tsaf loop 2: nowhere to run

It’s the next morning, and the crackling of thunder can be heard from outside.

Right now, Robbie’s sipping a cup of coffee, despite the fact that he’s honestly not much of a fan.

“Looks kinda awful out there.” Just a little bit.

That won’t dissuade them from leaving, though.

"It does." She's sipping coffee, too...

"I think it'll be good once we get out of here, though."
Alice is sitting at the table, watching the rain outside...

"...Either way... I'd rather drive in that than stay here, so." A little laugh. "No choice but to go, anyway."

“Mhm.” There’s a nod.

He’s seen the lightning a couple times by now, and ordinarily he’d probably be out on the roof attempting to watch it, but right now all he’s thinking about is how it’s going to fucking suck to drive in that.

Eh. He’ll live with it.

“We’ll find somewhere.”

"If we have to stop somewhere, we can make it somewhere public? Somewhere with witnesses." Or... something?

She doesn't know. "I think it'll be okay, though. Are you going to drive?"

"We can take turns, or something?"

“Only restaurants, or hotels or some shit?” It’s a good idea, at least. Making sure that there’s always other people around.

“We’ll take turns. I can go first.”

Sigh. “Least we have enough space to pack just about whatever shit we want.”

— Oh, hold on. That’s his phone vibrating.

”Shit.”

Slamming his coffee cup down on the table as he stands, not caring that part of it sloshed over the side.

"Yeah, exactly. Can't kill us if there's always gonna be witnesses, right?" It is a good idea. That's why she said it.

"Yeah, that's good." She started setting aside snacks and water and stuff last night.

... "What?" What happened? Is it something about Dakota?

“Mika just texted me.”

Robbie doesn’t have any idea what the fuck is going on, but he can tell that Mika’s not joking with him, hard as it is to believe.

“— I have to go get her.”

"Oh. Is she alright? What's up?"

He’s just going to let her see the texts, because he doesn’t know what else to do.

PVHS_Mika: hi okay normally i wouldn't do this but desperate times desperate measures or something like that right.

PVHS_Mika: help. weird zombie things everywhere, i had to fucking run out of the foster home before they got me because they were about to BREAK IN oh my god.

PVHS_Mika: sorry sorry okay i think i'm at [ADDRESS] if possible please help i genuinely think i'm going to die and i don't want to die LIKE THIS

PVH_Robbie: What the fuck

PVH_Robbie: If you’re fucking joking with me I’m literally going to beat the shit out of you I am absolutely not in the mood

PVH_Robbie: Hold on. I’m coming

PVHS_Mika: no im definitely not joking if i was id mention how the creatures look as gangly as you.

PVHS_Mika: terrible joke. thank you. be careful.

---

PVH_Lila: Oi. Haven't heard from you in a day, are you still fucking alive??

PVH_Robbie: Was just about to text you. Start fucking packing

PVH_Robbie: I don’t know what the fuck is going on but we need to leave. 

PVH_Robbie: I’ll come get you on my way

PVH_Lila: Wait what the fuck? What do you mean, pack?

PVH_Lila: Christ I have to get Siobhan's stuff too

PVH_Robbie: Hurry. 

PVH_Robbie: Do NOT go outside until I get there. Will probably be an hour give or take

PVH_Lila: Okay, okay, I'm going. Jeez

---

... Oh.  That's.... Not good. 

"... Do you want me to come with?" She doesn't really want to be alone. 

She's a little clingy, shut up.

He does. To be honest, he doesn’t want to let Alice out of his sight right now. But that’s selfish.

“Absolutely not.”

He can’t risk putting her in danger like that, if there really are things like that out there. If he has to get out of the truck in order to get Mika on foot. He can’t protect both of them at once.

“I’ll leave the camper here, ‘n you can finish packing it while I’m gone. Soon as I get back, we’ll go pick up Lila together and we’ll all get the fuck outta here.”

... "You're sure?" If he thinks it's that bad of an idea, she'll stay, but...

"... If that's really something that's happening, I'm kind of scared." A little laugh, like it's ridiculous to say it. But it's true.

"... I guess here's probably pretty safe, though." With the gates, and all...

"... Don't be too long, okay?"

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he admits slowly, glancing away from her. “Isn’t that obvious already?”

He’s picking up his sword — the one she gave him for Christmas — and slinging the scabbard over his shoulders. It’s a little silly, sure, but... it makes him feel safer, y’know? At least he knows how to fight with it, if it comes to that.

Turning back to face her.

“Be back as soon as possible, aye?”

"...I know. I just worry about you."

... But she'll let him go. A little smile? She's... nervous, and kinda has a bad feeling about it. But she wants to smile anyway, just... To make him feel better, or something.

"Yeah. I'll see you soon, okay? Be careful out there. If you die, I'm gonna kill you."

“If I die, you’ve got full permission to come run over my corpse with the camper as many times as you want.” He tries to laugh.

There’s a long pause, before he lets out a sigh.

...

Fuck it. Talking about it like this, them both being worried about it, it’s just making him nervous and kind of sad.

Robbie doesn’t want to admit it, but... whatever’s out there, he’s just a tiny bit scared he won’t make it back.

He’s holding his arms out. Just in case she wants to... hug him or something.

"I will." Her, too. It's easier to laugh, you know?

... Oh. Yeah. She's taking him up on that. Big, big hug. Tight.

"Promise you'll be careful. Please."

She doesn't want to think about how she's feeling, or anything. It's just upsetting.

“I promise.”

A slightly shaky exhale, as he holds her tightly in his arms.

Robbie Goodman doesn’t do this type of thing, sure, but... there’s always exceptions.

“Better promise me too. You be careful while I’m gone, ‘n if you can’t get ahold of me, you just fucking go. Can always meet up with you if it was an accident.”

She'll just... be held, for now. It's nice. Well, it'd be better if not for the circumstances, but. Look, she'll take what she can get, right now.

"I promise. And... Yeah, same here. If anything happens, don't put yourself in danger on my account. I'll be mad at you, if you do."

Reluctantly, he lets go, pulling himself away from her.

Robbie's grabbing the painted gun off the table too, tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket. Just in case.

He'll give her one of his trademark little salutes as he heads towards the front door, looking back at her before he steps outside.

" — See you soon, Alice."

Mirroring the gesture, back.

"...I'll see you." Another smile-- trying to ignore the worry forming a pit in her stomach. Please be careful.

She'll watch him go-- just to be safe. To make sure nothing happens.

In the driveway, he unhitches the camper, before getting into the driver's seat of the truck.

There's a wave, as he starts the vehicle and begins to drive away.

A little wave.

... And once his truck's out of sight, she's closing and locking the doors.

She'd better focus on putting stuff together and packing up.

What a nice sendoff!
Would be a shame if someone was way too happy about it happening, though.

God...that had taken so long. Honestly, the second she spotted a weird....thing, on her way to Alice's house, she half-expected to be dead before her arrival.

She's alive, bandaged up, and all in one piece, though!

Good thing she managed to sneak in while they were saying their goodbyes....geez....walking with a stabbed foot is so hard <<;;

She's going to inspect Alice from afar, at first, though. What a lovely day for a reunion like this!~

Alice hasn't noticed, yet.
She's emptying out the fridge and freezer. Filling up a cooler with ice, and loading in waters, sodas, etc.

She's not sure how long they'll be gone, but... Better to bring too much than not enough.

...god. Definitely a bad idea to do this in the kitchen, huh?

Dakota's semi-decent at planning, okay? She'll wait a safe distance away, hiding still.

No point in startling her before she's ready.

Probably. She's humming to herself-- it's quiet, and she hates being alone, so... It's just something to fill the empty air. Once the cooler's mostly full, she's taking the stuff that's currently in the freezer out, to try and stuff the cooler in. Keep it cold a little longer, since it might take Robbie a little.

It doesn't really fit. It's a good thing she doesn't have to worry about the energy bill, because the freezer won't exactly close like this.
Once that's done, though, she's heading into the pantry to pack up some snacks.
It's a walk-in pantry.

Come out, come out, wherever you are~

Good thing she's humming to herself, geez...otherwise sneaking up behind her would've been far harder.

She's plunging her knife info her back! Ah. That's messier than she expected, so she's pulling out her knife almost immediately! She still needs it, of course.

----FUCK.  

There's a choked noise of surprise, something like a scream that gets caught in her throat, and she does her best to pull herself away. Shit. 

How did she get in? How long has she been here? She's cornered in here, isn't she? Shit, shit, shit. 

Alice knows a little bit of self-defense, but she really isn't a fighter. She never would've been able to kill her dad, if it came down just to brute strength. 

She's-- throwing what she's holding, a box of crackers, at Dakota. Trying to distract her, or ... something? She needs to get out of here.

Oh! Ah, she's freaking out more than expected, but–hey! Her depth perception and reflexes are already bad enough, geez, no need to throw stuff at her.

Putting on her act once more after dodging the box, she puts on a cheerful smile.

"Sorry, sorry!~" It almost sounds like she's just apologising for running on stage in the middle of rehearsals, or accidentally shooting her BB gun while showing it off to someone during a club meeting. "I just needed to get your attention!"

Despite talking, she's still very much aware of her surroundings, of any sneak attacks Alice could pull. Her eyes are focused solely on her.

"For-- For what?" God, she's scared, and she's doing her best to keep a straight face, a steady tone.

Her mind is racing. How's she going to figure a way out of this? She's got-- cans, here.  One good hit on her head might be enough to get her an escape route. She's grabbing a few of them.  It's nothing compared to a knife, but...

The cans don't seem like good news, huh? That's okay, as long as she keeps an eye on Alice's arms and dodges in time, everything should be okay, right?

"....I know you prooooooooobably didn't mean to get stabbed, but you're still a bad person, so...I'm giving you a chance! I didn't give anything to Robbie, I just immediately tried to kill him, but...here."

She waves her bloodied knife around a bit, still smiling at Alice.

"I want to play a game! I gave you the name of nine demons, of the goetia, and describe one of them to you. If you get it right, you win, and I'll either leave, or let you kill me!"

Her grin turns slightly more malicious, her eyes more heartless as her grip on the knife tightens.

"However...if you don't...I'll kill you."

"... What?" That's not fair. She doesn't know anything about that.

She doesn't think Dakota means that. Even if she wins, Dakota is still probably going to kill her. But she'll go along with it, for now. ...Maybe she can get some distraction out of it.

She'll try, at least.

"I... What am I supposed to do? That's not fair."

"....guess? I'm not really sure. Life isn't really fair, honestly. You dox a few people for money and next thing you know a girl is fishing for pity points because she got stabbed because of you."

Don't think she didn't see at least some of how Alice acted when Dakota's identity was revealed was off. She wouldn't hate her as much if she knew she was completely a victim, although in her eyes, Robbie was worse. Regardless....

"Anyway, listen carefully. I'm only gonna name these once, okay?"

Her eye widened a bit, still staring at Alice. Cautious of any tricks she may be trying to pull.

"King Paimon, Duke Bathin, Count Renové, Prince Stolas, Count Viné, Duke Murmur, Marquis Andras, Count Andromalius, aaaaaaaaand King Solomon. Got that?"

"My-- My dad died, what did you expect?" Of course she'd be pissed. Well, at least, everyone would think that. 

She's... Nodding.

Paimon, Bathin, Renove, Stolas, Vine, Murmur, Andrus, Andromalius, Solomon. She can remember those, right?

She'll do her best, at least.

"What do I need to do?"

"I'm gonna name the traits of one of those, and you have to guess which one it is! Simple, right? I didn't even include all seventy-two of them!"

She's so nice!~

Anyway, she's pausing for a second, making sure Alice isn't doing anything that could set up some counterattack later, before continuing with her monologue.

"This demon technically has two titles! He presents as a lion riding a black horse and carrying a viper in his hand. He builds houses, swells rivers, and knows the past! Isn't that cool?"

Taptaptaptaptaptaptaptaptap, against her chin. Thinking.

"But which one is it?"

... "That's... It? I just have to pick a name?" She's gotta pick one. Okay...

... God, she has no fucking idea. But it's better to make a blind guess. 1/9 chance she gets it right.

She's trying to think if there's any root words associated with any of these? Like, Latin, or something? Andro- means man. Murmur is an actual word... Vine might be something to do with wine? Paimon was in a horror movie she watched one time, but she's pretty sure he looked nothing like that...

She's thinking...
"...How many guesses do I get?" She's sure it's just one, but.

Might as well try.

She put one of the fingers holding the knife up, smiling at Alice as she waved it around.

"One!~"

She shouldn't be as excited as she is, but god... this has been far more fun than trying to kill an angry Irishman.

... "Bathin?" That's her guess.

...aww, how disappointing. At least she remembered their names! Still....

"Wrong!~ Bathin looks like a man with the tail of the serpent! It was Count Viné, but at least you tried!"

Pause. She readies herself. God, dodging whatever attack Alice improvises is gonna be hard.

"Still wrong, though!~"

Thrusting her knife out, she closes the distance between them, attempting to stab Alice yet again, adrenaline making her forget the amount of wounds on her body already.

Fuck. 

She's scrambling back to try and dodge, but Dakota's close enough that Alice thinks she can just slam the corner part of this can into the side of her head.

It's dull, so it probably won't cut or anything, but she figures maybe it'll help give her some sort of distraction. So she's making an attempt to slam it as hard as she can, and then trying to slip around her, to get out of the pantry.

OW. Owowowowowowowow–

It hurts enough to make her freeze for a second, before chasing after Alice to the best of her ability, injured legs and all.

Still not far away enough for Dakota to slash her knife around, though, at least trying to cut Alice partially while chasing after her, trying to cut enough distance for another stabbing.

Should've taken Lin's pistol, but then they would've been mad at her! <<;;

Ow--She's out, though. Running on adrenaline, Alice is scrambling for a drawer, and grabbing a knife of her own. Just a kitchen knife, but-- a knife, all the same.

"I'll----I'll kill you," she says, voice low. She doesn't really want to kill her, just-- scare her enough that she'll stop. Or... Or something.

"Sure you will!" It's not like she hadn't heard that one before, with Robbie and all. It certainly looked like Robbie wanted to kill her, but did he?

Of course not. She's still here, after all. A product of his mercy.

Hang on, she's digging into her coat, for another advantage. Of course, after approaching Robbie with two guns, she figured...what would be cooler than one knife?

Two knives! One very nicely provided by snooping around Lin's house, of course.

"I'll kill you first!~"

She approaches again, trying to jab her first knife...anywhere she can, really.

Alice's slashing at Dakota's arm as it gets close.

Fuck, fuck--- shit, though, Dakota got her right in the side. She's bleeding so much, between that and her back.

"You think I won't?" She's done it once, she can do it again.

How long does it take to bleed out?
Robbie's not going to be back for a while. It might have to come down to kill or be killed.

That makes two stab wounds. Great!

Of course she's counting. It takes her a second to recoil from the slash, frowning as she noticed that Alice cut Dakota's jacket and shirt, enough to reach her arm.

Oh well. Lin would fix it!~

"I think you're a selfish coward."

Dakota's eye twitches slightly, it's not like her arm doesn't hurt now, but god, now's not the time to inspect the wound.

Time to aim for the third. She's trying to pick up speed, but her left arm is currently...incapacitated. Slightly more than the right, at least.

Another attempted stabbing! Jeez, she's not even trying to savour it...

She's backing away from that one-- Just hardly dodging.  "You're fucking insane!"

Can she run? God, she's not sure. She doesn't think so. It hurts. She's going to bleed to death. She's-- Moving to try and get a good hit on Dakota, aiming for the torso. Either the stomach, or the chest. Something that'll get her to stop.

Right in the stomach, too. Dakota recoils, hunching slightly as her left arm flies towards her stomach, wincing.

"...I've noticed."

She doesn't attempt a stab this time, rather, quickly stopping Alice's knife before she can wedge it in deeper, before attempting to knock her over, holding back an ugly grimace. She still has to look somewhat cute doing this!

Fuck--- She's on the ground. This is bad. She's going to die here, isn't she?

She's on the ground, bleeding profusely--

It's right about now that it's not survival anymore. Now it's about killing Dakota. If she's going to die here, she's going to do her best to take her with.  

Alice is grabbing onto Dakota's leg-- Stabbing it.

Fall.

Ah, fuck! 

That one hit deeper than expected, making Dakota lose her already unstable balance and fall to the ground with Alice. Immediately, she swept the hair out of her face, trying her best to stab her again, third time still.

Ow--- She got her again. 

But Alice is pushing through it, trying to clamber on top of Dakota. She's  stabbing wildly, frantically, but specifically, she's trying to get close enough that she go for the face. The eyes. Can't stab her if you can't see. Maybe she'll just put the knife through Dakota's cheek. Who knows. She just knows she won't go down without doing as much damage as she possibly can.

FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK! 

At first, it was fine, she was aware enough to dodge, but the more Alice stabbed, the harder it was to just STAY OUT OF THE KNIVE'S WAY, AND– FUCK!

Dakota grimaced, hand flying to her covered eye as she let out a strangled scream, jabbing her knife in Alice's direction while using her other hand to cover her other eye.

Oh, that was a bad one. That one was directly in her stomach. And the blood loss is starting to tire her out, now. (God, how much of this is hers, and how much is Dakota's?)

Alice is still stabbing--- wherever she can reach. Anything. She's going to die, but she'll fight it every step of the way.
She's weaker, now. It's catching up to her. God, she doesn't want to die here.

Dakota would take this as an opportunity to give out a villainous monologue, or taunt her, or do anything at all, but she's too busy trying desperately to defend herself. Her goal is to kill Alice, get the HELL out of her house, and then...fetch Lin, probably.

In between strangled screams and panicked flailing, though, she manages.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE HERE! I'M GOING TO GET OUT–" another shriek, as Alice stabbed her cheek . She pushed the knife away, trying for the fourth stab with hers. "–AND I'M GOING TO CALL LIN, TELL THEM THAT THE ZOMBIES ATTACKED ME, AND I'LL GO TO THE AUDITORIUM WITH EVERYONE!"

God, she's starting to feel like Robbie will stumble upon two corpses once he gets back.

"–AND THEY'LL ALL FEEL BAD FOR THE POOR GIRL THAT GOT ATTACKED. AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT'LL KNOW OF YOUR DEATH IS ROBBIE, AND BY THE TIME HE TELLS EVERYONE, THEY'LL ALL THINK I WAS JUST SOME INNOCENT FUCKING VICTIM!"

... This really is karma, huh? If this is how she dies, it's fitting, she guesses. It's God, or the universe, or whatever, getting her back. She'd say something, back, but she's trying to keep her strength.

She got stabbed again, but she must be going into shock, because she can't feel it. She's--- trying to keep stabbing. The neck, the chest, the face, again. Any of it. But she's getting weaker, the longer this goes on.

Fuck, her neck–

It's far less deep than all of Alice's other attempts, though....Dakota falters, for a second, before pushing Alice off harshly, sort of scrambling off as she wiped her bloodied hands on her legs, to try and pretend that was all the blood she had on her.

Her vision was getting blurry. She needed to go. At least hide somewhere where Robbie wouldn't find her body, if worst came to worst.

Before that, though. She counts the stabs on Alice's not-yet-unconscious body. Five, counting the one on her back, six.....

Seven, eight, nine, all in her torso area, and Dakota scrambles off.

Shit.  She did a lot-- she's glad for that, at least.  

But her vision's blurring, and she can feel a cold numbness starting to creep up her limbs. She's going to die. She's going to die. She's going to die. 

And her mind's racing, but at the same time, it's so slow. Time is just moving... wrong. Well, it's not time, but her brain is slowing down, with the amount of blood she's losing. 

She guesses she deserves this. She's trying to hang on-- How long until Robbie gets back?-- but she's so tired. And she knows if she falls asleep, she's going to die.  

She's so scared. She doesn't want to die. She doesn't. It's so cold, and she's all alone, and she thinks she feels tears in her eyes, but she can't tell.  

... Alice holds on, tries to stay awake, for as long as she can. But eventually, her body can't handle anymore, and the world blurs even more as she falls unconscious.

---

... But that's not the end of the story quite yet, is it? Let's go back a little, first.

Robbie Goodman has just left the Lansberry house.

He's driving, trying to focus on the road despite the world falling into decay around him. The lightning flashes, and in the rearview mirror it illuminates strange figures dotting his surroundings.

The further he goes, it takes everything in him not to turn back, not to run far away from everything and everyone in this fucking town, leaving all the bullshit behind. But he's not a coward. Not today, at least.

Hold on, Mika. He's almost there.

God. 

Honestly, even though she knows nothing of the current deaths, all Mika knows is that death is surrounding her. It started when one of the...things started breaking into her foster home, and the screams, and how Mika had to just pick up the most she could carry in her arms and get the fuck out.  

Still. She's standing on an abandoned house's porch, quietly watching the word decay as she waited to spot Robbie's car...soonish, she hoped. God, this is up there in the list of days that have terrified her the most.

After a while, the truck is visible approaching in the distance, a bright spot of color against the dull, dingy greys of the world.  

He almost misses her, torn between focusing on the road and trying to read the numbers on the mailboxes as he drives down the street — but then he spots her, thank fucking god — the truck skids to a stop, leaving black tire marks in the street.  

At least this means he doesn't have to park and go search for her, or something. He doesn't want to waste any time.  

Robbie reaches over, opening the front passenger door with a shout. 

"— Get in!"

Mika nodded, looking around at first to see if any of the things could get her before she got to Robbie's car. 

Spotting none, she pushed herself up, running towards the truck and jumping in, closing and locking the door immediately after, slumping on her seat with a sigh, taking a second to put on her seatbelt, but honestly, that's the least of her worries right now. 

She can only manage a strangled, fearful noise, trying to convey how bad it was to Robbie.

"Are you all right?" Physically, at least.

When she gets in, he lets out the breath that he's been holding in a relieved sigh, allowing himself a moment to check her over in order to make sure she's okay.

"What the fuck are those things?"

Hold on, let him fire off a quick text before he puts the truck back into gear.

PVH_Robbie: Have Mika. On my way back

There's a little whiteboard with a marker in the glove compartment if Mika needs to say anything to him, but she probably knows that much already.

–yeah, she knows. She puts her tablet down, fetching the whiteboard, scribbling on it with messy handwriting.  

none of them attacked me. i don't know what they are. they don't have a face. they're...long.  

God, even remembering them sends chills down her spine.  

we really need to get the fuck out of here.

It's easier for him to see that when he's driving, rather than the glare from the tablet screen.

"Look like an awful version of my Slenderman costume, aye?" He's trying to make a joke, an attempt to detract from the situation.

Everything just keeps getting worse, and worse, and worse, doesn't it?

" 'S the plan," he nods. "Wonderland's got my camper, she's packing it up with food 'n shit right now. We go get her, and then Lila on our way outta town."

Trying to focus on the road again. At least whatever the things are, they're staying out of the path of his headlights.

"We'll just... keep fucking going. I dunno. Hell, Wonderland's got money — could drive until we hit an airport and fly out to Galway, stay with Lila's family or some shit."

It's uncommon for him to ramble like this, really, but he's stressed and trying desperately to convince himself that everything's going to be okay.

That's fine. Mika had accepted her death long before texting Robbie, only remembering technology was even a thing after almost dropping her phone on the ground while hiding.  

the things looked better than you, though. 

No, they didn't. But she can't think of anything but banter right now. She's avoiding looking at anywhere but Robbie and the whiteboard. God....she'll freak out if they encounter another one. 

i'm gonna have to forge a passport, but that's okay. whatever it takes to get the hell out of here. maybe i'll finally let you teach me gaelige or something.

"Well, maybe other Mika died. We can just pretend you're her 'n you lost yours, sure we can get something figured out." 

This... whatever it is, that's going on... it's got to be documented, right? He hasn't even thought of checking the local news, yet, but... someone's got to be posting about this shit, right? People have to know that this is happening and it can't be happening everywhere, right? 

They'll be back at Alice's house soon enough. Just... follow the plan. 

Everything will work out. 

He's not sure what he'll do if it doesn't.

ding dong, the wicked bitch is dead. 

She doesn't actually think Other Mika is a bad person, just...the thought of being an adult scares her way too much for her to be nice to her.  

my foster parents were watching the news before the things arrived. everywhere else seems...okay. quiet, but okay. it wasn't news at all, though...just ad reels.

"Then it's just some fucked up shit here in town. 'S good. Means we can get away from it, huh? We'll be fine." 

Robbie goes quiet, turning his attention back to the road. The minutes keep passing, and it almost seems like it's never going to end. 

... Finally. There's the driveway. Turning in, aaaand... 

The front door is slightly ajar, and it makes his blood run cold.  

He barely remembers to put it in park before he jumps out of the truck, leaving the door ajar.

Mika barely notices. She leaves her tablet on the truck's seat, closing both the doors in case anything were to climb in, although..she wasn't sure if that was even possible.

Still, she followed after Robbie. Better to stay with him than to have a near-death experience....or something.

Even before stepping inside the house, though, she knows something is wrong. Maybe it's in the way Robbie's so quick to jump out, or maybe it's how she's so used to the feeling of dread that she can she can feel something bad coming from a mile away, but...

Whatever. She'll just stick with Robbie.

Suddenly, Robbie is sixteen again.  

He starts running down the length of the driveway, ignoring the pain shooting through with every other footfall, because it's like he's treading water again, like he's slogging through the chunks of ice on that cold winter night despite already knowing full well that it's far too late to get there in time. 

He knows she's not stupid enough to leave the door unlocked, he knows that.  

Still, he can't help but scream her name as he slams the door fully open, in desperate hopes she responds, just in case she's — in case she's just being an absolute fucking idiot and terrified the hell out of him for no good reason. 

" — ALICE!" 

And it hits him, that he never heard his text notifications going off during the drive back, after he'd messaged her to let her know he was on his way. 

The kitchen tiles are slick with blood and he almost slips on them as he blunders into the room, and there's so much and it's filling his vision and he can't even concentrate on anything else. 

.... And that's when he sees it. 

When he sees her.  

He's paralyzed for a moment, unable to do anything but stare — expression raw and unguarded and scared, eyes wide and jaw slack. Robbie crumples to his knees, the gun knocked out of his jacket to skid across the floor as he brings himself down to the ground.  

He pulls her body into his lap, cradling her in his arms because it's the only thing he can do. Because he's helpless and powerless and her body is still warm and yet there's nothing he can do about it as it settles in the pit of his stomach that he must have just barely been too late.

The sound he makes is inhuman, bone chilling — a wail, a howl that echoes through the room, and he fucking sobs, too wrapped up in it to even hate himself for acting this way. For caring. 

He's trying not to even look at her, rocking back and forth slightly as he stares at the kitchen wall. 

— You win, Wonderland. 

This is just the way it's always been between them, joking or not — a competition to see which one of them will end up destroying the other first. He knows that much. 

"Don't be mad at me when something happens." When she eventually does hurt him.  
"'Cause.... I'm warning you about it now." 

She's won.