The group watched in silence as the seniors disappeared into the evening crowd.
For a few moments, no one spoke.
The warning Ali had left them with lingered in everyone's mind.
Finally, Aisha broke the silence.
"So..." she said, looking at Corvin. "Do you think we should trust what Senior Ali said?"
The others turned toward him.
Corvin remained quiet for a second before answering.
"I think we can."
Aisha raised an eyebrow.
"You sound pretty certain."
"He seemed genuine," Corvin replied. "Everything he said came across as someone who actually cared about his freshmen."
Marco nodded slightly.
"I got that feeling too."
Corvin, however, wasn't finished.
"But..."
The single word drew everyone's attention back to him.
"Ultimately, he's no different from Vice Director Morales."
The table fell silent again.
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"He'll make decisions based on what gives him the highest chance of surviving," Corvin explained. "Just like Morales is making decisions based on what he believes is best for the university."
Dimitri frowned thoughtfully.
"So why warn us at all?"
Corvin leaned back in his chair.
"Because we understood what Morales was trying to do."
He glanced around the table.
"If we'd accepted the announcement without questioning it, I doubt he would've said anything. The warning was for people he believed could think for themselves."
Nobody argued.
"I can't blame him. Faced with the same choice, I would probably do exactly the same." He thought to himself.
After another quiet moment, Marco checked the time on his phone.
"We should probably get going," he said. "The meeting at the auditorium starts soon."
Everyone agreed.
The group stood and gathered their belongings before walking over to the counter.
"Thanks for the coffee, Noah," Marco said with a smile.
Noah returned the gesture with a tired one of his own.
"Take care of yourselves."
"You too," Aisha replied.
Leaving the café behind, they made their way back to Favilla Hall.
The atmosphere inside the dormitory had changed dramatically.
Students hurried through the corridors carrying suitcases and backpacks. Some spoke anxiously with their parents over the phone while others stuffed clothes into overflowing luggage.
The excitement of university life had disappeared.
Inside their rooms, everyone changed into more comfortable clothes before meeting again outside the building.
Together, they walked toward the university auditorium.
The building felt strangely different.
Only that morning it had been overflowing with students.
Now, hundreds of empty seats stretched across the hall, making the enormous auditorium feel even larger than before.
The scattered conversations echoed through the room.
A few minutes later, Vice President Alejandro Morales stepped onto the stage.
The conversations throughout the auditorium gradually died away as every eye turned toward him. He looked noticeably more tired than he had during orientation, but he still stood straight behind the podium.
"My dear students," he began, his voice echoing through the vast hall. "I know today has been overwhelming for all of you."
He paused, allowing the silence to settle.
"After working closely with local and federal authorities, Drake University has arranged one hundred buses to transport students who wish to return home."
A murmur swept through the audience.
"The buses will depart at six o'clock tomorrow morning. Students wishing to board must register before departure, as seating is limited."
The whispers grew louder.
"If all seats are filled, additional transportation cannot be arranged immediately. Those who are unable to secure a seat may have to wait up to three days before another convoy can be organized."
A ripple of unease spread across the hall.
Morales waited patiently before continuing.
"I understand many of you are frightened and worried about your loved ones. Please know that Drake University considers your safety our highest responsibility."
His voice softened.
"It is our duty to reunite you with your families. We will do everything within our power to ensure each of you returns home as safely as possible."
Many students visibly relaxed.
Several began applauding, while others wiped tears from their eyes.
Corvin remained silent.
Around him, the rest of the group exchanged knowing glances.
They all understood what the announcement truly meant.
The university reinforced the students desire to go home before the situation became even more difficult.
Without exchanging a word, all eight quietly stood and slipped out of the auditorium.
Outside, they found Ali and the other seniors waiting near the entrance.
Ali smiled faintly as they approached.
"Did you figure it out?"
Corvin nodded in confirmation.
"So what's your plan going forward?"
"I'm heading to speak with the faculty," Ali replied. "I want to know exactly what they're planning over the next few days."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"As for you... stock up on at least a week's worth of food."
He paused.
"And once you've got it, stay inside your dorm for the next three or four days."
"Why?" Priya asked.
Ali glanced toward the administration building.
"Because I think the university is going to seal off the campus."
"When?" Chase asked.
"In about three days," Ali replied confidently. "That's how long I think it'll take before they're ready."
Corvin didn't question the prediction.
Unlike the freshmen, Ali had spent more than three years studying under Drake University's professors and administrators. He understood how they thought, how they made decisions during crises, and how carefully they planned ahead.
If Ali believed the campus would soon be sealed, Corvin saw no reason to dismiss the warning.
After parting ways with Ali and the other seniors, the group didn't return to Favilla Hall immediately.
Instead, they headed for the small convenience store beside the dormitory.
The campus had grown eerily quiet.
Only a few hours ago, students had packed every pathway, carrying suitcases, arguing over phone calls, and desperately trying to make plans. Now, the sidewalks were almost deserted. Most had already left to prepare for tomorrow morning's buses.
Favilla Hall itself felt abandoned.
Of the hundreds of students who had lived there that morning, only the eight of them had chosen to stay.
The automatic doors slid open as they entered the store.
It was silent.
No greeting.
No music.
No cashier.
Marco frowned.
"That's... strange."
Aisha walked up to the register and looked around.
"Maybe they're in the back."
"I'll check," Marco said.
The two disappeared through the employees-only door while the others spread out through the aisles.
Remembering Ali's advice, Astrid, Priya, Chase and Dimitri began filling shopping baskets with enough canned food, instant noodles, rice, snacks and other essentials to last a week.
Corvin and Mei Lin quietly looked around the store instead of immediately grabbing items.
A few minutes later, Aisha and Marco returned.
"No one's there," Marco reported.
"We checked everywhere," Aisha added. "The storeroom, office, even the loading area. The cashier's gone."
Corvin slowly nodded.
His eyes drifted toward the unattended checkout counter.
An idea formed in his mind.
He stepped behind the register and opened a few drawers.
Receipts.
Pens.
A calculator.
Then...
A ring of keys.
At almost the exact same moment, Mei Lin noticed them.
Their eyes met.
Neither needed to say a word.
They had reached the same conclusion.
Before Corvin could speak, Mei Lin turned toward Aisha and Marco.
"Can you two close all the back doors?" she asked calmly.
Aisha blinked.
"Why?"
Before she could question it further, Corvin spoke.
"Please. I'll explain afterward."
The seriousness in both their voices was enough.
Without another word, Aisha and Marco headed back through the employees-only entrance.
Meanwhile, the others continued loading supplies into baskets.
Somewhere along the way, a week's worth of food quietly became two.
When Dimitri pointed it out, Priya simply shrugged with a cheerful grin.
"The more, the merrier."
No one argued.
A few minutes later, Aisha and Marco returned.
"Everything's locked," Marco said.
Corvin nodded once.
"Good."
He looked around at everyone.
"Forget the food for a moment."
They all paused.
"Take every bottle of drinking water you can carry."
Chase looked confused.
"Water?"
Corvin nodded.
"Food can last weeks. Clean drinking water is much harder to replace."
No one questioned him.
Within minutes, every case and bottle of water they could find had been loaded into carts and baskets alongside their food.
Working together, the eight friends carried everything outside.
Once the store was empty, Corvin stepped back inside with Mei Lin.
Without exchanging a word, they pulled the metal shutter down together.
The loud rattling echoed through the empty parking lot.
Corvin inserted the key into the lock.
Click.
The shutter was secured.
He slipped the keys into his pocket before jogging back toward the others.
Chase frowned.
"Why did you lock the store?"
"There isn't time to explain," Corvin replied immediately. "Let's move. We don't want anyone seeing us."
His urgency was enough.
The group hurried across the nearly empty courtyard, each carrying as much food and water as they could manage.
They reached Favilla Hall without encountering another student.
Only after the heavy entrance doors closed behind them did everyone let out a quiet breath of relief.
The group climbed the stairs to the fourth floor of Favilla Hall in silence, each carrying as much food and water as they could manage.
The hallway was eerily quiet.
Every door except theirs stood open or empty, evidence that nearly everyone had already left the dormitory.
Once they had carried the last of the supplies upstairs, Corvin looked down the corridor before turning to the group.
"Before we do anything else," he said, "close your windows and draw the curtains."
Everyone paused.
"Why?" Marco asked.
"So no one knows we're still here."
The realization quickly dawned on the others.
If the fourth floor looked abandoned from the outside, there would be little reason for anyone to come looking.
Before everyone dispersed, Corvin spoke up,
"One more thing."
The group looked at him.
"Fill every container you can find with drinking water. Bottles, buckets, kettles, cooking pots—anything that can hold clean water."
Chase frowned.
"You really think it'll come to that?"
"I don't know," Corvin admitted. "But if the filtration system fails or the water supply is interrupted, we'll wish we'd prepared."
"Good idea." Marco remarked.
Without another word, everyone entered their rooms.
Windows were shut tightly.
Curtains were pulled closed until not a single light could be seen from outside.
They also started turning on their taps and filling every empty container they owned.
Water bottles lined desks, and cooking pots sat on tables.
Even empty sports bottles and cleaning buckets were washed out and filled.
By the time everyone returned, a surprising amount of water had been stored.
Together, they stacked all the food and bottled water they had collected in the small fourth-floor lounge, turning the common area into a temporary storage room.
Astrid crouched beside the growing pile with a notebook and pen.
"I'll keep inventory," she said.
Methodically, she counted every item—bags of rice, canned food, instant noodles, snacks, bottled water and other supplies.
After finishing the list, she carefully divided everything into eight equal shares.
"If something happens," she explained, "everyone will know exactly what belongs to them. We can still share if needed, but this keeps things fair."
The others nodded in agreement.
Once the inventory was complete, Corvin looked around at the group.
"We still have a lot to figure out," he said. "Meet in Priya's room in a few minutes. We need to discuss what we're going to do from here."
Priya immediately smiled.
"I was hoping everyone would hang out there anyway."
Her enthusiasm drew a few tired smiles from the group.
One by one, they picked up their share of the supplies and headed into their own room.
----
Priya:
The moment Priya closed her bedroom door, the smile she'd worn all evening faded.
The room suddenly felt far too quiet.
She placed her backpack beside her bed and instinctively reached for her phone. No new messages. No signal strong enough to send one either.
For a moment, panic threatened to rise in her chest.
She took a slow breath.
"No," she whispered to herself.
Walking to the small space beside her bed, she knelt on the floor and folded her hands.
Her lips moved silently as she prayed to Lord Shiva.
She prayed for her grandparents, for her friends, and for everyone caught in the disaster. She didn't ask for an easy escape. Instead, she prayed for strength, wisdom, and courage to face whatever lay ahead.
When she finally opened her eyes, the fear hadn't disappeared.
But it no longer controlled her.
She stood, wiped away the moisture gathering in her eyes, and smiled faintly.
Whatever happened next, she wouldn't face it alone.
---
Chase:
Chase quietly shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
For the first time that day, he allowed himself to stop moving.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small family photograph.
His parents stood beside him on a windswept beach back home in New Zealand, all three laughing at something long forgotten.
A small smile crossed his face.
"If the scientists are right..." he murmured.
The ash wouldn't reach New Zealand immediately.
His family still had time.
That thought became something precious to hold onto.
They were safe.
At least for now.
He carefully placed the photograph on his bedside table before looking around the unfamiliar dorm room.
"I'm coming home," he whispered quietly.
"I just... need to survive until then."
The words sounded uncertain, but saying them aloud made the goal feel real.
With renewed determination, he began organizing the supplies he had carried upstairs.
---
Marco:
Marco tossed his backpack onto the floor and collapsed onto his bed.
The cheerful grin he'd worn around the others vanished almost instantly.
He stared at the ceiling.
His family.
Unlike most of the students on campus, he wasn't terrified for them.
The Montelli family had spent generations preparing for every imaginable crisis. Hidden safehouses, emergency supplies, secure locations...
If anyone knew how to survive chaos, it was them.
His parents would already have a plan.
His younger siblings would be protected.
That thought brought him relief.
But it lasted only a few seconds.
His thoughts drifted instead to the seven people living just outside his room.
They didn't have the resources his family did.
Some were probably hiding how frightened they really were.
Marco sat upright.
"If we're going to get through this," he said softly, "we're getting through it together."
The decision settled comfortably in his heart.
---
Astrid:
Astrid closed her door gently before placing her share of the supplies neatly on the floor.
She didn't sit down.
Instead, she immediately began organizing.
Canned food in one corner.
Instant noodles in another.
Water bottles lined carefully against the wall.
Her movements were slow, methodical, almost therapeutic.
She picked up the inventory list she had copied from the hallway and checked each item again, making sure nothing had been misplaced.
Everything had a place.
Everything had a purpose.
Only after she finished did she stop moving.
The silence settled over the room.
She wrapped her arms around herself.
"What if this lasts longer than a week?" she whispered.
No answer came.
After a few moments, she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.
Worrying wouldn't change anything.
Planning might.
She folded the inventory list carefully, slipped it into her notebook, and headed toward the door, ready to meet the others and prepare for whatever tomorrow would bring.
----
Dimitri:
Dimitri quietly closed the door behind him before placing his supplies neatly beside his desk.
Unlike the others, he didn't sit on his bed.
Instead, he opened his laptop.
The university's internet was still working.
Scientific articles.
Satellite imagery.
Government statements.
Anything related to the Indonesian eruption.
His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard as he pieced together fragments of information.
"The ash reached the stratosphere..." he muttered.
"That means this isn't a regional disaster."
The realization made his stomach tighten.
If the eruption was as massive as experts feared, then the entire world would feel its effects.
No amount of wishful thinking could change that.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"We need facts," he whispered.
"Facts give us options."
Taking a deep breath, he copied every useful piece of information into a notebook before shutting his laptop.
It was time to hear everyone else's ideas.
---
Mei Lin:
Mei Lin carefully placed her backpack beside her desk before sitting quietly on the edge of her bed.
Her room was silent.
For the first time that day, she allowed herself to think about home.
The Zhao family had weathered political turmoil for generations.
Her parents were experienced.
Influential.
Surrounded by capable people.
If anyone could navigate a national crisis, it was them.
Still...
They were in China.
She was thousands of kilometres away.
She slowly intertwined her fingers.
"They'll be alright," she whispered to herself.
"They always find a way."
The words sounded more like reassurance than certainty.
She looked toward the closed curtains.
Right now, worrying about what she couldn't change would only waste precious energy.
She stood and adjusted the sleeves of her jacket.
"If we're going to survive this," she said softly, "then I'll do everything I can to help."
With that quiet resolve, she left her room.
---
Corvin:
Corvin closed his door and locked it behind him.
His room felt exactly as it had that morning.
Only he had changed.
He sat at his desk and opened the small notebook he always carried.
For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted home.
The Kovač family had spent generations building fortresses, castles and emergency shelters across Europe.
Among them was a massive underground bunker designed to withstand nuclear war.
If his family had reached it...
They were probably safe.
The thought brought him relief.
He turned the page and began writing.
Food.
Water.
Security.
Medical supplies.
Power.
Each word became the heading for a growing list of problems they would soon have to solve.
Planning wouldn't guarantee survival.
But it gave them the best chance.
Corvin closed the notebook and stood.
The others were waiting.
---
Aisha:
Aisha shut the door with her foot before dropping her backpack beside the bed.
She immediately reached for her phone.
One missed call.
No signal.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
She clenched her jaw and stared at the blank screen.
"C'mon..."
Another attempt.
Still nothing.
For the first time since the eruption, the confident smile she had worn all day disappeared.
Her parents had always told her she was the strong one.
The one who never backed down.
The one who always protected others.
But right now...
She couldn't even tell them she was safe.
A tear escaped before she quickly wiped it away.
"No," she whispered firmly.
"I'm not falling apart."
She walked over to the sink, splashed cold water across her face, and took several slow, steady breaths.
When she looked up, the reflection staring back at her wore the same determined expression it always had.
The fear was still there.
She simply refused to let it control her.
After drying her face, Aisha glanced at the clock on her desk.
It was almost time.
She straightened her jacket, took one final deep breath, and reached for the doorknob.
Whatever came next, she wouldn't face it alone.
----
A soft knock echoed through the quiet fourth floor.
Priya opened the door with a welcoming smile.
"Come in."
Corvin was the first to arrive, followed by Mei Lin only a few moments later. Marco and Aisha walked in together. Soon after, Astrid, Dimitri joined them carrying notebooks and water bottles. After them Chase joined, each arriving within the next few minutes.
The atmosphere was noticeably different from the one they had shared in the hallway.
Each of them had spent time alone, gathering their thoughts in their own way.
Now they were together again.
The room gradually filled with quiet conversation as everyone found a place to sit. Some settled on the beds, while others pulled over chairs or simply sat cross-legged on the floor. There was more than enough space for all eight of them to sit comfortably without feeling cramped.
Priya handed around bottles of water before taking a seat herself.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
Outside, the campus had fallen almost completely silent. The occasional gust of wind brushed against the building, making the stillness feel even heavier.
Everyone understood that the decisions they made tonight could determine whether they survived the weeks ahead.
Corvin looked around the room.
Each face reflected a different emotion—determination, uncertainty, exhaustion, hope.
He took a slow breath.
The room fell completely silent as the eight freshmen prepared to discuss what their future on an increasingly empty Drake University campus would look like.