Better Left Forgotten

*Cameron stops to help her up*

Noct stopped to help Astarte up as well, then looked at Cameron, "I've got her, just keep on going."

Taiyo: "But..."

Azuma grabs Taiyo hand and continues leading her out.

Azuma: "She'll be fine!"

*Euryale tosses a flare only for the White Monster to jump over Hector, fluttering its wings slightly. It snatches the flare out of midair & breaks it into pieces. Euryale drops the next flare & kicks it so that it darts under its legs. It hits the shadow blob & seems to burn up from invisible flames. The monster then darts towards them, snapping branches in its way & grabbing the machete. It easily forces her to the ground with her only keeping it at bay by pushing against its abdomen with both feet.*

"Help me do something about this thing!"
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*The others make it to the road, hearing the crashing & yelling behind them, the noises too loud to make out individual sounds.*

Eduj darted towards it and extended both hands towards its face, aiming to push his thumbs into its eyes as he had once been told to do against sharks.

Once at the road Noct pulls Astarte into a hug, then separates and quickly looks her over, "Are you hurt?"

Gabe collapses to her knees and begins gasping for breath, "We made it."

Sab, distraught, simply begins to weep into Aroma's shoulder.

"Is everyone alright?" Mortal asked, looking around, and checking if anyone was bleeding, or wounded. When she heard the screaming she looked back and said, "I'll go back and help them."

"You can't be serious?" Gabe said, "You heard Euryale, just stay here and wait for them."

"They might need my help," Mortal said, beginning on her way back.

*At the sight of Sab crying, Aroma clutches her tight & starts crying into her shoulder, too. Lilith dashes up & grabs Mortal's arm. With her other hand, she gestures at the assembled masses.*

L"They might need you here! That's why she told you to go! If had to leave my sister behind, I think you can wait 5 minutes!"

*Lilith's eyes, already red, begin to well up with fresh tears.*
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*It closes its eyes, treating Eduj to its coarse hair. He also stubs his thumbs. It's like its eyelids are made of rock. It then lashes out blindly with its claws, putting deep gashes in his shoulder that instantly start oozing blood & knocking him back painfully into a tree. But Euryale is able to roll out from underneath it. With one of its hands cut, she slashes down to its other shoulder with both hands, forcing it to put some distance between them. As it steps aside, the shadows can be seen thinning. Hector, or what is left of him, is pulled up by tendrils of darkness like a puppet on strings. His neck has been ripped apart, with a glint of white showing within. A bloody, dented skull obscures his left eye. Blood pours from his abdomen. Despite their broken state, his limbs twitch as though he's walking towards them. As his teeth chatter, so do Euryale's, her expression twitching between disbelief & disgust. Just as quickly as the display began, it ends with the shadows expanding until the body compresses bizarrely & is swallowed up into the original Shadow Man. Euryale is brought back to reality when the White Monster moves, so she half-swings-half-chucks one of the remaining flares in its face & runs to Eduj as it stumbles through a thicket, slashing chunks of bark off of a tree.*

E"...I don't know what that was about, but we obviously can't help! Let's go!"

Astarte took a few ragged breaths and raised her hands to her face, wiping away the streaks of tears on her cheeks and the lines of blood down her chin. She finally found her voice, "N-no, are you?"

Eduj faltered, looking from Euryale to the Shadow and back, mouth gaping slightly and eyes wild. He ran with her.

Noct let out a sigh, and gave Astarte another hug, "No, I'm fine, we're fine."

Mortal looked at Lilith and suddenly felt awful. She let out a sigh, and hung her head, "You're right. God... What is..." Before she finished her sentence she shook her head, and walked over to Sabroma, and pulled them into a hug, "We're safe now, okay, we made it."

A mixture of seeing Aroma crying too, and Mortal's encouragement calmed Sab a good measure and she was finally able to take a deep breath. She wiped her tears and hugged Aroma tightly, "Mortal's right, we're going to be fine now."

*Aroma is about to say something when Euryale & Eduj then come crashing through the undergrowth.*

L"Jesus, you 2 look terrible!"

E"We have to go! I tossed all of the flares, but it barely slowed them down!"

A"Wh--what happened to Hector?"

E"You don't want to know, just go!"

L"I'm not leaving without knowing what happened to Thiera!"

E"Yes, I know, one thing at a time!"

*She grabs Lilith's arm & pulls her along & turning in the general direction of the town. Aroma hobbles along behind, still holding Sab.*

*Cameron looks uneasily at Astarte at the news of Hector. A second later, he and Eve set off following the others*

Eve:<If she's alive, we'll find her.>

Eduj took place by Astarte's side and looked from her to Noctis and back. Astarte met him with a conflicted stare and went to speak. Eduj cut her off, "Let's go, quickly."
He pushed them forwards to run, following after.

Mortal helps Gabe up and they go along following after Sabroma.

Noct looked at Astarte after hearing the news about Hector, and held her hand tightly. Not knowing what to say when your girlfriend's brother is killed by shadow monsters, she just decides to stay practical, and pulls her along after the rest of the group.

Taiyo breaks off from Azuma to follow alongside Euryale, silently unsure of what to say or do.

E"Wait, stop! Stop! STOP!"

*It takes a while before the last few panickers, which probably includes Sabroma, hear her & finally stop running. Looking around, they're back at the bus stop. Euryale just stares back in the direction of the forest.*

L"Will you make up your damn mind?!"

E"...I think they stopped chasing us."

Gabe halted at the first stop, practically skidding to a halt, "That is a good thing, right?"

Astarte stopped and buried her head into Noct's shoulder, not looking. Eduj stood silently.

Noct wrapped her arms around Astarte in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

Azuma: "They don't just stop for good. Anytime we've had a breather, something bug follows it."

E"It's good for now. Means we can prepare. Lilith, call up Senthose, tell him to get to a computer & look up the layout of the asylum. Don't tell him why, the last thing we need is his smart remarks."

*As Lilith dials, Euryale digs out her phone, fiddles with it, then starts waving it around in front of her.*

L"What are you doing?"

E"Someone's sure to be watching us. My phone's zoom is the best I can use to look for them until we get some binoculars, or something."

*Aroma clings to Sab tightly.*

A"We're--we're not actually going back, are we?"

"Astarte has to go back," Eduj said, holding his own bloody shoulder. Astarte quivered a little, but stayed clinging to Noct. "This is too much."

"I hope not," Sab said.

Noct, still holding Astarte, furrowed her brow, and looked at Eduj, "What do you mean she has to go back?"

"Look at her. She has bitten through her lip and her knees are scraped bloody," Eduj said. "Besides, her brother told me to help her out of here before those things took him."
Astarte quivered again.

Noct stared blankly at Eduj for a second, then lit up with understanding, "Oh... I thought you meant... Well, either way, it's up to Astarte. I'm not sure separating will be a good idea anyway."

Eve:<Some of us can go back, some can stay.>