"Claire! We're far enough! We can land now." I heard Leo call, but I continued to soar as I kept my concentration. "Claire! You heard him, right? Put us down!" Six called, yet still I kept on soaring, my body growing hotter and hotter, and my muscles weaker and weaker! Finally, I couldn't hold us any longer, and I quickly faded out as my eyes remained closed. "Claire? You're heading straight into brick!" Leo called, but I was too tired..... WHY was I so tired? "Claire? CLAIRE!" Six said in panic, but again, I was too weak to do anything about the problem. I heard a loud cracking of stone, and the two crying and screaming before hitting a hard, wooden surface. I was in the worst pain I had felt, but it wasn't from the impact oddly enough.... "She's trying to KILL us!" I heard Six declare angrily as Leo quickly ran up to my side to hold me. I winced in pain as I tiredly set my head on his shoulders, and opened my eyes a smidgen to look up at him as I said quietly, "My chest.... Why is it in so much pain?" "Oh, Claire....." Leo began worriedly, removing the hood of my cloak to move my hair from my face as he continued, "You look absolutely horrid! We've stay here too long..." "My chest aches.... and I'm too weak to move...." I said, almost in a whisper as rivers ran down my face. Why....... WHY.....? I tried to sit up on my own, but there was no use as I collapsed back into Leo's arms with a yelp and whimper, and he brushed his sleeve across my face as he consoled, "Y-You just rest now. We're safe! You just take it easy, and let good old Leo here take over." "We have to get away! He knows we're here, and he's not going to stop until he has us!" Six panicked, running towards an open exit before calling, "Leo! Come on!" "NO! I'm not leaving her here for that-that THING to take!" He snarled, clutching me close to him. "Leo, she's SICK, and possibly DYING! She'll only hinder us at this rate if we don't go NOW." Six reasoned, but Leo only shook his head as he snapped, "DON'T SAY THAT! She's going to be fine, and we're leaving here together if I have to CARRY her the rest of the trip! But for now, we're warm, dry, and NOT leaving until Claire's in tip top shape again." The two stayed silent, only looking at each other as my ragged breathing carried on. "L-Leo...." I called, and he immediately looked down at me as he asked, "Y-Yeah? What is it love?" "Six for once is right.... We HAVE to keep moving!" "I'm not leaving you behind!" "You don't have to, because now is where you WILL need me." "You're sick and tired, Claire. I'm not going to force you to keep  pushing yourself!" "I'll do what I can, but we cannot stay here..." I replied, hoisting myself up by force, and limping my way toward where Six stood. "For ONCE you're seeing reason! Hmph... Foolish girl, you are..." "At LEAST I have the strength to go on! And the heart to help others..." I looked out across the ledge, the rain pouring harder than ever, and pushed through the pain enough to summon up a solid path of light to tread across. As Six scurried on ahead, Leo lifted me onto his back, and we both caught up with the girl in yellow just as she ascended a makeshift, wooden ladder. It was a struggle for him, and I felt awful for it, but Leo managed to cross the rooftops with what he could manage while holding me onto his back until we reached another building. Once we got through the window and came across another ledge, I summoned up the glowing bridge again, struggling to keep it solid as the two able bodied children crossed to the other side. At this point my chest felt like it was cooking from the inside as they climbed through an open compartment into some kind of mail room, stacked high with envelopes and packages galore filled with who knows what and going who knows where! When I saw more ledges, I sobbed just a bit, but sucked up long enough to try to focus my chest again when Leo held a hand to stop me. "I'll go on ahead, and scout. You NEED to rest! You're burning hotter than an oven." He said, resting me against a pile of envelopes before going on ahead, leaving Six to watch over me. Once he was gone, she crouched down on all fours, and skittered her way up to me, only stopping when her nose touched the tip of mine, almost curious about my current situation as I asked harshly, "What do YOU want?" "Me? I want NOTHING from you.... However, I've seen the effects Thin Man gives people, but sudden pains and weakness aren't one of 'em! Curious..." She reached out to press on my chest, and I yelped in pain as I shot my head up to look at the ceiling, containing the urge to cry. "Hmmm.... Maybe it's all crumbling now? Yes, that MUST be! After all, you're so close, but you've no idea how far you are, or even what's going on." She sneered smugly. "What are you hiding from me WITCH!" I growled through gritted teeth, looking back to her with fury and disdain stronger than I ever had looked at someone before; even the vitriol I felt for Leo when we first met wasn't as bad as THIS! She cackled evily, and replied, "You HONESTLY think I'm telling you? At this rate, he's NEVER going to listen to a word you say! You're too blind to connect the dots, or just too stupid to realize. Face it, LaBouvier, you're FINISHED!" "Not unless I say I am! I feel like death, but I'm not dead YET." ""YET", is a very heavy term. Even though you're not "YET", doesn't mean that you're not already in the process of doing so." "I swear, I'll take you with me if I'm going to die.... I'll see to it that you won't hurt anyone anymore!" "PLEASE! You haven't a ground to stand on, much less the strength to be making a threat like THAT. I could eat you right now, like I ate those beast you called friends!" My eyes widened at that revelation, disgust and terror filling my eyes before quickly transitioning to heartbreak, and anger as I seethed, "Monster! Those were-" "POOR! WORTHLESS! CANABALISTIC EATERS! Or have you forgotten that?" Six growled, cocking her head to the right as she glowered down at me. "They were people once.... People the signal destroyed! Some were parents, and others were once kids like me. They were BEAUTIFUL, like ALL life!" "THEY ARE THE REASON EXTINCTION OR SURVIVAL IS OUR ONLY OPTIONS! Your foolish intent to destroy Thin Man to save the world is NEVER going to work." "Have you tried?" I asked, only to recieve silence from her in return. She didn't realize, but with each thing she tells me behind closed doors only makes her shoot herself in the foot more than how many times she may have already had, and I simply smiled to show her my strength. At the sound of clanging metal, she whipped around to find Leo, clambering up to the edge as he said, "Okay, we should be alright to cross!" He came up before me, and put me over his shoulder as Six asked, "Don't you think it best to leave her? She's really ill, after all." Leo only shot her a defiant look, and she quickly looked down at the floor in shame as he leapt across the chasm, grabbing with his free hand and making sure not to drop me as he hoisted himself up. The three of us came upon another zip line, and we agreed that we should all cross at the same time. Knocking down clothes pins, we sailed through an open window into a darkened room, hearing a faint music coming from the other side. We entered the room ahead, and Leo immediately stopped as he held back the urge to gasp. "Look! Another one of those mangled Viewers!" "Careful not to get too close! We're still not sure if they're completely safe." Six warned, grabbing his arm. I tapped his back, and he quietly set me on the floor, giving me the opportunity to survey the area around us when I spotted another room across from the lounge. "Look! I spy a kitchen! If we're quiet enough not to alert it, all we have to do is scale the kitchen counter and voíla! We'll be safe enough to leave!" "Brilliant observation! Come, let's move." Leo commanded, and he lifted me on his back as we crept our way like mice across the creaky wood. Once at the counter, Leo placed me standing up on the floor; using his arm as my support as he attempted to lift Six up with his other free arm. "Alright," He began, taking me into his arms again, "I'm going to lift squirt up to you, and once she's up, I'll follow." "Sounds good." Six replied, reaching down to wrap her arm around my waist before dragging me up to the sink. She reached her hand down to grab his hand when the room became eerily quiet... Alarmingly quiet..! "Uhhhhh. Does anyone else feel concerned about the fact there's no longer music playing from the Television?" I asked as Leo came over the edge half way. As soon as I asked a loud, crakckling scream was heard followed by heavy footsteps, and Leo launched himself over the side just as the Viewer came into the room, thunking her loafers on the floor as she reached her arms out for us! Leo arm hooked the two of us, and we fell onto a metal roof as the creature continued to cry and scream in a garbled mess of noise, and we quickly crossed a plank as the creature attempted to give chase by heading out to the balcony, but in an unfortunate turn, the creature ran over the edge, and tumbled to her death as I cried, "NO!" I fought myself away from Leo, a newfound strength inside, and I ran over to the edge hoping to find her alive, but all there was was a void of black below. "No...." I groaned, setting myself on my knees as I continued to peer down into the blackness. Leo came beside me, checking my forehead to find that my fever had finally broke, and my strength returned as he said, "Seems a little rest perked you back up to your original self again. How's your core?" "Oddly enough, it don't hurt anymore. Strange...." I said, pressing on my chest but finding no pain at all. "Yay! Claire's all better!" Six cheered, but I simply rolled my eyes to her as I spotted a ladder. "It looks like we must go upward. Come!" I said, ascending up to the next level of roofing as the two clambered behind, Six muttering in the process, "Yep, she sure has overcome." Reaching the next ladder and ascending,  I turned in wait for the other two before looking around for a way to cross when Leo dragged me behind a post, saying, "Look! There's another one!" "Leo, PLEASE! He's transfixed to the screen." "Doesn't mean they're harmless!" Six scolded, wagging her finger at me like a mother. "Watch!" I said, going away from the hidey hole as Leo reached out for me to hold me back, and I stamped my foot loudly onto the metal to attempt to alert the creature. When the Viewer didn't move, I waved the other two on over as I focused my power, making a third bridge for us to cross. Leo went first.... Then Six followed.... I ran across the chasm to join when Leo's eyes expanded, and he yelled out "The Thin Man is coming!" At the claim I whipped around to see the screen the Viewer was looking at, and to my horrified shock, I saw the silhouette of the tall, lanky man as he held his hand up. He snapped his fingers, and the screen darkened; making the upset creature turn to me, it broke into a quick sprint, causing me to kick it into high gear. Once I was across, Six yelled, "Dispell the bridge!" "WHAT?! But he'll die!" "He'd kill US first without a second thought!" Leo screech in horror, and I hated to admit it, but he was right. I dispelled the bridge, and the poor creature slipped, falling to void below with the first with a sickening, echoing thud! I stared down the building, hoping for a second that the Viewer would be okay since, after all, he STILL was human despite his disfiguration. Leo gently brought me to him knowingly, and I felt only a single tear roll down my face. Whatever came to THIS? No.... I knew better than to ask a question like THAT! I balled my fists in anger, the rain and thunder carrying on like a raging lion as Leo pulled me over to a bathroom, before sending me first to meet Six on another roof paneling. We carefully made our way to a second zip line, making sure we didn't slip and meet the same fate as the two creatures before us, and we came upon a stone topped roof. "Look! There's a handful up ahead. Let's sneak quietly!" Leo commanded, but something felt..... wrong...... WAY wrong! I sensed an unbearable feeling of death, and I observed how the lined up, male dressed Viewers were standin. My heart leapt as I realized what they were planning.... It was too familiar NOT to see what they were planning! I looked ahead of them, and to my dismay, the tower at the heart of the city was alive with a bright, bluish gray glow, and a humming was heard throughout the dismal sky... He was DESTROYING them...! "No, WAIT!" I called, running up to the group as Leo tried to grab me, but failed after slipping from my soaked hand. I was on the clock, and running as fast as my legs would go when the first fell before my eyes! "STOP! YOU MUST FIGHT IT, STOP!" I begged, trying to get their attention when another one fell. I tried to grab ahold of his collar, but it ripped from my hand as another fell. "STOOOOOOOOOOPPPPP! PLEASE!" I continued to scream, hoping to lure at least ONE from the edge as the two older children watched in shock. It was no use.... They just kept falling! After my attempt to catch the last one failed, I slumped over the edge out of breath, and sobbing harshly as my eyes stayed their widest. He didn't just destroy them, he caused them to cause a mass, self genocide of a sentient being! I looked back toward the tower in rage and heartbreak, and as if I were talking to this Thin Man, I cried out, "YOU MONSTER! Vous les avez tués! Une âme sensible, et vous les avez dévastés comme s'ils étaient des animaux à l'abattoir!" I sobbed harshly into my arm as I asked aloud, "How could you.... How could you be so cruel?..." I heard footsteps approach me, and a loving hand met my shoulder gently, and I threw myself onto the nearest person there was to embrace, which was my dearest friend. "Crikey.... I get times are bad, but that's the worst way to go!" He breathed, gulping as he peered over the edge. "He made those people SUFFER! If he's doing that to them...." My heart pained as I thought of the torture he must be putting the boy through, and it weighed heavy on my mind; all the more reason to get to him without fail! I held onto Leo's shirt as I stated, "I can't let him hurt anymore, Leo. It's too much, and all in a span of who KNOWS! I must continue, no matter the outcome I MUST get to the boy, and stop the Thin Man!" "But HOW? You barely KNOW the man long enough to even remotely lay a scratch on him, Claire." Leo said, looking out at the tower. "I must, or else why was I chosen to partake on this journey? I'm missing something, something crucial, but..... Grrrr!" I was angry, stressed, and concerned all at once, and I felt hopeless for the umpteenth time in my small existence. In fact, I hadn't felt this hopeless and lost since the passing of my father.... "Well for a start, let's get out of the rain." Leo suggested, "Take a breather, and recuperate from.... This...." we strode across the slippery stone roof until we came upon a hole, and we leapt into a sitting area with a recliner, a side table, and an antique ash tray with half a cigarette inside. "Seems homy." Six said, looking around the place as I remained on the floor. "Hey Kiddo, are you okay?" Leo asked, sitting on the floor beside me. Without a word, I curled up against him, pulling my cloak around me for warmth as I tried to sleep, and with a slight chuckle, he stroked my arm lightly as I whimpered, and he eventually placed his arms around me for added warmth. "Sleepy, eh? We ALL need some rest, don't we?" He asked quietly, but i was too tired to answer, and I drifted off to sleep...