Waiting to Die

L"What about them?"

*She looks around.*

L"Did they seriously not follow us?! What the fuck?!"

<It's too late for them. Best to forget it & move on.>

*So she heads up after Astarte. Meanwhile, Thiera's legs tremble & she falls to the floor. Her light rolls across the floor, reflecting the irregular red stains left in her wake. Lilith immediately dives to pull her up by her arms.*

L"We don't have time, we have to get far enough away from that thing to call 1-1-2!"

Th"Cops...looking for you...."

L"We'll just have to risk it!"

*Meanwhile, they can hear banging from whatever is going on in the lab echoing down the hall.*
===========================
*Meanwhile, Astarte & Schreiber are at the back exit in no time.*

*Eve helps Lilith grab Thiera and pull her up the stairs. Tirea races after Astarte and the professor after seeing that Eve and Lilith have Thiera*

Eve:<Better the police than the shadow.>

"Now where?"

Schreiber<We won't go back to the car, Ira will be expecting that, but the police will be downtown. We'll have to go into the tunnels.>

L"Wait! Alright, now someone call the paramedics!"

*The others emerge, Lilith & Eve dragging Thiera up the stairs, her feet flopping uselessly on each step. Her head lolls to the side & her eye lids sort of half-close. An occasional groan is the only sign that she has any reaction to what's going on around her. Lilith slips on some blood on the top step & quickly grabs the railing to steady herself.*

L"Shit! We think Taiyo & Azuma are gone already, but Thiera should still be okay!"

Schreiber<She clearly is not.>

L"She will if we get her to a doctor! Hurry!"

"The doctor can't protect her, nobody can now," Astarte was exasperated, and averted any eye contact when she spoke.

*At the talk of Thiera being alright, Tirea looks down and touches her own side gingerly. The adrenaline had helped her ignore the wound up until this point. Eve continues helping Lilith up the stairs*

Eve:<Then what do you suppose we do? Leave her here or carry her with us?>

L"We are NOT going to leave her behind, she needs medical attention!"

Schreiber<I am going into the tunnels. I will not have you call emergency services and let them know where I am going. If you wish to part ways with us here, that is your decision.>

L"After everything we did to help you, you're just going to abandon us?!"

Schreiber<I'm the one who's been dragging you out of deadly situations the entire night.>

L"We put ourselves at risk distracting that beast for you!"

Schreiber<And what a fine job you did. Your sister is bleeding to death, & in the end I had to waste ammunition to prevent it from following us.>

*Lilith clenches her jaw &, after a few seconds, punches Dr. Schreiber right in the mouth. Not expecting it & not being exactly young, the doctor topples backwards, wheezing slightly. Far from feeling remorse, Lilith spits on her.*

Schreiber<...I--honestly--honestly hope-->

*She starts climbing back to her feet, grabbing on the door frame for support.*

Schreiber<That made--you feel better--because the entity--is surely coming for her. If it were my sister? I would rather she die than let It take her.>

*Eve looks between Lilith and Schreiber, then takes a deep breath*

Eve:<If...if it was me instead of Thiera, I would rather a quick death than being taken by the shadow.>

"You don't actually think she is going to give her sister a mercy killing, do you?" Astarte was even more exasperated, and was now leery of a reprisal from Lilith. "Thiera is gone, and Lilith is too. Why are we still here?"

OOC: Because it's not like the point was made that she's holding onto the railing for balance, or anything.

L"Standing right here, you treacherous bitch. Y'know, maybe we should just feed you to it."

Schreiber<You do what you want.>

*She turns & takes a few shaky steps out before her stride returns. Lilith looks back as a banging echoes down the halls.*

Astarte followed after Schreiber without another word or look.

*Eve takes a deep breath, then gently lays Thiera on the ground*

Eve:<Lilith, I'm sorry, but I think it's too late for her. I'll call the emergency services if you want me to, but I think the best thing is...>

Tirea:<I'll tell them to hold on a minute.>

*Tirea moves off after Astarte and the professor as quickly as she can*

Tirea:<Give Eve just a second to try and convince Lilith.>

*Apparently on a whim, Lilith dashes to Astarte, grabbing her in a choke hold & forcing 1 of her arms behind her back. Schreiber whirls around, but can't get a shot at Lilith without risking hitting Astarte, whom Lilith is now attempting to drag backwards after aiming a kick at 1 of her legs.*

L"Grab the gun!"

*Eve freezes in surprise, then recovers and takes a step forward, holding her hands up, palms facing forward so Schreiber won't shoot her*

Eve:<Lilith, what are you thinking?! We need to get out of here!>

*Tirea grabs the arm Lilith is using to hold choke Astarte, and tries to loosen its grip*

Tirea:<She may of acted like a real bitch a moment ago, but you can't attack her!>

Astarte threw the rigid fingers of her free hand back over her shoulder at where she assumed Lilith's eyes were.

*Astarte is unable to reach & Lilith is strong enough that her grip won't loosen.*

L"What are you doing?! I told you to grab the gun!"

*She looks back, seeing Thiera being dragged down the hall by an unseen force.*

L"Shit!"

*So she pushes Astarte away & runs off in that direction. In the meantime, sirens indicate that campus security is closing in.*

Assuming that Schreiber wasn't intending to stick around, Astarte made to follow her again.

Eve:<Wait, Lilith! You've got to come with us!>

*Tirea grabs Eve's hand, and with one last look, they run after Astarte as fast as they can*

*The last thing they see is Lilith grabbing her sister's hand & trying to drag her back toward the stairwell. Schreiber leads them to a locked grate, which again she picks, before she begins climbing down into the tunnel below. They don't go far before it begins to feel like a sweltering summer day, which from Schreiber's pen light they can see is because this tunnel is full of pipes that are undoubtedly to heat the sidewalk in case it starts to snow.*

"Do you know exactly where you mean to go?" Astarte asked in a hushed voice.

*Eve gets put her phone and texts Lilith, while Tirea continues to drag her along*

If you can read this, please get to safety. 

Schreiber<There's no reliable way to hide from the creatures, but there are a few abandoned structures not too deep in the forest that will be hard for the police to get to. I'll most likely take you to the old hydro mill.>

*As she leads them along, the tunnel becomes more cramped with pipes, forcing her to duck, step over, and in one case hug the wall and shimmy through a space. Occasionally a pipe will threateningly shoot a burst of steam out of its seams. The pen light seems to only illuminate a few feet in front of them--or behind, when Schreiber occasionally checks--with the rest of the tunnel being lost in inky blackness. Obviously, they cannot tell if they are being followed. The rhythmic banging may just be the pipes' natural melody. Eventually, Eve receives a reply.*

Fuck you.

*Eve shines her flashlight around them as they walk. She puts her phone in her pocket after seeing Lilith's text*

Eve:<Will we be able to get adequate supplies somewhere?>

"And when the monsters turn up there?"

<Either shoot or escape to another location. Same as always.>

*They are briefly illuminated by light from above as they pass another grate, but Schreiber keeps going. When the tunnel splits into different directions, she goes right.*

<If you want anything, you'll either have to risk coming back into town, or live off of the land & whatever you find at the mill.>