Before Abby could fully collect herself, Cam had dashed off into the dark hallway. "Wait!" she cried as soon as she noticed, but she had been too preoccupied with her shame to respond in time; by the time she spoke, the girl had already disappeared. Foolish child! There was no way Abby had ever been so reckless!

Abby moved to give chase, but her arms and legs proceeded sluggishly, as if her body believed they were still injured. Fortunately, two of the men were quick to follow the little girl; they would do a better job of protecting her than Abby ever could. Nonetheless, she stretched out her limbs tentatively, and eventually managed to shift into a kneeling position. That was when the blond man - Andy - approached her.

Abby watched quietly as he wrote something on his notepad, then tore the paper free and threw it on the ground. Suddenly, her cheeks were burning, and she had an overwhelming urge to look at what he had written; her heart fluttered as foolish, unlikely possibilities assailed her. She bit her lip, hard, pulling herself back to the situation. Of course had hadn't written anything like [i]that[/i]. Besides, it would be incredibly rude for her to look at something he didn't want her to see.

She nearly snorted with relief when he revealed a new message to her. Andy and his muscles were scared of the dark? Abby smiled, doing her best to keep the amusement out of her expression. "I'm scared, too," she admitted, standing up and nearly wobbling right into him. "Just not of that," she continued once her balanced had been secured. "I'm more worried about what's on the other side of the tunnel." She took a few steps into the darkness, her heart racing. "Admitting it sucks, but I'm kind of a coward," she said, glancing back at Andy. Damn her - why had she never gotten more experience with boys before? "I'd be glad to have some company. Come on!"