[i]"But I really hope they figure this thing out before Cameron finds out everyone else is eating the food, and not dying." [/i]

Ahh, yes well, Val thought, still dazed and amazed that they'd gotten away with it - she hadn't quite thought this far ahead. Her one and only goal had been to eliminate the immediate threat that was 'Cameron', as Cecil referred to him, and now that it had been, she was a little lost. The darkness had grown stifling once again as the glow of several smartphones' had retreated along with the cafeteria gang and hers was now one of the only sources of light, creating a wealth of creepy shadows on the walls and benches. It suddenly seemed painfully feeble and a moment or so later, her worse nightmare manifested as reality.

The 'very low battery' icon flashed up, on the homescreen. She winced audibly as her eyes confirmed that charge was flooding from the device fast and with 10%, it had ten minutes of life, maximum. She dimmed the resolution in a desperate attempt to extend the life of the precious object but she knew it wouldn't be enough. 

"Somebody had better fix this mess quick," she muttered in exasperation, "Or ship in a batch of chargers, or something; I'm going to end up going crazy."

She stepped over the litter the group of undesirables had scattered across the cafeteria floor - trying not to dwell too hard on what, exactly, it consisted of - and peeked around the doorway into the main kitchen, which was eerily empty with abandoned cooking utensils strewn across the surface, as if thrown down mid-meal creation. Which she supposed they had been. She couldn't think of a time when she'd seen the area devoid of bad-tempered, hair-netted dinner ladies, who appeared to exist exclusively in this environment. It was a sobering thought. Giving the food stores a quick check, she saw that the group of guys (she'd managed to scare away) had left it untouched. Which was good...for now. As long as they remained away. She hoped they wouldn't catch up with her and Cecil. She was fairly sure she couldn't talk herself out of a round two with them.

Sighing, she returned to main cafeteria room. She threw Cecil a small smile, glancing down at the keys he had retrieved. Focus on the little victories, she reminded herself.

"I guess next stop is the basement," she said, with a quick gesture in the basement's general direction and she headed into the corridor outside, double checking that the gang had evaporated which, thankfully, they had, "Funny - I'm beginning to remember every horror movie I've ever seen, in vivid and excruciating detail. Let's just hope that fiction doesn't merge into real life. Well; I mean, more than it had already."

She shook her head, rubbing her forehead as they walked on.