The world could end and it would feel no worse than this... [Closed]

[feedislive]

who ; Georgia Mason, Steve Rogers, and Shaun
what ; This is literally the worst possible time to fall through a space-time rift. The rift... doesn't seem to care.
where ; Junkyard
when ; Now!
warning(s) ; Impending zombification! Plus a suicide attempt (does it count if you're already legally dead?) and probably a lot of cursing. :|

Comments

[usavatar]

Steve hears the chimes, the welcome, and winces.

Wonderful. Someone else has ended up here, too. He'd come back to the scrap heap to find his shield, hoping that maybe, somehow, it had ended up here as well. That he just hadn't seen it - he had been distracted. Disoriented from the impact of the Valkyrie hitting the ice.

Which should have killed me, he thinks, but that doesn't matter now. "Hello?"

He clambers his way out from between two piles of junk, stumbling slightly as he hits the ground. "Anyone here?"

[feedislive]

The gun snaps up the instant she hears an unfamiliar voice calling out into the silence of the junkyard. As the man steps into view, Georgia hesitates for a second before lowering the gun to point it at the ground again - he's not obviously armed, and if he's talking, he's not a zombie. For now.

"Apparently someone is," she answers, frowning at him from behind her sunglasses. "Who're you supposed to be?"

[usavatar]

"Captain America," he says, calm and a little amused. "And I'm not going to hurt you."

He comes a little closer, slowly, so she can indicate he's not welcome before he's in her personal space. "Are you all r-"

Steve cuts himself off with a frown, gesturing to his own arm. "Miss, I think you have something... I think you've been shot. May I?"

[feedislive]

"Captain America," she repeats flatly. "Of course you are."

She's starting to lean toward hallucination, on the list of possible explanations. She never had a superhero thing, but Shaun did when they were around eight... It's as likely an explanation as any other she's coming up with.

Georgia lets him come closer, but she eyes him suspiciously as he does, watching for any sign he's not quite as friendly and harmless as he seems. She arches her eyebrows dubiously at the word shot - if she had been, she thinks she'd have noticed - but she glances to her arm anyway... and it feels like the world drops out from underneath her

[usavatar]

"I don't have either of those things, but there's a medical treatment area and chemical showers on the way out of here."

One thing at a time. He'll tell her that she's cut off from whoever she's trying to contact after they've taken care of what's clearly more of an emergency than he first guessed. "I can call for help-"

He frowns down at the communicator around his wrist. "...If I can remember how to make this thing work."

[feedislive]

"That'll do," she says quietly. Treatment might be out of the question, but at least there will probably be somewhere she can isolate herself until... Whatever. And she still has her gun. Worst comes to worst, she can take care of herself.

The responsible thing to do would be to go straight to the medical station nearby, and isolate herself immediately until she amplifies or she's confirmed clean. But... She has to know if she can contact Shaun first. If he's even here. If he's going to be here for this, or...

"I just need to see if... My brother..." She shakes her head. Never mind explanations now - she's a little pressed for time. "Don't come any closer, but... hold your arm out so I can see. I can probably figure it out." She's never seen anything like it, and she's no Buffy, but it's worth a try.

[usavatar]

He steps close, regardless, holding out his wrist, a rock-steady expression on his face. He's seen the edges of panic before, and he's not about to keep his distance. "Easy. I... don't know if you'll be able to reach him. We're not where we were - we've been... Taken, I guess. One thing at a time though. We'll get you taken care of and then I'll explain. ...As much as I can explain."

That's about when he realizes how unhelpful he's being. Steve winces. "Just- focus on the communicator for now."

[feedislive]

"Hey!" she snaps, backing up several steps as he moves forward. She can feel her heart rate jumping a little as she does, and she has to force herself to stop and take a deep breath before going on. No need to spread the virus through her system any faster.

"I'm serious. I'm contagious, and you can. Not. Get close to me." She lowers her sunglasses so she can meet his eyes. It doesn't hurt the way it should, but she forces herself not to think about that. "And if I can't reach my brother, I'm going to need you to put a bullet in my brain. Can you do that, or do I need to take care of this myself?"

[usavatar]

He holds up his un-cuffed hand, indicating he's not going to move. "Pretty sure I'm safe, but. I'll stay put. All right?"

Hang on, did she - "Shoot you? No, I won't. And neither will you."

[feedislive]

Georgia shoots him an exasperated look, but she doesn't bother arguing. At least now she knows she will have to be the one to pull the trigger if she can't find Shaun. That gives her even less time to waste right now.

She focuses on the cuff on his hand, leaning just a little closer to get a better look at it while still remaining a safe distance away. It's not easy, but she can see it well enough to make a guess at how it works, and after a little bit of quick trial and error, she manages to walk Steve through posting a message to the network.

Once she's done, Georgia pushes up her sunglasses again to scrub at her eyes with the back of her free hand. God, she hasn't cried since she was five. She hasn't been able to, and she doesn't have time for it now.

"Thank you," she murmurs quietly to the Captain, not looking at him. She's not holding out much hope for a response. Even if Shaun's here... she knows her brother. Chances he's monitoring the public posts on the network at this very moment are slim at best.

[usavatar]

And while she's wiping her eyes, he leans in and snatches the gun. Because he'll be damned if he's going to let someone who wants to shoot herself hang onto it, whatever might be happening.

Which he really should find out what's happening. He checks the weapon, engages the safety, and slides it into his previously-empty holster before snapping it in place. That done, he gives George a long, steady look. "What's happening to you?"

She's talking like she's going to die, and maybe it was just the suicide thing- but Steve has a pretty strong inkling that's not the case.

[feedislive]

"Don't-" She starts to reach to snatch the gun back - and then stops herself, pulling her hand back. She can't touch him now, even to get the gun back. She's not willing to infect anyone else... which means she's going to have to find some other way of making sure that doesn't happen.

"You stupid son of a bitch," she snarls at him. "You can't- You need-" Fuck. Stay calm, Georgia. Think. She holds up the dart for him to see. "This is full of live Kellis-Amberlee. Or it was, before someone shot me with it. I'm undergoing amplification right now, and I've got... I don't..."

I don't have much time.

All she can think of right now is Buffy's virus-dark eyes, looking up at her just before she shot her. Rick, saying he wanted to die remembering his wife's name. Shaun. Just... Shaun. Georgia presses a hand to her mouth, stifling a little sob - she's crying again and she doesn't think she wants to stop it this time.

"Please. I don't want to hurt anyone. Please, I'm begging you, just shoot me."

[usavatar]

"He said not to do anything rash," Steve says, his voice very, very gentle. It's the tone he learned from his mother, heard her use a thousand times when he was sick in bed and not sure he would ever get up again. He remembers hers being the kind of voice you could wrap yourself in when everything else was terrifying and tries, as best he can, for that. "I'm not going to shoot you, and I you're not going to hurt anyone. All right? No one here, anyway."

[feedislive]

Don't do anything rash. Right.

She doesn't want to die without Shaun. She doesn't. But if he's on his way here, and this guy is still determined not to kill her... someone other than her is going to get shot, and Georgia's in no state to reason with either of them right now. How the hell does this guy manage to complicate the one thing in life that's pretty much black and white?

She swallows hard - tries to swallow, but her throat's too dry to manage it - and holds out her hand, palm-up. "Either you give me back my gun, or I'm finding a new one. There has to be something I can use in this scrap heap." She manages a shaky sardonic smile. "And like I said, I'm contagious. You touch me, you get infected, we both die."

[usavatar]

"I was supposed to die once already," he says, resting one hand on top of the weapon, and reaching out to take her outstretched hand with the other, utterly expressionless. "Pretty sure whatever happens now is gravy."

He smiles, just a little. "Sorry."

[feedislive]

Georgia yanks her hand back like she's been burned, staring at him in utter disbelief for a second. She really hadn't considered that anyone might be that fucking stupid.

Her gaze flicks to her hand. There's no blood on it, but she'd been wiping her eyes with that hand, and by now, her tears would be just as infectious as anything else.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" is all she can manage. She legitimately wants to know.