. Before Dylan could respond though, she continued, "but that doesn't change the fact that it still would've gone bad. Fuck."
Exactly.
So what is there to eat now…?
She startled when Saphris spoke, "chips… snacks… not much." Her friend concluded, chewing her lip anxiously.
She hadn't realized she said that thought out-loud.
"This situation just keeps getting worse and worse." Dylan moaned, the despair creeping in again.
"Don't jinx it. Please." Saphris uttered, her voice flat.
"Sorry."
Saphris didn't answer, letting the silence stretch as she thought.
Finally she sighed, and grimly laid out their options. "So… seems like we've got choices: search for a way out now, or hunt for food and find the exit later."
"Hunt?" Dylan asked, giving her a weird look.
Saphris shrugged. "It fits, doesn't it?"
Dylan frowned, thinking. "There's a million and one ways to look at it… we go get food—before resources run out, because –no doubt– anyone who's survived is gonna be looking for food by now."
"Which," she paused, an idea presenting itself to her. "A thought: we could hide in the cafeteria nearby, and wait for someone else to distract that lunch-lady thing."
"You want to use someone as bait?" Saphris asked, appalled.
"If it means that we're safe?" She provoked, meeting her friend's gaze. "Yes." Her stomach clenched in dread, despite the words. Our survival is all that matters.
She tried not to think about the parents who'd cry because their kids would never come home. Genna, I'm so sorry.
"But," Saphris hesitated, her hackles raising. "We know these people." She protested weakly, but there was an underlying tone of recognition. She understood why Dylan was suggesting it. "This fucking sucks," she muttered, deflating.
"Tell me about it." Dylan repeated, bleak.
Saphris groaned, scrubbing at her eyes. "It really depends on how long we'll be stuck in here for…"
"Or more rather—if anyone is actually coming to rescue us." Dylan cut in, voicing the real variable they were dealing with.
Saphris glared, "you don't need to remind me."
She winced, "sorry." She said again.
"I say we head out to the back office, figure out the teacher-mystery."
Dylan shook her head, "but what about food? How long before everyone else realizes that we're in this for the long haul?"
"Listen, I know you wanna figure out what happened to your mom—but what are we gonna do if we starve because we didn't think to get food first." She continued, arguing her point.
"Just how long do you think we'll be trapped in here?" Saphris bit out, giving her an accusing stare.
Dylan blinked. "Dude. Even if we're in here for longer than today—this sort of thing doesn't happen. How haven't the cops swarmed this place yet? None of this makes sense anymore. We–" she paused, words dying in her throat as she remembered how she eased Saphris' fears last night of the very thing she was now worrying about. She closed her mouth—abiding by her friend's words.
–Might not make it out of here.
"I'm sorry." Dylan started again, voice softer. "I know how much you're worrying about this too—I apologize for adding to it." She paused, her throat tightening with emotion. "I guess the lack of food made it all the more real for me…"
"And the fact that someone melted in front of you didn't?"
The response took Dylan aback for a moment, before a shocked giggle slipped out. The deadpan delivery and the absurdity –truth– of the statement sent her into helpless hysterical giggling, even as tears crept out. But she's right—it just doesn't feel real, because how does someone melt to death?
Genna didn't deserve that—even if she looked… happy, in the end…
What if she was screaming on the inside?
"What the hell's so funny?" Saphris demanded, unamused.
Dylan couldn't stop her snort when she looked up—seeing her expression. "I'm sorry," she said in between giggles, gasping as she tried to stop laughing. "It's just… you're right! And that it took you saying it for me to even realize how right you are! This is all absurd! How'd we even get in this situation?" She guffawed, the hysteria in her tone showing as she continued.
"For fuck's sake—someone died! Right in front of me! And I'm worried about being hungry?" Her eyes burned with a renewed vigor—blinding her, and she wiped at them furiously. Self-disgust ate at her, as she realized just how carelessly she had been taking all of this.
"Oh my god…" she whispered, "we're really gonna die if we don't get out." Was no one coming to get them? It's been almost 24 hours and no one's shown up.
"Woah woah woah!" Saphris cut in, interrupting her spiral. "Now you're freaking out, and we're gonna get nowhere with that happening, okay?" She said not unkindly, her words matter-of-fact.
Dylan hiccuped, wiping at her eyes and nodded. She blew out a shaky breath and tried to regulate her breathing. She laughed weakly, "wow, that was so comforting," she said, sarcastically.
Saphris rolled eyes, "I told you I'm terrible at this. Either way, you seem calmer now, no?" She gestured at Dylan's face.
Dylan sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah…" she answered honestly.
They stood there in silence for a minute while Dylan pulled herself together again, mentally prepping for what they had to do next. The likelihood of us getting out by sitting here keeps shrinking by the hour—we have to figure this out.
At least she wouldn't be alone this time…
Finally, Saphris tentatively suggested, "so… back-office first?"
Dylan gave an easy nod, "yes. We gotta dig deeper into all of this; finding a way out takes top priority."
"Okay," Saphris sighed, relieved. Dylan could only imagine how stressed out she must be about her mother, and it only made her feel worse about everything she said before. "Thankfully, we're not too far from it. We can take the stairs in the history hall."
"What do we do if the door is locked?" Dylan asked, trying to think of all the possibilities they could encounter—dread already starting to creep in.
Saphris frowned, "I guess we could think of getting food as Plan B."
"Should one of us carry a backpack then? In case we have to go to Plan B?" Dylan proposed. "Because there's no way we're carrying food back by hand—that's a recipe for total disaster."
"That's true." Saphris agreed easily. "We just need to find one that doesn't make much noise—if we have to run, you know?"
"Gotcha, gotcha." Dylan muttered, already wandering over to the lab table with numerous backpacks piled on it. She started looking through the bags—making sure they were empty before shaking them, checking the noise level.
Saphris joined her on the other side of the table a couple moments later, bringing her phone light with her so they could see better—setting it off to the side.
"What about this one?" Dylan said, raising up what she thought was a promising bag. She shook it aggressively, and a dozen tiny zippers tinkled obnoxiously. She scowled, "never mind," she grumbled as she tossed it to another table and continued her search.
It took them a couple minutes to look through all of their options, but they found the bag that would best suit their needs.
"I'll carry it," Saphris said, grabbing the bag and slipping it over her shoulders, making sure her hair was tucked behind it. "Wouldn't want to get grabbed by it." She answered, shuddering, when she caught Dylan's look, seeing the unspoken question.
Dylan shivered at the words, and tried to ignore the image that it gave her. "That's fair," she whispered, desperately trying to steel her resolve as they walked over to the door.
"Is the plan to come back here?" She asked anxiously, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.
"Yeah, lemme make sure it's unlocked." Saphris answered, unlocking the door and opening it to peak at the metal door frame—looking for the magnet.
When she found it and put it over the strike-plate she stiffened abruptly.
Dylan froze, unsure as to what Saphris was reacting to.
Her friend let the door fall shut with a muted thump.
"What? What happened?" Dylan pestered, on edge.
Saphris shook her head roughly. "Sorry, I just realized how badly things could have gone if I hadn't remembered to move the magnet…" she murmured, sounding almost dazed.
"Saphris!" Dylan hissed, scandalized. "I don't wanna think about that shit right now!"
"It's not like I forgot!" Her friend retorted. "I just… forgot that was a thing we need to be careful about." She continued sheepishly.
Dylan pinched the bridge of her nose as she groaned. "And you say I'm the one that's gonna get us killed."
Saphris winced. "Sorry." She said again.
Dylan shook her head, exasperated. "Let's just get this over with." She said, reaching around Saphris to push the door open.
Saphris let out a shaky sigh and stepped out cautiously, looking around. Dylan walked out after her, looking around before her gaze landed on her abandoned shoes.
She looked down, surprised. I totally forgot I wasn't wearing shoes…
Speaking of…
She turned to Saphris and tapped her on the shoulder.
Her friend glanced at her, and Dylan pointed to her shoes—gesturing from them to her own.
She watched, almost amused, as Saphris' face churned through a series of emotions before finally settling on realization. She stepped closer to the wall and started taking off her shoes.
The minute noises Saphris was making seemed much louder than they should've been, as if the sound could travel to the end of the empty hallway—the silence burned at her ears.
I hate this already.
So much could go wrong.
At least I have Saphris with me…
But is that a good thing?
Saphris straightened up after setting her shoes against the wall, and she glanced at Dylan.
"Ready?" She barely whispered, leaning up to speak directly in her ear.
Dylan nodded, and without further prompting, walked into the foyer—heading into the history hall.