“Now!” RK yelled.
Troy and the others in Group 5 ran, hopping around puddles and tendrils. Above them, Troy could see the bright orange of a flamethrower at the top of the roof. Someone was counter attacking, which appeared to be the opening RK had been waiting for.
The screams of those they failed to save or protect echoed behind them. Survivors dangled on the side of the Casino in limp tendrils, some falling to their doom. Troy winced as they hit the ground with bone-breaking thumps. Nutrients for the growing forest, if they failed to survive until the next rainfall.
After almost twenty minutes, they stopped running, panting at the entrance to a highway turnoff.
“Where the hell did that thing come from?” Troy demanded. “Why didn’t you see it in your Divination?”
“Because it didn’t exist until a few seconds ago. Her magic is reacting to our movements. She’s watching us, somehow, in her dream state!” RK hissed.
“Jesus!” Troy gasped, voice rising. “How the hell do we defeat her?!”
“I don’t know, Troy!” RK’s eyes were wild. “I thought we were just dealing with the storm. If she’s actively influencing it even now, there’s absolutely no way for us to prepare ourselves!”
“That’s not true,” Tex said. “If she’s teleporting monsters to us, there is a way to beat that?”
“How?”
“Spell refractory period.” Tex said. “Spells are exhausting. Making those things can’t be easy. What we should do is not speak our real plans out loud.”
“Even if she can’t teleport them in often, she could still direct nightmares here by informing them of our location.” Dustin said.
“I can evade those.” RK replied tersely. “What I can’t do is deal with teleporting nightmares spawning on top of us.”
“Why not? You can see the future.”
“I can’t do it all the time. And since she’s observing us, she can do it when I’m not using my Book and blindside us.”
“How is that evading your spell?”
“They are dreams, not reality. It’s not following the rules of Time and Space, same issue I had with the Casino.”
“Well, fuck!” Troy said. “Divining the future sounds pretty useless if that’s the case!”
“She’s a Book Owner with 3 Books. And several Books are bad match ups.” RK pointed out. “Transmutation versus Beast ringing any bells? He can transform you but you can’t harm any of his things because they aren’t technically alive?”
“Still.” Dustin shook his head. “We’re up shit river without a paddle. What do we do?”
“We won’t be able to escape conventionally. She’s clearly observing us.” Tex spoke up. “Do we have any alternative solutions?”
“Dig? Use the Book of Transmutation?”
“The plants are like undead-they aren’t alive or dead, so Transmutation- “
“No, I mean literally use it on the ground and tunnel our way out.”
“She’s watching us. We’d be in the root system. Probably not a good idea.” RK replied
“Then… “ Troy glanced at the Book in RK’s hand. A plan began to form in his head. What if they turned into something that could fly? “Perhaps another way?”
“Don’t say it out loud.” RK warned him. “She could be listening for all we know.”
“Right, so we need somewhere that the forest hasn’t consumed.” Troy replied.
“Somewhere that’s still standing?” Dustin furrowed his brow. “Plastics rot slower, right? Is there anywhere we could go that would be naturally safe in a storm like this?”
“Technically the landfill but that’s outside the city. There’s a few plastics factories but they’re made out of brick. Uh… hmmm… glass corrodes quick, so anything made mostly of glass is out.” RK tapped his chin. “What’s cheap?”
“Prefabs.” Tex spoke up.
“What?” RK and Troy looked at Tex.
“Prefab homes. There’s some really cheap prefab apartments all over town. Even the roofs on those things are basically tar.” Tex replied. “Everything about them is cheap. Even insulated with Styrofoam. Cheap is not environmentally friendly. Some of the older buildings still have asbestos in them.”
“So what you’re saying is, we’re looking for an environmental disaster.” Troy said.
“Exactly.” RK started to smile. “Shit that got grandfathered in, evaded zoning codes. Hold on. Divination!”
RK’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Everyone waited for him to finish tensely. His eyes rolled back into position a minute later. He had a strange look on his face.
“What?” Troy asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I literally can’t say.” RK pursed his lips.
“But you found a way, right?” Dustin asked insistently. “We can beat her, right?”
“Yes, but apart from that. I. Can’t. Say.” RK glared at him.
“Right, she’s watching.” Dustin sighed. “Well, lead the way!”