Sorry if I'm late, I've been on vacation. And I'm going on vacation again soon. So enjoy; we're nearing the end.

The numbness gradually drained from my limbs, leaving burning agony in its place.

I lashed my tongues. No escape from pain. There was only one way to do that.

But I couldn't. I couldn't eat a syndrigast. I couldn't.

But my legs moved of their own accord, and I found myself following the fading smell of Food.

Jacob the syndrigast was there. I had to find him.

But would I eat him when I found him? I didn't know.

The pain had lessened. I could think more clearly now. I exited the now-melted ice building, ready for the hunt.

Food – the syndrigasti – was nearby. Leaving fast, but the smell lingered. They were exiting the loop, or something of the sort.

I caught a whiff of something else. Something mixed with syndrigasti.

My leaders.

I had to hurry. If I wanted to reach Jacob, I had to get there fast.

Other POV

Tamara and Evan hurried down into the Underground's entrance. Time was of the essence, as Evan liked to say.

The Underground didn't look particularly magical. There were seats and murals and just about everything you would expect to find in a regular subway station, except everything seemed somehow… rounder. A brightly colored train was just leaving the station.

"So, what are we doing, Tamara?" Evan asked, still breathing hard from their earlier escapade. "Since you seem to have everything figured out."

Tamara shrugged, glancing around the semi-empty platform. She looked uncertain.

"I… don't know. The Hollow's here, though."

Evan looked up, startled. "How do you know that?"

Tamara blinked. "Um, I'm not sure," she said. "It's kind of a feeling."

It was actually more than that. Tamara didn't know what exactly, but she had a feeling that the Hollowgast was here, at the London loop. Tamara didn't have time to puzzle over how she knew this, though. They had to find the loop.

"Do you think it's raided yet?" she asked worriedly.

Her confidence seemed to have taken a dive recently. Evan had no idea why, but she'd been going back and forth a lot lately.

"I don't –" he started, but before he could finish, Tamara's question was answered.

Just as some more people entered the station, a smaller crowd came in seemingly through the tunnel.

Tamara's and Evan's blood simultaneously turned to ice. Some of the people in the crowd had gleaming white eyes.

"We should run," Tamara said in a harsh whisper. "We're too late. The loop's been raided. We need to hide. I can't go through that again."

"Get a grip!" Evan said. "We need to do something. Look!"

He tilted his head towards the crowd; while some of them were Wights, most were kids in handcuffs.

"What're we supposed to do?" Tamara asked, crossing her arms. "They're monsters. Maybe they were peculiars once, but they're still monsters. And I – I just can't –"

Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

Evan stared at her, alarmed. "Calm down. It's fine." Inside, though, he was wondering where the other, determined side of her was. "Look, it's not too late. We still have some tricks up our sleeves."

Tamara looked at him, not comprehending.

He looked back at her.

"Oh! Right!" she exclaimed, drying her eyes with her sleeve. A few passing people glanced at her.

"Shh!" Evan reminded, peeking at the Wights over Tamara's shoulder. They hadn't heard her outburst, which was good. "Okay. You take out the ones that look like police officers, I'll get the other ones."

Tamara nodded hopefully, but as she levitated a bench from across the slowly crowding platform, her face fell. "They're holding guns." It was true, although hard to see.

"Oh," said Evan, putting down his hands that had been charging with electricity. He had to come up with a new plan. But a new plan wasn't coming to him….

"They're moving this way," Tamara warned urgently. "We have to go. Now."

Evan nodded, defeated. There was no way to help, not without getting someone shot.

They drew into the shadows of the platform, watching as the Wights led Miss Wren's wards to a train that had entered the station. The Wights cleared out a car and led the peculiars inside.

"I can't look," Tamara whimpered, hiding behind her hands.

Evan couldn't help but watch, though, as some peculiars tried to escape and the Wights began shooting. There were screams, and the normal people stampeded out of the Underground.

"We have to get out of here," Evan said, dragging Tamara along the wall, closer to the tunnel.

"But aren't there more of them inside the loop?" she replied, stumbling after him.

"We can't stay out here." Evan led the way inside the tunnel. The last thing they heard before entering the loop was one loud, final gunshot.