Chapter 24: Try it again, and I won’t be so forgiving
Six people stood in front of the ruined entrance to what used to be a dormitory. Their boots scraped against the sand, clothes soaked in blood and dust. Brann still carried the unconscious Kael on his back. Adam, standing at the rear, felt the weight of the makeshift guards’ stares at the gate.
They said nothing. Just nodded, and in their eyes shimmered something more than relief—hope. As if the sight of returning comrades gave them a fleeting sense that perhaps not all was lost.
They entered slowly, exhausted, wounded. The main hall was large, once probably a cafeteria or auditorium. Now, a makeshift shelter. Mattresses, blankets, and backpacks lay scattered on the floor. People stood along the walls—mostly students, young, pale, tired, but alive. A murmur rippled through them as they saw the returning group.
Whispers and sighs of relief followed. Dozens of eyes turned to them. For the first time, Adam saw how many of them there truly were. Students. Staff. Kids. A handful of elderly people. Some injured, others pale from hunger. The dim oil lamp cast jagged shadows across the walls.
On many faces appeared a spark of hope—but it only lasted a moment. When they noticed the group brought back no backpacks full of food or bags of medicine, the relief began to fade. Some looked away. Others stared with bitterness. As if the whole worth of the mission depended only on what they carried back, not that everyone had returned alive.
But not everyone reacted the same. From the crowd, a boy in a dark sweater stepped forward.
"Is he... the one on the back... is he alive?" he asked softly, pointing at Kael.
Beside him, a girl with short red hair clasped her hands to her chest.
"They look awful... someone should help them."
But their voices were drowned out by less kind murmurs, full of complaint.
Whispers began: — "They came back empty-handed again..." — "Why even send them if they never bring supplies?" — "What’s the point if there’s no food or meds?"