The Unseen (SirOni)

[OAMP]

(Yours is a bit short, but you already have an idea of where you are, so I won't contradict that. It actually makes my job quite a bit easier. However, you didn't say where the airvents were, so I took some liberties there.)

Alexandria Whitbury hid in the air vents early on in the day. It was safe, no one saw here, and her small frame fit perfectly. However, after several hours, it was getting quite uncomfortable. The sweat and lack of movement was making Alex ache and stiff.

However, just as the position was about to become unbearable, the shaking started. Alex was banged from side to side in the metal air ducts like a pebble in a can. By the time the shaking stopped, Alex was a bit disoriented. Eventually, she managed to get out of the air duct, but not without some effort.

Alex wasn't in any shape to wander off right away, still a bit rattled. The building she was in was the same, it was unimportant and hardly anyone had come in over the hours after she hid. However, outside looked different. The city was burning, the sky was red, with a strange blueish tint here and there, though most people wouldn't notice that detail. The windows were large enough to give Alex good 120 degree view of the carnage.

There had still been a few people running past when whatever caused the shaking happened, so a few dead bodies here and there. Burnt out cars, papers, various small items, all the littered the street. If Alex didn't know about the monsters, she'd say this was a scene from one of the oil wars. As luck would have it, no monsters were in view, but that didn't mean they wern't out there, somewhere.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

"Oh dear christ," Alex thinks to herself as she stares at what she assumes to be a war zone down below. Her hands and face pressed against the glass she continues to watch the scene below, though she eventually backs away, the view making her feel nauseous.

Alex decides that it would best is she left the building and search for somewhere else, somewhere safe or even for a way out of this city. After all her parents are dead and she has no friends as such so there's nothing really tying her here now. That, and there's some heavy shit going on she thinks to herself. Before leaving the building Alex makes a quick check to see if she can find anything to defend herself with before setting out in a direction that seems to hold the least trouble for her.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

(I'll give you some choice as to direction here)

The building Alex is in is fairly barren. It seemed to not be in use at the moment. Still, the shaking had knocked loose a pipe, it would make a good weapon in a pinch.

Alex exits the building onto the street. All directions look about equal, save for one. West, towards the city center, that area looked very damaged, more so then anything Alex had ever seen. However, Alex had her pick of the other three directions. East was the main exit route of the city, lots of debris from people fleeing. North was technically quicker if she was only concerned about getting out of the city, but the land in that direction was mostly desert and hills, rough going, even without monsters, but less populated as a counter. Going South would mean going through some of the city, but she could reach the transit core and from there travel East out of the city faster then if she headed that way from her present position. Alex couldn't take too long in deciding, lest a monster find her.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Picking up the bar Alex exits the building only to suddenly stop, the carnage looked a lot worse now that she was outside the building. Pushing back her fear she looked in each direction, trying to work out the best way to go. Not that any of them look particularly inviting, she thought to herself.

"Hrm...East is the way out, but if there any other survivors then they'd most likely head that direction first," She thinks to herself as she looks towards the easternmost exit of the city. "That only leaves North and South....though I don't like the odds of them either..." After a few more minutes pondering she decides to head east, at least then if there are survivors she can blend in with them and possibly avoid drawing attention to herself. That was the one thing a crowd was good for after all, she thought to herself as she sprinted towards the eastern exit.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Sprinting down the street was hard work. Debris forced Alex to slow down several times, lest she trip or run into something. For the most part, there was nothing special about any of the debris, no use stopping to look through it. There had been no survivors so far, just bodies.

Alex had made it about six blocks, and had slowed down to avoid some wrecked cars, when she heard something. Moans of pain comming for an ally to her right. They didn't sound to far off, and whoever was making them was probably just around the corner of this particular building, near its dumpsters or something.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

The sudden moans of pain caught Alex's attention, her head snapping in the direction of the noise but she was hesitant to investigate. She looks back to the direction she was running to then back to the alley. She remains frozen for a moment longer, still battling to decide what course of action she should take before finally deciding. Walking quietly to the alley she leans agains the wall and peers her head around ever so slightly to see who or what was down there before deciding on whether or not to assist the person.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex saw what seemed to be a homeless man, but something was wrong. He was on all fours, in the barfing position, but thankfully he hadn't yet. His jacket was torn slightly, and Alex wasn't sure, but it looked like his back had a slight greenish tint to it, maybe even a roughness to it.

The homeless man didn't notice Alex due to his current pain.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex stares in disbelief which quickly turns to shock at the sight of the green tint on the man's back. Deciding that it would be best to leave the sick homeless man alone as if she could help him he'd only be a hindrance on her escape Alex continues on her way eastward.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Soon, the freeway loop was in sight, and a sight it was. It was jammed with ruined cars. The fence protecting it from pedestrians was knocked down, but entering was a major descision. On one hand, it was the quickest way, neglecting time spent with obstacles, to get to the other side. It also was sure to contain alot of personal belonging, something might be there of used to Alex. On the other hand, it was also a good spot for anyone wanting to ambush Alex, many cars to hide in, on, or under.

Alex had a few minutes to decide, as she was still blocks away. There was a frontage road that followed the freeway in most places, it might be a better bet. There also might be other alternatives that only presented themselves once she got closer.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Seeing the ruined freeway Alex's face dropped a little. She was hoping that there would be others here so that she'd be able to blend in with them but now she'd have to continue ahead on her own. Seeing no other obvious route Alex decides to cut through the freeway, leaning down so that she could use the cars to conceal her, though that didn't stop her from checking the occasional car for any odd bit to take along with her.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Stealth Check

13+10+18 = 41 vs 35 = 5+30 PASS
7+10+18 = 35 vs 35 = 5+30 PASS

As Alex was making her way throught he cars, she happened upon two giant spiders, they were seriously man sized. She had almost disturbed them as they themselves were sifting through the wreckage, looking for who knows what. As luck would have it, she saw them just in time, and manage to avoid being seen.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex had to stop herself from screaming as the two giant spiders came into view, but thankfully she hadn't disturbed them....yet. Being as quiet as she can and as fast as her stealth would allow her she continues to make her way through the cars only stopping to rummage through the wrecks once she had put enough distance between her and the beasts.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex found a problem when she got to the other side. The fence on this side of the freeway was still mostly intact, because there was a large embankment going up. Plus, vehicles were shoved against it, perhaps by the shaking earlier.

Climbing the cars was possible, but injury was likely. Alex couldn't see an on or offramp in view, but then again, alot of things were blocking her vision right now. To the South there was a virtual wall of cars, and even a double decker bus. Maybe some good finds, but probably hard to find a way through. To the North there were less cars, but the freeway looped around back into the city there.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

"Goddammit," Alex mutters to herself quietly as she comes to the fence blocking her exit. Looking at both available directions she quickly weighed the odds of each one before coming up with a decision. With a sigh and quick nervous glance behind her Alex makes her way south, towards the wall of cars in the hopes that theres some items there or at least a place to hide until it get lighter.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex was about half way to the bus wreck when a certain car caught her eye. Its drive shaft was lying behind the car, disconnected entirely. While that wasn't helpful in itself, it did draw attention to something else, the giant oil slick under the car. It, and several other oil slicks, joined to form a moat around the burnt out bus. A moat that could be set on fire...

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex looked at the circle of oil, wondering how best to use the fire she could make with it. Of course, even if she did decide to light it she'd be hard pressed to do so due to the lack of anything that could create a fire, she thought to herself. Then there was the possibility of attracting unwanted attention, such as those spiders from earlier. However she could also use it as a distraction, to attract those very creatures so that she could sneak away in the other direction without anything ambushing her. Or, she could use it as a kind of barrier to hide behind, to protect her from those outside the ring of flame. That is, until it died down.

So many choices, she thought to herself and not one of them seemed like the best option to choose. Still, it wouldn't hurt to at least to try and make a distraction so Alex set about to try and find something she could use to light the oil with.

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Right as Alex started her search, a loud voice spoke up from atop the embankment. "Hey! Get away from there! That's my fort!" There was a man, dressed like a lumberjack, odd, considering this was a desert city. He was carrying an axe, and seemed very upset that Alex had found "his fort". He didn't look like he wanted a fight, but he clearly had been in one recently. His eyes said he was cautious, he didn't trust anyone or anything.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

Alex's grip tightens on her makeshift weapon as the sound of the voice yelling at her, she spins around and is momentarily taken aback by the sudden appearance of a fellow human.

"Uh, what are you doing out here?" Alex asks as she lowers her weapon in the hopes the man will see she doesn't want to attack him. "And do you know what's going on?"

 

[OAMP]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

"I said! Get away from my fort!" The man was starting to get more agitated. He had one hand near his pocket constantly, as if there was something in it important.

Alex's sign that she didn't want to fight went unnoticed by the man. He didn't seem to be in a very talkitive mood, and was constantly shifting his eyes from Alex to the moat and back.

 

[SirOni]

Re: The Unseen (SirOni)

"Listen, I'm not here to cause any trouble, and believe me I want to get out of this city no more than you want me to get away from you 'fort', however I want to know what the hell is going on here." Alex lowers her pipe down completely though she stays where she is. "And I wouldn't light that oil patch up if I were you, I managed to sneak by some giant spiders earlier and I'm guessing that if they're in the area your fire will draw their attention. Along with anything else in the area. Now are you going to tell me whats happened?" By now Alex sounds rather irritated. It wasn't often that she had to deal with people outside of her job, it was even less often that she had to deal with people as rude as this man.