House Bound

Chapter 3 - Trapped

       We all met back in the hall by the staircases, joined first by the upstairs group, then the downstairs boys shortly thereafter.

       Kota stepped forward again for their group, and I instantly noted the mean glint in Greg and Eric's eyes, Marie's impatient snort and Jay's calculated guise of indifference. I'd done my best to warn him, but I still couldn't just let him be a target.

       I stepped forward, isolating myself from the safety of our floor's small group of four, and forced myself to speak without a trembling voice.

       "All of our windows on this floor are barred, but I... We overlooked something this morning. They aren't completely covered, though it's still impossible to get out that way. There's no way we're still in Charleston, there's snow on the ground. We could be anywhere." I said quickly.

       Dark and Broody shot me a glare as though he knew exactly what I was doing, but didn't speak up. His face sank even further into his trademark scowl as he processed the information.

       There was a long pause as a few people split off to look through the closest window, seeing for themselves that my words were true.

       "All the windows upstairs are blocked off too," Jay added, his dark eyes darting over each person. "They're barred, but also covered from the outside with slats of wood, you can't see out."

       "And downstairs? There's gotta be a way out, we got in somehow, right?" Derrick asked.

       The downstairs group seemed to exchange looks for a while, as though they were silently having a whole conversation only they were privy to. There were tight lips and brows turned down with worry, but at the end of it they all stood tall and firm, resolved to their conclusion.

       "There's nothing," the Giant spoke softly, his deep voice carrying some kind of European accent, "Windows and doors are all completely blocked."

       "There's no way out," Kota said, the finality of those words drilling down our new reality. "But I think we'd all feel more at ease if we each had a chance to check every inch of this place ourselves. Twenty sets of eyes are better than one."

       "We're really stuck here?" Danielle asked, her voice wavering slightly as her eyes watered.

       "People will already be looking for us, there's no reason to panic. The worst thing we can do for ourselves is to let fear overwhelm us. Help will come. Now, the bathrooms have running water, if you're thirsty, drink it. There were no supplies of food downstairs, anyone else find anything?"

       Kota had a voice like someone with authority, he spoke so surely. He was unquestionable. Like just because he had said so, there really was no reason to panic, and help really would come. The kids around me were the type to usually rebel against authority, but I could see them reflexively responding to it now.

       At the mention of food my stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch, reminding me how empty it was. I hadn't been allowed dinner the night before, and had nothing during the school day. Honestly, I wasn't sure what my last meal was before the apple I'd managed on the way to school yesterday. I was used to hunger, but by the grimaces on some of the others' faces as they came to the same realisation, I realised that they were not.

       All of us denied being able to find food in the house, and my nerves started to creep back in. I glanced to Kota's face, which was strategically blank. He stood to his full height, shoulders back confidently. But it wasn't enough to convince me, to calm me. He was worried too, even if he was trying not to broadcast it. He was as helpless as the rest of us.