[center][h1]The Great Escape: Chapter Two[/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9lFJuWJ.png[/img][/center][hr][hr][b]Involved[/b]: Tommy, Ailette[@Force and Fury], Anjeluun | [b]Current Location[/b]: Oraff's Hell, Inner Layer.[hr][hr]
Tommy and Ailette soon found that theirs was a fool's errand. One hill looked very much like another in this hell, and they perceived these differently on top of it all. They spent the better part of what both assumed was about a day and a half pursuing an idea that sent them in a wide, looping circle. While at it, they ran through the remainder of the yasoi's first flask. 

As bad a state as Tommy was in, Ailette was still technically alive, with all of the bodily needs that entailed. She began falling off the pace, stifled a couple of yawns and, then, some indeterminate time later, simply stopped. [color=BC8F8F]"I need to sleep or I'll be inefficient,"[/color] she sighed vexedly, making her way into the shade of a large tree that, even to Tommy's perception, had not completely withered yet. [color=BC8F8F]"I would be perfectly content to simply die in this place, but there are too many variables. I'm not entirely sure what that might entail, given how I ended up here."[/color] She laid her crutches on the ground, set her back down, and sat, untying her shoe. [color=BC8F8F]"I need only a few hours,"[/color] she advised. [color=BC8F8F]"We cannot afford longer, and we need a new plan. We're just hypothesizing and not testing."[/color]

It hadn't occured to Tommy that there was a difference, even if she'd probably said it several times on their journey so far. I mean, beyond her being a yasoi chick, and him being a proper Enthish lad, they were both living beings. But he didn't need to sleep now, and perhaps it was the perpetual sunlight that made him not quite aware of that fact. But there was something about watching someone experience those day to day moments that he took for granted. Sleeping, eating, drinking, yawning, even going to the bathroom were things he had been unfamiliar with for over a month now. To see them again reminded him of what it meant to be alive.

[color=gray]"I'll stand guard then missy. Wouldn't want the dead birds sneakin' up on ya n' pokin' yer eyes out."[/color] he spoke, a pessimistic laugh following his words. He looked directly at the sun that would have normally burned his eyes away, and felt a deep sense of annoyance. His mother, for the longest time, had warned him that staring at Lor would make him go blind like Aunt Maggie, but here he was, basking in the glow, challenging it and it would not come ace to face with him. 

Because it wasn't Lor. It was fake, treacherous and cruel, unlike the real thing.

But he had to use the time she slept, and be useful. She'd proven her worth twice over at this point. It was his time to step up. Primitive as it was, he grabbed a branch from a tree that his one-legged companion wasn't sleeping under, and began to draw a map of the landscape, of what they'd traversed so far, trying to figure out if there was a key. There had to be something they were missing, a place they could still go to.

For all that she looked little and peaceful and snuggly as she slept, after about twenty minutes, Ailette began to snore like a foghorn. She shifted to sleep on her side and the snoring stopped. Then, a little while later, she shifted again, onto the opposite side, and it started back up. Could Tommy realistically stay focused in the midst of such a racket?

Yet, drawing the map, in fits and starts, a little ways away from his partner who was louder in sleep than in waking, helped to focus him. The girl's bag - which she was currently using as a pillow - was almost comically large. Exactly how she carried its weight - and on a single leg - without complaint was something of a marvel. What might it contain? Might there be anything they could use?

Tommy was so focused that it almost crept up on him: movement in the distance, amid some dying shrubs. Something had moved. Had it just been a dull lick of wing, or more than that? Would it be wise to investigate? To wake Ailette?

He startled at the movement in the distance. So focused was he on the snoring, and the map, and the bag that he had forgotten his original duty. He had sworn to protect this girl from dead birds, and there was one afoot. Or at least, seemed to be. He heard how loud the girl snored, and knew waking her was a fools errand. Even if he managed to wake her, he imagined she was not a pleasant morning person. He brandished his stick like a sword, the smiling wolf that had been in his hands not too long ago and began to sneak forward, keeping an eye on the sleepng girl and her position to make sure there wasn't another. Slowly, carefully, he crept upon the movement. 

It was, all things considered, a truly pathetic attempt at stealth. His would-be ambusher  was a fellow undead, though in far worse shape: it's skin had mostly sloughed away, as had buch of its muscle. A few of its fingers had outright fallen off. Its hair was thin and strawlike, and an entire leg seemed to have been lost at some point. If he had to guess, it had been female in life, but it was hard to tell at this point. All that seemed to be holding it together was tattered clothing and willpower. It was more or less crawling, its single remaining eye fixed unerringly on the sweet rich prize of Ailette and her healthy living body. It did not even seem to have noticed him yet.

Seeing this... didn't make him have the reaction he would have had in life. He'd gotten used to blood, guts, gore and grisly sights there, but this was a stark reminder of what could be. Ailet was alive, as he'd come to realize, but she could very easily be this girl the moment they begin to run out of rations. One legged and all. It made him shiver in a grim sense of urgency as he snuck closer. He'd give her a quick, quiet end. Maybe the suffering would come to an end, but if this person was in here with him, perhaps there was no end to it all. 

[color=gray][i]Not my place to judge ya, chick, but I need her just as much as you. N' I don't wanna eat 'er, least not in the way you wanna. At least, I'm assumin' as much. Don't know what ends up 'appening if I kill ya here, but I hope you end up somewhere nice. Atoned or somethin'... wait... where do you fuckers go when ya die...[/i] he mused to himself, thinking back to his conversation with Ailet and now. Was that a clue to their way out? 

He took the stick, sharpened slightly by his magic and prepared to drive it through her like a javelin. For her sake, he hoped it was a quick end. But he paid close attention, to the point that drool had begun to spill from his lips. His focus and intent were locked onto one thing and one thing only - a testing of his hypothesis, or whatever that plucky lil' nerd called it

The cadaver noticed him moments before he struck. [color=thistle]"Waii,"[/color] it rasped, with something that sounded [i]almost[/i] like a voice. It held a tattered hand up. It broke his moment of concentration, hearing it speak. Maybe he'd zoned out too far. Tommy paused, holding the sharpened branch in place, ready to strike but intent on giving this poor soul a chance, just as he had with Ailet. [color=thistle]"Gh-"[/color] it choked. [color=thistle]"Gir..."[/color] It tried to shake its head, but struggled. [color=thistle]"In... danger,"[/color] the desiccated thing rasped. 

There was a moment of clarity, as he scowled. He'd gotten too far from his duty, but in their travels, they'd not saw anything of value. She went for a nap, and the vultures came out to play. He took a rapid step back from the crawling cadaver, and turned his head toward Ailet, hoping that it wasn't too late. [color=gray]"If this is a trick.."[/color] he spoke, worry clear on his tone as he readied the trusty stick. There was nothing there, however: nothing but a sleeping Ailette, still snoring away. [color=thistle]"Noh... here.... yanii."[/color] rasped the cadaver. [color=thistle]"In... life. When you make ih bah...ck"[/color] 

Much about this place was confusing. He stuck his makeshift weapon into the ground and crouched down where he was, a comfortable spot where he could respond to danger and talk to the remnants of this person.  [color=gray]"An' why's that, lass? She's a strong'un, an' quite fuckin' clever y'know."[/color] he paused in his speech, putting a finger to his temple in contemplation. His eyes went over to the only discernable feature of this near carcass, and then to his compatriot. Was there a link? Was the likelihood of meeting this one legged ladies really that high?

[color=gray]"Unless there's somethin' to the story I'm missin. That lovely girl o'er there nagged my brain off about statistics an' hypothesis n' all that other shite, an' I didn't really get most of it, y'know? But...."[/color]he pointed at the near-spectres missing appendage.  [color=gray]"Not that I'm against it or anythin', all of you lot 'ave been lovely, but I've met more people like you lot in the past year than most do in their lifetime. Is there some cabal of leg thieves, or are you lot just unlucky?"[/color] he spat out, genuinely curious as to what was causing this new phenomena in his life.

It was an awful, rasping sound, this cadaver's laugh. Perhaps it was the first time she had laughed in years. [color=thistle]"We..."[/color] A hacking cough interrupted her response. [color=thistle]"We'hh use...ful. High RAS, sso we geh... around."[/color] She struggled to properly shake her head. [color=thistle]"Your little... girr loses a... lehg."[/color] There came more of that bitter laugh. [color=thistle]"Very trhagic. You pum... pum...p her full of aberr...ation so she cah be the avatah of... fuckin' F...Vyshta."[/color]

Weakly, she rolled over, managing something like a lopsided sitting position. [color=thistle]"I was s'poset-t-t be a goddess."[/color] She hacked again for a bit and a glance over at Ailet showed that she had not stirred even a little. [color=thistle]"For fif-heen years they treated me... like one."[/color] A lone eye regarded him from an almost-bare socket. Her shoulders made an awful scraping as she shrugged. [color=thistle]"Then they killed me."[/color] She sat there, staring at him, and raised a bony arm. [color=thistle]"Thah... girr. Iss she the avatar?"[/color]

Tommy smiled in knowing that his theory was somewhat right. There was something fucking weird going on with this people, and so his triumphant expression was marked on the corners of his mouth with the beginnings of a frown. It could have been coincidences, but it seemed oh-so specific and brutal. To mark and maim children, train them, use them and toss them out when the process was over had a mark of undignified cruelty to it. Beyond anything he'd ever really done, or what most people had. Even for those who'd stepped beyond the moral event horizon. children were usually off limits. 

He shook his head at the later remark though. He supposed it was a lucky thing that she wasn't, or maybe she'd be marked for death the same way.  [color=gray]"Nah. I met the avatar 'fore I died. Lovely lass, honestly. Kinder than that one, but not quite as sharp as 'er. Still plenty smart though."[/color] he reminisced about their encounter, a dinner and conversation that they'd shared after their farce match in the trials.  [color=gray]"What a way to fall, eh? Goddess to hell. I won the fuckin' trials, y'know. Next thing you know, bullet in my head n' I'm here over some bastard I shivved 5 years ago."[/color] he retorted, slamming his fist into the ground in a moment of heartfelt rage, for hers had brought his out. 

 [color=gray]"Sorry. I've got no right to complain when you're tryna save my saviour. I'd love to 'elp you as well, but I don't know if there's a way out for ya in that state."[/color] he muttered wistfully, turning once more to look at the snoring, cozy sleeping Ailet, turning back to face the decomposed former avatar.  [color=gray]"I'll 'elp her, n' the current avatar. They're lovely chicks, n' even if I don't 'ave the pointy ears you lot have, you lot 'ave treated me right."[/color] 

[color=thistle]"Every...time,"[/color] the former avatar rasped, [color=thistle]"You stop... moving here longh enough. You 'die' an... c-come back."[/color] Her jaw twisted and clammed shut and she was silent for a moment as she fixed it. [color=thistle]"Iss diffren. The wor- worl iss diffren."[/color]

Her single eye stared at him, unblinking. [color=thistle]"I'fe... beehn back twenty-eigh timeh. "[/color] There was a hint of a smile, though there wasn't very much tissue. [color=thistle]"Hun-dhed of yearh."[/color] She was visibly struggling to speak. [color=thistle]"T-thih iss my -"[/color] She coughed and hacked and one of her ribs cracked and fell away. [color=thistle]"S-s-secoh time here - ih-ihn thiss one."[/color] Her voice was growing fainter and, with agonizing slowness, she gestured him closer. [color=thistle]"Pleease."[/color]

He walked and knelt down next to her, seeing that she didn't have much time, but her words of warning were beginning to weigh on him. Stopping of movement. Stillness. Sleep. How much time did Ailet have? It was a conscious thought in the back of his head, ticking away as he took time listening to the girl. He didn't have an internal clock like the mad scientist, but he had a overractive anxious mind that continued to tick, as he tried to focus on the now.

[color=gray]"I'm 'ere. In case everythin' gets fucked up, tell me your name, n' whatever else you got on your mind. I need to move 'er sooner rather than later."[/color] he spoke with a sense of urgency, but also pity for this poor soul. Whatever crimes she may have committed, eternal suffering was not right, nor was it just.

[color=thistle]"F-fuck that. I-I'fe spenh thiss... lo-lonh an I fuck-fuckin' cracke ih!"[/color] She rasped a triumphant laugh. [color=thistle]"T-hhis bohy'sss done."[/color] Weakly she twitched her more-or-less skeletal toes. [color=thistle]"I t-tellh hyou how you cah geh ough-tt o' here. You...rip this heahd... off a-ahn t-take ih wiff hyou. We'h aww gonna h-hl-live aghain."[/color] Her bony hand grabbed him by the collar with what strength she had left. [color=thistle]"C-comprende?"[/color] It fell back and her head lolled a bit to the side. [color=thistle]"T-they c-caww me An-ch- Anjeluun. I fuckin' [i]f-foundehd[/i] L-Lhuuntiil."[/color] 

Tommy's look of caution and concern quickly shifted to a wicked grin. [color=gray]"You fuckin' bet. We're gettin' outta here n' I've never said no to receiving head."[/color] with a semblence of respect for the girl, dirty joke aside. All this time, she'd never given up. Never stopped hoping, believing. He would carry her hopes and dreams out of this wretched fucking place, not just for her but to spite the bastards that had put them there. He grabbed her head and swiftly detached it from the rest, beginning to tie it to his waist like a bag. [color=gray]"Tommy. Similar to yourself, I'm a bit of a fookin legend as well. Let's go move the scrap horn 'fore she vanishes, n' we can talk all about it."[/color] he gleefully spoke for a man who'd just decapitate another. He began walking back to Ailet, informing this hundreds of year old woman with tales of his triumphs along the way, and with yet greater appreciation for the Yasoi. They were different, and they were a little weird, but they were his kinda people, aside from the leg-thievery. 

[color=thistle]"T-then you've never beehn to... Luuntil,"[/color] she rasped by way of reply. After that, she was subjected to his barrage. [color=thistle]"May...be someday, hyou can hear abouh the t-t-time I k-killeh a D-death p-arroht wiff my ba-bare hh-ahnds."[/color]

Ailet was no longer sleeping, however. The moment that she'd heard the bit about 'dying' if she remained still for too long, her eyes had fluttered open. In exactly one-point-four seconds, she was on her foot and moving, hopping a few steps before twisting to notice Tommy. Quickly, she grabbed her crutches and hurried over. [color=BC8F8F]"Who's the... head honcho?"[/color] she inquired, tilting her head to one side.

[color=gray]"Another piece of charmin' one legged tree candy. Anje, meet Ailet, Ailet, meet Anje."[/color] he smiled, shifting to the side so that the two ladies could face each other. [color=gray]"She's a smart cookie, like you. Says she's got a plan, so I think you two'll hit it off somethin' fierce."[/color] he strode up to Ailet, second head in tow and raised her from his belt so she could speak to his compatriot with a little more dignity. 

Ailet immediately dropped into a crouch. [color=BC8F8F]"Anjeluun'asaan'tenjaxii?"[/color] 

[color=thistle]"What's... leff of her."[/color] The head seemed to be speaking better now that it no longer needed to support a desiccated body.

[color=BC8F8F]"Honoured predecessor."[/color] The young woman bowed her head. Then, abruptly, she stood. [color=BC8F8F]"Thomas, there is something I must show you,"[/color] she said simply, starting to unbutton her blouse, [color=BC8F8F]"and [i]only[/i] you."[/color]

She crouched back down. [color=BC8F8F]"Surely, Lady Anjeluun, you will not disappear if we leave you for a few minutes beneath this tree."[/color] Ailet stood.

For all his words, confident remarks, dirty jokes and general confidence about the matter, it crumpled completely when Ailet began to take the initiative. Truth be told, he was not over his feelings toward Edyta Laska, even after a month apart. They were never a couple, even if he'd pined for her without her knowledge. There was something about the situation that felt intrinsically wrong to him

But, he was still a man. He was still sleazy, cheap and easy to barter with. Both his conflicting emotions, as well as his unease at the prospect of her suggestion in HELL of all places made what would have been an awfully easy decision at an earlier point in his life terribly complicated for him. 

[color=gray]"Aite, aite.. I shoulda picked it up earlier that you were into that kinda shit, and believe me, I fuckin' like it... but is right now really the time? I mean, y'know, I'm fuckin' down... but she's here..."[/color]  he spoke, gesturing to the head. He didn't want to do something crude, like turn her away the same way a young couple shifts the stuffed animals on a bed before getting freaky [color=gray]"Actually, scratch that, I'm sure she'll be fine."[/color] he spoke, reluctantly, his base urges winning his battle of morals, before untying Anje and setting her down. He looked to her with an expression that conveyed both his conflicted excitement and a semblence of silent apology, before he began to stroll toward Ailet. 

[color=BC8F8F]"I was relying on your biological urges,"[/color] Ailet said, leading him behind a tree. [color=BC8F8F]"I know that I'm asymmetrical and not particularly attractive, but your struggles indicate something less hormonal in nature."[/color] The statement itself was more matter-of-fact than questioning, but she [i]did[/i] seem to be questioning Tommy, in a sense. 

Once he had joined her out of both sight and earshot, she pulled him close with one hand and did her buttons back up with the other. [color=BC8F8F]"We will follow her advice,"[/color] she remarked. [color=BC8F8F]"We will use it."[/color] She let him go. [color=BC8F8F]"But there is a reason you were condemned by only one God and she by all five."[/color] She was marginally taller than Tommy, but they were nearly eye-to-eye, though she did not look at him directly. For a moment, her unsentimental facade cracked. [color=BC8F8F]"Anjeluun'asaan'tenjaxii knows about the entire unsavoury system in Tarlon because she pioneered it. I will not take her back into the living world."[/color] 

Betrayal. He'd resolved himself to make this decision at the invitation of the woman, and he was immediately blindsided by sudden morality. It was jarring to him, to be faced with precarious bullshit reasoning such as 'being condemned by a god' or more. What did it matter? [color=gray]"I don't fuckin' appreciate that, y'know. I took your invitation quite seriously, n' for the record, you're plenty attractive. Least to me."[/color] he sulked out, his feelings on this being quite plain. 

[color=gray]"Use 'it'? She's a person too, y'know! Like me, or you, or any of the other bastards down here. We're all fuckin' sinners, Ailet. Does that mean we deserve eternal fuckin' torture cos we pissed off some big bastard at the top, or five of em? Nah."[/color] he pinched his brow to avoid getting too frustrated with the girl, and the situation at large. [color=gray]"The only reason I spared her to begin with was cos she was concerned for you. She thought you mighta been the avatar, whatever the fuck that means."[/color]. 

He took another moment to compose himself, but he took a deep breath and let himself cool own. [color=gray]"I'm not gonna pretend to know your struggles n' systems n' all the other complicated convoluted leg thieving cabal shit."[/color] he paused as he got in her face, eye to eye, resolute in his viewpoint. [color=gray]"But I'm not also gonna condemn someone who's helpin' us get out of here off of, what, knowing about something? Morality? I know you're not of that mind, Ailet. We make that decision at the end of our journey, [b]together[/b]. Do I make myself fuckin' clear?"[/color] he put a hand on her shoulder and emphasized that word. Together. He wasn't here to be her lackey, and she wasn't there to be his. They were individuals united by common cause. 

Ailet recoiled from his touch. She backed up a step like a cornered animal. [color=BC8F8F]"You mistake my warning for sentimentality or emotional involvement."[/color] She tilted her head to the side. [color=BC8F8F]"That monster is manipulating you, the same way she manipulated our entire society nine-hundred-thirty years ago, and the same way there is a high probability she will do exactly that again."[/color] She regarded him doughtily, knuckles white around the grips of her crutches. [color=BC8F8F]"I have no desire to see her suffer. I am, in fact, perfectly indifferent. What I desire even less, however, is for her to escape and cause further harm to the world and to people such as myself."[/color] She narrowed her eyes challengingly. 

He saw the way she recoiled from his touch, and pulled his hand back, looking shamefully to the side. No matter how angry he was, speaking to someone like that was uncalled for. [color=gray]"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten ya."[/color] he muttered, before she continued to speak further. But again, the way she described the situation bothered him on a personal level. It was easy enough to see that it bothered her as well. As much as she pretended this wasn't personal, he could very much tell it was, at least in some way. For however smart this girl was, human emotions were not something even the smartest people could fully wrap their heads around and comprehend.

[color=gray]"And we base that on what, exactly? She manipulated me by bein' concerned for you on our first meetin'? I'm a sucker for pretty girls like you, not for fuckin' withered husks."[/color] he gestured wildy, trying to wrap his head around her thought process here. There was a lot he didn't know about these people. [color=gray]"Again, you call 'er anythin' but her name, but how much do you know her? Neither of us lived back then. Do you honestly believe some fuckers in the Oriflem managed to tame a fuckin' dragon out in the wilderness? Or that there were one hundred thousand Eskandr fuckin' raiders? They even told me in the classes that the past is all a perspective thing."[/color] he continued to rant to put home his point, because he was frustrated, but his tone remained softer than before. He still felt remorseful about prior. 

This girl could have been him. [color=gray]"Wanting to see her suffer, and not wantin' her to get out of here are the same thing, Ailet. I could be as much of a monster as you think that chick is, but because some twat's not written a book about deeds I did 10 years ago from his own viewpoint, y'don't know that, do ya."[/color] he paused, out of breath and a little teary eyed from this whole conversation. He wished it was what he thought it was before he went into it. 

Ailet just stood there for a moment, utterly wordless. She blinked.

She blinked again and her fingers constricted.

[color=BC8F8F]"The manipulation is emotional, not physical."[/color]

She blinked, fingers loosening and tightening around the grips of her crutches.

[color=BC8F8F]"She likely does not care for anything but herself if her behavioural patterns from life carry over. Any concern that she appeared to show for me was likely strategic."[/color]

She blinked.

Ailet would not meet his eyes. Again, her fingers flexed. [color=BC8F8F]"But whatever,"[/color] she sighed. [color=BC8F8F]"Maybe we have incomplete information."[/color] She shrugged, pointedly relaxing her grip. [color=BC8F8F]"She's your responsibility, though."[/color] She pushed her glasses up her nose. [color=BC8F8F]"So I genuinely hope you're right."[/color] She began to turn. [color=BC8F8F]"I'll play nice. Don't worry."[/color]

With that, she reached up, tousled her hair, and undid a couple of her buttons until her tits were all but hanging out. Looking back at Tommy's face momentarily, her eyes went to the ground. [color=BC8F8F]"I'm... sorry if I did... [i]stuff[/i] like her. I hadn't considered, and I will in the future."[/color]
 
Then, she let out a loud giggle, rushing around the hedges and stopping as if to fix her belt. [color=BC8F8F]"Tommy, stahp!"[/color] she called out, grinning back at him. [color=BC8F8F]"We need to get serious! Why don't we go talk to her now?"[/color] She took a few large strides, swinging jauntily back on her crutches with an almost-enviable lightness and joy. For a moment, her face wasn't visible to the skull beneath the tree. She shot Tommy an apologetic look.

[color=gray]"Ailet... thank you."[/color] he paused, before interjecting once more. [color=gray]"If you truly believe she's the same person they say she was, then I'll heed ya words. I don't wanna be made a fuckin' fool of."[/color] he nodded, as she begun to undo a button. His eyes focused toward it, and then another button came undone. He'd almost forgotten about that, but then, again, she spoke and it struck a pang in his heart. He simply shook his head and smiled. 

This girl was special. Not at all like Edyta, but she had a certain charm that he couldn't help find endearing. And then she began to play the ruse, and he felt obligated to play along. He pulled his pants down a couple notches, undid his belt, tussled his hair and ruffled his shirt so it looked as if it'd been pulled on. At least, what remained of it. [color=gray]"I thought you said if we were quick, we could sneak in a round two or three, y'know? I don't normally finish that fast! Promise!"[/color] he laughed back at her, He returned that look she gave with one of his own, with slightly more contemplation in it. He hoped they were who he thought they were, who they might have been pretending to be rather than what they could be. Her and Anjeluun both. 

But maybe he was just being hopeful. People were shit, after all.

[hr]

hey found their way back to the skull that was all that remained of Anjeluun and Ailet played her part... quite well. [color=thistle]"I... think the gods do ih as a m-mocking thingh."[/color] the skull proclaimed. [color=thistle]"The world that you see is a bit withered, Tommy."[/color] She could not turn to look at Ailet, but she addressed her nonetheless. [color=thistle]"Yours looks pretty fresh, though. Right?"[/color]

The Osaian nodded. 

[color=thistle]"Mine is a barr-hen w...wasteland, but I canh sssee it as a result. Beneat-th the grass, every once in a while, there is an ou- ouh... outline of an h -arrow. I hwas f-following them when... my leg s-seized up."[/color] Her single bloodshot eye flicked between the two as best it could. [color=thistle]"T-those aren' hh- in there j-just for... laughs. I th-think they lead to the way out."[/color]

[color=gray]"Then they oughta lead to the sun, right?"[/color] he spoke, before thinking for a moment. Why would they leave arrows in the ground? In order to see them, you have to had been here a while, and those are the people that are fully condemned to this place. Why give them a way out? Maybe they were there just for laughs. [color=gray]"We can give it a go, but I don't think they'd do it outta the kindness of their hearts. By my mind, god's wanna keep us nasty fuckin' sinners away from an exit, not put conveniently placed arrows leadin' there. Unless they're dumb shits."[/color] he snorted with a chuckle. [color=gray]"Whadd'ya think, hot stuff? Wanna try it, or reckon it's a ruse?"[/color] he grinned at Ailet and gave her a wink to sell the act.

Ailet's cheeks turned red, but she did nothing to acknowledge what was - of course - a purely biological reaction. She considered. [color=BC8F8F]"Do these arrows lead in one solid trail or do they come from all directions?"[/color]

[color=thistle]"I.... wasn't ec-c-xactly the most mobile,"[/color] Anjeluun allowed, [color=thistle]"but there ss-eemed to be m-multiple... trails thah con-f-verged."[/color]

Ailet twisted. [color=BC8F8F]"They lead to the place where one's perspective allows her - or him - to 'walk into the sun', so to speak."[/color] She pushed her glassed up her nose and furrowed her brow. [color=BC8F8F]"That [i]must[/i] be it."[/color]

Her fingers loosened and tightened on the grips of her crutches a couple more times. [color=BC8F8F]"I hypothesize that, given the manner of the repetitive cycle in this place, someone needs to come in and 'reset' the 'dead'. That's their entrance and exit and it's only viewable once an instance of reality has degraded enough to make escape all but impossible for the unfortunate soul."[/color]

She glanced at Tommy and even at... the head, and grinned triumphantly. [color=BC8F8F]"I could be entirely off-base and even making an utter ass out of you and me by assuming, but I believe that this theory is our likeliest chance."[/color] She slipped the glasses from her nose, reached into her pocket, and pulled out another pair: tinted. Then, Ailet raised both of her crutches in a single smooth motion, pointing them in the same direction with a flourish. [color=BC8F8F]"Let's fuckin' [i]ride.[/i]"[/color]

This girl was impossible to read. Whether she actually liked him and the advances was a mystery, but he'd always been clueless when it came to women, just like most men. Regardless, that occupied his mind for their hypothesis and conversation. He was largely out of his depth here, and very glad to have two smarter ladies along for the ride with him. Still, he interjected about a 'resetter' becausse it was an earnestly good point. [color=gray]"So, like a janitor right? I mean, makes sense n'all but it also kinda frightens me. If they're cleanin' the place, there's usually a lock and key. You think we gotta jump this hypothetical motherfucker?"[/color] he laughed, a little proud of himself for using one of the many big words that Ailet seemed to spout. 

[color=gray]"Still though, that's why yer the brains. Couldn't 'ave figured it out on my own. Good shit, sunshine. If you're wrong, I won't 'old it against ya."[/color] he went to pat her on the shoulder, but hesitated, and quickly pulled his hand away, instead settling for a finger gun her way and a wink.

Ailet smiled back and made her own finger guns. She hustled over to her backpack, picked it up and, after a brief detour for Tommy's sake that left him looking hale and hearty, they were on their way.

[color=thistle]"Twenty degrees left!"[/color] called Anjie.

They walked.

[color=thistle]"Right!"[/color] called Anjie.

They turned.

[color=thistle]"No, no! Wait!"[/color] called Anjie. [color=thistle]"Backtrack to the last one." Sorry."[/color]

There were huffs and groans.

Gradually, they made their way there. Gradually, Ailet ran through her second water bottle. She stopped to nap, snuggling into Tommy's shoulder beneath a great oak tree that, to her, was still beautiful but, to Anjeluun, was nothing more than a dried husk.

When she was woken, for they could not afford to linger too long in one place, they continued. Their only real gauge of time was their one living member's water consumption and an attack by a maddened corpse that had no chance of succeeding. Tommy got to use him for sustenance. 

Gradually, they made their way there. Gradually, Ailet's third water bottle dwindled. Still, they walked, Anjeluun dutifully calling out directions, but her voice was growing weak and raspy again. It was after waking from her third nap that Ailet shook out the last drops from her bottle and shot Tommy a concerned look.

The 'head' of their expedition assured them that they were close, though: very close. The arrows had converged, and both could see plainly that the area was hilly. 

They walked.

Then, in a moment filled only by the sound of their footsteps, came the raspy voice of Anjeluun. [color=thistle]"I..."[/color] she grated, barely above a whisper. [color=thistle]"I'm... s-sorreh. I c-can'h s-s-see."[/color]