CH #3 - Disgust

"I imagined something on this scale was going on, but I have to say I didn't think it would be this… Peculiar."

The Aiken girl raised her right eyebrow, bringing her right index finger to her chin as she thought of an appropriate word to refer to what climbed the walls right in front of her.

Emily's heavy and increasingly laborious breathing unfortunately couldn't wait for as long as the pink-eyed girl's reasoning preferred. A solution that would solve the problem once and for all was an urgent need.

Only when that obstacle was removed could she use the stairs to lead the young woman sick with that disease as brutal as a loaded dice when it came to killing people. With each second, the fever only increased, and while little could be done to prevent the ultimate results of its effects, it was a gamble worth trying.

"But first, I have to find a way to get through this." Lira solidified her thought, looking straight ahead, letting her eyes capture exactly what that barrier was that kept them from progressing downstairs.

There was nothing but a real living wall. The structure trembled, hummed, stirred, and seemed to walk and move sharply at certain points, yet still behaved like the wall it was.

In its surroundings, several of its small pieces flew through the air or walked, crawling, on the floor of the stairs. Even with this behavior, it was strange to see that the biomass would not let itself fall apart.

It was like a nest, a great hive made of what appeared to be the most countless and varied species of arthropods - dark scorpions were seen brandishing their sharp stingers, wasps and bees somehow collaborating with each other to make up much of the structure, and in the same way were placed several ants, crickets and another multitude of diverse beings that aroused the deeply rooted sensation of disgust.

It was a construction that lived and breathed like a heap of flesh and poison, pulling apart but still never giving up on holding together. It was like looking directly to one of the gates of hell.

Lira was immediately impacted by the impression of seeing that wall that made an hellish noise of buzzing and flapping wings at every moment. Given a few seconds, and she was already bored with it all – it was time to put that thing down somehow.

"Oh, I can't stand this noise anymore...!" She aimed her weapon at the living structure, even though she knew it wouldn't do any damage. "That doesn't let me think...!"

There had to be a way to get rid of all that grotesque biomass of beings that went against their own nature to prevent mere human students from passing. Just a mere touch, and there was no way to tell precisely how many times one would be poisoned, and by how many different types of toxin.

Maybe she could use fire? Such was the first possibility that crossed the mind of the teenager who saw herself a step away from becoming an adult. That was the most obvious solution, as well as the most effective one she could think of.

"It's not like there's anything here to burn though... What can I use?"

Destroying the wall with bare hands hands or any object using brute impact force would be the worst bet of all, as the heap would do little more than just fall apart, and in the worst case, they would be attacked by what seemed to be more than ten thousand animals.

"In that case..."

Lira leaned against the wall. As much as she tried to stay calm and composed, seeing Emily's suffering didn't help with thinking. It felt like a timer was ticking, and every second caused a punishment to approach.

She knelt down to touch the girl's forehead. Lira brushed Emily's soft bangs aside, roughly gauging her temperature.

"...! She's much hotter than before... Almost burning...!"

Touching the Literature Club president's forehead was like touching a fire – the heat had reached unimaginable levels. It was surprising that someone in such a state would be able to stay alive.

"Cold… So cold..."

The words were barely audible, but proved loud enough for Lira to be aware of them. That was one more symptom the young woman whose hair was kept in a ponytail knew all too well.

Although people affected by the disease presented a feverish condition comparable to the thermal sensation of being under the midday sun in a tropical land, the one perceived by their minds was quite the opposite – that of an intense cold, like being naked and forced to walk through the fiercest winter snowfall.

"So cold... It's so cold... It hurts... My body... Hurts." Emily muttered, between headaches and muscle spasms.

Jumping to her feet, Lira clenched her teeth tightly together, assuming an almost angry expression. Emily couldn't wait any longer.

"I can't stay here thinking about what would be ideal to do...! Action, Lira! You need to act!"

Chewing on her thumb nail, she paced, imagining a thousand and one ways to get past that problem – all of them resulting in certain death from a massive attack by the bees and wasps. There was also no possibility of jumping out the window or the observation area, as an incapacitated person would naturally be unable to do so.

She didn't want to accept it, but the feeling of helplessness consumed her. Lira Aiken in the end couldn't be more than someone with good ideas and who knew how to boss others around, but that also didn't have any practical talent for moments of necessity.

"I have to do something...!"

She pressed on more and more, hunting and digging, going to the depths of her psyche, looking for an answer that could pull them out of the impasse that promised to be final in no time.

Science lab? Maybe she could find some poison in there, or a chemical that could help... No. Maybe there is, but not enough to damage something that massive.

Taking something from the classrooms was also out of the question. It was like nothing could be done.

"What do I do...?"

Nothing. In the girl's mind nothing came up. There wasn't a single idea conceived by her head that would be able to break through that wall of living creatures and proved possible to make work in the spot at the same time. Every single thing she could think of was either useless or so impossible to do that executing the idea turned out to be unfeasible.

She leaned against a glass window on the second floor, putting her forehead against the glass surface, covering her eyes in a stressed, tired way.

Someone depended on her. A person's life had been tied to her success, and yet she would fail miserably? In the end, the pride of such a person was worthless.

She, who had always boasted of being able to think of the best solutions to any problem, and who devised a whole plan to rescue people from immense danger, now failed in front of a wall made up of such small things.

Lira was never someone to be easily carried away by feelings. While acknowledging their values, these should above all be subject to solid reasoning and the capacity of making sharp judgments.

But even with all that, only a single desire consumed her, almost burning from the inside out like the blazing flames that lit up the entire interior of the library – that of exploding in pure rage.

... ... ...

"Exploding..."

Her face lifted in a start, as her heart almost leapt out of her mouth at the thought that now seemed so stupid... How could she not have thought of that before?!

"That's it. I have to explode...!" She cheered, nearly bouncing in place in a 'victory' sign.

Fortunately, the place was as empty as it could be, which is why no one saw her in what could be such a humiliating moment.

It wasn't like it mattered, though. Rejuvenated in her pride, the Aiken straightened her red-rimmed glasses, running quickly to the device that would be used in that perfect plan.

"Here! This is just what I needed the most!" She said, smiling out of the corner of her mouth.

On a nearby wall, a red cylinder rested, calling her vision and leading her to its location, held in place by a metal rod.

Lira hurriedly removed the fire extinguisher from the wall. A quick look at its specs turned out to be exactly what was needed.

"CO2... And it's one of the larger ones. Perfect." She read the label that was stamped on the cylinder's body.

Although it was a little heavy, the metal cylinder was easy to carry, and as she walked with quick, excited steps towards the wall made of living mass, Lira was laughing openly at the whole situation...

... After all, she always wanted to both see and cause an explosion. That would be the perfect first time for the experience.

"These things are perfect, you know?" She spoke, explaining as if the living wall could understand. "The cylinders of this type of fire extinguisher are especially thick... Do you know why?"

The lack of action of that wall-shaped living wave was delightful to watch – scorpions and cockroaches, wasps and ants, all unaware of what was about to happen.

"It's just that these cylinders carry a gas that, in massive amounts, is deadly to anything that needs oxygen, but that's still not the best part."

Resting the cylinder in the immediate vicinity of the wall, she walked all the steps up, laughing at it all as she delighted in the plan that had taken hold in her so brilliant mind.

"Heh, I was wrong. I really am a genius."

Lira pointed the pistol at the cylinder, readying her finger on the trigger. That would be a very well-used first shot.

"The best part is the pressure, which is so high inside these cylinders that it keeps the CO2 in a liquid state when it normally should be gaseous. In a way that any idiot would understand, it's as if each of these things is on the verge of exploding, with just enough external stimulus for it to happen."

It was time to stop wasting time, and even though she was having fun, Lira knew something more important was at stake. It was time to get this over with.

Just a click of the trigger that followed a precise aim, and it was all over.

***

"Who is this guy, and why is this hall so ruined?! Did he do this…?"

Lack of action on both sides was what consumed that stretch of the final corridor, so close to the exit. It was the frictional battle between those many gazes, the mental battle of many against a single one.

On one side, more than a dozen students were lined up. If they decided to gang up on him, there was no doubt the group could beat up that one like a powerful tornado destroys a wooden house.

So, since it promised to be so simple, why not just do it?

The metal of the baseball bat held by Wanessa glowed in the light that streamed in through one of the nearby windows. From there, you couldn't see the fire, but everyone was sure it was still burning brightly, as the odor of the carbon as it was released there was several times more intense than on the upper floors.

In that scene destroyed from beginning to end, with pieces of wood all over the place and dented metal, enormous pressure was exerted.

It was simple; fundamental, even. That one unconsciously knew that, no matter how many or how they attacked, their poorly-constructed group would never be able to defeat or even touch that one student dressed in red.

"This guy... It doesn't look like he's going to let us through..."

Wanessa was facing a dilemma – perhaps the biggest one of her life. The short, dark-haired girl's mind was aware of the extreme danger that individual represented. With each passing second, the fear of being blown into pieces in the spot like a balloon grew bigger and bigger.

It was a silly thing to think about, and on that she and everyone agreed. However, undeniably such was the feeling distilled in the air by that person. It was as if he could kill them with the snap of fingers if he so desired.

"But I have to do something...!"

Realizing that the massive group was staring at him, the young man with blue eyes that seemed to glow like nothing in the world slipped his fingers through his hair, letting go of the metal part of a door handle that he had apparently just destroyed. The wood near his feet was reduced to almost sawdust and crumbling like broken noodles.

The impact of metal against the floor reverberated through every point on those walls. He looked serene, focused on something bigger, on a train of thought that didn't belong and couldn't be shared by anyone else.

His red jacket didn't have the slightest mark of dust or anything like that, and it was almost too clean to believe.

And then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, that young man turned around, letting everyone see his ordinary average-looking face from the front.

Almost instinctively, Wanessa raised her weapon higher, trying to look as menacing as possible. In the wild, helpless animals developed the strategy of trying to inflate their bodies or assuming postures to appear larger than they actually are in the face of predators, something that was anything but a mere deception. There, in that school corridor, the same method was repeated.

The problem was that it didn't work when the predator was aware of the true weakness of the victim of its prey.

In calm steps, he slid his fingers across the walls, feeling the damaged surfaces with care and subtlety, making his nails dig between the many small holes all over the place.

"Don't come close to us...!" The dark-eyed girl screamed, brandishing her weapon.

It was a desperate move. At that point, no one knew what to do other than listen to their own fight-or-run instincts, and most couldn't even do that, as the fear was so intense that it eroded any possibility of movement, leaving the group frozen in place.

Even so, someone had to show some attitude; someone had to serve as the figure who would stand in front of everyone and serve as the first line of defense, and that someone was none other than the very champion of all those who so depended on the sense of security she provided.

"Don't you dare take another step...! Tell me who the hell you are, dammit! You were the one who did all this, right? You somehow destroyed everything...!" She screamed, then lowered her pitch until speech was more like a mutter. "Whoever you are, I can't feel anything good coming from you... One more step and I promise, no matter what happens to me, you're going to get hit right in the middle of that big head."

... And much to her surprise, he seemed to have managed to hear, as he stopped walking and raised an eyebrow, in a clear sign of mockery. That mere gesture made the general feeling spill over to her as well, and Wanessa's apparent guts were cut short.

"Did he... Did this guy hear me?!"

The feeling that things would only get worse from then on was now the shared feeling that ruled over all hearts. He, in his silent mockery of the girl's so fragile courage, closed his eyes and his lips parted – it was the indication something would be said.

All perked up their ears, falling under the judgment of that superior force that had not even exhibited any power. And then he spoke to them.

"Have you seen her?" He questioned, as mysteriously as his own person.

A few seconds of no response of any kind passed. That was such a random question... anticlimactic, even. Whatever the answer was, she didn't know. None of them did. Who was he talking about?

"Have any of you seen her? Has anyone seen my Abigail?"

His voice was almost dead, loud as a breath and barely enough to be understood. But, a tremendous change caused a feeling of shock to run through the souls of each of the seventeen students.

It was the way that voice, so weak and shy, suddenly sprang to life and euphoria, motivation and drive, in the exact second of that possessive particle's utterance. The thought of having this Abigail as something that belonged to him was what made everything change.

They only knew one Abigail, and were sure she was the only one at school. Quickly, the realization that the popular girl provider of so many services was his main victim shocked the mass.

There was no soul in that school, or rather in that entire town, that didn't know the lovely Abigail Halsey. The girl was regarded by everyone there as a celebrity, and she got said title through her immense willingness to help.

It was not uncommon to see her much busier than any person should be, whether offering to carry boxes of club supplies, handing out homemade sweets, simply advising someone in need or listening to their problems before a comfortable hug and a bright smile. She seemed to be perfect for all sorts of things, supporting others as if it was a life rule.

Everyone had pleasant words to say about her and even said that the young woman could go head-to-head with the theoretically most popular student at the school, Emily Attwood. It wasn't uncommon for there to be little unofficial popularity contests created for pure fun, where the girl Halsey always won.

Given all these facts, there was no doubt that she was so well liked by the students. Thinking about it, Michael, who had so far watched Wanessa's actions passively, thought of how much more than perfect she had been to everyone he knew and didn't.

"That's right... I remember one day overhearing that she was talking to a guy..." He reasoned.

It was too early to draw conclusions, but if he mentioned her in such a possessive way, that could only hold a singular significance.

"There has to be something I can do."

He couldn't let Wanessa take such chances alone, not to mention the impression given by that guy wasn't good in the slightest. He was the leader of that group, and even if weak and incapable of acting physically, there was something to protect.

It was simply a matter of telling the truth. None of them knew Abigail's location, and wouldn't say it, even if they did.

"Look, we don't have a fucking idea of what you're talking about, you-"

The gentle touch of a hand on her shoulder made Wanessa stop, and a haunted look came over her expression as she saw who precisely had joined the conflict.

Michael tried his best to show that everything was fine, and that he would take care of it from the moment on. Even though she didn't want to accept it, the young woman's bowels were all mixed up, to the point where her knees were shaking.

His touch was also so tremulous that it would be impossible to hide the fear. It was surprising to see that he was still standing straight through sheer determination. The gentle touch of his hand caused the weapon to be lowered.

"Hello. Apologies for her behavior. I'm sure she didn't mean it, so I hope you can forgive us. As for what you asked, I'm afraid we don't have the information you are looking for. We didn't meet this person, nor do we know where she is now or could be."

From a simple look from the side, she realized that "nerd" was trying to do his best for their lives. Maybe stepping back was the right thing… For now.

The two guys stared at each other for a couple more seconds, but it felt like hours had passed. That interminable and unbearable silence then saw its end in a rather unexpected way.

The mysterious boy turned and began to walk away, in easy steps.

"Will he... let us go...?"

"Is what it seems..."

"I doubt so..."

That was what the situation indicated. If nothing else, they could without any injury or need to have entered into a conflict. It was even strange that everything ended up that way.

"Now is our chance…!"

There was, though, one person in the group who was opposed to the idea that it should end that way. In her mind, he was just waiting for them to turn their backs, opening up the possibility of attacking.

Plus, that guy got on her nerves – and she couldn't let him get away with that, and the moment of distraction in turning her back was just all she needed.

She raised her baseball bat, aiming for a toss that promised to be accurate.

"Wanessa, no...!" Michael tried to protest and stop her from doing it, but it was too late.

With all the strength of her upper limbs, the girl threw the bat made of solid metal at the boy as if the object were a spear. It flew at record speed, threatening to strike the very center of his head.

It was going too fast. There was no way in the world he could hope to stop something like that. It wasn't as if he could see what was coming from a blind spot and react so quickly.

Counting on victory, Wanessa laughed.

... ... ...

["AHHHHH"]

It happened a few milliseconds before the presumed impact. Before being hit, the mysterious guy stopped for a moment, letting his voice reverberate through the corridors once more.

... And such action generated results that none of them could regularly believe, after all, what would a simple "ahh" do ?

... ... ...

"But what is thi-"

Michael's mind couldn't even process this sudden, violent, and strange stimulus. The nerd boy's body was pushed back by what seemed to be an immense force that came from nowhere – it was like being pushed through by water.

His mind turned into a mess as his vision blurred and all remaining senses blended together like threads in a ball of yarn full of knots. The only sensation the young man could distinguish from all the others was the colossal push that sent him back a few feet.

Muscles, nerve endings, organs… It was as if everything had been activated at the same time as what felt like a wave of pure accumulated power sliced ​​through his body from the inside, doing all that damage without even creating a mark.

Although it did not cause any pain, the myriad sensations generated by that process were excruciating enough by themselves. As soon as he hit the floor, Mike wasn't even able to pinpoint the source of the pain that seemed to rush all through with precision.

He opened his eyes, and everything seemed to be spinning. His sense of balance lacked, and up and down seemed to be the same thing. The only certainty he had was that something wet was staining a region of his body that he was unable to define.

It was hot, and so his mind did the rest of the work to find out. Michael peed himself.

"But... What the fuck... Was that...?"

The first to rise out of that shock that seemed to come from another world was Wanessa. The teenager laid on her arms on the nearest wall, for fear of not being able to support her body.

She was the one who saw and experienced that phenomenon firsthand. His head turned so quickly… Then, he raised an right arm, screaming in a way that looked innocent, and after that, all that destruction took place.

The girl witnessed the moment the bat was somehow repelled and hurled away as he yelled, the same moment the various pieces of ruined material from the ground rose for a split second, floating above the ground before falling again. The effect was like a wave in the sea, with the difference that it was almost invisible.

It was as if the air around him had distorted itself, and that same irregularity was sent in their direction.

"That guy..."

Any movement was futile, as her legs did not respond properly to commands of movement, instead becoming shaky and incapable.

The mere movement of her head to try and look at him one more time was enough to cause an immense volume to be felt climbing up her esophagus, urging to leave. The ruined hallway floor now housed a huge puddle of the yellowish, pungent liquid.

Only the sounds of the black-haired girl choking on her vomit up filled the hallway as he walked away, thinking nothing of it. None of them were but ants to his progress.

That power was perfect for what he planned, as there was no door or wall strong enough to take the waves of destruction he could generate with the mere use of a little sound.

It didn't matter where she hid or how low she tried to keep her breathing — he would hear her anyway. It was just a matter of time before she was found.

And he would find — Jacob Egan resigned himself to that, after all.

"Soon it will be just the two of us, my Abigail."

It was a very advantageous exchange, as it was enough to help some children with their little plans to make the town fall into chaos, which for him was just sounded like a silly thing to do. Jacob, on the other hand, had a motive he carried as valid and noble, one he called love. He was going to win the love of his life, no matter what.

The boy smiled, showing all his teeth. It didn't take much effort to hear her hurried footsteps and heavy breathing nearby, as both sound wave patterns were uniquely adorable.

"I'm coming for you, my Abigail. And I'll be sure to make you feel loved."

***

"That was a little more cinematic in my head…" She thought, shielding herself by covering her face with the sleeve of her white wool sweater.

The important thing was to know if it worked, and that apparently would take a while. After the explosion that was certainly heard in most of the school, the way to the stairs below was taken by the dense whitish mist that not so long ago was compacted inside the red cylinder that was not even visible in that immensity of white.

The gas danced, dense, as if a cloud had been trapped between four walls. The temperature around the almost fluid pile of that smoke was lower compared to the ambient by several degrees.

Visibility on the other side was unthinkable. Lira took a bottle that had been dumped in a nearby trash can and threw it into the smoke. Nearly two seconds passed, until the sound of the plastic crashing into the hard floor at a remarkable distance reached the ears.

The plan worked and the arthropod wall had been successfully taken down.

"No wonder, after all that was almost a bomb, and that's not to mention the sudden extreme cooling effect."

The time to celebrate the victory was short, and once again, Lira took Emily's arm, lifting the girl with the member supported around her neck. Before leaving, Lira took out her sweater, creating a kind of makeshift mask so they could cross the space with as little CO2 inhalation as possible, as Emily was quite possibly not in a position to cease breathing voluntarily.

"Maybe this will even help relieve some of the fever?" Aiken wondered, realizing that Emily's mere presence in the smokescreen could lower her temperature, as it was so much cooler inside the dense artificial fog.

That could work in the long run, but staying there too long would be like asking to die of suffocation. The two continued to go on until they finally set foot on the ground floor.

"The smell of smoke down here is much worse." Lira complained.

A simple but useful strategy to make use of was to soak some cloth and wrap it around the face. When you have ash and pollution being carried everywhere, avoiding aspiration was the rule.

"Let's keep walking. The infirmary is close by."

The large reception hall was too quiet to be comfortable. Certainly, by now the students had found better places to hide, but even so, seeing this place almost entirely devoid of people was just too weird.

In her spying, Lira noticed a few watchful heads in the various corridors leading from there. One person quickly pulled their head back into the darkness of the bathroom her upon noticing her stare, and two others seemed to be watching her intently from behind a half-open door to a room.

Other than that, just rubbish, clutter, and a thin, almost invisible smudge of smoke. The place was turned upside down – ornamental plants had their pots destroyed, the contents of the trash cans were scattered, and many books and notebooks had been thrown in all directions. The mixture of these elements was what made up the new ambient decoration for the time being.

The realization that they weren't alone here was both good and bad, as while she could receive help, the total opposite was also equally possible.

Oh well. Nothing that a little threatening doesn't solve, and if it doesn't, shoot.

Before crossing the path to the infirmary corridor, a peculiar object caught the pink-eyed girl's attention. The fact that it had flown so many meters that it stopped on the other side of the place made her feel even more proud.

"Nice." She said, noticing what was left of the red cylinder, which spread out in pieces like the petals of a flower with all the pressure released, right in the region where the shot hit. What promised to be a small hole became a huge gaping crater in the metal.

She entered the infirmary hallway. The mere fact of being there indicated that there were more people in the room. Walking with Emily there, the Aiken girl lightly knocked three times on the door. "I don't want anything to do with you. I need to take care of a person who needs help. Let me in."

... The answer heard from the other end was a couple of inaudible mutters, followed by a clear question.

"We don't trust you. How do we know you're not dangerous?" asked a female voice.

"Hmm..."

They had a good argument – and a valid one! But the point was, Lira Aiken wasn't so rich in patience after all that.

"Okay, since it's going to be like this, you can either open this door and let me in with her… Or you can try to stop me from invading with your own lives. Take your pick."

"We won't let you in, no matter how-"

The sound of a pair of god forsakenly loud bangs directed at the ceiling silenced the girl and started a wave of screams and despair on the other side of the door.

"So, what now? I can point at the door if you're not convinced."

... ... ...

The sound of the lock opening was heard, and the wooden door was opened.

"A wise decision." Said Lira. "Here we are, Emily."

Without even hesitating, Lira entered the infirmary room, bringing the feverish girl dressed in green with her.

"You... Were telling the truth..." She recognized the blonde girl who was watching the door from the inside. Beside her rested a baseball bat. "But what was that for…?!"

"No time." She said. "Do you have any stretchers I can lay her on?"

Still a little afraid of all that, the girl indicated with a trembling finger a corner of the room, where a single empty stretcher stood.

The place had no lighting other than that coming from the windows. That made a shade of gray fall across the white room, which, being against the position of the sun at that time of day, did not receive as much radiation.

Scattered around the place, students gathered in a massive group were resting, some still afraid of the author of those shots, others too preoccupied with other issues to worry about it.

Lira laid Emily down on the stable, soft surface, and without questioning or asking where the needed things were and if she could use them, she opened the infirmary cabinets, taking out anything and everything that resembled or had the consistency of a towel.

A little amazed, everyone watched her wet the cloths at record speed, and put one by one all over the girl's body, including under her clothes, which generated irritation from some of the girls who were still able to care in some way.

"You can't look!" A girl covered the eyes of the boy who rested beside her.

"But I didn't even see anything-"

"You. Cannot. Look."

Whether the effect was desired or not, that situation ended up improving, albeit very subtly, the general and moral situation of the small group. Some were made to smile a little, and many even laughed, even if very slightly.

"Perfect. It should be all good."

The improvement was almost immediate. Emily looked more comfortable and breathed better, as if she was finally resting after so much suffering.

Now she had other priorities to check. The first of these involved finding out why the authorities had not taken any action so far. Her theory was that something was influencing the situation at a much deeper level than expected.

"The number of skill users working against us at this time is unknown. So far, the presence of one is at least confirmed, but there are certainly more. A single person could not cause all this destruction and chaos."

Sitting in the chair beside Emily's stretcher, she thought again of the insects and other small animals that made up that wall. Living things would never accumulate like that naturally, creating such an impenetrable and thick wall.

"The person who caused it must still be around, and acting. I don't know the limits of their ability, but it seems to involve some kind of control over these animals."

A bee or wasp attack as massive as that could kill anyone, even non-allergic ones. Upon dwelling on this information, Lira recognized that the number of casualties was possibly much higher than any previous measurement.

"Damn… A lot of assumptions and doubts and few certainties. The worst possible scenario."

There was no way anyone could formulate a solid play with such a random hand of cards. The factors combined into blurry links, with gaps for error far larger than would be comfortable.

"I also cannot rule out the possibility that the fire is not merely caused by common means. If we consider this, we have at least two possible enemies that need to be neutralized."

The entire group of students watched her think as if they weren't there. Lira got up, walking slowly from one side of the room to the other.

"Cast hasn't come back yet…" She chewed her tongue. "Please Cast...I need you to be okay..."

... ... ...

"Is it really you…? I... I thought it was you when I heard the voice... I'm sorry... For failing in the mission you gave me..."

Lira's eyes swung toward the call with lightning speed. Across the room, a pair of nearly joined stretchers exposed two acquaintances.

"We ended up being cornered near the exit... I failed..."

It was Michael. The boy spoke with difficulty, managing only to move his eyes. A subtle odor of urine emanated from his garments.

"You can say what you want... I kind of deserve it for putting everyone in danger..." He spoke, his voice threatening to fade with every whisper.

Lira said nothing. The time of judgment could happen later. Turning his eyes a little to the left, she also saw the place where the girl who had opposed her decision so harshly was fallen.

The urge to say "serves you right" was, quite hopefully, contained.

Unlike Michael, Wanessa was unconscious, and although she appeared to be no more than asleep, her body made it clear that something potent had mistreated it. A thin, almost faded red line was seen descending from her left nostril, and the girl's jacket stank of vomit.

"She and I were the most affected... As she was at the front, whatever hit us struck her harder than me..." He said, speaking with increasing difficulty. "And to think that this was all the work of one guy..."

A new piece of information had emerged. For a moment, she considered his state of health, but the curiosity to find out was greater.

"A guy? Can you say more about him?"

"Yeah, guess I can... He... Raised his hand or something... And we got hit by some invisible wave... It was right in the vicinity of the exit... And to think we were so close to getting it. .. At least it didn't look like he wanted to kill us... But could if he wanted to... I don't doubt that."

As he was about to mention the last thing, Michael's voice grew tired. He was starting to suspect some deep level of nerve damage took place. That caused the girl to also stop pushing, as he clearly couldn't go further.

"I understand. Take a rest." Lira gave her final word. "And Michael…"

Pulling those scary shiny objects out of her skirt pocket, Lira spoke to him one last time before setting out her latest plan of action.

"You did well."

... ... ...

"Are you going back outside?! It's too dangerous...!" Lindsey tried to stop her. "And what about Emily?!"

The young blonde placed a hand on Lira's shoulder. She couldn't let the scenario get worse.

"I need to do this. I can't afford to stay here while potential dangers lurk around the school." She said, loading three more bullets into the pistol. Given the situation, the more shots available, the better.

She rose from her chair, disentangling herself from Lindsey's grip in the process. Walking to the door, the young woman gave loud and clear directions.

"Remove the towels and wet them again with cold water, repeating the process every five minutes, the closer the water is to freezing, the better. As for Michael and Wanessa, massage their muscles every fifteen minutes, as that will help with recovery."

She opened the door, making sure it made no noise.

"I will look outside and get a panorama of the entire situation. Keep the door locked, don't go outside for any reason and stay hidden. Don't peek into the hallway, don't make even the slightest noise if you hear movement, and don't open the door for anyone, even if they claim to be me."

"This plan is crazy...! And after all, who would pretend to be you?!"

"Just do what I say. If it's really me, I'll knock the door in a specific way."

Lira reached for the door, knocking on the wood.

[*_**]

"Is this... An 'L' in Morse code...?" The student questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's rather surprising to discover you are knowledgeable of such thing, but now, it's time to go. Remember everything that was said and follow it through as if your lives depend on it, for they might."

"I still think this is all crazy, but-"

"Of course, of course. Until later."

Without letting Lindsey finish, Lira walked out of the infirmary, pistol in hand, ready to fire at anything that moved her way. There was a lot to investigate, and the sooner it started, the better.

First, taking a look outside. In case of other living walls, she could always use other extinguishers, and that would even be fun. Whatever problem stopped cops from making their way inside, it needed to be solved.

"Now there are three. Three pains in the ass that can be tough calls, and I don't even know if there are more. It's just my luck, I guess."

Michael and Wanessa's conditions were no joke, and some of the group members had bruises and cuts associated with that attack. If, theoretically, she were to come cross paths with the mentioned individual...

"I'll shoot him without a second thought."

Now the empty immensity was the picture of reality, accompanied by the smell of smoke. In a world where anything can happen, being too prepared is never too much.