[Sorry for the late update! I didn't intend it to take this long... but I was trying to figure out what I would have happen in this chapter xD; Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses.]

I don't own ObsCure: The Aftermath, or it's characters.

Jun followed the blood trail to the side of the road, hopping off the edge. Her feet hit the forest floor with a small 'thump', and she kept her gaze forward from fear of anything popping out at her. She still lacked the comforts of a weapon, and she suddenly felt extremely alone without Richard there. Not to mention that without him supporting her, she was forced to limp.

Fun, fun. If she ran into anything from here on out, she was beyond screwed. She was S-C-R-E-W-E-D. Oh... meant the same thing. Oh well.

Squinting in attempt to see the ground, she groaned when she realized that following a blood trail through grass wasn't going to be the easiest thing in the world. And she could still hear Corey whining through the walkie-talkie, questioning the little sanity she'd been left with. Ha – look who was talking!

Shaking her head, Jun cleared her mind, leaning down and pressing her hand against the ground. Slowly, she followed the feeling of liquid, letting her know whatever had grabbed her teacher had definitely gone north of here... Or, she thought it was north. She hoped it was. God knows Richard would lecture her if she was wrong about anything – on the seat of death or not.

Coming back to her feet, she slowly began to limp in said direction, her eyes nervously gazing through the trees and bushes surrounding the area. Honestly, she preferred to simply play horror games, as opposed to living through one. The thoughts were more appealing when you knew that if you died, you'd just come back. Well, if your the actual character... apparently you don't have the same luxury as the player.

Fucking horror games. How unfair!

Gripping her stomach with one of her bandaged hands, she grumbled something under her breath before pausing. She registered a small rustle in the bush. Air getting stuck in her throat, the girl turned around, vaguely reminding herself to keep her brave posture. Maybe she could scare them off... ha.

Against her common sense, she spoke, "H... Hello?" There was a long pause, then another rustle. Slowly, the leaves on the bush began to part, and a small figure – and that means, s-m-a-l-l – began to step out from the structure.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Jun neared the animal once she realized what it was. A cat! She had been getting worked up over a small cat! Bending down, she stroked the creatures back, listening as it purred lightly. However, within a second, the cat began to hiss, and quickly swatted her hand away. Taking off in the other direction, a series of hisses escaped it's lips.

"What the hell?" Jun blinked a few times, rising to her feet. "Crazy ca-" She cut off. Suddenly, she understood why that cat had run off like that. "Crap!" The girl ducked down just in time as a large claw tried to swipe at her head. Rushing Turning on her heels, she didn't even try to see what the creature was as she ran at full speed in the direction the blood trail had led to. She could hear it grunting and growling behind her, it's attempts to catch up not completely futile.

Jun clutched her stomach once more, panting lightly as she pushed herself forward – aware of the possibility that over-working herself in this condition could lead to her grave. However, she'd rather die like this than how that monster could kill her!

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! I'm so screwed!" Jun let out a groan of displeasure as another strike of pain went through her stomach, not to mention that she could feel the creature's claws trying to hit her. They were, what? An inch away?

Picking up her speed, despite how much her body protested, she brought one of her hands up above her head and quickly flipped the monster off. "Go to hell!" Ah. Yes. Now her dreams were complete – she'd insulted a monster.

With one, final, burst of speed, the girl quickly noticed a figure coming into focus in front of her. For a moment, she feared it would be another mutant ready to attack her, but she realized within one hopeful second that it was, in fact, a building. Thank God! And what's even better, the blood trail was coming into view on the porch in front of it!

Well, err, better for her, that is. Not Richard.

As soon as her feet hit the concrete that was planted into the forest floor, she dove for the door, swinging it open. Piling herself inside, she turned, and slammed the door, vaguely getting a glance of the creature's face before it blocked her from the thing. A loud slam on the other side caused her to stumble back a bit. That thing was going to try and break through, probably, which made her groan in dissatisfaction. She had to get a move on.

Jun turned to look at the building to was in – to the side was a mesh gate that probably only Corey could climb over – fucking monkey-man – and up in front of her stood a large double-door. Another thump interrupted her minor sight-gazing. Without thinking about it, she simply made her way up a small flight of stairs, stopping at the large doors.

Looking down at the ground, she confirmed the blood trail led on the other side.... Pushing them open, she stepped in to find herself in a hallway. To one side, a door blocked by some wooden structure stood there, mocking her as if daring her to try to move it. Or maybe she was just going insane.

Jun grunted and made her way down the hall, half awaiting the moment some giant monster came out an attacked her. Watch her jinx herself. She passed by a large hole in the wall – which only had an odd box with key-holes sitting inside – and made her way to the end of the hall, glancing to each side. The right had an electrical cord laying on the side, so she immediately eliminated going that way. To the left was another door... seemed promising.

She walked up to the structure, placing her hand on the knob. Turning it slightly, she sighed when she realized it was locked. Great. Turning back to go the way she'd come, the young collage student paused when she heard a slight rumbling to the side. Gaze switching over to the wall nearby, she squinted her eyes in wonder as a small pounding began.

"Wha-" Jun was cut off as a large monster burst through the wall, sending pieces of plaster everywhere. One piece hit her in the chest, causing her to bounce back a few steps. She was happy to know it didn't hurt as much as being thrown out a window, though. Groaning, she ducked down as a claw was swiped at her once more. Skirting around him, she went into the room he'd just busted from, now completely desperate for a weapon. Nothing! Damn!

She did notice something though. Resting on a shelf was a slightly larger key, glistening in the darkness of the room. Snatching it off the shelf, she danced around the monster once more as he came up on her, trying to crush beneath his unique weight. She was pretty sure even dinosaurs weren't as big as this thing... well, okay, maybe.

Jun scrambled back through the hall, though she only made it half-way before noticing another door she hadn't stopped at. Blinking a few time, she quickly grabbed onto the knob, wiggling it as best as she could. Locked! Remembering the key she'd just grabbed, she shakily placed it into the hole, and turned it until she heard a small click.

Aware that the large creature was looming right behind her, she threw the door open – she seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight – and ran into the room. She didn't bother closing the door. It'd just bust through again. Running forward, she noticed a few gas pumps strewn around the room. Thank God – they were turned off. [Not for long, as we players of ObsCure know xD Jun got lucky!]. She made her way into the maze-like structure in front of her, twining through the various twists and turns in a furious limp.

Once she made it to the other side, the monster busting through the maze behind her, she noticed a ladder. Approaching it, she grabbed on, ignoring the pain it shot through her hands, and began pulling herself up, one step at a time.

When she reached the top, she looked down to see the large monster attempting to jump up. Not really enjoying the thought of becoming quick food, she turned and ran down the ramp she'd come up to. At the end, it turned to the left to reveal a door. How many different doors could be in one building? Well, then again... Jun's body was jerked back slightly as the giant monster grabbed onto the railings, trying to tear it off.

Groaning, Jun quickly entered the last door, slamming it shut. Then, without thinking about it, slumped onto her knees. Resting her forehead against the door, she let out a few pants, trying not to let her eyes close. It was probably stupid of her to lay here without checking behind her first, but she was worn out... and in a lot of pain.

Oh, yeah, terrified. Did she mention terrified?

Jun didn't take long to realize how serious this was, though, and stood back to her feet, head whipping around to see the area she was in. It looked like a control room... Making her way to the front, she noticed that the large glass screen was watching over an elevator shaft. Tilting her head, she inspected it, trying to lean her body forward to peer down.

"Richard!" Jun practically screamed the man's name with joy as she noticed his figure down in the shaft, although he was hunched over, blood leaking from his stomach. Suddenly feeling a bit sickened, and stressed, she ran over to the entrance doors, almost throwing herself into the shaft with urgency.

She failed to notice the fuse box had been tampered with for a while... although, they didn't seem ruined yet.

"Mr. James?" Jun slowed down as she approached him, kneeling down next to the injured professor. He groaned in response, shifting in his place lightly. "Are you okay?" She blinked a few times, realizing how stupid that sounded. Here he was, covered in blood, and she was asking about his health. [Lmfao, Henry from SH4: The Room xDD]

"I'm... dandy," he replied, letting it sound a bit forced. At least he was awake, though. He looked up at her, noticing she had a few new bruises and such – also the fact she was still without a weapon. Rolling his eyes, she wasn't surprised when he found the moment to make a snooty remark, even now. "Your hopeless."

"Look who's talking!" Jun stood up and offered her hand. Richard hesitantly took it, and with her help, managed to get on his feet again. Upon closer inspection, the young girl realized his wound wasn't that serious... in fact, he was barely injured! Well, err, aside from the slash on his forehead from the crash. So... who's blood was all over him? More importantly, if he hadn't bled enough to leave that trail of blood, who the hell had?

Maybe it was the monster they hit?

With her head whirling, Jun tried to push the thought of her mind. Last thing she needed was more worries. "Um, Richard, what exactly had carried you off?" She tilted her head slightly, curiosity over-coming her common sense. She knew very well what had carried him off ever since Corey had mentioned it, but she had to make sure.

"It was... well... it had the face of that teen I told you about. He-"

"Kenny." Jun didn't even let him finish his sentence. She knew it! But why would Kenny be after Mr. James? It just didn't make any sense. Then again, why did he choose to become one of those things? Nothing was going right anymore.

"Bingo." Richard placed a hand under his chin in thought, shaking his head. "We better get out of here. He still might be-"

"Nearby?" A rough voice finished the sentence for them, causing the two humans to jump. The both whirled to face the exit, only to be greeted with the face of Kenny Matthews himself. Funny, last time she'd seen this man, he'd been dragged off by his sister.

"Kenny!" Jun screeched in dismay, jumping behind Richard. She didn't know if it was because he was being nice, or if he was just delusional, but he protectively made sure to plant his footing down in front of her. At least it seemed she had a for-sure friend – she needed one at the moment! Though, having her teacher protect her was a bit weird...

"What are you doing here?" Ah, there we go. There was that ever-logical voice she knew! Sometimes she wished Richard would show more emotion. It'd be nice to know that he wasn't a robot or anything.

"I'm here for her." Kenny's mutated head strained to look behind the man, growling as he caught Jun in his sight. "I'm going to kill her, just so she can be with her sister."

It suddenly hit Jun. Corey's voice of dismay, Shannon's attempt at using the past tense, and what Kenny just said...

"No..." Jun's shoulders slumped, and her attitude suddenly fizzled. "Mei... she's... she's dead, isn't she?" Kenny just chuckled to her answer, which caused unwanted droplets to form in the girl's eyes. Covering her mouth, a sound as if she were being strangled escaped her.

Richard, realizing that it would probably be best to let Jun have a moment, found himself glaring daggers silently at the mutant before them. He knew he'd be feeling the same way in Jun's position – and while he really didn't understand, or care for that matter, how she was going to handle this – he just prayed she cried or whatever after they were out of danger.

She may be his student, but she as in no way his friend. From his point of view, anyways.

Much to their dismay, it took only one second, one movement, and one roar. Somehow, Kenny had pushed Richard out of the way. And somehow, he'd gotten over to the crest-fallen girl. And somehow he'd managed to pin her to the ground.

Next thing Jun knew, she had closed her eyes, waiting for the monster to bite her head off or something... but it never came. She heard Richard groan from wherever he'd landed – and then....

BLAM

A shotgun was fired from one of the directions. She slowly opened her eyes to see Kenny hobbling off of her. Above them on the entrance to the shaft stood a very pissed-off Corey. No one else... just him. Jun sat up, swiping her cheeks of any tears that'd fallen – either from fear, depression, or the impact of Kenny knocking her over.

Richard had gotten up and was making his way to a crank on the wall. Within moments, he turned it, and a large light fell on top of Kenny. The monster groaned as it dropped onto him, his blackened eyes looking up at all three of them before the mesh below his weight gave way – the mesh, Kenny, and the light all tumbling down a hole.

Both males turned their gaze towards the frozen Jun, who sat wide-eyed in her spot. Corey hesitantly made his way over to her, and Richard kept his distance. He barely had any emotions himself, last thing he needed was to listen to someone else complain about their's.

"Jun?" Corey bent down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl didn't respond. "...Jun?"

Finally, she let out a strangling gasp, her bandaged hands going up to cover her face. It didn't take a genius to tell she was crying. Not that either of them blamed her – Corey wondered how he hadn't cried yet. Apparently, he'd just gotten really pissed off.

Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bunny key-chain. Placing it in Jun's lap, he sighed. "We have to go. We can't wait around here..."

Jun just let out a loud sob/groan to let them know she agreed. Richard grunted in response, already moving towards the doors.

Corey proceeded to help the girl onto her feet – despite the fact she was now clutching onto the key-chain like it was her life – and looked over to the professor. "Everyone else is still at the hospital. We should hurry."

Said man turned and got one last glance at Jun's sulking figure. One of her hands were wrapped tightly around Mei's key-chain, even though she held the same hand up to the corner of her eye. The opposite hand was clutching onto the back of Corey's jacket, as if at any time she might stumble and he would be her post.

Sighing, Richard opened the exit door and motioned for them to follow. "I should say so."

Awww D: Poor Jun...
Aside from that – GOD! She needs to find a weapon, doesn't she? XD Oh well, she can use Corey as a shield! (I have nothing against him, I swear. I just find him amusing!)

At least I fit some action in there :D Although I can't say I'm not happy Kenny didn't die there. :( Bastard! I wish he'd been the first one we killed in the game... And to think his friends went through so much trouble to save him back at Leafmore. Tsk!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D