We climbed to the top of the building.
There were two entrances to the auditorium, but one of them was blocked off so we went to the other side.
We opened the door. "Who is it?! Answer now or else!" Someone shouted. It seemed a barricade had been made. "We're students from the annex! We're looking for the principal!" Mr. Tomas shouted. "Mr. Tomas? Is that you?" A younger voice from the rest asked. "Yeah, I'm with these kids." He answered.
I couldn't see who was asking these questions, that's how big the barricade was.
The walls were seemingly made of tables and stacks of chairs. Heavy textbooks were taped as padding around those chairs. A table was acting as the door. "Alright, you can come in." An older voice said.
The table slid to the side and we walked in.
The auditorium.
The principal walked us through the camp they set up. "These are our guards." He pointed at some people sitting in chairs holding bats.
I looked around and saw the people. They were much more disheveled than the people at the gymnasium. "Hey… What's up with the people here?" Miguel asked the principal. "The kids here… They saw a lot more. You were here, Tomas. You saw it too, right?"
Mr. Tomas gulped. "I'd rather not talk about it." Principal Rivera sighed. "If you kids really wanna know, ask around." He said. I looked around at who to ask first, but I saw them whispering instead. "Who are those students?"
"Survivors."
"I thought they all died..."
I bit my lip and decided to rest against a wall.
Suddenly, a slap.
I turned to the sound.
"Ow!" Miguel shouted. "Are you serious?! Really?" I stood up and looked at what it was. "I was just asking for food…"
"Hah!" The one who slapped him laughed. "Hell no, everyone here earned their share. We fought for this." Miguel looked around as the people murmured about us. "Do they want to kill us? We'll starve if we give them any!" Miguel rubbed his cheek, like he wanted to apologize.
Principal Rivera and Mr. Tomas walked in front of them both. "Earned?" The principal said.
"They've earned it too. They managed to get all the way over here from the gymnasium even with this infection!" He shouted at all of the students as he said it. "They've been fighting! Risking their lives for this and you're denying them? What would you feel if I told you all to go and die?"
He cleared his throat.
"The food isn't here. We hid it on the ground floor." He said. Miguel groaned. "Aggh… All that work, and for what…"
The clock ticked, 6 PM. The sun barely shining over the horizon, and the light barely pierced through.
"You all should rest here." The principal said. I wanted to ask something of the principal, but I was interrupted. "Who's there?!" The guards shouted. "I'm looking for Andres Delgado!" A familiar voice shouted. Mr. Tomas spoke up, "Hey! We know those people! Let them in!" He ran over to the table and moved it back.
Mina walked in with her weapon while carrying Nico along. "Thank you." She said as Ms. Aya followed her.
The principal looked her up and down as her hands were tinted with blood. "Ah, Mina. It's been a while." Mina glanced over to him as she placed Nico in front of me, "Good to see you." She followed with a question, "About my brother, the nurse said she was here." The principal thought to himself, "Your brother?"
Like clockwork, a boy with tired eyes appeared. "He's been looking for you too." The principal said.
Mina and the boy locked eyes.