p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace exited the mall car into a car that had been themed around a sound stage. As she entered denizens that took the form of soundboards, headphones, and cameras hustled and bustled around her seemingly preparing for a production of some kind. Grace noted that the car didn't seem to have been disturbed and all of the people were still intact which gave her a great deal of relief. Approaching a camera shaped denizen Grace inquired about the exit. He responded in kind./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""The exit is just past stage right, but, you've got just the look we're going for. How would you like to be the protagonist of our next production? It's about a girl who gets haunted by the ghost of the person she killed." he explained. Grace internally screamed. The train had to be purposely fucking with her./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""No thanks." Grace said. "I don't think i'm cut out to be a star." she offered as an excuse. The camera shook his head./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""But you haven't even heard the twist, the person she killed, was her best friend." he said to her excitedly. Okay, now Grace knew the train was fucking with her. She shook her head and pressed on through the car to the exit following the directions she had been given. Grace desperately needed a nap but as she entered the next car she found it very likely that she wasn't going to get one./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"The car was a huge expanse of dark forests and a large threatening mansion loomed over the car sitting atop a hill. Grace knew enough about the train to know that her exit lied somewhere in that house./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Am I even going to be able to get up that hill with my leg?" Grace asked herself. She began to turn around in order to go back a car and ask one of the denizens for help but as if on cue the door was no longer where it had been. Grace supposed she should have expected it from a horror themed car but it didn't mean she had to like it. Tiredly she marched on through the woods./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace immediately felt like she was being followed. Her skin crawled at the feeling of the eyes that she knew weren't there staring at her with a dark piercing intensity. Unable to handle the feeling Grace swung around only to see that the way that she'd come was now completely blocked by trees. Grace took a deep breath, she was okay, she was alone. This was a horror themed car, of course she'd feel watched./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Still, it wasn't just the car's atmosphere that contributed to her unease. It was the eerie silence that no real place could have. The way that Grace could swear she could hear footsteps, and breathing. She clenched her fists and pushed onward. She had to consider the idea that she was being followed. On crutches she was a walking target, there would be nothing she could do to properly fight off anyone who dained to come from the darkness and…/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace had no idea what she thought this fictitious stalker would do if they caught her but as the wind seemingly picked up out of nowhere and began sounding more like a scream than anything else Grace decided the answer was nothing good. She just had to remind herself that this was all in her mind. No one was following her, why would they. Even with the reassurance Grace couldn't stop herself from letting her mind go to the place that she really didn't want it to./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"What if Simon was following her? The footsteps that Grace could swear she wasn't imaging were getting closer, the breathing louder. This was all just guilt, this was her mind trying to cope with everything she'd been too numb to feel after she'd done it. Grace felt her mouth become dry as she remembered what Simon had said to her after a session of treating her like she was less than human. The way he'd taunted her at the idea of her ever truly being free from him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Even if you got out of the car, you think that would stop me?" he'd said to her. Grace felt her breathing grow frantic. He was dead, she'd killed him, she'd come to terms with that. So why did she feel like his words still held some truth. "You think that would stop me?" Would anything stop him? Or was Grace doomed to be tormented by the memory of what she'd done until she died. Grace didn't realize that she'd been doing the best approximation of a run she could until she tripped./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"An unassuming rock had been in her path and Grace had been so concerned with escaping her thoughts, with escaping her mind, that she hadn't even noticed. As she fell she landed with a thud on the ground luckily not having damaged her good leg or having injured her bad leg any further. Grace could get back up, could keep running, but why bother? If Simon was right, if nothing would stop him from torturing her, not even death, why bother? Grace sat on the ground and stared into the dark cluster of trees that covered where she'd just come from and yelled into them./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Come on! Come and get me if you're going to do it! Just get it over with!" she said to absolutely no one. This was an exercise, no one would answer, Grace would sit there for a while and sort out her thoughts about what she'd done. She'd realize that the idea of someone chasing her had just been an outward manifestation of her guilt and then she'd get up and leave having learned a lesson./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Except that wasn't what happened. Grace hadn't been imagining footsteps and breathing, they'd been real. And as the rustle of the trees got closer and closer Grace braced herself as she was met face to face with…Amelia? The old woman hunched over out of breath and held out a finger to indicate that she needed a moment. After having caught her breath she pulled herself up and addressed Grace./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""You damn kids, you're always so fast." she said tiredly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Amelia? What are you doing here?" Grace asked her. She was honestly one of the last faces Grace expected to see pop out at her from a scary forest but the more she thought about it the more it seemed surprisingly on brand./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I was looking for you, I had a deeply troubling conversation with a certain ponytailed puke and I got the feeling that you might be in danger." she explained. Grace pulled herself back up onto her crutches and looked Amelia in the eye preparing to speak, trying to come up with an explanation that didn't make it patently clear what she'd had to do./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I'm not in danger anymore." she responded hoping that Amelia wouldn't ask her anymore questions about exactly what she meant so that she could return to sitting on the forest floor and learning to cope with her guilt. Amelia stared deep into her eyes as if she was searching for something. Evidently Amelia found it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I know that look, you've either lost someone, or killed someone." she said matter of factly. Grace's face changed as she stared off into the middle distance no longer wanting to look Amelia in the eyes and deeply conflicted about everything that had led her to that moment. Amelia looked at her again closer this time and edited her statement. "Maybe both." she said before looking at Grace softer./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace pushed on through the car not wanting to dwell on everything that had welled up in her. Amelia spoke to her again. "Did it have something to do with ponytail?" she asked. Grace started to answer, but words got caught in her throat and quickly transformed to tears. Grace hated that she was crying and didn't know what she was crying for. Amelia looked deeply uncomfortable but tried her best to be comforting anyway./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""There, there, don't cry, please don't cry." Amelia said practically begging as she put an awkward hand on Grace's shoulder. That didn't assuage her tears any as Grace continued to bawl for a reason that she couldn't comprehend. Amelia let out a sigh. "Come on, let's keep walking, I won't make you tell me about it. Partially because I know it's probably painful, but also partially because I don't care." that last part was a joke or at least Grace hoped it was a joke because she'd laughed at it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"The two walked toward the house in a comfortable silence at least for a while before Grace spoke to her again. "How did you find me?" she asked casually. Amelia explained./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""When I took on employment under One he gave me a trackerpad to locate any anomalies on the train. But, I was never satisfied with having things that only had one purpose so I modified it to connect with the train's database. Now I can locate anyone on the train, and I get alerts if someone is following me." she explained/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace nodded as they continued on but quickly had to stop, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her leg. Amelia turned and looked back at her seemingly only having noticed she was on crutches at that moment. She frowned deeply at the realization. "Did he-" Grace cut her off with a nod, she didn't need to hear the rest of the question. Amelia scowled. "What a piece of shit." she said angrily./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace looked shocked. "It's bad to speak ill of the dead." she muttered. Amelia rolled her eyes./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""If the dead don't want to be spoken poorly of they shouldn't have been awful when they were alive." she stated honestly. Grace figured that Amelia was probably right but she wasn't interested in discussing the idea any further. The two approached the hill that led to the house but as Grace prepared to climb up the thing Amelia started walking around it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Come on, I know a shortcut." she explained. As they trekked on Grace winced in pain from her leg once again and Amelia halted turning to look at her. "Let's take a rest." she announced and though Grace wanted to protest on the basis that she needed to get back to the Apex kids her leg clearly had other plans. She sat down next to Amelia and allowed her to examine it. "The splint work is fine but you'll need a proper cast if you insist on continuing to travel." She said as she looked it over./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Amelia dug in her satchel and handed Grace a pill bottle. "Take a few painkillers. That will be a good temporary solution." Amelia looked off at something Grace couldn't see. "I'm sorry. I could tell from day one that he was awful and I still left you with him. I'm an adult, I should have done better." Grace felt something well up in her chest. Everyone had apologized to her, Amelia, the Apex kids. They all felt guilt for what had happened even though it had nothing to do with them. They all felt responsible despite the fact that they shouldn't have./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Amelia looked at her curiously. "There is only one person who should feel sorry for what happened to me and he never will." she said seriously. Amelia gave her a bit of an odd look then a little smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Right then, let's keep moving, we shouldn't be too far from an emergency car, they should be able to put a proper cast on that leg of yours." Grace raised her eyebrows./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""What's an emergency car?" she asked. Amelia waved her off./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I'll explain it when we get there. Besides, there is someone there who I think would be pleased to see you." It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce who Amelia was referring to. Grace felt her pulse quicken though not from fear this time or at least, not from the same type of fear. She was going to see Hazel again. Grace swallowed the painkillers and fought with herself mentally, she had to get back to the Apex kids but god she needed a nap./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Amelia stood up and pressed onward towards the car's exit. "Are you coming?" she asked. Grace looked back at the forest from whence she'd come. She stood up with her crutches and turned her back on it, on her guilt. There was only one person who deserved to feel guilty and he'd never have developed the sense of morality necessary to do it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Yeah, I'm coming." Grace responded as she followed Amelia toward the exit./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""The exit is just past stage right, but, you've got just the look we're going for. How would you like to be the protagonist of our next production? It's about a girl who gets haunted by the ghost of the person she killed." he explained. Grace internally screamed. The train had to be purposely fucking with her./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""No thanks." Grace said. "I don't think i'm cut out to be a star." she offered as an excuse. The camera shook his head./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""But you haven't even heard the twist, the person she killed, was her best friend." he said to her excitedly. Okay, now Grace knew the train was fucking with her. She shook her head and pressed on through the car to the exit following the directions she had been given. Grace desperately needed a nap but as she entered the next car she found it very likely that she wasn't going to get one./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"The car was a huge expanse of dark forests and a large threatening mansion loomed over the car sitting atop a hill. Grace knew enough about the train to know that her exit lied somewhere in that house./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Am I even going to be able to get up that hill with my leg?" Grace asked herself. She began to turn around in order to go back a car and ask one of the denizens for help but as if on cue the door was no longer where it had been. Grace supposed she should have expected it from a horror themed car but it didn't mean she had to like it. Tiredly she marched on through the woods./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace immediately felt like she was being followed. Her skin crawled at the feeling of the eyes that she knew weren't there staring at her with a dark piercing intensity. Unable to handle the feeling Grace swung around only to see that the way that she'd come was now completely blocked by trees. Grace took a deep breath, she was okay, she was alone. This was a horror themed car, of course she'd feel watched./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Still, it wasn't just the car's atmosphere that contributed to her unease. It was the eerie silence that no real place could have. The way that Grace could swear she could hear footsteps, and breathing. She clenched her fists and pushed onward. She had to consider the idea that she was being followed. On crutches she was a walking target, there would be nothing she could do to properly fight off anyone who dained to come from the darkness and…/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace had no idea what she thought this fictitious stalker would do if they caught her but as the wind seemingly picked up out of nowhere and began sounding more like a scream than anything else Grace decided the answer was nothing good. She just had to remind herself that this was all in her mind. No one was following her, why would they. Even with the reassurance Grace couldn't stop herself from letting her mind go to the place that she really didn't want it to./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"What if Simon was following her? The footsteps that Grace could swear she wasn't imaging were getting closer, the breathing louder. This was all just guilt, this was her mind trying to cope with everything she'd been too numb to feel after she'd done it. Grace felt her mouth become dry as she remembered what Simon had said to her after a session of treating her like she was less than human. The way he'd taunted her at the idea of her ever truly being free from him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Even if you got out of the car, you think that would stop me?" he'd said to her. Grace felt her breathing grow frantic. He was dead, she'd killed him, she'd come to terms with that. So why did she feel like his words still held some truth. "You think that would stop me?" Would anything stop him? Or was Grace doomed to be tormented by the memory of what she'd done until she died. Grace didn't realize that she'd been doing the best approximation of a run she could until she tripped./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"An unassuming rock had been in her path and Grace had been so concerned with escaping her thoughts, with escaping her mind, that she hadn't even noticed. As she fell she landed with a thud on the ground luckily not having damaged her good leg or having injured her bad leg any further. Grace could get back up, could keep running, but why bother? If Simon was right, if nothing would stop him from torturing her, not even death, why bother? Grace sat on the ground and stared into the dark cluster of trees that covered where she'd just come from and yelled into them./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Come on! Come and get me if you're going to do it! Just get it over with!" she said to absolutely no one. This was an exercise, no one would answer, Grace would sit there for a while and sort out her thoughts about what she'd done. She'd realize that the idea of someone chasing her had just been an outward manifestation of her guilt and then she'd get up and leave having learned a lesson./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Except that wasn't what happened. Grace hadn't been imagining footsteps and breathing, they'd been real. And as the rustle of the trees got closer and closer Grace braced herself as she was met face to face with…Amelia? The old woman hunched over out of breath and held out a finger to indicate that she needed a moment. After having caught her breath she pulled herself up and addressed Grace./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""You damn kids, you're always so fast." she said tiredly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Amelia? What are you doing here?" Grace asked her. She was honestly one of the last faces Grace expected to see pop out at her from a scary forest but the more she thought about it the more it seemed surprisingly on brand./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I was looking for you, I had a deeply troubling conversation with a certain ponytailed puke and I got the feeling that you might be in danger." she explained. Grace pulled herself back up onto her crutches and looked Amelia in the eye preparing to speak, trying to come up with an explanation that didn't make it patently clear what she'd had to do./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I'm not in danger anymore." she responded hoping that Amelia wouldn't ask her anymore questions about exactly what she meant so that she could return to sitting on the forest floor and learning to cope with her guilt. Amelia stared deep into her eyes as if she was searching for something. Evidently Amelia found it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I know that look, you've either lost someone, or killed someone." she said matter of factly. Grace's face changed as she stared off into the middle distance no longer wanting to look Amelia in the eyes and deeply conflicted about everything that had led her to that moment. Amelia looked at her again closer this time and edited her statement. "Maybe both." she said before looking at Grace softer./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace pushed on through the car not wanting to dwell on everything that had welled up in her. Amelia spoke to her again. "Did it have something to do with ponytail?" she asked. Grace started to answer, but words got caught in her throat and quickly transformed to tears. Grace hated that she was crying and didn't know what she was crying for. Amelia looked deeply uncomfortable but tried her best to be comforting anyway./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""There, there, don't cry, please don't cry." Amelia said practically begging as she put an awkward hand on Grace's shoulder. That didn't assuage her tears any as Grace continued to bawl for a reason that she couldn't comprehend. Amelia let out a sigh. "Come on, let's keep walking, I won't make you tell me about it. Partially because I know it's probably painful, but also partially because I don't care." that last part was a joke or at least Grace hoped it was a joke because she'd laughed at it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"The two walked toward the house in a comfortable silence at least for a while before Grace spoke to her again. "How did you find me?" she asked casually. Amelia explained./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""When I took on employment under One he gave me a trackerpad to locate any anomalies on the train. But, I was never satisfied with having things that only had one purpose so I modified it to connect with the train's database. Now I can locate anyone on the train, and I get alerts if someone is following me." she explained/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace nodded as they continued on but quickly had to stop, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her leg. Amelia turned and looked back at her seemingly only having noticed she was on crutches at that moment. She frowned deeply at the realization. "Did he-" Grace cut her off with a nod, she didn't need to hear the rest of the question. Amelia scowled. "What a piece of shit." she said angrily./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Grace looked shocked. "It's bad to speak ill of the dead." she muttered. Amelia rolled her eyes./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""If the dead don't want to be spoken poorly of they shouldn't have been awful when they were alive." she stated honestly. Grace figured that Amelia was probably right but she wasn't interested in discussing the idea any further. The two approached the hill that led to the house but as Grace prepared to climb up the thing Amelia started walking around it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Come on, I know a shortcut." she explained. As they trekked on Grace winced in pain from her leg once again and Amelia halted turning to look at her. "Let's take a rest." she announced and though Grace wanted to protest on the basis that she needed to get back to the Apex kids her leg clearly had other plans. She sat down next to Amelia and allowed her to examine it. "The splint work is fine but you'll need a proper cast if you insist on continuing to travel." She said as she looked it over./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Amelia dug in her satchel and handed Grace a pill bottle. "Take a few painkillers. That will be a good temporary solution." Amelia looked off at something Grace couldn't see. "I'm sorry. I could tell from day one that he was awful and I still left you with him. I'm an adult, I should have done better." Grace felt something well up in her chest. Everyone had apologized to her, Amelia, the Apex kids. They all felt guilt for what had happened even though it had nothing to do with them. They all felt responsible despite the fact that they shouldn't have./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Amelia looked at her curiously. "There is only one person who should feel sorry for what happened to me and he never will." she said seriously. Amelia gave her a bit of an odd look then a little smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Right then, let's keep moving, we shouldn't be too far from an emergency car, they should be able to put a proper cast on that leg of yours." Grace raised her eyebrows./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""What's an emergency car?" she asked. Amelia waved her off./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""I'll explain it when we get there. Besides, there is someone there who I think would be pleased to see you." It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce who Amelia was referring to. Grace felt her pulse quicken though not from fear this time or at least, not from the same type of fear. She was going to see Hazel again. Grace swallowed the painkillers and fought with herself mentally, she had to get back to the Apex kids but god she needed a nap./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;"Amelia stood up and pressed onward towards the car's exit. "Are you coming?" she asked. Grace looked back at the forest from whence she'd come. She stood up with her crutches and turned her back on it, on her guilt. There was only one person who deserved to feel guilty and he'd never have developed the sense of morality necessary to do it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;""Yeah, I'm coming." Grace responded as she followed Amelia toward the exit./p