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

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[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).]

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✪ Torn apart from the inside (Warnings: Violence, Gore)
Bucky has no radio, but that doesn't mean he can't warn people and take care of threats. The nearest hatch to the gate, Bucky took out the group crawling out of it, shoving their bodies back down the hole and shutting the hatch. Maybe their invaders would think twice about opening that hatch again. He moved through the city, letting a part of him take over that he usually shoved away. Those skills he'd been programmed with came in immensely handy right now, as much as he hated to admit it. He was an assassin. A ruthless and cold-blooded killer. He focused solely on those glowing eyes to keep his mind trained on the proper target and away from accidental innocent casualties.

Unfortunately, that was how he missed the rotting, decrepit infected that threw itself at him. He'd ignored everything that didn't glow. The body hit him, but didn't so much as budge the sturdy Super Soldier. He choked out a startled sound when it sunk its teeth into--

metal. Thank God for the metal arm, or rather, thank HYDRA for the metal arm at this point. He threw the infected off and snapped its neck, but the noise had alerted the nearby group to his location and shattered his Winter Soldier persona.

"TIME FOR PLAY TIME!" One of them roared.

Buck easily killed two as they charged, broke an arm of the third, but a fourth threw its arms around him from behind and sunk a blade into his ribs. "IT'S MEAT-PUPPET MASTER THEATRE!" The fifth took that moment to lunge as well, piling on top of Bucky with the third and the fourth. Sharp stings of pain lanced his skin, but he ignored them. His mind wandered...

When he focused back on the scene around him, he was surrounded by the five bandit bodies, several of which had literally been torn limb from limb. Hope no one was around to see that...

Beth wasn't really a fan of the bandits. They scared her to death, so she had spent much of her time running far away from them and hiding. It was unfortunate that one of her hiding spaces happened to be where a large group of bandits were prowling near, but someone came along and got their attention. She peeked out, so she could try to figure out an escape route, and to see the face of the person who was in harm's way. The man seemed to have things under control, she quickly realized, but she gasped when he was bit. Both hands flew up to cover her mouth, grateful for the fact the things were too occupied with the fight and the man to notice the sound she had just made.

It was only after the violence stopped that Beth came crawling out from her hiding spot, looking more than a little awestruck. A long time ago, what she had just seen would've made her run away. Now, she understood and recognized the fact that men like him were the best people to align yourself with. That sometimes violence was necessary in order to survive, no matter how ugly the mess was.

She stumbled her way over toward him, her blood loss from hitting her face earlier making her sluggish and clumsy. The noise her footsteps made were enough to alert someone of her presence, but just in case it wasn't, she spoke up. "Hey, you okay? It looked like you got bit." And in her experience, a bite meant a need for amputation, or else you were going to turn.

It was a good thing she spoke up when she did. Her staggering gait made for a unsettling sound to the Soldier's ears. It usually meant an infected. So when she spoke, he faced her slowly so as not to startle her. If she'd just seen what he'd done, she had every right to be nervous around him. Instead, she was showing concern.

James wanted to reach out and help steady the girl, but his hands were covered in blood, and that went against everything he could remember of his old self. So he stood almost half frozen until he shook himself into replying to her, lest she think he was losing his grip.

"I'm--yeah." Well, it was partly true. He would be okay. The knife wound would heal. "It bit me in my prosthetic." And to drive the point home, he tapped one of his makeshift blades against the metal of the arm so she could hear the difference. "I was lucky." After that, he did move to help her, holding a hand out to her if she wished to take it for balance, after wiping the blood off onto his pants.

"What about you? That looks like a nasty wound. You gonna be okay, ma'am?"

"Beth," she quickly corrected him, glancing at his hand before reaching out to take it. She was more nervous around strangers after what happened at Grady, but she still wanted to believe in the kindness of others. No matter what happened, there was good in the world. "My name is Beth."

She hadn't ever been called ma'am before. Only miss. The distinction made her hold her head a little higher and she smiled.

"I hit my face earlier, that's all. When I was trying to get out of the thing I crash landed here in, I slipped and busted my chin. The other things are already stitched up." She had a deep gash across her cheek and one on her forehead, but they were just fine. And so was she, thanks to him. She had no idea where she was or how to find people she knew, but she wasn't having to hide from those awful things that wanted to tear her apart.

"James." He offered, so they were on equal footing as far as names were concerned. Not to worry, Beth, he isn't going to charge for rescue services or lending her a hand in steadying herself. "'Nice to meet you' doesn't quite feel right saying in this place, but," He shrugged a shoulder, anyway. "Let's get you somewhere out of sight. Do you have a weapon yet, Beth?"

Being a fresh arrival, he doubted she did unless she'd been lucky when her pod landed. Given her brief retelling of her injury, he didn't think she'd been lucky at all. Except maybe that she hadn't dropped right in the middle of an infected hornet's nest like some of the recent arrivals before her.

"This," He gestured with the metal hand to their surroundings. "isn't a typical day here, I promise. We've been relatively safe inside the city until now." He hesitated before continuing with another thought. "I'm... sorry you had to see that. I try not to let that side of me get out. Young dame like yourself shouldn't have to see that kind of bloodshed." Honestly, he isn't sexist. Just respectful. And she seemed too young to be jaded.

"It may not be a typical day, but it's what I'm used to." She offered him a smile, unable to imagine that a place like this was actually safe. She still had no idea that some people here hadn't lived a life with walkers until being here, so she imagined the idea of safe was a pretty loose one.

"And I don't mind seeing any of that, either. I've seen worse things." Like her daddy being killed right in front of her, or the pile of bodies that had stacked up after she and Daryl ran from the prison. "You did the right thing. Don't apologize for it."

She might've looked young, but she had been through enough that it had matured her. She still needed help fighting in order to survive, but she understood the necessity of what fighting in a world like this meant. She didn't hold any of it against him.

It was only after she addressed his apology that she remembered he asked her something, and she gave him a more apologetic smile. "I had a weapon earlier. Lost it inside one of the walkers and couldn't get it back. So now I've got nothing, except you."

It really would floor him how well some of these people took watching someone else massacre a small group of people and not bat an eye, if it weren't for the situation they were in. She told him not to apologise, and he dipped his head slightly, acknowledging the free pass he was given. He doubted she'd feel the same if she knew what he'd done before being brought here. Then again, the first person he met here had been Daryl, and he'd confessed a few things to the man, who decided he was worth trusting.

She stated she'd lost her weapon and he started to reach for one of the makeshift blades he'd sharpened, so she could have something a little extra, when the terminology she used sunk in. It was enough to keep the flinch at bay when she subtly, and inadvertently referred to him as a weapon.

"You just called them 'walkers'." He looked up curiously. "Everyone here seems to call them something different. Infected is a common term, but I know someone else who calls them 'walkers'. I'd never seen anything like these things before, and what he told me about them probably saved my life several times over." He slipped one of the blades out and held the handle out to her. "Keep this in case we get separated or pinned down. That friend of mine's shepherding survivors to the warehouse until we can take care of the invasion."

He carefully started to steer her down one of the streets, keeping a pace that shouldn't be too difficult for her with her bloodloss, but wasn't too shambling, either. Any minute they could be ambushed again, and he'd rather be close enough to the warehouse for her to make a run for it while he held off their attackers. "So, you're used to this kind of thing?"

Beth noticeably became uncomfortable when he mentioned the friend he knew. Something told her that it was likely Daryl, if only because he was the only person she knew was here who would refer to the infected as the same thing as she did. She didn't say anything about it though, because the last thing she wanted was to look afraid of Daryl. His reaction after running into her earlier had frightened her. He treated her like she was an enemy. So she took the offered knife and tried smiling a little, and willed herself to relax.

"Thanks." She took a moment to tuck the knife into the waistband of her jeans, making sure it fit secure enough to not move around.

"Where I come from, this is how it is. Fighting walkers and other groups to survive. It's just how it is." She glanced over at him as they walked, making sure to keep an eye on where they were going so she didn't stumble or fall. She wasn't generally clumsy, but she was exhausted enough that she wasn't spectacularly coordinated.

"Is it not like that where you come from?"

She may not have said anything about it but her immediate reaction said plenty. He noted that she tried to cover up the immediate discomfort, but reading reactions as minute as a muscle twitch often meant the difference between getting a knife in your back and stopping it before it happened. This didn't seem to be one of those such situations, but if she was uncomfortable around someone, he wouldn't let them hurt her.

Her mention of fighting other groups made him wonder, as well. He reaches up and gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"We don't fight each other here. And if you feel threatened by someone, I want you to let me know. Far as I can tell, we haven't had any problems, but I'll be the first to knock heads together and put any upstarts in time out. A good friend of mine used to have trouble with bullies and I was always the sorry sap stuck saving his puny as--er... his hide." Don't curse in front of a lady, Buck. Mind your manners!

"Where I'm from, it's not these things we have to worry about. I've never seen them before. Just people who work for or were brainwashed to work for the wrong megalomaniacs and fanatic groups. But my memory's a little... off in places. So I'm probably not a reliable source of what's normal."

Her lips pursed together as he tried to cover up his cursing. With everything going on around them, he felt it was necessary to have manners like that. It was definitely enough to make her smile. "I just came from someplace where somebody meant me harm. Being here's already better than that."

She realized that might have sounded dramatic or ridiculous, but given that she was used to walkers and horrible things happening, it wasn't really meant to be anything but bluntly honest. Besides, she didn't think Daryl meant her any harm. He just didn't want her near him. That was why it meant so much to have found someone who didn't react so poorly to seeing her.

"It doesn't matter how many infected there are. As long as I'm not trapped someplace that's gonna try and use me, I won't give up hope that things will get better and everyone'll be safe. It's bound to happen someday, right?" She held onto that hope, because without it, she would give in and wait for the nearest walker to get her.

It may seem a bit dramatic, but they all had a similar story, he could attest to that. So he thought nothing of it and took it for what it was. A fact.

"You'll be alright." It was as much of a promise as he could offer in their situation, but he'd make damn sure he kept it to the best of his abilities. "No one's gonna use you here. We're a community. We're just a community in the middle of the desert surrounded by freaky horror movie monsters. Just keep close and attentive and we'll all look out for eachother. No strings attached."

There was a groan off to the side as one of the infected dragged its waterlogged body out of a manhole and reached for Beth's ankle. Bucky slid his arm around her and urged her behind him as he kicked the hand away from them. He pulled the buzzaxe from his belt and drove the weapon into the creatures skull, pulled it out, and knocked it back down into the sewer.

Her eyes widened as she realized what was grabbing at her, and her mouth dropped open as if she was going to scream but no sound came out. Luckily, she had someone there with her to grab and move her, but her leg still thrashed as if she was going to kick at the walker and stomp off its hand. She kept close to Bucky as she was ushered behind him, hand going up to touch at the small of his back. She didn't want him to have to fight because of her, but if he had a weapon...

He seemed better outfitted for this sort of thing than she did.

There was a sigh of relief as the infected was kicked back down into the sewer, and her hand pressed at his back one last time in silent gratitude as she stepped out from behind him.

"We should keep moving. More are going to come out, now that one's fallen in like that."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[EVENT #01] AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Option One

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Aww, Beth <3 Welcome to the game!

thank you! :D

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