Don't Dead, Open Inside || Action

[postocular]

Who: Carl Grimes, a bunch of zombies, and you
Broadcast: kinda?
Action: Waystation
When: Right now


(( ooc: This is a blanket content warning for blood/gore/death. So! There are zombies ahead and you’ve found yourself on the waystation! You have two options: evacuate, or fight them off. Things of note to remember: Being bitten or scratched are the easiest ways for infection. We don’t suggest being eaten. Magic will be hit or miss depending on player preference/discretion. Characters who become zombies will be treated as in-character deaths. Standard rules apply! The event will last a total of 24 hours. Have fun, and enjoy all the undead things. If there are any questions or anything at all, feel free to pm this journal or hit me up at skorozima. ))

[ The Fleet has been floating along its predetermined path for the past few days, getting further and further away from the Yadrolla System and toward unknown territory. Along the way, those oh-so convenient waystations continue to pop up at their usual intervals. Identical in every way to every other, boring waystation. Neat, right? There are even some of those familiar orange-skinned aliens and some human travelers milling about and generally minding their own business. It’s a good place to stretch your legs, get sodas of questionable flavor, and take those nifty new pets for a walk!

Interrupting the general peace of the waystation, a shrill siren starts, and a robotic voice comes over the intercom as well as all communication devices on the station and surrounding spacecraft, repeating a monotone message. ]


ATTENTION. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. LOCKDOWN IMMINENT. ATTENTION. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. CALMLY EVACUATE USING THE NEAREST EXIT. LOCKDOWN IMMINENT..

[ Soon, it becomes apparent to those on the waystation what the emergency is. A gaggle? A murder??? Just.. a lot of undead. They’re not in any particular hurry, shambling and stumbling along.. until they spot what looks like some good eats. That seems to get them excited, arms stretching forward, teeth gnashing, and more growling than any sort of verbal mishmash meant to be words. THEY’RE NOT A WORDY PEOPLE, OKAY?

For those looking to escape, it’s quite easy to outrun them unless you’re not paying attention to your surroundings. Corners can be tough! Just don’t get bit or scratched and all is well, except for their incessant attempts at making you a snack. For those who haven’t come across them before, or have run into some variation of them in another world, they’re resilient up to the point of losing their head or the brain being destroyed. Limbs being broken or missing don’t seem to slow them down, just send them a little off-balance.

All they know is attack and eat.

For those of the fleet still on their ships, they gravitate around the waystation, seemingly not wanting to go anywhere. There is a short window of time from the emergency alert to the entire waystation going on lockdown. Those wishing to help evacuate can do so- but they have to be quick!

Once the lockdown is in place, communication ceases with the waystation. All the rest of the fleet can do is sit and wait, and hope for the best. The doors will re-open twenty-four hours later, once it’s clear the situation is handled and they can regroup, count their losses, and wait once again for the perished to rejoin their ranks. ]

Comments

[theirondragon]

[The shot rang out across the otherwise quieting courtyard, but Bull was in a zone, and it wasn't until the last of them stopped moving that he turned. Okay, Tyrion's even smaller than he imagined, but he can roll with it.]

I can think of worse places, Tyrion. [And his good eye flits to that weapon, then back to Tyrion's face before he returns to the ruin of the bench he'd used, taking something left, the bent metal brace, as an impromptu bludgeon.] So, that's a gun, huh?

[theirondragon]

Qunari have thick skin. It takes more than some gnashing human teeth to bite through this hide.

[The point of her question isn't lost on him as he falls in behind her, though. His height gives him the advantage of seeing ahead without taking the point, and she has better depth perception anyway.

You know. Two eyes.]

Why? What, is this plague or something, spreads by contact?

Fight

[hollowvictor]

[Bucky heard the scream too and briefly hesitated in his next step. It was in the opposite direction, Sam wasn't that way, at the very least, safety was this way...but it was a very brief hesitation. He turned on his heel and took off towards where the sound had come from. He couldn't just let some stranger get eaten by these things even if part of him knew he should.

By the time he came tearing around the corner, there was only a crowd of zombies, huddled towards the wall as though they'd been surrounding something. He couldn't see through them to their feet, but he felt sickening certainty the scream had been a death call. He would have just backed away and escaped, but he kicked something metal that skittered across the equally metal floor, drawing the attention of the zombies.]

Ah....shit.

[He brought his gun up and opened fire, one bullet per zombie and they went down. But there were more zombies than bullets when he'd already been at this for hours. He was outnumbered and outgunned.]

B

[hollowvictor]

[It's the banging that draws his attention. It startles him for how close it is, but that sudden alarm changes when he hears someone's voice follow it. That was no zombie.

He rounds the corner, curious but cautious. Just another guy stuck in this nightmare too. Although how he could be hungry at a time like this was beyond Bucky.]

Problem?

[He took a few steps closer, calling out as he walked and careful to keep his body language as calm and nonthreatening as possible. Last thing he needed was to be shot trying to start a conversation.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ He manages to avoid his kneejerk refusal of the very idea of Bucky getting up close and personal with these things, but the violence with which he lashes out with a wing to fling one of them back probably says how much he likes that idea. Bucky is more than capable of taking care of himself and Sam trusts him more than anything, but -

He can't help but be protective. ]

Two sidearms, fully loaded. Extra clip. Haven't had to use them with the wings. Want em?

[ By which he means he's gonna give them to Bucky whether he wants them or not, but asking is better. ]

[hollowvictor]

[There's a nice crunch from the one Sam flung away and it doesn't get back up, so there's that. Bucky shoots three more in a row, buying them a little more time. His free hand comes back to ever-so-slightly brush at Sam's hip. Not too much to distract, but enough to tell him it was Bucky and not some ghoul reaching out. He smiled.]

Are you going to give me a choice?

[He felt better knowing Sam had them, just in case, but he knew he wasn't likely going to win this fight. He might be...more now, but one of them was still partially metal and that won out on the 'who's less likely to get bit' argument.]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ The touch is calming - as calming as it can be in the middle of a zombie outbreak, anyway - and Sam shifts a little, twists his hip until Bucky's hand is closer to the sidearm in its holster. His own smile is probably obvious in his tone. ]

I always give you a choice, farm boy, just one of them means you gotta put up with me making sad eyes at you.

[ It's easier to joke about when he knows he's probably going to win. Bucky is... amazing, but Sam wouldn't want to leave anyone without a longer range weapon in here, much less the love of his life. He's fully prepared to argue that his wings count as a longer range weapon. ]

If we can get somewhere more open, we can find a place up high to catch our breath.

[ He can fly them up and they can wait it out, a little. Survive. It's what he would have done in an arena. ]

[hollowvictor]

[He has to swallow his own protective instincts, but he takes the firearm and shoots another zombie with his other hand, giving him a chance to drop the spent clip from his other weapon and reload.

Sam's right, they can't stay here, it's too boxed in, they need to get out into the open. There's another pathway down the hall in front of him that branches right and should empty out to a clear area, but there were still monsters between them and there and who knew how many past that turn.]

I have a plan. Trust me?

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Always.

[ He doesn't even have to think twice. Whatever Bucky tells him to do, he'll do - and that's not because of anything the Capitol'd done. That's just Bucky. If he's got a plan in a situation like this, Sam's got faith it'll be a good one. ]

I'll follow your lead.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ The chuckle sets him a little bit more at ease, and he latches on to the familiar frustration. He and Bucky have been trying everything to hack into, hell, anything here, but even a vending machine keeps them out.

It's almost a relief to know it's not just them. ]

Can't even pick up any frequencies here, it's just static. [ He shifts even as he says it, swinging a punch to put his gloved fist through the glass on the vending machine - and it's one of the moments that he's almost grateful for his cybernetic enhancements.

After that he moves back from the machine and stills, wings spread like a shield as he keeps his guard up for any zombies that might've heard that. ]

[mikangirl]

Untouched. Probably gonna throw up later, but-- [She glances sharply down the hallway.] Do you have any idea what's going on?

[candothat]

Later is a good time for that. [As sympathetic as he is to that particular feeling... pass. Hard pass.] This is an infection, I think, spread through biting and maybe scratching. Someone who seemed familiar with it told me that everyone infected is dead already. Nothing can save them.

[mikangirl]

[S'okay, Nami always does her come-down reactions with efficient after-disaster planning.]

I wish knowing that made it easier.

...who was familiar with it? One of ours?

[She has a bad feeling it's to do with the Fleet. Or more particularly, Atroma and glitches.]

[candothat]

I do as well.

[It sure didn't make exposing a handful of them to the vacuum of space feel any less like murder, but that's not something to think about now.]

Yes, one of ours. Daryl Dixon? He's new. [And a little too well-informed.]

[hollystrike]

Do you think so? But then I wouldn't be one of a kind anymore. [Pausing here to stab someone. Again.] Apparently "Sir" is all the rage for knights, but honestly you can call me Damn Cat if it pleases you.

[Lookit that she can banter while killing. Well. Re-killing.]

[mikangirl]

[She blinks, glancing up with surprise.] Daryl? He's back?

[And knows about this stuff? She never knew him well enough the first time round, but he sure was a surly paranoid type person. She's beginning to guess why.]

Guess we can ask those questions later.

[therewerefifty]

No. [Kagimura is a wretched man. His pretense at having the higher moral ground at the docks is still fresh in her mind, and news he apparently drove men crazy through torture is not exactly surprising.

She gives a thoughtful hum at Manji's explanation, but shakes her head.]

I think in that, I can count myself lucky.

[throwsdown]

[He gives a nod, rubbing his forehead of sweat.]

Yeah, I got her out of here safely...! [He glances from her, brow pinching, the aura of prior defeats heavy in his eyes.] But there's so many people I can't get to in time...

[collegedropout]

Bites are definitely one way. Just... don't let any of it get in your eyes or mouth, either.

It could be transferable through bodily fluids.

[The bite is certainly the biggest culprit, though. Safe for now, he quickly sheathes his knife and checks the ammo count on his handgun.]

Have you ran into anyone else from the fleet?

[collegedropout]

[Part of him wants to clock the guy for having the subtlety of a rock thrown at someone's face — but another part of him appreciates the forwardness. And oh, yeah, there goes his stomach, dropping into his feet. He had... felt something was off. But he didn't — want to think...

This isn't supposed to happen; Katie's strong.

(Didn't stop her from dying in Adstringendum, his mind reminds him.)

He swallows hard, expression grim, eyes flickering with emotion kept at bay. His jaw shifts, teeth gritting, and he breathes out.]

Bitten?

[collegedropout]

[He breathes out.]

Guess so.

You think you can drag me through a few more walls to somewhere a little less noisy?

[AKA without as many gross undead people scratching and moaning, you know?]

I'll owe you one. Or I guess two.

[canofmanji]

[Manji waits patiently. Expecting some sort of reaction to the news, but unsure just how badly it would be taken. He's impressed by Sam's reaction. Not that he shows or says anything abut it.]

Yeah, she was. Don't ask me how, I don't know that part. [A beat.] But she didn't turn into one of them at the end. [He saw to that.] She was still herself. [It may not matter to Sam as the end result was the same, but Manji respected Katie's strength to go before the madness overtook her so he thought it was important to mention.] I'm sorry.

[canofmanji]

[The worms on his legs have stopped the bleeding now, where the ones on his severed foot have gone a lot slower. Manji picks it up despite the twitching and the way it's dripping. Ripping off a piece of clothing from one of the zombies to wrap the limb in.]

Yeah. I think you should. [He knows he wish he didn't know about these things.]

I wonder how long we'll be stuck here. Or how this even started so we can get it to stop.

[goldenglasses]

[Wait, what?] What do you mean after they died? [That would be a no.]

[passingthrough]

[She was kind of hoping he'd at least know. That he was assuming things and just not rejecting her.]

They'd get hurt and then sick and then they'd die. But after that, their bodies would get up again and go attack people who were still okay to spread the infection.