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[indent][indent][indent]Sloane’s encouragement to exit—egress as he’d so warmly called it—fell on deaf ears. Vallory ran forward, unphased, to combat the oddly uniformed soldiers. He turned to Ross, hoping he wasn’t so impulsive, but Ross did just the same. [b][color=#dc143c]“Are you fucking kidding me!”[/color][/b] Sloane exclaimed; the sugar-sweet veneer washed away from stress. His fingers tightened on the baseball bat.

[i]Druidon.[/i] He knew what they were, but the name still felt like volcanic ash in the back of his throat. Sloane couldn’t swallow it down no matter how hard he tried. While the McCabe’s hadn’t been in the middle of the physical war, avoiding the carnage of death and destruction, they had been a part of a different one. The blame had been placed at GENESIS’s feet and the feet of those that had supported them—namely his family. With the Druidon came the fear of being in his own home. The yelling. The threats. The—

[b]“Mommy!”[/b] a child’s voice pierced his thoughts, drowning out the slowly growing cacophony of voices in his head. Sloane snapped back to reality. Ross and Vallory were in the middle of fighting the Druidon, and quite frankly they could have the damn monsters. He didn’t care for a piece of that action, because he wasn’t some hormone-crazed thrill junkie. No, Sloane was right from the get-go—they needed to find the exit. But maybe he caught sight of a kid, and maybe his climb getting to said exit had grown a few steps. 

Sloane ran towards the child. She stood in the middle of chairs and tables that had been blasted to the ground by the Druidon’s lance. There were people attempting to get out from underneath them. Sloane would have to worry about that later. Instead, he focused on the kid who was currently snotting into her Dora the Explorer shirt with an increasing degree.

[b][color=#dc143c]“Where’s your mom?”[/color][/b] Sloane asked.
The kid looked up at him, and her eyes were as large as goldfish bowls. [b]“She told me not to talk to strangers.”[/b]
[b][color=#dc143c]“Are you—”[/color][/b] Sloane let out a noise of exasperation. [b][color=#dc143c]“Look, kid, you can choose between me or them,”[/color][/b] he waved towards the Druidon, [b][color=#dc143c]“and I want to help you find your mom. They want to…”[/color][/b] about that time another one of the Druidon’s fired their weapon, and the crack of rubble was more than audible.

The kid hiccuped in fear, more snot pouring out of her nose. [b]“She’s over there,”[/b] the girl gurgled, pointing closer towards the building. Sloane narrowed his eyes, trying to block the sun out. There was a sheer panic of people trying to make their way towards an exit—any exit. Hadn’t Ross gone over this before the entire thing had started? Weren’t there clearer signs? Fire Marshall’s existed for a reason—Ross from Friends. [color=#dc143c][i]Calling him Joey from now on.[/i][/color]

The kid sniffled even hard, a snot bubble forming. He needed to find her mom before she managed to glom onto him like a ball of goo. It was then he saw a woman pinned underneath a table. He could see why the kid was too scared to make it over there—there was a lot of rubble between them. 

[b][color=#dc143c]“Come on,”[/color][/b] Sloane said, pocketing his phone and grabbing the kid’s hand. It was [i]very[/i] sticky. He tried not to think about it as he half-hoisted her up, half-pulled her closer to the building. In the kid’s defense, she came along without much fuss. He swore he heard her giggling once as he maneuvered through the rubble and lifted her over a few taller pieces of broken concrete. Sloane was breathing hard by the time he got to the woman, but he wasted no time. Setting down the bat, he grabbed the edge of the picnic table and lifted it. The woman looked at him, her eyes as wide as her daughters. Sloane could hear the crunch of his knee as he deadlifted the piece of furniture. [b][color=#dc143c]“Move,”[/color][/b] he grunted. The woman scrambled out from underneath it, allowing Sloane to drop the thing. He placed his hands on his knees and caught his breath.

The woman ran towards the girl, and they embraced. Sloane had been a bit concerned he’d freed the wrong person. He didn’t have the time or the stamina to play “Where’s Snot Goblin’s Mom?”
The woman looked at him. [b]“Thank you!”[/b]
Sloane smiled through deep breaths and gave a thumbs up.
Her eyes trailed to his bat. [b]“Can I—”[/b]
[b][color=#dc143c]“Uh, no.”[/color][/b] He pointed towards a doorway with a flashing EXIT sign above it. Maybe Joey [i]had[/i] done his job. [b][color=#dc143c]“Please exit in an orderly fashion, and try not to lose your kid again. You’ve already lost your ‘Mom of the Year’ award.”[/color][/b]
Indignation passed over the mother’s face, but she grabbed the young girl and headed that way. A few words were said under her breath, and the child gasped in response. [b]“Mommy, I thought we didn’t say those words,”[/b] the kid chastised as they left the scene. 

Sloane picked up his bat, leaning on it like it was a cane. He took a few large breathes—soothing his burning lungs. He’d thoroughly taxed his knee. Dr. Gardner would probably "tsk" and furiously clack away on his keyboard before prescribing Sloane yet another round of physical therapy and medication. So, Sloane should leave now—right? He should minimize the damage while still looking like a hero—right?  Right! Except that when he swept the scene, he saw those monsters starting to swarm someone. The person was tall, Sloane could make that out, and they were damn well holding their own against the Druidon. Yet, it wasn’t Vallory, unless she’d suddenly turned into Jolly Green Cowboy Giant. Sloane considered leaving, but his feet stayed firmly planted. Fine, he'd be the hero [i]one last time.[/i]

He ran towards the monsters with his bat raised. Without thinking, Sloane struck one of the Druidon square in the back. There was a loud crack as the monster heaved forward. He would have been pleased with himself had it not turned around and focused all its attention on him—and it wasn’t the only one. 

[b][color=#dc143c]“Oh shit,”[/color][/b] Sloane let out. Hey, at least Dr. Gardner wouldn’t be able to get onto him, because he would be dead.[/indent][/indent][/indent]

[b][color=#9dd7d1]|[/color][/b] [b][color=#dc143c]𝖳𝖠𝖦(𝖲)[/color][/b] [b][color=black]:[/color][/b] [@metanoia] [@Zoey Boey] [@Potemking] [b][color=#9dd7d1]|[/color][/b]