Zompania Draft - Draftees only, days 1-3.5

[lucetimods]

Who: All Draftees
What: This is your death. Followed by your time-traveling life and desperate bomb hunting.
When: From May 22 to May 20 to early May 23 (days 1-4)
Where: Zompania
Summary: Information post here
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post is for the draftee-only portion of the Zompania draft--the day 3 death, time travel to day 1, and then the events until the arrival of the reinforcements. Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Please note that there is a specific top-level comment thread for:

• The day 3 arrival of the draftees and the 6 hours that follow until the bomb is dropped
  
• Death--This thread can be treated as REFERENCE ONLY. Responding to it isn't necessary.
  
• Threads prior to departing for Zompania--post resurrection freak outs, arguments over how to proceed, etc.

All other threading, from day 1 until the reinforcements arrive, should be conducted as normal.

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[foundafamily]

[She does have a point--maybe he'd feel the same if his first time were different, but he just had so much to do that he didn't even think about how weird it was.

He's considering how to respond when she points out the light.]

Yeah?

[He suddenly realizes he hasn't been paying as much attention to their surroundings as he should have. At least she's on it.]

Hey, you're right!

[Lowering his voice, he glances back at her.]

Think you're ready?

[ribbonbon]

[She doesn't think she's ready. She has no idea what they're coming up against, what could be possibly waiting for them. While part of her believes that whatever happens, they'll get out of it alive, they could also be killed the second they get into the city. She's not ready. She's not ready at all.

Exhaling, she looks at him and nods, grasping her first aid kit and bag tightly.]

Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready.

[foundafamily]

[Good on her for putting on a brave face. He nods back, a little more respect showing in his eyes.]

All right. When--if things go south, try to stay behind me, okay?

[Maybe they'll get out of this okay. But probably not.

Antsy, he speeds up his pace as they approach the exit.]

[ribbonbon]

[She caught that initial "when" and she can't help but cringe just a little bit. So he's expecting things to get pretty ugly up there, too...]

Okay. Um, g-got it.

[She walks a little faster to keep up with Firo's pace, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She begins to cough as they get closer to the exit, an awful smell wafting in from the outside. She can't even imagine what it is.]

Ugh...

[foundafamily]

[Firo's pretty sure he knows at least part of the reason for the stink; corpses and death are smells you don't forget. Between his own life and his memories from Szilard Firo's pretty familiar with them.]

...Ah, shit.

[He grimaces. The stench is really strong--just how bad is it?]

Are you gonna need a moment before we go in..?

[ribbonbon]

[The smell is getting worse and worse. She pulls part of her shirt up over her nose and mouth. It's better but there's no escaping that stench. She shakes her head; she doesn't want to stop when they're this close.]

N-no. Um, I...I'll be fine!

[It's likely obvious that she doesn't quite believe that, but she's trying hard to convince herself.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo nods. He won't argue with her on that.]

...All right.

At least if they're all dead we should be able to get out without bein' ambushed...

[The edge of the tunnel is right in front of them. Firo pauses to listen for any movement, then peeks out to make sure no one's coming. He means for the motion to be quick, but he freezes when he sees just how bad the carnage is.]

Holy... shit.

[ribbonbon]

[That definitely doesn't sound good. She's staying behind him like he asked, but hearing his reaction, she's even more worried than before. He seemed pretty cool-headed so far...what could be bad enough that even he would hesitate? She gets just a little closer to him, her voice coming out as a whisper.]

W-what? What is it?

[foundafamily]

Just...

['A shit-ton more bodies than I ever wanted to see'? He shakes his head.]

...Exactly what it smells like.

[Before he steps forward to let her through, he manages to tear his eyes away and look back at her.]

Brace yourself.

[Though he has no idea how you can prepare yourself for something like this. It's butchery, plain and simple.]

[ribbonbon]

[When Pilouette steps out of the tunnel, all the color drains from her face. Stack after stack of corpses piled up along the narrow path, the air thick with the suffocating stench of death...It doesn't take long for her to connect the bodies in front of them with the screams that echoed throughout the night.

Her grip slackens and her kit drops to the ground as her knees become weak. She can feel a knot in her stomach as she opens her mouth to speak...but no words come out. All she can manage is a quiet whimper as she lets out a shaky breath.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo winces at her reaction. This would be hard on most people, but she doesn't look much more than a kid. This isn't something she should be seeing.

He picks up the fallen kit and tries to hand it to her. ]

We should... we should get movin´.

[He feels terribly insensitive even as the words are coming out of his mouth, but he's not sure what else to say. He's never been the best at dealing with the distress of people he doesn't know too well. So back to business it is, though he hardly sounfs as assured as he wishes he did.]

[ribbonbon]

[His words snap her out of her horrified daze. She looks at him, then at the kit before taking it from him, her hands shaking. She nods and, as much as she tries to steady it, her voice trembles a bit when she speaks.]

R...Right. Just, um, just lead the way.

[She's still in shock and hasn't had enough time to really think too terribly much about it. That lack of time and thought is all that's allowing her to keep herself together right now.]

[foundafamily]

Well, the wall's over that a' way... So I guess we gotta go in the other direction.

[He takes a few steps in the direction he just indicated, then pauses to glance over at her. He should probably say something, right? She's not freaking out that he can see, but... this isn't the kind of thing a lot of people take well.]

Not that you don't look like you're okay... But if you're gonna faint or somethin', say so.

[ribbonbon]

[She keeps her eyes fixed on the ground. She doesn't want to look at them. She's afraid to. She doesn't even look at Firo when he speaks to her. She tightens her grip on her kit and exhales shakily.]

I-I'm going to be fine...! Let's j-just go, okay?

[foundafamily]

...Okay.

[Though he's uncertain, he nods and keeps walking.

Several paces later, there's the sound of footsteps from one of the nearby alleys. Unless it's one of the bodies around them coming back to life, it sounds like they're going to have company soon.

Firo freezes and looks around.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette stops in her tracks when Firo does, stiffening up with nervousness. Still trailing behind him a bit, she hesistantly raises her head to look toward Firo, wide-eyed, for any indication of what their next move should be.

If there are cultists nearby, things could get ugly and fast, especially with just the two of them against...who knows how many cultists.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo wishes he had a confident answer for the look she gives him. It probably gives her no reassurance that his eyes are about as wide as hers.

All he can think to do is make use of one of the small, winding streets that split off from the one they occupy. Moving as quickly as he can--the footsteps are getting closer--he tries to shove her into one. If she goes, he'll be right behind her.]

[ribbonbon]

[And go she does. Out of all the things she actually has experience with, running from people who want her dead isn't one of them. As such, if someone gives her the indication to move, she's moving as fast as she can.

As they run into the narrow side street, Pilouette can hear her heart pounding in her ears, along with the heavy footsteps of the approaching cultists. She looks back over her shoulder at Firo, her voice a whisper.]

What do we do...?!

[The closer those footsteps get the more panic starts to set in.]

[foundafamily]

I--Uh...

[Firo does have some experience with people wanting him dead--or at least people who'd like to hurt him badly. Unfortunately, none of those people were armed as well as the Third Party. And they didn't have half the fighting ability.

He's panicking too, which makes it harder to think of anything helpful. He didn't think much beyond getting out of sight.]

M-maybe we can get up on the buildings..?

[If this city has sewers like his, maybe it also has fire escapes? Or something they can climb on.]

[ribbonbon]

Get up...right, okay...

[It seems like a pretty sound idea. At the least it will provide some temporary safety so they can sort things out. She looks around frantically as they move, keeping an eye out for anything they can climb up on.

After a few moments, she catches sight of a stack of wooden crates, right under a high-up window. It's not the most stable looking thing, but maybe it will do. Pilouette is quick to point it out.]

O-over there!

[foundafamily]

[Firo follows her pointing, unable to hide his relief when he sees that. What lies beyond, he doesn't know, but that should be enough to keep them safe just a little longer.]

Yeah, that'll be perfect!

[A few yards away, at the entrance to their little street, are the sounds of the cultists murmuring and grunting among themselves. Probably planning their next course of action. Whatever they're doing, these two shouldn't stick around.]

You go first.

[As far as he knows, she isn't armed. It's probably better to have the person with the weapon on the ground to fend off any cultists that do manage to find them.]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette gets right to it. She clumsily climbs the crates, a little nervous and probably takes a tiny bit longer than either of them would like. She's never been terribly athletic in any sense of the word, after all. However, she soon manages to haul herself through the open window, popping her head out just long enough to quietly call down to Firo.]

Hey...! I'm in! Come on!

[foundafamily]

[He nods and immediately sets to scaling the crates. It's been a while since he's had to climb like this, so his effort is slow and clumsy at first. Perhaps temporarily stowing his knife would make the climb easier, but he doesn't want to risk that.

Finally, he ducks into the building. And not a moment too soon, because the footsteps resume. And closer, this time.

The steps sound like there are fewer cultists than before, at least. Perhaps they split up?]

[ribbonbon]

[As the footsteps grow closer, Pilouette unthinkingly holds her breath, as if just breathing too loudly would be enough to give them away. She crouches down pressing herself against the wall doing her best to keep out of sight. She can't help but tug on her hair nervously.

After a bit, she exhales slowly. She can only hold her breath for so long. When she speaks, it's in a whisper.]

Y-you don't think they know we're here, do you...?

[foundafamily]

[Firo also keeps himself as flat against the wall as possible. He's not a fan of hiding, but he likes getting killed even less.]

...No idea. Guess we'll find out when they come after us.

[But the sounds of marching gradually fade away into nothing.]