To her credit, Lee only freezes for a moment before kicking into action. She's quick to grab Daisy by the arm and pull her down to hide under her examiner's table, the front of which blocks the view of them with its long sanitary paper sheet.
"Stay quiet," Lee warns her, putting an arm about her shoulders when she realizes that Daisy is shaking.
The girl somehow catches the comment and has the confidence to give Lee a pointed look.
"Oh, right," Lee whispers, embarrassed.
They are silenced by more gunfire from outside their door. Daisy begins to tremble from the terror flooding her mind. Lee squeezes the girl's hand in comfort, closing her eyes and hoping that Jim is okay.
Suddenly, the door bursts open, making the screams and fighting from outside much louder. Daisy jumps at the sound, her head softly thumping the bottom of the table. Both women still at the quiet sound of footsteps nearby beneath the noises of disorder.
The gunfire has mostly died down, with the occasional groan from the injured and then quick shots here and there as good officers are put down by unknown assailants. At least, unknown to the two women—for now.
They both watch as the silhouette of a pair of legs slowly draws closer to rounding the corner of the table and discovering them. Daisy holds her breath, preparing for the inevitable forthcoming violence.
"Greenwood! Get your fat ass over here and help me film the message!" A very familiar voice interjects, distracting the intruder just before he could spot Lee and Daisy. They watch with bated breath as the legs move away, until finally the door is slammed shut once more.
Lee waits a moment more before exhaling a large, shaky breath. "That was Jerome speaking just now, wasn't it?"
Daisy nods slowly, in a state of utter shock and indecision. Her mind is overwhelmed with a combination of terror and confusion.
"Greenwood," Lee mutters, sliding out from under the table quietly. "That's another one of the escaped convicts. The Maniax are attacking the GCPD then."
Daisy begins to move also when she sees Lee stand up, but the doctor gestures for her to stop. "Stay hidden under there. Through this other door there's a phone—I'm going to try and call and see what kind of backup or help we can get here. It's safer for you to stay in here."
The girl shakes her head frantically, pointing at the paper and pokes it as evidence of its uselessness. Daisy then points at the door Lee intends to go through, quickly signing that it's another barrier.
The doctor reluctantly nods her head in agreement and Daisy slips out from under the table to follow her into the next room. The women both cringe at the seemingly loud sounds that the door makes as it opens and closes. Lee quickly goes for the corded phone on the desk and gestures for Daisy to go hide underneath.
The space beneath the desk is cramped, such that only Daisy—even as tiny as she is—can fit underneath. Instead of trying to force herself in with her, Lee sits on the same side of the desk on the floor just in front of Daisy. The two women lock eyes as Lee speaks into the receiver in hushed tones. Noting the look of terror on the poor girl's face, the woman reaches out and squeezes her hand in reassurance, holding onto it.
Meanwhile, Jerome has been taunting his unfortunate guest about what they're going to do to her. Before he murders her, he grills her about the location of Daisy, and Essen seems to freeze up, seemingly keeping herself from looking anywhere else other than him.
"She's here, isn't she?" Jerome purrs in triumph. Essen flinches briefly before trying to assert that Daisy is somewhere far away where Jerome will never find her.
YOU ARE READING
Rapunzel <J. Valeska>
Hayran Kurgu"What's the matter gorgeous? Cat got your tongue?" So, after the breakout, Jerome found a mysterious blond girl on the street and decided he wanted to keep her. He's got issues, but she's got some too, though maybe not the same kind. Jerome must ha...
