Maren ran through the rain- oiled thoroughfares, her legs pulsing from the exertion and from the terror still adhering to her like a alternate skin. The girl beside her kept pace, silent, shivering, her wet hair plastered to her pale face, eyes wide and distant. The third bottom of the hostel had retreated behind them, yet its presence dallied like bank entwining into her casket, constricting her breathing. Every shadow along the alleyways and streetlights sounded to twitch in unnatural ways, intimating at shapes just beyond the edge of sight, bruiting in tones she could n't understand but felt deep in her bones. Maren’s mind