Panic Attack

[GregTheAnti-Viking†]

((Tabi Gweneth continued from Feel A Fear))

The first step sent Tabitha Gweneth to her knees. She turned her head back to see her left foot burried under wet brown earth. She tried to fish it out, but the suction would not yield to her. A cursory glance upwards saw a ghost of a figure in the distance. She grabbed her leg and gave it a strong tug, yanking it free from it's sticky bonds.

Scrambling up to her feet she scanned the land. It was a barren marshy waste. A land that she was familiar with. This was where it all began. The place where-

Bang.

Tabi shook her head clear and looked out to Ivan. He had kept ahead of her and had somehow found a sturdy piece of land surrounded by mud and water. He was looking straight at her urging her to keep moving.

Tabi brushed aside stray hairs with a damp hand and began to move. It was a struggle to gain traction from under her. Mud clawed at her, gripping her legs to pull her down. Her legs stung as it seeped into the scratches that marked up and down her shins. She couldn't run, the most she could manage was an uncoordinated shuffle.

Once her feet reached the water she found herself able to run. She scrambled up to where Ivan stood and turned to the open distance, back to Imraan in the distance, and finally back to Ivan.

They were running out of room. It was either flee into the depths of the swamp. Or..

Her fingers flexed around the handle of the pistol that Ivan had given her. Sure she had fired it at him before, but only as a last resort to keep Ivan safe.

"Ivan-"

Was this a last resort?

Tabi pointed with her head to the distance. Not waiting for him to acknowledge what it meant, Tabi turned and ran to the distance. They had to keep to dry land. It was the only way they could lose Imraan now. She could only hope that it was possible.

[MK Kilmarnock]

(Ivan Kuznetsov, continued from Feel a Fear)

Ivan had heard about the swamp a couple of times on the announcements, but it as just another piece of background noise, something he never paid attention to in his endless struggle to stay alive. Actually being in such a rancid bit of land confirmed its existence in an all-too-potent manner.

All of his senses were assaulted by the landscape both he and Tabi now found themselves in: thick, muddy water splashed and sloshed with their urgent paces; a pungent smell rose from the muck and clawed its way into his nose; the air festered in his mouth and elicited a thankfully suppressed gag a few minutes earlier; the humidity clung to his skin like a burr woman and irritated every inch of him that was exposed to even a drop of the water; his eyes beheld nothing but what he perceived as a rotten landscape.

It all only served to remind him that this could very well be the place that he and Tabi were finally caught by their pursuer. Depending on how things went, this land just very well may be their cemetary.

No... No... Just keep running, Ivan. Don't stop, you fucking idiot.

He pulled himself away from such defeated thoughts with the help of Tabi's gesture. He nodded in acknowledgement, giving chase after the girl and letting her take point for now. It had become clear to him that Tabi wanted to stay on the bits of dry land, mostly those pocketed by roots, that punctuated the wetlands and outright swampy ponds. He squeezed his gun, if only to assure himself it was still there, and adjusted his daypack as he ran.

Imraan was still out there, and the worst of fears suggested that somebody may have to die today.

[D/N]

(Imraan Al-Hariq continued from Feel a Fear)

There was nothing. Just blackness, and then he blinked and was fully awake again and the thoughts returned in a flurry.

You've wasted ammo.

Didn't matter. One shell, a hundred shells. He wasn't keeping track.

You haven't slept in days.

Nothing. That was nothing. Sleep was nothing.

Besides, he could sleep later. He was used to it. He'd always been an active guy, he'd always been able to juggle a dozen different roles or activities or responsibilities at once, so who the heck needed to sleep? To eat? To think?

You're going to die.

Well, weren't they all? He knew that of course, he knew the path he had chosen, and he had chosen it because... because...

You're cracking up, Imraan.

That thought gave him pause.

He stopped running, and stared at the swampland stretching out before him. They were there. Somewhere.

And he could still make good.

Whose will?

The thoughts. He had to get rid of them again. They were flitting in and out of Imraan's head, bouncing off his skull and flashing before his eyes like the remnants of some choppy home movie. They were thoughts of the past and the now, thoughts of home intermingling with those of death and shotgun shells and of his current quest. They were the byproduct of anger and hate and love, of shell shock and sickness and sleep deprivation and a million other things, and they were threatening to ruin everything if he couldn't. Just. Focus.

Focus. On the line. One shot.

But the basketball team was dead. Partly his fault.

Focus. Pray. Chapter and Verse.

But GODSpeed was dead. Except for Rachel, who had become a killer. Partly his fault.

He had failed them all, but he could still make good.

Focus.

He reached out and seized upon one image, one thought, and of course it was Jessie again.

"Heh."

Of course it was Jessie. It was all so simple, and Imraan was stuck by a sudden urge to laugh at how he'd once again managed to overthink things. Then he tossed that aside and did laugh, until his laughter turned into a sudden coughing fit and Imraan doubled over, hacking. He wiped a hand across his mouth; it came away streaked with fresh blood and he wiped it off absentmindedly on his shirt.

Focus. Her will. His will.

Imraan spat, then raised his voice to the swamp.

"Hey Ivan! I know you're out there! You too Tabi!"

He readied the shotgun one more time and scanned the area, looking for any indication of his prey.

"Either of you know Jessie Anderson?"

[GregTheAnti-Viking†]

Tabi's process was slow going at best. There was no way for her to run as fast or as far as she wanted, there was too much in her way. She scrambled over the twisted knots of gruesome foliage and found herself darting to the next set, splashing through scattered pools of water while trying to avoid the brown clay that pulled her down.

Her eyes were stinging from the salty sweat pouring down her brow and despite half hearted attempts to whipe it, Tabi found herself unable to stem the tide from flowing. Damp hair swung from her heavy weights, occasionally flying up to whip her face and cling to her cheeks. Despite all that was hindering her, the urge to flee never left.

"Hey Ivan! I know you're out there! You too Tabi!"

Tabi lost concentration at the sound of her name being called, only for a moment, but enough for her to trip on a loose root. Her knees landed hard on the solid earth below her. The pain was like hitting the concrete of St.Paul's sidewalks, stinging, sharp and she was liable to end up with blood on her knees. Yet like the millions of times she had fallen while skating, adreneline had allowed her to push herself back up.

Imraan...

She scanned the land and sure enough he was standing on the outskirts, looking out for the two of them. His gun was pointed out, but it hadn't tracked onto her yet. He hadn't seen them. A sign that they should make a break for it while they were able to.

Tabi's head turned to Ivan. He had taken refuge behind the tree, using it to stop him from being shot at by Imraan's gun. His cheeks were flushed red and his green shades were starting to fog up with every breath. She noticed a red splotch on his shoulder, the shoulder with the gunshot wound from Clio. What happened to it? Did he injure it again? Did Imraan actually hit him back when they were in the felled forest? Why didn't she notice it before?

Her gaze turned to the cold metal that she was still squeezing in her right hand. This was all because she couldn't protect him. She had talked big about protecting the one she loved, at least internally. But that just ended up a terrible mess. She didn't even notice her boyfriend's pain until now. How could she call herself a protector when all she had done so far was lead him into another death trap.

There was still a way to protect him now though, she just had to shoot Imraan before they were spotted. She didn't have to kill him, she just had to make him drop his weapon or hit his leg. Then they could get away. Then she could tend to those wounds. Do something.

Tabi's right arm was shaking when she pulled the pistol up to where Imraan stood. Was it the exhaustion, the fear, or the gun in her hands that made it quake? She couldn't say. She place her left arm up to grab the pistol, using it to steady her hand. All it did was make her shake more.

Any moment now she would pull the trigger.

Any moment now...






"Either of you know Jessie Anderson?"

This made Tabi pause. Jessie Anderson, of course she knew Jessie Anderson. She was a nice girl, eager to help Tabi out with a problem if she had it in her studies. She didn't know her well as others did, but she was a popular girl. A good friend.

Then it hit her.

Wasn't Jessie? Imraan's....

Her arms began to droop, the gun loosely pointed at the dark brown clay in front of her.

She was dead wasn't she? Tabi tried to remember the announcements but by now they just ran togeather forming a loose chain of events that transpired before. She couldn't remember Jessie on the list. But by now, it was altogether likely that she was...

Imraan's head froze, causing Tabi to take a step back, nearly falling on that same tree root. She couldn't see his face in the distance, but she knew. As soon as he raised his gun she knew.

"He's spotted us! Run!"

Tabi turned away and bolted. Strategy had gone out the window now. It was just running. Only run.

She clenched her teeth together and her hands squeezed tightly. Hot tears formed in her eyes as she ran.



Some protector...

[MK Kilmarnock]

Shit..

SHIT...

SHIT!!!

There was that moment when it all clicked, and Ivan realized that they had been duped. The more human parts of him, the ones flooded with his instinct for survival, felt surges of rage at what Tabi had done. Imraan had tricked them. No, specifically, he had tricked her. She fell for it. She was getting them nearly killed, again!

These aggressive thoughts flooded his head as he was forced to run with her, away from the shotgun-toting giant. Her fault. This was her fault. If she had just been able to stay down, keep herself hidden, they wouldn't have to do this.

If she was any less human.

The true reasons for Ivan's frustration laid only one layer deeper than that. Imraan had asked not about their whereabouts, but if they knew a girl - Jessie Anderson. Ivan knew of the name, much like any other face in the hallway, or name called out over the announcements. They were all at Bayview together, and so everybody was familiar at least in passing. He couldn't have claimed to know the girl, but they were still classmates. Just children.

Imraan was just a kid, just like Ivan and Tabi.

That was the most frustrating part. Imraan seemed compassionate, refreshingly human if only for a moment. Had Tabi not been seen first, Ivan might have been the one to blow it all and answer the question.

Just... just kids...

More running, pulling Tabi some of the way and ignoring the insignificant things in life such as excruciating pain.

Kids trying to kill each other for the stupidest reasons imaginable.

There was a log up in the distance. In actuality, it was more akin to a fallen tree, one who's roots could no longer be supported by the wet and muddy land and had been pulled up by the tree's own weight. The roots around the tree's befallen base stretched out and up like some sort of many-fingered hand, a skeletal hand with tendrils grasping at nothing but air.

In preparation to vault over the obstacle, as stepping over it wasn't an option with his somewhat short stature, Ivan allowed his right hand to hold the gun and did his best to remain steady with the pack jostled back and forth by his gait. Fifteen feet... ten... his breath picked up as the distance closed in. Then, as his left hand planted and his legs kicked over, his lungs were filled and held the air inside until his feet hit ground again. He could've jumped over, or perhaps climbed, but they could not risk any loss of speed.

His next steps were careful ones; the ground just beyond the fallen tree had regressed into a sizeable puddle, and one whos muddy water hid just how deep it might have been. The Russian snapped his head around to try and catch a glimspe of Tabi, and maybe even their pursuer. He could only gesture to her, not daring to call out to her lest he reveal their position to Imraan any more than the fiend was already tracking them down.

Tabi had to make it. They had to be safe.

[D/N]

Silence. Imraan hadn't expected an answer, of course.

So, in the absence of any response from them, he continued.

"I'll tell you about Jessie, in case y'all didn't know. Hockey player. Redhead. Believer. What can I say? I never..."

Never had a better friend...

NO. He squeezed his eyes shut, and realized the foolishness of that almost instantly. They could be getting the drop on him.

He was only talking to distract them, after all. And to let them know why they had to die.

"She died. Peter Siu killed her. No reason at all. I saw it."

As he talked he moved forward, surveying the area. If only his eyes weren't so bleary, he'd be able to see them better and... no. No more excuses. Act, or be lost forever.

"Jessie thought we could beat this thing. You know what? She wasn't wrong."

The swamp air was rank, heavy with moisture. Imraan tried to pay no notice. He didn't take his eyes off the swampland ahead of him, didn't look down, simply put each foot forward with deliberation and trusted they'd find solid enough ground.

"She wasn't wrong, you hear me! We could've! But no, but no--"

He spotted movement, off to his right, That was it. That had to be it. He raised his voice.

"But people like you just had to kill, didn't they?"

They had to, and now he had to. Now he had to. Now he...

God forgi--

He..

Then he saw the girl break for it, not to his right, but the left. He saw Tabitha running, and all doubt left him again. There was only the will. She ran deeper into the swamp, and Imraan pursued her, readying the shotgun to shoot on the run.

[GregTheAnti-Viking†]

It had only taken a few seconds for Ivan to overtake her and was now leading them forward yet again. Tabi fell in line just behind him, making sure not to stray from the path that he had taken. The ground was solid, or at least solid enough for them to travel without being bogged down. She found herself haphazardly stepping in small puddles sending splashes of dirty water up to her legs. The water stung seeping into the small scrapes and cuts from the felled forest. But she still pressed onwards.

I'm a fool...

Those words kept repeating in her head like an everpresent echo that wouldn't leave her. She had a chance to stop all this running. Stop Imraan from killing Ivan. Stop him from killing her. And she didn't take it. She couldn't take it, even after summoning the courage to break Ivan out of the house back on the other side of the island, she couldn't pull the trigger.

Now, as she took a glance behind her, he was gaining on the two of them. At least, it appeared that way to her. She turned her head back and hoped that it was just her mind playing tricks with her. She found the outstreched hand of Ivan Kuznetsov waiting for her and without a reply she clutched it with as much might as she could muster.

In spite of everything that had happened, all the mistakes she had made and times that she had almost killed them both, Ivan was there. On one hand it relieved Tabi that he was able to tolerate all that had happened so far, since the time they met on the island they had been through hell and so far, made it out alive. On the other hand, it hurt her knowing what she had been throughout it all. A damsel, nothing more, nothing less. Even the times when she had stood up and saved Ivan. It was because she had gotten into a comprimising situation, a moment of vulnerability that Ivan rushed into to stop her from dying. And here she was again. A damsel, being rescued by the prince. Contributing nothing in return.

Tabi's heart pounded in time with the steps. The feeling of the someone persuing her, looking to end her life brought renewed haste to her body. Despite exhaustion and the pain in her legs, she was urged forwards. She didn't want to die.

A gaze upwards revealed a log up ahead. Ivan had let go of Tabi's hand and ran straight towards it. Against better judgement, she turned her head back looking for where Imraan was.

He had gained considerable ground. Was it luck that he had made it this far? No. He had followed their path.step for step. He just had more reserves stored inside. She couldn't quite make it out, but it looked like he was getting ready to aim. She screamed a wordless cry and turned her head back. Ivan had just jumped the log and continued his flight.

She was running out of space. Another rapid glance. She was running out of time.

Tabi leaped...






Her foot caught the top of the log...






She screamed as she hit the mud...







A searing pain hit her eyes, all she could see was black. She closed them as quick as she could but the pain remained. Her open mouth had filled up with the foul taste of clay and water. The same water filled up her nostrils. Air, she needed air! Her hands felt around in the marshy land, seeking solid ground to pull her up. She eventually rose her head up and proceeded to hack up the putrid cocktail that had invaded her mouth. Her nose felt like if she was still underwater and she struggled to get breath from it. Tabi opened her eyes, revealing light, but mostly a muddy haze. She couldn't see Ivan. She couldn't see Imraan. She could barely see her own mud coated hand. She wiped at her eyes, but it yielded nothing in return. The gun that she had in her hand was lost, but at this point it didn't matter. She needed to find Ivan.

The clay clung at her, keeping her low to the ground. Tabi could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, whether it was because of the pain or the fear she did not know. She flopped up and down like a breached whale to free herself. Her knees found solid ground and with an effort she got to her feet. Her brain told her to run, but to where she didn't know. She just ran ahead.

Three steps later she found herself on the ground again. She blinked rapidly, trying to grant herself vision again. It was becoming clearer, but it was still a messy blur.

Tabi crawled forward on her hands and knees. Imraan would be shooting her at any moment. She was going to die.

"Ivan!"

[MK Kilmarnock]

He had heard this cry before. The cry of anguish, of helplessness and defeat. The fact that such feelings were held synonymous with his companion, much to his own chagrin, had come up before. It had been brought up past their moments of crisis, and he did his best to assure her that she was of use, that she was of value. All the while, she had pulled in the other direction, felt she was worthless and nothing but a burden because she got into trouble.

Now, the cry only said one thing to Ivan, and it said it as clear as pain: Tabi is in trouble. Save her.

His shoulders locked up when he had first heard it, wrenching himself around to face the girl that was behind him. Tabi had not made the leap over the log, and now looked to be in no shape to even stand, let alone run for her life. The pits of Ivan's stomach welled up in despair.

What do I do what do I do what do I do shit shit SHIT

His jaw slackened, rising and falling with his panting. He ached, he was tired, ready to fall. He couldn't run anymore. He couldn't run even if he wanted to abandon Tabi, and that was certainly an impossiblity by itself. They stuck together. They were both alive this long because neither of them left the other, no matter what happened. They had both been in trouble... they both needed saving.

Imraan was now in view, and Ivan prayed for a savior as his gun raised.

Everything ached and resisted his intentions. The pistol's already-solid weight felt like an entire world in his hand, and so his right hand clasped his left to steady himself. The enigmatic giant, shaded by the deathly canopy of the swamp, had his weapon raised. Ivan's pistol tried to zero in on Imraan. The shotgun had probably found a way to hit of them.

Pull the trigger. End it now.

No... go away...

GO AWAY...

Imraan hadn't fired. Ivan's vision shook, distorted in his fatigue, but he thought he saw fear in the other boy's face. He saw fear in the relentless pursuer, the implacable hunter who sought their deaths. One was just as afraid as the other, brought to the end of their rope by a situation that was cruelly thrust upon them. And yet Imraan did not fire his weapon, nor did he turn away.

A glimpse of motion from Tabi in the corner of his eye gave Ivan the motivation to pass his decision... his ultimatum. The trigger finger pulled back against a tremendous amount of resistance, and his wrists quaked from the weapon's explosion.

He did not want to see Imraan fall. He did not have enough time to watch it. Ivan only had the focus to lower his weapon, release his left hand from the grip, and snatch up Tabi's wrists to pull her from the muck.

He forced out a dry and croaking "Let's go!" as he pulled her away from the mess, away from the area of the standoff. He held the air of urgency, as though they were still running from something. As though Imraan were still following them. To an extent, Imraan was still following them, if only in Ivan's mind.

As for a matter of body, the tall man fell for the swamp bed, a victim of his own conviction... and, in his final few moments, his repentance.

B022, Imraan Al-Hariq - DECEASED

[GregTheAnti-Viking†]

Tabi was groping around for solid ground. Her body was weighed down by thick earth the clung tightly to her skin. There was a pain in her foot and it kept stinging as she digged her heels into the swampy ground. It didn't stop her, she needed to get onto her feet. She found her self flopping up and down, failing to get any traction.

And then the gun went off.

A fresh wave of panic made her desperately crawl away from the sound. She turned back, but she could still only see shapes in a sea of brown. Her heart beat rapidly, as if it would burst out of her chest, just to escape the posibility of dying from Imraan. She had no idea if Ivan had been shot. It was all going to end now. Now she had no idea.

Something grabbed her wrists.

Tabi screamed. She blinked, trying to see the unknown figures face and to her relief, she could at least make out a pair of green glasses. Ivan.

She did not object to his command. She mearly let herself be guided away. She felt the pain in her foot, but at this point, it did not matter. Running was what mattered. She could feel the suction below her feet, but with Ivan's strength she found herself more mobile. And then, her legs found solid ground.

No amount of pain was going to make her stay in that swamp. Not now.

((Tabi Gweneth and Ivan Kuznetsov continued in Awe of She))