lucetilogs | There'll be trouble when the kidz come out

There'll be trouble when the kidz come out

Who: All remaining draftees
What: Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!
When: The 29th to 31st
Where: Vaskoth
Summary: Please read here for event information
Rating: B for BRRAAAIIIINSSSS

On the 29th, the Malnosso announce over the radios that the power cap will be lifted to a full 100%. Carol broadcasts a message.

On the 30th, the Malnosso declare Vaskoth completely lost. Those with radio access will discover that the enclosure is to be bombed.

On the 31st, survivors will have one last chance to evacuate or try to find the cure. 3PM is do or die.

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Pulled close, Billy can better feel the tremors running through her, her hands shaking as they grip handfuls of the fabric of his cape. She felt like a child again, holding onto her Father for safety when there were Dead nearby. Taking a slow breath she holds onto that thought, that feeling of safety and tries to attribute it to Billy's voice; it was calm, steady. It's a gradual transition but her shivering slows to the occasional twitch, her breath still tense and panted through clenched teeth but she's focusing on him, not the Dead that lurked in the shadows of her memories.

"H-How...how can you be s-so sure? I had help f-from you all here b-but when I return I'll be..."

Alone.

But...what about Touchstone? He couldn't be at her side against the Dead all the time. She would have to work alone and pray she returned to him, and he to her. It was alone enough and the thought made her cold.

Blinking back the heat of the emotion surging to her eyes she whimpers into Billy's shoulder, "I don't want to be here."

He never stops holding on, because he knows what this is like- he knows what this all-consuming fear can do, and how much a caring embrace can help, even if it's a gradual thing. He's cried on Teddy's shoulder enough time to appreciate the gesture, and he's more than willing to pass along that same support to Sabriel as long as she needs it. He keeps on lightly petting her hair, rocking them back and forth a bit.

"I know... I know." His voice is faint, and he's trying his best to keep it strong, despite how worried and uncertain he's feeling. He's usually not on the comfort end of the equation. Teddy's so much better at this than he is. "But all you can do is get stronger, and... you've got friends. You're not alone. Even if they're not with you all the time, you know... friends are connected by the heart."

That's from something. He is pretty sure that's a quote. Can't remember what, exactly, but...

...Focus, Kaplan.

"Do you r-really think so?"

It's a gradual process but slowly, as Billy holds her and comforts her she can feel a precarious calm falling into place, covering the bold images that spring forward behind her eyelids so they appear as blurry silhouettes; not quite gone, still threatening but muffled and distant. Billy was right, she...she was strong, wasn't she? So much stronger than this...but then why couldn't she stop her hands from shaking? Watching people slowly fall into a state of decay and Death had been horrific, but it was familiar to her all the same. Something triggered this collapse of her restraint, but what?

With a deepening frown the calm they worked so hard to find shifted, wavering like a reed in water before she held fast to it again, trying to steady her breathing and her voice before she speaks.

"Th-there's something wrong w-with me...I shouldn't b-be like this but I'm s-so afraid."

The fact that she's so terrified even after escaping has concerned him, too, but he's hardly one to tell someone they shouldn't be traumatized; he has no idea what she saw, or could possibly be seeing, and he doesn't really know what's waiting for her back home, either or how she can deal with that. If all that she's seeing is a nightmare from the past, though...

"Do you remember what happened before you started seeing things- before you got so scared? Were you fighting someone, or did it just come out of nowhere? If you're still seeing things... it might all just be in your head, Sab."

With a shake of her head Sabriel slowly leans back from Billy's embrace, staring hard past his shoulder, past the shadows in the corner of her vision. When had the fear started? She was shaken up the previous day to be sure but not like this.

"Went out to find food this m-morning," she murmurs, voice low with confusion as she tries to focus, "felt no different from yesterday, but..."

Blinking hard a memory flashes past her eyes, dead gaze reflected in a shop window- and then it's gone again.

"S-Something started following me. I got s-scared and ran...and the more I ran, th-the more afraid I grew."

Even far from where Billy had first picked her up she could still feel that uneasiness coiled up in her stomach like a spring waiting to burst.

He remains close even as she draws back, one hand resting on her shoulder, unwilling to break contact as long as she's still afraid. "Maybe... there's something that I can't sense. We could go to the medical area, get you checked out. I don't know what to do besides just wait it out, and that might just make it worse."

The thought of this fear getting worse sends a shudder down her spine; with a quick shake of her head she leans forward until her head is resting against his shoulder. She had been pushing herself too hard, and now that she had time to sit still she could feel that familiar exhaustion starting to sink into her bones.

"Anywhere is better than here...better to be a-around normal people if I...if I panic again."

At least then she doesn't run the risk of cornering herself out in the open like she had almost done if Billy hadn't stopped her.

"Okay... okay. We'll find a doctor or something, see if we can figure out what's wrong. I'll get us there, just hold on." She seems exhausted anyway, and the fear is just fueling it and making it that much worse. She's in no condition to be on the field.

Glancing down, he reaches out to take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "And... I won't leave, okay? I'll stay with you as long as you need. You're not alone, Sabriel."

If that's her biggest fear right now, then he's going to do everything in his power to quell it and keep it from consuming her.

Dipping her head in a quiet nod Sabriel squeezes Billy's hand back, a bit of a tremor still making her hand shake but he holds her steady. If Billy's can't sense anything off about her Sabriel's not all too sure what a doctor might find. Suppressing a shiver as the thought of possibly a new strain of this virus emerging sends a chill down her spine she manages to give Billy a weak smile.

"Thank you...thank you, Billy."

"We'll be okay." It might not be okay now, but... that's what Teddy would say, right? Still holding on to her hand, he calls upon his magic once more, a more focused spell to take them to a medical area, somewhere safe, hopefully with more familiar faces to reassure her. It looks like, more than anything else, that's what she needs right now.

It only takes a few moments, and with a flair of blue energy, they're gone.

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There'll be trouble when the kidz come out

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