Even leaving confused Henry behind, the world turned just fine. Though it was an extremely natural thing to say, it wasn’t natural for Henry.
Since that day, Henry had seen Declan and Hazel together several times.
At this point, Henry resented his own eyes. He didn’t know why they stood out so well only to his eyes.
If former lovers met that frequently, it would be worth talking about. But currently at school, there wasn’t even a single rumor about their relationship.
Really, it meant that only to his eyes did those two’s meetings appear particularly conspicuous.
Henry came to seek God quite often even at school.
He also begged forgiveness from his God.
It’s not just that I’m not loved by God. At this level, I must be receiving punishment for going against my parents’ will, he thought.
Today too, Henry was waiting for a sleepless night to pass in the darkened dormitory room with the lights out. Using the sound of Joseph tapping on his phone screen beside him as a lullaby.
BLAAAAAARE!
Then, a loud noise rang through the boys’ dormitory. Joseph sprang up from the bed.
“What? What is it?”
“Isn’t that the fire alarm?”
Henry also got down from the bed, pointing at the emergency light on the ceiling.
In that short time.
[Fire! Evacuate immediately! Fire! Evacuate immediately!]
A mechanical female voice began to flow repeatedly from the speaker.
“Damn it.”
Henry immediately grabbed the entire outer garment he had hung on the hanger and opened the door. Joseph also hurriedly gathered minimal belongings and followed out.
Students were coming out into the hallway one by one.
Finding the source in a building packed so full of people was impossible.
Fortunately, the 3rd floor hallway wasn’t filled with smoke yet, so they had to evacuate now.
“Wha, what? Where’s the fire?”
“Is this real?”
“Hey! Come out quickly!”
The 3rd floor hallway filled with crowds turned into chaos in an instant.
Those frightened and confused. Those doubting whether this situation was real in a hallway that wasn’t even filled with smoke yet. And even those calling for friends who hadn’t come out yet.
Henry let out a deep sigh.
After taking a deep breath like when making calls for plays during games, he shouted.
So that everyone could hear his voice even in this chaotic situation.
“There! Those at the very front, go down the stairs! Those following behind, follow while maintaining distance from the front! There’s no smoke yet, so it’s okay! The other side, open the emergency exit next to the end room! It’s an emergency, so it should be okay to open it!”
Just briefly as everyone turned their heads here and there to find who had given them orders. The crowd slowly began to move forward.
“Hey, hey! Keep your distance!”
“Look ahead! There are lots of kids behind too!”
“Ah, really! Don’t push!”
Though there were minor squabbles, fortunately the crowd began to exit slowly as Henry said.
Even if it really was a fire, at this speed, everyone would be able to get out of the building before the smoke became thick.
Henry also left the building together with Joseph, relieved.
He had been uncertain even while going down, but when they reached the 2nd floor, there was gradually a burning smell.
“It really is a fire.”
“Yeah.”
Conversing with Joseph, Henry finally exited the building.
He could see those from the 1st and 2nd floors who had exited first. Perhaps because it was late, everyone was dressed ready for bed.
Henry looked around, checking to see if there was anyone who hadn’t come out yet.
David’s there, Aiden’s there, Kevin’s there too.
Lest there be anyone who couldn’t get out, he checked the faces of the students gathered in front of the dormitory one by one.
Meanwhile, David, who saw Henry, approached.
“Henry, the 3rd floor is… Don’t tell me you even brought out a scarf at this urgent time?”
“…Ah, I guess so.”
Henry, who had been busy counting people continuously, only noticed the scarf gripped in his hand after hearing his words.
While I grabbed a thin outer garment worn during the day, I brought the scarf I received from Declan.
“…The subconscious really is scary.”
Henry muttered aloud without realizing it.
Though he was startled even at his own words and observed reactions, fortunately David seemed not to have heard as he was talking with Joseph.
Henry made their conversation background music and continued searching for faces familiar to him.
“But Joseph, do you know where the fire started?”
“I don’t know exactly, but when I came down, I saw there was a burning smell on the 2nd floor. Seeing that smoke started rising around when we all came down, it didn’t seem serious, so it’ll be resolved quickly.”
“Really? That’s fortunate then. Ugh, it’s cold.”
David crossed his arms, hunched his body, and stomped his feet.
As time passed, thinking he had checked everyone by now, he turned to ask Henry.
“Henry, everyone’s here, right?”
He turned toward Henry without worry and was flustered.
Henry’s pupils were shaking here and there, and even in just a few seconds, he could be seen scanning through the crowd several times.
It was unmistakably movement searching for someone.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Henry? Are there kids missing?”
David’s expression became serious as well. He grabbed Henry, who had a dazed face, and shook him.
“Henry, you have to speak so we can look together. Okay?”
“…Russell isn’t here.”
“What?”
At Henry’s words, David and Joseph’s heads turned in surprise.
They too quickly scanned through the crowd, but the result wasn’t much different from Henry’s.
They couldn’t find Declan Russell.
“Who’s Declan’s roommate? If we check…”
“Russell uses his room alone.”
Answering David’s question, Henry hurriedly walked toward somewhere.
“Henry! Where are you going!”
Ignoring the question heard from behind, Henry grabbed the shoulder of Aiden, who had been talking with his friends.
“Huh? Henry?”
Aiden looked back at him with a surprised face.
“Russell.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know where Russell went? He’s not here right now.”
At Henry’s words, Aiden was greatly flustered too.
He stood on tiptoe with a surprised face and scanned all directions with his height taller than others, but still couldn’t find Declan.
“Phone, did you try calling?”
Aiden rarely failed to hide his fluster. The man took out his phone with trembling hands.
“No, not yet.”
“Please try calling him.”
At Henry’s request, he quickly found Declan’s number and pressed the call button. How long had the connection tone been flowing?
—The call cannot be connected at this time, leaving a voice message…
A familiar guidance message flows. Henry and Aiden. And also David and Joseph, who had watched the entire situation from behind. Everyone’s expressions cooled coldly.
“…The possibility he went out for a bit?”
“At this hour?”
When David asked urgently, Aiden answered, pointing to the time approaching 1 AM.
“He doesn’t usually wander around at late hours.”
Aiden added an explanation to Henry’s answer.
At his words, Henry also nodded in agreement.
Except for wandering around late at night a few times when involved with him, he wasn’t the type to move around much.
Moreover, Aiden would know more about the usual Declan Russell than him.
Henry couldn’t conclude that Declan had luckily been out and thus avoided being caught up in it.
“Then… don’t tell me he hasn’t come out yet?”
Joseph asked with a trembling voice, looking up at the dormitory.
“The fire isn’t big. If it was serious, we’d see fire outside too, but it’s not at that level yet.”
David awkwardly smiled and persuaded Joseph.
“R-right? The fire department will come soon anyway…”
“I’ll keep calling for now. If he’s sleeping, I just need to wake him up.”
Even while hearing his friends’ conversation beside him saying it would be nothing serious, Henry once again imagined the worst.
What if he couldn’t get out?
Since Platts is far from downtown, if the fire department doesn’t arrive in time?
…What if the fire grows while we’re letting our guard down thinking it’s small?
Isn’t fire originally something that seems like nothing, but swells up and consumes in an instant?
If so.
This might be the only chance.
“…I’ll go up and come back.”
Henry’s voice cracked.
His throat choked with fear.
More than how high the flames might be soaring in there, the fact that Declan Russell might be trapped in that place.
“What? Henry, are you crazy?”
Joseph immediately blocked Henry.
“Right. Henry, you can’t do that. You’re going in without knowing what the situation is inside.”
The people around him trying to stop him didn’t reach Henry’s ears. Because his reason had already been consumed by fear.
“The situation isn’t serious yet. If we say we don’t know when it will become serious, now is the best time to check the situation.”
“Henry, that’s the problem. As you said, we don’t know when it will become serious. Okay? It’ll be fine. Just wait a bit…”
David’s words, which had been patting Henry’s back and blocking him, stopped. Seeing Henry’s eyes, he couldn’t say anything.
“Aiden, just in case, keep calling.”
“Huh? Hey, hey! You’re really going?”
David couldn’t hold him back. Ignoring the shouts heard from behind, Henry ran straight out.
“Hey, hey! Who’s that! Why are they going back into the building!”
“Huh? Henry?”
Countless shouts poured toward Henry, who was heading back into the dormitory building instead of exiting, but no words of dissuasion reached his ears.
