Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 6b: From the Ashes

[Amarant]

To Fox, Walker said, "You should talk to the others from Roff. All scientists. The Colonel seemed pretty keen on science stuff. Might mean somethin'."

When Jules came back Walker accepted the whiteboard with a small smile and a nod of the head. Gripping it in his upper right arm, and writing with the bottom right arm, he scribbled on it for a second, and then turned it back towards Jules.

*Thanks*, it said.

Then he whipped it back around, and turned his attention to the goings on in the room at large. He still hadn't blinked.

[Mr Fox]

"Yeah, from what we gathered, they were researching into the Z-virus. May have been even before Z-day. So yeah, that does mean something to me. We can compare notes after we question Dolby."

Figuring the four armed man was done, he looked to the young man and woman, "Welcome to the Refuge, any news of the outside world you are willing to share with us?"

[Dawn OOC]

"One of the civilians kept her alive until I could get to her," Singh said softly. He joined her at the sink, cleaning off the blood and rewashing his hands before returning to the table. He watched them put her under. Once she was unconscious again, he continued the surgery, fixing what Myf couldn't mend, his trained fingers repairing the damage.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine had headed back to Violet's place for a real shower. She'd changed back into the clothes that Jim had given her, but she hadn't felt like sticking around - Jo and Jill had both freaked out when the first saw James, and she could hear them all downstairs talking. So she'd slipped out quietly to go for a walk around the refuge, and it was awhile before some guy managed to find her.

"Miss.. Jasmine, right? Captain Fox said there's some kind of meeting, your attendance is requested, though not required. At the headquarters, of course."

Jasmine nodded slightly, and thanked the man, who hurried off. She glanced in the direction of the building, and with a small sigh, headed in that direction. She didn't know why Fox would've requested her to come.. but if he did, then she might as well go. She just hoped she hadn't missed too much.

She jogged through the streets, and around the corner, catching James by the upper arm.. carefully, before he ran into the building next to HQ. She glanced at Violet quizzically, who seemed to be staring at something with a surprised look on her face.

"Hey there, big guy. You're just a little off. C'mon. Over to the right. Hey, Violet.. you coming?"

She glanced at Violet, a concerned look on her face, hesitating at the door.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira looked up as Fox addressed Cass and him, "Uh...yeah, armadillos, big fucking crows, werewolves and the walking dead. Same old, same old, am I right?"

Ira instinctively stood up straighter and made eye contact, donning his 'retail' smile as he asked, "What we're more interested in, is finding your chirurgeon."

And a hot shower.

It had been a couple weeks since he had more than a wet-rag bath and he was starting to itch in places he'd rather not acknowledge.

"We have information to deliver."

[Dawn OOC]

"If you seek to claim your brother's inheritance, you must undo the Horned Man's legacy," Cassie said suddenly. She wasn't looking at anyone; she looking far away again. She added, "The shadows gather in all the havens, driven by black and white suns and those like us under the mountain."

Her statement was followed by silence.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira's calm exterior broke as Cassandra spoke, and he nervously glanced around the room to gauge people's reactions as he held her close.

[Dan Hawkins]

Hearing a new batch of insanity come in, Dan moves up to back Fox up. "What's up Fox? Why the meeting?"

He regards the young couple and nods. "What sort of information?"

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Jasmine Gentian

She jogged through the streets, and around the corner, catching James by the upper arm.. carefully, before he ran into the building next to HQ. She glanced at Violet quizzically, who seemed to be staring at something with a surprised look on her face.

"Hey there, big guy. You're just a little off. C'mon. Over to the right. Hey, Violet.. you coming?"

She glanced at Violet, a concerned look on her face, hesitating at the door.

Violet blinked a few times before she realized the young pair had entered the building. She heard a familiar voice and turned around to see who it was.

“Oh god, I let go.”, she quickly closed the few steps to Jas and James and took his hand again smiling nervously at Jas. “I’m sorry – I just saw something…” she looked back to where the entrance was and shook her head.

“Nothing important I suppose. Lets go to the meeting.”

Violet slung an arm carefully around James and led him through the building to where the meeting was. Jasmine was a few steps ahead of them and squeezed herself somewhere between the assembled ‘supers’. Violet had totally forgotten to turn off her glow and illuminate a good deal of the room with her own golden light. She was focussing her attention on James making sure he didn’t bump into any obstacle and waited just at the door closing the circle of people.

The glow did much to accentuate her inhuman and supernatural beauty making her skin almost sparkle. She wore a white tank top that was struggling to contain her overabundant breasts. The Daisy dukes she wore barely covered her butt and it seemed that only her boots were the right size. But who took notice of her boots anyway?

When she was sure James was standing comfortably she looked up to have a look at the new comers. Her smile beamed perfectly and only her eyes showed a hint of the worry she had been through with James. There she is again… She couldn’t help but look at Cassie and Ira again.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Jasmine Gentian

"Hey there, big guy. You're just a little off. C'mon. Over to the right. Hey, Violet.. you coming?"

James considered telling Jas that he didn't need any help... but that would have been stupid. Fine, not his first battle lost, nor his first failure. Good god he'd be glad tomorrow or the next day when all he needed to worry about was zombies eating his pants and men stealing his women.

James said with a sigh, "Thank you Jas."

Originally Posted By: Violet

Violet slung an arm carefully around James and led him through the building to where the meeting was.

James looked around listened to the new comers.

Feeling Violet go very quiet he whispered, "What's up?"

[Mr Fox]

Morgan looked at Dan, "Had some issues while we were gone, and to meet the new comers. This fellow here was just telling us he was a survivor of the Roff massacre and that the unconscious fellow on the table there might just know something about it. Then we were greeting the young man and woman here and asking if they had any information to pass on."

Looking back to the young man and woman, "So what are your names, and what is it you know that you don't mind passing on?"

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Courier

Feeling Violet go very quiet he whispered, "What's up?"

"Nothing.", she lied to him.

"There are a couple of new faces and I think the guy over there has four arms.", she nodded towards the direction of Walker and looked to James then realized he couldn't have noticed that simple gesture of hers. She tried to be more precise and added, "Ahm... across the room. Ger is with him and someone is laying on the floor. I don't know what's up with them, though. I suppose that'll be the reason the Captain has called for the meeting?"

She squeezed his hand for reassurance and support. Who was guiding who here?

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira started to speak, but turned to see as more people walked in.

Holy mother of fucking God!

Any thought, word, or well...anything, that Ira had intended to say or think was immediately forgotten as he gazed upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. A light seemed to illuminate her, making her all the more dazzling. Was he dreaming? Had he died and gone to Heaven? Were there any ugly women in this place? And her eyes!

After a moment of slack-jawwed gaping, Ira realized he was staring and closed his mouth.

"Uh...yeah...info...doctor." he stammered.

Ira finally wrenched his gaze away turning red with embarrassment and made a point of looking at Cassandra while he calmed down. This new woman was almost too beautiful if that was possible. Who could ever be with her and not always feel intimidated by her looks?

zombie babies, zombie babies, zombie babies

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie was not much help in calming down. Her eyes followed Ira's, then widened when she saw who he was looking at. Ira was probably expecting another miffed Cassie, like he’d gotten with Min, but to his surprise, she looked more stricken than angry.

She pulled away from him and approached the beautiful woman. Violet could sense sorrow and guilt in the waif who looked so similar to the face she saw in the mirror. The bodily proportions weren’t right, naturally, but it was a bit uncanny. Standing on her tip-toes, Cassie placed a single, soft kiss on Violet’s cheek. Only Violet felt the soft shudder that passed through her when she did that. When she pulled away, she wouldn’t look at Violet. Instead, she went back to Ira’s side, her lovely eyes downcast.

Back at Ira’s side, she slipped her arms around him, then looked at Fox. “This is my knight, Ira, and I am Cassandra. We bring the portents for your chirurgeon, and none other. The Watcher saw, and he recorded, and he died. Now we bring that to the one who will find the way.” She was shaking as she spoke, whether from nerves or just emotional weariness, but her voice was firm. “Please call him here.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

The kiss seemed almost sad to Ira and that helped him cope with having to look at the goddess as Cass retreated back to his side.

Knowing how much it took out of her to speak like that, and feeling her shake, Ira held her close as he waited for the response from Fox. There was too much going on for his tired brain to handle and he was trying desperately to not forget the last bit that Cass had said before Aphrodite had entered.

[Venus]

Violet watched Cassandra coming closer to her and the world slowed down to a single heart beat. She watched her face and held her breath then the younger girl kissed her gently on her cheek. The shudder she felt instantly mirrored on her own body and she drew a sharp breath and didn't dare to exhale.

When Cassandra returned to Ira she slowly exhaled and the world tuned back to 'normal' speed. Violet didn't know what just happened but something was going on. Who is she? she couldn't stop thinking about her. The words formed on her lips but she didn't give them voice.

[Courier]

James felt that he was missing out on more than half the conversation. He asked, "Who?"

[Wesson]

Cleaning blood was not a fun task. It was not a pleasant task. It drove him mad. It got into cracks, and seems.It Just was hard to get it all out. Coke did a great job of breaking it down. He had a few bottles of it for a case like this. When he got his truck as clean as he could he did the same for himself. Well only his arms and head. That left a lot blood on him, but to really get clean he would need a bath or a shower, but right now being fully clean wasn't an issue to him. He was good enough to do what he wanted to do. He looked to Min.

"Do what you want, I am going to find Fox and either get you, your guns back or tell him that this place is not safe enough for us, and really needs to be improved.You know what I mean..We may have to move on. We may have to go back."

He walked around not really talking to anyone. He was just watching. He was still half way covered in blood, his white shirt, was now a rusty brow, and black. the top of his urban camo BDU pants were like wise blooded but the stains were mainly around his shoulders, and lessened the further down they went. He was looking for the man in charge.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine had quietly followed Violet and James into the building, and quietly watched the whole interplay between Violet and this new girl - Cassandra, she called herself - with piqued curiosity. She couldn't help but note the similarities in the two women's eyes, but Violet certainly didn't seem to recognize her.. besides, it wasn't as if Violet's eyes were that color naturally. Jennifer's eyes were an odd hazel-color, kind of greenish, or maybe brownish - it had been hard to tell. But regardless, it gave no indication of Cassandra being any kind of blood relative to Violet. Perhaps something about their powers were similar.. or maybe brilliant purple eyes were just another one of the many ways it showed that people were.. touched?

She frowned slightly, trying to figure out was Cassie was saying as she spoke. It was confusing - wasn't a chirurgeon an old fashioned word for a surgeon? She leaned against the wall in back, near the door, and waited to see what would happen next.

[SalmonMax]

"One of the civilians," Myf repeated. She glanced around at Singh. "Another doctor? Seems like we may have to take a pay cut if more of us keep falling from the sky."

Singh paused just long enough to say, "Actually, I don't think he is one..."

Myf wanted to ask for more, but realized this really wasn't the best time to try to talk to him. She was about to ask where 'Ira' was, when providence answered.

Ger came into the infirmary and spied Myfwany drying her hands off.

"Sorry," he said as he crossed between the beds. "Fox needs you at HQ. There's a prisoner who's been knocked out." To his credit, Ger looked at the injured woman and said, "If this is an okay time, of course."

Singh nodded absently as he worked and said, "I can handle it from here, doctor Shattuck. Go ahead."

Myfwany shrugged and gave Ger a tired look. "Alright then...lets go. If I stop moving now I'll probably fall off my feet."

----

Fox's meeting room was already crowded by the time Myfwany and her escort arrived. She rolled up the sleeves of her thin, sterile white coat and said with mock offense, "What, there's a party and I only get invited when someone passes out? Where's our patient?"

Then she spied the unmoving sniper. "Ahh...I see. And you want me to...what again? Get him to wake up?"

Without waiting for an answer Myf moved to get a pulse and check his other vitals and get an idea of his vitals at the moment.

[Mr Fox]

"You are always invited to the party Doctor." Fox smiled at her. "Be careful with him. He may be an accessory to mass murder. We need to question him and he may be dangerous or worse."

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie straightened and looked at Myf when Fox called her Doctor. She exchanged a meaningful glance with Ira as they watched the red-headed woman.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan watched the interplay , keeping his own assumption of the couple's insanity to himself. He waited to see what was next, hoping it wouldn't be all that eventful.

[SalmonMax]

"Well...he's got a bit of a concussion," Myfwany says after a moment. "And by 'bit' I mean 'one hell of.'"

She pried open one of his eyes and shined a penlight in, waving it quickly over his pupil. Whyever she was doing this, she seemed satisfied with the results.

"But for once, it seems I have a patient I can help without violating natural law." Myf reached into her pocket and produced a small plastic box...one she'd put together herself as a first aid/paramedic kit. Unsnapping and opening it revealed several rolls of tape and gauze, some antiseptic solution, some Advil and what she finally pried out of the pile...a tiny bottle of smelling salts.

She looked over at Fox. "I can wake him up safely, but he'll be groggy and probably in a fair amount of pain. He may not hear you correctly the first or second times, and may have difficulty speaking, especially for the first couple of minutes. Keep that in mind if you plan on interrogating him."

The doctor turned and administered the smelling salts...dabbing a little under the sniper's nose carefully. When that failed to get a reaction she used a little more. Finally he was coughing and struggling weakly, and his eyes blinked open.

Myf stepped warily back and watched him like a hawk, both for signs of violence, and signs of worsening condition.

(MEdicine roll to awaken: (00:58:08) ChatBot: (Max) rolls 10d10 and gets 6,7,6,7,4,8,3,9,4,3 )

[Courier]

Quote:

"But for once, it seems I have a patient I can help without violating natural law."

James whispered to V, what did she mean, 'without violating natural law'?

[Wesson]

As he made his way to the head quarters, he had his fist clinched. He was not smiling, and could care less about what was happening. He had seen to much blood this day. He did not want to put his grand daughter in harms way, but one clear thing in this war there was no front line. No need to leave people fend for themselves unarmed.He marched in in no subtle Manor.

"Fox, I need to talk to you"

Looking to the prisoner.He didn't flinch. His eyes scanned the room as who fox would be. He wasn't sure of it, having never met the man.

[Mr Fox]

Morgan looked around at the newcomer calling out his name, then looked back to the doctor, "Doc do me a favor. I know it's a strange request, but please check him for fake teeth that might conceal cyanide." He chuckled at his own request. "I know it's a very paranoid thing to ask, but if he is an agent of these people who wiped out Roff, they are the sort that would not want the people revealing secrets if captured. He tried to eliminate the Colonel in charge of the operation that took out Roff after all. Maybe he recognized her and she performed some atrocity against some other group that he was part of or something, but I don't want to take any chances."

Looking to the four armed man, "If you would be so kind as to stand ready to restrain him once he's conscious I'd appreciate it."

Finally, looking back to the older gentleman that had called out to him. "I'm Captain Fox, as you can see we are in the middle of something, but what can I do for you?"

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Courier

Quote:

"But for once, it seems I have a patient I can help without violating natural law."

James whispered to V, what did she mean, 'without violating natural law'?

"I don't know what she means. Did she say that?", Violet answered trying to keep her voice low. Her eyes were still glued on Cassandra and she didn't pay much attention to what was happening around her. Everything faded to the background except for Cassandra.

That girl looked so familiar - almost as if she looked into a mirror. And she kissed her just like that. Violet had gotten all kinds of strange reactions to her appearance but never such a daring yet innocent approach like Cassandra's. Why did that girl have such an effect on her? She couldn't place a finger on it but it definitely kept her busy.

[Wesson]

"The name is Wesson,and you are asking the wrong asking the wrong questions. You are looking at this the wrong way. This was not a one man job. He did not have enough time to start the fire and get into place to take the shot.I would have your people looking for those who got away."

He looked around the room, his tone was no friendly. It was just pure fact.Uncaring and solid.

"As for what he knows,I would wager it is not much. I have other problems that can wait, but I would feel much safer if Min could be permitted to carry her personal fire arms."

[Mr Fox]

Fox raised an eyebrow at Wesson's words, "I'm afraid Min is not allowed to carry weapons inside the compound. No one is unless they are granted security clearance by me and I don't know who Min is. As for your other statement. If you know something about this attack then I would be most interested to hear it. But only one got away that I know of and my security people are looking. If you were an eye witness and can identify him then I'll have Ger assign one of my security people to you and you can join the search. I'd like nothing better than to catch him. Unfortunately, I only have one thing in hand right now and it is that prisoner over there." He pointed to the man the Doctor was treating. "So I am going to do the one thing I can which is question him. Perhaps he'll know the names of any accomplices."

[Amarant]

Walker had easily fallen back on stillness and silence as the other newcomers, and some who were apparently members of the Refuge already, came in and started their introductions with each other. A part of him wanted to join in and 'make friends', but he knew that wasn't likely to happen - at least not this quickly into things. Firstly, his vocal problems precluded him being an active part of the conversation, and secondly, he was just too different now. People didn't react to him the way they used to, back before all of this, before the plague. Walker knew it was better to just stay quiet, out of the way, and to prove himself dependable over time. That way, people would at least respect him, even if they never particularly liked him.

Watching all of the new arrivals, one thing was for certain; there were a lot of really nice looking ladies here, including one who looked like she'd just stepped out of a comic book or something. He found it difficult not to stare at her, all the more so as he didn't have to depend on his eyes alone to watch his surroundings. However, the strange girl, who seemed to only speak in riddles was causing almost as much of a scene as the comic book character was, which helped.

In the end though, Walker was forced to peel his attention off of the attractive new arrivals with the coming of one more newcomer - the doctor - who immediately approached the unconscious man behind him. Walker let her pass without argument (and noticed that even she was pretty good looking - what was it about this place?) and watched as she used smelling salts to wake his captive up. Despite her warnings that the man would most likely be too disoriented to even speak coherently, let alone pose a threat, Walker nonetheless tensed up minutely and prepared himself for trouble.

Originally Posted By: Captain Fox

Looking to the four armed man, "If you would be so kind as to stand ready to restrain him once he's conscious I'd appreciate it."

Walker simply nodded to the Captain and turned without a word towards the sniper, who was just coming awake and beginning to cough. Quicker than snakes, all four of Walker's arms thrust forward and grabbed the man, turning him on his side and pulling his arms behind him.

For just an instant Walker's hands were busy performing some sort of complicated operation near the man's wrists, but then he pulled away again so quickly that the sniper hadn't even had time to realize what was happening. He moved further down and repeated the same complicated operation on the man's ankles, and was done just as quickly. Coming more awake now, the sniper began to struggle, and it quickly became obvious that Walker had somehow managed to restrain the man at wrists and ankles with some kind of thin, semi-transparent cording. Where he had gotten them was a mystery, but they seemed to be doing a fine job of keeping the sniper from going anywhere.

[Amarant]

Having finished up with securing his prisoner, Walker turned his attention to the exchange between the Captain, and the other newcomer named Wesson. Hearing what they were saying, Walker took up the whiteboard Jules had given him and, with the alien grace of someone with too many hands and the ability to use them, he quickly scrawled out words on it. Walking over to Fox and Wesson, Walker held out the board so that they both could read what it said:

*None got away. I killed one - you'll find him maybe two dozen meters beyond the fence surrounding the quarantine area. The one who called himself Ira shot the other in the leg, and your men should have him in custody now. The third is right over there, and he's not going anywhere.*

Walker waited until he was sure both men had read what he'd written, and then wiped the words off of the board and scribbled something else onto it. When he had finished, he once again turned the board so that the others could read what he'd written:

*Wesson: you're not thinking tactically. Probably none of them know much, but the woman they were hired to kill won't be talking anytime soon and they're all we've got. Also, the job of sniper requires more skill than the job of arson. So it stands to reason that the sniper knows the most, which is why I brought him, not the arson that the boy shot.

And he's awake now, so can we go question him, please?*

[Dawn OOC]

The sniper was just starting to stir. Groaning, he moved, then froze. His eyes snapped open and he gasped, then gagged. "Ow..." he moaned softly. "My head."

[Wesson]

"Min is my grand daughter, a former MP. Not that maters. As for what you have. Well if you think that is all you have, then by all means ignore what you have. But I am an engineer by trade, and when I say that I am good at that, I am not lying."

Looking Walker over. He would disagree with this logic, but if Walker thought it was this way, there was most likely a reasoning behind.Just because there was logic doesn't make it right.

[Mr Fox]

"I'm sorry, but you haven't made an offer or told me what you have to offer. I'll very happy to employ your services as an engineer and if your grand daughter passes an interview I might offer her a job with security, but neither of those things is urgent. This fellow says that none got away, so I want to question the one I have my hands on and that isn't dead so please be patient."

Looking to the man, "Tell us why you tried to kill the woman."

[Dawn OOC]

Myf's job was done, and she stepped back from the patient. Her eyes crossed the room, over the four (FOUR!) armed man, the faces she already knew - and a waifish blond girl clinging to a young man. The girl was looking expectantly at her; when their eyes met, the girl beckoned Myf closer.

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany remembered Singh mentioning a four-armed man in his note, but that warning wasn't much to forwarn her against the fact. Thus far the most obviously physically changed person she'd seen was Violet...and even she was only 'changed' in ways to make her body closer to some ideal of beauty.

This man was changed in ways that made him less human entirely. Not just arms, but eyes and movement. And then there was that binding maneuver he'd performed, which Myf suspected was something like spider silk even if she hadn't quite seen how the material had been secreted.

What did these changes mean?

She then quickly took in the others. Seeing that Fox and the four-armed man seem to have the captive in hand, she went over to the beckoning girl.

"Hi," she said with her friendly doctor smile, "I'm Myfwany. What can I do for you?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

Cassie straightened and looked at Myf when Fox called her Doctor. She exchanged a meaningful glance with Ira as they watched the red-headed woman.

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

She then quickly took in the others. Seeing that Fox and the four-armed man seem to have the captive in hand, she went over to the beckoning girl.

"Hi," she said with her friendly doctor smile, "I'm Myfwany. What can I do for you?"

"We believe we have information for you," Ira said, speaking up for Cassandra. "You are Fox's doctor...is that correct?"

Ira gently pulled Cassandra away so that he could open the backpack she was carrying and pull out the book. He waited for Myfwany's affirmation before handing her the book, "Believe you need this, baby."

[Dawn OOC]

The sniper looked around nervously; his eyes almost came out of his head when he realized that Fox was there. He was actually more afraid of Fox than the four-armed man, which seemed weird and wrong. "I..." He swallowed and said, "I'll tell you, if you won't kick me out. Otherwise, I have nothing to lose."

[SalmonMax]

Myfwany looked from Cassie to Ira and raised an eyebrow quizzically at his actions.

"I'd hesitate to call myself 'Fox's Doctor,'" she says with some humor. "I haven't been here all that long...but I suppose that is the direction things are moving..."

She trailed off, confused, as she reached automatically for the book that Ira offered. After a moment of examining the front and back covers she gave a puzzled frown as well.

"What is this, some kind of medical reference? It doesn't have a title..."

With a wary glance at Ira and Cassie, Myf opened the 'watcher's' journal to the first page to take a look. After reading a little, she turned to the last page then flipped back to the last page with writing on it.