She kept her eyes straight and shuffled along the way. The first thing she needed to do was get out of here, and the further she was away from Nutboy, the better. And the less she thought of that... thing back there, the better.
So, she continued on her way. Her crutch making its clacking noise all the while. Slowly, the day went by, and so did the flora from above, shifting and becoming denser as she reached what looked to be the end of her journey when she reached an edge which appeared climbable. It was a struggle as she kept almost slipping and falling in the mud that encompassed this forgotten river.
Eventually, her struggle proved fruitful, and she hugged the bank edge before she tried to get up the side.
Her fingers gripped the earth as she attempted to climb up. She could feel them clench as she looked up; the banks' edge acted like mile-high walls, just out of reach. She favored her good leg as she forcefully planted it on the wall and started to scale. Occasionally, she tried to use her bad leg for leverage, but not too often as she climbed up.
Soon, despite the darkness around her, she made her way up to the edge and climbed up. She took a second to take a breather before suddenly feeling the ground beneath her shake, and she quickly got out of dodge. Diving away onto her front before looking back at the spot she almost fell off from, seemingly unchanged.
"Not this time." She said out loud to herself as she got up using her crutch.
She went back along the river, following it to reach the bridge once more and see if she could catch up to Matthew. But by the time she got there, everyone was gone. Only one left was...
The thing that was down there. Instead, Artie turned tail and walked back her path.
----
A day had passed. Artie had spent it wandering in between sprees of hiding and pretending to be dead. Listening to the announcements as the dead and their killers were announced to the world. Matthew was not on it or that other girl, Katherine or something, small blessings.
Although, she did not know if Nutboy would be on it. That was the scary part. His refusal to say his name and all of his shenanigans... he was likely on it.
After some time wandering, she had found a house along the path. It was not far from the caves where she’d woken into this nightmare. There was a barn outside, and Artie decided to hide out there for the night.
Lying down in the corner. Artie's eyes crept close, and she fell asleep.
--
She was abruptly awoken by the sound of the announcement blaring. First, she listened for names, and neither of the ones she cared for was there. She was about to lay back down.
beep
Artie jolted. As quickly as she could, she gripped her crutch and tried to make her way out of the barn.
beep
Groggy, messy steps were taken, and Artie's breathing was out of control as the beeps grew louder and louder.
Beep
She struggled out of the barn, and she could see a girl making off in the distance.
Beep
"Hey!" She screamed out as she tried to follow.
BEEP
"Wait! She took a tumble and landed face first in the dirt.
BEEP
"Help me!"
If only she... was faster...
BEE-
((O27 - Artemis "Artie" Qiu: DECEASED))