[sub][h3][center]Archie[/center][/h3][/sub][hr][i]"Archie!" [/i]

Lynn's voice broke him out of his stupor and he was yanked backwards and away by his arm. She was warm, borderline hot and was a jolting contrast from the cooling night air. She was questioning him now, trying to find out if he had touched the body, or done anything to it. "No, no. God-" he just about choked out, trying to find his words. "I was going to look for flowers for Natalie and Amelia to apologize and I saw-" his eyes flashed over to the body again. Lynn seemed to sense this, or at least he thought she did. Archie was pulled again, this time to his feet away away. His arm [i]hurt[/i] from the heat of her hands and from how tight she was holding him. He looked away from the body and at Lynn. Archie's eyes were stark white and were producing a sort of bioluminescence, just like they had when he had gone under last time.

[i]"Get the fuck up. Get up and walk away. C'mon."[/i] Lynn's tone was commanding, and he followed her instructions. She had gotten to him a little late and her smaller stature might've play into her not immediately noticing the signs, but he stood easily six inches taller than he normally did. Or maybe she did, and this was simply her way of trying to calm him down before he made a mess. She forced him to face the tree line, away from the body. He caught sight of Natalie who was destroying trees in what could have been frustration? Anger? He knew how that felt. Amelia screamed and the high pitched fear reverberated painfully in his head. He groaned and brought his hands up to his ears, just about lifting Lynn off the ground as he did so. He could sense that there was a new person here from the scent of bile in her throat. All the more reason not to turn, Archie thought. He didn't want to sour any more relations. He had been lucky that Lynn and Natalie had been so forgiving. This new person might now.

[i]Not again.[/i] Archie thought. He wasn't going to turn again and make them do what they had to do on the first day. Not after he had just promised them that he wouldn't hurt them again. He had stopped the transformation as it was, having successfully convinced himself that he wasn't being bodily threatened. He felt his muscles relax again, and he winced as his spine audibly cracked back into place in a few locations and his height reduced.

"I'm- I'm okay. I promise." he said, putting his hand around Lynn's arm in an attempt to get her to loosen her grip. His eyes were still bright white, but he was coming down and that's what mattered. His senses were still in hyperdrive though, and he heard Amelia coming from behind before he saw her. She was cursing to herself, about how someone was following her. Once again he felt like he was a passenger in his own body as he centered himself on instinct. He leveraged his and Lynn's (admittedly low contribution to their) weight so that when the free arm shot out on its own accord and snatched Amelia just about out of the air as she passed, they barely moved. Amelia's momentum was instantly stopped and she was put down on her ass again, this time by Archie. He held onto her with an iron grip, not so much so that it hurt her but enough so that his hand did not move.

Archie felt his control return and he relaxed, instantly releasing Amelia's arm. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you oka-" He caught himself, processing what she had been yelling about. It's [i]him?[/i] [i]She's[/i] following her?

"Who is following you? What do you mean it's him?" he asked earnestly, concern written into his features. They were far enough away from the river bank that he was afforded enough clarity that he could force himself to ignore the body that less than a hundred feet from them. He didn't remember Amelia leaving on the first day, but Lynn and Natalie might. How was Amelia related to this body?
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[@Typical][@Silver Carrot][@He Who Walks Behind][@levinfist]