Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "bacon all and leave me muffin"

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

✰ COLLIGOAN POD PEOPLE ¬ ([info]colligonpcs) wrote in [info]colligo_threads,
@ 2009-08-19 04:13:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!!mods, !@event, !open, claire saunders, clark kent, damien thorn, scorpius malfoy

Mini-Event #01 - Fire
It started in the middle of the night, around two o'clock when most were already asleep. That was when the obedient servant of The Collector heard his master's call and slid out of bed and into his shoes. Where the lighter clutched in his fingers came from, he didn't know, nor did he know how he suddenly became in possession of the canister of gasoline he held in the other. Without bothering to dress properly for venturing outdoors at this hour, the nameless, faceless man who looked like an ordinary, average joe citizen who could do no harm, left his home and began walking along the empty streets of Colligo. Few were still out and those that were paid him little attention -- they were all like him, after all, there to serve a purpose, to take up space and mimic a human being The Collector had studied and achieve; a near perfect copy of the specimen to mingle with the real samplings that he'd gathered from across time and space. His mind was not entirely his own and thus, he did as he was told.

Only when he came to the front steps of Building B did the man stop, tilting his head back to stare up at it's many floors. There were people within, people who were valuable to The Collector, but his master wanted to see just how clever they were, how much their mortality meant to them when threatened. This, as crude as it was, was a good way to test that. A very good way.

Humming an off-key tune that sounded eerily similar to London Bridge is Falling Down, the man splashed the steps and sides of the building with the gasoline, moving indoors to spread the last of it on the floor of the deserted lobby. It was there that he sparked the lighter to life and there that he bent down to place it with his own hand into the pool of gasoline at his feet.

Building B burned. Would everyone get out? Would someone get hurt?

"That," The Collector mused, "is yet to be determined. And part of the fun."




1. While there are clues (for those who know how to investigate such things) that the fire was caused by arson, there is no proof that it was an NPC.

2. All characters housed in Building B will be automatically relocated to the same rooms, across town, in Building D. Any changing of rooms/roommates/etc. will need to be posted in the housing post so we will know to change them on the lists.

3. If you wish to have your character injured during the fire, that is allowed. However, we ask that you keep it both realistic, and the injuries as minor as possible. Should you like to do a severe injury/plot of some sort, please contact the mods.

4. Items will be lost in the fire. Obviously PDAs will not (or if they are, a new one will be waiting for the character when they arrive in their new room). Clothing, food, knick-knacks, toiletries, etc. are all optional as to how much was lost/damaged.

5. Again, just to reiterate. No one knows who committed the fire. The only two people who know are the Collector and the NPC. As one is not directly in the city and the other is now dead, clearly they aren't speaking.

6. For this mini-event, all threads pertaining to the fire are to take place within this post. Feel free to do sub-threads rather than one large thread, if you'd like, but please do not post anything else to [info]colligo_threads that covers the fire itself. Characters from other Buildings can also join in, if they'd like, to help those in Building B or simply observe what's going on, etc. No one is required to thread of course. If you'd rather, simply use [info]colligo_network to discuss what items were lost, the character's status, whatever. And as always, have fun!!


(Post a new comment)


[info]justcallmeal
2009-08-19 08:31 am UTC (link)
Al had been sleeping rather soundly. He honestly wasn't sure what had woken him up, at least not at first. Something just seemed... off. Still half-asleep however, his brain couldn't figure out what it was. At least, not until he recognized the smell of smoke.

His green eyes snapped open as the smell finally permeated his sleep-filled mind. Quickly he sat up and snatched his wand off his nightstand. He didn't say a word, not even so much as a spell, as he peered warily around his bedroom in source of a fire that he couldn't see. After a second he finally swung his legs out of bed, flipping on the light beside him rather than illuminating his wand. As the darkness melted away, he finally noticed the tendrils of smoke that were snaking into the room through the overhead vents.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, quickly yanking on a pair of pants and a shirt. He didn't bother trying to leave the room via the door once he was dressed, though. Instead he closed his eyes and, with a loud CRACK, Apparated from his room to the one directly across the apartment. Scorpius' room, to be more precise.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, feet already moving before the entirety of the room had even come fully into focus. He rushed to the bed, giving his best friend a sharp shake. "Get up, Scor. We need to get out of here. Now."

He was giving him five seconds. That was it. If the tosser wasn't up and out of bed, ready to go in five seconds flat, Al was going to snatch him up by his arm and Apparate them both the hell out of there. Because he knew as sure as his name was Albus Potter, if he were to perish in something as simple as a regular fire in a Muggle flat, his mother would quite likely bring him back simply to kill him herself.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]betterthanmost
2009-08-19 09:40 am UTC (link)
Scorpius slowly opened his eyes, to see Al over him, shaking him awake. He actually had not been dreaming for once. But then.. "Cripes, what is that stench?!" He immediately sat up and saw smoke entering the room.

He quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed his friend's hand. They could easily apparate out of there. But there was one thing. "What about Rose? She isn't here, is she?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]pressured
2009-08-19 08:10 pm UTC (link)
She didn't know why whoever kept them here just didn't add a third room onto the boys apartment, because she spent more time passed out on their couch than her her own bedroom. That was where she was tonight, fast asleep, dressed in an oversize t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts she'd stolen from some guy she knew, probably one of the ones she was related to, who it was Rose wasn't sure. Not that it mattered. It was the smell of smoke that disturbed her dreams, but it was the sound of someone apparating that really snapped her out of it.

She sat up on the couch, flinging the blanket off as she looked around the room. She didn't need to be able to see perfectly to know that there was smoke in here, her lungs told her that just fine. The apartment, or the building was on fire. Grabbing her wand off of the table, she jumped to her feet and turned on the spot with a crack, apparating to Scorpius' room. There was no doubt in her mind that the sound she had heard was Al going to get Scor, because that boy slept like the dead.

"I'm right here." she informed him, landing in the room just in time to hear her name. "Now lets get out of here." because being caught and killed in a fire, or even injured? That would just be embarrassing. Not to mention, their relatives would find a way to tear a strip out of them, even if they were already dead.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]justcallmeal
2009-08-19 09:34 pm UTC (link)
Rose. Al couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten about his own cousin. She had been staying the night, hadn't she? Well, of course she had. She spent most every night with them, and she typically slept on the couch in the living room. With wide eyes he was about to turn, ready to do something quite Gryffindor in nature, and rush out there to get her. Fire and smoke be damned, he wasn't going to just leave her behind.

Then she appeared directly in front of him and Al breathed a sigh of relief. Of course. Rose was sharper than he and Scorpius put together. Of course she was alright.

"I couldn't agree more," he spoke up as the smoke started to fill the room and create a hazy atmopshere. His lungs were starting to burn.

"Let's head to the courtyard next to Building C. Even if all three are on fire, it shouldn't be there yet, yeah?" Because the last thing he wanted to do was leave a room that wasn't on fire to wind up directly in the middle of an inferno. That would be rather horrid.

With another glance at the two of them, he Disapparated from the room with another loud CRACK.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]betterthanmost
2009-08-21 01:31 pm UTC (link)
Scorpius quickly nodded, then seeing his closet catch fire. "Dammit! Oh, bloody hell." He watched as his friend Albus vanished, then he turned to Rose. They had to leave immediately. "If I don't see you there, I'm coming back."

And there was a loud sound from his as well, as he also Disapparated from the room, appearing next to Albus. "Oh, Al. So glad to be out of there." He knew that Rose was, without a doubt, on her way too. Then he saw a brief multi-colored flash in the distance, more like a blur that lasted about two seconds. "Whoa, did you just see that? Great.. now the fire is making me delusional."

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]lee_adama
2009-08-19 08:45 am UTC (link)
Lee was sleeping more soundly in his apartment here than he had been outside on what they'd deemed Earth. Much more soundly than when he was on the Galactica, though that had become home-like enough that he could fall asleep whenever needed. But for the first time since he'd been here, he woke up in the middle of the night, coughing. Looking around, there was already smoke. Thick enough to feel through the air even with the lights on.

"Frak."

He pulled on pants, and grabbed what little he had: his pda and wallet. Lee then headed out of his door, banging on every single door on the way down. It was proper fire procedure and would help to waken the people in rooms if they were still asleep. "What the frak," he muttered, coughing as he took the stairs down a level and did the same thing. He thought he smelled fuel, but that didn't make any sense. Lee blamed it on his oxygen deprived brain. With the heat, he didn't regret not grabbing a shirt

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]sonofajackal
2009-08-20 12:53 am UTC (link)
Damien had been sleeping soundly in his bed, wearing a dark shirt and blue pajama bottoms. He could probably sleep through a bomb. Didn't mean he would, though. And it was the loud bang on his dore that immediately caused his eyes to slide open and he sat upright in his bed. He could see smoke. In the vents, under the door, and he could also feel heat. The building was in fire! He had to get out. He wasn't at all concerned about smoke in his lungs, since he had not even coughed once since he woke up.

Even though the amount of smoke seeping in should prove otherwise. He wasn't exactly normal. But the flames? Yeah, those would be bad. He used a washcloth to turn the doorknob, swinging the door open and stepping outside. The corridor was also being filled with smoke.. and yet he still didn't cough, even as he ran down the hall, and was down the stairs and going swiftly. He called out to a shirtless man who was ahead of him, "Hey, any idea what caused this??"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]lee_adama
2009-08-20 07:13 am UTC (link)
Lee turned around quickly, to see a boy following him out. Good. People needed to get out. "Not at all. I woke up and it was already smokey. Smells vaguely like fuel, don't you think?" Lee stopped for a second to cough. "Come on, we need to get the frak out of here." He continued onward until he ended up outside. He had made sure to bang extra loudly on Winona's door as he passed by, but didn't see her yet. It was worrying him. Maybe she had been out for the night, staying elsewhere? When he had gotten far enough from the building, he started pacing. The fire did not seem natural, that was for certain.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]sonofajackal
2009-08-25 02:12 am UTC (link)
Damien sniffed deeply a few times, taking in the scent, but not coughing. "Yes, it does smell like that. I wonder why this happened." He sure didn't do it. This could either be arson, or an accident. But it was definitely unusual.

"I agree. Sooner we get out of here, the better." And so he walked beside him, knocking on other doors s well. He knew that fire was one of people's great fears. He imagined it was sort of like Hell, except Hell can always be much worse.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]lee_adama
2009-08-25 03:01 am UTC (link)
Lee shrugged, moving along quickly, as they eventually exited the building. Fire had never scared him. It just put him on alert. There were a lot scarier things than fires. A lot more things that could happen to you. So as he left the building, he walked far enough away that he could get a good clean breath of air and continue to slowly cough out all the smoke he'd inhaled.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]meritsofemotion
2009-08-19 09:06 am UTC (link)
The smell of something burning woke Spock from a deep slumber. It was a smell that didn't belong and his well-trained mind instantly jumped to full alert as he rose to a seated position on the bed as he began taking stock of the situation. Smoke had already begun to pour into the room through the vents and beneath the bedroom door. Right. That meant that it wasn't something small, or contained. Not if it had taken to the air ducts already and certainly not if it was potent enough in the spacious living room to force itself beneath the door of the bedroom.

With the sort of calm that only a Vulcan could possess, he touched the woman lying beside him on her shoulder. His voice was calm, yet there was a tinge of command in the undercurrent, as he stated simply, "Nyota. There appears to be a fire."

Even as he spoke his feet were touching the cold floor and he was rising from the bed. Certain she would wake without difficulty as she had been trained to rise quickly just as any other Starfleet officer had been taught, his mind had already clicked onto the next step. Quite simply, it entailed one single thing.

Get to his mother and make certain, no matter what, that she reached safety. After that, he would begin to evacuate whoever might remain in the building.

Although first, he reached for the small comm badge that had not too long ago been fashioned for the crew from his era based on the technology of the Starfleet personnel from later centuries. He needed to contact the Captain and alert him to the situation. After all, he was the commanding officer. Not to mention his own parents were in the very same apartment as Spock's mother.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]talentedtongue
2009-08-19 09:44 pm UTC (link)
Uhura had been perfectly content just how she had been when she'd felt the hand on her shoulder and heard the calm and yet (she had enough experience with his tone, even half groggy like this) urgent tone that she was being spoken to in. Blinking open her eyes, she repeated the words in her head as she started at the wall. There appears to be a what now? That couldn't be right. But even as her mind cycled through the idea that it couldn't bit right, the smell of smell hit her nose. It was a sharp and unmistakable scent that had been burned into her brain for years. And it caused all of the calm confusion that had been on her face to melt away in an instant as she shot up in the bed with a sort of panic about her that was very uncharacteristic for Nyota Uhura.

No. No, this couldn't be happening again. It couldn't be. This place was cruel and sadistic, and it was forcing this on her just like it had forced her to be that small girl again that still remembered the event vividly. Turning from the bed, her feet hitting the floor with a dull thud, her mind wasn't on any of the other people in the building. It was on one simple thought. They needed to get out, and they needed to get out now.

"We have to go," Uhura said, her voice husky as her throat was attempting to close up on her from a mixture of the smoke and fear. "We have to go NOW."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]meritsofemotion
2009-08-19 10:00 pm UTC (link)
Spock's brow was slightly furrowed at her unusual behavior. Obviously they needed to leave. However, they were Starfleet officers. They also had to ascertain the damage, help those who might need it, and- oh. Oh. The realization dawned upon him and for a moment Spock felt downright foolish despite how illogical the feeling might be.

Of course she would react this way to fire. How could he have forgotten? He wanted to blame the smoke, causing his mind to function more slowly than what he was accustomed, but the truth was if anything was to blame it was his own selfish fear of his mother's well-being.

"Nyota." He kept his voice completely calm, turning to her and placing both hands lightly upon her shoulders to still her movements. Peering down into her face, he stated, "I assure you, we are leaving. However, you must calm yourself. Hysteria will only complicate this matter further."

Even has he was speaking, Spock's mind was whirling with the best possible way to handle this situation. His mother was a few doors down. She was presumably with George and Winona and therefore he could assume she was safe for the time being. Clearly, though, Nyota had to get out of the building. She was of no use to anyone if she was in a panic and he wasn't entirely positive - not that he blamed her - that she could get calm and stay that way.

"Come," he finally spoke again, deciding that the most logical course of action was to focus on her first, then turn his attention to the others. And the only way to help her was to get her as far away from the fire as was feasible. Although he did have every intention of stopping by his mother's apartment on the way past. He could only hope they had already evacuated or were at least awake and able to leave a second's notice, for Spock highly doubted that whatever resolve Nyota might find within herself would last for long once they were facing the actual flames and thick plumes of smoke that he assumed were already filling the corridors.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]talentedtongue
2009-08-19 10:19 pm UTC (link)
Hysteria. Was she hysterical? No. No, not yet, but she certainly had the potential to be. To her, this wasn't a simple fire to be escaped and forgotten, it was the potential revisitation to a time that she'd rather forget. But she took a deep breath at his words, attempted to calm her raging thoughts and the fears that were being stirred up as she nodded. They were leaving. That was the most important thing. They were leaving.

She followed wordlessly at his command, focusing all of her attentions on keeping herself calm and breathing. Calm and breathe. Calm and breathe. As much as she could through all of the smoke. No, no, don't think about that.

At least they could take comfort in the fact that they were the only... No. No! His mother was in this building. Oh, God. She was just down the hall. And Jim's dad, too. He'd be heartbroken if anything happened to him. They had to get out. All of them.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]meritsofemotion
2009-08-19 11:32 pm UTC (link)
Vulcans didn't hold hands in public. It was an act that was all but disgraceful, as far as they were concerned. They also didn't embrace publically, although if logic called for it they could with far less disapproval than mere hand-holding. Yet while Spock did his best to be the quintessential Vulcan, he not only took ahold of Nyota's hand and held tightly to it, but also drew her close to his body as he led them from the bedroom and into the living room.

So far, smoke was all that had made it into their apartment. There was as significant lack of flames yet even if they'd been present it would be hard-pressed for anyone to see them with the thick plumes of blackish gray that filled the air. On impulse, Spock led Nyota into the small kitchen area near the front door and grabbed a handtowel that had been drying over the faucet. Wetting it as best he could with a bottle of water that was already turning warm from the rising temperature of the nearby fire, he handed the towel to the woman tucked securely against his ribs.

"Place this over your mouth and nose," he stated. His own lungs were already starting to ache slightly from the inhalation of the noxious odors but he ignored the sensation. His partial Vulcan physiology would protect his vital organs for the time being. Granted he wasn't built to survive fires, necessarily, but he could go longer without water, had more stamina, and was simply physically stronger, than an average human.

And right now, he was taking any advantage he could get.

Once he was assured that Nyota had the towel, he led them to the front door. As they came upon it, he realized the reason for the significant amount of smoke. Someone, it seemed, had kicked in the door from the outside. Spock could only assume that it was done in an effort to alert them to the fire and idly wondered if that was what had ultimately woken him rather than the smell of smoke as he'd first believed.

Not that it mattered. The point was, the door was open and it was time to leave. Re-assuring Nyota with a slight squeeze of his hand, he led them both out of the apartment... and into a smoke-filled corridor with ominous red-orange flames licking their way steadily along the edges of the floors and walls.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]talentedtongue
2009-08-20 01:18 am UTC (link)
Uhura took the cloth from him, keeping her grip firmly on his hand and being sure to stay as close to his side as she could manage without trampling his feet. The one thought thrumming over and over in her mind was that she wasn't going to lose him, too. She was going to manage to get him out. She wasn't a scrawny little ten year old with absolutely no upperbody strength anymore. And there wasn't any rubble to try and pick through in order to get to him.

She was keeping her mind as best she could, but the second that they stepped out into the corridor, her body tensed, her chest seized, and her grip on his hand tightened as much as human strength possibly allowed. She wasn't going to lose him. There was no way that she could allow it to happen.

"Which way?" Uhura asked, a quiet confusion in her voice. "Which way do we go?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]twelveminutes
2009-08-20 02:54 am UTC (link)
"Toward the stairs, that way," George stated firmly before Spock could answer. "There's no exit on our end of the hall unless we want to go off the balcony in the apartment." The smoke rolled off and away from him as he moved through it, closer to the duo, with one arm holding tightly to Winona's hand and another holding tightly to Amanda's. His lips were pressed together in a thin line, brow furrowed and the first traces of ash and soot already visible in his light-colored hair.

He'd been half-asleep when the smoke had begun to fill the apartment. By the time he had his clothes on and was rushing from the bedroom with a shout for Winona to follow him, their door was being kicked open and someone was shouting there was a fire. It hadn't taken long to gather Amanda as well, or to lead the two women from the apartment without so much as a glance at anything that might be left behind and lost to the blaze. His wife and a woman that was one of his dearest friends mattered far more to him than any possession ever could, after all.

And although his son's First Officer didn't show it, George wanted to think as he stepped out of the way and Amanda and Spock were reunited, that he was grateful for that fact as well.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]incompletelife
2009-08-19 01:36 pm UTC (link)
Frankenstein was a light sleeper, especially when it came to smelling smoke. It was an instinct he'd had to develop to avoid being attacked and murdered in his sleep back home. So when the thick smell of smoke hit his nostrils, he went from dreamland to sitting bolt upright in barely a second. He practically leaped out of bed and headed immediately for the door. The fire was already beginning to catch things in the living room on fire, but he was able to salvage a robe to throw over his body. He doubted anyone would be happy to see him in the boxers he'd purchased with some of the "start up" money.

He didn't stop to tie the robe, just threw it on and hit the door hard. It didn't really slow him down to go through it, so that's just what he did, one hinge popping off and the other barely holding the door in place. He immediately began kicking open every door on his floor. After each door swung in, he shouted loudly into them, "FIRE! EVERYONE OUT!" Then he would move on to the next door.

He didn't leave once he'd finished his floor. He waited at the stairwell. He wanted to make sure everyone got out safely, so he planned to bring up the rear. The fact was, while it was easier for fire to damage him than other things, he could still take more damage than normal people. So he waited, to be absolutely certain everyone else got out okay.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]pure_faith
2009-08-21 02:17 am UTC (link)
Kathy had been in deep slumber when the smell of smoke penetrated her mind. Groggily she awakened, coughing, and head lifting up the see as the smoke wafted into the room. Only momentarily her mind froze on panic before she grabbed for her PDA and just ran out the door. Kathy wasn't exactly sure why she took that, instead of her shoes or anything else, possibly because it'd been closest to her. However, it wasn't something her mind spent much thought thinking on.

Instead she simply she ran down steps in an attempt to leave the building. Only stumbling down a few times, falls would have been made worse if not for grabbing onto the stair-railing.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]boy_scout
2009-08-19 11:53 pm UTC (link)
Clark had decided not to stay in tonight. He had spent some time out of his room, scouting over the city to see if any citizens were in need of rescuing. There were a few crashes that didn't happen. So now he felt like he should go visit Chloe at her apartment room. He hadn't felt right ever since he was back to normal. There were things that he had said. Bad things. Granted, she probably forgave him for it, like the other times he messed up when he was on red kryptonite. But he still felt the need to apologize in person, rather than by email. But when he saw the building a block away.. he also saw smoke. He could also smell it. And using his enhanced vision, he also caught a glimpse of some flames.

He was then a blur of red and blue, and a second later, had appeared inside the building on the first floor. An x-ray scan revealed that while some people were already getting out, a few were still inside. Either unaware, trapped, or in the process of getting out. He couldn't let his friend perish. But there were others who needed help. "Chloe?! Chloe! Where are you??" All Clark knew was that she had a room on this floor. He didn't know who else did, he didn't know if she had a roommate, or if so, who it was. So he did the best thing he could think of at the time. He rushed to one of the doors, putting his hand on the doorknob and ripping it off. Then he slid a few fingers into the new hole, and like it was paper, quickly pulled the door off the hinges and set it beside the new opening so it was out of the way. A microsecond and colored blur later, he was inside the room.

(Reply to this)


[info]shessonice
2009-08-20 02:32 am UTC (link)
Claire had been awake at the time the fire was started, having only gotten home from work an hour prior, and had been reading a book in the front room of the apartment she now shared with River. She thought she'd smelled fuel burning, but had disregarded it initially - she was so high strung, almost paranoid, and she had told herself it was probably nothing.

Then the racket started. Setting down her book, she moved to the door and opened it. It was so smoky that she couldn't properly see down the hallway. Swearing loudly, she crossed the hallway to Topher and Andrew's room, knocking on the door. She found it unlikely that they weren't already aware of the situation, but still felt the need to try and alert them. After about a minute of banging on the door and yelling only mildly helpful things like "the building is burning down" and "wake the hell up", she realized that she'd left River in their apartment. Doubling back, she crossed their living room to River's bedroom door and opened it, poking her head in.

"River?" She asked, not wanting to frighten her. River wasn't always good in crisis situations, she knew that. "River, we need to go."

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]makemeastone
2009-08-20 05:59 am UTC (link)
River had been surprisingly well adjusted for months now. Much longer than any of her past good spells. It took quite a bit to set her off these days, but there were still triggers. Blue gloves were one, though she logically knew that it took more than just gloves to make someone one of those operatives. Fire was another. It took her back to Jiangyin and waiting with Simon to be burned. Because that's what the hillfolk did to witches. But she wasn't a witch, she just knew too much. People just didn't like what they didn't understand, and nobody understood her.

She was curled up in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest and hands in her hair, rocking back and forth. "Postholer," she said softly to herself. "Digging holes for posts." Simon would come for her...but Simon wasn't here and neither was the captain, and they wouldn't stop the burning this time. It would all burn. She could almost feel rope biting at her wrists, even though she knew they were free and it confused her.

And then Claire was speaking, but it took her a moment to recognize her. She thought it was Simon, but it wasn't, but it felt the same. "Won't be here long," she mumbled, half to herself, making no effort to move from the corner. "But they won't come this time and witches burn. It's not safe, it's never safe..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]shessonice
2009-08-21 05:49 am UTC (link)
Claire ran a hand through her hair, beginning to panic herself. She was running out of time, River was upset, and she didn't know what she could do that wouldn't upset her more. "Postholer, I don't... know what that means," She said, moving closer to the girl tentatively. "It's not safe, that's why we have to go." She tried to reason, but she saw that River wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon. She wasn't a large or particularly heavy looking person, and Claire figured she couldn't weigh more than a hundred pounds, and the thought of picking her up briefly crossed her mind, but she disregarded it.

"Just stay here a second, okay? I'm going to go get help." She said to River as she left the room again. Even with her shirt drawn up over her face, she could tell it was getting smokier, and the heat from the fire burned at her skin as she crossed the hall and banged on Topher's door again, desperately hoping he was there and not dead of smoke inhalation or anything.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]boygodofneuro
2009-08-22 04:10 am UTC (link)
Luckily, he was.

It was the carbon dioxide, Topher would later realize. The heavy limbs, the fuzzy head, he inability to just ... stay ... awake ...

Knocking and shouting jolted him out of his daze, giving him the flash of clarity he needed to take in his surroundings. His brain bombarded him with instructions, each less helpful than the first, and all the result of intense propaganda in his youth. Cover your face, we need wet washclothes; don't touch the door handle before you open it. Stop, drop, and roll.

He was halfway to the ground before he realized that he wasn't actually on fire.

Stumbling through the smoke, he grabbed the towels, coughing into one, and picked his way towards the door where someone -Claire, probably- was still pounding. He yanked it open, a shadow of his usual grin spreading across his face. "Smokey the Bear says, 'Only you can prevent forest fires.'"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]shessonice
2009-08-23 07:59 pm UTC (link)
"Great," Claire said, though the sound was probably muffled by the piece of cloth that still covered her mouth and nose. She grabbed his towel and made him hold it up to his face again, explaining what was going on in a very cursory and rushed fashion as she dragged him across the hall.

"I couldn't get her to move. She's talk about postholers, or something. Help me pick her up." She concluded as they entered River's room, though it was becoming quickly obvious to her that Topher probably wasn't going to be much good for that particular plan, since she was supporting most of his weight at that particular moment. "Topher?" She asked, shaking him slightly before looking back to River. "I need your help," She said, shaking him again. "I can't carry her."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]makemeastone
2009-08-23 08:24 pm UTC (link)
Claire was gone and she was alone again, and she was scared because she didn't know what was happening, and everything was wrong. Except she did know. But maybe that was the problem. "They burn witches," she kept repeating to herself. "God's cleansing fire...but I'm not a witch...but they don't care. I just know...I know things...I don't know how I know...but I know...I know what I know but not how...and it scares them. People are scared when they don't understand...and they hate what scares them..." She was babbling to herself, not even noticing if anyone had come back. Occasionally she would cough from the smoke.

"I know things and I remember things...but too much...and not all of it's real...but I don't know what is real and what isn't..." She stopped, coughing, then stopped again as she heard Topher's name. She looked at Claire and Topher, perfectly lucid for one moment. "You should get out," she said. "It isn't safe." Then she was looking down again, caught up in her jumbled thoughts, limbs awkward like a broken doll's. "Postholers...that's what they use to dig holes for posts. They tied me to a post and Simon yelled a lot but they didn't listen...God's cleansing fire...I'm not a witch..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]boygodofneuro
2009-08-27 09:26 pm UTC (link)
"Okay, okay, okay!" Topher shouted through the washcloth that Claire still held firmly pressed against his nose and mouth, "The suffocation by towel? Kind of not helping!" He pulled it off his face, grimacing as the tiny fibers stuck to his tongue. The smoke instantly swirled around his face, choking him. He ignored it.

This is bad, he thought, This is very bad. On a scale of one to ten, this kind of badness is an eleven. He wanted to tell River, as though somehow being informed as to the danger would make her stable, make her feel safe, but for once he kept his mouth shut. The silence only lasted a few seconds, but to Topher, it felt like an hour. Say something, do something, say something, do something. "Hey now, I wish you were. Some disapparation would be really nice right out now," he laughed, coughed, laughed again. Kneeling he took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]shessonice
2009-08-29 04:57 am UTC (link)
"That's why you breathe through the towel, it's so you don't die of smoke inhalation." She insisted, although she could feel the edges of her consciousness blurring. She stumbled slightly as Topher moved away from her, and braced herself on the wall. She didn't even bother to tell him off when he made a stupid joke, she just waved her hand at him dismissively, which she was positive he couldn't see.

"Out the window," She suggested loudly. "We should get out,"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]makemeastone
2009-08-29 05:12 am UTC (link)
Topher was saying things. Something about Topher made everything quiet in her head for brief moments. She wanted it to stay like that, but it wouldn't, and when he pulled her to her feet, she clung to him like a limpet, arms wrapped around his neck as if afraid to let go. "Not safe," she murmured softly, her head feeling fuzzy, "never safe. They burn witches. I don't want to burn." She didn't let go, holding on tightly to the one safe thing in the room. She felt like she was choking on the smoke, but Topher was there. He would make it all right. She couldn't say why, it was just a feeling.

"Need to get out," she whispered, though the fuzzy feeling was getting worse and she was leaning more against Topher. "The house is burning down. Children shouldn't play with matches. Daddy'll be so mad."

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]stopitevilhand
2009-08-20 03:24 am UTC (link)
Lindsey had spent most of his night out, knocking back drinks at a nearby bar. Suitably buzzed, he'd stumbled home after the crowd had thinned out. He dropped his keys, then various articles of clothing before finally making it into the bathroom, and then the shower. Because he, no matter how nice he was feeling at the moment, didn't want to drop into bed smelling like an ash tray and cheap perfume.

But the sleep he was looking forward to wasn't going to happen and the shower was cut short. The smell of smoke didn't set off any warning bells in his half asleep mind, not until it grew stronger. He shut off the shower and quickly started to get dressed, jumping when outside, there was a crash and someone started shouting about fire. Lindsey pushed open the bathroom door but the messenger was already gone and his door was open, smoke rolling in. Grabbing his boots where he'd dumped them, Lindsey hopped towards the door as he pulled them on, falling against the doorframe. Already people were evacuating, alerting others, as thick smoke filled the hallway and flames made their appearence.

Swearing at anything he could think of, he headed down the hallway after the others.

(Reply to this)


[info]lazarusrisen
2009-08-25 03:39 pm UTC (link)
The sharp acidic smell that hit Adam's nose roused him from a nearly dead sleep. So many years, so much experience, and so many lost friends because of fire, his body had come to recognize its presence quickly. It, seemed, though, that he had been one of the last few roused from the sounds echoing from the hallway. Scrambling out of his room, yanking on his shirt and shoes as he came, Adam headed towards the door before stopping, casting his glance back across the apartment at the other room. Damn it all, he couldn't just leave. Not when Angela and Claire would both kill him for leaving Nathan behind.

A few minutes later, Adam was struggling down the stairs, the prone form of the former senator draped across his back in, ironically, a fireman's carry. As his feet fell on the final steps of the ground floor, Adam heaved a sigh of relief, ignoring the burn from inhaling too much smoke and his lungs working to repair the damage each time that he did. He wasn't the one that had to worry about that.

Dragging Nathan outside, depositing him on one of the benches near the building but far enough away from it not to be touched by the fire, Adam shook him, sighing at the groggy, half awake response that he received. Well, at least he wasn't dead.

(Reply to this)



Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs