Author's Note: Another ungodly-long wait. So sorry, but I've been quite busy with vacations and work around the house and such. Good news is, I am now finished with three semesters of college lol. Anyway, enjoy. There's only about two more chapters left.

Xion's PoV:

I collapsed to the ground in front of the school, completely exhausted and my leg hurt even worse. No doubt it was bleeding more, but I didn't have time to check it. I crawled up the stairs and into the building. The door was unlocked, so I had no trouble getting in. I picked myself up on one of the benches and breathed deeply over and over again for probably five minutes. I was out of breath, scared witless, and feeling weak from hunger. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning and couldn't take it anymore. If I could find the cafeteria, then maybe there would be some canned or dried food that was still good. I didn't count on anything more than some canned beans or snack bars in the vending machines. Silent Hill had been abandoned for decades. All substantial food that wasn't canned had spoiled after everyone cleared out. Did everyone really leave? Or did Kurami kill them? Whatever their fate was, I wasn't about to let it be Vanitas'.

I grit my teeth and walked to the other side of the wall to find a map. I used my phone light to illuminate the map and saw that the cafeteria was a few doors down the hall to my right. It was painful to walk, but I had no choice. I had to eat something or I would die of starvation over the next few days.

Using the map, I navigated through the halls in the dark to the kitchen area of the cafeteria. There was a pantry toward the back. I opened the pantry door and saw a few cans of beans and bottles of water. The cans were bulging and smelled bad, so I didn't even bother. The water bottles were all leaking. The smell was indescribably awful. Rot was all over the room. There was no way I would find anything edible here.

I left the cafeteria, stomach empty and heart full of disappointment, and pressed on through the school. If we could manage to escape soon, I'd be alright. Only if I was here a few more days would I feel the effects of starvation.

When the pain in my leg was too great, I collapsed down to the ground and leaned against the wall. "I'm never going to get out of here!" I whispered. "Oh Namine! Why did you have to die!" The grief for my sister was enough to incapacitate me for a good half hour. I just couldn't move. I sat there, eyes closed with tears streaming from my eyes while my heart shattered. "I feel so alone."

"Don't worry, Xion. You're not alone now," a voice said. I turned my head to see Sora crawling toward me.

"Sora, what are you doing here? And what happened to you?" I asked. "Why are you crawling?"

"My leg is broken," he said through his teeth. I could tell he was in so much pain.

"Where's Kairi?" I asked. "Did you get separated."

"She…she," he started. His eyes started to well up and I knew I wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "She died a few hours ago. This strange…woman murdered her."

That was enough to break me right there. "Kairi…not her too!" I whispered.

"Excuse me?" Sora asked.

"We've also lost Riku, Roxas, and Namine," I said. "And Vanitas…I don't know where he is. After we found each other and Riku, Kurami—the one doing all this—came and killed Riku. Vanitas made me run away and he stayed to fight her. Sora, I wish I'd never suggested we come here."

Sora pulled himself up and hugged me. "I knew Roxas and Namine were dead, but had no idea she got to Riku too. It's not your fault. We all wanted to come here. Don't blame yourself for something we'd been planning for years."

"Some graduation trip this turned out to be," I said. "Sora, if we get out of this alive, I'm never going anywhere again!"

"We will get out alive," he said. "There has to be some escape from this town."

"The roads end at endless drop-offs. There's no way we can get across," I said.

"There's a way," he said. "Remember those stories we heard? Harry and Heather Mason made it out. I thought it was just a bunch of urban legends, but there might have been some truth after all."

"Where do you think we should go first?" I asked.

"There was an old religious order around here years ago," he said. "Maybe there's something in one of their churches."

"I know where one church is, but that's where Vanitas and Kurami were," I said.

"She never stays in one place for very long, it seems," he said. "If Vanitas managed to hold her off for a while, she's probably gone somewhere else by now. What have we got to lose?"

"Nothing," I said. "We've already lost almost everything. Your girlfriend, my sister, our friends…"

"But no more," he said. "We're going to find Vanitas, get out of here, and never look back! I just need you to have faith that we can do this."

"Faith seems to be something I have very little of right now," I said. I crossed my arms and turned away from him.

"Well, we'll just have to use what little you have left," he said.

"How can we even go if you can't walk?" I asked.

"I see a solution over there," he said. He pointed toward the open janitor's closet and there was a wheelchair, probably belonging to some disabled kid, parked in front of it. "Just help me up into that and I'll wheel myself around."

"And if we run into a flight of stairs?" I asked,

"I'll figure that out when we get there," he said. I turned around to him again and he smiled. It was enough to coax a smile out of me, though I really didn't feel like it.

"I hope Vanitas is making her suffer right now!" I said. "For what she did to Namine…" I closed my hands into fists and grit my teeth to hold back my tears. "And for everyone else!"

"What's he going to do to something like that, though?" Sora asked.

"She…did something to him. She said something about using him as a vessel to escape this town," I said as I hauled him into the chair. "He's got some sort of supernatural power now. I saw it in his eyes. I think he can at least hold her off for a while, if not cause some significant pain to her. Anyway, we'd better get you to the church fast." I looked in the pocket on the back of the wheelchair and saw two little bottles. "Huh, wonder what these are?" I picked them up and the label simply read "Health Drink."

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"Health drinks," I said. "But…what do they do?" I read the back of one to see the instructions. It said it was a mild pain reliever that took effect almost immediately. "Sora, drink one of these. They're painkillers."

Sora took the drink I handed him and downed it in one gulp. I drank mine and felt instant relief from the pain in my leg. "I feel better already," Sora said.

"Me too," I said. I dropped my bottle on the floor and proceeded to guide Sora back to the church where Riku died. It would be hard seeing that place again, but I knew I had to find some answers, and that was the best place to look.

Vanitas' PoV:

I dodged a slash from Kurami's sword and crashed into the back row of seats. After recovering, I tapped into my demon power and ran up the way. I reached the window and did a backflip, coming down fast toward her skull. I plowed her into the ground and ran out the door. I knew she'd chase me, but I didn't care. I had to lead her as far away from wherever Xion, Sora, and Kairi might be as possible.

I darted down the streets as fast as I could. There were monsters all around me and my foot nearly caught in a hole in the pavement. I pressed on, though. Something inside me knew that she was following me and my plan was working. If only I could go a little further.

But what did I really hope to accomplish? If she caught me and killed me, she still might be able to get the others before they escaped. I was only buying time that wasn't even guaranteed. I could only hope for the best.

I eventually found myself at the drop off where the road ended. "Oh great," I muttered. "This is just so freakin' great!" I didn't expect to run into this problem so quickly. I looked around me, searching for the closest building. There was a bar to my left, so I charged into it through the door and hid behind the bar. I knew she was on my tail. It was only a matter of time before she would get to me.

Sure enough, the door opened and I was ready to fight again. I heard footsteps inch ever closer to me. I grabbed a broken shard of a whiskey bottle and prepared to attack. But then something unexpected happened. The footsteps started to get further away and the door opened and closed again. I risked a peek to see no one was in the room with me. I'd outrun her, for now at least.

Author's Note: Sorry it was so short, but I was out of ideas. lol I couldn't expand it any more. Next chapter is Beauty of Darkness and maybe a few one-shots. Until next time, friends.