Gilbert, Ethan, and I sit with Hank near the front lobby of the school listening to the radio reports coming in after the brief walk through the silent hallways. Most of them are from the school patrols, but the ones we wait for are the reports from the outside.

“The hardest part,” Hank tells us, “is making sure they don’t get surrounded or trapped when trying to draw in the greyskins. It has happened before.”

“Were you able to save them?” Ethan asks.

Hank lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head. “Sadly, no. We have had very hard days here. Many losses. We started with over a hundred people and are now down to seventy-three. Most of the ones we lost were in a single incident.”

Gilbert shakes his head and is about to say something when Ethan gives him a sharp look that warns him not to mention anything about building a wall. Gilbert rolls his eyes and looks away instead. Ethan catches me looking at him and nods at me, and I give him a pleased smile.

“Hank, the north hallway is clear and quiet,”  a voice says over the radio. “I’ll do another round in five.”

“Ten-four,” Hanks says, then smiles at us.

The next voice over the radio wipes the smile from Hank’s face. “Hank, there’s something moving in the gym, I’m going to check it out.”

Hank’s face crinkles into a look of concern as he raises the radio to his mouth. “Ten-four,” he says. “If it’s one of ours I want you to bring them to me. We are on lockdown, people should know what that means.”

The person on the other end responds, but all we hear is static.

Hank shakes his head, his jaws clenched together. “It’s just this kind of mix-up that will get us all killed.”

“Hank,” the voice calls out, this time in a much lower whisper.

“What is it?”

“It’s not one of ours. I repeat, not one of ours. It’s a greyskin.”

Hank’s face turns white. “Did you say what I think you said?”

There is a long silence form the other end. “We need weapons down here. Blunts and blades.”

“How many are there?”

“I don’t know. I only saw one at first, but now there are like twenty. I’m not sure where they are coming from.”

Hank swears and stands from his seat. “Somebody was careless.”

“We can help,” Ethan says.

Hank holds up a hand. “I’m not certain what we’re going to do yet. Wait here just a minute.” He walks away, I assume to talk with someone.

Nothing can match the look that Gilbert gives Ethan. “What are you thinking?”

“What?”

“Offering to help these people. They aren’t with us. They aren’t our responsibility.”

“But aren’t we all in this together?” Ethan says. “They are people just like us.”