Chapter 16 – Possibilities
"Y-You bastard!" The boy snapped out of his daze as he quickly stood up and tried to rush toward Jack to attack him.
"Evan, stop." Luna's voice stopped him dead in his tracks; he looked over his shoulder and, met with the two sharp glares of his friends, his face paled.
"You picked that fight, don't make it worse. We don't need more conflicts. Our goal is to survive and make it out of here alive," Luna said calmly, her voice clear and concise, carrying a strong resolution.
"... Tsk… I understand." Evan replied, his face contorting with anger before he looked at Jack. However, he didn't dare say anything that might anger Luna further. The last thing he wanted was for her to stare at him like that.
"Jack, can we please talk?" She turned to face him. "I know that you do not want to remain with us here. But I wish you would reconsider, if even for your own safety. We can work together to leave this place."
"..." Jack squinted his eyes for a moment before speaking. "And how am I supposed to trust them?"
"I will make sure of it," Luna replied.
"Hm." Jack squinted again before he sighed. "Fine. I accept that offer temporarily. However, upon finding what I'm looking for, this partnership is well and truly over."
"Oh?" Alex gasped, a bit taken aback.
"I gotta work with him?" Evan asked. "Absolutely not, he will be dragging us down. I can't trus—"
"Evan." Luna stared at him coldly. "Jack is the strongest one among us all. If we want to survive, we need his help. He is trustworthy and won't hurt you unless you try to hurt him. Let's not create more unnecessary trouble."
"... But…"
"No. There is nothing more to be said. We need to work together." Luna cut him off coldly. "Now, what should we do?"
"Umm, I don't mind working with Jack," Emi replied in a quiet tone. "He has always been a kind and good person. I don't think he will do anything bad, Evan."
Seeing the two girls side against him, Evan was completely speechless. He couldn't find any excuse to defend his idea. In the end, all he could do was swallow his frustration and accept it.
'Damn it… How did the situation even turn out this way? I have to work with that bastard?' He didn't like the idea one bit.
"Don't stare at me like I want this either, idiot," Jack sighed. 'But Luna isn't wrong. They're the first awakened we came across so far, so they can be very helpful if used right, and I think I know how I can do that exactly.'
"Are there any supplies inside the gymnasium, like food, water, or anything of the sort?" he asked Emi.
"No, we don't have anything in there. We tried to get into the cafeteria building earlier, but it was filled to the brim with monsters… it was terrifying," Emi replied.
'I see…' Jack frowned. 'The cafeteria building is right next to the school in a different area on its own. Accessing it won't be easy, but… we can gather a lot of important things.'
Jack needed precisely three important things: food, water, and shelter. The cafeteria could solve two of those three problems, which was huge. So, as risky as it sounded, he had to give the idea a try.
"Ok, we will try to somehow access the cafeteria and get supplies from there," he said. "I need to first check the situation there."
"That will be extremely hard. There are dozens and dozens of monsters there and potentially even more inside."
"I know. But we need the supplies there if we want to survive. Food will only get scarcer with time, and we need this opportunity to get as much food and water as possible," Jack explained.
"He's right," Luna nodded. "We need supplies as soon as possible."
"I don't mind giving it another try, but we need a plan."
"Let's get inside to talk. The outside is infested with monsters," Alex said as he looked over his shoulder. "It gives me the creeps."
With that, the group walked into the gymnasium and closed the door shut. Inside, Jack found a rather large group of people trying to pass the time and calm their nerves. The scent of death loomed over their heads as they awaited this seemingly bleak future.
'Hm, as I expected… None of them look useful,' Jack mused. "Does anyone here have a piece of paper and a pen?"
Upon asking that question, everyone looked at each other, not knowing if they should reply or not.
"We need a piece of paper and a pen, please. If any one of you kindly has that, we would be grateful if you help us," Luna spoke after noticing the uncomfortable looks Jack was getting.
Her manner and her ability to speak well to people eased the tension considerably. Eventually, one student came forward and handed them what they asked for.
"A-Are you going to get us out of here?" the boy asked. "I'm really worried about my mom and dad."
Seeing the look on his face, Jack could only hold back a sigh. 'There is not much I can do. Your life relies on you. If you want to survive and find your parents, then you need to overcome that fear.'
"Why don't you help raise them into awakeners, Jack?" Liliana asked, her eyes flashing with a hint of curiosity.
"Raise them, you say?" Jack muttered. "I can't… yet. I don't have the leisure of doing that. Until I find a good and stable shelter, I can't think about doing that."
Liliana was basically asking if Jack wanted to raise an army or not. But even if he wished for it, he was far from ready to focus on taking care of a bunch of civilians. After all, they needed to learn how to kill monsters and gain levels, use those levels to become stronger, and get skills and weapons.
It was an entire process he could only consider when he was strong enough.
"Hm, is that so?" Liliana shrugged. "Well, it is what it is."
"I drew a rough layout of the cafeteria," Luna said as she signaled for Jack to come take a closer look. "It has three floors. The first one is for students to eat. The second floor is the kitchen, and the third floor is the freezer and storage area. Our target is the third floor, where the food is potentially."
"And to access that floor, we need to pass through the first two… right?" Alex asked. "And these floors are possibly filled with monsters."
"It's a closed space filled with these things… How are we going to even make it in?" Emi asked worriedly.
"It's simple," Jack said and took the pen. "If we want to get in, we must draw these things out of the building, leave room for someone to go in, grab the supplies, and leave."
"Draw them out? How?" Emi asked.
"Is that even a question?" Jack shot back. "Two will bait them out of that building while the other three rush in, grab supplies, and leave quickly before they notice your presence."