Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 9b: Undermoutain

[Dawn OOC]

Ed shrugged. "Ain't got nothing better to do when I don't have a mission, so I figure why not? I get sex, she gets taken away from this hell for a little bit - no one loses." He punched some keys on the computer and the avatar started to move again.

Cassie rolled her eyes, while Felicia just shook her head in exasperation. SSX Tricky was starting, and Ira had to give attention to it, at least a little. Cassie leaned against him in a very sensual way, while Felicia leaned against him in a more platonic way. Despite her poor reaction to Violet, Cassie didn't seem to feel threatened by Felicia, even if she was cute and kinda witty. Maybe being friends with her first helped.

After a couple of hours, an airman entered the room. "Mr. Ira? Ms. Cassie? Your room is ready."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Hot damn!" Ira said, dropping the controller and standing up. Unbidden a song came to mind and he couldn't help himself from humming the song as he helped Cass up.

"Headin' down the Atlanta highway...lookin' for the love getaway...C'mon baby, knock a little louder." he sang to his Lady, moving his body to the internal music, smiling.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie giggled. She didn't try to say anything, choosing to communicate with the media she had full control over. Her body closed in and matched his movements, falling into the dance as Ira grooved to his own music. But best of all, her purple eyes sparkled with joy and affection and eagerness.

Ed watched them, bemused. Felicia was a little sad, but she smiled as they danced.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Bang, bang, bang, on the door, Baby." Ira sang as he continued to dance. "I can't hear you..."

Ira was excited to get some real privacy for once, that it was with a beautiful woman and on a soft bed to boot, didn't hurt matters.

Bang, bang. Bang, bang...you're what!? Tin roof....rusted!

"You ready, Baby?" Ira said, pulling her in close. "Think you can handle having a mattress, pillows, even sheets?"

A sparkle-eyed nod later, he was turning towards the Airman, Cass' hand in his.

Sweet Karma, how you repay with interest.

"Alright Captain, you may show us to our suite." Ira said, trying to keep a straight face as he did.

[Dawn OOC]

Before they left, Cassie gave Felicia a big hug. The girl grinned at her sick friend and murmured something. Felicia grinned back and said, "It's a date."

"What was that, Baby?" Ira asked as they left the media room.

"We will come back to her, to challenge her in another contest of thumbs," Cass said, squeezing his hand a little.

The Captain was amused as he walked them through the base to a small room. It wasn't much; a bed and a tiny table with two chairs. A small bathroom was attached with a standing shower. But it was theirs - all theirs. In fact, the Captain dropped a key in Ira's hand. "We'll want that back, but the general thought you might enjoy having your own place." The Captain didn't mention that there were other copies of that key, but Ira was sure that there were. "Enjoy."

And with that, he left them alone.

[Ira Sagebrush]

They turned and stared each other in the eyes, small smirks coming to each other's lips just before they attacked each other in a move hardly seen away from the silver screen. They only just made it to the bed, and well...To say that they 'enjoyed' the room would be a dramatic understatement.

After the bed had been conquered, they had moved to the stall shower, managing to multitask the time there as well, assuring themselves that it didn't leak, having spent enough time there to inspect it thoroughly.

After Ira was well past spent and Cass had finally fallen into a blissful slumber, he got up and padded around on the concrete floor, too wary of their hosts to allow himself to sleep. Walking the perimeter of the accomodations, he started searching for cameras or any other piece of suspicious electronics in the sparsely furnished room, wondering why he hadn't done this before they had roamed the room in carnal lust.

Half way through the room, he heard Cassandra moving and looked back to see her beautiful violet eyes peeking over at him through heavy eyelids as she lay on the bed, slowing kicking the sheets down to reveal her sensuously thin body.

"Already baby?" Ira pleaded, bugs and cameras forgotten like the 90's one hit wonders.

"My Knight walks with an unsheathed sword. " she answered , giving him a coy look.

"You know, you're gonna be the death of me, baby." Ira said, wagging a finger at her as he returned to the bed.

"The Undying Knight fears crossing the Styx by way of Inanna?" she asked, drawing a finger across his stomach where a horrendous scar should have been as he moved to lay beside her.

"No... no baby. My last breath is yours. I'll swim the Styx upstream if you need me. You know that." he said, falling to a whisper as he closed in and kissed her, ending the brief conversation.

~~~

They emerged some hours later, flushed and full of life. Cassandra was dressed in a pair of green cargo capri's and a black halter top, her honey blond hair pulled back in a ponytail that swung back and forth with the bounce in her step.

Ira was sporting a pair of khaki cargo pants with a white tee, his hair much shorter than before, once more looking like an upstanding person of leftover society.

"I sheared the sheep!" Cass exclaimed as she bounded back into the rec room, looking for Felicia.

Ira opened his mouth to throw back a witty reply, but then realized that aside from the obvious unintended insult to his intelligence, she wasn't far off. So he let it go and followed her into the room.

[Dawn OOC]

Felicia laughed. "So you did, Cassie," she said, smiling. Ed was gone, and Felicia had taken over the computer, playing the same game but with a different avatar. "Guys like the room?" She even managed to ask it without a giant leer, just a slight, knowing smile.

Cassie blushed and looked shy, but said coyly, "My knight never flags in his duty to me." Ira grinned at the praise as Felicia laughed.

He started to make his own remark, but Felicia leaned toward and said, "Quick, while we're alone, I wanted to ask - can I leave with you when you go?"

"Not safe," Cassie said quickly. "We don't have the right steed to stave off death."

"Yeah," Ira agreed. "It wouldn't be good for you."

"I am already dying," Felicia said, her tone calm, even with the sorrow. "I want to die under the sun, or the stars, not in a hole in the ground. And I know they're going to rip me apart when I'm done, too. I gave them my life; I don't want to give them my death, too." Her dark eyes were pleading as she looked at them.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira took a deep breath, knowing that this subject was inevitably going to come up before they left. Despite his forethought and quick thinking, he still hadn't come to a decision. He knew Cass had to be riding the fence, wanting a friend, but not at the risk of her death when they hit an armadillo or zombie scarecrow.

He himself, knew he couldn't handle the guilt of Felicia's death in his car because of being ill-prepared, nor was he particularly fond of the thought of having her tag along until she turned, died, or whatever happened on the crap she was injected with. It was too much like Lisa all over again.

But he did want to make Cass happy. And no one should have to succumb to the tortuous ways of the Quasi-Government against their will, knowing that they were hovering with like vultures with scalpels at every rattling breath.

In the end, Ira looked at Cass, waiting for her thoughts on the matter first.

She glanced at him, sharing a silent look before she turned back to Felicia, "The coin is in your pocket, the Ferryman and Styx cannot be fought off by my Knight, choose to tread the dock carefully. No one should be thrown in the water though."

"So with the crazy idea that we're taking your hotness with us, how exactly do you expect to get out of here? They aren't gonna just let us walk out with you." Ira said quietly as he walked closer to her.

[Dawn OOC]

"You might be able to sneak me out in some supply containers," Felicia murmured. She looked animated, more excited than the two had seen her yet. "I don't think they're going to look in them, not if they thought they'd packed them. And so long as some air could get in or out, I'd be fine." She smiled, and stifled a cough.

Cassie looked at Ira, trying to read his expression and see what he thought of this idea.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Ya know, I think you've been stuck under a mountain too long baby. For one, don't see how they are going to give me a supply container. Two, any container that is big enough for you...So won't fit in the car, not by a long shot."

Ira put his hand to his chin in thought for a moment, "Actually, I wouldn't put it past them to just let you go in hopes that I take you back to Fox's. Seems they're jonesin' for the locale pretty hard. Means they probably got you implanted with a GPS or have bugged the crap outta the Nova, thinking I might head back sometime anyway. I'd bet you my left nut if we ask to take you out to see the countryside alone, they let us. Maybe with a 'escort'," He said, putting up air quotes, "but they'll give us such a lead that we could 'lose' them."

"The question is, how do we keep them from following us?" he asked, looking at the two.

[Dawn OOC]

The young woman blushed at Ira's assessment. "I didn't know what car you had," she murmured. "And I have heard that they are giving you rewards for what you did for our people." It seemed instinctive, to think of other soldiers as 'her' people.

The girls were silent for a moment, then Cassie said, "Perhaps what is done for one can be done for more, to slide around without them seeing the movement."

"Be invisible?" Felicia asked, looking to Ira for clarification.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Nah, something different." Ira said, his eyes narrowing at Felicia suddenly.

"Another possibility that we didn't consider...is that you are actually on their side. Encouraging what they really want, which is for you to die, and to get the location of Fox's. Perhaps they promised you freedom, or a cure. Dangled whatever hope you needed out in front of you, in exchange for one small favor...Reel in the newbs." Ira said, matter-of-factly.

Cassie turned, her mouth agape at Ira before it closed suddenly and she glared at him. A moment later she was opening it again, but Felicia cut her off, her faced flushed in anger.

"How dare you! I have given everything for my country! Everything! So don't you dare accuse me of that shit. You don't know me..." Felicia fumed, stopping off in mid-rant as a coughing fit started, which only seemed to make Cass more angry as she rushed to her new friend's side and lended a sympathetic arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there hotstuff! Not quite calling you the ferret just yet. But I had to be sure there baby. These aren't exactly the times to go travelling 'round with unfriendly types." Ira said, apologetically as he approached her, his arms open wide in a gesture of surrender.

"Cass' plan is probably our best bet to get you outta here, but I'm still worried that they got you tagged." He continued, laying a hand on her shoulder as she regained normal breathing and stood up. "Maybe we test it right now...Baby, you think you could blink her across the room?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Easier to carry a kitten than a tiger," Cassie replied, reaching out to touch Felicia. She focused for a moment, then another moment, and then another. Finally, she shook her head. "Need to dance more before ready for the audition," she sighed, looking frustrated. "Never tried these steps before."

"So, uh... how long before you can learn?" Felicia asked looking curious and confused.

Cassie shrugged.

"Plan B?" Felicia asked.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"How big are these supply containers exactly?" Ira said, looking at Felicia with a calculating eye.

[Dawn OOC]

"They vary," Felicia said. "I could get in the largest, but it'd be a tight squeeze." She sighed and shook her head. "Let's think about it. No rush, unless you guys are planning to leave immediately." She tried not to look apprehensive as she asked, "You guys are going to stick around for a couple of days, right?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

"We have a bed and a room and free food, baby. Let's just say I'm draggin' my feet just a little. Cass here would probably leave me if I tried to drag her outta here right now. Need time to catch up on my soaps." he said with a wry grin.

[Dawn OOC]

The three conspirators let the matter rest for now, turning to the video games and movies. It was a luxury, to just slack off and relax and not have to worry about zombies coming to crash in through the door.

Gradually, the need for dinner drove them out of the sanctuary of sweet escapes and to the cafeteria. The two outsiders were a bit on edge, waiting for some military grunt to impose on them, and start pestering them for questions they weren't ready to answer.

"Hi." The expected intrusion came, and Ira turned, a smart ass remark on his lips-

The man before him was so friendly and nice that Ira choked back his remark. Cassie smiled warmly at him, opting not to speak. There was something incredibly awesome about this guy; only Felicia seemed nervous. She looked worriedly at Ira, but he couldn't figure out why.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira stood up and turned towards the new arrival, "Hey man, I'm Ira, care to join us?" he gestured to the table.

Good God, why?

He glanced at Felicia, scrunching his face in question as to her reaction.

[Dawn OOC]

"Tyler," Felicia said, "this is Ira and Cassie. They're travelers."

"Oh, yes, the heroes," Tyler said, still smiling. He had nice teeth, not perfect, but they were charming in their imperfection. "I'd hoped that you were them! As Felicia said, I'm Tyler. I'm one of the refugees here-"

"And a super," Felicia said, her dark eyes unreadable. But she was starting to relax, even starting to smile a little. Whatever had been bothering her was fading away.

"Yes, one of the enhanced," Tyler nodded, smiling. "I was lucky enough to be rescued by our own Fuse-" Felicia snorted. "Come on, he's not the most pleasant fellow, but he did save many lives, including my own. I don't have much defense against the zombies, and they had me cornered-"

"He doesn't like people talking about him," Felicia said. "That's why I snorted. You know, if you wanna show gratitude you should just leave him alone and respect his wishes."

There was a flicker of annoyance, then Tyler smiled and nodded. "Alright, fair enough. I just got a bit carried away, that's all." He smiled softly. "The man saved my life. I know he wants to act like it didn't happen, but... it's hard to forget."

[Ira Sagebrush]

Something just wasn't right. There was an itch in the back of his brain that was screaming to be itched, pounding on his neural impulses with a sledgehammer, but he couldn't quite reach it. Felicia had been acting funny...but had seemed to get over it. This new Tyler dude was nice enough, it couldn't be him. Content to readdress the issue later, Ira focused on the issue at hand, eating warm food.

Sitting back down, Ira asked, "So what's your superpower? Ya said it wasn't much against the zombies, so what, you Johnny Appleseed or somethin'?"

[Dawn OOC]

"I'm afraid all I'm really good at is people," Tyler said, smiling. "I was a psychology professor at the University of Colorado in Denver." Ira could easily see this guy wearing a tweed jacket with funny patches on the elbows. "That was a bad place to be, when things went bad."

"No where with a lot of people was a good place to be on Z-day," Felicia said. Her tone hovered between condescending and agreeable, as if she couldn’t decide what emotion she was feeling. Cassie pushed her food tray away from her and put her head in her arms as the sick soldier added, “That was the day when the wisdom of country living was apparent.” Felicia glanced at Ira, then at Cassie, a question in her eyes.

Cassie mumbled something into the table as Tyler spoke. “Yes, well, I find that cattle make poor students,” he former professor said with a smile. “As do chickens and horses. So sadly, I had to be in the more dangerous area… Cassie, dear, are you alright?”

[Ira Sagebrush]

It clicked.

Good at people, the dude version of that purple-eyed freak.

Immediately Ira scowled and stood up protectively over Cass. "She's fine, and we don't have anything to say to you. Last thing we need is getting interrogated by some sickenly sweet Good Will Hunting, so just take your witty charm and fuck off, we're not interested."

[Dawn OOC]

"I'm sorry?" Tyler asked, looking perfectly confused.

Cassie mumbled again and put her arms over her head, but Ira was watching Tyler suspiciously. "Ira-" Felicia started to say, but Ira snapped, "Don't play dumb - 'good with people' is code for manipulative bastard. We don't need your bullshit, so fuck off."

"Ira," Felicia said more urgently, pointing to Cassie. Red smears stained her arms as she huddled beneath them.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira stopped dead, Tyler ceasing to exist as he focused on Cassandra. Assuming it was self-inflicted, he gently tried to pull her arms up as he spoke and looked for the source. "Cass, Baby, are you okay? What happened?"

[Dawn OOC]

Bloody drops hit the table as he examined her. Her fingertips were red, too, the fingernails crescent moons of crimson. The nails were ragged as well and one looked as if it had bent back for a moment. A dreadful suspicion hit him, and he tilted her head up.

She'd scratched at her face. Some self-preservation had stopped her from damaging the eyes directly, but she'd raked open scratches around her eyes. He understood when he heard what she was saying.

"... army of death congeals around the pit... they sweep the lands, lead by the ferry master... so many... so many dead..."

"Is she having a fit?" Tyler asked calmly. A second later, everyone else felt calm, too. Even Cassie fell silent, her voice fading away.

[Ira Sagebrush]

"No," Ira sighed, his emotions twisted in knots as he strove to be angry, but instead felt like he was stoned...Which wasn't too far from the truth, the method of delivery was just decidedly different. "She hears things, guessing she sees some of it too. From the sounds of it, I don't much blame her for what she did. Now leave, before I do something drastic."

Forcing his gaze away from Tyler, he turned to Felicia, who was looking at Mr. Charm, her eyes letting on about her own inner conflict. Ira reached out and turned her head towards him.

"Felicia, baby, focus. Where's the infirmary? We need to get her cleaned up."

[Dawn OOC]

To his surprise, she turned a little red. "Right," she said as her blush traveled down her neck and disappeared below her robe. Even her Latina tones couldn't save her from signalling her flustered status to anyone who cared to see it.

"Come on, hon," she cooed, putting a hand under Cassie's arm and pulling her to her feet - or tugging until Cassie stood up, anyway. "Let's get you to the infirmary," she said.

As they left the room, Ira glanced back, to see Mr. Charm standing there, watching them go in a vaguely creepy way. When they cleared the doorway, he felt the metaphorical cotton balls lift from his emotions, and he was free to feel again.

"Sorry about that," Felicia whispered in the elevator as they rode down with the silent Cassie between them. "I always am freaked out by him, but when I'm around him, I can't feel that way. It's scary. And I'm not the only one. Fuse hates him."

The elevator opened directly into the infirmary, and Felicia quickly whispered, "Don't let Dr. Sandgrom keep any samples of Cassie's blood!"

Before he could ask, a doctor stepped in front of them. "Oh, my!" she said, pushing graying blonde hair away from her face. "What happened?"

"Dr. Sandgrom, these are the visitors who rescued Miles and Theresa," Felicia said, smiling. "Ira and Cassie, who had an accident. I don't think it's serious. Can you help us?" She glanced at Ira, still with that same bland smile, but there was a wariness in her eyes.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira gave a small nod to Felicia as he met her worried gaze.

Does everyone here have an agenda?

"Of course! Bring her this way." the aging Doctor replied, leading Ira and Felicia with Cass suspended between them into an exam room, stocked with the requisite jar of tongue depressors, cotton balls, and anatomy posters on the walls. "We're very grateful that you brought back Miles and Theresa, without your help, they would have been goners for sure."

"Up here, honey." Dr. Sandgrom said to Cass, gesturing to the exam bed as she donned a pair of latex-free gloves and started pulling supplies out of the cabinet and arranging them on the bed beside the violet-eyed Oracle.

"No problem, Doc." Ira said, still holding onto Cassie's arm, albeit gently. "Gotta stick together in these times, right? With so few left, every life lost, wasted or abused decreases our chances of an encore."

Ira stared at the woman, trying to gauge her reaction. Was she a 'life is sacred' Doc like Singh, or was she a 'life is my plaything'?

[Dawn OOC]

"That's a very good way of putting it, Ira," the doctor said, sounding more like a mother dismissing her child’s frivolous statement about the Tooth Fairy than a doctor agreeing about the sanctity of life. “Very accurate.”

Despite her tone, her fingers were gentle as she began clean the shallow scratches. “So what happened to you, sweetheart?” she asked gently; even if her tone had been off earlier, her bedside manner was good. Maybe she only seemed callous about abstract humanity.

“Tried to remove unseen eye,” Cassie said. Without removing her eyes from the doctor, she fumbled for and found Ira’s hand.

“You should let me remove stuff, honey,” Dr. Sandgrom chided gently. “Especially unseen things. In the future, come see me if you need surgery – I promise I’ll be cleaner than your fingernails.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

"We'll do that." Ira said, answering for Cass.

He wanted to get her out of her, to at least their room, if not the lounge so he could speak to her in relative privacy.

Still need to check that room for bugs.

Anything he said in front of this doctor was sure to make it back to people he would rather not let know anything about them. Was staying here really gonna be all that relaxing if all he did was stress about being watched and grilled by the uniformed freaks? Seeing the President was so not worth all this trouble, that's for sure. It was time they pushed up their plans to get the Hell out of here.

Ira kept a dutiful gaze on the Doctor as she worked, mentally noting everything he was gonna have to try and take with him.

No blood.

[Dawn OOC]

Dr. Sandgrom was quick, but efficient, her gloved fingers cleaning and applying antiseptic and bandages alike with steady, gentle fingers. Ira's sharp eyes watched her drop bloody bit of gauze into a tray next to the bed. "There you go, sweetheart," she said finally, stepping back from Cassie, smiling warmly.

Cassie looked like she'd been caught by shrapnel; the worst of the wounds were covered, but red scratches were still visible around the bits of gauze and tape. Felicia's face was awash with compassion and empathy as she gently put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Felicia, let me check your vitals, while you're here, and I'll need to draw some blood," Dr. Sandgrom said.

Felicia looked like she wanted to argue, but she just nodded and said, "Sure, Doc. You don't mind if we go over behind the curtains?"

Dr. Sandgrom looked surprised for a moment, then nodded. "You two can wait, if you want," she added to Ira and Cassie. "This won't take long."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Okay Doc." Ira nodded.

As soon as they were behind the curtain Ira grabbed the gauze and shoved it down the front of his pants, making sure to spread it around so he didn't look like he was 'augmenting'. That done and satisfied that everything would stay in place, he quickly cleaned the rest of the garbage, throwing it in the trash and returning to Cass' side, taking her hand as he waited for Felicia to return.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassandra twitched, her lips writhing. Blood slowly amassed on her face, except where tension lines marked her skin with white. Ira frowned at her, only to slowly realize that she was struggling not to laugh at him.

They proceeded to have a silent conversation.

Ira threw his hands up in the air, then patted his pockets. That was: 'What else was I supposed to do with it?'

After a moment, Cassie mined eating something, then shook her head. She was saying, 'At least you didn't eat it.'

'That would be disgusting!' was a scrunched up face, of course.

'The things you do for me, my Knight,' was told with a simple smile and a soft kiss.

"There, all done," Dr. Sandgrom said, stepping out with Felicia. "Make sure she eats something with protien and iron in it, will you please Ira?" At his look, she said, "Well, you seem to be the caregiving type. I'm sure you'll look out for Felicia, won't you?"

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Soy and rusty nails...gotcha Doc, we'll take good care of her, but could you do something about the IV? Its so not working with this look." Ira said in an octave higher, putting a finger to the side of his face and shifting his weight a bit in an effort to Queer Eye it.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie looked a little confused, but Fecilia was giggling behind a hand at his antics. Dr. Sandgrom smiled, but shook her head. "Sorry. Felicia needs to stay hydrated, and this is the safest way to do it, not to mention medicine control," she said to Ira. "Trust me, I wish it was otherwise."

"I wouldn't mind getting stuck more," Felicia said quickly, speaking up. "I'm so tired of dragging this thing around."

"Well," the doctor said after a moment, "we'll try it, ok, if Ira and Cassie promise they'll keep a close eye on you."

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Don't think this little muffin can get away from us." Ira said, continuing his act. "We'll keep her close and comfy, like a hotdog in a bun."

Pay no attention to the psycho kid and his crazy girlfriend, they are not the people you are looking for.

"Think we can manage Baby?" Ira said, returning to his normal tone.

[Dawn OOC]

Cassie nodded eagerly, taking Felicia's hand. "With ketchup and relish and mustard!" she echoed Ira's metaphor eagerly.

"Alright, alright, you three," Dr. Sandgrom laughed. "Hold on." She led Felicia to a table and carefully removed the IV. "Now you have to keep an eye on her. And you, Sergeant, you have to come back here every two hours so that I can check you out. No, no arguments. I don’t want to have to explain to the general why you died without me doing everything I could for you. You’re a hero, and I will do everything I can for you, whether you like it or not.”

She spent the next five minutes giving them detailed instructions on how to monitor Felicia’s health, and what to do for her if she had a problem. Most of the instructions were “bring her right here.” But finally they were released.

The moment they were alone, Felicia grabbed both of them and pulled them into a three-way hug. “Thank you,” she murmured into the space between their bodies. “You guys are wonderful.”

[Ira Sagebrush]

"Hey now, watch it with the waterworks, I'm not due for a shower yet." Ira said. Though his protest was merely verbal as he hugged Felicia back with Cass. "How about we test things around here and head back to the car?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Sounds like an adventure to me!" Felicia said excitedly, then caught a coughing jag. The two hovered while she doubled over and hacked. When she was able to breath again, she smiled weakly and said, "Come on, I'm done, let's try this."

Cassie looked at Ira but took her hand, waiting to see whether he canceled the trip or not.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Ira shrugged with a, 'it's outta my hands, Baby', as he followed the two out of the medbay. He still really hadn't oriented himself in his short stay, so was more than happy to allow Felicia to set the pace and lead them back into the light.