The Risks

September: Chapter 33

It was eerily quiet as we stared down the long hallway leading to the elementary. Morning light shone through large glass windows facing the east while birds chirped from bushes just outside. A peaceful fall morning.

It was chilly -the electricity had been shut off on this side of the school since the incident- and I pulled my jacket closer around me.

We'd gone over our plans meticulously. Stay quiet, don't run off, guns as a last resort only. And we'd all agreed when we told Charlotte that if we weren't back by nightfall, not to send anyone in after us.

I glanced around at the others and noticed that everyone seemed to be waiting for me. Sure I may have suggested this expedition, but I wasn't the one leading it. Chris had the most experience leading out of the three of them and was most familiar with the school considering he'd gone here from kindergarten through twelfth grade, so we'd elected him to lead.

I nodded to him and we began down the hall, attempting to keep our footsteps as quiet as possible. About a two thirds of the way, we paused at the mouth of another smaller hallway leading off to the left- large wooden double doors at the end.

"Gymnasium," Chris whispered to us. "Always kept the doors shut at night. Should be empty."

We continued another few steps before stopping at a closed door to our left and we listened as Chris explained that it was the stock room where the school had kept all their food for lunches and that it was still full of nonperishable. He took a quick peek inside to check for Ferals, but the room was clear.

At the end of the hallway, we turned left. There was a small classroom to our right and another entrance to the gym further down and before that, yet another hallway to our right.

Chris was just about to turn around the corner when Parker stopped him. He made a shush gesture and cocked his head and we all froze and listened.

A footstep. And if you listened hard enough you could hear the heavy breathing.

Parker pulled his knife and snuck around the corner without a word. A moment later we heard the soft thud of a body falling to the ground. We turned the corner and I watched as Chris knelt down to the body.

"Aaron," he uttered, glancing around at all of us expectantly.

Parker sighed softly in sympathy. "They'll all receive a proper burial, but for now, we have to leave them."

Chris bent his head, reaching his hand out to close the Feral's eyelids and for a moment, the Feral almost looked like the human it once was. If not for the gaping, bloody wound in its neck and the pallid, vein-ridden skin, it could have been Aaron.

Just past the bathrooms, along the west side of the hallway, were huge, wall-length windows looking in on the elementary library. Inside, the light was dim, but I counted nine wandering figures.

"They're locked in," Parker whispered. "We'll leave them for now."

"Okay," Chris started once we got to where the hallway branched off. "The West wing was the hospital side, North wing was mostly residential." He looked down each empty hallway. "They must be stuck inside the rooms."

"Shepard closed all the doors before leaving," Abby informed us.

I was a little startled by the sound of her voice. It had only been the second time I'd heard her speak. There was something about her that I liked. As vain as it may sound, something about her that reminded me of myself. She was young and quiet and honestly a little hostile, but I found myself feeling respect toward her.

"Spencer's gone," Parker said suddenly and I looked around, surprised I hadn't noticed sooner.

Chris rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Probably in the stock room stealing supplies. We'll grab him on the way back if he doesn't show up before then."