ITT: We're Animals in a Post-Apocalyptic Town

"Ah, yeah, that's a good idea," says Peter.

He looks around for an air vent and spots one by the floor near the corner of the room. He goes over to it and pulls out the grate. It looks just wide enough for Krista to climb into.

"We'll keep looking in the other rooms in the meantime," he says. "Be careful out there."

Krista slithers her way on into the grate.

(Wanda cautiously peeks through the first door she gets through.)

Professor?

"Wh-who's there?" says a voice from inside the room Wanda just opened. It appears to be another classroom, and looking inside, the group will see that a couple of animals have taken shelter in the room.

"No need to worry," says Jack, following Wanda into the room. "We're villagers! W-we're here to stop the monsters."

Yeah, what he said. (Wanda says.) I...think it's safe to go back out through the main entrance now? I mean, that machine was the only one there, wasn't it?

"Whoa..."

Edited by AutisticAlivia on Oct 22nd 2019 at 4:39:16 AM

Krista continues to slither through the grate, her reptilian body able to fit throughout the little crevices along the way.

Hello...anyone in here? Around here?

"Oh! You got rid of that big robot in the lobby?" says the student in response to Wanda. "We couldn't get back downstairs because of it, so we hid in here..."

"T-there are still more of them around, though," says another student. "I'm sure I saw... something heading towards the labs at the end of the hall..."

Meanwhile, Krista may hear voices coming from one of the rooms that the air vent connects to.

The ball python slithers to the source of the voice. Wherever she winds up, the voices (and animals associated with them) will likely see her red eyes before anything else of her body.

You guys think the professor might be that way? (Wanda asks the others.)

"He might be," says Peter in response to Wanda. "I guess we'll have to go and check. We'd better be ready for whatever's waiting for us there..."

In a nearby room where a larger group of teachers and students has taken refuge, someone hears a noise coming from the air vent Krista is in, and approaches it too see a pair of red eyes peering from inside it.

"Aaah!" the person says in panic, "I-I think there's one of them in there!"

Krista hisses in indignation as for the second time in a short period she is mistaken for a monster. Shaking her head, she approaches the vent opening a bit closer, showing her reptilian body off closer to the refugees in the room.

I'm not a monssster....I'm looking for the professsor...jussst like Peter and everyone elssse....I could ussse help here...whatsss a girl gotta do to get out of a cramped ssspace like thisss?

Edited by Team42Larson on Oct 23rd 2019 at 9:25:38 AM

Yeah, I'll say... (Wanda says, preparing to move on. She looks back at the folks they discovered.) These guys are all gonna be okay if we leave them now, yeah?

Where was Cameron this whole time?

Who knows, who cares. Now he was looking around the school for more animals who could be hiding.

"Hm," says Jack. "Maybe one of us could stay with them just in case, but I still don't want to split up..."

"Hmm... will you guys be okay without us?" Peter asks the students. "That big robot is deactivated, so I think you can get out through the entrance now.

"Y-yeah, we'll be okay," says one of the students. "Thanks for all your help... and please be careful."

The students then exit the room and head downstairs.

"All right," says Peter. "Time to check out that lab..."

"Oh! Sorry!" one of the animals in the nearby room says to Krista, moving to let her out of the air vent. Krista should notice that, although there is a large group in this room, Professor Diggs is not here.

Depending on where he is, Cameron may hear the conversations between Peter's group or in the room Krista is in.

Right behind you guys... (Wanda says, following Peter and Jack. She steals a quick glance back at the students before heading out. Hopefully they’ll be okay.)

Edited by kablammin45 on Oct 27th 2019 at 9:01:30 AM

Out of the vent, classroom seperate from the others

Not here....

Krista mutters to herself as she slinks out of the vent to face the group in this room. Knowing already that the professor isn't here she tries to get an answer out of the group.

Are you all alright? What happened here? Isss the professsor sssafe?

Edited by Team42Larson on Oct 27th 2019 at 9:07:17 AM

With the others following, Peter heads toward the labs.

Classroom where Krista is

"Professor?" one of the students in the room asks. "Oh, you must mean Professor Diggs... I think he's been in the lab down the hall since this morning, working on something. I hope he's okay..."

Edited by Bluethorn on Nov 2nd 2019 at 9:54:40 AM

classroom (Krista)

Labsss...okay, I got it. We'll find him and get him back. Jussst keep yourssselvesss sssafe in here, alright?

She slithers back into the vent and tries to make her way back to the others.

As she works her way through the vents to find the others they might hear an increasingly closer hiss from the vent system, as Krista is trying to seek them out.

sssssssssssss....hello....ssssssssss...

I hope the Professor is still alive... (Wanda mutters as they go on.)

(She notices the hissing.) ...I hope that's Krista.

Edited by kablammin45 on Nov 2nd 2019 at 10:11:20 AM

"Ah, you're right! I hear something," says Peter. Looking around, he spots another air vent in the hallway and opens it. If Krista is nearby, she may also be able to hear them through it.

The group has now reached the door to the lab. Peter pulls on the doorknob, but the door doesn't open.

"What's wrong with this thing? It won't budge," he says.

He tries pounding on the door a few times, but there's no response.

The vents

Krista picks up the pace as she watches a vent opening just ahead suddenly disappears—or more accurately, getting moved by Peter—and looks out of it, extending her neck out to meet the others.

That door won't budge? Why?

Cameron just continued walking around the school, hearing the conversations between both groups faintly, but ignoring them.

"Anyone there?"