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[usefulanalysis]

Hello, you've reached Ema Skye! Sorry, I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Have a nice day.

Comments

[shroudedinsecrecy]

Up.

[It was the only direction that made sense. Down would lead them further and further underground, and there was only so much underground before one became trapped. Up meant above ground. Open space in which to run in any direction made available to them. Even if both were a trap, their chances were still better with Up.]

It's moving slow. If...we can get close enough that it stops, then make a run for it in the direction it came from, we might have a chance.

[Even though the thought of what they were about to do still frightened her.]

[usefulanalysis]

[Ema nods quickly and starts the direction of the creature, moving at a brisk walk and making sure Iris isn't lagging. The woman was so graceful and elegant that she seemed to move like liquid...but that didn't ever really appear to move that fast.]

Alright then. We should approach at an angle and be ready to bolt past it then.

[Getting set...]

Ready?

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[She nodded.]

[Her steps until then had been slow and nearly silent as she walked alongside Ema. Keeping an eye out for any sudden movements.]

On three.

One...two...three!

[The last time she'd needed to run, she'd been...ill equipped. The outfit, plus the shoes, had made it almost impossible to move properly, let alone take off at a speed that would bring her to safety.]

[This time, however? She was in her own clothes. Her own footwear. And when she ran, she ran.]

[usefulanalysis]

[And born on wings of panic, adrenaline, and teenage energy, Ema books it alongside Iris. Zoom zoom!

Her feet pound on the flagstones and soon they're well past the monster that was slowly turning to try and catch up to them. Operative word being slow, too!]

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[She stumbled once, if only because of the unevenness of the ground beneath them, but caught herself and kept running. The echoing sounds of additional footsteps told her Ema was close; a single glance through her peripheral vision confirmed it.]

[If her veins hadn't been flooded with adrenaline right then, she might have felt a stronger sense of relief.]

Is it chasing us? [She looked back.] ...it's chasing us.

[Though they had a decent start; beyond the time it took to turn around, its speed was too slow to catch up. Unless one of them slowed down or fell.]

[usefulanalysis]

[Ema's feet slow just a little bit...and she pulls out another vial, lobbing it at the things legs.]

And that'll keep it busy regenerating!

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[She didn't slow down, but she did turn just long enough to shoot Ema a curious look.]

How many of those things do you have?

[usefulanalysis]

One more! So let's hope we don't need it!

[Huff, huff! Ruuunnnnn!]

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[...okay, she supposed that made more sense. For a time, she had started to wonder if the girl possessed some sort of infinite supply. The way she always seemed to have one to pull out in moments like these.]

The slope's getting steeper. But...I think I see a turn just up ahead!

[usefulanalysis]

[Hardly! Just what she can make in her spare time...]

Good! We're going to make it just fine then!

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[So close! They were all of a few steps away--]

[When the ground shook, knocking Iris off balance. She tripped. Fell. Only to glance behind her as the ground shook again. What she saw was the...creature. Still slow as before, but taking wider steps now. Heavier.]

It's catching up!

[usefulanalysis]

Get up get up get up!

[Ema grabbed Iris's hand and started hauling her, trying hard to pull her along. she's got noodle arms...but Iris isn't particularly heavy!]

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[No. She's not. Though the subsequent stumbling probably didn't help either their cases...she did manage to eventually scramble to her feet and break into an even faster run.]

Hurry!

We need to...to hide somewhere!

[At this rate, they weren't going to make it before the creature caught up, but...if there was any nook at all that might shield them from its sight...]

[usefulanalysis]

[They book it, and this time Ema takes out her last vial, lobbing it up and at an angle. And into some stonework. It explodes, and rocks fall down behind them, onto the creature's path...causing it to stumble.]

Go! Gooooo!

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[SHE WAS GOING! SHE WAS GOING!]

[Still desperate to look for a place to hide, but at the same time...that light was so close...just a little further....]

[usefulanalysis]

[Ema puts on a burst of speed, and slides forward, through a small archway and into a space between two buildings, where the monster can't seem to reach.]

In here!

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[Ema was just enough ahead that Iris was able to see what she was doing and how.]

[Her brows furrowed together in concentration and, in a split second, she too slid down and through that same archway. With several seconds to spare.]

[usefulanalysis]

[The machine stops when it realizes it can't reach them, or it's pathing bugs leash it back to it's spawn point]

Good...job...! We made...it!

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[Iris pressed her back into the wall as much as was physically possible, pausing to catch her breath.]

Is it...still there? Can you...see it?

[usefulanalysis]

[Ema doubles forward a little, panting and shaking her head.]

I think...we're safe.

[shroudedinsecrecy]

Thank the stars...

[She took another few breaths, making certain to keep her voice low. Just in case.]

How are you doing? Are you alright?

[usefulanalysis]

I'm fine. Are...you fine?

[She seems it, anyway.]

[shroudedinsecrecy]

My heart is racing, and I'm...still a little out of breath. Otherwise, I'm fine.

[Shifting her weight a little, she looked over at the younger girl.]

Where did that...creature come from?

[usefulanalysis]

I have no idea where it came from.

[That's the truth.]

It probably came from...nature rebelling against technology or something. If Viridi is telling the truth. She probably isn't...but eh.

[Viridi was weird.]

Anyway, we...probably should try and rest a minute, then find the others.

[shroudedinsecrecy]

Viridi...

[The name was familiar, though even as she silently echoed it twice more, she couldn't quite place where she'd heard that from.]

Was that...the person who was in the city's central...um...office?

[The details were still a bit fuzzy; her main exposure outside the Temple had been a university campus, and university campuses had central offices, where all the most important people worked.]