Spere heard a faint scream. She pushed herself up, and raced over to the building. Dizzying hail pounded all around her, plopping into the snow, of which had turned into a wet, icy sleet that soaked through her clothes and made her teeth chatter.

Spere stood in the doorway of the small brick building, dreading what she would see, knowing exactly what was inside. She left the door swung wide open, ricketing in the wind, and peered inside of the main room.

The entirety of the wood floor had rotted out, and all that was left was a gaping hole to the basement right whenever one walked into the building. A basement, of which, did not have any distinguishable exits. In other words, the group, which had of course fallen in their panic, was trapped.

Spere peered down into the black abyss, and could just barely make out some shapes. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, and her heart lurched in her chest with what she saw. And yet, she let out a sigh of relief.

At the floor of the basement was Fallen World, Mayhem, and Stonehenge. Fallen World had landed on all fours; she was fine. Stonehenge and Mayhem were both alive, at least. Or, as far as Spere could tell. As it was, Stonehenge had saved Mayhem's life by cushioning his fall. However, this had left Stonehenge with his arm bent awkwardly underneath him, and a strained look on his face. He pushed Mayhem off of him, gently, and gasped for air, ripping his mask off entirely and tossing it aside.

Spere wished that she knew what to do.

"Fallen, do you know how to get out?" Spere asked, getting on her knees along the ledge in an effort to get closer to her friends below her.

"Careful, Spere! Why don't we stay here tonight? We can think of something tomorrow," Fallen said.

Spere called back, worried, "Stonehenge! Are you alright?" He grunted, and pulled his arm around to his front. He was obviously in pain. That is what ignited Spere, really. At that moment, she realized that she cared for Stonehenge. Seeing him injured set her aflame.

She narrowed her eyes, "We couldn't make it through the storm with Mayhem. But on my own, I can. I'll go and get help." With that, she jumped up, and began to race outside. She threw her bag down in front of the house, and prayed nobody would steal it. It would only slow her down.

Spere heard Stonehenge yell after her, but she didn't stop. She ran through the slushy snow, freezing cold. Her running didn't keep her warm, it only threw the wind in her face, her shirt sticking to her skin miserably. She pulled her mask down from her face to pant. The cold wind hit her skin, stinging.

It was hard work. It was like running through knee-deep sand or water. The rain was still coming down hard. It ran off of her layers of clothes, and soaked through to her skin, leaving her outfit heavy and sticky. Spere silently prayed for good luck, and was very aware of the religious necklace she wore.

She sprinted through the streets for what felt like forever. But the air was sharp on her lungs, and she couldn't hold out for too long. After a while, she began to wheeze, spitting up mucus, and coughing like her life depended on it. It probably did.

Finally, she collapsed into the river of snow below her. To drown in the ice and rain. Bruises lined her back from the fist-sized hail that fell upon her. Sleet layered her body like a sheet. She lay face-down in the snow for a long while.

Slowly, she lifted her head. Her whole body ached and moaned with numb pain. She pushed against the slick ground, but couldn't get the strength to sit up, much less stand. Instead, she plopped her head back into the snow, and curled into a ball on her side. She didn't cry; instead, she merely hoped for a better life after this one. Actually, she was somewhat excited for death to consume her. She liked being alive, but she was ready for the responsibilities to end.

She knew that Fallen World and Stonehenge would be alright. Surely someone would find them? Someone good? She began to cough violently. Did she spit up blood? It was hard to tell in the darkness. She didn't think so. Her body violently shivered as she lay.

Spere jumped at the touch of a hand on her shoulder. Who was it? She instinctively threw a fist at the stranger's face, but missed, her arms weak and wobbly. Her eyes had been crusted shut with frost, and she lamely wiped at them with her numb hands. She was clumsy and cold and lame.

"Spere! It's me!"

Mayhem? Stonehenge? No, they were both in that house still... Was Spere delirious now? She blinked through the icy rain, although her vision wouldn't work right, still.

No. It was a girl, with long, thin hair. Spere recognized her to be Dynamite.

"Are we close to home??" Spere shouted over the wind, frantic, her lips sore to speak with, chapped and dry. Dynamite nodded, and helped pull Spere up to her feet. Spere walked awkwardly and with a limp, as her feet were numb. They walked quickly but sloppily, trudging through the snow.

Finally, Dynamite pulled Spere into the open living room of their base. The floor was blanketed in snow. She dragged Spere down a short hall, and into a solid bedroom. The floor was dirty, but there wasn't any snow here, at least. Half-Height, Fairytale, and Zenshock all huddled together in the room. Dynamite sat beside Spere on a mattress on the floor. Dynamite put her arm over Spere's shoulder comfortingly as Spere shivered, trying to get feelings back in her fingers, staring at them blankly as they moved.
After a moment, Spere pulled down her mask again, and attempted to speak through her chapped lips. By now, all of them were sitting on the floor around her.

"Mayhem and Stonehenge need help! We have to go help them! They're trapped, and Mayhem is going to die if we don't hurry!" Spere pleaded, her voice hoarse.

Dynamite slowly nodded, "Calm down. Where are they? What happened to Mayhem?"

Spere struggled to explain, "We found someone and she thought he was a savage so she hurt him. But she's a good person, she saved our lives! But we have to go help them! They're down the street a couple blocks and in the brick house with the door."

Half-Height narrowed his eyes skeptically, "Wait, you found a person? We can't trust them. We can't just run in there."

"No, believe me! Please!" Spere struggled not to cry. "You can talk to her afterwards but they will all three die if we don't do anything!"

Fairytale's voice was soft like a mother's, "It's storming, Spere. We can't just run out there... We need to stay here, and stay safe. They will be safe, too. We can find them tomorrow."

Spere jumped to her feet and growled, "I didn't run all this way for nothing! I'm going back!" She began to storm out the door, but was held back by Dynamite's grip on her arm.

"Spere, you'll die. Don't be stupid," She said plainly under narrowed, judging eyes. Half-Height nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Zenshock looked conflicted, his wide eyes flickering between the two.

Spere whipped around to face them, "You don't own me! I have to help them." She attempted to run out the door, but again, was stopped by Dynamite's hands. She was too weak to fight much against them. But, she tried.

Dynamite threatened, "You are an infant! You go out there and you'll all die!"

Spere elbowed Dynamite in the chest, and Dynamite stumbled backwards, gasping for breath. Then, Spere ran out the door, and ran like hell once she got outside.

Cold. Wet. Freezing. Whipping wind that burned her cheeks, and made her fingers immobile. A black sky.

But, Spere made it. She found the brick house after a long while of running, and peered back down into the hole. Her cheeks were red with crusted blood from wind burn, and her fingers throbbed with numb pain, swollen and hard to use. Her feet didn't move to her liking, her nose was runny, and she could taste blood in her mouth. But, she had made it.

But, she hadn't successfully brought back help.

Stonehenge's voice echoed from below, "Spere? Is that you?"

Spere nodded, sniffing, "I'm here. I'm going to get you out."

"What happened? You've been gone for an hour!" Stonehenge asked, looking up at her, and sitting on the stone floor. Fallen World slept beside him, holding Mayhem close to her. Stonehenge clutched his twisted arm to his stomach.

Spere looked away from him, "I didn't do it. I ran home, but they refused to help."

"What?" Stonehenge's voice rang with disbelief. "They refused to help? Those good-for-nothing bastards. What are we going to do?"

"Yeah. I don't know what we're going to do. Do you have any suggestions?" Spere asked.

He said, "No...". They sat like that in silence for a while, thinking. Spere, sitting on the floor in front of the door, staring down into the abyss. And Stonehenge, on the basement floor, looking up at her with a glint in his eyes.

Finally, Spere quietly asked, "Is Fallen World asleep?"

Stonehenge nodded, "Yes." Another silent pause. The storm outside had dimmed down ever so slightly, creating an oddly warm, ambient noise of thudding hail and whistling wind. Spere gently wiped her peeling face with her hands, sniffling again. Her chest hurt; her body ached; just breathing was painful.

"Maybe we should just wait until tomorrow, like she said. We could all use the rest..." Spere suggested.

"No. No. I can't sleep down here and leave you defenseless up there." Stonehenge shook his head, and stood up. He reached out his hand, and Spere leaned over the edge of the floor on her stomach, reaching her hand down as well. Their fingertips touched briefly.

Then Spere pulled away, and brightly said, "Wait! Look for anything solid down there! Furniture or objects. Things you can stand on or climb with."

Stonehenge smiled underneath his mask, catching her drift, "Good idea!" He turned and began to rummage through the piles of junk that surrounded them- remnants of when the floor had caved in.

Spere had to admit it to herself that she felt something there. She no longer felt nothing. She felt the spark. Not love, not even a crush like she'd read about in books. She couldn't place if it was romantic or not. But it was something. She didn't know whether she wanted it to fade or grow. Probably fade. She didn't have time for it.

She let her mind wander while Stonehenge was busy.