Ro blinked at the sound of the collective gasps of the classmates around him, accompanied by an... [i]unearthly[/i] shiver. A rare occurrence for them to be so synchronized, even with preparation. But they hadn't prepared- that usually consisted of lots of whispered words and 'sneaky' giggling. It prompted enough curiosity for him to look up, suddenly aware that the history teacher's constant droning had stopped. He knew every bit of what she was talking about- it was a waste of time to have to stay in the class when he could just go ahead and take the test and be done with it all. But now, looking around, she didn't even exist. She was not in the room- and based on what the panicked voices around him said, she had, quite literally, disappeared. That wasn't normal, of course. It shouldn't even be possible. There was no known technology- not even a real rumor- of any kind of device that makes anything or something invisible, or to instantly move someone from one place to another. In other words, human technology did not have the ability to make someone disappear before someone's eyes. And yet a grown adult had disappeared right in the middle of a lecture, in front of twenty students. The light shining through the window darkened; the lights dimmed and went out, as if an overcast sky had knocked out the power. Half the kids got up and started moving about, aimlessly, collecting into groups and then moving to a different spot to just collect again, all asking each other the same things, all getting the same answers. He just put his head back down and continued doodling- someone who thought they were in charge or had an idea as to what was happening would come by in the next ten minutes or so. If not, he'll head out to look. Minutes pass, and finally, the door rattles and there is the sound of footsteps outside- an increasing number of them. Ro was reassured- people were still alive and going, and someone was likely to be organizing them, if they were as not-panicked as they sounded from here. The door opened- half the class (mainly the girls, not the guys who were trying to be macho-nacho) screamed, eliciting a wince from Ro. He hated loud, sharp noises, like screams or the sound of chalk against a chalkboard, or loud music, or really anything that prevented him from hearing everything around him. His class filed out of the room, moving in both a panicked and a reassured, relieved way. He stayed sitting down, at least until everyone else was out of class, bookwork, papers and pencils forgotten. Standing, he emptied his backpack of everything useful, minus his phone, iPod, and laptop (with their assorted chargers), and started grabbing pencils and pens from around the room, stuffing them into one of the side pockets. Once he was satisfied he had plenty, he started searching for empty notebooks or the like- after finding three, and another of his own that he had just been doodling in, he was satisfied he had all the paper and drawing utensils he needed. He pocketed any little items- he found a little flashlight that someone had, and a couple unopened water bottles (out of half a dozen). He kept the water and the flashlight- they might be useful, after all. Then he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and he was seized by sudden discomfort- just like the cheesy lines about oneself being watched. He turned, towards the one thing he had yet to approach- the window. Cautiously, aware that he had no idea what was going on and what could be happening, he stepped towards the window. Four steps was all that was needed for his long legs to carry him there, and he peered outside. A wall of gray met him. Odd, that he hadn't noticed it before, and where did it come from? Why could he, when he took a look to both sides and to the ground below, see the school and the grounds immediately next to its walls, just for everything to disappear into impenetrable fog, mist, whatever? He looked about, trying to find the source of his discomfort, before he found a coloration in the fog. After a moment, that ground-level coloration resolved into the face of a grotesque creature. He stared at it, recoiling in revulsion and horror, in fear, even, before curiosity overwhelming even that. He studied it as carefully as he felt he was- his creature was not normal, and anything he may think it may be in right now could be completely off. This was alien; this did not belong in the natural world. It did not belong at all. He sensed a not-so-friendly intelligence within it, although not cold or calculating. It studied, but it was not seeking best advantage, he thought. It was not testing him, it was not teasing him. It was simply studying him, looking for anything of note. He studied it right back, before taking several quick glances around the room he was in, making sure he was still alone. When he turned back to the window, it was gone. Shaken from the sight of the unearthly, [i]wrong[/i] creature, he left the room with jacket on his back, backpack slung on both shoulders, half-full. He headed to the closest janitor's closet, opening it to check its contents. He glanced inside, closed the door and moved on to the next, finding what he wanted there. Pulling out a dusty, old steel mop- the kind with a real wood shaft, with two strips of steel to reinforce, plus the steel pieces at the end that was supposed to have the cloth crap clutched in its grip- he spun it about, taking it in, before nodding, satisfied. For now, until he could get something real, the long-handled, light mop would do. He could push things away, whack them with the sides, and clean up their blood after he's done with them. Neat! He searched around a bit more before finding something else that's a must-have in any apocalyptic situation- duct tape. Two rolls stacked next to each other was all he'd need- retrieved the flashlight from his pocket, with its handy on/off toggle button on the bottom, he took a strip of duct tape and wrapped the flashlight's main body around his right hand wrist. Satisfied, now, he felt a bit more comfortable exploring the dim or nearly dark hallways. After all, he once said: He wasn't afraid of the dark- he was afraid of what was in it. He took out his notebook a moment later, and wrote a note for future reference: [i]FIND THESE THINGS: -DUCT TAPE -FLASHLIGHT -BTTRY -HNDHLD CHRGR -KNIFE/SWORD/SHARP -GUN/MUNITION (pref. SA hg/sg) -GRNLA BARS -MBLE GNRATR (For electr[s]en[/s]onics) ([s]Slr or [/s]gas) -WTR -MTCHES[/i] He rubbed his chin, trying to think of anything else. Other people would probably find his way of abbrievating things insanely aggravating- sometimes writing full worlds, sometimes just abbrievating them into something that would only make sense to him, sometimes just taking out the in-between sounds/letters, so that sounding it out will still reveal the word. Matches... mah-ches. Mtchs... Mmm-tches. Works for him- and if someone else was looking through his stuff and had trouble, all the better. He stretched after putting the notebook and pencil away, before deciding that a bit more cloth wouldn't hurt to keep him warm. Already, the chills were starting to set in, since the heaters had obviously stopped working, and there were no longer hundreds of warm bodies to keep the hallways warm again. Speaking of which, all those kids are going to have to... most of them are going to die, he figured. If whatever that thing was outside was anything close to what he was thinking, people were most certainly going to die. And besides, he figured that if one got him, it'd just give him what he had been hoping for years- to end this life without taking it himself. And if he survived to find something better, then he won too. In a way, he had set himself for a win-win situation- he either failed to survive and died somehow, and he got what he wanted, or he succeeded in surviving and had yet to die, in which he also wins. He shrugged. Shit happens- unfortunately, everyone's neck-deep in this shit. Only the quick thinkers with a bit of luck will get out of this one, he figured. [hr] His feet matched a strange cadence from a distant memory in his head, as he pounded down the stairs. Being on the second floor was a bit of advantage- whatever those creatures were, they were just as limited as other creatures, so climbing walls are a lot harder than pushing doors open. With this thought came an icy chill of fear- they may be studying them... but what if they came in? The doors wouldn't be locked right now- none of the obvious ones, at least. They could literally walk in and just... kill someone. Kill him. But what if they didn't want to kill him? A similar thought like innocent-until-proven-guilty came to mind. Friendly-until-proven-hostile, right? But no, the world didn't work like that. Treat everything cautiously if you don't know it- keep on your guard and prepare for the worst, and be relieved when it doesn't happen. In that case, he fully expected one of those things to be on the other side of the corner, as he stepped off the stairs and darted forward. Indeed, he was half right- a kid yelped, turned, and ran down the empty hall, startled half to death by the way he stumbled and faceplanted. A momentary smirk flashed across Ro's face for a moment, before he turned in the opposite direction. Now that he was downstairs, he could hear- and see- the presence of the rest of teh kids. Quiet, yet loud, conversation and phone screens made it obvious that they were gathering towards the middle of the school. Smart. But he wasn't interested in where everyone else was right now. Any sane person would've followed the running kid- but he wasn't completely sane, now was he? [hr] Ro froze. He had peeked around the corner to the doorway that he had used every day of school since he had moved here. One of those [i]things[/i] was at the outside of the door, looking in, fiddling with it. Learning. He could see it- pushing against it, pulling against it, then its... hand? slipped, pushing the handle down. It started as the door jerked slightly open, from its weight pressed against it, before it took a cautious step forward pushing the door open. It stared at it, moving it back and forth, getting an idea on how it worked, before it looked up. Immediately, despite the dark, it saw him- and he was nearly paralyzed. Either way, he didn't dare move, and nor did the creature. Again, they stared each other. Again, nothing happened. He decided to test a blossoming theory in mind... and glanced away for a moment before returning to the door. The effect was just as he had hopefully predicted- the creature had already turned and let go of the door, clearly meaning to run. Once his eyes settled back on it, its own snapped back to his. They stared at each other again. Then, without quite realizing it, the creature was gone, and the door silently [i]clicked[/i] shut. He took a step out behind cover, steel-and-wood mop in hand, holding it at the ready like a spear. He inched forward, before carefully locking the door, and placing the steel pole, dotted with little pegs, into the door. A security measure- to keep the door from being opened. He sighed as soon as it was in place, and leaned against the wall. Shuddering, he had the sudden sense he had narrowly avoided death- a gruesome one. He closed his eyes, feeling a sudden urge to cry. On the outside, nothing changed- on the inside, he felt the familiar bolt of loneliness and helplessness. He was isolated, an outcast, all alone, with no one to help him. It wasn't surprising, it wasn't new, he'd had the same thing for years. Even broken down several times. More than anything, he wanted to be comforted- hugged, told that everything would be okay. Not in the mocking, teasing way his mom did, or his father's version of a hug- a good lecture to get you up and going, right? What a bastard, he thought. He hated his father. All it was were lectures, about how this person is this way and should really learn this or that. Well, thank the One Above- whoever the hell it may be, if they even existed- that he was nothing more than finely dispersed particles right about now. At least, he hoped. His mom was slightly more of a loss, but he generally didn't care about his parents. So he leaned against the hard, unforgiving wall, sitting on the unyielding cold floor, silently struggling to take firm control of his emotions again. Ten minutes, it took, to reign them in, and to get himself back under control. When he finally opened his eyes, he let out a shuddering, deep breath, calming himself. This was a moment that he would be sure no one saw- and indeed, no one did. He stood up, using the mop to help him up, and he took another cautious look at the door- and the mist beyond, through the small window- before backing away. Once he felt he was safe enough behind the corner he had originally come from, he turned and started jogging back towards the rest of the humanity. [hr] A stop at coach’s offices and another, more general supply closet saw him with a few extra supplies- some bandages and basic meds, plus a couple more small flashlights- and feeling better prepared to deal with other people. He wrapped another flashlight to his other wrist, and, once satisfied he had everything down reasonably well, he started back towards the rest of the students, no longer delaying. He clicked on his right wrist flashlight, using his hand to both shine his way through the increasing number of students, and to push through the ones that didn’t move. In short, he was heading to the center of the crowd, right where he [i]didn’t[/i] want to be, so he could figure out what anyone else knew, and tell someone in charge what he knew. For example, the creatures outside now knew how to get in. They may not come in, or they may burst it- it was yet unknown. Either way, someone who had some kind of influence had to be informed. And, no doubt, someone was. People would begin cursing before they saw who they were looking at, and their anger turned to disbelief. He was one of [i]the[/i] quietest kids in school, who paid attention to no one- not even teachers or bullies- and yet smoothly dealt with them all. He was a somewhat known figure, for being so quiet, since he was one of the top students. His downturned eyes- high enough to see ahead of him, low enough to keep away from people’s faces- avoided all attempts to contact others, instead opting for flashing them with his flashlight if they tried to stand in his way. His reputation was that of the quietest, smartest, and unstoppable. People have tried to bully him- he dealt with them each and every time in a way that forced them to stop. When finally one bully tried to block his path, going so far as to shoving his shoulder to force him to stop, he simply flashed him in the eyes, and darted around him, shoving a knee into his crouch as he went. The kid went down; he went onwards. The shouts of adrenaline- and fear-pumped students reached him from the edges, and was growing steadily louder. Before, he had been quiet- now, he almost wanted to just snap at anyone in his way. It was most unusual, feeling so aggressive. Either way, he shoved his way through to a ring of students, where several kids were getting their asses kicked by the... Japanese girl. Yes, now that she turned to face him, she was unmistakably the foreign student. He spread his hands in front of him, showing he didn’t mean any harm. He impassively took in the several kids on the ground, admiring her handiwork. Then he turned back to her, tilting his head, wondering why she had to beat up these kids. Based on the way other kids were edging forward, she was being attacked; indeed, she wasn’t aggressive, rather passive, defensive. Tensed, ready to defend and eliminate threats, not make new ones. So he asked, vaguely, to anyone, “So what’s the problem here?” Several kids gasped behind him, another called out, “He ain’t mute!” He just snorted in response, and waited for a couple seconds, before one of the closer kids- some kid who liked calculus- spoke. “People been sayin’ she killed someone or deh other- yanno, some kid named Hana or somethin. A best bud of hers or somethin’ er the other.” He nodded his thanks to him, turning to him for a brief moment, before looking at... “What’s her name, again?” “Maki.” He took a step forward, hands still raised. “Hey Maki. You can’t speak English can you? Not very well? Either way, herm...” He tapped his chin with his left hand, trying to recall a bit of Japanese he had learned once- he once had a friend from there, over the internet. “((Peace)),” he said, in rough Japanese. Then he shrugged; that was all he could recall. Placing a hand over his chest, his right hand, so his hoodie-covered chest was lit up, he said, “Ro.” Then he pointed at her, said, “Maki,” and then gestured vaguely to the kids lying on the floor, “Assholes.” Then he took in her, well, very bloody form, and reached into his pack- leaning his mop against his shoulder- and pulled out some bandages. He gestured them towards her, in a way that asked if she needed any medical attention. When a kid protested, he rounded on them, and snapped, “The [GARBLE GARBLE GARBLE HERM GARGLE GURGLE HUM URGH No one really remembers what was said here]- and because Maki here cannot speak for herself on account of being Japanese. It may very well be that her best friend tried to kill her and she defended herself, or she did, in fact, kill her and was simply the winner of the duel. Or, someone framed her, or, something else happened.” When the kid started to protest- angrily- he cut him off once again. “Yes, the world may have gone to shit as far as we know, but we are still human and we are still Americans, even if we may be the last people left on Earth.” He paused for a breath and for effect, glaring at anyone who looked like they might speak up. Apparently ruining his own reputation for something might be worth it. So he continued, finger jabbing at anyone who looked belligerent or disagreeable, “If we don’t hold ourselves to the standards we had before, at least on [i]some[/i] level, then we might as well drop all of them and go to squabbling over whatever resources are left like wild fucking animals. Meanwhile, there are the fuck knows what outside- and unless you’re deaf, you certainly know they’re there- who I bet would just [i]loooove[/i] for us to kill each other off so they can come in and pick out what they want to have for breakfast. Now shut up, and do something useful like grabbing a towel. And someone find someone who speaks Japanese, yeah?” And with that, he stomped over to the kids laying on the floor, checked to make sure they were still alive before ordering someone to drag them off to recover. And surprisingly someone did for each one, though he didn’t pay attention to who. When the kid he had kneed earlier suddenly showed up, looking as if he wanted to pick another fight, Ro just looked at him and waited. After a moment, the kid- probably some football jock- stomped forward, muttering something about teaching him a lesson. Ro didn’t bother with as much action as he did before, and brought up the top of the mop handle into the kid’s nose, the rounded end smashing into his face with more force than he realized he had put into it, knocking the kid back. Snapping, he said, “Threaten me with force and I will return it to end the disagreement quickly. Threaten me with words and I will return it to end the disagreement quickly. I am not your enemy, dumbass. I’m your buddy- cause right now, there’s just a whole lot of us and something you do [i]not[/i] want to see waiting outside. Now would you quit seeking to prove yourself, and be useful?” He waited, as the jock glared at him, eyes watering from the painful hit, before he turned and stomped away, back stiff and hands holding his hopefully-broken nose. Then, again, he turned back to Maki. His grave, grim, annoyed face softened slightly, recognizing her as nothing but someone caught in unfortunate circumstance- for now. She may very well have actually murdered someone, but it was more likely to be selfdefense. While a girl like her obviously knew how to beat someone up- evidence of that was just dragged away- she didn’t seem violent or mean enough to do so. He had her in several classes- she just wasn’t that way, from what he’s seen. So he held out his hand for a handshake, saying, “I’m Ro. And I’m your friend, got it, Maki?”