"Oh my! Everyone, come here!" Malak called, her eyes wide with excitement.

  Ali, looking over her shoulder, said, "Are these… emergency food stores?! Ohh, I get it. This sort of place would be used as a disaster shelter, after all."

  "Thank goodness… we can make do with these for the time being," Malak said, relieved.

  "… Now hold on a minute," Matt interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure this stuff is edible? Looking at the shape of the school, you’d better check for an expiration date."

  "Umm… huh? I don’t see one written anywhere," Malak said, furrowing her brow.

  "What’d I tell ya?!" Matt muttered, folding his arms. "I ain’t gonna put anything that suspicious in my mouth!"

  "Huh… I gotta say, it does sound iffy…" Ali said, narrowing his eyes.

  Sufian, in an exaggerated voice, asked, "Even to a pig like you, Ali?!"

  Malak hesitated. "Hmm, now even I’m a bit worried…"

  "Okay-OKAY! That means it’s AAALL BOBLIN’S!! chomp"

  "Boots!!! What’re you--?!" Sufian’s voice cracked as he looked at Snagglix.

  "Chew chew… Mmm-MMM! Now tasty!" Snagglix said, his face lighting up with delight.

  Matt crossed his arms and chuckled. "Well sure, who knows what taste buds a monster’s got…"

  "When in Rome… chomp chomp" Ali said, taking a bite.

  "Hang on! Ali!" Thoren called out, rushing over.

  "… Ali?!" Malak said, her voice filled with concern.

  "Hnnngh?! Ugh, gaaah?!" Ali grunted, his body writhing in exaggerated discomfort.

  (Ali started squirming…!)

  "HEY! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Sufian shouted, his voice rising in panic.

  "GAAAAAAUGH!!!" Ali cried out, clutching his stomach.

  (Nnn…nnngh… Ali’s writhing around just to see if we’ll react. He’s playing us for idiots. I’ll go along with it.)

  Sufian, calling dramatically, said, "Ali! Hang in there!"

  "Sufian… I’m… done… for…" Ali gasped, his voice filled with mock despair.

  "What? This isn’t the end!" Sufian said, his voice full of fake urgency.

  "You go home without me… just make sure you… delete my browser history…! Augh!" Ali dramatically dropped to the floor.

  "Ali…! ALIII?!" Sufian shouted, rushing to his side.

  Sufian cried out, "For good life!"

  "What’re you two doing?" Pimi asked, eyeing them with confusion.

  "Psych!! Gotcha!" Ali suddenly shouted, popping up with a grin.

  "ALI!!! I thought my heart was gonna explode outta my CHEST!" Malak yelled, her hand over her heart.

  "YOU SONUVA--! There’s a time and a place for joking around!" Matt growled, glaring at Ali.

  "You idiot! Knock it off!" Pimi snapped, shaking her head.

  "Now you just think about what you’ve done!" Thoren said, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Heh heh… well, looks like the stuff passes!" Ali chuckled, brushing himself off.

  "We’ve found a lifeline of water and food for now," Malak said, still catching her breath.

  "Still, we don’t know how long these supplies will last, do we?" Ali said, his face falling into a more serious expression.

  "Half a year… are you out of your mind?" Matt said, throwing his hands up. "The past two days almost killed me!"

  "Half a year is optimistic, man. We haven’t seen any sign of rescue, you know." Ali said with a sigh.

  "… it pains me to say this, but I guess you’re right," Malak said reluctantly.

  "Ohhh boy! Hyur food? YUM-YUM DELISH!!" Snagglix shouted excitedly, his mouth watering.

  "Oh yeah? Let me try some, too!" Pimi said, stepping forward.

  "Hmm, well…" Thoren said, eyeing the food warily. "I cannot say I’m as intrigued as you two, but… I should at least check it for poison—for Ali’s sake, that is."

  "I’d say Ali’s taken care of that for us already!" Pimi said, crossing her arms.

  "Come on now, don’t be so rough with the food!" Malak scolded. "Anyway, why don’t we search for other food, just in case?"

  "No handouts! We hunt-hunt, munch-munch—our way!!" Snagglix declared, puffing out his chest.

  "Then the supplies will last you guys at least a year!" Pimi teased, grinning.

  "A year… I can’t imagine staying here that long," Malak said, shaking her head.

  "We might end up burying each other here if we’re unlucky," Ali said darkly.

  "I told you I didn’t want to hear that kind of talk!" Malak said, her tone sharp.

  "Alright, now that we’ve taken care of our supplies… why don’t we look around as much as we can?" Ali said, trying to redirect the group. "The emergency rations are ready-to-eat, so we could travel around and camp out with them."

  "You forgot about those monsters roaming around outside?" Matt interjected. "Or have you finally lost it?"

  "Oh… huh. But the professor, Bayan, and Jeremy might be out there somewhere," Ali said, his face falling slightly.

  "Not a chance! And if they were, there’s no point in us going after them," Matt snapped, his voice harsh.

  "They may be out there, but we can’t risk ourselves over a mere possibility," Malak said, shaking her head.

  "Um…" Zayn spoke up quietly, drawing everyone’s attention.

  "What’s up, Zayn? Something wrong?" Sufian asked, looking at him.

  "I found this in the forest…" Zayn said, holding out something in his hand.

  "Isn’t that the hat the professor was wearing yesterday?" Malak asked, recognizing it immediately.

  "It is! I thought it looked familiar…" Sufian said, his voice full of realization.

  "I knew it! They’re here! Then we need to go look for them!" Ali said, a look of determination in his eyes.

  "Are you crazy? We’re gonna be safer here," Matt said, crossing his arms.

  "Hmm…" Malak said, her mind racing.

  "Think about it," Ali continued. "It’s already been a day, right? Things are working out for us… but with no food or drink to come by, those guys could be in bad shape."

  "… Yes, that is true," Malak said reluctantly. "Fine. We won’t leave their fates to chance!"

  "What? Hey! You got a death wish?!" Matt yelled, his eyes wide with disbelief.

  "Not while we’re around!" Snagglix shouted, raising his arms confidently.

  "Indeed. We’re going with her." Thoren said, nodding firmly.

  "If any baddie comes your way, I’ll fight ‘em off for you, Malak!" Pimi said, striking a fighting pose.

  "… Yes, I know. Thank you," Malak said softly, her expression warming.

  "It’s too dangerous for Layla and Zayn, so they’ll stay here. Me, Sufian, and Malak will—" Ali started, but Matt interrupted.

  "Now hold on, you expect me to play babysitter for those brats?! What’ll I do if another one of those spider monsters attacks us?! It’s not like this stupid ant’s gonna keep us safe!"

  "HEY! Kiwi ain’t no dumb-dumb ant!!" Snagglix shouted, his eyes flashing.

  "Kewww…" Kiwi chirped, not looking bothered.

  "Kiwi! Ough! Can handle his own, YES!!" Snagglix declared, puffing out his chest.

  "News to me! Hmph…" Matt muttered, crossing his arms.

  (We might indeed run into something like the spider again.)

  "There are no safe places, Matt. There might be unknown dangers in the forest. You might be attacked here, too. You’ll have to figure out how to survive." Sufian said, serious.

  "Ungh! Who made you boss?" Matt grumbled. "Fine, fine, I’ll go with you… better than sticking around here--"

  "Weren’t you gonna hold down the fort, Matt? You can stay here, y’know." Ali teased.

  "Shut up! I’m going with you, and that’s that. I’m going to cooperate," Matt said, begrudgingly.

  "Not really sensing that cooperative spirit from you there, champ," Ali said with a smirk.

  "Ali, enough of that, okay? Matt is older than you. You shouldn’t talk down to him." Malak said, trying to diffuse the tension.

  "Right. Sorry, mom," Ali said with a playful wink.

  "Hmph!" Matt grumbled, turning away.

  "Whatever Matt says, it would still be safer to hide inside the school, wouldn’t it?" Sufian said, looking at him.

  "… I agree," Zayn said, nodding quietly.

  "Hey, if there’s any trouble, just hide inside that pantry, okay?" Sufian added.

  Zayn smiled softly and nodded. "It’s fine, don’t worry about us…"

  "Alright, then. You keep an eye on your brother, okay, Layla?" Sufian said, looking at her.

  Layla nodded silently.

  "You got it backwards," Layla said, looking at Sufian.

  "Huh? Oh, you mean… Zayn looks after you?" Sufian asked, surprised.

  Layla nodded again.

  (She’s nodding. It’s weird how Layla hardly ever talks. I wish she would say more.)

  "… Bye." Layla said, her voice quiet.

  "Yeah, uh, see you," Sufian said, waving slightly.

  (I’m a little worried about leaving those two behind… but for now, we’d better focus on finding the others, and quick.)

  ?????