"LINA!" *SCREECH!!* Charlie screamed as the black car tried its best to swerve around his nominal best friend's location. Thankfully, the driver succeeded as the tires skidded across the pavement in their attempt to avoid hitting the surprised girl and possibly end her life. *SCREECH!!* Watching as the car veered off its natural course, the young boy anxiously waited for the speeding vehicle to quickly pass on by before rushing to Lina's aid. "Lina!" Charlie hurriedly exclaimed, putting both of his hands to her shoulders as he tried to pull her out of the street. "C'mon! Let's go!" The girl stood stock still, her irises wide open as if she had seen her life flash before her eyes. Her breathing was light and shallow, and she seemed to be unresponsive to anything t

"W-What?""We're here," the man announced once more as he pulled on the car's handbrake. "I take it you're going to continue your journey from here?"Lina didn't even have the chance to look surprised as the lights inside the car suddenly blared to life, her mind too stunned to register the fact that both the man and his classmate were now staring at her in rapt silence. The lies that Dio told them still rang in her head as she found herself nodding slowly at their self-appointed driver, not sure about what to do next."Do take care then," the shady businessman nonchalantly waved as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Make sure you firmly close the door, kid."Her eyes widened as she felt the nagging pressure of failure start to creep in. She had failed to get enough information to get a good read on the guy. In her mind, a web of confusion weaved its way into her mind as Lina processed the blatant lies that Dio fed to them. It was just plain wrong! It sucked that she didn't the tim

"I'm disappointed in you two." Lina wanted to scream. She wanted to yell out in pain so bad that maybe her sister would hear her all the way in the middle of Saint August. This was all her fault... This was all her fault for taking this monster's offer for her own stupid curiosity! *SMACK!* "UGHH!!" "Charlie!" It was torture. Every thrown punch on the boy felt like a thousand slaps to the face as Lina found herself crawling on the pavement, unable to do anything besides watching the carnage unfold before her. Her left arm ached like it has never ached before as she tried to force herself upright through sheer willpower; biting through the pain as her mind raced to do something to alleviate her hurting friend's situation.&n

Last night, Liz had managed to pick up a beaten and battered kid off the side of the road just as she was about to leave Saint August through the Nancaan road. Looking at the kid's uniform, she had recognized it to be from the same school that Helly currently worked at. The fact that the child was alone in the middle of the night, as well as her current state, was just too dangerous to leave alone. So she hefted the girl on the back of her bike and sped off back around and towards the nearer highway for a faster way to get home.'H-Hey, calm down...' Liz slowly mouthed to the kid, her hands instinctively gesturing in a way that denotes her general idea. 'I'm friendly.'"Wh-Where am I?!" the panicked girl asked, still clutching at the blanket as she leaned against the farthest wall away from the older woman. "A-Answer me!"The detective frowned as she realized that the girl didn't manage to read her lips. This was pretty bad for communication. She had

Liz flashed a sad smile as she subconsciously ran her hand through her neck again. In a sense, she knew that the question was coming whether she liked it or not. Children were curious, after all, and a large, pink gash over someone's neck just screamed curiosity. Even she could admit that. And it wasn't as if she won't be asking some hard-hitting questions later herself. She was more than happy to entertain the kid if it meant getting her comfortable around her presence."I had an accident a few years ago," the former police detective recounted as she put her phone down to focus on her young guest. "Got nicked in the line of duty."It was a turbulent time; being a freshly-minted detective, sniffing out a lead, her over-achieving ass getting too cocky about trying to get a promotion... If she hadn't met Heather back then, surely she would have been dead after a few days of being in the middle of hostile enemy territory with no backup. Not that she would ever say