Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

[dividedby]

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

Comments

[rocksthecourt]

[from here]

He finally made it outside and away from the Monster Formerly Known as Nurse, but it was hardly a cause for celebration. No one was safe just yet. In fact, it was probably worse out here. They were on a forest road in the middle of the night. Aside from the headlights of the buses and the slight glow of moonlight, it was pitch black out here! The kind of dark that exists only when you were far far away from an actual city. Needless to say, he was hardly accustomed to such a thing. Dead dark. And dead quiet outside the howling wind and the distant sounds of screeching (not exactly a reassurance in and of itself, by the way).

That sound got closer and soon huge, HUGE shadows could be seen flitting about overhead. Bats? Birds? Yes, birds. Though they were far too huge to be normal birds. Klavier wasn't given much time to gather his bearings as the birds started to swoop. One dived at a patient not too far away from himself, thankfully missing. But it was enough to startle a yell from Klavier and he stumbled back. Verdammich!

"...Move away from the headlights!" he yelled before taking his own advice and quickly making his way toward the closest tree. Whatever these things were, they were attacking from above. Being underneath some kind of cover might either help keep them hidden or else harder to spot. Getting away from the brightest light source might help as well... though who knew how well these things could see in the dark? Still, it seemed like the best immediate course of action.

Trees didn't seem much safer and venturing away form the path was the equivalent of suicide. There really was only one choice. As much as he hated to admit it, the institute was probably the safest place. At least there, they were indoors and there were rooms to hide in and run to. Out in the open, they were helpless, especially without weapons or flashlights. All they had to do was follow the road in the direction the buses were facing. Simple enough if one ignored the imminent death flying around above them... But Klavier wasn't going to just make a run for it like a coward. He needed to see that people were getting off the buses safely, and... although he had no idea what he would be able to do to help, he couldn't just turn his back if someone ended up getting attacked. And he wanted to ensure the people he knew were safe as well.

He reached down and felt along the ground, trying to find something like a tree branch to use should he need to suddenly swat a gigantic monster hawk away. ...You'd think there would be one at the base of a blasted tree. Just his luck. Oh, but he found a big rock, for whatever the hell good that would do against those damn things. Ach. He looked up at the shadows flying above head, resisting the urge to cover his ears from the screeching racket, and carefully moved along the treeline toward the other buses. It was all he could do at the moment to attempt staying out of sight.

[Nigredo!! Albedo!! You kids better be alive, dammit!!]

[atrabilis]

[From here, and wow.]

There existed a distinction from within and without. Nigredo felt it the instant his feet touched ground, the second his form was enveloped by the fluttering of shadows overhead. Green eyes flitted toward the sky and down to the horizon as the boy recognized shapes in the distance. As he found wonder and not fear at their sight.

What he saw could not be so easily described in his language. Animals were an unfortunate rarity in his timeline, an antiquity not so easily forgotten (like he could ever lapse in memory). Witnessing a type seen only on U.M.N. documentation proved to such an odd experience, and without something more concrete, Nigredo had only silence for the spectacle. Birds, large and many, hovered overhead. Once in a while, they dipped down to peck at a fellow patient. Sometimes, they landed to rush at another. And Nigredo--

Nigredo remembered. He reached to yank Albedo toward the trees, in time to see a particularly large avian aim for their particularly obvious location. Somehow, this was enough to break the boy's concentrated anger with the need for survival, and he ran toward the forest with his brother in tow.

Somehow, despite it all, he still kept to his silence.

[purgatio]

[also from here--and Nigredo godmodded with permission]

A bit similar to that night, save for a difference in numbers. There had been three, the third panicking and screaming and making them move on, and here there were only two, only two nonchalant and nearly unaffected children, apathetic in the clearest of sense to their plight. They would move, but there was no real grounding in the attribute of motion; no emotion pushed them on further, forward motion prompted only by common sense.

--Something that suddenly Nigredo seemed to lack. His brother pulled him forward suddenly, darting in a run, and Albedo frowned even as he was pulled along. Yes, there were birds, but there seemed to be no pattern to their aim, and acting like this was--

The creature shrieked and dove at them, claws raking into the earth where Albedo had been the moment prior, before Nigredo jerked him forward and out of reach. It beat heavy wings to rise for another decent, and Albedo turned his attentions back forward. His brother had wanted to go toward the trees and--

Oh. "Oh. Klavier." A mild surprise aimed at his brother rather than any sort of greeting, and tired, Albedo pressed against Nigredo's side, face against his brother's shoulder. Here, then. This would be their screaming, panicking third.

[rocksthecourt]

From the treeline, the overall chaos was more easily observed and simpler to think through. People were spilling out of the buses quickly and the entire area was a mass of movement as patients literally ran for their lives. And the noise. Everything was screaming, yelling for names, animal screeches, pounding of feet.... That alone was overwhelming, to be honest. The birds seemed to be attacking randomly and dove down so suddenly and with such force, people only had seconds to react. And with how many there were, the assaults and consequential heart attacks seemed constant.

Since taking cover under the trees along the side of the road, it seemed like the birds hadn't taken notice of him or else hadn't been able to navigate a way to attack from above this way. Others seemed to be figuring this out for themselves and were also moving to get out of the open, but even so, it was obvious it was far too dangerous to linger here for long. They needed to find refuge quickly.

Just as he was thinking he should start heading toward the institute himself, he spotted familiar faces heading in his direction. Nigredo and Albedo, one pulling the other along by the hand as they ran for cover wordlessly. Before he could think to say anything, Nigredo yanked Albedo forward just before... whumph! The sound made it so the impact of the near miss could nearly be felt, even from where he was.

There wasn't any time. No time for greetings or to linger on personal feelings, good or bad. All that mattered was getting away. Klavier only glanced briefly from one child to the other as they approached. Then he swept a hand in his direction and turned slightly, preparing to run alongside them. "This way, come on!"

[atrabilis]

...That was ridiculously close. Nigredo even felt the tiny pricks of dirt and rocks, byproducts of the creature's force in its dive. Like a smart child, he pressed forward, a steel hand gripping around his brother's. It wasn't until the mention of a name and a hasty approach that Nigredo took pause. He glanced up at the newcomer's face with something like surprise, the remnants of a fever apparent on his brow and a flush upon his cheeks.

"Klavier," he echoed. There was no time for pleasantries, however, as the man gestured toward an exit with the intent to follow. Of course, Nigredo would not refuse. He shifted directions and aimed to run along the path as directed, even as his body suddenly threatened to burst into flames.

How it had gotten so warm, Nigredo could not say.

[purgatio]

...Were they really... Taking advice from Klavier? Albedo blinked in an over-obvious surprise, then shrugged to no one. If Nigredo wished to, Albedo would follow for now, and any way--

Anyway, about three of those birds were all homing in on them, and Albedo idly wondered if they would be fought over or if they would share and share alike--it was something to consider, at least--

Something belated registered to him, and Albedo tilted his attention back to the one holding his hand. "Nigredo..." he started, then considered switching to the link while running. The thought was shunned for now; even that closeness would give away--

Give away what? He blinked, then frowned in concern. "Are you okay?

[rocksthecourt]

It felt bad, honestly. Running away, that is. There were still plenty of people exiting the buses, and bounding off to save himself didn't feel like the right thing to do. Had he been in his rightful place and had subordinates at his disposal, he would have been back there and helping the police properly organize an evacuation. But in this place, he was as much of a civilian as anyone else and there was only so much he could do. That and... he really was frightened.

Having someone he could help and guide helped him maintain his own composure to a certain degree and kept his head straight. It gave him a sense of responsibility. But it also meant he was more focused on their surroundings and their movements than the children themselves. He ran alongside them both, up toward the looming building in the distance.

It wasn't until Albedo's question that Klavier turned to inspect the two. It was difficult to see in the lighting, but apparently Albedo thought something was wrong with Nigredo. Was he injured? He wasn't moving like he was from what Klavier could tell. He silently waited for Nigredo's reply, but soon a much bigger problem presented itself to them.

Whumph! That heavy sound again, though different this time. Klavier turned in time to see one of those monstrous things had landed in the road alongside them. The trees had been enough to make it difficult to dive at them from above, but it hadn't kept them from being seen. This one had decided to take its chances on foot, it seemed. ...And it looked far bigger when one had time to properly look at it compared to a quick flash of movement.

"Look out!" Klavier yelled, though it was mostly drowned out by the screech that thing aimed at their group. What should they do?! Should he tell the kids to run on ahead? Use the trees for cover? Swat at it with a branch? ...Could it be scared away? There were only seconds to react....

[atrabilis]

At times, a single question became the sole facet that shifted attention, and Nigredo found himself moving from the presence of deadly birds to an inquiry regarding his welfare. Though he did not slow his steps, he spared his older brother a look, one that perhaps gave away the answer immediately. He had a growing fever since the night prior, and the mention of monsters and murder crept quietly in the back of his head. Okay seemed meaningless.

Still, as it was addressed out loud, Nigredo could not leave the facts as such. He blinked and rolled his eyes toward Klavier beside them, as though to assess the man's reaction. "I don't feel well. I haven't been since yesterday," he admitted. "But now isn't the time to--"

Consider such things. For something had crossed their path with the intent to kill.

Even without proper assessment, Nigredo understood they were too far from the safe haven of the trees. Furthermore, they lacked weaponry, with nothing physical to deflect its course toward them. Which, of course, meant the boy would have to take a chance. As the eldest of their group yelled for caution, the youngest gathered his waveform to a fine point. This he shot at the bird's feet as his own sight whited out, causing the creature to stumble off its balance and fall to the earth.

[purgatio]

There were a few things to consider as the scenario changed. That Nigredo had been feeling ill since yesterday--perhaps that shouldn't be questioned, for one who was near to death. But it remained, and heightened awareness to concern, adding a layer of anxiety to the scenario. Which was furthered when Nigredo moved to attack the avian that dropped down, waveform shooting out in a way Albedo had not thought was possible any longer. The bird stumbled to a drop, and something glitched along the link, shorting out.

Static fizzled in his mind, and Albedo prioritized.

His wrist twisted out of Nigredo's grip to grab his brother's wrist instead, and the boy darted forward, faster than the speed Nigredo had been taking. As they moved to pass Klavier, Albedo shot out, "If you fall behind, we aren't turning back," and left the man to determine if he would move with them.

Either way, it might have only been a useless move. Even while the one Nigredo had downed rocked back and forth on the ground, the second of the trio was diving down for a pass, claws raked out before it.

[rocksthecourt]

The words clicked immediately. Considering the epidemic that had been on everyone's lips all day, how could they not? Nigredo had gotten sick. It was a possibility he hadn't at all considered for whatever reason. And unfortunately, there was no time to linger on the implications.

Everything happened very quickly. That thing landed and Nigredo... he used used that aura ability to pacify it. He'd only ever seen Albedo use it before, but he recognized it immediately. The difference here, however, was it was much faster and a different color. As to whether it was as strong or not... didn't matter. It was enough to cripple that monstrous bird and enough to grant them a momentary advantage.

Albedo grabbed Nigredo and took his turn dragging his brother along as they bolted for the institute. Of course, he couldn't do so without at least being a little annoying for the sake of it. Klavier said nothing in response, but there was a distinctive look thrown at Albedo before he sprinted after them. ...There would never be any expectation of them stopping for him. They had better continue running no matter the circumstance. In a bittersweet kind of way, it was nice to know that with Albedo taking the lead and pulling Nigredo along that that was guaranteed.

But it was true that he might not be able to keep up for long. Klavier couldn't say he was much of a runner. He didn't have the stamina to jog for extended amounts of time. Thankfully, adrenaline and certain death chasing after them was an astonishingly good motivator, so for now he was only a step behind the two. Don't look back. He shouldn't look back. Just focus on running. Move move move move.

[atrabilis]

Running blind was a scenario Nigredo had hoped to avoid in his lifetime, but for the next twenty-five seconds, he had to deal with this particular consequence. The child supposed he should be fortunate that another was literally leading him by the hand, except the addition of sudden fatigue, the slow progress of his illness, and the ringing in his ears made the task challenging. Nigredo struggled to keep up with Albedo's near-ridiculous pace without tripping over his feet while hoping Klavier had taken to the advice and was running for his life.

Otherwise, that stunt would have been to no avail. Not that it particular mattered, of course. Sounds of movement indicated there was something gaining ground behind them.

Gaining ground and gaining it fast.