[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

[dishearten]

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.

Comments

[dishearten]

I intend to, Emma. I promise.

where is it? I can meet you there.

( because believe or not, she's not the only one worried here. he'd like to know she's all right, with his own eyes, and not from a short message. )

[sheriffing]

Second floor, northwest corner, near the video store.

[ and as much as she wants to see that he's safe, she can't help but wonder - ]

Where are you now?

[ she got pulled away from the food court when all hell broke loose. if this isn't an easy trip for him, she'd rather make it herself. ]

[dishearten]

trying to get into the security office, still. there's a locked door on the third floor, haven't found my way in yet.

( they're not too far from each other, though a floor in between them. )

[sheriffing]

I'm guessing it's not the kind of lock we can pick?

[ because the sporting goods store might have enough to work with to do that, too.]

[dishearten]

seems like a keycard.

( breaking it down doesn't seem like an easy task, either. which is why it'd be decent shelter, if they could get in... they just have to get in first. )

[sheriffing]

Then we're not getting in through force or doing it the old fashioned way. Should we meet up first, get some more supplies distributed?

[ her immediate concern is people already injured, making sure they have the resources they need close by. if they're going to work on the door, getting in could take a while.]

[dishearten]

all right. we can meet at the stairs, it'll be faster.

( and from there they can move on to finding supplies, because he realizes that an important priority, even though he's still hoping to get in the office if he can. )

[sheriffing]

That works. Let me know if you come across any trouble along the way.

[ because if she ends up having to wait too long she'll assume it, and go find the trouble anyway.]

ACTION

[dishearten]

( he would, and he doesn't. he doesn't even bother answering, and while that could hint at something being amiss, the reality is he's just too set on making sure he's there when she gets there, or if sooner if possible. he's a runner, so he can get there pretty quickly, taking the steps like he's in the middle of a marathon and not even breaking a sweat.

the situation is dire, and they don't have much time for reunions. it doesn't seem to matter, when he sees her, and can tell she's as well as she promised. he doesn't stop moving until he can catch her in his arms and draw her close, grip impossibly tight, especially in the awareness the moment is not going to last very long.

if she wants to call this a ploy for their cover story, let her, because it lets him get away with what he wants to. )

Re: ACTION

[sheriffing]

[ they might find that they meet in the middle, the way they usually do. he gets there seconds before she does, and even as she's rushing toward him, she's aware of all they need to do. find supplies, get into the security office, designate specific areas where they can contain the infected long enough to get civilians out. she's gone over it all with enough dedication to know that there's not enough time for either of them hesitate, yet when he's there all other priorities are forgotten for a moment or two.

it's not her cover that has her reaching for him, the tremble of her hands as they grasped at his back betraying just how shaken she was to have lost him in the middle of the lockdown. she sinks into his arms, a deep breath lost in the way she buries her face into the crook of his neck, eyes shut for the seconds they allow themselves a little relief.

now that she knows he's alright, having to face all of this is a little less terrifying, even if she can't manage the words to say so.] Hey.

[dishearten]

( they both know what their priority should be. there's all too much that is demanding attention, and soon. now is not a time to get distracted. and yet he'd be worse off if they didn't have this moment, living proof that she was still fine in a situation dangerous enough she had every reason not to be. even knowing she was strong and incredibly capable, it was still hard not to worry.

he rubs a path over her shoulder, pressing his temple to her hair and allowing himself exactly three seconds to lose himself to the fact she was okay. three and no more. they didn't have time for more. he feels even more uncertain and perhaps even a little afraid than he had even a few seconds ago. he's not sure it's a benefit to remember. he functions better without fear.

of all the things to say, hey isn't what he's expecting. he mutters a laugh, head falling on her shoulder for a flicker of a moment before he forces himself to pull back, just a little. ) Hey, ( he says in return, and it seems to say very little when his head with swarmed with so much. hey is just easier. )

[sheriffing]

[ she pulls back reluctantly, just a second or two after he does. if he's given them three seconds of reprieve, she's taken four or five. her hand reaches for his once they've separated, a familiar gesture turning into a needy one now that she wants him close. it wasn't long ago that she'd taken his hand as they'd wandered through the pet store, a touch met with the same knowing look he gave her every time she was affectionate with him in public.

she can practically see the wheels turning in his head whenever she does it under normal circumstances, as if he's accepting the appearance of a relationship that she's already lost track of. it's been weeks since her inclination to touch him has needed the prompting of their cover. ] I was -

[ worried about him. afraid he'd gotten hurt in the crowd of the infected. wondering how long it'd be before they saw each other again. whatever she was, she gestures in the direction of the store they're looking for.] It's this way.

[dishearten]

( it'd be inaccurate to say he perfectly comprehends the difference between their relationship and the cover they're supposed to be presenting. the easy touches and the closeness would have been easily explained away, if they hadn't found their way into routines with no one to witness them. he doesn't find Emma to be the sort to simply forget nobody is watching, and he doesn't suspect she acts on accident.

still, the exact motivation is lost to him, and he'll let it stay that way. he doesn't care what drives her, when he doesn't want the affection to stop. he's too fond of the little gestures to risk pressing for reasons why.

his eyes narrow, just a little, at the sentence she doesn't finish, wondering at the words she was choosing not to say. he is curious, yet there's no place to really question at the moment, either. he squeezes her palm, just once, before he sets off in the direction she'd indicated. he's following more than leading, though, since she knows where they're going. ) I didn't manage to get your snack, ( he says, a little repentant, even though he knows Emma won't hold the fact against him. it just reminds him that if she'd been hungry before, it's only bound to get worse. they might need to think about finding food in all this sooner or later. )