[center] [IMG]http://i309.photobucket.com/albums/kk396/Mercinus3/Kayla%20Mason%20Title%20Drop_v2.png[/IMG]

[b]Location: Kayla & Mia’s Apartment, French Quarter
Time: Late Afternoon (17:00pm)[/b][/center]

Mia had been sleeping in her room for the past couple of hours, entering slumber in mere minutes after her head touched the pillow. During this time, Kayla had been in the study area. Her right hand holding the compound bow that was used in her first night, her focus on the Danage target that was also in the room. She remembered the motions and the steps she needs to take each shot from her bow. The only problem with her shot cycle: she used the full 40s per arrow when in competition. If she was to be doing her investigation into the bombing for the duration that it needs to be, she needs to shoot her arrows as accurately as possible, while at the same time quickening her shooting speed. So, she spent the time since the bombing doing just that. Now, she is shooting an arrow every 10 seconds. Fast, but still nowhere near faster than she could go. [i]Thud[/i] went another arrow, hitting the high-compressed foam target. [color=E38C2D]”Still 10 seconds,”[/color] she muttered. By now, she is going over the steps in her mind. Pulling the arrow, aiming and shooting the arrow constituted at least 4 seconds. Grabbing an arrow from the quiver on her leg was another 2 seconds, leaving the other 4 seconds to load the bow and attach the arrow to the string and getting the clamp of her release aid. She knew that a few of the seconds in the shot cycle could be cut by changing the type of release aid from a tension-based release to a trigger release. As for loading the arrow, which Kayla thinks is the reason why she hasn’t broken the sub-10s shot cycle, the arrow rest she has been using was the problem, with her fumbling to get the arrow on it before she can think about pulling the arrow back. From there, she reached for the computer and purchased a new trigger release aid and a drop-away arrow rest that is specifically used for hunting.

Once done, she walks out of the study and closed the door, locking it away as she did so. She reached for the glass of water that was left on the counter, she looks towards Mia’s bedroom door. Despite knowing who had caused all this suffering, she knows that she is nowhere near discovering who was behind the attack or why it occurred. If she was indeed the target, then why are the people behind this after her? How do they recognize her from her life 8 years ago? So many questions are revolving in her head about the events, yet little to no answers to ease her mind. However, there was one thing that could ease her mind at the present moment – cooking. She remembered that she had been doing nothing but ordering take out for the past few days, which isn’t healthy for her system. She walked over to the refrigerator and opening it, inspecting the contents inside. Apart from leftovers from the takeout the night before her first adventure, there weren't many ingredients to choose a meal from. Sure, there were peppers and some vegetables, but nothing that can be combined together. She checked the cupboards and noticed there was still a bag of rice and some ingredients for a golden curry. Having an idea for a meal that both herself and Mia could have that night, Kayla grabbed her coat from the side and walked out, rushing to get to a store before it closes for the evening.

Once outside, she began walking towards the costal edge of the French Quarter in the general direction of the nearby store. While observing the busy street, she noticed one guy leaning on a wall in a nearby alleyway, his eyes looking in the general direction of the apartment complex she came from. At first, she thought it was nothing, just another guy who was watching the world go by. However, she remembered that he was on the bus that her and Mia were on when coming back from the hospital. [i]Either one of us has a creepy admirer,[/i] she first thought, turning down the first left street she came across. [i]Or he is spying on one of us.[/i] As she looked into the nearby shop window, she noticed the same guy walking, always making sure he is on the other side of the street. His face, now that it was a little closer than when she left the apartment block, was unfamiliar to her. Even through her mind, she didn’t recall this person. The worrying thing about this is the idea that this guy might be working for the Penose and they could now have a general location to where she lived to one building. On the one hand, she really needed to get something from the store before it closed. On the other hand, she really need to know about why he was following her.

After a few minutes, getting to within 5 minutes to where her choice of grocery store was, she immediately took a turn down an alleyway. The guy, who was wearing a baseball cap to try and hide his face from any CCTV that was around, looked both ways before crossing the street. He approached the alleyway, noticing the lack of trace of the woman he was following. Thinking she had caught sight of him and ran down to the other side to try and lose him, she started to jog to the other side of the alley. Suddenly, from behind one of the dumpsters, Kayla emerged from it, her right leg in motion for a round kick to the general area of his shoulders. With the speed he was going, the sudden appearance and the speed & power of the kick, it wasn’t much time before the guy somersaulted to the ground, his head hitting the concrete floor. Dazed from the attack, the man took a few seconds to recover. Which gave all the time Kayla needs to make sure he didn’t get away. Placing her left foot on his crown jewels, she applied pressure with her foot. [color=E38C2d]”Now that I have your attention and show I am more than capable of defending myself against you, I would like to ask you a few questions. Why the hell are you following me?”[/color]

Unlike the Argentine from last night, the man instantly blabbered everything. “Some guys came to me and asked if I could follow you, getting information about where you live, who your friends are and your everyday routine. They said they will pay for my college tuition if I did this.”

[i]Oh Jesus,[/i] she thought, taken back by the second part of his statement. [i]He’s just a kid.[/i] Her hesitation in this revelation gave the guy a chance to recover. He grabbed her left leg and lifted it up. The force, although weak, was enough for her to topple over, falling flat on her back. The guy instantly gained control and was on top of her, his body pressed against her pelvis to prevent her from using her legs in retaliation. It wasn’t long before Kayla was fighting for her life, his hands clamped around her neck. She tried everything she could against her unknown assailant, but with her body in this position, her punches were severely reduced in strength. She could feel her body and mind slipping, but there wasn’t much that she could do. In a last-ditch effort to throw him off, she rammed her right thumb into her attacker’s left eye. That seemed to work as his hands flew from her throat to his eye. Coughing and gasping for air, Kayla started wiggling back and kicked out at the guy’s head, forcing him off of her. Slowly, she managed to get herself onto her knees and looked back at the writhing man. While questioning him might help with a new lead, he clearly demonstrated that he can overpower her and kill her. The next best thing to do was to get out in the open and get help. She can always confront him at the police station. [i]See how he likes attacking someone with a loaded bow in their face.[/i] Getting onto her feet and supporting herself against the wall, she slowly made her way to the other side of the alley and screamed for help.