Faye grimaced as she punched through Abigail's window. The glass shattered and she fumbled for the lock to finally open it wide enough to enter. She jumped in and scanned Abigail's empty room.

To her surprise, it was not ransacked at all. After checking her closet and in and around her furniture, there were no monsters in hiding either. She grimaced, however, at how much heavier her pack suddenly became after that jump. With a small fraction of time to herself, she peered at the Stardrops.

The four she acquired still had their eerie purple-black glow around them. She gave one of them a shake, and the black on it lingered momentarily in the air before attaching itself again to the Stardrop. To her horror, however, she saw as it slowly began to suck in what bits of the sickly mist hung in the room, and she began to feel it seep through her fingertips along with the Stardrop's black substance.

She dropped it in sudden fear before thinking twice and putting it back in her pack. The seeping feeling immediately disappeared, though gunshots, visions of blood, and her mother's screams began reverberating in her head. Fighting back tears and the threatening loss of her vision, she roughly shook her head and found herself again on solid ground in Abigail's room.

What is all this doing to me?

At once, she went back to the window and signaled to Maru, Sam, and Harvey, who were waiting anxiously from Harvey's bedroom. Upon seeing her safe, they relaxed from their tense postures and Maru prepared to jump. Sam followed with slight clumsiness, and Harvey finished the line hanging on for dear life at the sil.

"Not cut out for the field, Doc?" Sam joked as he and Faye helped pull him inside.

"Not at all," Harvey muttered as he dusted himself off of leaves and twigs, "Only for fresh air and some sunshine."

"Abi's not here?" Maru asked, looking around wildly and proceeding to open the bedroom door. Faye stepped in front of her, sword drawn.

"Doesn't seem like it," she whispered, working to get her head back from her memories. Slowly, she reached for the door and suddenly flung it open. A chorus of screaming occurred at once. In front of them, Pierre and Caroline, obviously panicked and scared, had pistols pointed in Faye's, Maru's, Sam's, and Harvey's faces.

"GOOD YOBA YOU SCARED US!" Pierre exclaimed sharply, putting his pistol in its holster. He and Caroline were both none the worse for wear save for a few dirt smears and disheveled hair.

"Are you guys alright? Where's Abigail?" Harvey asked them as Faye tapped Maru discreetly on the shoulder and gestured towards Abigail's closet.

"Abigail's gone to the caves late yesterday. She hasn't been back since," Caroline answered in a shaky voice, "I hope nothing bad happened to her."

"Of all places to be at NOW…" Faye muttered frustratedly as she stripped through clothes in dark shades.

"She took her sword, didn't she?" Sam asked, "It's missing." Pierre nodded gravely in reply.

"Hey! What are you girls doing?" he asked as Faye and Maru stepped out in some of Abigail's clothing. Sam and Harvey bit back amused grins. Maru was clad in a plaid skirt and a band t-shirt while Faye sported a semi-midriff top and baggy pants. Both girls waved off the two guys and turned to Pierre and Caroline apologetically.

"Just borrowing some clothes. We'll replace them someday if you'd like," Faye assured them kindly as she tried to pull down her top, "In the meantime, you two better stay out of these monsters' way. You're lucky you lasted this long."

"Can we just stay in here? We've got food and some medical supplies, though probably not as good as the stuff you have, Dr. Harvey," Pierre asked nervously.

"I'll stay with you," Harvey suggested, "Maru, head out with Sam and Faye to check on the rest of the town."

"The next closest building other than the saloon would be Alex's house," Maru said as she looked out a window, "Bad news though: it's overrun." True enough, there were at least 10 Shadow Brutes lounging in front of the door with a new group of serpents lazing on the roof. Their faces all paled.

"Mayor Lewis's house then?" Sam proposed next. Faye and Maru nodded readily. "It's farther, but I think we can do it."

"I've got some cherry bombs here. We can clear the way while you run for it," Pierre said as he led them all to the store front.

"Ugh, I don't get the practical appeal of this," Maru whined quietly as she picked at her skirt. Pierre and Caroline gave her a look of agreement as they prepped their barricaded door.

"Gotta admire cartoon characters who can fight in such clothes," Faye scowled as Sam and Harvey just chuckled in the background, "Abigail has such good taste."

The first bomb explosion resounded in the air as Sam, Maru, and Faye rushed first towards the Saloon. When they were safely in the entrance bushes, they watched as the serpents on Alex's roof swooped down with the Brutes towards the clearing closer to the river.

"I think Mayor Lewis is doing well for himself too," Sam noticed, gesturing towards the house. Around its perimeter were dead monsters and resources for grabs. Faye looked closer and saw gunshot wounds.

"Did you WANT to be in the thick of things like this?" Maru asked her in a hushed voice. Faye scowled darkly.

"It wasn't exactly how I imagined getting my beauty rest," she answered with a tense smile, equally as quiet as she silently cursed her memory upsurge, "Let's go."

Just as they left, a yelp of surprise sounded among them. Maru was snatched by the leg, a serpent hiding in one of the bushes, and it slowly began to slither up her torso as she recoiled hesitantly. But before Sam or Faye could pull out a weapon, the serpent was shot clean in the head. They looked around wildly for the source once Maru was wildly released.

"Run kids! Get over here!"

"Lewis!"

He had thrown open his front door as the three of them ran inside. Lewis closed, locked, and barricaded the door behind them, a shotgun in his hands.

"You alright?" he asked, "That was quite risky what you did, running across town like that."

"We already did half the town. Why not the other half?" Sam told him as they caught their breath. To their surprise, the inside of Lewis's home was made up like a bunker. He had pitched guns near all of his windows and had stashes of food nearby as well. "You're doing pretty well for yourself though."

"Yes, but I wish I could do more for the town in that regard," Lewis said darkly, "Get some rest." Immediately, Faye dropped her pack to the floor and plopped onto the couch. For such a small thing, it was becoming almost unbearable. She looked to her shoulder and saw that it was already chafed on the verge of bleeding.

However, the amount of red blood she saw was mixed in with more black. She jumped in surprised and looked around semi-wildly. She caught Sam eyeing her distorted injury and quickly moved her shirt sleeve to promptly hide it. He looked at her, and she dismissed it with a look hiding her concern.

"Do you know if Elliott and Willy made it from the beach?" Faye asked, the window in front of her facing out towards the bridge, where it was still equally as dark beyond it.

"I haven't seen them," Lewis answered gravely, "I hoped they'd be able to make it. At this rate, I just hope they're still alive. There's been swarms of serpents coming in every now and then from the beach."

"Can we risk running out to the beach though?" Sam asked as he too looked out the window. He flinched as a cave bat rammed into the glass.

"I can clear out a path for you," Lewis said as he cocked another of his guns, "If serpents come up again, I've got your back."

"Do you need some help, Mayor?" Maru asked, "I can help keep monsters at bay for them too if you'll allow me to handle your guns." Lewis scrutinized her for a few seconds.

"Alright. I could use a pair of fresh eyes," he grinned.

"Not too keen on heading out?" Sam taunted jokingly. Maru punched him in the arm.

"That, and I don't think I'm properly dressed for it," she gestured to her clothing getup. He nodded in understanding, sporting an amused grin.

Lewis then looked at Faye. "You two up for this?" Sam and Faye exchanged looks.

"Yeah. We can check it out," Faye assured him with a nod, "But before we do, have you seen anything of Alex, Penny, or any more of the others?"

"No. Nothing yet," Lewis added quietly, "If Maru or I see them, we'll see what we can do to keep them safe."

"Thanks. You're a lot sharper than most of us take your for, sir," Sam beamed widely, earning rolled-eye smirk from Lewis. And before she made a move, he grabbed Faye's pack. "And I'll be taking this," he added quietly. Faye made a grab and he jumped out of her reach.

"It's fine. I can take it," she muttered as she finished up strapping her sword again. Instead, Sam flung it over his shoulder.

"Tough nuts. You ready?"

Lewis and Maru took up positions at the front window with guns in their hands. Faye stood up from the couch, determined to shake off her creeping dread. Her fingers tingled uncomfortably, which she combated by cracking her knuckles. "Yeah. Let's go."

Lewis cocked his gun readily and threw open the window after clearing his doorway.

"Here come some Brutes. At first shots, make a run for it."