[IC] Chronicle: Second Ascended

[iSuspect]

Jake & Jacob

They argued basically the whole trip, where the group of students were meeting up. Jake didn't want to go but Jacob insisted and wondered what was the worst that could happen. Jake stomach was churning as they neared their destination but Jacob's face was gleamed with excitement as he parked near the woods, seeing the group of students already forming a huddle. "See, we missed something and it's all your fault." Jacob said with a sigh as they exited the blue Hummer and walked towards the group. "Sorry that we're late guys, lady pants over here didn't want to come so I basically had to drag his ass here." Jake looked at Jacob then the rest of the group, rolling his eyes. "I mean, I am sure you guys heard the rumors about these woods. Just standing next to them gives me the heebie-jeebies." Jake commented with a slight shudder while eying the woods then seeing everyone had split up. Jacob looked at Jake with a raised brow then looked at everyone else. "Well, I am guessing that the male is leading the non scaredy cats while the female here is leading the scaredy cats. Let me know if I am wrong." Jacob looked at everyone then shrugged his shoulders while walking over towards where the male leader group was and stood with them. Jake rolled his eyes with a slight huff then walked over to the group that was lead by the female. Jake eyed his brother from afar then muttered under his breath. "Let's prove these bastards wrong about whatever." He folded his arms over his shoulders then looked over towards the female, who was leading the group he was in. "Yo, what's your name? I'm Jake and that guy over there that looks like me is Jacob." He pointed his index finger at his brother, Jacob, who offered everyone a small, friendly wave then stuck his hands back into his jean pockets. They both continued to stand there as they waited to see when the movement was going to begin.

[Leviathan]

Luna Flores.

Bronze hues were visibly troubled as her foolhardy sibling haphazardly trudged fourth into the ominous woods. He had been this exact way before, during the incident in broad daylight. From the looks of it these two did not seem close but that could not have been further from the truth or could it? Withdrawal always morphed Dez into a negligent monster who desperately tried to escape his mental anguish by perilously jumping head first into danger. This would not be the first time he left her to her own devise, and it would not be the last she feared. With a subtle sigh Luna quickly disposed of any lingering emotion other than warmth. There had been a sudden influx of students taking notice of their budding group, and she was the welcome committee. Knowing that Dez and his group of adventure seekers would not turn back she spun her attention to the newcomers and the ones who stayed. Although, the comment about being a scaredy cat was quite uncalled for but she would never defend herself out of fear of being rude. “Not sure I know anything about leading but my name is Luna. It’s very nice to meet all of you. Thank you for coming.” She said with a pleasant disposition. Luna had no trouble extending an amiable hand to others no matter their personality. It was almost as if she did not possess a single fault in her personality though she was sickeningly sweet and a bit reserved. Other than that one could compare Luna to an angel. “Well, this is the majority of everyone. We didn’t send out invitations since that could be a bit too—we just wanted to keep this semi private…In all honestly, this isn’t funded by the University.” Luna was not proud of that fact but Art demanded to cross boundaries at times because it knew little of them. “My brother Dez is heading into the forest with his friends.” This deadpan sentence was said with a tinge of defeat though she refused to peek over, and watch them disembark deeper into the foggy woods. Luckily the smell of sulfur drew her attention toward a galactic splattered sky. A spray of color dancing across the cosmos and then cascading gradually toward them was truly beautiful to behold. This blue eyed fiery sunset hued girl had managed something wonderful. Luna could not recall the last time she had watched something so mesmerizing, and then she instinctively glanced over to the towering silver birches at a departing form. There had been someone who had unintentionally caught her eye, and he was now in there…with her brother…probably lost. Police sirens whirled along with two patrol cars that sped to the property before turning off. Three cops in uniform slipped out of the vehicles and began walking toward the arched entranceway. Their arrival had been so unexpected that it caught students off guard, and the lawman’s presence ensued fear almost immediately. Bodies began running in every direction except the front where the three deputies were. Luna found this a bit odd but the spectacle of Dez’ DJ friend bolting faster than the rest caused her stomach to knot tightly. She was so naïve. Two officers began a chase while the bigger lad with a crooked mustache continued to approach the Cautious group. “Mr. Dobson with the Caomhanach police dispatch please do not attempt to flee. We’re here about a no—“ His strict voice was interrupted by a fizzle of a delayed firecracker. After watching descending glitter he tilted his head scanning every student until he found who he was searching for. “You there.” His finger made a ‘come hither’ motion to the one nearest the pyrotechnics. “And the rest of you. Did you know you are trespassing on a historical monument?” His brow arched as he continued to glare at their young faces without remorse. “That isn’t so much a problem as the other call we received. Are any of you aware if there are drugs at this party?” Internally Luna began to simmer with a nearing ire as Mr. Dobson spoke of possible drugs here. A little voice had told her not to accept Dez’ help with the party, knowing that nothing but trouble occurred. Her heart had wanted to believe that he would not threaten innocent students’ graduation but without fail he never seemed to disappoint. At this point she could fully answer the officer’s questions truthfully and without guilt but something peculiar caught her eye. An item near the woods almost caused a harrowing gasp to escape her throat. Luckily she was able to withhold this sound but her horrified face unfortunately gave it away. Within a second the observant cop memorized Luna’s line of sight and had followed it to the misplaced contraband. If nothing had triggered sirens in this man’s head the location of this paraphernalia surely did. “They took off into the woods.” A disgruntled voice spoke, his fingers pressing a button located on the radio. Mr. Dobson was in a predicament, unable to leave these witnesses here and with his partners chasing the run-away students he could not wait for their aid. Even though he knew very well that something lurked in these woods he had no choice but to take these troublemakers with. “This isn’t protocol but I am going to need you to follow me.” Luna was the first one to step forward and follow Mr. Dobson into the woods. This was her brother’s mess after all. Without much trouble they waded through barreling murkiness and he seemed to know where he was going--and if not he was a great deceiver. Abruptly a crackling sound emitted from the black radio, it was one of the other officers but the voice was distorted. He stopped to tap the transmitter, shaking it roughly as if that would jolt some life back into it before scanning the area with a furrowed brow. Every tree and hanging vine looked like the last and walking in a straight line seemed to prolong the inevitable. They were lost and he didn’t even need to say it.

Dez Flores.

“A killer on the loose you say? Outstanding. Perhaps they’ll make an all celebrity cast horror film of us in the future. We can look forward to that at least.” Dez said with a smirk not wavering and not looking back at Astrid’s friend Sophia. He did not stay for long or to even witness the arrival of a few more students. There were way too many things swirling around in his brain and the thought of this construction site could possibly calm his frenzied mind. What if they came across skeletons? Would the others scream and run away or would he be the first to do so and push them out of the way to sprint back to the party? The thought make Dez chuckle a bit in contemplation with only the crunching of his shoes causing background noise. Silence was never a good sign when around him and he quickly tried to adjust his ever altering personality in fear someone would call him out on it. “Anyone majoring in Geography? If we go straight we’ll eventually find something.” This conversation had failed as he ended up mainly talking to himself incidentally. His brows furrowing in intense thought as he tried to track down the exact location of this mysterious death source. It had felt like hours yet they had not been walking all too long before Dez came to an abrupt halt. “Do you feel that?” He said while casting an uncertain gaze at the forest floor. Steady vibrations could be felt suddenly as long as one did not move. They got stronger before stopping in short intervals. Something else could be barely made out through the smog, something yellow off into the distance. They were almost there but a familiar sound caused Dez’ head to shoot over to the right. Sirens, at least two sets increasing distance. “Shit.” He mumbled while patting his pockets in search of something he had lost hours ago. He was pretty sure they were just driving by this place to catch the bar hoppers but if they were stopping here all hell would topple over. The music major was relieved when the sounds dissipated. Since they were a good distance away from the castle entrance one could mistake the muted sirens as in their leave to a different place. Swiftly a realization had dawned on him that Luna could be caught in the midst of that mess. He turned his body toward the way back for a moment contemplating surrender but still heard nothing suspicious. He felt satisfied that the police had passed by and were not going to raid the party. “Let’s keep going. I think that thing over there is our landmark.” Without further hesitation Dez continued forward through layers of smog until approaching a relatively large sink hole in the broken ground. It was as if digging in this spot had disturbed the earth mysteriously. Perhaps something had wanted to be released but needed a bit of help, if that made any sense. Regardless of how this massive hole came to be the vibrations were unmistakably emitting from this exact site, precisely from that abysmal crevasse. Visibility had unexplainably become clear near the discovery and there was a probability that these pulses were somehow dissolving the thick fog. A few rusted construction machines were in view currently but luckily no decaying bodies of workers were found. “Looks like someone is there. See that faded blue light? That wouldn't be possible for a worker to still be here, do you?” Dez fearlessly or idiotically wandered close to the tunnel to peer over the slope. There wasn’t a steep decline like a roller coaster; instead it gradually slanted to the bottom. A slight jump down would be needed as the landing had somewhat crumbled but it was not terribly lofty. “Hello? Anyone?” An echo sounded but no voice returned.

[Renny]

Luca Song The moonlit trek was covered in silence, the type that was rarely broken because of the situation. A self-made tension that left most or everyone in a state of sensitivity to the world around them. He hunched his shoulders and tucked his hand even deep into his pockets, the cold was beginning to claw at him even more, though he was unsure if it was because it was literally cold or if he was just imagining it all. Even still, he found himself stepping over uprooted lumber and occasionally sliding on mushy earth. It was becoming increasingly difficult to continue with this faulty trip into the woods. What would happen when the moon was obscured by the clouds? when it no longer lit the way and forsaken everyone to the inky darkness that had stopped him before. He bet everyone would be too scared to even move, let alone know where the hell they were going. But it was along this time that a slight shivered drew his attention to the ground. Posture still hunched from the cold, he simply stared and felt the tremors vibrate from his feet to his legs. "I feel it," he agreed off to the side, crouching down and putting a hand to the ground. Thoughtfully, he looked up towards the smog veiled land infront of them, a yellow and eerie glow in its distance. "...Is-Is the tremors coming fro-" Dim sirens half-twisted him back in the direction of the group. He wondered for a second about Luna, as innocent as she seemed to be, he was curious about her reaction to them. Did she crumple down and cry? or even raise hell? he was admittedly frustrated that he had decided to come with Desmond. Stuffing his hands back into his pants, he turned back towards the once-strong tremors and sauntered on through with the others. He hadn't come that far just to give up, he was sure the others were okay.

[DELETED324324]

Logan Logan felt like a fool standing out in the open doing nothing at a party, he was about to go find something to do until a girl came over and introduced herself as Luna, she was a beautiful girl and she was seemingly very kind but Logan knew first impressions weren't all they seemed. But there was no sense in leaving her hanging. "My name's Logan, if you want to catch up with your brother I'm sure i can accomp-" He was cut short by the arrival of the cops, and that flight and fight response kicked he but he repressed it as much as he wanted to run he had nothing to hide and if he got in trouble with the law here his father wasn't going to be around to bail him out. So he had nothing better to do besides follow Luna when the police officer called for them. The police officer asked a few questions which went unanswered, at least vocally even Logan was able to follow Luna's eyes to the drugs not far off and he sighed. People certainly knew how to ruin a party and it annoyed him, he was about to talk with the officer perhaps they could work something out where he and Luna could walk off citing they knew absolutely nothing about what was going on and they were just there at the wrong moment at the wrong time but before he could even open his mouth to speak the officer told them to follow him so shortly after Luna followed the officer, Logan found his feet following them. "You alright?" Logan whispered when he caught up with Luna.

[Leviathan]

Dez Flores.

From down below a sudden noise like a rock being tossed against one of the dirt walls echoed up to Dez’ ears. That noise confirmed that someone—or something was down there and needed help. If Luna was here she would have pushed him aside to find that person and aid them right away. She was not the adventurous type but her whole attitude changed when a person needed help. In fact, Dez was the one feeling a bit hesitant now that something had answered back. He wanted to say 'thanks' to the group that followed 'but now was a good time to head back and see how the party was holding up without him.' Unfortunately he could not turn his back especially since he had wanted to explore this place so badly, to run away at this moment would truly harm his pride. “Hang on, we’re gonna get you out of there. Alright? My name’s Desmond, just hang tight.” He shouted into the clearing feeling absolutely ridiculous speaking to something he could not see but hopefully that was enough to bring some ounce of hope to the wounded. “Guess this is where we parts ways again. I won’t ask anyone to help but if you feel inclined I wont stop you.” Feet began to descend onto the waning slope as he tossed an uneasy glance to the crew. “Better make this quick. Wouldn’t want to spend the rest of the night trapped under here.” He said with a smirk before his form was enveloped by darkness and could no longer be seen. Unlike the labyrinthine forest this tunnel held no intricate paths to lose one’s way, although the low hanging ceiling made Dez hunch over a little as not to bump his head occasionally. An eerie neon blue glow became stronger the further he traversed and an odd musky odor not like that of a regular cave permeated the murky air. Moisture lingered in the atmosphere causing condensation to form on Dez’ hairline, the weather in the cavern was dreadfully sticky and congested. Regardless the determined student pressed on passing by a medium boulder that had apparently fallen from overhead. Could this have been the previous noise that drew him here? Dez felt that this trip had been pointless and was about to speak when the ground shook with strange beaming sound coming from the space ahead. A double take drew Dez into the path that veered right into a round room holding a massive transparent crystal that glowed blue. “What…is this thing?” He inquired with curiosity stepping forward to one of the crystals many points.

Luna Flores.

Worry must have been plastered all over Luna’s delicate face as the man who had arrived late asked if she was feeling alright. With a slight turn of her head his way she half smiled and nodded, whispering back. “Of course, thanks for asking…I should be used to this by now.” Luna decided that this depressing trip was better dealt without silence and tried to carry on a conversation. “I thought my brother had bad luck but I am beginning to think it’s me.” A sigh followed her last word though the kind smile remained. “I am so sorry for getting everyone involved. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. What a dumb idea.” Luna’s bronze eyes were cast down to the ground ahead as two fingers swept back a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “So, tel—“ Inquisitive words were interrupted by Mr. Dobson taking an unexpected tumble. His leg had become entangled in a loose vine and his burly body tripped landing with a thud and a crack. A wince and a blood curdling yell followed the hard fall and Luna rushed over to the pain stricken man’s side. She didn’t major in medicine but anyone could tell that his leg was broken upon inspection. Even without lifting his pant leg the impression of his knee in the wrong location gave way to a dreadful conclusion. “Logan, his leg…We need to find my brother. He’ll be able to help us get him back. Mr. Dobson.” Once again Luna’s words were interrupted by a grimacing police officer. “No, we’re all going to wait right here. “ He tried to say through agony. “Your radio doesn’t work and there are people nearby. They weren’t running away, they were curious—it’s a long story. I am not sure who’s drugs they belong to but we aren’t running either. You need help.” Luna said with persistence and somehow she managed to gain the cops trust. He knew that she was honest, something about her confirmed this thought and he remained quiet. She took this lull as a sign to move forward and looked to Logan before taking off, hoping he would follow. “Dez? Where are you?” She loudly questioned while surveying the area. Moving gradually ahead a yellow object came into view and the fog cleared miraculously. With visibility unhindered anyone could spot a large sink hole, which she suspected her brother loomed below. There was no way she was going down there without affirmation that someone was already safely within. Uncertain she gazed over to the acquaintance, wondering what he thought. “Logan, what do you think we should do?”

[DELETED324324]

Logan Logan followed Luna and the police officer, and he listened to Luna as she talked about her brother. The fog seemingly closing in on them, if this was a horror movie. He nearly lost his footing a few times as he found a patch of damp leaves, or a root, but if Luna noticed she didn't say anything, when she apologized Logan felt for her and said just a few simple words. "It's alright, you didn't know." He even chuckled a bit finding her worry about everybody else cute. Luna began to speak and he looked up at her ready to answer the question she was about to ask, but the sound of a heavy thud and a yell so loud that it actually caused Logan to jump. "Jesus christ, get it together man. Logan thought, beating himself up for the fact that he was so easy to scare, the police officer had broken a leg quickly he tried to remember what his mother told him about broken bones and he opened his mouth to say something but Luna had already left the officer. "You might want to elevate that when you get the chance." He said, and took off after the girl. As they moved through the woods Logan said nothing instead keeping close to the girl, after walking a little ways they found themselves standing near a sink hole. The fog seemingly staying away from this small section of the woods, it seemed odd and it defied explanation the yellow object also seemed odd to him. Apparently his companion was also curious as to what he thought because she asked him what they should do, so he sat there utterly frozen as he tried to find what to say and he came up with perhaps the dumbest answer ever. "We should go in, if your brother is in there we can get him out. Then we go back to help the police officer, but first." He removed his keys and pulled a Karabiner clip from his key chain and dropped it down the hole waiting to hear the sound of the metal hitting ground to tell him how far deep the hole was. "Thank you boy scouts." He thought dryly.

[Renny]

Luca Song Am I stupid? or just looking for my own destruction? He decided that he it may had been a bit of both. Normally he would had found the whole situation repulsive. He surrounded by other people and just so happened to follow another into a dark forest that led to eerie hole in the ground. The very mention of it all brought a scowl to his face. And even with his gut telling him no, he couldn't find it in himself to leave the guy. No words were spoken as he descended into the hole after him, traveling through the low earthen ceiling, and coming up behind him; the crackle of dislodge earth announced his presence. He gave Desmond a cursory glance once the beaming sound bounced against the walls. This time, he found himself curious and he walked slowly towards the sound. Once he reached the large, pointed crystal, Luca looked towards Desmond. "What, the hell is this?" he asked, taking a few steps closer towards it. Something told him not to, before he had even thought it, something had yelled to him to stop but the urge was too strong. It was like the crystal was calling out to him, the low and baritone echo that it emitted raced out the closer he got and the small roots that gripped it, arched out towards him like small fingers. So he touched the tip of the crystal and when he did, the events that happened next sent his brows high and eyes wide with fear. Visions, no memories erupted through his brain. Memories of his brother and father before the crash, air bubbles that floated below. And then his nose started to bleed, it leak out like a crack faucet. He turned to Desmond for help. "Help me, please."

[TaliPaendrag]

Zoey had tried explaining that she had a license to launch fireworks, that she hadn't imported them, and that the drugs weren't any of their's, but the events were transpiring so quickly that she had virtually no time to actually get the words in. And so she found herself following Luna, a strange boy who said his name was Logan, and Officer Dobs into the woods without saying much at all. As a matter of fact, no one really said anything at all while they were walking in the woods, the sound of the officer's radio crackling being the first sound that wasn't snapping twigs to break the silence. He looked at the radio rather worriedly as he tried to tap some life into it, and Luna didn't seem happy with how things were going either for that matter, though Zoey wasn't really sure what they were worried about. It wasn't as if they were lost. She knew exactly how they had come to enter the forest and the path that they had taken. After the tense pause, the group continued further into the woods, Luna and Logan taking up a hushed conversation. Knowing full-well that her presence probably wouldn't be welcomed nor appreciated, Zoey kept to herself and merely observed, unable to avoid hearing the occasional phrase here or there. That was how she figured that Luna had been in more than one situation that suddenly took a strange turn. It really wasn't that surprising of a revelation, however, considering how her brother was. The guy seemed like a hurricane of chaotic energy that picked everything up and threw it around haphazardly, never paying any attention to the damage it left behind. Being around that had to be emotionally, if not physically, exhausting. The duo's conversation and Zoey's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Officer Dobson, a rather burly guy, tumbling over a concealed root or vine on the ground, the sound of which was followed almost immediately by a surprisingly high-pitched shout of pain. Before anyone else could react, Luna was next to him inspecting the injured leg. Luna shortly stood up, telling Logan that they needed to find her brother so that he could help them take Officer Dobson out of the woods and to medical attention. She was then off further into the woods, Logan following quickly after giving the fallen officer a piece of advice to keep the leg up. Shaking her head at the recklessness of the other two students, Zoey took the time to thoroughly inspect the injury. Like Luna had said, the leg was definitely broken, though the true extent of the injury was hidden by his pant leg. "Sir, I'm going to need to borrow your knife to cut away some of the fabric so I can see the wound, okay?" she asked, waiting until she had permission to do so before grabbing the knife. "Don't worry about a thing. I'm certified in providing first aid." The officer seemed rather impatient with her bedside manner, however, so Zoey zipped her lip and worked quietly, sawing through the fabric of the leg quickly and carefully. Once the fabric was gone, it became evident that the injury was not as bad as it could be. There was no blood on the leg or the fabric, which meant that the break wasn't compound. That certainly would have complicated things. The leg was cleanly broken, however, which meant that there was no way he was going to fight through the pain and limp out with them. No, he would more than likely have to be carried, a feat which she didn't look forward to, as the officer was no lightweight. Still, there were some things that she could do, like help him into a more comfortable sitting position and put a makeshift splint on his leg to prevent it from moving accidentally. After the officer was as taken care of as was possible given the current circumstances, Zoey realized that the other two hadn't returned yet. Surely Luna's brother couldn't be that far away. Even if he was, however, they didn't really have the time to find him. Despite being summer, the ground and air in the woods were damp and a little chill, which would not help the officer at all. They needed to get him out of the woods as soon as possible, and there was no way that Zoey was going to be able to do that on her own. "I'll be right back, Officer," she said, looking towards where the other two had gone. "I'm going to go get the other two and bring them back here so that we can get you out of these woods and to some medical help." Without waiting for a response from the officer, Zoey journeyed deeper into the woods after the others. It didn't take long to find them, as they weren't that far off from where the officer had been injured, and Zoey arrived just in time to see Logan drop something metallic looking. The sound of the metal clinking off the ground took a lot longer than it should have for a level surface, which meant that they were probably standing on the edge of something. Coming to stand next to Luna, Zoey peered down into the sinkhole at the yellow object with a bit of curiosity, though it didn't override the need to return to the officer and begin getting him out of the woods. "Hey, guys," she said, breaking her gaze from the allure of the object and looking to Luna. "We need to get back to Officer Dobson so that we can help him out of these woods and to a hospital or something. I think we can manage it with the three of us, as his leg isn't too bad. But we have to go before the cold and damp sets in and damages the tissue even more."

[PrincessOfNothing]

Morrigan Estrella The sudden wails of police sirens propelled Morrigan further, filling her with dread. What had happened? Did somebody do something wrong? Was somebody hurt? Did she do something wrong? She always thought, or maybe just wished, she would be strong enough to be able to brave a situation when it became serious. She wanted to be able to take charge and be the hero that saves the day. But she was never able to. Whenever the going got tough, she got going...in the other direction. She panicked and ran, or cowered and hoped for it to pass and for everything to be okay. She wasn't strong enough. She was weak, weak, weak. As she went forward she began to notice the ground wobbling under her feet, slowly growing stronger, and some kind of yellow light in the distance. Now she was getting really worried. Just what was she getting herself into? Maybe even the police would be preferable to whatever awaited her and Dez's group. It didn't matter though, she had gone too far ahead to quit now. Or was she just digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole? She'd probably find out soon, if she didn't end up dying tonight. Morrigan soon caught up with Dez's group as they stood over a sinkhole, soon going into it. What were they thinking? Who knows what could be down there. She quickly went to the sinkhole, ignoring the ground shaking, and looked into the sinkhole. It was far too dark to see anything, but she could still hear Dez's group inside. She stood back up and looked around, trying to think about what should she should do. She could go after them, or wait for them to come back. That is, if they would come back... With a huff, she slipped off her heels and set them neatly next to each other at the edge of the sinkhole. She couldn't believe she was gonna crawl into some sinkhole leading to God knows where... She followed the tunnel further and further, a dim blue light growing brighter at what appeared to be the end of wherever this sinkhole led. Dez and them were probably there, but what else? Eventually she reached the end, finding a chamber holding an wildly large, blue crystal, covered with some kind of vines. She then noticed Luca reaching out towards Dez, a waterfall of blood pouring from his nose. She stepped forward to help him, but suddenly her gaze was ripped back to the crystal and her mind went blank. She had always been infatuated with gems and crystals of all kinds, but she'd never seen any kind of structure like this. Like Luca, she was drawn closer to the crystal. Her hand felt like it was magnetized to the honeycomb-like structure at the center and she gently touched it, not noticing the blood dripping down her nose.

[Leviathan]

Luna Flores.

“Mr. Dobson, he’s alright?” Luna said with a bit of relief mixed with grief. Truly she wanted to find her brother. He had been a crutch at times of trouble, a non-dependable crutch but one just the same. Dez also started that trouble she had to wiggle from but he was all she had in life. Underneath this night of chaos and bypassing the anxiety she had begun to feel some small sense of serene with Dez gone. Unfortunately, no matter where he was she was still affected by his haphazardness. Perhaps she would have to distance herself from his destructive nature and move away once and for all but that would come at a later time. Luna looked to both Logan and Zoey in silence trying to figure out which path she should take. Going back to help the officer was certainly the right way to go but they would probably fare in more trouble in the long run, and her brother had the silver tongue to get out of many a sticky situation. On the other hand she wanted to see if Dez was ok, sure she would have to follow a trail of darkness and unstable earth to find him but she would have the answer. Luna did not want to choose and upset one of the helpful students, confrontation was something she tried relentlessly to stray from but they couldn’t wait here. They needed to act fast. With a long drawn out sigh Luna nodded and began to open her mouth but a deafening noise filled the air instead, disturbing the soil beneath them, and interrupting any words she would have spoken. Collapsing underneath the three’s feet the unsteady ledge gave way causing their bodies to plummet to the bottom of the humid cavern in seconds flat. Pain immediately made itself known along her back and head but numbed at the shape hastily approaching.

Dez & Luna Flores.

Fingers tapped on the glowing crystal’s point as he tried to figure out what this could possibly be. A lost piece of history no less but even that sounded implausible. Could science explain what the group gawked at or would it remain a mystery? While in thought he yanked his hand back from the razors edge, a few droplets of blood descending to the ground only to nurture the thirsty soil. “Shit.” He winced before hearing a plea for help and his eyes looked over to Luca whose nostrils were streaming with blood, and the crystal’s luminous rays altered from soothing azure to a terrifying crimson. “Get away from it!” Dez shouted to both of the students as a crippling pain shot throughout his body, causing him to yell in agony. The space around them began to tremble as rocks began to unbind themselves detaching to fall onto the area around them. Echoing of these minerals caving in were an alarming sound to a backdrop, which was an even scarier sight before them. Dez grew overwhelmed with fear and instead of trying to help he ran stumbling out of the space to find the exit. Without words his legs propelled him away from the crystal and the students like a demon out of hell, and he never looked back.

It took a moment to compose herself, straining to collect her baring’s as weak arms tried to assist in lifting herself. “Are you two alright?“ Luna inquired while cringing slightly from the sudden headache then gasped seeing her brother with blood streaks down his shirt. His nose dripping as fear was trapped within his eyes like an animal who realizes the hunter has won. “Dez, what is going on? Where are the others?” She finally stood and took him by the shoulders to steady herself. There were so many questions but he seemed caught in a vicious nightmare, not even looking at her but through her—as if he were in another dimension. “…I—I don’t know…I” Without waiting for his hazy respond Luna sprinted forward her heart nearly beating out of her chest. Dez and left some students behind to fend for himself though she hoped he had escaped to find help but she knew that was not the true reason. She had little time to think while running down the falling corridors, the overhead ceilings were beginning to sprinkle dirt down upon her hair instead of rain. This place was going to collapse with them inside and she needed a miracle to get whoever was left out of here. Breathing heavily she saw a red glow and turned too quickly her foot sliding like on ice and she fell over to her side managing to scrape and bang her elbow hard. Adrenaline surged through her and she felt no pain at this moment. Upon standing hazel hues had to squint as the crystal was emitting such bright color. “Hello?” She yelled before covering her ears from a burst of noise the item released, hunching over from the sheer velocity and force of it. Could this object be angry? Unable to defend itself or flee it began to fight back with everything it did have? Luna was beginning to experience an ache in her eyes from staring into the light occasionally, and she could not help it. These large spiked crystal lattices were telepathically beckoning her to stay, veins inside the crystal were snaking forward wanting her to reach out and place her hand upon them. Like the effects of a strobe light she found herself at certain locations without moving, and she tore her hand away from the malicious substance trying once again to find the students. Sight grew fuzzier as she wiped her eyes, retracting smears of blood instead of salty tears. Struggling to find their bodies she feared she would become trapped down here. “Can anyone hear me?” She pleaded as a decent size chunk of wall freed itself and heavily dropped to the ground. They did not have much time to escape.

[Renny]

Luca Song "Dammit, come back!" shouted Luca as he watched Desmond run away with fear. It was tempting, the urge to flee and leave everyone behind. In fact, it was the human thing to do, the most natural reaction, so he couldn't blame Desmond at all. Even though he knew he'd find a way to. The bastard was the ring leader in all this and now he was running with all two pointed tails between his legs. Some dare devil he turned out to be. A bolt of pain raced from the top of his head to his ankles, crippling him to the floor, where he hoped the falling debris wouldn't crush him. The small cavern was filled with a crumbling clamor and chaos reigned. As he pushed through the pain, he stood and heard Luna's voice through the deafening noise. Why the hell is she here! he demanded from himself, worry tugging at a string far from the reach of his heart. He looked around at the other girl that had come. "We've got to go! like now!" he barked out, stumbling to the edge of a wall and looking out towards them. He had watched far too many people die and he was sure his survivalist guilt was pass full. If he could, he'd save as many as possible... and if he died in the process? Well, at least his brother would have some company now. The crystal was glowing a menacing red now, the sound bouncing and repeating even quicker now.

[PrincessOfNothing]

Morrigan Estrella Morrigan had not yet noticed that Desmond had left them, nor the trickle of blood from her nose turning into a waterfall. But soon the crystal had begun to feel like it was burning and freezing her hand at the same time, and she yanked it away as she began to take in her surroundings. Her hand became dull and empty as if she had lost feeling in it, and the lack of sensation began to crawl up her arm. She suddenly noticed Luca again, trembling and yelling after the absent Desmond, and Luna calling after them, and even the cold taste of copper on her lips. Finally she felt the chamber churn and crumble around them and came to the blunt realization of what was happening. Before she could even attempt to move, the crystal had become a ruby, shocking Morrigan to her knees. With every throb, blood gushed from her nose and she let out desperate whimpers as she tried to regain her composure. By now the dullness in her arm had spread to her legs, but nonetheless she helped herself to her feet. "Run...run...run...", she whispered to herself. While she had willed her empty legs to stand, an impulse she couldn't control raced to every muscle in her body and she acted. She suddenly grabbed an arm from both Luna and Luca and attempted to pull them out of the chamber. She didn't want to die tonight, nor anyone else die. Tears dripped down her face along with blood from her nose and her feet became dirty from the combination of gravel and dirt and what she hoped to God was water. With gasping growls she pulled with what little strength she had, scurrying further back into the tunnel, praying any moment now she'd find herself back at the sinkhole opening.

[TaliPaendrag]

Luna seemed to take a while thinking over whether or not to go back and save the officer from further damage to his leg or continue looking for her brother, which Zoey could kind of understand. Her brother could be injured or worse out in the woods, but he had other people with him, while Officer Dobson only had them. That seemed to be what she was thinking, as she began to nod as if agreeing with Zoey that they needed to go back and help the injured policeman. Unfortunately, the ground beneath them crumbled before they could do anything, sending the three of them sliding down into the sinkhole, covering them in dirt, scrapes, and bruises. Trying to catch her breath again, it took Zoey a few moments to get up off the ground, during which time Luna had already gotten up and run forward, her brother standing in the middle of the cavern looking... lost. Zoey quickly got up and followed, passing Luna's brother to see if there was anything she could do to help with whatever was going on. The corridors extended for quite a ways before she emerged into the same room that Luna had gone into, a large crystal casting red light along the walls. The crystal was easily one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen, and it was with a touch of surprise that she found her hand running along the smooth surface, marveling at just how smooth it was. Nothing made by the hands of man or the destructive forces of nature could ever compare. Luca shouting out of nowhere shocked Zoey out of the trance the crystal had had her in. She was surprised to see that the cavern was falling down around them, and that her nose was bleeding quite profusely. Turning her head, she saw a girl she didn't recognize trying to pull Luca and Luna out of the room, though it didn't seem like she had a whole lot of strength left. The desire to see if she could take off a section of the crystal to keep with her and study at a later date was strong, but Zoey didn't think that she would be able to do so before the cave collapsed, and so hurried to join the others in leaving, surprised to find that her legs felt like jello, which made walking harder than she had anticipated. Still, she persevered, adrenaline giving her legs the strength needed to get to the entrance of the room and down the corridors towards the exit.