Friend of Monsters

Part 10

H- Sam awakens some time later with a groan. They're freezing and their head feels like a watermelon that got hit with a bat. They put their hands to their head, gritting their teeth against the nausea inducing dizziness that washes over them. Their hair is stiff and everything is sticky. Ugh. UGH.

Where were they?

They remember Halloween - an the raid - and Lexie - and

"Lexie!" they jolt up, almost throwing up from the motion. Eugh they're so dizzy.

It takes them a minute to piece back the fragments of their memory, sitting there, rummaging through their own mind while fighting the sickening assualt their insides are feeling.

They look over to her jacket - and they remember.

Their heart feels gripped by a vice.

C- It's the late hours of the night, near morning. Sam was left entirely alone with no trace of the hunters in sight.

Far into the night, there's howling, and the warm glow of a fire in the distance through the gaps of the trees. A lazy plume of smoke rose up into the sky. Further south, there's the school. To the north, the ruins of Autumn Ridge lays.

H- They shiver, uncomfortable and vulnerable. They gather lexies jacket and wrap it around themselves, dragging it along with them as they attempt to approach the School building. They feel stupid, but they're desperate, and afraid, and alone - and it's the closest place - and it's where they probably took Lexie.

Lexie...they have to get her back...they have to.

C- The school appears isolated. All of the windows had been covered up. Near the entrance, just a crack of light can be seen through the cracks beneath the door. A couple of cars are parked outside, but they weren't occupied.

H- Their heart twists. What if they weren't even here? What if they took her further away?

THe knock on the door, hopeful. Well, on the brightside, at least they had a good nap so their body is rested - sorta - even if each knock seers their brain like a hot iron.

C- For a while, there's no answer. Then the sound of footsteps neared the door. One of the hunters from earlier cracked the door open and saw Sam. As soon as their eyes focused on them, they immediately shut it closed and locked it. "Back off. We don't have room here." They said through the door.

H- Their worry twists to anger. They knock louder, their brain feeling like it a pinata. They gather something to say, dissect it, and fix it in that time. "I"m Warner! An Archivist for the U.L. and you *Took.My.Giant*." they seethe. "Stop being dicks and let me in!"

C- "I told you! We don't. have. room. Fuck off," the hunter snapped back.

H- "Why can't you let me in?" they demand, eyeing the windows. "I'm an *archivist* for fucks sake. Isn't that enough reason?"

C- "We don't have any way to verify that. And the one in charge says no. You're soft, and a liability,"

H- They snarl at the door, becoming impatient and eager to see Lexie. They try not to think of what they're doing to her - of how they might be hurting her.

"I'll show you soft." they mutter at the door, picking up a nearby rock and chucking it at the window.

THey reach down into their pocket for a knife, ready to fight if needed to. They didn't like the idea of hurting people, but they like the idea of the U.L. having Lexie even *less*.

C- The hunter flinched, hurrying over to the window. A trickle of light poured out of it from inside. The hunter fired his pistol outside. "I don't care if you're a fucking human. I will shoot you dead if you take another step. This is your last chance to fuck off!"