"Blackout, blackout!" Pete yelled.

"Which one of you messed with the lanterns?" Tyler squeaked. The sound of something hitting the floor followed.

"No one touched anything." Dallon said. He gripped Brendon's hand tightly.

Brendon gulped as Dallon used his other hand to turn his phone screen back on. He fumbled to turn on the flashlight while still gripping Brendon's hand. He shut his eyes tightly as the light from Dallon's phone shined directly into his eyes.

"Sorry."

Dallon turned the light. It took Brendon a moment to readjust to the new lighting.

Tyler had crawled over to one of the lanterns and was fiddling with it. His face was scrunched in confusion as he tilted it in his hands. "I don't understand..." He muttered.

There was a thud across the gym. It echoed throughout the room, making everyone jump. Dallon quickly shifted his flashlight's beam in that direction.

The basketball was mid drop, creating another loud thud when it connected to the gym floor.

"How'd the ball get over there?" Josh asked, quietly.

The basketball bounced a few more times, softer than before. Once it was done, it rolled. It rolled across the gym floor, coming to a stop right in front of Brendon.

Brendon stared at the ball. He felt a strong urge to reach out and grab it. His head felt suddenly light, yet hard to hold up. His vision seemed to tunnel, leaving the only focus on the ball.

"Come play, Brendon."

"Brendon!" A hands clasped down on Brendon's shoulders.

As fast as the strange sensations had overtaken Brendon, they were gone. To his surprise, the basketball was gone. Patrick was in front of him, gripping his shoulders with concern in his eyes.

"What?" Brendon asked, his voice coming out as a croak.

"Dude, you were out of it for, like, five minutes." Pete replied from somewhere to his side.

Brendon's brow furrowed. Five minutes? It had seemed like hardly anytime at all. "What?" He turned to his side.

Dallon clutched the basketball, looking at Brendon with concern. "How hard did you hit your head out there?"

"I'm fine." Brendon said, shrinking slightly away from Dallon's concern. Part of him was afraid that Dallon's emotions would turn on a dime and he'd be angry for some reason, despite his previous spurts of anger having justification.

"Guys, I don't know that I have enough batteries to get all of these lanterns going again." Tyler spoke up, looking over everyone's faces with worry. "These were supposed to last."

"Well, obviously, they didn't, did they?" Josh snapped.

Tyler shut his mouth and looked down at the lanterns. Josh had a dark look in his eyes that seemed to drain when he registered Tyler's emotions. "Ty?" His voice was soft now, slightly rough almost as if he had just woken up. He reached out to touch Tyler's arm, but the darker haired boy jerked his arm away from his fingers.

Patrick signed something, but Dallon's light flickered and cut off his message.

"We need to calm down." Pete held his hands up, looking around the group. "The storm has been stressful and we're probably going a bit stir crazy at this point."

Brendon felt a chill envelope him as Pete spoke. "Calm is no fun." A low voice hissed in Brendon's ear. He wanted to jump away from the voice, but he felt frozen in place by the chill around him. "Stay."

"I want to go home." Josh pressed his palms against his eyes. "I feel weird, I want to go."

"Kind of not an option, dude." Pete gestured to one of the walls that separated them from the storm. "Not for another few days at least."

"This was a stupid idea." Josh leaned forward, keeping his palms against his eyes. "Stupid, stupid..."

"You suggested it!" Tyler yelled, letting the lantern drop to the floor.

"Guys!" Brendon held his hands up. "Everyone, calm the fuck down!" He looked around the group, catching the twisting faces of his friends. Sadness. Anger. Confusion. Combinations of it all. What the hell was happening? "We don't need to go fucking crazy while we're all trapped by the storm."

Patrick nodded in agreement. He had been the only one in the group who didn't seem to get hit by an outburst or expression change.

"Maybe we should take a walk." Pete was the first to speak after Brendon. "We're encased by the building, but we still have a bit of walking room with how everything is connected."

Patrick scooted closer to Pete, grabbing hold of his arm. He signed something quickly with his free hand, to which Pete gave a soft nod.

"Fine." Josh nodded. His voice sounded tired. He waited a moment before rising to his feet. He hesitated, but offered a hand to Tyler.

Tyler didn't reach up to take it. "I should try to fix the lanterns." He said instead, carefully picking the one he let fall back up and bringing it to his lap.

Josh's lips formed a fine line as he pulled his hand away. Brendon wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to hold words back or if he was trying to keep his lip from quivering.

"Patrick and I will go with you." Pete offered.

"Dallon and I will stay here with Tyler." Brendon suggested.

Tyler looked up slightly. "As soon as he comes back, sure."

"Hu?" Brendon turned to his side.

Dallon was gone. His phone sat propped on some of their gathered supplies to continue to cast light among the group, but Dallon himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell did he go?" Brendon turned back to the others, but they seemed just as confused as he was.

"I never heard him leave." Josh said, nervously rubbing his arm.

Patrick signed something, but Brendon wasn't paying attention. He was trying to think back to the scene that had just unfolded. Perhaps Dallon had left the scene due to the stress of it combined with the storm. Why would he leave his phone, though? That left him with no light to navigate the dangerous halls. He wouldn't do that.

"We need to find him." Brendon said, pushing himself to his feet. "We're all going crazy."

Pete nodded. "Josh and I can check one side if the campus while you and Patrick check the other." He suggested.

"Patrick should stay with Tyler." Brendon argued, "I'm not very good with sign and Tyler shouldn't be alone."

Patrick frowned and signed something. Somehow, Brendon could make out the words. "What about you?" Pete repeated the question out loud.

"I'll be fine." He flashed a grin, hoping he didn't show his nerves. The storm still roared outside, but it seemed to somehow be wreaking chaos inside as well. "Let's just get everything sorted to ride out the rest of the storm."

Patrick flashed a thumbs up. Josh nodded, stealing a look at Tyler before looking down at his feet. Pete tapped Josh's shoulder.

"Let's get going then."

Though the words were spoken, everyone in the group hesitated. The storm rattled the boarded windows. Winds howled and clawed at the reenforced walls. In the group's silence, it was deafening. Brendon couldn't help but wonder why Dallon would want to submit himself to that alone, wherever he went.