[@SheriffLlama][@HecateProxy][@KahleenCuthald][@Scarifar][@Lillium][@wolverbells][@sakurasan][@HellHoundWoof][@Thundercrash][@Airalin][@Vocab]

Chaos.

That was truly what reigned in the hallway at that moment.  One after another boys and girls of a similar age to Arthur entered the hallway in a similar state of confusion with questions on their lips.  Some were speaking what sounded like Russian.  Then, just to established that the scenario was officially unusual, another boy just appeared in the hallway as if from nowhere and then awoke from his apparent sleep with a start.  Then a mini-brawl started. And then there was crying.

[i]I'm dreaming.  It's the only explanation.  Or I'm still drunk. Or high.  Is this what it's like to be high?  God, if it is, I'm never doing it again.  When did I even smoke something?  Oh, the kidnapping.[/i]

At the remembrance of his circumstances, Arthur felt his self-confidence slipping away into a black pit of despair, mirroring the chaos in front of him.  Panic began to well up inside, the confused shouts and the crying echoing in the bland hallway, inescapable and getting louder like a far off storm closing in.

[i]Jesus, boy! Be a man!  You're a Charlton and Charlton's don't cower!  We don't fail!  Stand up straight and try again![/i]

Arthur felt his stature natural straighten, his shoulders rising from their hunched position of defeat and his head lifting as if to face the situation in front of him head on.  It was some strange, twisted turn of fate for his abusive father's words to provide the strength he needed in that moment but that was something, he decided, to reflect upon later.  For now he would make use of his momentary calm and work out just what was going on.

He was momentarily motivated to call for calm, to get them all to work together and to find out what was going on as a team but he had never been much of a leader; he was someone who relied on established hierarchies to let him know where he fit in and how far he could go.  Here... it was all a free for all and no one knew what was going on.  Unless he had something to offer up there was no point him lecturing the others to stay calm when he himself was standing on a chasm of the deepest fear he had ever known.

Looking once more towards the others, he walked away down the bland corridor and around the corner.  He had no idea where he was going to begin with and noticed he was going in the direction a sign declare was towards the cafeteria.  There was no telling how long had passed since his last meal so heading there seemed like a good first stop.

[hr]

The cafeteria was a wide open room, still bland with white tiles all around and more of those windows-but-not along one side of the room. Tables dotted the room, some small round ones with two or three chairs around them while there were slightly lower but bigger tables, rectangular in shape, with long benches on either side.  There was no one there in the room and one wall had a metal grill pulled down to obscure what beyond the wall.

There were, however, vending machines filled to the brim with cooled drinks, treats and snacks as well as a coffee machine and a water cooler; all had no place to put money.  When Arthur tried one with crisps in it his selection dropped out without any delay and he collected it from the tray and sat down at one of the larger tables with a bench.  As he began to munch he found it easier to concentrate, the food giving him some much needed energy that was not just from adrenaline and the simple act taking his mind off the ridiculous, nightmarish scenario he was in.

A thought occurred to him as he stared at the vending machines, his mind absent as it tried not to comprehend the recent events and how strange it was for him to be calmly eating a packet of crisps in this alien place.  The way the machines were lined up reminded him of the corridor the others had all flooded into.  Sure, it had been manic and loud but there had been a lot of doors that hadn't opened and he wondered how many others were here in this building, like them.  What if one had a disability and couldn't leave the room, he thought.

[i]I'm... not ready to go back just yet though.[/i]

He stayed, promising himself he would go back once he finished his small snack.  Assuming no one turned up beforehand, of course.