Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 3b: Of Beavers and Bovines

[SalmonMax]

"I didn't do anything," Myf frantically lied to Jon. "I thought she was dead I was just..."

Why do you deny it? Even to yourself?

With effort, Myfwany tried to wipe away the distractions and focus on the job. It was about focus. The now. She took another pair of rubber gloves and put them on.

"Linda, I need a stethoscope, and...whatever diagnostic tools you have here, really."

She gave Gabrielle a smile that was a brittle facade, but perversely genuine as well.

"I guess introductions are in order. My name's Myfwany, and I'm a doctor. You...ah...you... I mean, how are you feeling right now? Any discomfort or pain? Would you tell me what you just experienced?"

[Dawn OOC]

Caleb was dumbstruck, but as Gabrielle spoke, his face lit up with a beautific awe. It softened his rough features until he looked younger, less care-worn. He reached out and touched Gabrielle's hand, then smiled and said, "Praise be unto God! Praise his name!"

He was focused on her; it was clear that there was nothing there for him but Gabrielle.

[SkyLion]

Jon ins't buying it.

"No...I remember clearly. You moved to perform CPR amd then stopped...hesitated. You shouted alright already and took off your gloves to place your hands on her face...I smelled something, felt something happen...what did you just do?!?" He seems nervous, like he might panic but is doing his best to keep it together.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany whirls to face Jon, anger filling her features.

"I put my hands on her face, Jon! What do you THINK I did?! 'Laid my hands upon her?' Brought her back to life? You're a doctor; a scientist, and so am I. And that's all I am. Not a miracle worker. Not a..."

Goddess. Say it.

She clamped her mouth defiantly shut and shook her head. When she trusted her voice, she added, "Whatever this is, it's her miracle, not mine. Hers."

[SkyLion]

"A what? What were you going to say" Jon snapped back. "Do you think I'm an idiot??? I don't know what I just saw but I saw and felt something! Yeah I'm a scientist but there is ALOT going on around here that is beyond the probable..."

[SalmonMax]

"Beyond the probable," Myf agreed, "but not beyond the possible. Instead of accusing me of...witchcraft or whatever it is you're trying to get at, why don't you help me find the real answer behind this?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Why don't you folks tend to Gabrielle, and fight somewhere more private?" Linda asked, her voice calm but her eyes angry. She had an armful of diagonsitic tools, which she put on an empty bed before leaving again.

[SkyLion]

"It's just..." Jonathan struggles to find the words, the edge coming out of his voice. "...this...this isn't the first time I have seen something like this. Well...not like this. But just as beyond reason...and besides. She looks quite fine now."

He turns his attention to Gabrielle. "Hello. We are both Doctors. I apologize for arguing in front of you. Do you know what just happened?"

[z016]

Gabrielle had watched them as the fought, a small frown tugging at her lips. She smiled at the question, again that same beatific and completely peaceful smile. "Of course. God granted her the power to resurrect me so that I may be as she is, a guardian and guide to Man during this Tribulation."

She stood off the bed and put a hand on the man's arm, her face shining in her faith, "Please, do not be so frightened or upset. This is a miracle, a time for rejoicing and hope. God has not abandoned us!" Her voice had taken on an almost hypnotic cadence, the up and downs of a natural born orator. "In His infinite love and kindness He has sent to his beloved children angels to show them the path through this dark and foreboding forest. So rejoice, be comforted. Be not afraid or upset. And if you have seen others, then know that your are truly blessed! Will you tell me of them?"

[SkyLion]

If they be angels then what am I? Jon brooded. She is beautiful and welcomes me so genuinely. Would she feel the same if she knew?

"I...my partner..." He awkwardly tries to suss out the right words. "Well. She has...visions. Sight beyond Sight or something like that."

[SalmonMax]

"Visions," Myfwany snorted. Then she realized Gabrielle was actually getting up!

"Lie. Down. On the. Bed," Myf gritted coldly.

"God may have healed you, but -I- am your doctor and I haven't said you can go yet."

She grabbed the stethoscope, fumbling for it briefly in her purposeless, directionless anger. Seething, she jammed the buds in her ears and held the plate against Gabrielle's heart.

Her eyes flicked to Caleb. "Has she always been like this? Any behavioral changes?" Then she looks at Gabrielle again. "Do you remember what happened to you? Before you passed out I mean."

[SkyLion]

"Jeez Myf...just...just look at her! She doesn't need a doctor...not anymore..."

[SalmonMax]

"Jon, the fact is that you have no idea if she needs a doctor or not, and that I am going to find out, and until I do I'd appreciate you not contradicting me! If you can't do that, then please wait outside."

She took a deep breath, then glanced back at him. "You can ask questions, you can discuss...but right now her life may still be in danger and until I know otherwise I'm her doctor, and I won't have you undermining me."

[z016]

Gabrielle blinked at the steely tone, then shrugged and sat back on the bed. She held her arm out obediently for testing. She spoke quietly and without rancor, "I've always had faith, if that's what you mean by 'behavioral changes'. And I know exactly what happened to me."

She sighed, but this was required. Angels do not lie. "I was chosen and infected and sent here. I-we...," another sigh, "We were led astray, we believed in a man instead of in God, and very nearly committed a great many sins in this place." She looked up at Linda, her expression serious and sincere. "We cannot undo the intent we had, but God has restored me and spared this place. We ask your forgiveness, the forgiveness of all the souls here, and will do all we can to help you, if you will let us."

[Dawn OOC]

"That's interesting." Ricardo had been so quiet that he'd been nearly invisible until now. "I think that we need to round up you and your friends and have a little talk with Dick. Especially since you were checked for bite wounds, but still ended up infected." His hand rested on the butt of his gun.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany felt a chill run down her spine. If she'd understood Gabrielle right... The monstrousness of what they'd tried to do was mind-boggling. Both to Gabrielle, and to this town. She wasn't sure Ricardo had completely gotten what it all meant though.

She turned and searched his face.

"Gabrielle's a victim here...it sounds like she was brainwashed. You need to find out who did this to her. That's the real enemy here."

[SkyLion]

Quote:

"Jon, the fact is that you have no idea if she needs a doctor or not, and that I am going to find out, and until I do I'd appreciate you not contradicting me! If you can't do that, then please wait outside."

She took a deep breath, then glanced back at him. "You can ask questions, you can discuss...but right now her life may still be in danger and until I know otherwise I'm her doctor, and I won't have you undermining me."

"Yeah, fine whatever...too many cooks..." he says, adding under his breath, "I know what I saw..."

Originally Posted By: Gabriella

A bone chilling revelation.

"Let me get this straight..." Jon speaks very slowly and very deliberately. "You volunteered to be infected...so that you could martyr yourself by infecting...and killing...everyone in this compound?"

-Jesus-.

[z016]

Gabrielle kept her eyes on the floor, a sign of submission and of regret. "Elijah told us it was what God wanted of us, and that I had been chosen because I was pure and had faith. He lied. I see that now, I understand. It is very frightening, very terrifying, what has happened. Elijah took so many in and gave them a place to be, food to eat, and something to believe in."

Her brow furrowed and she looked up to Ricardo. "The others were not infected, but we are all guilty for what we allowed and what we tried to do. We were misled, but that does not absolve us. We will cooperate, you have my word." She sighed, her eyes slipping downward again. "And just checking bite marks won't work anymore. Elijah captured some of the Unholy...the zombies; he took their blood and infected me through a needle. Anyone you bring here, you should keep them isolated for several days, maybe a week, before you let them near other people. He will try again. He is a servant of the Adversary, and I fear a willing one."

[SalmonMax]

It was one thing to suspect what had happened and how...it was another to hear it laid out like that. So calmly and matter of factly.

"Why?" Myfwany heard herself exhale. "For the love of god, why would he do something like that?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Save it for Dick," Ricardo said roughly, and this time, his gun was in his hand. He reached out and caught Gabrielle's arm; when Caleb moved to stop him, Ricardo pointed the gun at him. "We're going to see Dick now. And he'll decide what punishment to levy on you and yours." The Hispanic man smiled grimly. "You'll find his sense of justice to be appropriately Biblical. C'mon." He gestured for Caleb to move and his grip on Gabrielle's arm was like iron.

[SalmonMax]

"Ricardo," Myf begged, "This wasn't their fault. They were the victims of a cult!"

[SkyLion]

"Hold on there..there is no reason to treat her so roughly...she just gave you her full confession and willingness to cooperate." Jon interjected, still angry from his 'spat' with Myfwany.

He drew himself up to his full impressive height, and suddenly his anxious demeanor that had previously shrunk his presence vansihed. He was built like an olympian wrestler and the tensing of his muscles gave away his grappler's training.

[Dawn OOC]

"You think I'm rough, culo? Wait until Dick is done with her," Ricardo spat, his gun moving to cover Jon. "This is our city! And our rules! So you can back down, pinche culero, or I'll put you down. And I have the right to do so." His smile was harsh and victorous.

[SkyLion]

Jon frowned at the prideful violence in the man's eyes. The hunger within the tall scientist goaded him...making his skin run hot, and turning his vision red. Jon fought with it, pressed it down but the bruising already apparent on Gabriella's arm drove him past the breaking point.

His movement was like a strike of lightning as he rushed the armed man, attempting to slam him into the wall, and in the process knock him loose of both his captive and his weapon.

Click to reveal..

Initiative: 10 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1931908/

Attack Roll (Spend 1 WP): 4 successes http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1931910/

Spend 2 QP to activate hyperrunning. 26 remaining.

[Dawn OOC]

Ricardo's eyes widened as Jon began his charge. With a snarl, the big man fired. Gabrielle screamed and slapped her hands over her ears as it went off so close to her head. For everyone else, the rapport of the heavy revolver sounded like a cannon in the cavern.

The bullet struck Jon like a hammer, but it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He didn't have time to consider that right now, though.

Click to reveal..

Ricardo's Firearms roll: 2 sux

1d10=5, 1d10=9, 1d10=2, 1d10=5, 1d10=7, 1d10=5, 1d10=4, 1d10=4, 1d10=5, 1d10=5

Heavy Revolver, (minus soak with extra damage): 0 sux, no damage

1d10=4, 1d10=1

Gabrielle has stated her round is spent horrified. Myf is next.

[SalmonMax]

At the sound of the gunshot, Myfwany emits a startled yelp and immediately leaps over to the bed and crouches down.

"This is insane!" she calls. "We're all HUMAN! We can't kill each other!"

(Taking cover on my action)

[SkyLion]

Jon knew he was shot but didin't even flinch through the pain...there was no stopping his momentum. He slammed into Ricardo with the speed of a locomotive, ripping him away from Gabrielle and pinning him into the cavern wall. His gun was knocked from his hands as surely as the wind from his lungs and it clattered to the ground, tempting the others to go for it.

Jon's stomach churned, crying out for the death of this man. Jon fought the bloodlust but the rage and hunger burned in his eyes.

He whispered hoarsly to Ricardo who reeled from the brusing just applied to his back and ribs. "She said she would cooperate," he hissed struggling to control himself. "You will not lay a hand on her...do you understand?"

Breathing heavy, he dropped Ricardo like a sack on the ground.

Click to reveal..

4 net damage

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1932033/

[Dawn OOC]

Caleb ran to Gabrielle's side and helped her up, his face showing only concern for her. "Gabby, are you ok?" he asked, his eyes wide. He was shouting louder than he needed to; the gunshot had probably deafened him slightly. Her arm was definitely bruised.

"Oh, my god!" Linda screamed, hiding behind a bed. "He's going to kill you all!"

Click to reveal..

Gabrielle, take a point of bashing damage for Ricardo being ripped off your arm.

[Dawn OOC]

ROUND ONE

Ricardo was on his feet still, breathing heavily, and there was still fight in him. He had a knife in his hands suddenly and a blade popped out. With a snarl, he attacked Jon, handling the knife expertly. His attack was good, but he couldn't catch Jon's skin.

Click to reveal..

Ricardo's knife attack: 2 sux

1d10=3, 1d10=4, 1d10=5, 1d10=1, 1d10=3, 1d10=7, 1d10=7, 1d10=4

Damage: 0 sux

1d10=5

[z016]

"Please! Stop!"

Gabrielle shouted out as Caleb helped her stand. Her ears were ringing and her eyes were wide with fear. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of so many confusing emotions rushing around her. "Please," she pleaded.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany's eyes darted around, then landed, all unwillingly, on the gun. She swallowed. Do no harm.

There are higher laws.

"Damnit," she muttered. She didn't have to shoot. Just the threat...it would be enough to stop them long enough for them to listen to reason.

Your laws!

"Shutup," Myf whispered furiously at herself. The temptation was raging now. A tornado inside her, demanding that she act not as a human being, scrabbling weakly for a fallen firearm...but as something else. Something brimming with primal energy, and as capable of taking life as giving it. Something wild and not just untamed, but untameable.

Her fingers closed around the gun and she stood up, gesturing with it.

"Jon, let him go! Ricardo, stop fighting! Now! Everyone needs to just calm down and listen!"

(action - grab gun and get up and monologue)

[SkyLion]

Jon glances down at his ripped shirt, but there is no blood on either him or the knife.

His eyes still flare with anger as he looks into the eyes of Ricardo. There is something alien there, something in his expression that makes him feel like prey.

"Do as she says if you want to live."

[Dawn OOC]

Caleb pulled Gabrielle away from the fight, his eyes way too wide as he tugged her. He was scared, but he was thinking of her, first.

Linda was still screaming and hiding. She kept saying that "he" was going to kill "you." It wasn't apparent whom she meant.

ROUND TWO

Ricardo moves to attack again.

[SalmonMax]

"Damnit!" Myfwany shouts. "I said stop!"

But it was no good. She wasn't going to shoot and they seemed to know it. Or they didn't care. Anger and frustration built to a crescendo in her skull...and from that came a moment of clarity that transfixed her.

Yes, she breathed. She carelessly dropped the gun. It was such a tiny thing.

All around she could feel the pinpricks of life that were worms and spiders and creatures that lived in shadows and between the cracks of man's world. They were joined by tenuous threads as thin and subtle as spider's silk. It took very little, almost nothing at all, for what Myfwany had become to crush the specks of their wills and replace them with imperatives more to her own liking.

"Ricardo," Myfwany said, her voice sounding distant, distracted. "Jon. Stop fighting at once or I will see to it that you have better things to do."

As she spoke, a weird sound could be heard. Sort of a squicky crunchy noise. Only a moment's consideration was needed to see what it was. From cracks in the walls and floor, from shadows over doors and lights, from nooks and crannies came marching enough bugs and spiders to darken the floor in a living mat of exoskeletons. The swarm parted around Myfwany, Gabrielle and her protectors, but was making a beeline for Ricardo and Jon.

(Using Nature Mastery to call up as many nasties as I can and make them march towards our combatants.)

[z016]

Gabrielle's eyes widened as she watched the swarms collect and part around her, only to form once again in their march towards the combatants. She glanced up at Myf, her features relaxing as understanding flooded through her.

She spoke quietly while staring at the instrument of her resurrection and another of God's gifts to Man. "Hear me, o creatures of the garden, and heed. For mine is the voice of the Holy One; I am His Messenger."

[SkyLion]

Jon could pay no heed to the words of the women as the fierce man moved to lung at him again. Rushing forward with that same tremendous speed, Jon plunges himself into the mans arm, wrapping him up in a bear hug and pressing him into the wall.

Click to reveal..

Details PMed top Dawn.

[Dawn OOC]

With this last shocking violence, the fight was over. Ricardo slumped to the floor, bleeding from a strange wound on his stomach. He was alive, his breathing ragged. Jon stood over him, his clothes torn and bloody.

"Oh, my god," Linda said. "He's going to kill you all."

"Who?" Caleb asked, curling his arm protectively around Gabrielle's shoulders.

"Dick. Dick will have you all put to death for this," Linda said. She looked like she wanted to tend to Ricardo, but she was more afraid of Jon.

[SkyLion]

Gasping for breath, Jon reached down and picked the knife up off the groud, wiping it off on his tattered shirt. Only then did he realize the army of bugs advancing upon them. His eyes grew wide in shock and he backed up a step.

He turned to Myfwany and Gabrielle, "I'm sorry...I couldn...couldn't let them harm you." His eyes are moist as he speaks, not knowing quite what to do. He then goes over and picks up his pack. "I didn't want to hurt him, but I don't think we are safe here. Perhaps it is time to leave."

[SalmonMax]

It was the sight of blood that jarred Myfwany back. The righteous rage vanished in a moment of shock at the sight of that bright red stain.

The knife.

The various crawling vermin abruptly found themselves among each other with no overriding command to obey. Most of them scattered, as the more predatory of them feasted. The swarm broke into individual bugs, and quickly started draining away.

Myfwany didn't even seem to notice it as she lunged forward to kneel down beside Ricardo.

"Don't be afraid," she told him gently as she put her hand on the bloody spot. "I'm a doctor."

(Healing on heeeeem)

[Dawn OOC]

Ricardo knitted up, but he was groggy. Jon may have given him a concussion.

Linda grabbed Myf's arm. "You have to leave, all of you!" she said. "Dick will have you all killed! You have to go!" She was earnest and completely serious.