[hr][CENTER][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLmJmYzRjNS5VbWwwWVNCV2IzSnZibUUsLjA,/divat.regular.png[/img] [b][code]Hillview High - Mason Square[/code][/b][/center][hr] Rita’s chest tightened, each gasp of air painful as she continued to run, her legs crying out to stop, her heart hammering against her ribs. It felt like she was going round in circles, and perhaps she was, as she traced the perimeter of black tendrils that had surrounded the school and the woods around it. She stayed about ten feet away from them as they shimmered and weaved against one another, creating an impassable barrier. In the distance she could her shouting, crying, screaming, and her imagination painted in the rest of the picture of what awfulness it was that she was missing. There was no way she was going back there, and no way she was getting through that tentacle wall. And so, she kept running around in circles, her body threatening to quit with each step. And then it did. She doubled over, hands on her knees, as she fought back the urge to vomit stomach acid and little else. There was a sharp pain in her side, perhaps from all of the running, perhaps from a tussle with a branch, and her sweater was torn here and there. She laughed between her dry heaves. What a stupid thing to think about, a sweater, when her life was on the line. Still, focusing on something else gave her a little bit of clarity. In fact, it gave her just enough awareness to hear a stick snap, turn her head towards the school, have her eyes go wide as a tall, dark figure emerged from the brush, and give out a bloodcurdling scream as it collided with her. [hr][CENTER][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjkyM2Y2MC5VR1Z1Ym5rZ1RHRjNjMjl1LjA,/youth-and-beauty.regular.png[/img] [b][code]Hillview High - Mason Square[/code][/b][/center][hr] Penny lost track of how many swears she uttered as she unloaded on the Glutton, every toss punctuated with a sharp, colorful language as if that would do it any good. Between the trinity attack of Justin, Claire, and herself, it was slowing down ever so slightly, but nothing significant. She continued on in her half-crouched position, launching shot after shot at the Glutton, hoping that something would give. Like what? Like it was allergic to type no. 2 pencils? Whatever, she had to keep—the Glutton stopped. And then… “Oh shit!” It felt as if the world slowed to a crawl. Thanks to her Abstraction, Penny could see that she was utterly fucked, even as she began to dive out of the way. She had gotten too close. Claire’s fault, definitely, not that she had time to think about it. No, she really had no time to think about anything at all, except how she had failed her idiot brothers, both of them. Well, maybe she’d find some closure in the afterlife, assuming there even was one. Assuming she’d even get into the good place. And then Brit’s vines hit the tendrils and dissolved into them, giving Penny enough time to finish her dodge. As she hit the ground she kept rolling away from the Glutton, gracelessly getting up to her feet a moment later. She was still too close for comfort as she began backing away, still not willing to give up the fight but hopeless to contribute, and looked for something to put in between her and the Glutton if it picked her as a target again. [hr][CENTER][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLmJmYzRjNS5VbWwwWVNCV2IzSnZibUUsLjA,/divat.regular.png[/img] [b][code]Hillview High - Mason Square[/code][/b][/center][hr] “Jesus, sorry, crap. You dead?” Rita laid sprawled out on the earth below, her gasps for breath as she tried to capture the wind that had been knocked out of her serving as an answer for the question. Billy, wide-eyed, slightly scratched, but otherwise unharmed towered above her, looking frantically over his shoulder for a pursuer that was not there. Rita, still struggling for air but no longer feeling like a total fish out of water, attempted to sit up, and grabbed Billy’s hand when he offered it. She rubbed a dirty sleeve across her face, sweat and tears mixing together, as she collected herself. Between sharp breaths, she asked: [b][i][color=lightgray]”Why did you do that?”[/color][/i][/b] “I wanted to knock you out." He paused. "I'm joking, obviously. Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said Billy. As he looked away his eyes twitched with slight confusion. “I’m trying to find a way out of this mess. I kind of took off running when shit hit the fan. Like you did, I take it.” “Yeah,” heaved Rita. “I don’t...I don’t know what’s happening. It’s good to see someone else is alive.” “Still, man,” said Billy, taking a step towards the barrier of black, “we won’t be alive much longer if we can’t get through there. Do you know of a way through?” “If I did I wouldn’t be here,” snapped Rita. She grabbed her temple. “Sorry. I meant to say that I’m afraid to touch it.” “I know what you mean,” said Billy, his voice growing grim before it lightened up again. “Here, get up off the ground. I’ve got an idea.” [color=lightgray][b][i]“What is it?”[/i][/b][/color] she asked, hesitantly as she stood up completely. Billy never seemed like the type to fully grasp a situation, but he seemed weirdly calm about all of this. She watched as the wall shifted behind him, the tendrils like black snakes rolling around one another. He looked down at her, a shadow crossing his glasses as the corner of his lips twitched. She could see that he was fighting the response. Then, her Abstraction broke through and his face twisted into a serpent’s smirk as he grabbed her by the shoulders, hard, his fingers digging into her flesh. His voice growled through his teeth as he began to lift her: “It’s obvious, you stupid bitch. We give it a test.”