Be "Prepared" [IC]

[DangoYumi]

Mania Defense Inc., South Tullytown, Arima (@Sinopa) Charlotte (@Aka~Kitsune), Will (@Kade) and Albatross (@Crowley)
Amber was walking into the workshop, glad that they finally found a nice spot to rest up. She felt her body aching for a place to lie down, her head heavy with messy thoughts that she knew would haunt her for a while. She watched Will slide down the wall and scramble through his pack, proceeding to smoke something that to her smelled awful. She coughed a little and swat the air away, not one to judge if someone smokes or not. This too seemed to be for medical purposes as she noticed Will's expressions softening into a relaxed state. Seeing Will finally calm down made her smile again, glad that he at least wasn't feeling the pain anymore. Hearing his voice, she looked over at him and sighed. Really? Another mission to get him some more of the 'herbs'? Well, if it would help Will she won't complain. She sighed again when he tried to hand her the 'wonderful herbs' that was in his hand. She was about to decline gently and go find a place to rest before she heard a scream, a scream of a young child that mentioned a familiar name that she knew of.

"ALBY, HELP!!! PLEASE!!!"

Her body tensed up again as she quickly ran towards the door, watching as Alby muttered an order before dashing towards the outside. She quickly followed suit with her mallet in hand, making sure to let herself run as fast as she could. She watched as Alby sprung towards them but to her surprise he jumped over the children, charging towards the undead that were chasing after the two. She quickly understood to first protect the children and ran towards them, turning back as soon as they ran past her and followed behind them. She waited until they were far enough and turned around, wanting to help Alby but couldn't see him anywhere. All she saw was a pile of corrupted piled on top of each other, making her understand that Alby would be under the pile.

Fear crawled up her spine and tears welled up in her eyes. This was when she really felt the madness of it all, how that if she lost her friends in battle, she would not have the bravery to continue, even if they just met a while ago. She felt herself grip tight onto the mallet, and screamed out at the top of her lungs.

"ALBY!!!!!"

As if to answer her, a figure emerged from the pile, pushing the corrupted away from it. It was Alby, but he seemed much more viscious and deadly. He punched the corrupted away from him one by one, fighting continuously in what seemed like a never-ending battle. Amber noticed the difference and quickly ran towards him, swinging her mallet at one of the corrupted once she was close enough. She continued swinging her mallet, crushing all the corrupted with Alby's help. It wasn't long until they had completely destroyed all of them, leaving bodies where they stood. Alby collapsed soon after and Amber caught him just in time, dropping her mallet and making sure to check if there were any of the corrupted around. When the coast was clear, she dragged Alby back towards the workshop, hoisting his body up with her own. His weight was completely on hers and her body could barely handle it, but she knew she had to bring Alby back. Her steps were heavy and she felt her spine hurt but she continued, finally arriving at the workshop. Once they have arrived inside the workshop, Amber's legs gave way and she collapsed with Alby beside her, her breathing heavy. She looked over at Alby and saw that he had awaken, seemingly back to his normal self. She was too exhausted to move from carrying Alby and all she could do is close her eyes as tears roll down her cheeks, whispering 'thank god' to herself over and over again.

 

[Kade]

"Fuck. Me," Will muttered from where he was sitting back against the closed doors, looking at Al and Murder Bait.

Holy shit, he was high. He was so fucking high and he'd barely smoked anything!

Well, okay, he was actually still smoking his pipe and had been taking hits off it the entire time Alby and fucking....what was her actual name again? Spice Rack. He'd been sucking on his pipe as he'd watched from the doorway while they'd taken out a horde of zombie freaks, but the point was he was already well on his way to high in the few seconds it had taken between lighting up and hearing the screeches of little obnoxious midget people crying Alby's name. They were clearly scared shitless and Al was all about playing superhero man in response to that.

Had Will tried to go help though? NOP. He hadn't even tried to get up off the floor. He wasn't sure if he could get up off the floor, and not because of his handicap. His world was kind of spinning just a tiny bit and in the best of ways. Maybe his weed was laced with something extra? Whatever it was, he gave zero shits about it if it meant feeling this good.

He couldn't even be upset at the moment that there were tiny demon spawn in the same room as him! Maybe they'd get high off his second hand and be amusing instead of annoying.

What was more amusing than looking at quivering zombie food in the form of children was watching Alby and Spice Rack fight! Al was a fucking machine! Like serious Hulk Smash rage going on! And little Amber--Amber! You remembered, buddy! Good on you, here take another hit of your special lollipop as a reward!--swung away with her mace...a mace whose spikes were seemingly growing longer and pointier at random and then shrinking back again? That had to be the weed. It was hallucinatory weed. Definitely had to be it as he watched the metal ball distort a little bit anytime it came near Al's general vicinity. Like a fucked up magnet sort of. Was Alby Magneto now?? Holy fuck! That'd be so cool!

Would've been cool if Al wasn't collapsing and Murder Bait wasn't trying to catch all that mass and looking like a squashed bug beneath his weight....which was actually kind of funny as fuck and Will couldn't stop laughing as she dragged Al inside and dropped him to the floor. At least Will had the good sense to shut the doors behind them. He could function that much.

Until Al woke up and asked what happened.

Because he had the most stunned look on his face, and Amber was crying like a pansy, and the kids were hugging each other in a corner looking like frightened chihuahuas, and Will was high as a fucking kite and it was all just too insane!

"You. Are a fucking superhero!" he blurted out, laughing. "And I am so turned on right now, even if Lois Lane did have to save your ass in the end, but hey, it happens sometimes. Except that's the wrong comic...not even the right company. Lois Lane is DC and Magneto is Marvel, right? Why do I even know that? I watch too many movies, that's why. I am not a comic book nerd! Everyone! Everyone in this room note that I only know nerdy comic book shit because I go to the movies! I don't frequent geek-freak cesspools! I do conventions because it helps sell my shit! That's it! But you didn't hear that from me!"

Oh god, he needed to shut up. He needed something that would make him shut up. Kids! Looking at kids always pissed him off, which would make him shut up about himself at least.

Wait, kids! Kids reminded him of parents! He needed to call his mom and dad and make sure they were okay!

"Shut up, everybody!" he shouted (even though no one was talking, but just in case they were thinking about it...). He pulled out his phone from his pocket. "I need to call my mom."

 

[BlueFlameNikku]

Name: Jaxon Freed "Jax"​

Location: South Tullytown Kenton High school
Date: November 17, 2020
Interactions: (Mentions, group at Hardware Store) & NPCs
Tags: None
Hexcode: 666699

Jax had been peddling for a bit of a while, his mode of transportation was quiet so he didn't attract much attention from both the corrupted as well as any other undesirables. He knew now that he was definitely on the south side of on account that everything looked a hell of a lot nicer. Well...aside from the sight of the blood, the dead and blood covered people walking about. The ex-gang member also took notice of a group of individuals by a hardware store that had a bench of the weird fuckers around it. As he road by on his bicycle he simply figured they were looters which were of course a common kind of occurrence when any form of chaos occurred and people wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Jax having a fairly good assumption that most groups of looters already had bands of sorts and wouldn't be friendly towards others; because of such thoughts he simply peddled down the street he was on basically passing them by a few blocks away as he continued down the street he was on.

After a short while longer Jax stopped on the sidewalk as he looked to his right to see a school building. Kenton high school huh. From the front the school already looked barricaded up to a sense with a bunch of wooden tables stacked up against the main outside double doors. It appeared to be a three story rectangular building. Additionally some of the windows looked smashed out on this front side on the first floor which also had a large rectangular parking lot in front of it which is currently littered with bodies both face down and face up in pools of blood and carnage of all ages; some of which were sporting an obsessive amount of orange clothing and even some with orange dyed hair and tattoos. I guess I'm not the only one who didn't feel comfortable going to where the police are. Jax thought to himself with a smirk as he walked over to the school building, bringing his bike along. He trekked through, over and past the field of the dead to the right side of the school building where he could see one of the broken windows that was at a height just above his head. He leaned the bike up against the outside wall and used it as a lift so that he could reach the window and hop in through it, mostly landing on the smooth floor on the inside aside from the few crunches of broken glass that cracked beneath his boots upon landing.

He was at the corner of two hallways as he stood up slowly and looked to his right and then his left as he stood among the eerie silence within. Then suddenly he heard the squeaking of sneakers against smooth tile as he quickly spun his head back to his right down the hall. At the very end of the hall there was a young man not a year older than Jax who had a handgun drawn and pointed at him. Jax's eyes opened wide at the sight of the now smiling gang member and as the gun fires off with a loud bang that echos within the halls. Jax feels a rush within his body like a torrent of whipping hot air billowing inside him as a large billowing of black soot like smoke expels itself from his body like a smoke screen as he instinctual hits the floor; the bullet barely missing him as it zips through the smoke cloud. Within the cloud Jax's eyes stay wide open as he slowly gets up while looking at his hands and body in surprise. Wh...what the fuck? How the fuck? I can feel it...like it's apart of me. Outside of the smokescreen the gang member down the hall has an equally surprised expression as he has even less of an idea of what just happened; shouting out..."The fuck was that!!?" "What are you some fuckin pussy ass ninja now Jax!!?

At this time the smoke produced from Jax was now activating the sprinkler system and fire alarm within the school. Showering water began to pour down from the ceiling as a high pitched BEEP!!! BEEP!!! DEEP!!! went off in rhythm. Jax heard the man call out at him, picking his head up with a curious look on his face as he thrusts both of his arms forwards as billowing black smoke fills the entire hallway. As the smoke rushed towards the other young man he began to panic and shoot blindly into the smoke multiple times in rapid succession but the smoke enveloped him. The young man swung his arms around frantically and walked around basically blind and coughing in addition to the loud alarm noise and water drenching him.

Jax's footfalls clacked and splashed against the wet tile flooring towards the young man who shot at him with a low and disturbing rhythm as he could feel the thrashing within the smoke he produced. Jax stopped walking and parted the smoke in a circular area of about 5ft in diameter within the smoke screen so that the area contained both himself and the bastard that shot at him. Jax pulled down his bandana from his mouth showing his smirking expression as the man frantically pointed his handgun directly at Jax's face at point blank range but Jax was ready and swing the man's arm with the gun to one side as he pulled out his own handgun from his waistband, touched the barrel to the fucker's stomach and pulled the trigger. "Get ninja-ed then motherfucker." Jax taunts as the young man falls over in pain and shock as the smokescreen begins to dissipate to reveal the bleeding guy in agony. He could also hear what sounded like several if not more running footsteps and voices coming down from the nearest stairwell. Jax could feel that whatever he just did with the smoke took a tole on him as he felt as though his energy had just been sapped from him. He snatched up the bleeding man's handgun and took off down the hallway as quickly as he could so that he could turn the corner and duck into the closest room which happened to be a standard classroom with a teacher's desk at the front and lined up desks for students. He immediately shut the door behind him and sat down with his back against the door so that he could catch his breath. He could hear multiple angered young voices down the hall outside the room. He made sure his handguns were ready but he wanted to stay hidden less he be out gunned while he was basically exhausted; not knowing of what would happen now that all these loud noises would affect anyone venturing past the school at the time.

 

[MUSΞ]

Rococo Raux
Location: Bloomy Herbarium, South Tullytown
Date: Tuesday Nov. 17th, 2020
Time: 7:30pm


Rococo's eyes fluttered open as her neck screamed of pain throughout her body. She reached up to rub her neck, leaning back against the wall of the bathroom and tossing her head side to side. Her neck cracked in each direction, helping to ease the strain from falling asleep awkwardly. The music was still playing through her headphones, some sort of relaxing classical piece. Rococo shuffled the headphones away from her ears.

How long has it been? What happened again?

She blinked hard, her eyes still aching.

"Oh..oh yeah, those things happened," Rococo mumbled to herself. "And that lady..."

A wave of guilt overcame Rococo at the thought of the lady pushing her into the bathroom, saving her. Maybe Rococo could have grabbed that woman too. That way, she didn't have to have all that happened to her with that sudden orb of light. Her screams of pain echoed in Rococo's ears, forcing the teen girl to cover them tightly.

"I'm sorry...I want to go home..."

Rococo stood groggily, unable to cry anymore. Her eyes refused to create anymore. Her body barely responded with her standing, legs shaking from being kept in an uncomfortable position, arms hanging limply to her side while a throbbing headache suddenly formed. Rococo pulled her beanie off her head, letting her wild, brown curls puff up until they relaxed slowly down.

She made her way to the sink, bumping into it as her hands felt around for the handles. Luckily, the water was still working. She cupped her hands under the cold water and splashed it against her hot cheeks, letting the water drip all down her face.

Her ears twitched as mumbled voices approached the door, her body tensed as the handle of the door jiggled before opening slowly. All Rococo could do was freeze in place, eyes wide, as if trying to blend into the environment.

"Go...go away...leave me alone..."

Even the faintest of sounds created an image to Rococo. All her mind displayed were black blocky images of the walls of the bathroom against a bright white background with a basic silhouette of a woman stepping into the bathroom. The image disappeared as quickly as it was created, leaving Rococo with nothing but darkness.

"I said go away! GO AWAY YOU FREAK!"

A piercing scream escaped from Rococo's lips, rattling nearly everything in the store.

 

[Justin]

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
MASON
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

HEX CODE
#E08566

LOCATION
South Tully (Hardware Store)

OUTFIT
Click Me!

MARK
Inner Right Arm

POWER
Heat Manipulation

INTERACTIONS
Remi & Axel

TAGGED
@SoleStride @DustBunny

Even though Mason was excited about bashing some of those creatures heads in, he was worried about leaving his brother alone. They might fight a lot and acted like they hated one another on many occasions, but if anything was to happen to Jason, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. "Be safe J. J. If you gotta run... run, but be safe." He grinned and started following behind Remi and Axel. He held his bat behind his head as he kept looking back and forth as the trio of people walked towards the store. He would've preferred beating those "Corrupted" beasts into a bloody mess; he couldn't just go and do it by himself so he would HAVE to follow Axel's lead. He wouldn't be happy about it, but it was either be led by someone he didn't like at all, or go off by himself and have a bigger chance of being killed or being turned into a corrupted. He knew what his odds were, and who knows? Maybe Axel would get attacked and he wouldn't have to deal with the man for that much longer.

He kept looking behind himself, as he was in back of the three. He appointed himself as the walking lookout. If one of those things popped up out of nowhere, Mason would swing his bat as fast as a speeding bullet. He didn't plan on dying anytime soon; those things were not about to get him or his brother. As long as he could fight, those corrupted motherfuckers would have a nice piece of metal coming straight for their brain-dead heads. The more pumped up he got, the more his body seemed to get hotter and everything around him seemed to feel warmer than it should in such cold weather. The snow around him seemed to melt faster than regular, as it fell to the ground. He didn't pay it too much mind. Too focused on what was more important. He looked over to where Remi was pointing at.

"So, who want's the honors of being first?" He looked at them, not wanting to be the first person to open the door and enter. There was no telling what was behind door number one. There could be a swarm of corrupted just waiting for some stupid person to walk in, just so they could tear them to shreds. That was not going to be him. "Axel, maybe you should open the door. You're the Leader, right?" He stood there, trying to hold back the sarcastic laughter that was threatening to come out any second. He was ready for anything that was going to come running or walking out of the store; he was full of unused adrenaline and he needed something to do that would release it.

If he wasn't going to party tonight, he would beat some corrupted ass instead. The situation he was in wasn't something he ever expected to happen; even in his wildest dreams. Mason had never done anything this crazy, then again, when did someone in their normal life face an epidemic that caused people to turn into bloody zombie-like creatures? That was suppose to only happen in movies; where was Will Smith when you needed him? "Well?" He motioned for either one of the others to open the door.

 

[Sinopa]

Arima Mania > Charlotte Knight,Allistair Buchannon,
William Harker, Amberlynn Lockwood
November 17, 2020
8:37pm EST
@Aka~Kitsune @Crowley @Kade @DangoYumi

A rush of relief washed over Arima as Alby ran towards them. She had half a mind to jump into his arms right then and there, but to her surprise he was suddenly over their heads. For a moment it took some time for the girl to register his command, but when she did nothing could stop her from running towards safety, Charlotte in tow. Another guided them towards the shelter safely before leaving to join the fight, Arima almost cried with joy, almost. Once inside the red head collapsed in the corner, huffing as she tried to catch her breath. When the red head was finally able to think straight she noticed a scent that caused her to pull the neck of her shirt over her nose. It smelled horrible and the source seemed to be from a pipe the man in the corner was smoking. He looked relaxed, with a smug smile on his face as he looked around at everything happening.

Arima decided to ignore that as best she could as she watched the battle taking place outside. It was intense, a side of Alby she had never seen before, he seemed… scary. But his scariness got rid of the monsters that were chasing them, so she couldn't help but to be grateful for his violent actions. If it weren't for him, and the woman he was with, they would most likely have been dinner.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly as she turned to Charlotte checking her to make sure she wasn't hurt. She relaxed the moment she confirmed that there were no injuries on her friend. If something had happened to Charlotte she would have given up right then and there. Charlotte was the only thing keeping Arima going at this point.

When the mass of Alby and the woman collapsed on the ground in front of them Arima stared. What was wrong with him? Was he hurt? Was this all her fault? A wave of worry and anxiety fell over her until his eyes opened and he began to speak. Then the man began to respond, ramble even, before looking directly at the children. Arima brought her knees to her chest, feeling uncomfortable by his gaze as realization suddenly appeared on his featured and told a completely silent room to shut up. The man confused her, she wasn't sure how exactly she felt about him, he seemed all over the place.

Then he mentioned his mom. Arima wrapped her arms around her legs, bringing them tighter to her, and looked down at the ground. She was trying so hard to drive them back, but the images of what was left of her parents flashed in front of her eyes, playing like a movie over and over again. She should have expected this, when something upsets her it usually repeats in her mind, she was hoping that for some reason this would be different. But it wasn't, except for the fact that it was more vivid than before. She rested her head on her knees, trying to hide the tears that began to swell up in her eyes, the ones she had tried with all her might to hide, the ones that pushed harder and harder against her struggling will as the memory continued to replay.

 

[DustBunny]

Location: South Tullytown Hardware Store
Date: November 17, 2020
Interactions: Remi/Mason/Jason
Tags: @Justinaholic @SoleStride

Axel followed where Remi had suggested and came up to the side door. Giving it a few testing tugs, it seemed to thankfully be unlocked. He stood back a minute, processing what Remi had said and thinking up what they should do, only to have his thoughts imposed upon by, in Axel's words, an obtrusive oaf. Axel was about to speak up and reply with some witty comment towards Mason, but he didn't feel it was necessary to be an enabler to the other male's innate behavior.

With a slow, concentrated step forward, Axel slowly pulled open the door, ready for anything jumping out at him. Eventually, he had the door pulled open all the way, he straightened himself and slowly looked in. The initial area into which they'd step seemed to be relatively clear of those Corrupted monsters, but Axel wasn't going to take any chances. Before stepping in, he turned to Mason. "Too scared to make the first step, Mason?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet, berating way. Holding his weapon at the ready, he stepped inside, made sure the coast was clear, then motioned for the others to follow him.

"Don't get comfortable or cocky in here," he whispered. "Those things could be anywhere." He led them to the left, per Remi's request, towards the power and hand tools. "Just grab what you think you or we'll need. We can put stuff in my bag if needed, but hurry," Axel said as he looked around the corner down another aisle to see a couple of the Corrupted shambling about. "this isn't the safest place to be."

While Remi obtained what she needed, Axel thought of any other necessities. After a moment, he looked back at the two. "Flashlights. And batteries. Do either of you know exactly where those are? We're gonna need those. If neither of you know, then I guess we just look for them blindly."

 

[SoleStride]

Remington Ann Austen
South Tullytown – Hardware store
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Interactions: Axel, Mason, Jason
Tags: @Justinaholic , @DustBunny

Remington looked back and forth between the two guys for a moment, considering what the reaction might be if she hit them over the head with her tire iron. But that was probably a bad idea, so she refrained and just rolled her eyes, antsy to get in and get out and quickly as possible. She hadn't been with them very long, but she was already starting to regret deciding to travel with them, allowing them into her precious truck, and even letting one stay in it while she was away. My poor baby… Remi steeled herself as Axel pushed the door open, holding her tire iron at the ready. Could she really do any damage with this thing if she needed to?

With careful steps, she moved inside as soon as Axel gestured at them, moving quietly and trying to avoid any debris that could cause any noise. Once they hit the tools, she stopped short for a moment, staring at this buffet of free supplies in front of her. If only she could take it all – how she wanted to take it all. Just get things that can be useful. Let's see… A hammer, axe, sledgehammer Oooohhh… Might as well take that too; it could be a good weapon. She cleanly popped open some cases with utility knives and multipurpose tools and pushed them into her scrub pockets to save room in her hands.

She turned at the sound of Axel asking if anyone knew where the flashlights and batteries were. Thinking this was a fantastic idea, she pointed in the direction of the flashlights and raised four fingers to signal isle four. She was here so often, she could probably tell you where anything was. Meanwhile, she continued to shop for her own goods, stuffing what she could in her scrub pockets and carrying the rest. There were so many things that would be useful here. Eventually, she ended up grabbing a basket and putting her things in there so she could make sure that she would have a hand free to carry her weapon. Her basket was full for sure and she had already slipped to the registers and started loading in batteries from the battery displays there. She wish she had a backpack or a duffel bag to put all this stuff in because who would miss this opportunity to raid the hardware store?

When she was done there, she grabbed Axel by the arm to get his attention and led him toward the flashlights. She grabbed a handful of the little LED flashlights, stuffing one in her pocket and putting the rest in her basket. She was trying to get enough of everything for everyone to have something. She was busy stuffing things in her pocket when she heard the groan come from beside her, causing her to suck in a sharp breath of air to keep herself from screaming like a little girl. She jumped back a step and kicked out with the flat of her foot to put the thing back a bit, squeaking out a quiet, strained whisper. "Axel! Help!" She ducked under the grasping hands of the hobbling creature, thankful for the wide isles, and realized that this thing was actually quite slow. She took a step toward it then back repeatedly and discovered that it was a really lethargic zombie. "Hm…" Taking a few steps back, she sat her basket down and picked up the sledgehammer, holding it up.

Now that she was face to face with this thing, slow and oozing, she wasn't sure if she could hurt it. At first, she had thought that she was prepared to do so, but everything in her being told her not to hurt another human being and despite her tightened grip on the sledgehammer it was starting to look like she wouldn't be able to bring harm to this sad sack in front of her. People annoyed her so much and yet here she was, denying herself the opportunity to take out her frustrations on one. Why was she hesitating now? The thumping in her chest quickened. Do it, Remi. Just kill it. It's not even human anymore. She held the sledgehammer up, taking a step back to keep the creature from reaching her. But… it's still a person though… right? This was taking too long; if she didn't decide what to do soon she may end up somebody's dinner. But it was so hard to raise a weapon against something that had been another human being just an hour ago. I don't want to make this decision..!

 

[Crowley]

Albatross
Location: Mania Defense Inc., The Workshop
​

It wasn't the voices, nor Will's shouting or even the disheartened faces of the children that subdued Albatross with pain, but instead something more physical in nature. Attempting to shift his weight off of Amber and sit against the wall by himself proved futile as he instead toppled over, his head lying in Amber's lap with him staring up at the ceiling. Every muscle in his body revolted against the notion of movement and his right arm was screaming in searing agony.​

​

"Argh!" He grunted through gritted teeth as his body tensed up along the ground, his head shifting from side to side against Amber's legs.. Wrapping his left hand around the wrist of his right, he brought the pained arm against his chest, cradling it there like a wailing infant. It felt as though a molten hot piece of metal was being perpetually applied to his right forearm, the sensation so intense he feared he might fall unconscious.​

​

He couldn't resist the urge any longer as he rolled himself over face down into the floor, trying to ignore the mind-numbing pain as he reached up to unzip his body-suit all the way down to his stomach. Grasping at the sleeves one by one to peel them from his flesh as he then exposed his bare upper torso to the room. The entirety of his back and chest were covered in hues of blue, purple and black as the bruises and wounds from the days exercises that he'd elected to not complain about, were shown.​

​

Now staring down at his right forearm, both Albatross and Amber could see the source of all his suffering. A small tattoo, barely a couple inches in diameter, in the shape of an anvil was glowing with red and orange heat as though it were being branded into his flesh. Gritting his teeth yet again, he couldn't think clearly and just wanted this burning pain to end, hoping that perhaps breaking his hand would offer some solace. ​

​

Albatross raised himself slowly off of the ground and sauntered over towards one of the anvils he often hammered steel upon, balling his fist up he then punched the right half of it with all the strength he could muster, with shocking results. The moment his fist collided with the metal of the anvil, stress fractures and schisms tore through it causing it to split into multiple sections and toppled over on itself. This wasn't what surprised him the most though, the exact moment he wrought that destruction, the searing and branding of his right forearm stopped entirely.​

​

"Huh..." He stated with a bit of confusion, he knew his hand should be broken and the bones should resemble gravel but yet, he felt fine, invigorated in fact. Casting a glance over towards the entrance and exit of his workshop, he noticed they hadn't fully secured it and lurched in that direction. Upon the back of the double-doors were two hooks, welded in place to hold a large bar of steel. He found the bar under his workbench near the doors and fastened the bar between the hooks. Pacing then to each of the windows, just above each of their frames was a handle, which he tugged on generously causing a sheet of metal to fall over and secure them.​

​

Finally feeling safe, Albatross had time to think on what Arima and her friend had to be doing here, her parents must have been unfortunate victims. Returning once more to his workbench, he delved heavily into one of the drawers to retrieve something very small and hidden between his hands. Smiling softly as he joined Arima, he knelt down on both knees and lightly touched her hands with his own, before parting them to offer her a small, wooden finch he'd carved for her. "Don't worry...the monsters can't get in here...and if they know what's best for them, they won't try." He tried to reassure them and perhaps even himself as he chuckled a bit at his own joke, which caused him to double offer and cough a bit. The bruises and wounds also trailing along his rib-cage seemed to indicate a fracture or two.​

​

 

[DangoYumi]

Mania Defense Inc., South Tullytown, Arima (@Sinopa) Charlotte (@Aka~Kitsune), Will (@Kade) and Albatross (@Crowley)
Amber had been sobbing for a while like a little child before feeling Alby try to get up, and feeling his body thud back onto her lap. She quickly sat up, thankfully still able to get her body up and lean against the wall behind her, adjusting her position so that Alby's head wouldn't fall straight down to the ground. Alby's face was in clear view now and she noticed how pained he looked, as if he was getting stabbed alive. Hearing him groan made her look at him up and down, trying to check for injuries. She couldn't really tell anything since he was still in his body suit, and the worry was basically eating her alive. He seemed to be in complete agony and was practically rolling on her lap. She tried her best to calm herself down and figure out what was going on, despite the stressful situation not really helping. When he brought his arm towards his chest, she thought that he had hurt his arm, or that it might've been bitten, making her panic even more. "A-Alby... calm down... please let me see what's wrong..." she spoke, trying her best to not forcefully pry his arm out of his grasp, afraid that her rash decisions might hurt him. In response however, she watched as he unzipped his body suit and taking the upper part out, exposing his muscular body. The bruises that could be seen gave Amber a shock, but what shocked her even more was the source of the pain on his arm.

A tattoo could be seen on the arm as Amber stared with shock. It looked like it was glowing, and it took Amber a few moments to process the information before she remembered her own tattoo. She reached her hand out to touch the back of her ear, remembering the pain that she had to go through when it acted up. His tattoo seemed completely different from hers, and it seemed to be somehow burning him. She was just about to reach out and try to calm him down again but couldn't as she watched him get up from her lap. She shifted and her eyes followed him through the room before widening at the sight of him punching down a whole anvil. It seemed to have somehow melted and dissolved before crumbling to pieces. She looked back up at Alby to see if he was alright and somehow his brows were no longer furrowed. He seemed a lot better than before, as if the pain from the tattoo had disappeared.

She didn't have time to say anything, her confusion taking over her mind as she watched Alby dart back to the entrance of the room. Her mouth hung wide open when he quickly moved to secure the entrance and windows, sounds of metal clanking loudly across the room. How the hell did he have more energy than before just from... punching an anvil? She was confused and shocked, unable to process the current situation. Watching Alby finally relax, she felt herself calm down as well, her body practically like a doll's leaning against the wall. She felt her strength slowly come back, realizing that they finally had a safe place to hide. She looked over to the two kids and wondered who they were. They seemed to know Alby, and they seemed to be alone, without their parents. A sudden sadness hit her when she noticed that their parents might've been turned into one of the corrupted, making her bite her lip. It wasn't long before Alby came into her frame of view, reaching out his hand to hold the little girl's. She watched him give her a gentle smile and hand him an item, but she couldn't make out what it was from her point of view. When Alby chuckled and coughed, it startled Amber and made her quickly jump up and towards him. "Alby... you need medical assistance.... your bruises..." she spoke, but couldn't say anything more. She didn't notice what had happened to his body until now, focusing her eyes on his rib-cage. She wasn't that good at medical things, and she didn't know what to do, which caused her to just kneel beside her silently after her sentence trailed off, her worried eyes lingering on him.