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

[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.

[dividedby]

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.

[survives]

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!"

[dualistic]

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.

[fourstonewalls]

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