OLOS Mystery: Discovering the Clues

[Kokopelli]

Or you could also send someone who essentially knows nothing, and therefore doesn't have to lie. *I suggest and twirl a dagger casually on my fingertip.*

[Incendiary Aftermath]

Someone like him is beyond repair. We can heal him, but what would that do? *I pull out my gun and place it against his forehead.* He isn't going to make it long anyways. And he's brainwashed to the point of no return. Kind of like a drac, but less smart. *Before pulling the trigger I hold my breath and look away. My hand shakes, and the gun goes off. His body slumps to the ground.* You know... *I holster my gun.* It's a lot harder to kill someone who thinks he's doing right, than someone who knows he's doing wrong. Poor bastard was just following orders. I can't blame him for that... *I stand up and extent a hand out to Vico.* Let's get out of here. Compile what we know. Someone bury him.

[Exterminator Delta]

*I try not to make a noise at the missed opportunity as Aftermath pops a bolt in our captive's head. Instead, I just sit there, focused on my breathing, silent inhale, slow exhale. Again. Again. I just want them to leave. I press my tongue against the back of my teeth and try to remain patient.*

*Bury him. No, he was a cultist responsible for the deaths of near 300 people. Burial was too good, too respectful. I had my own ideas. But I wait.*

[Daystar Delight]

Or, you know, you could get the double bonus of me out of your hair and someone who knows what to do. I assume that me going away is the biggest incentive, though. Most allies never last me long. *I follow everyone outdoors and almost trip over...a body? No, she's moving.* Yo, Mister Tank Guy. Pick up your pet virgin before someone steps on her skull. Trust me, it ain't pretty when you do that. You burn the shoes.

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I glance back once as we step into the sunlight, to confirm that Delta's still on his perch. I'll just close the door here... he'll catch up later. I've been keeping my radio tuned to the basic patrol frequency, so it'll be easy enough for him to contact me for coordinates.*

*Back by the car, I look over to Aftermath.* So where are we going, again? We might want to pick somewhere fairly central, if we're going to try to hit the next site as soon as it appears.

[Exterminator Delta]

*Good. They're gone.

I jump down from my perch on the stage and move down the threadbare aisle past the victims scattered through the seats. It's killing me that I can't do anything to lay them to a proper, honorable rest. I want to deny my orders and burn them and the entire tainted opera in one beautiful funeral pyre. I flick out my lighter and give pause at the curtains at the front of the house again. With everything dessicated and dry as it was in the Zones, it'd go up like kindling...

Instead I withdraw a cigarette from the case I carry them in. I typically only reserve these for remembrance purposes, but I don't think he'd mind if I used one on the people here. I light up in the shadows, away from the sun, the cherry of my cig the only discernable thing in the murk. I inhale the sick air through the filter, sanctify it in my lungs, and exhale the stream of smoke heavenward in a hushed tone.

Minutes pass, and soon I've worn my offering to the filter. I put it out against the palm of my glove and swallow the evidence. I've cleared myself for the truly heinous, as I move towards the dead man lashed to the seats and study his hollow eyes, sitting on the back of the seat in front of him. My stomach groans and I shake my head. Nope, I can hold it together tonight.

...No I can't.*


*Sometime later, if anybody dared to return to that opera, they'd find the cultist laid out on the floor, hacked apart, bonebare. Most nicks on the ivory are clean, crisp and knife-made, but others, oh but others were messier, more frantic and in the shape of bitemarks. I'm long gone, of course, I'm not about to set up camp with the others looking like I do now. Between the blood and the obvious evidence of my deranged sort of justified gluttony, it didn't take a genius to figure out what I've been up to.

Hahahaha, and sometimes I think I'm not a monster.*

[Volume Virus]

*I stumble to the car and flop into the driver's seat in a half-asleep state. I can see something between reality and my usual nightmare.* So where we goin'? *Okay, I am definitely not coherent.* You guys smell like dead stuff. Just a note. Whadid you do, hug the bodies?

[Kokopelli]

*Still feeling lost amongst the group of killjoys and BLI agents, I just followed them out to their cars.*

[Incendiary Aftermath]

Had to take care of the cultist inside. *I look straight ahead and put my arm out the window.* Drop a line to the Lucky Strike. See if there's any room at the alley. We could use all the help we can get. *I turn back to Vico* Your friend isn't gonna bury him, is he?

[Volume Virus]

Mmkay. *I pull the radio out of my backpack after a little while of fumbling randomly around.* What's the number code thing? *I want nothing more than to go back to sleep, so I bite my tongue until I can feel it start to bleed. I thought it would help me wake up, but it didn't actually hurt all that much. Why did the taste make me hungry?* And why can't we just go home if we wanna sleep? Just knock Vico out and we're good. 'sides, we have people there and Ginger's got more coming. *I point at the redhead in the backseat. I think she called herself by lots of names, so I'm going with Daystar.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

No, *I answer Aftermath, in a bit of a bad mood for having to stay with the killjoys. Even if Delta /wasn't/ more than a little attractive, I'd rather be with my fellow employee,* I very much doubt he is. Don't worry about it. And yes, just go home! Or better, drop me off first. I'm going to keep helping with this anyway, and I don't have any sensitive information to betray to the company.

[Volume Virus]

Well, 'm not driving to the city. We could leave you here and let you deal with the guy in the suit. But, as 'm sure we both know, even asking's a lost cause. Spare the gun this time, Aftermath. *Honestly, I doubt that's going to happen. He really does like pointing his gun at any face he doesn't know, and pointing it longer at anyone wearing white. I wonder how I even thought this was a good idea. I really, really didn't at first, then I made some stupid decisions, and now I'm stuck watching, my protests unheard, as Aftermath gets all trigger happy. Stuck meaning like hell I'll be able to leave. He'd probably shoot me as I retreated out of anger. No he wouldn't...yes he would.*

*I really do feel bad for Vico. Half the time, he shifts a bit and gets a gun cane to his ribs. I dragged him into this, and now he can't go home. Poor guy. I'd speak up more, but....*

[Volume Virus]

*I make a quiet squeaking noise but don't care to move.* Ah, I knew this was weird. None of your kind ever really doesn't mind us. *There's a gun to my back. I can feel the heat of a laser about to disembowel me. I don't care, really, I try to tell myself. The truth is, I really do. I think over my family and friends. BlackieTeslaAcePoorlittleNoxAftermathI'msorrySonaDoctor....* Go on ahead. Fire. It's not as if Aftermath's going to let Vico go. Every time the guy so much as turns around, he gives him a fresh death threat.

[Kokopelli]

*I see the exterminator walk out from my position a ways back from the group and creep up behind him. With daggers in both hands, I get one at his throat and with the other, I use the flat edge of the blade to divert his hand holding the gun away as I pull him away from the other killjoy.* There will be none of that.

[Volume Virus]

You don't have an obligation to me. Back off. *I say as I turn and look at Delta. I'm sure that I'm going down, and I would rather fall backward. Especially since a wound in the stomach won't kill me instantly, I don't want to break my nose. Sweet lady of sorrows, my priorities are skewed.* Now then, you may commence with the trigger pulling.