You walk up to the large collection of school buildings. Compared to the chaos you've left behind you, this place is full of silence. Not merely the absence of sound: the silence is like a presence in itself, impossible to ignore and always just out of view.
"Too quiet," Michelle mutters.
"Do you think the students ran off?" Will asks hesitantly. "Or…?"
"They're here," Sonia replies. She has her eyes shut, and her voice is quiet, almost thoughtful. "In the big building over there." She raises her arm, pointing a finger at a dark shape against the night.
"The dormitories," Romilly murmurs.
"Sleepover, do you reckon?" Max asks sardonically. "Few drinks, spin the bottle?"
"They'd better not be," Will says grimly. "Let's go and see."
It's only a short walk to the dormitory building, where you're greeted by a firmly closed door.
You glance at Will, who shrugs. You raise a fist and knock on the door.
There's a brief pause before a nervous yet very polite voice from behind the door asks, "Um…hello?"
"Hello," you say, slightly nonplussed. "Are…are you all in there?"
There's another pause, with a background hiss of hurried whispering, then the voice says, "Yes, except for Will, Romilly, and…oh, and Grace."
You nod. That's something. "And what are you all doing in there?"
The voice, though still nervous, now contains a faint note of offended dignity. "What exactly are you implying?" it demands.
"I meant, why did you all go to the dormitories?"
"Oh, I see," the voice replies. "Well, I mean, it just seemed sensible, considering all the…unrest at the…well, the other school."
"You're going to have to find somewhere else to go," Max says, stepping forward. "I can see thirteen different ways in here, and my species isn't the one that traditionally sneaks into young women's bedrooms."
"He's right," Sonia says. "They'd be better off in the gym: That's underground. No windows. Less doors."
"We're not going out there!" the voice protests. "There's…there's vampires and werewolves and all sorts out there!"
You sigh, glancing at the two vampires, two werewolves, and your fellow all sorts. "Look, you're not safe in there," you say. "We're trying to help you."
"And why should we trust you?" the voice demands, following another bout of frenzied whispering.