Night 58: Recreational Field

[promisedawhale]

[from here]Stepping outside sent chills all over Brook's body for how cold it was. He'd welcomed it when there was snow for him to play with, but given the absence of the white powder this evening, Brook only shivered and crossed his arms to rub away the sensation

Comments

[scintillatingly]

[From here.]

The first thing that Sora noticed was how cold it was. It was nothing compared to the night when he'd gone out with Venom, of course, and yet it was still enough to start him shivering. He knew his outfit wasn't really ideal for this kind of weather, but if they kept on the move and walked quickly then he was sure he'd warm up soon enough.

The field seemed to be completely abandoned for the moment, which was hopefully a good sign. It could also mean they were about to be attacked, but Sora tried to be optimistic.

"Straight over the wall," he said, pointing forward even though his flashlight couldn't reach far enough to illuminate the wall in question just yet. "You guys know how to do this by now, right?"

[tasteoftruth]

On the far side of the field, behind the equipment shed, Badd quietly pulled his gun. He really should not be here. His job was to make sure the murderers and thieves were taken off the streets and put in prison where they belonged. Keeping them from getting out again was someone else's problem. But an assignment was an assignment, and if he had to stand out here all night and hold back any convicts stupid enough to try and make a break for the wall then he'd do it.

And here came the first customers of the evening. Prison security must be garbage in this place. Even worse, they looked like they were just kids. Disgusting. Criminals were getting younger and younger these days, world was going to hell in a handbasket.

Badd stepped out, gun raised "Turn around and go back inside," he barked, loud enough so they could hear him across the field. "I am armed and I will shoot if you feel like pressing your luck tonight." Of course the most annoying part was the insistence that there not be any fatalities. He wasn't a murderous man, but if

[kingdomless]

Kairi found herself giggling as she followed Sora out the door, not saying anything else on the matter because, after all, she had been joking. Plus, she knew neither boy was lazy (During the night, anyway. Day was another story.) so it didn't really matter.

However, once they hit the outside air, the princess couldn't help but shudder at the chill air as it hit her skin. Clicking off her flashlight and shoving it into her pocket, she then proceeded to wrap the now free arm around herself, her other clutching tightly onto the sword at her side. "I think this goes without say, but I miss Destiny Islands because it never got cold like this," she said in a hushed tone, trying to keep her mind off of the fact it was cold and that it snowed in this world. Oh, how she missed the beach

[antiheroed]

Kairi's plan had been a good one. It was the one they did before. Somehow, it just figured that they would run into some kind of obstacle. If it wasn't the night ending suddenly, it was something else; this time, it was a guy with a gun. And if Riku learned anything while he was out with Albedo the night before, it was the fact that guns had the same effect. There really wasn't any in-between on that

[scintillatingly]

Sora hadn't expected to get stopped up so soon and his expression darkened almost immediately when he heard the voice. It was hard to see the guard completely from so far away, but his orders and threats were loud and clear. Sora stiffened, preparing to make a run for it. It was likely that one of them would end up wounded by the time that they got up and over the wall, but this wasn't a situation where that could be helped

[tasteoftruth]

Looked like at least one of them was armed. What horrible security did they have here, that a skinny teenager could get his hands on a sword? They probably passed out at the sight of a full sized serial killer.

Badd advanced on the trio as they kept arguing amoungst themselves. He kept his aim on the white-haired boy, that one seemed like the one most likely to do something stupid. "Oh, I agree," he said. "If you three go back to your cells like good little children then I don't have to fill out paperwork and you don't have to spend the rest of your sentence in the hospital."

Did they think he wouldn't fire on teenagers? That would be a stupid thing to think, even for criminals. His voice turned from snarky to iron-cold. "I don't do warning shots, kid. Move." One sword against a trained policeman with a gun. Badd hoped this would be over quickly, anyone with sense would know they were doomed to fail.

[kingdomless]

And ... now the boys were going to squabble. Kairi couldn't help but frown and place a hand to her cheek as she tried to think things through. Now that Sora and Riku were close together, if she tried to run, she would probably be shot.

... Or at least shot at.

Honestly, the way the princess looked at things, she had the upper hand here. She could run faster than them if she used the Darkness that flowed through her veins to her advantage, but that always left her feeling like she wasn't in control of herself and just ... like she was going to be taken over again. She didn't want that.

However, if the boys were going to fight over who should be used as the target practice, she would do it. And if they yelled at her, she could easily turn it around on them. The double standards weren't fair, as far as she was concerned.

"We could always go around," she said quietly, frowning. "Since I really don't feel like getting shot right now unless I have to," she warned, looking towards the two boys, her fingertips beginning to tingle.

[antiheroed]

This was a point when his friends' approaches to things clearly differentiated from his, and it bothered him. It wasn't that he was playing the great self-sacrificing hero, but he wasn't just going to turn around and accept that this was the end of the road. Riku watched Sora out of the corner of his eye. A number of plans popped up in his head, and if he was alone, he could execute them. Or if his friends weren't the way they were, it could happen, as well. It wasn't that he wanted to get frustrated with them for this, but it was happening all the same

[scintillatingly]

This really wasn't the time for an argument, and yet Sora couldn't agree with Kairi's idea either. Backtracking just because they'd hit a snag wasn't going to do them much good, especially when they had so far to travel. No, they had to face this head-on, but they were going to do it as a group. Or at least as a pair. Sora's strategies seemed to include mainly himself and Riku, partly because he didn't want Kairi involved and partly because he wasn't as used to fighting alongside her

[tasteoftruth]

Badd watched them for a few seconds, braced for their next move. Moments passed and he began to realize that the three had elected to stay in place and keep chatting as if Badd wasn't even there, rather than leave or make a suicidal run across the yard. It made a guy feel a little bit insulted.

Badd wasn't comfortable with the idea of shooting kids, or even shooting at kids (because when you had your finger on the trigger you had to be ready to kill). No matter what they'd done to fuck up their lives they still had a lot of life left to go through.

Still, they'd made their choice. Badd aimed for the legs of the one with the sword. If that one went down, hopefully his buddies would get the idea. At this range in this light and this situation Badd couldn't be certain of hitting his target...or at least hitting the body part he'd aimed at. With the way they were clumped together he might even hit the short one or the girl. Either way it wasn't important as long as he got the point across.

"I said, move!" he shouted, and fired.

[kingdomless]

They were still not moving. Kairi listened to the two boys as they spoke about attacking the man - Sora one way, Riku the other - and the redhead instantly felt that usual sinking in her stomach. I'm going to be left behind again.

Turning her head, she swallowed down the ache in her heart and opened her mouth to speak -

When suddenly there was a gunshot from the man, and he was shouting, and without thinking, Kairi screamed, lifting her hands to cover her head, even though she knew well enough her arms would not be able to stop a bullet. "Just run for it! Separate! He can't aim for us all at once!" She had no idea where the man had aimed. She had no idea where he was currently aiming. All she knew was that standing around waiting to see what they would do was not working, and though they would probably be upset with her

[antiheroed]

Later, it would dawn on Riku that none of this made any sense. Why were these guys still out doing this while they got that speech from last night? This was something that Sora and Kairi mentioned to him before, and it seemed ludicrous now. But at the moment, he wasn't thinking of that. His own self-berating had to be set aside as well. Thinking fast didn't mean having the time to truly analyze what it meant that Sora and Kairi thought that way of him-rightfully, too

[scintillatingly]

In the end, any plan he made, no matter how sensible, just didn't matter. They'd used up the man's patience and the sound of the gunshot echoing across the open field almost caused Sora to jump. That was more than enough to spur anyone into action, and having both of his friends yelling orders at him meant that Sora was done being stubborn

[tasteoftruth]

Winged one, by what he could see in the dim light, but not enough to stop him running. Badd whirled to follow them and fired again before something dark and warm sent him sprawling. He was left shuddering on the grass for several seconds while his body tried to figure out what the hell had just hit it.

It wasn't a bullet, he'd been shot far too many times to not know what a gunshot felt like. But it had hit him hard and left him weak.

Job still to do. Shake it off. Get up. Badd staggered to his feet and took after the prisoners, too dazed to yell another warning. It wouldn't matter anyway. The trio had decided they had a death wish, or at least a vigorous bodily harm wish, and Badd would be happy to grant it.

[kingdomless]

She could barely hear the boys behind her. Kairi turned her head slightly to look back at Riku and Sora - just in time to see Riku appear to shoot something at the man that was shooting at them. Through the darkness, she could see the man's body fall for a moment before ... getting back up.

Faster, she hissed to herself, hearing another set of footsteps moving after them.

She had to think of something, especially considering it sounded like one of them was slowing down. Who? She knew they had been shot at before, but she hadn't seen anyone actually get shot ... but that had been because she had been so quick to move. Still, she couldn't help but let that worry flow through her as she neared the wall.

And once she reached it, Kairi waited, beginning to climb, but stopping. She had to see which one of them was hurt first, because if it came to it, she was more than willing to use the Darkness to stop the man at least for long enough to get them over the wall.

[antiheroed]

Fatigue made each one of his steps heavy-then heavier-and heavier still, until he almost couldn't make it to the wall. Riku ground his teeth as he managed, just as the bullets started coming again. Was this guy insane? Stray bullets could kill, which made him believe that this wasn't just shooting for nothing. This guy meant business. He didn't know how much further he could go, but he forced himself up and over the wall after casting a final glance in the direction of his friends.

If he could make it, despite the fatigue and everything happening, so could they. His only worry was how determined this guy was. If he was this desperate to get them, would he follow them right out of Landel's?

Riku hoped not.

[ to here]