Four long, jointed legs stepped silently along the edge of the roof. Where they joined, a human figure, shrouded in darkness, hung limp as it was carried aloft. Eyes glimmering on the small bits of light seeping from what open windows below raced past them scanned cautiously through the thick ceiling. The gray woman's mind raced along the surface of those below her as she glided silently along in search of some entertaining sport for the night.
With a small rush of grinding metal, she halted her pacing. Her eyes refocused, though she could not see what they were adjusting towards. She sensed a mind scarred and bent oddly into a sort of paradox, and it drew her onward. The scar spoke of someone Father would want, but further investigation would be necessary before Steel could be certain.

Savannah laid in her bed tossing from the nightmare she was in the middle of. She was sixteen again, and it was her birthday. Horrid laughter sounded through the girl's mind. As if it was real she curled into the corner of her bed, just as she did in her dream.

The dreams came less and less since being here. She found it strangely odd that they were always of the past. Being logical as she was she would have thought nightmares would have steamed from her recent..encounters. She never admitted that when she did wake up after dreams of what had happened since coming here she was usually horny. This to her was the oddest thing her logical mind had ever pondered.

The spindly legs drew around the side of the building, still holding their lax cargo effortlessly, and stopped to give yellow-green eyes a view into the sleeping girl's room. Echoes of the dream reflected in unblinking eyes as she reached carefully deeper into Savannah's mind. The forms of the men slid out from the slit pupils to the gray woman's way of seeing and built themselves up rapidly in the room beyond, taking some vague semblance of flesh.
The thing wrapped in the step-father's skin cracked its knuckles and stepped forward. It reached out with a hungry hand and took hold of the already frightened girl to haul her back into consciousness.
"Wake up, little whore," he said in the same, haunting voice that had plagued her for so long. "It's time we had some more fun."

Savannah fought even in her sleep when the man grabbed ahold of her. The fight was always in the dream, but had never been a part of what had happened. Bucking and twisting she tried to kick and hit the man. At the sound of his voice her eyes snapped opened. Terror filled them as she shook her head. "No, no your not real. You can't be real," she whispered in denial of what was in front of her.

"Aww, come on baby, is that any way to talk to the man of your dreams?" The other men behind Savannah's step-father chuckled darkly and pressed slightly forward. Moist palms dodged and snatched again at the fighting girl, trying to pin her down to the bed yet slipping as they shook with cruel anticipation. With a harsh curse, the leader took half a step back towards the crowd, apparently unwittingly leaving their prey a moment of escape. "Give me a hand, will you guys?" he said before the rest made a move towards the girl as one.
Outside, the gray woman watched silently, carefully judging Savannah's reactions and weighing them carefully in her mind. The men were positioned ever so carefully by her command to perfect the slim opportunities of fight and flight.

"Leave me alone you're not real," she screamed. She was dreaming she had to be. Her fear was quickly becoming so much more. Terror was in the girl's eyes. She twisted and fought even as they tried to hold her down.

Panic was starting to set in making her wild and her breathing irregular. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she fought. She hadn't cried in years but since coming here it seemed she cried daily. Her breathing was so ragged she was unable to catch her breath. Black twirled behind her eyes, the first sign of passing out.

Steel drank the girl's fear like a parched woman at a fresh well. It intoxicated her mind like thick mead, which drove the illusionary men onward. Eight hands grasped and groped over her struggling body in a hungry attempt to feel and pin her. Fingers and palms pressed and brushed at every inch of her form. As the fifth pair of hands grabbed for her ankles in an attempt to force them apart and down, the edge of Savannah's fainting finally reached past the haze of her panic. The gray woman scowled and refocused her mind, hoping the solid yet false man starting to force his way between his captive's legs would snap her back into consciousness, though she prepared an alternative course if she'd lost her chance.

Savannah had long ago stopped wearing clothes to bed. It had been more by force then by will, but in doing so she never slept in clothes now. She struggled against the hands that were touching her bare skin. Twisting and turning violently she struggled.

"You're not real, you're not here," she said again and again as if she was trying to convince herself. Her protest and struggles became even more wild as the man forced his way between her legs. Her panic had build to an exploding point. The darkness began to close in even more. She'd welcome the darkness if it meant not having to go through this again.

Hands and bodies pressed tighter, threatening to violate the poor girl as they had in years past. Deeper and closer they pressed, until the inevitable was moments away.
With a nod and the briefest of grins, Steel stepped through the wall and window as if they were air. Booted feet touched carpeted floor as the four long legs whistled sharply through the room and smashed noiselessly through the men. Their bodies scattered and blew away like dust from the head down, which left their hands lingering on Savannah's bare flesh for another cruel moment. The gray woman turned and fixed the girl with glowing, cat-like eyes and an expression as cold and dispassionate as winter frost.
Her lips barely moved as she spoke, "the devil you know, eh?"

Savannah screamed and fought as best as she could being so close to blacking out. Her struggles seemed wild in her mind while they were barely movements in truth. Any moment he was going to be shoving inside her, hurting her.

She blinked at the sudden appearance of the woman. There was no waste of time to scramble off the bed once the last of her nightmare was gone. "Who are you," she asked quickly looking around for something to put on.

The gray-skinned woman smiled warmly at the bare girl as her eyes dipped down to quickly drink in her form. "I suppose I must be the devil you don't, mustn't I?" Her eyes narrowed and flicked swiftly towards the door leading into the room.
The scattered dust swirled in tightening spirals. Starting at the feet, the men were beginning to reform into the solid world. As the illusion of Savannah's step-father took its first half-formed step, Steel's leg snapped out and crushed the large window outwards into the moonless night.
"I suppose the question now is whether or not you will follow the old advice," she said as she reached out a hand to the girl and rose back to her four longer limbs. The men condensed and marched towards the student to press the decision.

Savannah caught ahold of her short robe and wrapped it around herself. She looked at the woman slightly confused. "You must be the devil must you?" She repeated the question more to herself then anything.

Seeing the men starting to reform she scrambled across the room away from them. "What old advised," she asked looking at the woman.

Gray fingers stretched wider and reached urgently towards the girl. "My dear, you've never heard the old adage that the devil you know," she said, indicating the men with a small nod, "beats the devil you don't?" She smiled warmly but briefly at the girl and turned her attention back towards the men. They had reached the foot of the bed by the time a metallic leg struck back out at them. The appendage thudded harmlessly against the step-father's arm and was diverted aside.
"Come on baby, at least with us you know what the fun will be," the somehow stronger man said as he clambered up onto the foot of Savannah's bed.

Savannah rushed across the room to grab ahold of the woman's hand. "Who do I tell about them?" She questioned as she put her trust into the woman.

"No one," said the gray woman as she pulled the girl tight and flung them both out of the room with a thick rush of air. The night was cool free of the room, and the spidery woman's body seemed to have only the faintest hint of the warmth it should. Long legs streched farther as they scurried across the rooftop towards some unknown goal. The air seared slightly as it rushed past Savannah on the swift journey.
With a twist and the skid of feet dislodging the light gravel on the flattened roof, the pair dove behind an enormous metal box adorned with small warnings and fan grates. Steel's grip relaxed, letting the girl settle onto her feet, as her own lowered just enough to graze the rooftop.
"You should be safe from them here. They're slow things over longer distances." Slit eyes once more shone as Steel looked the student over slowly, a cold grin tugging at the edges of her lips.