Chapter 10
Day three
Tomo marched down the corridor with Yomi beside her. Though it was impossible to tell from looking out the windows, it was nearing one in the afternoon. Tanaka walked slightly in front of them, holding a collection of tools.
"Where are we going again?" asked Yomi.
"Are we there yet?" whined Tomo. "My feet hurt."
"We almost are" said Tanaka. "Ah, here we are" he said, coming to a stop.
"What are we supposed to be looking at?" asked Yomi, while Tomo glanced around the corridor looking for…anything.
"This used to be a door but it was sealed up about seven years ago to give added privacy" said Tanaka. "There were a few too many instances of boys coming down this small section when they weren't supposed to."
"Boys?" asked Yomi.
"Yep" said Tanaka picking up a large screwdriver.
He wedged it into a slight groove and whacked down on it. The filler crumbled slightly, and Yomi could see what looked like the meeting of two doors. Tanaka continued hacking away at it, not having many proper tools for the job. With every passing minute it became slightly more obvious that a set of two doors was slowly being revealed.
"So where does this lead to?" asked Tomo. "Underground bunker? Secret wine cellar? Weapons storage place?" she said, her eyes lighting up as she thought of the possibilities.
"Not quite" said Tanaka as he nursed his hand, using the screwdriver having taken its toll. He chipped away a bit more. "Finally" he said. "Can I have your help please?" he asked.
"What for?"
"To push these doors open. They'll probably be a bit stiff."
"What happens if something has managed to get into this room?" asked Yomi, pausing.
"I'll be in the firing line, you'll have time to get out of here" replied Tanaka, pointing to the metal door at the end of the short corridor.
"You better be right" grumbled Tomo. "Those things are creepy" she added.
Yomi was surprised though. They had been in the school now for over forty eight hours, and as of yet there had been no more contact. However occasionally during the nights a deep but loud roaring noise could be heard, as well as a rare loud screech that was able to reach the group as they tried to sleep in the library. The first screech caused Tomo to fall off the 'bed' she had made using four cushioned library chairs.
"Of course I'm right- about this" said Tanaka.
Tomo and Yomi lined up alongside the man and started to push open the door. The wood strained slightly, and they could hear a creaking noise coming from somewhere around them. The door bent inwards slightly, and the started to shriek open as the wood scraped nosily against concrete flooring.
The doors were finally open, and at the far end of the square room was another set of doors leading to the outside. Fortunately these were still locked and closed. Two tiny tinted windows were closed. Yomi recognized the room, but it took a moment for her to realize just what she was looking at.
"Wait! This is the girls changing room!" she said.
"Yep" said Tanaka.
"Did Kimura give you money to do this?" asked Tomo in an accusing tone.
"No" laughed Tanaka. "The boys changing room is completely separate from the main building. This was the only one I could get us into."
"But why?" asked Yomi. Tanaka pointed to an area concealed behind a thick wall.
"This is one of two places in the school that have showers" said Tanaka. "I've been in here two days already, and we don't know how much longer it'll be. I don't know about you, but I feel like a shower" said Tanaka.
"Well I guess that's a point" said Yomi. Her hair did feel greasy, and she did feel a bit…grimy. And one or two people seemed to be having a B.O problem.
"You're certain that Kimura had no part in this?" asked Tomo. "Completely certain?"
"Yes, Kimura never came to ask me about perving on the shower rooms" said the man. "Well at least not this year" he said winking. "That was a joke" he quickly added, noticing the crestfallen look on the girls faces.
He slowly stepped into the changing room, Tomo and Yomi hanging back slightly. Yomi wasn't too sure about entering the room, and Tomo had chosen to follow her friend around.
"What are you doing?" asked Yomi quietly. The things outside might be able to hear them.
"Going to try and barricade the door" came the reply. "The doors aren't exactly the thickest around, so every little helps. Don't want something sneaking up on me when I'm in the shower."
"Jeez this is boring" grumbled Yukari. She had dragged Minamo out of the library to find a room where they wouldn't be surrounded by students and Kimura. "Really boring. I can't get a good TV signal at all."
"Yukari we're trapped in a building, possibly in the middle of a dangerous event and all you can think about is TV?" asked Minamo. "Besides you can just watch it on the internet." So far power had remained throughout the building and all of the equipment in the library worked. Where it not for the dangerous things lurking outside, it might have been almost enjoyable.
"Yeah I guess" said Yukari. "Nyamo" she started, in a more serious tone. Minamo leant forward, was Yukari finally going to show some understanding of the situation?
"Yes?" asked Minamo.
"If I don't look like I'm going to make it…if it seems like that I want you to promise me something."
"What?" asked Minamo, nervous about talking about these things. She had never seen Yukari seem worried about anything other then a beer supply, so what now…
"If it looks like that's going to happen, if it looks like I can't make it out. I want you to promise you'll carry me out of here. Don't even think of leaving me behind or I'll haunt you forever. I will haunt you, even when you're in the shower. I'll be a spirit so it won't matter to me" said Yukari, destroying the serious atmosphere.
"Sure" groaned Minamo.
"Damn right" said Yukari. "You drag me out of here with the last of your strength!"
"And you'll do the same for me?"
"Eh, I'll see what happens when the time comes" replied Yukari, Minamo groaning audibly.