Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Poprockz]

Damien also quickly pivoted when Vin made a noise behind them, almost mirroring the way Cora had been. Both had been surprised, then relaxed as they were reminded that it was just their friend. He was debating on how to answer Cora, looking back at the pan with pursed lips before he heard Vin fall to his knees.

He quickly turned once more, concerned that perhaps Vin's legs were still weak from his encounter. What he saw next left him simply staring with an expression of disbelief. Vin had literally spewed something out onto the floor, and upon closer examination, he knew that it was the same "meat" they had seen in the pan. That sick fuck... had fed Vin the man beside him. Plead as he might, he had somehow been coerced or threatened into ingesting it, and now he simply couldn't stomach the reminder of it.

It was absolutely horrifying and disgusting, though none of that disgust was directed at Vin. It was that crazy bearded man who had perpetrated these crimes. It made him glad to know that he was dead, prevented from continuing to do such sick things to other people. The next emotion that surged through him was pain. It was so painful to see Vin with tears falling down, saliva dripping from his lip, his legs trembling. What had been done to him was so wrong and irrevocable.

When he made eye-contact with Cora, he couldn't help tearing up himself, though he was able to keep his tears from falling by blinking and swallowing. What could he say to Vin? Would anything ever make it okay for him?

Averting his eyes, he sniffed as he spotted the bandages, quickly grabbing them before blinking a few more times and walking over to them. "We need to leave now." His body pointedly blocked the room from them, hoping in some small way he could shield Vin from the painful memories.

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"Three of what?" Sabastian asked impatiently, not quite understanding in that moment what Quint was talking about. A second later his brain caught up with him and he replied, "oh yeah, the zombies below us. Yeah, there were three of them. I don't see how that's helpful though. What does it matter if there are less now. Isn't that a good thing?" His husky eyes glanced at Quint, feeling out the floor about in his section of the store, his tentacles out and sliding along the tile as well.

"What if Cora found Vin and killed the zombie Jeremy was talking about?" Sayori suggested.

 

[Drobabes]

"We need to leave now."

She couldn't agree more, and as Damien blocked his sight, Cora helped him to his feet. His mental state was simply too far regressed for him to be able to make any clear decisions, the sight of the frying pan seemingly having sent him right back to where he was, strapped on that table. It wasn't okay, but at least Cora knew what to do, simply taking over where Damien had left off and helping Vin to move. She of course couldn't support his weight, but with a bit of pushing and pulling, she got him to shuffle out the door and back into the other room. Once they were there, she reached out and physically made him turn away from the sight of the body while they waited for Damien.

She wished that she had a blanket, something soothing to wrap around his shoulders while they made the accent, but there was nothing in this room. Nothing but terrors and nightmares, and they simply had to get themselves away from it as quickly as they could.
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His pause had been very brief, his hands and eyes going back to searching while Sabastian commented, and now, his own tentacles as well.

"What if Cora found Vin and killed the zombie Jeremy was talking about?"

"Well that's what I'm worried about," he said, dropping down on his knees to search the carpet for an area that might lift up.

"Normal zombies head towards noise and smells, and that one is moving, which means it's probably heading in their direction."

Normally he wouldn't add insult to injury, knowing that they were already on a time crunch, and anymore added stress was just unnecessary. But to be able to feel the general direction in which the zombie was heading gave them at least some useful information.

"Salina! Laneesha!" he shouted suddenly, making sure to turn his head towards the exit of the store so that his voice would echo throughout. They needed more help in searching, and if Sayori was right in that, he left a wagon near each place in which he could get access from, then this was the place they needed to get access to the most quickly.

 

[Poprockz]

Damien followed behind them, casting one final glance toward the other room before turning his back on it. When they were all near the tunnel, he took a deep breath and pulled the knife out of his hand, grunting in pain, but trying not to make too much noise. It was habit at this point to try to minimize his own injuries, as his father never liked displays like that.

Before he lost more blood, he took the bandages and put the end in his mouth, using his other hand to begin to wrap it tightly. He wasn't an expert at this by any means and it looked pretty sloppy at the end. If things were normal, one might assume that he had allowed a child to go ham on his hand while the child was pretending to be a doctor. Once it practically looked like a cast, Damien tied it off, dropping the knife on the floor and letting out a breath before looking up at them.

"Alright. Cora can go first, then Vin, then I'll bring up the rear." He looked at Vin and offered him what he hoped was a small, encouraging smile. The man was unsuccessful at hiding his own worry though. "If you have any trouble, we can always take a break on the way up, or you'll have one of us on either side to help you."

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"But wouldn't that mean that there were two zombies where Cora went since one of the presences is heading toward the other? Why would they leave one of them alive?" Sayori gave Quint a confused look.

Sabastian simply looked a bit alarmed, jarred from his searching by the suggestion that there was an additional zombie headed their way. If what they were suggesting was right, it meant that soon all the zombies below would be in one place: right where the rest of them were. It put a twist in his gut, the blonde's brows furrowing in worry.

After Quint called out, Salina didn't appear immediately. A minute went by, both Sabastian and Sayori looking at the entrance expectantly, each of them wondering how quickly she would come to his summons. Though soon she did appear, a larger blur than normal. One might presume that she had whirred over to Laneesha, offered her a ride, and took her over to them. She still had some of the characteristic zombie strength, so she was easily able to give Laneesha a piggy-back over to them. Sayori thought to herself that it was probably a piggy-back rather than a princess hold because not only was it more aerodynamic, but Laneesha probably also didn't like being held like that.

Getting back onto her own two feet from off of Salina's back, Laneesha gave her a nod of thanks before striding over to Quint. Her dark brown eye fixed upon him. "Do you have something to report?"

 

[Drobabes]

Cora was so focused on helping Vin that she didn't notice what Damien was up to. By the time that she happened to look over, he had already yanked the knife from his flesh.

Her alarm bells went off, as despite the circumstances they were under, she felt like she still could have taken a moment to wrap his hand properly until they could be out in the open. She had wanted to take the time to remove the knife more carefully, knowing that it could cause some serious damage and just 'yanking it out' was one of the worst things you could do to a wound like that. They had antibiotics, and she could have cleaned it, and, well...it was just too late now. At least he seemed to wrap it tightly enough to prevent himself from bleeding too much.

"If you have any trouble, we can always take a break on the way up, or you'll have one of us on either side to help you."

Delvin tried to return the smile, or at least, it looked that way, his lips twisting up enough to not be a scared grimace. He nodded his head in agreement and started to walk towards the vent, but had to stop and wait for Cora to finish loading her pistol. She had walked over towards the zombie on the floor, and though she was certainly out of range of it's gummy maw, she still wanted to be close enough to have her aim pointed at something that could absorb the impact of a stray shot in that tiny room. She didn't want to waist her bullet, but Quinton had hammered it into her time and time again, how important gun safety was, and how important it was to prepare between the stressful scenarios. Anytime she could take a full breathe was a time she should be preparing.

Mall shooters, robbers, wild animals, was always what he had warned of, but now that she knew better...well, she was just very grateful to him. More so than she could have ever expressed with words alone.

Once she was ready, she put her gun away and gave the boys a brief nod before making her way to the front, and starting their climb...
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"I'm not sure" Quint said, going back to searching for an entrance, his voice strained with anxiety. It was like in those movies where someone fell into a frozen lake and got trapped under the ice. They could all see the danger that Cora, Vin, and Damien were in, but they couldn't get them out.

"There were three zombies originally, but now there's two, and one hasn't moved. It might be in a cage, but that's not the one I'm worried about."

Come on! Where the fuck is it?

Though he did pause for a brief moment after he called, he went back to searching when rather quickly. He only stopped when the swift blur of the two women came into his peripheral, their approach having been rather quiet.

"Do you have something to report?"

He got up onto his feet quickly, giving her a brief nod.

"There were three zombies below us. Don't know what happened to the third, but the one that your friend made contact with earlier hasn't seemed to move, and the other one is moving very quickly in it's direction. I think that means that our friends are down there, since they are attracted to noise and smell, so I think we need to focus our search here."

Though his voice was clear and precise, Quint couldn't help but rush through his observation. Sabastian's own fear was now being mirrored, the blue jeweled eyed man's anxiety growing with each second that he felt like his sister was in danger.

 

[Poprockz]

The climb up the vent was slow going, as it was all up-hill. Damien climbed into the vent after Vin, making sure not to put any pressure on his injured hand if at all possible. It was becoming more apparent that he was going to have some serious issues with it later as he couldn't moving his hand into the position it needed to be in so he could put weight on it and not harm his fingers. Still, he did the best he could, trying to keep pace with the other two.

He ended up lagging a bit, and try as he might to hide it, he couldn't breathe as quietly as he would have liked. The man breathed a bit hard and unevenly, still trying to hide that he was having trouble keeping up. At one point, he thought he heard something behind him, but the sounds of their combined climbing in the tunnel made it difficult to discern. He could have sworn he heard scuttling or scratching of some sort, but that didn't seem possible so he didn't stop moving. It was probably just an echo or something since there hadn't been anything in the room before.

By his estimation, they were now about halfway up, and that was a big relief. He couldn't wait to be out in the sun again regardless of how short a time he and Cora had spent down there.

Damien paused for a moment, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Not only heard something behind him, but could also feel the vibrations of another presence against the metal. Looking back, he couldn't see much, especially since it was so dark. However he could make out the barely-visible shadow of a creature. It was pretty big, probably about the size of a bulldog.

He froze, waiting to see if it would do anything. His heart was beating so quickly in his chest as they stared at each other, neither party moving save for the movements of their chests. Then... it lunged.

Damien flinched hard and kicked, hitting it to the side of the face. Immediately after, he moved onto his back. If something was here to attack him, then he would be a fool to simply try to crawl away in the shape he was in. It would leave him exposed and only make things worse. It didn't stop, squeaking and lunching, Damien grunting and kicking as hard as he could. One of his kicks landed right in its face and he heard a pitiful squeak of pain, hoping that this would be enough to dissuade whatever the hell it was.

Unfortunately, it had not been dissuaded. Suddenly he felt something wrap around his ankle, the animal turning and quickly scuttling away with him in tow. He tried to grab onto the wall, but there wasn't anything he could get purchase on.

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Laneesha's expression didn't change much, but she did look downward for a moment, likely taking stock of what he was saying.

"Unless you have found a doorway, tunnel, or other such thing, I don't think your assessment of the situation changes things." Though Sabastian frowned and glared from behind Quint, the tall woman paid him no mind and continued with an explanation.

"The chained-up zombie my subordinate felt was near that shed outside. If you're correct in saying that it truly is there where your friend was being kept, then he will have to be handled by those other two humans. You are more than welcome to enter that shed yourself, but the perfume is too strong for any of us to get close to. Therefore, I'm not sure what course of action you're suggesting we take." She stood firm, a pillar of calm collectedness one might almost assume to be arrogance.

 

[Drobabes]

The climb up felt more difficult and treacherous than their previous descent. What was it about small, dark, confined spaces that gave Cora the creeps? They had rescued Vin, killed the threat to their safety, and yet she still felt unease. Perhaps it was just she was worried about her lover, who she couldn't help but keep stopping every once in a while to listen for. She wasn't sure if it was a trick of her mind, but she thought she had heard a ragged breath, or his scraping against the wall of their tunnel.

Vin could hear it, being closer to him, but there was little he could do in that cramped tomb. He made sure not to go too far ahead, despite his whole being screaming at him to get the fuck out of there and to the light of day.

The quiet was what alerted Vin and Cora, both of them pausing in their climb just a mere heartbeat behind Damien. And, much like Damien, neither one of them moved as they waited to see what was going on.

"Damien!"

"Damien!"

Two pairs of voices echoed out at nearly the same time, the volume seeming decibels louder than it should have been considering the thick walls. Cora reached to go for her gun before crying out "shit!', as she realized that there was no way she could fire inside. Not only was she blind, but she would likely just shoot one, or both, of the men. Vin had no gun, but he was also just as blind. Still, it didn't stop him from diving forward when he heard the distinct sound of a body being dragged.

"It's got him!" he yelled, sheer panic driving his actions as he blindly ran forward and grabbed at whatever he could feel. It was skin, first, maybe his face, and then cloth. His fingers gripped it tightly, yanking the steely eyed man back with as much force as he could muster, which turned out to be a bit too much as he heard something rip and felt a sudden slack.

"DAMIEN!"

Cora was beside him suddenly, their bodies cramped together in that tight space as they both struggled to hang onto their friend.

"Don't let go of him!" Vin shouted, before trying to move forward and grab at whatever had a hold of Damien's leg. He had already been bitten and gone through the sickness of the plague, so he wasn't worried about himself.
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"...Therefore, I'm not sure what course of action you're suggesting we take."

Though he was scared, and admittedly pissed at her seeming lack of care for the other people that were below them, Quinton understood that was a very tactical person with a tactical mindset. It would do nothing for them to stand there and argue with her.

"I'm suggesting that we focus the search for an entrance in this room, since there is a wagon in here which points that whoever did this, is using this room. If we can find it, it should lead us straight down to them. If not, then I suggest that we at least use your comrades psychic capabilities to take over that zombies mind and buy our friends a few extra seconds. Infact, I think that would be the most practical, and tactical solution to this."

It was difficult to the bite out of his voice, but he stood still and simply relaid his case as quickly as he could. If she refused to help them with this, then there was nothing they could do, but he also didn't see that as a likely outcome, otherwise she wouldn't be helping them at all.

 

[Poprockz]

The skin Vin had felt was actually Damien's stomach, his shirt having ridden up from the drag. It was that same shirt that ripped when Vin attempted to grab a hold of him. He hoped beyond hope that they would try again and be able to grab him- he didn't want to be food for whatever it was. Truth be told, he was absolutely terrified.

The man reached out and tried to grab onto Vin with his good hand, but he was at a bit of an awkward angle on his back and Vin wasn't really wearing anything he could grab onto. Though it seemed as though they were at least able to secure one of his arms.

When Vin reached forward, what he was met with was greasy fur, his fingers sliding forward before dipping into an alcove that was wet and slick. His finger sunk into the wound, the cold meat enveloping his finger before the rat reacted.

"SKREEE!" It screeched in pain, something whipping through the dark and smacking both Cora and Vin like sturdy vines. The pull on Damien became much harder, the man screaming out at the tremendous force with which the rat was pulling. His arm was jerked violently in Cora's grasp and if he had to guess, it may have been dislocated. With one final jerk timed with a smack of the "vines", it was able to wrench Damien from them.

The animal was fast, dragging him quickly down the shaft of the tunnel like a bat out of hell. It didn't help him that gravity was currently working against him as well as he scrabbled at the sides and floor of the smooth metal.

He soon saw the light at the end of the tunnel again, knowing that they were once again going back into the butcher's lair. Without ceremony, he and the animal quickly exited the vent, Damien falling on his ass (though it was only about a foot drop) before being dragged just a bit further.

Now that they were back in the room, Damien could fully see what had dragged him back there. It was a huge, milky-eyed rat with not one, but three tails. He thought his heart might stop as he looked in horror at the enormous rodent, knowing that there was no way in hell a rat was supposed to get up to that size. Even as a zombie, it didn't seem likely that any animals would be able to grow like this.

It was brown, a few patches of matted fur with purple blood and wounds mixed in to indicate that it had been injured several times (though none of the strikes had been particularly damaging). Those eyes as white as the thickest fog were fixed upon him as it turned and he realized that what had wrapped around his ankles was one of its tails. There wasn't much time to take it all in as the next moment it lunged at him, scrabbling up onto his chest and going for his throat.

He reacted quickly, grabbing it by the side of its neck with his good hand, and trying to do the same with the other. Try as he might though, his other hand could only do so much. Upon discovering how useless his hand was going to be, he made the split-second decision to move It so that his forearm pressed against the rat's throat, shielding him slightly from its attempts to move forward. One slip though, and he knew that those large teeth would make short work of him.

Normally he would have snapped its neck, but he needed both hands to do so. He was powerless, unable to even push the rat off of him. If he weakened or moved for even a second, his arm with the bandaged hand would slip and he would be vulnerable. He could already feel it slowly losing its placement against the rats greasy fur and succumbing to its power. The rat wasn't weak- it was pressing upon him with an insistence that he could barely deny despite the muscles in his arms being decent themselves. It's odorous mouth snapped rabidly at him, its teeth clicking while it squealed with hunger.

God, was he going to die here down in this tunnel, mauled by a rat? He didn't want to die, he had so many things he wanted to do with Cora. He hadn't even gotten her a ring yet.

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"Mm." Laneesha nodded at Quint, then looking over at Salina. "Salina, go grab the other two and bring them here." With that, the other zombie didn't hesitate, zipping out of the room to find and retrieve the others.

Her eye returned to Quint and she added, "I believe that is a good suggestion- thank you for your clarification. I think it would serve us best to follow both proposed avenues."

Not a moment later, Salina had a zombie under each arm, setting them down and clearing her throat. "We're back."

"Good." Laneesha strode over to them and addressed the two redheads. "Zach, I want you to take the zombie near the shed this time, and Jeremy I want you to try to restrain the other one."

"But I couldn't make contact before, there was something weird with it, I don't think he should try it. I just..." Zach had an expression on his face as though he was struggling to find an explanation for his feelings of foreboding.

The leader paused for a moment before answering. "I suggested that out of consideration for Jeremy's former experience, however if you think it would be more beneficial this way, then I trust your judgement. Do it. Salina, we're searching this room."

Both of the redheads nodded, Jeremy closing his eyes and becoming more still. Zach also closed his eyes, though his brow was slightly scrunched in concentration.

With that settled, the tall woman scanned the room and took out a little notebook from her pocket, glancing at it before starting to put it away again. Her grey tentacles came out, knowing that it was better to search with all they had at their disposal.

Sayori hadn't expected for all of that to go so smoothly, wondering if perhaps the leader of that group was trying to curry favor with them. That wasn't as likely since it seemed as though she didn't mince words or make compromises just to please others. It was interesting to her that while Laneesha seemed like someone who needed to be in control, she also made allowances and was open to input. Ah well, it was time to search again, so she could mull it over more later.

She took a glance at Zack and Jeremy and that's when she saw it: Zach's eyes snapped open, both of them a milky white shade. His teeth were bared and he seemed to inhale through his nose for a moment before looking straight at her. It sent a shiver down her spine, that empty, deranged stare. Something was horribly wrong, but she found that her voice was caught in her throat out of fear. Every zombie in the room (except for Jeremy) immediately felt a wave of pure madness coming from him, a hunger so strong it made Sabastian's stomach churn.

The red-headed zombie started to spring at her without hesitation, Salina just as frozen in place as Sayori was. Sabastian had wandered over to one of the walls, but when he felt it, he turned to look just in time to see Jeremy making a bee-line for the only human in sight. Just as he closed in within three meters, a dark grey tentacle whipped out and slammed into his stomach, launching him across the shop and out into the hallway.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora felt his hand and arm in the dark, and she quickly gripped onto him as best she could, her nails almost digging down into his skin in her fear. She couldn't lose him!

"I got you baby, don't let go! Vin!"

She tried to plant her feet down on the ground, but whatever had a hold of him was strong, and she found her body being yanked forward with them.

"My gun! Get my gun and shoot it!"

He heard her, but he didn't think he had the time to do that. With a knot climbing up his throat, he let his fingers sink down into whatever it was that had a hold of Damien. The next thing he knew his fingers were sinking down into something greasy, and course, the rough texture of the fur causing him to suck in a breath so hard he almost started choking. His hand squeezed hard, his grip tightening down and defying the primal urge that was screaming to let go and yank back.

"Nneeaa-haa!"

The screech of the rat was almost drowned out by a high pitched squeal of disgust, so tight and loud that it could have made someones ears bleed had it been supernatural. Cora knew it wasn't her own, and when it was quickly followed by another scream that gave her the same cold, bone-chilling feeling as when she heard Quint scream, it made her cry out in unison. Terrified that Damien was being ripped apart right before her, she planted her feet against the ground and wall and pulled back with everything she had. She wasn't about to lose him to whatever the hell this thing was, if she had any choice in the matter.

It would seem they did not, however, as not a second after she felt something sickenly 'pop', then jerk. The stings of the vine-like appendages had been just enough of a distracting factor to cause them both to flinch, and in that split second, Damien was ripped from them.

"NOO!"

She scrambled right over Vin in her need to get out of that tunnel, half crawling, half running, before she was falling with the force of gravity. She slid down hard on her belly, her shirt doing little to protect her chest and belly as she fell through the entrance and to the ground on her face. She felt a heavy weight on her back not a second later, and then, a pair of huge hands on her waist, lifting her.

She reacted before she could think-twisting in his grip as her hands came up like claws and half smacked, half scratched Vin's chest and neck. She came to her senses when he dropped her down onto her feet and flinched back, realizing it wasn't Ray behind her. Once that realization clicked, her wide eyes yanked back around, landing on what it was that was attacking her lover.

"Get ready to shoot it!" Vin yelled before running forward and launching his whole body towards the creature, his arms out and ready to grip it, and tackle it to the ground.
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Quint felt some of the tension leave his body as Laneesha agreed to his proposal, almost immediately going back to searching while she directed her squad. The nervous tone in Zach's voice was not lost to him, but after what the other one had seen, he simply shrugged it off as worrying about what was below them.

He was reaching out to pull a rack of clothing aside when the madness almost over took him. One hand shot to his chest, just over his stomach where a sudden intense pain made him weak in the knees. His lips curled, and he actually let out a small snarl before something in his mind snapped back into place. Now, with a new intensity fighting for first place with the fear, he turned around quickly. Forgetting that his hand was still latched onto the metal of the rack, he yanked it with him and knocked it down onto the floor, where it skidded a few feet before coming to a stop. His blue eyes widened in terror as Zach launched forward.

The snake had also felt the madness, his body having twisted and contorted on the small women. His head had shot out into the air, first as if it were involuntary, before quickly jerking back around and looking right at her. His mouth opened slightly, his head raising up in a quick jerk, as if he were trying to decide if she were a delicious meal caught in his grasp. His muscled body had even started to grip her as if getting ready to coil before the snake seemed to come to his senses. His head then jerked hard once more, though this time it was a side to side motion, as if he were trying to physically throw something off of his back.

"Bowie, MOVE!" Quint yelled, his high voice taking on a much more masculine and demanding tone as his hand shot out and pointed somewhere behind her.

The reaction was almost instantaneous, Bowie's smooth body twisting down her torso like the stripe on a candy cane. His tail whipped down to the ground, and with an audible smack!, he launched them both up and back, their bodies flying through the air. It came to an abrupt stop when they hit the wall, the snake letting out a sound that was close to a hiss, but was actually the air being forced from his lungs as he took the brunt of the hit from the wall so that she wouldn't hit her head or break a bone on the impact. Once they slid down to the ground, Bowie wrapped around her loosely, his body not seeming to be able to fully curl at the moment. In the ground in front of where they had been standing, there was now a huge indentation of ripped carpet and a crescent moon shaped hole through the flooring.

Quint sprinted to their side, almost skidding to a stop before them and dropping down to his knees.

"Are you guys okay?" he said, a tremor in his voice as he reached out with shaky hands, one laying on Sayori's shoulder and the other on top of Bowie's little head. Once he was sure they weren't in immediate danger, he hopped back to his feet and got in front of them, his tentacles raising up high in agitation and getting ready to fight.

"Sabastian" he called out, looking over towards the little blond with fear. He knew that out of all of them, Sabastian was likely the only one strong enough to hold the possessed zombie back if he came at them again. Quint didn't want to try it-not for fear of getting hurt, but for fear of hurting Zach. He couldn't just pull his arms back and hold him down.

While this was happening, Bowie got himself up and slithered away from Sayori. He was in pain, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't move, and everything that was happening in the room right now was too much. Despite his bravery, the snake was a gentle soul, and violence scared him.

His smooth body moved along the edge of the room quickly, curling up behind the rack that Quint had knocked over. He laid there for a few seconds, trying to rest, when a noise to his right caused him to raise his head up and stare into the vent that was next to him. A beat or two passed, and then he heard it again.

It was the soft one, and his precious one.They were in danger!

Moving quickly, his little body slithered through the metal grating...

 

[Poprockz]

What the hell was going on?! Sayori felt the snake constricting her and though it wasn't yet a grip that would hurt her, it was almost as though the snake was readjusting its hold on her so she wouldn't get away from him. She only took her eyes off of Zach for a second to see what was going on with Bowie and saw that the snake was looking at her highly aggressively, the woman hearing a snarl that sounded like Quint from further away.

Sabastian had felt the madness and all he felt in that moment was a lust to tear something apart and consume it. The only thing in the room that fit those requirements were Sayori, but he quickly was shocked out of it by the realization that he was legitimately thinking about murdering one of his friends.

All of it was frightening, the small woman's heart feeling like it might beat out of her chest in fear, more so when she felt the snake coil around her entire body. Though in truth her major concern had been the zombie barreling toward her. All of a sudden she let out a scream as Bowie flung them backward, cushioning her. While she hadn't been hurt (due to Bowie's care), it was quite jarring and she found herself shaking slightly with wide-eyes.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I think.. I- I... Yes. I'm not hurt." It felt like she was having trouble putting her thoughts together, honestly feeling just a bit relieved when Bowie slithered away. While she did love Bowie, the whole situation had her feeling very unsafe and being constricted hadn't helped.

Quint's call made Sabastian jerk back to reality, the blonde swallowing before standing up straight and jogging over to where Laneesha was. She was a tower, still facing the direction in which she had flung the mad zombie, her tentacles out and ready for him to return.

She didn't look at him, but said, "if you don't have any combat experience, then step back. I will take care of it."

This only made Sabastian frown. "I'm strong too though, and I want to protect my friend." His voice was snippety, not understanding why she was denying him the option of helping. They were both strong, so why did it matter if one had more combat experience or not?

"Strength is a tool that you need to know how to use before it can be effective," she glanced at him. "I need him restrained and unharmed, and I don't think you can accomplish that without getting yourself or him hurt."

By this time, Zach had gotten to his feet, snarling at them before charging once more. It was almost as though he only had eyes for Sayori, the zombie in a blood-hungry craze that abandoned reason. Laneesha got into a balanced stance and waited for him to come to them, but Sabasstian thought to himself that it would be a good chance to prove that he really could handle himself.

He moved quickly forward toward Zach, taking out his tentacles and attempting to grab the man. Though he succeeded in wrapping his tentacles around him, the man's tentacles were still free, whipping and smacking Sabastian mercilessly. One such smack whipped his eyes, temporarily blinding him and putting him off-balance. Luckily he had closed his eyes in time, but it was still a painful impact and he ended up stumbling and falling over. His grip loosened and the zombie jumped up, resuming its sprint.

When he came, Laneesha was ready for him. Instead of grabbing his body, she stepped aside and waited for him to pass her slightly before wrapping a tentacle around his ankles, lifting him up into the air and spinning him around by his feet. The force of it had all his tentacles flailing near his head. Meanwhile, she curled her own tentacles around his body and tentacles until he was nicely wrapped, pulling his tentacles back slowly as needed. At that point, she slowed down until she could lower him to the ground. Taking his arms, she pinned them behind him and sat on him, the mad zombie still struggling in her unyielding grasp.

------------------------

At Vin's approach, the rat squeaked menacingly and used its tails to lift Vin up as he lunged, using his own force to send him sailing over it and into the wall. It then resumed its attempt to have Damien's throat, though a sound in an upper vent had it pausing and sniffing.

The next thing they knew, the vent exploded, the metal grating tumbling down against the cement floor as a figure emerged- Bowie. The danger noodle slithered out and plopped down onto the gurney Vin used to occupy near the middle of the room. He took stock of the situation, looking around at each of them in turn. He first made sure that the precious one was safe, then the soft one, then the string-pluck man. His attention was drawn to the rat, the snake raising itself up and hissing loudly, baring his fangs. The scales all over his body started to puff out and rattle threateningly, a hood forming and quivering.

Damien almost couldn't believe his eyes, and it seemed like the rat shared that sentiment, both of them looking up at that menacing display that Bowie was putting on. It seemed as though the rat understood that this wasn't going to be a battle that would be good to gamble on, but it wasn't about to let its meal go. The grey-eyed man found the rat quickly scrambling toward the Vent, grabbing and dragging his ankles once more as though it intended to try to outrun Bowie with Damien in tow.

Bowie wasn't a dumb snake though, he was an intelligent nope rope. It only took Bowie coiling and launching himself fluidly over the gurneys to land right in the rat's path, effectively blocking its escape. Once there, Bowie raised himself up once more and continued to rattle, his tongue flicking out as he hissed. This rat was trying to hurt the soft one, and he would not allow it.

It seemed to realize that it wasn't getting out without a fight, the rat squeaking and letting go of Damien so it could thrash its tails in agitation. They slapped the floor hard, making loud, harsh cracking noises as bared its teeth at the snake, perhaps hoping this display would frighten him.

It didn't.

Bowie only rattled louder until it was almost deafening, his scales sounding like a thousand maracas being shaken in time. He loomed over the rat, drawing closer as the rat's fur bristled slightly. It was at that moment... that Bowie struck!

His teeth latched onto the rat as he lunged, the force of it propelling the two across the floor. The snake used this to wrap itself around it, the rodent struggling and shrieking in panic as they went. It ended up on its side, though it used one of its tails to push it back onto its feet. Running fast, it tried to slam Bowie against one of the walls, the snake not letting go of the rat for a second. His coils tightened on it and started squeezing it extremely tightly, the rat's eyes bugging out as it fell back onto its side. Paws now scrabbling uselessly in the air as the life was choked out of it, the rat continued to squeak in fright almost as though begging for someone, anyone to save it.

No one arrived to deny the rat the fate that had been decided by Bowie though, and soon the rat's movements slowed and slowed until it was completely still. It's tongue lolled out and its milky-eyes stared blankly ahead, now devoid of life.

---------------------

Underneath her, Zach started screaming and yelling, apparently absolutely terrified. He still had that milky-eyed feral look about him, but now he seemed some unseen horror was playing out before his eyes. Truly disturbed, he was thrashing with all he had, though it still wasn't enough to budge his commander from her perch on top of him. Though she usually wasn't easy to read, this sudden display had put a shocked and worried expression on her face, as though she wasn't sure what to do.

Soon though, he started becoming more and more lethargic until he simply laid limply underneath her, his eyes closed but his body still breathing.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora watched in horror as Delvin was knocked across the room like a ragdoll, his whole body hitting the wall so hard that she was sure he must have cracked a rib. He fell to the ground a mere foot from the chained zombie, and when he managed to gasp in a breath through the dizzying pain and look up, he found himself staring down into it's gummy maw. He flinched and crawled backwards a few feet, before trying to get back up.

"Shoot...shoot it!" he yelled, pulling his knees and elbows beneath him, gathering himself as he watched Cora take a step forward. She was hesitating, no doubt not wanting to get too close to the filthy creature and have the gun knocked from her hands, or miss and hit Damien in the chest. He grunted loudly, trying to get up to help, but when the rat suddenly stopped to sniff, they all froze.

CLANK!

The grate exploding out and clattering to the ground shocked them all, unsure of just what was coming through now. Was it their rescue? Or their doom?

"Bowie!" Cora cried, a sob breaking her voice as she started to lower her gun.

The sudden display that the snake showed absolutely shocked both Vin and Cora, both of their eyes widening in a mixture of fear and amazement when the snakes body transformed, and it's scales began a cascading song of pure threatening intent.

"Ba...Bowie..." Cora whispered, putting her gun away and inching towards Damien, her eyes glued to the fangs and hood and she had never seen before. She cried out when Damien was drug across the floor again, and both herself and Vin scrambled forward to grab him once more.

As soon as the rat dropped Damien's ankle, Cora took hold of one of his legs and Vin hooked his arm underneath his good side, just under Damien's armpit, and together they pulled him back into a corner. Cora withdrew her gun once more, and then, huddled together, they all looked on in horror as the battle began.

The rat was huge, impossibly so, and fast. However, Bowie was faster, and his body had the advantage of thousands of years of evolution on the filthy vermin. He was built for this, and though they flinched in sympathetic pain when the rat slammed their precious reptile into the wall, they knew who was going to come out on top.

The squeaking and death throes were disturbing to witness, but a collective breath of relief was released when at last, it stopped moving...
_____________

Quint wasn't able to hear what they were talking about up there, but he took a few quick steps back when Sabastian rushed forward and proceeded to get smacked in the face. He wasn't hurt badly enough for Quint to go rushing to his aide, his focus on being the defense for if Zach got past the both of them.

It didn't seem to be needed, however, as very quickly and expertly, Laneesha captured the mad half zombie and had him restrained. He didn't turn his back to them once it was under control, but he did go to Sayori and help her up onto her feet, keeping a hand on her back for the moment. If he had to, he would scoop her up and hand her off to Salina, in the hopes that she would zip her out of harms way.

The sudden screaming and struggling from Zach made Quint's hand flinch, and his feet to shuffle closer to the little lady beside him. He could see and feel the fear pouring out from him, and on an instinctual level that went beyond their changed anatomy, knew that whatever he was experiencing was death itself. His hand dropped down between them and quickly sought her own out in a fearful embrace.

 

[Poprockz]

While Vin had the good sense to grab his bandaged arm, the other hung and the occasional movement had him grunting in pain regardless of how gentle they were. Based on its sensitivity to being jostled, he could only assume that it had truly been dislocated. That itself was not only a testament to how strong the rat was, but also how desperately Cora had tried to hold on to him. In a way, it was a bit sweet if he thought about it. Still, his thoughts didn't linger on that as his attention was foremost on Bowie.

He had showed up like some kind of plot device in the movies, arriving exactly when he was about to be rat-food. Perhaps Vin and Cora could have saved him, but there was still a good chance that either he would have been shot, mauled, or that one of the others would be injured as well. That was why his heart swelled up with gratitude for the snake.

Come to think of it, Vin and Cora could have just as easily abandoned him and left him to fend for himself. It wasn't likely that Cora would ever do something like that, but Vin wasn't obligated to help him. Both of them had risked themselves to keep him alive, facing off with an abomination that was wild and unpredictable. He never would have imagined that he would ever find people that would be so afraid to lose him.

He too watched as the rat's life was brought to an end, not looking away. It didn't phase him, not after what he had seen in his lifetime. All he felt was relief when it made its last twitch, letting them all know that they were safe for the moment. The man let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, looking up at Cora and then Vin.

"Thank you... for coming back and saving me." Damien swallowed, looking over at the snake. "You too, Bowie."

The snake, knowing that the plump rat was now forever stopped from hurting the humans, uncoiled around the rodent, looking up at the soft one and bobbing. Of course he came to help. While he didn't typically like violence, he wouldn't hesitate to help if his humans were being bullied by evil ratties. Looking back down at the rat, he wondered if it was possible to consume it- he was pretty hungry after all.

He unhinged his jaw and started placing it on the rat, trying to see what the best angle to accomplish this might be. The side, the belly, a leg... it wasn't working so he tried the head. That seemed to be easier, the snake's mouth starting to slide up the rat's face, slowing inching forward.

-----------------------------

While Quint had shuffled closer to Sayori, she had the same instinct and also moved closer. To say that what she was seeing was horrifying was an understatement. There was simply something very unnerving and disturbing about the way Zach was screaming. It pierced her down to her bones and made her blood run cold. It was as though he was experiencing something that no one should live to experience.

Quint's hand would not find hers, as her own hands went up to her ears in a desperate attempt to shield herself from the screaming. God, the screaming was so loud, so suffocating. Her skin started to feel hot around her chest and back and her vision became a bit unfocused. It almost felt like she was having a heart attack with how fast it was pounding, but nothing was truly wrong there. The small woman's breathing started to become quick and shallow, Sayori's panic reaching its peak. Crouching down, she stood crouched there defensively as though trying to block it all out.

There was a part of her that felt guilty for not trying to comfort Quint or shield him from the sounds. After all, he too was susceptible to the overwhelming, gut-wrenching screams. However at the moment, all she could do was try to continue breathing. It felt like she was losing control of her body, her lungs gasping for air that it didn't think they were getting.

 

[Drobabes]

"Thank you... for coming back and saving me."

They were all still in quite a bit of state of shock at having witnessed Bowie's transformation, and the danger they had so nearly missed, so it took them both a second to answer. Vin reached out with a shaky hand and gently patted his good arm, and Cora... Well, Cora started sobbing. The danger was over, and she didn't have to be strong anymore.

"Oh my god..." she whined, her hands going out to lightly grace over his wounds as tears started pouring down her face. Her hands stopped over the arm that had been dislocated-she knew it was, just from a glance, and her fingertips touched it very lightly. She then bent down and kissed him softly, a few tears spilling down on his cheek before she pulled back and wipe them away.

"Let's get the fuck out of here" Vin said, a new kind of urgency in his tone. This nightmare needed to be over, now.

She nodded and wiped a few more tears away before looking down at Damien and trying to figure out the best way to help. It was probably going to take all three of them supporting each others weight to shuffle out through the tunnel, and she had no doubt that Damien was going to be in a lot of pain while doing it. Taking a look around while Vin got up on shaky feet, she saw the remainder of his torn shirt and went to retrieve it. It wasn't much, but she could at least tie it to his wrist and around his neck, helping to keep his arm from simply flailing about as they moved.

Delvin let out a few grunts as he stood, a painful wheeze coming out on each breathe, but the fear of staying down there another minute was overriding the discomfort. Once he was up, he crouched down in next to Damien, a hand hesitantly going out to his good arm.

"Do you want me to pull you up..." he wheezed, needing to catch his breath.

"...or do you want to lean on me...and use your legs? Either way is going to hurt."
_______________

When Quint's fingers reached down and found nothing but air, it jarred him out of his fear enough to look down and see what was going on.

The look on her face, just before she bent over out of his view, was a horribly familiar one. He could see the color draining from her face while flushing in other part of her body, her hands pushing so hard against her ears that her knuckles were turning white with the strain. Without even really needing to think about, he immediately dropped down behind her and wrapped her up into the same type of hug that he did with Cora.

One of his arms went around the top of her chest, just under her own arms and chin, while his other arm draped very loosely over her belly. He bent down with her, nudging and forcing her to sit down on the ground with him. Once they were down, he pressed his back against her own with a bit of force, putting weight against it while making sure not to squeeze the front of her chest at all, so that she could take as big of breathes as she could manage.

The screaming continued until it finally began to die down, and while Quint himself was still scared, having someone to take care of forced him to ground himself and focus. He and his sister had never really tested the technic out much on anyone else but themselves, and even then, it had taken a bit of practice for it to work for them. They couldn't simply wrap each other up in a normal hug, because sometimes they would feel too constricted and lash out. Nor could they constrict the front of their chest because that left them feeling like they were suffocating. What they had finally figured out that worked the best, was to press something against their back and try to wrap something around their shoulders or sides, like a blanket. He didn't know if this would work with Sayori, but he could make adjustments if he needed to.

As soon as the other man began to quiet down, (Quint having made the mistake of looking up and seeing Laneesha's own fearful expression, which gave him another shiver up his spine), he started to quietly talk to Sayori as he used a bit of strength to gently pull one of her hands out in front of them.

"Sayori, squeeze the tips of my fingers. Each one. Focus on that, don't look at anything else right now" he whispered, guiding her little hand to his own. If she panicked and pulled back, he would simply take hold of her once more and, ever gentle, guide her back.

"Start with my thumb, now go down...all the way, here to my pinkie. Now, move back up...now back to my thumb...keep going..."

His hope was that by doing this, it would help to refocus her her through her panic attack, and allow her to begin to breath properly. He even started to subtly nudge her into a more upright position, so that her chest was free to expand to it's full extent.

 

[Poprockz]

That soft kiss was exactly what he needed, Damien leaning forward a bit to return her gentle pressure. She could cry on him all she wanted- he would never turn this woman away. Though he couldn't truly hold her like he wished he could, he wrapped his good arm at a diagonal up her back and held it against her in a one-armed hug. She was so precious to him, and he was so glad that they were all safe and that it was over.

When Vin suggested they get out of there, he couldn't agree more, taking his arm back from her and watching her grab a bit of cloth. He wasn't sure what she wanted to do with it until she made him a make-shift sling. That would probably save him a whole lot of pain and was a really good idea on her part.

"Thank you," he smiled at her, sighing in relief. At least now it wouldn't hang like a useless noodle.

Despite Vin being very gracious in his offer, it was obvious that he was in no shape to be supporting another person. He hadn't been able to look at Vin when he was being flung into the wall (having been preoccupied with a rat's hungry mouth), but he must have hit the wall very hard by the sounds of it. Honestly, they were both going to have a hard time going up, and Damien didn't want to make it any more difficult on Vin.

"Thank you for offering, but I can make it up myself as long as I'm slow and careful," Damien responded. It was true, as long as he could lean on the arm whose hand was bandaged, he could get up. It would be a workout for sure, but he knew he could do it.

------------------

Sayori hadn't expected it, but soon found herself sitting on the floor with Quint pressed against her back. He wasn't warm, but the gentle pressure of his body was comforting. Whenever she would have panic attacks at home, it was often her sister who would rub her back, holding her hand with her other. It didn't happen often, but when it did, her sister had always risen to the occasion.

The arm around her shoulders felt heavy, grounding her a bit. As long as it didn't touch her throat, she was fine with it resting there. As she had her eyes shut, she couldn't see what was going on with Zach at the moment, but she could hear the muffled screaming dying down a bit. It wasn't much better after that though as the whimpers and whines of fear he made were also disturbing in their own quiet way.

Indeed. Despite hearing what Quint had to say, her first instinct was to return her hand to her ear. So when he pulled it off, she withdrew it from him. The second time though, she focused more on his voice, using it as an anchor for her focus. If she concentrated on it, the other sounds would be a bit easier to ignore. She started to squeeze his fingers like he said, moving from one to the other. They were soft and familiar, and she found her breathing slowing bit by bit. Sayori could be heard whispering to herself, "pinky, ring, middle, index, thumb. Thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky." It became rhythmic, the woman's whispers almost sounding like weak little chants.

Before she realized it, she found that she could breathe again, and that the sounds from the other zombie had stopped. Upon glancing up, she found that Salina and Sabastian were staring at her, both with a look of concern on their faces. Laneesha was still preoccupied with Zach, and Jeremy seemed to still be trying to reconnect with the other zombie.

------------------

Though none of them may have been expecting it, the zombie in the room suddenly perked up, looking directly at them.

"Oh, Finally. Do you nee any help? Where are you? Oh, sorry. It's Jeremy" The zombie cocked its head to the side. Though it spoke with a woman's voice (and was a bit odd due to the lack of teeth), it was obviously possessed. Having looked listless before, it now seemed calm and focused.

 

[Drobabes]

"Thank you..."

Cora had given him a soft but sad smile as her gentle fingers came up to stroke his scruffy cheek. She had been so scared of losing him, and the fact that they were all still here in, relatively, alright condition, was a damn miracle. So many things could have gone wrong in a very short amount of time...

She turned her attention away when the boys started to talk, her eyes trying not to roam too quickly or too far. Bowie was on her thoughts, though, the display having been...otherworldly. When and how had he grown cobra like hoods, and fangs? It had to be part of the infection that had changed him, in the same way that the other half zombies had been changed. Not that it was a bad thing-quite the opposite. If he hadn't been changed, they might all be dead.

Her eyes found him, her face grimacing as the last of those twin rat tails were slurped down his throat. It was a but too late now, but she wished he hadn't eaten that filthy creature. What if it made him sick?

"Alright" Vin huffed, giving a nod and trying to get ready to stand up. Fuck that pain was creeping up on him though. His body felt weak and shaky, and his chest hurt in a familiar way that told him he probably had a cracked a rib, if not an outright broken one. In a way he was a bit relieved that Damien was willing to try and walk on his own, as to try and lean on each other might cause them both more pain than it was worth. He was just looking up towards the vent, his eyes briefly glossing over Bowie and his face scrunching up in mild disgust, when he heard the slurred female voice.

"Oh, Finally. Do you nee any help?"

"Aaahh!" Cora screamed girlishly, quickly scrambling behind Damien and Vin and cowering down. Delvin had flinched before whipping his head around, staring in disbelief for a moment before he remembered how the zombie had stopped it's random jerks and grunts to look around the room.

"Jeremy?" he asked, his voice a bit quiet as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

"There's another group of half zombies up top" Cora said, straightening up and trying to wipe the embarrassed look off her face.

"They were helping us search for you. Jeremy," she said, turning her attention back to the...zombie walkie talkie? Well, whatever it was.

"The shed lead down a tunnel and through a vent. The guys are really beat up, is there anyway you could drop down a long rope or something like that, to help pull them up? You'll have to go easy and slow though, there's no light to see in the tunnel."
_______________________

Quint simply sat with her, waiting patiently until she found herself again, though his own heart was still pounding hard in chest. He could hear her whispering softly, barely making out her words but feeling her breathing becoming more even. His blue-purple eyes looked up about the same time that hers did, and though he noticed Salina and Sabastian looking at her, his own focus went over to Jeremy.

He felt like he was sitting on a hairs edge, threatening to teeter over at any second. Were they okay? He wanted nothing more than to just bolt up and start searching the room again, but after what had just happened, he knew it was best to simply be patient for a moment. It wasn't easy, but Sayori felt like a warm, sturdy, anchor in his grip.

 

[Poprockz]

Damien also flinched at the sound of Jeremy's voice, his wide eyes finding the zombie before he cringed at the realization of what was going on. The other zombie was likely talking through it like some kind of morbid puppet. 'Disconcerting' didn't seem like a strong enough word for it, but perhaps 'disturbing' was more accurate. Maybe it would be less disquieting if it had Jeremy's voice, but instead it had whatever this poor woman would have sounded like.

"The shed lead down a tunnel and through a vent. The guys are really beat up, is there anyway you could drop down a long rope or something like that, to help pull them up? ..."

The chained-up zombie nodded, "Yeah, we shoub be able to boo at. Hang tight an we'll be right there." With that, the zombie slumped and started groaning listlessly again, as though not a thought was floating around its rotting brain.

To Bowie, the rat hadn't been particularly delicious, but definitely very filling. He now had a huge, mutated rat-sized lump in his belly, looking like an anaconda from the discovery channel that had just eaten a deer. All the effort he had made and the size of his meal made the little snake a bit tired, the noodle stretching his jaws in a yawn before moving over toward Cora. Moving normally was a bit cumbersome, so he ended up moving more like a caterpillar until he was next to her. The long, scaly warrior laid his head down on Cora's shoe and rested, his little tongue flicking out in contentment.

Damien looked over to Cora and Vin, saying in a slightly bewildered voice, "that was... not something I ever thought I would see. But at least we won't have to struggle as much on the way up."

------------------------------------

Sighing, Sayori leaned back against Quint and closed her eyes for a moment. The worst of it was over, and now she was just a bit tired. If only she could take a little nap right there, a cool but solid chest against her to keep her safe. Still, there were more important things that needed to be addressed, the small woman begrudgingly sitting up straight again in preparation to get up once more.

Before she could though, Jeremy shuddered and his eyes opened, blinking for a moment as though he needed to center himself in his own body. "Ngh..." He looked as though he had a bad taste in his mouth, shuddering and getting back up to his feet while brushing himself off. All attention went back to him, the man looking up to realize that he had everyone's gaze.

"Hey guys, I'm back. God, it's so weird being in another zombie. The mouth tasted weird and I-"

"Jeremy. Report." Laneesha's voice was bit more curt than she might normally be, her tone almost scolding in a way. It seemed as though she didn't have any interest in hearing the unnecessary bits at the moment. It made sense, seeing as they were all a bit shaken up over recent events.

"Oh sorry! Um, okay." He collected his thoughts for a moment and then said clearly and loudly enough for everyone, "I made contact with them. They're in the shed we were at earlier, but they're down a vent or tunnel. The two men aren't fatally injured, but they've been injured enough to need assistance going back up the tunnel. The woman looked fine, though. Sorry, I'm bad with names." He scratched his head and glanced at Quint before looking back at Laneesha.

"Anyway, they need a rope to be lowered down so we can pull them out, but it's dark in there so they said to go slowly. Hey..." He finally noticed that his brother was laying motionless under Laneesha, wrapped in her tentacles. "What's going on? Is he okay?!" Uncertainty and fear were rising in his face and voice.

Laneesha merely replied in a controlled voice, "he's breathing steadily-he's fine. Salina, grab all the rope you can carry from the outdoor shop at the other end of the mall and meet us back near the shed."

Salina nodded and whizzed away without question, an empty spot where she used to be.

 

[Drobabes]

"Hang tight" Cora repeated, her voice landing somewhere between disbelief and a scoff, though it wasn't intentional. Her nerves were simply shot and her bullshit meter had already hit maximum capacity for the day, and they still had a long way to go before they could likely rest.

"that was... not something I ever thought I would see. But at least we won't have to struggle as much on the way up."

Vin could only nod in agreement as he carefully sat himself down on the ground, the weight of his own body seemingly being too much for him to handle in that moment. His eyes wandered away from the zombie, not wanting to look at the thing now that it was no longer being 'used'.

Cora felt the weight on her foot, and when she looked down, felt an equal amount of disgust and affection. The large bulge in the snakes belly made her have to swallow down the spit that quickly filled her mouth, her gag reflex being almost triggered. Despite that though, she bent down and gently rested her hand on his head, petting him affectionately with her thumb.

"You're such a good boy" she whispered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She was a bit worried about the rat possibly harming him, but she figured he would throw his meal up if it became too troublesome for his stomach to handle.
_______________________________________

"Jeremy. Report."

Quint was grateful to her sharp tone, his jaw having clenched at
the way the other man started talking about his experience first. He had an urge to shoot one of his tentacles out and smack him over the head with it.

Leaning back a bit, he moved and stood, putting one strong hand underneath Sayori's arm and helping her to stand with him, his fingers looping underneath her arm but stopping before curling all the way around her small bicep and instead simply 'scooping' her weight up. There were so many little mannerisms he had that were purely unconscious, especially when stressed, but he couldn't bring himself to grip onto her arm like a normal person might. Like Ray would have.

"...The woman looked fine, though."

It wasn't that Quint didn't care about Delvin, (and it was certainly obvious he didn't give two shits about Damien), but the hard look on his face barely changed until he heard that his sister was okay. It was only then that he was finally able to let out a stressed breath. If Sayori was still holding his hand, she would be able to feel a slight quiver run through it from how tightly he had been clenching his muscles.

"Alright. How are we going to pull them up, if we can't get close?" he asked after taking a moment to catch his breath.

 

[Poprockz]

Yes, she was right- he was a good boy. If Bowie could have smiled, he would have. He had killed the mean rat, protected all of them, and gotten a meal out of it too. Her fingers felt so comforting on his scales, his tongue flicking out quite lazily.

---------------------

"Alright. How are we going to pull them up, if we can't get close?"

Laneesha looked at Quint and was quiet for a moment, taking the opportunity to get to her feet and scoop up Zach into her arms. She hadn't relinquished her grip on him with her tentacles, the man still wrapped up securely. Once up, she looked around for something before returning her gaze to him.

"Hm. I'm hoping that we can connect enough rope for that not to be an issue. If we have a long enough trail of ropes, we can pull from a safe distance."

Meanwhile, Sabastian was simply standing there, feeling elated at the news that Cora, Damien, and Vin were safe. He wasn't super happy about the fact that his lover was injured, but it sounded like it was something Quint's goop might be able to fix. Maybe he just had a broken arm or a cut or something. The blonde couldn't wait to hug him again and tell him how happy he was to see him safe.

Also relieved to hear that they were safe (most of them), Sayori definitely felt the release of tension from Quint. He had picked her up in a peculiar way, but it was the relaxing of his muscles that she took note of. This couldn't have been easy for him, not knowing whether his sister was safe or not. Sayori knew that feeling and hoped he would never have to experience what it was like to lose someone like that.

Her hand was still holding his, and she gave him a comforting little squeeze, before speaking up. "What about that other guy? He looked pretty muscular, and I'm not particularly strong, but I think I could help. At the very least we could pull them up one by one." She hoped that suggestion would be helpful, the small woman feeling like she needed to do something to care for others after having been cared for herself.

The leader of the group raised her eyebrow and nodded, "yes. I think that may be a suitable alternative option. We'll just need to assess how much rope Salina recovers. Come, we should get a move on." With that, she turned and started to stride out with Zach in her arms. Jeremy trotted to keep up with them, while Sabastian lingered and looked over at Sayori and Quint to walk with them.

------------------
"Thank you, Truffle."

The bird cooed softly as Angelique scritched the bird's head-feathers with a glossy red nail, the woman taking the message attached to its leg. Once she had it, the bird hopped over to its regular perch with a few flaps so it could watch her read it.

"Hmm..." Smiling, Angelique sat down on her luxurious red loveseat, crossing her legs as the the letter was unfolded.

"Angel, baby. We missed our coffee date. Or do you prefer a good whiskey? Thanks for the tip, sexy doll. I hope to be feeling you soon. P.S., there's a shipment of Raspberry wine coming your way. Pour Ms.Truffle a glass for me, won't you? Warm caresses, Francis."

A smirk touched her lips. He was going to get himself into trouble if he continued to be so suave and flirty. She knew he was probably attracted to her in addition to matching her energy for business' sake. Perhaps it was time to test the waters a bit to see if he was truly capable of spending a night with a woman like her. But first... "Show me."

She closed her eyes, linking minds with the raven so she could see the exchange. The way he unbuttoned his shirt was so enticing... It heated her loins and demanded that she do something in appreciation of his little show. Her hand unzippped her slacks before disappearing within them, a moan leaving her soft red lips. Meanwhile, Truffle hopped over to the window and exited, happy to be back to her normal flying grounds.

A while later, a new note was attached to Truffle's leg along with a folded polaroid photo. The bird set off, again in the direction of the base.

....

A day later, Francisco and Kuznet were in the General's office doing some paperwork when there was a tap at the window. Tap. Tap tap tap. The raven shuffled on the ledge, looking mainly at Francisco. "Rr. Silver fox. *tap tap* Open, open." Though it did also look at the General himself, "Rr. Wow! Zeus. Hello." It cocked its head to the side while studying the large man. Based on its strength, it could have just bashed in the window, but that would have been a rude thing to do.

The raven had been explicitly instructed to use code names for each of them. Silver fox was a given for that snack of an officer, but Kuznet had given her just a bit of pause. She didn't want to flirt with him, as that would waste both of their time, but she didn't want to offend him either. Zeus seemed like the appropriate middle ground to give his ego a stroke while showing her respect.

 

[Drobabes]

While they waited for the rope, Cora moved to Damien's other side, where only his hand was injured, and gingerly leaned against him. Her gaze was still stressed, unsure if they were really out of danger, but she needed his comfort and to feel his warmth; to ground herself in the reality that they were all still alive.

After a moment and a bit of hesitance, she looked over at Vin. She stared at him for a long second, and then she reached out and laid her arm over his shoulder. To her surprise, it seemed to relax the big man, his posture slumping a bit as he leaned against her in much the same way that she was now leaning on Damien, before he put his face in his hand and sighed heavily.

Cora didn't know if things would go back to reality, as it had been last night, when they got out of this coffin, but for right in that moment, she knew what they were. Just three friends without the heavy weight of morals hanging over their minds.
___________________________________

His chin turned down slowly, and his gaze followed, when he felt her squeeze his hand. He smiled softly before listening to her request. It was a good idea, and a perfect solution to their problem.

"Thank you Sayori" he said, his voice still just a bit strained with stress. Once everything was settled, he looked over towards Sabastian and let his feet carry him forward, joining him by his side as they all followed Laneesha's group out.
__________________________________

Kuznet sat his pen down, leaning back and looking at the large avian with a curious expression as he watched Francisco get up to open the window and let their guest in. Once the raven had come in, Francis closed the window and lowered the blinds, and then latched the lock on the door. No need for any civvies to come in and see a gigantic bird with pure purple eyes. He could only imagine the stir that would cause.

"Hello beautiful" Francis purred, coming to stand near the bird and see what exciting news it had brought them now. While he personally enjoyed his nickname, Silverfox, Kuznet himself couldn't be bothered to invest any emotions into what Angelique decided to call him. She wasn't foolish enough to choose anything that insult him, so he cared little as to the bird calling him Zeus. Keenly aware that it would be reporting directly back to her, however, he nonchalantly closed and locked his safe and quickly exited out of the files that were up on his computer.

 

[Poprockz]

Damien was glad for the warmth of her body, the man relaxing a bit in much the same way Vin did. Cora simply had a way of making it feel like things were going to be okay, and he adored that about her. Though it was difficult to wait in the silence, surrounded by the mess and stench of death, Cora and Vin made it more bearable. It wouldn't be much longer now until they could see the light of day again.

Though he couldn't move his fingers, he wrapped that arm around her waist and leaned his head on hers. He didn't even care that she had her arm around Vin- he was a friend and he knew that to be jealous of the trustworthy man was a foolish thought. Besides, he was a bit too worn out to even entertain the thought.

------------------------------

"You're welcome," Sayori said softly. "And thank you too."

They all moved in the direction of the shed, the group eventually all gathering outside the mall's doors. The muscled man had been seen them moving in that direction, so he had joined up with the group, following them with a curious and slightly wary eye. He wasn't sure why they stopped searching, but he suspected that maybe they had decided to search the shed again.

It turned out that Salina had been able to gather a lot of rope, using her own tentacle glue to fuse some of the ropes together to form longer ropes. Soon the other man had been brought up to speed, being informed that he and Sayori were going to pull the people up. Though he wasn't given any information about his brother, the man remained hopeful that maybe his brother was still down there or something and simply couldn't be pulled out right now in his state.

"Alright," Laneesha said, gesturing at the muscled man with her head. "Take this rope and throw it into the tunnel. Make sure you keep hold of one of the ends." Salina handed him the rope with a weight and not attached to the end. The weight was to ensure it kept moving while the note said, "one at a time. Tug thrice when ready."

The man nodded and walked into the shed, tossing the rope in and backing away, waiting to feel something on the other end.

They all stared, waiting to see if there was a fish on the line. It was the moment of truth, Sabastian eagerly waiting. He wished he could help pull them out, but he just couldn't get close as the smell was still very strong.
-------------------------

The bird watched Francisco open the window, and once it was clear, the bird hopped inside and onto a side-table nearby. She lifted her leg with the note and photo, bobbing her head for a moment before saying, "Wow! Thanks. Rr. Note for sssexy. Rr."

Once removed, the note read:

"You're in dangerous waters, my silver fox. I may just devour you the next time I see you. If you like what you see, come visit me. If your boss is loathe to let you go for a bit, let him know that I would be willing to send someone as a stand-in, or to help with his extracurriculars."

She was careful not to mention either of their names, just in case the note ended up in the wrong hands, just as Kuznet would likely prefer in these types of messages. Her intent was clear: she was offering to have one of her trusted associates to help during Fran's absence, or that she would send a fun toy over for him if he was bored of his own toy. Angelique was none the wiser about the jail-break, but she knew that the man had a large appetite sometimes.

The polaroid photo was of Angelique herself in lacy lingerie that looked expensive and elegant, a gauze-like robe with soft, fuzzy trip adorning her as well. She was sitting back in one of the corners of the loveseat, her arms draped along the arm and backs of the furniture. One of her legs was bent, her red stiletto heal resting on the seat of it as her legs were spread slightly. The angle at which the photo was taken allowed one to see that her underwear wasn't looking as one might expect. There was a prominent bulge there, one that could be missed if one wasn't able to tear their eyes away from the rest of her, but one that would be spotted by the average person. It was done tastefully, but the message was obvious.

----------------------

There was a brief clanking, sliding noise in the vent before the rope slid out and down like a someone coming off a slide. The relief Damien felt was enormous, seeing that bit of rope come out. They were going to get out of here and soon it would be all over. Speaking up, he looked over at Vin.

"I think they should take you out first, then Cora, then..." he paused for a moment and realized with a bit of a pained face that this order was impossible. He didn't want to leave either of them in there while he got out, but there wasn't a way for him to tie the rope around himself properly with the state of his arm and hand. The fact of the matter was that he was going to have to go first or second, and that either Vin or Cora was going to have to wait alone for the last rope.

It made him feel guilty and anxious, thinking to himself that it wasn't fair for them to have to wait, and that there could still be another rat or something out there. Of course Bowie was with them, but he was a bit of a stuffed sausage link at the moment.

 

[Drobabes]

While Francisco took the note and photo, choosing to read the note first, Kuznet stood from his desk and walked to the beautifully dangerous animal. His ice cold eyes stared down into it's own with slight curiosity and amusement, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he lifted his hand to the bird and offered it a perch with which to sit during their visit.

"Heh heh" Francis chuckled, his own smile being much more obvious as he all but danced in place as his prideful feathers were stroked. When he was done reading, he folded the note back up with care and sat it down on the desk before turning his attention to the photo.

A slow whistle left his lips as his eyes roamed every inch of that lacy red candy, eating it up slowly and savouring every thread over her soft and silky skin. His feet started to take him over to Ray, excited to show off his present.

"Mm-mm! Sorry Baby Ray, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to pick up the tab on our next fishing trip, because I just hooked myself another sweet hone-ah what the fuck?!"

His wisecrack smile dropped off his face and was quickly replaced by a look of shock as he held the picture up closer to his face. He was wearing his glasses, having needed a break from the irritation of his contacts, so he was pretty sure he was seeing what he thought he saw.

"Hmm?' was Kuznet's simple reply.

"Did you know about this?" Francis asked, lifting the photo and turning it over for the other man.

Those icy blue eyes glanced briefly, seemingly finding nothing of interest, before they looked back down at the raven. It was a fine specimen, talented and quick witted. Deadly. What could one do with a whole flock of them, he wondered.

"Outside of our monthly bets, it is none of my business what your sexual preferences are. Are you disappointed in what you see?"

The photo dropped down as Francis let his arm down, a very unamused look on his face as he stared at Ray. He then lifted it back up and stared at it, his hand coming up to rub his chin absentmindedly.

"I suppose not" he said, his voice a little disgruntled as he went back over to his chair and sat down. He folded the picture back in half and sat it down on top of the note.

"It's definitely not what I was expecting, though."

"Do you know what a flock of Raven's is called?"

Francis tapped his thumb on the folded picture a few times, weighing the pros and cons. On the one hand, it would get him much closer to Angelique... Maybe close enough to be worth it...

"A murder, right?"

On the other hand, it would get him close to her.

"That is a group of crows. A flock of raven's is called an unkindness."

Tired brown eyes looked up to watch as Ray brought a hand up to stroke the soft feathers of the birds neck with one large knuckle. Even though the avian was huge for it's species, and likely could take that whole hand off with one quick slice of it's claws, the mountainous man still gave off an illusion of dwarfing the animal.

"I think you've given me an unkindness."

Kuznet simply smiled.
____________________________________

Quint probably could have retracted his tentacles if he really focused on it, but he was still too anxious to worry about how he looked at the moment. As they walked out towards the shed, they hung halfway back behind him in a similar manner in which a dog might hold it's tail stiffly up in the air, one of them twitching near the end in slight agitation. Once they were outside, he could only stand near Sabastian with his hands in his pants pockets and his body stiff while they simply had to wait.
____________________________________

Together the three of them waited in heavy silence until the rope was dropped, all three of them looking over in a flood of relief. Vin sat up and stood carefully and Cora quickly got to her feet. Once they were up, Cora reached down to help Damien to his feet, pausing as he heard what he had to say. She took it in and thought about it as she put both of her hands under his good arm and gripped his bicep, helping to pull him up. Once he was up, she looked between him and Vin.

"Mm...I think it might be better to have Vin go up with Bowie first, and then I go up with you and walk behind you. Your arms aren't too hurt are they Vin?"

He shook his head 'no'.

"Okay. Yea, I think I should go up with you baby, that way I can tug on the rope for you to let them know if they need to slow down, and I can help you from banging into the walls on the way through."

 

[Poprockz]

Upon seeing the General extending his hand in an invitation for her, Truffle didn’t hesitate to flap over to him. Like Francisco, her large talons merely squeezed him with enough pressure to keep herself stable. She ruffled her feathers for a moment and shuffled slightly, getting comfortable on that muscular forearm.

“Wow! Rr. Thank you~!” Though the Raven certainly understood and meant what it said, it said it in the way it had heard it said to itself. She looked at Kuznet when she spoke, but soon leaned her head slightly to the side to watch Francisco. The officer may not have noticed, but the bird was curiously waiting for a reaction from him. Tough as it may be to discern, those keen eyes watched his every move.

As soon as Francisco exclaimed out loud, the Raven let out that canned giggle, seemingly amused at how shocked he was. One might almost assume that she had been expecting, nay, waiting for him to do such a thing.

The rest of the conversation was simply quietly watched, the Raven not offering further comment. If the bird had facial features though, it would have had a good-natured grin. The knuckle that stroked it was met with a soft cooing noise, the bird stretching its neck for him slightly. Her feathers were glossy and smooth, well-preened and beautiful.

“I think you’ve done me an unkindness.”

This was met with another giggle. Truffle had been instructed to wait until he had a reply for her, and she was in no rush.

———————————

Now that the rope had been thrown down, the larger man backed away slightly and tied a knot near the end of the rope. If for some reason they lost their grip, it would be good to stop it from wrenching out of their hands. Sayori took her place in front of him, allowing him to be the anchor in all of this. She wouldn’t dream of pulling any of them up with her current strength, but at the very least it would reduce the work for the other guy. It was also nice to be able to help. The fact that she was human meant that she was given an opportunity to not have to wait on the sidelines.

——————

Damien was grateful for her help, getting to his feet with a small grunt. A small breath of relief came from him at her suggestion, the man giving her a small smile. She was always quick-witted and seemed to have a knack for problem-solving. He had thought that they’d all have to go one by one, so the thought of her climbing with him hadn’t even occurred to him. It was the perfect solution, especially since it meant that no one would be alone.

“I think that’s a great idea.” Leaning over, he kissed her softly on the lips before drawing back, hoping that she felt the depth of his appreciation for her. His eyes were tired, but they looked at her with a fervent fondness.

From there, they watched as Vin tried to tie his rope around himself, the seconds dragging on as he continued to be unsuccessful. Based on the way he winced and the restricted motion of his arm, Damien assumed that he may have hurt his shoulder when he hit the wall earlier. Eventually, Cora stepped in and took the rope, tying it around him securely.

Vin was grateful, offering his thanks before she tugged the rope three times. From there, the man started to be pulled through the tunnel. Bowie, not wanting to miss his train, wiggled over and chomped onto the end of the rope, his bulbous body being dragged as if he was an extension of the rope itself. The last they saw of him was his tail as the snake was slurped up through the vent like a spaghetti noodle.

———————

When those tugs came in, Sayori shuffled her feet and prepared to pull the rope. The two of them grunted, working together to bring the first person back. Whoever it was, they were heavy, but not too heavy for them. If it was Cora, then she was going to really struggle with the other ones (though she suspected it was one of the men).

It took a while since they had to be slow and careful, but eventually they heard noises in the tunnel, Sayori, Sabastian, and everyone else holding their breath to see who it was.

 

[Drobabes]

That delicate giggle from Truffle earned her the same disgruntled look as his eyes panned over to her, and he tapped the photo a final time before suddenly picking it up once again and unfolding it.

"Hmm."

He really seemed to be pondering it, his gaze roaming it a bit more slowly this time. It couldn't be that different, and she certainly had enough curves to make up for what he preferred. It had just been so many years since he had gotten that physically close with anyone. Not that he felt as if he were lacking in the stamina department, although maybe, but it was more that he didn't trust himself to be able to relax enough to perform properly.

Any time he was around Ray he was reminded of how a zookeeper may feel when interacting with tigers or hippos. They understood each other, respected each other, and though Francisco had known Ray long enough to have a predictable pattern to go off of, he never exposed his back. Never took his eyes off him, nor gave him a reason to attack. Sure, he knew Angelique, but he was not her keeper and had never worked with her one-on-one. It was new territory...but he decided the pay off was worth the risk. The cold truth of the matter was that his men were sorely at a disadvantage right now and they desperately needed an edge.

Reaching out with his other hand, he picked up his pen and a sticky note. The cocky smile crept back onto his lips as he quickly scribbled down his reply.

I have no doubts you taste just as sweet as you dress. Unfortunately, a stand in will be necessary, but I'll make it well worth it. Give me a time and place, and we'll swap desserts.

Rolling the little note up, he grabbed one of the wide banded rubber bands, the ones that were a bit softer, and gently wrapped it around Truffles ankle. Before he went to open the window, he made his way behind Ray's desk and, having expected the birds visit, pulled out a pretty little blue gift bag. It was not much bigger than his hand, and hanging from it's handles, written on a golden ribbon, was the word: 'Ms.Truffle'. Inside, whenever the bird decided to take a peek, she would find four little paper muffin cups filled to the brim with a variety of uncracked nuts. On top of them would be a hand written note that read, "only the finest, for the finest bird".

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about your hard work in all this" he said, flashing a dashing smile at the raven as he handed her the bag.
__________________________________

His soft lips upon her own were a welcome comfort, her chin tipping up to meet him halfway. She was so worried about him, but she tried not to let it show in her gaze as he stared down into her eyes with such affection, her own look trying to simply give him a quiet reassurance.
...

Throughout his journey up the tunnel, Vin tried to help the team up top by keeping his feet moving. If he had to, he likely could have walked up on his own, but his body was exhausted and in pain and it would have likely taken him five times as long to do it.

Cora had tied the rope along the widest part of his hips, but it still hurt. Between the tugging of whoever was pulling him up, and Bowie's own weight behind him, it just added onto the pain he was already in. By the time that he finally saw the sun, his eyes were brimming with moisture, the overpowering smell of the perfume not helping the matter. He felt Bowie let go of the rope, his stuffed body slinking out of the shed as quickly as he could manage, and Vin followed after at a similar stumbling pace.

Once he was out of the building, he let out a few coughs and went down on his knees, his body too exhausted to keep him upright and his hand hitting the hard dirt to catch his fall.

From across the way, Quint let out a small breath. It wasn't a breath of relief-though he was happy to see Vin alive, and Bowie for that matter, but more of impatience. He wanted his sister out of there.

 

[Poprockz]

Truffle seemed satisfied and prepared to leave when Francisco attached his message. However, when she heard the rustle of the bag, she became very interested in what he was doing, her eyes fixing on the blue bag once it appeared from behind the desk. It wasn't a shiny-shiny like she liked, but it did smell like the crunchies and... It had her name on it! This delighted the bird, the raven shuffling on Kuznet's arm excitedly.

"Wow! Rr Wow! Thank you~! Wow! Rr" It seemed as though Francisco's thoughtful gift had greatly pleased the raven, the bird taking the blue bag in its beak before flapping over to the window. It paused for a moment, seemingly considering something before setting the bag down.

"Wait!"

It flew off, and returned a few moments later with something in its beak. Flapping over to the desk, it dropped down a silver locket with a black jewel in the middle. It was a necklace that had been seen being worn by one of the cleaners that often cleaned the military building. Though it looked like a normal locket, if one popped it open, it actually had a hidden, removable camera in it.

"Shiny shiny! Wow! Rr. Thank you~!" Truffle nudged the necklace toward Francisco with her beak before cocking it to the side.

--------------------------------

When Sabastian's eyes finally made out Vin's form coming out of the tunnel, he felt as though his heart might stop. He paced sideways like an anxious dog at a fence, wanting desperately to go over to Vin and help him. If he were a dog, he would be whining like mad. Instead, his purple tentacles had come out, twitching and moving restlessly.

He hadn't noticed at first, but when Vin stumbled forward, he saw that his hair was completely cut. It stabbed Sabastian right in the heart and he couldn't help but feel shocked and dismayed. Vin loved his hair and took good care of it - it was part of his identity. To have that forcefully taken from him was so heart-wrenchingly awful. The zombie's eyes started to mist at all the emotions surging up within him.

It also didn't escape his notice that Vin had a bandage on the side of his head. Not only that, but the way he coughed and lost power in his legs indicated that he might be in pain. Come to think of it, that probably had something to do with why he couldn't make it up the tunnel on his own. Vin had the look on his face of a man who had truly suffered, and whose soul was so very tired to the point of numbness. It broke Sabastian's heart to see him like that and before he even realized it, he was running forward.

By the time Vin's knees hit the ground, Sabastian was already upon him. Dropping onto his own knees, he wrapped his arms around Vin's chest and hugged him with trembling arms (his tentacles also going loosely around Vin's body as well). His forehead rested against Vin's chest, the nomad's skin soon wet with Sabastian's tears.

"You're safe. Vin. You're going to be fine. God, I'm so sorry Vin, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry!" He managed to sob the words out, not knowing how else to express himself. He was sorry that it had taken so long to find him, sorry that Vin had been taken in the first place, sorry about the horrible cruelty he had endured and the losses he had suffered. It was true that Sabastian didn't yet know fully of the true horrors Vin had faced, but it didn't take a genius to discern that Vin had seen some shit.

Despite all of this, he was so incredibly happy to have Vin back. He couldn't imagine losing him again like he had at the base, and it was quite possible that if they hadn't thought to look in the shed that Vin could have been down there for longer and sustained even more trauma. It may have even cost him his life.

Sabastian had no reservations, sobbing without restraint and even going so far as to rub his face against the man's chest, physically wiping tears just to spill more of them.

Nearby, Sayori simply smiled at their reunion, thinking to herself that Sabastian and Vin made such a sweet couple. One could really tell that they cared for another in the intimate way in which they spoke and touched.

------------------------------

Soon Cora and Damien heard the familiar clunking sounds, the rope slipping down out of the vent to signify that Vin had safely been extracted. It took a weight off of Damien's chest, knowing that his friend had finally been freed from the dungeon in which he had spent the past few hours in. He sighed and said, "I guess it's our turn to go up."

While the dislocated arm was still tender in his sling, his hand was starting to worry him. In addition to not responding to him, his hand was starting to go numb. He still didn't want to mention it yet, but he was starting to think to himself that even if Quint was willing to help him, maybe the goop wouldn't be able to heal it. It had healed internal damage and bleeding, including broken bones, but he wasn't sure if it could heal nerve damage. His lips pursed as he looked at the rope, forcing down the shiver of fear in his stomach. They needed to get out, and he needed to focus on the present.

 

[Drobabes]

Both Kuznet and Francisco stared down at the locket that had been brought to them with curiosity.

"This is beautiful Truffle, thank you."

He reached out and clicked it open, curious if there would be a photo inside. After all, though he appreciated the gesture, petty stealing was a bit beneath him.

Instead of seeing a picture, however, the camera was discovered. The response was almost immediate, Francis grabbing a stack of blank sheets to lay down over it's lens, and Kuznet grabbed his radio off of his desk and switched it over to a private channel. As he did so, he gestured at the window for Truffle to leave. Before the bird left, however, he gave her an appreciate smile of respect before turning his back to it. Because of her, he knew exactly who he would be looking for.

"Phillip, implement a full code Ink and have your men on an immediate perimeter check. No one comes in or out. Dispatch a small team for a random paraphernalia search and confiscate any and all jewelry to be inspected. It will be returned after a thorough search overseen by Officer Francisco. As you are doing this, be on the look out for..."

While Ray gave the description of their usual janitor, Francisco grabbed the small locket from beneath the papers, wrapping it tightly within his fist as he gave Truffle a little wave goodbye with his other.

"...over. Francis, how long will it take to crack it?"

"I'll have it done before you get your pretty little nickies in a twist, don't you worry", which really just equated to, 'I don't know yet because I haven't had a chance to look at it, don't rush me'.

"Good, get on it."

Kuznet grabbed his hat from the desk and slipped it on as easily as that fake, soft smile, before striding out the door.
__________________________________________

Delvin collapsed against him, his own arms wrapping around him and holding him close, but not with much strength. His mind felt numb and weak, unable to quite process what had just happened to him.

"It's okay. It'll be okay" he said, his voice a soft whisper as his eyes surveyed his surroundings. He couldn't relax yet and his words seem to be both trying to comfort Sabastian and himself. Who were all these other people? Where had they come from? The answers were not exactly necessary but he wasn't able to reflect on what had just happened, yet. He still didn't feel safe.
_______________________________________

She nodded, helping him to tie the rope around his waist in a similar manner as how she had done for Vin. Once they were ready, she got behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso and moved herself to where her chest was more on the side of his dislocated arm. She had him pull his hand into his own chest, and then she tugged on the rope as instructed.

Though the walk up was slow and difficult, Cora simply focused on not letting Damien press into her chest. Anytime that she felt him starting to, she used her other hand to pull on his stomach and side, guiding him in the opposite direction. She knew that even though her own chest was much softer than the hard wall, any extra pressure on that shoulder was going to shoot him full of enormous amounts of pain, so she tried her best to help him avoid it. It took them a while, but once they were finally free of that place and out in the sun once again, she quickly led him out of the shed and into fresh air.

"Cora!"

She felt him mere seconds after she heard his desperate voice, a hard chest all but slamming into her face and two strong arms wrapping around her tightly.

"I-I'm okay" she said, though her voice broke before she could stop it. She pushed back from him a bit, even though she felt him trying to keep her there, and then she looked over at Damien.

In the light of day, she could see just how badly he had been injured and it made her heart sink in her chest. With shaky hands, she gently pushed against her brothers chest and walked the short distance back over to him, tears starting to stream down her face as she lifted his bandaged and bloody hand.

"We need to fix this" she said, her voice tight as she tried to keep it together. Quint stepped up to her side, and although he didn't look quite at Damien, it was obvious that he was taking stock of the injuries.

"What happened?"

"He got stabbed, and I shot the guy,"

His head jerked down, his blue eyes taking on a look of shock and deep concern.

"And then this, this fucking rat! It tried to eat him!"

In any other circumstance, any other circumstance at all, Quint would have busted up laughing at that sentence. But it wasn't any other circumstance, and he could hear it very clearly in her tone of voice that she was on the brink of having a meltdown.

"Bowie got it?"

"Uh-huh" she nodded, trying to wipe away her tears so she could unravel the bandage.

"Is his shoulder completely popped out, or just sprained?"

"It's popped out. Quint can you please just help me get this fucking thing off of him?! He's bleeding through it cause he pulled it out, and it was a rusty blade, it was fucking filthy! I need to, I need to..." she sobbed.

"Cora."

She flinched.

"Stop. Go in the mall with Laneesha or Salina and go get me some medical supplies. Grab water and a ziplock, or a bottle and I'll poke a hole in the bottom. Get some muscle relaxers or heavy pain meds if you can find them, and I'll set his shoulder."

Her eyes went wide and she turned around quickly to face him.

"No! I'll do it. Quinton don't, please! Please, please don't. I almost lost him, please don't hurt him, pl-"

For just a second, the zombie man looked livid, though to those who were tuned into his emotions through the link, they would only be able to feel an almost nauseating level of guilt, shame, and fear. He reached out again before her desperate pleas worked her up into hyperventilating and wrapped her up into another tight hug. One hand pressed hard against her back while the other wrapped up into her hair and forced her face down against his shoulder.

"Stop" he said. Then he bent his head down and kissed the top of her scalp. In a tight and strained voice that only Damien and Cora could hear, he said,

"Go get the medicine Cory. I promise you I won't let anything happen to him. He's going to be okay."

Shaking and letting out a little sob, her face turned into his chest and her fists went up to grip the sides of his shirt tightly for a moment as she nodded. She then forced herself to take a deep breath, let it out, then another. At last she let go and stepped away, her eyes facing the ground somewhat as she crossed her arms and walked over to the other group.

Quint watched her go before his gaze slowly turned over to Damien. There still seemed to be anger in his eyes, but also something more painful.

"Sit down on the ground with me and give me your hand."

Once they were down, he quickly unwrapped the bandage and immediately started prying at the wound with his fingers, letting the blood spill out a bit. If it started to bleed too much, he would seal it, but he wanted it flushed which is why he had sent her in to get the water.

"If you ever get stabbed like this again, don't take the blade or whatever it is out. I don't care how rusty it is" he growled.

"You fucked yourself. I could have fixed this. I'm still going to because I need you to be able to defend yourself, but it's going to take longer now and a lot of applications."

His legs were crossed under him in a bit of a prayer position, but one booted foot was tapping rapidly against the ground, likely in irritation.

 

[Poprockz]

Truffle cooed when she was thanked for the shiny-shiny. Obviously he liked it, as he immediately opened it, though she wasn't sure why they were suddenly calling people over their talk-box. Maybe they wanted to show off the shiny-shiny. It seemed like they really wanted to show it to someone called "Janet," so maybe she was a seller of the shinies. In any case, she took her cue to leave, hopping over to the window and picking up the little blue bag before bobbing her head and giving them a muffled, "Rr. Wow! Bu-bye!" She then took to the skies, making her way back to her owner.

As she flew away, she saw a woman walking back from the tree she had found the shiny-shiny from. The woman looked to be in her early forties, wearing a denim jacket with a tank-top and jeans. Her blonde hair was in a bun and she looked to be a bit anxious. Well, it wasn't Truffle's fault that she had found the shiny-shiny first. Maybe the woman would have better luck next time.

---------------------------

Sabastian sniffled and let out a heavy breath. Yes, it was going to be okay now. Even if Vin had a hard time, he was going to have Sabastian there to help him back on his feet. Vin's responses sounded so detached though, as though he was merely saying because that's what he thought he should say. It worried the blonde, the smaller man wondering if there was anything more he could do to help Vin feel better.

However, the muscled man ended up approaching, standing awkwardly to the side until he was noticed by the two. Sabastian gave him a bit of a glare for coming over, as it was his esteemed opinion that he needed to fuck off and leave Vin alone to be comforted.

"Hey, uh. Excuse me. Is there someone else down there? I'm uh... I'm looking for my brother. He had a birth mark on his face and all. Here, let me get a picture..." The man reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, extracting and holding out that same picture. It was the man who had died beside him on the gurney. The man who had lost all of his limbs, some of his blood staining Vin's feet at that very moment.

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If Cora hadn't been there to guide him up, he was sure it would have been a much more painful ascent. Thankfully though, they managed to make their way out with only a few bumps to his arm. That in of itself was a victory in Damien's opinion.

It was so nice to be back up into the fresh air, Damien taking a deep breath. Quint seemed to be happy to see Cora, so he figured that it was best for him to stay to the side for now. It wasn't as though a few minutes would really mean anything regarding his injuries. Though soon he looked up to find Cora bringing Quint over, the tall man pursing his lips again at the sight of his injured hand. Held aloft in Cora's, Damien's hand looked a lot worse above ground.

At the sidelines, he merely watched the conversation between the two of them without adding any input. He wanted to comfort her, to give her an affectionate touch, but Quint wouldn't appreciated it and he wasn't sure if he even could with the state he was in. It made him feel guilty that he was the source of Cora's distress, even if the rat attack hadn't been his fault. The stabbing felt more like something he should have been able to avoid. If only he had been more careful, then he would have been able to dispatch the rat or at least defend himself better.

When she left, he wished he could go with her, his gaze following her with concern until Quint spoke. He did as he was told, sitting down and offering his hand to her brother.

What was truly disturbing was the fact that when Quint went digging around in his hand, he didn't really feel it much. He didn't react to it, only feeling the uncomfortability of flesh moving around, along with whispers of pain. It was almost as though he knew the pain should be there, but it was only in his head.

"If you ever get stabbed like this again, don't take the blade or whatever it is out. I don't care how rusty it is. You fucked yourself...."

He could have argued, said that he had needed to take it out in order to attempt the climb out of the vent, but Damien got the distinct feeling that Quint wasn't going to be receptive to anything he had to say. It felt like the situation had been out of his hands (literally). Though in this case, it was simply better to hold his tongue and acknowledge Quint's suggestions.

"I understand. Next time I'll be more careful." Damien nodded his head, his eyes fixed on his hand rather than Quint. It wasn't that he was being dismissive, more that he was feeling the gravity of the situation settling onto him.