Shoko listened hard. She could feel the chaos going on around, though it remained invisible. Among the children in that room, she was one of the few to remain calm. They were feeling the terror of this situation in sudden, fearful ways. One had sat against a wall and buried his head beneath folded arms, while yet another had begun to beat his bare fists against a wall, apparently trying to claw his way out of the prison.

Tommy, with the help of one of the silent ones, managed to pull him back away from it. The boy struggled with ferocious might, but could not overpower the other two. Finally, he drooped in their arms and allowed himself to be left there.

"What do we do?" a boy pleaded to the air.

There were noises outside. Shoko couldn't tell how far away they were, but she could only hope they had gone a different way. Though they were all armed, Shoko doubted if any of the kids here were in any shape to fight off an attack. Herself included. It struck her suddenly just how stupid this idea had been. They were just kids. They couldn't really help anything, not in such a dire matter. It would probably have been best for all if they just stayed below.

Her pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door.

"Hey man…" a voice outside said, "I think there's something in here. It's locked up pretty tight."

"Woah, I think you're right. Let's see if those explosives will get this one open too."

A set of blaring footsteps headed away, driving their spirits lower with every step. The door would be coming down any moment. They couldn't hide here anymore. Shoko wondered what would happen if they were discovered, but her mind couldn't conjure up anything terrible enough to fit that scene.

Before Shoko could even think another word, footsteps were heading back.

"Oh my god… oh my god…" someone mumbled out repeatedly, horror heavy in each syllable.

There were some words from outside, and some muffled fumbling. Movement and action, apparently aimed at the door. A loud, flat sounding thud, then the footsteps were heading away. Shoko found herself staring at the door, waiting for the awful occurrence.

"Hey everyone!" a voice called out, "Hurry! Over here!"

Shoko turned and found herself staring at Peepers. He had apparently shoved some shelving aside to reveal a metal grate. The grate now lay in his hands, pulled all the way from its place. A small corridor headed away, dim and dully silver.

Without any question, they began to flood into that opening. In her hurry, Shoko found herself wedged in the opening with one of the boys, but after a moment's struggle they managed to slip inside. He went ahead while Shoko paused after a few feet on her knees.

Looking back, she saw Tommy and Peepers there. Tommy was holding the grate, crouching inside the vent tunnel. Peepers, on the other hand, was outside in the room, trying to pull the shelf back into place. Watching this, Shoko felt an eerie, sinking in her gut. Somewhere, just out of hearing, a timer ticked down.

Suddenly the furniture shifted and covered half the tunnel's opening. Peepers, being a tiny creature, squeezed himself through that half-opening and scrambled along the tunnel. Tommy pressed the grate into its place and they were off.

The three of them moved with a furious crawling effort for a few yards before a thunderous roar shook everything. Shoko was thrown against the side of the tunnel, and lay there for a moment , her head swimming with a throbbing ache. She pulled herself up, though, and pushed herself ahead.

It was a while before they caught up with the others. It seemed that they always remained just out of reach, shooting through the tunnels with the miraculous speed of fear. They always remained just around the next corner, disappearing whenever Shoko turned to look.

Finally they were caught.

Shoko climbed out of the tunnel, and heard Tommy and Peepers doing the same just a moment later. The rest of them were here, standing in the hall, staring around like frightened children. That eerie feeling returned as Shoko recognized the truth in this.

"Follow me," Tommy said as soon as he'd escaped the vent. With that, he headed away down one of the halls. Though they all recognized the area, they remained unsure of where he led. They all followed, though, through the shiny halls and to wherever Tommy ran.

Suddenly, Tommy stopped still. He was pressed against a corner, seeming to listen intently.

"What is it?" Shoko asked.

"Listen…" Tommy whispered.

Shoko did as he said but heard nothing. She was just about to say this when a brief whisper caught her ears. It was coming from up ahead, staying slight in the commotion about.

"Yeah, what's that?" Someone said, apparently hearing it too.

"Probably a couple of those thugs," Tommy said, "Let's go get him."

"Wait!" someone cried out.

"What?" Tommy said, pausing. He turned around from his advanced position to face the speaker.

"How can we fight them? They've got bombs and… and they're grown-ups! What are we going to do?"

Someone else chimed in, "Yeah, it was safer downstairs. We should…"

A third, "Who knows what's up there…"

"Shut up," Tommy said sternly, cutting through their words, "Now listen to me. We are going to fight them the way Stephen taught us to, with our swords and our brains. They might be grown-ups, but what does that matter? What are we going to do? Everything we can. Of course it's safer downstairs. We knew that coming up here. This isn't a game, this is serious. Stephen needs our help, and Mr. B needs our help. Everyone is in trouble right now and they can't handle this alone. Now either go ahead with me and take care of whatever's up there, or go back on your own. If you came for games, just get out of here."

Sweeping his gaze across the lot of them, Tommy turned and headed after the noise.