Beyond the Horizon(An apocalypse novel)

Chapter 18: Corridor

He looked at the students before him, sighing once again.

"There’s nothing I can do to change your minds, is there?"

They all kept silent; the answer was rather evident.

"Fine. But you must stay close to me at all times, and alert me if you notice anything—anything at all."

There were no arguments with that. Mr. Morgan glanced at the bat in his hand, then glanced at the three still lying on the floor.

"There are only three bats left. I’m not taking anyone out unarmed."

Brandon stretched out a hand; a blue flame crawled up his sleeve, briefly lighting up the room before dying out.

"I don’t need a weapon."

’Show off.’

Miles couldn’t help snickering in his mind at the sight. It’d be a lie to say he wasn’t jealous.

Grimm, having stood up from his wall perch, merely shifted his gun. There was little chance he’d be needing another weapon either.

Seeing the matter settle itself, the vice-principal could only give in.

"Pick a bat from the floor."

Miles wasted no time in doing so. Neither did Chloe, though she seemed much more hesitant in carrying it. Kyle picked the very last one with a bit of excitement.

Although painted to look like wood, the bats were anything but that.

Holding the bat, the cold feel of its metal pressed against his skin slowly calmed his mind. It reminded him of the window from the taxi this morning.

Taking little swings, he tested its weight. The bat felt lighter than it looked, which didn’t surprise him all that much. After all, they were hollow inside.

That didn’t mean the build quality was bad, though. There was a rigidness to it, one that spoke of untold harm if directed at someone’s head.

He turned to find Chloe holding her bat awkwardly, constantly changing her grip as she held the unfamiliar tool. This time, she caught his gaze.

Miles turned his head to break contact when he noticed her point a finger to his bat. He raised his head to find a questioning look on her face.

It wasn’t too hard to piece together what she meant.

’Do you know how to use that thing?’

He could only shake his head in response. He’d never been a sports person.

’Can’t be too hard, right?’

The girl’s shoulders lowered dejectedly, taking a hesitant glance towards Kyle before heading towards the door.

The boy in question took mock swings, the bat going in wild trajectories as a light smile grew on his face.

The final bat was with Mr. Morgan, kept secure in his left hand.

The man scanned the students one more time before speaking.

"Mrs. Kathy. Ryan. Please step forward."

Mrs. Kathy wasted no time in doing so; she had a look of worry on her face as she stared at the students. Still, she made no attempt to dissuade either them or the vice-principal.

Ryan, on the other hand, had a face blank with shock at the mention of his name, shifting his gaze between Mia—now listless against the wall—and Mr. Morgan. In the end, he whispered something in her ear before walking towards Mr. Morgan.

The vice-principal dragged them into a huddle, speaking in hushed tones. Try as he might to eavesdrop on their talk, Miles could only make out a few words.

".... Care... You... Manage.... wait."

With that, the man stepped back, then spoke out loud.

"I’ll leave everything in your hands, then."

Mrs. Kathy only nodded solemnly in response. Mr. Morgan stepped back, turned, and walked towards the door.

He placed a hand on the handle, paused, and turned back to face everyone behind him.

"We’ll be back as soon as we can."

He pushed the doors open and stepped out. Brandon and Kyle followed behind, neither turning back once. Then Grimm.

Miles glanced at Chloe, only to find her glancing back at him. He held her gaze for a moment before sighing and stepping forward.

She followed right behind him, closing the metal doors as they stepped into a long, windowless corridor.

The window at the far end of it was expectedly broken, leaving a pile of snow below it as the storm blew in.

The temperature drop was instant. Even for Miles.

It felt worse than when he’d first stepped out.

Chloe wore a sweater and some jeans, so she was fine. Grimm never wore anything besides a sweater. It was the rest that were in trouble.

Mr. Morgan wore a formal, button-up shirt. Kyle and Brandon were in worse condition with short sleeves.

Yet as they all shivered, Brandon seemed little affected by it. Neither did Grimm.

He logged the oddity, just as Mr. Morgan turned to address them. The man raised his voice, barely audible above the wind.

"Grimm, since you’re here, I assume you’re willing to help us."

The boy kept silent for a moment, taking a quick glance at the gun in his hand before giving a hesitant nod.

"Then I can’t have you accidentally shooting one of us; you’re in the front with me. Same thing goes with you, Brandon, can’t have you burning anyone."

Brandon just shrugged before stepping forward. Grimm didn’t seem to have a problem with it either as he stepped forward, though he did shoot a suspicious glance at Kyle behind him.

Miles felt relieved at the formation. It had the side benefit of placing Mr. Morgan between the two most likely to kill each other. A perk he was certain the man was aware of.

"The rest of you, stay close."

With that he turned and started walking cautiously towards the end of the corridor. Its narrow, windowless design caused a wind tunnel effect, funneling the cold winds from outside into waves crashing into them.

Mr. Morgan served as an excellent windbreak, though. Miles trailed behind the man as they crept forward, the tip of his nose growing increasingly colder the closer they got to the end.

The moment Miles stepped into the hallway beyond, a pervasive sense of wrongness ran through him. Looking at the others’ mix of shocked and disturbed expressions, it hit him.

The constant rumble and thrashing of the storm, one his mind had already begun processing as background noise, had vanished.

So had the wind.

A chill ran down his spine as he raised his gaze to find a window—one he’d just seen shattered—whole once more.