epidemiology | EVENT ★ (ABOUT) 28 DAYS LATER

EVENT ★ (ABOUT) 28 DAYS LATER

GENERAL HOSPITAL

All signs point to the hospital having something to do with the virus, though further investigation is required in order to find exactly what is going on. The hospital is average sized, with contemporary facilities and equipment, and is usually considerably cleaner than it is now. The constant flow of injuries coming in -- from riots, attacks, and accidents that are happening from just sheer panic -- have filled the hospital to the brim. Many staff are too over-exhausted to show up to work, and those that remain are nearly to the breaking point. Due to the overall confusion and chaos, now might be an opportune time to quietly sneak behind the scenes . . .

ON THE INSIDE

The waiting room is crowded and there aren't enough staff people to go around. If you snag yourself a lab coat or some scrubs, you should be able to just waltz right in if you look harried enough to go unnoticed. Or, if you're not the doctor-looking type, fake an injury and get one of your scrubs-wearing teammates to usher you inside.

Inside the hospital, it's just as busy -- gurneys line the halls, filled with moaning, scared patients. How many of them have the Bristol Virus? How many of them have just been injured in the unrest? It's impossible to tell, so be careful as you move through the halls. One of those grasping hands just might belong to someone who is very hungry.

Be careful while you look through the hospital -- the staff are busy and preoccupied, but they’re not blind. If you are caught somewhere you shouldn’t be, you’ll find yourself escorted from the premises, or worse -- thrown in jail.

PLACES TO SEARCH:

MATERNITY. There are no pregnant women to be found here, and for good reason: the maternity wing has been converted to a treatment center for known Bristol Virus carriers. Biohazard suits hang near the entrance, and the doors are sealed by makeshift plastic shielding to prevent the virus from spreading airborne. Patients are strapped to their beds for their safety as well as for the safety of the staff, and seem to be heavily sedated. But be careful -- you never know when it’ll wear off.

MORGUE. In the basement of the hospital is the morgue. Temperature controlled to 3º C (37º F), you may need a sweater if you choose to investigate here. The bodies kept in here have primarily died of natural causes -- that is, if you count being chewed on by cannibals as natural. The few bodies that are known to be infected by the Bristol virus are marked as such: the morgue drawers containing their remains have been sealed by biohazard tape.

NURSE’S STATION. The most dangerous place to investigate, but perhaps the most lucrative. The nurse’s station is located in the center of the inpatient ward and is in the middle of all hospital activity. It will be very easy to get caught if you’re looking here. However -- this is where most paperwork is kept, as well as computers connected to the hospital intranet, where patient records can be found.

OFFICES. Doctors’ offices are an obvious choice to look for paperwork clues, but be cautious and have an excuse ready: you never know when someone will come in.

TOXICOLOGY. Because most of the patients being treated right now are in the hospital for injuries, toxicology is not as busy as one might expect during a viral epidemic. The toxicology department is filled with test tubes, beakers, and the like. This is one of the more dangerous areas to investigate, as you never know when a lab tech or doctor may walk in and catch you snooping.

Other hospital areas include: cafeteria, doctors’ mess, inpatient ward, pharmacy, surgery, supply warehouse (entrance outside), etc. If you're not the investigative type, it might be a good idea to cause a scene and distract the staff from your teammates' snooping.

While you're here, it might be a good idea to gather fluid samples from patients known to be infected. Their sedated state will make it easy (until, of course, the sedatives wear off -- hopefully not while you're in the middle of collecting a sample!) and not only will it help the efforts in finding a vaccine, it may also help your fellow recruits find a cure. Especially now that some of your number are starting to feel the effects of the virus themselves.

FINDING CLUES

This post, we will be holding an RNG to decide who receives clues. We have a maximum of five clues to go around, one per hospital area, so you'll have better chances if you team up! Please see this comment to sign up. We will be closing clue sign-ups after 48 hours, after which we will notify the RNG winners of their results. Those who do not hear back may assume they have not found anything of interest.

OOC NOTES

Because this log is being posted late in the month, threads are eligible for February or March AC, but not both. Beginning this month, we are also allowing AC threads to be eligible for AC Bonus Bank.

Please remember that participation in the HMD is mandatory to pass AC this month! Please fill out your HMD comment by 28 February 23:59 UTC.

REMINDER: activity and hiatus changes go into effect beginning this AC. Please review the changes thoroughly!

Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time, and don't forget the Bounty Board!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I guess.. I've never had to pretend before, though. [ Everyone at home either.. knows who he is before meeting him or gets told pretty speedily. All those ninja in the shadows assumptions are garbage as far as this kid is concerned.

Naruto seems to have only just realised that Sans is eating the sandwich he could barely even put past his lips, let alone chew and swallow, so the look on his face is Less Than Impressed as he squints at him. ]

.... How're ya eatin' that? It's gross.

Lower standards. [Sans says, glibly through a mouthful of Trash Sammie.] I've eaten worse garbage than this, believe me.

Aren't you human? [He's teasing more than anything, but the question is genuine.] Though humans liked human food.

Yeah, I'm human, but that ain't any kinda food humans should be eatin'.

[ Especially not when it has the taste and texture of literal garbage. The phrasing makes him squint a little more though, and he leans in closer, dropping his voice. ]

Are you not a human?

[ He knows the cloaking device makes Audentes members look "normal" - he himself has had his face whiskers and his stomach seal covered - so underneath the guise of the strange little man in front of him could be.. literally anything. ]

Not as such. [Sans shrugs, his cloak taking full use of his eyelids to wink with a gusto his smooth bones couldn't afford him most of the time.] But I'm giving the look a whirl. Whaddya think?

[He holds out his arms, as if inviting himself to be appraised. It's not exactly a Good Look, honestly, but Sans seems to be making the most out of it. Picked the face himself, after all.]

Pretty sweet, huh?

[ Naruto takes the opportunity to give Sans a good and proper look, slowly; his head, the weird fuzz of dark hair, the smile lines and creases on his face, his stubby little hands.... He looks. Well. He looks pretty human, that's for sure. ]

Since I ain't got nothin' to compare ya to, then I dunno how good a disguise it is. The cloaking thing covers up the things on my face, [ He points to where his whisker marks should be normally, like Sans will know what he means by things. ] but that's it. Yours could just be covering somethin' like that for all I know. Or do ya look really different under there?

How 'bout I let you be the judge?

[It only takes a moment of thought, like Papyrus showed him earlier. Overriding the display on his cloak to filter out fellow Audentes. The unaffiliated patrons in the cafe would still see that stubby little human, but to "Nathan"...

The change isn't gradual. One moment "Sans" was sitting in front of him, the next--]

Ta-da. [The skeleton drawls lazily, taking another bite of the sandwich. Where it goes, who can even say.] A little more me, am I wrong?

[ Naruto straight up falls off his chair.

He jumps backwards so dramatically, in fact, that his feet end up where his face was as he hits the ground with a great crash and a wailing sound that's half a yelp of surprise and half pained groan.

That. Sure was a skeleton that just popped up in front of him. Yep.

He's kind of a weenie baby when it comes to monsters that actually look like monsters - so used to dealing with the more human variant of the word as he is - so it's with great trepidation that he squirms into a position where he can peek almost comically up above the edge of the table. ]

That's.. That's really you, huh? You look like that? All.. boney?

[ He blinks, then once his eyes have confirmed that yes he definitely is not seeing things, he carefully assumes a sitting position again, albeit a little more wide awake than he might have been before. He automatically kind of reaches out to poke the hand that Sans is holding the sandwich in. He probably won't make contact, but he's an impulsive kid, and he mostly just wants to see if Sans is definitely real and this isn't some kind of impossible trick. ]

[To anyone unaffiliated with ALASTAIR, the proceedings must've been a hell of a thing to witness. Sans remains unperturbed, chewing slowly as he waits for the poor kid to get a hold of himself. Humans (or whatever this kid was) were pretty good TV once you wound them up enough.

The attempted physical contact isn't new either, but Sans raises a brow bone all the same. Could be worse. He could've gone straight for his eye socket.]

That's me, all boney. [He nods, popping the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and dusting the remaining crumbs off on his jacket.] Why, haven't you ever seen a skeleton before?

Uhh. No..

[ He's seen a shark man before, and a guy turn into a kind of half tiger half man monster, but.. A skeleton is definitely new.

He pokes Sans' hand. He pokes it again. He sits back and looks like he's taking a moment to assess his own sanity, but it's probably more like he's trying to form words that aren't whatever a repeated question mark might sound like. ]

How're ya movin' around, if you're a skeleton?

[Sans tolerates the poking, watching him with a sort of fond bemusement. If he'd never seen a skeleton, he'd never seen a skeleton. No harm letting the kid get familiar.]

Oh, y'know. Usual stuff. [He shrugs, flicking some crumbs off his jacket.] Magic.

Magic? Huh...

[ He pauses for a moment, then fills his mouth up with air and expells it in a slow raspberry. It's an impressed raspberry, though. ]

That's really cool. I mean.. Like I said, this covers up my face and I figured it'd do crazy stuff for guys who don't look like regular people but... Woah.

[ Woah indeed. He settles back, then a thought strikes him and he leans forward again. ]

Wait, so how'd you show me what ya really look like under there?

[When all is said and done, Sans seems pleased by the reaction. A little shock and awe is a good thing, after all. "Jaded" isn't a good look on anybody. After all, just look at him.]

There's a toggle. You just gotta filter your cloak so only people without Audentes clearance can see it. [His fixed skeletal grin seems to inch wider.] Pretty slick, right? My brother showed me.

You know him? He's a spooky magic skeleton, too.

[Seemed like almost everybody did, after all.]

[ A toggle... Naruto doesn't really understand how the cloak works in the first place so understanding and implementing the use of a toggle is pretty impossible for him. Back home technology is pretty dated, so he's kind of a baby when it comes to all these different methods of space tech. ]

Nah, you're the first skeleton I've met!

[ He pauses for a second, considering. ]

But maybe I've met him while he's lookin' like a human? What's his name?

His name's Papyrus. [He says, simply, but with obvious affection.] If you haven't met him yet, you're in for a treat. For my money, he's the best guy in this whole organization.

[He drums his bones on the table, canting his head to the side.]

How about your... uh, how many twins was it again?

[ Naruto definitely hasn't met Papyrus yet but from that simple description and the genuine reach of Sans' words, Naruto is sold on agreeing that he's the best guy here without needing to meet him. ]

Oh-- They're not my brothers... [ He looks almost apologetic for a second. ] They're clones. I tell people they're my brothers so the civilians here don't get all weird about it.

[ He flaps a hand, like it's no big deal. He's way past the point of being proud of his quick thinking after plenty of people have told him what a poor story it is, and after Sans himself failed to fall for it. ]

[Right, nbd, just clones is all. It's not exactly the weirdest thing Sans has heard since getting folded into ALASTAIR's organization, but it is certainly among them.]

... Alright, kid, I'll bite. We talking, like, grown in a tank of water clones? Embryonic clones? Magic?

Wh- Grown in a tank???

[ He looks just about as confused as he could possibly be. What kinda clones are in tanks???? Familiar with sci-fi and it's many related tropes he is not, so unfortunately some references will fly right over his head. ]

They're.. kinda like magic, I guess? Where I'm from everyone has this energy called chakra. That's what I use to form 'em, that's what they're made of.

We'll get there. The clone curriculum's pretty vast. [Sans dismisses, moving on to the meat of the matter. Specifically, the clone meat that this kid can apparently make.

Not unheard of, but a little unnerving from a human. You didn't see many human mages outside of legend, where Sans was from.]

Chakra... does that translate to anything like 'soul'?

Soul's different, I think.

[ Probably?? Who knows. Temples and sages and the like chatter on about souls and spirits and whatever but Naruto never really pays much mind, and the souls they refer to probably aren't the ones Sans is thinking of. ]

Chakra's like.. your blood. Ya take physical energy and the energy in your mind- [ He puts his fingers to his temples here, like he's about to show an example of exactly what he's talking about or do some kind of mind meld. ] -and mix 'em together to make chakra, an' that flows all the way through us ninja so we can use it to do ninjutsu and stuff. [ It's a very basic explanation he's kind of paraphrased from when he learnt it in school, but the key details are there. ] We can use it up an' need it replenished an' borrow it an' have it turned off, so I don't think it's the same thing as a soul.

Is a soul what you use to do stuff where you're from?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ (ABOUT) 28 DAYS LATER

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