Chapter 72: Beyond the walls
He hovered over the next button for a moment before sighing and switching it off.
’Sophie.’
That was her name, if he was remembering correctly. He placed the camera into his bag, glancing at the diary with renewed curiosity.
’She seems like a happy person.’
’Seemed’ would be the more accurate term, though. He was 99% sure she’d be dead by now.
Setting the bag aside, he ran a final check on things. He could only thank his luck for doing so, because he found his phone still resting in his pocket.
Afraid of the damage on it getting any worse with future scuffles, he tossed it into his bag too.
With that settled, he was as ready as he would ever be.
Standing up, he saw the others were already gathering around Ryan. Once he joined, the former class rep led them all to the kitchen. There he followed the crude path they had made through the bodies with their constant movements.
Perhaps it was due to the cold, but luckily, none of them had begun smelling.
A metal door was embedded in one edge of the kitchen, right between the two counters. A boy’s corpse lay before it, blocking the door’s entrance.
Ryan and Mia both joined hands in carrying it, even through gritted teeth, and began shifting it to another section of the room.
While they were busy, Miles took the chance to check what the others were carrying.
Chloe still held the same thing as before: a baseball bat. Hers hadn’t gotten too damaged while fighting the ghouls. Ryan held the same.
Sarah uncomfortably held a straight piece of wood in her hands. It must have come off from one of the broken crates, as he could spot nails attached to it. Still, it looked hefty, so swinging it would actually do some damage.
Grimm, for whatever reason, still had his gun with him, even though it was effectively dead weight at this point. He also had a few of the empty cans they’d eaten out of with him. Grenades, if what he’d done to Maxwell was any measure to go by.
They likely wouldn’t be as effective as they had been back then, since they were empty, but then again, he couldn’t start throwing actual cans of food as weapons. It was just a catastrophic waste.
Brandon had finally picked a weapon, for what it was worth. Two broken ends of a wooden broomstick.
Last was Mia. She held the metallic mop pole in her hand, though he doubted she even needed that to be deadly.
Having stowed away the corpse, Ryan gripped the metallic handle of the door, glancing back at them once before pushing against it.
It didn’t budge. He tried two more times before Mia stopped him.
"Let me try."
Her skin grew flush immediately, turning a faint red as she waited for the boy to get out of the way. Once he was gone, she took half a step back, then rammed her shoulder into it.
The metal door flew open with a bang, the ice that had been holding its hinges shut shattering under the force.
The storm’s roar grew even louder.
A rush of wind and snow burst in through the opening, nearly knocking Mia off her feet. She caught herself quickly enough and retreated away from it.
The temperature drop was instant. Miles felt the cold press against him, suppressing the warmth within and making his skin numb.
Beyond the door, snow moved wildly in the howling wind, forming a shifting white haze that obscured most things, save for a nearby canopy, a basketball hoop, an outline of the fence, and a few silhouettes of collapsed powerlines in the distance.
The sky above was an indistinct block of greyish white, blending together with the haze.
Ryan stared apprehensively at all of it before turning to face them.
"So we make it to the fence and back?"
"Yeah..."
Chloe remained fixed on the view; she sounded much surer of her plan.
It was like looking down the maw of some massive beast. If they got lost out there, even with [Cold Resistance], there would be no saving them.
Brandon tapped his foot rapidly.
"How do we know the principal won’t strike us down the moment we leave?"
"I’m sure he won’t."
"Why don’t you go first then."
Ryan fell silent, swallowing dryly. He looked out the door, scrunching his face, trying to gather the will to take the first step out.
"And why does he have to be the one risking himself?"
Mia stared Brandon down. Before he could retort, Sarah’s trembling voice interrupted him.
"I-I’ll do it."
Miles tossed a surprised glance her way; he wasn’t the only one.
Initially shocked by her offer, Ryan still shook his head.
"You don’t have to feel pressured, Sarah. I can do it."
Relief flashed across the girl’s face for a moment, but she bit down on her lip, shaking her head.
"No. Let me do it. I want to."
’She really doesn’t seem like she does.’
The girl was clearly forcing herself. Seeing this, Ryan shook his head even more resolutely.
"There’s no need to argue. It’s already decided, I’m doing thi-"
He hadn’t even finished his sentence when Sarah bolted, mumbling something under her breath. Miles only heard the end of it.
"...good per-"
Before anyone could reach her, she was already outside. The force of the wind out there sent her staggering, nearly tripping her in the ankle-high snow. Luckily, she grasped onto a garbage bin before she did.
Most important of all was the fact she wasn’t dead. Ryan was right.
"Are you crazy!?"
He was also, it appeared, livid.
Sarah shivered, then looked down sheepishly, as though wondering why she’d even stepped out to begin with.
The boy rubbed his forehead before sighing.
"Seriously, you can’t just make rash decisions like that. Thanks, though; I guess the path is clear now."
The girl just responded with a nod, shivering again. Ryan glanced at the rest of them before stepping out.
"Let’s go."
There was no use delaying any further.