Vilana (Stasia)

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Rick seemed to agree with her, but stopped on the way out to grab something out of one of the crates labeled for explosives, and a bag of wires and a switch board from another box nearby, tossing them into his pack. "Agreed." He said, the two of them heading out, Henderson not really noticing either of them for the entire exchange.

Outside the compound, Rick pulled a small bus transit map from his pocket. "Okay, if Susan was sent from the plant, she would have taken this route." He said, thinking furiously as he ran a finger down the map, not taking the direct path but instead moving through a different section of the city that Specifically avoided the EGG compound by a wide berth. "It's your call how we collect the info we need, but I still think checking from the high ground is a good place to start."

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana hmmed over the map. "Well if we're high up, we may miss something on the ground. We'll swing-step through the route. I'll take the low ground, and when I get to a block, you make your way a block ahead, then I move a block ahead. You look high and I look low. Then you can cover me if I get into trouble. Sound good?" She asked, looking up at Rick. She seemed impressed even by her own plan.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

"No that is a terrible idea because I should have thought of it first and you're right goddamnit now you know why I'm not a scout." Rick said, smacking himself in the forehead before moving off towards the apartment complex that Vilana had run into trouble in before, immediately heading up towards the roof with no trouble whatsoever. Once up top, Vilana saw him wave down at her before setting up his rifle, watching around her, pointing to the west as the most likely direction to get the vantage point that would get them good intel on the surrounding area, which looked to be a water tower in the distance.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana watched with hesitation as Rick moved through the building she was ransacked, and was ransacked herself. She let out a sigh of relief as he appeared on the roof tops, then moved herself toward the direction of the designated route, moving along the side of the apartment complex. She held the pistol in her hand, looking around as she made her way.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Things proceeded fairly smoothly from there, the pairs luck holding pretty steady as they made their way down the road using the staggered approach, with Rick staying high and Vilana moving low, although more then once Vilana would notice that Rick would motion for her to stop while he looked at something. A fair while later, and they were getting closer and closer to the water tower that was the apparent goal for now, Vilana starting to hear movment underground through the storm drains as the day continued onwards, getting close to noon as the sun moved higher across the sky.

So far they hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, and only one shot had been fired by Rick as Vilana had her ankle snared by something shooting out of a hole in the concrete. But with Rick providing overwatch the problem had been quickly handled and they continued on their way until Rick had to cede to more open ground, joining her on the street about 100 yards from the tower. "Almost there" He said quietly, seeming more relaxed then he had been earlier.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana kept her eyes constantly shifting around her, and her knee-jerk reaction began to surface. Being out here, it set her on edge, and deep down, an unconscious excitement to it. However, her actions needed refining, as she stumbled clumsily forward as the thing that grabbed her leg tripped her, then was shot from view. With a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, she nodded toward Rick once he got down from the roof tops. "Good, I'm not so sure we'll be safe with how the sewers are sounding..."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

"I agree" Rick said, looking at the drains suspiciously. "Usually those creatures aren't nearly that active. Something must be going on." He added, looking a little unnerved as he urged Vilana onwards, their caution giving way to expediency as the water tower loomed closer. It was now moments before they could get a proper look around at the city and try and figure out where their target was.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana picked up her step, just a step away from jogging toward their destination, and keeping her eyes sweeping the surroundings. Securing her gear to her body in preparation to climb, she took one last look around as her hands darted toward the structure.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

The water tower, like most structures of it's kind was obscenely tall and locked with a heavy chain and padlock which rick quickly produced the key for. It seemed like bandits had thought about taking control of it in the past, but probably realised they were all right fucked without it, because Vilana noticed a set of electrical wires running from a ground splitter, to the chain, a keypad, and several large blocks of what could only be high explosive rigged to the base. Stepping inside, Rick ran to the keypad and punched in 6 numbers, presumably to deactivate a set fuse on the explosives. That taken care of, Rick closed the lock, but left the chain unlocked and far away from anything else metallic to avoid closing the circuit. The structure itself was a tower of shining steel, peeling paing, and rust, and only had a single rail guarded ladder to get to a set walkway at the top.

The climb itself was both unpleasantly long, and windy, but the first thing Vilana noticed at the top was the peerless view of the city the vantage point gave her. So far theiir luck had held, all they had to do now was look around, Rick handinh her a set of binoculars while he used his scope to check to the south and east.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana watched as Rick produced the key. Her eyes roamed across the trap, widening with every realization. "W-what could be so important about this place?!" She asked in a high pitched whisper, stepping inside with Rick. As she climbed the ladder, she had a skeptical look on her face... Until she saw the view. She blinked, looking across the city, and taking a small gasp as she surveyed the area.

"Wow... it's pretty up here..." She whispered, then was jolted from her day dream as she took the binoculars from Rick. She gave a small pout, and looked around the cityscape. "So, take all your vulnerable new girls up here?" She asked in a teasing manner.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Rick chuckles before bothering to answer about the complexity and lethality of the trap, grinning widely as he climbed and answering as they moved. "The running water we enjoy, and the clean drinkable water as well is something not even the bandits are willing to live without, and they continued to try and take it from us until I came up with this. If anyone opens that gate without knowing the keycode, EVERYONE loses that precious luxury, so they don't dare. And the counterbalance is that theres a wide radius of bandit territory around it protecting the tower as they do not want to give up their own access. As much as we'd like to take it from them, this trap is all that maintains that stalemate, and that delicate balance is carefully cultivated and kept very much alive where the water is concerned." He said continuing to chuckle and feeling right pleased with himself.

As they crested the tower, Vilana did indeed notice how very good the view was from up here, and although it would certainly be nice to just laze about and enjoy it, It was time to work, it was why they had come after all, and taking the binoculars in hand, the pair started to sweep the surrounding cityscape for signs of their target.

After a half hour of just carefully looking, Vilana could make out three likely spots. One was a massive collection of the shambling and obviously undead around a single 1 story building to the north, milling around it with a single minded purpose, although seemingly unable to gain entry, though that wasn't for lack of trying.

The next was a single, flashing light midway up a skyscraper to the southeast, near the EGG complex, the light bright enough to get their attention during the day of all things, and flashing in a steady, though currently indecipherable pattern. Even Rick had no idea what that flashing and its repeating sequence meant.

The final sign of a possible survivor, although not a free one, was some kind of gathering among the maruaders that she had had dealings with before to the west, bonfires already taking shape in a plaza like center surrounded by a high razor wire fence and heavily guarded, several cages seen moving through the plaze, but their contents being impossible to ascertain as they were all covered with some kind of black fabric, though they were still the center of attention amidst the bandit camp, something apparently having the people there very excited.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana nodded to the explanation. "I gues there's very few places to get clean water..." She hmmed, looking over the area as she pursed her lips together. "We have three places to look... one that's most pressing is the bandit camp. However the zombie one is making me nervous as well... The EGG building seems quiet so if she's not at the other two places, we can go there..." She looked at Rick, pausing. "How about you scout the camp, and I look into the zombie building. We get things checked out in half the time. The only problem is, signaling one another if we do find her..." She paused, then started rummaging through her gear for anything; a mirror, flashlight, signal flare...

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Rick nodded in silent agreement, before reaching into his own pack and pulling out a set of radios. "Channel 3, nice and simple." He said grinning as he started to make his way back down the ladder, their scouting down for now as the trap was reset and the gate relocked, the water tower once again secure.

"Check in every hour so I know you're not dead" He said casually, grinning as he started off on his own to scout the camp. "And be Careful damnit! Rescues are Tedious and Annoying!" He shouted over his shoulder, before slipping into a building on his right and vanishing from sight.

Now it was time for Vilana to scout her own target, the building which was rather heavily steeped in the undead, who had found something they considered as edible. O well, sometimes the day just sucked. On the brightside, she had plenty of daylight left for now, and zombies were stupid. On the downside, she had several miles to cover if the view had been any clue... Time was wasting.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana took the radio, peering at it, then became familiar with the knobs after a few questions. She pursed her lips at his cocky grin. "Will do..." She remarked back. I'll have to ask her some questions about this guy, he's a real oddball...

"Of course it is, that's why we're trying to get it one fast!" She retorted, then began making her way toward the building, cautiously sticking to shadows and glancing around. She tried to stay out of direct line of sight, instead, carefully looking down alleyways and keeping to the less-than-obvious routes. However, she hurried in short bursts, taking brief periods to catch her breath.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

The nice thing that Vilana noticed as she took her path towards her goal, was that the undead seemed to move like a tide, and everything got out of their way or were eaten, and there were obvious signs of their passing, most notably more slimes eating away at the corpses of those creatures and people too slow to get out of their way as the dinner bell was sounded.

Thankfully this meant that they didn't bother her if she didn't get too close, and of course no one else was eager to test their luck in the area with so many slimes and possibly more zombies shambling around. Add the fact that demons were known in the area, bandits, hounds, and a host of other things, and you wound up with an almost perfect situation for a single person to slip through the city unmolested.

Judging from the ground she had covered, she was already more then halfway there, and it would be long before she noticed actual undead, shambling corpses like the one she had seen before up ahead, making their way slowly to join the others at the buildings, the broken cityscape forming a steel graveyard that set her hair on end. Now was when she was going to need to be careful.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

As Vilana noticed the wave of silence, and the slow-moving slimes, she relaxed herself, saving energy for when she closed in on the building. Strolling at a moderate pace, she allowed herself to take in the scenery, pausing to stroke Bubbles. She noticed all the raw metal and considered pausing for a moment to let him eat. He hasn't in a while, and seeing what was up ahead, now was as good a time as any to let him refuel before they proceeded anymore.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Bubbles, contrary to everything else going on around him, not only wasn't nervous, but couldn't seem to care less, only happy to be next to his bestest buddy in the whole wide world, the lady who smelled like him. Licking her hand and wagging his shaggy red tail when she reached down to pet him, Vilana would notice he had already grown a little, standing another 6 inches taller, and when she gestured towards the metal, he gave a happy little spin and went about his business, belching flames onto a wrecked car and spending the next 10 minutes demolishing what was left, devouring the steel and aluminum as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Looking up at her and perking his ears, he seemed to be curious as to what exactly was going on, but would follow her regardless as she moved towards her goal. The undead only seemed to grow thicker, but as long as Vilana was quiet, and didn't act out of the ordinary, or like prey, they seemed to ignore her for the most part, a few mangled corpses turning to look at her with white, dead eyes before turning back to the moaning call of their companions as they continued to assault the building she could now see in the distance, maybe 100 yards off.

Here was where their swarming behavior became a problem, because they were now too thick to move through safely, but she seemed to have a few options on how to continue. One was a broken manhole cover that led into the sewers, the other was an open building, and looking up, there seemed to be an odd, primitive bridgework set of structures between the rooftops, ladders and wood lashed together with wire and rope and anything else that seemed to be available. The high road, or the low, Vilana knew they would most likely both be populated by something, though there was no telling exactly what...

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana made sure not to take any quick movements around the zombies. The instinct to chase is there in their rotten brains, so her nonchalant attitude paid off. She took time to pet Bubbles, then surveyed the lashed together bridges. She definitely trusted the open, if high ground to the confined spaces where those tentacles revealed themselves. She quickened her pace to find a way up and cross over the makeshift skyway.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

The way up to the skyway was found easily enough, a smashed gate leading into an alley where Vilana could see the fire escape ladder pulled down, the steel stairs heading straight up to the roof and the makeshift bridges, or at least most of the way up. Bubbles, actually behaving, and being quiet now wriggled a little as she made her choice and started moving, her radio chattering eerily in her ear with small pops and squeels, the trademark white noise of mild interference. She had what looked like 5 floors to climb up, and then the roof to scale, though she could probably get to the roof from inside the 5th floor through the window.

 

[Antithetical Inquiry]

Re: Vilana (Stasia)

Vilana slipped into the alleyway and toward the fire escape. Looking around to ensure nothing could block her exit, she moved upward toward the roof. The sudden pop and static of the interference made her jump, and she slapped her hand across the volume to ensure the noise wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Moving higher and higher, she reached the fifth level, and peered into the window, before opening it and slipping inside.