((Erica Stohl continued from Speedy Thing In, Speedy Thing Out))
Wandering around the school was great and all, but all Erica could think about was getting that clear vantage point. Not because she was any good at tactical wartime strategy or anything like that, but because despite all of the protection small classrooms or larger indoor rooms provided, they still made her paranoid. Perhaps it was the enclosed space, or the fact that there was only one exit, or maybe it was that they were trapping themselves with no way of knowing if anyone was coming after them (in reality, it was likely all three), but Erica couldn't sit still no matter what room she had decided to check out with Zane.
So when the rooftop was safe from any weird deadly traps set up by this insane kidnapper, she immediately suggested they move there.
The benefits? Well, there was still only one exit, they still were trapping themselves, but it wasn't enclosed and they could at least see anyone attempting to enter the school. So really, one-and-a-half out of three would do wonders for Erica's mental fortitude. The heavy lifting was already being done by the fact that she was her Avatar right now, and not regular old Erica in the real world. As long as she didn't think about that, she'd be fine.
She hadn't even really processed that she was in some kind of death game, even with announcements.
"Whew... finally, we get to the most defensible place in the--"
The words left her mouth as she walked up, but the reality hit much different. There was barely anything to 'defend' with, and there weren't even any fences to take cover behind.
"Aw, shit," she mumbled, lower so that Zane wouldn't hear her noticeable disappointment.
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PlatFleece
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((Zane Wilcox continued from Speedy Thing In, Speedy Thing Out))
"Whew... finally, we get to the most defensible place in the--"
"...school?"
Zane asked, looking around quickly. "Doesn't look like there's anyone else here."
Having been more than happy to follow Erica up to the roof, he was just happy that they were the only ones up here. That would, ideally, mean that they wouldn't have to deal with anybody else...
"So, I think we could cover the door...unless someone finds a way to glitch up here? Or something?"
"Whew... finally, we get to the most defensible place in the--"
"...school?"
Zane asked, looking around quickly. "Doesn't look like there's anyone else here."
Having been more than happy to follow Erica up to the roof, he was just happy that they were the only ones up here. That would, ideally, mean that they wouldn't have to deal with anybody else...
"So, I think we could cover the door...unless someone finds a way to glitch up here? Or something?"
((Nicholas Cameron continued from Things Fall Apart))
Nicholas trudged up the stairs to the rooftop, trying his best to ignore the growing exhaustion creeping through his body, the lack of sleep from the previous night finally starting to catch up to him. Sleeping was hard enough on a normal night, and with the current situation weighing down on him, it now felt damn near impossible. Of course, anxiety could only carry one so far, and a crash was inevitable, no matter how bad his insomnia was. Hopefully getting some fresh air would help a bit, and if it didn't, well, the roof seemed like one of the safer places to rest for a while. All he had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, until he finally made it to his destination.
Unfortunately, the sound of voices coming from above threw a bit of a wrench into that plan. He came to a stop, leaning against the wall as he stared up the staircase, trying to catch a glimpse of the source of the noise. The words were a little too distant to make out, but, regardless, they still presented a choice. He could turn around and leave, and try to find somewhere else to hole up before the last of his energy finally ran out, or he could keep going and hope that whoever was up there wasn't going to attack him as soon as he stepped through the doorway.
In the end, however, he was quick to decide on what he'd rather do. He hadn't ran into anyone since he lost track of Raj, and going back to wandering the halls by himself didn't feel like an attractive option. At least conversation would be more likely to keep him awake, and, well, if they were going to kill him, hopefully they'd make it quick. He moved his crossbow from one hand to the other, flexing his stiff fingers before calling up in the direction of the voices.
"Hey, is someone up there?"
Yeah, it was kind of a lame thing to say, but at this point, he couldn't really think of anything better.
Nicholas trudged up the stairs to the rooftop, trying his best to ignore the growing exhaustion creeping through his body, the lack of sleep from the previous night finally starting to catch up to him. Sleeping was hard enough on a normal night, and with the current situation weighing down on him, it now felt damn near impossible. Of course, anxiety could only carry one so far, and a crash was inevitable, no matter how bad his insomnia was. Hopefully getting some fresh air would help a bit, and if it didn't, well, the roof seemed like one of the safer places to rest for a while. All he had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, until he finally made it to his destination.
Unfortunately, the sound of voices coming from above threw a bit of a wrench into that plan. He came to a stop, leaning against the wall as he stared up the staircase, trying to catch a glimpse of the source of the noise. The words were a little too distant to make out, but, regardless, they still presented a choice. He could turn around and leave, and try to find somewhere else to hole up before the last of his energy finally ran out, or he could keep going and hope that whoever was up there wasn't going to attack him as soon as he stepped through the doorway.
In the end, however, he was quick to decide on what he'd rather do. He hadn't ran into anyone since he lost track of Raj, and going back to wandering the halls by himself didn't feel like an attractive option. At least conversation would be more likely to keep him awake, and, well, if they were going to kill him, hopefully they'd make it quick. He moved his crossbow from one hand to the other, flexing his stiff fingers before calling up in the direction of the voices.
"Hey, is someone up there?"
Yeah, it was kind of a lame thing to say, but at this point, he couldn't really think of anything better.
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PlatFleece
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"Hey, is someone up there?"
Almost instinctively, Erica twirled around, lugging her big large flamethrower at the direction of the voice. She was admittedly, a bit spooked and tired, but she at least had enough self-control to not shoot anything. Luckily, there was no person there, or Erica may have had a heart attack being surprised like that.
She whispered over to Zane, plainly aware that she was a bit too loud earlier.
"...A little too late for that. Someone's down there. What do we do?"
Her eyes did not hide her panic. Though she had eased herself with Zane's presence, she was still getting used to this 'avoid everyone else' business. She was more used to trusting people and being social around them, not high-strung paranoia.
Almost instinctively, Erica twirled around, lugging her big large flamethrower at the direction of the voice. She was admittedly, a bit spooked and tired, but she at least had enough self-control to not shoot anything. Luckily, there was no person there, or Erica may have had a heart attack being surprised like that.
She whispered over to Zane, plainly aware that she was a bit too loud earlier.
"...A little too late for that. Someone's down there. What do we do?"
Her eyes did not hide her panic. Though she had eased herself with Zane's presence, she was still getting used to this 'avoid everyone else' business. She was more used to trusting people and being social around them, not high-strung paranoia.
Zane groaned audibly and pointed his gun at the door, moving to do a Hollywood version of covering the door. There was an overly-long moment of him thinking before he pointed for Erica to take a position where she could BBQ anyone coming through the door.
"Yes."
Beat.
"Who is down there?"
"Yes."
Beat.
"Who is down there?"
Well, not the reply he was hoping for, but that's what he got for asking nonspecific questions. Now here he was, answering the question he wished he had asked. As annoying as it was, he was a little too tired to be playing games with people, and there really was no reason for him to not answer, anyway, given that he hadn't been on the announcements and had no enemies, at least as far as he could tell. After a few seconds he looked up and called into the darkness.
"Uh, Nicholas."
He tilted his head to the side, trying to get a glimpse of the pair upstairs, though it looked like they had unfortunately hidden themselves. Silence hung in the air before he threw up the third in their ever-growing chain of questions, reflexively asking about something he immediately realized as a little bit of overkill on the diplomatic front.
"Can I come up?"
"Uh, Nicholas."
He tilted his head to the side, trying to get a glimpse of the pair upstairs, though it looked like they had unfortunately hidden themselves. Silence hung in the air before he threw up the third in their ever-growing chain of questions, reflexively asking about something he immediately realized as a little bit of overkill on the diplomatic front.
"Can I come up?"
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PlatFleece
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Nicholas.
Not really a threatening name, though names can deceive. But the way he said it made him sound... confused?
Erica decided to at least help out in the negotiations, if only to get more information, and to relieve the bits of stress she had. The only thing keeping her going is her own instinct to act like everything's under control.
"...Depends. You alone? You see anyone on the way here? Are you armed?"
She realized what a stupid question the last one was only after she said it. Of course he was armed. Everyone was, but it seemed like a good question to ask. At the very least, she gave a glance to Zane in a 'your call' sort of look.
Not really a threatening name, though names can deceive. But the way he said it made him sound... confused?
Erica decided to at least help out in the negotiations, if only to get more information, and to relieve the bits of stress she had. The only thing keeping her going is her own instinct to act like everything's under control.
"...Depends. You alone? You see anyone on the way here? Are you armed?"
She realized what a stupid question the last one was only after she said it. Of course he was armed. Everyone was, but it seemed like a good question to ask. At the very least, she gave a glance to Zane in a 'your call' sort of look.
Zane let Erica take the lead on that question...and then groaned.
Duh...
"What did you draw as your weapon? Now!"
The last bit was barked to not give Nicholas a chance to think on his answer.
"Don't wait for the translation!"
Duh...
"What did you draw as your weapon? Now!"
The last bit was barked to not give Nicholas a chance to think on his answer.
"Don't wait for the translation!"
Geez, were they really trying to pull the good cop / bad cop thing on him, or did they just have no idea at all what they were doing here? They couldn't see him anyway, so if he wanted to lie it would have been trivially easy. It didn't really matter though - it wasn't his place to critique their opsec. He called up once again, with more than a slight twinge of frustration in his voice.
"Calm down. I'm alone, and as far as I can see nobody else is coming up this way."
He looked down, hefting the weapon in his hand as if getting another look at it could make his description any more detailed than the last time he had talked about it.
"My weapon is, uh, some kind of crossbow, it looks like."
A quiet sigh forced its way out from his mouth. He really didn't feel like giving any more information, and standing up on these stairs was getting more and more intolerable with every passing second. He was way too tired for all this. Without waiting for a reply, he began to ascend the staircase, calling upward as he did.
"If you got any more questions I'll answer them when I get up. Sh-"
The next sentence froze on his lips, almost realizing too late to put a stopper on his immediate impulse to say shoot me if you want, I don't care. Nicolas still wasn't sure if he did care, to be perfectly honest, but the two at the top of the stairs didn't need to know that. For now, the only thing he could add was a quiet whisper of "shit" as he looked down to avoid the pain of the bright sun of the doorway streaming into his eyes.
"Calm down. I'm alone, and as far as I can see nobody else is coming up this way."
He looked down, hefting the weapon in his hand as if getting another look at it could make his description any more detailed than the last time he had talked about it.
"My weapon is, uh, some kind of crossbow, it looks like."
A quiet sigh forced its way out from his mouth. He really didn't feel like giving any more information, and standing up on these stairs was getting more and more intolerable with every passing second. He was way too tired for all this. Without waiting for a reply, he began to ascend the staircase, calling upward as he did.
"If you got any more questions I'll answer them when I get up. Sh-"
The next sentence froze on his lips, almost realizing too late to put a stopper on his immediate impulse to say shoot me if you want, I don't care. Nicolas still wasn't sure if he did care, to be perfectly honest, but the two at the top of the stairs didn't need to know that. For now, the only thing he could add was a quiet whisper of "shit" as he looked down to avoid the pain of the bright sun of the doorway streaming into his eyes.
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PlatFleece
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Erica was on guard, of course. She had to be, but for some reason, she also felt a bit of... empathy? That's normal, of course.
She hadn't yet registered the kill-or-be-killed nature of this game, and part of her hoped she didn't have to. Out in that stairwell was a kid her age or so, just trying to survive. Would he really kill them? Then again, others seemed to already have done so.
In the end, however, her empathy won over, the words coming out of her mouth before she could change her mind.
"Okay. Alright, fine, come on up. Just... y'know..."
She tried to sound authoritative, but it was difficult to do that with how she was feeling and the fact that she's being a bit kind to this guy.
"...don't like, point your weapon at us or anything when you're coming up."
She hadn't yet registered the kill-or-be-killed nature of this game, and part of her hoped she didn't have to. Out in that stairwell was a kid her age or so, just trying to survive. Would he really kill them? Then again, others seemed to already have done so.
In the end, however, her empathy won over, the words coming out of her mouth before she could change her mind.
"Okay. Alright, fine, come on up. Just... y'know..."
She tried to sound authoritative, but it was difficult to do that with how she was feeling and the fact that she's being a bit kind to this guy.
"...don't like, point your weapon at us or anything when you're coming up."
"...what she said."
Zane took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting Erica's empathy win out...
...well, while he empathy won out, he wasn't above taking precautions.
"No false moves. I'll be pointing my...thing...at you, but I won't shoot unless you do something stupid. Okay?"
And with that he nodded. "You can start coming up."
Zane took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting Erica's empathy win out...
...well, while he empathy won out, he wasn't above taking precautions.
"No false moves. I'll be pointing my...thing...at you, but I won't shoot unless you do something stupid. Okay?"
And with that he nodded. "You can start coming up."
Nicholas had already reached the door as they gave their final orders. Not like he was going to disobey them anyway - he wasn't armed for a two-on-one fight even if he wanted one. He quickly stepped from darkness into light, blinking as the artificial sun sent its rays of burning illumination straight towards his unprepared retinas.
Once he had adjusted, he looked around, trying to figure out who he had been talking with this whole time. He recognized Zane and Erica from his classes, but that was about the extent of it. He had no idea if they were trustworthy or not, but the fact that they hadn't killed him on the spot was, at the very least, a good sign, especially given that they were significantly better armed than he was. A brief shiver of anxiety flashed through him as he recognized the weapon Erica was holding. As someone who had thought a lot about different ways to die, burning to a crisp was probably one of the least preferable ways to go - a definite 10/10 on the agony scale, and not particularly fast either.
Trying his best to take his mind off the thought, he quickly shuffled over to a nearby ledge, placing his crossbow down by his feet in a sort of peace offering as he looked up at the pair once more, resorting to his old standby of filling the silence with a pointless question. "So, what are the two of you doing up here, anyway?"
Once he had adjusted, he looked around, trying to figure out who he had been talking with this whole time. He recognized Zane and Erica from his classes, but that was about the extent of it. He had no idea if they were trustworthy or not, but the fact that they hadn't killed him on the spot was, at the very least, a good sign, especially given that they were significantly better armed than he was. A brief shiver of anxiety flashed through him as he recognized the weapon Erica was holding. As someone who had thought a lot about different ways to die, burning to a crisp was probably one of the least preferable ways to go - a definite 10/10 on the agony scale, and not particularly fast either.
Trying his best to take his mind off the thought, he quickly shuffled over to a nearby ledge, placing his crossbow down by his feet in a sort of peace offering as he looked up at the pair once more, resorting to his old standby of filling the silence with a pointless question. "So, what are the two of you doing up here, anyway?"
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PlatFleece
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Heartbeat slowing, Erica went back to being relaxed when she recognized a familiar face. She never much interacted with Nicholas, but he was a nice kid. Does that mean anything here, anymore?
She allowed mostly Zane to take the lead, but when Nicholas jumped in with a question, Erica's old instincts still made her answer without a hint of distrust.
"Finding a safe place to hunker down. Or, well, we were. I don't actually know if the roof is very safe at this point. There's nothing to hunker down with. So if you were trying to do that, tough luck."
The presence of two other people her age just made her more at ease.
She allowed mostly Zane to take the lead, but when Nicholas jumped in with a question, Erica's old instincts still made her answer without a hint of distrust.
"Finding a safe place to hunker down. Or, well, we were. I don't actually know if the roof is very safe at this point. There's nothing to hunker down with. So if you were trying to do that, tough luck."
The presence of two other people her age just made her more at ease.
"Finding a safe place to hunker down."
"What she said."
Zane echoed.
"One way up, right?"
Probably, at least. Someone might find some trick like a portal gun or a software glitch, but that was...the problem of future him, really.
"So, uh...wait here, keep guns pointed at the door, and hope we don't get any company that wants to kill us?"
Zane asked that with a glance to Erica.
At least with a crossbow, her chances of taking us both out..aren't great?
"What she said."
Zane echoed.
"One way up, right?"
Probably, at least. Someone might find some trick like a portal gun or a software glitch, but that was...the problem of future him, really.
"So, uh...wait here, keep guns pointed at the door, and hope we don't get any company that wants to kill us?"
Zane asked that with a glance to Erica.
At least with a crossbow, her chances of taking us both out..aren't great?
Silence hung in the air for a moment as Nicholas looked between the two faces in front of him, their lack of surety being in equal parts disarming and frustrating. On one hand, it was understandable that folks would be scrabbling for any semblance of security that they could possibly grab for themselves, and normally, it'd feel a little bad to start poking holes in something like that, but Nicholas was just a bit too tired to be diplomatic, especially after being yanked around on the stairs for a (metaphorical) eternity. He glanced away from the pair, raising his voice just a little bit.
"They're going to make this place a danger zone eventually, you know. Even if this is the only way up - which it isn't, by the way - you'll just be forced out anyway. It's a bit of a pointless exercise if you ask me."
He glanced back over at Erica and Zane, not making eye contact but nevertheless still watching for their reactions. Exhaustion weighed down on him like a blanked, the pressure on his chest almost making it difficult to breathe as he shifted anxiously from foot to foot, desperately wishing for a chance to sit down, at least. Unfortunately for him, though, that opportunity did not seem like it would be arriving any time soon.
"They're going to make this place a danger zone eventually, you know. Even if this is the only way up - which it isn't, by the way - you'll just be forced out anyway. It's a bit of a pointless exercise if you ask me."
He glanced back over at Erica and Zane, not making eye contact but nevertheless still watching for their reactions. Exhaustion weighed down on him like a blanked, the pressure on his chest almost making it difficult to breathe as he shifted anxiously from foot to foot, desperately wishing for a chance to sit down, at least. Unfortunately for him, though, that opportunity did not seem like it would be arriving any time soon.