lucetilogs | TERRACE Draft

[She's gone for longer than she anticipated. More than twenty minutes.

When she finally does make it back, it's a very quick slip through the broken door, and an instant look around for her secretive partner in crime. She needs eye contact and as soon as she has it she needs him within whisper distance.]

[Twenty minutes is a good amount of time for Albert to catch his breath and briefly talk to some of the others in the room. In that time, one man helps him get the door handle to prop back up into a position so it doesn't appear broken. There's still an air of unease by the time Sheena returns, but no one is attempting to go through the door.

Once Sheena is back in the room, Albert props the door handle back in place and then turns his attention to her.]

How does it look out there?

Like we're gonna have to be fast and quiet. We won't get out the way we came in. [She rotates one shoulder, grimacing.] Sorry I took so long.

There's a loading dock we can get to, where they bring in...well, I was gonna say supplies, but I really don't know what it is. [And then, a half-smirk.] Feel like some driving?

[Sheena's almost casual tone is a welcome break from the tense atmosphere of the room, and he manages a faint snort at her smirked question.]

I suppose that depends on how many vehicles you were able to see.

A handful. We won't be able to get to them all, there're people watching the place. I'm hoping I'll make enough of a distraction to get us out while they're busy.

[She does a quick estimating headcount of their fellow prisoners. Her voice drops to a stone serious whisper.]

Can we keep them all together and quiet?

I have been able to speak to them already, but it will take a little time -- there are the children to consider. [He gives a glance towards the back of the room, where a good number of the children were already beginning to doze.]

What was out there that could provide a distraction?

Technically nothing. Yet. But I'm all out of paper so hopefully when we get there everything'll just go the way I planned it to go for once. We'll probably go faster if the kids are carried.

Yes, some of them are small enough to be carried. [It was a good suggestion there. He stiffly crossed his arms, pondering what else to consider.]

You will need to detail the layout as best you can. If you intend to provide the distraction, we need to be able to move for the loading dock without your direction.

You don't think I can do better than that? They'll activate based on my mana - there's a bunch of magic and seal mumbo-jumbo involved and some of it's a secret and the rest I don't really have to think about too hard, I just do it. We'll be way out of range of any explosions, promise.

[Unless, of course, something goes wrong.]

But it's gonna be soon, before they figure out anything's different. There's a guard patrol, they went by right after I left. I dunno how often they come back.

[He almost wants to chide her for not knowing when the guard patrol would be coming back, but he refrains; they did not have time for something like that. Instead, he steps away from Sheena and glances at her as he moves towards the crowd.]

Then keep an eye out as best you can; I have to talk with the others so we can get moving.

[And off he goes, back towards those in the crowd he had spoken with while Sheena was out. There's shuffling and a growing murmur in the crowd before long, and Albert has to emphasize silence so the talking does not grow louder.]

At least they'll listen to you.

[She keeps an ear to the door, trying to sort out whether anyone spotted her, followed her, or even if that guard patrol is passing again.

Whenever Albert's ready, she'll give her nod and open the door again.]

[It takes a few minutes for Albert to get the group ready to mobilize, and even then he does not like pleased with how restless the group is. But he nods at Sheena, already glancing over his shoulder at the others behind him.]

Let's go.

[The group isn't small, but it isn't as big as it could be, either. Sheena leads them out the door in silence, trusting Albert to close it again at the other end. Down two hallways, a harsh motion to quiet two adults giggling somewhere near the front. They can't afford mistakes.

It feels like it takes hours to reach the loading dock area. Sheena directs them all into a storeroom - more cramped than the cell was, but unlikely to have any people in it - because a small contingent like this just wandering out onto a platform would only cause problems.]

[Albert isn't quite sure how he ends up taking up the rear position as they move through the hallways, but he can't complain; someone has to ensure that the others do not lag behind, and it might as well be the one who had ushered them into action in the first place. He shuts the door and props up the door handle, then follows after the parade.

It's stressful. The pain in his arm spikes as he follows after the people lagging behind, and there is that worry of being caught that has him glancing over his shoulder far too often for his liking.

When they reach the storeroom, they are immediately in the dark again. Albert makes his way over to where Sheena is, suppressing a grimace.]

Where are those vehicles you mentioned?

[Sheena's back is against the corner of some kind of box or shelf and it's doing its damnedest to dig into the space between her left wing and shoulder blade. All of her words are breathless and terse as a result.]

Down the hall and around a corner. Through an open arch. There'll be- security.

[Then it's a whisper.]

We've gotta do our best to get everyone through fast.

[If possible, his frown deepens more at the mentioning of security, and he nods quietly.]

I will pass on the information to some of the others. We cannot follow each other blindly for the next step.

[And he'll do just that, stepping away for a moment to speak to some of the others who he had identified as willing to take responsibility of the group. It's not long before he moves back to Sheena.]

I'll continue to guard the rear.

You better get in whatever truck we end up taking outta here, Albert. [That's that. She wouldn't be able to face herself otherwise. Without speaking too loudly, she tries to lay out for him in words what their next steps will be: a couple small blasts will go off on one side of the warehouse room, which will give them hopefully enough seconds to rush a supply truck from the other side.]

So when we get out there, you get in front. You're gonna have to drive probably.

And if there are no keys in the ignition, I suppose we will have to wing it, won't we? [There's a flat sarcasm to his voice, even as he nods in agreement with what she intends to do.

He again relays the information to the others in the group, motioning for them to take position to cover the children. Once he is satisfied with everyone's positioning, Albert turns his head to Sheena, motioning for her to begin.]

Isn't that what we do best?

[And then they're off. It goes quickly because it has to, there aren't any second chances. There's barely a first chance. One of the blasts goes off a little early, but she factored that in, and she rushes their little escape party along under cover of shouts and noise from a second seal bursting. The nearest supply truck is running, at least; she can't tell at her angle if there's a driver inside or not. It is idle, backhatch open.

For the space of three breaths she thinks it might actually work.

Then someone with a big heavy thing connects that thing to the backs of her knees and she goes down, less than graceful. Either they knew, or they had more support than she realized, or something else. She hopes for the something else as she gets back up to keep going. Hopefully Albert wasn't wasting time looking back.]

[He doesn't see Sheena go down; it's one of the others who he had been relaying orders to who does, and he's shouting, panicked and torn between leading the his group to one of the vehicles and stopping -- a truly foolish decision to linger on, considering the whole detention center has come alive with the explosive distraction and the getaway.

Albert arcs his arm and shouts for the others to go, even before he's spinning around and quickly looking for Sheena. The blast he releases from his hand--from his ring, really--only stuns the huge cultist who struck Sheena, but that's all the time needed for one of the stragglers to grab at Sheena and half-drag, half-carry her towards the supply truck, where the others are quickly loading the kids as fast as they can.

He backs up and glances over his shoulder to judge the distance behind him, hands already twitching--anxiously, in pain--as he focuses inwardly to call upon Tsinku. The next energy blast he shoots is wrapped in lightning, branching out as it strikes the huge cultist and other enemies nearby.]

Edited 2013-08-30 04:58 (UTC)

I'm okay, keep going! [As she shakes off her fellow escapee's help. She's fine, it just took her by surprise the way the lightning does and as soon as she sees it, she flinches and turns her head away. This is not the place for a panic attack. There's a charge to the air and she can feel it, most particularly around the earring in her left ear. Damn useful thing.

Right on cue - on cue because Sheena's in control of the seals, of course - another small explosion happens, this one much closer to the scene of the escape. Dust scatters in the air, though not enough to really hamper visibility. The whole point is to bring about confusion.

Almost all of the kids are in the truck; Sheena hops up onto the back of it, helping some of the less mobile adults inside. Albert is still out there playing Volt with the people or something, and she'll wave him forward as soon as she catches his eye.]

Let's go!

[Albert continues to back away from the growing chaos, his ringed hand curled against his chest as he focuses on another stunning blast to stop the pursuing cultists. Then he's being pulled back by one of the other escapees, and he runs for the front of the idle truck as the last few adults climb into the back.

Brakes. Clutch. Wheel. Gas. Everything he needed was there.]

We're going!

[He looks in the rear view mirror to see the last person scramble in and just about floors the gas, feeling the ground underneath them quake from more than the movement of the truck. He hears a woman shriek and the sound of something piercing metal, looking to his passenger side to see a spire of stone had torn into the door. The stone crumbles but leaves a gaping hole, sending a rush of air into the vehicle as it speeds through the warehouse.]

[Earth spells? Sheena almost falls from her perch on the back of the truck. The ground is still shaking, more spires popping up; at least a handful are out of range of their path. There's no reliable way to close or wall off the back, either, and Sheena chooses to stand there with a death grip on one edge and be a shield if necessary. Buffeted by air and bumpy road, it isn't an easy place to remain.

With her precious few remaining seals in hand, she tosses one out behind the truck, an explosive sort meant to raise enough smoke and dust to buy them time. They need distance between themselves and the cultists.]

[He has to focus on the road ahead, especially when it becomes apparent that the stone spires just keep coming; the ride is bumpy and dangerous at best, and his arm trembles violently as the stress causes it to react badly. The truck veers sharply as a stone wall seems to erupt in the street in front of them, and he slams on the brake before downshifting and accelerating down the way again. He gasps aloud as debris strikes the windshield hard enough to cause it to crack--

But in the distance, he can see uniformed people with wings. Mages, gunners, and people with strange types of weaponry -- launching volleys at the pursuing cultists.]

[The braking took her out, momentum carrying her forward into the truck, only to find her fall cushioned by terrified escapees. A few more bruises in her collection are nothing by now, and as the truck speeds up again she fumbles her way up to her knees.

Then, she sees that their pursuers are under attack. Some force she can't see must be involved, peppering them with blasts and bullets. At last, luck she had neither planned for nor counted on. Some other sharp turn of Albert's (he thinks I can't drive) startles a nearby child into striking his head on the side of the truck; when he starts to wail, Sheena reaches over and holds onto him.

If those attacks weren't coming from friendly forces, then he might need someone to be there as they were caught in the middle.]

TERRACE Draft - Remaining Days

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