Cecilia made her way back to the center of what was left of the town. Most of the townsolf, transformed and untransformed alike, were staying close by to one another, until they knew whether this place was safe.
Cecilia spread the word for everyone to gather for an impromptu announcement, and raised the volume on her vocalizer.
"Okay! I know everyone is pretty freaked out by know about our situation, but try to remain calm! My name is Cecilia Pennsbrook. Me and my partner are federal agents, and we are going to do everything we can to help! Now, first of all, we need to scout out the area, find out what's here, and if there are any present dangers around."
Cecilia hoped that the idea of someone with a connection to authority taking charge would calm people down a bit. It may be a flimsy bit of reassurance, but one had to take what the could get.
"We should only take a few of us for now, the rest of you should remain here!" She looked around the assembled crowd, noticing the raptor girl she and Hawkins had met at the Hotel. "You, dino-chick, what's your name?"
The Sauroid girl stepped forward. Still nervous about the blood stains on her shirt. "It's Mike."
Cecilia looked Mike up and down. "You said you were out hunting earlier?"
"Yeah..."
"Good. I'd feel better having someone with some skill at moving around the wilderness and hunting coming along."
Mike couldn't help but agree, following Cecilia back toward the others for the expedition.
Cecilia gave Mike a cordial pat on the shoulder. "Welcome to the tea-" She noticed Mike wincing, and remembered to set her voice volume back down. "Heh.. sorry. Anyway, welcome to the team Mikey. One last question, with gams like those, I'm assuming you can run pretty quickly, right?"
Mike nodded, then paused. "...Gams?"
Cecila rolled her optics. "So I have an ecclectiv vocabulary, sue me. Anyway, another reason I want someone like you coming along, is so that if anything bad happens, you can try to run back and warn the town. Got it?"
Mike nodded. "So who else is coming along?"
"My partner Hawkins, and some local guy, Eric. You know 'im?"
Mike shook her head. "Nope. Uh.. I appreciate being picked for something this important, but I'm not sure I'll be that great. I'm used to the local woods and stuff, and my skills are kinda about... chasing things."
Cecilia shrugged. "Woods, mysterious crystal plains, same diff. Just imagine that whatever we're looking for is a quadriplegic rabbit or something."
Mike groaned. "Don't remind me... I haven't caught anything good in forever..."
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Unbeknownst by the party preparing to move out on the alien terrain, that they were being scrutinized as someone with binoculars would a newly discovered fauna, and minds unseen regarded them with curious eyes.
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He clutched his head in pain, supporting himself against the alley wall. *Not again, please god not again * Stumbling to the ground, he looked down at the green, chitinous patches on his hands with bloodshot red eyes, and winced in pain and dread as they began to grow and overtake his flesh. He screamed in pain as his eyes were covered in hard red lenses, and his jaws filled with terrible sharp mixes between fangs and mandibles.
"No! No no nooaaarghgh! AAAAAAAAAUGH!" RRRRRRRUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
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