forum oxo with @emilyevewrites

Started January 18, 2023 by @menace-to-society

tune

Phoebe stumbled, Adalyn's clumsiness causing her to misstep. Thankfully she didn't fall, though, still pulling ahead. They arrived next to the road before the truck did, luckily. Phoebe saw it coming and held out her arm, sticking out her thumb like a hitchhiker. Her nerves eased slightly as the truck slowed down, and Brett lowered a window to speak with them.

"You girls need a ride or somethin'?" he asked, surveying the two of them. He looked a bit worn, with weathered skin and salt-and-pepper hair, but his eyes were kind.

"We need to get to the nearest city," Phoebe responded before the girl next to her could. "We got lost on a hiking trip and we all agreed to meet back there in case of trouble."

Brett thought for a moment before nodding. "Aw, what the hell, come on in," he responded, unlocking the doors and rolling the window back up. In any other situation, Phoebe would be wary of riding in a car with a strange man, but she had already seen how this would play out and she knew Brett wouldn't try anything weird. Usually he just talked about his daughter and how she was about Phoebe and Adalyn's age or something.

Phoebe got into the truck, tugging Adalyn along with her. She hadn't let go of the girl's wrist, and tried to give her a look that was convincing to get Adalyn to go along with her plan. That was the biggest unknown in this whole escape: Adalyn. So Phoebe would steer her along until they got to safety if that was what it took.

(also you can control Brett if you want! he's just an npc driving them to the city lol)

(Okay, sounds good :))

Adalyn jolted to a stop when the other girl waited at the edge of the road. She blinked drowsily as the truck slowed down while it approached them. If Addy had been feeling her normal self, she would've refused to get in the truck. Her parents had taught her better than to accept rides from complete strangers, especially men.

But now, instead, she stumbled hopelessly behind the other girl as she continued to hold Adalyn's wrist and pulled her up into the truck with her. The look the other girl was giving her wasn't processing in Addy's mind, but then again, nothing really was. Not yet. She needed to completely get the drugs out of her system.

Once inside, Addy slumped back against the seat and continued to blink slowly as she took in the truck's interior. She looked over at the girl beside her, then up at the man driving. He glanced back in the rearview mirror at them to make sure they were situated, smiled, and began to drive off again.

A little way down the road, Addy began to shift in her seat. It occurred to her that she didn't even know the name of the girl sitting beside her. She frowned and tugged on the girl's sleeve. "Hey," she whispered, her voice still quiet and raw. "I gotta go to pee."

Phoebe glanced over at the interruption, eyebrows raising slightly. They had been in the truck for a few minutes already, and it probably wouldn't be more than twenty minutes now. She hoped that Adalyn could hold it until then. They had to get to the city. They didn't have another option. She wasn't sure her companion fully understood how dire the stakes were. Adalyn wasn't like Phoebe, either. She wasn't used to the secrecy, the oddity that was being raised in the Lab, the feeling of emptiness that came with it. She probably had a loving family that she was ripped from to go back to after this. Phoebe wished she could say the same. But she was eighteen now, so she could find work and make a life for herself after this. After they got the others out. But before any of that could happen, they had to get to the city and not get out until they were there.

"Can you hold it for like twenty minutes or so? We're close to town," Phoebe responded, frowning at the girl's condition. How Brett didn't comment on it was a miracle. Then again, the few times he had made conversation with them, it was always about his daughter.

The way Phoebe viewed time wasn't the same as most people, who saw it in a linear fashion. Instead, when she had her visions, she saw possible futures, and possible choices and outcomes. It all lived in a somewhat roundabout way in her mind, and she guessed that if her visions got worse, her sense of chronological order would as well. But that was hardly the issue at hand. Right now, Phoebe was concerned with only one thing, and that was getting to where her vision had ended off the first time. The safe version. Then she could deal with Adalyn, and try to nurse her back to health or whatever.

Adalyn winced at the other girl's response. She shook her head and pressed her knees tighter together. "I really gotta go," she whispered, squirming a bit more. "How many seconds are in twenty minutes? Will we be there soon?" Her brown eyes were dilated more than usual, part of her reaction to the drugs. It wasn't obvious given how dark her natural eye color was, but it would be more noticeable now that they were in close quarters in the backseat of the truck.

Unlike her companion, Addy had no worries about their current situation. She was carefree if a bit uncomfortable. But that would soon change as the effects of the drugs wore off. It was already showing with her slightly more panicked expression. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly, glancing out the windows and the windshield. "How much further? I have to go pee, please."

Phoebe tried not to groan. This was messing up the plan. She didn't want to be cruel here, but she wasn't sure if they had time to stop for a pee break. Adalyn would have to go on the side of the road, and the people from the Lab would likely be expanding their search further, which might mean that they would catch up to them in the few minutes they were parked. Plus, Phoebe had seen nothing about Adalyn getting out of the car in her visions, so she wasn't sure what the right answer was here.

Luckily, they were getting to the city pretty quickly. Brett was speeding a bit, which was good. That meant they would get there faster. There were other cars on the road to care, anyway. Phoebe's stomach twisted with nerves. Due to her current condition, her companion would have no way of knowing how important this process was, and she didn't particularly want to explain it in the backseat where they might be overhead. She supposed she would tell Adalyn the most that she felt could be explained away if overheard. If they blabbed too much to Brett, he got anxious and turned them in. That was a bad future.

"I'm sorry," Phoebe sighed, glancing at the other girl. She noticed that her eyes were quite dilated, which had been hard to see before due to their dark color. But up close, the effects of the drugs on her were clear. Could she hold it in her current condition? Phoebe certainly hoped so, and she was silently pleading for Adalyn to be able to. "You can pee as soon as we get to the city. I can't really explain right now, but we have to get there without stopping. We're getting close, promise. Just hold it for a few more minutes. Please."

Adalyn frowned and crossed her legs. After a moment, she looked out the window and mumbled reluctantly, "Okay." She watched the woods fade and the city came into view as the man driving the truck continued on. The sights outside her window distracted her from the intense urge of needing to pee. She hoped that whoever this girl with her was understood that going to the bathroom was a necessary part of human nature and–

Suddenly a rush of emotions struck Adalyn, and she sat upright in surprise, stifling a gasp at the intensity of the feelings. Damn, the girl beside her was incredibly anxious. She was so nervous that Addy started to become mildly panicked. And the driver… he was both confused and worried. Addy began to notice the little glances he was giving them in the rearview mirror. She looked over at the girl beside her and opened her mouth to ask something else, but she stopped herself. She didn't need the emotions to get worse, specifically this girl's anxiety. It would make Adalyn have a panic attack, and in front of two strangers, no less. So she didn't speak.

The car ride seemed to take an eternity, but at least Adalyn had realized had stopped talking. Phoebe really did feel bad, but she knew that Adalyn could pee soon enough anyway. She could probably pick up the wallet while the other girl relieved herself. It was the smart thing to do, especially if Adalyn was one of the extremely moral sort of girls. She wasn't raised in the Lab, so she very well might be. Phoebe knew that anyone who didn't buy into the lies that they were fed there didn't care much about how they got out, just escaping, and Phoebe was no exception. The woman the wallet belonged to probably had a stable job anyway; Phoebe had no other way to get the money.

As Phoebe glanced over at her companion, she noticed a change of expression on the girl's face. Weird. What had caused her to look so nervous all of a sudden? Was it the drugs? Or was it that they were wearing off? Maybe this girl's powers had to do with the look. Either way, it didn't matter much to Phoebe at the moment. They just needed to escape.

Eventually, they made it a small shopping square in the city, and Brett parked, turning to face the girls. "Is here okay? I know they have a payphone in this area still, if you need it," he responded. "The cell service is also pretty good here, so you should be able to call your friends if you have your phones on you." His brow scrunched a bit as he talked, and Phoebe was touched that he seemed to be worried about them. But she had bigger fish to fry now.

"Thank you," she responded. "Here is great." She opened the door, waiting for Adalyn to get out. Now she could finally set the final steps of the escape plan in motion, and they could work on getting ready to break out the others. Phoebe hadn't gotten a vision about that yet, just a vague glimpse, but she hoped she could soon. She was starting to gain some semblance of control over the visions, so if she could trigger one, that would be great. That would have to wait until the girls were safe, though.

Adalyn could feel that the other girl's mind was going a mile a minute. Whatever they were doing, her companion was completely focused on it. Her nerves were still there, but not as bad as they just were. It helped Addy to calm down, especially since she was on the verge of a panic attack.

She lifted her head when the truck stopped and the man who had been driving it turned to speak to them. A frown crossed her face. "My phone?" she mumbled. She didn't have her phone. Her phone was… wait, where was her phone? She didn't have it with her. It was… Where? She had no idea where her phone was. Panicked, she began to look around for it, but then the other girl started speaking.

Adalyn again wanted to say something, but she thought better of it and instead clumsily made her way out of the truck. Once her feet hit the ground, she stumbled out of the way so the other girl could get out. She blinked and had to shield her eyes from the light. It was so bright out now that there weren't many trees to block the sun. "Hey," she muttered to no one. "I still have to pee."

Phoebe barely understood what Adalyn had said, but she got it. She was sure there was a bathroom around here somewhere–it was a shopping area, and there was always one somewhere in the mess. She looked around for a bathroom sign, seeing one further down the shop-lined sidewalk. It pointed in the direction of a candy store, a shoe store, and a couple clothing stores. Conveniently, one of the clothing stores was the one that had the dropped wallet inside. Well, unless there was more than one Gap in this small maze.

It was a nice day, sunny, so there were several people out and about, shopping. She looked around, not seeing anyone who looked like they wanted to hurt the girls, so that was a win. Phoebe brushed a hand through her hair before turning back to her companion triumphantly.

"Okay, there's a bathroom over here," she said, gesturing in the direction that the sign indicated. "After you pee, I'll explain everything to you since it seems like you're getting more coherent. I'll be waiting outside the bathroom when you come out. So, yeah. Let's go." She walked in that direction, glancing behind her to make sure that Adalyn was following. They were getting close.

Adalyn nodded slowly and began to follow the girl toward the bathroom. All the while, she kept glancing around nervously. The feelings of all the other people around them began to settle in her mind. She noted one man's worry to find the perfect gift for his wife's birthday. A woman was stressed beyond belief trying to keep her two young sons in line. Another woman was smiling with shopping bags hanging from her arms, but for some reason, Addy knew that she was in turmoil on the inside from breaking up with her boyfriend and using retail therapy as an excuse.

She began to hyperventilate and steered away from anyone who got close to her, except for her companion whose name she still didn't even know. Pushing open the bathroom door, Addy swallowed heavily and went into a stall. Thankfully, there was no one else there.

Once she was finished, she went over to the sink to wash her hands. She flinched away from her reflection. The girl in the mirror looked like a disheveled mess. Her brown hair was frizzy and unruly around her face. Her eyes were still very dilated and had dark circles underneath. This girl looked hollow.

Addy stared in the mirror and blinked. The girl stared back at her and blinked too. Addy took a step, the girl took a step. Eventually, Addy wouldn't look at the girl, and she washed her hands rapidly. But when she looked up, she saw the girl was still staring at her. She recoiled as if she'd been burned and hurried out of the bathroom. Her gaze swung around desperately as she searched the people around her for her companion.

Phoebe herself had taken off the second Adalyn had walked through the bathroom door, walking into the Gap where the money was supposed to be found. She hadn't seen the exact spot she found it, but she knew she was supposed to be standing in front of a particularly boring blouse, so she searched the store as quickly as she could. Thankfully, she found the wallet without too much trouble, pulling a couple of bills out and setting it back on the ground. Sure, she felt guilty about it, but she and Adalyn needed that money to escape, so she was sure the woman would be fine.

What if someone else took the wallet after her, though? There were credit cards inside and a driver's license. Maybe leaving it there wasn't the best option. After a brief moment of indecision, she turned the wallet into the store, money still in her pocket. Well, good enough. At least she would only be missing the money that Phoebe had took now, and nothing more.

She hurried back out to the bathrooms, noticing her companion looking around frantically. Jeez, Adalyn really was in a state, wasn't she? Phoebe supposed she would have to explain herself during their little shopping trip, now that Adalyn was likely to actually understand. Keeping her in the dark probably wouldn't help with anything here. She walked towards the girl, outwardly fairly calm but buzzing with nervous energy. Before Adalyn could work herself up into a tizzy, Phoebe put a hand on her shoulder gently, just enough pressure for the girl to notice.

"Hi," she said, forcing herself to be a bit more cheerful. "You okay there?"

Adalyn began to hyperventilate again. The girl had left her. She said she'd be waiting outside, and she wasn't there. Panic set in. She covered her ears and shook her head. No. Not here. Not in public. She was about to turn and go back into the bathroom when she jumped at the hand on her shoulder.

She turned around rapidly but relaxed a bit seeing the familiar face. "Yeah," she replied quietly, taking a deep breath to calm herself. But then she noticed something weird. The girl looked calm and sounded happy, but Adalyn was picking up nothing but nervous energy from her.

"Are you?" she suddenly added before she could stop herself and realize what she was saying.

"I'm fine," Phoebe responded, though it was the sort of 'I'm fine' people say when they are definitely not fine. She did not want to talk about it, though. This stress would be over after they were safe. Then she could rest, recuperate, and plan. She was just holding it together until then.

"Hey, let's go shopping for new clothes," she suggested brightly, changing the subject. "I've got enough to get us both new outfits, as long as it's not something super fancy. These white tracksuits are really ugly." She laughed, though it was a bit forced. Her hatred of the tracksuits was not, though. They really were pretty gross, despite the comfortable material. Without waiting for a reply, she took Adalyn's hand and guided her towards a nearby clothing store (a different one than where she'd gotten the money). "So, what stores do you like, huh?" This whole place was kind of a novelty for her. Phoebe hadn't been clothes shopping, well, ever, so she was a little excited, even though her stomach was a boiling pit of anxiety.

She didn't really know any of the stores, so they were all interesting to her and she didn't much care where the two of them went. She only recognized the Gap from the vision that she'd had earlier about getting the cash. Now, she was in completely unfamiliar territory. If she weren't terrified about being found soon, she would be excited. And a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of people here. She wasn't used to that. But no, she had to focus. If they couldn't shed their old clothes, they would be found easily. They had to get new clothes, and get the hell away from here afterward. They at least had to make it to a motel for the night. Phoebe knew there was a cheap one nearby, and had kept just enough money separate from the rest to afford it (thank you, visions). She was also glad this woman kept so much money on her. Wow. Phoebe wondered what her life must be like. Right, focus.

Adalyn frowned, clearly not believing the girl's "I'm fine." Between the falseness of her tone and her true emotions being poured into Adalyn like a sink faucet on full blast, the young empath knew she was being lied to.

"Clothes?" she asked curiously. She glanced down as if just realizing what she was wearing and frowned. "Yeah," she agreed as the other girl took her hand. The tracksuits were really ugly, and the white nearly hurt Addy's eyes to look at. However, when her companion grabbed her hand and began to lead her, Addy didn't trip up as much anymore. Partially it was because they were walking on actual solid ground, and the other part was because the drugs continued to wear off.

"Um, I don't know," she murmured. Her tone was naturally quiet, but the screaming and yelling she'd done at the Lab had made it even more so.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Memories began to come back to her. Memories that had been suppressed by the drugs… Her life, her school, her friends, her parents… Coming home to a deathly quiet house… Entering the kitchen… Four strangers… Two held her mom… The other two held her mother… Both women were gagged and bound… Guns pressed to their temples… Tears in her parents' eyes… Adalyn could feel their fear and their pain… A fifth stranger… A man dressed in a white coat telling her it was time to go…

Adalyn jerked back into reality and tried to control her breathing. "My parents," she whispered, stopping dead in her tracks as she spoke. "Where are my parents?" Her wide brown eyes turned to the girl beside her. "And who are you? I don't even know your name. Where am I?"

Phoebe was not amused by this turn of events. She felt bad for Adalyn, of course she did, but her anxiety was already dialed up to an eleven without having to do anything that was not specifically in her vision. She didn't want to also have to explain the Lab to the girl or try to help her figure out her family situation right now. The truth was that Phoebe had no fucking clue about anything in Adalyn's life besides the very recent past of the Lab and being here now. She supposed she could just answer her questions as best she could for now, maybe try to see if she could pick up any visions of Adalyn's parents for later? She hadn't been able to control the visions at all until more recently, when if she concentrated on a specific occurrence, date, or person she might be able to get something. Still, that was foggy at best, and only worked some of the time.

At any rate, she needed to answer as quickly and concisely as possible so they could get a move on. "So it seems like the drugs are wearing off," she noted, partially to herself. "Cool cool cool." Yeah, she was definitely beginning to panic a little. Stay calm, Phoebe. Just follow the plan. You have time to explain a little, she reassured herself. Before saying anything else, Phoebe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She turned to face her companion, not letting go of the girl's hand lest she get some idea and try to run off. Phoebe was not about to have that bullshit, not when they were so close to getting away for good. "I don't know where your parents are, I'm sorry. I don't really know much about you at all, just what my visions showed me. Okay, that sounds insane. Let me explain."

Here we go, she sighed internally. She'd hoped to delay this conversation a bit more, but Phoebe didn't want to be cruel. This was the easiest way. "You must have some sort of supernatural ability or power, which is why you were kidnapped by the people from the Lab," she began, trying to be quick with this while actually explaining the situation. "Basically, they take any kids who show supernatural abilities to experiment on them. You were taken pretty recently, but I've been there since I was really little. I hardly remember my parents. I have foresight, so I can see glimpses of the future and stuff. That's how we escaped. Oh, and the name's Phoebe. I already know yours, no need to introduce yourself. Now, if we want to escape the Lab for good, we need to buy new clothes, get changed, and get a room at a nearby motel to wait out their searching. Then we can find your parents." She hoped that was good enough for now, because she really did not want to get into her life at the Lab or the sort of things they did there. Plus, time was ticking, and that made Phoebe more anxious every minute they wasted standing around.

(I don't think this is how fast drugs actually wear off, but for the sake of the rp… 😂)

Adalyn looked horrified. "Drugs?" she squeaked. "I was drugged?" It… actually made sense. Ever since she was taken, her memories were hazy. Though she did remember the words doctors had exchanged over her. Their twisted emotions – excitement and curiosity – made her sick. And the terror. The panic. The fright. She couldn't tell if it was hers or theirs, but the memories were so saturated with fear.

The girl licked her lips to wet them as she just realized how dry they were. She was beginning to come back into herself, and it was both relieving and terrifying. How long had she succumbed to the drugs? How long since she was taken? Were her parents okay? She had to know. She had to find them. She missed her mom's smile and the way she would take Adalyn into her arms when the girl was overwhelmed and help her to calm down. She missed her mother's cooking, practicality, and perfectly organized house.

She desperately tried to focus on the girl in front of her and the words she was saying. "Visions?" she asked incredulously, taking a step back. Adalyn had no intentions of running, the motion was just out of shock. But she felt the girl's grip tighten ever so slightly.

"I know I do," Addy mumbled quietly, dipping her head and not meeting the girl's eyes. But she continued to listen, taking in as much information as possible. The girl had been kidnapped when she was little? She didn't even have a memory of her life prior to the Lab? Adalyn's heart ached for her. So her visions were her power, like Addy's empathy and telekinesis. That made sense. The pieces began to put themselves together in her mind. She knew the truck would be there. She knew the driver wouldn't hurt them. She knew they couldn't stop. It made sense.

"I'm Ad-" she began, but she stopped when Phoebe said she knew her. "Oh… okay." Her mind was still trying to process all the new information in addition to reeling over the memories of her capture. But she gave a dull nod. "Um… so, new clothes? We should hurry, then, right?" Her voice was naturally quiet, and it was more softened with understanding now"

(i mean idk lmfao,, the closest i've been to drugged was getting my wisdom teeth out so i just didn't think about it tbh)

Okay, good. It seemed like Adalyn understood what she had been saying. Honestly, Phoebe was a bit worried that the other girl would think she was crazy and run off, absolutely ruining Phoebe's plan. But not only did she seem to get it, she got the urgency of the situation. Good. Now they just had to go through the remaining steps before they had time where they could think of their next steps and figure things out…together. It was an odd idea to Phoebe, since she was used to planning everything on her own and keeping it to herself in case someone spilled to the doctors at the Lab. She'd lived almost her entire life in fear that one of them would catch her plotting escape again and do something to her. She had tried to escape several years ago, telling a few of those she considered to be her friends there, but someone had ratted her out, and she had never found out who it was. In those days, her visions were less frequent and less clear than they were now, so she hadn't seen much about escaping. But the psychological and physical repercussions of her scheming had never left her.

No, she had to stop dwelling on that. If she wanted to escape, for real this time, she had to keep pressing forward. She nodded at Adalyn, giving her a bit of a relieved smile. Though considering that she now knew Adalyn was an empath–she hadn't known the girl's exact powers until now, since Adalyn hadn't used them in the vision–the girl probably knew that Phoebe's stomach was still a mess of nerves.

"Yeah, let's go find a clothing store," she said, pulling her companion along to the nearest one. "Sorry to dump everything on you like that. If you want to know more, I can explain once we're safe. Or at least safe for now. I don't know anything past that we'll be at least temporarily safe at that motel if we can avoid suspicion when we arrive there. That's what the clothes are for. Once we get to the motel, we can work out what to do next."

(Yeah, no, I've never been drugged. I'm going to go with Adalyn's powers helped to influence the speed of the drugs leaving her system ;))

Adalyn felt genuine relief wash over Phoebe as she realized Adalyn wasn't going to mess up their escape. In fact, now that she was self-aware again, the telepath was more than eager to aid in running away from the people who had kidnapped her and getting back to her parents. But she could also feel her companion's nervousness, and it was eating up Adalyn on the inside too.

"It's okay," Addy assured her. As an empath, she'd learned relatively quickly how to be comforting and ease other people's negative emotions. If only for the selfish reason that Adalyn wouldn't feel their pain or anxiety or anger anymore. "You don't have to be so worried. We can do this together." She wasn't sure if Phoebe was still worried about her running away, but for safe measure, Addy added, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

As Phoebe pulled her toward the nearest clothing store, Adalyn began to recognize logos and process their surroundings more coherently. "Not that one," she instructed, tugging Phoebe away. "There's a Community Aid over there. It's a thrift store and will probably be cheaper." Adalyn paused. "Unless you saw a specific store? In your vision? And do we have money?"

Phoebe was a bit relieved by Adalyn's attempts at helping, and she glanced towards her companion as she spoke, pausing. A thrift store…What was that? It was a cheaper sort of store apparently, so that was probably what it meant. Phoebe decided that she wouldn't ask, if only to avoid looking stupid. She knew very little about the outside world, and Adalyn had lived in it for most of her life, so Phoebe would just have to follow along. Cheaper sounded good. She didn't know the actual cost of clothes, she only knew how much money she had and that she saw them wearing new clothes in the vision.

"Cheaper is good," she agreed with a nod. "I didn't see a specific store, just us looking at clothes and then wearing new clothes. It seemed less important than…other things. I have money, don't worry. But the cheaper the clothes are the better, probably. That way we will have enough for at least a night's stay at the school, probably two or three. The vision cut off after we got there safely, so I don't know how we'll be staying. I did get the feeling that it wouldn't be too long, though. Visions are a bit hard to sort out concrete details. It's like the second you think more about something and try to figure out specifics, the fuzzier it gets. It's really picky about when I get more detailed information."

Addy nodded and continued in the direction of the Community Aid. "Yeah, thrift stores have used clothes, and they're much cheaper than the brand name stores. My friend, Mary, and I used to go thrifting all the time." Her voice broke a bit at the memories. "We, uh… we always would dare each other to find a complete outfit inspired by a twentieth-century decade. She would always pick the 70s." A small smile spread on Adalyn's lips before she was struck by an aching feeling. No doubt her friends were wondering about her sudden disappearance. Again she was left wondering how long it had been since she was taken.

"Okay," she murmured, processing all that Phoebe had just told her. "Well, we should probably figure out where exactly we are and go from there. Maybe I can find a phone and call my parents. They could help." If they're still alive. The tears streaming down her mom's face as a gun pressed against her temple haunted Addy's every step. Her mother had been more stoic, but Addy had felt her panic. She'd been able to see it in her mother's eyes.

Phoebe nodded, noting her companion's distress at the mention of her friend and parents. She felt a sting of empathy for the girl; it couldn't be easy being ripped from everything you knew when you were old enough to really remember it. She didn't know what it was like to have anyone that she cared about that much.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said gently, making more of an effort to be sympathetic now that Adalyn was lucid. She walked in the direction of the store labeled "Community Aid," tugging her companion along. "Well then, let's go thrifting." She gave Adalyn a small smile, trying her best to get them both out of here in time. She wanted everything to go as planned, and she wanted Adalyn to be able to be reunited with the people she cared about. They just had to follow Phoebe's lead, and they would be fine. After that, they could figure things out and go from there. After that, they had their whole lives ahead of them.

Honestly, being able to choose her life and being completely on her own sounded equal parts exciting and terrifying for Phoebe. She wanted to be able to do things unrestrained by the Lab but she was also scared of being out in the world with no safety net. At least she had a self-assigned mission to complete before then: save the others from the Lab. Then she could worry about existing as a member of society. Maybe she and the others could help each other. Maybe they could be real friends, like Adalyn was with Mary.

Adalyn blinked the tears from her eyes and smiled back at Phoebe. She appreciated the girl's efforts to be kinder, but she knew it would all be in vain if whoever had taken her – the people from the Lab – had murdered her parents after stealing away their daughter. The thought nagged incessantly at her, and she pushed it away. As far as she knew, her parents were still alive. If they weren't… Addy would cross that bridge once she got to it. She couldn't afford to think of that right now. There were more pressing things – like figuring out where she and Phoebe were first.

She could feel the girl's thought process and gently squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Hey, everything's going to be alright," she said quietly. "We can do this, right? I mean, you already got us both out." Gratitude shone behind Adalyn's words as she spoke. "I'm basically in your debt right now. I'd still be drugged out of my conscious mind if it wasn't for you. I promise we'll be okay."

Phoebe nodded, trying to breathe her way through this. They would be fine. They had to be. She walked into the store, Adalyn in tow, and observed the clothes. There were so many in one place; it was kind of crazy. They were organized by article of clothing and also, apparently, gender? Seemed a bit pointless to Phoebe, but maybe because all of the clothes that the kids at the Lab wore were basically identical. Either way, Phoebe would have been excited had they not been running from a bunch of psychopaths.

She headed over to the shirts first, trying to find something that was somewhat cute. Though it wasn't as if she had a time, so she would have to be quick. She might have to settle on something that was more okay than cute, but that wasn't the biggest deal right now. She glanced at Adalyn; she had more experience with this stuff.

"So I guess we can just both pick out an outfit and a pair of shoes," she said, glancing around the shop again. "And then we get the hell out of here."

Adalyn took a deep breath and relaxed as the familiarity of the store washed over her. It wasn't the same as the one she'd always gone to with Mary, but it was close enough that the ache of homesickness returned in full force. Though her companion didn't know much about the outside world having grown up in the Lab, Adalyn followed her lead through the aisles.

She began perusing through the racks for something about her style. After a moment, she glanced over to see how Phoebe was doing and noticed the other girl looking over at her. Addy offered a quick, shy smile and directed her gaze back down to the clothes.

"That sounds good," she replied quietly. Her fingers selected a hot pink t-shirt from the hanger. The textual design across the front read I Survived the Sooper Dooper Looper. The arcing line beneath read Hersheypark with the words Hershey, PA under that. "A little tourist-y, don't you think?" she giggled, showing the shirt to Phoebe.

Phoebe was glad that Adalyn seemed to be calming down a little. She couldn't imagine the fear that her companion must have felt being so torn from everything she knew only to slowly recover from the drugs to see unfamiliar surroundings and herself. Phoebe had no clue how she looked today, since with all of their escapades, she hadn't had time to look in a mirror. There were mirrors in the Lab but gazing at oneself longer than necessary was discouraged, possibly because the Lab didn't like the kids having a healthy (or really any) sense of self or individuality. Everything done there was for the group. The only time the scientists liked them to think as individuals was when they were forcing them to compete with each other.

Phoebe kept her gaze on Adalyn as she spoke, smiling slightly at the t-shirt the girl was holding. She felt a little dumb, unsure exactly what a Sooper Dooper Looper even was. Was it another normal thing that kids her age knew about? And what was Hersheypark? Phoebe had never been anywhere like that. Or anywhere at all, for that matter. At least not that she remembered.

"Yeah," she agreed, trying to look as if she knew why it was touristy. She went back to searching for a passable shirt. She had to tamp down her enthusiasm as choosing her own clothes. It turned out Phoebe was kind of picky. She ended up settling on a plain lavender tank top, all the while hoping that she could shop for real soon, when there wasn't a ticking clock behind the activity.