[color=olivedrab]ID: Ryan Harper Location: City Ruins Time: 11:42AM[/color] The rain had come suddenly as if somebody had simply started splashing buckets of water from the dark mass of clouds up above. It had made visibility close to minimal and navigation from inside a small security mech near impossible, which is probably why this one was inactive, parked underneath the sun-bleached awning of a decrepid store. Within the dusty building echoed the quiet but grating sound of chalk dragging across tile. A small figure at the back of the store sat hunched on the floor and drew, a pair of headphones covering her ears. The light was dim at best and nonexistent at worst among the rust-ridden aisles and racks but it was better like this. Better to know where other people are before they know where you are. The violin wailed in her ears and her hand moved in time with it. Then it stopped. Two bright blue irises darted to the side where her peripheral vision had caught movement. It was a light, bright, warm, and beckoning, which was a surefire way to tell that she shouldn’t come close to it no matter what. She crawled over to peek in between two rows of rotting crisps. The light was right beside her precious Sentinel and accompanied by two figures clad in dark grey coats, too clean and new to be good news. Her heart could have exploded from the pressure right then and there. She couldn’t run towards them but what if they took it away? She sat there, frozen for a couple of seconds, until the figures started moving. They were headed for the entrance. That realization pretty much dragged all air out of her lungs and she scrambled towards a nearby aisle. [center][color=olivedrab]---[/color][/center] Gren Highgate peered inside the gloomy building, squinting a bit. “I don’t know, Adelaide, doesn’t seem like anyone’s set foot in here for a while.” He was a tall man and had evidently been the burly type in his youth – his shoulders were still quite broad and some muscle still clung to his frame. Wrinkles cut through his narrow, tanned face like canyons through the earth, but his eyes – vibrant blue – retained a youthful playfulness. His features were arranged in such a way that he seemed like he was always smiling. His hair, although silver, had retained its volume and waviness and was evidently well taken care of – clean and cut in a sensible, stylish manner. “[i]Nonsense[/i], the robot is right there, she can’t have wandered that far away from it.” The small middle aged woman pushed past him and entered the shop. She stopped, arms crossed in the demanding stance of a strict teacher, and slowly scanned the area through the small round glasses perched upon her sharp nose. Her stern gaze soon came across something that didn’t belong. She gestured for her companion to follow her and proceeded to the back of the shop at a brisk pace. They were standing over a chalk drawing depicting a floral motif that appeared to be growing out of a bird’s skull. There were no other traces of life. [center][color=olivedrab]---[/color][/center] The two had spent the better part of the afternoon searching the area. The girl didn’t respond to any calls and they had checked in even the most unlikely of places they could think of. No luck. Ryan lay completely motionless in the space between the rooftop and the large plates of plywood that hid the ventilation and electronics from view within the store itself. She did not know why these people knew her name and she did not know why they were so desperate to find her. It was terrifying. She hadn’t done anything and there were no documents that her name would have a reason to exist in. She had to get to the mech. The voices had faded a couple of times and she assumed it was because they were going in and out of the building. She resolved to wait for the next time it happened and make a run for it. It took them a while but they eventually left once again. Ryan took a deep breath and slid out of her hiding spot and onto the dusty floor almost soundlessly. She peered between the shelves again, just to make sure they were still outside, put on the headphones with the volume at max, then dashed across the length of the store and towards the window. [center][color=olivedrab]---[/color][/center] [color=olivedrab]Time: 17:24PM[/color] “She can’t just be [i]gone[/i]! This is absurd! [i]How[/i] are we supposed to fill out the roster?!” Adelaide was fuming in the middle of the broad street, kicking small pebbles and pieces of rubble around in frustration. Gren was watching her but seemed rather absent, as if deep in thought. They were both completely drenched. In this moment, there was a loud crash, followed by a mechanical whir that sent a chill down both their spines. “You move, I pull the trigger.” The voice that crackled through the speaker was cold and unshakeable, yet almost childlike in tone. „Good. Now turn around. Slowly.“ They did. The mech was standing at its full height, with the gatling guns staring straight down at them and spinning with the same gentle chilling whir, ready to mince them at the first wrong move. „Who are you and why do you know my name?“ Adelaide‘s throat released a sound first. „We mean no harm. My name is Adelaide Oxton and this is my colleague Gren Highgate. We‘re here on behalf of the Inquisitional College. We have a proposition for you-“ „Why do you know my name?“ - repeated the voice demandingly. „If you would[i] allow [/i]me to finish...“ – there was a hint of annoyance in Adelaide‘s voice despite the significant number of barrels in her face, - „The College has selected you to be a participant in a tournament of sorts – the Crucible. Should you emerge the winner you will be granted one wish, any wish. Your name was given to us by an unknown entity that appears to be connected to the one giving out the grand prize. We are not certain how it works but if you‘d let me reach into my pocket I will show you the information it has given us.“ „Your hands stay where they are. I‘m not interested in tournaments. You may turn around slowly and leave the way you came.“ Gren spoke up. „Aren‘t you sick of being afraid? Think about it. You could just wish it away!“ – he gave a warm smile. Ryan stared at him for a long while. She was sure he couldn‘t see her from outside the mech but it seemed like their eyes met. They were the same eyes yet his were calm and smiling in the face of danger. And she could feel her heart trying to burst out of her chest and escape. „You will walk in front of me and I am not getting out of this mech.“ Gren‘s smile widened. [center][color=olivedrab]---[/color][/center] [color=olivedrab]ID: Ryan Harper Location: Inquisitional College Time: Error[/color]