|
|
Post by Arson Anthem on May 27, 2012 23:20:06 GMT -5
*I cry out when I'm jabbed again, twisting away and cutting off my own voice as the rope pulls tight. I’m hyperventilating now, and I’ve completely forgotten about trying to maintain rational thought. I just want out. I scream for help and the older man, Oscar, quickly steps forward in response to a motion from Captain. Breathing’s made more difficult when he gags me with a dirty bandana, and when Captain pulls the needle from my shoulder and tries the top of my wrist, I start to cry*
|
|
|
|
Post by Max Griffiths on May 27, 2012 23:23:15 GMT -5
*I make a tsking sound when I see Arson’s tears. She's closed her eyes again and I step right up next to her, laying the syringe against the top of her shoulder.* Feel that? *I whisper, the point of the needle digging in ever so slightly* It’s the needle, long and thin and shiny, hollow and full of a delicious chemical cocktail! *I press down harder and feel her flinch as it pierces the torn fabric of her shirt and the skin beneath* Oops! Feel that? It’s in you now, under your skin, all sharp metal. Deeper and deeper and deeper - *at each repetition I push down harder* Under your skin and it’s never coming out! One needle after another, always another! *I start to move along her shoulder in time to my sing-song chant, though I’m a bit off on my aim the third time and feel the point glance off bone. I just laugh and apologize before trying again*
|
|
|
|
Post by Arson Anthem on May 27, 2012 23:25:31 GMT -5
*I can’t block his words out, and I can’t stop shaking. The needle’s in my shoulder, and even when I feel him pull it out and stab it in an inch away, I’m more than halfway convinced that the first ones are still there. I can hear myself sobbing through the gag, and the stimulant won’t let me retreat into unconsciousness like I so desperately want to. Captain starts moving back down my arm, narrating constantly, his smooth words like worms that burrow into my skull. A tiny part of me wonders how long he’ll drag this out before he kills me, and knows I probably wouldn’t like the answer – but the rest of me can’t spare thought for something as unimportant as that when he’s switching sides to start over and my left arm is full of needles and they’re never coming out; they’re never coming out because that’s what he’s telling me and his is the only voice I hear, so it must be true*
|
|
|
|
Post by redhavoc on May 28, 2012 0:03:39 GMT -5
*I was standing, watching the show with Oscar for a while (who seems as excited as a little kid watching 'Star Wars' for the first time), but as the Captain waxes poetic my mind begins to wander. I look down at Flame and start to understand why he is asleep. Ten minutes. That's all I would need and then the girl would be dead, strung up, and we could be on our way...*
*I wander over to the radio and play with the dials, coming upon a pirate station that claims a dust storm in our neck of the zones. Cap yells at me to turn the music back on and I roll the needle back to the original station. Looking at the clock I realize it's almost time for my watch. Fuck, I hate having watch during a dust storm*
*Flame moves in my peripheral vision and I jump back. He yawns lazily like a cat as the girl continues her attempts to scream through the gag*
|
|
|
|
Post by Max Griffiths on Jun 1, 2012 1:54:16 GMT -5
*The storm's really starting to pick up, and I pull up my bandana when dust starts blowing in through the holes in the broken windows. I'm in the front lobby of the school, with a motheaten chair pulled up to the gap between the double doors. When Slink slouches out of the shadowy hallway I get up and stretch.* Finally. Longest hour of my life, I swear to god. Hope I didn't miss all the fun.
Nah. *I reluctantly take my place by the door, trying to convince myself that my distance from Flame makes up for my shitty watch assignment.* Just Captain chattering on and playin with his toys. Took him long enough to get her screaming. *Gauge looks genuinely disappointed that he missed the first bit. I wave him off and look down the street.* Oh, and Flame's- the hell?
*I look up sharply when I hear Slink's exclamation, and he curses again after a moment.* They here? *All my boredom's gone in an instant, and Slink nods once without glancing around.* Stay here. I'll tell Captain and relay his orders. *I take off down the hallway, racing back to the room. Damn them for getting here before I got to see any of the action...*
|
|
|
|
Post by Max Griffiths on Jun 1, 2012 19:06:08 GMT -5
*I push open the door to the classroom, slightly out of breath. I can't help but take a moment to appreciate the progress Captain's made; Slink really has no appreciation for it.* They're here, Captain. Goggles and the dracs, maybe more. Orders?
*I stop talking mid-sentence, and pull the needle out of the traitor's back. I scowl at Gauge's news. They weren't supposed to find us so soon. I was supposed to have all day for this, and then we'd send coordinates and leave Arson for them to find.* Oscar, kill the radio.
*He does so, and I turn back to look at Arson as I answer Gauge's question. She's still shaking, and her eyes are open but unfocused.* Delay them. Don't kill them, and don't get killed; we're leaving them a message, so they have to be alive to recieve it. We only need a few minutes. You two and Slink are with me, slowing them down. Flame, take a moment and string her up. Be fast about it, then meet us at the car.
*Oscar looks surprised by Captain's order to Flame, but I understand. He doesn't want any unnecessary fatalities, so letting Flame loose on Goggles is a bad idea. And the woman's dying either way, so at least this way Flame's occupied while we make our getaway. Flame looks at Captain when he's addressed, but gaze slides off to the side a second later* Flame. Do you understand your order?
*The other two are already out the door, and I back up as I follow them, keeping Flame in my sights. He turns his head to look at me, focusing for once, then stares at the traitor* Yeah, her. String her up, then meet us by the car, like Captain said. Nothing else. Got that?
|
|
|
|
Post by redhavoc on Jun 19, 2012 22:58:51 GMT -5
*Gauge. nod.*
*I READ a book about war once. Required reading for all sophomores. Man gets his arm, legs, and face CHOPPED OFF and still lives. JAckED up on painkillers, he's somehow coherent, MIND all there. I used to wonder why they kept him alive*.
*I'd KILL HIM outright for the useless fool he was, before his mind went. Going crazy is the real punishment for war. So, really, when I KILL HER I'm doing her a favor. It can still hurt a bit, though. Gotta feel something before you die*
|
|
|
|
Post by Max Griffiths on Jun 19, 2012 23:17:24 GMT -5
*I run back to the front of the school, taking up position at one of the windows and aiming down the street. On the other side of the room Gauge is doing the same but focusing on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, and as soon as the figures of whoever's approaching down the street come into range, I start shooting.*
*I glance over when Slink lets loose a few laser bolts, and I'm relieved to see he's not quite targeting the trio. I mean, it could just be because he's a lousy shot, but although a couple lasers come close, none hit their marks. My attention's diverted when I see movement up high, and I shoot in the general direction. It's damn hard to see with all the dirt blowing around, though. I'm not sure where Captain is, but I don't worry about it.*
|
|
|
|
Post by Arson Anthem on Jun 19, 2012 23:21:20 GMT -5
*The next time I focus enough to register what's going on around me, I realize I'm alone in the room. Or no, not quite - the young one's still there. The crazy one, who jumped on me and laughs at the strangest times. I have no idea when the others left or why, but it can't be anything good. The kid steps a bit closer but I feel oddly detached; maybe I've reached my fear threshold, or maybe I'm just going a bit crazy myself. I barely even notice the tremors anymore.*
|
|
|
|
Post by redhavoc on Jun 19, 2012 23:40:51 GMT -5
*Bullets fly and my instincts kick in. I sprint to the wall of the old school and through a corroded door, most of the paint chipped away during previous sand storms. The door slams and my shoes squeak in the sudden silence. Gripping the molded plastic grip of the gun, now more like sandpaper thanks to the dust, I start to jog down the hall. The other gun in my pocket hits my thigh with every stride, but doesn't slow me down. Arson's jacket makes me sweat, but I don't notice. Only then does it occur to me that I should have backup*
|
|
|
|
Post by Funhouse Gear on Jun 19, 2012 23:45:01 GMT -5
*I dodge to the side when we're fired on, running in a straight line until I'm against the wall of the school. I duck out several times, trading shots with whichever one is at the window closest to me, and eventually force him back and keep him from targeting anyone else outside. Now that I know they're here for sure, my anxiety is gone. This is where she is. They're trying to keep me from her. All there is left to do is get through, preferably leaving them dead on the ground behind me.*
|
|
|
|
Post by redhavoc on Jun 19, 2012 23:58:33 GMT -5
*Flame giggles a bit as he looks at the tortured killjoy. Life has become novel for him, quite literally. Fact and fiction merging to create a dangerous mind out of a docile introvert. Zone Madness, some call it, but for Flame it was something special. There was some unique ledge his mind had fallen off of, one the desert had not seen before*
*He hummed a bit of Mozart as he grabbed the rope and began to pull more and more. The slow death reminding him of Dickens' Sydney Carton more than a real person. Different death, same effect*
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Revenge on Jun 20, 2012 0:01:09 GMT -5
*I've barely started adjusting the scope of the sniper rifle before a laser comes whizzing past my head. A few more come in quick succession, hitting and sending bits of concrete at me. It takes a few seconds to catch my breath, my hands shaking at the thought of how close I came to a faceful of laser. But adrenaline kicks back in as I retake my position, albeit using the remaining wall as cover.
*Looking through the scope, I barely see Red run into the school. Max and Gear are a ways behind, but I can see them making their way forward. Adrenaline is coursing again through my veins. I can see my sight get more focused as I get comfortable being hidden. My finger settles on the trigger now, ready to shoot at the first enemy that crosses my sights. Poison will probably be a better shot with his goggles, but we need to make sure none of our friends get hit.*
Come on you bastards. Come out and play.
|
|
|
|
Post by Arson Anthem on Jun 20, 2012 12:40:09 GMT -5
*The fear comes back when the rope goes tight. I manage to cry out once, still muffled by the gag, but then I can't even breath much less scream, and it /hurts/. No trapdoor and sharp drop for me. Just pressure, and pain, and my toes are sliding on the blood-slick floor until that's gone too. The darkness at the edges of my vision is to be expected, but it's slow. Too slow. And for a moment I imagine I'm a windup toy because I can't seem to stop moving even though it doesn't help, but if I were a windup it wouldn't hurt this much, would it? But the black is still creeping in, and I decide I like it because it's making the pain fade right along with the room around me.*
|
|
|
|
Post by Max Griffiths on Jun 20, 2012 15:13:13 GMT -5
*I'm suspicious of the laser shots almost immediately, and take my time getting to cover. Sure enough, not a single one hits me, though I remain a target for at least four seconds longer than necessary. Gear focuses on the shooters - two, reasonable skill, one per window - but Red's already sprinted to a back door. I follow her instead.*
*Inside, I hear her light footsteps around one corner, and the sounds of fighting from the front of the school. Two of the gang members shooting, three unaccounted for. I leave Gear at the front; as long as the gang isn't threatening myself or Red, it's not my concern.*
*A shot sparks against the wall beside my head before I get halfway to the corner, and I immediately duck back. A second shot lands without my having seen motion at the juncture ahead, and I take a few steps forward and watch the trajectory of the third laser. It travels downward more than expected, and I carefully edge forward until I spot the base of a stairway, barely visible. Whichever one is firing on me is partway up the stairs, out of sight but able to cover the entrance to the side hall I'm in. He must have taken up his post after Red passed through, or he'd have been dealt with by now.*
|
|
Yes, I'm still running - sort of. But it is lonely out here. Haven't seen anyone else for a while.
//