ℳγsτιc Яιsιηg

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Ayer quickly gathered his things together, not liking that he had spent way too much time sleeping off the effects of last night. He still had no idea how it was that he and Zelos had been able to escape that wrath of that teacher, especially after he ad killed off two of his closest friends. 'Why bother keeping us alive? Why couldn't he just taking my life and allow the girls to live?' The thought began to strike him again but he immediately swallowed that emotion, not having time to cry about it like he had done so earlier. They were gone now and he could not do a single things about it. Besides, he was sure that he would be joining them soon enough with the way things were going now. Two again and unknown amount? He knew they didn't stand a chance unless they found the others.

Looking over to Zelos, he waved at him as he put his pack on. "Are you ready? It's not safe for us to stay here much longer. Who knows how long it'll be before the soldiers start searching through this area as well." He walked over to the door, opening it slowly in order to peek outside for any kind of danger. He was almost too scared to sleep, hearing so many footsteps along outside. There were times where he almost swore he heard someone trying to come in. But luckily, they had made it and now had to go back out again. 'A moving target is much harder to get to than those who keep still.'

Seeing that the coast was clear, he signaled to his partner for them to make a break for it now, heading out the door silently as to not alert anyone near by. Although not many people would know them right away as the student criminals everyone was looking for, he wanted to keep as much attention away from themselves as possible. If even a single person caught on to them, they could be done for. After all, they had spend the night in an area where people would do almost anything to get money or be the hero. 'I can only hope we run into someone soon. Please, just give me this...'

 

“Using magic gives our position away and exhausts us Xane, the only thing saving us is the fact they can’t sense it, it’s not sensing on the short scale but sensing on a large scale. If we get into a fight the people in the immediate vicinity will know where we are, say a patrol, eliminate them and without letting them broadcast over any form of communication then we remain hidden until they miss their next check in, but if we use our magic in a fight then everyone will know where we are, including the people trying to hunt us down.” Alastair stopped himself from continuing, he was trying to give orders when it wasn’t his place, he cleared “Look Xane, I can’t stop you from using magic but I am telling you it is a bad idea, don’t use the bombs if you don’t want to, but don’t use magic” Alastair looked to Poke and listened to what he said “We can’t worry about the other groups, though I am sure our numbers have decreased over the night the point of splitting up was to make smaller groups that could act independently of each other, at least that was my plan” Alastair said he then spoke to the group as a whole “Okay I suggest we head south out of the city and then circle around to the ruins, if by some chance the enemy have captured our allies then they could know which direction we would go, meaning we should take the most indirect way there. If they don’t know security should be spread pretty evenly throughout the city”

 

Xane sighed, knowing that Alastair didn't get what he was saying. He never said anything about using magic, but he also said that they shouldn't use the bombs either. Both of them are giant flares for them to be found and killed, and they needed to do this as discreetly as possible. If they were going to get out of the city, they had to rely on their own physical skills, without any sort of help. The police were bound to have some kind of advantage, but he couldn't risk them giving away their position. Although maybe they could use the bombs as a distraction if nothing else. He figured he should at least try and get Alastair's attention on it, since he knew this was not the greatest plan.
"Alastair, I know you like your bomb idea, but it's going to get us noticed as much as using magic. We need to use our own skills, without any magic, and without any sort of explosion. But if you're so insistent on using the bombs, it might be better to set them up at different spots and use them as a diversion. If we can set a delayed timer on them, set them wherever is best, regroup, and set the bombs off, maybe the guards will disperse into smaller groups and it won't be that hard to take care of them. We have the tools necessary to do it, and we shouldn't get rid of our chance by using bombs that are basically giving off a sign saying 'Here we are. Come and kill us now.'"
Xane wasn't the leader of the group, but they needed to act smart, and they needed to save every bit of strength for the desert. Doing so would mean using as little effort as possible to get out, and if by the slightest chance they got noticed, they would not be able to have an easy time with anything.

 

He frowned after hearing the rather harsh answer he got. Not exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to fill you with hope. Then again, Alastair wasn't that kind of guy. Always Mr. Facts-guy. He listened to the plan, and nodded to show his approval and understanding. "Got it, pretty much same. C'mon lets hurry, no time to lose."

He looked at Xane as he made his statements. "Although Xane has a point. Using the bombs as distractions would be a good idea...But a delayed timer? I don't know about you guys, but I'm not sure our weapons can cut itYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHno pun intended, I just mean we can't do it without making some noise or just failing miserably. So I'm guessing that we might have to do it by hand. Question is how the hell do we do that? Make a line using clothes then set it on fire and run the hell away, then we just wait and boom, guards go after the explosions? Then we just ninja knock-out the remaining guards and casually make our way out of the city and in to the ruins without any other deep-boiled troubles?" He said, all of it not being serious talk, although it could be a good plan. "Hey, I'd offer my clothes since I don't really have much need for them, but seriously, executing this plan might take a while...

"...Unless any one else has a better, faster and more efficient idea?" He asked, looking around at everybody. "Well, come on, it's like 5 people here. We can all come up with something better and less time-consuming, am I right? No offense, Xane, your plan's pretty good, I'm just saying that it might not all go according to the plan." He looked around, thinking that he heard something. "...Must've been my imagination..." He muttered to himself, then turned back to the group. Hopefully, no guards were around. Just in case, he rested one hand on one of the handles of his swords.

 

“You two are under the impression that these are explosive, they aren’t, they are incendiary, no loud bangs like a grenade just burning once the glass breaks” Alastair said packing up the remaining bombs “Simply light the cloth and throw Poke, once it makes impact with something it breaks and the liquid ignites and spreads, no visible smoke, no bang and no shockwave, but hit someone and you will kill them and it will also burn vehicles, unfortunately it won’t destroy them unless it hits their fuel” Alastair said putting the last one in a pack “But if you don’t want to use them fine, I will” Alastair said shouldering one pack and carrying the spare by hand. His leg was better and they seemed ready, but when Poke looked around then mumbled “...Must've been my imagination…” to himself Alastair immediately upholstered his gun, it was better to be prepared then dismiss anything, Poke seemed to have a similar idea seeing as he rested one hand on one of his sword handles “I think it’s time to go guys, go to the back door” Alastair said with caution as he went to a window to inspect the street, all the police that had been there earlier were gone.

 

Xane knew Alastair wasn't thinking clearly. Bombs were dangerous to use right now, whether they blew up in a loud bang, or if they were just incendiary. In fact, incendiary might be worse, since if they set fire of course there'd be smoke, considering that's what fire causes, and if it's used in a giant area, there's no way someone wouldn't notice. Fire gives off heat, and Xane really hoped these home-made bombs didn't give off a lot of heat. Than again, depending on what equipment the police were using, they'd be able to find them with thermal imaging. But if that were the case, that would also mean that they'd be able to use the fire to hide themselves. He didn't know if Alastair had thought of this or not, but the most it seemed like to Xane, Alastair hod plopped together a few bombs togetehr and hoped they would get them through the area.
Although, come to think of it, how the heck did Alastair know how to make Incendiary bombs in the first place? Making a bomb in general isn't exactly something you just learn to do, and making something that doesn't go "boom" seemed a lot harder to Xane. He was worried about going out at all, but then he noticed Poke said something. He listened and thought he heard something too, but he wasn't sure. If they were found, they would have been shot right away, but if they still had time, they had to get out that instant, or else they'd be sitting ducks.
"Alastair, sooner or later we're going to have a talk. There's too much about this that hasn't been thought through." He went through the door in the back and looked around, hoping he wouldn't get caught by a bullet in the head. Oh well, at least it'd be a quick death, Xane thought to himself. Not noticed anyone, he took a left and waited at the edge of a street, not wanting to get into the open, just in case they were in a trap.

 

“I maintain this is all Nadine’s fault” Sarah complained to herself as she cleaned the blade of her sword in the Everette living room that was filled with dead police sent to investigate the house, apart from the two who had been guarding the front door to the house they all showed signs of asphyxiation “What a waste” she added as she inspected the corpse of the man living in the house, she was going to torture him to get any info from him but he got caught up in her air magic when she sucked the oxygen out of everyone’s lungs and throats. It was their own fault she came asking questions, the two out front tried to stop her, she lobbed off their heads with her sword and the rest went to attack, so she wiped them out quickly before anyone could sense her magic.

She was about to leave and head back to her compatriots when she felt a release of energy not far from her “Great here we go again” she mumbled as she started walking towards the source ‘If it’s the police wasting my time I will kill them, but if it’s the students I will probably only kill a few, unless they refuse to run’ she thought to herself. As she approached police officers on patrol blocked her off, one of them saying something about it being dangerous and she should go home. He didn’t even finish speaking when the other officer suddenly drew his gun, his hand shacking as Sarah’s magical energy was released to absurd levels. The officer screamed in pain as his body moved on its own and shot his partner in the back of the head before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. Sarah’s magical energy dropped as the police officer’s dead body hit the ground and Sarah continued walking unfazed by the event, she was only three minutes from reaching the source.

 

After his pretty rude awakening due to the police's appearance, Drei had remained silent as he followed behind the others. As his mind wandered off into other places, he didn't pay the dire wolf much attention until there was talk about taking it with them and naming it. Personally he would have no problems with this since he did like animals, but this didn't seem like the right time to do something like that. Oh well, wasn't like he was going to speak out in the first place. Granted when he heard it's name, he had it's doubts. Well, it's not like anyone will suspect a wolf named Mor to be deadly. That might actually work in their favor if it turned out right. Soon they came to a stop again and Kendric gave told them what his idea was. Again it was risking, but probably the best option they had at the moment.

Hearing Ayer's words snapped him back into reality. "Yeah." That was all Zelos could manage at the moment. Right now they were potential sitting ducks and that wasn't a situation that he wanted to be in. Following behind Ayer, he started to wonder about what happened to some of the other student that were in this mess along with them. Since they'd split up, there was no way to know for sure what had happened to them. Maybe they were having better luck then they were right now?

 

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Meara had not slept at all, she was still paranoid that she was going to be shot in her sleep or something worse, and instead she took a walk around town at night. It didn't matter, she had very good night eyes due to all those years of living outside with the wolves. But she didn't realize how bad they had gotten after her very few years in light.​

She had sat on top of the roof of her friend's house and watched the sunrise and realized she had pulled an allnighter, which didn't show except in her eyes, where they were slightly red from lack of sleep. She got off the roof when the light was bright enough for her to be seen and she hid for a while.​

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Meara was upset that she had left the siblings without saying where she was going, but she felt worse for the potential betrayal she was going to commit. It didn't matter, she didn't want to die, and her animal instincts wished for life more than anything, and that was why she was going to get that stone.​

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She still didn't like the thought though.​

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Meara figured the siblings would have headed out of the city at that point, so she decided it was best for her to head that way as well. She didn't run, to avoid drawing attention, but she wasn't strolling merrily about the town. She looked around for the siblings though, and when she thought she saw one of them she walked towards them as fast as she could but didn't want to shout at them, with the fear of drawing attention to herself.​

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I'm behind you...​

 

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When they didn't find Meara in the house, Rogan considered waiting for her, but decided against it. As much as he didn't trust her, he decided it was better to leave alone than to try and keep an eye on her. They would go on to the ruins and try to warn the others, but if it came down to it, he wouldn't risk Alayah by going in blindly.
"Come on," he said to his sister. "Let's go."
"But what about Meara?" Alayah asked. "Shouldn't we wait for her?"
"We can't afford to waste any more daylight," Rogan said. "Besides, Meara knows how to look after herself." He was very careful to keep the slight bitterness out of his tone, and also the guilt he felt at his own motives. Did he care about anyone other than Alayah, after all? He couldn't blame Meara for what she planned to do, not when he would do it for the safety of his sister.
Suddenly remembering the needless deaths of the others, he felt even guiltier. True, those who died had not been friends of his, but still. Then he remembered Lucas, the member of the group he had become friends with. Was he really prepared to let Lucas die just to protect Alayah? The thought made him sick. Maybe he could manage to get Lucas away somehow... But, was picking and choosing who was to be allowed to live any worse than killing them? He couldn't risk anyone... He had to try his best to save all of them.

And if giving the teachers what they wanted was the only way to do it, he was prepared to do what he could.

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As Alayah and Rogan snuck out of the house, Alayah looked around nervously. "You know," she whispered. "It's kind of a good thing there's only two of us. Easier to not be detected."
"Just be sure not to use any magic," Rogan whispered back. "They'll be able to trace it."
Alayah nodded, making a mental note to herself to keep control. She couldn't afford having any outbursts give away their position.
They had been walking through the city for some time when, in front of her, Rogan took a half glance behind them. His eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before he turned around and began going back the way they came. Alayah turned to follow and saw Meara walking quickly towards them. "Meara!" she said quietly, smiling. "There you are! I was afraid something bad had happened to you."
"Where'd you go?" Rogan asked in concern, although there was something else in his tone Alayah almost didn't pick up on, something she couldn't quite place. There was something wrong with him, though. This was the second time she'd noticed it this morning. There was definitely something wrong.

 

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"Meara! There you are! I was afraid something bad had happened to you."​

"Where'd you go?"​

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Meara chuckled slightly and scratched the back of her head, "Sorry, I had trouble sleeping last night, I was literally just up on the roof. I lost track of time..."​

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Meara closed her eyes for a moment thinking about the promise she had made the teacher before she opened them up again, "I'm glad I found you guys though... and that you are still okay... I..." she looked around at the people walking casually within the town and continued quietly, "I don't want more people to die... what did we even do to get in this mess anyway..."​

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Meara let out a small animal-like grunt before saying, "We should keep going... the quicker we are out of town the better... I hope..."​

 

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When they finally landed on the other side, Celeste couldn't help but giggle at her friend who seemed a little (alright, a lot) startled. Him and Mor didn't exactly seem to be going on the right foot... paw... foot and paw. The shapeshifting teen hopped off from Mor and brushed the wolf's fur, she smiled "Good doggy indeed."

The group didn't have much time to talk, with the police trailing so close behind them (literally a fence away) and so they went. They hopped from one yard to the next, moving quickly and being careful not to be spotted. They didn't step foot on the streets, not once, since they were scared to make a scene and be caught by the police. Celeste had run on foot during this time, not wanting to burden the wolf and also to make sure she stayed somewhat tired so that she wouldn't shape shift. If her energy was kept low enough then perhaps she wouldn't shape shift - of course this was just a theory of hers! But it seemed to work this morning. Plus, the lack of sleep and all this running kept her energy very low.

When they had finally stopped, Celeste was panting very heavily. Her chest felt tight and her legs felt like they were made of gelatin. She checked her body, no signs of shape shifting which was good. All her running and hard work was not put to waste then! She couldn't help but smile when she noticed how normal (despite her bunny ears) she may have looked now.

"Hm. We're close but there's police on the other side. Make a run for it when you guys see the streets are clear. You can practically see the desert from here. Run and don't stop."

It felt like her breathing stopped. What. What was he talking about? She licked her dry lips and stared up at her friend. What was he talking about?

"I'll get their attention. I should be able to draw in all of the law enforcement in the area."

Was he crazy? He definitely lost it. What was he talking about?

"Don't argue with me, alright guys? I'm plenty fast to get out alive."

"What are you talking ab-"

"I'm not going to die. I'll meet up with you guys once things settle down."
'Kendric, you're crazy. What are you talking about? You're going to get yourself killed! We're not supposed to split up we have to stay together if we want to survive! Are you kidding? You're going to die! Don't you dare leave me alone! Kendric! Kendric! Kendric!!'

He was gone before she said any of this. She never even did because she was too speechless and loss of breath about everything. She just stared at where her friend had just been, mouth open and expression worried. She felt like she just lost him. Her gelatin legs gave out and she found herself on the floor. It still felt like she wasn't breathing. Her chest was still tight.

Everything was a blur from then on. She was sure her other team mates had yelled at her and urged her to move. It was Mor who actually did anything, scooped her up and put her on her back. Then, just like Kendric had ordered they were moving again. She wasn't running this time, but she was pretty sure she wasn't going to shapeshift. Not just because she was so tired, but because she felt a little bit too empty right now.

 

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"We should keep going... the quicker we are out of town the better... I hope..."
Rogan nodded, and began leading the way through town, keeping to backstreets and crowded alleys in an attempt to remain at least somewhat hidden. He wouldn't have stopped if Alayah hadn't suddenly tapped his shoulder.
He turned around. "Yes?" He asked quietly. "What is it?"
Alayah pointed into the crowd. "Those two boys," she said. "They were there, in the tunnels."
Rogan nodded, turning to walk through the crowd towards them. (Ayer and Zelos) He wasn't sure if he should involve them, but... There was strength in numbers.
He turned to Alayah, who nodded. "Hey," she said quietly, walking up and standing in front of them. "...It's Ayer, right?" She turned to Zelos. "And I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name..."

 

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Grace had listen to Kendric without a word, knowing it was basically suicide for him to be putting himself as bait just so they could get away. However, she knew quite well that they didn't have any time to think things trough, especially with everyone closing in. By now, most everyone knew who they were and what they had 'done', making her more than certain that most anyone would turn them in without a second thought. Being framed to a death of a leader, any single one of them could be worth a fairly large cash prize. The only question was if it was dead or alive. For Kendric's sake, she hoped it was alive.

She ruffled up Mor's fur a bit, watching the officers a while longer. They had to wait for a clear way through, and by the looks of it, it didn't seem like they could get away without being seen. "It's okay, buddy. We'll fine a way soon." She had no idea what he was planning but she hoped it wouldn't be much longer, seeing as they were getting closer and closer. And knowing them and the crime committed, they will be looking in any place they can. No house left unserched. But worse off, it was much more dangerous for them to be caught by any teachers. If there was a fate worse than death, that would be it. Although she didn't show it, she was feeling a bit scared and uneasy.

Yet suddenly, her senses perked up in an instant, feeling Kendric's energy flooding around. 'What does that idiot think he's doing?! That's a terrible way to cause a diversion!' She looked back to the police, seeing that they had already picked up on it. Within a matter of seconds, they rushed away from their current positions, readying themselves. 'I sure hope you know what you're doing... because you're in for it now.'

"Come on guys. While there's a free way to escape. With this commotion going on, this little gap may not last long. They'll be swarming this whole area within a matter of seconds." She patted Mor on the head, looking directly at him. "You'll watch out for us from now on, okay? Make sure those bad men don't hurt us and you'll get a treat." With that being said, she instantly dashed across to the next hidden area, urging the others to follow behind and not draw too much attention to themselves. It wasn't going to be too long until they got to the desert but they had no time to waste and a ways to go. After getting there, they would have time to think of a plan. Especially if anyone were to get caught.

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Ayer looked over to the girl, very cautious of whom was talking to him. By this point, he wasn't feeling too trusting of anyone, having a fear of being killed or anything other harm to their already small team. But it didn't take him much long to relax, realizing they were just more of his classmates joining up with them. This brought a bit of relief to him, knowing now they may have more of a chance of surviving.

"Hello! Oh how much of a joy it is to see more people like us. I was afraid that not many made it." He smiled, walking over to them but still being aware of their surroundings. With all the chaos going about, he wasn't so sure about staying here for much longer. "I seem to have forgotten your name at the moment. My apologies. My head just isn't in the right place after all that happened yesterday." He smiled an waved at Rogan and Meara before turning back toward Zelos. "It's best we travel together. Sure, more people may cause some minor issues. But I feel we'll have more of a chance if we come together."

He walked over to the street, checking around for any kind of authority figure. Even if they were noticed, they could easily get away so long as no police were around to catch them. "We should get moving. It's shouldn't be long before they do another sweep of this area. With it being morning, it'll be easier to spot any of us. We have to move fast but stealthy." He smiled, feeling deep in his heart that there was a chance again. Once they made it out of this place, they could be free and didn't have to lose anyone else.

 

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Mya quickly followed Kendric and the others through the streets, trying not to ruin or break anything as they passed from yard to yard. It was odd. As she ran, she heard nothing on the streets. No sounds of footsteps, no wheels, no voices, nothing. It was bizarre, but expected. A whole country would be shocked if their president died only to be found out that a bunch of teenagers assassinated him, which is a BLATANT LIE, but hell adults would take in anything these days.​

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Eventually, they made a stop, noticing police nearby. She knew they were gonna hit a situation like this one way or another. Looking around, she was about to suggest going around the north side since it was safer...​

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"Make a run for it when you guys see the streets are clear. You can practically see the desert from here. Run and don't stop. ​

I'll get their attention. I should be able to draw in all of the law enforcement in the area." ​

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She was about to call him crazy and call it off, but he already ran off. She cursed under her breath. "Idiot! Why does he have to act like that?!" She shook her head and sighed. "Nevertheless, he did this for a reason guys. We gotta get going!" She helped up the collapsed Shapeshifter onto Mor and ran off towards the North, where their next destination was.​

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She bit her lip. Somewhere on her body, there was a tracker. It was meant for her safety, but it could also lead to a horrible detriment. Should she tell them? Or maybe they would abandon her if she told them. She just prayed that her father had some sense on the situation at hand.​

 

A dark blue aura eclipsed Kendric’s aura as Sarah turned the final corner, she saw a house in front of her as well as one of the students, behind it was where the power had been originating but now it had jumped right in front of her. At the same time she turned the corner a police car entered the street on the opposite side, in response she raised her hand and formed a white fire ball, the temperature of the flame was so intense that metal nearby her was warped and the road directly under the ball melted. She also used her magic to stop the heat from the fire ball from affecting her since that would be counterproductive. Sarah launched the fire ball at the police car, everything it passed was affected by it, the road melted, metal warped and Kendric was lightly burned as it passed him despite there being several metres between him and the ball. The car didn’t stand a chance as it was caught in the ball and set on fire, after a few seconds the fuel in the car ignited causing it to explode. The blue aura did not vanish, the air in the street started to quickly cool down as soon as she walked calmly towards Kendric. “It is times you surrendered” she said coldly “You are hopelessly outclassed”

Alastair was at the back door ready to go, Xane had already gone out the backdoor “Alright guy le-” Alastair stopped speaking as he sensed someone somewhere release their power, soon that power was eclipsed by another power, it wasn’t far from where they were. Whoever it was they were about to throw down, hard, ‘Maybe I should go help’ Alastair thought to himself ‘No, we have to get out of the city, that is the plan.
‘These guys know the plan, you have given them information and supplies, they can get out on their own, but whoever that is could use help and if they survived that would be one more person who can escape’
The battle inside Alastair’s mind continued for a few more seconds as he clenched his fists and bit his lower lip in frustration. Eventually the battle was over Alastair made his choice “You guys go on, you know what to do” he said picked up two supply packs and he walked out of the house and towards the two raised power levels ‘This is a stupid idea’ he added to himself.

 

Xane looked around, scouting the streets as far as he could with his eyes to see if there was anyone around. It seemed a little empty, even compared to the other day. He wasn't sure whether to be thankful or scared. In the back of his head, he almost thought that the teachers might have gotten some of the police to keep them from being caught; just so they, being the teachers, could take down the students themselves.
"Nah, that's a ridiculous thought," Xane said out loud, without even thinking.
At that moment, he sensed an energy coming from his left. He didn't think any of the students would be dumb enough to give away their location, but then he thought of what they might be doing. He slammed a fist into a wall, using a little of his energy without meaning to and punched a giant hole the size of a baby into the building behind him. He was annoyed even at the thought of a student risking their life just so the rest could get away. He understood that rationally, one person wasn't as important as the whole student body, but it was also true that one person is just as important as everyone else, and there isn't a chain of importance. He wanted to go ahead and help the student, but it wouldn't be wise to leave the others behind.
Just then, he saw Alastair walk out of the house, with two of their supply bags, heading in the direction of the energy. He gritted his teeth and walked over to Alastair, with his fist clenched.
He jumped in front of Alastair and spread his arms, trying to block his way. If Xane was going to do anything to keep the rest of them alive, he felt like he needed to do this.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you planning on going to that energy? Do you even realize what might happen if you go?" His anger started to get the better of him, as he tried to keep himself from punching Alastair to the ground. "I can't protect everyone here, and they look to you like a leader. If you leave, who's going to take charge of them? Huh!?" Xane tried desperately to keep his energy from rising, so they wouldn't give away their position as well.

 

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"Hello! Oh how much of a joy it is to see more people like us. I was afraid that not many made it." Ayer smiled, walking over to them. "I seem to have forgotten your name at the moment. My apologies. My head just isn't in the right place after all that happened yesterday. It's best we travel together. Sure, more people may cause some minor issues. But I feel we'll have more of a chance if we come together. We should get moving. It's shouldn't be long before they do another sweep of this area. With it being morning, it'll be easier to spot any of us. We have to move fast but stealthy."
Alayah smiled back as Rogan nodded. "The desert's not too far from here," he said. "We'll have to be careful where we leave the city, the guards are bound to spot anything moving out in the open. But once we get far enough, we should be in the clear." Until we reach the ruins, he thought. But he was careful not to let his thoughts show as they started walking.

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"My name's Alayah Crowfest," Alayah said as they began heading for the desert. "My brother here is Rogan, and this is Meara. It's a good thing we ran into you guys. I feel much safer now that we're all together. Besides, I never pass up an opportunity to make new friends." She sobered then, remembering all the other friends she had made and lost since this whole ordeal started. It was strange that it had only been yesterday morning, It seemed like it had been months since she had sat at her desk in class, learning about Legendary and Modern Monsters, waiting for the festivities to start. How had it only been one day? So much had happened... So many people had died. So much for peace.