Chapter 2

Night fell.

It was surrealistic. Kali was nearly certain that he was dreaming; he kept eyeing the black of the stairwell. The lights automatically shut off after so long without movement in the building, leaving both Kali and Brian in absolute darkness. It made them both uneasy. The dark surrounded them, coated them like a blanket of oil or paint and reached out with perceived jagged hands and claws, pulling at their makeshift bedding of which they both bundled together in.

"There has to be something in that hall," Brian said shakily.

"Don't say that," Kali responded sharply.

"Okay. I'm just being realistic."

"You've not been realistic one day in your life."

"Um, excuse you? I feel that I am always realistic."

"Yes, because demons in the dark are realistic."

"Hey, wait, I never said demons, I just said something." He shrugged, as if to emphasise his point.

"Yeah? What is something?"

"I don't know. A raccoon."

Although Brian could not see the glare that Kali gave him, he could definitely feel it, "Really? A raccoon in the school?"

"Maybe a window was left open."

Kali suddenly glowed, "Maybe a window was left open! We should check."

"Right now?"

"I don't know about you," Kali sighed, "But I really don't want to spend the rest of the night in this stupid dark place."

"Awe, but I'm so comfy."

"Yeah, because you're literally on top of me. Get off!" Kali used his hands to push Brian away from him with force, to which Brian promptly whined in complaint. The school was deathly, eerily silent, with no sound except for their rhythmic heartbeats and shallow, gently scared breaths. Kali was suddenly queasy. Brian moved away from him by only a few inches and at Kali's request; yet, being unable to feel the familiar warmth of another living person in the intense darkness made Kali feel utterly, impossibly alone and vulnerable. He shook, and gently reached out a hand to take Brian's arm and pull them closer together again.

"Change your mind?" He joked.

Kali growled dangerously, "I don't want you on top of me! But whenever you're that far I feel way too vulnerable. You're supposed to be my human shield in case a demon comes after us."

"Uh-huh. So kind of you. So glad we are friends... On an unrelated note, we should go look for that window."

"Brian, I'm not sure there is an open window. All of the classrooms are locked. It was stupid of me to suggest."

"How do you know?"

"Because... The teachers always lock them?"

"Maybe one forgot, Mr. Pessimism."

Dryly and very sarcastically, "Ha-ha..." Then, more genuinely, "Brian, how come you want to go home so bad? I mean, I do too, but isn't your home life... Not the best?"

"Home is still home even if it is a bad one." He sighed. "Family is still family until you can remove yourself from the situation. But until then, you are forced to love them."

"I will never understand that," Kali said, sighing gently and with empathy. "My parents have always been so good to me."

"But...?"

"That's just it, Brian. There isn't a but, and there shouldn't be. There shouldn't be any reason or justification for neglectful or abusive parents. And, it shouldn't be expected of parents to be those things. It should be bare minimum for them to treat you like a child." Brian was silent for a while, but Kali could sense he overstepped, the air suddenly thick and heavy, and Brian's fidgeting slowed to a stop that hinted at dangerous levels of pretensive anger.

"I don't think you have any room to speak," he finally said. His words were cold and collected, well-pronounced and without the usual sparkle, bounce, and pop that they normally had. Brian was an extremely expressive and loud, upbeat individual; it terrified Kali to hear his voice shift to dark monotone. He would try to not overstep again, and now, his face flushed with the embarrassment of such a mistake, he remained trembling and silent. Now, Kali simply laid and curled on the bedding of plush clothes, wrapping himself in a jacket and staring into the darkness at nothing. He couldn't see; his mind was running too fast, and he was suddenly lost in it, no longer in the present of reality. Phrases of guilt, of anger, of self-hatred and undeniability ran rampant. Because how dare Kali try to care? How dare he overstep? And just as Brian reasoned these exact phrases in his head, so did Kali, and they both anointed hatred between them in a big, fat arrow pointing at Kali and his percieved incompetence. Brian took care to lay beside him in silence in a manner where they did not touch, leaving them together and yet utterly, impossibly alone.

Their sleep cleared the air.

They only awoke to the bright, blinding lights of the hallway being flashed on.

"Hey, dork."

Kali sighed in woe before he had even fully woken up. Neko had arrived. She shook him by the shoulders, "You!" He sat up and glared at her under heavily bagged eyes, saying nothing and yet saying so much. She said, "Up, get up."

"Why?" He growled, but instinctively stood up. He turned to wake Brian, but Neko shook her head and instead pulled him along by the wrist. Figuring Brian needed the sleep, and also not wanting Brian to be involved with Neko, Kali let her. She seemed tense rather than playful, but not in an aggressive manner- rather in a manner that spoke of hopelessness and unease and confusion. Kali himself felt tense now, for her fast paced walk and her stiff demeanor unsettled him. Her desperateness unsettled him. She led him upstairs, down the hall, and to a classroom where the lights were on, where she opened the door and walked in. Kali spoke in a subtle awe, "The door was open?"

"Nope," she said, "I have these handy-dandy bobby pins, though. I figured, if it works in Fallout, it would probably work in real life. Low and behold, it did. I slept here to escape the openness of the hallway." Kali glanced around the room, eyeing where her backpack sat against the wall, indented with a clear indication of being used as a pillow, confirming her story. She led Kali to the windows.

The light outside was blinding white, reflecting off of every surface.

"Holy-"

"I know," she said. She was breathless. The landscape painted outside was barren and cold, something out of a dystopian future. The roads were layered with thick ice, powdery snow flakes fluttering along the surface of everything. The windowseal itself had 4-5 inches of ice on it. Buildings were frozen on every surface with heavy ice, and piles of snow had accumulated against walls and doors in drifts from the harsh, billowing wind. It moaned and whipped the window with a slight banging sound.

More than this, though, was the sight of powerlines. The powerlines running along the highway were no longer existing in their usual form; instead, tall wooden pillars collapsed along the empty road, the lines laying along the iced-over cement and grass ditches and sidewalks, and even on buildings. In some areas, the cords twitched and sparked or casted flames that quickly simmered out by the wind. It seemed like Discord himself had done something heinous and infamous here. In reality, it was all caused by an ice storm and freezing rain, bringing weight to everything it touches, and in some cases, lasting weeks.

Kali only stared, blinking slow.

"What do we do?"

"We can't do anything, now. But I have a feeling that we are going to be here for a while." He took his eyes from the scene outside and instead drew them to her. Neko was practically trembling, twirling her long, dark hair in her fingers anxiously, fidgeting and staring pale-faced and wide-eyed forward. The white light from outside illuminated the features on her face. Her face was riddled with shallow bumps, spots of reddened acne. The silhouette of her face was quite ordinary, with a small nose, round cheeks, and angled eyes. And yet, somehow, Kali had become stuck with her and the most annoying person on the planet.

"What will we do?" she asked hesitantly. Her eyes were shimmery with a threatening wet; and her lower lip quivered. Kali despised this woman and rightfully should have left her then and there. But he couldn't. He cared too little about himself and too much about others for that to have ever been a possibility in his mind.

Instead, he put a delicate hand on her shoulder and sighed, "We will be okay. It won't last very long. There's food in the cafeteria, isn't there?" It was difficult him to feign positivity, but through gritted teeth, he managed to for her sake.

"Yeah, okay."

"Why don't we go downstairs so Brian doesn't wake up alone?"

"Okay." She sniffed lightly. She walked ahead of him, her ego still refusing to allow her to be a follower. They made their way back downstairs where Brian was still sound asleep. Kali crouched beside him, considering.

"Why don't we just let him sleep for a while?" he said.

"You saying that for his sake or yours?"

Kali chuckled, "Would I be a good person if I said both?"

She shook her head, "I don't think that's how this works."

"How does it work, then?" Kali asked as she walked over, her shoes clicking against the tile floor, and sat down beside him on the bedding.

"You're not good or bad based on actions nor intentions. You're solely a good or bad person based on the morality of those around you."

"Oh?"

"Even if you're Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, you could still be a bad person to someone if you, say, don't practice their religion. And, if you are a vicious murderer, maybe there are people out there who agreed with what you did and think you a good person."

"Oh."

"Being a good or bad person is not really based on your actions. It is more based on the opinions of those around you, so you shouldn't worry about it. I don't."

"That is apparent."

She glared at him, "That line right there is exactly why you deserve it."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Neko was only satisfied for a moment before his words contextualised themselves in her head, "What?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for me beating you up?"

"I deserve it."

"Christ, Kali. I know I'm not a great person, but that is another level. You're supposed to stand up for yourself."

"But why should I? It would just cause more problems."

Her voice rose louder, "Newsflash, Kali. Life is made of problems. Life is just one problem after another. Pick the problems that are best for you!"

"Is that what you do, Neko? You have a problem with everyone around you, and that is somehow best for you?"

"This isn't about me."

"When I try to stand up for myself, worse problems happen. That is exactly what happened today."

"No it's not."

"Neko, I got mad at you yesterday morning because you were being pissy with me first. That's when you went ballistic."

She snapped, "You don't get it!"

"No, I don't. Help me understand!"

"No, you don't get it. Because you're the perfect kid with the perfect life and the perfect friends who actually genuinely care about you. Your parents love you, you get better grades than most of us do, and you're maturing well enough, learning to drive and working part time. You don't get it, Kali, and you never, ever will. You have access to help. When you are upset, people notice, and they don't just roll their eyes and say, "ugh, not this again". All of your damn problems are your own fault! You dont have problems because of circumstance, because of an abusive life or poor social lfie or stress from school or being immature or from drugs or any of those things!" She stood up and faced him as he sat on the floor, trembling, her fists clenched at her sides and white at the knuckles. "You have it so damn good, you have the life everyone around you wants, and yet you're sad? And yet, you're wasting that, you're feeling sorry for yourself, hating yourself, throwing the perfect life you have away?" She paused to take a deep, shaky breath. "You will never understand, Kali, because you don't have any real problems."

"That was... wow." Kali and Neko's heads both snapped to the Brian who had apparently woken up to observe the conflict. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I wish I had popcorn." Neko only scoffed, crossing her arms and walking out of the well and into the hall. They heard her footsteps click agains the tile floor as they ventured farther away and faded. Brian turned to Kali with a partial grin on his face, "Real ladies' man, eh?"

"Oh, shut up," he said, sinking back into the wall.

"Chill, chill. Kali, Neko is just that way. Actually, I'm not sure I've ever managed to hear her say anything that wasn't an insult."

"I don't know. She wasn't insulting me earlier. She just seemed... scared."

"Scared?" Brian scoffed. "Neko? Scared? I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know what that word means."

"Brian," Kali said, slowly yet urgently, "We are trapped in the school."

"Good eye, Captain. Captain Obvious."

He growled, "Brian, you haven't seen what it's like outside. Powerlines writhing on the ground like beheaded snakes, and layers of inches of ice putting weight on every object in sight. Collapsed roofs, abandoned cars..."

"Powerlines? You mean some ice took out powerlines? So why is the power still on?" And, just as he said it, the lights flickered and then dimmed to nothing. In the stairwell, no window light reached, and thus, it was pitch black once again. "I see your point, however,"

"However, nothing, Brian. We gotta find a way out of here or we will die. Freezing rain is heavier than regular ice, because it is pure. Don't you pay attention in class? We watched a documentary on this stuff like, two years ago."

"I do pay attention," he said defensively, "I just do not retain information well."

"That's called not paying attention or doing your work. This is why you are failing your classes." Although he was invisible in the dark, Kali heard Brian slump back against the wall in a pout. Kali could just imagine him with his arms crossed over his chest and his lower lip out and quivering. Kali finally sighed, "I'm sorry," as if it was his fault that Brian couldn't accept the fact that he was failing a few classes, and then, "I need to find Neko. Please- stay right here. I don't want us to be split up."

"You're going out there in the dark to find Neko? Are you crazy?"

"There is light from the windows in the main halls. It won't be very dark."

"But you're going to leave me here and alone for Neko?"

"Why don't you come with me?"

Brian thought for a moment, then, "I'll pass."

"I thought so." Kali stood, dusted his pants, said goodbye to Brian, and then walked out into the hall. He glanced down one way, illuminated by pale clouded sunlight from the windows, and then he glanced the other direction, which was darker with no windows. He sighed, figuring she must have ended up back upstairs in her room, seeing as the halls were empty. He began walking down the dark corridor. He decided to use the second stairwell in case she was still in the hall, and he happened to just miss her. It grew darker the farther he went, until all that was behind him was a subtle light at the end of the tunnel, and in front of him and surrounding him was suffocating, shrouding darkness. His feet moved slowly, one after the other in a slow-motion, trembling movement. The flat walls were cold and hard as his fingertips pressed against them, keeping him aware and his sense of direction keen. He found the second stairwell, and cautiously made his way up it to the second floor. The second floor was achingly still, dark, and dreary, with no more than subtle illumination peeking in through a few thin windows on his left side. He walked down the long hall, his eyes readjusting to the new dim lighting, and found the familiar classroom where Neko had been before. Kali took a deep breath before slowly creaking the door open and entering the barren classroom. The classroom was lighter, an entire wall lined with tall windows unlike the hall's few window slats. But the sun outside was shrouded by clouds, and the light coming in was muted and uncoloured. Neko sat on the floor, back agains the wall underneath one of the windows. Her knees were pulled to her chest, and she was visibly shaking.

"Neko?" Kali spoke softly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. She looked up at him wide-eyed, not moving her head from where it rested on her knees. He slowly moved towards her, "Is this okay?" She glanced at the floor. He didn't push, and stayed still several feet away from her. "I'm sorry for being insensitive."

She stood up abruptly, her vulnerability wearing down and instead her toughened exterior exposing itself again, "Won't your parents worry whenever you don't get home? Won't this be the first place they look?"

He shook his head, "Maybe, but the streets are all closed. Even if they were worried, it is unlikely anybody could get to us."

"I don't wanna be here."

"I know. I wanna go home, too."

She snapped, "And to be stuck here with you of all people! I don't care to go home, but I don't want to be here!"

And Kali gave her the first genuine smile he'd had in weeks, "I'm glad you seem to be feeling better." He also considered silently what her words may have meant. Why didn't she want to go home?

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