Gloom (complete)

Cold

She found Blain's phone in his pocket and used it for light after discovering there was no signal. It was nearly fully charged which told her he had likely charged it while he had her locked in the basement and how they couldn't have been in the basement for very long. A day, possibly a little longer.

Light quickly fanned out across her, stinging both eyes, she winced. Jacey pointed Blain's phone first at the basement's door, finding it blocked off by tiles, stones, broken desks and other items, next the girl moved her light around her, finding she was right about the hallway seemingly untouched by what had made the basement collapse besides a few lockers which had popped open.

She was afraid of casting light on Blain, although she could hear him breathing, she was afraid of what exactly she would see. First, the girl cast her light along his face, finding he was pale and sweaty, spots of blood decorated neck and seeped out of his left ear. Slowly her light went to his arm, her stomach churned and she felt her mouth dry.

His limb was bloody, bleeding actually, but that wasn't what had her wanting to hurl. Stark white but tainted red, was Blain's bone outside of his flesh, a grotesque view. She fought off the want to puke up anything that was left in her stomach and settled beside his bloody appendage, thoughts of somehow stopping his bleeding most important. He was losing too much blood and fast. ***

Her first thought was of the nurse's office for bandages, but that was at the very front of the high school's at the main-office. He wouldn't ever make it that long, especially if there were more hindrances in her way. She thought of temporary bandages, and all of the TV shows and movies she had watched in which people use clothing as bandages. Balancing Blain's phone in her lap, Jacey reached for her uniform tie, finding it was no longer around her neck. Instead she yanked at her sleeve, easily removing the already shredded sleeve and quickly began tying it around Blain's arm. As she thought he would, Blain instantly began to thrash and scream.

"I have too," she whispered shakily, "I'm sorry." She winced as her own side began to ache horribly again. Once finished and satisfied with her work, she quickly backed up again, taking hold of Blain's phone. The girl held out the cell phone, lighting the area around her with a sweep of her arm. She tried remembering which way she would have to go to get to the front of the school and the nurse's office. Everything was so dark and so foreign looking in the ink and quiet. A shiver ran down her spine. It was freezing in the hallway, cold air nipping at the exposed flesh between her skirt and socks and her arms had gooseflesh springing up and across her arms.

Breathing shakily, Jacey bent beside the whimpering, shivering Blain, "I'll be back, I promise. That'll hold you for now," she assured.

A wince escaped her as she came to a full stand and pointed her light to her left and began forward. If she could remember well enough, she was on the bottom floor of Lester-Miller, which meant going up a floor would put her on the main floor which was home to the front office and nurse's office. She walked as quickly as her achy legs and screaming side would allow, sniffing quietly as freezing air messed with her nose. Soon, she could no longer hear Blain's pained moans.

She hoped when she got to front there would be a working phone, if not then she would see if anyone was around outside to help. Lester-Miller sat along a busy road, across from a café and next to a bookstore, the girl was hopeful. As she continued down the hall, she nearly stumbled as beneath her a curve suddenly bulked up along the floor one which hadn't been there before. The light being directed at the floor showed wide cracks splitting the floor underneath her dusty once brand new gray sneakers.

She frowned, unsure if it was worth worrying about.

Gently shaking her head, Jacey moved on, only to find her progress halted by a slanted slab of roof. She had nearly ran into it. Flashing her light upwards, she was met with darkness, Blain's phone not being bright enough to pierce the blackness above her. It was sort of daunting, seeing a portion of the ceiling like that. The girl was reminded of how all of Lester-Miller was likely to come tumbling. Quickly licking her lips, Jacey stepped back and looked right, at the art hall. She had a couple of classes down that way when she had been a freshmen and had been interested in things like art until she quickly realized she had no talent for it. The hall actually wrapped around and should put her on the other side of the ceiling and at the needed stairwell.

She quickly moved forward, not wanting to waste anymore time when she thought of Blain bleeding out on the floor, she quickened her pace. Turning a few corners, she was over-joyed about not finding any hassles in her way and soon pushed open the iron doors and into the blackened, freezing stairwell. If it had been freezing before, it was as if the air was ice instead and only got worse as she blindly made her way upstairs. She held onto the freezing, cold banister only because her weakened legs made climbing stairs painful.

Soon she was pushing open the iron doors onto the main floor and blinking quickly at the appearance of light. The halls were lit by sunlight filtering in through the front glass doors of Lester-Miller Academy. Entering into the hall, her body began to shiver violently and she nearly slipped on the wet floor.

She caught herself on the wall, she frowned at the floor, no longer needing the light to see. Water an inch and a half deep stood off the floor. Old notebooks, pencils, and other school items floated lazily around her.

The unease inside of her only grew. She headed left, towards Lester-Miller's front entrance, using the hall's wall for support, the girl had began to feel light headed. Biting wind began to hit her in the face and she came to the quick realization that the glass in the windows and doors had been blown out and outside... What was outside had her movements slowly coming to a halt. The wind blew harsh and icy, pushing around white tuffs of snow violently. She could hear something metal banging loudly against another object in the wind, but it was impossible to see beyond anything a white blanket of snow.

It was spring, mid-spring, and it never snowed down this far south when it was nearing summer. She was suddenly very aware of the cold and how something was not at all right. Her plan for searching for help outside of school would have to wait apparently. She couldn't go out in that.

Thoughts of using a phone now overwhelming, she quickly pushed open the office's door, ignoring the flakes of snow hitting her in the face. In her panic, the girl leaned onto the office's desk, ignoring her side, and picked up Lester-Miller's main phone. It was freezing and slick with icy water.

It wasn't until she had pressed it against her left ear did she feel like a dummy. It was quiet, no dial-tone, no anything. The black phone fell from her hands, slipping as she tried flipping on the lights with small switch along the wall underneath a poster about bullying. Nothing, no electricity. She felt as if she had been thrown for a loop and stepped in on glass.

Not even the emergency *** lights were left on. She frowned, her hands moving across her head, pressing her freezing, tingling hands against her numb forehead. She couldn't understand any of this. Green eyes settled on the broken window across from her, watching the winter wonderland rage outside. Comprehending it became increasingly impossible the longer she viewed it.

Blain... She wasn't even sure why his name was suddenly inside her head, but it without a doubt brought her out of her shock. He was bleeding out on the floor downstairs, he needed her help. She glanced down at his phone which was still being held in her free hand. She had already been gone too long. The wind howled outside.

She backed out of the office and forced open the nurse's door with her shoulder and stepped inside. After grabbing a book bag, hanging on the coat hanger in the corner, she emptied it of all of text books and began shoving things into the bag; Alcohol wipes, peroxide, and bandages. She eyed a locked black and yellow cabinet before leaving it and pulling open a closet, taking an arm full of the blankets and hugged all of them against her body. She then dumped her bag and blankets onto one of the cots, its paper protection crinkling underneath the weight. Then Jacey spins around and once again returning to the closet and removing the only coat in the closet and sliding it over her shaking arms. It was green and large, nearly swallowing her whole. Nurse Gila was a big blonde woman who had always smelled like yams and dirt, her green coat also smelled like that. Her stomach growled at the thought of yams and she wondered when had she eaten last.