(IC) An Unceasing Hunger [Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf]

[7LayerDipstick]

With Shia vanished into the darkness and Carine woken from her likely-involuntary slumber, the trio take stock of their situation. The floor, boxes, ATV, and even each of them are all splattered with varying degrees of blood, some their own, some Shia's. The severed section of the cannibal's hand lies in a mangled heap several feet from the ATV. From outside, the cool night air stirs from its prior stillness to waft through the room in irregular gusts. Though muffled by the engine of the ATV and the sputtering of the bloodied chainsaw, the wind carries the sound of a distant motor slowly increasing in volume with each zephyr that draws the noise to their ears.

As soon as Carine is on her feet and moving toward the vehicle, a new noise enters from the darkness outside. A metallic tinkling a few feet outside the overhead door as innumerable small, shiny objects fall to the ground, glistening in the light pouring out of the garage from some unseen source above.

[Metastachydium]

Carine stops dead in her tracks and squints the moment her brain manages to finally register the shower of shinies (which is to say, with a none too insignificant delay). I think it's raining stuff. she comments, thoroughly confused. Her mind is quick to helpfully remind her, however, that the correct reaction would, rather, probably be fear, and accordingly, the mantra switches on: please don't be Shia please don't be Shia please don't be…

Spoiler: Carine

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Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: Jim's bloody cursed knife of unluck (now with more blood) (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, a good deal of wishful thinking

[MaltholLoth]

The comment about it raining is sufficient distraction for him to concentrate on that rather than the pain. "Would.. Ooo.. One of you care to handle this?" he says offering out the chainsaw. The tinkering of metal acts as cogs in his mind. "Are we... Are we driving out? I think of nothing else it gets your feet past whatever that is. Though I sense he sees our plan in the vehicle as way to leave and we would puncture on them. Is there brooms about? Or something to... Brush them from the way." plonking himself against the atv and taking the load off.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C, chainsaw
Dressed: Comfy walking boots, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, no plan

[WindStruck]

"I'm sure there's a broom here," Chelsea says, taking the chainsaw out of Jim's hands and fiddling with it to shut it off. "And I think yes, he's putting tacks out there to pop the tires."

She looks around for a ladder and easily finds one. "You two stay put, or get ready, or sweep. Whatever. I want to go rescue that guy." Along with the ladder, she brings the large set of gardening shears and tries to finagle the load through the door and out into the hallway.

Spoiler: Chelsea

Show

Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini, ladder, shears
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)
-loaded and hands quite full

[Metastachydium]

Carine looks at Jim and then Chelsea, flashing a languid grimace at the latter upon hearing the words tack and pop.. The Lady of the Lake must be wrong; (please don't be Shia) that can't be it (please don't be Shia), the creep's gone (please don't be Shia) and they're going to get out (please don't be Shia) and ride into the sunset or sunrise or whatever (please don't be Shia) – she's lost track of time (please don't be Shia), but it's still kind of dark (please don't be Shia), she can't have been out for that long.

Suppressing the mantra for a moment, she glances back at Jim again. He has an arm and the half plus a leg. She's got a leg and a half plus an arm. She should still be faster. Unless she faints. Again. **** me. she murmurs to herself. It's damn hard to think with so little blood in her brain. But then, why should she? Subdue reflection. Front the Id. She's done that before. She can do it again. A defiant scowl appears on her face and she begins to move, away from the ATV. Will do that. she speaks up, trying to sound just as defiant as she thinks she looks. The sweeping. she clarifies as she quickly scans the tool wall for a broom (giving herself a nasty vertigo in the process) and making a clumsy beeline for it.

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: Jim's bloody cursed knife of unluck (now with more blood) (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, Defiance itself, the autopilot, a nasty vertigo

[7LayerDipstick]

The metallic tinkling fades as Chelsea brings the little engine of the chainsaw to a shuddering halt. While Chelsea hauls the ladder and shears into the hall and Carine makes her way to the wall of tools, the night remains eerily quiet. The only sounds are those of the ATV and that distant engine out on the wind.

Chelsea finds that maneuvering the ladder out into the hall is a bit of a pain, especially when the rungs tend to get caught on the door's strike plate. With a bit of fiddling and a little scratched paint, which Chelsea sees she isn't the first to add to these walls, she manages to get her load straight and can make her way out of the hall into the lodge.

While Carine fights her body's new struggle with adequate blood flow, she spots a nice, wide push broom hanging from a hook. Meanwhile, Jim feels a weariness settle over him as he rests himself against the idling vehicle and whatever adrenaline was pumping through him begins to fade. Jim finds his gaze trailing out the partially open door into the darkness beyond. There, far off in the distance and through the trees that can barely be discerned from the surrounding night, he thinks that, just for a moment, he spots the dual flash of headlights.

[MaltholLoth]

The lights flash "Wait, was that...?" he scrambled with inconvenience of pain and helping aid of the atv to get to the drivers seat. Where was the stick for the lights? The first one he his puts on the indicator. "D'oh!" flicking them back off he pulls the other one towards him. That was the one. Giving the quick pulls, he follows it with three longer ones before repeating the three quick flashes.
"Carine! Carine! There's someone else out there." he says in a hissing tone with the hope they're wasn't a shia waiting in earshot.

"Oh bananas! That woman's gone. We could have tried to get away... I mean all of us. Huff" as mean as it is. He contemplates letting Carine get in then trying to drive out and get to that other... Oh... Oh they would be coming here to help no doubt... "Oh... Oh no! What if I've just drawn them in to die?!" he turns to Carine hoping she would answer his unasked questions.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, frantic ideas

[WindStruck]

Chelsea, being somewhat oblivious to what was going on out there - it could have been another survivor, or just Shia planning to ram into the building with a truck for all she might have known - tries to make headway with the ladder and shears.

Opting to try to drag the ladder by the front edge a bit so she can open the other door and maneuver through, she rather loudly drags the ladder through the doorway with door scraping against it. It was a bit loud and probably damaging to the paint, but at this rate the building was wrecked and people were dead anyway. A bit of scratched paint was nothing compared to what may have been coming. She had to work fast before that freak returned.

She squints up trying to find the shape of the guy that was hanging upside-down. And she begins to stand the ladder upright and open it near him, hoping it is high enough to reach him, or something.

Spoiler: Chelsea

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Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini, ladder, shears
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)

[Metastachydium]

Not thinking about things proves a great boon. It's like a thick blanket of counterfeit wool (is there a better term for that?), all around her mind. The risks are all there still, of course, but those can neither hasten nor slow her for the time being. Jim's there too, which is good, hard as actually hearing him through the ringing of her own ears might be when talks funny like that, and so is the broom and the stuff that rained, but the latter two combine into a thing a lot simpler than they did before. She'll pick up the one and try it on the other. Stuff will happen or it won't and they'll maybe maybe get away and that will be nice.

Accordingly, she merely shakes her head (a bad idea, given the vertigo) at Jim's frantic questions and comments. Dunno, Jim. she says simply, struggling to make sure she's heard as she gently puts down the Bad Knife to exchange it for the broom. It's that, or the creep again or something. she explains with a calm she finds frankly baffling. Unfettered, the straightforward and the spontaneous are potent means to dire ends. Won't matter either way till the shinies are, um… she goes on, leaning on the shaft of the broom and beginning to hobble along with this impromptu crutch with some big shoes to fill. Not there.

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: a nice broom (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, the autopilot, a nasty vertigo

[7LayerDipstick]

Chelsea hauls the ladder out into the open space, seeing it just as she left it. Looking around, she spots the man dangling by his leg, hanging limp exactly where he was. His arms dangle below his head, and his unbound leg juts out oddly in front of him, but he seems, at least, intact. After looking a moment, Chelsea sees that the man is hanging above the observation balcony and begins to drag the ladder toward the stairs.

Jim pulses the bright lights of the ATV, flashing S.O.S. out into the darkness. For several long seconds, it seems the distant lights have vanished, and it feels almost like a relief when their shine can be seen again. It's hard to be sure if whoever it is out there saw the signal, but Jim believes that the lights brighten in pulses as if responding, three rapid flashes of brightness, a single long pulse, and one fast.

And while all this plays out, Carine slowly makes her way with the broom, lost in thought and exhaustion and vertigo, toward the debris sprinkled on the ground. Even the engine noise fades to the background under the ringing, save for the sound of groaning and cracking branches outside. That sound somehow breaks through and layers itself atop the constant tone doing its best to drown out all else.

[MaltholLoth]

Peering into the darkness at the lights... "S..T..E...! What the? Ahh crud, I bet it was just some trees. Still, Carine. What do you think we should do? I don't know if that vehicle is coming here or if it's going to just drive by or? It could be our chance to escape this craziness.". The pain in his leg was starting to throb from his quick move to the drivers seat, his shoulder area provided a strong accompaniment, and somewhat like Carine, if given half a chance he would probably be able to fall asleep.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, confusion

[Metastachydium]

Fly you fool. Some part of Carine's brain doesn't like the lights and new noises at all, and is not exactly subtle about letting her know. It takes quite the effort to force her body to press onwards, but despite the trembling and the cold numbness of shock squeezing her head relentlessly, she perseveres. She doesn't care. This is what she wants and she'll do it. **** her brain.

Descending into a single-minded daze, even deeper than before, she can barely make out Jim's words through the noise assailing her ears from the inside and the outside alike. But that's Jim and he wants her help. He wants her help with something called… STE? She can still do that much. Save the Elephants. she affirms with utmost seriosity. British NGO in Kenya. she adds, just as she reaches her destination and begins to sweep, not even bothering to try and identify the hard rain. For good or ill, this shall be done.

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: a nice broom (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, the autopilot, a nasty vertigo, conflicting drives, some helpful trivia (shared with Jim)

[WindStruck]

Chelsea looks up and sighs. This still might be a bit of work. Thankfully there was still one set of stairs intact, and so she endeavors to carry the ladder up them, slow and steady!

Spoiler: Chelsea

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Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini, ladder, shears
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)

[7LayerDipstick]

Jim, fighting back his tiredness and the urge to sleep, watches as the movement of the distant lights slows, stabilizes, and comes to a stop, both headlights barely visible as they shine off at an angle. After a few moments, the distant engine noise dies away, and the lights can be seen to wane and wax as something moves across the beam. That obscurement is amplified as Carine passes in front of the lights in her single-minded duty to sweep the metal things away despite her exhaustion and severe injuries.

Chelsea carefully hauls the ladder up the undamaged staircase in the lodge's main room. After several minutes of slow movement, she walks to nearly under the hanged man. From her closer vantage, she can see the man in more detail. His face and hands are swollen and purple, thanks to his blood pooling. While he does appear to be breathing regularly, his chest rises and falls slower than expected. Looking further, Chelsea can see the rope is bound around the man's entire calf in a complex knot and then leads up to the ceiling beam, secured with a much simpler knot.

[Metastachydium]

At this point, the changes in lighting barely even register with Carine. Even Jim's silence isn't something that alarms her as yet; he's probably just happy with her answer about the elephants, somehow. It's really an odd thing. Ever since she's begun to actually trust him (and more), Jim struck her as anything but mysterious. But then, his brain, at least, is probably still halfway operational. If they are to be saved by Brtish conservationists, then so be it. She's not going to complain. Nor she's going to give herself a headache over it. More of a headache, that is. Thinking on so little bloodborne oxygen is a pain. She may as well keep focusing on staying useful in, well, useful ways. And so, she sweeps on and on. She'll sure be all out of… Whatever these evil little things even are.

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: a nice broom (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, the autopilot, a nasty vertigo, a headache, a strange peace of mind

[MaltholLoth]

He can't connect Elephants to what he'd asked. What was it he asked? Oh ste, glad it wasn't another set of initials. Carine didn't seem like the sort to talk of those or have anything but care and protection from such things.

Still, Jim looks at the lights, "Flashy flashy... Ahhh." he let's his head fall to the side while watching the lights and Carine. What was going on with those lights. Why would they stop like that, I mean, it had been him flashing. "They've stopped, should we go to them? If they drive, we can get some sleep. I wonder if they have a drink? I think I could do with a drink. Maybe some food too. That'd be nice." with that, he gave a big sigh and blinked a very slow blink.

When he opens his eyes again he shakes his head, no, need to get going again. This place isn't safe. "Hmm" and plays with the pedals testing of working with one foot is likely to be achievable. Yes, a little rev of the engine and he giggles to himself without knowing why.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots with one ankle being less than comfortable, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, tired ramblings

[WindStruck]

Chelsea sighed. This sure wasn't going to be easy, she thought.

The hanging man was also curiously ill. It seemed perhaps only 15 minutes ago he was moving about and shouting. Now he was purplish and still. Better work fast.

Chelsea decides to prop the ladder up onto the beam, closer to the wall. Then she gathers up a bunch of cushions from the various bits of furniture that were around. She places them underneath the man, so not only does it close the gap between him and the floor a bit, but it also would greatly cushion his fall. Then she climbs up to the beam.

Splayed out along the beam, the length of her body flat against it for the best amount of balance, she uses one arm to try to lift the rope up and lessen its tension on the beam. Her other arm attempts to untie the knot. When it's finally undone, all she can try to do now is lower the extra bits of rope that formed the loop and knot through her hands, and ultimately, she has to still drop the man a few feet when she runs out of rope.

Spoiler: Chelsea

Show

Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini, ladder, shears
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)

[Metastachydium]

…flashy... …stopped, should we go… have a drink?…nice.

Drinks does sound nice. Lemme wrap this up. Carine responds dreamily, satisfied with her own dubious efficacy and (especially) the half-heard positive proof that Jim's still around and kind of awake. Then we can walk into the light all you want. Or whatever. She mainly hopes there'll be coffee. She needs coffee. And sugar. In the coffee. More than ever.

[7LayerDipstick]

Chelsea carefully lowers the man as far to the ground as she can with the remaining rope before letting him fall the last remaining distance. The ranger flops unceremoniously onto the layer of cushion Chelsea so thoughtfully provided, and his impact is accompanied by the unfortunately familiar sound of shattering glass coming from one of the lounges on the second floor. Looking up, Chelsea immediately spots Shia, who has halted in mid-stride with a perplexed gaze fixed on the ladder leaning against the beam. His brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape, his eyes trace up the ladder and then across the beam until his eyes meet Chelsea's. He stares at her for a solid second before blinking several times and turning his gaze back to the ladder, then to Chelsea, then to the ladder, and so on for several seconds. His eyes eventually settle on the ladder as he walks toward it.

Down in the garage, Jim is somewhat aware that Carine has swept away the metal things, which is something that Carine herself seems to have not noticed. He also takes note of the oh-so-faint sound of breaking glass and, after a few moments, the sounds of that distant engine rising again as the lights begin to move in a different direction. They still seem to be moving towards the building, but now they have turned at an odd angle that would take them right past the building.

[MaltholLoth]

Jim makes little sense of the lights but it worries him that they're now not moving towards them after his earlier worry that he'd domed them by trying to encourage their coming. "Carine, that'll do it I think, we just need to get out of here."

He looks back to the door in time to hear the crash, if not particularly loud. Was it the woman getting that man down? Was it her just smashing something with ladder, maybe a light? In any case, he thinks getting the atv out of here if possible is the best plan, at least they'll be able to try a different plan... What other plan is there. Releasing the brake, he creeps the vehicle forward. "Does it look like it will fit under?" he asks Carine as it nears the door, trying to gauge it from inside. He then spares a few seconds to look at Carine with a smile on his face.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots with one ankle being less than comfortable, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, tired ramblings

[WindStruck]

Chelsea curses under her breath. C'mon, can't we get a f*****g break?!

As Shia went to move toward the ladder, Chelsea thought about kicking the ladder away from the beam either before he climbed up or as he was climbing up. But then again Shia had apparently jumped up here all by himself without a ladder before...

Well if anything, he was probably going to try to use the ladder as a weapon. So Chelsea tries to get up on her feet and balance away, away from the wall, the balcony, and the ladder to keep her distance from Shia.

Spoiler: Chelsea

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Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)

[Metastachydium]

Carine, that'll do … need to get out…

Huh? Carine looks back at Jim, narrowing her eyes, only to see the ATV inching towards the door. Oh. That. Yeah. she nods a couple of times, her face still very serious. This and shifting her weight somewhat so that she can safely shuffle closer to the man, however, occupy her mind well enough that his question is mostly lost on her, much unlike the smile that she is surprisingly quick to return with all the warmth left in her.

Man. Still can't believe it. she mutters just as she gets beside the vehicle to lean against its side and place her uninjured left on Jim's arm, just above the elbow, stroking it absent-mindedly with a thumb, her hand, if even possible, colder yet than before. Not that she really notices the cold anymore. Whenever's approaching fast, serving as a distraction of the welcome sort.

Unfortunately enough, welcome or otherwise, a distraction is a distraction still, keeping her from realizing that the ATV's still moving, if slowly. Instinct kicks in just fast enough to keep her from headbutting Jim's knee or, worse yet, their ride, but that doesn't save her from losing her footing, bonking her own knee into the latter with a pained Oof and stumbling back a pace barely managing to catch hold of her trusty broom and, therefore, not ending up on the floor. Again.

Sorry. she mumbles sheepishly, her cheeks taking on that pinkish hue again. As she turns her gaze away, in embarrasment, it suddenly dawns upon her. The Lady of the Lake is still gone. Huh. Where's… does she have a name? Her mental moniker for the woman's a tad bit too long and she'd really rather not go the naked lady route for a variety of reasons. After an awkward pause, she opts for wiggling an uncertain finger at where she thinks she left the other door the last time she made use of it. Shall I, like, check on her or… ?

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: a nice broom (equipped)
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, a nasty vertigo, the same old headache, a little warmth and (much to her surprise,) a vertical position

[7LayerDipstick]

Jim slowly creeps their escape forward, eying the gap under the door. By all accounts, there seems to be enough room to fit underneath so long as he ducks. His and Carine's snippet of conversation is cut off before Jim can respond by a distant crunch of metal reverberating down the hall.

Chelsea rights herself on the beam, the height certainly making it feel narrower than it is, and moves away from the balcony and toward the middle of the room. Still, the occasional glance lets her know that Shia is approaching the ladder and, upon reaching it, merely stands next to it, again looking between Chelsea and the ladder. In a moment of focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, she hears the crunch of collapsing metal and turns to see the madman lowering his leg back to the ground. She sees the ladder with one of its legs deformed and cracked. Shia squats down and stares at his handiwork for a moment before looking up and meeting her eyes. In that moment, Chelsea sees the whole of him for what it is: damaged, bleeding, severely crippled, and, above all else, hungry. Chelsea knows that, with the sate the cannibal is in, he is genuinely weaker than her, and she knows that he knows it too. Then he breaks the gaze, hefts the unconscious man onto his shoulder, and vaults the railing to the floor below, heading straight toward the "employees only" door.

[MaltholLoth]

Jim reaches out to Carine to help, but is glad to see her catch herself. Still he stops the vehicle. "Get in here you wally! Then watch you head, it's gonna get..."

The sound of metal crunching led Brian to wake up and smell the car fumes. Metal plus crunching at the moment can only equal one thing. Shia. "Please Carine, quick! I don't know what metal that would be but I know it's not good. We have our chance... Let's go!" He essentially pleads, shifting to hold out his good hand.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots with one ankle being less than comfortable, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, freaked by noises and an urgency of moving lights

[Metastachydium]

Carine hesitates for a long moment, throwing a nervous glance at the direction the Lady of the Lake went. She bites her lower lip in frustration and looks back at Jim. Chick kinda saved my life there, I… she begins to explain, before exhaling loudly. It hurts. Or, rather, it makes her tired. Breathing makes her tired. She doesn't want to make decisions and choices. But she doesn't want to be here either. And that's Jim there. He can't take much more and she couldn't take his taking too much. ****. **** this whole ****. she mutters, all whiny, and letting go of the broom, she takes the offered hand to clamber atop the vehicle and nestle as close too Jim as possible under their current circumstances. Will feel like a nasty piece of crap about it later. Let's ride.

Spoiler: Carine

Show

Blood tokens: 1/5
Item: none
Other belongings: white one-shoulder T-shirt, light gray high ankle skinny jeans (now slightly redesigned), flat thong sandals, a dishtowel and half a roll of gauze, some of Chelsea's fairly dirty dirt, a lot of blood that's not quite where it should be, a nasty vertigo, the same old headache, an all new headache, Jim's comforting proximity, some serious guilt

[WindStruck]

Oh no. The whole time Shia was focused looking at Chelsea.. she actually thought maybe the maniac just didn't register the presence of the ranger she just rescued and plopped onto the cushions. He did seem to have this habit of acting like people didn't existed, back in that garage, or store room, or whatever.

But now.. now he had broken off a piece of metal from the ladder and was hauling off that guy! Oh no, what was he going to do?! Well, Chelsea could only guess what Shia was going to do, and probably guess correctly too.

Well, she was athletic, but she wasn't a gymnast. Yet still, she had to do something! As quickly as she can without losing balance, she returns to the spot above the balcony, and tries to clamber down. The ladder was totally unreliable now, so she had to try to lower herself from the beam and drop a lengthy way down onto the cushions.

And then, she was racing after Shia, and she would hopefully catch him before he murdered that poor man.

Spoiler: Chelsea

Show

Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)

[MaltholLoth]

Jim was happy to have Carine aboard and besides him. He gave a look back at the door, the guilt had already started but yes there would be more, far more later. Still, he had to believe they could find help, if she had lasted this long there was always that chance she would make it through unscathed... If they could get the needed help. Quick. It was a lie, he knew it, but it helped repress the concern for the meanwhile. Darn it, your being selfish and you know it.

Moving the atv forward, he starts to duck down "mind your head. Don't need to add further injury to either of us" he says looking back over his shoulder to ensure Carine lowered herself too. Once out, he again looks back. Then makes as best speed he thinks he can fit the other lights, flashing away at his.

Spoiler: Jim

Show

Blood tokens: 1
Item(s): multitool with torch, couple of alcoholic wipes, small axe (stored in the waist or tie of coat, who knows, not Jim), key B, key C,
Dressed: Comfy walking boots with one ankle being less than comfortable, loose cargo trousers, loose t-shirt (2 tears near shoulder) and lightweight waterproof coat tied around his hips, a blood form of lipstick.
Emotional/mental state: pain, more pain, did I mention pain, freaked by noises and an urgency of moving lights

[Metastachydium]

Jim's extra caution was by no means unwarranted of course: Carine is a little bit slow to properly digest the whole mind your head comment; that said, upon the second prodding she dutifully ducks, seizing, hazy as she might still be, the golden opportunity to prees her face against Jim's upper arm in the meantime. It seems that they are getting to be sad, wet **** together for a little longer than she feared they could. She may as well make good use of that time, just in case.

[7LayerDipstick]

Chelsea makes as much haste as she can back to her impromptu cushion. She reaches down and, carefully gripping the edge of the support beam, lowers herself off the edge to hang as low to the ground as she can manage. In one moment, Chelsea releases her hold on the edge, and in the next, she finds herself stinging from the impact with the padding but thankfully uninjured. It was no net, but it at least saved her a few broken ribs.

Without time to recover, Chelsea scrambles to her feet and rushes back down the stairs in hot pursuit of Shia. She turns the corner at the bottom to see the "Employees Only" door open and Shia jogging down the hall with the unconscious ranger bouncing on his shoulders. She takes off after the madman, doing her best to close the distance with the unhurried cannibal.

As Jim turns back for his final visual inspection, his eyes meet Shia's as the cannibal crosses the threshold with the discolored form of the hanged man. The moment they see each other, Shia drops the ranger on the floor and breaks into a sprint toward the ATV with fury in his eyes. Even as Jim accelerates, Shia gains on them until he matches their speed just a few feet behind. The two slightly speeding objects leave the glow of fluorescent light, leaving Shia only visible by the red lights glowing from the rear of the vehicle.

[WindStruck]

Chelsea gives chase, but Shia has had quite a head start. At this rate she doubted that she would catch the cannibal even in his injured state and carrying a man over his shoulders.

But then, as she enters the employees only hallway, she catches a glimpse of Shia's face. The old classic something-else-has-got-his-attention face. She more cautiously follows back to the warehouse, only to find the ATV, Jim, and Carine gone, and one bloody broken Hollywood superstar hotfooting it after them. The ranger was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

The first thing Chelsea does is change the ranger's position to a more agreeable one on the floor. She drags him over someplace to sit him more upright, and then she slaps his face a bit.

Spoiler: Chelsea

Show

Blood Tokens: 5
items: half a bikini
-excellent swimmer
-fairly dirty and blood-spackled (but it's not her blood)