This is bad. It probably could be worse – it always can be worse – but it is as bad as it could have gotten in our situation. I know fully well that we can't outrun a boar, let alone one of her size. While dragging Andrew with me towards the entry, I recall the security protocol perfectly well: We aren't meant to get out of here.

The wild beasts have to stay contained, no matter what – but I am not keen on dying today, especially not here of all places. However, Marceline seems not to give chase, not yet anyway. The deafening sound of the metal door breaking off the lock may have startled her, or maybe a second security lock did prevent the door from swinging wide open.

I really don't want to slow down to check; in both cases, there's no guarantee she'll be kept inside her enclosure for long. This might be our only chance to get out of here, and that very thought seems to finally arrive in Andrew's head as well.

He pulls his wrist from my grip and in an instant, he bolts it to the entrance. He's not weighted down by a suitcase since I only grabbed mine. His doesn't hold much value, but mine? Mine is full to the brim with things I can't leave behind. Even if I don't make it, the tools have to get back to the station.

My eyes are glued to Andrew's back, the distance between us growing. This dome is huge, our path obscured, but I manage to keep him in sight as he makes it to the door. Despite the panic he carries with him, he doesn't even try to open the door, knowing it's locked and I hold the keys.

Instead in dashes up to the communicator mounted right next to it to the wall, dialing the shortcut number to reach other communicators in this house. A smart action, to be fair, although it won't make up for the stupidity that got us into this position to begin with.

I doubt this communicator has access to the outside world, it is solely to reach other parts of the house, and Andrew is going through the provided list of numbers fast, hoping that someone will pick up.

I finally catch up, out of breath but the adrenaline keeps me going. Only now I look back, scanning the room as far as I possibly can, but for the moment everything seems safe. I put down my suitcase and search my pockets for the keychain. For a second, my heart clenches as I can't seem to find it, only to sigh in relief when I finally get a hold of it.

I'm usually not that forgetful but the underlying panic isn't helping in keeping a cool head. While Andrew dials one number after the other I go through the keychain to find the key that will get us out of here, and upon finding it, I try to unlock the door.

But the key won't turn. I know these keys, I've been in and out of this dome before, but maybe I'm misremembering? Maybe my head isn't as clear as I thought. So I get to the back-breaking task of trying every single key as fast as I can, while also ensuring that I double-check. It takes a while, but eventually, I insert the last key.

Nothing. I raise my gaze meeting Andrew's, an uneasy feeling settling in my guts. Did the Shadow break the lock when he gained access to this room? Seems unlikely… So did he lock us in on purpose? Motherfucker.

I go on a tirade of insults, all mumbled under my breath while my thoughts are racing. I know I can't trust anyone, but if there's someone I wanted to trust it's him – and Thomas, of course. But here we are, locked in probably due to a jammed lock. But what if he didn't intend to break the lock? No… That's just as unlikely.

Why do I even try to find an excuse? I knew better than to trust, yet I never questioned him or his presence. I even went so far as to simply accept him breaking into my apartment. Is this what he warned me about? If so… It wasn't a warning at all; it was a threat.

"We're locked in." I can't withhold that information, and Andrew clicks his tongue. His panic has been replaced by anger – relatable, and definitely better than his mental stupor from before.

"No one's picking up!" The stress of the situation is definitely taking a toll on him, and I can't lie, I'm far from calm myself. I'm keeping my composure as best as I can, trying to stay as calm on the outside as possible, but my thoughts are racing, as is my heart.

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I glance over the provided list of short numbers, "Call the tea room, let it ring twice, hang up, repeat, and then call through. Thomas will know this call is intended for him. Give him time to answer the phone, if he doesn't try the same thing with the lounge."

And if this doesn't work I hope we have enough time to go through the list. It's not like I have a plan, but the Duke did invite Thomas to a cup of tea. It's our best shot.

I look back into the room, it's been silent and while this should ease my mind and calm me down, the only thing I feel is a threat growing in the back of this room. Marceline is huge but she's a predator. Who knows how silently she could move if she wanted to. I doubt she'd be as graceful as Ruby but we're on edge, highly alerted – yes – but maybe to the wrong things.

Andrew tries to focus on the communicator, throwing a glance back into the room every now and then while he follows my instructions without ifs and buts. He's not asking; maybe he knows about the basic codes we occasionally have to use, or maybe he's just too stressed to question anything. Either is fine by me.

I can't even comprehend how much I hate just standing here, waiting, unknowing of what will happen, unable to tell what might happen. I could go into absolute "what if" overdrive, but I try not to. Finally, I hear Andrew take a deep breath, "Thomas! We're locked in and one of the beasts may have just broken out!"

I have to appreciate that he tries to keep his calm and explain the situation, rather than panicking and yelling at the receiver. I can't hear Thomas on the other hand, Andrew is pressing the earpiece of the headset too hard onto his own ear, there's not a single noise escaping the vacuum he created.

He nods, not that Thomas could see it, but I can, giving me enough information.

"Yes, he's right next to me. We tried all the keys, but the lock must be broken. What, what's here?"

Thomas and I think alike, it seems, and the moment Andrew looks at me with a confused and uneasy expression I nod. "They are here, or at least they were," I answer. He wants to ask; I see it in his eyes, but he chooses not to and instead forwards the piece of information to Thomas.

Suddenly, I feel the floor shake ever so slightly. I glance at Andrew who doesn't seem to have noticed it, he's too caught up getting instructions from Thomas. I squint my eyes, trying to see anything in this massive space. And then I see movement.

"Andrew, she's coming." Andrew falls silent for a second, then repeats my words, barely whispering them into the receiver. Suddenly he's afraid to make noise, and so am I. Another vibration echoes through the floor, this time we can feel it clearly. And suddenly, everything becomes a haze.

I spot her faster than my brain can process with the situation. Andrew doesn't even find the time to hang up the receiver but instead just drops it. Out of nowhere, she charges at us, closing this massive distance in mere seconds. It's just enough time to dive out of her way and for a moment she gets one of her tusks stuck in the wall.

If it wasn't for the magical protection she would have charged right through this wall. Some kind of containment force stopped her and yet it was not enough to prevent her from causing severe damage.

She's angry, even more than before. Her body is trembling, her grunting and panting fill the air to the point I can barely hear Andrews's voice. He tries to communicate with me but we're too far apart. We instinctively dived apart and were now separated by Marceline's huge body, preventing us from even seeing each other.

I move, I can't even tell how. Adrenaline-fueled instinct has taken control, my training is useless at this point. Wild beasts aren't common, in fact, they are pretty much nonexistent in my field of work. I don't have any training to maneuver the situation right now. It's different for people working with or in close proximity to beast habitat. I got a crash course the first time I was assigned to the Duke, but that's theory and not deeply rooted training.

With the blink of an eye, it's all gone. All I knew about wild beasts and how to act in an emergency escapes me – I try to focus but it's useless. Maybe there is a way to hide from here in the artificial greenery. A tree to climb on, bushes to hide under? Who knows, I don't, and I have no time to plan this out strategically. I can only hope Andrew is mentally in a better place than I am right now. I know he isn't, but there's still hope, right? She can't chase both of us.

I hear her angry roar, shaking every leave and petal in the room, it sends ripples across the water surfaces, and then I can feel her feet hitting the ground. She broke free and she is giving chase once more. And I'm her target.

Of course, I am. Andrew may have cut the emotion from the Weave, but I was in Betty's cage. It's my scent she's after, I am the intruder. I'm so close, just a little further…

I feel the impact.

I feel her force pushing me forward.

Something has slowed her down, something got in her way, but still, some part of her hits me, and I stumble.

I fall.

I feel the pain in my abdomen, it's everywhere. I can't make out what just happened, my head is buzzing, I feel like throwing up.

I look down and all I can see is blood… Is this… Did she… Am I…