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”Hey! I'm not a Zombie nut, I'm a Supernatural nut. Cryptids, Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, you name it I love it. Probably why I liked Elio so much…before all this. He had a certain vibe to him ya know? Almost fae like. Or vampiric. Hard to tell when the eternally young all derive from similar tropes.” Hermes corrected Hannah. Perhaps a major part of it was the history and ties that monster flicks and stories had intertwined with queer culture. A way to express oneselves beyond the normal means. He thought as he took the wipes from the nurse and began to clean off the blood of his coach off of him. When he finished he tossed the used wipe into the nearest bin. Looking towards Carver as she asked him if there was anyone else he'd care to contact.

Suddenly the rent a cop came barreling into the nurses office, bloodied arm as he apparently got bit. So much for the warning Hermes had given him. The alarm began to sound in the school, and Hermes looked towards Hannah and Carver before quickly pulling out his cell phone. ”I'll call them. It's my cousin Mandy, she's older than I am and can pick me up if need be. But she's deaf so I have to video call her.” The phone rang a few times, as Hermes anxiously rapt his fingers against his leg. ”Pick up, pick upm.” If this was an outbreak that could be spread by bite, he didn't want to he around to find out.

Mandy didn't like to text and drive, but she saw the message from her classmate pop up. She smiled a little and finished the drive home. Once she had parked she responded to her dad, "Home! Mind helping me bring stuff in?" Then she sent another quick message off to her classmate Kristian, "Hey yeah. I saw some crazy stuff on the news. How true do you think it is? Think it’ll be like 2020?”

As she started to put away her phone it rang, this time it was a call. She looked at her phone and saw it was her cousin Hermes calling her. Shouldn’t he be in class? Mandy picked up, making sure the camera was on her, "What’s up?” She asked, one handed, her middle finger brushing along her chest upward. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Hermes propped the phone against the wall on the floor, sitting down criss cross as panic filled his eyes. He held one hand palm up, with his fingers pointed towards the right, the other hand palm down and perpendicular to it as he tapped the two together twice before taking his right hand and pointing his index finger towards his ears and twirling the finger in small circles around it before continuing to sign some more. Schools crazy. People are dead and security was attacked. I don't want to worry mother. Please help.” His signs had improved over the years, but some were still sluggish and clearly required some thought before acting them out. Grammar all but forgotten as he focused on getting the message across.

"People are dead!” Mandy exclaimed. Her dad was coming out of the house to help her get all the stuff she had bought. "Let me tell dad. I’ll come get you.” Mandy climbed out of the car enough to talk with her dad, but the phone camera was still on her, and the kitten she held with her left hand. With her right hand, she told her dad, "Hermes called me, he needs me to pick him up from school. People are dead. I’ll be back.” She considered having him take all the stuff and kitten inside, but he was asleep on her arm so she didn’t want to bother him.

Hermes held his right hand up, Index finger out while the rest were down and his thumb rested on his middle. He turned his hand around with a bit of a swoop before then reiterating the back handed single finger. Just one. My coach. Figure I should go before the number climbs. He looked around behind him, watching the officer who got bit for a moment. Worried about what might happen next.

Her dad did a quick sign of “Drive safe.” Mandy nodded, and climbed back into the car, buckling back up. "OK. I’ll be there shortly. Wait for me somewhere safe. I’ll call you when I get there.” She started the car back up and drove toward Hermes’ school.

Hermes placed four fingers against his lips and then moved them away before ending the call. ”My cousin is on her way to pick me up. She's with my uncle too if that helps any. Just need to wait for her call again until then.” He said towards Carver. He looked at Hannah trying to force a smile. ”Fuckin’ wild first day of school huh?”

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Verity was a bit taken aback. If what the office said was true, then the body in the bag should be dead. Verity wasn't a doctor or anything but she watched enough Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Med to know that if a body loses a lot of blood....well that's it. Verity waved it off though. If they weren't worried, she shouldn't be either. She turned and walked back into the building when she got a text from Trudy.

An interview would get her back into the mindset that this whole ordeal shot out of whack. Verity quickly sent off a reply. "Heading back up in 5. Send them in shortly after." Verity got into the elevator and quickly did some mindfulness deep breathing to calm her senses back down. Having been reminded of that car crash as well as whatever was in that ambulance had done a number on her mental state. Her chakras were probably all out of order now. She needed to center.

Back on her floor she beelined it for her office to ensure it looked nice. Once satisfied she sat down at her desk to wait for the interviewer.

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"Thanks, Dave," she muttered to herself, feeling a mix of relief and lingering doubt. She quickly replied, "Appreciate it, just make sure, okay? Better safe than sorry." She pocketed her phone, glancing back towards the dispersing crowd and the now-empty scene. The thought of a body bag moving on its own was unsettling, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. For now, she had to trust that Dave would handle it.

Becker took a deep breath, deciding to head back to the ambulance bay and prepare for the next call. At this point the police had everything under control, she started walking back to her ambulance, which was parked a few blocks away. As she walked, she tried to shake off the lingering unease from the woman's bizarre claim. Maybe it was just nerves getting to her after such a chaotic day.

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"Two waters coming right up!" Kali affirmed, walking back to the dispenser that was hidden to the side. Grabbing two cups from the counter, she quickly filled them both with some ice and water from the fountain. Once they were both ready to go, she carefully picked both of them up and placed them in front of each diner alongside a paper-wrapped straw. "Just give me a holler when you're ready to order." She spoke, flashing a friendly smile to the two of them.

As she finished with the elderly couple, another group of guests walked in, one being a rather scruffy-looking fellow and his buddy. Given that she only had one table so far, Kali walked over to the serving booth to take them to one of her open sections. "Welcome." She announced, grabbing a pair of menus from the booth's menu rack. Sliding the menus beneath her arm, she continued to speak, asking the standard questions waiters were known to ask when you walk in the door. "Just the two of you? And do you want a booth or table?"

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@Kirah A few seconds later Mandy would get another text from Kristian. "Dunno, maybe worse there are some weirder stories coming out from other sources." The text said back, as Mandy drove down the streets she would be able to see a few more ambulances as well as some police cars their lights flashing as they drove right past her. They were headed now over towards Hermes school which wasn't to far from Mandy's house either.

@ArticBeaver The scene was pretty much being wrapped up now and the forensic team had collected all of the evidence that they could and the police officers were now slowly leaving now as well to. "Yep sure thing, see you back at the at the garage." Dave replied back, once Becker had gotten back to her ambulance she would hear dispatch over the radio. "Becker this is dispatch there is a school lockdown nearby, there are few other units enroute there, could you help them out? We'll send over the address if you accept it." The dispatcher said they sounded slightly worried and a bit flustered as well to from their voice.

@PatientBean Once Verity was in her office and five minutes had passed the door opened and it was Trudy with the potential new employee and some paperwork for the job interview with the new guy in tow a guy who was around a year younger than Verity was by the looks of it. "This is John Atkins." Trudy said as he introduced him as Trudy looked back at Verity, on the resume that was also in the stack of papers, he was applying for a manager role. "Also got a reply from the reporter we discussed earlier. They would like to interview you today actually and would like to do it at the restaurant the Twin Seasons." Trudy told Verity.

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"Yeah suuuure you are." Hannah said jokingly as she cautiously looked at the security guard who was still bleeding pretty badly the nurse was quickly cleaning and applying some dressings to it as best as she could. Hermes would get a text this time from his uncle, Mandy's father. "Hope you are alright and stay safe, Mandy is on her way over now did you want me to let your mom know?" The text asked. The nurse looked at Kaitlyn, Hermes and Hannah seeing as the three of them weren't injured or anything. "Please if you don't mind leaving and deal with the evacuation?" She asked the three of them.

"Yeah of course sure thing." Kaitlyn said to her as she looked at Hermes and Hannah. "Lets get out of here now." She said as she started to lead the two of them out of the nurse' office and down the hallway. The hallway was right now in chaos as teachers and students were all quickly leaving their classrooms and were heading for the nearest exits. Hermes would catch a glimpse of Elio once again shambling down the hallway trying to grab at the closest students or teachers which they quickly avoided.

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Flynn looked around the restaurant it looked pretty fancy to him he had never been to this place before, but he had been to New York a few times in the past as well to. His attention turned towards Kali as she approached him and his friend and gave her a slight wave as he looked at his friend before speaking up. "It's just the two of us, and a booth works for us." Flynn told Kali as she grabbed some menus for the two of them. There were a few other guests coming in now as some of the waiters and waitresses were getting them to their tables now as well to.

Over in the kitchen Isaac was busy in the kitchen helping out as some of the orders were coming in, he looked over at one of the newer cooks that he had recently hired and approached him. "Hey are you alright?" Isaac asked him as he nodded slightly he looked slightly pale, feverish and sickly looking while trying to cover his sleeve. Seeing someone looking sick was never a good thing especially when it came to food. "Go ahead and head home, you'll be paid for the day." Isaac told him as he nodded and started to wander off towards the crew room to get his things.

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"Follow me, please." Kali nodded in response, ushering the two men to their booth. It had been a pleasant window seat, with comfortable leathered cushions—the best Issac could find, she figured. The window had a set of blinds attached to it where either of them could adjust the blinds as they pleased, although Kali doubted either of them would. It was a rare sight to see someone actually adjust the blinds, and she often wondered why they were even installed if no one was going to use them as intended.

Once the two men had been seated, Kali pulled out a notepad and pen from her apron. "My name is Kali, and I'll be your server for today. Can I get you two started with some drinks? Appetizers? Or do you need a minute to look over the menu first?" She asked, clicking the end of her pen to write as she waited for their answer.

Mandy held off on responding to the text from her friend. She didn't want to text and drive. As soon as she pulled up to the school and parked, she looked at the text. She didn't know if what happened at Hermes' school was connected and didn't want to scare her friend with that. So she just responded with a "Like what?"

Mandy called Hermes back. Facetiming him. Once he picked up she said, "I'm here. I'm parked...uh one minute." She flipped the camera around so he could see where she was parked. She wanted to ask what happened, but decided to wait until Hermes was safe in her car before asking him a million questions.

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Trudy eyed the new candidate as Trudy spoke. He was younger than her though that didn't signify lack of experience. How many times had she been considered unable to do a job or task because of her age? She showed them, of course. "Of course. Please schedule the interview for later if you can Trudy. I'd like to get to know Mr. Atkins here." Trudy nodded and sped off to do as asked as Mr. Atkins stood there. Verity gestured to a seat in front of her desk.

"So Mr. Atkins. Or can I call you John?"

"John is fine, ma'am."

Verity wagged her finger. "Uh uh. If I can call you John, you can call me Verity. Tell me John, why do you want to work here?"

The interview went on as normal interviews do. John hit every typical note in the book. She looked for individuality in her employees. Pizazz. Something that set them apart from every other John Atkins that walked into an office for a job. He told his strengths and weaknesses (doing the whole 'this is a weakness but actually a strength bit that grew tiresome). Why couldn't one be honest and say they were a-holes while driving? Or they enjoyed hearing a child cry? Or that they sold a family heirloom to pay off gambling debts? That's raw honesty and it would go far in this work.

"Well John, I think I heard all I needed to hear. Thank you so much for coming and speaking to us. You should hear back within the week if you got the job but any longer and I am afraid it's a no. Please have a nice rest of your day." She gestured for John to leave, hoping she would have enough time to prep before her interview later.

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Hermes felt his phone vibrate as he was about to put it away. Seeing the text from his uncle and then shooting him back a quick response. “No need to tell her. I'm fine and Schools gonna be canceled for the day anyways. Don't need her worrying over nothing, you know how she gets.” He put his hands up, shrinking into his shoulders as the Nurse began to kick them out for not needing any of her attention. Tch. He didn't even want to visit her in the first place, but no one ever listens to the students. Adults always know better. Hermes fought the urge to roll his eyes at them as he made his way out, spotting Elio in the background attempting to assault others.

”Uffa ma Dai! That worthless rent-a-cop went and let him loose onto the school! No wonder everyone's in a panic. Let's go this way so we don't cross his path” Hermes offered as he began to go the opposite direction of where he'd seen Elio. They were about halfway out when his phone went off again, a video call from his cousin showing him where she was. ”Mua! Ciao Hannah, my cousins here. She's just outside but keep in contact OK?” He said as he bolted away from the pair and towards Mandy. He mouthed “on my way” into the video as he bolted towards the doors outside. His hands too preoccupied to sign as he opened the doors and held the phone with the other hand.

Hermes glanced around and spotted her car, lightly jogging before getting into the passenger's side of the car. He quickly began to attempt to sign at her, but his hands were shaking and all he could manage to get out was ”Crazy Kid in school is attacking others. Bit security guard hard. Just gotta get out for a bit sorry.”

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Becker read Dave's reply and nodded to herself, relieved that he would double-check the situation. As she reached her ambulance, she heard the radio crackle and the dispatcher's anxious voice.

Becker immediately grabbed the radio and responded, "This is Becker. I'll head over right away. Send me the address." She started the ambulance and quickly input the location into her GPS as the address came through.

A few minutes later, Becker arrived at the school. The scene was chaotic, with police setting up a perimeter and anxious parents gathered nearby. She parked the ambulance close to the other EMT units and hopped out, making her way to the lead EMT on scene.

"How many wounded do we have?" Becker asked, scanning the area and mentally preparing herself for the situation.

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@PatientBean John smiled and nodded as he reached over and shook her hand. "Thank you for your time, and hope to hear back from you." He said hoping that he would be able to get the job that he needed to. Once the job interview with John was finished Trudy poked her head into Verity's office and knocked on it slightly. "Got a reply back from them, they'll be ready once you arrive. Since you are down your car would you like me to drive you over there, or want me to hail you a taxi or Uber?" Trudy asked her whichever worked best for her anyway.

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Becker would get a text from dispatch with the exact address that she would need to go to, once she had arrived on the scene other medical personnel as well as police were on the scene as well to. The EMT that first arrived on the scene turned to look at Becker asking for a sitrep on the situation right now. "From what some of the teachers and students have said, a student had assaulted the school's gym teacher and tried to assault another one, and attacked the school's security guard and bit him." He told her and then gestured to some of the students who looked to be injured in the chaos of getting out of the school. "If you could check out some of the staff and students that would be good." He told her.

Kaitlyn continued to escort Hermes and Hannah out of the hallway and was also getting other students to follow them out to the nearest exit, she looked over her shoulder seeing Elio still trying and failing to grab other students and teachers. However some of the other teachers were helping other students to avoid him for now. When they got out of the school building itself she watched as Hermes made his way towards the car and called out to him.

"Don't leave the scene yet until someone tells you to." Kaitlyn told Hermes knowing that the teachers would need to do a head count and make sure all of the students had gotten out safely. Hermes would get a text from his uncle fairly quickly. "I won't contact her, but pretty sure it's gonna be on the news so you'll have to talk to her sooner than later." He warned him, Mandy would get a reply from her friend. "It might be some internet fringe conspiracies or something, but some reports are saying people are eating each other or some weird shit like that." Was the text that Mandy would receive.

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Flynn followed behind Kali towards the booth that she was assigning them and sat down closest to the window, he would look out the window for a moment, and noticed a few emergency vehicles roaring down the street. "They are certainly very busy today." Flynn said, mostly to himself, when Kali asked if they wanted something to drink or appetizers first. "I'll take a Coke or Pepsi whichever you have." Flynn told her, then his friend spoke up as well to. "A water for me, and we'd like a moment to look at the menu if thats alright?" He asked her.

Kali would see another round of guests, by the looks of it they were some kind of news reporter of some kind waiting for their table she'd be able to hear some of the conversation going on. One of them was going over the questions that he would be asking to Verity Holmes and another one was on their phone texting someone as well to by the looks of it.

Mandy's eyes went wide when Hermes got into her car. He had blood on him! "Are you bleeding!?" She asked concerned. The story of a kid biting people seemed wild. Mandy was signing one-handed since she still held the kitten asleep in her arm. "I don't mind coming for you." She told him honestly. She liked her cousin. He tried, and that was the important part.

She glanced at her phone and saw the text message from Kristian. She frowned and sent back a quick response. "Seems it might be true. My cousin has a story about some kid at his school doing that." She did not tell Kristain that someone had died. It was as Mandy was looking at her phone that Kaitlyn told Hermes something, so she didn't see it.

"I was just about to go to lunch with Mom and Dad. You can probably join us." Even though both of her parents were deaf Hermes knew enough ASL that he could eat with them.

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Becker received a text from dispatch with the exact address and quickly set off towards the scene. When she arrived, she saw a flurry of activity as police and other medical personnel were already at work. The lead EMT who had first arrived on the scene approached her, looking relieved but stressed.

Becker nodded, taking in the situation with a quick, practiced glance. "Got it," she replied, her voice steady despite the underlying tension.

She grabbed her medical kit and moved towards the group of injured students and staff, her mind racing as she considered the potential implications of the injuries, especially the bite. She approached one of the injured students, a young girl with a scraped knee, and began her assessment, asking calmly,

"Hey there, I'm Becker." her hands moving gently but efficiently to check the student's injuries. "Looks like you had a run-in at gym class, huh? Let me guess, dodgeball got a little too real?" Despite the grave circumstances, Becker gave her a reassuring smile with her little joke to ease down the already stressful child. "You're doing great. This will sting a bit, but you'll be back on your feet in no time."

As she worked, she kept an eye on the surroundings, ready to assist wherever needed. The chaotic scene demanded her full attention, and she focused on providing the best care possible.

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Verity quickly forgot Jeremy or Johan or whoever it was as soon as he got out of the office. He was not getting the job and Trudy would be the one to tell him so. Trudy excelled in that role, being direct and firm but kind to not discourage the person further at another office.

As Trudy came and told her about her interview, Verity considered options. "Call for an Uber if you would please, I need you here holding down the fort. Make sure everyone is on task now that we sent those sick and concerned people home. Order it now and I'll head down if you could. And as always Trudy, I would be lost without you."

Trudy was one of few people that Verity confided in and knew more about her than anyone else. Not even Verity's ex-husband knew half the stuff Trudy knew.

Once satisfied, Verity got up and checked herself in the mirror. She wanted to look good for the interview. She made her way down in the elevator and out to her Uber.

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Hermes checked himself in the mirror within the sun visor of the car. Noting there was still a bit of blood present on his clothes from when he was cleaning up in the nurse's office. Not bleeding. It's from self defense, the other guys blood got on me. He replied back a bit more slowly than usual, a few of the words having been new ones he'd rarely used or practiced. He glanced at his phone when Mandy did hers, seeing his uncles message and rolling his eyes a bit with a sigh. He knew he was right, chances were they'd be all over the news after this and his mother would find out either from the radio or a nosey neighbor. But he didn't want to deal with it all just yet, he just needed time to breathe.

EMTs Began to arrive on the scene, and his new TA was telling them to stay put until a headcount could be made. She knew he was safe, where he was, and who he was with. Wasn't that enough? He debated on lying to Mandy, telling her they were allowed to go, to grab lunch and forget any of this even happened. But as his hands went to sign, they began to shake. What if him leaving caused the school to call his mom and tell them they couldn't find him? He didn't want that kind of worry, nor did he need his Italian mom tearing apart New York just to find him. Even less so being dragged by his ear all the way home. Hermes let out a deep breath before calming down his hands and signing to Mandy once more. They just said we should wait here. Need to do a headcount before I can leave apparently. I didn't mean to interrupt lunch I'm sorry.

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"We've got Coke products, yes." Kali responded, jotting a Coke and a water down into her server's notepad. The swarm of emergency vehicles passing by sparked a moment of interest from Kali, if only to see where they were headed or what might have been going on. "Take as much as time as you need." She replied, flashing a smile to Flynn's friend. "Just flag me down when you're ready."

Sliding her notepad into her apron once more, Kali walked back to the soda fountain and poured both a cup of Coke and a glass of tap water from the machine. Grabbing a cup in each hand, she went back to Flynn's table and set each cup in front of their respective drinkers along with a plastic straw for their use.

Once the two men had their drinks, Kali glanced in the direction of the elderly couple. Although she had yet to check back on them, they hadn't flagged her down either, and so she was still uncertain if they were ready to order yet. To give the couple some more time, Kali instead looked towards the server's booth, where she had noticed that more customers had arrived. The two of them seemed to be off in their own little world, either texting away or busy sifting through a notepad. In other words, they were both distracted customers, which often meant less work for Kali to deal with (and less running around for their every need).

Deciding to take on a third table, Kali approached the server's booth, and reached for two menus. "Are you two together?" She'd ask, wanting to get them seated first so she could go back and check on her prior tables.

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@PatientBean "You got it boss, don't worry everything will be just as you left it." Trudy said as she started to pull out her phone and ordered Verity her Uber. Being in a major city Ubers were pretty easy to come by just like taxis were, once Verity was on the ground floor there was a black Mercedes Benz that was just driving up to the curb. There was an Uber bumper sticker on the side of the car which was Verity's ride. The driver parked the car right in front of Verity as he got up, it was a guy in a suit as he looked over towards her and opened the door for her. "Verity i'm assuming correct?" He asked her the man appeared to be in his early fifties or so with slightly greying hair. Trudy had ordered Verity the most luxury Uber ride that was avaliable for her boss. Once Verity was inside there was a bottle of unopened water in a nearby cup holder if she chose to. "How are you today miss?" He asked her

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Kaitlyn watched as the students were all slowly getting out now, she watched some of the EMT's doing their work she looked over her shoulder towards Hermes, and Hannah they were safe by the looks of it. She just hoped that they didn't leave the scene just yet either she decided to wonder off and see if she could help with the EMTs. She made her way over towards Becker who was treating a younger student and looked between the two of them. "I hate gym honestly." The girl said letting Becker treat her injuries they were a few scrabs nothing to serious.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Kaitlyn asked looking over at Becker offering whatever aid that she could give. Becker would get a text from her partner with a video as well to. They had just moved the body to the hospital's morgue and it showed that the body bag was starting to move on it's own. "Pretty sure that this dude was a stiff when we brought him in what should we do?" The text said as the mortician was near as well to her face was pretty shocked and surprised.

"Oh you two are going for lunch, mind if I tag along?" Hannah signed and spoke, she had taken some of it having been around Hermes quiet a lot she had picked it up pretty quickly though it wasn't the best she was still able to hold a bit of a conversation. The kitten started to wake up looking up and stared at Hermes as it let out a little meow towards him. "Aww he's pretty cute." Hannah said looking over at Mandy giving her a smile. Mandy would receive another text from Kristian.

"I'll let you know if I find anything else out." Was what the text simply said. Hermes would hear a rather loud thudding sound hitting Mandy's car if he looked towards the window it was the gym teacher who looked clearly dead when Hermes saw his body in the locker room blood was smearing over the window. Groans could be heard Hannah let out a loud scream at the sight of him clinging onto Hermes.

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"Thank you." Flynn said as Kali came over with their drinks, he leaned back slightly as he watched the emergency vehicles drove by and past the Twin Seasons. "So how long do you think it'll take to get my bike fixed?" Flynn asked his friend as he thought for a moment looking at the bike. "Looks pretty banged up, maybe a week tops." He hold Flynn which he groaned slightly and nodded slightly as he took a sip from his coke he watched as the customers that were in were enjoying their time. He turned to look at the two people who had just came in they looked important.

One of them quickly put their phone away and looked over at Kali. "Yes, we also do have a third thats coming over shortly." The one said, who was a man who had black hair and wore a suit. A rather loud crashing sound could be heard from within the kitchen and some shouting could be heard as well to. "Kali! Can you come back here please?" Isaac yelled out to her, Flynn could hear that as well to and tried to look to see where the crashing and shouting was coming from. Luckily the Twin Seasons had a slightly open kitchen setup and customers could get a small glimpse from where they were seated.

"Okay, we can wait." Mandy told Hermes. She smiled at Hannah, "Hi, yes he is very cute I found him in the parking lot a bit ago." She explained. Mandy signed slow since she knew her cousin wasn't very fast, and she made sure to mouth her words for them. She didn't voice though. She rarely did.

It was only Hannah's instant reaction that Mandy knew something was wrong. She didn't hear the thump or groan. She spun around and saw the dead teacher. She screamed a bit.

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Verity identified the Uber immediately, mentally thanking Trudy for the luxury. Verity approached the man who opened the door for her. She nodded her agreement upon identifying her and got in. It was comfortable and calm. Once she was settled they were off.

Normally she didn't want to be bothered on rides, but the man was friendly enough. "I am well. I hope your day is going all right also." Verity thought back to the police presence and the ambulance. Their day as not going well. She closed her eyes and shut it out. She needed to be ready for the interview. She didn't let it on but this was important. How she presented herself paved the road for the future. One clip of her saying anything untoward would go viral. Women especially had to be careful. The delicate balance of being a professional in her field left her vulnerable to many opinions. Why wasn't she married anymore? Did she cheat? Did he cheat and, if so, what did she do to cause him to cheat? Why no kids? If she had kids were they talking to her? Is she pretty? Is she too pretty to be a businesswoman? Is she good at her job or did she sleep her way to the top? Is she a monster for wanting to work? Is she too weak to be anything else?

She sighed inwardly. She glanced out the window as the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of people and cars passed her by. This city, despite being home, never felt less like it.

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The EMTs were hard at work, while Hermes sat inside the car, flicking the vent of the AC up and down over and over. Anything to help distract him from the scene unfolding before him. His heart skipped a beat when the backdoor opened and Hannah began to make her way in, inviting herself to lunch with his family. He wasn't sure how well that would go, especially since he wasn't sure how well she understood their side of things. He was lucky to learn at a young age, to be taught what it meant for them and to try and feel the world as they did. She, to his knowledge, didn't have that kind of connection. But she still tried, which he always found sweet. ”Jesus H Christ you tried to scare me to death? Half the schools being attacked by a drugged up twink and you think barging into a car is the best idea?”

Hermes let out a long sigh, trying to collect himself once more. He turned in his seat to face Hannah, his hands facing Mandy as he signed to her while speaking the words to Hannah. ”It's up to my cousin if you can go. Not my car, not my rules.” He'd begun to start turning around in his seat again to face the front, when a loud thud came from behind the car. Blood smearing against the rear window as his coach was trying to assault the vehicle. It felt impossible, improbable. He was dead, he was certain he was dead. The chunk still missing from his neck where Elio bit him. He quickly signed to Mandy ”Fuck the head count! That's the teacher I said was dead! Drive drive drive!”