Who: Liz and Peter Parker What: Peter tries to get to Liz in time When: Saturday Night Where: Various locations including Jendry's and streets Rating: low
Liz had heard about the Weeping Angels vaguely before they appeared in the village, but she knew of them more because of the panic people were having over them. So far there hadn’t been a lot of sightings of them, but Jendry’s was closing down a little early tonight and Liz was appreciative.
She was just finishing making sure all the salt and pepper shakers were full when she turned and let out a loud yelp of surprise, then she instantly tensed. Outside in the middle of the street. That in and of itself was creepy, but it just so happened to be facing its direction at the restaurant.
Without taking her eyes off of it, she reached into her pocket and was thankful she had spoken to Peter previously. He’d be first on her redial. She managed to hit the right button without looking at her phone and listened to it ring while trying not to panic.
–
Peter had been so absorbed in his homework that he failed to see the news online. He was just about to finish jotting down the last bit of his work on this complicated formula when he felt his phone vibrate on the table.
Liz's name and photo lit up the screen, and Peter's hand snapped to the device in record timing. While some might have been frustrated by the interruption when they were so close to finishing it, Peter welcomed it. Especially when the interruption was Liz.
"Hey, Liz!"
–
"Peter…" Her voice was leveled, but obviously strained like someone who was coping, but under pressure. It was a lot like the tone she had when they were being faced with an angry dinosaur. "There's a - one of those angel statues outside and I think it knows I'm here."
–
Peter could sense the fear in Liz’s voice immediately and his body promptly tensed in response. "One of those angel statues?" Peter repeated, eyes narrowed. Liz was talking as if this was something he should know something about.
And then he realized he just might know what she was talking about after all. “One of the weeping angels?” Peter really, really, really hoped he was wrong and Liz was talking about some other kind of angel statue from some other reality.
–
“... I think that’s what the Doctor called them, yeah.” Liz was trying not to blink, but it was hard and even harder when you were thinking about not doing a thing. She tried to keep her breathing under control. Liz was at least good at keeping herself level-headed most of the times in these situations.
She didn’t mean to do it, but she blinked. When her eyes quickly opened back up she let out a yelp. The angle was now at the window and its hands were on the window itself. The face was terrifying. “Peter -”
–
“Just don’t blink,” Peter said, unaware Liz had just done precisely that. He bolted for the window, his cell phone still in hand.“Just keep staring, okay?” He leapt out of the window and shot his webspray at the roof of the nearest building and then swung forward. Talking on the phone and webswinging might have been difficult for him a few years ago, but by now he was practiced at it. “Where are you?”
–
Liz was slowly walking toward the front of Jendrys. She knew the door was unlocked at the moment and she had to figure a locked door would be better protection. She moved slowly, though, so she wouldn’t bump into a table or trip and fall. “Jendrys… I’m the only one here, but um. It’s already moved. I didn’t mean to. It’s just, really hard.” The ‘click’ sounded as she managed to find the lock and turn it without issue.
–
Peter abruptly turns in the direction of Jendry’s, a few people gawking as he swings from building to building with comparative ease. Fortunately, the streets seem clearer than they’d normally be. Apparently a lot of people got the memo about the angels, even if he didn’t.
“Just keep looking right at it,” he said. “Back away slowly, but don’t stop looking at it. You got this, Liz.”
–
“How far are you?” Her voice was a little strained. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could maintain not blinking. Her mind was trying to calculate how long someone could last without blinking.
Liz knew enough that she should try to make some distance and so she started to slowly back up while continuing to have her eyes on the angel. “Peter, I don’t know how long I can - “ A car sped by and honked its horn. Despite Liz’s best effort, she looked at the car before quickly looking back to the angel. She instantly panicked.
The angel wasn’t at the window and Liz’s eyes zoomed left and she let out a shriek as the angel was now at the door to the restaurant. She also ended up dropping her phone. “...It’s at the door now.” Liz spoke loudly so she could be heard, hopefully, by Peter.
–
"I'm just a few blocks away," Peter yelled into the receiver. "Just hang on!"
Peter had been already moving at breakneck speed before, but now he was swinging in an absolute fury -- taking the kinds of risks that he wouldn't normally when he was webslinging.
Liz is gonna be okay, Peter reassured himself as he swang low enough that the heel of his foot clipped a garbage can, toppling it over. You just need to get there fast.
–
Liz could feel the green sort of electric energy that sometimes formed when she got really upset start to manifest. It was the worst timing. The energy hurt and she still wasn’t really in control of it.
The problem with the energy was it hurt and hurt made it hard to keep your eyes open. She pushed herself as hard as she could to keep her eyes open. Her eyes started to water and her body started to tremble. "Peter, I - "
It happened so quickly. She didn't even know she blinked until she heard the smash of glass from the angel breaking through the door.
And then Liz was gone, leaving only her phone that was still on.
–
Liz’s voice cut out just as Peter turned the corner to Jendry’s. He allowed himself only a moment to take in the site of the broken window before he swung down right in front of it and raced through the door. Liz’s phone was sitting on the floor at his feet, numbers on the screen still counting down the duration of their call.
“Liz?” he called out. He spun around desperately, hoping for some sign of Liz. But there was nothing at all – just the sound of the glass breaking underneath the weight of his feet.