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[/i][/INDENT][/INDENT][CENTER][COLOR=04cf3a][sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][img]https://i.imgur.com/uxnptlQ.jpg[/img] [/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=04cf3a][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Academic Quadrangle, P.R.C.U. Campus - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=04cf3a][b]Take on Me #3.061:[/b][/COLOR] [color=white][I][b]In Too Deep[/b][/I][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=04cf3a][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=04cf3a][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Harper [@Qia], Katja [@Zoldyck][/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=2c2c2c][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [color=2c2c2c][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5540890][I]Say Your Prayers[/I][/url][/color][/right][/SUP]

[INDENT]

Rory felt his heart race as he stared into the abyss. Compounding fear around Haven's fate and suspicion of Katja swarmed in his stomach. In that moment of hesitation as they stood in front of the door, Rory's eyes briefly glanced towards Katja. Unless she had been invited to secret campus raves he hadn't heard about... he was unable to come up with an explanation for why [i]she[/i] would know this place. When Katja volunteered to go first, he had no objections. If they were walking into a trap, Katja could take it. If she was the trap... he'd rather her be in front of him than behind. He knew how fast she could take him out of she really wanted to, and he'd take every advantage he could.

Rory gave Harper a quick look, eyebrows raised with a nod in Katja's direction when her back was turned to them. He didn't want to risk whispering, and he didn't have enough time to explain. He was just banking on the resident smartass to be able to pick up that he didn't feel quite right about their resident tank, in the event something did happen. Out of those gathered, Harper was the only one he was confident would be able to come up with a clever solution. Or, god-forbid, find him if he went missing next.

Haven would know what he meant.

Rory's fists clenched as he stared down the abyss. They were walking into the lion's den. He slung his duffel bag off his shoulder, tossing it at the side of the entrance. He considered bringing the bat... but odds were his hands were going to be full helping Haven out of this mess. He had Blackjack at his back. If things went south he could borrow their strengths. Hopefully that would be enough. He took a step towards Harper, taking a breath as he focused his efforts on sensing the field of energy around them. It was always easier with somatics, isolating the HZE ions just enough to borrow the right one. The transformation was quick, and he made sure to keep his eyes closed as he felt the odd sensation in his skull. The pressure behind the eyes would be excruciating if it weren't for the numbness of his nervous system. When he opened his eyes, he squinted a little. It took him a moment of blinking to remember how to switch between the different types of vision, grunting when he accidentally shifted to night vision while looking towards the sky. Once he had his vision back, he stepped into the spooky stairwell.

She had to be there. She had to be ok.

Nightvision made watching his step far easier in the low-light. It also helped him to settle on firm footing when the world around him shook. He immediately crouched low, rocking his weight backwards a little to prevent himself from toppling forward. Most of the quaking shot him into the wall, which proved a less than pleasant sensation. He fared better than Katja, however. It took him a moment to recognize the sound. It sounded a bit like something falling... but that wouldn't...

Explosions.

Katja called out from the bottom, lighting up a flashlight. [color=#FF7514]“I’m fine! “Coast seems clear, there’s nothing here that seems out of the ordinary-”[/color]

Rory took the remaining stairs two at a time, practically tripping his way down the remaining steps. As he reached the bottom, his foot splashed into water. He looked about, his vision catching reflections of light in the ground. That didn't seem right... this wasn't a natural cave, this was a hallway. It took his eyes a second to process that it wasn't just standing water... the water was moving. [color=#FF7514]“Guys! Unless any of you can breathe underwater, we’re gonna have to hurry!”[/color]

Rory looked up in the direction Katja was looking, and quickly slipped past her. His feet splashed with every step, his running shoes and socks soaked through in seconds. That didn't stop him as he charged through the water as it began to reach his ankles, and then his shins. He didn't care about being cautious anymore. This place was flooding... and if Haven was still here, it meant she didn't have much time left. Rory rushed his way down the hallway towards the closed door, water rushing through the cracks between it and the door-frame.

Rory dipped his shoulder towards the door-handle, tilting his head away from the impact as he dived forward. Wood splintered and cracked, groaning as it was forced between rushing water and over 200 lbs of athlete. It cracked open part-way, enough for Rory to stumble through before slamming shut behind him. Rory didn't bother looking back, accidentally catching a mouthful of grimy water as he scrambled to his feet. He spat and spluttered, his eyes looking around wildly. The ceiling looked like it had already been water damaged for quite some time, though more fresh cracks and fissures in the ceiling poured water into the rapidly filling room. It was nearing his knees by the time he managed to get a better sense of where he was and what was happening, the sound of his teammates splashing down the hallway behind him.

A couple small objects brushed up against his legs as he took a step forward. His looked down, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be bottle caps. He watched them ride the currents of water past him, before he felt something much large and more firm slam into his knee. He fell as his leg buckled, water rushing up over him and into his face. Rory instinctively lifted his arm to try and block the water from getting into his eyes and mouth. When he looked up at what had hit him, he felt his stomach lurch at the sight. Blood still oozed from a hole in the head of the deranged, smiling corpse.

Rory screamed, panic and fear radiating out as he blinked to switch to thermal vision. He scrambled back up to his feet, fighting the waves and corpses flowing in his direction, as he desperately scanned the room.

[color=04cf3a]"No, no no... HAVEN!"[/COLOR]

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