[M] 'Hunted' IC

[SQJ]

"Such sad music.....why so much sad music Mr Freeman?" A soft voice whispered in Edgar's left ear. Edgar looked up from his desk, he'd been asleep again. It was surprising. He'd been sitting upright and listening to Yesterday by the Beetles for the hundredth time. It wasn't generally his thing, white music. Taylor swift, Hanna Montana or what ever the fuck her name was but this beetles shit was quite something. It was a rush. It made him sad, it broke his heart over and over again until there are nothing but glass shards floating on his diaphragm, it made him tear up and whisper the words. So it was a surprise he'd simply nodded off.
Edgar dropped his face into his arms once more. "Come on, Edgar." The voice's owner said before pulling off his blaring headphones.

--


Edgar didn't give a shit about what was happening in the world around him. He could hear voices but didn't care. He was a blank slate, which had been freshly filled with misery and loss before being offered a glimmer of hope in a voice he could not recognise. The touch of those soft fingers against his head when she'd pulled off those head phones had made his ears tingle.
His whole body tensed when he felt that same tingle come back before being pushed away by the cold, Edgar turned onto his back. He was naked. Yes very naked. A chill breeze hit him again making his privates react.

Looking around fully for the first time he saw a bright forest of black and white. It was worse than being caught in some really bad old movie. In old movies there was mountains of gay between the black and white. It wasn't like that here. It was frightening, yet beautiful. It was how he imagined being able to live inside a flame would be like.

The others talking...there were quite a few of them, all of them just as naked as he was. Great he was the only black guy there. Not that it mattered. Only it did, it mattered allot to him when a group of naked white people where the only people around his naked body in a strange unreal place that only drug highs could produce.....


Some red head yelled something and broke into run. "Hey" Edgar said, taking her as the leader, as she was the only one who'd spoken to the group so far. He tried to cut her off using his sleek muscles to cut across to her. He watched her naked body move and hesitated when she didn't stop. Bare breasts, untamed by a shred of clothing bounced in his direction. He held his breath sure she was going to crash into him like a 4x4 crashing into a wall when, whoosh, she passed right through him.

He simply stood there staring at his hands. "What's happening to me." But by then the others were running. Instinct lead thought and he ran with them.

[Ru]

Without question, Lydia chased after the woman who had broke into a run. After all the was going on, she really had no reason to wonder why they were running, where they were going, or anything along those lines. To be honest, she still felt this was more like a dream state that was hard to believe and it was hard for her to take any of this serious; it was unlikely she was going to until something drastic occurred. Occasionally she did a flip or so just to have fun while running away from whatever it is that was chasing them down. When they reached the peculiar cave room, her attention darted all over the place.

“Where is the sun coming from? I’m tired of being muddy. This is annoying. What is going on?” the questions seemed endless from her plump, red lips. “Doors! Do we go through them? Or stand here? Which one is safe? If I don’t go in the same door as one of you, then that means I won’t see you anymore? I don’t want to get lost and being alone isn’t fun.” With her eternal questioning one might assume she was whining, when she was really being extremely curious, that did not mean it didn’t annoy Musho to no end.

The usually calm, dark-haired man shot a glare over to her once they reached this room. Before he had been running, simply because being left alone to whatever was out there was not on his agenda. If he had to press on into this grayscale maze then that was what he planned on doing. A scowl furrowed across his face with his arms crossed over his chest; he swore this young woman spoke like a child. He let out a sigh and followed the woman that had yelled for them to run in the first place, though he kept his distance.

“I am certain you are as confused as any of us, miss…” he attempted to address her. “But… what do you make of this scenario? And why did you feel compelled to run?” Musho felt an escape was necessary, but he did not think to act upon it until she said something. Prior to her yelling, he was certain his need to run off was a part of his cowardice avoiding the situation at hand, but he was certain there was something more dire to this scenario than he had previously imagined. Desperately ignoring the bewilderment of the various different nature scenes.

[Kalyde]

The twig hit him almost as a recall to get back to reality. His flashback and inner thoughts had dominated his state of mind while he was merely seeing what was around him. But a physical object touching him, out of nowhere, was a wakeup call. However, instead of doing something intelligent and stop for a moment and actually think about what he could do that would make things go forward, a single yet real and normal reaction came into his mind. He was pissed as hell. The man turned around and looked at the woman who had thrown the piece of wood on his head but then stopped and tried to think for a second. While he was still bothered by the fact that the woman threw something at him, that simple annoying gesture had another meaning. As he saw the other persons trying to touch each other but only to fail, she did not fail to hit him with the twig. Therefore, there was a certain level of interaction they were allowed between them. If they could not touch one another, they could at least do it with something else, with something pertaining to this environment. However, leaves and twig were not enough to make any difference, if not to throw it at someone else, which in this case has been proven to be of not much use.

Dazzled by what he had just founded, something started up in his head. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe he just needed some time to wake up but not only he was now fully aware of their situation but he understood that standing still will not make a single difference. He looked around him, all these naked ghosts, he counted them and his eyes finally landed on the one woman that threw him a piece of wood. The look on her face was relevant at all point for he witnessed many times this look. She was afraid of something, looking for something, feeling something that the rest of us couldn’t see. He couldn’t get his eye of her as he wanted to know what she was seeing but the more he looked at her, the more he saw…

The soft touch of skin touching his.

No, he couldn’t allow himself to drift away again. He needed to be in the here and now, not over there where what was happening was not relevant. The man nonetheless, couldn’t help himself thinking about it.

He gave his last hip move and she gave her last moan and they both fell apart on the bed. The sun getting in the room suggested broad day light and yet they were both naked, sweaty and in a bed with messy sheets. The both of them were quiet, trying to catch their breath after so much physicality. The man then stood up on the side of the bed, back facing the woman wrapped in the white sheet.

“You forget to take the ring off.” she noticed with a south-American accent.

He looked at his hand and indeed, it was still there, a gold simple ring around his fourth finger.

“You got a wife and two kids…and yet here you are.”

The man turned to her co-worker at the UN base, a Brazilian, from a rich family composed of an American dad and local woman for a mother, that decided to save the world after many years dedicated to the cause of the poor in Brazil.

“You should get your stuff and leave now.” he said without much delicacy.

“We’ve been doing it for weeks now. Up to a certain point, I’m entitled to these informations.”

He didn’t answer and instead face in front of him again. He knew that she was only probing him like he was a pet you would annoy with a stick to wake him up.

“Nigeria is not the first one. You’ve been all over the world to save some desperate cause. It must have been some time away from her. How many before me?”

“Don’t push it, Rachel.”

“Did you treat her the way you really treat people? Did she saw the real you? Around in front of everyone, you are just polite and all but when you’re in bed with someone, they are some things you can’t hide. You don’t even try to hide them. I saw you…I saw what you are, what you are capable of, I saw what kind of monster you are, the things you can do without a single feeling of guilt or remorse.”

No answer.

“Is this why you run away? Because she discovered who you were in real…”

All of a sudden, the man stood up and faced her, an anger buried deep inside of him trying to get out.

“Get the fuck out NOW!”

She only smiled. No man frightened her anymore.

The feeling was still inside him, for a reason he didn’t know, the sheer feeling of anger. He thought why that moment, why her, why these words, why not other memories? If they were at all memories. He could not fully believe yet that this man was him. He could not believe it and could not understand it quite yet. But he knew that for now, understanding was not a priority. Running was a better option. Therefore he followed the woman who grabbed a twig and a few steps away, he saw it. An abomination of nature. There was nothing beautiful or mesmerizing about it. All he thought was that amalgam of landscape where snow would be the neighbor of a desert was nowhere human or correct. There was nothing pure about it, nothing compelling. What was quite impressive though was the fact that they were in a cave, a big and profound cave. But then, another question was begged to be ask, just as all the other were asking some questions. Who had the ability to do such things?

[Auki]

She swallowed loudly and tried to drag her eyes away from the landscape before her, disturbing as it was. They were talking to her, the ghosts. Well, of course they were! She had undeniably drawn attention to herself. Shouting, sprinting; she was in less control of her emotions than the others were it seemed. That fact had moved her into action and by doing so, they expected her to continue on first. Their questions piled on top of one another and she answered them with a slightly bewildered expression,

"Why are you running? Care to share that information with the stupid person running behind you?"

“The howl… I panicked…” She stuttered.

"Go...go where? And what should I call you?"

“Anywhere! Anywhere is better than just standing here. I think… I think my name is Caitlin. The memories are too fuzzy to be certain.” She was growing less hesitant the more she spoke but it was still a long way before she would have any kind of leadership aura about her.

“I am certain you are as confused as any of us, miss… But… what do you make of this scenario? And why did you feel compelled to run?”

She had to take a moment to ponder the question, “Don’t you feel it? No matter what I do that thought is bugging me. Run. Hide. Escape.”

From what she could remember, she was a simple woman at best. This was beyond any capabilities she may have once possessed. She… She was just a housewife! The only gift she could claim to have was compassion, “No-one will be forced to go alone, sweetness.” She addressed the white-haired girl with a comforting smile, resisting the urge to reach out and pat the female’s hair. For some reason, she was struggling to treat her as anything more than a child. Perhaps it was force of habit. Perhaps, deep down, she was missing her children, the ones she could summon no emotion towards.

"We should hurry down, that howl sounded pretty close."

He was right, of course. There was no other way forward. The distinct feeling she was being herded struck her again, itching at the back of her mind persistently. What would it have her do? Whatever she did felt wrong; all hope was suppressed by that. The human bite for survival was what kept her on her feet and moving.

“I saw him with another woman! How long will you deny this?” The woman she knew to be her sister sounded angry. There were tears of frustration in her eyes. None clung to Caitlin’s. She sat calmly instead, in the plushness of the armchair, sipping her tea delicately. The laughter of their children playing could be heard in the next room.

“If life wants me to know, it will show me. For now, playing pretend is easiest for everyone.”
“Not you!”
“I-… I’m not important. Not compared to my children, Eva.”

“They always get lost. All the humans.”

Caitlin had not spoken. The voice was a cawing, raspy and thick. Startled, she looked around in time to see two large creatures reach the ground, wings kicking up the dirt as they pounded the air to try and soften their landing. They were grotesque in appearance but she realised they had the same ghostly appearance as the other group members. Did that mean they couldn’t touch her? She prayed to any deity that might be listening that it was so.

“Play nicely, Esqu.” One squawked.
“Of course, Dire. Of course. We only came for him.”
“The one who can see us clearly. He’s our prey. The masters said he would be fun to break.”
“But we will do it slowly. We always play our games.”

They chuckled amongst themselves in a disturbing manner, scratching at the ground with their spindly arms. Hollow eye sockets stared amongst the group and both skulls creaked as the bones shifted to form a smile. Caitlin jumped back, almost sending herself off the cliff. Stark terror was clear in her eyes – The pathway to the ground had never seemed more inviting but for a few moments, she found herself unable to move.

[Kalyde]

His heart was pounding in his chest more and more violently, fastening its pace. He was starting to breathe heavily. His mind was torn between not making a single move, his basic animal instinct telling him the stupid idea that maybe the creatures will not see him if he didn’t move, and running like the devil was chasing him. But the reality was that he was petrified by what he was seeing, just like the others, not really knowing what they suppose to do. Then one of the large birds extended what looked like his wings and jumped in the air. The creatures were making their moves but they were not, still in stone, as every bone in their body were bound to stay still. But then a single though started to grow up in his mind, the thought at the basis of every animal’s mind, the sole and simple survival instinct.

“RUN!” he yelled at the others.

Not even thinking about them anymore, the man started to do so like it was the only thing capable of keeping him alive and it probably was at the time. He went down the pathway and sprinted as fast as he could, the adrenaline rushing everywhere. He felt his foot hitting the rocks and it was hurting him but didn’t mind it at all. There was only one thought in his mind, and that was running. The pathway was leading down and there was what looked like a platform in the curves of the cliff. He didn’t even look back, he didn’t even know who was behind him and who wasn’t, all he was hearing was screams and these horrible sounds the birds were making. The more he was running, the more he had the feeling that there was something behind his back, at the verge of grabbing him. Finally, he reached the platform and just jumped behind a big rock, getting some cover. He flattened himself to the rock, kneeled down on the ground. Trying to control his breath, the man was trying to be unheard and invisible. He felt a drop of sweat going down his forehead and closed his eyes. His heart was trying to get out of his chest but he didn’t mind. He was scared and didn’t have a single idea of what he was doing. He opened his eyes and there it was. Gripped to face the cliff, one of the creatures was staring down at him. Their eyes met and he saw the ghostly white form of the monster for what it was…an aberration of nature, something that wasn’t suppose to exist. They stayed like that for few seconds, and then the creature dropped the cliff and flew away. The man swallowed and he came to realize one more thing.

There was a lot of activity out here, more than usual. The man dropped the pen he was holding and quit his simple and messy desk. He walked a few steps, searching for what might cause the rumble outside. He left the improvised office in one of the artificial cylinder-type 50 meters long white tent and saw many trucks being loaded and men wondering around with rifles and guns. Not scared for one moment, he walked straight toward them. He knew that there was no delivery or pick-up today and that these guys were nowhere near being legit.

“What the hell do you think you are doing!” he screamed at the men transporting crates labeled as property of the UN.

Several guns were instantly pointed at him and he stopped but did not show any fear, standing still, daring them to do something. Rachel saw him and walked toward him.

“Let this go […], this is nothing, let these men do their thing and they will go.”

“And you must be the new contractor they sent…Mister […].”

A black man, obviously a local, walked toward them both. He was dressed half-way as a westerner, wearing a long open sleeve-lest leather vest, boots, pants and a coca-cola t-shirt. His clothes were nonetheless dirty and used. But what was more visible were the silver desert eagle on his belt and the breaker sunglasses that he took off.

“It seems that this nice piece of meat did not put you up to speed concerning our…arrangement.”

The UN contractor took a few steps toward the man with the sunglasses, locking his look into his.

“You are stealing UN property, you know that, right?”

“Yes, but the point is that I am not stealing everything, leaving you enough vaccines and medical supplies for the Sangalah region. I don’t think we have been properly introduced, my name is…”

“I do not give a fuck about your name. Just tell me one thing: why shouldn’t I take you down, right here, right now?”

“Why do you think the guards let us through? Why do you think everyone is closing their eyes on this? You kill me and my men, and next week, another one will take my place. And this time, they will leave you with nothing and then…you will be dead.”

Still kneeled down, the man pitched his head out to take a look at what was happening behind the rock. On the platform, some of them made it and were hiding or still running but up on the pathway, some of them were blocked by the birds on both sides, flying around and randomly scaring them, playing with them like ants. They would not last long if the others were sitting duck on the pathway. At first, all he wanted was to keep running too and never looking back. After all, the monsters showed him that they were not after him, at least not yet. And the math was quite simple. All of a sudden, the man stood up and got out of behind his rock then started waving at the birds.

“HEY! LOOK AT ME! YOU FUCKING UGLY FUCKERS! LOOK HERE!”

His words however did not make any difference and they were still focus on the ones on the pathway. When he looked around him, trying to think about what to do, he saw for a moment the woman with her twig. It stroked him once again and he picked a big rock the size of his palm and threw him as hard as he could on one of the birds. Even though it was in a ghostly form, the rock hit the bird, and then another one hit the other bird and another one back on the first one. Their attentions shifted to the man with his rock, a nuisance at best that was not letting them play with their new toys. The creatures backed away from them and started to look at him, then started their approach.

“YEAH! LOOK AT ME YOU BASTARDS! RIGHT HERE, BIRDIE!”

The birds landed few steps in front of him, walking toward their single new prey with some anger in their eyes. The man took his steps back as they were coming closer and closer. One of them jumped on a rock on the right as he was walking back more and more, steps by steps, not leaving them in his sight. Even though he knew they could probably not touch him, he was scared as hell, feeling like a trapped rat. Then out of nowhere, they jumped both of them toward him. The man turned around and started running but there was not much place to run for. The platform ended up right behind him and he fell. The creatures, satisfied, took some altitude and circled back to continue what they were doing with the others but all of them were off the pathway now and trying to find their way out. Screaming out of rage, they circled in the air again and prepared for their next wave of attack. In the meantime, they didn’t saw a dirty hand reaching the platform and pulling him up. The man was not dead yet.

[The Shadow]

“I don’t know, I don’t feel dead.”


The man didn’t look like he questioned this statement at all, he seemed almost sure of it in fact. Maybe this meant that they weren’t all dead. Maybe it was just him that was dead? But that didn’t explain why everyone else was here. He looked at the man, his name was Howard. This made him think again about what his own name may be. Surely he had a name, he must have.


He sat in his chair, mouthing the words to the song that was playing far too loudly from the speakers beside him. “There ain’t no rest for the wicked, money don’t grow on trees. I got bills to pay and mouths to feed, there ain’t nothin’ in this world for free. No I can’t hold back, I can’t slow down, but you know I wish I could. I said there ain’t no rest for the wicked until we close our eyes for good.”

A woman walked in, she looked mad. She started yelling but the music was too loud to hear her. He turned the speakers down so the music could only be heard slightly in the background. “Christopher! Keep the music down!” With that she stormed out of the room.


Christopher’s eyes lit up, he had a name! Of course he was silly to think that there was a possibility that he was nameless, but the confirmation made some of the worry seem to fade. He was about to proclaim his name to Howard when he heard the howl.

The very noise made his blood turn to ice. He looked around, the ghost-like people had heard it too. One of them seemed more worried than the rest as she broke free from the group, yelling that they needed to get away. Christopher watched as Howard began to follow her before stopping, “Quickly, let’s go.” Christopher nodded once and ran after him through the trees.

He stopped by the others; looking back at what he initially thought was a forest which turned out to be just a small group of trees. He was confused to say the least but with the others rushing to get away from it he decided now wasn’t the time to try and figure it out.

He joined Howard at the cliff face, staring down at the merging landscapes wondering how all the different landscapes could exist beside each other, “How is this possible…?”

He heard a loud thump, he opened his eyes wide as he turned around to see two large creaures had landed on the dirt, he could feel his legs turning to jelly, just like they had ben when he'd first woken up. He couldn't move, all he could do was stare at the creatures.

[V]

Overlooking the cliff face into the bizarre place below he waited. No one had replied to Howard yet, he didn't want to make the first move either. Suddenly he heard to thick, dark voices nearby - the words didn't sound like any of the other ghost-like people and this gave him shivers. Howard turned toward them slowly, their shape in his eyes was vaguely humanoid. Like the others he saw right through the pair. But the black wings filled his vision, and he could make out a hellish face in the middle of it all. He couldn't turn away.

“RUN!”

Howard struggled to obey the scream, but his need and will to escape prevailed and he fled down the path after the first transparent man. He kept his eyes on the path, keeping close to the stone wall. And tried not to think about looking over the edge while he moved. Or of those creatures behind him. Or whatever made that howl.

Something swooped through him, and Howard cried out looking about at the bird creature that laughed at him before moving back toward to the top of the cliff.

Then with his feet stumbling underneath him, he fell.

Howard's weak leg couldn't keep him up. One of his arms scraped along the side of the wall, it guided him down. His body crunched to the pathway huddled up against the side away from the edge, he breathed quickly looking toward the open area. Howard closed his eyes and lay there.

~~

There was a screech and the cry of a name and a thud and a scream and another scream. The car was upside down and slammed up against something - a building, perhaps the store front. A voice sad something but it was hazy, someone was breathing heavy, perhaps it was him. There was shattered glass every where. There was red everywhere too.

Something caught his shoulder and he turned, the hand was otherworldly and it pulled him close. It said something but he couldn't reply. A face appear, wrong way up, there was concern there and perhaps something else. The face was covered in a dirty muck and cut up well. It was out of view again later and the world seemed to crash down.

There was a drag and the wreckage came into view, the other side was caved in. Someone was crying and he could no longer see properly. He cried out, a single word but it came out as an unrecognizable moan.

All over the road ran the disaster, he saw, but he didn't want to. Someone set him down and went back to the car. Then there was nothing.

~~

Howard came back to, he rolled onto his chest feeling the heavy bruises on his side. Climbing to his hands and knees took increased effort, and to sitting against the wall even harder and longer. Howard held himself there, arm around ribs overlooking the terrible edge.

[NecroNama]

Shiruba was stunned when he saw a pair of monstrosities land and talk to one another in such a fashion that would breed fear into the ones closest to them. He slid to a halt, nearly falling backwards. '....WHAT THE?' He stood there, awe struck by how detailed they were, how he could see exactly where they were standing. "....so they are like the others or like me?" he said to himself as he looked around for a rock or something to throw to get the vulture like birds attention.
-----------------------------------
"Is this the place?" The person in the front passengers seat said to the driver. "It has to be....see the sign." Replied the driver as he turned around to hand Shiruba a knife. "He said make it look good...." He smacked the knife out of the drivers hand. "I don't need the knife to do this....I'm not a weakling like you two." With a snap in his tone, he opened the door, it was raining hard. "Keep the vehicle running....if you aren't here when I get done, I'll hunt you down regardless of what the Oyabun says." He exited the car, slamming the door and entered the building.

"Welcome sir." The hostess bowed. "Is it just you tonight?" A smile crossed her face, trying to be polite. "Owh, no....I'm looking for Mr. Yubimoto, is he here?" The hostess hesitated for a minute, looking around as if trying to find a exit out of the question. "H....he....he's in the back...." Giving a bow, he walked past her, through the restaurant, past all the customers and workers and into the kitchen. 'Where is the door to the storage room?' As he stood there looking around, the cooks glared at him with malice, some talking under their breaths. "......" Shiruba glared back, popping his knuckles. "Keep to yourself...this has nothing to do with food so look at what your paid to do." Authority and a firm voice put some of them back to work, while others stopped and walked towards him, some holding butcher blades.
---------------------------------

-BOOM- He jumped, not expecting the loud noise even though it has been happening allot. "Stop with that loud noise!" He yelled, gripping a rock in his hand. At that time he forgot why he had it in his hand then he looked up, seeing the grotesque winged beasts. "....owh...." He began to back pedal slowly, one foot at a time, then he turned and ran to a near by hiding spot to watch to see what happens. As he got there, someone with a "big" like build grabbed Shiruba's attention. "HEY YOU!" he said at the man. "Stop going that way....you want to be lunch for something ugly?" He looked back at where the things were getting a wider view, he saw black birds circling over their heads. '.....great....' His grip tightened on the rock he had in his hand. "We need a plan." He said a bit loud to the guy he was talking to.

[SQJ]

Edgar jogged behind the rest of the group seeing that he wasn't the only back runner of the group there was a tiny Asian man running next to him. He wasn’t tall, at all, but he seemed to be the only one bearing the same level of physical strength, potentially even more, the idea made him grin. Perhaps it was a man thing or simply a part of him he had yet to figure it out. It didn’t matter.

--

“What’s this?” Edgar asked pulling out her earphone out of his ear. Despite her impossibly silk like fingers she had way too strong a touch to her.
“It’s rock music. You said you liked that white music. It’s called classic rock. I’m not ever sure how you don’t know that. I figured I’d start you off slow. They’re called Death Cab for cutie. Just listen to this one.”
It was hard to ignore her. She had an energy to her, he couldn’t name or understand. It was so compelling. He listened. It was stunning, brilliant. He sang along to it after only one sitting. She appeared to gush at him, loving it. He had never, once seen any one look at him the way she did at the moment.

--
Edgar slowed. It wasn’t on purpose but his confusion got the best of him. Had he ever wanted to know something, anything more in his life? He doubted it. He just wanted a piece of her, a huge one. Now here he was running without actually knowing why. There was no place he was running to he was simply running.

"Stop going that way....you want to be lunch for something ugly?"

For the first time he stopped moving. Turning around sharply.
“Wow,” He stared. Looking to the Asian man, he looked to be hiding. Edgar followed after the Asian. He asked for a plan. “We’ll follow the others, think of something when we get away those ‘things’”

[kagomri]

Jason was stunned for a few moments at first sight of the Flying creatures. They seemed to be mainly made of fractured bones and around the joints, translucent nerves to keep its structure together. And like all the other people, they were made of mist and air and nothing more. Turning to the nearest human--a naked girl caked in mud apparently-- he grabbed her hand on instinct and threw her into the bushes, but his palm never touched hers. They had to stay away. Hide from those creatures who meant harm.

Ducking behind the closest bush, he gestured, panicked, at her to come with him and hide. He could only hope that the rest of the group remained safe.

Prior to Jason throwing her into the bushes, Lydia had been staring in awe at the creatures. In a white, misty haze, similar to the apparitions, they stood before them and spoke in twisting riddles she did not care to pay any mind to. These monstrosities looked vaguely familiar, possibly from a grim fairytale that the man she saw in her flashback had read to her as an infant. Instinctively her body told her to run, but in wonder and fear she stood there dumbfounded, and then suddenly her hand was grabbed and next thing she knew she was hiding behind the brush.

Landing in yet another puddle of mud behind the bush, she grimaced a bit. With an open mouth, she turned to look at the man who had pulled her here and then realized he was only trying to save her. Lips sealed, Lydia silently crawled in the direction he was in—somehow she had no problems with silence and flexibility. She contorted herself into a tight ball next to him and peered at the creatures through gaps in the leaves.

What are we going to do? What would Sarah say to me now?

Not only did he feel threatened by their appearance, but also insecure without her. Breathing in shallow breaths, he attempted to calm himself down as he turned to the blonde curled up into a call next to him. Her head was ducked into her muddy arms that sat above her tight knees. She didn't say anything. Not a thank you, not a complaint, no objections, not a word. Could she be in a psychological shock? It was rare that just the appearance of the two sadistic vultures could traumatize people. But he didn't know her mental state, or anything about her.

"You're going to be fine." he said, surprisingly confidently--something he didn't feel. And somewhere deep inside, the words felt not foreign, but different, like it didn't belong to him. Like the voice spoke out in instinct, perhaps a habit of someone dear to him.

It wasn't, "Are you okay?". No, that would be looking for the wrong answers, like digging for gold in a desert. Sarah no intention of accepting the uncertainty.

Suddenly aware of his speech and presence, he stared astonishingly at the girl on the ground, speechless.

In response Lydia bobbed her head up and down in very short motions. Light eyes stayed locked onto the two beasts the loomed over the remaining apparitions. Deep in her chest she knew that—for now—she was safe, simply because they were ghostly in appearance like the others, so they had to be in another realm. By no means did that mean she felt it was wise to leave her hiding spot, but it was comforting to know she was not the one whom had to face the creatures. A small smile coursed over her red lips, seemingly misplaced in this present scenario. “I know…” the dainty woman managed to mumble.

Resting her chin on her knees, Lydia tilted her head to look in the direction of Jason. “Are you fine?” the question casually rolled off her tongue as if they were passing each other momentarily on the streets—the safety of the streets. Too convinced it was a dream to fear anything fully, Lydia’s naivety kept her sane.