Game Set, Play (w|w version)

Separated part 2

Rose and Sam were running from the panther. They managed to stay ahead of it because they could fit between the trees with more ease than the creature, which was three times their size.
"Would you blast it already!" shouted Sam.
Rose replied, "Blast it?... We're all moving."
"Do it before it kills us!"
"I'd need to turn... and stop to aim. ... What if it takes me down?" said Rose between breaths.
"We need to do something! We can't outrun it much longer."
"Set something on fire."
"Like what? The running panther?"
"What about... the long branch ahead?"
"It's worth a try. When I say 'jump', jump!" Sam focused on the thick branch between two trees in the near distance in front of them. "Jump!"
The two of them jumped as high as they could. As they passed the piece of wood, fire erupted underneath them. The flames rose one meter high behind them. Rose and Sam kept running. They looked back to make sure that the creature hadn't jumped over the flames. When Sam saw that the animal stopped, she released her control over the fire and let nature take over. Sam had restricted the size of the flames to prevent it from spreading. She hoped that nature would keep it that way.

Nearly two minutes later, Sam said, "I don't hear it anymore. I think it gave up at the fire."
The two of them were still moving at their faster pace in fear that the animal would go around the flames and continue to chase them.
"Did you look?" asked Rose.
"No, I'll look." Sam checked behind them. "It's gone."
The two of them stopped running. They observed their surroundings carefully to confirm that the panther wasn't nearby. Then, they caught their breath.
Sam commented, "That was exhilarating."
"Exhilarating? ... That was terrifying."
"It was exhilarating in a horrifying way."
"If it comes back, I'll tell it to chase... just you then."
"Or you could blast it. It's safer for you to blast it than for me to set it on fire. ... Let me know when you're ready. We'll keep walking."
"No long break?" Rose paused to take in a couple of deep breaths. "I feel like the ground we covered was wasted. ... We couldn't check for the others."
"Yeah but if they saw us, they would have followed us."
"You mean follow the panther?"
"Well, Gwen wouldn't. Probably not Peter either. Alex might. I think Liz would."
"So maybe wasted."

A minute later, Rose told Sam that she was able to continue their search. They walked in the same direction in which they had ran.
To interrupt their lack of a conversation, Sam said, "Do you see Peter and Liz well together? I'm still trying to decide. They're such opposites."
Rose responded, "I haven't really thought about it. I think that they balance each other out. They've been friends for so long that they click one way or another."
"They definitely have a good relationship. They don't spend most of their time arguing like another couple I know."
"I prefer the term 'debating'."
"'Debating'? Is that what you call it with the lack of logic?"
"Well, it doesn't feel like arguing. Not in a bad way so it's not really arguing. Unless she told you that it feels like arguing. Did she tell you that?"
"No, it's my opinion. I don't understand how arguing isn't arguing."
"Well, I don't understand your relationship with Alex. It's like you're together but not really."
"How are we not really together?"
"You haven't decided to be an actual couple. You're still at the casual status."
"Officially, yeah." Sam considered what she wanted to say next. "Is Alex seeing anyone else?"
"Consistently, like you? No. I remember her saying something about meeting people at a club a couple of times but I can't remember what she said happened."
Sam replied, "That's fine. If that's what she wants."
Rose felt bad and added, "I could be wrong. Maybe they just danced. As friends or strangers dancing. ... Aren't you seeing others too?"
"Not one person since I met Alex. I go out with others but I end up messaging Alex to... finish the date. I chose those words specifically for you."
Rose replied sarcastically, "Thank you."
"Don't get me wrong. We role-play all the time in all sorts of ways and I fantasize about others. But I haven't been with another."
Trying to get the image of Alex and Sam role-playing out of her head, Rose commented, "Now this forest and near death aren't as scary. She's really into you. You're one of the few that I've met. If you wanted to be exclusive, she'd be okay with it. Then, you wouldn't have to worry about others."
"No, I don't believe in that. If she wants to be with others, I'm not going to stop her. And I might still meet someone who I'll finish the date with. The reason we're still at the casual status is in case we meet someone who we want to be with even more. For now, I don't want to lose her. That's all. I don't have to be the only one."
"That's what I don't understand. How can you want to see other people?"
"How can you not?"
"'Cause all I see is her."
"Some might call that obsessive. —What the!" said Sam as her body hit an invisible wall.
"Why did you —" tried asking Rose as she too hit it.
"Looks like we're not going any further this way."
"Is this a good or a bad sign?" asked Rose not very concerned about why the border was there. After all of her experiences, an invisible wall didn't surprise Rose as much as it should have.
"I don't know but if we follow it, we might find a way out of here."
They walked alongside the edge of the invisible yet solid border.