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Every breath… it was strained.

Struggling to keep up pace with Raymond as they ascended the stairs, following in the path the other two had taken, Julie slowed to a stop, a single hand lifting to press gently against her chest, taking a moment to catch her breath as the warmth of a hand came to rest over her shoulder, lingering for a moment before her head was lifted.

“..we need to keep moving, Julie… the others… I cannot even see them anymore…” His finger slipping from under her chin, Raymond gently caressed her cheek, daring a glance behind him and up the stairs to where he knew the others had disappeared off to.

“..I-I know… forgive me… I just-...” Her voice soft, Juliette let her sentence trail off into nothing, her chest heaving lightly up and down with each and every breath that she let slip in through her lips. Hesitating, unsure if she would be able to make it on her own, she shook her head lightly, her hand lifting, reaching out to take a gentle hold of the front of his top as she forced herself to take another step, letting him know that she was willing to push on; to keep moving, though as quickly as her foot met the step, it was gone.

“..Julie..!”

Her body torn from his as the whole construct gave a lurch, pain shot through the back of her head, as she was thrown against the wall, her hair growing warm… wet as she fell to the steps below, her body rolling down them until eventually it drew to a stop at the bottom.

“..Juliette..! Julie..!” Struggling to keep on his feet, Raymond watched the scene helplessly, his eyes flashing with worry as he dropped as close to the steps as he could, clinging to them as he searched for a safe way down to her, his body sliding down step by step without once letting go as he tried to reach her.

What should have been a triumph quickly turned into a panic, as their upward momentum stopped. For a few moments gravity halted, then it reversed. They picked up speed, and soon they found themselves almost floating as the ground dropped away beneath them.

Edward lightly tapped the roof as they fell before drifting back toward the floor. Their fall speed appeared to have stabilized, but they had only seconds. "We have to get out of here!" he shouted. The room was oddly silent, and his voice echoed far louder than he'd intended. No wind rushing past his ears. No rumbling as they fell. If they hadn't been floating, he wouldn't have noticed anything different.

OVERRIDE COMPLETE. ERROR. SAFEROOM GRAVILYFT OFFLINE. TROUBLESHOOTER MALFUNCTIONING. EJECTING SAFEROOM IN TEN, NINE, EIGHT...

Oh no. "Luna!" he shouted, and his brain had a brief moment of total shutdown. "If we survive this, training sounds good!" Then it all snapped back together, and he shook himself into focus. He glanced wildly around, looking for anything that might help them. There! A hatch above them, out of reach before, but now..."Aim for that door!" he said, pointing.

THREE...TWO...ONE. EJECTING...

That was a real lurch. The room's floor shot up to meet him, and he hit the ground with a hard thud. "Ugh, my god..." he moaned. Through slitted eyes, he saw out the door they had entered. He saw the lurch, saw Juliette slip and fall. He heard Raymond's anguish, and felt adrenaline rush through him.

He forced himself to his feet and stumbled out into the area they had just exited. They were sort of floating again, and Edward had to work very hard to not simply slip sideways and fall to the wall. "Get her, Raymond!" he shouted, twisting to maintain his body's upright position. He was still for a second, and then sort of...pushed off from the wall toward Raymond and the unmoving girl.

"Come on!" he said, getting his arms around part of the unconscious woman. "Easier if we both push Raymond. Luna, I don't care how you do it, but get that door open! And be ready to get sucked out!" They had no room for error here. Either they all made it up to the...control room...and floated out into the air, or they died here. Maybe if they were supremely blessed, someone would somehow scoop them up from the air. That was their best bet.

How insane was that?

Luna shifted, twisting in the air, partly to make sure she wasn’t going to crash into the ceiling with her back, gently tapping it instead with her outstretched hands, and knees. It was such an odd sensation to have down be the ceiling and up the floor… her stomach churned at the sensation, and all she wanted to do was be on the ground. Preferably not smashed to bits. At Edward’s voice, she looked over at him, and grinned. The simple motion was so… fulfilling, that Luna couldn’t help but be utterly joyful.

She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. Joy found her in times that did seem most stressful. Perhaps that was why she thrived in the hospital. And here, in these situations. She could enjoy it. It didn’t scare her… and if it did, she could always just smile and push it away. What else was there to do? Succumb to tears? What good would that do?

“You’re on, Ed. I’ll whip you into shape” She said, perhaps a little teasingly. before she nodded, aiming for the hatch, and after a moment of reorienting herself, before starting to follow. As the construct lurched, Luna cursed lightly, and before she could smack fully against the wall, she threw out her left hand to stop herself, a sickening snap, crunch letting her know she had just done some serious damage to her wrist. As the pain sought to gain a hold of her, Luna refused to bow down to it. She let it wash over her, shaking a little bit as she floated, before she twisted in the air, brushing away a splattering of tears.

Had she ever had a broken bone before? Luna wasn’t quite sure, although she’d dealt with a few from patients. She cradled the injured wrist to her chest, and placed a foot against the wall, panting slightly. Edward’s words were a little fuzzy, but she nodded. She had to save them, had to make sure they were okay. It was all she ever could do, was make sure everyone else was okay. It was what she’d been taught…

“Hey, Ed? Maybe I’ll go easy on you with the training” She said, her voice shaking slightly, and she only just managed a smile as she got herself towards the door. How was she going to open it? She had no clue… She turned to the door. “Hey, door. Will you open?” She said, perhaps a little foolishly, before she began to seek a way to open it. What were they going to do if she couldn’t get it open?

She didn’t let her thoughts linger there, grimacing at the pain in her wrist. She’d get the door open. That was all there was to it.