[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

[scrap_metal]

[ Genos doesn't question that, instead he reflexively runs a quick scan of the surroundings. His sense of smell never was that great, not enhanced, but if focuses he can read the movement and heat signatures ]

I'm sensing some movement, but- I can't tell whether those are civilians or infected. And I can only pinpoint a very general directions.

[ Damn it, it's kind of useless here because there is so many people around. Both on their floor, and above. He starts moving forward, carefully to not alert with sound. But tiptoeing around the broken equipment is harder than it seems, and something breaks under his feet.

He's going to check the nearest door, whether they're linked to a shop back-entrance, magazine, or some staff room, there might be a phone ]

[ex_adept136]

[When something snaps underfoot, Haise readies his weapon...but the uneasy silence resumes. That could mean they're dealing with civilians in hiding and not infected, but it's too soon to tell. He follows cautiously, glancing around the hall when Genos pauses near a door.

All clear, still yet. He's no less cautious for it, after the way things erupted so suddenly just hours ago]

See anyone?

[It's the first question he thinks to ask when he turns to peer around his associate]

[scrap_metal]

No...

[ Genos enters the room that seems to be back-magazine of one of the shops. Boxes full of stuff stashed everywhere, some of them toppled over, the tiny table broken and scattered, provide already a grim sight, and there's more. ]

But there's blood.

[ Genos kneels to investigate the splatter on ground. Broken cups and plates suggest someone was eating here, an employee on a break most likely, when something happened. ]

[ex_adept136]

[Haise follows behind them after one last left-right glance at the hallway. Concluding that it's quiet for now, he steps into the room and surveys the damage. Here it does seem devoid of life, unfortunately... And the scent of blood is heavy in the air.

And yet...]

There's a pet store in this mall, isn't there? [He's quiet, staring at the floor, and reluctant to explain] This isn't all human blood.

[How terrible, that so many were hurt]

[scrap_metal]

[ Ouch. Poor things. And these victims couldn't even attempt to run away ]

So there's a small chance the human portion of the blood comes from the attacker.

[ If the pet was large enough to put up a fight, that's it. But they generally don't have large dogs in pet stores, so the chance is close to 0. ]

Earlier someone showed me a closed-off corral to isolate the infected. If whoever did this is still hiding around here we could-

[ He shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. A whole night without sleep is getting to him ] Right, the phone. Priorities.

[ex_adept136]

[Haise can understand the sentiment. What they're seeing here is...horrible]

I'm sure we can handle both.

[He doesn't like the idea of leaving anyone infected on the loose, especially since they may end up doing more deeply regrettable things. Who would want to find they'd killed a bunch of helpless pets?

Surely, this is something the two of them can handle while they locate a phone. Chances are, if the culprit is around, they'll make themselves known]