. (terryinthesky) wrote in downfallrpg, @ 2010-05-03 20:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | # group, 2015-09-04, andre, josh, terry |
Monsters In The Basement
Who: Terry, Andre and Josh
When: Late afternoon, 6pm
Where: The depths of the hotel
With a heavy sigh, Terry stopped on the ground floor to pull his hair out of its pony tail, taking the moment to breathe and to tie it all back up again. He turned to Andre and Josh, glancing between the two of them as he thought about the several long hours they'd already spent searching the empty rooms on each of the floors. It had been exhausting, only because with each opened door he felt his sense of dread and anxiety increase. He hated the feeling of not knowing where two of their group had gone to, both absent literally without warning. Landon had said he was going out, and had mentioned a nearby mall to Loren... but there was no way of knowing for sure if he had made it there, or even left the grounds of the hotel. "We should check the basements next," he said, figuring that if either were on the ground floor that they would have been discovered by now.
The first basement level down was filled with stores of blankets, pillows, shampoos -- all the things a hotel would normally keep on hand. It also held the pool and the laundry room. The level below that was dark, devoid of any light that Terry had been able to find, and filled with what smelled like mold and dust. It didn't seem likely that Landon and Catie were down there, but they couldn't take any chances at this point.
"We'll get flashlights from the supply closet first, though..." Terry led them both to a closet down the way a bit, between the lobby and the kitchen. He pulled the door open and peered into it, reaching in to grab three of the standing flashlights that had been stored there for just such an occasion.
Andre tried to stay close, but his leg was feeling very sore. Not from the fit, of course. Verity had seen to that. It was working better than it had in years thanks to that boy's fine handiwork. But going up and down stairs all day at his size hadn't done it any favors and he leaned against the wall as Terry grabbed the flashlights. "How many basements this place got, anyways?" He hadn't liked the use of the plural form, and the only image that flashed through his head was more stairs. "All I know is I hope they're down there. I'm gonna be mighty ticked if I did all this exercise for nothing."
He really wished he'd been on one of the teams that had left the building. It might be a longer walk, but at least it would've been relatively flat. As he caught his breath, he tried to concentrate on a scripture to get him through this. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. "Where those dang wings at now," he muttered to no one in particular.
Josh had been leaning against the wall, trying not to breathe too heavily, while Terry went for the flashlights. The long hours of searching rooms had taken their toll on him; he was damp with sweat, his fine blond hair drenched and dripping, and he'd long ago taken his t-shirt off to futilely dry his hair and wipe his face. It wasn't that he was out of shape, but that the internal heat that he generated now was difficult to deal with unless he had cold water nearby in which to immerse himself. Right then he wanted a freezing cold shower more than he'd ever wanted anything, but he knew he'd have to wait.
He pulled the sodden shirt out of the back pocket of his cutoffs, where he'd left it dangling, and impatiently swiped at his hair again. Josh hadn't known there was more than one basement; he hadn't been down that far yet, but he greeted the news with his usual equanimity. He turned his head to glance at the older black man who'd suddenly started talking about wings. Did he mean Rowan? he wondered.
"And I'd be mighty sorry to have wasted your time," Terry said, no real venom in it even though the comment Andre had made had still found its way under his skin. "Landon and Catie are part of the group," he reminded the other two. "If they're somewhere in this hotel, we'll find them. At this point, our chances of finding them have dropped significantly. If we don't find them today, there's a good chance we may never see them again." He handed a flashlight to Andre, and then one to Josh, giving them both quick looks before turning to head down the hall. He guided them to the basement door, a little irritated and hoping that they weren't searching for naught. They had to find the other two. Landon was basically third in charge. Catie was a healer. It was as though the world was trying to beat them down.
The basement door came open easily, and with a heavy weight on his shoulders, Terry headed down into the first level of the basement. The pool, storage rooms and laundry room would be easy to search. It was mostly cleared out, organized and would be a breeze to navigate. It was the lower level Terry was worried about. He'd only been in there once, and it hadn't been for very long.
Andre hadn't meant to offend by any means. He just tended to get a bit grumpy when he was tired, which he was right now. While he didn't know Catie, he'd met and talked to Landon, who seemed like a nice enough boy, and he did care about finding both of them. Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? While the parable had referred to sinners, right now he was looking for their own lost sheep. He took the flashlight as they headed down to the swimming pool area. He hadn't been down here yet, so he was a little curious. He looked back at the young man who was sweating. "You okay, kid?" He didn't want to have to carry someone else around, and Josh didn't look that good.
Josh didn't know either of the missing people. Of course, he didn't really know that many people here anyway, but that wasn't the point. After the way he'd spent the past several years of his life, he knew that those who were left owed one another some concern. It was everyone's responsibility to keep track of each other, in his opinion. He had no problems with searching for as long as it took, pyro-induced hot flashes or not. He was lost in his own little world, and it startled him when Andre spoke to him. "Huh?" he asked nonsensically, jumping slightly. He blinked, processing the words, then replied, "Y-yeah, I'm okay." He wasn't going to collapse, anyway. He let the light from his flashlight play over the walls, then the floor upon which they were walking, thinking that maybe it would be cooler down here, at least, since heat rose.
As they headed down into the first level of the basement, Terry glanced back at Andre and Josh, his eyes lingering on the young man. His expression was tinged with mild concern, hoping that he wasn't getting sick as well. The outbreak of illness had seemingly come out of nowhere, and the last thing they needed was for another person to need medical attention as well -- particularly since Zane had taken it upon himself to leave them when they needed him the most. Terry would be lying if he'd claimed not to hold a bit of an ill feeling over the whole ordeal. Zane was abandoning a group of people he knew were alive for somebody that was very likely dead already. In doing so, it was unlikely anyone would ever see Zane again. Living alone was like asking for death. "Let me know if you need to stop, or go back," he said, looking again up over his shoulder to where Josh followed them.
When they reached the first basement level, Terry turned to head to the pool room first, pressing through the doorway to investigate the area. He didn't want to say it, but he was feeling negative about finding Landon and Catie at all. People that went missing in the midst of an Apocalypse probably weren't going to have a high survival rating. He hoped there was something in here, something they could find that would give them any kind of clue.
"After this room, we'll glance in the laundry room and the storage, and then head downstairs..."
"Gotcha," Andre said, the flashlight in one hand, his other hand near the pistol in his waistband. He wasn't taking any chances. His nose curled a little at the last remnants of chlorine still lingering in the air. He'd never been a huge fan of swimming pools because of the chemicals, but this one had been untreated long enough it wasn't unbearable. He kept against the wall to minimize the chances of things popping out behind him. "I never realized just how creepy a pool could be." The water lapping against the sides echoed in the large room, and it kind of gave him the heebie jeebies.
The water looked dark and yet cool and enticing to Josh. Despite the near-blackness of the large, echoey room and the mysterious sound of the water's movement, he wasn't creeped out. He almost wanted to jump in and cool himself off, but who knew what might be in that water? Maybe nothing. It was possible it was simply a bit stale from being untreated for a while, or someone could have dumped something in that wasn't supposed to be there. He didn't want to take the chance. He shone his flashlight around the empty lounge chairs, not seeing anyplace that a person could hide in here. Wherever Landon and Catie were, he didn't think it was here. He thought the lower basement had more possibilities, but he couldn't imagine why the two of them would have gone down there.
Terry frowned into the darkness as he shone his light around, coming up with empty hands -- just as Andre and Josh had seemed to. There was nothing for them here, not in this room. He gestured to the both of them and headed back out into the hall, pausing to shine his light down a ways in an almost paranoid manner. It wasn't at all comforting, being down in pitch black darkness without only a few flashlights. He hoped the batteries were good; they were new the last time he'd checked, but the power had been out for days now. If somebody else had used them, there was a good chance they could be without light soon. Terry led the small group into the laundry room next, pausing at the door to shine his light over the piles of clothes he'd laid out so many long days ago. "Nothing here either. Let's keep going. There's a large storage room down the hall, and then we can head back and take the stairs down to the second level." He had no desire to go down there, but it wasn't looking like there were many options.
"You got it," Andre said, staying close to Terry. There was definitely no place for anyone to hide up here. He shone his light briefly into the dryers and washers, just to check- it was morbid, sure, but if something bad had happened to the missing folk, that would be a fine place to stash the bodies. "Man, I remember when hide and go seek used to be fun, too," he muttered as he followed their de facto leader. He checked on Josh behind him, making sure he was still okay. And partially just to make sure he was still there. This was becoming more and more like some creepy old horror movie, and in those movies, people tended to vanish if someone didn't keep an eye on them.
Josh was indeed there, silently bringing up the rear. He wasn't afraid, exactly, but any conversation amongst them made him nervous. If they were talking, would they hear any encroaching threat creeping up on them? He frowned a little as he remembered that the enormous industrial stockpot he'd lit a fire in the other day was still in the storage room, probably smelling sooty and smoky. Would anyone remark on it? He'd been very careful to make sure the fire was completely out before he'd left it. He'd had to have some more clothes, and the light from that fire had been very handy to see by. He exhaled a mostly silent breath and shone his light around some more, checking behind him before facing front again.
"Hide and seek," Terry muttered, not even really noticing he'd repeated Andre aloud. It seemed like such a morbid phrase right now, considering the circumstances. He caught the scent of something unusual, but didn't focus too hard on it, rather headed down toward the storage room. Interestingly enough, the scent grew stronger as they neared the doorway, and when Terry pulled the door open the smell came out from inside. "Huh, that's weird..." It hadn't been there before... it almost smelled like a burned out fire... Terry stepped into the room to look through the stacks of boxes, shining his light around and behind everything as he walked in further. He stopped suddenly, though, waving his hand in front of him to brush something aside. "Spiderwebs," he said, clearly unsettled by the feeling of it on his face.
"What the hell is that smell?" Andre asked, helping Terry search the room with the flashlight, brushing a couple of spiderwebs off his own head as he brushed against them. He wasn't terribly freaked out by them, just slightly annoyed. Looking through the boxes, Andre shrugged. "There an electrical fire down here or something?" That was one good thing about having the power out, electrical fires weren't nearly the danger they once were. He didn't exactly relish the thought of having to evacuate the hotel in a situation like that.
Josh hastened around several big stacks of boxes, ostensibly looking for the missing persons there. What he was really doing was trying to figure out if he should attempt to hide the stockpot. It had made such a wonderful fire pit; he could see using it for that purpose again sometime. His light flashed on it, then away as he deliberated. He hadn't done anything wrong, but years with a demanding and unyielding stepfather-- both in actual life and in the lab-- had made him incredibly paranoid. He didn't want to be scolded or yelled at. Finally he decided to just ignore it. Just because he could set things on fire didn't mean he'd necessarily be suspected. He headed around the next stack of boxes, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. To him the room looked like it had the last time he'd been down here.
Looking slightly frustrated, Terry turned around and headed back to the hallway. "Okay, let's head downstairs... after that, we'll do a sweep of the neighborhood, look for any places the others may not have searched." He made his way quietly through the hallway, stopped at the end by the door that led down further and pulled it open. A heavy feeling of humidity came up the stairs, something that hadn't been there the last time he'd come down here... which had been almost two weeks ago, now. "That's... weird," he commented, feeling unsettled about it. Terry glanced back at Andre and Josh, and started down the stairs. "Stay close..." It was pitch black down in the basement as well, but there was a sound coming up from the lower basement... something was moving.
Andre hadn't found anything either, and nodded when Terry told them what the next part of their plan was, but was a bit disturbed by Terry's comments. "What's weird?" He hadn't been down here before, so he wasn't sure what qualified as "weird" exactly. He stayed close, though, hoping he wasn't slowing the other two down with his leg. As soon as he heard the noise, he started looking around with his flashlight. They may have had the high ground, but whatever was moving down there had the advantage of being in the dark. "What the hell is that?" Andre said, momentarily sliding back into his old ways. He really didn't like where this seemed to be headed.
The humid miasma that rose from the depths of the lower basement was almost too much for Josh. He was sweating anyway, swearing under his breath as he raised one forearm to swipe at the moisture that was falling into his eyes as he shakily held the flashlight with his other hand. It was like a horror movie, the part where the intrepid heroes venture into parts unknown and only one of them returns. The thought wasn't particularly reassuring. He felt goosebumps rise on his arms at the stealthy sounds of movement that were clearly apparent now, and he answered Andre's question without even thinking about it: "Somethin' bad."
"Yeah," Terry answered, staring down into the dark of the lower basement. He drew his gun out and took the safety off, holding it out in front of him alongside the flashlight. "Something bad... something that isn't supposed to be here." The sound became louder the further down they went, and more sounds joined in with the first. It was hard to tell what it was, but the humidity and the noises were increasingly more difficult to ignore. And then Terry paused, waving the gun through what was a curtain of webbing they hadn't noticed until now. "What the hell...?" But there was more of it, another few inches in, and then again... Terry stopped on the stairs and looked back up to Andre and Josh, just in time for there to be a sudden stirring of movement over his shoulder. A deformed creature only slightly larger than two feet in diameter, with eight long and spindly legs, claws and the vague remnants of a human facial structure dropped down, screaming as it lunged for nearest man.
Andre's old military instincts kicked in immediately when he heard the scream. Even though he was still on the stairs, he ducked as fast as he could with his leg and pulled out his gun, ready to fire. But once he got a good look at the... thing that was attacking him, even he had to pause. He'd never liked spiders anyways, but this one was particularly frightening. Of course. I run into a demon down here and of course it's a damned spider. As the spider-demon lunged, another instinct kicked in and, without realizing it, or even noticing it, he went invisible. "Down! Down! Everyone get down!" he shouted, hoping that ducking would at least negate the creature's element of surprise.
As Andre screamed for everyone to get down, and Terry's body flew to the floor, more cries broke out from further down the stairs. From the sounds of things, there were hundreds more where this one had come from. Worse yet, there were human voices calling out -- in specific, Landon could be heard, along with what appeared to be Catie. Her voice was far more quiet than his, weakened, and stopped almost as quickly as it had started.
Everything was happening too fast. It reminded Josh of being attacked by two mutant things that had used to be human, and his reaction now was the same as it had been then: he lashed out. He was so focused on keeping himself and the others alive that he didn't even notice Andre had seemingly vanished. He'd half-dropped down onto the steps, half-fallen when the spider-thing and then Andre had screamed, and he let gravity take him down even further, his gaze fixing on a grouping of the sickening, insectile creatures. The air around him was slightly wavery, something that nobody else would be able to notice in the near-dark, and then there was a whoomp as the cluster of mutant spiders burst into flame, and briefly the basement below them was illuminated. What he saw then was horrifying beyond belief, and he clutched at the nearest railing, wrapping one arm around it as he stared, sweat rolling down his bare chest and back.
Terry looked down and into the basement as the fire erupted from Josh's hands, the reality of his powers very much like a kick to the head. He hadn't really fathomed exactly what it would be like, but the display was certainly impressive. The mass of spider creatures was disheartening, and terrifying, and as Terry turned to find Andre he panicked, unable to see him at all. "Andre?!" he called, looking up the stairs for the other man. "Andre, where are you?!" The light of the fire illuminated Landon and Catie, who were both spun tightly in webbing, their bodies easily picked out as being human, their faces half exposed through the tight material covering them. "Josh, we have to get them... do you think you can get us there?"
Another screech broke through the din, the mother spider making herself known as she came forward from the back of the basement. Her eyes glinted in the dark, black and wide, filled with rage. She was more human than her offspring, her face expressive and wild.
"I'm right here," Andre said. It wasn't until Josh had set off the fire, which he admitted was pretty impressive, that he saw that he had no shadow. He'd turned invisible and hadn't even realized it. "I'm invisible!" He looked over at the two people encased in the webbing, recognizing Landon immediately. Although he didn't recognize the girl, he knew she had to be the other missing people. "Think you guys can cause a little more distraction while I try to get over there and cut 'em loose?" As if the fire wasn't enough of a distraction. He looked around at the creatures around them and a chill went up his spine. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, he thought as he worked his way down the stairs as silently as he could. Give me strength, Lord, and give them kids strength too. We all gonna need it!
Terry's voice broke through to Josh; he'd been clinging to the railing of the steps like a child clinging to its mother's leg, almost unable to comprehend what he was seeing. Abomination was really the only word that came to mind. But when Terry asked if he could get them through, Josh nodded and hoisted himself to his feet. He couldn't fly like Rowan or make machines work like Verity, but this he could do. He eased his way further down the steps, keeping his back against the damp and foul-smelling wall, and he focused in on the spider-things that were blocking the path to Landon and Catie. They burst into flame, so hot that the very center of the conflagration was nearly blue, and he kept moving downward, watching to see where he'd need to direct his focus next.
"Good," Terry said, breathing heavily as he watched Josh ignite the creatures that were blocking their path to Landon and Catie. "Andre, just... we need to get them out of there. Don't worry about cutting them loose right now. Let's just get their bodies out of here, and we'll worry about the rest later!" He drew his gun and moved down into the basement with Josh, his heart thundering hard in his chest. Without thought, he lifted off of the ground, elevating his body to keep himself out of reach. It wasn't a conscious effort, but when it happened it made sense. He embraced his body's instinct, utilizing it to get a better look of the room. It seemed impossible that this had been happening while they'd been living up above for weeks... but very little about the world surprised Terry these days.
Andre momentarily looked up and saw Terry... flying. Considering the things he'd seen and the things he'd done in the past two weeks, it shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. Focus, Washington. You got soldiers in trouble. Don't leave nobody behind. He turned his attention to the task at hand. Josh had managed to clear out a bit of a path to the captives with his fire. The ones that hadn't been barbecued immediately were keeping a safe distance from the flames, and he was thankful that instinct hadn't been mutated out of them.
As he approached the captives, he got a better view of them, enough to see that they weren't in great shape. Particularly the girl. He snuck up as much as he could to see how well they were secured. It didn't look too difficult, just sticky. He made sure they could breathe okay, checking to make sure there were no webs covering their noses, then began to pull them free. Every instinct he had was freaking out about the webs and the spiders, but he focused on rescuing the prisoners before they got any worse. "Y'all just hang in there a little longer, and we'll get you out of here, ya hear me?"
Josh was pale, his eyes bloodshot and sweat running off him in rivulets, but he didn't cease his efforts. He advanced into the basement, glancing continually at the two people who were hung up in webs and then what had to be Andre pulling them loose, although Josh couldn't see him. He wondered where Terry had gone, having missed the part where he started floating over their heads, but he didn't have time to think about it. Two fairly large and foolhardy spider-creatures began darting toward him, and he fried them. It was kind of cool how they didn't even have time to scream before they were immolated, he thought. If he hadn't had such a high fever right then from the effort he was expending, he might've felt like a superhero or something.
Terry landed beside Andre as the other man struggled to pull them free of the webbing. He reached in to help him, grasping Catie as best he could to lift her away when she was loose. He picked her up in his arms and turned around, headed back to the stairs as quickly as he could manage it. He wasn't sure how much longer Josh could hold up the flames, but it couldn't last forever. "Come on!" he shouted over his shoulder. A feeling of fear - for the girl in his arms, the others with him and the spiders all around them - gripped his chest, making it difficult to see straight as he ascended the staircase with the limp body he'd retrieved. Hopefully it wouldn't be too late for her, and for Landon. She felt half dead in his arms, limp and cold. There was a very real possibility that it was already too late.
Andre looked over, turning visible when Terry landed so he didn't get landed on. Terry'd done the smart thing, grabbing the girl and getting her out of there. Andre might not be as strong as he used to be, but he figured he could still carry Landon without too much trouble. He finished pulling Landon down and tossed him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Now for the real trick- getting past those spider things. Even if half of them were on fire, there were still a bunch of them running around that looked just nasty. "I wonder..." he said, sweat pouring off of him from the heat. He'd always managed to turn things he was holding invisible without too much work, and he wondered if he could turn Landon invisible while he was carrying him as well. Concentrating and praying, he tried it. A quick glance at the shadows on the wall told him that he'd succeeded, but it was a lot harder. "Outta my way, firebug!" he shouted as he ran towards Josh and the stairs, the strain incredible as he did it. But he knew he had to get out of there. Landon was in bad shape, but they'd both be in worse shape if he couldn't make it.
It was unnerving to have two people vanish before his eyes, and it temporarily jolted Josh out of his feverish daze. He jumped, skinning his bare back against the rough, damp brick of the wall, when Andre yelled for him to get out of the way. He might've just stood there staring after them if he hadn't felt a bristly spider leg wrap around his calf. Instinctively, he kicked at the thing with his other foot and, once it fell back, he began lighting it on fire and all the ones that came after it. He reached and reached within himself, expecting at any time to have the firepower fail him. He nearly forgot about Terry and Andre, carrying Catie and Landon and fleeing up the stairs behind him. He was shaking, sweating, feverish and bleeding from the scrape on his back, but all that seemed to matter right then was consuming the horrible nest of spiders with fire.
Terry paused when he reached the top of the stairs, coughing as the smoke curled up from the stairwell, filling the dark hallway and billowing upward. He'd dropped his flashlight down in the basement without thinking about it, but could see well enough, given the amount of fire behind him. He turned back then, Catie's body half on the ground as he paused. Where the hell was Andre and Josh? "Hey!" he called back, his eyes wide as he heard the younger boy fighting the creatures. "Josh, get out of there! Come on!" Terry took a chance; he laid Catie down and drew his gun, quickly descending the stairs to find the younger man in the midst of a fight. Pointing the gun into the mass of monsters, Terry fired. There were screams anew, accompanying those of the spiders already on fire. They burned, writhed and twisted, some of them fighting each other as aggression and fear spread through the mass. The fire followed the fear, and it wasn't long before most of the room was ablaze. "Come on!" he said again, grabbing for Josh's shoulder. Terry couldn't see Andre or Landon, and assumed they'd made it out in time.
Andre had managed to muscle past Josh, Terry, and Catie and collapsed as he made it through the doorway, turning visible but managing not to drop Landon as he did. He was breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. Turning himself and another person invisible had been a major strain, and he felt like he was back in boot camp again. Panting, he looked back to make sure the others were coming and that they hadn't gotten consumed by the fire. "Everybody... get out... all right?" he asked as he checked Landon's vital signs. He didn't look good, but he was alive for now at least. He could only imagine what the two of them had been through since being captured.
Josh staggered backward when Terry grabbed him, only barely managing not to fall by grabbing hold of the rail at the foot of the stairs. "It's gone anyway," he said, his voice barely audible; he could tell by the way he felt physically that he'd burned himself out, like he'd done before, out on the street. He turned and began to haul himself up the steps, since they'd done what they'd come here to do. They had Landon and Catie, and he couldn't imagine any of those spiders coming after them. They were burning and dying down in the damp sub-basement, and that was very good. Once at the top of the steps, Josh propelled himself through the door, getting as far from it as he could before leaning heavily against the wall to catch his breath.
Terry followed Josh on his heels as they fled the basement hellfire, his eyes on the doorway until they were through it. A breath of smoke-heavy air and then he turned, a hand out to push the door closed. The clicking of it falling into place sent a shiver of fear and relief through him, the realization of how fortunate they were not going by unnoticed. They could have been killed down there, or worse -- they could have ended up like Landon and Catie, on their way to a slow death. He turned to the others, weight on the door as though to keep it closed, as though the spiders could utilize door knobs, and stared at the wreckage that was their search party. At least they had been successful. They had retrieved the lost members of their group, in doing so had secured themselves from any further bites. Terry made himself move, his weight feeling burdensome as he bent down to pick up Catie's body. She was still heavily wrapped in webbing, cold to the touch, limp. "We need to get them upstairs. Now."