The rain lashed out at her with such verocity that Lauran whimpered as she ran. The lightning lept from cloud to cloud; the thunder screamed its challenge to the earth, and the earth shuddered in response. Ringo walked with a far-away look in his eyes; at least, that's what Lauran thought. It was hard to see underneath his hat.
He walked easily, his arms swaying a little. Relief coursed through Lauran when she saw this. Because she was walking on his left side, she failed to notice that every time his right arm swung,his hand touched the handle of the Gun del Sol, and his fingers twitched nervously.
They were outside the mall and well on their way to 12th Avenue when they got their first clue that something was happening.
Lauran noticed it first. She looked back towards the mall and saw dark shapes moving for a split second. And then they were rocks. Her brow furrowed and Ringo turned to see too.
He nodded and looked down to her. He leaned far down so his face was close to hers.
"Now Lauran, don't show any sign of fear. I want you to keep walking towards my house. Remember, don't show fear. If they start to attack you, run, and don't look back. When you get to my house, close and lock the door. Then I need you to touch the yellow orb on the table. He'll know what to do from there.
"Please help my wife Lauran." he whispered. She looked up at his face and saw it pale as death. She nodded and he stood up straight.
"Go now."
She'd not gone ten yards before the dark shapes began to move around her and she began to run. The rain whipped her mercilessly and the thunder seemed to laugh at her fear.
Lauran kept running, and soon, it was all she knew.
She arrived at the house fairly quickly, sprinting as fast as she could. Lauran found herself at Ringo's door with the incredulous realization that she'd made it; she was still alive.
She speedily closed the door and locked it as many times as was possible. She then followed Ringo's instructions by touching the yellow orb on the table.
"Ooooooooooootenko!"
To say that Lauran was surprised to see the physical manifestation of the Sun appear in a bright flash of light doesn't do her reaction justice.
Otenko paid her no mind though, "Hm? It wasn't Ringo that called me. But why would he send...
"Oh fuck." Otenko flew out the window, yelling in his deep baritone voice as he did.
Lauran stood for a second, stunned from what had just happened. She quickly recovered though, and ran into the next room to where Mani was laying.
She opened the door and walked to the bed, lighting one of the lanterns on the wall as she passed. Mani lay on the bed, her eyes filled with pain and fear, her breathing shallow.
Lauran knew immediately what was wrong.
"Mani. I hope you remember what we did earlier this afternoon...
"Because you're about to do it again."