|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:39 pm
Archie was becoming accustomed to living through his radar, so much so that in a lot of situations nowadays he was able to ignore it completely. Too bad none of those situations were labeled 'watching Bolt at the nice $15-per-ticket theater with the real buttered popcorn,' because that's exactly what he had been doing when the 'A Pod Is Coming' headcrabs had started their most recent bout of chittering.
The length of time between godawful bursts of static was short, which meant Archie didn't have to go very far. It also meant this pod was likely going to crash into a movie theater, which was not something Archie wanted to think about. He took a seat on a bench outside the women's restroom instead, kicking his feet out in front of him and leaning back against the wall in an attempt to make himself comfortable while he waited.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:33 pm
Hisoka had taken a quick break from the exercise in masochism that called itself The Day the Earth Stood Still, grumpily getting a refill of her soda from a half-awake counter-monkey at the snack bar. She wasn't sure what bout of self-loathing had spurred her to see the sacrilege of a classic - really, even the popcorn and Jujy Fruit weren't making up for it.
"Anything else?" the pimply faced boy behind the counter droned. Hisoka looked towards her theater, then back down at the counter.
"Gimme a box'a milk duds while you're at it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 12:40 pm
Archie turned his head from where it rested against the wall and looked down the curvy, fug-modern passageway back toward the concession counter.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.
He stood and began to walk down the hall. Due to the mid-movie lull in activity in this section of the building, it looked like parental possibilities were slim. Cashier boy, who barely looked old enough to work here in the first place, or milk dud woman.
The windows across the lobby shuddered for a moment as the pod broke the atmosphere nearby. "Can either of you help me with something?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:44 pm
The counter-boy promptly turned away and pretended to be busy. Hisoka gave him an exceedingly dirty look and turned to the new guy, always willing to offer a helping hand.
"Sure, what's up?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:13 pm
"Something's going to land in here soon. I just, you know, need the people to stay out of the way and maybe a little help with the thing that's landing while I make she everything else is okay." It was the most vague and rambling answer on the planet, and the fact that Archie was whispering didn't help him look any more sane. "Okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 1:48 pm
Hisoka's eyebrows raised until they were lost under her hair. Dear god, this guy was such a fruitcake he was liable to sneeze out strawberries.
"Well," she said. "Um...yeah, why not?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:43 pm
Archie's eyebrows went in the opposite direction, but only for a moment. He had more important things to worry about than whether or not this woman believed him. The windows shook again, slightly louder this time. "There," he said, pointing. There was a balconyish thing that way that looked like a promising landing site. Maybe they would only have to warn the smokers. He started toward the glass doors in a sort of shuffling run-walk, the kind one uses when they're trying to look like they're not in a hurry to get somewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:35 am
Shaking her head a bit, Hisoka planted her feet and raised her hands, looking dead serious.
"Nope," she said to an elderly woman trying to get past her. "Sorry ma'am, can't let you do that."
The woman looked at her as though she was considering hitting Hisoka with her purse.
"Matter of national security," Hisoka said firmly as a particularly small crowd started to gather to gawk. "Stay where you are, and assume crash positions."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 3:32 pm
Archie made his way outside and squinted up at the sky until he spotted the unidentified flying object he was looking for. Man, this one was quick! He watched it for a few minutes more to make sure it was, in fact, speeding toward the balcony and that it did, also in fact, have an appropriate parachute, then he pulled open the door again and joined the newly-formed group inside. Hmm. Nosy people. At least it increased the chance that the kid would go home with someone who wanted it. Someone, not him.
"I wonder what it could be?" he said, addressing the crowd. Trying to put a mysterious spin on a baby wasn't strictly necessary, but it couldn't hurt.
Outside, the otherwise silent pod crashed into the balcony, shaking the windows even more. Archie jumped at the impact, having somehow partially forgotten that anything was landing at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:48 am
Hisoka jumped and spun around in alarm as a window was shaken free of the frame and fell with a fantastic crash to the floor.
...alright, what the everliving crap was that?
"That's...is that a weather balloon?" she asked. " 'cause that's usually what they peg 'em as."
She really hoped there weren't facehuggers lurking around in there. Hisoka was under the distinct impression that things that burst out of people's stomachs after being face-raped was bad for one's health.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 7:58 am
"N...no," Archie said, shaken up a bit by the breaking glass. This landing was definitely going to cost him more than usual to fix. "There's a baby inside." Oops. Shouldn't have said that. The better response would have been something along the lines of 'Yeah, a weather balloon,' said as he backed away and went home. Now there would be questions and all-around irateness and he was starting to get a headache.
The pod hissed open, looking deceptively squat and adorable in its pile of splintered concrete, its parachute dangling over the edge of the building. "Careful, its hot," Archie muttered to whomever felt like taking a look. He was staying inside.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 8:13 pm
Hisoka's jaw dropped a bit further. A baby? What?
She looked around, waiting for someone to go forward. No one did. Face scrunching up like a bad prune, Hisoka shook her head at the gawkers and ventured towards the pod. Glass crunched ominously under her feet. The heat coming off the pod was already making her sweat - or was it nerves? She couldn't be sure.
Something inside the pod gave a single weak, miserable squall.
Hisoka leaned over the opening, and she went gray.
"Oh, my god..."
The baby was thin. Very thin. Her skin was the color of lilacs or a fresh black eye, and almost-white hair spilled over skinny shoulders in a flat river. Orange eyes stared balefully out at Hisoka, tears streaking down thin cheeks and brushed away by-
"Oh god!"
Fleshless, skinless hands flexed awkwardly. Fleshless, skinless legs kicked morosely, paddling in the air. Hisoka reached out to the child and she shrieked in fear and misery both, making Hisoka back off for a second. Her shock gave way to stubborn compassion and she picked the baby up out of the pod, wincing only slightly when panicked bone-fingers scratched her neck and drew blood.
"Shhh, shhh..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
