[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

[nextlineis]

[Listen, he knew a man who wore suspenders backwards and presumably on purpose. He is the last person to bat an eye at strange fashion choices.]

[He jumps when the metal grating slams down though and looks from her to the grate and back again a handful of times.]

How did you do that!?

[He is impressed! Quite, in fact! This is probably just not the time for that question, but he's gonna ask it anyway.]

[slapfight]

[like she's not going to pause in the middle of utter chaos to brag. it's not like she has to worry about the infected chewing on her.] I possess my own magnetic field. It allows me to make metal do my bidding.

[to further demonstrate, she lifts a mechanical toy off a kiosk behind her and hurls it off to the side, striking an infected person in the chest before he can interrupt their conversation.] Heh. You're welcome.

[nextlineis]

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.]

[slapfight]

I'm a gem, actually. [well, she's also a female, but look... gender nuance is fucking weird in gem culture, my bro. and she easily mistakes "woman" for some sort of... species.]

But, essentially yes, I am. [she rubs her knuckles on her jumpsuit, smug as anything.] You're lucky you ran into me. Now you don't have to worry about anything turning you into their next meal.

[nextlineis]

[A gem??]

[Well, Joseph isn't exactly going to pretend like he understands what the heck that means or is, but he'll still accept it. You can be whatever you want to be.]

[He grins.]

I mean, I wasn't all that worried before, but if you wanna take care of everything going on in this mall, I'm sure as hell not going to stop you.

[slapfight]

It's appreciated. It's always nice to meet someone who knows when to defer to the professionals, and the more experienced team members.

[This guy knows what's up. He'll make a fine member of Audentes if he keeps this up or so says Peridot's smug inability to recognize sarcasm, ironic statements, or anything backhandedly negative for what it is.]

[nextlineis]

Any idea how we're going to get out of this mall then?

[He's not even really being that sarcastic. The sooner they can get the heck out of here, the happier he'll certainly be.]

[slapfight]

You can't leave the mall?

[she's stunned by this revelation, having decided to stay and fight without concerning herself with exit strategies. she just assumed that people needed the zombie hordes distracted while they made a run for it.]

...Um... Well. [stars. she can't make herself look dumb now. think, Peridot. THINK.] I doubt there are infected in the ventilation shafts! You could try there!

[nextlineis]

Uh...

[Well. She's not wrong. He could try. There's just one slight problem keeping it from be successful. Or rather one very, very large one.]

I'm pretty sure they don't make vents my size.

[slapfight]

[she stares him up and down, making a disgruntled noise.] Things would be so much easier if humans could shapeshift.

[nextlineis]

[Joseph crinkles his nose a little.]

You wouldn't want that. Trust me.

[Fucking vampires, man...]

[slapfight]

Why not? Aside from being an insult to your intended form, it's highly useful for those who can do it.

[which she can admit now, because metal powers are BETTER than shapeshifting.]

[nextlineis]

The only things I know of that can shapeshift that look like humans aren't exactly things you want around you.

[So, he's got a little bit of a hang-up with it.]

[slapfight]

You clearly have not met Amethyst.

[but you should because she's amazing.]

[nextlineis]

[Much like a dog, Joseph tilts his head to one side in curiosity.]

Who?

[slapfight]

[sighs] Maybe one day you'll understand. [she can only hope. Amethyst would be nice to have around here.] In the meantime, I suppose I could help you find an exit...

[nextlineis]

[He frowns at the idea that he needs help finding an exit. Or rather that he's in need of an exit for himself. Don't misunderstand, he'd definitely prefer not being trapped in the mall, but the last thing he wants is for it to be implied that he can't manage himself. Joseph shakes his head a little.]

There's other people who could use that kind of help more than me.