From a relatively peaceful morning at the library (damnit why had she wanted to see if there were some good books in there anyway?) to whatever fresh hell this afternoon was, Kyleigh felt amazed that things switched up so quickly. In her little world she was used to bloodshed and violence, but seeing how it was affecting others now had her own head spinning. The close friendships she had developed with both Magna and Cody had her jumping the gun on almost everything these days, reacting before she even had time to think. Which she knew was a stupid thing to do but it was just in her nature to want to protect those she cared for. So while she was upset that everything was happening too quickly for her liking she just kept pushing forward. The screams coming down from that room made her blood boil, every nerve in her body aching for her to shift and just end it all. Tear all these assholes to shreds and save the innocent ones. But that would only make everything even worse, so she held back, instead opting to go over to Cody and make sure he wasn't injured or bitten.
Gently she eased the bloody knife out of his hand, setting it down on the ground beside his feet. Her hands worked to turn him to face her so she could check him properly, letting out a sigh when she saw he wasn't injured. "Don't worry about the body, we'll get rid of it once this is all done." She said softly. Kid had that thousand yard stare in his eyes, probably because that was one of the first (if not THE first) non-infected people he had killed. "You were just trying to help Cody, no one's upset with you okay?" Those words seemed to sink in, his head nodding up and down. Even though she had little experience with kids she knew later on down the line the trauma from this was going to come out and she could only hope it wouldn't be too bad.
Reaching into her bag she grabbed an extra shirt she kept with her and began to wipe as much blood off him as she could. Within a few moments he began to come back to them, taking the fabric from her and doing it himself. If they got out of there she would take them all to a near by stream so they could clean up better and maybe begin to process what the hell was going on.
Hearing Magna apologize to that girl even though she had nothing to do with it drew the half lycan's attention over in their direction with a curious look on her face. Ever since the two of them had joined up at that prison she had never heard those words come out of the woman's mouth, so she knew Magna meant them. Not that she lied all the time but it was rare for Kyleigh to witness a moment of softness from the other woman. She knew in that moment they had to do something to help, even if it was only to give closure to the young girl.
"I'll go, see if I can distract the ones that took them so they can get out."
Kyleigh didn't want to say if they were still alive, the poor girl had been through enough already. With that one man downstairs probably freshly dead, the body in front of Cody, and God only knew how many others could be in that building, there was no need to remind any of them how close death was. The dead were walking, the world was shit enough.
"Your mom, she look like you?" The girl nodded, her wild eyes glancing briefly at Kyleigh before back down the hall.
"My Uncle Steven, he's tall! Dark hair and green eyes, has a bunch of tattoos on his neck and down his arms. I think he had a gun on him, but they might have taken it. Please, please don't leave me here."
"We won't okay? Let me go see if they're still there."
Without another word Kyleigh began to walk down the hall, keeping her steps as quiet as she could. The closer she got to that room the stronger the smell of fear and blood became, the louder the screams. It got to the point that she almost covered her ears with her hands but she pushed on. The door was shut, probably locked too. Pressing her ear to the wood she could hear whimpers coming from the woman and the sounds of a beat down being delivered to the man. Letting out a soft growl she made her way back to their small group, a disgusted frown on her face.
"They're both still in there and alive as far as I can tell. If we're going to do something we gotta do it quick." She left out the part where she thought they were beating the man to death and forcing the woman to watch, not wanting to upset the girl even further.
Hearing that the girl's uncle had tattoos sent a relief through Magna that felt like a refreshing breeze amidst this repulsive heat, caused by nothing but sheer anxiety and frustration. She had feared that the man Kyleigh had given the knife to had been her uncle, but he lacked any sort of visible tattoos. Whoever he was, Magna let the thought drift from her mind, preferring not to think of the gruesome way they had left him. How could a single building carry so much terror?
Even though she should be saying something to Cody, Magna couldn't. Instead, her lips remained slightly parted, as if wanting to say something, though her throat held a tension threatening to suffocate her. Why couldn't she be like Kyleigh? It seemed so natural to her. To talk to the boy, to pick the right words, to speak beautiful words with confidence. Magna should be there, comforting him, yet she failed to muster a simple "I'm sorry". She had managed it with the girl, even if it felt as if it almost teared open what felt like a locket in her chest containing all that uncontrolled, hysteric sorrow, so why not with Cody, someone she had been watching for what was an eternity in this state of the world?
Why the fuck has she even been so stupid that this could happen in the first place?
Whether the victim deserved it or not, Magna knew what it was like to take a life.
At least they took action before the intense shame that came with the thought would rip her to shreds. Magna followed Kyleigh, sensing the faint sound of what she swore were screams. She noted how Kyleigh was about to almost cover her ears, which Magna figured must be because even distant screams were too loud, as they meant human loss which was about the worst thing that could happen when the living were a rarity.
Apparently, partially because they took pleasure in harming one another. Typical.
"These sick bastards is why the world has gone to shit beyond return." Magna whispered, a comment so bleak it had the girl wince. She instantly felt the need to say something to make it better, as far as she could without feigning the optimism everyone needed but that she lacked, but then Kyleigh came towards them.
She gave Kyleigh a nod in confirmation, gazing towards Cody who had a stern look of determination on his face that almost made him seem years older than he was. Everyone probably knew they had no choice but to kick in that door since it was locked, which was something Magna had never done before, and she wondered if Kyleigh could pull it off. Or, well, that was the best way to attack quickly if you could manage to do it.
But was the quickest way always the best way?
"I can do something", the teenage girl muttered. "I know they want me too.. If they think they can get me, we can lure them out." She explained, something Magna instantly wanted to protest against. She hated to imagine using that girl as a bait for even a second. "You stay hidden, then you attack", she went on, gesturing to some possible hide-outs in this room.
Shit, they didn't have much time, so what choice should Magna make?
