Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 5a: Zealotry

[SalmonMax]

"Shattuck," she replies, extending a slim hand of her own with an unconscious smile. Especially in the aftermath of the apocalypse, it was unusual to find charm. "Myfwany."

Then she caught a glimpse of what he was loading, and her forehead creased slightly in a frown.

"Will that work?" she asked. "I thought you had to destroy their heads to really kill them."

[Courier]

James turned his head and listened. A crowd of moans... zoms. A roar. A gun shot. The meaty rip not followed by a scream, a zom took a hit and probably kept coming. Combat.

*I should be there. I could leap down...* James' half gone fingers gripped a blackly glowing blade... then the blade flickered and vanished. :Sigh: *I'm not fooling anyone, least of all myself.*

[Fox]

"Any it doesn't kill, it'll be sure to inconvenience and make easier to clean up." Bond said lightly as he pulled Myf onto the sled. "Shrapnel in the cans with the boom-boom, you see."

He looked up at Hawkins. "Ready when you are!" he called.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany stepped forward, unsure of herself but really wanting to be heard before things went too far to stop.

"It's just...look, I'm sure you know your job, but...I'm worried that more explosions might attract even more zombies. They key off noise to target areas over a distance. And the noise of high explosives travels a long ways. You might kill or disable a handful now, but attract even more in the long run."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan liked the plan, it was one he'd thought about, but hadn't wanted to employ without Fox knowing ahead of time. "Alright Bond. sounds workable." He slung the battle rifle and gathered up tthe cables for the sled again, inwardly very tired of being a damn flying shuttle service.

[Priest]

"Got it. Ready = Green Light - All Clear = Red Light then Boom! What's not to love?"

He sidles over to the edge of the roor looking down at the front of the builing for an instance.

"Hey Bond, is Primal getting his ass saved by that little girl (Jas)?" he quips in a playful tone. "What's the world coming to were men can't be men?"

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Priest

"What's the world coming to were men can't be men?"

*...Yeah...*

[Fox]

,,

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

Myfwany stepped forward, unsure of herself but really wanting to be heard before things went too far to stop.

"It's just...look, I'm sure you know your job, but...I'm worried that more explosions might attract even more zombies. They key off noise to target areas over a distance. And the noise of high explosives travels a long ways. You might kill or disable a handful now, but attract even more in the long run."

"Good point." Bond frowned for a moment, then bent and plucked out 8 of the detonators from their bombs as the sled started to rise, turning them off and slipping them into a pouch. "These eight we save for after the first big explosion" he said loudly enough for all to hear. "We fly out further and drop them to lure any wandering critters away." He looked at Myf.

"Fair?"

He grinned over at Priest. "I won't tell him you said that. He might decide to use you as a sledgehammer, and you look rough enough as it is."

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany folds her arms and shrugs.

"If that's what you're willing to do, then it's as fair as it will get," she allows. "I think every bomb you drop here is worse than wasted, myself. But this is your show. Do it your way, and we'll deal with the consequences."

She steps off the sled, if necessary pulling James off with her (not sure if he's on it or not at this point ).

[Courier]

James started at Myfwany's touch but let her take him off the sled. He'd known she was there and had been following the conversation closely, but he hadn't *seen* it coming.

*See? She thinks you have to hide from combat... worse even than Violet or even Jo.*

*Quiet. This isn't forever. A few hours maybe. It just takes a bit longer to regrow burned off stuff. Or... ah... that's it. This isn't magic. What you need is a full meal or two to give the body some matter to convert.*

James said, "Ah... thanks. So how'd things go down stairs?"

[Venus]

Violet couldn't remember when she had felt so superfluous before. Why did I agree to go to this sick place again?, she shook her head and left the room in search for James. Even if she wasn't a Doctor or fighter she could at least stay with her man and tend to him. No one seemed to need her or her abilities now anyway.

Finding James wasn't difficult he was still where she left him. He did look better now, though. Relieved she put a smile on and helped get off the sled.

"Here Doc, I can take care of him. I'm sure you're needed somewhere else."

Putting an arm around James for support she half walked, half carried him off the sled.

"I'm here, love. Don't worry - I won't leave again until we're back home."

She added more quietly for him alone to hear, "God, I hate this place. I'll never do anything like this again."

[Mr Fox]

Fox quickly assessed the situation and decided what needed doing. The gates to the compound were down and needed to be put back in place, otherwise all the explosions in the world wouldn't make any difference. Besides, Jasmine and that Primal fellow needed to be able to retreat for the makeshift bombs to be detonated and to do that they needed to be able to get back within the compound. Walking out to where the dynamic duo had demolished the gates he grumbled at the carnage to the former gates. Well best thing to do right now is prop them up. Fox lifted off and from above he picked up the remains of the big gate and flew it back to it's original place. He set it in place leaning it against the wall, but there were gaps now that zombies could crawl through where it was bent in places. It took a few moments but he eventually had the gaps blocked and some heavy containers proping it up and keeping it in place. One of those heavy objects was the traders humvee. It had been heavy but he pulled and pushed it into place. That would stop the advance of the zombie horde.

He finished about the time Bond came flying around on the sled carried by Dan. He yelled up, "Hey Bond, be sure and put em far enough out not to blow holes in their perimeter. Won't do any good to kill this bunch only to give the rest free access to the compound."

As he flew over the newly replaced gate he looked down to Jasmine and Primal. "Hey you two, the gate is back in place enough to hold them off. We need to get you clear so Bond can blow these critters up. Give me your hands and I'll air lift you out."

[Fox]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"If that's what you're willing to do, then it's as fair as it will get," she allows. "I think every bomb you drop here is worse than wasted, myself. But this is your show. Do it your way, and we'll deal with the consequences."

Why, thank you, Miss Shattuck. Bond's hindbrain didn't manage to get that remark past his veneer, but he nevertheless saluted her in a fashion that spoke volumes as the sled rose into the sky. I'll be sure to read my report out to the class later so you can grade me. For some reason, the slender redhead put him in mind of his 5th grade teacher. Grey the hair, stick a pair of glasses on the end of her nose, and damn if that expression doesn't take me back 15 years or so. She probably has a horde of cats at home.

He waved to acknowledge Fox, nodding his agreement with the man's assessment. "Will do! Keep an eye on my hummvee, Cap!" he called.

Trying not to grin and failing abysmally, the mercenary looked up at Hawkins. "Take her low, about 10 feet!" he called. As the Marine nodded and shifted altitude, Bond started to drop the makeshift fragmentation bombs in even spacing over the larger clusters of zombies.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan nodded, giving Bond a steady ride over the zombies so he could deliver his presents. "It's almost like playing Santa." He chuckled as he continued flying.

[Fox]

Bond laughed at Dan's comment, dropping the 'parcels' an even 15 feet apart in the crowd of zombies around the main gates, making sure to keep the charges at least twenty feet back from the fence. At that range, the fence would be only lightly damaged, he hoped. Hawkins moved the sled further back over the horde, letting Bond distribute more 'Christmas cheer' as the crazy Brit put it, before swinging along the perimeter and dropping the last ten packages just ahead of the tightest clusters of walking dead heading for the gate.

"All done!" he called up, receiving a terse 'Roger' from Hawkins as the Marine flew them back towards the hospital roof. As they passed over Jasmine, Fox and Primal, Bond yelled down over the din of carnage, cupping his hands to his mouth.

"Primal! Time to GO!"

[Priest]

Priest looked over the edge of the building and watched Dan and Bond's progress.

Damn, but those look close. Maybe I'm a bit bomb shy.

He looked around and noticed something.

"Doc, Violet, James - sit down or lie down. Big Boom about to go off!"

Turning back to the sled, he saw them finish up and come back. He heard Bond's order over the Primal shouts and zombie moans. He held up his trigger and took it to 'green light' condition. The second they got back inside and he gauged they were under some kind of shelter (assuming none of the shrapnel penetrated the concrete block walls), he would blow it.

Remember to duck your self, Crispy Boy.

[SalmonMax]

Myf handed James off to Violet, answering him with a noncommittal, "Everything seems fine." She'd leave Violet to tell him the details though.

When Priest gives his warning about the bombs, she goes over to him and puts her hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to be at the edge for that to work," she suggests. "I won't be able to heal you again for a little while yet, so maybe you should step back some."

[Primal]

The endless sea of the dead was nothing more than a wading pool to the two warriors within it. Their attacks weren't perfect and they were far from unscathed, but they were winning (more or less) and that's all that mattered.

One would think by watching the two that they'd had this all planned out, a choreographed symphony of destruction, but that was hardly the case. They were simply fueled by survival, an instinct that, in the right circumstances, can turn enemies into allies (or vise versa) if only for a few moments.

They didn't speak much, Primal was all growls and rage of course, but, like all survival situations, they gravitated to the one thing that could very well be their key to victory: each other.

With each covering the others back they waded through the horde like a scythe during harvest.

Quote:

"Primal! Time to GO!"

His gore covered mane whipped up to see Bond flying over head, en route. Captain Morgan was also lending aide but wave was too thick. He didn't know what these people could do or not do, he knew his limits, not theirs.

"We're leaving." He said through a raspy roar that barely registered in Jasmine's ears. She didn't have time for questions before he wrapped his arm about her waste, taking a reflexive elbow to the collar bone in the process, and leapt from the horde to the roof of a neighboring building. Covered in the blood of their enemies they couldn't go back to the hospital.

Over it all the soared, and crashed down with a loud *thud*. Primal wasn't much for whistling, so a roar to Fox had to suffice as a means of flagging him over to their position.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan lands, quickly offloads the sled, then upends it as a shield for himself, Priest, and Bond. "Do it when you want."

[Mr Fox]

Fox shrugged, well that was one way... He flew over to where the big man had leaped, and took hold of a pipe coming out of the roof but kept flying. He didn't want to be out of control if the shockwave was more than expected. He yelled up to Bond, "We're good. GO!"

[Priest]

Priest hunkered down and hit the switch. The green light went to red and the biggest bitch he'd ever felt rocked his world.

Yeah, glad I wasn't standing up when that went off, he thought through teeth slammed together.

Then clods of dirt and zombies began raining down. Clean up was going to be a bear. No open wounds allowed - gloves, long sleeves and pitchforks for his kind of duty. You couldn't leave infected chunks lying around. You had to burn them - burn them all. The flock had their work cut out for themselves. Still, it beat being infected.

Maybe moving to a different part of town is an option?

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Violet

"I'm here, love. Don't worry - I won't leave again until we're back home."

James replied, "Thanks... I feel so..." Blind. Helpless. Powerless.

Originally Posted By: Violet

She added more quietly for him alone to hear, "God, I hate this place. I'll never do anything like this again."

James replied, "I wish I could say the same."

Originally Posted By: Priest

"Doc, Violet, James - sit down or lie down. Big Boom about to go off!"

James awkwardly tried to sit down where he was. He flinched when the bomb went off... he hadn't seen it coming.

[Dawn OOC]

C4 applied liberally does a tremendous amount of damage, especially when mixed with shrapnel. The explosions ripped through the shambling dead, tearing their flesh like paper, and crushing their bones like kindling. In seconds, a horde of the dead became matter soup - a most danger matter soup.

A few of them still shambled around, struggling to stay upright as they trod over the gore of their fallen comrades. Relentlessly, those still mobile pushed on; those too damaged to move lay where they were and moaned.

[Venus]

Violet held James steady and protected him as good as she could. She knew he'd prefered to be there in the middle of it and do his part to contribute to the cause but in his current state he was more a liability - just like her.

"I got you, James.", she said to him reassuringly.

Violet yelled at no one in particular but was hoping that Dan or any one else would hear her anyway, "Can we get the fuck out of here?!"

[Fox]

All was silent for a long moment after the rippling explosion and the blonde woman's yell. As the echoes of the blast rocked around the nearby buildings and died away, punctuated with the odd splattering sound of unmentionable flying objects, Bond stood up from behind the makeshift shield and grinned at the carnage below.

"Well," he said, stepping almost casually to one side as a steaming piece of zombie landed with a *splat* where he had been standing. "That takes care of that, I think. Anyone think to bring a mop and bucket?" With an incongruously happy chuckle, he changed out the clip of his shotgun for something a little more effective than beanbags and sauntered to the edge of the roof, where the huge cross lay propped. "Clean-up time!" he announced in a shout to the world at large before stepping up onto the narrow beam and running down the steep incline as though it were a wide flight of stairs, his balance flawless.

Reaching the bottom at a full-out sprint, he took one step and somersaulted up and over the fence from the stump of the cross. Landing without even a stumble, the mercenary extended his gun arm and sent a dose of 12-gauge buckshot into a zombie's head from five feet away, which caused it to duly evaporate in a gory mist.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine dusted herself off, and tried futilely to wipe away some of the worst of it. Now that the explosions were over - she had to admit, it was effective - all that was really left was to clean up the pieces and get the hell out of here. She looked around at all the mess of zombies with a sigh. They certainly weren't leaving these people with a light cleanup job.

But now all the events of the day, the stress and the fighting and above all, the constant feeling of having been on edge the whole day, always watching and waiting, was starting to get to her. She was tired, and she was ready to be done.

One glance down at herself proved it too. Though her fighting methods were significantly less gory than Primal's, she still had her share of bruises, mostly, from where the zombies had tried to penetrate her skin. It didn't always go through too easily, but there were some bite marks still. She had lost her hairband along the way, probably ripped off by some undead monstrosity grabbing at her hair, so her braid was gone and her hair was loose and tangled. And the shirt was in.. rough shape.

That's it.. no more of Violet's clothes on these types of missions. I'll grab some of my old clothes when we get back to Dallas.. or at least try and find some tank tops. This fancy stuff is going to have to keep for when we're at the refuge.

She smiled a bit wryly to herself, but went back nonetheless to take care of the rest of the stragglers before they left.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan recovers from the explosion and rights the sled. "Alright, everyon on board who wants to go back home. We did most of what we came here to do."

He changes out the current clip in his battle rifle with another one, just in case. Afterwards he got hooked back into the harness for the sled. "Fox, get hooked up, there's nothing for us here."

[Priest]

"Um Dan, I think we should help them clear the field first, at least of the moving bits."

He looked over the side to see just how true his words were. There were still moving chunks of what was wonce people all about, though a dent was being made in their population. Clean up would be a bear, but it wouldn't be their cross to bear. They couldn't stay here and hold these people's hands.

"Let's check to see if Bond and Primal evacuate first. They need to clean off their Hummer, that's for sure.

[Fox]

"Hello again." Bond smiled at Jasmine as though A: she weren't covered in blood, bites and torn clothing and B: the two of them weren't surrounded by the disgusting remains of what had once been a horde of walking corpses. He coolly half-turned and blew the head off one that, lacking two legs and one arm, nevertheless was still trying to claw at his boot. He turned back to Jasmine, his smile broadening. "Glad to see you made it through. Any of those serious?" He motioned to her cuts with one hand as he selected another target, this one a one-legged zombie that was trying to rise with no arms to assist it. Another boom and that one stopped moving too.

A nearby *thump* announced Primal's return to the field, the huge mutant nodding to Bond. "Good plan." he growled laconically before casually stalking off amongst the carnage looking for enemies to rend. Between the three of them Bond, Primal and Jasmine needed little assistance finishing the few zombies that were left.

"Well." Bond said to Primal as the behemoth ripped the head from the last moaning carcass. "I think some hygiene is in order, not to mention cleaning the gunk off the Falcon." He looked at Jasmine speculatively. "Do they have a hose and water in there, do you think? My boots are absolutely caked in this mess." Strangely enough it was true. The merc's night-forest pattern armor was barely marred by the trials of the day, the only blood on his clothing a light spray from nearby zombies that had received the quietus of his shotgun. "We're all going to need to clean up before we can get back in the car." He smiled at Jasmine.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I was wondering if you'd mind riding along with us. We were looking for an enclave where super-powered folk seem to gather, and seeing as most of you will be flying back there, I was wondering if you'd like to travel along with us as a guide?"

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looks at Priest and does his best to remember that Priest is injured. "The longer we stay Preist, the later we get back to the refuge. Right now I'm ready to just be gone. I don't see a reason for our presence."

[Mr Fox]

Fox looked over at Dan, "I'm kinda of the same opinion as Dan. These people have asked us to leave and I don't want to stay where I'm not welcome. They have plenty of firepower to finish off the few zombs that remain and since we aren't needed here, I'd like to get back to the Refuge as quickly as possible. He looked over to Bond and Jasmine, "Jasmine you want to ride with him or fly back with us? I'd be more inclined to let Priest ride with you guys as a guide since he is a trader and knows the area and the hazards much better than Jas."

[Priest]

"We'll both go," Priest speaks up seeing what Bond has (almost) planned. It was harmless enough and to cock-block now was to stand in the way of the inevitable.

"No since in keeping the new girl cooped up. Unlike Gabby, she really doesn't have anyone waiting back at camp. Let her step out."

Not as if you can really stop her.

"She'll be safe with Bond and Primal. They're not those kind of guys."

[Mr Fox]

Fox looked at Priest, "If you vouch for them that's fine. That Primal fellow seems kinda trigger happy to me. Make sure he knows to behave himself at the the Refuge. As for Jasmine, I've got no claim on her she can go where she wants. I just figure you'd be a better guide since you've traveled all around the area down there. She's only been there once and only found us because of our radio broadcasts."

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Violet

"I got you, James.", she said to him reassuringly.

Violet yelled at no one in particular but was hoping that Dan or any one else would hear her anyway, "Can we get the fuck out of here?!"

James squeezed Violet's hand in agreement but didn't say anything. If he said anything it'd just be whining.

If Fox and the wonder twins were here, and from what he could hear they were, then it was time to leave.

[SkyLion]

Jon watched in awe as the shockwaves shook the building. It was a gory mess, bits of rotten bloody flesh splattering against the window where he stood. It mirrored his own feelings of this place...it was tarnished, unclean. The stench of blind faith overpowered his scientific sensibilities and an exodus appeared to be in order.

Jon made his way down to where the others were rallying in preperation for departure. He nodded at Fox as if to say, 'Thanks for letting me join you.'

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany trots over to join Fox. For a moment she surveys the carnage with a bleak, expressionless face, then looks to the Captain.

"So that's it? We're leaving?"

[Primal]

"Well, my shit's ruined." Primal complained looking at his shredded brown leather pants and snake skin boots. "Damn, just found a damn size that'd fit too. I was so fuckin' sick of over sized sweats and khaki shorts."

Reflexively every open wound the lion-demon bore sealed itself swiftly leaving behind only wet blood spatters across his bare chest and back.

"Ain't dis' a bitch." He grumbled more before just tearing the pants off and pulling boots away one by one, leaving a smeared, bloody hand print across the Falcon. There in his birthday suit Primal strode away (apparently not the bashful type) and opened the back of the Humvee where he pumped an old polished steel insect sprayer canister... thingie, and start blasting the pressurized water over the gorier parts of his body. "It's ain't much, so yeah if they got a hose, great. If not this'll do for now. Jim, or... you, other lady, c'mere and hold this sprayer, I got mad chunks of brain matter to get outta my hair."

[Priest]

"Captain or Dan, if you could fly me down there, I would much appreciate it. The stairs are going to be a killer in my condition."

He stood up and hobbled over to Fox for the lift. As he did, he noticed Primal stripping down.

Figures, need to get Primal a portable washer/dyer for his birthday. Man, he's hard on clothes.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine nodded slightly, dispatching a remaining zombie head from it's torso with the machete she had managed to retrieve. "Yeah, I'm alright, nothing serious.."

She didn't have a chance to reply to his offer though, as Fox spoke, and then Priest finally approached. She let out a low whistle as she caught sight of his burned clothes and singed body.

"Wow. You look.. terrible. What on earth happened back there - didn't you guys hear me warn you about the blast? You shouldn't be going anywhere except back to the refuge, you need a doctor!"

She glanced over at Primal as he started to complain, and shook her head a little. Her own shirt was ripped. Her jeans were torn. And she was covered with zombie goop too, though mostly because of her mad flight from the fight with Primal than from the actual combat. The speed of her movements generally kept her pretty clean, if not completely unharmed. And she did most of her killing once she got them down on the ground. For someone who seemed to enjoy destruction as much as he did, he sure did grip about it a lot. But as he began to strip down, her dusky skin flushed slightly with embarrassment, and she turned away slightly, her hand reaching up to rub her temple.. and block the view. Her eyes came to rest on the smug Englishman, and she arched a brow at him, looking a little amused, but mostly just embarrassed.

"Jim.. I think you're being summoned."

She glanced over at Fox and Priest, and shrugged slightly.

"It's true I wouldn't make a very good guide - I don't know the areas between here and the refuge that well, though I know the route by heart if we stick to the roads. I've driven it.. a lot. If you guys need to get back faster, and leaving a couple people would lighten the load, then sure. I'll go. If you think you need me back at the refuge, I'm okay with that too. But.. before anyone leaves, shouldn't someone make sure they have the ability to clean up this mess? I mean, if they can't, we don't exactly want to leave all the toxic soup lying around for random infection, now do we?"

[Fox]

Bond shook his head and rolled his eyes at Jasmine, but grinned as he turned to head over to Primal. "Here. Let me have that." He took the sprayer and held it steady while his friend rinsed the accumulated crud out of his hair. "If there was any justice in the world, you'd get a hot bath with some female back-scrubbers for this days work." He played the spray of water over Primal's shoulders, making sure all the goop was washed off before turning it onto his boots and armor. "There's some of those hideous sweats in the clothing bin." He told Primal absently as he made sure there were no zombie bits attached to himself.

Grumbling, Primal moved back out of the hummvee to dress. Bond moved around the vehicle, spraying off any bits that had fallen onto the bodywork, then returned the sprayer to where it belonged. He glanced at Jasmine speculatively, then rummaged in one of the storage crates atop the Falcon for a few minutes before dropping off easily and sauntering over to the girl.

"Here." He presented her with a bundle of clothing in a plastic bag. "Jeans, t-shirt, sweatshirt. Size 8, if I'm not mistaken." He smiled at her. "If you can't get a shower inside, you're welcome to take the water sprayer and find a private space." As she took the clothing, Bond addressed Fox and Priest. "She has a point. We can't just leave this stuff lying around. Perhaps cooperating with the inmates of the asylum to clean this mess up here might be a footstep on the path of diplomacy? If we're careful, we can scoop, sweep, and otherwise move all of it into one area, douse it with gasoline, and set it on fire. Sound okay?"