[quote][b]BAM![/b]

Instinctively, Maria whipped out her notepad and pencil, and wrote down what she liked to call her "Air Mine" sigil, which was three wavy lines surrounded by a circle.[/quote]
While Maria's sigil took shape, the Grit stuffed its head down into the trolley, snuffling and hissing, ropes of ooze dripping from its fangs.

Moth had apparently lost it, because the young auditor stuck his hand out toward the creature's nose as if to pet it -- as if this grotesque, scaled, spiked thing were no more dangerous than a puppy.

The Grit's nostrils flared, and it snuffled at his hand expectantly -- but when he had nothing to offer, it shoved Moth aside and lunged at Florence.

[quote]Maria thrust the sigil into the face of the Grit on the ceiling, causing the sigil to emit a blast of air directly into its face.[/quote]
The surprised Grit yelped and yanked out of the trolley, shaking its head and coughing. A split-second later it took out its rage on Ethan, the only human on the trolley roof. The Grit tackled him in a flash of scales and claws and teeth, but it snapped its jaws on empty air. Ethan had, of course, used a sigil to jump himself to safety.

[quote]Vincent didn't think, he acted. He grabbed at Kat's arm and looked her in the eyes cooly. "C'mon."

Before she even had a chance to nod in agreement, or protest, she was being dragged along as Vincent dashed towards an unopened door just off the landing. Reaching it, he attempted to open it- and it swung open immediately, revealing a pitch- black interior.

Maria took whatever time she had to shout "Run!" and sprint as fast as she could after Kat and Vincent. "Wait for me, guys!"

[b]POP[/b]

Salt and dust slammed into the side of the trolley, leaving behind white smoke approximately the size of an adult male. Otto sailed through the air and slammed into the landing's door frame (not at all gracefully). He looked in all directions, and made eye contact with the others who made it into the dark doorway. "Still works!"

Flor rapidly followed the old man into the room a little more gracefully, until he saw the old man in the doorway and flung his momentum in another direction to avoid him. He may have been able to catch himself, but then a woman was in his way. He shifted himself just enough again to avoid her and fall flat on the floor. Regaining his control, he got up again. "I'm fine! What are we doing now?" 

Releasing her hands, the sigil of light on Kat's right hand began to glow. It didn’t produce much light from a distance, but it was enough to dimly illuminate the features of the room in front of them. Holding it out in front of herself and Vincent, Kat quickly looked over her shoulder at the others as she ran inside.

“This way!”

Vincent closed the door and slid down the wall into a seated position. He could barely see in the dim light of Kat's sigil.

"Anyone hurt?" Vincent called out to the people in the room.[/quote]
"ARE YOU HURT?" A robotic voice beeped from a corner of the dark room.

Kat's sigil dimly illuminated the dusty white floors, empty white walls, stacked padded chairs, and plastic-wrapped machines of an unfinished infirmary. Covered hospital beds were lined against the wall to the left, and curtain rollers had been installed without curtains. Directly across from the door was a set of double-doors labeled "SURGERY", a smaller door labeled "STAIRS", another labeled "TOILET", and the last: "ROOMS 8F1 - 8F4".

The wall to the right had been stuffed with shelves of boxes and hospital supplies. There was also a big, metallic blue robot with flashing eyes.

"DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?" the robot announced eagerly. It creaked as it stepped out of its corner and whirred toward the gathered group. "ALL THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ARE CURRENTLY BUSY. IS THIS AN EMERGENCY?"

[i]BANG BANG SCRATCH[/i]

The door to the outside rattled as the Grit pushed and scraped at it, determined to get at the prize that had got away.

Somewhere in the distance outside, a long low howl rang out.

The Grit abandoned the door, its attention attracted elsewhere. All seemed quiet.