[log] The Hills Have Eyes [closed-ish]

[jumpthegun]

Characters: Watson, Charles, Davesprite, Bucky, Zell, Sora, Kunsel, Homura, and Quark
Location Building 235 (Aquarium) and Building 130 (Pharmacy)
Date: Day 162 - 164
Summary: Eyes appear all around, static and paranoia return, friends arrive with fire, hopefully no one is getting attacked. Later, Bucky, Quark, and John discover evidence of Fiona's murder.
Warnings: References to character death.

[The aquarium has the feel of a small-town tourist attraction, the sort built to give people just stopping to fuel up on petrol a reason to stay for an hour or two. There are various aquariums inside that, according to plaques beside them, once showcased various Alaskan fish; they're empty now. The whole atmosphere is kind of eerie, with the water casting rippling patterns on the walls, ceilings, and floors, but there's hot water in the sinks for anyone who wants it.

What's probably unwanted by everyone is the eyes. They're on the walls, drawn in the frost on the windows, they're on the ceilings, and the static crawls its way over walls and people. The sense of being watched, of being followed, is strong.]

Comments

Evening

[coyoteking]

[When Charles shows up, he probably looks like a lunatic. Kinda feels like one, honestly. After hearing from Charlie that the static doesn't actually do anything, he decided to ford the proverbial river and head out. Back north, to try and meet up with Ecks. But unfortunately, the static getting worse again wasn't the only thing that decided to happen today.

Something was following him. Drawing eyes in the snow, forming them out of rubble, leaving them where he could see. And yet, whatever it was, it was keeping itself invisible, or out of sight, even though that should've been impossible. Was it just glitching out because of the static? Was it a person, or a monster? Shit.

The sudden cacophony of distant screams sure didn't do anything to ease his growing paranoia.

He's spent most of the day running since then, or at least walking very, very quickly. So by the time he darts inside, a little earlier than he'd originally planned but still near lockdown, Charles is out of breath, a little shaky from not stopping to eat, and definitely crazy-eyed. Him holding a hatchet probably isn't helping. After a few moments of glancing around at shadows, he'll move further into the aquarium and head for the bathrooms.

He will Not Be Pleased by all the eyes everywhere. But it's too late to escape to a different location, too close to lockdown now. Right?]

[advanced]

[He's expecting people to come.

Watson told him that there were people with fire to help cauterise his wounds, so he's expecting the arrival of someone. But that this man is alone, with a hatchet, and he doesn't immediately call out for either of them-- it's suspicious. He's not as stealthy as he would be usually, not after having his metal arm amputated only the day before, but he still melts fairly soundlessly into the shadows to follow him.

Until Charles almost reaches the bathroom where Watson is, then Bucky steps out to intercede.]

Who are you?

[jumpthegun]

Morning
John starts the day... all right. The return of the static, the appearance of the eyes, and the feeling of being watched are pervasive, but he manages to hold down his personal paranoia. The pain actually helps with it. Trying to lift his right leg delivers a punch of searing heat up and down his body that snaps his attention completely to that. It would seem his adrenaline from last night has run out. He's pale, clammy, and panting just slightly, but it does the trick. It lets him get up and shuffle out of the bathroom after washing up and changing the bandage on his leg. He uses the wall and his umbrella to get himself over to the gift shop, slowly but surely.

Because of his speed, it would be very easy to accost him along the way, but when he reaches it, he'll call out:]

Davesprite?


Day/Evening
[John isn't doing much moving around after that except to fuss at Bucky's wounds, if the other man will even allow it. When anyone arrives, they'll likely find him sat against one wall, looking a right mess with his head down, just trying to focus on the network.]

Day \o/

[swatsflies]

[ Feeling pretty worn out from the eyes and static, Zell manages to approach Watson quietly. It doesn't last for long as he gets a good look at the doctor. ]

Whoa! You look like shit.

[ The Calvary is here. Promptly digging in his messenger bag to offer up a bag of snow. Keep ice on that, dude. ] Brought the stuff. Where do you want it?

morning; cw: mortality/unreality issues, general references to his death

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite wakes early and easy, a light sleeper by nurture, to the sound and sight of static grown stronger. It pierces him through—not with panic, but with a sharp awareness that he can't put out of mind. It's been a day and a night since he revived, and he lacks a sense of time between that and the death itself. He's warm, he reminds himself; he's inside; he wouldn't have revived at all if none of this were real. The eyes are new, but no glitch of dying code. Kesara talked about them. He couldn't comment on her post, but he saw it still.]

[For a time he sits there staring at the eyes staring at him, two fingers pressed to his neck to feel the steady rhythm of his pulse as he repeats these things to himself. This is real; he's alive; he's not dying.]

[The sound of limping approach draws him out of it, and the tap of the umbrella-cane identifies the source as Watson even before he hears his voice. Here in the morning, just like he said he'd be. Davesprite caws back in answer and greeting, takes a moment to gather up his things, and soon is at the door to meet him.]

[Of course Watson looks like shit. Motioning at him, he chirps again. How's he doing? He didn't hear him fall along the way, but he wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility.]

[advanced]

[It's spiralling again and he's terrified.

He doesn't show it outwardly, his expression remaining almost neutral and his eyes fixed on any movement that comes close to him, but he is. The static has started and he can hear screaming in his head, all he can think is that he's being wiped. He's losing the fight with the programming and he's going to go under.

Watson gets a harsh look when he approaches, a frown and a hoarse voice snapping out.]

Don't. Stay back.

Evening

[deus_ex_phs]

[The static and the screaming haven't been helping anything, but Kunsel is a SOLDIER. He knows how to soldier on. Only a hint of tightness around his eyes belies his strain as he sits down next to Watson sometime after the man's wounds have been dealt with. He has a cup in his hands that he holds out.

It's filled with lukewarm coffee.]

Hey. How're you holding up?

Evening, after the confrontation with Bucky

[coyoteking]

[Charles waits a few minutes after Bucky leaves the bathroom before he so much as approaches the door. He knocks, if for no other reason than to let Watson know he's coming, but he enters with or without being answered.

Once inside, he picks a spot in Watson's line of sight and leans against the wall. He drops his bag and the hatchet next to him, then stands there, arms crossed. Now that he's not quite as hyped up, now that the adrenaline's starting to fade, he doesn't feel as angry, he just feels tired and scared. Which makes him feel stupid. What he just did isn't helping. Nothing is helping. Today is shit.]

So. You were gonna explain all this to me?

[He wants to sound mad but his heart's not in it. Up close he looks a bit messy; he's got a healing black eye, which is thankfully the blind one, but both of them are ringed with dark circles that say he hasn't been sleeping much. He's a little shaky from hunger. What the hell was he thinking, trying to pick a fight like this?]

day/evening (ooc note: unlike the gif, he does not glow)

[mrcreamsicles]

[Sticking around is as far from the plan Davesprite had as it gets. He'd wanted, originally, to get going early and hunker down at the hospital for the night, away from Bucky and all his wariness and nearer still to the friends he wants to meet with. The static put a damper on that. After dying in it a day and a night prior, it took him little time to decide it was more than his worth to put up with, no matter the straight shot from here to there. The day has passed tensely since then.]

[For the most part, Davesprite tries to keep his distance from Bucky, typically keeping to the gift shop portion of the aquarium. Otherwise one might catch him in transit from the restroom, moving along at a speed that he hopes is neither slow enough nor fast enough to trip up whatever metric for threatening Bucky keeps. Bucky's unnerving as hell, okay.]

[And to any new arrival, he has to look ridiculous. If the orange bird dude with no legs thing weren't enough, or the fact that he's actually floating a couple inches off the floor, then maybe his outfit will do it. There's a pink bra over a pawprint bandana on his head. His tail of a lower body has been wrapped in a curtain, secured at the waist with a police utility belt (and dog leash to tie its broken latch), and at the end by stuffing the material through a flower crown. His peacoat is as terribly orange as the rest of him.]

[Worst off? He can't even explain himself with the loss of his words after his recent death. The most greeting people may get is a raised hand and an undeniably birdlike caw.]

[advanced]

[Sorry, what was that about avoiding Bucky, Davesprite?

He's spent most of the day either prowling around the main aquarium, or almost hiding in a shadowed corner with his back to the wall and his knees pulled up. He's trying to avoid the others mostly, but when he sees a flicker of static move into his vision he can't help reacting on instinct to move further into its path, wary and ready.

And then the static forms into Davesprite, just the kid, and he steps back again.]

--sorry.

[deus_ex_phs]

[You know, Kunsel muses to himself, there's a difference between seeing an orange bird person on the network and seeing one in person. And it isn't just the fact that he can see the form of Davesprite's odd tail now, underneath that curtain he's wrapped around it.

Still, at least he'd had the warning of seeing Davesprite that once, because it means he isn't giving a doubletake now. Even as long as Kunsel's been here, it's sometimes still startling to encounter non-humans in person. As it is, he can't quite resist the nudge of curiosity that sends him ambling over to where the bird-boy is... standing? Floating?]

Hey. I'm Kunsel. I think we talked once over the network.

[seekthelight]

[Sora has seen and met a lot of strange people--beings. That's a better word for it. Taking animals, faeries, people without hearts; the list goes on.

But Davesprite definitely takes the cake.

It's in the gift shop that Sora spots the other and he can't help but stare for a moment, trying to take in the strange sight of the other. Once his brain processes what he's seeing he manages to snap out of it and put on a smile, shifting a bit more into view as he raises a hand in greeting.]

Hi! I--ah--don't think we've ever met?

Rude. I demand glowing chop chop.

[swatsflies]

[ He's heading to the gift shop to check if there are any stuffed animals for Ecks when he spies with his eyes something that is orange and wiggly looking. ]

Huh? [ Going to stare for a moment or two. ] Whoa. You're orange. [ And it takes a moment longer before some things fall into place. ]

Oh! You're Jade's friend, right?

Day/evening

[deus_ex_phs]

Day

[Making it to the aquarium is a relief. Even with the wall to keep themselves oriented with, the static and the screams and the eyes made traveling with Zell difficult, even dangerous. He's glad to be able to untie the leash they'd used to tie themselves together to keep from being separated.

He's still shaking snow off when he looks up and sees someone else standing there.]

Evening

[Anyone who passes by one of the bathrooms will find Kunsel doesn't something a little bit strange. He's got one of the sinks stopped up and filled with hot water, and...

...is that a water bottle filled with brown liquid floating in the middle of it?]

Choose your own adventure

[Write your own prompt!]

Coffee because I can

[seekthelight]

[Sora had been well aware that there were quite a few people he hadn't been interacting much with anyone. The screaming and the eyes that had been appearing everywhere combined with how miserable he felt--a feeling that hadn't gone away for over a month now if he was doing the math right--made him feel a lot less social than usual. It didn't help that he still couldn't help but feel like it wasn't real. How long had it been since he'd seen actual people?

But he couldn't avoid people forever and this was one of those moments. Taking advantage of the chance to clean up, Sora had been intending on doing so in the bathrooms only to pause when he caught sight of Kunsel.

Doing something strange in one of the sinks.]

...What's that?

[His voice is slightly raspier than usual from coughing but hey, it could be worse.]

(I am being silly you don't have to respond to this)

[swatsflies]

[ Zell isn't going to bother with shaking the snow off. He has a job to do! The moment Kunsel lets go of the leash is the moment Zell is nyooming off ahead of him to go find Watson. BYE KUNSEL ]

evening

[advanced]

[Bucky's forcing himself to move because otherwise he'll fall asleep. He can feel the tug of pain and fatigue on his limbs, but he refuses to give into it with all these people around. So he's taken to pacing the aquarium, not going too close.

Until he smells something pretty distinctive.

He hovers in the doorway to the bathroom, brows furrowed.]

Is that coffee?

Day

[perfero]

[Hi guys, hope no one minds a tiny Japanese girl with long, pretty black hair crashing the manparty.

But seriously, one second Homura is very plainly not there, and in another she suddenly is, in her Snowhell-issued coat, an outfit that vaguely resembles something a schoolgirl would wear, and attached to her wrist is what looks like a very elegant buckler.

She looks suitably freaked out.]

Again?!

[mrcreamsicles]

[Would people stop doing that?]

[Davesprite jolts, turning in the direction of the sound like he expects an attack, and all he finds waiting is a teenage girl, younger than him. He's not seen her before, and he couldn't remotely guess at the real purpose of her buckler. It looks like some weird, tiny shield, and he'd sooner wonder how much defense she honestly expects out of it.]

[That is, if not for her being yet another new face. How many are going to show up today? What is she, number six? Seven? Eight, maybe? It's hard to tell with all this damn static, and it's easy to think that's what occluded her until the sound of her voice hit him.]

[He can't ask what she means, and he figures his status as a weird ass bird person is more likely to take attention, which he's starting to get used to today. Only starting to.]

[He caws at her, the crow version of a casual 'sup?]

[jumpthegun]

[John's of much the same mind as Davesprite. How many bloody people are they-

Except that's a little girl. Well, little is relative. She's certainly a young girl, but not on the same level as Kesara, Quark, or Frisk. He's an absolute terror to look at with his broken, swollen nose, two black eyes, and bruising around his neck. He's sitting in a chair, back to the wall near the restroom entrance.

He moves to try to stand up at her tone and the look of her, immediately concerned.]

Are you all right?

[He's assuming she's talking about the level of static for 'again.']

[advanced]

[Well hello there username friend.

Except not friend, not at all.

Bucky is very aware this person was not there a second ago, acutely aware that she didn't walk in the door like any normal visitor would have. He's immediately as tense as a bowstring, and the only thing stopping him lashing out on instinct is the fact she's a kid. Just a kid.]

What the hell was that?

Day 163, morning, locked to Watson

[advanced]

[It's time.

They've been here too long and they need to start moving, need to get to where John can escape Bucky's company and Bucky can be contained by others who know what they're doing. In preparation for the travel he hasn't taken any of the Vicodin or Fentora, the pain is intense but he needs every ounce of focus he can get right now.

Metal arm strapped to his backpack, which is tied around his waist and looped over his good shoulder, he approaches John to offer an arm.]

I'm going to carry you.

[Not a request.]

[jumpthegun]

[John, unlike Bucky, likes not being in excruciating pain when engaged in physical activity. He takes a morning dose of Tramadol along with some ibuprofen that he prescribed for himself. His pack is all set, he's had his meager bit of food for the day, and his umbrella cane is ready. They've let a few people trek out before them just to reduce the chances of an anomaly encounter. The doctor is still somewhat concerned, but he pushes himself up when Bucky approaches and holds out his arm.]

I've got a pack full of things, Bucky. I'm gonna put my hand on your good shoulder, use this - [he holds up the umbrella] - and manage.

Day 164 (after the obits)

[jumpthegun]

[The anger has drained away for the moment. John can't actually do anything right now. He can't run out after the Joker. He can't help Alfie's efforts. He can't get the Joker to cough up his location. He can't protect Bucky from himself and the mess that's been made with the story of the aquarium that's come out.

He's been holding back on a lot, far too much, and as he looks down at the bloodstained hat in his hand, tears come at last. John bows his head, and just lets them fall. His shoulders shake and his ribs burn as his chest hitches. The optimist in him knows there's a chance she'll be back, but that's not winning out just at the moment.

He hadn't been here to protect her. He's lost another friend, the use of his leg, and the respect of more than a few people for his lying because of that carelessness.

Quark or Bucky might find him in a back corner of the pharmacy, trying very hard to keep his small gasps quiet.]

[advanced]

[This whole day is a mess.

When he eventually turns the tablet off, he isn't expecting to hear the quiet snuffling of tears from a dark corner. But he does, and once he's heard them, he can't exactly ignore it. Comfort isn't his strong suit, but he's not going to just sit on by and let it go.

So he approaches, slow and stealthy, sinking down to sit next to John and put a hand on his shoulder.]

for Zell

[advanced]

[It's late.

He's retreated and withdrawn after the almost fight with Charles, sinking into a dark corner behind one of the tanks to try and reorganise his inventory. Just to give him something to focus on, something other than the crazy amount of people here.

He's got his pack by his side and a frightening array of weapons and things that can be used as weapons laid out beside it. He's trying to repack his bag with one hand, it's not working too well.]

sorry this is lame

[swatsflies]

[ That sponge and fuzzy handcuffs looks pretty sketch to him. Not that he can see much else with the static kicking his butt. He almost walks right into the collection of potential weapons when the static finally lets up. He jumps back once he sees the pile of stuff and Patient Username. ]

Whoa! Sorry. Couldn't see because of the static. [ He taps the side of his face for emphasis. Giving another look over as he drops down to a crouch. ] Need any help?

For Zell!

[seekthelight]

[After the fight, Sora had retreated to the gift shop with Davesprite for a little bit before slipping off again to go check on his supply box.

His bag was on the ground beside him as he sat cross legged, sorting through everything and adding a few items to the box. Things kept going static-y on him and he had to pause here and there, waiting for everything to go back to normal before he continued what he was doing.

Once the items were added--a bottle of vitamins and a couple articles of clothing--Sora started to go through the rest of his backpack to see what he needed to stock up on.

Excuse him as he just piles his stuffed dolphin and teddy bear into his lap while humming quietly as he works.]

Sorry this is lame <3

[swatsflies]

[ He's been a busy helper between making sure Watson is okay and making sure Patient Username actually eats something, so he missed out on greeting Sora. He also missed out on the arguing.

Once he spots his friend, Zell helps himself to plop down beside Sora and reach for one of the critters. ]

Yo! I see you made some new friends on the road.

[ He's pretending the static isn't as bad as it is. ]