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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( he suspects he will indeed run into trouble. trouble is sort of crawling the mall in high numbers at this point, after all. there's little chance of him avoiding it, especially considering they're standing right next to the source the infected have been using to enter the mall.

he hesitates at the mention, very far from expecting it. she had just been instructing him to keep all distractions at bay, after all. providing a distraction of his own seems very besides the point. a part of him feels due to say so, yet... it clicks, rather slowly, that she might be saying so for another reason.

he is very soft and human indeed, and that does make him a bit more vulnerable. )

I will. ( he's very determined not to need to, though. he wants to see the weak point closed, so they'd be a little safer for... however longer they had. ) I expect you to do the same if you need.

I won't need it. But thank you.

[she nods firmly, but this dramatic moment she's trying to build her eventual epic heroism around is interrupted by the sound of metal scraping on concrete as an infected person clambers up out of the sewer grating, shoving it aside as he goes. his eyes light on Graham and Peridot and he moves towards them purposefully.]

Here goes nothing. [she spares Graham one more look, brows knit in worry, before shaking it off and bolting, waving her hands as she goes to move the grate back into position before any more infected shamble out.]

( the moment is over, their time is up and they're on to action. that's all right; graham has always been better at action than feelings, for obvious reasons. he nods grimly at Peridot before she starts to slowly drag the heavy metal back into place. it's just a start in blocking off the infected, and he intends to make sure she doesn't have any distractions if he can help it.

the first infected is his first priority. he lurches for Peridot first — perhaps because she's smaller, perhaps because she's more obviously distracted. either way, Graham bolts in the way before the poor soul can even get halfway. a succinct tackle knocks the man to the ground. truly, the worst part of this experience was his lack of options for removing infected without harming them.

so Peridot should not begrudge the novelty handcuffs he uses to restrain him. they work well enough, even if they're fuzzy... don't ask what store he got them from, Peridot, just don't ask!!!

he doesn't have long to drag the infected to the side, using a nearby maintenance room as a corral, before a crowd of at least three swing round a corner, attracted by the noise. ) Keep working, ( is all he mentions to Peridot. he's got this, at least for right now. he's still got some tranquilizer darts, and he never misses, don't forget it! )

[Peridot has selected a nearby SUV, rather than a more practical and smaller vehicle. it's hard to say whether this is her way of showing off or if she's taking every precaution or if she panicked and it's the first vehicle she happened to see.

she has to keep her mind focused on it or she won't be able to move it. the magnetic field around her doesn't always respond the way she wants it too, especially when she's nervous. and while she observed Graham dispatching the first infected (those handcuffs look terribly impractical but okay!!), she has to avert her eyes from the rest.

she's standing the grating as she attempts to lift the car up- that part is easy. the fact that she lifted a little too hard, not anticipating the ceiling being a bit lower than she expected is... less than stellar. just ignore that loud sound of crunching metal and breaking glass.

well. at least with the roof caved in like that, no one will want the car and it'll stay over the grating. she meant to do this.]

( don't judge peri!!! frank west would have used the furry handcuffs, so that makes them a valid tool in a zombie apocalypse!!

to say the very least, he's not expecting that sudden crunch of glass and metal. he surely can't doubt her capacities when she's lifting SUVs, though. he's heard of her powers, yet witnessing them is a whole separate beast. he'd be impressed, if he had any time for it.

the infected are certainly more of a priority, though a handful of them rush for the shattered glass and twisted metal instead of either of them. he can't really comment on why, besides perhaps the noise. Graham has to move carefully to extricate them from pounding at the car, which could not really make moving it any easier. )

They seem drawn to noise. ( so... maybe they should avoid it??? haha, nice thought, when they're moving cars and closing heavy grates... )

[the urge to drop the vehicle on the infected as she tries to lift it again- slower this time. it really doesn't do wonders for her concentration and she takes a step back, dragging the SUV closer with slow jerks that do nothing to dislodge the infected trying to get inside.]

It is... logical... [she pauses to growl.] A vehicle crashing would mean easy prey to be picked off. It hasn't occurred to them there's no one in it yet. [another growl, and she shouts- this time at the infected.] IT'S EMPTY, YOU CLODS.

[what was that about noise.]

( on the one hand, Graham doesn't have to worry about being their next meal when they're pounding uselessly at a half-crushed Suburban. on the other hand, it can't be easy to move a structure of that size. it's certainly even harder with three — oh, four now — human sized distractions throwing themselves into the vehicle.

at the shout in their direction, though, a pair of them peel free and head toward the noise. Graham as at least prepared to keep them from reaching Peridot, though one he has to trip to manage it. he'll send an apology card when they figure out how to cure these poor souls. )

That was not the quietest I've heard you, ( the huntsman points out breathlessly. please don't make yourself an obvious target, Peri!!! )

[she makes a tiny grk noise of surprise- even if she can't be infected and most of the infected will realize pretty quickly she isn't made of food, she doesn't imagine that being chewed on would feel nice. as Graham comes to her rescue, she gives the vehicle another haphazard jerk and says, much quieter this time:] There's not a lot of finesse to this, just so you know...

[so please don't let her clip you, Graham. she cares less about clipping the infected.]

( don't worry about it, Peri, you will not be ineffectively gnawed on. not on his watch! it's a lot of work to play distraction for whatever infected decide to involve themselves in their work, and it takes about all of his attention to keep up with all the potential variables.

the reminder to stay clear of the SUV is well taken, though. he doesn't mean to be clipped, either! with the last of the infected dragged off the metal and plastic, he stays as clear as he can manage, watching in breathless silence as the vehicle is slowly lifted into place. )

Do you think that will do it? ( there's a truck they might be able to use to supplement, though if it comes to that, he intends to make the work easier on her. lifting? much harder than simply rolling, if he can get the damn thing into neutral. )

[she finally drops the SUV into place with a relieved grunt and a dramatic flop against the vehicle.] I think we'll be fine with just this.

[she peers underneath. The front left tire is sitting right on top of the grate so even if an infected were to try to get ambitious they'd never be able to get it open.] Look at this precision, Graham! It's perfect!

[and he didn't get bitten, so that's also a plus in her book.]

( if Peridot's work is less than precise, she won't be hearing it from Graham. he has to stoop a little lower to see how perfectly it's parked over the grate the infected were coming through, yet it certainly does seem like a simple and effective solution to their problem. better yet, they will be able to move it again if they have to. )

Nice work, Peridot. ( he's still a little breathless, braced on his knees, but he does muster a weary smile in her direction. she'd promised her powers would be impressive, well... mark him down as impressed then, Peri! )

[Peridot breaks into happy little giggles and bounces on the balls of her feet, making her look every bit the teenage girl her cloaking device makes her resemble. once she's done with that, she trots over to Graham and pats him on the shoulder as she passes.] You did well too. Now let's go deal with the rest of those infected.

[what? he's alive! clearly he doesn't need that long to rest up before he jumps back into the fray.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[EVENT POST] I FEEL STUPID, AND CONTAGIOUS.

how dare you how cute is this goodbye

i'm a terrible person.

i agree i didn't ask for peri feels

but they always happen anyway

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wrap on yours perhaps ?

yup!