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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Jun 15, 2013 23:51:29 GMT -8
   
Seth-
"Dammit!"
Seth handed his flare off to Kyle and ran after Joe. |
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Post by Gillsing on Jun 16, 2013 0:01:12 GMT -8
Ben was slightly confused. And possibly annoyed. Then again, even if Joe caught up to Beau, perhaps Beau would insist on going on rather than going back? 
Ben-
"I don't get it. Don't we want to know where that monster-man was going with his backpack? Maybe the mummy sent him out to some special place? He just ignored us when he came out the door, so I'm sure Beau can handle it."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Jun 16, 2013 0:37:55 GMT -8
Stevie made no moves to join those runners. He yelled  
Stevie-
"Eh, we're just going to go home now, Seth, OK?"
Seth-
"See you there!"
 
Kyle-
"Now this is a little weird, but whatever."
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Post by Gillsing on Jun 16, 2013 1:30:49 GMT -8
Ben sighed. He thought they'd have a nice and deliberate discussion about their options, not decide on the spot to split up like that.
Ben-
"Well, I can't keep up with those guys either. So I guess I'll be going home with you. Though there's plenty of daylight left, so if that monster-guy isn't going too far, I figured we could've just waited a while for Beau to come back and tell us where he went. Too late for that now, huh?"
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Jun 16, 2013 1:38:27 GMT -8
((We'll see what Patti & Ashley do before proceeding.))
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Post by Dr. Jar on Jun 16, 2013 7:11:07 GMT -8
 Ashley kept his flare out though he ran after Beau and Joe himself. Joe would be a fool to run off like that alone. He wasn't a sprinter but he put on a pretty good sprint when he had to, and this was no exception. He also somehow managed to neither stab or burn himself while running so that was something. "I'm behind you." He reminded Joe. |
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Jun 16, 2013 8:02:50 GMT -8
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Jun 16, 2013 15:28:06 GMT -8
Ben thought the thing was only speed-walking, but had a good lead, would probably never tire, and so would be impossible for him or Stevie to catch up to. It also had headed up hill, and judging by the direction Beau was moving, was turning the opposite direction from the 403 - where Stevie had said they were going.
Nonetheless, due to it only speedwalking, fitness maniac Patti might be able to marathon up on it eventually. (Gillsing, paraphrase if you like or just say "I said that junk" plus Ben's opinion.) Meanwhile,
Joe had some SWAT gear on, but was a little too large to fit into the armor comfortably & went vestless. That plus only having one gun, a light baton, and fewer flares made his gear lighter than Ashley's. With his long tall-guy stride, he was covering the distance pretty quickly.
Seth was even lighter, having hardly any equipment, and was more of a runner to begin with. He caught up to Joe and slowed to keep pace with him and talk.
Ashley had body armor, a handgun, a rifle, ammo for both, a crowbar, a bunch of flares, and a magical from-ass-pulled-sword-that-wasn't-there-at-the-start-of-the-mission, so was much slower at running up hill than the other guys. Nonetheless, fitness and persistence, he'd get there eventually.
Seth-
"Dude, what are we gonna do? We gotta follow this thing, right?"
 
Joe-
"Yeah, I can't believe we didn't think about gunfire drawing monsters in that building - we shouldn't have *huff* This thing's our only lead now..."
They ran over debris, past zombies, jumping over cars and the like. They considered calling out to Beau, but didn't want to potentially draw the monster's attention.
Ashley saw the guys run around the corner at 6th. He kept slogging.
Joe and Seth could see a fork in the road ahead. One way was the continuation of 6th Avenue, the other I-5 South. Cars were piled and crushed around the entrance, making foot traffic the only way to go - and limiting the speed of it.
Then they saw the creature. It was moving very swiftly, walking up onto a car at the on-ramp, over the top of it, wobbling slightly as it dented the roof, but remarkably stable. It never slowed, kept going.
Beau seemed to be pacing himself and much more capable than the guys trying to catch up. He tossed Chou onto a car and followed the thing's path directly. It really did seem oblivious to the pursuit. The thing and its pursuer were on the highway...
Seth-
"Man, I wonder how far we should follow this thing. What if it's going to like, Oregon?"
Joe-
"*huff* *wheeze* Don't say that, man!"
As they began to run on car roofs, they noticed something very uncanny. The thing was trailing massive amounts of blood, making the passage slippery. Where was it getting all that juice from?
Ashley was persistently running after Beau who was running after the deadite. He was at least intelligent enough not to yell after them, but decided that a bit of jogging was safe enough along the way. Still, it was getting hot in his armor and his bag was heavy, though the cargo was too precious to drop. He continued onwards, putting the sword back within the bag.
As he rounded the corner to 6th Ave and got a short distance before he saw Seth and Joe. His fellow tall guys were easy enough to make out in the tangle of abandoned cars. He followed them, tiring himself out some in trying to close the distance, but tenacious as ever. They went onto the highway.
It was weird thinking about the highway. It was always symbolic of leaving town - something people had mostly given up on the idea of achieving.
As he got onto the highway, he could see that the travel was happening entirely on the roofs of cars now. Well... He could probably catch up in a little while...
Seth and Joe could see Beau & Chou much more clearly now, and he seemed oblivious to them. Of course, running on the roofs of cars was incredibly noisy, and he was focused on his target.
Up ahead, they could see it. The thing was mostly black or blackish red, and seemed to be flowing with an inexhaustible supply of blood, from every orifice. It was absurd and horrible.
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Post by Gillsing on Jun 16, 2013 17:24:45 GMT -8
Ben told Patti about the monster-guy as they kept moving.
Ben-
"He was keeping a brisk pace, possibly speed-walking, and didn't look like he'd stop for anything. Not shambling like a zombie, but also not cackling like a demon. Maybe you could catch up to him, but I don't think the rest of us could."
Kyle-
"Yeah. Good luck with that. Actually, it looks a damn sight safer than hanging out in that building was."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Jun 16, 2013 17:26:56 GMT -8
((Anybody can respond how the like here and I'll edit it in if it's temporally weird.
edit- I edited Ashley's last thing into the post above.))
***
Seth used the spear as a sort of walking stick, trying to stay balanced on the cars. Taking a mis-step was a sure way to a twisted ankle. Some of the cars were wrecked and jagged, and everything was rusted and awful. Probably get tetanus while you were at it.
He got a look at parts of the city he'd never been to. Trapped zombies looked feebly on as they were pinned immobile between wrecked cars. Overpasses were lush with growing vines that trailed down like a forest canopy. Random buildings were charred, a couple were completely demolished. How? Why?
The Sound was visible on occasion, glimpsed between buildings. It was, of course, boat-less and empty.
The footfalls on car roofs was noisy indeed, and lazy zombies gathered on the sides of the road to watch. One fell off an overpass in a rather grisly display.
Ashley paced himself for a stretch before picking up speed again. He was glad the thing was only moving at a swift walking pace or this would be impossible. Up ahead, he saw Seth & Joe catch up to Beau.
As Seth and Joe neared, Beau suddenly noticed the noise they were making and turned to see them, startled.
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Post by ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ on Jun 16, 2013 18:33:04 GMT -8
 
Beau-
"Ah--! What do you do?!"
He nearly lost his footing for a moment, but regained his balance and kept following the monster, letting the men talk to the back of his head.
Joe-
"*huff* We were about to ask you the *huff* same, dammit."
Beau-
"I must follow the blood guy. 'Zeh only thing I'm good at doing. "
Seth-
"Whoa, it is a blood guy, isn't it? Well, I mean, we wanna follow it too, but how far should we go? What if it doesn't stop until after dark?"
Beau-
"I won't stop, I 'ave a torch, I must find where it goes."
Joe had an expression that said "loading, please wait." He panted and clambered on the blood-slicked cars.
Joe-
"...OK, Seth, I think this mission is too dangerous to risk many people on. You should go back. I'll stay with Beau."
Seth-
"Man, really? We brought the whole SWAT team just to go to the tower, you guys don't even know where you're going yet! What if you need more backup?"
Joe-
"I went into the tower first to keep you safe. That turned out stupid, but it's a lesson learned. I'm saying *huff* I'm more interested in the safety of you guys than you are, so trust me *huff* to keep Beau out of trouble, OK?"
Seth-
"Tch, I guess. If you guys don't come back I'm gonna be pissed so you better do it."
Beau-
"I'll find it, don't worry."
Seth gave them a lone fingergun, and stopped on a car, letting them pass in front of him, and away.
As Joe, Beau, and Chou (Jobocho?) quickly receded in the distance, Seth turned to see Ashley fast approaching. In the background, near the peak of the Columbia Center, he saw a few dark floating shapes that were clearly not birds.
Seth hailed Ashley, and started walking back his way.
Seth-
"They're gonna go after it and report back I guess. Damn. It. I feel like I'm always out of the action."
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Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Jun 16, 2013 19:16:03 GMT -8
((That's the plan... People can wrap up as they like here, then it's back to the 403. Ben's group will get home first, followed by Seth and Ashley an hour later, all well ahead of nightfall.))
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Post by Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse on Jun 16, 2013 19:33:50 GMT -8
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Post by Gillsing on Jun 16, 2013 20:02:15 GMT -8
Ben wasn't quite as quiet, and voiced some concerns that would probably be better suited for a debriefing back at 403.
Ben-
"I wonder if we'll ever get back to Columbia Tower. What was it like in there? Think there'd be any chance at reaching the upper floors? Maybe after using a lot of fire?"
Kyle-
"Man there's so many ghosts. And, like, random meat chunks. And sea urchins made out of severed limbs. I just don't think I'm desperate enough for solutions to get into that any time soon..."
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Post by Dr. Jar on Jun 16, 2013 20:49:12 GMT -8
Ashley stopped, and then turned, reluctantly. "Why are we letting him go on alone? It doesn't seem right to turn back now." He looks less than pleased at having to stop now. "I'll keep them covered. It's my job, Clemens, sir." It was hard to tell if he was just serious or in the heat of battle. Or both. He looked overheated in all of his armor and the dufflebag probably wasn't helping much, but he certainly had the will to continue. "Only two against a beast... I have to go." He looks ready to start off after them. |
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