<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">Eli's heart was pounding in his ears as he  crouched behind his rock, the young man holding his breathe as an eerie screech echoed from all directions. He made himself as small as possible as he watched from his poor hiding place, eyes darting in search of somewhere better but with that heartbeat thumping faster, he feared this denizen of the fog. . . whatever it was, was too near to change his mind. As Eli peered around its jagged edges, eyeing the puttering generator and telling himself that panicking would only serve to get him into more trouble, he prayed his impromptu hiding place would be good enough. If not, then he would surely suffer the same fate as before. Eli scanned the trees for Jake, squinting into the fog, but it seemed as if he was, once again, alone in this nightmare aside from the stammering generator just ahead.<br/>
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He finally saw it, or her, rather, materializing out of nothing as the thudding heartbeat grew impossibly loud. Eli wanted to cover his ears, but was too alert to risk dampening his senses as he watched her, really got a</span><i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"> good</span></i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff"> look at one of these torturous creatures for the first time. Bandages wrapped around a frail feminine shape, a pillow case smothering her face or perhaps hiding some sort of monstrous deformity. He couldn't tell. The rest of her certainly seemed normal enough, from her nurse's smock to her . . . her ghostly feet gliding above the ground like a spectral being and Eli had to ask himself. Was this creature dead? Living? A manifestation of this eerie fog that seemed to surround and control this place? He would likely never get his answer as the ragged pull of her breathing reached his ears, the nurse undoing all of Jake's hard work as she stopped the generator in its tracks with a spectral power. Perhaps she would be on her way, blink away, far away from his rock and his pounding heart. For a moment it seemed as if she might turn back towards the iron tower in the distance and Eli allowed himself to relax.<br/>
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And then she turned, her head rolling loosely upon her shoulders to peer right at him. Eli's breath caught in his throat, but he didn't dare move, his lungs burning as he feared to make a sound. He wished the creature had eyes so he could tell where her wicked gaze fell, but even with them covered he somehow knew he'd been seen. His own eyes darted to his boot, panic rising in his chest as he realized it was visible and reflexively drew it into hiding as well. A shrieking cry echoed around him, the air pulling and whirling about as the nurse disappeared.<br/>
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And then hovered directly above him, her bloodied saw raised high above her head and Eli bathed in an eerie red glow. "</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#006600">Run, Idiot!</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">" Jake's voice came from somewhere as Eli suddenly remembered how to move, his body stricken once again with fear just as he'd been during the trial before. Instinctively, he moved to dash around the tree, to use it as cover, but his reflexes were yet untrained and his movements too slow. The jagged blade fell upon his shoulder, splitting his flesh and eliciting a cry of both surprise and agony. The blow gave him new wind, though, adrenaline driving him forward faster  than he  knew his legs could go, but it was short lived. </span><i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">At least there's distance. </span></i>He needed something solid, anything to put between himself and this screaming demon. Seeking out a brick wall and, holding his injured arm to his side, Eli ran for his life. He whirled behind it, pressing his back to the cold bricks, blood trailing down his jacket and into the thirsty dirt at his feet. He watched for the red glow of the nurse's gaze, but it never came. Instead, he heard the air moving about once again, felt a chill soak into his bones and a ghostly figure phased through him.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff">"What . . . "</span><br/><br/>When the nurse re-materialized on his side of the wall, Eli had nowhere to go as he raised his hands in meager defense.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"> What kind of monster is this, that can move through walls like nothing?</span></i>The femme fatale brought down her blade a second time, knocking Eli to ground, stunned from the impact, and drawing another scream from his lungs despite his attempts to reign in his own suffering. He struggled weakly to stand, mind muddled and body bloodied, but he didn't seem to have the strength as he dropped back to the dirt. He didn't remain there long, however, as oddly powerful and yet small hands lifted him as if he were nothing.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"> "No. Put me down!" </span>He wasn't about to beg, what little use it would be.<i><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0080ff"> I should never have volunteered for this. I take it back. I don't want to die.</span></i>And yet no one heard his mental pleas as Eli struggled and beat at the back of the woman floating him away, most likely to another sharp hook. And another agonizing death.<br/><br/>And this time Eli knew he wouldn't wake up.<br/><br/>They drifted to a stop, the monster adjusting her hold on him as Eli braced himself for the pain he knew would come, but instead of a hook, he found himself tossed into the grass, landing somehow on his feet as the nurse shrieked in anger, a bright light shining upon her covered face.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#336600">"She's blinded. Eli, go! Find the others to patch you up while I keep her busy!"</span>Wherever Jake had come from, Eli would be forever grateful as he wasted no time running towards the nearest shelter he could find, the tower. Even if this being could move through walls, he still felt safer behind them. Clutching his side where the blade's second swing has pierced him deep, Eli fled, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake, and fighting to keep him cries of pain between gritted teeth. He could hear the sounds of a generator plugging away at a steady rate just ahead and knew that meant others.<br/><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff"><br/>
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