《Suitor》Part 8
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Throughout most of the night, Sam patrolled the outer perimeter of the gathering, struggling to maintain a line of sight on his brother. Adam spent the night mainly talking with Colby and Ian, though the three kept moving around the crowded area.
After Ian had left Colby and Adam moved closer to one of the windows and remained there for a while as they talked, which made defensive surveillance far easier.
"Did you hear what was going on with Abby?" Colby questioned.
"No, but she seemed fine when she and Jess left," Adam answered.
"They left too?" Colby realized. "Are we the only ones left standing?"
"Did Em call it too?" Adam questioned.
"Yeah, she had to get at least some studying in," Colby explained. "So should we call it a night?"
"I guess so, just let me get my delinquent sibling first." Adam responded, knowing full well Sam was present. He made his way across the crowd to get to one of the many tables used to house refreshments and such.
Sam had seen his brother approaching and ducked down behind the table, using the cloth as cover. His stealth attempts proved futile as Adam rounded the table, leaning over to meet his brother face to face.
"Time to hit the road Jr," he declared.
"How long did you know I was here...?" Sam questioned, getting up.
"I saw a teenage looking numbskull climbing into a second story window, and I have the only little brother in town who thinks he's Ezio," Adam answered, half joking.
"Fair enough," Sam responded simply. A scream broke out from outside the room, bringing everything to a sudden stop. The pounding music gradually lowered in volume as everyone looked around in concern.
"What...?" Sam started, waved to silence by Adam. Without warning the double doors erupted open as a limp human form was propelled through, sliding a distance into the room and leaving a streak of dark red on the floor.
He was alive, barely, coughing weakly and struggling to move himself backwards, his terrified gaze locked on the now open doorway. A soft growling filled the silence, followed quickly by unintelligible mumbling as a second bloody young man stumbled through the doorway, turning to look back from whence he'd came.
With startling speed, Syth lunged through the doorway and caught him in the gut. Her long claws ran him through with ease as she raised her arm above her head, lifting him far off the floor.
She watched him struggle helplessly against her for a moment, blood dripping from the fresh wound down to her face, before tossing the victim to the side, sending him crashing into a flimsy table that buckled under the weight.
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The Sergal then stepped further into the room, two strides covering the distance her first victim had crawled before she brought the third down forcefully upon him, finally finishing him off with a nasty crunch to cut off his pleas for his life.
The entire room had been brought to staggered silence, no one was brave enough to move so much as an inch. Syth looked over the frozen crowd, her twisted mind overwhelmed with the possibilities that lay before her.
Sam peered out from his hiding spot, pulled back by Adam. A long, slimy tongue slipped between Syth's lips and stroked across her snout, cleaning the blood streaks from her face. The Sergal then stamped her foot sharply, erupting a startlingly loud screech and kneeling to a ready position.
Her provoking had worked, as the petrified students were jarred from their trance and had begun panicking. Two were separated from the cluster, catching her eye. She darted forwards, ripping into both targets simultaneously and forcing them to the floor before raking her claws down their torsos in massive gouges.
Movement again caught her attention, instinctively she lashed upwards. Her claws tore into the straggler with enough force to fling him backwards a good distance.
Almost instantly she lurched forward and snapped her jaws shut on yet another poor soul, thrashing her around violently before releasing her and sending her bouncing off the wall before tumbling to the floor in a bloody mess.
With the Sergal now a good distance from the doorway and focused in the opposite direction, Adam urged Sam through the doors with Colby not far behind. Adam went to follow them, stopped as another body was tossed across the room, rolling to the floor at his feet. He traced the trajectory of the corpse, finding the Sergal now looking in his direction.
"Colby, get him out of here!" he called to his friend, who spurred Sam along down the hall. Syth advanced on Adam, who bolted into the rows of bookshelves for cover. The beast was determined to pursue him, though quickly found the paths between shelves was too narrow.
She squeezed through sideways, slower but still catching up rather fast. She made a lunge to catch him, her jaws snapping shut just inches above his head as he ducked to avoid the attack. He turned a corner and sprinted full speed, the Sergal lurching out from the tighter space and charging after him in the more open row.
Attempting to repeat the nearly successful tactic, Adam turned into another narrow path. Syth turned a row earlier, squeezing her way fast enough to strike through the shelf at him. Her claws swung just in front of him, causing him to skid to a stop as books went flying everywhere.
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He then shoulder rushed the shelf, tipping it over onto the beast. Syth yelped in surprise as she was buried under books and an entire shelving unit. Adam took the opportunity and bolted for the main area, the Sergal erupting from the wreckage of books and clambering over the fallen furniture.
Adam returned to the open area just as Syth rammed past the bookshelves in close pursuit, causing rows and rows of shelving to fall like dominoes. She snarled in anger and darted forward, Adam ducking into a roll under one of the tables.
Syth flattened the table just as he slid under it and quickly got to his feet again. Feeling quite enraged by now, the Sergal picked up the table and threw it at Adam, who swerved to the side as the improvised projectile missed him just barely.
He made it to the doorway, grabbing the frame to turn sharper and maintain speed as he headed into the hallway. He could hear the beast howl in rage, glancing back to see her tearing after him down the hall at terrifying speed. Suddenly he collided with something, almost falling over as Colby and Sam caught him.
"What are you doing?? I said get out of here!" he scolded them.
"Run now, yell at me later!!" Sam yelped urgently as the Sergal stomped towards them. Colby directed them to a door a few steps down the hall, the three of them rushing in and slamming it shut.
They found themselves in a large room lined with tables and chairs, often used as a study area for the students on campus. Currently the room was dim, the only light source coming from outside and constantly alternating between red and blue.
"Is that the cops?" Colby questioned.
"Either that or a second rave right next to ours," Sam answered, peering through the window. Several police cruisers sat in the parking lot, lights flashing around. Someone must have called in what was happening, law enforcement most likely assuming it was Casper.
"We just have to get outside," Adam declared, picking up a chair.
"Whoa whoa, you're just going to bust the window out?" Sam questioned.
"Unless you have a hall pass to get past Chompy out there," Colby responded.
"I think the campus will understand," Adam added, pulling back to swing. The door to the room suddenly blew inwards, Syth crouching down to fit through the smaller doorway. Adam instantly turned and lobbed the chair at her, giving them time to flip up a table and use it as a shield.
Adam and Colby braced as Syth dashed into their makeshift defense, staggering them both. They both fought against the beast in a reverse tug of war match, pushing to keep her at bay as Sam took a chair of his own and began beating on the window.
Syth snarled in determination and jolted against the table. Adam and Colby stumbled backwards, struggling to keep the shield upright as the creature fought against them. Sam swung at the window with all his strength, making steady progress.
With her height advantage, Syth was able to reach an arm over the table and claw blindly at them. Colby had to move lower to avoid the repeated attacks, allowing Syth to gain a few steps on them. With one final attempt, the window shattered.
Sam used the chair to sweep away the shards of glass and climbed through. Adam and Colby struggled to keep their grip, nodding in silent agreement.
"Go!" Adam signaled, both men moving backwards at once, allowing Syth to push the shield for them. Colby leapt through the window first with Adam right behind him. The table hit the wall and bent inwards as Syth lunged at them.
The broken table covered the window as Colby and Adam fumbled to the sidewalk. Syth bellowed and yanked the table away from the window, stopping suddenly. She looked past them, gazing blankly as if mesmerized by the flashing light for a few moments before unexpectedly backing away and disappearing into the dark room.
Adam watched the beast retreat, puzzled, until Colby tapped his shoulder. He was extending a hand helpfully, Adam taking it and getting pulled up to his feet.
"What was that about?" he questioned.
"Don't tell me you're disappointed the killer monster turned tail," Colby commented.
"No, but..." Adam hesitated, finding he had other priorities.
He turned to his brother, confirming he was unharmed, then started towards the police cruisers as more pulled up. He waved the two to follow him, Sam glancing back at the broken window before joining is brother and friend in making their way to safety.
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