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 Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:22 am
Warning! Mild gore, mild swearing.  Sigrin had been on edge for a while now. Xie was sitting on xeir seat, trying to remember the words to an old song xie had learned when xie was a freshling. It had been a long time ago, but it had been one of xeir favorite songs. Maybe they could turn it into a rock song when this was all over. Yes. Xie could work on an opening riff—xie probably should have brought the guitar in from the carriage.
No. Xie was right to not do that. Not doing that was a good idea.
It was the broadcast. That’s what it was. No matter how much they had all tried to calm down, that damn broadcast had been lingering in their minds ever since it had started. They were trying their best to stay calm, but xie could see the four of them straining at the seams with anxiety—xeirself included. This was not a good time. This was a very bad time. Sigrin didn’t want to be here right now. Xie didn’t know where xie wanted to be, though—in what world could they be safe? Maybe if we were out at sea, xie thought. Yes. Maybe then they would be safe.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:23 am
 Xenophon had been pacing for a long time, though “pacing” was kind of a mild way to put it. Actually, he had been walking laps around the stadium. He was just too nervous. Ever since he’d listened to the broadcast, he had been unable to sit down. The implications of the broadcast were clear. The intention of this X person was clear. There was no ambiguity. The cannibals were coming for them. And they were going to eat everyone.
Xenophon shivered. Wasn’t this what the police were for? Or the military? How had these people been able to sneak around? Surely they had been followed by a trail of eaten bodies. Shouldn’t the police have caught them now? Or had they only left the scientists’ compound tonight? What had happened to the scientists? Not that Xeno thought well of these scientists, though—anyone who abused children, then abused them again because they had been abused, were terrible people. It was just that, well…being eaten alive was not a nice way to go.
He grabbed the nearest chair and did a back-flip off of it, landing near his family. He would do a hundred parkour tricks and show off the bicycle shorts under his kilt a hundred times if it meant distracting himself from the fact that that could very seen be how his family was going to “go.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:25 am
 Jurvik wasn’t happy. At all. In any way. He had been sitting here for about the last hour or so with Nkiruka on his lap. She was a little old to be sitting on laps—maybe. Was eight too old? Ten definitely was. Didn’t matter much, though, because he was holding Nkiruka on his lap and occasionally sipping from a cold cup of cocoa. That was only when he could bear to move his arms and hug her with only one hand. His eyes were closed and his face buried in her curly hair. Her hair was very curly. It was a little stiff, but it was very pretty hair. He wanted to remember everything about his family, absorb everything about them. His earlier confidence in front of his children had boiled away into despair. He was afraid for them. He was afraid for all of them. He didn’t know if they were going to be okay. He didn’t know if they would ever be able to get back home, or when this crisis would be over. It was taking a very long time.
Was anyone doing anything? Or were the police and the military and whatnot just sitting on their hands, waiting for a disaster to come? Jurvik sighed and squeezed his daughter tighter. He just wanted to be near the people he loved. He just wanted the world to consist of them and no one else.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:26 am
 Nkiruka was angry.
Not at her dad. Definitely not at her dad. Her earlier worry about her relationship with him was gone, and she was happily cuddling against him. She’d never considered herself to be a cuddler before. She’d always figured that she was too old and dignified, or just too jaded for snuggling, but snuggling felt good, especially in the current mood. Besides, snuggling Dad seemed to calm him down. When she had pulled away to go to the bathroom, he had been anxious about her. He’d almost followed her into the bathroom. It wasn’t until she pointed out that there were no cannibals in the bathroom that he had relented and left her alone. According to Xeno, it was a parent thing—when they were scared, they wanted to keep track of all their children. In spite of this, Xeno had been wandering around the stadium. Some role model he was being right now.
But Nkiruka was angry. She was angry at the scientists for being bad people and hurting kids. She knew what it was like to be hurt, to be beaten, to be harmed. She knew what it was like to be treated horribly and punished for no reason. She knew all of that. The scientists had horribly hurt these kids—right after making them in the first place! But more than them, Ruka was angry at the cannibals. She’d been hurt like they had—she’d never attacked anyone! She’d never beat up people or threatened to eat them or to destroy their world. She’d never pushed them out of their homes, away from their pets, or freaked out their parents. So why did these cannibals have to be such—jerks! They were giving abused children everywhere a bad name!
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:30 am
Sigrin picked up xeir cup of tea and sipped at it. They hadn’t had a very good selection of teas available, but they’d had some. Sigrin had opted for some lemon tea. It was sweet enough to not be a shock to the system, but tart enough to keep xem awake. Both of those would be useful. Still, Sigrin missed xeir collection of teas back home, which came in about a dozen flavors. There was much more selection, and in brands that Sigrin preferred as well. Lemon tea was well and good, but it couldn’t replace a lime-mango combination, even in a pinch.
With the tea gone, Sigrin set xeir mug back down on the bench next to them. It would be time to get another cup soon—and to visit the bathroom. A sound from behind xem made xem start—what was that?! Sigrin couldn’t even articulate what it could be, let alone what it probably was. Panic turned out to be unnecessary, though—Xenophon was back from his ramblings through the arena. Sigrin got worried when he was away. Xie wanted him to be closer. Xeno was practically a nephew to Sigrin—xie wanted him to be safe, and xie wanted him to not go wandering off. Something could happen at any second, and she didn’t want him to be far away when it happened.
Speak of the devil.
Sigrin turned and watched as a commotion started up by the door. Without warning, the doors opened and something came flying through. Sigrin leapt to xeir feet. The thing that had come out of the doors…Nine, no! “Time to go,” xie said softly.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 12:33 am
Xenophon looked up from when he had been vaulting over chairs. At the door, a crowd of police officers were gathering. They were looking nervous. People crowded around them, anxious to see what was making them so upset. An officer shouted, and the doors opened. Something that looked like a body flew through the door. A wave of bile fought its way up Xeno’s throat. It was a body. Or at least, it was most of a body. Xeno backed away from the door, even though he was at least a hundred yards from it. Hooded figures were pouring out from the doors, and the anxious murmurings that had been filling the arena suddenly turned to a cacophony of panicked screams and a roar of terrified voices all calling out.
Sigrin’s right, Xeno thought. It’s time to go! He reached down and grabbed xeir hand. Dad had already stood up. Xeno gulped. Why did everything feel like it was moving slowly? Why did everything feel so distant? Why was nothing going right? His hand was still holding Sigrin’s, as though he didn’t want to get lost in the crowd—or maybe it was to reassure xem? Either way, Sigrin was now yanking on his arm, and he was following xem through the crowd—towards the door. There’s nowhere else to run.
Why couldn’t he take this seriously? Why was he so—dazed?
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:21 am
Jurvik jerked into alertness at the sound of the doors opening. There was shouting and screaming coming from the direction of the door, but that wasn’t the worst part of it. The worst part of it came from the body that was flung from the door. Jurvik gulped. He hoped Ruka hadn’t seen that. He really, really hoped that Ruka hadn’t seen that.
That was basically the only coherent thought that Jurvik could make. There wasn’t time to make any other one. There wasn’t space. There was barely time and space enough to breathe. The shadowy figures rushed through the door, straight at the crowd. The door in front of them was the nearest exit. There was no time to run to a different one.
The only way out was through that army. Jurvik gulped, set Nkiruka on the ground, grabbed her hand, and charged forward. He couldn’t carry her. She weighed too much, he’d drop her. But he could hold her hand, and he could get her out of here, now!
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:22 am
Nkiruka turned to look at the doors when the commotion first started, so she was treated to the full sight of the body being thrown through the doors. Not a living body. Oh no. It was in pieces.
Before Ruka fully knew what was happening, her father had set her down on the ground and she was being pulled along with him—straight to the army. Nkiruka yelped. She didn’t want to go in that direction! The stupid jerks who wanted to kill everyone were in that direction! But her father pulled her, hard, and she had to follow. She still had Licorice tucked up underneath her arm. Good. She didn’t want to leave her stuffed rabbit in a place like this. Ruka pumped her legs harder to bring her up to her dad so that they could run side by side. She didn’t want to get separated from him.
Someone screamed right next to Ruka. She turned in the direction of the scream and stared, horrified, as a hooded figure sank its fangs into the person’s shoulder. Nkiruka gave a sharp cry. No! Ugh!
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:25 am
Xeno had put his hand into xeirs. Sigrin needed no second bidding—xie squeezed xeir hand tight around his and pulled him forward. Jurvik was moving forward too, with Nkiruka at his side. Good. They were together. Sigrin pulled Xeno along behind xem, trying not to think about xeir heels. They weren’t as high as the heels xie’d been wearing earlier, but they weren’t athletic shoes—if xie wasn’t careful, xie would slip and hurt xeir ankle. That was okay, though. So long as xie was paying attention to the way xie placed xeir feet, everything would be okay.
The crowd got thicker the closer they got to the door. Everyone was pushing, screaming, shoving, howling, making chaos every which way. Twice Sigrin felt someone step on xeir hair. Another time, someone kicked xem in the shin. Sigrin gasped in pain. Time for a haircut, Sigrin, my man!
Sigrin was paying attention to xeir ankles, careful to place xeir feet so that xie did not break an ankle, but that meant that xie wasn’t paying attention where xie was going…
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:26 am
At first Sigrin seemed okay, but then xie started to lag. Xenophon groaned. He didn’t like that—what was wrong? Was xie hurt, or nervous, or—whatever?
Xie had started off pulling him along, but now it was he who was pulling ahead. Maybe that wasn’t so surprising—after all, he was a Chimera. He was taller than xie was, for all that xie was twenty years older than him, and his newfound love of parkour made him much more athletic than even xie was. He probably exercised more (not that Sigrin was a slouch on the fitness department!). Several times, though, it felt like Xeno’s major advantage over xem was that he was paying attention to their surroundigns, and xie didn’t seem to be.
He had to push and steer xem so that xie didn’t run into people. He pulled xem aside and stuck out his thick tail into the path of a rushing cannibal, who tripped over it and landed on their face. Xeno didn’t stick around to see the result—he was back to running with Sigrin. Then someone screamed loudly nearby.
“NKIRUKA!!” Xenophon screamed. He hadn’t known Ruka for very long, but he knew her well enough to recognize his little sister’s voice.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:26 am
The sound of Nkiruka’s scream startled even Jurvik. He risked a glance to her. She didn’t seem to be hurt—there was no one nearby, no cannibals or freaks in hoods grabbing her. Instead, she had stopped in her tracks and was watching one of the hooded monsters rip into a Nightmare’s shoulder. Jurvik yanked her arm to pull her back to herself, and resumed his mad rush to the door. More and more people were pouring out behind them, and at this point, a small child like Nkiruka risked being trampled to death in the riot. At this point, the cannibals weren’t the only threat. Their victims were as dangerous as they were, all together in a crowd!
But he could see light through the door, they were almost through. And what was better, he heard a familiar voice rise over the crowd in response to Nkiruka’s cry. “Xenophon! Sigrin!” Jurvik barked. He didn’t want to start a conversation with them—he just wanted to let them know that everything was okay. He hoped that the tone of his shout would help alleviate their worry for Ruka and himself.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:28 am
Nkiruka couldn’t take her eyes off of the grisly scene. No matter how much she wanted to, she kept watching, all of that blood, the flaps of skin and flesh…
Dimly, she heard someone shout her name, but she dismissed it as just another sound of the crowd. When Dad yanked her arm, though, she came back to herself. She looked up at him and nodded, even if he wasn’t paying attention. Right. She had to run. She had to get out of here before that happened to her, or happened to Dad.
Oh Nine. Xenophon! And Sigrin—were they okay? Were they safe? Were they going to be fine? She hoped so. Had they been the ones screaming? She hoped they had been. As they ran, she gasped out a prayer to Oreia to protect her family. She just wanted them to be okay. She didn’t want them to get bitten. For some reason, the bites were creeping her out more than the dismembered body. Ugh—had she stepped on it? Had she waded in that person’s blood? Nkiruka wanted to close her eyes and scream, but she couldn’t—she had to get out of the doors, soon, and get out of here!
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:29 am
The sound of a small child screaming pierced the crowd, and at first, Sigrin thought nothing of it. Then Xeno screamed in response, and Sigrin’s heart plummeted in xeir chest. The scream had been Nkiruka’s scream—Jurvik’s little girl, Xeno’s little brother, the child xie had already thought of as “niece” in xeir heart. Was she okay? Was she hurt? Please let her be safe! Or may Enyo give me the strength to hunt down the b*****d that hurt her! Hadn’t she been through enough in life?!
It was as xie was worrying and praying that xie slipped in something wet. With a cry, xie sank to xeir knee as something in xeir ankle gave a hard twist. No. No, no, no, no, no—a twisted ankle? Now? Seriously?! No one was stopping for someone who had fallen in front of them—people continued to rush past xem. Feet landed in xeir back, someone jumped over xem altogether—then something hard hit Sigrin over the head. Xie gasped. Xie felt faint. Oh Nine—I don’t want to die—
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:30 am
Xeno didn’t catch his father’s response, because as soon as he’d screamed, Sigrin had fallen. The Geist had fallen to the ground, why, Xeno didn’t know, but people were not stopping for someone who had fallen to the ground, and Sigrin was not getting up—every time xie tried, someone else stepped on xem, or kicked xem, or jumped over them. Xeno growled. How could they? How dare they?! With a roar, he shoved people aside and scooped up his father’s friend. He put xeir arm over his shoulder and supported xem by the waist. Xie didn’t seem to be able to walk, but that was okay—fear for his family, frustration at being here and being defenseless, and anger at the stupidity of a panicked mob all combined to give him the strength to pick xem up in a bridal carry and carry xem out the doors of the stadium, dodging the last few cannibals as he went.
Outside stood a pair of portals. He didn’t know where they went, but he was going to find out. Still carrying Sigrin in his arms, he charged through the nearest portal.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 11:33 am
There had been no response from Xenophon, but Jurvik hadn’t been expecting one, really. Still gripping Ruka’s hand tight, he pulled her out of the doors and towards the nearest portal. He might have heard where they led on an overhead speaker or from a police officer, or maybe he hadn’t heard it at all—the point was, he had no idea where it led. It wasn’t here, though. And at times like this? That was more important than leading someone specific.
Jurvik needn’t have worried. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief as the portals led out to the familiar grounds of the Academy. It wasn’t a military fortress, it wasn’t the stronghold of a liege or a prince or a rex, it wasn’t a safety bubble. But none of that mattered. Jurvik had grown up at the Academy. He’d spent his entire childhood here, ever since he’d been awakened from the cache. He might live to be two hundred, but this school would always be home to him.
Home was a safe place.
He sank to his knees and put his hands on Ruka’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” he said. “Are you hurt? Did anyone hurt you?”
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