[It isn't real. That's what Theo keeps telling herself, crowbar over one shoulder, splattered in gross, stinking maggoty guts. It isn't real, none of this is real. It's some group hallucination she's having, in the Red Room.
-- except that scream sounds real. It sounds real, and that looks like a real kid, and Theo likes to think of herself as tough and untouchable, but she is a big softie for kids. Always has been.
So she huffs out a frustrated sigh, stomping across the street and raising the crowbar high, then bringing it down hard. The hooked end jabs into the maggot, just behind it's head and it lets out a piercing shriek.]
Oh, shut up! [A quick yank and the bug's falling off the steps, close enough for Theo to stomp it into mush with her boot. By this point she's killed close to a dozen of the things, and it's all done with steely efficiency. Once it's dead, she flicks her sweaty ponytail back and wipes her face with the back of a gloved hand.]
...you okay? [It's a stupid question, but she knows approaching the boy right now would just freak him out worse.]
a. beast
-- except that scream sounds real. It sounds real, and that looks like a real kid, and Theo likes to think of herself as tough and untouchable, but she is a big softie for kids. Always has been.
So she huffs out a frustrated sigh, stomping across the street and raising the crowbar high, then bringing it down hard. The hooked end jabs into the maggot, just behind it's head and it lets out a piercing shriek.]
Oh, shut up! [A quick yank and the bug's falling off the steps, close enough for Theo to stomp it into mush with her boot. By this point she's killed close to a dozen of the things, and it's all done with steely efficiency. Once it's dead, she flicks her sweaty ponytail back and wipes her face with the back of a gloved hand.]
...you okay? [It's a stupid question, but she knows approaching the boy right now would just freak him out worse.]