Lucas had only been watching the news for a few minutes since the live footage from the helicopter had ended, and a lot of the same information was starting to repeat. According to the broadcasts, new information was being reported as soon as it came in, but they still didn't know much. There was a website to visit to get more information, but as his computer was still in his room, Lucas would have to look at it later.
Now that his attention was wandering, Lucas noticed that he was alone on the couches. Ten others were gathered around the doorway to the hall and talking loudly to each other, almost arguing. An athletic black girl named Chloe sat alone in the nearby corner staring at her laptop and typing. Lucas got up from the couch and approached her quietly. She had a narrow face and usually wore dark clothing. She kept her hair very short. Today was no different.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked when Chloe looked up from her computer. "With them, I mean." Lucas pointed over to the people standing by the door, arguing with one another.
"They're worried that one or more of the people who came in were bitten." Chloe looked back at her computer screen and began to type. "Also, a couple of people were talking about leaving before the back door gets blocked off as well and we get trapped in here."
"That's crazy. Why would they want to leave?" Lucas glanced towards the direction of the arguing. Simon and several others he recognized from the building were in the group. "We're safe in here, and the news says to stay inside, anyway."
"How many days do you think we're going to be on our own before we get help?" Chloe asked as she looked up. "And how much food do you have stored in your room?"
"Not much." Lucas said hesitantly. "But it's better to stay in here where it's safe than go running around out there. In here we can't be attacked, but out there we can."
"Unless one of the people that came in here is infected." Chloe countered. Lucas could see that she had a baseball bat leaning against her leg, within easy reach of her hand. Come to think of it, many people in the building were either holding blunt objects or had one close at hand.
Nobody, as far as Lucas could tell, had a firearm with them. "I guess I see your point."
The group near the door began to chatter amongst one another in a flurry of activity. Standing up, Lucas decided to approach to listen to what they were saying.
A curly haired blond girl spoke tentatively as a lull in the conversation presented itself. "But how do we know he's even infected? If he's healthy, then we will condemn him to die." After a moment of trying to recall her name, Lucas finally recognized her as Erin. She wore a simple blue blouse and skirt, and had her hair braided into a ponytail.
"He and the others shouldn't even be here." A red haired guy named Victor said. "We shouldn't keep them in here with us where they can put more of us at risk." There were a few murmurs of agreement after that.
"If you don't like it, you can just lock yourself in your room." Erin responded. "Besides, if he's infected, he'll come down with a fever before he starts to turn. If that happens, then we can do something about it." Erin replied.
"Everyone shut up." Simon spoke up. "We're going to settle this right now. Everyone here gets a vote."
Lucas voted to let the people stay, which ended up winning, and a few people left the room angrily. Afterwards, Simon told them that if the newcomers showed any signs of infection, that they would do something about it immediately. The people remaining in the room continued to argue with him or one another.
Having had enough, Lucas decided he ought to return to his room to call people and maybe see what more he could look up on the Internet. In a few minutes he'd come back down and wait in the common area for Evan to come back. Lucas figured that Evan was probably busy helping the strangers and would be okay on his own for a while.
