Comments | houseof_thegame: If there's a God/ That can save me/ I'd ask that he open the skies and do it now

1stofficers_log in houseof_thegame

If there's a God/ That can save me/ I'd ask that he open the skies and do it now

Sep 19, 2010 19:03

He wasn't even really aware of the alley as he darted through it, but he slowed when he came to the main street. The blood still on his face was wet and cold, and he didn't know what time it was and what if somebody sawHis arm came up, uselessly, knocking his glasses slightly askew as he trampled the rest of his usual code of behavior and wiped ( Read more... )

Comments 29

guren_q1 September 20 2010, 03:50:02 UTC

Hanna saw Conrad just as he was turning the corner, away from where he thought the car was parked. Okay, now seriously, where was he going? He checked to make sure his partner was right behind him and darted down the alley as fast as he could. But by then Conrad was already down the street and disappearing into a building. Hanna was just glad to have been quick enough to catch seeing him at all. (Thank god Conrad didn't have a full grasp of his strengths yet ( ... )

col_roy_joseph September 20 2010, 04:08:06 UTC

I hurried after Hanna, not slowing down for a moment. I moved quickly, being sure to shadow Hanna as closely as I could without tripping him.

Working with Hanna was going to make me paranoid.

The church was beautiful, very similar to others I'd seen on my travels: polished wooden pews, carefully painted pictures of religious figures, mass-produced statues of the Christ and his mother. I usually liked to stop and look at the ones of the Virgin and Child, but Conrad came way before that.

I didn't call out; I wasn't sure what state Conrad was in. Certainly, he'd looked distressed when he'd left, but now?

I hadn't exercised caution in the house, and look what had happened. This time, I reached out and took hold of Hanna's shoulder. "Wait," I said, keeping my voice neutral, trying not to offend our friend. It wasn't his fault, after all. "Are you sure he's... all right?"

1stofficers_log September 20 2010, 04:13:37 UTC

Conrad turned slowly to face them, still cradling his hands although the physical pain had already faded. It was as good an excuse as any to hug his arms to his chest, which was about the only thing keeping him from crying. If he could even cry, anymore. He didn't breathe or sleep, not really, so he wasn't sure. He hadn't tried.

"---my glasses," was all that came out of his mouth, and he hoped they didn't notice that his lips were trembling.

guren_q1 September 20 2010, 04:59:29 UTC

"Oh shit," Hanna mumbled as Ignatius stopped him. His idea of 'cautious' at this point had been 'get to Conrad as fast as possible,' rather than 'make sure I don't get eaten,' so it was good he had someone to keep things in perspective.

As Conrad turned to face him, though, he looked like the least threatening thing that Hanna could even think of. Er, well, as nonthreatening as something can be when they're kind of covered in someone else's blood.

Okay, so maybe his approach should be kept to a moderate pace this once.

col_roy_joseph September 20 2010, 05:11:08 UTC

If I'd had a heart, it would've stopped. Firstly for Conrad, who looked horribly beaten down, and then for Hanna, who actually listened to me. Vaguely, I wondered if these two events were signs of an impending apocalypse.

Then I remembered the woman in Hanna's apartment, and figured something out: I had no blood. No matter what, Conrad could not hurt me. It was up to me to test the waters.

I squeezed Hanna's shoulder and walked the remaining steps to the small pool of water. Baptismal font, wasn't it? For christenings, and the like. It seemed familiar, but that may have been my aversion to the water inside. Not my favorite liquid at the moment.

"Mr Achenleck," I said, stopping beside him. I moved slowly, carefully, thinking all the while of an abused puppy. I didn't want to scare the man any more than he'd been scared tonight. I touched his arm, glad for once that I had no life for him to threaten. "What happened to your glasses? We'll help, don't worry."

1stofficers_log September 20 2010, 05:25:04 UTC

Conrad fumbled with the air again, because it was still thick and hard to use to talk. He stared helplessly into those glowing orange eyes, so incredibly thankful for someone calm, for someone who didn't smell like anything except dust and chemicals. But even with that ice-cold unappetizing hand on his arm, he couldn't find the words.

He gestured uselessly at the font with one hand, pressing his other palm to his temple.

"---burned me, and I dropped...it was...like some fucking...like a bad movie or something, God, this is so fucked up---"

guren_q1 September 20 2010, 07:19:34 UTC

Hanna followed his friend and joined him on the other side of Conrad. The man was having a pretty normal human break down, which was sadly reassuring, all things considered. It didn't seem like he would be running around eating anyone any time soon at least.

Speaking of eating, didn't that crazy lady say something about his runes being in working order again? That should mean his unpleasant smell had returned. He probably should try writing one, just to make sure his blood was decently unappetizing.

"Don't worry, man. We've got your back," Hanna said as he scribbled the glow rune onto his palm again.

col_roy_joseph September 20 2010, 13:27:13 UTC

"Yes," I agreed.

I could see what had drawn Conrad to the pool. He was a mess. I could understand how awful it must feel to find yourself in a state that reaffirmed your nonhumanity. I must have felt the same way when I figured out that I was was... what I had become.

However... this was a public building. Though he could no longer touch the water in the baptismal font, there was nothing preventing him from interacting with tap water; he did that nightly when he brushed his teeth and bathed at his apartment. Though the emotional damage had been done, it would help if he could wash himself before he had to face the street.

"I'm sure there's a restroom here," I said. "Most churches of this size have one or two. Let's find your glasses, then we'll get you cleaned up."

1stofficers_log September 21 2010, 05:04:50 UTC

...a bathroom.

It had been the furthest thing from his mind; so much easier just to go with what was right in front of him. It wasn't like he'd had call to look for or even think about a public restroom in quite a while. But still. He felt suddenly and absolutely stupid.

The zombie's hand was still on his arm; Conrad felt awkwardly aware of it, but he wasn't sure he wanted to step away. It felt nice to know someone could be near him. Safely.

He stayed where he was and gestured at the pool again.

"I...I know where they are. I just can't GET them --- the water is..." He cupped one hand in the other, running his fingers over the back of it gingerly. "...it. It burned me. Water."

guren_q1 September 21 2010, 07:23:02 UTC

Hanna looked dubiously at the pool before them as his palm began to glow (OH THANK GOD). Water? Burning? A little oxymoronic, he thought. Oh, except for the part where they were in a church.

"Oh, it must be holy water. For the baptisms or whatever," he said. Not that he had much experience with Christian rituals, but he had at least heard about christening and things of that nature. "I didn't know they made them this big."

Hanna knelt beside the pool and held out his glowing palm to search for Conrad's missing glasses. It took a bit of searching, them being so small and it being so dark, but he eventually spotted them near the center of the water. "Whoa, you really knocked them in there, huh? I guess I'm the only one here without an aversion to holy water. I'll grab them for you, man."

He sat and began taking off his shoes. He was going to have to seriously climb in there to grab those glasses, and Hanna was not walking home in soggy socks.

col_roy_joseph September 21 2010, 07:43:10 UTC

I was relieved to see Hanna's palm emitting its normal soft light. I'd been worried the woman in his apartment wouldn't keep her word, but it seemed that she was through with this bit of entertainment.

"Be careful," I said automatically, though this was as normal as anything was ever going to get -- besides pancakes, I mean. If Hanna slipped or hurt himself and had to be pulled out, things were going to get very... unpleasant for me.

So I watched, poised at the edge of the pool just in case, and my hand moved to Conrad's shoulder without asking his or my permission. It just seemed more natural, I suppose.

Conrad apologizes for being a complete failure at advancing the plot 1stofficers_log September 21 2010, 08:07:21 UTC

Conrad couldn't help himself; he leaned into the hand that was suddenly there to support him, and wondered how in the world that made everything okay. He kept trying to tell himself that these people were responsible for this whole mess in the FIRST place, but somehow, it felt petty and stupid to try and shift the blame, and he couldn't help feeling grateful to have them there.

After all, one of them was standing protectively beside him while the other was about to drench himself in a lake of acid to retrieve his glasses --- gyah.

Never mind feeling awkward about the hand on his shoulder; he suddenly felt pathetically in need of a hug. But for the moment, he held onto the idea that soon enough he'd be able to both see AND wash his face, and maybe even get the worst of the blood out of his shirt before he had to go back out onto the street.

In its own weird, twisted way, being around Hanna and his semi-silent partner forced you to look on the bright side.