(Untitled)

[npwa]

Lenore Ackart has seen some strange things in her lifetime, but not once did she ever expect to find herself standing in the middle of a barren wasteland, and yet... here she is.

There isn't a sign of any life around -- human, animal, plant, nothing. She's standing on a gigantic mound of dirt and debris and cannot, for the life of her, figure out

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[wearsredhelmet]

Eventually, there is someone wandering through the filthy, ruined area. It's a little girl with bright blonde hair, wearing demin over-alls, white sneakers, a pink T-shirt, and a Disney Princess (Jasmine, Cinderella and Ariel) backpack.

Her left hand trails beside her, clutching Marie's hand something invisible at this distance.

[npwa]

Lenore awoke only an hour ago and found herself searching through rubble for something, anything that would prove to somehow be useful.

She catches sight of the small someone out of the corner of her eye and turns suddenly, hand instinctively going to the weapon on her belt.

When she sees that it's a child, her hand falls to her side.

[wearsredhelmet]

Bridgette stops at the movement, eyes wide.

Slowly, she raises her right hand. Even more slowly, like someone who's forgotten how, she waves it.

[npwa]

Lenore, bewildered at the sight of someone (a child, no less), slowly raises her own hand and returns the gesture.

She isn't very good with children.

[wearsredhelmet]

Bridgette has the dream again. Ariel shows her the map. She knows the way to Kansas.

They find a grey Ford station wagon the second day. This car isn't smashed open (by giants?) and there are keys on the ground nearby.

There's also a lot of dried blood on the ground. Torn scraps of cloth. Lots of flies. "Weird," Bridge comments. "There're usually bodies 'cuz of the flu. They smell bad." And thus, she immediately stops worrying about the lack of bodies.

There's a mostly intact shopping mall nearby. Bridgette stocks up on food and juice and lots of candy, Marie at her side.

When she comes out of the shopping mall, she's looking up, talking to a large, bemused-looking middle-aged man the air.

"Hey, Lenore, I made a friend!"

[npwa]

"That's great," Lenore says, peering out from the open hood of the car. She's been checking the engine, just to make sure everything's going to run okay.

She doesn't see anyone.

This doesn't surprise her.

[wearsredhelmet]

Bridge has her hand out, holding onto Marie's hand thin air.

"His name is Andrew Jones and this is his car and Marie likes him!" She's crazy grateful that Marie isn't pitching a fit like she usually does when she meets strangers. It's so nice when things are peaceful.

"You remember what I told you there, dear," the man tells Bridgette, looking hopefully at Lenore - but she can't see him. He can feel it deep down in whatever passes for his body.

"Oh, right. And he says we should watch out for the 'dactyls."

[npwa]

...

This makes Lenore step out from behind the car, a slight sinking feeling in her stomach.

"The what?"

As if on cue, a huge creature screeches from atop a distant building, wings outstretched. It takes flight and soars over them, beating up dust from the ground --

Lenore knows what Pterodactyls look like, and they're extinct. That thing, that -- whatever it was -- was not a Pterodactyl.

Pterodactyls don't have tentacles.

"GET IN THE CAR!" she shrieks, slamming the hood of the car shut and darting for the driver's seat.