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Bob lost consciousness as soon as he hit the bottom, head cracking on something and leaving him dazed.

Cee bit her lip, feeling panicked now. She looked at her skin, still too old, and at the ambling figure that looked like a guy she'd seen around the island. Thankfully she was acquainted with the concept of clones but it made her itch to fight again. There was something very wrong about them. The body dragged forward made her stomach flip and then suddenly ease.

It wasn't any of her friends it was just Bob. How easily she categorized people. She knew she was what some would call a bad person. She'd been acquainted with that since she was a kid, since she'd steal boyfriend just to watch other girls suffer, since she'd start fights over things like copying her style or haircuts. People either meant something to her or they meant nothing.

Bob meant nothing. Even as he groaned as he was dragged, as blood trickled from his head wound and his leg twisted from the fall.

Cee didn't feel the sympathy that others would say she was supposed to have. All she could think about was that he could possibly give a little bit of his life, maybe all of it, so she could get back to normal.

"Take him too.." Her fingers twitched, picking at her manicured nails with audible loud clicks. Her voice was soft, almost reticent. "He's no one to me."

It wasn't Ever's intention to throw himself after a man he'd barely known a few days, and it certainly wasn't a choice that made him follow. Instead, as Bob disappeared down the trap door, Ever simple reacted. He stumbled forward a bit to look, leaned forward because there was nothing to see and, well.

He lost his balance.

Ever at least struggled to guide the fall that followed as he tumbled down in Bob's wake.

1

"Yes, I will guide you," the horsewoman nodded with gracious dignity. Turning she began to walk around the shallow pool to one shadowed corner of the cavern. "Stay away from the waters, the purity is greatly prized." This was bullshit. "This path is a shortcut to the Mother's most favored room for the slaughter of many and many more." Also bullshit, this was her first visit and she'd entered by the same path they had. But considering Famine's general reputation, it was a good guess that every room held something that would happily kill humans.



3

There was a good chance of Ever suffering a similar fall and capture as Bob, leading him to being dragged along a minute after the other hunter. But there was also the chance of Ever managing a lucky and undetected fall, allowing him to safely observe or even disrupt Cee's decision and Bob's loss.



The student placed hands on Bob, murmuring irritably that it felt more natural when they struggled at first as the Jack clone stood watching with a vacant expression.

Ever didn't land on his head, at least, when he hit the bottom, but he also didn't exactly land well. In the best of times, he wasn't the most graceful human being, and when he was tumbling head-over-heels, he was even worse.

He hit the ground, hard, feet-first, and he heard something crunch as he went down. At least it was distracting enough that he went silent instead of crying out, breath stollen by the tumble, and maybe his collision would go unnoticed and ignored. The question, then, was just how he'd keep exploring.

He needed to sit, just for a minute, before he'd try to get up and limp his way deeper, leaning against the wall.

Quietly as well, Zeke answered. "I've had a bad feeling sense we left the base." Or rather, to be more accurate, since he woke up on the ladder that first morning.

"Let's just go with it for now."

There was no response to that chiding comment, at least not from Ezekiel. He continued on in silence, watching and listening for anything that wasn't them or the woman leading them through the maze of a lair they'd found themselves in. Lagertha was uncharacteristically quiet as well, but her disapproval over the situation was thunderous. At what point did he throw Paige over his shoulder and make for the day light again?

They couldn't leave without Ever, of course, but they didn't have any clue where he was now. Splitting up had been an awful idea.

Through narrow halls, up steep stairs. His sense of direction was lost before they'd even started, and the horsewoman spent the whole of their trek speaking of rites and traditions that seemed gruesome and archaic. Then they were at a wall, and their guide was looking back at them, direct them to prove their strength against it. For a moment Zeke just looked at her, eyes narrowed and brows drawn. Then he glanced at the wall with a loud sigh.

"Is Cee on the other side?" He was summoning his weapon even as he asked.

"Jesus ********!" Cee's hands rubbed against one another, still too old. "Why you lettin'm suffer like that, just... "

She had to get out of here. Just a bit more and she'd be good... <********> How was she gonna get out of here? Even if more people came, wouldn't this crazy b***h just kill them too?

Snap pressed upon her mind, silent and ever present and for once Cee was reassured by it.