Traversing Aether

[Atomyk]

Nathan scoffed. "Really?" He gestured to himself with a slight shake of his head. "Nathan Prescott. The Prescott's?" Pausing, his eyes narrowed on Captain America. Perhaps the foul smell in the room was getting to him, or maybe he just didn't like the look of the woman before him. "Really funny. Really fucking funny. Didn't know it was Halloween. Who the fuck are you?" Suddenly and violently, the boy let out a grunt as he turned and kicked at one of the corpses on the ground. "Jesus, where the fuck is this...?"

If her comment about his language had registered with him, he clearly didn't show it. It didn't seem to matter to him that there was a kid in the vicinity either.

@Lissamel @The Man Without Fear @Jeremi @Arcadium

---

Error would flash on the screen. Apparently that password didn't work.

@york

---

Alan, Sherlock, and the others would find a similar space beyond the exit. A sign on the wall read After decontamination, please wait for your assigned psychological evaluation.

Beyond here was an archway that led into a large waiting room. A counter sat against the wall. Filing cabinets lay leaning against the counter, their contents and files scattered across the tiled floor. Another message of Better Safe Than Sorry was painted on to this wall as well.

A number of offices connected to this waiting room, though they were in similar disarray. Beyond that sat another door with another electronic lock. A small diagram next to the door indicated the rooms beyond were part of the Medical Center.​

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

"Sherlock. Better come down and see this." He replied, Sherlock making a sharp turn right behind him as he noticed the disarray. "Sherlock, what the Hell is honestly going on here?"Alan said, looking at the Medical Centre. " I don't know Alan. But let us see what the good doctor has in store for us.. Ah, yes, Female Doctor! Mind doing me a favour and checking the blood on those walls, see if they're clotting or even if they're the same thing.. Or persons, for that matter." He said almost amusingly before using the scanner on the Medical Centre door.

@Atomyk @C.T.​

 

[Jeremi]

Nathan scoffed. "Really?" He gestured to himself with a slight shake of his head. "Nathan Prescott. The Prescott's?" Pausing, his eyes narrowed on Captain America. Perhaps the foul smell in the room was getting to him, or maybe he just didn't like the look of the woman before him. "Really funny. Really fucking funny. Didn't know it was Halloween. Who the fuck are you?" Suddenly and violently, the boy let out a grunt as he turned and kicked at one of the corpses on the ground. "Jesus, where the fuck is this...?"

If her comment about his language had registered with him, he clearly didn't show it. It didn't seem to matter to him that there was a kid in the vicinity either.

@Lissamel @The Man Without Fear @Jeremi @Arcadium

---

Error would flash on the screen. Apparently that password didn't work.

@york

---

Alan, Sherlock, and the others would find a similar space beyond the exit. A sign on the wall read After decontamination, please wait for your assigned psychological evaluation.

Beyond here was an archway that led into a large waiting room. A counter sat against the wall. Filing cabinets lay leaning against the counter, their contents and files scattered across the tiled floor. Another message of Better Safe Than Sorry was painted on to this wall as well.

A number of offices connected to this waiting room, though they were in similar disarray. Beyond that sat another door with another electronic lock. A small diagram next to the door indicated the rooms beyond were part of the Medical Center.​

"Do I look like I would lie to you?"​

Cap spoke with an authority in her voice like every teacher that has chewed out Nathan during his entire life combined. "And stop kicking bodies." She'd grab him by the arm and drag Nathan along. "We'll try to regroup with the others and see if they've found something."

@Lissamel @The Man Without Fear @Arcadium​

 

[Jeremi]

"Sherlock. Better come down and see this." He replied, Sherlock making a sharp turn right behind him as he noticed the disarray. "Sherlock, what the Hell is honestly going on here?"Alan said, looking at the Medical Centre. " I don't know Alan. But let us see what the good doctor has in store for us.. Ah, yes, Female Doctor! Mind doing me a favour and checking the blood on those walls, see if they're clotting or even if they're the same thing.. Or persons, for that matter." He said almost amusingly before using the scanner on the Medical Centre door.

@Atomyk @C.T.​

"I don't like the looks of this." Rhonda replied looking around. While she didn't want to waste fuel she'd keep her flamethrower ready just in case.

@Atomyk @C.T.

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

"I don't like the looks of this." Rhonda replied looking around. While she didn't want to waste fuel she'd keep her flamethrower ready just in case.

@Atomyk @C.T.

"I doubt anybody does." He coughed, Responding to Rhonda before looking at the mess inside, walking behind the desk as he again began putting the papers together, "Well, Sherlock does, it's his job and his.. His high, I guess but it's kind of what he does.

​

 

[C.T.]

"Sherlock. Better come down and see this." He replied, Sherlock making a sharp turn right behind him as he noticed the disarray. "Sherlock, what the Hell is honestly going on here?"Alan said, looking at the Medical Centre. " I don't know Alan. But let us see what the good doctor has in store for us.. Ah, yes, Female Doctor! Mind doing me a favour and checking the blood on those walls, see if they're clotting or even if they're the same thing.. Or persons, for that matter." He said almost amusingly before using the scanner on the Medical Centre door.

@Atomyk @C.T.​

"...But. But I've already collected enough blood and body samples." She remarked in reply, instead hunkering down to grab as many of the files as she could and sift through them in quick skims, trying to see if there was anything of note. Medical records, experiment information, paperwork...anything at all.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

 

[Jeremi]

"...But. But I've already collected enough blood and body samples." She remarked in reply, instead hunkering down to grab as many of the files as she could and sift through them in quick skims, trying to see if there was anything of note. Medical records, experiment information, paperwork...anything at all.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

Rhonda just looked around confused. She was a mechanic, she fixed machines, not people. Finding a nearby chair she'd just sit down on it and waited for everyone to be ready to move on from here.

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

"...But. But I've already collected enough blood and body samples." She remarked in reply, instead hunkering down to grab as many of the files as she could and sift through them in quick skims, trying to see if there was anything of note. Medical records, experiment information, paperwork...anything at all.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

His accent cut her off at the end, a groan almost like a child's as he rolled his eyes. "I don't want you to collect, just see if they're from the same persons." He asks once more "Those pieces of armour you have obviously aren't from here so.. I'm guessing it has a microscope,or something.

​

 

[Atomyk]

Nathan tried to pull away from Cap, but quickly found she was a lot stronger than she seemed. "I'll be fine on my own," Nathan said, probably more quietly than he intended. He seemed a bit defeated as he was carried along. "I don't... deserve this shit..."

@Jeremi

---

Emily would find patient files, as far as she could tell. It was hard to discern the majority of the information, but the physical details, medical history, and history of mental health were available for a number of names you don't recognise.

@C.T.

---

The medical center was in complete disarray. Beds and medical supplies littered the floor, and it was hard to miss the blood splatter staining the floor. Perhaps medical supplies that weren't compromised could be found here.

You think you here a noise from across the large room.​

 

[C.T.]

She hummed appreciatively, in the melody of Carmen's Habanera as she swished through paper after paper and committed each to memory before tossing them aside. Most of it was indecipherable after whatever had happened but she had no doubt what she had been able to read would come in handy, if any other zombies they found looked like they might have been the person behind one of these unfamiliar names. Knowing that one zombie had a common allergy or that a foot injury left the right leg weaker than the other could prove useful in a combat situation. And practically, if she ever proved capable of catching one, perhaps she would be lucky enough to have some info on it rather than none! With a smile, she stood up and walked briskly after the others to catch up to the medical center.

"Coming!" She half whispered, half called out.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

Locus had made a point to stay relatively to himself. Felix had gone quiet for the moment which allowed him some peace of mind. Sherlock consistently mispronouncing his name had him a bit on edge however. If this man was supposed to be as smart as he had heard and as Felix bragged than clearly he'd be able to establish that his name was Locus and not the name of his assistant/colleague. As for the doctor, she seemed to be her usual energetic self in wanting to learn more about these abominations, these 'zombies' as she referred to them. He couldn't understand such thinking for he only saw them as monstrosities that had to be destroyed as soon as possible.

But then again he supposed it wasn't his place to understand her thinking. He was part of the reason why she was like that after all. He would punch out that Holmes fellow sooner or later if he continued in neglecting to address Locus properly. But that'd have to wait as he glanced in the direction the noise had been coming from and started towards it. If it was another creature like the one he had tackled before, he wouldn't need any assistance. But despite how cautious he may have been, he couldn't be so sure what lurked within this strange, strange facility.

@Atomyk @C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

 

[Atomyk]

As Locus moved across the room, stepping over both fallen objects and blood, it would be apparent that the group wasn't alone in here. Soft moans emitted from the dark corners of the room, sounding a lot like the creature the group had previously run into.

About ten zombies of all came shambling toward Locus in particular. Objects such as scalpels could be found on the ground, perhaps being useful weapons against the creatures.

@C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai @TheSpringwoodSlasher
​

 

[C.T.]

Aww yes! There were more of them! She was glad her instincts were right...and even better! The tools of her trade. A surgeon by doctorate, she kneeled down and quickly scooped up a scalpel and held it up like a true motherfucking hero would with their katana or claymore and their cape waving in the wind.

Locus may have been the deadliest son of a bitch with a shotgun, Felix may have been the quickest and most accurate thrower of knives, Wash may have been unparalleled with his Battle Rifle, Carolina might have put them all to shame in hand to hand combat...but on Chorus? No one was scarier than Doctor Grey with a scalpel in hand. Fighting alongside Locus disgusted her but for right now, they were by circumstance comrades once more. Dealing with these flesh eaters would be much easier in full armor. And she had no compunctions about slaying them, because she didn't view it as slaying zombies. She viewed it as healing who they used to be, by allowing them to finally die and pass on from their cursed existence.

"Try not to ruin them too badly, I can never have enough test specimens!" She yelled before rushing at the nearest one to deal with it.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

Corpses.

Corpses that moved around on two feet. Corpses that fed on the rotting cadavers of the dead. They had a name for that, didn't they? Back then. Back before. He couldn't remember what it was. Things like fiction became redundant a long time ago, when reality crumbled into a nightmare worse than anything you'd find in a book or on film. Luxuries. Luxuries the human race was no longer privy to. The books had all been burnt. The films had all been shredded.

Buried. Gone with the rest of the old world.

Or so Max had thought.

Max.

Cannibals, he was no stranger to. People driven savage, driven to consume the remains of the deceased for nourishment. This was different. This was the dead, walking.

They were not ghosts.

They could hurt him.

YOU FAILED US, MAX.

Those born after the fall of man were privileged. They were born into the wasteland. Molded by it. They never knew what came before. What had been lost.

Those who did... they were the truly broken. The ones who ran from both the living and the dead.

And now, the dead could give chase.

Max actually flinched from the hallucination as it came at him, heaving a breath into his lungs and shielding his face. When he came to his senses, it was gone. Of course. These ghosts were still ghosts. They could not touch him.

But the thing standing in place of the illusion sure as hell could.

He found himself with those in the medical center, having followed the rest there absently, trapped within the confines of his delusions. But now he was free of them, perhaps by the hand of his body's own survival instinct, its refusal to let itself die for one man's hallucinations.

Now that he was focused, Max very much shared his body's sentiment.

He noted Emily picking up a scalpel, wielding it with a surgeon's grace and charging the nearest shambler with it. Perhaps she could afford to do that, being sealed in sturdy-looking armor head to toe. As for him, he could be scratched. Be bitten. He didn't know much about these things, but the fact that there were so many of them in and of itself meant they were contagious. The scalpels were too risky. He needed something... bigger.

So that was what he looked for, something like a broom or a pole. Maybe a table leg he could snap off in a pinch. Whatever he could use to strike at the corpses without getting in arm's reach. If he procured such an object, he went to work wielding it without another word. His hits were hard. Fast.

Mad.

@Atomyk @C.T. @Medical center​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

"Right."

He doubted these things had jaws powerful enough to bite through his armor given that while decomposing they resembled any average human. He had seen firsthand that they certainly wouldn't be able to do it with their hands. But the same didn't apply to Locus. While Grey was free to use the scalpels to her delight, Locus reveled in being able to go hand to hand with these freaks. Rearing back he sought to smash one right in the side of the face with his armored glove to try and fracture it's jaw and knock it to the floor. From there he'd raise his foot and smashed it repeatedly until the damn thing stopped squirming. As for the rest of them, they seemed to be split up between him, that Australian man, and Grey. Which was fine with him. He didn't mind beating these thing's heads in with his bare hands.

This was what he excelled in, there were no words necessary for what Locus did. No need for the constant gloating that Felix loved to do. Just using one's absolute strength to their advantage and taking care of the obstacle or in this case, obstacles set before them. It gave Locus a purpose, something for him to remove. Just like any solider would when an enemy or new task presented itself. Adjust and overcome. The words he lived by.​

@Atomyk @OrlandoBloomers @C.T.
​

 

[Atomyk]

One zombie died under Locus' heel, while another fell quickly with a scalpel embedded in its brain. Two of the zombies stumbled over a fallen bed, crashing to the ground and creating a raucous noise. Two more came upon Locus and Emily, these ones in a better position to lurch forward in an attempt to take bites out of their necks.

For Max, an object most appropriate for what he was looking for was a simple pole. Of the four still standing, they lingered around Max, moving slowly in on him to scratch and bite at him.

@C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai @TheSpringwoodSlasher​

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

As Locus moved across the room, stepping over both fallen objects and blood, it would be apparent that the group wasn't alone in here. Soft moans emitted from the dark corners of the room, sounding a lot like the creature the group had previously run into.

About ten zombies of all came shambling toward Locus in particular. Objects such as scalpels could be found on the ground, perhaps being useful weapons against the creatures.

@C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened @Jeremi @Gen. Gwazi Senpai @TheSpringwoodSlasher
​

Sherlock looked at the corpses with astonishment as he mouthed a wow. He grabbed a scalpel from the floor and tossed one to Alan. "Alan.. Lets end this for them, shall we?" Alan Wake nodded as he began running forward, the flashlight hit against the head of one, then a stap deep in its eye. Thw famed writer had knowledge in this sort of area when it came to his fiction, but actually performing such acts would illicit him to actually have new ideas for his book.

"I am going to enjoy this.~"

Stab, stab, stab, all for vigilante detective work... or science!~ Doesn't matter, one of the two, you just don't fight with Sherlock Holmes.

He helped Max for his survival, coming with a bash to one of the zombies before a stab met its eye, then a foot to its abdomen as the Detective brought out his violent side, both men continuing there assault and defense.

@Atomyk​

 

[C.T.]

Another shambler came in, not long after the first fell to her scalpel. It's breath was hot and heavy, the stench much worse in close proximity as she grappled with it, her gauntleted hands gripping it's forearms tightly as she leaned her face and neck back away from the biting teeth chomping at the bit to tear out a piece of her neck. Nasty things, but what most offended her about this was not that it was trying to take a bite out of her.

No, she was most offended where it was trying to bite her. "No no no, that's all wrong!" She cried out amidst her grunts as she kept the flailing beast at arm's length. "Here, lemme show you!" She said with an enthusiastic smile, releasing one of the beast's forearms and quickly delivering a gauntleted uppercut to the underside of it's jaw to daze it for a few seconds. If successful, she slid to behind it and executed a rough German Suplex to knock it to the ground(thank you amateur wrestling league in high school) and followed through once it was on the ground by applying an armored knee rammed to it's throat to keep it pinned.

"Please hold still!" She remarked, useless as it was for a mindless creature of instinct but it never hurt to be polite! She reached out for another scalpel. "If you want to reach maximum infection rates with the biggest blood vessel in the human body, you have to go to the opposite side and a little lower. Let me demonstrate!" Her hand came down, seeking to pierce right into it's neck at the desired spot.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @OrlandoBloomers @ResistingTheEnlightened​

 

[OrlandoBloomers]

Yeah, alright.

This'd do.

He hefted the first two swings to gauge the makeshift weapon's weight. Cumbersome, but the corpses themselves weren't track athletes. His third swing was made with the intent of cracking one of the zombies across the jaw, pushing outward with the broad end of the pole in the hopes of shoving it down to the floor, where he proceeded to stomp on its head as many times as it took to make it stop moving. He spun, pole already up and thrust for the next-nearest creature's torso, a powerful grunt escaping Max's lips as he shoved forward with all his considerable might, intent on making the zombie lose its balance and topple back onto the ground-- at which point he raised the pole above his head to smash it down on the grounded zombie's skull, relishing in the squish its head made if it worked.

He turned again to deal with the next one, but it seemed he'd misjudged the time it'd take for it to reach him; that, or he'd just taken too long killing the others. It was practically within grabbing distance, lurching forward to snap at him with its rotting maw. Not good. He held his weapon horizontally and pushed outward with it at arms' length, grimacing as the zombie's decaying teeth passed within inches of his face, ending in a lock-up of sorts with the creature as he strove to shove it away entirely, just barely keeping it at bay and out of biting range. Whether he'd manage it or not ended up irrelevant, however, as Sherlock came in to assist, bashing the corpse accosting him across the head and giving him the opportunity he needed to shove it off him entirely. He gave the man a brief nod and a grunt of thanks, and then it was back to work; he used the pole mainly for support from then on, primarily knocking the zombies off-balance and grounding them to render them helpless so Sherlock could finish them off with his scalpel.

@Atomyk @TheSpringwoodSlasher @C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

Locus lifted his foot off the zombie who's head he had practically crushed into pulp and flicked the blood off to the side. Preparing himself as the next one came charging, Locus saw it as nothing more than clockwork. One enemy came, it was neutralized, another one came, rinse and repeat. But just as Locus was about to take this one down to the ground something strange happened. There was no longer a flesh-eating zombie standing in front of him. It was the one member of the Freelancers that had intrigued Locus's curiosity to no end.

"Agent Washington..."

To everyone else it would have looked like the zombie's hands lashed out to grip Locus's shoulders as it came in to tear his throat out. But to Locus, it seemed like Wash was trying to get him into some kind of hold so he could headbutt him. But he couldn't allow Wash to get the edge. It'd only allow him more time to spread that idealistic talk of his. It seemed however that 'Wash' was in no hurry to take Locus down.

"Is this how you've survived for so long, Locus? Relying on that same tired excuse? You treat yourself as nothing more than a machine, incapable of feeling emotions because you see it as a hindrance. Has that won you any allies here? Has it inspired any great deals of trust? It's getting old and sooner or later you're going to have to come to grips with the truth whether you're ready for it or not." 'Wash' spoke as a fury was unlocked within Locus was he reached out and gripped Wash by the neck and thus kept the zombie's teeth away from his neck. Walking forward while keeping his grip tight like a vice around Wash/Zombie's neck, Locus thought of a response of his own.

"You spew the same naive idealistic chatter that Agent Washington peddles in our encounters. But you've made one fatal mistake. You forgot to bring the skills that make him such a worthy opponent to the table. You're nothing more than a waste of my time." Locus spat to the hallucination as he sought to smash the zombie's head into the nearest wall until there was nothing but bits of bone and brain left in his hand. Once that was so, he'd let the body unceremoniously drop to the ground.

Felix popping up every now and again to taunt him was something he disliked immensely but didn't seem to be much he could do about it. But he would not let these hallucinations besmirch the image of skill Washington had built up in his past fights with Locus even if the words matched the freelancer. They were by no means allies but he could offer him that much at least.

@Atomyk @OrlandoBloomers @C.T. @ResistingTheEnlightened​