She shook the hand, "Good to meet you. Well, you definitely sound British enough, I'll give you that," she released the handshake and grinned at his quiet comment, "Heh. Still, he gave me a werewolf paw, sir, can't give him several more kilos in return."
She glanced at the building, still smoking with chemical gas, "Reckon somene who can whip something up like that knows that it'll probably kill them without a suit of some sort. Unless they found a canister somewhere, but I doubt that," she shrugged.
edited 19th Apr '12 9:33:08 PM by Aralyn
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
"Fair enough, girl" Ross said, chuckling at Essie's comment about the paw. He glanced back at the building as she brought up the point of whoever set off the gas. "Well my point still stands I think. Besides, not like we can really go in to check; even if the poor soul's dying right now there's not a lot we can do without risking death from those gases ourselves" he muttered, eyeing the building.
"Come on, we've got a place to check. And possibly monsters to kill, loot to grab, and maybe even people to save" Ross stated a little jokingly, and turned South again. "Fairfax is some fancy mansion with walls around it. Most of the good old world stuff is gone; they stay there for the walls, mainly" he explained, knowing it wouldn't be very much longer until they'd get there.
edited 19th Apr '12 9:49:31 PM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.
She glanced at the building carefully again before turning away. She smirked at the mention of monsters. The sooner they got there, the sooner she'd be able to drop this load in her opinion.
"How long haven't they been responding?" Essie asked, curious.
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
"Two days, but we've had this problem with them before. Some billboard was placed just right so that when the wind comes in it ends up perfectly smack-dab in between our place and them. Last week we made them promise to tear it down so we could see their signals even when it's windy" Ross said, leading the group from Chester Avenue down to the other large road of the area, Euclid Avenue.
As he rounded the corner of another building and stepped out onto the road, Ross slowed his pace slightly, looking across at something. There across the street, was the old framework for a large billboard. The billboard itself, an advertisement for some obscure soda, was laying on the ground next to the frame.
Ross stopped and stared at it a few moments, ignoring the rain as his face went mostly grim. "That doesn't bode well" Ross muttered the obvious, then turned to look at a nearby street turnoff headed South. "Right then, on your toes" he told everyone, unslinging his shotgun and getting it ready as he headed towards the road.
The third stop on the left down that road, visible to the group now, was a larger house with a grey brick wall around it on all sides. Fairfax. Because of the wall, only the second floor of the two story building could be made out. There was no visible activity or people, alive or otherwise, even on the two sizable balconies that could be seen from that angle.
You are reading this.
Essie stopped walking, glanced back at the billboard, then at the apparently empty building behind the wall.
"Well, then," she said, albiet quietly and a lot less happier, "This smells of a lost cause."
Nevertheless, she quickly glanced around and knelt down to switch her LMG to her right arm. If she was going to be weighed down by excessive artillery, she may as well just stand still anyway. She brushed her knees as she stood back up, slightly jittery. She wanted a cigarette, right now, but it'd have to wait. Looting and revenge-killing would come first.
edited 20th Apr '12 6:07:21 AM by Aralyn
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
Quaerat et Intelligere Veritatem
Dean stepped forward with his Kriss ready and his helm back on. He didn't like the looks of the building and the silence of the place was a bit odd, if not ominous. "Expect the worse...", he said to no one in particular, probably to himself, and cautiously stepped forward. He moved along the right side of the wall looking for a gate or some entrance of some kind, but if there was no way in then he assumed that they would have to climb over the wall.
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing- Wernher von Braun Until proven otherwise, Everything is Relevant
THE SLORG!
"But hope for the best?" Ross asked rhetorically in response to Dean, leading the way with his shotgun at the ready. There was an barred iron gate on the side they were heading down, open already. Ross walked around to an angle where he could look inside, and clenched his teeth.
The site was grisly.
On the lawn around the front of the mansion, obscured before by the wall, were at least a dozen bodies. Most were walkers and runners, dead by gunshot wounds. But a few seemed to be the would-be defenders, torn to pieces with the guns still laying nearby. There was also a spot where there was a scattering of human bones, with a straight shortsword nearby. The front doorway was clear, the door laying inside having presumably been battered down. More bodies could be seen in the entrance foyer, but details on them couldn't be made out yet.
"Well, guess we know why they didn't signal. Stay alert, there could still be a few around... Or this place could be a nest now" Ross said, slowly stepping into the yard and glancing left and right to make sure nothing was hiding just behind the wall. It was clear, save for a few more bodies farther away to the left. Something interesting to those who would notice, was the front gate; specifically, that it showed no signs of being forced open or beaten down like the front door was.
You are reading this.
Lord of the Avians
Blight, who had pulled the knife out of the werewolf's corpse, placed it back in his crossbow-thing, and looked at the gate.
"What kind of idiots leave the door open for monsters?" he asked nobody in particular, before moving on. It didn't really matter to him, but he had to say it.
He looked through the bodies, searching for valuables or undead.
edited 21st Apr '12 12:55:28 PM by Falkon
The Man in Black
Clark had by now reloaded the two spent rounds and switched to his M82, and he scanned the windows of the mansion for movement.
"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir
Essie frowned at the front gate being undamaged, unlike the door. Either they were let in, something magical happened, or Walkers had been taking gymnastic lessons.
She felt a prickle of discomfort, but put that aside. There was firepower by her side now. She turned on her heel to watch their six.
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
"Something makes me doubt it was that simple. Call it a hunch" Ross muttered as he moved forward, also inspecting the bodies more closely and glancing around for anything worth grabbing. Fortunately, none of the dead outside felt like having an un in there. Or if they were, they were doing a very convincing job of pretending not to, with the bullet holes and all.
One of the defenders had been using a double barrel shotgun, which was laying near his remains. What was left of his vest had four twelve-gauge rounds still in the little loops meant to hold them. The other defender that had been nearby had used some kind of pistol, but the weapon was nowhere to be found. There was still a magazine on his belt though, holding 9mm rounds. Looked like it went to a glock model handgun, and was probably holding about fourteen rounds.
"Take ammo now, but leave the rest until we know it's clear" Ross instructed, crouching down to take the shotgun shells. "Wouldn't want to be taken by surprise while looting" he added, standing back up and aiming his shotgun at the front door.
As Clark scanned the windows, he didn't see anything at first, though it was really dark in there. But after a moment or so, sure enough there was something on the right side. In what looked like maybe a study or private office, with a set of triple windows that extended a little bit of the room outward in a shape like the end of an octagon; from which the front door could be observed more directly. A figure was there; no features could be made out but something seemed off about the profile. It was looking at... Ross, probably, or maybe Blight. It had something in its hand, like a pole, which it was holding vertically with its arm extended towards Ross and Blight as they got closer to the front door.
You are reading this.
The Man in Black
"Contact, bay window second floor." Clark said. "I'd be careful about walking in that door."
"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir
Esther slowly turned at Clark's words and saw the figure, whatever it was, through the window. Holding a pole. It was, presumably, one of the things that had either ripped someone into shreds, or the thing that had done something to obliterate someone's flesh and leave them as skeletal remains. Or something else...maybe the thing that had let them in the gate, assuming none of the people living here hadn't let them in. She had no clue. Maybe it was just some guy holding a pole in shock.
She kept her hands on her LMG.
edited 22nd Apr '12 5:18:16 PM by Aralyn
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
Ross stopped in his tracks and looked up and left, then right, spotting the figure as well. There was something still up and Ross just knew it.
The 'pole' in the figure's hand started to bend back, and the figure's other arm became visible, previously obscured by the torso and slowly moving back, fully bent, like it was pulling on something. Any moment of recognition of the object in the darkness came just a moment too late; the bow snapped forward and there was a shattering of glass in the window. The arrow came zipping out and nailed Ross right in the upper part of his left arm.
Ross let out a surprised yell as he flinched back, glancing at the arrow then up at the window. The figure leaned forward to presumably get a better look out the window; even the lessened light from the clouded sky was enough to see the features more clearly. Or specifically, lack of features; the figure was a skeleton. "Son of a bitch!" Ross yelled, looking around for cover but not finding any. He aimed his shotgun up and fired, but with only one arm available he missed and hit the window frame instead.
The skeleton, undeterred, started preparing another arrow.
You are reading this.
Lord of the Avians
Blight grabbed his pistol, and fired at the skeleton.
The Man in Black
And now for the punching of trees and dirt.
Clark fired off a round, pegging the skeleton in the intersection between the spine and shoulder blades. The recoil knocked him off-balance, and he rolled to the ground to get a more stable position.
edited 22nd Apr '12 10:53:32 PM by Wysp
"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir
Essie jumped as the arrow nailed Ross in the shoulder- was it poisonous? Corrosive? It was possibly supernatural in some way, or maybe it hit a nerve or artery but that wasn't main problem right now-
"Snap it off at the shaft, you might cause more damage if you pull it all out or let it wiggle around," she snapped quickly, aiming and shooting a round at what she thought was the skeleton's hands and bow.
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
That's not the only game with skeletons wielding bows, you know. Also, no more autohitting enemies unless I say you can, remember? =P
The pistol rounds that hit slammed into the skeleton's ribcage, making cracks and breaks that it ignored except for slight flinches while it continued to draw back the bow. Then the sniper round slammed into its right shoulderblade, shattering it and breaking away part of the shoulder. What was left of its right arm went limp, and the skeleton glanced down at it.
It then looked back up at the group, and backed away into the room and out of their line of sight. "It'll be going to get friends, or another weapon" Ross muttered, putting his shotgun down so he could snap the arrow's shaft in half. "This thing's no good to me with one arm... Blight, wanna trade for a while?" he asked Blight as he picked the shotgun back up, nodding his head at Blight's pistol.
edited 23rd Apr '12 1:28:37 AM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.
Lord of the Avians
Blight put the safety on and handed over the pistol. "It's got five shots left." he warned, holding out his hands to accept the shotgun.
Esther nodded once and walked over to retrieve the magazine from the dead man's belt.
edited 25th Apr '12 4:17:53 AM by Aralyn
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
"Six left in this. You can load two more if there's one in the chamber" Ross instructed, doing the action-movie style one-handed shotgun pumping before handing the shotgun to Blight. "So here, I've got more when you need more" he added, taking two shotgun shells out of one of his pockets and handing them over as well.
Then, he took Blight's pistol in hand, feeling the weight of it for a moment before nodding, as if giving his approval that this was, in fact, a gun. Which was fortunate that it was, as that was about when more undead began to make their presence known. In the foyer through the open front door, a walker shuffled into view, giving a moan as it caught sight of the group. Outside, around the left corner of the building, a runner ran out, followed a few feet behind by another; both were going straight for the group.
"Figures. Undead always come in packs" Ross muttered, shifting position to avoid hitting Blight before starting to fire at one of the runners.
Here's guys that can be autohitted. First come first serve, but don't take out all three at once; let other people get a kill too.
You are reading this.
Lord of the Avians
Blight lifted the shotgun, and shot a hole through the first runner's knee, before firing another shot through it's skull.
Meanwhile, Sly was crouching in a tree.
edited 25th Apr '12 7:33:21 PM by Falkon
Essie had barely shoved the magazine into a pocket of her hunting vest before she pulled the LMG back up onto her shoulder and firing at the runner nearest to her, teeth bared in annoyance. The end of the firearm erupted in a round of bullets at the runner's head and neck and clawed into its flesh in spurts of bloody red before the thing finally dropped with a thud onto the grass.
She turned to her left, expecting more.
When I walk on the street counting my steps, magic keeps silent and reality stalks me.
THE SLORG!
Despite Essie's expectations, there didn't seem to be any more runners outside. Turning left a bit did give her a clearer view of the front gate behind them, which was still clear.
With the runners outside down, Ross turned and fired the last two rounds in Blight's pistol at the walker inside, pegging it in the chin twice and making it stumble back a step. "Argh, you got more ammo for this?" Ross asked Blight after the weapon gave off a few clicks.
The walker, not yet dead, started moving forward again. Of course, being a walker and not a runner, it wouldn't reach anyone in the group for another three-five seconds. "And someone shoot that thing" Ross added almost as an afterthought. Walkers were still dangerous, if they got within reach; that was usually a pretty big if, though.
edited 26th Apr '12 7:19:38 PM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.
Ross raised an eyebrow a little at Essie's last comment. "I'm not British..." Ross muttered to himself, then shrugged, not really caring. "Well, I'm Ross Hayes. I founded this group so I'm the leader by proxy" he introduced himself, offering a handshake.
"We've gone a little far to turn back now, so if you can stand lugging that stuff around a while longer, you can come along" Ross said, then turned his eyes to the blushing Dean for a moment, the corner of his mouth turning up in a slight grin. "Or maybe get someone to carry some of that for you" he suggested quietly, leaning a little closer to Essie and giving her a quick wink through his goggles.
"Anyway, no, we don't know who set off that gas. I assume whoever did was in there" Ross explained after leaning back, motioning at the building they were next to. "I wouldn't suggest going in there with all the gas still lingering. If whoever it was didn't have proper protection, they're probably dead. If they did, they probably know we're out here so it's up to them if they want to come and talk" he added, giving another shrug.
edited 19th Apr '12 12:36:19 AM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.