Patricia's POV

Trudy grabbed my arm and started to lead me away. Amber clung to me to keep from falling, and Fabian followed silently behind. Before I even knew it, we were standing in Mr. Sweet's office. Trudy gave us one last hug then left, shutting the door behind her.

Mr. Sweet didn't even wait for us to turn to face him.

"Where on earth have you been!?" He nearly screamed.

Amber was gripping my arm so tightly it had mostly gone numb. She was shaking ever so slightly. Fabian still hadn't spoken more than five times since I found him.

"Well? You realise that school started almost a month ago" He yelled when no one made a sound.

"We were stuck." I said softly.

"What?" Mr. Sweet asked.

"We couldn't get a flight back." I explained.

"It's been three and a half weeks! You couldn't call once? And where are the others!?" He screamed.

I decided to just shut up. I couldn't see how I could possibly explain.

"Do you realise how much trouble you've caused us? Your parents were worried sick! We had the police looking for you all. We thought something terrible had happened to you! We thought you might be dead." Mr. Sweet yelled.

Amber started to severely tremble, grabbing my arm even tighter.

"I can't. I can't." She whispered, stumbling back and flailing her arms as if fighting something off. She threw open the door, nearly dragging herself out of the room as she clung to the wall.

"I got her." Fabian muttered. "You ok?"

But Fabian didn't wait for an answer before running out after Amber, leaving me alone in the room with Mr. Sweet.

"Well?"

Everything was so surreal. It was like some kind of dream. Some kind of nightmare. I couldn't speak. I was so angry. Angry at the world, angry at myself. All I could think about were those moments right before everything had fallen apart. I was so stupid. I can't even remember why I was angry with Eddie. I was just so stupid. And everything was so stupid and now he's gone. Now everyone is gone and how on earth do I explain that?! How am I supposed to explain that they are d…

I felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept standing, somehow.

"We all went to Thailand for break. The whole house, I mean." I said slowly, my voice starting to shake.

I could see something change in Mr. Sweet's face. Something between recognition

and disbelief. I noticed a newspaper on the desk, the front cover bearing an all too familiar image. A young boy stood in the corner, his dark eyes looking in disbelief across the rubbish that had piled up, replacing what had been a small town on the coast.

"And where are the others?" Mr. Sweet asked.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and pretending I was somewhere, anywhere else.

"What happened to them?" Mr. Sweet asked, raising his voice.

I kept my eyes shut tightly, unable to form any words.

"You have to tell me what happened. Where is everyone. You can't just vanish for three weeks then show up with no explanation. I could have you expelled for this." Mr. Sweet said firmly.

"What do you think happened?!" I shouted, finally just snapping. I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the paper, shoving the photo in his face. "At least 100,000 dead! What do you think happened to them!?"

Everything was spinning. My head hurt so much and everything was getting blurry. That's when I realised I had started to cry.

"They're dead?" Mr. Sweet asked quietly.

I looked up for a second, all my anger just fading, replaced with utter defeat.

I nodded slightly.

"And my son?" He asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was too late. When I found him… it was too late." I whispered.

"Eddie's dead?"

I was going to vomit, or faint or just die. Hearing it made it suddenly real. It wasn't a dream. I couldn't deny it any longer.

I reached out desperately for something to grasp to, but found nothing. I couldn't see anything through the blur. I lurched backwards, finding the door and nearly falling out of the office. And then I ran.