Lucas stepped away from the door, thinking about what he actually did know about the gruesome figure active on the other side. The zombie had become infected by something which had seemingly transformed his basic physiology. It was only after several seconds of smelling and breathing the sick, coppery scent of its blood that it dawned on him that might be unsafe. After all, they didn't know if it was only transmitted via bite, or if there were some other infectious vector.
"Everyone should keep away from the door." Lucas announced as he approached Simon and Jorge beside the stairs. "It's possible that whatever is causing this is in the air."
"If it's in the air, then we're really screwed." Simon lamented as Erin and Jorge retreated further upon hearing the voiced warning.
"Maybe so. Maybe not. It could travel all over, or just a couple of feet." Left unvoiced, Lucas thought that if he came down with the beginning stages of the illness, he would at least be able to tell them that the smell of its blood was dangerous. That wasn't something he enjoyed thinking about, but a helpful factoid gained through a grievous error was better than nothing, at least. It would be better if only he was exposed to it, if that turned out to be the case. "But we should definitely be very careful until we know more."
"I don't plan on going out there until they've sorted this thing out." Jorge shook his head and stroked his fingers over his mustache. "And I don't think anyone else is eager to get close to those things."
"I think he's referring to that infected guy. Robert, I think his name was." Simon shook his head, eying the figure at the door, still firmly holding the pipe in his right hand.
"We don't even know for certain that he's infected." Erin reminded them.
"Hey, we all agreed it would be okay if he stays here for now." Jorge added, watching Simon. "The news said it takes a while to come down with the illness anyway. It takes a few hours after showing symptoms. Plenty of warning time for us to do something about it if he is infected."
"I wasn't thinking about that." Lucas said as he paced from side to side beside the bottom of the stairs. "I meant we should be extra careful. It's not behaving like a normal disease so we can't know whether boiling infected water really will make it safe to drink. So we should stockpile as much as we can while we know it's still safe."
There was a momentary period of relative silence before Erin spoke. "We've already been doing that. And besides, I already drank some of the water and I'm okay."
"I did too, this morning." Jorge shook his head. "And I feel fine."
Lucas looked at the two, Jorge standing close to the stairs while Erin still lingered in the hallway. "The water we have right now might not have been infected, so that doesn't prove anything. We won't know if boiling really works to make the water okay until we know we've got bad water in the first place."
"Yeah, so that doesn't help us at all." Simon motioned to the zombie at the doorway with his makeshift weapon. "Unless someone wants to volunteer to put some of that infected blood into their own water, boil it, and drink it." He laughed and added after a brief pause, looking at Lucas. "Nobody? Yeah, I thought so."
"It's still good to know in case someone starts getting sick. If that happens, that will probably be the reason why." Lucas wondered if the building's power would eventually go out. If that happened, he didn't know how they would continue boiling water. "Anyway, we should at least try to figure out how these zombies work."
"They're zombies. Everyone already knows how they work." Simon scoffed. "Don't get bitten and shoot it in the head. That's what the news has been saying too."
"But we might be able to figure out more than that." Lucas stared out at the figure, still at the door, tugging and pushing. The broken bones in its arm and leg did seem to hinder its movement a little, almost as if it instinctively knew to favor the injured limbs. Even with blood, if Lucas had been that active, he would have long tired out by now. "We have to be very careful, though and think about this scientifically."
"You just tried to use science, and it didn't work." Jorge motioned outside with his arm. "He's still there. Still moving around without blood. Even though you said the science says that shouldn't happen."
"That's right." Erin added with her eyes still nervously watching the doorway. "You proved this is supernatural. It can't be explained scientifically."
"Don't be ridiculous. Science isn't about every prediction being right. Sometimes it's about finding out that you're wrong. We just did science by figuring out these things don't need blood in order to survive. It proved that its muscles are working differently than they should be. And that's more than we knew before."
"Well, that sure sounds supernatural to me." Jorge spoke with mild agitation in his voice. "Like you said, they don't need blood."
"Supernatural isn't an explanation!" Lucas protested.
"Well, then what's your explanation, then?" Jorge shook his head in frustration and glanced to Erin.
"I can't explain that guy out there right now, but that's exactly why we need to think about this scientifically!" Lucas raised his voice. "We need to figure out what is going on so we'll know how to deal with it!"
"It could be nanomachines." Simon contributed, then shrugged. "But all that doesn't matter. All we need to do is keep ourselves safe until the army comes by to deal with this tomorrow."
The zombie groaned angrily at the door during the natural end to the argument. The door rattled, and a period of uncomfortable silence lingered for a few seconds. Somewhere down the hallway, the echoes of other voices were faintly audible.
Lucas was still a little annoyed, and considered for a moment between going into the common room to check out the news or return to his room to look up more information. He began to climb the stairs, then turned back to address the few people still tensely watching the glass entryway. "It's not like there's anything better to do while we wait. So we might as well try to do something, at least."
Ascending the stairs to return to his room, Lucas began to wonder what could explain the observed outcome. Of course, he could be wrong about the blood, but at this point, it seemed extremely unlikely.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Disorganized
Anxiously resting against the wall beside the doorway, Evan listened to the sound of voices drifting from the lobby. The conversation was just faded enough by distance in order to make it hard to understand. The locked door stood nearby, Evan's angle of view was just enough to survey the walkway between the library and Blackwood dorm, and a section of the park blocks beyond.
Evan glanced back when he heard the calm, quiet sound of a page turning. After Victor and the others had left and the door was locked up once more, George had slouched against the wall. He was calmly reading his paperback book as if nothing had happened. A length of a steel bar he had as a defensive weapon rested upright against the leg of his jeans and the wall. George didn't even seem to realize that Evan had remained nearby.
If the group outside were to come back, alertness might make a big difference. They should be ready for that, but it had been a while now since the group had departed. Evan began to wonder if it might be a better idea to have some people watch from the rooftop and use a cell phone to call down if they saw something important. Now he sort of wished he had arranged to do that, since he would have been able to see the side of the Sanders building from up there.
"So are you going to let them in if they return?" Evan inquired as he still focused on the view outside.
George looked up, almost with an expression of alarm and spoke hesitantly after a moment. "If it's safe, sure. I don't see why not. But why would they come back?"
"They might if they realize how dangerous it is out there."
"I don't know if they will. If they really wanted to leave, they probably should have left sooner when there wasn't a zombie right outside." George clasped the book closed around a blue marker and folded it under his arm. "It makes no sense to leave only when you know for sure you'd be in danger."
"If you know that, then why did you let them go outside?" Evan frowned. "Or at least try to stop them?"
George scratched at the side of his smoothly shaved chin and shrugged. Just as Evan thought that was going to be the full extent of the reply, he spoke. "I told them it was a bad idea. Besides, if they really wanted to get out of here, it's not like I could really force them to stay."
"Yeah, I guess that's right." Evan sighed, staring out at what he could see of the park blocks. He caught a momentary glimpse of a black bird flying through the air.
There was a brief period of calm stillness in the hall as the faint echoes of conversation took place around the corner and down the hallway. Evan figured he should probably check up on Robert and the others as well before too long. Give them the news that the task was done and Robert would be allowed to stay. Esteban seemed sensible enough that it seemed like his judgement of Robert's health would suffice for now.
Evan realized the most important thing would be to see what he could do to organize everyone a little better. That would be the most useful thing that he could do right now. This place needed some kind of leadership, instead of the haphazard, random stewardship that seemed to be taking place right now. Currently, Simon seemed to be the one most in charge, but he had seemed to do little more than to ensure the doors to the building were securely locked.
There were plenty of other things that still needed to be done. They should check through all the rooms to figure out their supplies and count how many people were in the building. Plus it couldn't hurt to have more people watching the doors in groups of two or three. Additionally they ought to exchange numbers and put some people in a watching position on the roof.
Since Blackwood dorm and its occupants were entirely unorganized compared to the one from which Evan left, there was no shortage of things he could do next. But it also made him feel like he was needed here.
"Well, I ought to get going. Keep an eye out for the people who left, okay?" Evan said as he proceeded beyond George.
"I will." George said as he retrieved the book from under his arm.
Evan glanced back when he heard the calm, quiet sound of a page turning. After Victor and the others had left and the door was locked up once more, George had slouched against the wall. He was calmly reading his paperback book as if nothing had happened. A length of a steel bar he had as a defensive weapon rested upright against the leg of his jeans and the wall. George didn't even seem to realize that Evan had remained nearby.
If the group outside were to come back, alertness might make a big difference. They should be ready for that, but it had been a while now since the group had departed. Evan began to wonder if it might be a better idea to have some people watch from the rooftop and use a cell phone to call down if they saw something important. Now he sort of wished he had arranged to do that, since he would have been able to see the side of the Sanders building from up there.
"So are you going to let them in if they return?" Evan inquired as he still focused on the view outside.
George looked up, almost with an expression of alarm and spoke hesitantly after a moment. "If it's safe, sure. I don't see why not. But why would they come back?"
"They might if they realize how dangerous it is out there."
"I don't know if they will. If they really wanted to leave, they probably should have left sooner when there wasn't a zombie right outside." George clasped the book closed around a blue marker and folded it under his arm. "It makes no sense to leave only when you know for sure you'd be in danger."
"If you know that, then why did you let them go outside?" Evan frowned. "Or at least try to stop them?"
George scratched at the side of his smoothly shaved chin and shrugged. Just as Evan thought that was going to be the full extent of the reply, he spoke. "I told them it was a bad idea. Besides, if they really wanted to get out of here, it's not like I could really force them to stay."
"Yeah, I guess that's right." Evan sighed, staring out at what he could see of the park blocks. He caught a momentary glimpse of a black bird flying through the air.
There was a brief period of calm stillness in the hall as the faint echoes of conversation took place around the corner and down the hallway. Evan figured he should probably check up on Robert and the others as well before too long. Give them the news that the task was done and Robert would be allowed to stay. Esteban seemed sensible enough that it seemed like his judgement of Robert's health would suffice for now.
Evan realized the most important thing would be to see what he could do to organize everyone a little better. That would be the most useful thing that he could do right now. This place needed some kind of leadership, instead of the haphazard, random stewardship that seemed to be taking place right now. Currently, Simon seemed to be the one most in charge, but he had seemed to do little more than to ensure the doors to the building were securely locked.
There were plenty of other things that still needed to be done. They should check through all the rooms to figure out their supplies and count how many people were in the building. Plus it couldn't hurt to have more people watching the doors in groups of two or three. Additionally they ought to exchange numbers and put some people in a watching position on the roof.
Since Blackwood dorm and its occupants were entirely unorganized compared to the one from which Evan left, there was no shortage of things he could do next. But it also made him feel like he was needed here.
"Well, I ought to get going. Keep an eye out for the people who left, okay?" Evan said as he proceeded beyond George.
"I will." George said as he retrieved the book from under his arm.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Contradiction
Lucas paced back and forth in the lobby mere feet from the glass door, anxiously waiting in silence. Beside him, the door rattled in its frame as he strode back and forth, but he only occasionally looked up to examine the figure challenging the thin, clear barrier. At its feet, a broad puddle of dark, wet blood had spread and its grey slacks were stained black around the lower legs. Its fine black shoes were drenched. The lip of the door frame kept blood from leaking into the building. A faint, coppery scent wafted through the air.
Retrieving the cell phone from his pocket, Lucas glanced at the time, reading 2:03 PM. That meant the ten minute mark had come and gone. And now, they were entering minute twelve. "Huh. It probably should have happened by now." Squatting down, Lucas inspected the ground outside, judging the size of the ochre pool. A roughly oval shape some four feet across and maybe seven wide, it certainly seemed like a lot of blood. Even so, it was still losing more and the thing still twisted its whole body as it strained, pushing and pulling at the door handle as if it wasn't impaired by the loss.
"Of course it didn't happen." Simon stated. "It's a zombie. Everyone knows that only headshots work on a zombie." He raised a couple of fingers from his left hand to his temple to indicate a gunshot. "Plus they've been saying it on the news since this started."
"Zombie or not, it should still need oxygen to move. And it needs blood to carry it around." Lucas thought of the imprecision of his own inadequate knowledge. Estimating how long the muscles could work without blood in the body was at best an educated guess. Although according to the articles he browsed, his estimate seemed- if anything- overly generous. "It's science."
"Well, it looks like your science is wrong." Jorge said.
"It's not wrong. For us at least." Lucas turned away from the door to look at the people still present. Simon and Jorge stood near the stairs on the other side of the lobby while Erin watched nervously from the hallway that led to the common room. Victor and Evan had apparently wandered off somewhere. "But it looks like it's probably wrong for him." Lucas gestured towards the glass door. "That means these zombies are getting energy to move in an entirely different way than we do. They must be."
"So we still don't know anything." Jorge shook his head, his long ponytail swinging against his shoulders as he crossed his arms over his red shirt.
"No, we do know one thing at least." Lucas paused as he considered his previous hypothesis. This meant something very strange was going on. New physical forces, or unusual chemical reactions. He was wary of jumping to wild conclusions, but unless their visitor collapsed very soon from blood loss, it was an inevitable conclusion to reach. "It means these people aren't just sick with some regular disease."
"Sick people don't usually run around biting other people." Simon shook his head. "We knew that before, genius."
"What about rabies?" Erin added. "It could be some type of rabies."
"I meant something more is happening to their bodies to allow them to still move around without oxygen." Lucas turned back to the doorway and skeptically examined the figure again with a frown. The blood still made him a little queasy, but he was also a little excited by the inevitable, almost absurd conclusions. "That's really weird. It doesn't work like a normal disease and it proves that we can't trust what we know about diseases to work for this one."
"Like what?" Jorge asked. There was a period of relative silence as everyone present exchanged glances towards each other. The metallic scent of blood was growing stronger in the air. Still, the zombie outside mashed itself up against the door.
"That's just it." Lucas looked back towards the others. "We don't know what we can trust anymore. We should be careful we don't assume things we have no reason to believe is actually true. Like how do we actually know that boiling water will make it safe?"
Retrieving the cell phone from his pocket, Lucas glanced at the time, reading 2:03 PM. That meant the ten minute mark had come and gone. And now, they were entering minute twelve. "Huh. It probably should have happened by now." Squatting down, Lucas inspected the ground outside, judging the size of the ochre pool. A roughly oval shape some four feet across and maybe seven wide, it certainly seemed like a lot of blood. Even so, it was still losing more and the thing still twisted its whole body as it strained, pushing and pulling at the door handle as if it wasn't impaired by the loss.
"Of course it didn't happen." Simon stated. "It's a zombie. Everyone knows that only headshots work on a zombie." He raised a couple of fingers from his left hand to his temple to indicate a gunshot. "Plus they've been saying it on the news since this started."
"Zombie or not, it should still need oxygen to move. And it needs blood to carry it around." Lucas thought of the imprecision of his own inadequate knowledge. Estimating how long the muscles could work without blood in the body was at best an educated guess. Although according to the articles he browsed, his estimate seemed- if anything- overly generous. "It's science."
"Well, it looks like your science is wrong." Jorge said.
"It's not wrong. For us at least." Lucas turned away from the door to look at the people still present. Simon and Jorge stood near the stairs on the other side of the lobby while Erin watched nervously from the hallway that led to the common room. Victor and Evan had apparently wandered off somewhere. "But it looks like it's probably wrong for him." Lucas gestured towards the glass door. "That means these zombies are getting energy to move in an entirely different way than we do. They must be."
"So we still don't know anything." Jorge shook his head, his long ponytail swinging against his shoulders as he crossed his arms over his red shirt.
"No, we do know one thing at least." Lucas paused as he considered his previous hypothesis. This meant something very strange was going on. New physical forces, or unusual chemical reactions. He was wary of jumping to wild conclusions, but unless their visitor collapsed very soon from blood loss, it was an inevitable conclusion to reach. "It means these people aren't just sick with some regular disease."
"Sick people don't usually run around biting other people." Simon shook his head. "We knew that before, genius."
"What about rabies?" Erin added. "It could be some type of rabies."
"I meant something more is happening to their bodies to allow them to still move around without oxygen." Lucas turned back to the doorway and skeptically examined the figure again with a frown. The blood still made him a little queasy, but he was also a little excited by the inevitable, almost absurd conclusions. "That's really weird. It doesn't work like a normal disease and it proves that we can't trust what we know about diseases to work for this one."
"Like what?" Jorge asked. There was a period of relative silence as everyone present exchanged glances towards each other. The metallic scent of blood was growing stronger in the air. Still, the zombie outside mashed itself up against the door.
"That's just it." Lucas looked back towards the others. "We don't know what we can trust anymore. We should be careful we don't assume things we have no reason to believe is actually true. Like how do we actually know that boiling water will make it safe?"
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Not Recommended
After thoroughly examining himself Evan was fairly certain he didn't get any of the infected blood on him. Still, he thought it would be best to wash up as soon as he had the chance. Although others gave him a cursory glance over for any signs of bites, their attention was drawn away once Lucas had made his proclaimation. There was a nervous silence in the room, punctuated by the rattling of the lock in the door and the protesting groans of their unwanted visitor.
Evan felt nervous and worried as he tried to keep himself prepared to move. Lucas paced only a few feet in front of the glass door as if he was unconcerned, occasionally turning to inspect the human figure on the other side. Evan would never get that close, even if he knew it was safe, without being meticulously prepared for anything. But Lucas could be a little careless like that.
The other spectators in the lobby had backed away from the doorway as the zombie approached. Jorge and Simon were now near the stairs, and Victor stood beside a curly haired blond girl Evan didn't yet know. Unfortunate that so many people in here were strangers to him, but when he would spend time with Lucas out of class, it was rarely in this dorm's common area.
After about a minute, Victor spoke, holding a length of sturdy pipe in his left hand. "Well, I'm not waiting. If anyone wants to come, then you better come quick." He pivoted and proceeded through the hallway past the curly haired girl towards the common room.
"What?" Evan asked, reluctantly pulling himself away from the room to follow. "You're not actually thinking of leaving, are you?" He nodded politely to the blond girl as he passed by her, noticing that some of the longer hair had been braided into a serviceable ponytail. Everyone else remained behind to observe the injured zombie.
"It's not safe if the zombies are starting to come this way. Especially if someone infected is being allowed to stay inside." Victor plainly said as he deftly recovered and held a resident keycard to the reader beside the door. A slight beep and the quiet click of the mechanism triggered a moment later. "If you want to stay here and find out, be my guest."
"Are you crazy? This place is already locked up. We have power and water, and people on the outside already know we're in here." Evan cajoled Victor as he cracked open the door. As he did so, the voices earlier faded became clearer, speaking to one another with nerves or feigned casual disinterest. "Plus they're going to send in the military to take care of this problem, too." Evan opted to ignore the point about Robert. As far as Evan was concerned, that was far from certain.
"What if the hundreds or thousands already there head this way from across the river? Think that shoddy glass door will keep them all out?" Victor shook his head and went inside. "No way am I sticking around here to find out."
"Then we can hide on the roof. Helicopters would be able to see us, and it would still be safer than wandering around outside."
Victor ignored Evan entirely, instead addressing the people in the common room with a deep, firm voice. "Attention everyone. The zombie right outside can't run anymore so I'm leaving now. Anyone who wants to leave with me, grab your stuff. I want to get out of here before any more of them run out this way." A few people were already hastily rising and retrieving items they had left around the room.
"Where do you plan on going?" A short white girl skeptically intoned. She wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt. She had a tire iron placed before her on the table close to her right hand as she rose from her seat. Her body was fairly well toned and her brown hair was trimmed short.
"There are a lot of bicycles locked up on bike racks around here, so first we'll head out there." Victor motioned to the park blocks with a sweep of his arm. "Then, since the zombies are up in the Rose Quarter, we'll go south as far as we can go, probably on the freeway. We'll move as quick as we can and find another place to hide out if we need to rest. And we don't stop until we're completely out of danger."
"Wait!" Evan held up his hands in an effort to stop the recruitment. "We don't even know for sure what places are safe. Are you going to really risk your lives on the assumption that there aren't any more zombies in the direction you're choosing to go?"
"Don't be ridiculous. We know they're not everywhere and the only one we've seen so far came from the north. The only thing we know for sure is that there are a ton more of them in downtown Portland than anywhere else nearby. Hell, in a few hours, there's going to be another one in this building."
There was less than a minute of murmuring conversation as the people in the common room spoke in idle conversation. Before long, six people coalesced near Victor and began to file out of the door. That left a dozen or so opting to stay behind. Unfortunately, Evan noted that the short brunette was among the people who opted to take the risk.
As they departed into the hallway to enact their foolish plan, Evan followed them, trying to convince someone not to go. He told them that the CDC recommended everyone stay put while the situation was examined. Failing that, the news that the military and disaster response teams would be here soon. Evan could not understand why people would have such a careless attitude.
The departing group approached the side door where George had let Evan out not too long ago. As they left the common room and turned right to head to the back exit, George lowered the book he had been reading and stared at them in surprise. He stammered as they approached. "G-g-going outside?"
"We're leaving. You want to go with us?" Victor nodded as he spoke.
"That's a real bad idea." George said, tucking the book under one arm as he took the key from his belt. "But if you're sure."
Leaning up close against the door window, George checked all around for signs of movement. After several seconds, he nervously unlocked the door, and let the group depart. After the last one filed out, George peered outside and then gave Evan a questioning look. He shook his head, and in reply, George quickly closed the door and locked it firmly.
Evan frowned, sighed and remained in the hallway for a while with George. The same act that had saved three people might have been the catalyst for the departure of those seven. If something went wrong, they might soon attempt a return to this door. Evan waited, watching.
Evan felt nervous and worried as he tried to keep himself prepared to move. Lucas paced only a few feet in front of the glass door as if he was unconcerned, occasionally turning to inspect the human figure on the other side. Evan would never get that close, even if he knew it was safe, without being meticulously prepared for anything. But Lucas could be a little careless like that.
The other spectators in the lobby had backed away from the doorway as the zombie approached. Jorge and Simon were now near the stairs, and Victor stood beside a curly haired blond girl Evan didn't yet know. Unfortunate that so many people in here were strangers to him, but when he would spend time with Lucas out of class, it was rarely in this dorm's common area.
After about a minute, Victor spoke, holding a length of sturdy pipe in his left hand. "Well, I'm not waiting. If anyone wants to come, then you better come quick." He pivoted and proceeded through the hallway past the curly haired girl towards the common room.
"What?" Evan asked, reluctantly pulling himself away from the room to follow. "You're not actually thinking of leaving, are you?" He nodded politely to the blond girl as he passed by her, noticing that some of the longer hair had been braided into a serviceable ponytail. Everyone else remained behind to observe the injured zombie.
"It's not safe if the zombies are starting to come this way. Especially if someone infected is being allowed to stay inside." Victor plainly said as he deftly recovered and held a resident keycard to the reader beside the door. A slight beep and the quiet click of the mechanism triggered a moment later. "If you want to stay here and find out, be my guest."
"Are you crazy? This place is already locked up. We have power and water, and people on the outside already know we're in here." Evan cajoled Victor as he cracked open the door. As he did so, the voices earlier faded became clearer, speaking to one another with nerves or feigned casual disinterest. "Plus they're going to send in the military to take care of this problem, too." Evan opted to ignore the point about Robert. As far as Evan was concerned, that was far from certain.
"What if the hundreds or thousands already there head this way from across the river? Think that shoddy glass door will keep them all out?" Victor shook his head and went inside. "No way am I sticking around here to find out."
"Then we can hide on the roof. Helicopters would be able to see us, and it would still be safer than wandering around outside."
Victor ignored Evan entirely, instead addressing the people in the common room with a deep, firm voice. "Attention everyone. The zombie right outside can't run anymore so I'm leaving now. Anyone who wants to leave with me, grab your stuff. I want to get out of here before any more of them run out this way." A few people were already hastily rising and retrieving items they had left around the room.
"Where do you plan on going?" A short white girl skeptically intoned. She wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt. She had a tire iron placed before her on the table close to her right hand as she rose from her seat. Her body was fairly well toned and her brown hair was trimmed short.
"There are a lot of bicycles locked up on bike racks around here, so first we'll head out there." Victor motioned to the park blocks with a sweep of his arm. "Then, since the zombies are up in the Rose Quarter, we'll go south as far as we can go, probably on the freeway. We'll move as quick as we can and find another place to hide out if we need to rest. And we don't stop until we're completely out of danger."
"Wait!" Evan held up his hands in an effort to stop the recruitment. "We don't even know for sure what places are safe. Are you going to really risk your lives on the assumption that there aren't any more zombies in the direction you're choosing to go?"
"Don't be ridiculous. We know they're not everywhere and the only one we've seen so far came from the north. The only thing we know for sure is that there are a ton more of them in downtown Portland than anywhere else nearby. Hell, in a few hours, there's going to be another one in this building."
There was less than a minute of murmuring conversation as the people in the common room spoke in idle conversation. Before long, six people coalesced near Victor and began to file out of the door. That left a dozen or so opting to stay behind. Unfortunately, Evan noted that the short brunette was among the people who opted to take the risk.
As they departed into the hallway to enact their foolish plan, Evan followed them, trying to convince someone not to go. He told them that the CDC recommended everyone stay put while the situation was examined. Failing that, the news that the military and disaster response teams would be here soon. Evan could not understand why people would have such a careless attitude.
The departing group approached the side door where George had let Evan out not too long ago. As they left the common room and turned right to head to the back exit, George lowered the book he had been reading and stared at them in surprise. He stammered as they approached. "G-g-going outside?"
"We're leaving. You want to go with us?" Victor nodded as he spoke.
"That's a real bad idea." George said, tucking the book under one arm as he took the key from his belt. "But if you're sure."
Leaning up close against the door window, George checked all around for signs of movement. After several seconds, he nervously unlocked the door, and let the group depart. After the last one filed out, George peered outside and then gave Evan a questioning look. He shook his head, and in reply, George quickly closed the door and locked it firmly.
Evan frowned, sighed and remained in the hallway for a while with George. The same act that had saved three people might have been the catalyst for the departure of those seven. If something went wrong, they might soon attempt a return to this door. Evan waited, watching.
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