---

---

Introductions were completely forgotten as everything went to shit again.

“Fuck,” Isla cursed as an explosion came from nearby, blinking out of the way of a piece of debris and right back to the group. She held her head as the world spun and she almost fell over. The Scottish girl blinked as her gaze found the shadowy creature that had found them again. She was very down with the girl who’d booped her nose’s order for them to get away.

She certainly wasn’t planning to stick around. She began to back away from the apparition, mouth opening to tell them that they should run rather than hide.

But the words died on her lips as the albino girl was ripped apart with a brutality she’d never witnessed before. Her eyes widened in horror as the thing entered her and pulled her back together. She felt bile rise in her throat and a hand raised to clamp over her mouth. What hell were they in. She only felt more horrified as the girl, no it wasn’t her anymore, grinned.

She forced herself to tear her gaze away as the big guy went absolutely crazy. They had to get out of there. Part of her was telling her to just run but she knew she wouldn’t forgive herself if she just abandoned everyone. She looked over at Finley where they seemed stuck to the spot, visibly trembling and Trent was still on the ground.

"RUN!"

Isla had already planned to, but the shout from the pseudo leader made her completely focused on the idea. With Penny heading towards the action she was the only adult left. Fuck. She could teleport them all away if she’d been anywhere in this godforsaken place. But she hadn’t aside from where she woke up, which wasn’t far enough away from her. It would be idiotic to exhaust herself like that. She'd do it only if she absolutely needed to.

She gritted her teeth, any semblance of that strangely cheerful smile from earlier gone from her face as she looked around the small group still near her. Part of her still wanted to just run herself but she knew she couldn't.

"Isla grab him."

"On it," Isla nodded, glad one of the three wasn't completely freaking out. It was enough to stop her from dwelling on what was happening. Of course none of them were dwelling on it but he was right… They had to get away.

So she bent down and slung an arm around Trent's back and under his arm while pulling the other over her shoulder. Quietly, she easily lied, "it's going to be alright, we just need to get away, so help me out here."

Then she yanked him up and followed right after Stacey. Her pace was just a bit faster than his, thankfully she'd gotten over her exhaustion, so she caught up and kept pace with him. She was glad that Trent was shorter than her and pretty skinny because this would've been rough otherwise. Still, carrying someone else always made running slower… And she wasn't going to leave Stacey behind with his own extra weight.

"Stick close," she said to Stacey, eyes narrowed as her words came out slightly panted. "I might be able to teleport us outta here if that thing tries to follow us."

---

---

Everything spun. Trent's head pounded. His stomach was twisted by nausea. Somewhere in the mental static and blunt trauma, Saint Jimmy whispered:

"<Fuck...fuck...fuck...we're going to die here. Get up, kid. Come on.>"

There was struggling outside of Trent's head too: fighting and banging and dust welling up along the ground. A piece of asphalt shrapnel bounced harmlessly along the ground in the dust in front of Trent's head. Dust and smoke drifted into his limited view. As he slowly pulled his head up, Trent heard screams.

"GET OUTTA THERE SQUIRT."

There was an unnatural sound: a squishing, ripping, horrible sound. Then another scream.

"CAELA!"

Saint Jimmy's voice erupted in Trent's head like thunder.

"<HOLY SHIT!>" it roared. "<KID, WE NEED TO GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE.>" Trent cried out in pain, and his vision went white. He blinked, and there was a hand at hiss back. Slowly, Trent rose to his feet, supported by the girl in the yellow hat. The kid with the guitar was helping Finn, who too seemed out of sorts.

"it's going to be alright, we just need to get away, so help me out here."

"Okay..." Trent said. "I can...I can stand...I think." He stood under his own power momentarily, staggered slightly, the world spinning, then leaned on Isla again, though less weightily. Part of him wanted to ask what had happened, having not seen it himself, but another part knew: there was a powerful spectral presence behind them, where he'd heard the ripping and screaming. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, stronger than any graveyard phantasm, even stronger than the faceless creature on the boat. All of them together had no chance of fighting it; they had to run.

"I might be able to teleport us outta here if that thing tries to follow us."

Trent fought the urge to mention his aura: if they didn't get away from that thing, it could follow them and they'd all die. These were good people...he couldn't let himself be a burden to them-

"<Forget it, kid,>" Saint Jimmy said. "<You met these teenaged fucks an hour ago. All that matters is that we get away from this thing alive and in one piece."

"I guess..." Trent mumbled under his breath. He looked up at Isla "How far...can you teleport us?"

“RUN!”

The Apparition inside of Caelea kept using her as a puppet to grin as they fully understood what Penny meant. And did exactly what she wanted.

It fled, disappeared in the blink of an eye. Leaving behind only disturbed dust that only gave a direction. The complete opposite of Penny and the others.

Hearing Penny's voice was that brought Zoey back to the real world... the hellish reality of what just happened still making her weak. She didn't care what happened, she just wanted to go home. Penny and the others were cutting and running but not Zoey... she had to make sure the big guy got out of here. Because she wasn't sure if they could come back a second time. Mr. Hound was generous enough already. Zoey forced herself to her feet as she looked around. She had to figure out what the fuck was going on before they tried to escape. However Caelea was just standing there... and then it disappeared.

Odessa heard the command and was tempted to go with them, however after peaking over the car she noticed that Zoey wasn't leaving. And the Apparition that abscised Caelea was gone. Odessa wanted to take that thing out, but she didn't have the strength at the moment. When she got her strength back she promises that she'll do everything in her power to get that thing out of Caelea's body. She deserved better than being used as a meat puppet.

When the Abscised left, so did the children that filled the streets playing that Odessa seemingly pushed to the back of her mind. They were in front of her, but... not. The sun was shining but something was wrong here. She shook her head as the street suddenly ran barren and it reminded her that she was here. Alone. Odessa sighed - a redundant effort - as she saw Zoey running for the barrier. She wouldn't let her die.

At least not again.

Hagan was still on the ground sobbing uncontrollably - unaware that the Abscised had left them already. His abstraction acted completely autonomously, lashing out at everything that got close. He couldn't believe this. It was like a fucking dream, no, a nightmare. Hagan's tendrils destroyed everything in sight...

"Hagan!" He heard Zoey's voice, "Stop!"

Hagan paused for a second - and the barrier dropped - and that was enough for Zoey to run up and embrace Hagan. Throwing herself on his back as she hugged him. "Hagan, it's going to be okay! Keep it together!" Zoey said herself in between tears... even if she didn't entirely believe it herself. They had to try anything at this point!

"I... I can't let that thing getaway!" Hagan shouted.

"You gotta calm down!" Zoey shouted, "Please."

"... It's gone, Hagan - I can sense it leaving," Odessa softly said as Hagan turned his head towards her. "You'll get your chance... we just need to make sure we aren't left behind."

Odessa sighed again.

"... Strength in numbers."

Hagan sighed as Zoey got off of him as Hagan stood straight up and looked. Seeing that it was gone calmed him down... at least with nothing for his barrier to lash out at, it would turn off. He then looked at Odessa as not one word left his mouth... he stormed past her towards Penny and the others as they regrouped somewhere...

---

Odessa tripped... not on anything but she was simply too fatigued after pushing herself so far. She felt the stinging pain of the asphalt but nothing else. Odessa looked up as she saw Zoey offering a hand and Odessa was hesitant for a second... and when she touched Zoey's hand she felt something saddening. Odessa sighed as she was helped to her feet as she started walking, then she felt the tingling in her skull that other Extra-Normals were in the area. However, it was a familiar presence to her as Odessa grabbed onto Zoey's hand and lead her in its direction.

The group was quite a way down the street and there was no signs of the Abscised. It was likely that it was not around, or not coming back. It was disgusting the thought that Apparition was puppeteering her... but there was nothing they could do at the moment. Odessa had a thought, a particular idea... that was interrupted when Zoey went over to Penny and hugged her. Loudly sobbing into her friend as Odessa could only sigh.

"... I can't believe she's gone!" Zoey said, pausing only for a second. "It... just doesn't seem real."

Odessa placed her hands together as she watched... she wondered if it was the right time, but she had to bring it up at some point. "... I don't think this is real," Odessa just out and said it, catching everyone's attention. "... When Caelea was killed, the Hound didn't show up." She shook her head.

"And he's always there when someone dies."

---

---

Finley was spiraling [i[fast[/i].

It was that smile, that awful awful smile. Something about it was so uncanny and yet so familiar. What if they smiled like that? The scene in front of them continued to dissolve with screaming and crying and bright orange tendrils, and yet Finley felt like they couldn't hear any of it. The blood rushing past their ears sounded more like a high pitched whine. Their vision continued to darken, tunneling, Finley unable to take a breath.

Slowly, muddled at first but gaining clarity, a voice filled their buzzing ears.

"You're freaking out. I get it, but now's not the time. You learn you can only have panic attacks in this place when there isn't something that's about to kill you."

What was left of their awareness caught what the young boy with the guitar said to them. But all they could do was nod, still unable to look away. Buried under their fear and anxiety was anger. Anger that their feelings had taken control of their body. It was...agony. Why did human forms feel such...strong emotions.

Finley barely acknowledged when their arm was taken, being lead away from the scene by the young boy. It was only then, when they had physically been turned away from what was happening, was Finley about to exhale a shaky breath, thankful that he was helping them. Slowly Finley regained their awareness, the girl with the beanie...Isla? She was helping Trent. Finley frowned, he looked really roughed up.

After a few paces Finley was able to support their own weight more and more, but still kept their arm around Stacey. As much as physical contact was...strange, they felt if they tried to walk on their own they would drift away. They needed the tether right now.

Even as the small group left the scene Finley could hear the screaming and crying.

The mourning. It made them feel dizzy.

---

As the two groups...regrouped Finley remained very quiet. No longer stiff or hyperventilating, just quiet with their eyes locked on the pavement below their feet. Finley had nodded to the boy with the guitar, and mouthed a silent thank you, but wandered away from him slightly, mostly to stand near Trent. He looked...really bad. This place...had to have a hospital...right?

The other survivors reunited, hugging and crying. Finley stood frozen, eyes averted, feeling guilt they knew was unearned. ANd yet they still felt it.

"... When Caelea was killed, the Hound didn't show up."

Finley blinked, confused. They hadn't exactly been handed a guidebook on the extra normal when...everything started happening. And they were starting to feel more and more lost. Finley, without looking up, spoke with their soft and wavering voice.

"W...who's th...the Hound?"

---

---

“How far...can you teleport us?”

“Far enough away that it can’t see us,” Isla replied confidently, even though she didn’t feel it because she couldn’t guarantee that. Having to teleport to somewhere she’d been was a real pain when she'd hardly gone anywhere in this place. “But I don’t want to unless we have too…”

She shook her head and kept going, slightly faster with Trent leaning on her a bit less. It wasn’t until they were a fair amount down the street that she turned her head around and noticed that the creature that had once been Caelea was gone. She came to a stop.

“It’s gone,” she breathed out, more confused than anything. “...Let’s wait for the others.”

She kept an arm around Trent as they stopped and waited, leaving it for him to decide if he wanted to stop using her for support - cause he sure did seem like he needed it. He did not look like he was in a good state at all.

But at least they seemed safe… for now.

---

By the time the others appeared, Isla was tired. If she was honest all she wanted to do was sleep off all the blinking she’d done that day… But she also didn’t know if she could after seeing that. But if she was honest no one seemed in good shape. Not that she was surprised.

She looked away as the tall girl (Zoey?) hugged Captain Penny, partly out of respect and partly because they just couldn’t watch the crying.

"... I don't think this is real... When Caelea was killed, the Hound didn't show up."

"And he's always there when someone dies."

Now that sounded like complete bullshit to Isla. She’d literally seen the albino girl ripped apart in front of her eyes. There was absolutely no way that she wasn’t dead. Isla didn’t trust it one bit - as a liar herself she wasn’t going to believe something that far fetched. Just because some dog hadn’t turned up? No way.

But she didn’t say or show any of that, instead a lazy (but strained) smile reappeared on her lips as she looked over at Odessa.

“Well that sounds like great news,” she started, free hand going up to twirl her hair around her finger. “But I second Finley’s question… Who’s the hound? And do you mean that she’s not dead?”

It just seemed absurd to her, even as she didn’t show how much she didn’t believe Odessa’s words.

---

Penny was shaking. Her vision was blurry but she was pretty certain it was from the tears, not from the after effects of her Abstraction. The second that thing moved she would activate it. She didn’t know if she’d have time to react in that window, but it wouldn’t matter if she used it too soon and broke her sight again. Her eyes narrowed and she readied herself to take a swing as the thing that wasn’t Caelea made the girl’s head turn and grin even wider than before at Penny. She felt a chill run down her spine. She almost didn’t recognize what it was. Adrenaline rushes in the face of horror was common, but it wasn’t often that Penny found herself completely afraid. It also wasn’t often that Penny believed she was in a fight where she would lose regardless of if she survived or not.

The shell of a Caelea's grin hit its breaking point, and the thing disappeared. The sigil below Penny’s collarbone glowed as she enhanced her vision, simultaneously swinging her hand forward in preparation of activating her glyphs. Instantly, Penny started to see spots. It felt like someone was taking a jackhammer to her skull. She caught vision of Caelea’s body beelining in the other direction and immediately stopped her Abstraction. The jackhammering stopped with it, but the pain didn’t subside.Penny grabbed her temples and covered her face. She staggered but stayed upright, biting the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood.

The realization of what had really happened hit her again: Caelea’s dead. The pain in her head paled in comparison to the one in her chest. She shook her head, muttering nonsense and disbeliefs under her breath that was punctuated by loud, arhythmic sobs. Penny was completely unaware of her surroundings. She didn’t see Zoey moving to calm Hagan, or notice that the others had actually listened to her call to run, but she knew she wasn’t safe. She wiped her tears, smudging ink from her fingertips onto her cheek, and tried to take control of her breathing.

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck,” she said softly. She continued to quietly chant her mantra as she whipped her head back and forth to take in the spotted world. Where had the ghost kids gone? More importantly, where had the real kids gone? She caught sight of Isla’s beanie again. She caught sight of Hagan’s barrier again. Penny felt a fire start up inside of her. Zoey and Hagan had been with Caelea. What the hell had they been thinking? Why didn’t they just smash the Apparition? Why didn’t they protect Caelea? She kept muttering her mantra.

She saw the false light of Hagan’s barrier die and her breathing grew heavy. Her face soured. She canned the mantra. The tears let themselves go again, and Penny turned and ran. She wasn’t running after the other group. She was running away from her friends. She had trusted them to watch out for one another, and they had betrayed that trust. There was no way Penny could face them right now, or rather she didn’t want to face them. Penny was quick to catch up to the group of strangers. She slowed down to a jog as she neared them. She made it to them so quickly because some of them were little more than useless deadweight. Penny frowned, shoved the toxic thought back down, and wiped her face clean yet again before she made herself apparent.

“Hey, wait up,” said Penny to get the group right as Isla stopped them. “Yeah, I think we can take a breather.”

Judging by how Trent was looking, they needed one and she needed to prepare. She didn’t know how long puppet Caelea would actually be gone, or if they even really were gone. Penny stepped past the group so her back was to them, partially so she could focus and partially because she really didn’t want to deal with anyone’s shit right now, and flipped open her satchel. Her gear, if it could be called that—it was more like a random assortment of junk—was still there. She pulled out a trifecta of Keno cards. On each one she drew a different glyph, shook them dry so they didn’t bleed, and shoved each one into a different pocket. Penny capped her marker and turned back in time just to get embraced.

Zoey wrapped herself around Penny and cried loudly. Penny felt her body stiffen. Instead of returning the hug, Penny’s arms dropped down to her side and stayed there. Her eyes did water, but the look on her face was not one of sorrow but of anger and disgust. Zoey couldn’t believe Caelea was gone? Caelea was gone because Zoey let that thing get near her! Penny wasn’t surprised that she didn’t return the hug. She was surprised that she didn’t deck Zoey right in the face. Penny’s body started to shake, and she slowly lifted one hand to push against Zoey’s elbow to unlock herself from the hug.

“Zoey, don’t you ever fucking touch me,” said Penny, speaking barely loud enough for the other girl to hear her. Her voice was thin. The fire in her eyes was balanced by the ice in her words. She knew that her friend was going to be hurt by her words. She smirked, but then it faltered. Penny took a step back and, refusing to make eye contact with Zoey, added a little less harshly, “I just need space.”

With that, plus a sharp, disapproving look thrown over at Hagan, Penny walked over to a lamppost and leaned against it with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes narrowed as Odessa suggested that what had happened wasn’t real, but Penny’s skepticism shifted as Odessa mentioned that the Hound didn’t show up. The important question of how Odessa even knew about the Hound was forgotten as soon as Penny picked up on her implication. Technically, Caelea could still be alive because it hadn’t been her time. Penny frowned. Technically, this could just be false hope. Maybe the Hound didn’t operate in Paradise.

“He’s Death, basically,” said Penny, in response to Isla and Finley. Penny had been lucky enough to keep her time with the Hound to a bare minimum. From what she had heard he was also a manipulating piece of shit, but she kept that part to herself. “He comes when it’s your time to go, which means that wasn’t Caelea’s fate. However, just because she shouldn’t be dead doesn’t mean that she is alive. There are things that can interfere with the Hound and break his design.” She closed her eyes and saw the orange light. She blinked it away. “And there are ways to set it back on the right track.”

“So are you saying what I think you’re saying, Odessa? Is there something we can do? Because I—” Penny’s voice broke. She shook her head and continued, “Because I really can’t be jerked around right now.”

“Zoey, don’t you ever fucking touch me, I just need space.”

"S-sorry," Zoey backed up off of Penny after feeling the elbow dig into her. She felt a bit hurt by it but she knew that Penny needed space. They all did really after all of that. Zoey was still shivering but she was better with... and when the realization hit Zoey she stood there with her jaw slack, eyes wide open, grasping onto the hoodie she was wearing with both hands. She didn't even pay a single mind to whatever Penny and Odessa were talking about.

“He’s Death he comes when it’s your time to go, which means that wasn’t Caelea’s fate. However, just because she shouldn’t be dead doesn’t mean that she is alive. There are things that can interfere with the Hound and break his design. And there are ways to set it back on the right track.”

"Correct, correct, correct, and correct," Odessa agreed with pretty much everything Penny said with a flat look on her face, that smile she always seemed to be sporting was gone. She couldn't smile not even feigning it, after what happened. Still, there were a few things that Penny didn't know (or left out, who cares). Odessa needed to say it "The Hound is also immensely powerful and I know firsthand that you should never under no circumstance make a deal with him." Odessa looked at Isla and the other kids just to give them a tip.

Just out of the kindness of her nonbeating heart.

Penny didn't catch Odessa's drift, but she should have known. Penny was too... bullheaded to see things that are beyond her immediate line of sight. And that was unlikely to ever change. Odessa figured that she had to enlighten her with no ambiguity, but also ensure that Penny doesn't turn hostile. The burning sun against her skin was warming but she was in no condition to fight, which she knew was going to happen if she didn't phrase her next few statements very carefully.

"I didn't say there was anything we could do or that she wasn't dead, but..." Odessa started. "... Awakened always return as Apparitions. We'll see her again, I promise."

That wrapped up that loose end in a satisfactory manner time to handle the Hound... Odessa sighed even though she didn't need to really. "And I think I need to be a bit more clear, I know that the Hound almost always shows up when someone dies unless something has gone wrong. Which means he'll be hot on the trail."

Odessa began her explanation but she tried to gauge Penny's reaction. "But, if he doesn't show up at all, not even to investigate... well, there's only one place I know of where he won't go, and trust me; we aren't there."

That was a vague statement but she was happy about it and prayed that nobody made her explain.

"I'm saying we could potentially be trapped in a... shared dream? Or something else caused by an abstraction."

"... Or purgatory," Zoey added on.

Stacey stayed close to Ilsa like she said. She was a little faster than him, so he tried to keep pace. Ambiguous kid picked up some of the weight, so it was easier to move. They made it a fair bit down the street when Ilsa called that it was gone. Stacey turned around and didn't hold on when ambiguous let him go. It really was gone and with it the ghost people. The cold that settled in his bones went away. He felt the high noon sun and wow it was hot out. He wanted to pull up the sleeves of his shirt, he pulled them down instead. It didn't do much, because the shirt was a perfect fit. Why'd his sweater have to get wet? He didn't like his hands exposed.

Penny and the rest caught up to them. Odessa couldn't wait long enough to freak them out. What the fuck is the Hound? Finley and Ilsa waited to know just as much as him, because if there's nothing dangerous that appears after a death, then they need to keep moving. That was the idea, until Penny said it was Death. Can't outrun death and apparently it wasn't Caelea's time to go yet, which meant that thing could still possibly be his fate. Not what he wanted to hear. While it sucks someone else died in his place he thought his running was over with.

"So what you're saying is we'll see Caelea's Apparition. What's the chances that she'll know who we are? Will she be like the one that..." He made a slashing motion with his hand. He didn't want to say "killed" out of respect for the grieving.

"I'm saying we could potentially be trapped in a... shared dream? Or something else caused by an abstraction."
- Odessa

"... Or purgatory.
- Zoey

Purgatory suggests they're dead or kind of dead and if Supernatural is right they can climb their way out of it, but wouldn't the Hound show up for something like if he's a reaper or Death personified? Nope, he's not thinking about it. He'd rather be in someone else's dream world than dead on someone else's terms.

"If it's a shared dream, is there a way out?"

---

---

The danger seemed to have passed. Trent no longer felt the searing power of the apparition, and the only entities he felt now were Odessa and Finn. He let go of Isla and sat down on the ground with his knees close to his chest, just listening. These people seemed to know what they were talking about, Odessa especially, and that put him at some sense of ease. Trent covered his face with his hands to shield the sun from his eyes. His head still pounded; he felt like he was going to throw up at any moment. Where...was this place? It was grey and empty, but the sun still streamed down to bleach it all.

"<Everything they're saying about The Hound is right, far as I know,>" Saint Jimmy said, considerably quieter than usual. "<Let's hope we don't meet him.>"

"You...think they're right about the dream?" Trent whispered.

"<Fuckin' feels real to me,>" Saint Jimmy replied. "<But it's possible I guess. Let's hedge our bets though and not try to jump off buildings or anything.>"

"Wasn't planning on it," Trent whispered. He noticed that Finn had approached, the only friendly face he knew in this freaky place. He leaned his head against their leg. Familiarity gave him a bit of comfort. A tear dripped down his cheek, but he was silent. There was no way he could contribute— best let the "adults" do the talking.

---

"... Awakened always return as Apparitions. We'll see her again, I promise."

Penny gave a wry, pained smile and lowered her head. They’d see Caelea again? Yeah? And what form would Caelea take? Would she be herself, or would she be a smoke monster that moved faster than a bullet and was capable of eviscerating a person in a blink of an eye? Stacey gave words to her fears. What did that mean for the others Penny had already lost? She pressed her hand to her heart and closed her eyes so tightly that the spots she saw were on the inside as well as the out. A sob got caught in her throat and she held it there. She wouldn’t allow herself to break in front of the others.

"If it's a shared dream, is there a way out?" asked Stacey.

“Yeah,” said Penny, the lump in her throat coming out as a dismissive scoff. “We find the dickhead whose nightmare we’re stuck inside of and shove our foot so far up their ass they’ll never be able to lie down to go to sleep ever again.”

She kicked off of the lamppost and tried to ignore how her legs felt like jelly. She wasn’t going to even start entertaining the idea of looking for an escape before she had taken care of the Apparition that had murdered Caelea. Odessa may have dumped another pile of doubts onto Penny’s mountain of them, but she had cleared up one thing that had been a concern: Caelea wasn’t inside of that thing anymore. She wasn’t going to allow her friend to go unavenged. However, before that she needed to recuperate, and she wasn’t the only one. Penny looked around and saw tired, broken faces.

Penny put a hand to her hip and said to Odessa, “Look, I’m not against figuring out what’s going on, but let’s do it somewhere better than this. Like a place with a couch, or even just a chair. Everyone looks like they could use a break, and the street’s not cutting it.”

She threaded her fingers together and stretched her hands high above her head until her knuckles popped. There was little doubt in her mind that the group would be against finding somewhere comfortable to lay low. Penny began to move, but slowed her pace as she neared Odessa and smirked, “On our way, why not tell us about this place the Hound won’t go? I don’t know about you, but that sounds like paradise to me.”

"So what you're saying is we'll see Caelea's Apparition. What're the chances that she'll know who we are? Will she be like the one that..."

Odessa looked at Stacey. Eyes wide open, but yet a determined look on her face the whole time. Her mouth open to speak the words with absolute dead confidence, "... She'll look different but she'll come back almost the same as before," There wasn't a hint of ambiguity in Odessa's words. "Trust me. I know what I'm talking about."

"If it's a shared dream, is there a way out?"

“Yeah, we find the dickhead whose nightmare we’re stuck inside of and shove our foot so far up their ass they’ll never be able to lie down to go to sleep ever again.”

"... Where there's a will, there is a way," Odessa spoke to Stacey compounding what Penny said. She was speaking as confidently as before. "No abstraction is flawless, after all." Odessa took a moment to look at her arm, pulling up her sleeve a bit to look at her various complex tattoos on her body.

"Well, riddle me this, 'Dessa," Hagan questioned as he fell out of his pit of depression for a moment. Just one moment, to ask a question. He was listening to everything that was being said with his arms crossed. There was a question on his mind. "... What if this ain't a dream? And it's all real...?" Hagan just had to ponder.

Odessa looked over to Hagan and smiled. For the first time in a while. "... Well, my point still stands, Hagan. Every Abstraction has a blindspot, so to speak." She just flatly spoke as she merely shrugged and her smile went flat yet again. Every Abstraction did have a weakness or something they could take advantage of... just that finding it was beyond her.

"Hrm," Hagan replied.

“Look, I’m not against figuring out what’s going on, but let’s do it somewhere better than this. Like a place with a couch, or even just a chair. Everyone looks like they could use a break, and the street’s not cutting it. On our way, why not tell us about this place the Hound won’t go? I don’t know about you, but that sounds like paradise to me.”

"Yeah, that's good," Zoey added on... even though the hot sun above was warming her up pretty good and she wasn't fucking freezing to death. Still, getting indoors was a great option too. She looked around and saw... Paradise Bank. Every time she saw the name "Paradise" she couldn't help but internally cringe, but she's not sure how long she's fucking been here. It seemed like several fucking days. It still probably had couches and it was within walking distance. Looking at her ragtag group of misfits, she gestured for them all to come along.

Odessa nodded her head up and down as she would prefer to stay in the sun but she had enough sun to last. Silently she went along with the rest of the group, but Penny had to prod. Odessa sighed for a moment as they walked along. Might as well explain. "It's known as The Pit. Well, it's tough to explain but..." She looked at the kids and they probably had no idea what she was about to say. Or if they were even listening, still...

"... There exist alternate universes but in between them, there's this place known as the Void... which is basically unreality. There exists a net that "catches" anything that falls between the cracks of reality and that is the Pit. Thousands of locations coalesced into one place... and it's full of unspeakable horrors. Death doesn't exist there, but he Pit twists whatever is there into abominations... it's to the point where people would rather face the Hound."

Odessa explained up until they made it to the entrance of the Bank... Odessa held open the door as everyone walked inside but Zoey gave her a look. Narrow, sharp as knives... and she could barely figure out why. Inside the bank was fairly large... the tile floors were clean as the day they were made, implying that nobody even stepped foot in the place. The whole place just looked... white. White ceiling, white columns, white furniture. The main lobby was empty though, but it had several sofas lying around with offices on the side. Directly opposite to them was the Teller Desk, but Odessa had no interest in it.

"... Now I'm freezing my tits off again," Zoey said as she felt the air conditioning hit her. She didn't exactly waste any time in finding the nearest sofa and flopping down on it. Resting her face onto her hands, but she felt like she's been running forever. Finally getting a break after so much. She took in a deep breath, and then let it out. She needed to breathe, more time to recover. "So... where were we?"

---

---

A lot of what was being said went over Isla’s head as it began to swim from a sudden wave of exhaustion. She raised a hand to rub her forehead with a frown. She didn’t really understand how they could be trapped in a shared dream but this was all weird so… it was always possible. Whatever it was she’d go with the others to get out. She was glad Odessa seemed pretty confident that the dead girl wasn’t going to become another ghost trying to kill them.

She was incredibly relieved when Penny suggested going somewhere where they could take a break. She may have napped for the entire short period of the lifeboat escape but it didn’t feel nearly enough. She may have told Trent she could teleport out, but she wasn’t confident enough time had passed since she last had (or that she had the energy). Completely ignoring whatever Penny was asking, she quickly followed Zoey towards the Bank.

As soon as they got inside Isla went to an empty sofa and collapsed on it, spinning around so she could lie down. She felt like she hadn’t rested in weeks. She pulled her beanie down over her eyes to try and keep out the blinding whiteness of the place, even though the knitted material wasn’t the best for actually blocking her sight. It helped a little.

“Couldn’t we have chosen somewhere with a bit more colour?” Isla asked with a slight groan, glad that the whiteness was now going through a yellow filter. She then sighed as she stretched her legs out. This was nice.

"So... where were we?"

“Weren’t we talking about some shared dream or somethin’?” Isla rolled over where she lay so she could actually look at the others, moving her beanie so one dark eye peeked out. “How’re we even gonna find out whose it is, nevermind find ‘em? That doesn’t sound easy at all. If that’s even what’s going on.”

She then tilted her head thoughtfully. “Ain’t it possible that it’s the dream of… that thing?”

“How’re we even gonna find out whose it is, nevermind find ‘em? That doesn’t sound easy at all. If that’s even what’s going on.”

"I think..." Zoey trailed off as she finally composed herself, putting her hands on her knees. "... We're getting ahead of ourselves."

It was simple and to the point, they were throwing around all these fuckin' theories about the place yet they never tried to escape. It seemed more logical to her than going through these mental gymnastics then finding a way out. "Like fuuuuck," Zoey groaned, "How about we fucking try, I don't know, leaving?" Zoey grumbled as she crossed her arms.

She laid down on her back and stared up at the white ceiling and her mind started drifting. She wasn't sure if she was going to wake up if she went back to sleep. Given how fucking weird shit got when she fell asleep, she could probably end up in a new place. And honestly, at this point, she didn't even care if she never woke back up. Zoey sighed as she just wanted some sleep.

"We're fucking tired," Zoey said. "Let's find a place to get some rest and then we'll pick a direction tomorrow, 'kay?" She started.

"... I really am not looking forward to sleep," Hagan said as he bit his fingers and remembered some of the bad things that happened when he fell asleep.

"I don't need to sleep," Odessa started with a comforting half-smile on her face, "So I'll keep watch."

"... Don't like the sound of that, spooky" Zoey muttered to herself as she sighed. She honestly didn't have the energy to protest, but she, really, just wanted some rest after everything that happened. "Honestly... I'm gonna go nighty night, good night, fam." And afterward, Zoey closed her eyes and kinda dozed off pretty quickly.

"Jesus, Zoey," Hagan hissed as he crossed his arms. "I'm going to keep watch."

Odessa nodded her head as she went out front, she would do better from up here and... she was not going to carry Zoey somewhere else. She needed to replenish her dwindling energy and get some water, too. Later, however. She merely found herself at the foot of the stairs and merely sat down. Patiently waiting, like a stone in a river, for the time to come for them to get moving...

---

---

Hagan was rested against the wall for what seemed to be hours... he was trying not to fall asleep while on guard with the others but he found it hard. Eventually, he gave in and his eyes closed. He dozed off as he fell into the same usual pattern of dreaming. If one saw him, they would notice the twitching and sweating.

It was the same kind of dreams as usual... it was a barren, red place. Well, not quite barren, he saw miles and miles of tall grass that were cast red due to the orange light in the sky. That light... it was nothing normal. It was unnatural, the most unnatural thing that Hagan had ever seen, like the antithesis of all things good in the world. Just right there in the sky. He sighed as he looked around... then he felt it. It grasps on him yet again as it wrapped itself around each of his digits and limbs as it brought him to his knees as he thrashed. Desperately trying to break free.

Hagan looked and saw the glowing orange tendrils that were thorny, sharp, and hiding a black mass underneath it. They restrained him to the ground as a figure walked up, wearing a white robe with golden accents on it,. Various fancy symbols that he couldn't bother to look at, nonetheless, notice.

"Hagan Rosefey... no matter where you run..." The figure in the robe spoke, their voice a mixture of a young boy and girl's voice. "... I'll be there to catch you."

The figure raised their hand as a tendril wrapped around Hagan's neck. "So why fight? I'll always be apart of you."

And with a snap of their fingers, Hagan's neck was slashed open and his head fell off...

Hagan awoke, yelling loudly... his entire fucking outfit was drenched with sweat or something. Same as every other night. He was taking in deep breaths as he grabbed onto his neck... thank God, it was still attached to his head! He was still recovering from the shock.

"Yo, Hagan!" Zoey shouted over him as she looked at him, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Hagan tried to play it off, "I'm fine."

"... Because you just woke everyone up."

Caelea'll come back relatively normal and they were stuck, until they found a way out. Not too bad given the circumstances. Stacey felt the most relaxed he has in days. No more creatures coming for him, he could breathe, and his anxiety wasn't at a ten. So far so good. Zoey led them to a bank, while Odessa explained things he didn't think were important to know. Chances of them ending up somewhere death didn't want to go were slim, he assumed. Sounded hard to get to the Pit. Nothing to worry about. Like he needed something else to fuck with his head. The bank reminded him of the bar. It was just as nice and empty with couched to stretch out on. He didn't hesitant to sit down on one, though the offices looked nice, but he didn't want to be alone. First rule of horror movies: Don't go off alone. He pulled his case off his back and pulled out his guitar. It wasn't glowing anymore. Good. He didn't know what power would come out of it and he was itching to play. He's never gone this long without playing other than his stint in the hospital two years ago. He laid down, head propped up by a pillow and strummed a few cords, before drifting off. He hadn't noticed he'd gone to sleep, until Hagan woke up screaming.

Stacey jumped up, his grip on his guitar tight, his knuckles white, heart racing, he looked around wildly wondering where the creature was, but nothing happened. He looked at Zoey when she called out to Hagan. It was nothing. Just a nightmare. He's had ones that woke him up in a panic before, but in the safety of his own room where the only person he's disturbing is himself or in Sandy's room.

"Fuck." He rubbed his eyes, too wired now to go back to sleep. How long did they sleep for? He hoped it wasn't a few minutes like it felt. He couldn't go back to sleep now, so he sat up completely and set his guitar across his lap. He strummed the first few cords of a song he finished before he came here, but hadn't practiced a lot. He didn't have lyrics to go to it yet either, but he hummed along as he got into it, his foot tapped along.

---

Penny laid on a sofa with her hands behind her head with her eyes closed, but she didn’t fall asleep. She waited an indeterminate amount of time for her head to stop throbbing as she thought over what Odessa had said about the Pit. Naturally, like anything supernatural Penny had dealt with, it sounded terrifying. How did the girl know about it? Odessa had said something to Zoey earlier about being Adjoined, about being fused with an Apparition. Penny sighed. She was trying her best to get a grasp on the Extra-Normal, but she was still an amateur at best. Thinking about it made her head hurt in a different way, but it was better than letting her mind replay the loop of Caelea getting murdered.

Penny waited until she heard a soft choir of heavy breathing from the others and sat up. Thankfully, the spots were gone and the stark white interior of the bank no longer looked like a well-lit roller rink on disco night. She looked around the room and did a quick headcount, her face growing dark as she realized they were missing Lilith. Shit. Penny pulled her orange cardigan tight around her and poked around the lobby to see if the girl had wandered off or gone to the bathroom. Nothing. The bank was silent except for her footfalls, the light hum of the AC, and the collective snoozing of the strangers.

Wait, was Odessa still outside? Penny’s footsteps echoed more loudly as she hurried to the front door and pushed it open. She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw the girl in the orange robe sitting patiently at the bottom of the steps. For a moment, she had thought that Odessa also would’ve been spirited away. Penny jogged down the steps and took a seat next to the strange girl. She plucked the marker from her mouth and tapped it with her finger like she was ashing a cigarette. Penny kept toying with the marker as she broke the news that she was certain Odessa already knew, “Lilith’s gone.”

Penny slumped forward with her elbows on her knees and groaned. Things just kept getting worse. They were stuck in a weird dream city. Two of the strangers were missing, possibly dead. Caelea was fucking dead and a smoke monster was running around in her skinsuit. The desire to go steal Zoey’s pack and smoke all of them was riding high in Penny right now. She inhaled deeply, sat up while pushing her hair back, exhaled, and eloquently observed, “This fucking sucks.”

“Hey, thank you again for saving me back there,” said Penny, turning to Odessa and offering her half of a defeated smile. “I seriously owe you, like, seriously...which is what makes this part right here suck even more…” Penny’s eyes narrowed as her face twisted in disgust. “But how the fuck do you know all of these things? Who are you, really?” Penny shook. “Don’t give me some vague bullshit, either. I want everything. Give me the goddamn details. All of them.”

“Please,” said Penny, her voice breaking as her face softened. She wasn’t angry. She was scared. “Please. I already trust you, it’s...I just need to know why.”

---

---

Finding a place to rest seemed like a good idea. Finley looked down at Trent, who was resting up against their leg. Poor kid seemed exhausted. They offered Trent a hand up as the rest of the group began mobilizing towards the bank, pulling him to his feet. A bank didn't seem like a bad place to hunker down, it was likely easy to defend if the group was to be attacked again. They only wished that the interior wasn't so...creepy. This was...a lot fancier than how Finn remembered banks, but at least the lobby had several long couches.

Finn put a hand on their friend’s shoulder, steering him slightly towards one of the couches. They assisted him in sitting down before sitting themself, on the floor, leaning their back against the armrest of the couch. Finn slowly lets out a sigh, resting their head back slightly and closing their eyes. They were starting to feel tired as well, stressed and strained from the crazy day.

This whole time, seemingly taking Trent's lead, Finn had been silent. Allowing the elder members of the group to make theories about where they were and plans on how to escape. None of this seemed...real still. Somewhere in their mind they were still convinced that the pair were only a short bus ride from home.

Slowly the lobby of the bank grew quiet, as several people began to rest and sleep. Finally Finn turned to Trent.

"You sh-should try to sleep, I can try to find you...some...some water if you'd like?

Trent groaned and rested his head in his hands. The lights in this place stung: everything stung. His head overflowed with static like a fountain. He just nodded at Finn’s suggestion and covered his eyes to block the light out.

“Yeah...that’d be nice,” Trent choked out.

Finn nods, standing slowly with a slight groan. Luckily water wasn’t hard to track down in the bank lobby, there was a top-loaded water cooler against one of the far walls. They walked slowly, quietly, not wanting to disturb the others or call attention to themself. Within a minute Finn returned, with a small paper cup full of water, offering it to Trent.

”Here. I c-can get you another...if you’d like.”

“T-thanks,” Trent said, taking the cup. He downed it in one gulp, shielding his eyes best he could as he drank. Then he crushed the cup in his hand and covered his face again.

“I’m gonna...try to get some sleep,” Trent said. “My head…” He slowly lowered his head to the white velvet of the couch and pulled a matching couch pillow over his face, also stark white.

”<Best get comfortable,>” Saint Jimmy whispered in his ear. ”<Seems like we’re gonna be stuck here a while.>”

“We’ll talk later,” Trent whispered. “Let me rest.”

Finley was going to question why Trent was whispering into his pillow face-shield, they...hadn’t bothered him by speaking...had they? With a sigh Finn picked up the crushed cup, finding a trashcan and returning to the water cooler. They figured he might still be thirsty when he woke up. Returning to the couch Finley gently put the cup on the floor, and sat down themself. They leaned against the arm of the couch, and takes a deep breath.

---

They...really didn’t know if they slept, or needed to sleep, but resting their eyes felt good.

But Finley began to dream, or maybe they were still awake and hallucinating. They were in the bank, just as before, looking down at their reflection in one of the gleaming floor tiles. Their face began to distort and stretch, the corners of their mouth up turning into an uncanny and inhuman smile. They couldn't look away as the smile stretched farther and farther, but their eyes...those weren't their eyes. And they looked so scared.

But their terror was cut short by a man screaming.

Finley jolted out of their episode, looking around the room with wide eyes. Oh. It wasn't just a random man screaming, it was Hagan. Finn frowned. Poor guy, he must have been having a nightmare. As Zoey and some of the others turned to Hagan to question him, Finn turned to Trent.

"Were you...able to s-sleep at all?" Trent’s eyes flickered open. His head hurt still, but less— it was bearable now. Groaning, Trent sat up on the couch and blinked hard in the fluorescent lights. This place felt so...sterile.

“Yeah,” Trent said. “I’m...feeling a little better now. You?”

Finn nods. “Yeah...I...I think I slept…”

They pick at their fingernails for a moment, slowly looking back to the floor. They lower their voice.

”H-hey Trent? Do you find it...weird? That these...people are...comfortable? With the idea they could be trapped in some weird city? Like this has happened to them before?” Trent looked around at the rest of the people in this room, slowly rising from their sleep, all of them supernatural from the looks of it. It was so strange to him how these people all seemed to know each other. It felt like he was in someone else’s story, like bit players in an Avenger’s movie or something.

“They seem to know a lot more about…what we are...than we do,” Trent replied. “At least we could learn some answers from them about how we ended up... like this.”

Finn nods back to their friend, looking towards the larger group. If they were going to survive...this, and get home, they would need help. They slowly looked in the direction of Stacey, who had begun to quietly play his guitar. For a moment they instinctively smiled, just barely. This sent a wave of panic through them, their face once again returning to it’s neutral expression. Finley looks down at their reflection in the tiles. At least their face looked normal.

The weather hardly changed since Odessa started sitting out here with her legs folded. She had peeled up her robe somewhat as she soaked in the sun rays. Not all the way, though, because she wanted to be prepared if they had to drop everything and cut and run. That was the only thing preventing her from getting all the way naked, but she was still getting a good amount of sun rays. Given that she was the only person here who probably didn't need to sleep, it was only herself and her thoughts... and her various griefs and guilt. She sighed, as she finally felt a tingle in her skull and turned around to see Penny.

This was interesting... she doubted someone like Penny would seek her out all alone without having a purpose. This is why Odessa smiled at her when she approached with merely two words.

“Lilith’s gone.”

It wasn't a super surprising piece of information given that Lilith was gone since the boat fell. Mao also disappeared, too. "... I figured." Odessa blankly said. "It seems people... come and go, where ever we are." Odessa shrugged, as she was unsure of if they were going to run into the two again. Or run into the way they remembered. There was nothing that they could do about it, unfortunately.

“Hey, thank you again for saving me back there, I seriously owe you, like, seriously...which is what makes this part right here suck even more…”

"Why thank you..." Odessa trailed off as she was a bit nervous about what Penny was going to ask of her.

“But how the fuck do you know all of these things? Who are you? Don’t give me some vague bullshit, either. I want everything. Give me the goddamn details. All of them. Please. Please. I already trust you, it’s...I just need to know why.”

"Odessa Kayla Maxwell," She almost sarcastically answered. "Pleasure to meet you!" She gave Penny a wide toothy closed-eyed smile... that was sarcastic. Still, Penny wanted to know everything, but could she handle knowing everything. Odessa Kayla Maxwell was an ambiguity, even to herself at times. And prompted by it Odessa turned her hand into wood as she looked at it.

"If you honestly want to know," Odessa trailed off as she glanced back towards her blonde-haired "friend". Her hand turned back into flesh as she sighed. "... I don't even know who I am, myself anymore."

She faced forward and stared at the wall as if she was staring into the scenic sunset, but the grim reality burnt down on her. "I don't even know where to start." Odessa started laughing.

"But, I guess I'll just say I'm probably not from the same universe as you... I'm from a world named Glint if you heard of it. A little village in Africa that was starving, but an Apparition came... known as the Nurturing Will. She was an apparition that could control plants-"

Odessa put her hand up and it was surrounded with red flowers.

"-and she gave us everything we needed and more. Turned our woes upside down... but I'm getting off track here. The League attacked us and I almost died... until we adjoined."

Odessa explained the simple part, "... I don't know where she ends and I begin... I even forgot my original name, it seems like I'm more of the Nurturing Will than anything. And she knows all sorts of things about the supernatural, except I could never put my finger on why. A lot of things were lost when we merged and unfortunately..."

The flowers withered and faded. "... I cast away my humanity, Penny."

She sighed regretfully.

"Since my village's destruction, I've been... wandering," Odessa said. "Longing. For something. Perhaps the piece of me that I lost."

Maybe it was a bit too wordy, or she wasn't interested in knowing her life story. She wanted to know who Odessa was, and why and, well, this is the answer to her question.

"Is that sufficient for you, Penny?" Odessa said before she narrowed her eyes at her, "... Why do I get the feeling it's not?"

---

---

Isla nodded at everything Zoey said cause she was right, they needed rest and there was no point in asking aimless questions. Also why hadn’t they just tried leaving? She doubted it would be that simple but hey, it was worth a try. After sleep. She watched as various people went off to take watch before pulling her beanie properly over her head and drifting off to sleep…

… Only to wake up to a loud yell what seemed like a moment later, automatically blinking and falling right on her ass on the floor next to where she slept. Disoriented she jerked her head around as she tried to figure out where she was. This wasn’t her room… fuck. Of course it wasn’t. As sleep left her brain all the events of before she slept came flooding back. And the yelling wasn’t from some drunken Scot shouting abuse at a friend outside but instead Hagan. She rubbed her head as she pushed away the confusion from her face and replaced it with a normal, lazy smile. As if she was dealing with all this just fine.

Slowly, Isla pushed herself to her feet and glanced over at the large man. Nightmare, for sure, it was written all over his face. She couldn’t easily tell the lie in him saying he was fine (as an expert liar). She walked over to the water cooler, filling up a cup of water and then went over to Hagan and Zoey. She held the cup out towards him.

“Here, drink this, you’re covered in sweat,” she said. “Gotta rehydrate or some shit. Have to say, this ain’t my normal wake up call, but when is anything normal here?”

Isla didn’t bother with any questions about if he was okay cause she knew he wouldn’t talk about it. No point pressing for something that you ain’t gonna find out about. As she waited for him to take the water she glanced back towards the door and muttered, mostly to herself, “I wonder if we can find any food here.”

Stacey finished the song. A few lyrics came to mind, but he needed something to write on to work it out. He doesn't have his lyric notebook on hand, but he could improvise. He got up from the couch and went to one of the offices. It was clean like no one's ever stepped foot inside. Nothing was on the desk other than a calendar, a computer he's sure doesn't work, a cup with pens and pencils, and a phone. He opened the top drawer and found a yellow notepad. He grabbed it and a several pens. He paused before he left. He can fill up a notebook in a week, the pad wouldn't last him long and no telling how long he'll be here and when he'll find something else to write on. He did a complete sweep of the drawers and found other supplies, smaller pads, but no regular sized ones. So he went into the other offices and collected each pad he found. He shouldn't want for something to write on for awhile. He went back to his seat and wrote down the lyrics he thought of, then crossed them out, because he hated them. He stopped thinking about the notes of his songs and wrote something off the cuff.

Not different than what he usually writes, but he doesn't have a tune in mind for this one. He strummed a few cords to try to match the words. He sung along; none of the notes matched. When he found the right ones his guitar glowed blue, symbols surrounded it. This is what happened at home, except he didn't have lyrics to go with it. He sung what he wrote.

What are you so afraid of?
What do you see in your sleep?

He stopped. Wait. He doesn't know what it's going to do if he finished the rest of the lyrics. What if he blows them up or something? The guitar continued to glow. Penny said she'd help him. He needed to talk to her, but she wasn't inside with everyone else nor was Odessa. He knew the latter went outside to keep watch. Maybe they're together. He got off the couch, walked out the door and saw them talking on the steps. He didn't want to interrupt, but he doesn't know when they'll have down time again to help him.

"Excuse me." He approached and showed them his glowing guitar, but the symbols weren't around it anymore. "Uh, could I get some help? It started glowing when I played and I don't know what'll happen if I sing what I wrote."

“Here, drink this, you’re covered in sweat. Gotta rehydrate or some shit. Have to say, this ain’t my normal wake up call, but when is anything normal here?”

Hagan gave her a flat look as he looked at the cup of water. He was quick to take it and down it immediately and felt refreshed... this was the first cup of water he had in a while. And of course, he was a little rattled by the whole being shaken awake by his bad dreams. He shook his head as he said, "Thank you." Looking around, it seemed everyone woke up, definitely rattled by his screaming. The kids were doing... fine? He wouldn't know and he didn't think he was that good with children. He shook his head.

Meanwhile, Zoey looked as Penny walked out the door... probably to talk to Spooky-Bitch. Damn, she didn't like Odessa, but Penny seemed to be interested in her? For whatever reason, that girl was a trip. Not even giving a fuck that it was indoors, Zoey pulled out a cigarette, slid it in between her lips, and was about to light it... before realizing there were smoke detectors above. Shit, shit, shit. And what was worse was...

... This was her last cigarette.

“I wonder if we can find any food here.”

"Fuck that," Zoey started as she stared at the cigarette in between her fingers. "We need to hit up a place so I can get some damn cigarettes..." Right now Zoey's nicotine high was more important than food. Perhaps even breathing.

"That reminds me, we need to think about our next course of action..." Hagan trailed off as he propped his chin upon his fist. He looked at Zoey as he said, "Go grab Penny."

And that idea sent shivers down her spine. Oh, no, you do that brother. Zoey thought to herself. Before she replied, "She's in the middle of something... I'll uh fill her in."

"Hmph," Hagan shrugged. "We're on the same page about leaving, yeah? But should we grab supplies or just haul ass? Do we even know what are our options for even leavin' this shithole?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.