Seeking arsenal

It was almost impossible to decide whether their current situation would be advantageous to them. Too much going on at the same time. They need to go down to check if those three are still breathing or not. Anyone can survive the fall. The thought lurks in the corner of their minds, as they try to remain as optimistic as possible. This isn't a dream, it's happening right now. They kept repeating it, too much to swallow at once.

Swallowing down her saliva, Lue managed to catch up with whatever was currently going on. She was able to think straight. She gazed around, looking at all of them, realizing she wasn't the only one who said, they all are.

"They said that there are maps here," she said solemnly, her eyes shining a bright light, "instead of standing here we should get moving, we..." she paused looking the other way and started moving tentatively, "we need to check on them too, right?"

The silence was deafening. Nodding in agreement mostly to themselves, they looked at each other rather than at her. All of them searched every corner of the classroom, turning it upside down. They managed to get two maps. Upon looking at the maps, they discovered that only one of them actually contained the blueprints for the school. The other map was for something else, which was not the school. Lue kept the other map in her pocket just in case they might need it.

There were only three areas that were off-limits. First was the jungle behind the school, the second was the school mess, and the third was the abandoned building near the lake. This was on the west side of the playground. Regardless, the school is hella big. To finish this test they need to cross the playground and reach its east side, where a bus is standing. It needs to be started and sound horned.

The map said 'You are here' which was on the fourth floor. There are a total of 10 classrooms, 2 washrooms and a chemistry lab on their floor.

"Let's go," Lue said after studying the map. "We shouldn't waste much time."

"Wait," Lorek alerted, standing up from the circle they had formed. "We need weapons."

Everyone starts murmuring. "Lorek does have a point. We need weapons"

"But from where? That is the real question," Lue asked, folding her arms and leaning against the teacher's table.

Eve strides towards Lue and takes the teacher's chair from her other side and lifts it. The chair breaks into several pieces when she throws it hard on the floor. In search of anything she could use, she took one of the legs of the wooden chair. Other pieces were of no use at all. The furniture here is particularly old and damaged.

"Well, I got one for myself I guess," she said proudly, pointing out the wooden stick at everyone.

Kayan scoffed, "Wow, Miss Eve sounds like she could beat those wild things with a wooden thing that's remarkably strong." He said sarcastically, pressing the last word even more.

"Seems like Kayan had planned to take out those things with his bare hands. Wow, can't imagine you hitting those decomposing things." Eve said making a disgusted face as she continued, "someone said, Something is better than nothing" as she placed the wooden stick on her shoulder.

Kayan couldn't argue anymore, as it wouldn't lead anywhere and he realized that she wasn't wrong, and so did others.

"Well, "Lorek's voice interrupted everyone's thoughts, "I think we should hit the chemistry lab first."

"You think we will find something there?" Iris asked, playing with her blond hair.

Lorek looked down, thinking, "There must be something here." He wasn't sure if they would really find anything.

"You are skilled with chemicals," Beric stated with a reassuring smile to Lorek, "I think you would find something helpful. It's worth a shot."

"Seems like it's decided then," she stands straight and continues, "everyone is ready, right?" she walks towards the door and looks back at them. Everyone nods in agreement, this time actually looking at her. She smiles and slides open the door. "Then let's go!"

The hallway wasn't particularly peculiar but the handprints and scuff marks are worth mentioning. Lorek guided the group by looking at the map. It wasn't difficult at all. The school was shaped like a semicircle, a big semicircle to be precise. The classroom they were in was at the end of the corridor and after a few paces of the classroom, there was a fire exit.

They took a right turn and after a few paces, they were able to see the stairs, in the middle of the whole fourth floor.

The urge within Lue is to leave the crowd and go down in search of the other three; her mind won't rest until she confirms that they are alive, but she knows she can't. There is no way she can ruin their plan. The situation they are in requires group rather than individual action. She doesn't know who and what awaits her down there. Without a weapon, even if she finds them, she won't be of any help. Thus, she keeps her composure and walks straight as she looks for the chemistry lab, completely ignoring the stairs.

After crossing several more classes they took a right turn and were able to spot the chemistry lab at the other end of the corridor. All of them rushed towards it in joy and pushed open the chemistry lab door. To their surprise, the door wasn't locked. Everyone started searching for some sort of weapon that could be used for defence.

Lorek found a small backpack. Not to his surprise only one zip was working and didn't have any holes. He started searching on the shelf, picking up several bottles and throwing them inside the bag. He carefully picked up some liquid bottles and placed them inside the bag.

Seeing all this Beric asked in curiosity, "Wow, that's a lot of stuff there," eyeing the bag.

"Well," Lorek scratched his neck, "The lab has a lot of flammable stuff. We can give wild creatures who are waiting for us a small gift, right?"

Beric chuckled, "Not a terrible idea, young scientist."

"Beric," Lorek's voice suddenly became serious, "Help me find some clothes or cotton or anything that can hold the flame and," he finally looked him in the eyes, "and... if possible... a med kit."

He gave him a reassuring nod and turned to the other students, "Guys, do your utmost to find a med kit with clothes inside and, of course, a reliable weapon." He finished his part and walked to the other end of the lab.

Iris and Theo were in the second half of the chemistry lab. There were many types of equipment and research papers kept. There was enough silver in the light from the ventilation to indicate how much dust was in the room. A squeaky voice was heard from a door nearby, which made Iris jump.

"You heard that?" she said slowly, as she paced towards the door.

"Yeah, that sounds like some animal" Theo followed her.

As they slid open the door, they found a table with several boxes of paper. The voice came again, but this time it wasn't just one. Instead, it was like many animals were crying for help. They slowly made their way into the room, covering their mouths. Iris circled around the table following the voices. Theo stood there looking at the papers.

"Animal experiments...hmmm," Theo said to himself. He took a file and blew off the dust, taking it outside to get some more light, "Are these about the animals-"

"AAAHHHHHHHHH" a scream came from inside.