Cabin in the Woods

*Eve points in the direction of the disappeared light*

<There's something over that way.>
---
*Monu and Tirea grab Hector's arms*

Monu:<Did you really have to mace him?>

Tirea:<Are you alright?>

Cameron:<I don't suppose you'll tell us anymore about what' s out there.>

Hector cried out and stumbled away from the door, failing to answer Tirea. Astarte was even more horrified and instinctively reached for her knife, forgetting that Hector had borrowed it. She felt someone brush past her and yelped, but felt considerable relief at seeing that it was Eduj. He had been awoken by the commotion and was now moving rapidly to Hector's aid.
"You fucking bitch," Hector spluttered. "That hurts!"
"Don't rub your eyes," Eduj said firmly after giving Vanessa a venomous glance. "Just blink and breath normally, the effects will go away in time."

R"I'm pretty sure that's him. Let's go, before that thing recovers."

*They begin stomping off towards it, but soon find a bush. Roatha grabs a few branches & kind of pulls himself on top, spreading his weight over it to try & minimize the swaying. When he gets to the other side, he helps Thiera over.*

R"I'm so tired of these fucking shrubs."
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V"Good. If you want to kill yourself, don't drag me into it."

*The sounds outside of the door have been reduced to soft whimpering. Footsteps can be heard stalking away from the cabin.*

"You're the fucking monster," Hector said before suddenly coughing violently. Eduj started leading him away, back to their room. He stopped coughing as he was lead into the hallway and spoke again, more quietly. "I swear if we ever get back I'll press charges on that bitch."

*Eve climbs over herself*

<I'm tried of the woods in general.>
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Tirea:<There it goes......whatever it was.>

Cameron:<It was probably better we didn't let it in.>

V"Don't be stupid, of course it's still here."

*The whimpering continues for about a minute, but finally ceases.*
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*They now continue uphill. Roatha's flashlight catches a glint of a reflection & he turns toward it to reveal a deflated tire. The tire is attached to a structure that has been mostly buried & overgrown with moss & ivy.*

R"A car? That must mean we're near a road!"

*Thiera squints in the distance they came from, then in the distance past the car.*

T"Do the tree shadows look like they're moving to you?"

R"Hm? No, I don't think so."

T"Whatever, let's just keep going."

*Thiera crosses her arms, shivering. The light ahead blinks a few more times. Now it's only about 20 feet away, at the top of the hill & through some trees.*

<I sure hope that's him.>

*Eve looks is the direction Thirea was looking while she walks*
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Tirea:<Then why doesn't it just break in?>

Taiyo: "Oh...What else was I wrong about?"

Taiyo looks quite hurt, but the darkness covers it up.

Azuma: "Someone want to get him some water to flush his eyes out or should I just brain him with a flashlight into unconscioisness?"

Mimiru: "I'm liking the latter idea."

Astarte sat in the fetal position in a dark corner of the room, trying to keep herself from breaking down again. Eduj turned as he lead him away, "No. Water won't do any good. All he can do is wait."
Hector begun grumbling inaudibly to himself and Eduj continued leading him away to his room to lie down.

V"Let's open the fucking door & ask it!"
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*As they're climbing, a cloaked shape steps in front of them. Roatha smacks it upside the head with the flashlight.*

N"Ow! You fuck!"

R"Sorry, I thought you were a monster. Why is your light off? Aren't you worried about getting lost in the...woods...?"

*Roatha sweeps his flashlight across the scene & realizes that they are back on the road, about 7 feet across, with thick trees on either side.*
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*Euryale picks up on the tone of her voice.*

E"I can't tell you how sorry I am. But I swear, I tried to get rid of it. And I will get us out of here, no matter what it takes. I won't screw up again."

Eduj helped Hector into his bed and then gave him firm instructions, "Do not rub your eyes. You are obviously tempted to do so, but it won't help. All you can do to help it go away is let yourself cry to flush out your eyes."
Hector grimaced but nodded. He coughed again.
"If it feels like you are choking, don't worry, just steady your breathing as best you can," Eduj continued. "You would have ingested some of it, so that will cause discomfort as well. It shouldn't take too long for this to clear up, though. I should get you some water to drink."

Astarte continued to sit in the corner, crying.

Azuma: "Yes, let's."

Taiyo: "Okay."

Noct found herself distracted by the painting for a second, getting lost in its details. When she looked back she caught the end of Aroma's reply, "The mask does looks kinda pretty."

*Eve grins*

<It's good to see a friendly face, and the road. We actually have a chance to get home now.>
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Tirea:<Doubt it would tell us anything. It doesn't seem very talkative.>

R"We can't tonight. There's still at least 1 shadow monster still out there, & we have no idea how far we'll have to walk to get help. We should head back to the cabin, we'll have better luck in the morning, as a group."

N"I don't even know where the cabin is. Look, we've made it this far. Let's just go. If nothing else, we can say we tried."
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E"A--alright, then."

*Euryale rolls over, trying not to be upset.*
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*Uncomfortable silence.*
====================================
"We're going to see a play later."

The random change in conversation caught Noctis off guard, "Uh, cool?" She ran a hand through her hair, and said with more certainty, "That is nice. What are you going to see?"

Elsewhere Mortal was explaining that sheep weren't really that cool, unlike dragons. Gabe frowned and said, "Sheep can be cool, kind of."

<I kind of agree with Nero. We'll probably get ourselves killed trying to find the cabin again.>
---
*Tirea giggles randomly*

Hector continued to lie down, wiping his cheeks every few seconds as his eyes watered continuously. Eduj walked out and over to the kitchen to fill a can with water.

Taiyo just sits on the bed.

Taiyo: "Maybe I'm not worth the effort."

Azuma: "Wanna go check the breaker?"

Mimiru: "Yeah, whatever."

Both with flashlights in hand, head to the basememt.

*Euryale rolls back over.*

"What?"
--------------------------------------------
*Surprise, surprise, the breaker is right where they left it, nothing having changed in the basement.*
=========================
T"We might get killed out there. Besides, we can't just leave them."

N"What are we even supposed to do there?"

T"I have a first aid kit & a lantern. You have a lighter & a knife. These would all be very useful supplies to have while lost in the forest."

N"So you bind a few wounds, illuminate some hallways, & then everyone still ends up dead, either starved, or eaten by monsters. What use is that? If we can get to civilization, we can get help, & to do that, we need our supplies."
=============================
"The Winter's Tale."

Taiyo: "Instead of worrying about me and whatever I say, you can just focus on recovering."

Azuma: "Well, that's odd."

Azuma flips the breaker off then back to on.

Eduj filled a can with water and went back to the bedroom, stopping on the way to tap Astarte on the shoulder and tell her to go back to bed, which she did. When he returned to the room, he gave Hector the can, which was soon emptied.

Astarte stood alone in the room and realized that everybody she had shared the bed with was gone. They had gone out into the forest and hadn't come back. They could all be dead. She lay face-down on the bed and cried loudly.

*Nothing happens.*
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"How can I not worry? Please, just tell me what's wrong."

Eduj walked back out into the living room, leaving Hector alone at his request. He pointed at Stefan, who was still sitting on the couch and looking more pale than usual, "What happened to him?"

"What is that about?" Noct asked, "Sounds like a holiday show, or something."