Post by Green Lantern on Jul 12, 2015 0:40:56 GMT -5
The day was bright. The sun was shining bright in the sky, its beautiful blue hue not obscured by a single cloud. Sitting on a bench in a park, Kyle Rayner held a large drawing pad in his lap with a pencil in his hand and sketching across various areas of the pad. He drew a pair of people there, a few trees there... Nothing he was really satisfied with. He had come out to the park for some inspiration for this add he had been hired to draw. The payment that he was going to receive wasn't bad, but how was he going to draw an ad to sell lotion. It was awkward and not something that he had expected to end up with, but a payday was a payday. Already behind his rent by a half of a payment and then with another one looming, there were not many options. Barely starting on another little doodle, a sigh left his lips and flopped back against the bench and closed his eyes. Both of his hands came up and rubbed at his eyes, chewing on the tip of his tongue a bit before dropping his hands and looking up to the sky.
*Such a nice day, but I've got nothing coming to me...* he thought to himself, looking back down to the pad and shaking his head. A feeling of fun came over him a moment later and, thinking that he should take a break from forcing himself to work, and with this image in his head, he started sketching a large, muscular, demonic looking creature.
Elaine was in a happier than normal mood today. It was a special day after all. Today she was spending one day on Earth in corporal form and pretend that she was a normal young woman, like any other of her age. “This should be fun” she said up in the clouds, still in her Goddess intangible form. Barely a blink after that and her consciousness slipped to Earth, to the middle of a park actually. She landed on her feet, as she had her angelical wings out. Luckily she had chosen the perfect moment to not be seen with her wings, although if anyone asked her, she did not care much for subtlety in that regard.
Another blink and her wings were gone. She was wearing a short black dress with a crescent moon on one of her sides, a white belt and the dress itself went up to her neck and covered half of her arms. Cute and proper for a young teenager looking girl. She was also wearing brown boots without heels, they looked very comfortable.
Elaine looked around with a slightly strange expression “It feels strange to be back like this, in a body, maybe I should take a stroll first” she said before she started to walk. Of course her attention was quickly taken away by the many and very beautiful flowers of the park, especially her favorite rose, yellow delizy, she could not resist it and she took one for herself, taking on the scent with a smile. She would plant it back later of course. Another thing caught her attention, someone was drawing in front of her. She curiously approached him from behind, her steps against the grass were soft and smooth. In the end she stopped at a respectful distance, tilting her head a bit to a side. “That is a strange looking demon” she commented with a voice that carried an accent typical from a girl born and raised in London.
His pencil finished the basic outline of the demon and then he began to work on the details. He worked on the outside details first, adding a few spines at first along the forearms, pointed the toes, added a pair of hook like talons at the heels before leaning back. "Hmm..." Kyle ran his tongue along his lips for a few moments and then leaned forward to start drawing again before he heard a small voice off to his side. Sitting up, he glanced over to her and smiled. "Heh. You guessed what it is that fast huh?" turning back to the picture, he adjusted the pad to make it easier for her to look at, "Just a new character I'm working on for my own comic. I don't get around to it much, but I've got the inspiration right now so... " Shifting his gaze back to the pad, the pencil started to move again as he added details to it. The chest was large and defined, except the sternum was caved in, veins bulging out around the edges and snaking out towards the showers across the pectorals. Offering the girl another glance as he continued to draw
"So what brings you out to L.A.? Are you visiting with your parents?" It was hard to miss the accent, even if he was a bit absorbed into his art. It sounded too genuine to be fake, but this was L.A. after all. Hollywood wasn't too far and he guessed it was possible this girl was some kid trying to make it big.
“Yes, well, it was either a demon or some random monster so I decided to try with the first one” she nodded at him, holding her rose in her left hand. “And what inspired you to make it look like that if I may ask?” she asked with a clear hint of curiosity, perhaps it was also the start of a critic, but a very polite sounding one thanks to the accent. She shifted a bit her posture and rested her hands on the top of the bench, using her arms for support her more comfortable posture as she examine his artwork. “I am just visiting for a day, my father is up there somewhere and my uncle has a bar in this city so, I got everything covered” she explained, technically she had not lied at all although of course she made her sentence sound perfectly normal.
“Well, if you think about it, if Hell exists and I personally sway that way, it should be full of bad human souls that are being punished right now, right? Why wouldn’t the demons look human after all? Or for the most part human you know or even beautiful in their own way” she said as a suggestion, although it was subtly aimed to give him some food for thought rather than a mere simple critic.
He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really know. I just... had the desire to draw and my hand started to put the picture on paper." Looking away from the paper, he turned his eyes back to her, "Happens like that sometimes. Most of the time it works out but... doesn't get me very far." The smile, which had been quite warm, lost some of the fire as a sigh slipped out. He quickly recovered and continued to draw, "Well they must have a lot of trust in you if you they let you run around the city alone like this." Even in the bright day such as this one, there were still risks to be had. When she started to talk about demons and how they might look, Kyle found himself looking back at the girl, his hand ceasing to draw anything as he gave her a quizzical look... while leaning back from her a bit. She's a strange one he thought to himself, but he did stop for a moment.
"You know, I've never really thought about it much. Hell and what might be in it and all. Or Heaven really." Higher powers never really held a huge thing in his life...we, until last year where the green ring he wore on his right middle finger came into his life. But before that, nothing. Kyle looked back to the drawing before, and he could not explain why, some heavy and dark feeling washed over him. It made his stomach twist a bit and a knot form in his throat. Green eyes lifted from the pad and started to look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one stood out. But, with each passing second, that feeling just kept growing like something was coming.
Beautiful but strange, that much was for sure in her! “I see, yes, or at least I’d think that they both do trust me, maybe in their own different ways too” she smiled a bit after that comment. Elaine then listened to what the man replied and she ended up shrugging “Well, you can draw what you like, but maybe it could help you to think about those things, Hell and Heaven at least in case that they happen to be real, but who knows, back to the drawing, maybe the demons can decide how to look like, and if that is the case then maybe, with so many human souls, they got hooked into looking as humans, but that could just be a theory, I hope that you don’t get to visit Hell to check it out” she threw that joke at the end as she looked back to her flower and then back at him. She noticed that his behavior seemed to be changed and she wondered if she had said something to make him uncomfortable or maybe… “Are you feeling ok? You seem a bit off now, distracted” she commented since he was obviously looking around.
"Hah hah," he chuckled, "Well I hope I don't end up going there any day. If it is real, it'd have to be a pretty frightening place if all the stories are true, or just a quarter." Kyle continued to look around. He could not put it together but the feeling was odd. "I'm fine," he said, trying to sound more convincing than he felt. "By the way, my name's Kyle. Kyle Rayner. What's your's?" He held out a his hand to her, pencil adjusted in his fingers to keep from jabbing her hand with the point. If she took his offered hand, he would shake hers. The feeling did not seem to go away though, instead intensifying. Lifting his head up, again, his started looking around once more and his eyes fell on a man that seemed to be watching them... at least looking in their direction. The suit the man wore seemed simple enough, not too garish, but what caught his attention was the smirk on his face and the way he seemed to be rolling something over his knuckles.
Staring at the man for a time more, Kyle followed his gaze over to the girl. "Hey um... do you know that man over there?" By this point, even Elaine should start to feel the sense of foreboding in the air as it grew. The sun seemed to dim a bit as everything seemed to loose a bit of its hue of color.
“You know, just be a good man and you should be fine, no capital sins and all of that” she smiled a bit before nodding and gently shaking his hand with hers “My name is Elaine, it’s nice to meet you Kyle” she said with a smile, who would have thought, she might have made a new friend in her special day. After that she ended up following his glance and noticing the man watching them with the creepy smirk. Then he asked the obvious question and she shook her head “No, I don’t, my uncle… no he probably wouldn’t care, maybe Gaudium would know, would you like to take a stroll somewhere else away from him?” she offered in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable, oddly enough Elaine didn’t seem to be worried or concerned as a girl should in a situation in which someone creepy and shady stared at her new friend and specially at herself, she happened to be extremely visible for the right beings, blindingly so.
“Or we could go, greet him and ask him what he wants too, although if I had to guess, I’d say that he’s looking for me and looking for trouble, my father and my uncle will get mad at whoever that is” she said with a roll of her eyes, not at her family of course but at whoever had tracked her down on Earth, on her special day. “What would you like to do Kyle?” she asked and, depending on his choice, she would follow and walk with him away or with him and towards the creeper.
He smiled a bit at her words. This girl, Elaine, just seemed to have a way about her that made the day a bit brighter, even if it did seem to be a bit darker. There was something strange though. It seemed like every time she brought up her family, specifically her uncle, it seemed like there was information just at the tip of her tongue that she was not letting out. It almost feels like I'm in some sort of mob movie. Little girl's protected because she's got family in high places in the underworld but then someone gets a little fire lit and goes after her. But... Naaah. This isn't the movies. Still, glancing over at the stranger Kyle wanted to be a far away from him as he could. "Hm... let's go... Get something to eat." Standing up, he closed his art pad, slipped his pencil into a little holder and stuck it down in his jean pocket, hooked his thumb there, and started to walk with the pad held in between his left arm side, and by his hand. As he felt distance getting between the two and the male, the strange sensation seemed to fade a bit. Not too far of a walk through the park, the came upon a little hot dog cart where Kyle paid for the two of them a meal, getting on hers whatever she wanted. "So... your uncle. You said he had a bar around here? If you want, I don't mind walking you there. Who knows, might be a place where I can find some inspiration for this add I got hired to draw for." A sigh touched his lips as he thought about it again, Lotion... really. The heck was I thinking!
“Sure although I’m not sure what would I eat to be honest, maybe drink something” she said with a slightly thoughtful expression before following him through the park, by his side. As they came by the hot dog cart she figured that it was an ok choice anyway, she ordered hers with a lot of ketchup, like any teenager would after all. “Thanks for inviting me” she said politely before he made her smile after he talked about the bar “My uncle’s bar? I don’t think that you would be welcome there right now, it is probably empty this early anyway, but I will tell you something, if he comes around and meets us, which he might knowing him, you can ask him if you can visit his bar sometime for inspiration, you never know, he might say yes” she said with a slightly amused smile before she started to eat her hot dog in a proper British young lady way.
After that bite and a bit of time she was able to speak again. “You mentioned that you needed inspiration for an ad, I suppose that it is not about drawing demons, what is the ad about?” she asked with the same hint of curiosity. It was fun in a way to see the problem that mortals had, she have had those but then again she had never been completely normal anyway so, it was still different.
Kyle choked on a bit of the hot dog as she suddenly asked about his work, coughing and sputtering a bit as his eyes started to water. "Ack.. hrk...mn.. Wew.. " blinking away the water in his eyes, he blushed a bit, "Oh uh.. that is... Well it's kind of embarrassing, but I am trying to draw up an add for this lotion product that is coming out." Urgh. It even sounds dirty saying it. "But I need the money to pay my rent so, while it's not really what I wanted, it's a job." A half-hearted laugh left his lips but over her head he spotted something. That man was back. "Hey," he whispered, "come on." Jerking his head behind him, Kyle turned on his heel and started walk. His steps were swift, but he made sure not to walk too fast for her. That feeling was back but he really couldn't do anything about it. Not like this. It'd be bad enough hassling some guy in his suit, but as in his casual clothes... well he was asking for trouble. Best thing to do would be to... *Oh hey! Luck after all. Kyle had spotted a police officer. Quickly moving over to the man, he started to speak before the face turned. The officer's eyes went black and, as his lips curled into a smile, revealing a cruel row of teeth that opened to utter darkness. Two words were somehow shouted directly into his mind at the same time. *She's ours!* Startled, by the hideous hissing of the voice, Kyle dropped his pad to the ground and grabbed Elaine by the shoulder, "Come on!" hurrying her away and through the park. That feeling now like a weight crushing down on him and her.
Elaine could not help it but smile and even giggle a bit as her new friend started to choke funnily with the hotdog and with her question. “I see, well if it helps to pay the rent then it serves a good purpose, if it is a hydratant lotion you could go for a water theme, you could think of waterfalls a lake or an ample river and see if that helps you out” she suggested without a sign of embarrassment, she seemed to be far too mature for that even if her age did not fit with that personality, at least not at first glance. Then the man was there again and she nodded at Kyle, moving swiftly with him although she made sure to keep entertaining herself with the hotdog because it was delicious. She also spotted the police officer but that was not a mortal either, she was going to open her mouth but Kyle was already ahead and trying to talk with him.
After the reveal Elaine could not help but let out a deep sigh, mix of frustration and disappointment. But she was ready to entertain this and she played along like a supposedly normal girl, except that she did not look very worried, if at all, she still ran away with Kyle and through the beautiful park. It was true though, the day was getting cloudy, it was darkening for some reason and the air was getting colder than it was before, plus it was already making her hair wave with it, especially as she ran. She did not seem to have trouble keeping up with his rhythm though. "Any ideas other than trying to outrun them?"
*Such a nice day, but I've got nothing coming to me...* he thought to himself, looking back down to the pad and shaking his head. A feeling of fun came over him a moment later and, thinking that he should take a break from forcing himself to work, and with this image in his head, he started sketching a large, muscular, demonic looking creature.
Elaine was in a happier than normal mood today. It was a special day after all. Today she was spending one day on Earth in corporal form and pretend that she was a normal young woman, like any other of her age. “This should be fun” she said up in the clouds, still in her Goddess intangible form. Barely a blink after that and her consciousness slipped to Earth, to the middle of a park actually. She landed on her feet, as she had her angelical wings out. Luckily she had chosen the perfect moment to not be seen with her wings, although if anyone asked her, she did not care much for subtlety in that regard.
Another blink and her wings were gone. She was wearing a short black dress with a crescent moon on one of her sides, a white belt and the dress itself went up to her neck and covered half of her arms. Cute and proper for a young teenager looking girl. She was also wearing brown boots without heels, they looked very comfortable.
Elaine looked around with a slightly strange expression “It feels strange to be back like this, in a body, maybe I should take a stroll first” she said before she started to walk. Of course her attention was quickly taken away by the many and very beautiful flowers of the park, especially her favorite rose, yellow delizy, she could not resist it and she took one for herself, taking on the scent with a smile. She would plant it back later of course. Another thing caught her attention, someone was drawing in front of her. She curiously approached him from behind, her steps against the grass were soft and smooth. In the end she stopped at a respectful distance, tilting her head a bit to a side. “That is a strange looking demon” she commented with a voice that carried an accent typical from a girl born and raised in London.
His pencil finished the basic outline of the demon and then he began to work on the details. He worked on the outside details first, adding a few spines at first along the forearms, pointed the toes, added a pair of hook like talons at the heels before leaning back. "Hmm..." Kyle ran his tongue along his lips for a few moments and then leaned forward to start drawing again before he heard a small voice off to his side. Sitting up, he glanced over to her and smiled. "Heh. You guessed what it is that fast huh?" turning back to the picture, he adjusted the pad to make it easier for her to look at, "Just a new character I'm working on for my own comic. I don't get around to it much, but I've got the inspiration right now so... " Shifting his gaze back to the pad, the pencil started to move again as he added details to it. The chest was large and defined, except the sternum was caved in, veins bulging out around the edges and snaking out towards the showers across the pectorals. Offering the girl another glance as he continued to draw
"So what brings you out to L.A.? Are you visiting with your parents?" It was hard to miss the accent, even if he was a bit absorbed into his art. It sounded too genuine to be fake, but this was L.A. after all. Hollywood wasn't too far and he guessed it was possible this girl was some kid trying to make it big.
“Yes, well, it was either a demon or some random monster so I decided to try with the first one” she nodded at him, holding her rose in her left hand. “And what inspired you to make it look like that if I may ask?” she asked with a clear hint of curiosity, perhaps it was also the start of a critic, but a very polite sounding one thanks to the accent. She shifted a bit her posture and rested her hands on the top of the bench, using her arms for support her more comfortable posture as she examine his artwork. “I am just visiting for a day, my father is up there somewhere and my uncle has a bar in this city so, I got everything covered” she explained, technically she had not lied at all although of course she made her sentence sound perfectly normal.
“Well, if you think about it, if Hell exists and I personally sway that way, it should be full of bad human souls that are being punished right now, right? Why wouldn’t the demons look human after all? Or for the most part human you know or even beautiful in their own way” she said as a suggestion, although it was subtly aimed to give him some food for thought rather than a mere simple critic.
He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really know. I just... had the desire to draw and my hand started to put the picture on paper." Looking away from the paper, he turned his eyes back to her, "Happens like that sometimes. Most of the time it works out but... doesn't get me very far." The smile, which had been quite warm, lost some of the fire as a sigh slipped out. He quickly recovered and continued to draw, "Well they must have a lot of trust in you if you they let you run around the city alone like this." Even in the bright day such as this one, there were still risks to be had. When she started to talk about demons and how they might look, Kyle found himself looking back at the girl, his hand ceasing to draw anything as he gave her a quizzical look... while leaning back from her a bit. She's a strange one he thought to himself, but he did stop for a moment.
"You know, I've never really thought about it much. Hell and what might be in it and all. Or Heaven really." Higher powers never really held a huge thing in his life...we, until last year where the green ring he wore on his right middle finger came into his life. But before that, nothing. Kyle looked back to the drawing before, and he could not explain why, some heavy and dark feeling washed over him. It made his stomach twist a bit and a knot form in his throat. Green eyes lifted from the pad and started to look around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one stood out. But, with each passing second, that feeling just kept growing like something was coming.
Beautiful but strange, that much was for sure in her! “I see, yes, or at least I’d think that they both do trust me, maybe in their own different ways too” she smiled a bit after that comment. Elaine then listened to what the man replied and she ended up shrugging “Well, you can draw what you like, but maybe it could help you to think about those things, Hell and Heaven at least in case that they happen to be real, but who knows, back to the drawing, maybe the demons can decide how to look like, and if that is the case then maybe, with so many human souls, they got hooked into looking as humans, but that could just be a theory, I hope that you don’t get to visit Hell to check it out” she threw that joke at the end as she looked back to her flower and then back at him. She noticed that his behavior seemed to be changed and she wondered if she had said something to make him uncomfortable or maybe… “Are you feeling ok? You seem a bit off now, distracted” she commented since he was obviously looking around.
"Hah hah," he chuckled, "Well I hope I don't end up going there any day. If it is real, it'd have to be a pretty frightening place if all the stories are true, or just a quarter." Kyle continued to look around. He could not put it together but the feeling was odd. "I'm fine," he said, trying to sound more convincing than he felt. "By the way, my name's Kyle. Kyle Rayner. What's your's?" He held out a his hand to her, pencil adjusted in his fingers to keep from jabbing her hand with the point. If she took his offered hand, he would shake hers. The feeling did not seem to go away though, instead intensifying. Lifting his head up, again, his started looking around once more and his eyes fell on a man that seemed to be watching them... at least looking in their direction. The suit the man wore seemed simple enough, not too garish, but what caught his attention was the smirk on his face and the way he seemed to be rolling something over his knuckles.
Staring at the man for a time more, Kyle followed his gaze over to the girl. "Hey um... do you know that man over there?" By this point, even Elaine should start to feel the sense of foreboding in the air as it grew. The sun seemed to dim a bit as everything seemed to loose a bit of its hue of color.
“You know, just be a good man and you should be fine, no capital sins and all of that” she smiled a bit before nodding and gently shaking his hand with hers “My name is Elaine, it’s nice to meet you Kyle” she said with a smile, who would have thought, she might have made a new friend in her special day. After that she ended up following his glance and noticing the man watching them with the creepy smirk. Then he asked the obvious question and she shook her head “No, I don’t, my uncle… no he probably wouldn’t care, maybe Gaudium would know, would you like to take a stroll somewhere else away from him?” she offered in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable, oddly enough Elaine didn’t seem to be worried or concerned as a girl should in a situation in which someone creepy and shady stared at her new friend and specially at herself, she happened to be extremely visible for the right beings, blindingly so.
“Or we could go, greet him and ask him what he wants too, although if I had to guess, I’d say that he’s looking for me and looking for trouble, my father and my uncle will get mad at whoever that is” she said with a roll of her eyes, not at her family of course but at whoever had tracked her down on Earth, on her special day. “What would you like to do Kyle?” she asked and, depending on his choice, she would follow and walk with him away or with him and towards the creeper.
He smiled a bit at her words. This girl, Elaine, just seemed to have a way about her that made the day a bit brighter, even if it did seem to be a bit darker. There was something strange though. It seemed like every time she brought up her family, specifically her uncle, it seemed like there was information just at the tip of her tongue that she was not letting out. It almost feels like I'm in some sort of mob movie. Little girl's protected because she's got family in high places in the underworld but then someone gets a little fire lit and goes after her. But... Naaah. This isn't the movies. Still, glancing over at the stranger Kyle wanted to be a far away from him as he could. "Hm... let's go... Get something to eat." Standing up, he closed his art pad, slipped his pencil into a little holder and stuck it down in his jean pocket, hooked his thumb there, and started to walk with the pad held in between his left arm side, and by his hand. As he felt distance getting between the two and the male, the strange sensation seemed to fade a bit. Not too far of a walk through the park, the came upon a little hot dog cart where Kyle paid for the two of them a meal, getting on hers whatever she wanted. "So... your uncle. You said he had a bar around here? If you want, I don't mind walking you there. Who knows, might be a place where I can find some inspiration for this add I got hired to draw for." A sigh touched his lips as he thought about it again, Lotion... really. The heck was I thinking!
“Sure although I’m not sure what would I eat to be honest, maybe drink something” she said with a slightly thoughtful expression before following him through the park, by his side. As they came by the hot dog cart she figured that it was an ok choice anyway, she ordered hers with a lot of ketchup, like any teenager would after all. “Thanks for inviting me” she said politely before he made her smile after he talked about the bar “My uncle’s bar? I don’t think that you would be welcome there right now, it is probably empty this early anyway, but I will tell you something, if he comes around and meets us, which he might knowing him, you can ask him if you can visit his bar sometime for inspiration, you never know, he might say yes” she said with a slightly amused smile before she started to eat her hot dog in a proper British young lady way.
After that bite and a bit of time she was able to speak again. “You mentioned that you needed inspiration for an ad, I suppose that it is not about drawing demons, what is the ad about?” she asked with the same hint of curiosity. It was fun in a way to see the problem that mortals had, she have had those but then again she had never been completely normal anyway so, it was still different.
Kyle choked on a bit of the hot dog as she suddenly asked about his work, coughing and sputtering a bit as his eyes started to water. "Ack.. hrk...mn.. Wew.. " blinking away the water in his eyes, he blushed a bit, "Oh uh.. that is... Well it's kind of embarrassing, but I am trying to draw up an add for this lotion product that is coming out." Urgh. It even sounds dirty saying it. "But I need the money to pay my rent so, while it's not really what I wanted, it's a job." A half-hearted laugh left his lips but over her head he spotted something. That man was back. "Hey," he whispered, "come on." Jerking his head behind him, Kyle turned on his heel and started walk. His steps were swift, but he made sure not to walk too fast for her. That feeling was back but he really couldn't do anything about it. Not like this. It'd be bad enough hassling some guy in his suit, but as in his casual clothes... well he was asking for trouble. Best thing to do would be to... *Oh hey! Luck after all. Kyle had spotted a police officer. Quickly moving over to the man, he started to speak before the face turned. The officer's eyes went black and, as his lips curled into a smile, revealing a cruel row of teeth that opened to utter darkness. Two words were somehow shouted directly into his mind at the same time. *She's ours!* Startled, by the hideous hissing of the voice, Kyle dropped his pad to the ground and grabbed Elaine by the shoulder, "Come on!" hurrying her away and through the park. That feeling now like a weight crushing down on him and her.
Elaine could not help it but smile and even giggle a bit as her new friend started to choke funnily with the hotdog and with her question. “I see, well if it helps to pay the rent then it serves a good purpose, if it is a hydratant lotion you could go for a water theme, you could think of waterfalls a lake or an ample river and see if that helps you out” she suggested without a sign of embarrassment, she seemed to be far too mature for that even if her age did not fit with that personality, at least not at first glance. Then the man was there again and she nodded at Kyle, moving swiftly with him although she made sure to keep entertaining herself with the hotdog because it was delicious. She also spotted the police officer but that was not a mortal either, she was going to open her mouth but Kyle was already ahead and trying to talk with him.
After the reveal Elaine could not help but let out a deep sigh, mix of frustration and disappointment. But she was ready to entertain this and she played along like a supposedly normal girl, except that she did not look very worried, if at all, she still ran away with Kyle and through the beautiful park. It was true though, the day was getting cloudy, it was darkening for some reason and the air was getting colder than it was before, plus it was already making her hair wave with it, especially as she ran. She did not seem to have trouble keeping up with his rhythm though. "Any ideas other than trying to outrun them?"
