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Two years in the glade and Riley still hadn't gotten used to the loud blaring horn whenever a new arrival came up in the box.
Her body would always betray the logical part of her brain, the part that knew she wasn't in any kind of danger. Yet her body would always react like it was, whether that'd be jumping in place or gasping whenever the horn sounded.
It was like immediately her body prepared itself for the worst. Fight or flight.
So when the blaring begun once again like so many times before, Riley wasn't filled with excitement and curiosity like everyone else seemed to be. The only emotion Riley could pin point at that moment was dread. An emotion so heavy she swore her body grew heavier with it.
And like she'd done before, she just focused on whatever she was doing when it happened.
Waiting for the fear to pass over her like a storm until it finally released its grip on her. The claws retracting from her skin, leaving her behind with crescent moons dug into her otherwise flawless skin. But she wasn't standing alone in this mental hurricane of hers.
Ever since Riley came up in the box, Newt always stayed by her side. He stood with her in the hurricane, anchoring her down so she wouldn't lose her footing.
So when he saw her jolt from the blaring horn as she'd done so many times before. He offered her a reassuring smile when she glanced his way. Riley rolling her eyes as to play off the anxiety that had just washed over her. Despite her heart hammering in her chest, rattling against her rib cage as if it was seconds away from jumping out her chest.
Usually focusing on the task at hand would help drown out her worries, but the sudden yelling and cheering coming from the box made it worse, and when one particular loud scream tore through the air, Riley spun around rather quickly.
Worry gnawing at her bones, only for it to whisk away at the sight of a boy in a blue shirt bolting across the field.
Riley's lips parted in surprise as she watched him, his pace surprisingly quick as he moved. But his escape attempt didn't last very long before he planted his feet a little more to the left, resulting in his entire body plummeting to the ground. The blonde winced quietly at the sight, watching as blue shirt didn't have much of a chance before the rest of the boys hurried over to grab a hold of him.
