An escape from reality

Posted on Thu Jan 27th, 2022 @ 7:52am by Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani & Lieutenant JG Damien Blackford

Mission: Season 5: Episode 3: CAPETOWN
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: MD 9 1300
5515 words - 11 OF Standard Post Measure

Damien sat in his quarters, a glass of water on the table next to him. He had a book in his hand, with music playing softly in the background, but it was pointless. He couldn't focus. Hell, he'd just spent the last 15 minutes reading and rereading the same page over and over again, and he had no idea what was even happening. He sighed, flicking back a few pages, before grabbing the bookmark of the sofa next to him and marking his page.

"Computer, stop the music." The silence filled the apartment quickly, and Damien sighed, running a hand through his hair. Reading wasn't working. He needed a better escape from the memories of the last couple of days. Luckily, he knew exactly what would work. If simply reading a story couldn't help him, maybe living it out would provide the necessary distraction. Thankfully, he had a Holodeck program perfect for the situation.

And so it was, a few minutes later, he found himself approaching the nearest Holodeck, coming to a stop a few feet away as he saw someone stood in front of the controls. And there was only one person he knew with hair that bright. Taking a deep breath, he started forward once more. "Hi. Ensign Derani, right?"

Miraj was trying to have something to do. She'd got a day off, but she'd already been in the flight simulator and been cut off, and now she wanted something to do, but playing the next chapter of Bloodbeard without S'hib didn't seem fair. So she stood outside the one of the holodecks, scrolling through the library, hoping desperately for inspiration to strike, distractedly curling a lock of pink hair from her bunches around a finger.

Hearing her name she jumped and turned to see Damian standing there. "Hey Damien. Call Me Miraj. I'm not fussy."

He smiled, nodding at her. "Sure Miraj." Running a hand through his hair, he gestured towards the control panel. "Were you planning on running something?" He asked. "I can always go somewhere else if you needed the Holodeck." He offered.

"No, no, its fine." she said quickly. "I can't find anything to play anyway. I don't even know what half of this stuff means, let alone if I want to play it." She squinted at the screen. "like what is 'Dynamite Jones' anyway? There's no info apart from the title. Or 'Where the wolf leads?' or 'Out of the dark'. I could be here all day and be none the wiser."

Damien couldn't help but grin slightly, letting out a soft chuckle. "Mind if I take a look?" He said, stepping up next to her, flicking through, pressing a couple of buttons. "Here. You had it to set to 'Title only' view. This mode lets you know what each one is about. If the creator bothered to make a synopsis, that is." He added after.

"But, if you're looking for something to play, I came here to play something. It can be played solo, but it's better with more people. If you're interested?"

Miraj's shoulders sagged as Damien reset the display. She felt so stupid. Maybe playing something different would take her mind off it. "Er sure. Just to warn you, I normally have to play with everything on easy."

Damien noticed the drop in her shoulders, but said nothing about it, instead choosing to shrug, and gently punch her shoulder. "Hey, ain't no worries. As long as everyone involved is having fun, who cares what the difficulty setting is." He said, offering her, what he hoped, was a reassuring smile.

"Well if you don't mind, then yes. I'd love to. Do i need to get changed?" She gestured at her clothes - lime green shorts that barely covered her arse, with peach suspenders and a pale blue bardot top that skimmed her midriff.

Damien's eyes briefly glanced over her clothing, chuckling slightly. "Interesting colour choices." He said, before shaking his head. "The program comes with a costume chest. You can change in the Holodeck." Turning back to the control panel, he scrolled through the list, before coming to the correct program. "Ready when you are."

Slipping out of her suspenders, Miraj walked into the holodeck, into what looked like a wooden cabin, appointed to look like a changing room, with a rack of clothes on one side, and a curtained changing space on the other. "Okay. Anything you recommend?" She looked at the rack. There was a lot of black. velvet, satin, leather, silk, lace, canvas, denim and drill, clothes in every possible texture, broken up by the occasional item in dark colours. Compared to them, Miraj looked like an accident in a glitter factory. "So, what will I need?"

Stepping into the Holodeck, and looking around, Damien headed over to the clothing rack and started going through the assorted garments. "Well, that all depends on which character you decide to play." He said, turning to face her. "There's Gevaudon, leader of a pack of Werewolves. They favour a more physical combat style, and they tend to wear more basic clothing. Leather armour, that sort of style. There's Raziel, ruler of an Ancient Vampire clan. They favour a more magic style of combat, and have a more regal dressing."

"Or, if you fancy fighting against each other, there's Mandel, a Human hunter. His fighting style is more human, swords and bows. As expected, his clothing style is more armoured than the others. Leather underclothes and light armour on top. So. Who do you fancy?"

"hmmm." Miraj looked at the rack againd. Leather undergarments sounded chafing, and magic combat sounded complicated. Not to mention the more regal looking stuff also looked complicated to put on. Tight too. She was no stranger to a pair of stays, but there was also a reason she played the cabin boy, and there was way more buckles and straps and zips and clasps than you found on any simple pair of bodies. "I think I'd better stay simple, physical stuff. Werewolf it is.". She pulled some pieces away, "I'm still going to need help with the armour though."

He nodded, stepping away from the rack and walking over to where the leather armour was stored, grabbing a pair of thick leather and fur trousers and a thin woolen shirt, handing them to her. "Here. Get changed into these, and I'll get the rest of the armour sorted for you."

She disappeared behind the curtain and a second later the lime green shorts were slung over the rail. "So If I'm the werewolf. What are you going to be?" The pale blue top hit the rail, and promptly fell off as her wriggling disturbed the curtain.

Turning back to the chest, he started pulling out the various bits and pieces that made up her armour. Breastplate, pauldron, rerebraces, and vambraces for the upper body. A leather skirt and shin pads with shoes for the lower body. "I'll be playing Raziel." He said, digging around the bottom, eventually pulling out a small coif. "You want a helmet or not?" He asked, turning around, raising an eyebrow at the moving curtain. "Erm, everything okay in there, Miraj?"

"I think so. You just get yourself sorted, and I'll be out in a sec."

"Alright. Well, most of the armour's ready. Just shout if you need any help." Turning around, he headed over to another chest, and started pulling out his own clothing. Dark red trousers, combined with a white shirt, and a dark red overcoat, a long black cape attached at his shoulders, and knee length black boots.

She was waiting for him when he merged, dressed in dark suede and white fur leggings, and a charcoal suede shirt, she had thrown a jacket trimmed with thick black fir, shot through with tufts of grey over the top, and taken the time to braid her pink hair close to her head in a series of small french braids. She nodded at his ensemble. "I don't know much about vampires, but you look very.. vampire-y."

Looking over at her, he smiled and nodded approvingly. "Looking good." He said, before raising an eyebrow. "And exactly should a Vampire look?" He asked. "I mean, isn't a Vampire's greatest asset the fact he can blend in and get close without raising suspicions." He said, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides, one could raise the counterpoint that you don't look very Werewolf-y."

"Well, I suppose its the lack of tail?" Miraj looked over her shoulder,, trying to see her bum. "Maybe I should have a tail."

He chuckled, nodding. "True. Do you want a tail?" He asked. "I can always get the computer to add one when we start the program."

"A tail would be awesome." she giggled. "So. Any tips for this, or should I just run at things screaming?"

"Then a tail you shall have." He said, grinning. "Maybe not quite like that. So, the premise of this adventure is rather simple. Vampires and Werewolves have been mortal enemies for as long as anyone can remember. However, recently Humans have started hunting us. So, the leaders of the oldest Vampire Clan, and Werewolf pack, that's us, have decided that maybe it's time to put old rivalries aside, and team up to try and survive. However, on the way to a neutral meeting ground, we were ambushed and captured."

"So, the aim of the game is simple. Escape from the Hunters prison, and make it to the meeting ground, before it's too late. If either of us dies. Game over. If we fail to escape in time. Game over." He grinned at her, folding his arms over his chest. "So, what do you think?"


Privately, Miraj was fairly certain that if he was relying on her, they were going to lose. But she smiled brightly "Escape the bad guys, don't be slow, don't get dead. Easy."

He chuckled softly. "You make it sound so easy." He said, before gesturing to where he'd laid the leather armour out. "There's some more armour over there, if you wanted that as well." He offered.

"I don't know, if we have to move fast it will probably just slow me down. I think I'll be good." She assured him. "lets go!"

He nodded. "Smart choice." Walking over to the pile, he quickly scooped them up, dumping them back in the chest which he'd got them from, before quickly grabbing a pair of dark red vambraces, quickly strapping them on. Turning back to Miraj, he grinned. "Ready when you are."

"then Let's do this." Miraj turned away from the rack, and waited for the holodeck to resolve itself into the beginnings of the adventure."

He nodded, grinning excitedly. Although he'd played through this game a few times, this would be the first time playing with someone else. "One last thing. Don't forget, Vampires and Werewolves aren't on the most friendly of terms, so don't be scared to be a bit harsh towards me."

"Computer, start program." There as a beep, before the room around them disolved before reforming. The changing room replaced by a dimly lit stone dungeon, torches lining the walls. He and Miraj were now stood on opposite sides of the room, both suspended by their wrists by manacles.

Looking round the room, he let out a soft groan, fangs having now sprouted from his upper lips. "Where are we?"

Miraj pulled on the chains around her hands., and yelped in genuine surprise as they scratched her. She gave them a close look. Surprisingly, hers seemed finer than Damian's, still heavy, but looked more like silver than steel, and lined with a ring of sharp spikes that left blood trickling from a puncture wounds across her pulse points. "Not the captains cabin, I'm guessing." She reached up to grab the chain further up, so the slack would stop the manacles from biting her again. She heaved, swinging off the chain, but nothing gave. She was about to ask what now when she remembered she was supposed to be mean to him. "Why don't you do something useful, instead of standing there and looking pretty."

Damien rolled his eyes, tensing his wrists and tugging on the chains. Solid, sturdy, and built into the wall. Whoever had designed this, hadn't designed them for use on regular humans. His lips curled back in slight disgust, baring his fangs at her in an attempt at showing dominance, before looking around the room. "Wherever we are, they're clearly used to dealing with our kind. These aren't normal chains." He gave them another tug, but it was pointless. They weren't budging. "Why don't you make yourself useful and use some of that canine strength to try and get free."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Miraj was too short to heave from the floor, so she jumped up and began swarming up the chain like it was ships rigging, turning herself upside down to brace against the ceiling. "These things have spikes on the inside." She tugged at the chains. They shifted slightly. "Ugh, the blood is rushing to my head. She pushed off the ceiling once more, straining.

The plaster around the attachment bolt gave way with a crack. Miraj fell the eight foot to the floor, landing with a bump that would have done her serious injury in the real world. "Ow." She sat up, thrashing off the now loose chains, the spiked coughs biting at her again. She gathered up the chain and stumped over to Damien. "Well thats me done. Maybe I should leave you here, fang boy. For all I know this is an elaborate set up to get me to drop my guard."

Damien watched as she went to work. Inwardly, he was impressed at her ingenuity. He'd played this game many times, and never once had he thought of doing that to free himself. Outwardly, he kept his demeanor plain, a look of disgust etched on his face.

As she freed herself and stood over him, he narrowed his eyes and bared his fangs at her again, hissing slightly. "Listen to me, you flea-ridden, half-witted, dog. If I wanted to hurt you, I have the honour to face you in battle. Not that the same can be said for you. You escaped from your manacles fairly easily. Maybe you're the one setting a trap." Smirking slightly, he shrugged. "But, that requires a level of intelligence that I don't think your entire pack shares between you. So, it's clear that someone else has captured us. So, for once, do the smart thing. Free me, and let's get out of here."

"I'm not quite out yet." Miraj held up her bleeding wrist with its spiked manacles. "Still got to get them off." She examined his chains, then looked around. "not sure I can do the same trick twice. Nothing to take the weight this time." She looked around, thinking through all the tricks she learnt from reading her Pirate novels. "I've got an idea." She went over to the wall, and pulled ones of the torches from the wall, and brought it over.

Damien watched her, adjusting himself to a slightly more comfortable position. When she came back over with the torch, he hissed again, recoiling slightly. "Watch where you're waving that thing. One wrong move and I'll go up like a sheet of paper." Sighing, regaining his composure, he asked, "What's your plan?"

"Do you?" Miraj asked, breaking character. "Sounds impractical." She knocked the embers out of the small basket. "No, those chains are shit. The welding's all cracked. Pull them tight for me."

Damien nodded. "Vampires are notoriously flammable." He said, breaking character as well, before slipping back into character, doing as she said, locking his wrists and pulling tight.

She pushed the end of the torch into one of the links close to his left wrist, and then used the iron bar to twist it open just slightly with a grunt of effort, and then repeated the method on the right, practically leaning on the . Dropping the torch, she stood back. "Now give some slack, and you should be able to unhook yourself."

Damien watched her, feeling impressed with her ingenuity, but making sure to keep his face neutral. When she was done, he did as she said, letting his wrists go lax once again, easily unhooking himself. Snorting slightly, he shrugged. "Well, there is a brain in there after all." He muttered, rubbing his wrists, before looking around, walking over to the only door in the room, pressing his ear against it. "Doesn't sound like there's anyone out there."

"It was in Bloodbeard's Beacon" Miraj admitted. "Lets hope the technology doesn't get more advanced, or I won't have a clue. Want me to go first, Mr Flammable?"

Damien looked at her, the back at the door. On the one hand, if there were people out there, if she went first, their attention would be focused on her. On the other hand, if it actually was a trap set up by her, letting her go first gave her the upper hand. Eventually he just shrugged. If it was a trap, he was more than capable of taking them. "Sure. I'll watch your back." He said, stepping away from the door.

She threw the heavy door open, revealing a plain corridor, lit by streaked moonlight coming in through small heavily barred, unglazed windows high in the wall. Miraj set off running, and reached the door at its far end. She listened at the door, and realised she could hear two people talking, though she couldn't make out the words. She held up two fingers to Damian, and mouthed "ready?"


Damien followed after her, keeping his eyes and ears peeled as they hurried down the corridor, straining to hear if anyone was around, but they seemed to be alone. He stopped near the door, just behind Miraj. Flexing his fingers, he muttered a few words in an ancient language, red sparks flowing from his fingertips. Looking back up, he mouthed, "Ready." Back at her.

Miraj pulled at the door, except that instead of yanking it back, the whole thing ripped off in her hands, for a moment she froze out of sheer surprise. Then she grinned, she was strong in this game. Tossing the door back the way they came, she grinned, and ran at the two surprised men screaming.

They scrambled for crossbows, but seeing them raise weapons, Miraj dived for the floor, revealing Damian behind her, magic in his hands.

Damien chuckled quietly at her sudden surprise. Well he did warn her Werewolves were a physical fighter. Hearing the screams, he snapped back to the game, watching Miraj dive to the floor. Stretching out his hand, he flicked his wrist, watching as a bolt of red energy coalesce in front of him, before flinging forward burying itself in the chest of one of the men, causing him to cry out before dropping to the floor.

By now, the other guard had recomposed himself, and his crossbow was loaded, firing the bolt towards Damien. He quickly managed to sidestep, before suddenly closing the gap between them, lifting the man with one hand by his neck, holding him for a second, before twitching his hand, his neck snapping with a quick 'crack', before dropping him to the floor.

Miraj checked the bodies and found what she was hoping for. She held up a ring of keys. and started checking them against her manacles, and after a moment she found the one for hers. The spiked cuffs, stained with her (fake) blood popped open and clattered to the floor. She rolled her torn wrists as a wave of energy shivered over her body. "ooh. That feels good. Come here." She started testing the keys against Damian's shackles. "So far so good, yes?"

Damien walked over to her, raising his hands, nodding. "So far, so good." He confirmed. When his wrists were released, he let out a soft sigh, rubbing the skin. "Much better." He said, flexing his wrists, before looking around, spotting a nearby door. "Alright. Come on. This way." He said, heading over.

"There;s more." Miraj said, racking the door a sliver. "A lot more. This is going to be fun. " And she threw the door open and ran at things, screaming.

A few paces into the hallway the scream morphed into a roar that left the warriors standing sentry at various door ways reaching for weapons. The first two weren't fast enough. She siezed the crossbow of one with hands that had become actual paws, dark grey fur covering large muscled hands that ended in wicked long black claws. The bolt went off, embedding tiself int he roof that suddenly felt a lot closer. She smacked it down on the human and he went down like someone had dropped a shuttle craft on him. In a movement that looked smoother than in actually was, thanks to the hologrpahic overlay, she turned to the second, grabbed him by the scruss of the neck and threw him down the hall.

She turned to Damian. "Wow. I like being a wolf monster."

Damien smirked as he watched Miraj storm into the room. Well, she’d wanted to be a Werewolf. Allowing himself to watch for a second, he admired how quickly she’d taken to the role, before leaping into action himself, crossing the distance between himself and another pair of guards before they could even react. He grabbed one by the throat and lifted him off his feet, throwing him to the side, watching as he crashed into the wall, falling limp on the floor, before turning to the other guard who had drawn his sword by now.

With a flick of his wrist, the air in front of him darkened, before the shadows stiffened and took the form of a dark sword, which he quickly brought up, the weapons clashing in midair. It didn’t take Damien long to dispatch the guard, the short fight coming to a swift end when Damien swiftly disarmed the man, before plunging his sword into his stomach, the weapon dissolving soon after. With the room cleared, Damien walked over to Miraj, chuckling at her words. “I thought you might.”

Looking around, he glanced down the hall, gesturing with his head. “Come on. This way.” He quickly took off, heading through the doorway at the end of the hall.

She followed him behind him, but she really should have gone ahead. As soon as Damian opened the door to the stairs the twang of half a dozen crossbows all going off filled the air with a buzz and each deadly wooden shaft was aimed right at Damian

As soon as he burst through the door, and heard the deadly buzz, his eyes widened. Raising a hand, he quickly shouted a spell. A handful of the bolts froze in midair, falling to the ground. The rest however kept going, with a few of them finding their mark, striking Damien in his shoulder, arm and thigh.

Letting out a yell, he dropped to one knee, raising his hand again, drawing a quick symbol in the air. A bolt of energy fired out, striking two of the archers in the chest, causing them to keel over. “A little help here!” He yelled over his shoulder.

"Coming, coming!" Miraj ran forward, and was surprised to find her self leaping clear over Damian's kneeling form, pushing off from the door side and practically flying through the air and landing on the nearest bowman. One lunged at her with a sword, and she was far too slow to dodge. It cut through her wolf disguise deeply, and she hissed as the program stung her in warning, and splashed holographic blood all over the floor. A third came up on her other side, and stabbed at her unguarded back, and her left leg went numb and it was her turn to drop to her knees. A fourth guard closed, running, silvered machete aiming for her shoulers.

As she came in and took out some of the enemies, Damien took the opportunity to stand up and adjust himself. As he looked around, spotting the guard swinging at Miraj. Dashing forward, he grabbed the guard’s wrist as the blade stopped inches away from her neck. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to teach a lady?” He said, snapping the wrist back, hearing it snap, the sword clattering to the floor. Throwing him away from Miraj, his body slammed into the wall, his body crumpling to the floor. Quickly spinny round, he grabbed the sword off of the floor, and flung it like a spear, impaling the guard trying to sneak upon them. Offering his hand to Miraj, he said, “We should probably try and get out of here.”

"No arguments here." Miraj let him pull her up and massaged the sensation back into her leg. "Up there right?"

He nodded. “Up there.” He confirmed, turning on his heel and heading up the stairs, coming to stop outside the doors.

Miraj bounded up the stairs after him and skidded to a halt infront of the doors, looking through the key hole. "It looks like a big ball room in there. lots of people." She looked up at him. "Run at things screaming?"

He grinned at her suggestion. “It’s like you read my mind.” He said, flicking his wrist, conjuring a small dagger, the other hand crackling with dark magic. “Shall we?” He asked, before turning to face the door, kicking it in, throwing the dagger at the nearest guard, burying the blade in his throat, a burst of dark energy taking out the next one before they even had time to process what was going on.

There was silence in the room as all the guards turned to face them. ”Sorry we’re late,” Damien quipped. “Got a bit distracted on the way.” There was a single beat before all hell broke loose, and the guards all drew their weapons and rushed them. “Once more unto the breach,” Damien whispered, before launching himself into the battle.

A first volley of deadly silver tipped bolts buzzed through the air, zipping past them both. Nothing hit, but nothing was supposed to. It just bought cover for the two hunters who were approaching , something heavy heald between them.

They hurled the chain net over Damian. the weights along its edge dragging the whole thing down. Silver barbs welded in everywhere two lengths of chain crossed bit into his skin and tore at his clothes, leaving bloody stains.

Damien too late sensed them coming. He tried to move out of the way but was too slow. As the net collapsed over him, he let out a roar of anger and pain, the simulation producing nothing more than a small shock in reality. The more he tried to move, the more the net tightened against him, tearing more at his clothes, blood staining the silver barbs and the floor, eventually causing him to stop, his breathing ragged and heavy, moving as little as he could, trying to find Miraj.

As soon as she had realised what had happened, Miraj had leapt for guards who had thown the net. Her large werewolf form had made short work of them, sending them careening across the large hall. More were converging on the, not willing to shoot until close enough that hitting their firends was not an opiton. But there was one charging towards her, a large sword in one hand, and gleaming armour. He just oozed major bad guys vibes, so she pounced on him.

He caught her by the throat, one handed.

There was a sizzling of electro static across her skin as she realised he was doing her some serious damage, and the larger werewolf shape withered back to her usual small form. With his free hand, he drew back his sword, and ran her through.

Damien could only watch in horror as Miraj attempted to pounce on the Big Bad. He opened his mouth to warn her, but only a strangled cry came out. He could only watch as she was grabbed, returned to human, and promptly stabbed.

He let out a roar of frustration. They'd been doing so well. They were so close. It couldn't end here!

Mustering some strength, he clenched his fists, summoning a bolt of magic from deep inside. He let it build inside him, until he finally released it, the magic burning through the net, enabling him to finally throw it off.

Standing up, he realised that the odds of actually being able to defeat Mandel were slim. He was too injured, and his reserves of magic were rapidly depleting. But still, he wasn't planning on going down without a fight.

Grabbing a nearby sword, he let out another roar, and launched himself at the human who had just stabbed Miraj.

Mandel looked at him rising from the burning remnants with a grin, and raised his blade. "Gevaudan just took her best shot and missed. You'll just be the second little bitch Ive dealt with today."

Damien narrowed his eyes, his eyes darting to Miraj's still form led on the floor. "You'll pay for that." He spat at him, launching forward, slashing out with the blade, determined to at least wound him.

Mandel parried the slash contemptuously, and with Damien's sword pushed aside, backhanded him with the spiked, silvered knuckles of his silvered gauntlet. "No wonder we got the drop on you Raziel. You're pathetic. The puppy put up more fight than this."

Damien grunted as he stumbled back. The gauntlet spilled more blood, whilst the silver burned him. He refused to answer. He was just trying to taunt him. Cause him to act stupid. He wouldn't fall for his tricks. Summoning his strength, he launched himself forward again, slashing at him, this time slipping past his guard, the blade connecting.

He missed the neat puncture in the armpit that would have ended this quickly, the blade skittering over the armour, to jam into the unprotected inner elbow. Blood spurted and Mandel's arm fell slack. His howl sounded, thick with pain and fury, and he returned attack, hammering blows down onto Raziel with his good arm.

Damien raised his arm, weakly fending off the blows as best he could. Glancing around, he became aware of the remaining guards simply watching them. Even if by some miracle he managed to take out Mandel, he would still have them to deal with. He had one last trick up his sleeve though. He could release what was left of his magic in a small explosion. He wouldn't survive, but at least his death would also ensure the death of the Hunters.

Summoning a sliver of strength, he managed to push back Mandel's latest strike, pushing him away, before taking advantage of the momentary respite to close his eyes and summon the magic, muttering the words of the spell.

MAndel went stumbling back, crashing into the thronelike chair at the head of the dining table. His hand fel on the but of a crossbow, and as Damien gathered the power for his spell, Mandel stepped oved Miraj's body and took aim at his heart.

Which was when miraj realised she wasn't actually dead, rolled to her knees and punched him in the groin.

The bolt loosed, swiping past Damiens face so close he felt the fletching brush his face. But a miss was still a miss

Damien hissed in pain as the bolt grazed his face, simulated blood splattering on the floor, the pain receptors making sure he felt it. Glancing over at Miraj, realising that she was still alive, Damien quickly started modifying the spell. If she was still alive, maybe they still had a chance. Struggling to his feet, he grinned at Mandel. "You lose." The two words were quickly accompanied by a blinding flash.

When the room cleared, there was a small crater in the middle of the room where the human had once stood. Hurrying over to Miraj, Damien offered her his hand. "Come on. If we're quick, we can still make the peace talks."

"Eeeww, gross, yuck, urgh." the poilot brushed the crispy chunks of Mandel off her front. "We do that, we win?" She let Damien pull her back up.

Damien chuckled, helping her up. "Sorry. It was the best I could in the circumstances." He said, before nodding. "We do that. We win. But we need to hurry. I don't think we've got a lot of time left."

Miraj grinned and pointed to the hall exit, "Race you?"

Damien smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "You know I have super speed? Right?"

Miraj eyed him, and then used her werewolf strength to throw a table at him, and bounded for the doors.

Damien let out a yelp, jumping out the way, smirking. "Alright. Guess I deserved that." He said, chuckling, before dashing after her.