OK. I'm gonna see if I can learn anything else here. Yell if you need me.

She gets the same information from Laura that she got before, but this time Laura is sobbing because there are screams throughout the hospital. She wants to save everyone and scoop them all up and keep them safe and hold them in her hands, but her hands are much, much smaller than the city, and also they're still shaking.

She tears out the records that say which people were admitted to the hospital on the 14th and 15th of April, and goes around gathering statements from the ones that were supposed to have been attacked by something. Most people are incoherent. There's a little boy in a coma. Nothing supernatural to go on before the 15th, nothing weird that happened before the toads manifested in Latin class. She stuffs the records into her coat, just in case.

You getting anywhere?

We're gonna break in. If you come here now we could use your help, he's got this fancy compound. Help's coming from out of town but it might be too late and also I don't want anyone in - this - whatever it is - if they don't have to be -

Yeah. Tell them to stay out, honestly, it's probably a local effect. On my way.

She beheads a vampire that's walking around in broad daylight. She runs for the Mayor's office.

The Mayor has a message for the people who are definitely reading minds from across the street. He fires up the loudspeakers.

"Hello, Alex. Michael. I think you've made it very clear that you want what I have, but I want you to know that I want it, too. I have no doubt that you'll kill for it! But two can play at that game. So I want you to know that if you do actually make it in here and kill me - ha! - then, ah, you should be aware that I've rigged - where was it - ah, yes, Sunnydale High School, to explode if I die or lose this artifact. So, you know. Think about it. Take your time. I guess I could have given you the same information by letting you read my mind, but I dunno, I like the idea of letting everyone around know exactly what sorts of choices you're making. Don't want the kids to get confused about who the heroes are."

Well, now I'm really wishing we'd had the chance to introduce ourselves sooner. 

Everyone in Sunnydale High, get out, it's about to explode. 

But he doesn't even really need to check to know that - 

- yeah, Sunnydale High doesn't have exits anymore and has things skittering across all of the windows, which won't open -

Do we have Karen as a resource -

Yeah. I - yeah. Do we need her, though, if we don't need her we can - we can tell her to go save people -

The most tactically sound plans that I can think of require three people. You?

Yes. I - 

He tries to sit down. It doesn't work. if you know what to look for you can see it not work, see the point where something else pulls him back to his legs. 

Karen, there are two exits, and we want someone on the roof. I'd like you on the back exit. They're armed. I think we can take them out and there won't be that many more inside, there are only about fifteen people there in total.

On it.

- we're, we're ignoring the announcement because the world-melting thing is imminent and there's no other way, right, we take an hour to regroup and think and then it's all high schools everywhere, yeah?

I'm at the site, heading for the back exit now -

It's getting - whatever is wrong is getting wronger and wronger I don't think we have an hour - I'm so sorry, but if he has the power to do that then he cannot get a Silmaril to amplify it -

He opens fire on the guards whose locations he can guess from their senses. Fifteen, twelve, ten. 

They go in.

"Well," says the Mayor, when they make it to his office. "What a surprise. And, oh, surprise! Your trinket isn't, in fact, in here. Really pulled your legs, didn't I?"

He has the biggest smile on his face.

"We can't stop pursuing them, you idiot. Where is it - we don't have to hurt you and you don't have to hurt anyone -"

"Don't you, though?" asks the Mayor. "Don't you think you're going to hurt people wherever you go? Because at this point I really only see a couple of ways this can go."

Karen comes down the hallway with human blood on her sword, and part of her is here but part of her is actually just not processing anymore. 

" - did you get it - "

"No, Karen, they didn't get it. But I'm curious to see what they'll do to change that, aren't you?"

"Please just tell us where it is. Karen - you could - the school, you could try to make an exit - it doesn't have one anymore -"

We don't have any choices here, all the choices here are yours - if you tell us where it is we don't need to kill you -

"Yes, yes, fascinating situation you have here. It isn't the same for her, though, is it? She hasn't pledged herself to your little cause. What do you think, Karen, should we trust them? Do you?"

"More than you."

The Mayor cracks up, and thinks how funny it's going to be when they find out that he gave it to a demon friend of his who lives in hell and will only ever surface if someone offers him enough babies to eat. He has a nice little hole down in the sewers.

Alex shoots him in the head. "Got a location," he says. "Karen I think you should focus on - ending this - now - not on this -"

"I don't know how." She can't think, she can't think, she stabbed a person and the school has blown up and her sister is dead and she can't think. "I just - where is it - "

"Hell."