oasislogs | [EVENT #01] AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Entry tags:

[EVENT #01] AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

EVENT #01

As above, so below...

Twas a dark and stormy night... no, really. Despite the cliche, it actually was a dark and stormy night. Do you think it's a coincidence that it's storming in the testdrive? Honestly? Nothing is a coincidence in Oasis. So, back to the introduction of the event...

The rain beats the ground in heavy sheets, leaving nothing untouched by its torrential downpour. Hey, if you don't seem to trust the clean water of the oasis just outside the walls of the city, I hope you have buckets out to catch this fresh rain. Then again, it doesn't look like it's aiming to stop anytime soon. The infected are waterlogged, but no where near sedate. The wildlife on the other hand seems to be keeping scarce for some reason. Flocks of birds seem agitated, but they stay clear of the city. Maybe you wonder just why that is...

While the rain provides a new atmosphere for the tropical 'island' out in the middle of a sea of sand, it also provides opportunity for something else entirely. Something as of yet unseen by most in the city, only heard of to those paying attention. The Winter Soldier and Lexa stirred a hornet's nest unbeknownst to them. Small parties of local inhabitants invade the forests only at desperate times to collect essential sustenance to maintain their desert camps. In their endeavours, they ran into a triggered Soldier and bit off more than they could chew. Lexa found the slaughter and sent those invaders a message, stringing their bodies up in the forest. A warning. One that they blatantly disregarded and took as a sign of brighter times. It told those locals that there was more alive in the lush forests than animals and infected. There was food again.

So, deep in the bowels of the city, tunnels were flooded with water. Those tunnels--catacombs--flushed out whatever filled them prior by the rain, were put back into use by those who found their way in before. They were barred off, strong enough that even superhuman strength couldn't budge the hatches without a cutting torch. Like the farmhouse, with its exit hatch, there are various other hatches outside the city for a quick escape or perhaps a safe entrance when running from infected. They had been found long ago...

The Bandits

Late at night, when the rain is pounding the loudest, one of the hatches will breach. Into the city a small party will fill the streets. They wear full-facial gas masks that almost seem to have grown into their skin. They carry an odd hatchet of some form with a spinning buzz saw blade and they're not looking to make friends. They'll shriek phrases like, "Fresh meat!" "You ate all the cookies!" "Free lunch!" "I'll live in your ribcage!" "I need your face!" "I'll eat your ankles!" "Gimme somethin' to pound!" "Another walking meat puppet!" "Diediediediediedie DIE!" "SQUISH!"

They'll charge anyone and everyone without regard for their own life, they'll slash and hack with their axe while throwing smaller bladed weapons with surprising accuracy. They cannot be reasoned with. They want to eat you and they can think of nothing else. It's possible a strain of the Ira Virus mutated in these beings, infecting them, but leaving certain higher functions in tact. Or, it's possible that they simply fell into madness and adopted the cannibalistic tendencies of the only living humans left, the Infected.

The Infected

The catacombs have been breached! There was a reason they were so tightly sealed off, and it surprisingly had nothing to do with the Psycho Bandits invading the city from the depths of its bowels. Deep in the underground tunnels of the city, the infected had found themselves trapped, starving, decaying. Hungry. They were dormant, conserving their remaining energy for a desperate hunt and the dinner bell just chimed. These infected will spill outward behind the Bandits, ravenous. They run, they screech, they will tear you apart and they don't care what gets in their way. These infected are rotting worse than the rest, flesh falling from bone, leaving muscles exposed. Though they're fast and vicious, they're easily killed due to their decomposing state.

[Mod Note: Infected and Bandits are not NPC controlled. Feel free to slaughter, maim, mangle, and mutilate however many you wish. Likewise, they can slaughter, maim, mangle, and mutilate your characters to your heart's content. Bandits do not transmit the Ira Virus unless they kill an infected then strike you with the same weapon. Yes, they will fight each other (infected and bandits).]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Arrival:
[There's way too much rain. She's already in the middle of freaking out after waking up in one of those coffin like things, and she sure as hell isn't planning on sticking around to figure out who put her in it. Her head's pounding like nothing she's ever felt before, but the important thing is she's alive. She ought to not be, she reckons, not with what happened at that hospital. Her memory about all that's fuzzy now and she's grateful for it, because she needs to focus on survival.

She doesn't have any weapons and a quick look around the area through the rain tells her she's going to need one. She's not the cursing sort of girl but she manages to let a choice phrase slip out under her breath as she decides to try climbing up on the pod to get a better view of the area. It's not a real smart idea, she quickly realizes, because she's scraping and scrambling and can't get her footing to hoist herself up properly. She slips and hits her chin hard, crying out as she feels the skin break and blood start to pour. Great, she thinks, she's got another mark to match the others on her face.

It's right about then that the hail kicks in and she lets out a scream of frustration. Her daddy's death is always going to be the worst day of her life, but this one is going down as one of the most frustrating. ]

You ain't gonna win!

[It's shouted to the sky, right in time for hail to hit her in the face and the walkers that were shuffling nearby to come at her running.

It doesn't take rocket science for her to figure out that she can be frustrated all she wants later. She's got to run now, and she runs as fast as her legs can carry her, never stopping until she runs right into someone bigger than she is. She cries out, praying it's not a walker. Just in case it is, she reacts accordingly, and lashes out with both fists flying. It's more of an effort to push herself away than anything, but she's so worked up and confused that her self-defense methods aren't exactly up to par with everyone else.]

Dealing with walkers:
[When she finally manages to make it past the city wall and gets herself a rusted old crowbar from a gas station, she tries to find sign of any other life. She wants to be where the people are, she's not someone who can make a go of things alone in the long run. It's a little unfortunate that to get around anywhere, she has to deal with the walkers. They're faster and more ravenous than the ones she knows, and they look and smell a hell of a lot worse too. That winds up being a good thing, as the rusted old crowbar goes right through them with minimal effort. The smell they leave behind makes her gag, though. It's awful.

The gagging quickly turns to an actual issue, though, as she doubles over and empties her stomach. The few seconds it takes for it to happen are plenty for the walkers to rush up to her, and she screams for help as she frantically starts swinging the crowbar.]

Night Watch:
[Beth's new around here, and knows that some people here likely won't trust her because of it. Others may not trust her because of her age, and some others her face. She knows what it's like to be new to a group and to have to work your way in, so she suggests that she help keep watch after night falls on the city.

She ignores the rumbling in her stomach, surprised that she actually misses the regularity of the hospital food, and she makes her way over to someone else who's up late keeping watch with her. She tries to mask the stitched gash in her cheek and on her forehead by keeping to the shadows, but hopes the person manages to catch her smile. She doesn't mean anyone any harm.]

You can rest, if you need to. I don't mind staying up.

[ The church is something that Castiel has noticed in passing, and dismissed as a place to seek out supplies, which are thin on the ground anyway. A hundred years of scavenging had stripped most of the city bare, but a church was still a church. If anything there would be just books inside, but mostly those had either disintegrated or been used to light fires, and the fallen cross made it far too difficult to try to break in, at least without help.

It lets him find the church, at least, but not the girl, and Castiel's coat is wet with blood - some his own, and some belonging to the invaders - when he makes it to the clearing, and utterly drenched, head to foot. His hair is scruffy, he's still bearded and filthy from his Purgatory days, but still here he is, the brave hero come to rescue her. For a few moments he hangs back, watching as a pair of slippery walkers run off one of the cannibals, before running into the space they leave behind, moving quickly from one abandoned car to another to try and hunt Beth out, and tapping firmly on the window glass of each vehicle as he reaches them.

Tap tap. ]

[She hears the tapping nearby and slowly moves to sit up and peek out the window. She sees a man that is most definitely not a walker or one of those other awful things, and realizes that must be the man that she was talking to about getting to the warehouse. Opening the door, she slips out, leaving it open instead of shutting it behind her. She doesn't want to draw attention to herself and make danger come running back at them.]

I can hear you tapping over here.

[It comes out sounding afraid, which she definitely is. This place is different than what she's used to, somehow more dangerous and awful. It's that fear that inspires her to hurry over to his side, glad that she's not alone.]

Thank you. For coming for me. I was real worried I was going to have to be out here all by myself tonight.

[ Castiel nodded, unsmiling. There would be time for relief when she was safely with the others. ]

It wouldn't do for you to be alone for long. It's dangerous out here.

[ But they still had some distance to cover, and very little time to do it. Castiel stepped away, guiding her back toward the car where she'd hidden, and beckoning her to join it behind its bumper as one of the cannibals came back on the scene. He stayed down, looking up toward her, keeping his voice low. ]

You may see me do things that you don't understand, things that frighten you. You must trust me. I'll explain everything once you're safe.

[She wants to question him on that, but knows there isn't time. Questioning can happen after things are taken care of. So she hurries over to where he's guided her to and gives him a nod. She's fine here, that nod tells him. He doesn't need to worry about her.

Her eyes look over to his shoulder, where he's mentioned being bit and bleeding. That has her worried, and she feels the need to try and remind him of something.]

Be careful!

[She calls out to him in a raised whisper, not wanting him to get bit again, or worse.]

[ Spotting newcomers isn't exactly hard. Rose never thought she'd get accustomed to the same faces, but... here she is. Non-recognizable people were once more comforting yet now she isn't so certain. Funny how fast things have changed.

This girl seems nice, however, and definitely doesn't harbor any ill intent. Even Rose's animal instincts aren't sensing anything off just yet, so Beth gets a kind smile in return. ]

Nah, it's cool. I prefer to take the night shifts. I'm a bit of insomniac, so. It works out, y'know?

[ Mostly it ives her an excuse to not sleep and make it seem 'normal.' It's easier to hide the fact that she goes days sometimes without rest when she isn't ghosting around at night without a purpose. People pick up on that sort of thing. ]

You alright? [ the woman asks, nodding vaguely to the injuries on Beth's face. Rose of all people shouldn't be asking that but her axe-to-the-shoulder injury is carefully concealed beneath layers of bandage and her clothes. So long as she doesn't move too much it isn't noticeable and that's just the way she wants it. No one needs to worry about her right now. ]

Me?

[Beth reaches up to touch at her cheek and nods, giving a shrug of her shoulders. She's not alright, but physically she'll be just fine. That's the important part, she thinks.]

I'll be okay. I'm just feeling tired, that's all.

[She says it with a tone that implies she's tired but too worked up over things here to let herself get any sleep. She's seen some things the past few years, but not knowing how it is she's come to be here has her worked up and after everything that's happened before her arriving here, she's not sure she wants to sleep and risk having nightmares.]

I'm hoping the watch right now helps me be able to sleep when it's time.

[ ... squint. Don't fib a fibber, Beth. However! Since Rose is also known to tell quite a few lies, she also doesn't call people out on theirs. If the other blond doesn't want to talk about, there's a reason for it. It's not her business to pry. ]

Yeah, I think most everyone is. [ It's been. A day. What a horrible time to arrive, Rose thinks. Beth really fell out of the frying pan and into the fire. ]

That's understandable. I just have insomnia so, y'know. Night shift works best for me. [ They're on the same wavelength with the nightmares, at least. Rose does most her sleeping in short bursts during the day just in case her sleeping terrors become overwhelming. Daryl had told her she needed a good reason to make a lot of noise at night. 'I had a bad dream,' she figures, isn't one. ]

[Beth nods in understanding, smiling a little. She knows what it's like to not be able to sleep for days, although she's certain every time it happens to her it's because of anxiety of what might happen next or a fear of nightmares. She thinks that everyone here can understand that sentiment.]

Have you been here for long?

[Back home, everyone's been suffering from the walkers for about the same amount of time. So far, she's met people here who have been here various lengths of time. Everyone seems to come from different places too, with versions of Earth without a zombie outbreak. It's fascinating to her to hear about the differences in everyone she meets here, and getting to talk helps her keep from thinking too much about everything.]

Me? Nah. A month or so, maybe...

[ It's kind of hard to gauge time, she realizes. The days change same as back home but she hasn't really kept track. It reminds her of home home; her mind doesn't stay there long though. It never does. ]

I never saw anything like this back home though, so. It's all kind of new to me, actually... [ She's thankful for the people like Daryl that had warned her when she first arrived about the dead reanimating. In her world, that was only the realm of fantasy. It's been a rough adjustment but nothing she can't handle. ]

How about you?

This is exactly what it's like back home.

[Her voice is flat, almost forcibly detached.]

Except it's harder there. There's other groups around, people who want everything for themselves. It's easier here.

[She shifts so she's sitting in a way that she can pull her knees in close to her chest, and wrap her arms around her legs. Life is hard back home, and it's probably saying something that it's easier on her here.]

The walkers are a little different here, I guess. They move real fast, so I don't have a way to take care of them like I did the ones back home. I've got to learn all over again.

[ Padmé can't sleep. It happens frequently, here, despite her knowing all too well how important sleep is, how much they all need to stay awake and alert... but even then she wakes up in the middle of the night, unable to breath, or calling out to her children. Pleading for Anakin to listen to her.

The nightmares just don't go away... and sometimes, it's easier to keep from falling asleep in the first place. Just like tonight.

She gives a soft smile to the newcomer, shaking her head a little. ]

Thank you for the offer... but I'd rather stay awake for a while longer. It's easier with company.

[Beth smiles in return, almost knowingly. She gets that kind of feeling, especially now that she's in a place like this.]

Sleeping's hard, when you're not sure if it's safe.

[She finds a spot near the other woman and moves to sit, then offers her hand.]

I'm Beth Greene. Just arrived here not too long ago.

[ She breathes out, giving a slight nod -- it's not that, exactly, Padmé is used to sleeping and knowing she could be killed, that there could be assassins after her... but it's easier, to let the other woman believe that's the reason.

She takes Beth's offered hand, shakes it. ]

Padmé Amidala. I was on the first ship that landed here. [ I'm glad you survived the landing, she doesn't say, because it seems callous towards those who didn't make it... and yet, she's still glad for it. Those sending them down here should be more careful, should make sure all of them survive. ]

How long ago did the first ship land?

[She needed to get as much information about this place as she could, and that included learning about how long everyone else had been here. She knew she was one of the newer arrivals and had some catching up to do with the others.]

Almost a month ago. Most of us have been here since then.

[ In fact, there have been far less people on the newer dropships-- two, three people at most... at least among the survivors. ]

That's...

[A month is a long time to someone like her. A long time to get to survive and try forming a community here. It gives her hope that maybe settling is possible, even if it isn't safe.]

That's good. Making it a month's a good sign, it means we'll be able to make it in the long run. There haven't been any other groups that show up or anything? Hostile ones, I mean.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[EVENT #01] AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Beth - OTA

Wildcarding it up/continuation

no subject

no subject

no subject

( night watch )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

night watch;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject