{ MISSION ORP } Countdown to the End Part 1 - PAGE 6

[bipolar bee]

Screams. Hisses. Flying shadows, ripping flesh. These were the sounds that rang in Remy's ears, the sounds of death and fear. Despite these sounds, there was a soft voice that carried through the din, a familiar and comforting voice that Remy knew was Reuben.

And he sounded bad.

"You better ******** stay awake, you big old idiot," Remy hissed softly, the words spoken not with malice but with a strange fondness. "s**t is getting bad, and I ... I can't make it by myself. Reuben, you better stick with me." Til the end, at least. He was the closest thing that Remy had to a friend. More like a brother, even, or a protective papa bear.

"We can sleep when we're dead." And whether Remy knew it or not, that time was fast approaching.

Pales

 

[Pales]

"I'm tryin', Darlin'. I'm tryin' real hard," he choked out after a few moments at her response listening to her asking him to stick through it with her. His mind, for once, was racing for the smart thing to do rather than looking toward someone else for an answer. "I got some bandages in m'pack still. Mebbe..."

He shuddered a bit from the pain he felt but soon went on, "Mebbe y'can get somethin' done wi' those?"

He knew Remy was no 'healer' by any means but hopefully, maybe, for her sake he could survive for a bit longer, "Jus' reach on in the pack, Darlin' I'll hang on the ropes."

Reuben never felt so tired in his entire life. Not even with all the training he'd done to become a professional wrestler had he been so tired.

pinchmonster

 

[Kaiyumi]

Aaron did not like being ordered around. However, for once, he didn't have a sarcastic reply prepared for Zoey, or rather, he wasn't able to bring himself to say it. One look at the woman's face, and he promptly clamped his mouth shut, looking away uncomfortably as he spotted the tear stains that were trailing down her cheeks. Right. Even he knew that now was not the time to be difficult.

Still, when Jess approached them and spoke, he couldn't help but shoot her a frown. "I...I can...do it myself...thank you very much..." He struggled with getting his words out, but his tone was slightly cross. Well, at least he was alive enough to keep up his snarky facade.

Unfortunately, despite his words, Aaron found that he wasn't able to push himself up by himself. At least, not without having his whole side sent a shock of sharp, burning pain through his body. It was no surprise that he only pushed himself up two inches before he had to flop back down.

Riyoku

Ol-j-man

 

[Zoobey]

There were too many of them, they were too fast. Liam did not have the luxury of thinking, he simply reacted, swinging his scythe weapon downwards, a brilliant blue shockwave clearing the area in front of him. The moment's reprise was short lived as the shadows, the creatures returned to assault him from all sides, his weapon and Fear shield managed to deflect most attacks, but it was not nearly enough. He could feel his leg give in from a particularily nasty bite, another one catching his side, and then claws, fangs, shrieking everywhere-

-another shockwave illuminated for a second glassy white eyes and rows of sharp, bloodstained teeth-

- they shrieked louder at his assault, finally pulling back. One hand holding his side, there was a long gash dribbling freely, if he let go it would probably tear open, the Death Hunter lead took only a couple of quick breaths, focusing on everything but the pain.

'Master', Circe's voice seemed faint. 'They are nearby.' There was no doubt as to who ' they' were. The horsemen.

"We move on, now." His urgency cut through the pain and grief, through the chaos. Liam limped forward. "We need to move now before they come back. It's close by." It wouldn't be long now. Before the creatures made another attack. Before they faced the horsemen. He wasn't too sure which was worse.

OOC

All survivors need to press on...

 

[Grey Dragon]

((Rollling, is Stephen dead yet?))  

[medigel]

"Thank you," she said to Jess when she came, letting her eventually get the guy in a better position to see his wounds - or as well as she could in the dark. Zoey found the gash in Aaron's side and began to work on it, sweat mingling with the stains left by her tears as she bandaged him up. The water here would be unsanitary, and something might get into his wounds, but at this point she had no choice. They could fight an infection; they could not fight all of these creatures at once. Who knew when the next trap was.

Someone began to pray - she only knew because she had enough Spanish in high school to know what Dios meant. Perhaps she should pick up her own prayer . . . But Zoey's lips were pressed tight, her brain unable to conjure up more words at the moment. "There. It'll do for now." Shivering from the cold water, the Death hunter stood up and offered her hand to help the two of them up.

And all the better too; even Liam's normally soft voice managed to carry to them. Zoey swiped at her forehead to get rid of the sweat accumulated. "C'mon, let's go . . ." And when she made her way forward, she once again passed by Cliff and touched his shoulder. "We don't have the time," she mumbled, unable to look at Isaac's face anymore. "I need you."

And that was it before she continued to wade towards Circe's glow.

Kaiyumi

Riyoku

x_Nata_x

 

[Toshihiko Two]

Wickett glided towards Liam, moving through the water. Close but not too close.

He did not pick up any of the dead or dying. The air was already thick with blood. The smell could be worse than the lights in terms of pinpointing position.

They did not have any healers, anyway. Above, the medics and defense could hold their position. This was a unit built to seek and destroy. He looked back, once. At least they wouldn't have to come through this way again. Once they found the artifact. If they didn't, there wasn't anywhere on earth they could hide.

Well. Maybe just 1/4th of the earth.

The Apocalypse was a culturally-diverse subject.  

[x_Nata_x]

It wasn't like it was the first death he'd ever seen. As a hunter, they'd seen plenty. Hell, they'd seen enough just during the selection process than likely any normal person would have seen in ten years. Death was different for them -- if you didn't steel yourself against it, you could go crazy. Friends, lovers, peers, leaders, they all died, one by one or in one fell swoop, it didn't matter. Isaac had been right -- as a hunter, you were a carton of old milk, far past your expiration date, just waiting for someone to throw you away. And he'd always taken it with a grain of salt. Every death was sad, every death was a new heartbreak, but in the end he smiled for their life and remembered the good times. And that made it just a little bit better.

This one was different. He didn't want to smile and think he was in a better place. Zoey's hand came to rest on his shoulder, but he didn't look up when she spoke, still gently cradling Isaac's quickly cooling body. The air in the subway station had been cold already, dank and then smelling of decay -- now with the smell of blood added to it, it was all but unbearable. Where he was on his knees, Cliff was not just shaking in shock anymore, but shivering, his jeans soaked in the cold standing water, his shirt and hunter coat stained so badly with blood he looked like he could pass for one of the dead. But instead of relaxing, the southern boy just held on tighter to his friend's dead body, stroking the matted brunette hair as he shushed him softly. He didn't want to leave. Letting him go was like admitting he was dead. Admitting he was never coming back.

Except he had to. Liam's voice sounded urgent, betraying what was coming for them. And Zoey was still alive.

Holding into one hitched breath, Cliff let his eyes slide shut, holding them closed as a few more tears fell before he slowly uncurled his arms from Isaac's shoulders, leaning forward to set him ever so gently down on the concrete. Wiping his hands on his jeans to try to clean them of blood, he reached up to close his friend's eyes, his other hand lifting to take off his cowboy hat and place it on the FEAR hunter's head. It didn't feel right, taking anything, even though he wanted to.

"I know it was a stupid hat," he murmured under his breath, "But I'll be expecting it back someday."

Climbing to his feet, Cliff didn't meet anyone's eyes as they began to trudge after their division leader, their shoes making wet sloshing sounds in the water and the blood. As an afterthought, he turned back, grabbing Isaac's fear weapon and placing it on his belt on top of his lasso before following after Zoey and Liam.

Ol-j-man

 

[bipolar bee]

Remy forced herself to press onward, though she kept checking over her shoulder to peer at Reuben, just to make sure that he was still there. And if he wasn't? What good was it to keep glancing back? What would she do if he wasn't there? Nothing.

Nothing.

"...this is bullshit," she hissed from behind clenched teeth, lips twisted in a snarl. She clasped her chains by the hooks and swung outward in hopes of catching something, anything. The darkness was damnable and yet a blessing at the same time - maybe she was lucky that she couldn't see much.

"Don't think bandages'll do us much good," she grunted. "We gotta keep moving. Maybe if we get a break..." her voice trailed off as a whisper-thin sharpness caught her across the cheek, another against her shoulder. "We're sittin' ducks here, Reuben. Keep moving." She pointed towards the glow ahead of them - Circe. Liam.

There weren't many of them left. Deep down Remy knew she wasn't getting out of here alive, and she was fine with that. Her life had been nothing but a series of events that had led her here, anyway. Always running. At least she wasn't afraid. There was something to be said for courage, if Remy could even lay claim to such a thing.

"Keep up, Reuben. We gotta keep moving. I need a ******** beer." The last was said with strained humor. God knew she'd kill for any of her vices right about now.

Pales

 

[Saliru]

"This is no time for pride." She hissed in annoyance at Aaron. Allowing him his try at sitting up first before intervening, holding him up enough he could be bandaged(?).

But then the order came, it was time to move again. Now. She was quickly on her own feet, not needing the help.

She shot Aaron and Zoey an apologetic frown.
"You both are on your own now."

And with that she ran as hard as she could through the water, the dead, and the dying to catch up to Liam. Her wounds now numb from blood loss as she tried to take his back. He was their leader. He saw them through many a battle. He was her priority now and she was going to see him through until her dying breath.

Dave would have wanted it that way.

Ol-j-man

x_Nata_x

Zoobey

 

[Lilwolfpard]

((This is Eight on Lil's laptop because I'm too lazy to logout and login again. :V Derp.))

"Jared!" She cheered, relieved to see him fine until she realized...there was a spike coming out through his chest. Her heart stopped, eyes wide as she hurried through the muck and chaos to try to help him. But it was too late. "Thank you? But I didn't do anything!" Heidi still held her daggers, blades pointed away, as she reached to try and hold Jared up. "Come on. Come on, no. You'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound, really. Don't talk like that, you're gonna be fine." She hugged him, not caring that she was getting blood all over her front. "You're gonna be fine...but if you want me to, I will take care of Sloan for you. I'll see that he gets properly taken care of." She couldn't bond with him but...she'd do something. Heidi had no idea what she could do but..

...He stopped talking, he stopped moving, he stopped breathing. Heidi held him tighter, leaving a light kiss against his lips. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, gently laying him down in the muck and stepping away. She grabbed Sloan, relieved he had reverted to a desummoned form, and hurried toward the others. All she could see was the glow of weapons, especially that of Circe. She had to go to that. "Yes, sir!" She called out, giving the direction she had just come from one last look before pocketing the desummoned weapon and running hurrying to catch up with Liam. Why was he moving so slowly? "Are you alright, sir?" She asked as they walked along, eyeing Liam with concern.

Zoobey

 

[Pales]

On pure will - for this moment - he stood on his own feet and shambled after Remy almost no better than a large hulking zombie. The wounds he had acquired felt as if they were gaping wide open letting out all of his blood even as he walked, "It hurts, Darlin', it hurts so damn bad," he muttered to her coarsely as he tried to keep moving.

Is this what dying felt like? This must have been what dying felt like. Maybe if he just ...

{No. No napping. No sleep. No nothin'. Stay alert. She needs us, they need us.}

Kon was urging stubbornly and with Remy's voice he managed to keep moving forward. Don't give up. Don't ever give up. Determination made him keep going.

"I need at least five o' them beers m'self, Suga." Reuben rumbled tiredly as his feet shuffled tiredly through the muck and the mire.

pinchmonster

 

[Zoobey]

There were just so few of them now, compared to their numbers before, and the further they walked, the darker the tunnel seemed to get. It was close now, Circe could feel it, he could feel it, and he knew the others could probably sense it too. And there was that something nearby, something old-

- "Just a little more," Liam reassured the others, the few who bloodied, torn, beaten, still pressed on. "Not far now."

He wasn't even sure himself what lay ahead anymore. It was hard for his not to show through his words. For a second his heart sank: he simply wanted to give up.

'A little longer, Circe comforted, voice always, neutral, 'You are a Hunter.'

Yes, he was a Hunter, he was their leader, and he would lead them from beginning to conclusion. "Once we disable it, we can go back." His eyes closed, just briefly, just for a second. The sound of footsteps behind him thankfully broke the haze.

They had reached the end. Slowly, he shifted his flashlight forward.

What seemed like a thousand pupiless white eyes stared back at them.

You ARE DEAD

- There is no light at the end of the tunnel: instead, what seems like thousands of creatures stare at you from all angles, waiting for this chance. You are torn, ripped, shredded into pieces in the most agonizing way possible, until you practically beg for death. And finally, when you can take no more, you close your eyes for the last time.
- Feel free to post a death reaction post, this thread will be open until 10:30 pm PST, and then move on to your death solo which you can read the instructions for HERE

 

[Saliru]

Jess was comforted by her leaders words. Following as close to him as he allowed. Ready to fight, ready to defend, but what she wasn't ready for...

"Fu-" Was all she managed to utter at what seemed like a wall of soulless eyes before they were upon them. She couldn't react. There was no time to.

The first few bites hurt in ways she could only imagine before now. A few more, the pain seemed to flow away - leaving nothing but cold numbness. One by one they tried to take all that she was with them. Leaving little to fall back into the black soupy water in their wake. A final resting place.

She had failed.

So did they.

They could take her body, but not her spirit. She may not have had a face anymore with which to smile peacefully. But she still did. Inside.

I'm coming Dave. Don't be mad.
 

[medigel]

She wanted so desperately to turn her torch back on. The horrid stench, the knowledge of the dead, the cold water, the oppressive darkness - more light than Circe's glow would have done miracles for her morale. Here she could only imagine that they were crawling in the skeleton of a long-dead beast, where horrors thrived and waited. Was it New Years yet? Had they lived to see the new millennium? It was so hard to determine time down in this hell.

She delayed a little to wait for Cliff to catch up, noting her friend had left his hat behind. She wouldn't have minded taking it at that moment. Warm her head. Cover her eyes so he could see her crying. Hell, smell it even. Anything to push away the bleak atmosphere.

Liam's reassurances did little - doubt was slowly beginning to sink into her heart. How could he tell with nothing but blackness before them? Even their leader sounded like he was beginning to question his own words . . .

And then the flashlight aimed forward.

White. White. White. White everywhere it pointed.

And then everything turned red.

It was a flash of color before suddenly it was muffled again, before something - someone - put himself before here. Schik schik schik went the creatures as they shrieked and clawed their way forward.

Zoey was stuck in place, cold all over and unable to move; her hand torch slid out of her hand and splashed water on her ankles as Cliff suddenly engulfed her in a bear hug. They jerked this way and that as one while each creature took their turn to tear away another bit of flesh. Whose blood was on her face? Whose was it running down her arm?

She wanted to scream, but the older hunter was squeezing the breath out of her, crooning softly. Telling her not to look, just to take a deep breath.

But it was so hard to swallow, let alone breathe . . . Wet coughs spilled blood on his coat- and his good shirt, she remembered - and she was shivering. it was so cold, and even when it was hard to hold on she did, thin arms grasping at his coat in a silent plea for safety.

4 years on the job, and Zoey Renolds was still a little girl. The last thing she ever said reflected this.

"D-Daddy . . ." I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, you guys.

As she felt less and less of Cliff to hold, she tightened her hug and cried freely, burying her face in his chest. Blood, sweat, and tears literally mingled, and the pain made it hard to think anymore.

By the time a monster pierced its way through Cliff's chest and ate away at her face, Zoey's mind was too tired to register anymore.

All she wanted was to sleep.

((Zoey Renolds has died))