DEFEATISM

28

In the early hours of Christmas morning, with only one flashlight lit, they try to settle in. The batteries are older than the pancake batter, and they only have five left to last them an unknown amount of time.

It's only been ten minutes since the floor collapsed, and there isn't a plan established. Galilee might be able to put an agenda together using the blank pages of one of her notebooks, but the first thing on their agenda would be to rest. The building might be unstable. Certainly, no one is in any position to check, and they aren't going to be able to move out either.

Tempest and Jerry take stalk of those who seem sick. There are more of them that are soaked than aren't. As of now, only Jerry and Tempest avoided getting too soaked. Callie only briefly ran through cold water, and so she watches the others with a quilt wrapped around her while Jerry and Tempest search through the rooms. Maverick and Darlington are much bigger than Jerry and they need clothes. Elodie returned Marcellus's t-shirt to him and offered him some of her pants until his can dry. Benedict is shorter than Jerry and since Jerry wears big and baggy clothes, they fit Benedict. His pants are too short for Maverick by quite a bit.

It feels less wrong this time for Tempest to go through the rooms. With Jerry to keep her company, they smell clothes and blankets before touching them, in case students didn't clean them. Blankets seem more uncleaned than the clothes hanging in closets. Tempest hopes they don't get so desperate that they are willing to use dirty sheets. Stuff like that shouldn't matter anymore. It's not the filth that turns her away, but the thought that their situation could get direr than it currently is. She holds onto what hope they have as tightly as possible by not holding onto the sheets at all.

Jerry is the one who runs around since Tempest did all the running already. Whenever he finds clothes, he chucks them into a pile for the others to peruse when they are ready. Between every three rooms, he shines the light over at Callie. She has given him a thumbs-up each time, and at least that is something.

Although, she isn't sure what she is looking for. Callie is unfamiliar with hypothermia, and she just paces the hallway watching people. It's dark. There are no lights in the hallway, and they are trying to conserve their flashlights. In theory, she could use Ro's phone, but Ro put it in a special power-saving mode that should last them three days. Callie couldn't imagine it being that long. Waiting three days would be as practical as suggesting they all wait for six more years.

Half of the crew did manage to gather up supplies. Those who can have changed into dry clothes. Still, some are fairing better than others.

Like in the tunnel, Moonie is okay. They are certainly better than Maverick, who has stopped shivering but whose lips are blue. They still cuddle up against him, their back resting against his bare chests. Skin-on-skin contact is supposed to be good for people who are cold. Moonie doesn't mind. Three of the RAs ran up to them in nothing but their boxers, and Moonie's sports bra is hidden by a blanket. It's only strange because Moonie has not been this close to Maverick before.

Maverick ran over the symptoms of hypothermia with Jerry when they arrived. Everyone else would have learned it in First Aid, but Maverick doesn't know what they remember and doesn't know what he will remember soon. He also discussed treatment with Jerry. Cold water can accelerate symptoms of hypothermia. Everyone is dry, everyone is wearing layers upon layers, and no one who got wet is allowed to move Jerry confirms they have no other symptoms. It was a good idea to tell Jerry. After all, Maverick knows he's confused. He keeps trying to take his pulse and keeps forgetting. It might be Maverick, but it might be something else altogether.

Jerry's rules, caused by Maverick, have not been pleasant for Benedict. After all, Jerry has forced Benedict into close proximity to Ro and Darlington. Ro seems okay too, having only been in the water for a short bit of time. She's mumbling to herself, and it's hard to tell if the water has altered her mind or any number of other insane circumstances she's been through in the past five days. He doesn't blame her. He'd be crazy too.