"well," kirigiri says softly, looking up and down the street.

that, naegi thinks, about sums it up. 

"what do we do now?" asahina asks. her voice is strained and raw from her coughing fit. "where do we go?" she continues when no one answers, and naegi turns to see her staring around at them, her face pale.

"we need to find somewhere safe to stay," kirigiri says decisively. "and we need to take stock of our situation. after that, there will be time to think, and to mourn our losses."

naegi swallows, remembering the photographs of his classmates and the scenes of their deaths.

she's right, though. they need to secure themselves first - the last thing they need is any more bloodshed.

when he takes his first breath of the air outside, it burns his throat and lungs and makes him choke. behind him, asahina starts coughing violently. he pulls his sweatshirt over his nose and mouth, which slightly aleives the ache in his chest. so it's true, he thinks - the air really is unsafe.

no one speaks as they cross the grounds to the towering gates. beyond them, the street is deserted and silent. naegi shivers. he isn't sure how ready he is for the world outside hope's peak. he thinks about the scenes from outside enoshima showed them, about the video on that dvd showing what was left of his abandoned house. there's no way to know how much is true or false, which parts of her story really happened. anything could be beyond those gates.