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the park. Many of the people had been injured, and they lay down on the park’s narrow benches or on the trimmed grass along the pathways.
    Principal Wong’s lanky figure stuck out from within the crowd gathered there. He smiled as he talked with one of the soldiers, pointing every so often at the students assembled at the edges of the park, but the thick streams of sweat running down his face made his desperation clear. The soldier shook his head without smiling back.
    Mr. Jenkins directed us to an empty space on the curb next to the other students. He whipped out the list he’d made back at the school’s parking lot and called out our names. Everyone was accounted for.
    “All right, people. I’ll need you guys to stick together and wait for me while I go and see what’s going on, okay?” He sprinted toward the principal.
    We immediately proceeded to ignore his directions. Almost half the class rushed after him as soon as he turned his back. The other half was too scared to question orders. The people at the park flocked around the soldiers, demanding answers.
    “Where should we go? What’s happening?” a woman asked a young soldier at the edge of the crowd.
    Everyone around her echoed her questions. The soldier couldn’t even manage to speak and only stared wide-eyed at the desperate people surrounding him as held tightly onto his rifle. The poor guy didn’t look much older than me. His face seemed smooth even under the layer of grime coating it. He didn't seem to have any privileged information on the ongoing disaster.
    I took a deep breath and shoved my way through the desperate mob, hoping to get some answers from the older soldier arguing with the principal. I looked over my shoulder and waved at Karla, urging her to follow me, but she just stood at the edge of the crowd. She leaned away from the struggling bodies, arms raised against her chest as if expecting to be attacked by them.
    Meanwhile, the older soldier ended his argument with Principal Wong and motioned for the people surrounding him to quiet down. Despite being shorter than the principal, the man’s thick, muscular neck and broad shoulders gave him an imposing presence. It wasn’t long before the crowd ceased its barrage of questions, allowing the man to speak.
    “We cannot ascertain at this time the nature of the disaster since we have been unable to operate any communication devices. That being said, you can rest assured efforts are being made to implement an effective evacuation procedure.”
    Oh, come on…
    In short, he didn’t know anything either. Still, his convoluted speech satisfied the crowd somewhat. Official-sounding words from a man in uniform could have that effect on some people. At least, Mr. Wong made the most of the lull and managed to address the soldier before the crowd swarmed him with pointless questions again.
    “Listen, umm… Sergeant?” he said, staring at the insignia on the man's sleeve. “My students and I are pushing on to the hospital. Some of them are gravely injured and can’t afford to wait until your orders come through. If it’s all right with you, we can take some of the wounded you’ve got here with us.”
    I looked around, expecting a wave of enthusiasm for Mr. Wong’s plan. Instead, I found myself enveloped in the droning buzz of insecure murmuring.
    Mr. Jenkins made his way through the crowd, staring straight at me. He combed his thinning black hair with his hand, and I assumed he was getting ready to give me a verbal beat-down for not staying put with the rest of the class.
    That wasn’t something I looked forward to, so I rushed through the gaps in the mob, taking occasional glances at the furious teacher struggling to keep up. I should’ve paid more attention to where I was going, since I soon ran straight into a lamppost.
    “Oww… damn, that hurt!” I clutched my throbbing ear as I turned toward the offending object.
    Oh, crap. No way!
    It must’ve been fate—a very cruel and stupid