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[img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjkyM2Y2MC5VR1Z1Ym5rZ1RHRjNjMjl1LjA,/youth-and-beauty.regular.png[/img]
 [code]St. Mercer Hospital[/code]
[sub] [@Ruler Inc][@Fernstone][/sub] [/center] [hr]

A little “yes!” erupted from Penny’s mouth as her shot hit true and forced the man to drop Justin’s tiger, which allowed it to go full force on the bastard. Their little moment of victory was soon ruined by the smell of burning flesh followed up by some self-surgery. Penny looked away, but she knew she’d hear that sound like pudding being plopped on a cafeteria tray anytime she closed her eyes to go to sleep for the rest of her life. She instead focused on the nurse, ready to go to Caelea’s aid—and beaten to it by a girl she did not expect to see. Zoey Gray, Claire’s old BFF and yet another person in the long list of individuals whom Penny had spurned in the past. None of that petty school shit really mattered anymore, but she still felt her demeanor grow icy as they made eye contact.

That little moment was enough to make it so that Penny did not realize what the path of the scissors in the nurse’s hand meant until it was too late. She had only made it three steps towards the woman before the scissors were plunged into her neck and made the floor slick with her blood. Penny let out a noise of disgust as she deactivated her abstraction, the world losing its shimmering effect as is projected motion disappeared. She bent down a picked up the scissors and took a second to wipe it off on the gown before stashing it in the pocket of her smock. If any more of these redemption freaks popped up, she needed to be armed. 

“Thanks for the help,” she said quietly to Caelea, before she heard Zoey pop a question that Justin was incapable of answering. Penny turned on her heels and folded her arms over her chest, ready to drop the bomb on Zoey. She paused when she saw Justin. Wouldn’t it be better for Zoey to hear this from a friend? It wouldn’t hurt if she just kept silent on this, would it?

No, worse, it would make Penny like Britney.

“Justin, she deserves to know,” said Penny, taking a step towards Zoey. “Claire was protecting…”

Protect? She had been on a goddamn rampage, probably put them more at risk than anything. Penny shook the thought out of her head. Those were unnecessary details. As she tried to collect her thoughts and put the rest of it in the most gentle way possible, two girls ran into the lobby. The quiet ones, finally loud, their breath heavy and their ability to dismantle a moment impeccable. Penny frowned. She was already bad at this, and now there was an audience. Penny gave Justin a guilty look and then decided to keep her tongue still. She turned and caught the mousy girl’s eye.

[color=lightgray][b][i]“What...the hell...is happening?”[/i][/b][/color] demanded Rita, terrified by the scene around her, doubled over to catch her breath, her greasy hair clamped to the side of her face. 

Penny tried to roll her eyes. Instead, they couldn’t even move away from the wreck of a girl. She felt as if hands were forcing her mouth open, prying apart her gritted teeth, and then reaching down inside her throat to pull words out. Her head began to hurt as she tried to keep herself silent, and then she swelled with relief as the words came out in short, staccato bursts.

“God, you’re nosy. Those things attacked. We fought them. We won. They killed themselves. Justin refuses to tell Zoey that her stupid friend was a dumb bitch and got herself killed. Happy?” 

Penny blinked. Shit, why did she say that last part? She turned towards Zoey, a pit already formed in her stomach. Her voice was low and grave as she said, “Zoey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that last part. I don’t...I don’t…” She put a hand on her hip and looked away. Apologizing was pointless; she had fucked up.