damned_institute | Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

Entry tags:

Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

Edited 2012-05-17 06:13 (UTC)

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.

"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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

It wasn't long before the second eagle monster dived for the group, seemingly having its mind set on attacking them after all...damn. Just as Zero was about to toss his coat at it, however, Leanne turned and threw her own at it first, stopping it in its tracks. Good...but of course, he knew it was only a temporary victory that probably wouldn't last very long. There wasn't much else they could do without proper weapons...

Fortunately, his other two companions, from the sound of things, had managed to distract the other eagle as well. Though who knew how long they had before that creature snapped back to its senses, too? Time was of the essence, then. Lana shouted for them to get going; Zero didn't need to be told twice.

But he was not going to start sprinting on his own this time. Not when Leanne was still next to him. Yes, he understood that she was perfectly capable of running on her own, but he didn't want her to be left behind with that other eagle monster so close by. So he swiftly reached for the young woman's wrist, grabbed it (roughly - there was no time for gentleness in a life-or-death situation like this), and then pulled her along with him as he quickly followed behind Lana.

It wasn't a permanent gesture; Zero fully intended to release Leanne once they were some feet away from the monsters. But for now, he was going to make sure that at least one of his companions wouldn't be left behind.

Before she could even fully process what had happened, Leanne felt a hand grip her wrist tightly, pulling her back in the other direction. She let herself be pulled along as realization sank in. They'd done it! Between the four of them, they'd managed to distract the birds long enough to give them the opening they needed. This was it, this was their chance!

Quickening her own pace to catch up, she shot one last glance over her shoulder. At the rate they were going, they likely could outrun them and rid themselves of at least one threat. The night was far from over-- and who knew what else awaited them-- but, as far as she was concerned, they could count this as a small victory.

"I don't see any others up ahead!"

No one hesitated to run, which was the sort of quick thinking they needed. In a matter of seconds they had left the two disoriented monsters in the dust. The things were fast and deadly, but not exactly smart. That was how humans seemed to win out every time, or so he was learning. Granted, fleeing like this didn't do much for his pride, but right now all pride would get him was an unhealthy amount of blood loss.

Being stopped in place for that short period of time hadn't really given him a chance to catch his breath, and so he was still struggling to push his body forward. The hill's slope was steepening, which made it even more difficult to keep his balance, but the plus side was that the town was coming fully into view now. They were almost there.

If they'd made it this far, chances were those birds wouldn't be following them any further, especially since he and Lana didn't seem to be to their taste. Of course, chances were they'd been running into a different kind of monster in town. From the frying pan into the fire, then. Though that one phrase more or less summed up life at Landel's.

At Leanne's shout, Lana put her head down and just ran, trusting the girl's eyesight over her own. Her eyes were fixed on the road, trying not to tumble down the hill.

For all the road was steeper, though, it was also better-maintained, and she didn't even need to look up to see driveways branching off on each side.

[to here

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject