One step.
Two.
Three.
Up the stairs he began, tunnel vision focused on the door at the apex. His attention was elsewhere, pulled away by a sensation lingering at the back of it. A pull. a hunger. A voice.

Wait no, that wasn't right. Richard stopped his slow progression up the stairs, looking over his shoulder. A person... A woman? In a bloody grey jumpsuit.
Great.

"Huh... You look like shit" Richard said, looking the new arrival up and down (edited)

Rin swings the crystal piece once. It is sharp and probably dangerous. She narrows her eyes and yells out. "Arms up asshole! Who are you?! The fuck is going on?!" The short but athletic woman has tattoos on both arms and the jumpsuit is very plain. Despite the literal hell around her she seems very determined to act."

Richard raises an eyebrow. She was pretty riled up... Well, all things considered he was probably weirdly calm. Crystal was an odd choice of weapon, rather out of place, but nothing about anything was really in place.

"Easy there stabby, I'm way too tired to deal with you are Your pointy rock" Richard did half-heartedly lift his hands up to show he wasn't holding anything dangerous but seemed otherwise unphased. "As hard as it might be for you, try and think for a second. Do I look like a guy that ever knows what the fuck is going on? No. If I had any concept of or control over this weird shit, I'd probably be better dressed"

Rin starts going up the stairs holding her crystal firmly in her right hand. She breathes heavily as she approaches the man, obviously agitated. She looks him up and down as she gets ever closer. At this point it is apparent she is not even wearing shoes. "Give me your coat. And if your boots are my size I want them too." It is obvious at this point that she is cold, her black hair damp with water. "I am freezing my ass off here!" She adds as she extends her empty hand forward. (edited)

Richard dropped his shoulders with a sigh. Of course. No, this was par for the course of things. Without a word he shrugged off his coat and tossed it to her.

"Its been awhile since I've been mugged.the boots are 10 and a half wide, I'd guess a bit too big for you to wear comfortably" Richard paused for a second, despite her being a violent lunatic with a knife, she was in the same weird situation and was acting in a manner that meant she was probably a genuine human. She might know some things. "... Have you seen any cats recently?"

Rin snatched the coat and immediately put it on. It is definitely not her size but she does not care, it still shields her a bit from the weather. She seems to acknowledge Richard as being a pure-bred victim and lowers the crystal. "Well fuck me, I wouldn't bother mugging you if I didn't need this. Be glad I didn't outright kill you." The question then hits her. She shakes her head and replies in a less threatening tone. "No... none that I remember. Other weird stuff but no cats. Keep going up, let us at least not stand in the damn rain." Rin walks past Richard, no longer considering him a threat, and closer to the door. "What's your name?" (edited)

"Weird question I know, just trying to establish a pattern... And thanks for not murdering me I guess. You're not so terrible for a knife wielding maniac" Richard kept pace up the stairs, it was certainly strange company... But he was kimd of glad he wasn't alone anymore.

"Name's Richard. Or Rick, whatever you prefer. You?"

"Rin. And I might change my mind later if you try anything stupid." Rin pauses for a bit then takes a deep breath and looks around, taking in her surroundings once more, then rests her gaze on Richard. "Know what's going on, Rick? This is a weird place to end up in. Is this hell? Because if it ain't then it is fucking close let me tell you." Rin reaches into the pockets of her newly acquired coat and finds nothing. "Shit..." She says to herself. (edited)

"Hell? Haha... Oh no. This isn't hell. We aren't that lucky."
Richard says with a chuckle. Looking around as well. This barren city, somewhere between too real and too bizarre. No this was something else. Better or worse, it was hard to tell.

"That being said... You died today didn't you?"

Rin tries to recall what happened. She shuts her eyes and then pinches the bridge of her nose and. Her right hand is shaking visibly. "No, I... I think I split his head open... but then... fuck something hit me in the head and then I blacked out..." Rin wraps her arms around herself and looks straight at Richard. "Did I die? Does that mean we are fucking dead? Then why do I feel so alive? Cold? This makes no sense..." She pauses and leans against the wall of the ruined cathedral. Her eyes remain closed and the back of her head rests against the wall. (edited)

"I'm pretty damn sure I died. Swimming across the river was dumb to begin with... But they were waiting for me... It was the undercurrent. Got too deep, pulled down. Drowning is pretty rough" Richard explained, leaning against the wall for a second as he stared blankly back down the steps.

"We aren't dead right now, I don't think... But I think we are awake, I don't know if that makes sense. Everything about this feels... I don't know. It's something." Richard scratched the back of his neck in thought. "But, I don't know where your perspective on what dies and does make sense lies... But we are standing in a creepy abandoned city and you e been threatening me with a sharp chunk of crystal. I think we might need to adjust our definition of what makes sense going forward"

Rin sighs. She turns her head to face Richard and then nods. She has apparently calmed down a bit, whether getting a coat, threatening a person or hearing Richard speak was the reason, nobody could ever tell. "Sorry about that. I needed something, you had it and you seem like a loser so I got it. No offense." Rin then places the piece of crystal in her pants' pocket and observes Richard better. She rushed into action so quickly she didn't bother paying attention to detail, she was satisfied with the knowledge he looked weak. "Much of what you just said I didn't get but I got one thing right, and that is we should probably stick together. What can you do? Aside from being a mugging victim?"

"No offense taken. I am a bit of a loser" Richard laughed for a moment before continuing "stuck together we are. I doubt much of my study in law is helpful, waste of time and money. I'm an alright mechanic, so if we find a car that looks salvageable I might be able to get it running. Other than that, I've got a few miscellaneous skills, nothing that I specialize in. Jack of all trades, master of none, ya know?"

"Lawyer? Shit I might actually have a need for you once we get out of here. Have any cigarettes? Stress relief and all that." Rin then looks at the door of the cathedral and raises an eyebrow. "Did you feel like this was the right way to go too? When I came here I felt like I had to go this way, but now that I am here, I dunno what to do."

"Easy now. Law student, now lawyer. I can't practice yet... As for cigarettes well" Richard reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a rather squishy carton of cigarettes. "Remember how I said I drowned? Yeah. I've got 10 left, maybe if I can try them out, they might be smokable, until then they are just wet" putting them back in his pocket, Richard pushed off the wall and stood in front of the door.

"The right way? No idea. I just know that we are here and at the very minimum, it's dry in there which would be a nice change of pace... I don't know if it's the right way, but it's better than wandering blind"

Rin focuses her gaze at the door. She nods at Richard and brings the small sharp crystal back to her eight hand. She steps in front of the door and then takes a deep breath before saying. "Okay Rick, stay close behind me and if shit goes wrong just try not to die. I swear to god though if you mess up I am killing you." And with those words, Rin attempts to open the doors of the ruined cathedral and step inside. (edited)