epidemiology | [EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

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[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

CHARACTERS: Open to all!
DATE: 3/11-3/12, ICly
WARNINGS: Zombie attacks? Violence? Shopping???
SUMMARY: Lockdown at the mall! Grab your CDs and your soft pretzel, it's about to get bad.

LET'S GO TO THE MALL

LOCKDOWN

Business has been rough for Woodhurst Shopping Center ever since riots and unrest about the Bristol Virus have shunned most to their homes. Perhaps ill-advisedly, in attempts to draw a few more customers back into the polished halls of the grandest shopping experience Woodhurst has to offer, a weekend of big sales, great bargains, and fun family activities was widely advertised in the Woodhurst Watch. There was even a scheduled public concert, performed by the University Choir.

The turnout was smaller than hoped, yet the air was quite optimistic. Shoppers enjoyed the day of activities and fun, and the sense of security was bolstered by the increased security detail. There was even some members of the press on hand to document this return to normality in a troubled time. Everything was going well, until a scene broke out in the food court.

Security tried to quietly remove members of the choir that suddenly seemed to snap, plowing into one of the food stands and starting to feed on raw meat. However, a good handful of them escaped instant confinement, and while many of the visitors fled the mall as soon as they could, soon Police Detail arrived and put the entire building on lockdown. Nobody in and nobody out until the situation was resolved.

18:00 TO 23:00 HOURS

Anyone unlucky enough to be trapped in the mall is left to their own devices, with very little knowledge to go on. This includes many civilians, as well as a small number of Audentes agents. This also includes a small number of infected, more than just the university choir. There's a voice over the loudspeaker imploring people to hide in stores, barricade doors, and stay put until help arrives.

The majority of the infected seem to linger in the Food Court especially. Bad news for anyone trapped and starting to get hungry as the hours pass by, without any obvious assistance from the outside. The members of ALASTAIR have a choice, help protect or just do their best to avoid the infected themselves. Characters can get into the Security Office for a camera feed on what is happening in the mall, and potentially use it as a base of operations to work from.

00:00 TO 02:00 HOURS

It becomes apparent that the number of infected in the mall are somehow increasing, despite the lockdown. It means that those that have squirreled away into stores and outlets are growing less and less safe as infected numbers multiply and they begin attacking barricades. To make matters worse, anyone that hasn't found cover will find the infected extremely reactive, and willing to give chase around the mall.

The security feed indicates the infected seem to be coming in from the Parking Garage. Investigation will reveal a sewer outlet on the bottom floor. Characters will have to decide whether they should utilize the tunnel as a means of escape, or if sealing it off would ultimately leave the remaining hours of lockdown a little less violent.

04:00 TO 09:00 HOURS

It's been an agonizing 12 hours, and with surprisingly little aide from the outside. With time to make preparations and put plans in place, now it's time to end this lockdown once and for all. Audentes is tasked with neutralizing the remaining infected as well as escorting any remaining civilians to safety, by any means they decide on.

It is up to Audentes to decide how the end of this event plays out, be it removing or otherwise drawing away the lingering infected, or putting them down once and for all. There are plenty of civilians that have been bitten and attacked, leaving the question in the air as to whether they are infected as well. What should be done with those that could be bringing the virus back to their families? The team is going to have to decide on the answer to that.

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[ It's certainly a frustration to be stopped here, after all that's happened, but if they've made it this far she's certain they'll succeed the rest of the way. Only a matter of time and persistence, though she can still hope they'll figure this out sooner rather than later.

She accepts the handshake with a resolved grip and a quiet smile. ]

Likewise. I'm glad to meet you, Graham, despite the circumstances.

[ As an afterthought, ] ...If there's anything else I can do to help, you can always find me on the network.

[ From here on out she'll part ways, circling back to the rest of the mall to see what civilians (or recruits) she can assist in the meantime. ]

[ A shot is fired, and the infected falls, it almost make Genos stumble, because he did not expect that- but he keeps his balance and changes the movement in last moment. Picking last civilians straggler by arm and pushing- helping the forward. ]

You seem to be doing quite good job at it. [ He says to Giovanni, but without edge. He can see where he failed, and he's going to deny that. Soon civilians are in safety and all it's left is to raise the barricade again.

The infected with shattered kneecap seems to be the only one permanently immobilized. ]

Is there a chance he bleeds to death? [ There's something unnerving in that possibility, but given that it's healthy people that are their main priority and responsibility, there's nothing anyone can do. There isn't much worry in his voice because of that. ]

[He should probably just slap the take-out box out of his hands, grab him by the wrist, and get a move on, but at this point Joseph is too flabbergasted to manage much more than working his jaw with something to say before he shakes his head.]

You know what? You're on your own. I'm outta here!

[Which true to his word, Joseph's back to hoofing it.]

Hah! I'll give you that one~. [Jogging alongside, Ban opened the takeout box and licked his lips as heavy-footed infected rounded on the steps and the escalator, rushing to chase after them. While Ban took care of a dozen, there was clearly many more in the running to catch up.

Joseph's hasty escape made sense, even if the burden of worry wasn't exactly on Ban's shoulders.]

Up another level, there's a store with sports equipment that has a nice, wide vent.

[It sure is a strange and rather sticky situation they've found themselves in. And while Riza's decent enough at strategizing on a battlefield, her critical thinking skills fall a wee bit short when it comes to modern appliances like the escalator and oversized boats in locations where they shouldn't be.

Still, two heads are better than one - given enough time, surely they'll be able to come up with something. Her gaze sweeps the area again as she thinks.]

Is there anything long enough around here we could use to push it?

[Theoretically then he could stand on solid mall floor instead of constantly moving escalator....]

[What a good show......can she launch into a round of wild applause and demand an encore? But from the looks of things, his few minutes of momentary fame have taxed him more than he'd let on. It's like watching a balloon suddenly untied, deflating to a ghost of its former self, the shape still barely there but the contents completely gone.

A strange transformation, but still one she considers herself privileged to see. (And one she hopes to see again one day in the future, if she's entirely honest. He still looks the best with a smile on his face, in her opinion.)

Her gaze shifts, sliding towards the retreating backs of the children, both exuberant over their good luck of the day. (Never mind that they might have both been three minutes away from becoming zombie chow.) She smiles, a ghost here then gone.]

They did say it was even in an alien language, didn't they?

[Japanese, technically, but it might as well also be an alien language for her for all that it looks like a bunch of scribbles on a piece of paper. But back to the kids—she nods at their now-tiny figures, eyebrows raised.]

You seem to do well with kids.

What?

[He wanted to know more about the bow, Jin . . . Why are you changing the topic? :( :( ]

[Ugh, fine. If he's gotta be responsible and shit, he'll focus.]

[Joseph turns his head to look over to where Jin's indicating, and then back at the horde chasing after them. He finds it a little questionable that the barrier will hold all of them forever, but it'll give them a breather, and it'll give them a chance to pick them off a couple at a time.]

Can I hop a fence? [He scoffs.] I've climbed much bigger than that before, thank you very much!

[(insert phallus jokes about pillars here)]

[Joseph startles a little at the sound of her stomach. He can't really argue against her reason for being out here though. There's no telling how long they're going to be trapped in this mall, and it'd be a good idea get something in people's stomachs to tide them over at least for a little while.]

You mind having some help then?

alright i'll see what i can do about getting people there

don't keep at it with the door if it starts looking dicey, yeah?? it'd be helpful but it's not worth risking your life over

[The sudden limpness of the second kid in his hold is strange, and it raises a red flag in Joseph's mind, but he's not at all aware — nor even potentially thinking about the possibility — of a hidden weapon being pulled. His attention certainly doesn't linger when there's another slap to his side, and he turns his head to frown at the first kid.]

I have a name, you know!

[Because he totally took the time to say it during all of this. Clearly.]

[But even with as disgruntled as he is with being smacked and barked at with orders like he's some kind of dog, it's as good a place to hole up for a little while as any, assuming there isn't anything lingering inside the shop. Joseph shifts trajectory to head toward the shoe store. When he reaches it, he doesn't anticipate that the first kid's going to have it in him to get in there, so he skids to a halt just outside the grate and with very little grace slides Fugo under the grate along the floor in a very literal fashion.]

[The other kid he sets down, keeping his arm just behind his back to keep him from standing up completely and slow down the process of him getting inside the store.]

You next, go.

Awesome! You're like a one woman army!

[Well, he's not sure he's talking to a girl for sure. She certainly doesn't look like the girls back home, but he's willing to make the assumption.]

[ Arima's word kinda fall flat because honestly? He would have killed most of the infected by now if given the order to do so. He's trying to act and be different from what he was born and created to be, a weapon, but the going is rough for sure. ]

We'll just have to see what happens. [ It's all he says for a time before the finally get to the place where the other infected are locked up. It's hard to imagine that they were once normal people with families and dreams. ]

Once we're done here I'm going to look for more survivors. If you wish to come that's fine with me.

[Those were a lot of words, but you didn't live in an underground cavern your whole life without picking up a thing or two about geology.

Peridot was looking a lot less like a quirky name by the minute.]

Innate ability sounds a lot like magic to me, but I'll take your word for it. [Magic, science, they were two sides of the same coin to Sans, anyway.] You got somebody training you, or are you self-taught?

Of course not. You should come if you're hungry too. We can carry that much more back together with both of us!

[So Sakura has no reason to disagree. Welcoming his offer to help and join her, even. She's usually this way, welcoming the help and not necessarily immediately assuming the others want to come to keep an eye on her in the middle of these missions and trouble she finds herself in.]

Where did you want to start?

[ Shizuo, my dude, this is how he treats all his friends!! This is how you know you've made it.

Naruto twists himself away and juts his legs out so his ass goes skidding across the floor like he's concerned Shizuo will punch him for the slight, but.. He doesn't look very concerned about that possibility. He gets smacked often enough that it's hardly even something to be concerned about anymore, but avoiding it comes kind of naturally. As it is, he's got a little shit smile on and is happily tearing the top away with his teeth again, looking at Shizuo like he's a fun arcade game rather than a guy who could literally put Naruto through a wall. ]

How did I know you'd say yes, y'know?? [ He says, mouth full and oh god please don't dribble all that down your chin, kid. ] You coulda said no and then it would have been even harder for me to steal one.

[ Trust him, he's had his entire childhood to work out the best way to trick people in these kinds of situations. ]

Like ya said, anyways, they're all melting. You gotta eat 'em quick!

[ He's almost surprised by Graham's silent arrival, or he would have been if he weren't keeping an over excited eye on his surroundings and spotted him at just the right moment. ]

Oh! Hey!

[ It's okay, Naruto is suffocatingly friendly enough to do the greetings for them both. He's beaming at the sight of Mr Stranger and leads him to the storefront and past the elaborate barricade of empty shelves to where his little group of people are housed. ]

Yeah, I kept 'em back here 'cos I thought it'd be the safest for 'em.

[ He looks to Graham then, interested on what kind of first aid he's going to be applying here. He's only seen medical ninjutsu, after all, and he's nothing if not curious. ]

[ Dense as he is and easily distracted as he might be, he's focusing pretty intently on Ban's face - because he still doesn't get him and somehow really wants to - so he'd have to be blind to miss that shift in his expression. When you're used to seeing one or two expressions on someone, a new kind of look stands out, and though Naruto thinks this one doesn't really suit Ban, he's got a feeling it might have been there before. Perhaps a lot... ]

Mmhm, yeah, but I can't see what he's seein' until I release him an' if I did that and made another then he'd be stuck in here with me, too.

[ His fingers pop the top of the takeout box, idly. ]

Push it? Oh-

[ He.. didn't even think of that, but when he looks around there's very little to actually use. There's nothing around them other than a few benches and some potted foliage, and he might be a ninja but in no way is he strong enough to pick those things up. ]

I dunno... He sighs. See, I even thought about throwin' something at it, but all I have are shuriken and... I don't really wanna pop the boat, y'know.

[ Then he'll just have a useless was-boat, which is even more a waste of money than buying a boat in the first place. ]

Edited 2017-04-03 15:22 (UTC)

[Fugo nods.]

If nothing else, once things settle down, we'll know what areas we need to keep secure.

[It'd be nice, he thinks, if they could keep the civilians all in one place. But nice isn't reality. They're probably going to spread out in several pockets on the second and third floors. How annoying.]

Will do. [Fugo reaches up and flips his sunglasses back down. After grabbing his bag, he nods at Graham, turns on his heel, and heads back in the direction of the mall proper towards his next rendezvous.] See you around.

[For Sans' part, the adjustment is nil. He steps into the new location as if walking through an open door, hands still shuffled in his pockets. Peter's surprise isn't enough to throw his relaxed demeanor, though there's a glint to his grin that says he just might be enjoying it a little.

A look of surprise on someone's face was always worth celebrating, after all.]

Know much about quantum mechanics, kid? [He gestures to the parking garage entrance, as if for confirmation that they were in the right spot.]

[One second: there's a man next to him on the chandelier. The next: that man is actually a skeleton, with a wide and toothy grin.

Fugo blinks. Looks down at his hands, with their ragged nails and bitten-off cuticles. He then sighs and reaches up to pinch his left eyelid: it's not the best way to confirm if he's dreaming or not, but the spot of pain helps him to remember all the things and the people he's encountered tonight. Giorno's here.

So this probably isn't a dream.]

No thanks. [A bite's a bite. And he doesn't like chocolate to begin with. But because he doesn't think that would fly, he has to be honest.] It would be a waste. I don't think I could keep it down. I'll eat when I get out of here.

[A pause, then:] You've got pretty good diction for someone who doesn't have a tongue.

[Tongues are very important for talking. A fact he knew but didn't know until after Sicilia.]

And you've got a lot of gusto for a kid that won't eat, but hey. Suit yourself. [Sans shrugs, taking the bar back for himself. He takes an impressive bite, chewing around his words.] I'd just hate to see you when your blood sugar gets any lower.

[He didn't have that problem, of course, but chocolate's chocolate.]

So what brought you to the mall today, bud?

[And just like that, Giorno goes cold, looking distant and betraying something outside of what he has known-- but within, he fears, the suspicions he has dreaded. What he has dreaded in Fugo's aversion to contact, too.

Kung Jin is still a trained fighter. He'd be remiss if he couldn't recognize a body steeling itself for a blow. Much less with his hand perched upon the muscle itself, Giorno's shoulder tensed up in a dreadful, instinctual anticipation.

For a moment, Giorno's hand hovers in the air, and he can only consider the subtle meaning in it, the reflex existing in the first place. Jin flexes his fingers and chews on the inside of his cheek, expression as unreadable as Fugo and Giorno had believed.]

Is this about your 'ability', Fugo? [asks Jin, his eyes landing upon Fugo. And, to dispel the suspicion that he might possibly already know something about it, that strange and deadly piece of Fugo's spirit, he quickly adds:]

I don't know anything. Promise. Just that you've got powers too.

[Riza comes to much the same conclusion as Naruto not too long after. Where's Shizuo with his super strength when he's needed?

That said, throwing's not too bad an idea, even if she has no idea what a shuriken is. (Presumably something pointy, if it'll pop the boat.) There might not be anything particularly pokeable here, but surely there's something throwable. Anything's throwable with enough creativity.

She hums lightly again, then gestures towards a nearby sign. RICK'S SPORTING GOODS and while the actual store's something of a mess, passed through earlier by a horde of infected, there might be something inside still worth using.]

What if we try searching in there? There might be something we can use to throw at the boat.

[Fugo makes a soft, dismissive sound. Yeah, yeah. Starving's bad. And he's got an acid, iron stomach that he knows wouldn't react well to something like a candy bar.]

Why did anyone come here today.

A friend of mine wanted to go shopping. I went with because he asked me to.

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[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Acquired name

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wtf i never got this notif!! ugh so sorry for the delay

i have no idea but i welcome it wholeheartedly

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bless u...

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(angel emoji)

uwu* !

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don't worry about it!

sounds good!

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