08-10-2014, 05:15 AM
Two, too many things were happening at once: Ella's lack of a solid location and the ghouls chasing him. Though Alex wasn't bad at multitasking, he was worried for Ella given that she wasn't outfitted with any sort of weaponry. He assumed that she didn't have a torch of her own because he couldn't see any flicker of light beyond that of his flashlight or the glimmering bodies following behind. They reminded him of glow sticks or perhaps those tacky, celestial patterns on "trendy" leggings. Fortunately for him, they slowed down due to the caltrops and had to take an alternate route in order to catch up with him.
He could still hear Ella calling his name in the distance, seeming to grow closer as he ran forward. She had to be on the same level or at least in the same cavern as him. Clamoring up a small ledge, he continued his path to avoid the monsters and slowly (but surely) find his friend. His training meant that he wasn’t winded from the chase, but he couldn’t say the same for Ella. While he didn’t doubt her monster chasing (and catching) ability, she had a knack for being caught and getting into situations where her lack of solid athleticism (besides that needed to maintain her figure) shone through.
"Don’t worry, just stay there!”
He made sure to alert her of her location as he continued the next jump-and-lunge combo onto the top of the multi-leveled cavern. As he had (mistakenly) suspected, her strangled scream meant she’d run into one of those creatures without any sort of defense or weapon. Her torch was long gone and he didn’t have the foresight to give her another flashlight to go along with it. Well, not that the flashlight was doing much for him in the first place. His run was bringing him farther from the area, but he still felt a few of the ghouls tailing him, perhaps looking to corner him. He slid himself behind a rock formation and waited for the trio of monsters to pass by him before continuing into the long passageway.
”Ella? Ella!” he whispered harshly.
He picked up his pace, quickly running his light up and down the cave until he saw a blur of motion moving past him.
”Ells!” he exclaimed, running up and grabbing her, ”I finally found you!”
Between his blatantly negligence of an extra flashlight and nearly getting caught himself, he was relieved that he found her in one piece. He let out a sigh of relief before letting go of her.
”Oh man we need to get out of here,” he said, ”I don’t think those ghouls are planning to let us leave quietly.”
As if on cue, footsteps echoed in the background as glowing outlines grew closer.
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