HOMEOSTASIS

Chapter IV

"Our little group, it's always been,
And always will until the end."

⦻⦻⦻

Kate walked around San Diego until her feet were begging for forgiveness. She'd gone to every hospital in the area, but no sign of her partners or the van. She has no money, so buying a charger or using the public phones is off the list of options. Oh, the mess she got herself into...

At some point, she just sat in an alley, stealing food from the restaurant nearby. That's what her life became, huh? It's not as if she couldn't make it by herself. She's just so used to the mansion and blindly following Slenderman's orders, mostly driven by fear and brainwash, so she doesn't really have any autonomy left, but she's the leader of that little group! She's gotta have some sense of direction, right?

She'd spent the night in that alley. Well, at least until she felt a presence next to her.

Out of pure trauma or maybe habit, she jumped from where she rested, putting herself on her feet, ready to fight at any point when she came face to face with a sight that got her confused.

A woman. Maybe not much older than her. She was wearing all black, but the mask she appeared to be wearing was white as snow. The rest of her skin- arms and legs- looked like they'd been put in a boiler. She did not seem like a threat, though. She just stood there, staring.

"Uh... Can I help you..?" The stranger pointed to the floor, where a box of chinese food awaited. "I think you dropped your lunch." But she didn't answer. Her eyes, dark as the night, moved back to the box and her hands opened.

"It's for you."

She blinked.

"Huh?"

"I saw you earlier. You seem lost and hungry. Might as well give you something."

Her delightful voice didn't fool her, either.

"So what? You do this often? Give food to the homeless?"

She sat down in front of her and smiled.

"Relax. I'm not gonna take it from you. I saw you talking to one of the cops when that kid was attacked, last night. You're not exactly homeless. You're a criminology student, correct?"

"Oh..." Skeptically, she took the box in her hands, picking at the pasta with the chopsticks. Taking one last glance at the woman, she blew on the steamy food before taking a big bite out of it. God, she's hungry.

"Slow down," she chuckled. "You'll choke if you keep that up."

Did she care? Her food was devoured at an inhumane speed as she moaned and sighed at the foreign feeling.

"I'm not-" she mumbled, "Not really a student."

"Oh? So you lied? What for?"

"Curiosity. Not really any of your business but-" another giant bite. "I have interest in catching the person who did that."

"Ah! I think fate brought us together, then." She presented her hand elegantly. "I'm Jane. I also wanna catch that bastard."

Kate stopped her feasting to stare at her, then at her hand. She shook it calmly, however.

"My partners call me "Chaser"."