Abby's heart sank as she exchanged a glance with Andy and realized she was about to be dragged into another mess.
Grinding her teeth, she followed the two men at a pathetic jog as they raced forward in search of Cam. God, she was not fit to be taking care of herself, much less a little girl from another world! As she struggled to keep up, a sharp pain stabbed at her sole, and suddenly, she was hopping along one foot, cursing beneath her breath. She was bleeding - not that it mattered. There would be no infections here, no pulling the wound wider. So she hobbled forward, leaving blood in her first few footsteps as she approached a loud gathering. Once she arrived at the outskirts, she realized that calling the group a 'gathering' was like comparing a marathon to a stroll. The disturbance she was staring at was like the intersection between a sacred ritual, a high school party, and a football match. And everyone was naked. Lovely.
Abby hopped back and forth, one foot after the other, craning her neck to find any of her companions. Eventually, she spotted Andy wading through a maelstrom of combatants and faring poorly. Instantly, she decided she would not be following him.
Instead, she crept through the quieter portion of the village, or whatever this odd place was. Her path took her around fences, over the mingled limbs of lovers, and within sight of a river of lava. Almost everyone was in the midst of doing something that would make a fraternity boy blush. Abby had the same reaction. Clearly, this was not the place to look for new clothing.
"Cam?" she called, raising her voice, but not shouting loudly enough to draw the ire of the fighters. She was guessing that the moaning around her was the nearest thing to 'quiet' to be found in this place. Vaguely, she wondered how much the little girl knew of intimacy before her arrival in this world. As far as she could tell, the mental scars would not heal.
Small footsteps drew Abby from her thoughts. They were light and quick, like a child's. "Cam?" she repeated, this time more loudly. But there was no response. Puzzled, Abby ventured forward, eyes wide.
Not wide enough to see the creature who emerged from the darkness hit her.
She gasped, and she was lying on her side. "Gotcha!" cried what sounded like a young boy as he scampered away.
"This isn't funny!" yelled Abby, and instantly wished she hadn't. How many more vicious little children were hiding nearby, waiting to troll her? She was in no mood to wait and find out. So, suddenly, she dashed through an alley, just barely avoiding something fast that collided with the wall in front of her.
"This place is hell," she cursed, fleeing.