Great. Back into the storm. Niikura hunched up a bit as the wind resumed its relentless assault on, most notably, his hair. The white strands sagged downward, falling limply into his eyes; he was still hastily wiping them to the side when Shiina tried to get his attention.

"W-what?" He squinted into the rain as he looked upward, trying to catch sight of whatever it was that she had seen. "See...what..."

There. The shadow of a giant bird, winging slowly toward them, shrieking high above the howl of the wind. On cue, the memories filtered in; they were fresher than most, and thus came to mind more quickly: a tall, imposing man with red eyes--Recluse. His first fateful meeting with Gant. The forest. There are sometimes large birds that attack in these open areas...

...but I've been told that they only go after virgins.

Crap.

"I see it alright," Niikura said with just a hint of resignation. Great. They were going to have to run for it again, weren't they? By themselves, they might be able to kill the thing, but the conditions sucked; visibility in particular was poor. And...Shiina...

He shoved his flashlight down his shirt and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we gotta move." If it tried to attack them while they were running, at least he would be close by, close enough to push her out of the way while he took the brunt of those claws.