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

[fourstonewalls]

"The introduction isn't necessary. Though I haven't met his friend," Lana said, turning from Harvey to the young woman. "I'm Lana, and this is Harvey Dent." She didn't dare hold out a hand to help the woman up; she didn't especially want to call attention to the gloves she was still wearing. A fever she could hide, but the rash was more noticeable.

Instead, she looked up, and then wished she hadn't. The birds were circling -- like giant vultures, and that wasn't even slightly reassuring. A large group was a target. But saying that out loud was tantamount to putting the slowest of them up as a target, and Lana wasn't willing to do that. Zero was injured, she was ill, and none of them were armed.

[dividedby]

Zero didn't need to look for very long (although someone else shouting nearby distracted him from searching...and also reminded him that sticking too close to the front end of the bus where the headlights were shining wasn't a very smart idea, so he took a few steps away from that general direction). Leanne called out to him before he could spot her, and he turned to the sound of her voice to see her running up to him, clearly distressed. "Leanne!"

Not far behind her were two others he knew - Harvey Dent and Lana Skye. (They were acquainted...? Oh, that's right... Ema had said that her sister told her about Dent.) Zero only nodded his head in greeting as they approached; they could talk later, after they all got out of this mess. "We need to get out of here, or at least find something to defend ourselves with." Judging from their surroundings, that would only be sticks and rocks...not very effective, but better than nothing.

Especially against those eagles, who were still circling overhead and looming ever closer. Were they about to attack again? Damn... "What are those things?" he muttered as he briefly stared up at them, expecting one to dive down for the group at any moment.

[survives]

Leanne stopped to catch her breath, glancing over at the two newcomers. They weren't anyone she'd seen before, but Zero seemed to know them. That was a good sign, as far as she was concerned. And she couldn't deny they needed help, defenseless as they were against these new monsters. "Uh, Leanne!" she remembered herself enough to give her name, nodding once at each of them.

"Yeah... We should get out of here. We can't fight something that's flying," she agreed, turning her gaze upward again, toward the monsters. The sooner they got away from them, the better. There was something entirely too eerie about them, and she didn't believe for a second that they'd forgotten about them. One of the monsters in particular, was it... It couldn't possibly be...

"Look out!" she screamed, as one of the birds dived back down.

[dualistic]

Harvey was relieved that Lana took upon the task of introducing them, since he didn't think now was really the time. Names could have waited until they weren't being scoped out as prey, although he also realized that time might not even come at the rate things were going.

In response to Zero's question, Harvey just shrugged, casting a quick look up at one of the birds. "You think any of us know better than you do?" It wasn't like Zero hadn't seen the monsters this place had to offer before now.

He had to agree that trying to fight something that could fly when they only had their fists and maybe some rocks to rely on seemed like a monumentally bad idea. He was about to suggest they make a run for it, back toward the institute (which, unfortunately, was uphill), but that was when one of the many birds chose to attack.

Except it clearly wasn't aiming for him. Harvey didn't even really need to dodge out of the way, but he felt his stomach clench when he realized he might end up watching someone else die tonight.

[fourstonewalls]

"I don't think," Lana shouted, as a second bird swooped down. "That stopping," she added, as it swerved away towards another group as suddenly as it had dived down at her. Quick breath, don't panic, keep going, Lana. "To check my notes would be a valuable use of my time."

Still, even if she wasn't trying to think, her mind was racing. Why had it stopped? Could it smell sickness on her? Or was it using something else as a criterion?

Something she'd read once was ringing a bell. Oh, god. She'd thought that was just a ridiculous rumor. But they did seem to be targeting specific patients, so whether or not their choices were that -- unique -- didn't matter. What mattered was getting out of here. Everyone had told her the first lesson in fighting was to run, and it didn't matter if she wasn't sure she could do so without coughing, she had to try.

What they needed was an opening. She swung her coat off her shoulders in one fluid motion, and flung it over the head of the bird headed towards Leanne.

"Take that!" she shouted. It shrieked back, the noise painfully loud, and flapped its wings. That wouldn't hold it for long. It would have to be enough. "Run!"

Lana put her money where her mouth was, and sprinted down the road back to town, hoping the others would follow. The town was going to be crawling with zombies, but the Institute might not be any better, and it was easier to run downhill.

[dividedby]

Zero's suspicions had been correct; those birds had been preparing to attack again, and two of them went straight for the group. One aimed for Lana, although for some reason it changed its mind and flew off as quickly as it had come down. (That was...odd, but there was no time to question it right now.) The other targeted Leanne, but thankfully Lana managed to stop it with her coat before it could reach her.

But that wouldn't be enough to stop the hoard (or even that particular bird for long), and there was no realistic way they could fight off such a large number of these beasts without any weapons. Run - yeah, definitely what they should be doing right now. "Come on!" Zero shouted over the screech of another deformed eagle that was flying low overhead, the same one that had dived at the Reploid earlier who was now looking for a second try. Being on the move most likely wouldn't discourage it from giving up the hunt, but it was better than standing around and letting it have an easy meal.

As he started to run, Zero tried to keep an eye on his pursuer in case it dived for him again; he also noticed that Lana was leading the group back towards Doyleton, but he made no effort to correct her. Actually, he preferred this direction. They were finally out of the Institute, so why should they go back to it? If there was some way they could make it to town before the night ended, then they could make use of the supplies he'd seen in the stores there... Useful supplies.

Of course, they would have to survive this chaos first...

[survives]

"Th-thanks!" she managed to gasp out, only able to watch as Lana hurled her coat at the monster, effectively saving her from the attack. What was with those things? They just kept coming! Leanne huffed, her fingers practically itching for the feel of one of her guns in them. Some way to shoot those damned monsters out of the sky and keep them from becoming bird food: that was what they needed. And to think she had a perfectly good gun back in her room at the Institute!

But time to worry about that was the absolute last thing she had just then. Worries about weapons and the Institute could wait until they were somewhere safe, away from nurses and flying monsters. With a nod, she set off after the others, not even daring to look back at the bird that had tried to attack her.

It didn't take long for her to realize what direction they were headed in, however, and even she could tell they were running opposite the one the buses had been taking. "Are we going back to the town?" she called out.

[dualistic]

Harvey hadn't missed the way that one of the creatures had aimed for Lana and then backpedaled as if it had decided she wouldn't taste so good after all. None of them had even come near him so far, and he had to wonder if that was because he smelled charred to them. Granted, it hadn't stopped some of the other monsters, like those bats, but either way he was glad that he hadn't taken his bandages off yet. Tonight might be one of those times that he just left them on.

While he and Lana seemed to be in the clear so far, the monsters were far more interested in Zero and -- what was the other girl's name, Leanne? Either way, running was what his original plan had been, so he didn't hesitate to take off after the others. Lana's idea of tossing her coat up to distract the thing was the sort of quick thinking he approved of.

What he wasn't as sure about was the direction they were going. Leanne picked up on it first. Lana had led the charge, so she probably had some reason for heading back down the hill instead of up toward the institute -- or maybe she'd just been running in the easiest direction.

"Looks like it!" he called out, not thinking it would be a smart idea to turn themselves around now. While he didn't know if he preferred zombies to these picky winged things, he wouldn't mind grabbing himself some more ammo for his gun. And maybe they would even get lucky and find something of use in that town. There probably weren't going to be as many zombies as that one night, so it was possible they'd have more freedom to give the place a proper search.

That was a long way to run, though, and his wounded body didn't hold up so well under physical exertion. Harvey didn't want to be the straggler, though, and so he tried to push through the pain in his chest.

[fourstonewalls]

They'd followed her -- that, or a herd of wheezing elephants was Landel's latest addition to the menagerie. Leanne and Zero caught up to her quickly -- when Harvey didn't pass her within a few steps, she glanced back. He was running, but he was moving stiffly. How badly was he injured? And was this something new, or part of what had happened to his face? It hadn't escaped her that that hadn't healed as quickly as things seemed to do here. Granted, it wouldn't ever look normal again, but she'd seen deep gashes heal to faded scars in days.

Should she slow down? She opened her mouth to ask him if he was alright, and coughed instead. And again. Well, that answered the question quite handily -- she couldn't keep this pace up, either. She dropped back to a jog, and fell in behind Harvey. "Town," she finally got out. "Or just away from the buses. We make a tempting target." That wasn't quite true, but Leanne and Zero did, and whatever came along after the birds might not be so picky.

[dividedby]

It wasn't long before Zero, too, noticed that some of the other group members weren't doing so well. Dent wasn't matching everyone else's pace, and Lana - whose sudden fit of coughing was a little worrisome to hear - fell back behind him. Of course, Zero didn't want to lose half of the people he was traveling with (nor did he want to blindly run in front and not be able to see if something was about to attack the others), so he slowed up as well. Was everyone alright? He was concerned, but questions about his companions' health could probably wait until they were out of this mess...

At least everyone seemed to be in agreement for going back to town. To him, it was perhaps the best idea for now. "Yeah. We can pick up supplies from some of the--"

A loud shriek cut him short, coming from that same eagle from before who was now flying up behind him fast. There was little time to react when he looked back to notice it, and the Reploid used what time he had to shout "Watch out!" and then fall forward onto his hands and knees. Just quick enough to avoid being grabbed, but not quick enough to avoid a sharp talon cutting into his shoulder, tearing through the fabric of his clothing and into his skin.

Although it began to bleed immediately, the cut wasn't deep or painful enough to prompt concern; in fact, Zero almost didn't notice it, he was so focused on continuing to move and making sure that beast didn't go after any of the others. He pushed himself off the ground and quickly caught up with the group, expecting the worst. But the eagle took to the sky once again, squawking in frustration, as if the rest of the group didn't exist.

"Why are they so persistent?!" he hissed, glaring up at his pursuer.

[survives]

The fact that two of them weren't keeping up was hard to miss. As far as Leanne could tell, Harvey had trouble keeping up from the start, but Lana only slowed down after a coughing fit. She bit her lip and slowed her pace, glancing over her shoulder at them. What was going on? They couldn't possibly be sick too, could they? This sickness, whatever it was, hadn't slowed her down (yet, she couldn't help but think, before quickly discarding the thought), but that was no reason why it couldn't be the cause.

As it was, they'd just have to deal with it, regardless of the reason. Slowing down would only make them all the more vulnerable, but they couldn't just leave Lana and Harvey behind. The birds didn't seem interested in them, strangely enough, but the nurses were likely still around.

At the screech that interrupted Zero though, Leanne was quickly reminded of the fact that they were still fair game for those birds. She let out a gasp upon seeing Zero injured, the sudden appearance of the monster catching her by surprise. That... That idiot! Was he going to get attacked by something every single night she saw him?

"H-hey! You okay?" she yelled as soon as he caught up to the rest of them again.

[dualistic]

Between his body generally not being up to snuff these days, Lana coughing up a storm, and Zero getting nicked by one of those birds, the four of them made a pretty pitiful group. Actually, Leanne was the only one who seemed to be holding her own at the moment. Harvey found himself torn between not wanting the rest of them to slow down for his sake and not wanting to be ditched. While the birds didn't seem to have any interest in him, that didn't mean he wanted to wander around on his own.

He had to wonder what was going on with Lana. Where had the coughing come from? This was the first sign of sickness she'd ever shown, which meant she might be suffering from that infection. Now wasn't the time to ask, but it was something he kept in mind for later, when they weren't in immediate danger.

This was the second time that Harvey had seen Zero get injured, and he wasn't even sure if the younger man had recovered from what those bats and that dog thing had done to him a few nights back. He didn't mind the chance to slow his pace even as he kept an eye overhead in case they were targeted again.

"With any luck they won't follow us once we get far enough away from the rest of the group," he said between gasping breaths. "Not sure what attracts them, but the blood probably isn't going to help." Too bad they didn't have time to wrap Zero's shoulder.

[fourstonewalls]

"Agreed," Lana said, and left it at that. She didn't need to start coughing again.

She picked up her pace, aiming for something she could keep doing -- a long, purposeful stride, one that could keep up with men a foot taller without making her look like she was hurrying; it had come in handy before. Usually running away from vultures meant avoiding the press. Not...actual vultures. Or whatever these things were.

She thought about offering to hang back; the birds weren't attacking her, though if they had fewer options they might get less picky. But Zero, at least, wouldn't agree. Nor could she just leave him behind, presuming she could move fast enough.

She did duck down, though, and pick up a handful of gravel from the berm of the road. A quick throw, and it would at least be a distraction, if another attack came.

[dividedby]

"I'm fine! Just forget about me and watch your back!" the once-Reploid shouted in response to Leanne. He was the last thing his companions should be worried about, as far as Zero was concerned. Although, now he was becoming aware of his injury and the pain that came with it. It wasn't enough to slow him down, but...Dent brought up a very good point about it. Would the blood from this cut attract those monsters? If yes, then this was a problem...and one they wouldn't be able to solve for a little while.

Damnit... Once again, he was becoming so useless...

Before he could keep cursing his bad luck, however, Lana's act of scooping up gravel from the ground quickly reminded Zero to stop thinking negative and start thinking of solutions. He pulled off his coat as he continued to run and held it in his good hand; hopefully it would make a decent distraction in case that eagle monster tried to attack him again (or anyone else, for that matter). Better than nothing.

It would be alright, he tried to assure himself. With each step they were getting farther from the chaos surrounding the buses and closer to town. Closer to real weaponry, among other useful things. As long as they kept moving...

But thankfully he wasn't naive enough to believe that nothing else could possibly go wrong, or that the worst case scenario couldn't happen. So Zero kept a sharp eye out for eagle monsters or anything else that might be around. Better safe than sorry.

[survives]

There was nothing to be done about it then. They had no choice but to keep moving, away from the buses and monsters. Not that their destination was that much safer, but at least there they wouldn't be out in the open with nothing to protect them from attacks. A small advantage could still easily mean the difference between them living or dying, after all.

Leanne could only hope that they could make it that far, considering the state they were in. As much as she would have liked to believe it, she wasn't stupid enough to think her own symptoms would just leave her be for the rest of the night. Already the beating of her heart had been bothering her during the bus ride, though it was difficult to tell just what was part of that and what was exertion as she ran. If she was lucky, maybe her stomach would wait till later in the night to act up again.

"Okay! Just... Just try not to get hurt anymore!" she shouted back, more uncomfortable than she'd have liked to admit with the idea that the blood might attract the monsters. Lana and Zero's actions, however, the gravel and the coat, were almost comforting, a reminder that they weren't completely helpless. Too bad she didn't dare take off her own coat just yet, not with that mark still on her hand. There had to be something she could do...

"We've just... How much farther away can it be?" She shot another wary glance at the birds still above them.

[dualistic]

Against all odds, all of them were still on the move. They weren't moving as fast as they could have been, but taking it at a slower pace was probably best. Harvey wasn't sure he could sprint all the way down to the town, seeing how they still had a ways to go. The idea that he was going to have to stop and rest at some point annoyed him, but that was still the reality of it.

For now, he was forcing himself to keep moving. He watched as both Lana and Zero prepared themselves in the event that they were attacked again. He probably could have done something himself, but right now Harvey was focused on just one thing, and that was keeping up pace with everyone. The birds weren't interested in him, so he didn't need to worry about defending himself right now anyway.

He didn't see what good it would do to ask someone to try and not get hurt, and sent a glance at Leanne when she said that. Maybe she just wasn't thinking clearly. Running downhill was easier said than done, after all. This whole process was hell on his knees, and he felt dangerously off-balance.

"You were on that bus ride, weren't you?" he snapped at Leanne when she asked her question. "It's not exactly close!" His frustration at his own limits was coming out in his voice, but he didn't particularly care. It wasn't like he knew this girl in the first place.

[fourstonewalls]

"Closer than the alternative," Lana snapped back. She wasn't sure, actually -- they might have been closer to Landel's, but arguing gave her something to think about other than the ground beneath her feet, which was going by far too slowly.

"If we can get around a few more corners, we might lose the birds." The road twisted and turned, and the trees would help. Though something worse could be, and probably was, right around the next bend. One thing at a time, and one step at a time.

[dividedby]

Try not to get hurt anymore, huh? Nice thought, but it was rather unnecessary. Zero didn't need to be told; after all, the whole point of him removing his coat was just so he could avoid taking any more damage (and therefore prevent any further bleeding that might make things worse). Not to mention he was well aware of the eagle monsters that were still looming dangerously over their heads, the few that had decided to separate from their flock of sorts in order to hunt the four of them down... But hopefully, as far as that was concerned, Lana would be right. Hopefully continuing onward might persuade the beasts to give up the chase somehow.

Guess all they could do for the moment was keep moving...

...and try to stay calm, if at all possible. Becoming frustrated as Dent seemed to be wouldn't help matters at all. "Closer or not, it's better than going back to that prison!" the once-Reploid added. Anywhere was better than there.

[survives]

Leanne scowled, only the need to keep moving preventing her from giving in to her first reaction. Instead, she grit her teeth and glanced over at Harvey, making an effort to keep her voice steady. "We're a lot closer than we were before!" Really! Just what the hell was wrong with him? What did he expect her to do? To cry about how much farther they still had to run? No way, that'd be a complete waste of time!

...Just like arguing was, as much as she'd have loved to tell him just everything she was thinking.

At any rate, Lana seemed to have the right idea. Losing the birds, that had to be their priority, even before getting back to town. "Okay, got it."

[dualistic]

As it turned out, all three of them had a response to that comment. The worst part was that they had a point. Each step that he moved forward was one step closer to the town, and even more importantly, one step further away from the institute. Harvey had no delusions that they wouldn't just end up in their beds once dawn broke, but at least this felt like they were making a more concerted effort to get the hell away.

So he continued to run, and with the four of them working together, it almost felt like he was pushed to keep going purely by the need to keep up with the rest of them. That only lasted for so long, though. Harvey started to wheeze harder, felt his legs weakening under him.

He almost tripped over a rock in the road, and that was when he realized that one of the birds had gotten wise and flew ahead of them. It was swooping down to try and literally block them from running any further, which meant they were going to have to act quickly.

Harvey stopped up short, almost relieved that he could quit running for a second, and started looking for another rock that he could hurl at the thing.

[fourstonewalls]

They had to be getting close to town. The road had leveled out a bit, and Lana thought remembered this section. Another turn or so, and they'd be starting to hit the residential sections.

Which meant houses full of zombies, but if they were quiet, maybe it would be alright. She kept plodding along -- her steps were surer now, though whether she was warmed up or just feverish, she wasn't entirely certain.

Lana almost ran into Harvey as he stopped, and she looked up. Damn. She'd been watching the ground go by beneath her feet too much, and the sky too little.

She threw the rocks, not at the bird, but at the line of trees along the opposite side of the road, just a bit behind the bird. It squawked and turned its head, just for a second, which would have been the ideal time to do something. If she had any other ideas, which she didn't.

[dividedby]

The group's overall health was starting to become an even bigger concern than before, as Dent didn't seem to be doing well at all... Zero could hear him breathing harder and noticed he really seemed to be struggling to keep going. Should they all stop and take a breather? They were quite some distance from the buses now, so it wasn't like it would be a huge risk to pause for a few minutes... Forcing someone to keep going would only make it worse for them in case the group got attacked again.

...Speaking of which. An eagle monster decided to make that pause or keep going decision for the group, as it suddenly swooped down ahead of them in an attempt to stop them in their tracks. Lana reacted first by throwing rocks just near it as a distraction. Zero, meanwhile, turned instinctively to check the immediate area around the group. There had definitely been more than one of those monsters stalking them. If one was trying to head them off, then it wasn't hard to imagine another coming at them from a different direction while the group was distracted with the first.

His suspicions were correct; another eagle was flying down to block the other way down the road, although whether it was intending to attack or let another eagle monster do that job for it wasn't clear yet. "There's another one behind us!" the once-Reploid shouted as a warning, then turned his body to face it. He was taking a risk here - last time he'd chosen targets in a multiple monster attack, it had ended poorly - but he wasn't about to let this monster get a surprise attack in. His coat was ready as a makeshift weapon in case it came closer.

[survives]

"This is so not good," Leanne muttered to herself. Whatever those monsters were, they were a hell of a lot smarter than the ones she was used to. Few of the monsters she knew could have so easily blocked off their escape routes, even with one momentarily distracted. Its distraction would have been just the opportunity they needed to outrun them too, but with the states at least two of them were in, she couldn't be sure they'd all make it. The appearance of the other one only made it all the worse. Zero looked like he was gearing up to face the new one, but they couldn't just waste the distraction Lana had created either...

Taking her cues from the others, she glanced down at her feet, on the lookout for anything that could serve as a temporary weapon or distraction. A rock, a stick... Their coats had worked well enough for Lana and Zero, and hiding the mark on her hand was beginning to seem less and less important by the second. Would she have enough time to take off her own before either of them reached her, she wondered, even as she began to pull on her sleeves, as quickly as she could. Throwing it at either of them could serve as another distraction, right? The same way Lana had saved her from the other one earlier on.

"Two of them are too much for us right now!" she finally called out, only moments before the second bird swooped closer and closer to them, showing no sign of slowing down. All right, here goes, were her last thoughts before throwing her jacket as hard as she could at the approaching monster, only able to hope it'd slow it down some.

[dualistic]

Talk about overkill. While most would have assumed that in a four-on-two fight the winner would be obvious, that definitely wasn't the case here. Most of them were injured or sick in some way, not to mention the fact that their best weapons were handfuls of dirt and their own clothing. The monsters, on the other hand, were equipped with razor-sharp beaks and talons. They didn't really stand a chance in this situation.

Still, no one hesitated to make some sort of move. Lana's strategy was to distract the first one, who was the more immediate threat, whereas Zero and Leanne seemed focused on the second bird.

Not wanting Lana's efforts to go to waste, Harvey was struck by relief when his hand finally moved over a decently sized rock. Soccer had been his sport more than baseball, but he was going to have to hope that he had a good enough throwing arm. He took just a split second to focus before he flung the rock forward, aiming right for the thing's eyes.

"The second we have a clear path, we run!" he shouted to the others. They couldn't let these things surround them for too long, or they'd end up shredded to pieces.

[fourstonewalls]

Harvey's aim was true, but the birds were big -- and one flailing its wings, half-blinded and angry, wasn't necessarily an improvement.

If they were going by scent, though, she should be able to sneak past. And at this point she was creating theories out of whole cloth, relying on the evidence to fall into place after the fact. Which wasn't really the way she preferred to do things, for all she had enough experience with it.

"Let's go," she yelled, running almost straight at the bird in front of them.