Never in his life had the stairs in Hogwarts seemed to take him this long to get up. Whether it was because he and Henry were hauling Carlton with them, he didn't know. What he did know was he felt sick to his stomach that something bad was going to happen, no matter what Henry said. Eaten or not, this just wasn't going to end well, was it? Rooney had noticed how his magic didn't work nearly as well as it should have, but honestly put that down to the fear in him and the shake in his hand as he panicked about what to do next. That spell was his go to in duels. It was one he knew inside out and could use without too much effort, but he had never tried to cast it whilst being honestly scared. Honestly terrified.

So scared that the roar and the tug on his robes caused him to yelp and also wet himself. Forget dignity... Forget his ten year plan... This was it.

There wasn't time to think about anything he could feel happening in his trousers, but just enough time to shrug one arm out of his robes and turn to face the monster. Given a few more seconds, Rooney would have been able to get into a character of someone who could save the day and not have to end up as a sack of bones here. The two he had been put here with could use their own wands. Rooney was a little preoccupied right now..

No more seconds. No extra time. Just potentially the last spell he would ever cast in his life.

"MAGICUS EXTREMOS!"

Henry might have been focused on getting himself up the stairs as fast as he could while helping Rooney bring Carlton with them, but underneath that focus - or maybe what was fueling it - was absolute terror. Never had the sixteen year old been so scared for his life. In fact, he barely heard the roar of the monster over the sound of his own heart beating so hard and loudly in his ears.

But he did hear it and it sent another shock of terror down his spine as he tried to move faster. Unfortunately for him, something pulled his legs back away from that momentum, causing him to fall face first into the stairs as he let out a startled cry and threw out his arms to catch himself. What now...? He barely registered that the other boys were no longer right next to him as he quickly maneuvered himself around to see what had grabbed his legs. Those nasty tendrils again. He quickly cast diffindo to both tendrils, but his eyes soon caught sight of something even more horrifying as he was turned to look behind him.

"NO! ROONEY!" No. No this wasn't happening. That spell that the prefect had cast before... how did it not work? But more importantly, he couldn't let the other boy get captured, or worse, by this monster. At least the sixth year had gotten a chance to cast a spell at it, but given that the first one didn't seem to work so well Henry thought they should double their chances. He quickly aimed his wand at the monster and out of the direct line of Rooney, this time casting stupefy at the creature. Maybe the combination would a least give them time to get away.

Wait... where was Carlton?!

Carlton foot suddenly got caught on something and he fell. Again. This time however, his body hit a cold and gooey surface. He let out a little yelp and tried to wriggle his body off it. Away from it. The more he moved, the more the sticky membrane clung to him. He wanted to call out for help but he also didn't want the others to get monster-snatched just to pull him off the ground. For a second time.

"No..." Carlton sniffled and tried to push himself up but his hands sank through the membrane. He looked up at the others and saw Rooney being held by the monster. Carlton let out a loud wail. PAPA. "NOOO ROONEY, NOO!" He struggled to get up on his feet and run over to him to do... Something. But the membrane kept him down. Panic rose in his chest and he turned his attention back to his own situation. He needed to get up so he could help Roo fight the stupid monster. He would have been stuck in that membrane forever, had he not remembered one crucial thing;

He was a wizard.

"Wand, my wand..." Where was it? He pulled it out from the weblike stickiness that held him down and desperately tried to remember a spell that would get him out of it. What spells had he practiced for the dueling club? Jelly fingers, jelly legs (a whole lot of jelly), green and purple sparks... He kicked his legs around in frustration. None of that would help him. He faintly registered both Henry and Rooney casting spells he had never heard before. He hoped they were OK... Carlton let out a sob as he realized they might not be. And then, something struck him. What was it professor Marchand had taught them in charms? The opposite of Accio.

"D-d-depulso!" He aimed his wand at the goo he was stuck in. When nothing happened he tried a few more times. Maybe he could depulso it away from him and then get up. Again with a bit more authority and without crying he remembered professor Hirsch's words. Show the wand who's the boss. "DEPULSO!"

Snap! Snap! Snap! The monster's mouth inched closer and closer to the boy's arm with each excited chomp of it's teeth. Saliva was pouring to of its mouth, creating a large puddle on the ground. The thing paid no attention that puddles of urine were also being formed. It was so close to phase one of its scrumptious, hearty feast. It's tongue slithered out of its mouth and made its way toward the Ravenclaw's face. It was teasing itself, getting a little taste before devouring the human.

The first spell casted didn't affect the creature in any way until the Hufflepuff's stunning spell was shot at it. Loudly the creature shrieked, loosening its grip on the boy as the spell whacked the thing in the back of the head. It jumped onto the wall and creeped away so it could recover and wait in the shadows to attack when they least expected.

It knew exactly where the boys were heading.

Hurry up, boys! Make sure that no one is severely injured, praise Merlin that you are all still alive, and carry on before the monster decides to come back for you. There are just a few more floors left to climb before you can return to the real Hogwarts safe and sound without fear of being hunted and eaten alive.

Once on the sixth floor, you will notice an eerie glow pulsating to the rhythm of your very own heartbeats. Follow the glow and you will eventually find yourself standing right in front of the portal.

Proceed with caution, however. Who knows where that slippery creature ran off to...

Instead of being disappointed at the lack of effect his spell has, Rooney finally let out the breath he had been holding at the disappearance of the thing that had just been standing before him. It took a second or two to register that he was okay before he turned and looked at the other two boys properly, fear and confusion prominent in his eyes. "Wh.." He wasn't able to finish his sentence before reaching a hand to help Henry up off the floor and then hauling Carlton out of the last bit of the mess he had gotten into.

"Sixth floor. Let's go. NOW." Because, quite frankly, he wasn't going to be waiting around for anything like that to be happening again. And the longer he stood around in these wet trousers, the more he became aware of it.

Luckily, he wasn't too embarrassed by it yet.

Oh thank Merlin. Henry had never been so happy to see a spell meet its mark. And pretty much all that he cared about at this point was that their spells had caused the monster to retreat and that they were alive. Now they could focus on finding a way out of this nightmare.

He didn't have to look far to find Carlton. And though Henry was glad that the first year's predicament seemed much better than Rooney's had been, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what the boy landed it. It was gross but at least he could escape that with a spell and a little help from Rooney. He also accepted the prefect's hand as he scrambled back up to his feet on the stairs.

"Don't have to tell me twice," he said, already headed that was as quickly as he could muster, as long as the other boys were right next to him. Hopefully whatever was on the sixth floor was a way out. Because if it wasn't, he had no idea what they were going to do.

Follow the eerie light on the six floor and there you will find the portal. A sense of relief suddenly overcomes you. Safety is just on the other side ... unless you get nabbed by something first.

Better jump through quickly and be free of this wretched place!

Though the portal was illuminating the corridor, the creature had found a dark nook to hide itself in. Without a sound, the beast was waiting for its prey to foolishly walk into its clutches. Ignoring the churning of its stomach, it listened. The humans were approaching. Licking its lips with that long snake-like tongue, the creature quickly got itself ready to grab its meal and feast until nothing but bones were left.

It lunged at the first of the boys to walk by its hiding place, a shriek erupting from its throat...

Carlton was a mess. His ankle the tendril had wrapped itself around hurt from every step he took. He limped along the best he could, absolutely soaked in drool and the gooey membrane. He'd given up on wiping off the tears that just kept rolling down his cheeks.

They reached the sixth floor without any further encounter with the monster. Carlton didn't say anything, wasn't even sure he could anymore. The wand in his outstretched hand was shaking, actually, his whole body was. The sixth floor corridor was lit up by a strange light, it would have calmed him somewhat that the monster seemed to only lurk in the shadows, but his frightened mind couldn't form proper thoughts.

And there it was.

Carlton saw the portal appear in front of them, emitting the light and guiding them towards it. "Please..." Hopefully it would take them back to the real Hogwarts where there were actual adults. He didn't want to do anything anymore, not attend classes, not explore the castle, not tend to his color changing roses in the greenhouses, not anything. He just wanted adults. And his mom... He really missed home. The school that he'd been so fond of at first had really betrayed his trust. If only he'd never come to Hogwarts in the first place.

"Where... Where is it?" It, being the monster. Carlton's voice broke off and he kept very close to the older boys. "Let's go." He whispered, but didn't actually move. He didn't want to go through the portal without them, didn't want to take one step without them. Didn't really want to do anything without them. Ever again.

Then, out of nowhere the monster lunged forward as an answer to Carlton's question. Everything happened so fast, he didn't have time to react. A loud shriek was heard and Carlton instinctively covered his ears to protect them from the loud noise, dropping his wand in the process. He felt something catch and rip his robe but not even that caused him to move out of the way.

Instead, Carlton screamed. Feet frozen in terror, unable to push the fear away and actually move.

Henry was on high alert as they finally reached what he thought was the sixth floor. The monster might be out of sight for now, but he knew it wasn't gone, not really. And all he could think about was getting them out and to safety.

In his heightened state of fear, he had somewhat lost a sense of space and time, but the eerie glow that grew brighter as they reached the corridor drew his focus. "Is that it?" he whispered, his eyes focused on the source of the light. The.. portal? Was that really their way out? After this entire ordeal, could they really see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak?

Henry grew hopeful, but his fear wasn't going anywhere. Not after what they had experienced and certainly not until he was sure of their safety. He glanced at Carlton, hearing his question, but he didn't answer. He figured he meant the monster and he didn't know, but he didn't want to know, even if he was still staying hyper-vigilant.

And then he heard that shriek.

Terror leapt up into his throat again as he turned his widened eyes to the lunging monster, a few choice words leaving his lips. No, this couldn't be happening again. Not now, not when they were so close to what he thought could be a way out of this.

He froze for a moment, staring in horror, until Carlton's scream snapped him out of his stupor. Quickly, he pointed his wand and cast Stupefy at that hideous creature for what he hoped was the last time.

"Carlton, go!" He pulled on the first year's arm, pulling him towards the portal. The younger boy needed to get out first. Henry wasn't going till he knew he was okay. He just hoped that this was the way to safety and he wasn't nudging him towards something equally bad or worse. "We'll be right behind you, I promise." He and Rooney could hopefully hold off this monster till Carlton was out. Then with any luck, he could make good on that promise.

It was all well and good for him to have thought that he wouldn't feel his wet trousers as much if he was running, but it definitely was not true. Or maybe it was because he was very aware of it.. That and his surroundings. Rooney was very hyper aware whilst running, taking spot behind the other two so that he didn't lose either of them. As the oldest, he felt responsible for them and at least trying to get them back to some sort of safety. Hell, he wasn't even sure that they were heading in the right direction. He had just put two and two together and got a multiple of for. A shot in the dark...or the dimly lit gross version of their school they were running through.

Thankfully as they ran down the sixth floor corridor, they were greeted with exactly what he wanted to see. Hopefully their way home! Although, he was positive that the castle would not feel like home to him anymore after this. It already had started to feel like that without Liv being here, and now he wasn't going to feel at all safe on any trips to the greenhouses. That was going to make Herbology awkward. Perhaps he would have to dis-count studying that at university.

But OF COURSE.... they were not to get back as soon as he wanted as they were stopped dead in their tracks by the same thing he had been face to face with minutes earlier. Honestly, he had not been aware that this thing could kill him right then, he'd have gone on in with his fists swinging. Bloody plague. The screaming from both it and Carlton shook him into shoving the first year aside just in time for Henry to cast his spell and more in the direction of the portal that they so very needed to get through. Glad that the Hufflepuff was quick to the draw, Rooney joined him in using his wand, casting incarcerous in an attempt to buy them enough time for all three to get out of here. Hopefully the ropes would keep the gross looking ugly thing that needed to stop trying to eAT THEM at bay. ROONEY HADN'T EVEN HAD HIS OWN DINNER, LET ALONE BEING SOMETHING ELSES DINNER.

Praying that that held up, Rooney used his wand and magic once more for any extra time they could get. "Lumos Maxima!" And then he ushered both of his co-travellers right towards the light, muttering "gogogogooooooo" as he did so.

Goooooooooooooooooooooo.

The spells casted at the monster were only effective for a few moments. Ropes tightened around the creature, only to slip down its slender body. It gave enough time for all three boys to make their escape. A loud groan, full of anger, sounded as the three human bodies went through the portal, leaving this world.

OOC: You may now post your return to the other side. You survived the Upside Down; however, five days of time went by in the real world while you were here.

With its meal in its hands, the monster speedily made its way past walls of tendril and fleshy membrane. Now that it had what it wanted, it wasn't going to give it up easily or waste time to dig in. Occasionally, as it rounded the corners that led it away from the sixth floor and further into the alternate Hogwarts, it would glance down at its prey. The fact that they were screaming incited it, causing saliva to fall from its mouth and perhaps even rain on the human's faces.

The creature continued to drag them through its own castle, deeper and deeper, where it had taken the older human many months ago. Its tongue licked its lips. The feast would be starting soon...

Abey wasn't sure what hurt more; his arm and shoulder where the monster had grabbed him and had not yet let go, his lower body where he had been dragged quickly but roughly across the stone floor, or his throat, from all the yelling. But actually, it didn't really matter what hurt most, because they were in more and more danger as the moments flew by.

He didn't so much see their environment change as feel it; the air was different and colder and felt wrong. With the speed they were moving, Abey couldn't see much of anything, but he DID know that they had left the safety of the castle and they were actually in the monster's dark and unforgiving territory now actually, and actually it didn't take a genius (thankfully) to know that this????? Would not end well.

Something wet was dripping on his face. Rain? ... Abey looked up, stared directly at the monster's face (the only thing, other than his friend, that could see well enough since they were all moving at the same speed), and saw the saliva dripping down from that horrible horrible mouth, towards him and Simon. He thought he might throw up, from either disgust or sheer terror of the sight of that face and the foresight of what was surely to come, but in actuality the image of the monster was enough to renew his struggles, and his screams. Tired as he was, Abey fought harder than ever in an attempt to free himself and Simon, before they could get too lost, before they could get so far that a search party would never find them. While he struggled, he S C R E A M E D, mouth open wide like a banshee, his voice louder and an octave higher in his desperation, his cries echoing eerily, hauntingly.

Abey didn't waste his energy on actual words anymore; they were past that point, and actually his terror and his panic were preventing any words from coming to him. He was, by now, acting on instinct, on his desire to live. It felt almost as though his body and his mouth were moving of their own accord, and he was half-participating, and half-spectating. The only mercy was that his panic had not made him freeze.

Simon's arm was still right there - Abey had had hold of it while in the corridor where they had been snatched, and let go only to try and punch the monster into submission, TRUE TO HIS WORD, for all the good it had done. Still screaming like his life depended on it (and, actually, it probably did actually) he took hold of Simon's hand and gripped it tight, silently vowing not to let go until they were safe again.

Or, he supposed... until they were no longer alive enough to hold hands...

Can't....can't catch a breath. The Hufflepuff First year's breathing was off, sporadic and just sounded wrong. Wheezy would be the proper term for it. He was spent. He wasn't sure about Abey, but Simon just couldn't scream for help anymore. There were still off course weirdly sounding sobs in between each quick gasp.

The Floor beneath him no longer felt like the cold stone floor of Hogwarts, it was more like the stone beneath him alternated between warm wet stone, and something smoother, bumpy, almost slimy by feel. They must of passed through the Portal.

"Ab" Simon wheeze-sobbed. "Ab?" He hoped his friend was with him, no in fact he more hoped that Abey got free. That his Gryffindor friend somehow managed to break free from the monster while they tried to fight it off them while it dragged them through the Hogwarts Corridors.
The feeling was more a sad one, he just didn't want to be alone now. He wanted Mr.Rockefeller, he wanted his adoptive father more now than any other time before to burst through that portal and save him.

Then He began to hear screaming and shouting and yelling and he felt Abey shift beside him. Abey was still there, and Simon couldn't decide if he was happy or sad his friend was here with him.

He felt drops of Saliva fall over his face and the small badger shivered from fear. he twisted and turned as best he could to get away from that but was still the Monster's prisoner, and any more actual struggle would only put more strain on his lungs. Then he felt something on his side. through all the chaos Simon still had his handbag. The strap was still around his shoulder, and was still gripping his wand in his hand. Now unless he could talk, or if he knew ANY defensive magic he could try and free himself, and Abey....Maybe if he could get into his handbag... Simon moved his hand down and felt it there...it was there. Then he felt Abey's hand grab his own. Simon Held onto it tight as well, but Simon wanted to get anything he could throw at the Monster now. He squeezed his Friends hand before releasing it.

Attempting a weak, very weak (Almost like it more of a touch) pull at the monsters grip on him. The feel of it's monstery fingers made him hesitate as he tries to pry it's fingers off him. No luck there. Simon unclasped his handbag and put his hand inside it. Pulling out one of his Spare Allergy Potions. Then running it down to Abey's hand again.

Simon knew he couldn't throw it. His breathing was at it's worst, gasps for air felt like they getting nothing for him. He was counting on Abey to fight, please.

What. No. Simon. Simon. No. Si- no, n-... SIMON NO DON'T LET GO.

The reassuring squeeze of the hand was short-lived; seconds later, Simon's hand was gone again. In a momentary surge of panic, Abey believed that they had somehow been separated; it was easy to get disoriented and lose track of what was happening when so many things WERE happening and Abey's senses were being assaulted and he felt as though he were in a dream. A nightmare.

But no. Simon was still there, and after a second, something was in Abey's hand again. This time, it wasn't Simon's hand, but a vial. No words needed to be said (which was lucky - because now he had paused screaming to conserve energy, he thought he could hear Simon's wheezing, even above everything else, so probably actually he couldn't speak at this point), Abey knew what Simon was getting at. And if it was a Simon idea, it probably wasn't a reckless or stupid one, right?

... Well, really, was anything reckless at this point? Abey was actually growing more and more certain that both he and Simon were about to die anyway, so anything - even something risky - was worth trying if it might get them free. And anyway; fear made people do desperate things.

Awkwardly, because of the position he was being held in, and the way they were actually still moving fast, but desperately, BECAUSE THEY WERE ACTUALLY STILL MOVING DEEPER INTO THIS WHEREVER WORLD, Abey manoeuvred his arm back and threw the vial of potion at the monster's head as hard as he could.

Admittedly, it was not his best throw.

His wand? Could he at least get to his wand? Before they arrived... wherever?????

A deep noise, perhaps the monster's own version of a cackle, escaped its mouth the moment the boys started trying to break away from its firm grip. The boys were just too small and quite frankly not strong enough to do that. The monster, though having skeleton-like features, was stronger that it looked. It had, after all, taken down the caretaker and made a nice meal out of him.

Speaking of the caretaker, the beast had dragged the boys down to the room where he had in fact devoured that man, savouring his flesh and drinking his blood. It wasn't the freshest of humans, but the monster was going to make up for it tonight. The boys were so young, so scared, so juicy...

It grunted when the vial of potion was thrown at its head, which led to the two boys being tossed aggressively into the corner of the room, not for from a set of decaying bones. The monster grinned, flashing its sharp teeth at them, licking its lips. Which one wanted to be eaten first?

Did it work did glass shards imbed themselves into the creatures face causing it pain, Maybe...did the Potion cause some kind of irritation to it's eyes?! Was the Monster now not Allergic to Cats!?!?!

Simon could not tell if anything was done, at least not until he felt himself sailing through the air briefly then hitting the fleshy wall behind him with a thud. Now, he couldn't possibly have felt winded from that hit, he couldn't loose anymore of the breath he's already lost.

but this opportunity...He was free from the Monsters grip finally and all Simon could think of doing was bringing his sleeve cuff up to his nose and attempting to smell what could still be left of that liquid he placed there to help calm his breathing from earlier. It was a Horrible job of doing so, he wasn't sure why he was even doing this. The soothing scent was there, but his breathing was still just off, better but not good enough.

Simon held tight to his wand and pointed it forward, his arm shaking and weak. He still couldn't bring himself to speak anything because he was still wheezing on and off, but maybe he could use his wand for something else if the Monster lunged at them.

Any hope that may have been kindled in Abey's heart when the vial made contact with the monster's head was quickly extinguished when he realised that actually it made no difference whatsoever. Or actually maybe it HAD made a difference, but perhaps only to make the monster more aggressive with them.

It was true that it finally let them go, but instead of finding himself in a position where he could break away and escape with Simon, Abey actually found himself being launched through the air. He gave a yell of fright which quickly turned into one of pain as he hit the wall, landing in a heap with Simon.

If Abey had been panicked before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. As he righted himself, scrambling back into the corner of the room as much as possible, he became incredibly aware of the bones nearby, and the foul smell coming from them, which only served to make the immediate danger even more real. Finally, Abey drew his wand, and pointed it at the monster, but he was shaking so much in his fright that he couldn't hold it steady.

Abey had never ever been in a dangerous situation before. Not ever, not like this. He often got scared of things, and always made a big deal out of his fears because they felt like the end of the world, but this... this really did feel like the end. It was... they were gonna... they weren't going to get out of this alive. He was never going to see his family ever again... but maybe he could be with his grandfather again? Just a little sooner than he had ever expected.

It was difficult to process the situation, and actually Abey hadn't even noticed that, at one point, he had started crying. Weeping, really. He didn't want to die. He wanted to be back home, safe with his family.

At the very least, he hoped - perhaps in vain - that... this... that it wouldn't hurt.

The sound of Simon's laboured and wheezy breathing was almost as scary as the sight of the monster; if they got the chance to run, would they even be able to get very far? The thought elicited a whimper from Abey. He reached for Simon's shoulder and roughly pulled him back, and tried to move himself between his friend and the monster, while still staying as far back as he possibly could.

"I-i-inced-dio!" Abey tried casting at the creature, but the incantation escaped in the form of a sob, and not at all clear like the spell was supposed to be. "I-INCEN-... IN-..."

It quickly became clear that a clear incantation - which Abey had to work hard on in the best of times, let alone when he was shaking and sobbing and terrified - was not going to happen. Instead, he defaulted back to his original plan, and screamed as loud as he possibly could.

Stepping through the portal Natalia looked around. She wasn't sure if the charm was still working now that she was through. This was weird to see, she couldn't' believe this was what the other's had been in the last time people were in here. It was their school, but it wasn't at the same time.

Was it warmer in this one or was she just feeling warm because of everything going on? She looked back to see if the other's were there, but if they were under the charm she might not be able to see them. Maybe this wasn't a good idea if they couldn't see each other they wouldn't be able to know where they each were or how they were helping. Nat felt her breath start to quicken as panic started to rise, but taking deep breaths she continued to walk further into the other Hogwarts.


Was that screaming or was her mind playing games with her?

Zelena had decided to not put a Disillusion Charm on herself. It was so she could be a distraction to the monster. She wondered if she was the only one of the rescue team that had entered the portal. The young witch shivered in fright as she surveyed her surroundings. Her head turned sharply in the direction of a scream.

Zelena thought about the negative and soul destroying emotions that had been plaguing her and allowed her heart to fester those feelings. She wished she could do more but she only could manage a non-verbal, "Lumos!" Whilst the spell worked, the light emitting from her wand was rather dim. This frustrated Zelena. The young witch aimed her lit wand in the direction of the scream she had hear earlier.

She found herself blocking out all the talking of her fellow classmates, though not deliberately. The fear of what they were about to do, combined with the even stronger fear of what might be happening to the two first years already in the portal had the affect of making everything seem like background noise. But then the headmistress began talking, and her hearing came back to normal.

They were going in.

Turning to face the portal, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath - before stepping through it, following on the heels of Zelena and Natalia. The rest were right behind.

"Lumos!" she hissed, before remembering that that spell didn't work so well here as it did in the real Hogwarts. The disappointing light from her wand was a quick reminder.

The atmosphere of the Alternate Universe of Hogwarts was... horrible. Noelle's breath caught in her throat as she kept a hold of Olly's hand. She wasn't about to let it go unless she absolutely had to. She looked down, pleased to see she was still concealed.

When she stepped in, she moved out of the way from where everyone else would be coming in. Why was Zelena still not concealed??

Noelle could help her with that if she needed.

She'd seen Nat go in but couldn't see her presently. She was glad that she got a hold of Olly's hand. She sure hoped that someone had made a mental list or a real list of who was going in so they made sure everyone got out.

Wait.. was that screaming???

Olly knew this was serious business but he still sort of felt like a child pretending to be a ninja. It almost didn't seem like this was happening. Boys were missing. They were in the alternate Hogwarts now. The other side of the portal. This was the monster's home, its realm where it was most powerful. The reality of that was still sinking in. They were in very real danger here. Olly glanced down at where his hand was in Noelle's. He could see the shapes but it was like he couldn't focus on them. They were chameleons. He was glad the disillusionment charm had stuck, and he hoped it would stay that way. It made him feel better, even though rationally he understood the monster probably had enhanced smell and hearing and wouldn't really need to see them at all.

"Up or down? Olly looked to Noelle first of course, but then to the group in general. "Should we split up?" In small groups, of course. Nobody would be alone. Even so he was a bit nervous even for that suggestion. They were stronger all together, but they could cover more ground and search faster if they split up. Hopefully someone who was older, like a professor, had a more specific plan.