When All Else Fails (RP)

Started by Ivy Mariani, October 17, 2010, 11:05:46 AM

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Ivy Mariani

"I think you're right..." she nearly whispered to Luc, her voice cutting off as her throat constricted with fear before the words could even begin to break past her lips. Swallowing against the sudden dryness in her throat and mouth she started passing off the injured to some of the other medical staff before she took a moment to assess how many were injured. There were at least twenty now, maybe a few more than that. She had no idea how many had been on the monorail, how many were still stuck outside on the deck waiting. All of them likely had been killed in the explosion, or the concussion from it.

Gritting her teeth she grabbed one of the retinal scanners and looked towards Rhodes. "Look into this. You need to be scanned you were right out there. We need to be sure..." it was one of the easiest ways to detect the first symptoms of the virus. The retinas would begin to deteriorate, the pigment of the eyes to change to a pale silver, the whites of the eyes to turn blood shot ever so slowly. Another shot echoed from somewhere down the facility, causing her to duck instinctively before standing and looking around. By now her hair had started to fall out of place, sticking to the beads of sweat that clung to her skin.

"Look, while we have time." she urged him hoping to get this done quickly so she and the others could start to check the others in the triaged mess hall.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

Rob nodded slowly. He knew what was at stake. He was - yes, as much as he hated to admit it - afraid of the Ferenzi virus. Scared to death of it. But he had spent most of his life protecting civilians, and he wasn't about to give up on that just yet.

He leaned forward into the retinal scanner. He felt his heart skipping a beat. All of a sudden his brown uniform was too tight for him, and too damn sweating. The pistol got heavy in his left hand. He knew what he was going to do if Dr Seris says: "You have the virus." He was going to walk out of her and all the way out of the facility, and he was going to blow his brains out. The virus had taken his friends and his family. It had taken his youth and his happiness. He was not going to succumb to it. Not a chance in Hell.

He took a deep breath and he focus his eyes through the device, giving the doc a good clear view. The moans and nervous whispers of the injured and scared people echoes through his brain. The last gun shots were still in his ears - those were his boys out there, fighting. Probably dying. He wanted to help them. But not if he had gotten the virus.

"Sorry, Terra" he whispered hoarsely, his throat itching dry. "I had to go down there. Had to see what was going on. Now... give me the news!"

And he held his breath, hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. His index finger caressed the trigger.

LucianLuna

Lucian busied himself making sandwiches and placing out more snacks when the supply dwindled. He wrapped the sandwiches in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for whenever someone wanted lunch. Lucian then checked on the stew and turned it down to a simmer so they'd have that as well. He had to keep busy some how so he mixed up a supply of brownies and put them in the oven. he made potato and macaroni salad along with a regular salad and those went into the fridge as well. When the brownies were done he set them aside to cool and mixed up a chocolate frosting. he knew people were probably going to be to busy to eat, but he liked having the supplies just in case someone did decided on eating lunch.

Ivy Mariani

Terra held her breath as she looked in the scanner. Everything appeared okay, and when the scanner gave her a confirmation of what she saw she was able to let with withheld breath go. "You're all clear.." she smiled before handing the scanner off for one of the other medical staff to use. They knew what they would need to do..

If someone showed one symptom of the virus they would be executed somewhere outside of the mess hall. Turning she nodded towards the food that had been set out. "Take a break okay? While things are calm, get yourself some food. It's going to be a long day." the sirens and lights were still going off, now and then the computer would repeat the things it had said only moments earlier but would now give notification that areas had been contained or sealed off. Terra's heart went out to all of those who were still stuck in those areas. Chances were the blast hadn't only affected the area around the mess hall, but hears above their current location.

The facility they were in now was tall, 25 levels to be exact, outfitted with numerous observation decks and outposts. There was a monorail to each level, staggered in placement, every other monorail running on a different schedule. If you missed one you could catch another awhile later, if you missed that one another would be coming shortly there after as well. It was just a matter of timing and hoping you could get to one of the transfer stations. Looking around she watched the wounded being scanned, here there one of them being taken out of the room- most too injured to make any protests. This wasn't good at all.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

Rob followed Dr Seris' eyes to the injured staff, and sighed. His finger slowly moved away from the trigger. He was not going to die today.

The scanning showed results. This was alarming. Go get some rest, she had told him. But there was no rest for him. Not with the virus roaming about. Not with people shooting and screaming in the dist...

A growling stomach interrupted his thoughts. It was his. He smiled; doc was right as always. He slowly approached Lucian, his eyes observing everything, waiting for something bad to happen. The cook was busy making different types of food. Rob nodded at the young man.

"Hey, Luc! What can you offer to one hungry sergeant?" His gaze slid upon the chaos in the kitchen. "Keeping busy, I see. Good! We're gonna need you, Luc. They are gonna need you." He patted the cook on the shoulder. "You're probably scared... We all are. But food is good for keeping morale up... You did well!"

He finally spotted the simmering stew and his stomach growled again.

LucianLuna

"hey Rob. The stew is done. I have sandwiches. Potato salad, macaroni salad, regular salad. Muffins, doughnuts. Brownies aren't done though. Waiting for them to cool so I can frost them. Help yourself. The stew is on the stove. Doughnuts and muffins are by the coffee pot and everything else is in the fridge." Lucian then started chopping nuts to put on half the brownies for after he frosted them. "Was thinking of making fried chicken later, that's good cold, and meatloaf so people can make meatloaf sandwiches. Right now we have ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, egg salad, tuna fish, and peanut butter and jelly."

Raphael

"Stew sounds great!" Rob grinned. "You can keep your brownies, I need something with substance, haha!" He realized it wasn't funny but he laughed anyway, relieving the pressure. His knees were still slightly wobbly from the moment he was glancing through the retinal scanner. He still felt the trigger pressing against the skin on his finger. He was seconds away from blowing his brains out.

He took a bowl and poured some of the hot stew into it, growling to the beautifully smelling steam. He nodded to Luc and headed back to the main mess hall, determined to observe the situation, to stay close to the people and to be there if something happens.

When something happens, a treacherous voice echoed in his mind. Not if. When. Because the virus was here, and something always happened when the virus was around.

Rob chose a table away from the crowd, towards the corner of the room, and he sat down, quietly observing the situation while he was waiting for his stew to cool down a bit. It didn't look good. People were being dragged out - some pleading, others silent, faithless. The badly injured moaned, some discussed something nervously, leaning towards each other, whispering. Blood and panic was what this bunch was about. Rob shook his head. It was moments like these when he questioned his own faith. How to help these civilians?

He thought about his own men out there. He'd heard shots - and only military staff was allowed guns, and he was the highest ranked military in this facility. He had a total of 21 men - probably 20 now, considering the slim chances of Sunshine having survived whatever he had encountered out there in the hallway. Twenty men, most of them young privates sent on a peaceful assignment to watch over boring excavations and dorky scientists. And now they were trapped somewhere out there, shooting and screaming, fighting for their lives, back against the wall.

He sighed and he turned his attention to the stew. Well done, Luc... it was really good.

Ivy Mariani

Even if she hadn't just eaten her stomach, much less her mind, wasn't up for the food laid out. Though some once checked for signs of the virus did get up and head over, she remained at her post helping those who needed it. A few people died, it was beyond their control, they had done everything they possibly could to help them. Things would get better. It was likely just a small outbreak that had been controlled. It had to be.

Another explosion rocked the facility this time from higher up. The sound of metal scrapping against metal caused Terra to hold her arms about herself. A slow rumble filled the air before tons of fiery, twisted metal slammed into the ground 100 meters from their current location. A ball of fire erupted, shards of glass, metal and various debris flew outwards from the epicenter of the impact zone. The tinier pieces bounced uselessly off the specialized glass windows of the mess hall while other pieces created minuscule fractures into the outer glass.

They wouldn't spiderweb outward before giving in. It was the way they were designed. If one pane broke, the others would be there to take up the slack, a specialized film coating the fractured edges to keep them in place.

'Warning, hull break and fire detected in Sector 22. Please evacuate Sector 22 immediately.'  the computer blared another warning.

Terra looked up at the ceiling as though she would be able to see the fire expanding uncontrolled in the strange atmosphere of the planet they now inhabited. She could nearly see in her mind the gash the monorail had made in the structure of the facility, the deep tear made by metallic claws thirsting for carnage.

She shivered and turned her eyes away.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

#33
Warning, hull break and fire detected in Sector 22. Please evacuate Sector 22 immediately.

The second blast made Rob drop his spoon into the stew. He cursed. He should have been out there! He should have been out there with his boys, back to back, fighting off whatever was coming for them, rounding up civilians, securing the area... But no. There was the procedures. He would have been out there, in the thick of it, if it was back on Earth before the Ferenzi outbreak.

The virus changed everything. It changed military procedures. If there's an outbreak, stay put. Secure the civilians around you. Set up a clean perimeter. Make sure the virus doesn't breach your perimeter. And then move on to the next area. Everything else was secondary - a clean perimeter always comes first. So many people had died foolishly back on Earth during the initial outbreak. Stupid scientists running back to their lab to secure their latest test results. Moms leaving their children to run back and grab the late hubby's photograph. The old grandma crawling behind the couch to save the fat cat. They had all died. So now the rule was loud and clear: if there's a virus outbreak, a clean and safe perimeter comes first. Don't save the cat. Don't save the papers. Don't rush out into the unknown to investigate or to save your friends, because you'll catch the virus and you'll get back into the clean perimeter a crazed killer and you'll put everything in danger.

So there was nothing Rob could do until the mess hall was clean and secure. He broke the procedures ones by going out to investigate the blast, and he lost Sunshine. He didn't know it was the virus then, but he should have suspected it. The signs were all there - the failing communications, the subtle feeling in his gut that something wasn't right, the concern in Dr Seris' voice on the intercom. He should have read those signs right. Both he and the doctor have been around the virus for far too long; their guts weren't lying. He should have known.

Now all sarge could do was stay put until the civilians in the room were secure. Until the virus was out and the area was locked up tight. Because as head of security, Rob's job was to go out there and see what's going on. Evaluate the situation and report. With no communications he had no one but Dr Seris to report to, but that didn't matter. He had to go out and evaluate.

So he had to make sure that once he goes out, he couldn't come back carrying the virus.

Not much he could do until the last person in the mess hall has been examined and all those who had the virus were taken out and the doors could be locked down. The mess hall's intercom unit was down since the first explosion and there was nobody to fix it, so he couldn't call the rest of the facility, either. All he could do was pick up his spoon and finish off his stew slowly while watching doc and the others at work. Some patients died. Others were taken out of the mess hall, scared and shattered. The impact-proof glass had survived the blasts so far, but Rob recalled the facility blueprints. Twenty-five levels, twenty-five monorails. And he couldn't get out of here and shut them down. Not unless he violated the procedures, and Sunshine's blood on the floor in the hallway was the cold dead proof that you should not break the procedures.

Two down, twenty-three to go. Rob wasn't religious but he prayed that somebody on the outside can put two and two together and make it to the control tower and shut down the monorails. Because Rob doubted that the facility itself or anyone in it would survive too many more blasts. Sarge was itching for action, he was scared and nervous and edgy and angry. The situation didn't look good. He stared at his gun, Glock FX 2 "Showstopper", special military edition, designed to be maximally effective against those infected by the virus: 9 mm semi-automatic with hollow-point bullets - a powerful weapon that virtually shredded the skull on impact and blasted the brain apart. A heavy pistol made of traditional chromed steel, almost impossible to block or break, usable when wet or in low temperatures... and good for bashing someone's face in with the handle when you're out of ammo. Rub nodded at the gun. He knew he was going to have to use it soon.

He moved his gaze back towards the cluster of injured people. "How are we doing, Doctor?" he called to Dr Seris.

LucianLuna

Lucian watched as the doctor took care of the injured as he grabbed himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich. he leaned against the wall and started to eat, not wanting to sit in one of the chairs that might be needed for one of the injured. He may not be showing it on the outside but inside he was scared. This didn't look good at all. When he signed up as the cook for the place he thought this place would be safe. That this wouldn't happen here, but it did happen and he was wishing he had more of a weapon besides the sharp knifes in the kitchen in case whoever was doing this out there broke through and got to his kitchen. He jumped when the alarm blared and looked back at the security guy. Lucian didn't know what to do. he could continue cooking, but he didn't want to cook to much food. It would just go to waste if he did. He decided to go among the least injured and try to calm people down. He could do that at least.

Ivy Mariani

There wasn't a hell of a lot she could do for those on the upper levels not if it was sealed off. But there wasn't something else she could do. Standing beside three of the medical staff with the most training at triage and surgical care, as well as three soldiers she knew well through her connections from her boyfriend, she was starting to pull together a plan. "Okay I need to get back to my main office. There are some things there I need to grab, just on the off chance that they're need okay? Quick, in and out. We use the stairs, avoid the lifts. If there's something going on here we don't want to be stuck in them got it?"

She looked at them, slowly reeling in her feelings. If there was one thing James had told her numerous times, it was that she had the ability to be a leader when the need arose. There was no time like the present.

"If some of the stairs are cut off then we can always take alternate routes through different floors until we get to level 21. Chances are any survivors are there. We won't be able to get to anyone on the floors above level 22. After that we need to find another area to get to. The stability of the facility itself is compromised, it won't be long before the gravity of the planet and the atmosphere combined begin to take its toll. Life support will be the first to start failing, after that the structure will begin to buckle, we don't want to be here when either of those things happen." she looked to each of them seeing the panic in the faces of her medical staff.

"We can do this." she offered a smile hoping it held. "There are tunnels under the Terrosphere that we can use to get to the connecting section of the facility. It's our best bet. The monorails don't run there. We should have plenty of supplies until someone can come and get us out of here." the Terrosphere was a bit of a scientist hide out. It was structurally sound, had it's own life support system, the works. It should be empty so there was no issue of running into any infected there.

Turning to the Sarge she took a slow breath. "We're going to get out of here. Some of the staff is going to start transporting the wounded and uninfected to the Terrosphere, we should be safe there. The rest of us are going to Level 21, we need to try to get as many people out of here as we can." she was just thankful most of the facility was running bare bones at this hour.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

Rob listened to Dr Seris' plan. Just when he had thought procedures were a good thing to follow, she was going to break them.

But, then again, she wasn't military. His procedures weren't hers. And she was the boss of this facility.

Rob hesitated for a moment. He hated breaking procedures. Clean perimeter - that's what they needed. Then again, the Terrosphere was the perfect clean perimeter, but on the other hand, getting to it wasn't. So was it advisable to do it? he asked himself.

He looked around. He saw hope lightening up in the eyes of the civilians. The medical staff was nervous, the soldiers ready. He nodded at them, one by one - Fernando "Flame Dancer" Casillas, Richie "Madman" Ignacio, Diane "Bloodprint" LeBlanc. They were good soldiers. Rob made his decision.

"Ten-four, Doctor. Where do you want me - with you or with the civilians?" and he stood ready, forcing a smile on his face.

Ivy Mariani

"The civilians, they'll need you most. We shouldn't be long, a simple run to my office before I go to the next level up." she brushed her sleeve against her forehead, removing beads of sweat from her skin. She was slowly getting exhausted but she couldn't take a rest until she reached the Terrosphere with anyone who was left alive.

"If we're not back in thirty.. Somethings happened." she looked at him, nodding a little before turning and grabbing a few things the other medical staff had brought for her. "If we leave now it'll be better. We can get there before people start to move and before we try to go and find them."
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

LucianLuna

Lucian heard that they were moving and grabbed the biggest cart he could find then started loading drinks and food onto it. he made sure he had plenty of water, people needed to keep hydrated. Then he looked around at everyone. He didn't know if this was right or not, but he'd do whatever the doctor said and hope people survived and no one he knew got hurt.  He never worried about himself, always worried about others first before himself. Once he had everything he could fit into the cart he was ready to go. He wasn't bringing anything that needed to be kept cold, only things that could be left out with no problem. Water and sandwiches plus all the baked goods. He also brought fruit along for the ones who wanted healthier snacks.  He would go with the civilians, knowing that's where the doctor would want him to be. He hated having to leave alot of the food behind, but he didn't know what he'd be provided with since he hadn't been to the area they had mentioned.  "I'm assuming you want me with the civilians, Doc, since I wouldn't be any good with you."

Ivy Mariani

"Yes Luc, is where you'll be needed most." reaching out she squeezed his shoulder and smiled. "I know you'll help to take care of them while we're gone. Like I told the Sarge, we shouldn't be long. Just.. Use those people skills of yours to help keep people calm. They'll need it right now."

Looking over her shoulder at one of the soldiers who was waving for her to come with them, she took a moment to raise a finger to tell him she'd be there in a second. "Okay, we need to go. Take the civilians and get them to the Terrosphere.. We'll catch up to you when we can, I promise." she nodded, smiled once more and took a couple of steps back. She didn't want them to know she was terrified right now.

"See you soon." she called back over her shoulder before taking off with the small group.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

"Good luck out there." Rob nodded as he watched Dr Seris' group leaving the mess hall. Then he walked to the door and stood in front of it, looking out into the hallway. Looked clear.

"Alright people, healthy and lightly injured split up in groups of three. Each group takes one person who can't walk on his or her own, and help them on the way. Try to keep up with the common tempo, we don't want anyone to split up from the group." He looked around while the civilians were getting his orders done. He was the only armed person left. He took out his "Showstopper" and held it down by his thigh, pointing at the floor. Safety rule number one: don't point a gun a people unless you want to shoot them. Period.

"I'll walk up front and clear the way. All of you, follow me. Luc, can you keep up with that cart of yours? If you're having any trouble, call! That concerns all of you, people! You see something, you hear something, you smell something, you're having a problem - CALL! Alright, let's move out, on the double!"

He rounded them up, the heavily wounded supported or carried by those who could walk on their own. He looked up and down the hallway again. Still looked clear. Dr Seris had already moved out of sight. Rob took a step out and the people followed.

"We'll avoid the elevators. Don't know what condition they're in and don't wanna get trapped anywhere. We'll take the stairs down, level by level. If you see me moving too fast ahead, don't panic - I'm just making sure we avoid any forms of traps. Move it, people!"

And he took the lead, forward and down towards the Terrosphere.

LucianLuna

"Don't worry about me Rob, I can keep up." Lucian got in line and followed Rob out into the hall. He tensed immediately, listening for any sound that didn't seemed normal and glancing around for anything that didn't look right. He decided to remain in the back of the group, have the injured between him and Rob. Lucian slowly followed behind the others, pulling the cart behind him and alert for anything that might come from behind. He was sure Rob couldn't watch both front and back. Lucian didn't have a weapon, but he had eyes and ears so he could at least keep watch at the back while Rob kept watch at the front. There was nothing unusual in the halls yet, but that didn't mean they won't come upon trouble on the way. It was best to be prepared.

Ivy Mariani

She and her group of people started off at a dead run towards her office, two of the soldiers stood out side the door, one inside with her and the rest of the medical crew. Hurrying to one wall she punched in a series of coding before a section of the wall slid free revealing a few semi automatics and shot guns. Grabbing what she could and stuffing the rest into a large canvas bag which she strapped onto her back, she turned and looked to see the others had gathered their things as well.

Hurrying back out the door they ran down the corridor and to the stairs starting towards Level 21.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

Raphael

#43
Rob walked several yards up front, senses heightened, gun ready in his sweating hand. Behind him the injured progressed forward slowly, moans and whispers echoed through the hallways of the facility. The area was quiet, no gunshots or other sounds of struggle. Lucian at the rear was keeping his eyes open, alert and ready to report.

The group had reached a staircase leading to level 21 a few minutes ago, but it was blocked; the blast had created a shock wave which had toppled over something heavy in the rooms above, causing a part of the floor to collapse over the stairs. Twisted metal, bare wires and leaking water made the staircase too risky to climb, so Rob double-backed and took an alternative route around one of the storage areas towards the back.

The sergeant was moving forward swiftly - not fast enough to leave behind the civilians, but without much delay, either. He reached a split, the corridor taking off to the north-northeast and to the north-northwest in the form of a Y. He stopped and recalled the facility blueprints which he had to memorize as a part of his assignment as head of security. The left corridor of the Y would lead them further around the storage area to the maintenance area which was connected to the upper and lower maintenance section via elevator and stairs. The right corridor would lead away from maintenance and to the Storage and Logistics offices. There was a chance that if any survivors were still on this level, they would be there.

Rob hesitated. His human side insisted he took to the Storage and Logistics to look for possible survivors. His rational side urged him to forget survivors - too much risk of encountering hostile units, too much risk that possible survivors could be infected with the Ferenzi, too much delay that the badly injured couldn't afford. His rational side won and he waved to the group behind to follow left.

The sergeant hurried forward down the left corridor. Flickering lights and hissing ventilation created an eerie environment in this place. The air was cold, dry, and still, and smelled of blood and spilled chemicals. Chaos had swept through the area - various boxed and containers were lying around, piled up or broken to shards after the blasts. The body of a young man in a maintenance uniform was pinned to the wall by a large piece of sharp metal - a shrapnel ripped off god knew where and sent flying across the air from the blast to end up sticking out of a man's chest. Rob threw a glance back at the moaning dragging group. He wished they didn't have to see this.

Approaching the left turn of the corridor that led to the maintenance area (server rooms, life support unit rooms, rooms for storing disinfection chemicals, tool racks, locker rooms, bathrooms all connected to one another with a web of tight corridors), Rob waved to the civilians to slow down. He looked from behind the corner: the other side seemed clear. He sighed of relief and took a few steps forwards out of the left turn.

Footsteps before him made him stop. A door opened slowly, about fifteen yards ahead. The lights above were broken, leaving the spot dark. Someone came out of the room and stepped into the darkness, then stopped.

Rob knew better than to ask who it was. He remembered people doing it on these horror movies he had watched back in Iowa a long time ago - waving and saying stupid things like "Hello?" and "Is anybody there?" and "Who is this?". But that was before the Ferenzi. When the virus struck, nobody wanted to make scary movies anymore. Not when real horrors lurked outside. Horror had lost its charm.

So Rob didn't say anything. He just waited, gun down by his hip, eyes trying to pierce through the dark. Then the stranger stepped forward and into the light.

Her shoes were covered in blood. Her white scientist's apron was stained in dark red and some green substance. Her hair was a mess, a part of it was completely missing, ripped right off the skull. She looked up at Rob with dead lifeless eyes and smiled maniacally, holding a large and heavy wrench with both hands like a baseball bat.

"Purr." she said.

Rob didn't feel anything. He had gone through this so many times before. He just aimed and fired, and her head was blasted apart by the hollow-point bullet like a ripe pumpkin. Her lifeless body, now cured from the virus, thudded softly onto the metal floor, still holding the wrench.

The sergeant took a few steps back and looked over his shoulder, towards the scared civilians that had stopped, unsure what to do. "Everything's fine." he told them. "One ferenzie. Could be more up ahead. Stay close and keep your eyes and ears open! We're almost at the staircase."

In this moment, laughter broke out up front and echoed through the web of tight corridors and under the flickering lights. It wasn't the kind of laughter you would hear when your friend laughs at a silly joke. It was the kind of laughter you would hear when the mad scientist is plunging the scalpel into his horrified victim. There was nothing funny in this laughter. It was twisted, broken, and sick. The civilians gasped, and Rob himself shuddered. It didn't matter how much of a veteran you get in the fight against the virus - some things simply couldn't be gotten used to.

Slowly, step by step, the sergeant began to move forward. There were about 400 yards through maintenance to the stairs. Four hundred yards can be quite a large place when a deranged killer is stalking you. The gun wasn't pointing to the floor anymore. It was pointing straight ahead, eager for a target. And Sergeant Rhodes was now Hound Dog. And Hound Dog was definitely planning to get to those stairs.

Ivy Mariani

Her team had made it to the section they were looking for. Unfortunately for them people had already been fast at work..

The walls were coated with blood, organs and various humanoid materials. Pieces of bodies lay in chunks on the floor, and hung from various pipes on the ceiling. One of the medical staff turned and threw up in the middle of the hallway, the other one took off running back the way they had come. The soldiers with her turned and looked at her waiting for her next orders.

She didn't know what to say. What was there to say? The place had been the scene of a massacre, the rebuilding of a new hive in the middle of their very own facility. Though it appeared most had been destroyed there had to be someone around working on building this grizzly scene. "Okay.." she whispered to the remaining members of her team.

"Drop what isn't important. Start back the way we came, back down the stairs and.." she was cut off by a howl followed by a strange animalistic growl. Instantly she brought her weapon, as did the soldiers with her. The four of them drew into a straight line, pointing their weapons at the source of the sound as it staggered outward from one of the side rooms.

The creature, all but naked save for a pair of torn up slacks, stopped in the middle of the hallway. The best she could call it was a creature, it wasn't human anymore. It never could be human anymore. Watching it turn its blind eyes towards her, she recognized who it had once been. Her heart gave a solid thud before she leveled her gun. "One shot each. Aim well. We need to conserve our ammo. The second it drops we run." she spoke just above a whisper, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves.

The creature twitched, started for them, dropping the arm it had been carrying. Four shots echoed through the hallway before the creature shook and fell backwards into the horrific scene it had created. Without another word, Terra lowered her weapon to a position that would allow her to run easily and not have to worry about friendly fire. Turning she and the others took off running, all the while she was only able to hope that those she had sent to the Terrosphere were having better luck.
"Put your hands all over me."
Ivy's O & Os

LucianLuna

Lucian followed closely behind the others and followed then down the left corridor. He cringed when he saw the man pinned to the wall, then quickly followed the others again. Only to stop once more as a door ahead of him opened and the infected person walks out. He quickly glances behind him, giving a jump when he hears the shot from Rob's gun. Then he hears the laughter. To him it sounded like it was coming from all around them as it echoed through the corridors. Lucian had liked watching scary movies, had liked Halloween and being scared until all this happened. Now everything was real instead of someone in makeup and it wasn't as fun anymore. He thought he saw a shadow move behind them and tried to see if he really saw it, or if it was just his mind playing tricks on him.  "Rob, I think I saw something moving in the shadows back there."  He continued watching and thought he saw movement again.  He hoped Rob had heard him and wasn't to busy with what was going on up front,  because he was sure someone or something was coming up behind them.

Raphael

Rob was staring forth along the somber unfriendly hallway, his senses sharpened and his pulse quieting down. He was like a well-tuned guitar string, ready to react to the slightest touch. Then his ears kicked his brain awake. "What?" he spun on his heels and ran through the group of wounded scared people towards the back of the group. He took to a halt before Luc, looking over the cook's shoulder, his brown uniform heavy with sweat. "Where? What did you see?"

He couldn't see or feel anything but his body was like a pressed down spring, ready to jump up. The Showstopper felt solid and comforting in his left hand. His face was a mask of concentration - eyes focused like laser beams, mouth perfectly flat, ears nearly twitching around, on the alert like a prowling cat. But the shadows weren't moving now.

Rob slowly walked past Lucian and pointed the gun forward. "Luc" he spoke quietly over his shoulder. "Tell me exactly what you think you saw or felt. And tell the group to move back a notch; I didn't like that laughter back there. I don't want anything to jump at them from behind while I'm lingering out back..."

LucianLuna

Lucian pointed to a corner behind some boxes.  "Over there. I saw the shadows move, twice.  The first time I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but then I saw something move again. I swear there's something back there." 

He then turned to the crowd.  "Move back a notch folks.  Rob will keep you safe to the best of his capabilities, but let's not make it to hard for him to do.  Damn I wish I had more than my knifes as weapons right now. I don't like being defenseless like this one bit. It was probably nothing Rob, but I'm pretty sure the shadows moved. I'd say it was probably just some animal, but I don't even know if we have animals on this base so I'm not sure what it was."

Raphael

Rob shook his head. "No animals here, Luc. Can't let a cat run rampant around a chemical lab. Pets forbidden. If you saw something move, then something moved." He took a deep breath and stepped into the shadows.

This section of the hallway was dark - the blasts had knocked out the lights. It was a side passage to the way they had come from. He quickly swung around the boxes Luc had shown him, pointing forward with the gun. Nothing. He glanced around, then he took out his flashlight and circled around in the with the beam of blue light. Nothing. He turned around.

"Nothing here. Your mind probably did play a trick on..." A violent scream interrupted him and a heavy body dumped down upon him from the ventilation pipes that ran along under the ceiling. The damn thing had used the boxes to climb up! That's what Luc must have spotted, Rob thought. Only pure instinct saved his life: he instinctively grabbed up and spun, throwing the attacker over his shoulder. Sharp pain flushed through his arm as the weight of the falling body twisted it.

The attacker was a man - an old man, dressed in a torn brown uniform. Chili. Or more precisely, sergeant Matthew Adam Riley, alias "Chili", the 51 year old veteran. He fell down heavily and dropped the knife. Rob managed to stay on his feet barely, cursing to the pain in his arm and shoulder. Luckily, it was his weak right arm. He quickly raised the gun with his left and pulled the trigger, blowing the zombified face of his old friend apart. "Goodbye, Matt." Rob whispered. He quickly turned around, gun ready to fire, but it seemed old Chili was the only ferenzi in this corner. He got down on one knee and unstrapped the fallen soldier's gun. It was empty. He took it and walked back to the group, rubbing his twisted right shoulder. It hurt like hell. He called one of the healthier scientists and stood by Lucian.

"Doc, check me out for scratches and the likes. You know what I mean" he ordered and turned to the cook, handing him over the empty gun. "You wanted a better weapon, Luc? Seems this is your lucky day, then, son, cos you've just been promoted to a kick-ass." he forced a smile on his face. "Here's my spare clip. Fourteen bullets."

The doctor helped him remove his coat and shirt and took a careful look along his sweaty body. "You look clear, sarge." he sighed with relief. Some of the people sighed, too. Rob nodded.

"Thanks, man. Alright, I'm taking the front again. Keep your eyes open - don't forget, we have a jester up ahead laughing at us. Move out!"

He hurried forward and into the left passage of the Y.


LucianLuna

Lucian jumped when the man attacked Rob and watched as Rob  flipped the man and killed him. He hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he let it out with relief when the scientist said Rob was all clear. He then reached over and took the gun and clip, slamming the clip in it and holding the gun pointed to the floor for now.  "Thanks, this will make me fell a lot better."  Lucian then followed the others into the next passage, gun at the ready in case they came upon another infected person. He wanted to be able to help Rob whenever he might need it. He kept his eyes and ears open, making sure no one was sneaking up on them again.