Izzy ran with her head down, afraid to see anybody's face. She didn't want to know anything about anyone who would die soon. She felt that she would faint at any moment, and her lungs burnt. She didn't want to stop, but her body forced her to.

Turning into a random alley, she went as deep into it as she could before her dizziness got the best of her and she tripped over her own feet. She landed painfully on her forearms, but didn't have the strength to make any sort of noise. After slowly picking herself up, she crawled to the closest wall and sat with her back against it. 

It was then that she finally noticed that she had a message and party invite from Haunt, and for one relieving moment, her panic subsided.

The moment passed when she realized that she had run away from the one person in the game that wasn't a complete stranger to her. 

She clutched her face and broke down, finally hitting the peak of her attack. She did her best to stifle her sobs by burying her head between her knees.

It only took a few minutes for her to get over the height of her panic, but she was drained and exhausted. The attack wasn't over yet, either. It would last for another little while, but it would - thankfully - slowly dwindle during that time.

She stared at the party invite, completely at a loss as to whether she should accept or not. Of course, it would be a good idea to make friends in the game, especially now that everyone's lives were at risk. But that was also exactly why she didn't want to accept. The risk of death was substantial, and any friends she made would be in constant danger. She couldn't lose someone she cared for again. 

It was an impossible choice, and thinking about it just caused her receding panic to flare up. So she stopped thinking and followed her instinct.

With a trembling hand, she reached out and accepted, choking back a sob. 

Her sister wasn't in the game. She couldn't comfort and calm her. Izzy wanted to have people around her that she trusted and cared for. That desire won out over her fear of losing the friends she hadn't even made yet.

She hugged her knees tighter, deciding to stay in the alley until she had fully calmed down.