Cat & Mouse

Now What?

Roxeanne and the lieutenant were trapped in their stare down for a good long while. Nadia huffed. "Will you two take a break? They lied, people died, it sucks, and it's beyond tragic but now what? We have to get out of here somehow. And brewing a hurricane amongst yourselves may not be the ideal way to figure that out." She stated simply. She hated how bitchy and uncaring it made her sound. But what could she do? At least one person needed to make it out of here so they could warn HQ and the rest of the camp about the creatures before casualties became even greater. Roxy and the lieutenant listened to her. Sneering at each other one more time before pulling away. Nadia nodded. The group sat in silence for a while. Each one pondering how they could survive this. "I think we should split up. Go in pairs in different corridors. A pair would have to find the exit eventually. Surely that would increase the chances of a couple survivors." Pax said. "We are absolutely not splitting up. That thing killed four of you in seconds. And we still don't know what those damn black serpents are capable of, all we do know is that their blood is acidic." Roxy snapped. Pax rolled his eyes. "I don't see anyone else offering up suggestions, not even you. Don't get pissed at me for trying when you nerds have done nothing and been nothing but useless this entire time. Well that's a lie, you've done a great job crying like a bunch of damn toddlers." He snapped right back. The researchers all glared at him. Nadia rubbed her temples. This was going nowhere.

"There are a few corridors that branch from here. We can go in pairs just to explore them. But don't get too far. We've got 45 minutes till the pyramid changes. If each pair picks a corridor and goes for no more than 15 minutes, then turns around, we can all meet back here. Have a sort of a huddle. Finally based on what we find we can vote the path to choose. Start down it and hope for the best." Nadia offered. It wasn't the best plan considering the pyramid would change, but it was a shot in the dark they might as well try rather than doing nothing but bickering. The group sighed, not liking the idea much more than Nadia, but they also knew it might be the only option. They all nodded. "Nadia and I will go together." Pax stated. Nadia looked at him with a raised brow. "Actually I'm going with Roxy. You and your lieutenant can go together. Only you two like you two." Nadia retorted. The researchers smiled slightly. Pax grit his teeth. Nadia smiled. After that the group parted. Nadia and Roxy made one pair, Claire and Marissa, Eli and Alec, and then the lieutenant and Pax. All pairs began down their chosen corridor.

Nadia and Roxy walked together mostly. However, Nadia made the mistake of becoming distracted by a panel in the wall. She began to walk towards it to investigate while Roxy continued forward. She felt the ground shift below her, sinking as if she stepped on a button. Before she could comprehend, the floor below her opened up. With a scream she fell inside. Roxy heard her scream and immediately ran towards her. "Nadia!" she yelled as she looked down into the darkness that engulfed her friend. Her fists clenched as silence was all that responded. "...Roxy!" she heard her friend yell back and she sighed in temporary relief. "Are you alright?" Roxy asked. "I'm alright." She called back. Roxy nodded. "Stay right there, Di. I'm going to get the others, and we will find a way to get you out of there." Roxy called one more time. But before Nadia could reply, the trapdoor closed. "NO!" both girls screamed together. Tears flowed from Roxy's eyes and she desperately began pressing everything to try to get the door to open again. But it never did. Hearing the yelling, the rest of the group ran to them. "What happened?" The lieutenant asked. "The floor opened. Nadia fell in." Roxy said through her tears, frantically continuing. "She's alone down there! We have to find out how to reach her!" The Lieutenant just shook his head. "You know damn well if she's alone she's as good as dead. If my men couldn't survive how the hell do you expect a little girl to? And this god forsaken place is about to rearrange anyway we will never find her." Roxy glared at him through her tears. "You shut the fuck up. I hope one of those things rips your spine out next." She seethed and continued searching for a way to get to Nadia.