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Penny laid on a sofa with her hands behind her head with her eyes closed, but she didn’t fall asleep. She waited an indeterminate amount of time for her head to stop throbbing as she thought over what Odessa had said about the Pit. Naturally, like anything supernatural Penny had dealt with, it sounded terrifying. How did the girl know about it? Odessa had said something to Zoey earlier about being Adjoined, about being fused with an Apparition. Penny sighed. She was trying her best to get a grasp on the Extra-Normal, but she was still an amateur at best. Thinking about it made her head hurt in a different way, but it was better than letting her mind replay the loop of Caelea getting murdered. 

Penny waited until she heard a soft choir of heavy breathing from the others and sat up. Thankfully, the spots were gone and the stark white interior of the bank no longer looked like a well-lit roller rink on disco night. She looked around the room and did a quick headcount, her face growing dark as she realized they were missing Lilith. [i]Shit.[/i] Penny pulled her orange cardigan tight around her and poked around the lobby to see if the girl had wandered off or gone to the bathroom. Nothing. The bank was silent except for her footfalls, the light hum of the AC, and the collective snoozing of the strangers. 

Wait, was Odessa still outside? Penny’s footsteps echoed more loudly as she hurried to the front door and pushed it open. She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw the girl in the orange robe sitting patiently at the bottom of the steps. For a moment, she had thought that Odessa also would’ve been spirited away. Penny jogged down the steps and took a seat next to the strange girl. She plucked the marker from her mouth and tapped it with her finger like she was ashing a cigarette. Penny kept toying with the marker as she broke the news that she was certain Odessa already knew, [color=goldenrod]“Lilith’s gone.”[/color]

Penny slumped forward with her elbows on her knees and groaned. Things just kept getting worse. They were stuck in a weird dream city. Two of the strangers were missing, possibly dead. Caelea was fucking dead and a smoke monster was running around in her skinsuit. The desire to go steal Zoey’s pack and smoke all of them was riding high in Penny right now. She inhaled deeply, sat up while pushing her hair back, exhaled, and eloquently observed, [color=goldenrod]“This fucking sucks.”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]“Hey, thank you again for saving me back there,”[/color] said Penny, turning to Odessa and offering her half of a defeated smile. [color=goldenrod]“I seriously owe you, like, seriously...which is what makes this part right here suck even more…”[/color] Penny’s eyes narrowed as her face twisted in disgust. [color=goldenrod]“But how the fuck do you know all of these things? Who are you, really?”[/color] Penny shook. [color=goldenrod]“Don’t give me some vague bullshit, either. I want everything. Give me the goddamn details. All of them.”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]“Please,”[/color] said Penny, her voice breaking as her face softened. She wasn’t angry. She was scared. [color=goldenrod]“Please. I already trust you, it’s...I just need to know why.”[/color]