[Open] As nightfall comes and shadows creep...

[distinctive_guy]

CHARACTERS: distinctive_guy and stabswithforks AND ANYONE ELSE
DATE: July 20th (Day Two, early night)
RATING: Violence/Swearing in galore
SUMMARY: Surviving the second night, moving from the Mall → East Dorms

Comments

TIMESKIP to some point after Eliot gets inside the East dorms

[whitestlie]

He would have to remind himself to block off the fireplace whenever this whole ordeal was over with, if he could survive through it, that is. If there was one thing those meaningless Christmas children stories had taught him as a toddler was that creepy, old fat guys could sneak into your room through the fireplace while you were sleeping. Replace creepy, old fat guys with creepy, toxic tentacle snot monsters, and you had Near's current situation.

No longer possessing the safety of his own room, he had no choice but to make a run for him. Somehow or another, he ended up at cornered at the stair case. There were two behind him and two more coming up from below.

Damn it.He was wearing his armor, which provided an extra layer of defense, but the monsters' acidic mucus was capable of burning through even that, as evidenced by some burnt portions and holes along lower left side of Near's armor. What "weapons" he had managed to secure before were now gone as well. He won't be able to last long at this rate

Way tl;dr.

[distinctive_guy]

NO SUCH THING AS WAY TL;DR! :D

[whitestlie]

Under normal circumstances, Near would carefully interrogate the stranger (he had not seen this man on the network, after all, and his appearance was not exactly the most convincing), fishing for ulterior motives first before just going with him anywhere. But under normal circumstances, the building would not be infested with toxic mucous tentacle creatures either. The smile offered less comfort than it did affirmation that the man had good intentions and was not going to harm him afterward, not that it mattered. The disgusting creatures were more of a threat than anything right now, and he had seen enough evidence to know this man was capable of acting as his shield

That's what you say

[distinctive_guy]

[stabswithforks]

"Right," said Parker, stripping out of her jacket, and then her shirt, pulling the jacket back on as she tore her shirt into strips. She demolished a box of foil, wrapping cloth around the end of the spool in a makeshift torch, using the foil to insulate the cardboard interior.

"I can light it now," she said warily, pressing the taser to the cloth, "but it'd be better if I had some oil. Two aisles away." Parker mentioned the location to check if Eliot thought they could safely make the detour and still get to somewhere safe.

[distinctive_guy]

Eliot saw the point and glanced warily to Parker and the direction she indicated. The creatures were everywhere, so it really didn't matter where they went.

"We have to be quick," he said, reaching back to grab his flashlight off the shelf without looking. He flipped it around so he held it pointing forward. "Com'on-- Shit!"

Right at that moment the first monster lunged forward. Eliot met it halfway with the pole, swinging its tip around like a large staff and catching the creature in the shoulder on its descent. The strength of the impact knocked the creature flying off to the left, limbs flailing and tentacle thrashing until it crashed into another with a large squeal.

"Forget it," he said suddenly as he got ready to deal with the next coming monster. "No path free. Light it now."

[stabswithforks]

[distinctive_guy]

THE MALL

[ayearoftorture]

The horrible, tentacled things were fucking everywhere.

One moment the private eye from Los Angeles was stealing meatloaf from the nearby cafeteria (Not that he ate much, but this place had had little hospitality so far) and then the next Jones had thrown himself over the side of the counter, fleeing from a terrible horde of gurgling creatures. He held two meat cleavers now, which he'd liberated form the kitchen, climbing up the stairs in a back corridor and emerging on the second floor over the mall.

He was on the second floor, and as he glanced over the edge, he saw the monsters had surged in with numbers, with many already climbing up the stairs and inoperable escalators. He moved quickly, recalling the way he came in, negotiating his passage through crowds of monsters with the swing of sharp metal, slicing off fingers, lopping off tentacles and tearing through necks and breastbones. Jones knew where to strike, but it took a bit of coordination to run and strike at the same time

[distinctive_guy]

Well, getting another man dropping down from the second floor wasn't exactly in Eliot's itinerary of monster fights, but nothing seemed to be working out since waking up on this island. What surprised him more was when he recognized the skeletal looking man that dropped from the second story

[stabswithforks]

[ayearoftorture]

"I'll live," Jones replied - almost grudgingly, really, as if death wasn't really such a bad thing. Still, he fought off its presence with his remaining cleaver, ducking low beneath a tentacle and swinging his cleaver at a monster's belly, tearing it open and then jumping away to kick at another one, trying not to touch the nasty, caustic goo-tongues.

"You two know each other then?--" he started to ask, glancing backwards a moment, then frowning to himself. "No, intros later. Nasty little shits... that torch looks useful," he observed, glancing to Parker quickly before driving off a trio of creatures with furious swinging. "Fucking get back!--We can use maybe use that torch to push our way through to the exit. Any chance of making another? Or should we just try getting out now?"