[sub][h3][center]Kayla and Archie[/center][/h3][/sub][hr]

Kayla had, for the most part, stuck to the back of the pack. Between feeling generally uncomfortable with the unnatural familiarity of her environment and the otherworldly aspects of this world- she had decided against taking point. Those at the tip of the spear could make the mistakes, she wasn't planning on getting lost or separated. She certainly didn't plan on dying in some strangely warped mirror of what had been her town- she planned to live forever! She brought her gaze to the rapidly setting sun and as night took hold once again, she couldn't help but notice that there were no constellations in the sky- or at least none that she recognized.

She knew all of the constellations.

Dread washed over Kayla at this realization, and her heart sped up as her anxiety took hold. She [i]knew[/i] this wasn't home- that much was clear. But something was very, irrevocably wrong here. They weren't in Kansas anymore- and the inhuman screech in the distance only further validated the fight or flight response that was taking over her body.

Kayla took a step back but wasn't able to cover nearly enough distance to avoid what came from that never ending pit. Something snaked from the chasm with unnatural speed, they ran through the crowd in jerky motions, but all at once like they were a pack, or some sort of unit. They didn’t look like they came from animal she had ever studied, let alone from Pennsylvania. The way their muscles moved beneath the thin layer of skin, the way the bones under the appendages- if those were even bones- seemed to stretch with every extension, like they were made of rubber. But it wasn't rubber, or even tentacles for that matter. Her vision was swimming and a part of her knew what she was [i]actually[/i] seeing, but all she could comprehend was that Oleander had his jaws around her calf muscle like a vice grip and was yanking and dragging her towards the depths of that pit.

"Ollie, Ollie no! Oleander!" she screamed, trying to pull her leg back. The tentacles- Oleander's jaws bit down harder. The thorns or spikes or- Oleanders teeth dug into her ankle and she heard him snarl into her flesh- yanking harder. She screamed in pain, and in fear and viciously fought to get away. Oleander had always been such a good dog- he would never hurt her. Even when he was a puppy he had never been this rabid. Why was he like this? "Oleander! No, Oleander! Please!" she screamed, tears flowing freely from her eyes now. The dog's canines popped through the denim of her jeans and into her flesh. She felt every canine and incisor puncture her flesh. The dog yanked, first to the right, and then to the left- and Kayla finally stopped clawing at the ground in and effort to get away. She raised her hand as her instincts took over, and screamed as she struck the dog in the face. She sobbed, but continued her onslaught to little effect. Whatever had taken over her Ollie had an iron hold.

She felt resistance again, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a firm hand wrapped around her free arm.

Archie had rushed forwards as soon as he had seen the tentacles come out. He had seen them as soon as they had come over the edge. He could see their muscles spasming and twisting. He saw right through them, completely unaffected by their illusions. But he had been too far behind, and too slow. They had grabbed three people: Kayla, Terry, and Agatha.

Kayla had been the furthest from the pit, and so he reached her first- grasping her arm firmly in his right hand. He stepped forwards and did the same for Terry with his off hand. Archie held their bodies in place, instantly stopping their movement in what had to appear as nothing more than a feat of herculean strength to those around him. In reality, sets of his own tentacles had sprawled out from beneath his feet- sprawling inky black tendrils gouging out and through and deep into the earth like the roots of a tree- anchoring the man in place where he stood. Black surged out from under his shirt, staining the exposed veins and arteries of his arms and neck like watercolor under the skin as he attempted to exert himself without letting go of what little control of what he had. They couldn't see him. He wouldn't let them see what he was. He struggles against himself more than he does the tentacles, the mental exertion making him groan in ragged fury- its desperate its needy its paranoia wrapped in fear with anxiety on top.

Kayla, in a moment of clarity from her pain, digs out a spring assisted pocket knife from her pocket. She stares at Oleander, tears in her eyes, and despite the pain she hesitates and gives the dog, her only friend, a look of dread. She feels her stomach fall. "[i]Oleander-[/i]" Its a name its a calling it's a worry its an ask its a prayer to a God she doesn't believe in but would happily sacrifice everything to if it meant she didn't have to do what she was going to do. She brings the knife down wildly on the dog's face, screaming and crying and begging that if someone was up above they would forgive her for killing her only friend because she sure as hell could not. She screamed as the tugging became too much for even Archie's hold. She screamed as the Oleander began disappearing over the edge of that impossible chasm. Its too silent its too loud its too bare its filled with too much its too raw too broken too scared so fucking scared where the fuck is here why the fuck was this happening to her.

Her screams became the roar of flame as a jet of white hot fire streamed from her mouth- illuminating the area with her rage in place of the setting sun. She screamed- tears falling from her eyes and evaporating as soon as they came close to her mouth. Her hands came up and more fire danced from her fingertips and exploded from her hands [i]and[/i] feet towards Oleander- who's illusion was shattered as the tentacle was quite literally incinerated by fire so raw and hot that it began melting the rubber and plastic of her shoes. The tentacle's grip was gone, and Kayla jetted back- the fire's propelling force no longer being tethered by some otherworldly force. She launched away from the chasm along the ground, some thirty feet, before her screams and fire stopped. She curled into herself, cradling her injured leg, and sobbed- but was otherwise safe.

Archie was the only one who was not temporarily blinded by the shining light of what was comparable to a second sun- because he was already blind. He couldn't see shit- that impossible void had taken hold of his vision several moments before Kayla had awoken. He had felt her be pulled out his grasp though, and he had [i]definitely [/i]felt the heat of her fire, instinctively pulling his now free arm up in an effort to shield himself from the heat. He was sensitive to fire, more so than even the normal person. When the heat disappeared, he grasped Terry under his armpit with his now freed hand in an effort to further anchor him and prevent the younger man's demise.

"David!" Archie yelled, no, roared- to his friend, his voice having taken on otherworldly depth and coarseness. "A little help over here!"