CLOSED

[Shadowwolflegend]

Lydia smiled as Holly went to help her and told her that she was willing to protect the blind girl. "Thanks I appreciate it I'll help you in return to the best of my abilities." She whispers back as she receives the telepathic message from Andromeda. Lydia tilted her head becoming confused that the voice did not come from a certain direction though she decided to follow the advice. "I think we should enter now." She quietly states walking slowly out into the sanded arena.

 

Once upon entering her hearing returned making it so that any sound wave enabled her to recognize everything around her. She sensed that across the arena was a box with three people though who they were she wasn’t entirely sure. Lydia faced back toward the entrance grinning and waving at the others to join with the people inside the arena.

[Durppie]

"Wait one sec Lydia, I'll be joining you. I'll toss my stuff in my cell first." Holly hastily ran back down the corridor to Cell Nine, opened the door in a hurry, and literally threw her bag in the little room. Having that in the arena would hinder her, and judging from how Andromeda seemed to bounce off an invisible wall when she tried to exit the arena, she wouldn't be able to relieve herself of the disadvantage of lugging a purse around. Holly whipped around and was nearly out of the cell until a thought came to her mind. August had said nothing about bringing stuff in to the arena. It was unlikely that she had anything useful in there, but it never hurt to check.

 

As she frantically pawed through the bag for something she could use, Holly cursed. Dammit! It's just books, makeup, keys, hairbrush...oh wait. True, a hairbrush wasn't the most ideal weapon. But she got what she had. She snatched it and darted down the corridor into the arena entrance.

[Fortune86]

((Sorry. I thought I had described the arena okay in my last post.

 

It's basically just a walled enclosure. The walls are made of the same grey stone that the cells and common room are made of and are twenty metres tall. Above the walls is a magical barrier that prevents anyone from passing through.

 

Right now the arena is bare (meaning it is not enchanted to look like anything) and the floor is just loose sand and dirt. Kind of like an old gladiator pit.))

 

Eli looked around in confusion when he heard someone talk to him, but no one seemed to have spoken. Evetually his eyes settled on Andromeda, who had already walked out into the arena. The voice had sounded a lot like hers. Was she telepathic? But yes, working together would probably be the best option.

 

Before Eli could make any kind of reply he was shoved aside as Hector and Sirin strode past him. Both of them looked grim and Eli understood how they felt.

 

Tentatively he followed after them and stepped into the arena himself, feeling the soft ground mold around his feet. Once everyone entered the arena the doors swung shut again. Eli watched them close with trepidation. Now it began.

[Rarek]

Andromeda looked around at the group as the doors swung shut. They all seemed to stand there as though waiting for something to happen. She looked up at the trio in the skybox, searching for possible answers. But Zygard just sat there and smiled. All they had were August's instructions. Either we fight, or we die. Simple as that. She gave a small smile. She'd never been able to see how far her powers could go in the real world, it was too dangerous. But here...

 

Time to shed that shy and vulnerable appearance you created for yourself Andromeda. Now is the time to show off. She broke the silence in the arena as her eyes blazed white, large sparks bursting from her hands closed in fists. With a huge cry, she thrust her arms upwards, unleashing a torrent of energy into the air, spreading out in all directions, some as far as fifty feet away until the air above her was full of lightning and energy. The noise of crackling electricity filled the arena.

 

With an even larger cry, she brought her hands together and the impressive amount of free electricity collided, making a deafening thunderclap and flashed brightly. When the light subsided, an enormous energy falcon sat there in the air, its entire body rippling as though on fire. It opened its beak and let go a shriek before unfolding its impressive wingspan to full width.

 

Andromeda, her eyes glowing white hot, looked out on the group with a grin on her face. She stood as though this impressive display had cost her nothing in energy reserves. But in reality, she could feel a large drain as it took energy from her. She daren't show it though as she looked out on them. If there was any thought that Andromeda was an easy target, that'd be evaporated now. And that alone was worth it. God help any of you who try to hurt anyone I've sworn to protect, she thought to herself.

[Chicogal]

Alia flinched as there was suddenly a bright light. Then, quite suddenly, the loudest sound ever to reach her ears. With a scream, she fell to her knees, hands clapped over her ears that were now gushing blood. She couldn't hear anything, there was just a dreadful ringing, and warm liquid seeping out from between her fingers. "Oh my god..."

[TotallyDrow]

Luc watched as Andromeda summoned a bird like creature of energy and shook his head. "There's always someone that just has to show off.." he thought to himself. He looked over in her direction, "Are you sure wasting your energy like this is a good idea?" he began to speak, "...rather then trying to intimidate us,all you've accomplished is to reveal part of your abilities before the fight has even begun, lose the element of surprise and more importantly waste your energy.." he sighed and face palmed.

 

The element of Surprise was always a good advantage to have, a sentiment he learnt through his hours spent on online PVP games. The last thing he would have done in this situation was to reveal what he was capable off to potential enemies.

 

 

Jack had kept silent this whole time, he was looking at Zygard whom he had recognized as being identical to the Zygard he knew, however his presence was far more intimidating then what he would have expected from an actor. His thoughts were disrupted by the commotion that Andromeda had made with her ability. "Energy eh?" he whispered silently as he examined the basic appearance of the creature.

 

As Luc spoke, Jack couldn't help but agree. Apart from Andromeda, everyone else's abilities here were still unknown. and if there was anything he had learned from his experiences, it was that the unknown can be a very dangerous place.

 

 

A scream drew both Jack and Luc's attention away from Andromeda, one of the other girls seemed to be in a lot of pain, blood dripping out of her ears. Luc watched in interest, her reaction seemed to be caused by the sound. That fact was vital information to one such as Luc. He was just about able to hide a smirk, his more competitive side, the side of him which only ever came out when he was gaming was starting to creep up on him. If his deduction was right, he would be the worst opponent for her.

Edited March 30, 2013 by TotallyDrow

[Durppie]

God****ing what in the world was that?! Holly was mind-blown, and fell backwards into the sand. Instinctively, she curled up in something resembling the fetal position while covering her ears and shutting her eyes. She was glad she did this, because her hands and eyes didn't quite seal off the blinding light and thunderclap. Cautiously, she opened her eyes and got up, dusting herself off and feeling somewhat embarrassed. Andromeda had also made a sort of bird-a falcon or hawk- out of energy. Damn, the girl had power.I do not want that thing attacking me. Watching the bird and everyone else warily, Holly quickly picked up her hairbrush and gripped its pink-and black zebra striped handle tightly. Again, she was looking rather stupid in front of all these fighters. That wasn't her main concern though.

 

She saw the high heel girl, screaming and with blood coming out of her ears. Seriously, Andromeda. Out of all of them, Alia was probably the least equipped for this. Dresses, sand, and combat did not mix. And now said girl had one of her senses taken out. Unless if Alia could find a way to compensate or regenerate like Holly could, the high heel chick was sunk. A great sense of pity welled up in the ginger, and it was all she could do to not run up to the girl and try to help. But she had Lydia to protect. With a renewed sense of urgency, Holly dashed over to Lydia. Please let her get off with minimal damage...

Edited March 31, 2013 by Durppie

[Rarek]

Andromeda laughed loud enough for the arena to hear, and thrust her arms forward. The falcon screeched and blazed down towards Luc and Jack. The energy bird opened its sharp talons and made as though it were going to grab the pair. But just as it was about to nab them, the bird exploded, dismantling into its component electricity and crackles around them in a sea of sparks. A thunderclap occurred, just as before, but this time it was right next to Jack and Luc. The sparks latched onto the two of their bodies, coursing through them with the practiced ease of a master manipulator.

 

As the electricity died around them, her eyes returned to normal. "Oh yes, it appears I have given away all my tricks. Bravo Luc and Jack, you've figured me out." Her grin was wide with confidence. She had many more tricks to show, and although the bird was draining, it wasn't crippling. She had plenty of energy to spare. Giving away one trick was more than worth the uncertainty it would've given others. Besides, if they were paying attention, they would've heard that she was an energy manipulator in the common room. It appears their egos got the best of them.

 

But now, she knew that there would be pressure to follow her act. There would be others, no doubt, who would try to showcase their powers after a stunt like that. In reality, all she did was make lights and loud noises. Even the volume of energy which appeared to be enormous, was merely a shell. If it were really meant to harm, that bird would've been solid, and instead of Luc and Jack being able to stand, they'd be writhing on the ground. But of course, none of that would become common knowledge. People would overcompensate, and that will be costly to them.

 

She saw Alia collapse to the ground. An unfortunate side-effect. But sadly, an unavoidable one. Thunderclaps came with her energy construction, those could not be turned off, and there would be more. Many more.

[Chicogal]

((She took her heels off))

 

Nothing. Nothing could she hear. She took her hands away from her ears, blood making her black hair stick together and matt slightly. Her hands clenched into fists, tears marking her cheeks. She did not hear the second thunderclap, merely felt it pass through her as if from loud bass. Well... At least she would not hear any more of those claps. She stood unsteadily, shoulders hunched forward slightly. It was thanks to her enhanced agility that she did not lose her balance. Why... Why were they so eager to fight? Perhaps they could just pretend their combat? They were pretty far away from Zygard that stage combat could perhaps walk. She cautiously walked toward the girl with the hairbrush, and leaned over to hiss in her ear. "Why don't we just pretend to fight?"

[DragonSpirit009]

Kanya was one of the last to enter the arena before the doors closed, she didn’t want to turn into stone anyway. As she entered she could hear Andromeda’s voice reassuring her things were going to be alright but that wasn’t the only thing they young girl heard. Kanya could hear the low growl of her hounds in her mind, her confidence got a bit of a boost now that she could hear them again.

 

Still conversing with her hounds in her mind Kanya suddenly couldn’t hear them anymore. Instead the girl grabbed her ears, trying to block out the loud sounds. Kanya finally regained composure and the sound of her hounds could be heard once again. She reassured them she was fine but they kept growling wanting to protect their master.

 

“Be at peace.” She softly whispered to herself trying to calm them and herself.

[TotallyDrow]

A tingling sensation coursed through Luc's body, but apart from that, Andromeda's little show was all but a waste of time and energy. "I'm sorry, but was that suppose to terrify me?" spoke Luc, a bored expression etched across his face as the remnants of the energy bird disappeared into the air. "I've seen better light shows on a television program.." he brought his hand to his mouth and yawned.

 

As for the sound, it did little to register any concern. Loud sounds were not a problem for him, given his abilities. That thunderclap might as well have been a door slam.

 

Jack had felt nothing more then a little itch, his bodily structure prevented him from feeling anything. Unlike human flesh, energy didn't travel through straw. One of the benefits of his new form was that he had an increased tolerance to pain. The sound however was a different matter, his ears were ringing slightly, causing him to stick a finger in and twist it around, as if he were digging for something.

 

"Now now Miss, that wasn't very nice." spoke Jack,"Can't you see you are causing this young girl here some pain?" Jack pointed down towards Alia, before walking over towards where she was. With his left hand, he pulled out a handkerchief which was previously hidden in his right sleeve and held it in front of the girl. "A pretend fight sounds like it would be fun.." he spoke, still looking down at her. "...but I'm afraid some of us here..." he looked towards Andromeda, "... just enjoy causing pain for others.." he finished, emphasizing the fact that the girl had yet to apologize for causing Alia all this discomfort.

[Rarek]

Andromeda had expected this kind of reaction from Luc. She just smiled quietly. "Now now my dear Lucas, if you think that larger is better then you're sadly mistaken. What I'm not however, is stupid enough to waste my energy. I hope you enjoyed your tickle." That would be all the egotistical brat would get from her. She was sick and tired of him already.

 

As for Jack, well he remained mysteriously hard to pin down. He confused her with his flopping of good to bad. She halted him with a wave of her hand. "I can fix the damage I have caused Jack, but I admire your concern."

 

She made her way over to Alia and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. I'm not going to hurt you, she spoke telepathically, as her eyes began to glow once more. Andromeda could heal herself while she was conscious, so she knew how the process worked. She moved Alia's own internal energies through her into her ears. In an instant, her entire body's systems were working to fix the damage, and in a matter of seconds the blood had stopped draining and her ears cleared up. She then released the energy and kneeled down next to her, speaking aloud.

 

"I apologize for the side-effects that caused, and it hopefully won't happen again. Such a construct that size would naturally create a larger crack. I'll warn you if it happens again." She smiled and ruffled the girl's hair, knowing with almost certainty that she had heard her.

 

She strode over to Evangelina and Eli, seeing Kanya close by. She sat down and crossed her legs in the sand, indicating she was finished with her exercises. She did shoot a piercing glare at Luc before watching the rest and listening. "I for one am all for fake fighting, I don't wish to kill anyone if I don't have to."

[Chicogal]

Alia looked up at the scarecrow man, who was offering her a handkerchief. That was nice, although she couldn't hear what he was saying. She took the handkerchief gratefully, and gingerly wiped around the edges of her ears and some of her neck. No use to bother with her hair. "Thank you," she murmured. Then that horrible girl came over, and... A voice in her head? Must be telepathy. She clinched away from the hand, but suddenly her whole body felt strange. And she could hear things. What? Straightening, she frowned slightly. Energy manipulation - maybe she had manipulated her body's energy to heal. She frowned even more at the ruffling, and straightened her hair. She was being treated patronisingly, and she didn't like it. Now this girl was going on about her idea in such a loud voice. Alia felt like smacking her hand to her forehead. Fiddling with the handkerchief, she peered up at Jack. He seemed quite nice. "I'm sorry, your handkerchief is kind of ruined..." she murmured, holding it up.

[Durppie]

In a quiet tone of voice, Holly spoke up. "I'm also up for it. However, since we're all currently huddled around each other talking, those three are going to get suspicious. If they weren't already. They surely must be thinking that we are plotting." The energy bird had been a nice distraction, but that had been it so far. And Holly had no intention of knowing what Zygard would do if he became wary. True, they were unable to escape. But there was the bracelet everyone was wearing. She was worried about that.

 

And Holly had never done fighting of any physical nature. Alright, there was a few catfights she had gotten herself into in middle and high school. But this wasn't a simple brawl between you and an overzealous brat. It was obviously something quite different. And her only ability that was used for offense was her self detonation. That could potentially kill anyone that was too close, however. And Holly would not kill if she could avoid it.

 

At the same time, she continued her vigilance.

[Shadowwolflegend]

Lydia was thankful for having better reflexes then most people and covered her ear when the thunderclap stated crying out in pain. She didn't fall to her knees like Alia but her hearing was almost shot though she could just barely understand what people were saying. This loss frightened Lydia her hearing was her last line of sight and it almost went away with one loud sound. Whimpering she kept turning her head around trying to locate people. "Holly? Jack? Where are you?" She calls out spinning around fearfully then stops knowing that moving around wasen't going to help her.

[TotallyDrow]

"Not stupid enough to waste energy?" replied Luc, "What do you call that bird then?.. You summon it into existence for no particular reason, then de-summon it in a matter of minutes in a pitiful attempt at a threat" he paused and took a breath. "You accomplished nothing with that little show besides injuring others who had previously done absolutely nothing to you..." he turned to look at Jack and Alia, Jack's actions were a slight concern for him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease whenever that scarecrow was concerned.

 

His attention was then drawn towards Lydia who also seemed to be in some discomfort due to the sound.

 

edit: The jack post i couldn't post earlier due to lack of time:

 

Jack watched as Andromeda attempted to console Alia, noticing Alia's reaction to the ruffling of her hair.

 

"Keep it.." replied Jack, smiling. "Given our current situation, it may come in handy again and I may not be around to offer it back to you.." he winked. "...besides, It's not like that's the only one I carry"He held out his left hand this time, and with his right pulled out another handkerchief.

 

Jack suddenly turned his attention towards Lydia who had called out his name. Like Alia, she too seemed to be in some discomfort after Andromeda's actions. Unlike Alia, though her ears didn't seem to bleed. Turning back to Alia, he took of his hat and bowed in front of her. "I'm afraid I must be going now.." he muttered, before heading over towards where Lydia and Holly where.

 

 

Edited March 31, 2013 by TotallyDrow

[Durppie]

((Edited the post that assumed Alia had her high heels on.))

 

With a horrified gasp, Holly cautiously placed a hand on Lydia's shoulder. "I'm here, Lydia. It's me, Holly. I'm right here, sweetie." As she did so, she frantically examined the girl who was around her age for any signs of injury. Thank God that Lydia appeared to be fine other than her obvious discomfort, and wasn't bleeding out of her ears like Alia. But the latter had already had that healed, and still had sight. As for the former-! The former most likely relied on hearing to get by. Damn, now Lydia really was blind.

 

She isn't bleeding, is she? I don't see blood. She could hear what the music dude was saying, and was very much inclined to agree. Luc couldn't have put it any better. She was also harboring a small bit of pity for Andromeda, who was starting to have everyone turn on her. But music dude had a point. Despite herself, Holly was beginning to intensely dislike the forest dweller.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Durppie

[Rarek]

((Interesting twist...I originally planned for Andromeda to be the most friendly to everyone, but I think I like this better! I can use her unstable emotions to turn this really bad really quickly...hmm))

 

Andromeda sensed a shift in the crowd. They're listening to that knucklehead teenager. This kid looks like he doesn't give a care in the world, and they're listening to HIM. Andromeda clenched her fists. That slime ball. I fixed the damage it caused, and he dares to taunt me as though I'm weak and helpless? Not on my damn watch. She was notoriously unstable, the littlest things causing a spark for a fuse to either anger or fright. And right now, it was pure hatred for the boy and the headphones.

 

"You think I accomplished nothing, but you don't see it as I do. There was much I learned from that, including the kind of person you are." Andromeda got to her feet, her eyes spitting anger and frustration at the stupid boy. As if on cue, they flared to white hot suns, blistering and boiling with inconceivable rage. Then it all vanished as she looked around, seeing the expressions on people's faces. She began to back up, until her back hit the barrier at the side of the arena. They were all looking at her with hostile looks, and the more she received, the more frightened she got. Finally, she collapsed into a quivering pile, her eyes darting around the room frantically.

 

Oh god help me...what have I done...

[Fortune86]

((Unless Andromeda is over 20 foot tall, her back can't hit the barrier. It's on top of the walls.))

 

Eli had been so nervous when he entered the arena that he found it hard to focus. He looked around at the others and then turned to the vast arena before them. It was too large. Why did they need all this space? And what was with that low rumbling in the ground?

 

Suddenly there was a crack of thunder right behind him and a blinding flash filled his world. He had been standing a little too close to Andromeda when the bird of light was summoned, leaving him dazed and confused. By the time his hearing had cleared and the spots in his vision had faded the others were talking quickly.

 

Alia seemed to be in trouble, spots of blood on her dress. Eli stared at her in horror. Had the bird of light caused this? Some of the others were casting Andromeda vicious glances.

 

"I don't think fighting without meaning it would work" Siren said. "Zygard is too clever for that. If he thinks we aren't even trying he might just activate all our bracelets out of spite. If we are going to fight each other, it's going to have to be for real."

 

Eli stared in horror at the woman. What did she mean? Is that what everyone was planning?

 

"Um. August never said anything about fighting each other."

 

Moments after the words left Eli's mouth he felt the rumbling increase. He had thought it had something to do with the bird of light, but it was getting stronger. Eli looked around wildly. What was that?

 

Hector had noticed it as well. Grimacing he looked out across the arena.

 

"Does anyone else feel thaARRGH!"

 

Something had grabbed hold of Hector by the foot and was pulling him underground. Eli spun round to look at him and watch in horror was the white clothed man was dragged down to his waist into the soft earth. Hector was screaming and blood flicked from his mouth. Instinctively Eli moved forward to grab him and try and pull him free, but before he could get close something erupted out of the ground in front of him. A large worm the width of his arm lashed out towards him, its skin the colour of flayed flesh. It barely missed his foot and the boy retreated back in horror.

 

Another of the worms burst through the ground behind Luc and made a grab at him. A third and fourth snatched at Andromeda. The one that had lunged for Eli vanished back into the ground and re-appeared closer to him but he leapt backwards to avoid it.

 

"Graboids" cried Siren taking to the air and hovering safely above the rest of them.

 

More and more of the blind worms burst through the ground, attacking anything that moved. If they missed they sunk back into the earth to re-position themselves and strike again. With one of the creatures hounding him Eli turned and began to run, but the grabboid burrowed back into the ground and gave chase.

 

((Graboids (nicked from the Tremors movie series) are thirty foot long worms with a large black three way beak. They can tunnel through the ground very quickly and hunt via vibrations, which means they zone in on any source of movement of noise. They each have three 'tongues' shaped like snakes that possess a mouth and teeth of their own. These tongues are used to grab someone above the surface to pull them down into the beak where it is swalloed whole.))

[TotallyDrow]

Eli and Hector weren't the only ones who had felt the rumbling in the ground, Luc had sensed it as well. He had lost interest in Andromeda by now, his primary concern was figuring out what was causing the vibrations in the earth. Looking around he could see nothing on the surface that would cause such a vibration, meaning that whatever it was was beneath them.

 

He knelt down and began to fiddle around with his shoelaces so as to not draw unwarranted attention to himself, whilst at the same time releasing minute vibrations of his own into the earth. "This can't be good.." he muttered to himself, as he identified at east a dozen of those creatures squirming around beneath them. Second's later a cry broke his concentration. Turning he saw Hector being dragged into the earth,

 

He cursed under his breath, mere minutes ago he was thinking about the element of surprise and its advantages... and now this was happening. With his one hand still planted on the ground under the guise of helping him keep his balance, he sensed the attack that was about to happen. The ground behind him broke way as a third worm like creature attempted to ambush him.

 

Using his mouth, he made a soft popping sound, only those in a close vicinity to him or with enhanced hearing would have heard it. His body instantaneously flew of the ground, sending him 4 ft into the air just in time to watch the worm miss. Whilst in the air, he repeated the action with his mouth, sending him backwards several yards away from the group. He landed near the opposite end of the arena away from the others. When he had sent his own vibrations into the earth he had noticed that the bulk of these creatures were located beneath the group, whilst the area's further away were less dangerous.

Edited March 31, 2013 by TotallyDrow

[DragonlordJT]

((Sorry I haven't been super active, been going through a shift change at work so I've been adjusting to the new schedule a bit... Anyways... I'll just let it be assumed that Lance and Summanus were following along for the most part, but not interacting much))

 

Summanus felt his powers reenergize when he was in the arena. "Perfect..." He grinned. When things started happening, he knew he was right in his element. The worms were grounded and had to rely on physical attacks, this meant he'd be fine no matter what they tried to do. It also made them lightning rods when they popped out of the ground.

 

Now if only one would... As he was thinking a worm jumped in front of him and was about to bite him in the face with he moved his hand to grab it. The entire creature started spasming like crazy in his hand and then he let go. "Don't bite the hand that... Oh screw it..."

 

He then just started to stand there charging a mass amount of electrical current to flow along his body. It was so much one could even see the blue sparks dancing across his body now. "Go ahead and try to bite me. All you'll be eating is electric death!"

 

 

 

Lance was having difficulty in the arena. He not only was out of his element fighting underground enemies, but also didn't have a weapon to fight back with. He was at a severe disadvantage without any sort of weapon in hand and mostly was dodging around. Hold on a moment... they're underground right...? He then started to watch for their movements in the ground watching the earth be displaced. Seeing one headed for him, he jumped high up. "I'VE GOT YOU NOW YOU SON OF A -!" He landed on the ground hard, slamming his knee and fist into the ground creating a small crater in his location. The blood of the worm splashed up through the cracks and covered him from the force.

 

"When you don't have a weapon..." he started, and then grabbed a large rock from the crater he formed. "MAKE ONE!" He jumped upwards again but this time threw the rock into the ground on top of another worm's dirt path. Another, this time smaller, crater was formed and more blood spurted up from beneth from the force. He ran over and grabbed the rock again. Now that I have a weapon, this should be a breeze.

[Fortune86]

((I thought you said Lance was only slightly stronger than the standard human? I imagine it would take a lot of power to punch a crater into the ground and compress soft earth into rocks.))

[DragonSpirit009]

Kanya froze in fear when the earth beneath her shook and worm like creatures were starting to grab some people. Her eyes were wide and the hounds in her mind were causing a ruckus. She didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t even move as she watched in horror how everyone was moving about.

 

One of the worms suddenly popped next to Kanya causing her to fall over where she immediately created her barrier. Lying on the floor she saw how the worm tried to enter the barrier but were reflected back each time it tried. Soon it disappeared into the ground again leaving the young girl by herself again.

[Chicogal]

Alia yelped, hands flying to her mouth. those were horrifying, and they came out of the ground? She looked down at her feet in horror, able to detect the sound of ferocious burrowing. When one erupted from the sand, beak opened ferociously, she turned a couple of quick backward handstand flips - hands, feet, hands feet, spine turning easily with the movement. She landed in a crouch, and then began to hover, going about a metre up - her limit. Maybe she'd be able to avoid attacks more easily this way. She tucked the handkerchief from Jack into a shoulder strap from her dress, then carefully flew to him, landing gently. "You alright?" she asked. Being made out of straw, she didn't know how quickly he could move. He had been nice to her, so she was repaying the favour. Crouching down, she tilted her head so that an ear was facing the ground. "There's another coming," she warned, straightening and backing away.

[Fortune86]

As Eli ran away from the chasing graboid he felt the rumbling behind him increasing. Another graboid had joined the first. He risked glancing over his shoulder and saw the earth rise along with the graboids' path, revealing their approximate locations. They were both very close.

 

At that moment he stumbled and fell forward, smacking into the ground. Before he could rise to his feet the snake like tongues of the closest graboid burst through the ground just behind him.

 

Eli froze up with fear, even holding his breath. The lack of any movement seemed to confuse the tongues, who waved blindly around them, trying to find something to grab. As one drew close to his leg he quickly but gently lifted it out of the way and the tongue swung past underneath his raised limb.

 

The tongues of the second graboid appeared to his right and began to search like those of the first. One drew very close to Eli's head, allowing him to get a good look at it.

 

They had no eyes, ears or nostrils, leaving them unable to see, hear or smell, but each of the tongues had a mouth lined with sharp backwards pointing teeth. If they bit into something it would be hard to make it let go. Eli risked glancing in the direction of where he had last seen Hector, but the man was gone. Presumably dragged underground and eaten.

 

Siren spotted Eli lying motionless , trapped between the two graboids. If he tried to get to his feet he would surely give away his position. He would not be able to rise in time before one of the tongues grabbed him. She had watched Hector get pulled screaming into the dirt, she didn't want the same to happen to a little boy.