[EVENT] Lavender's Blue [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: anyone and everyone
Location all around town
Date: Night 180
Summary: Kill the sinners or run for your lives.
Warnings: Horror, potential gore and death. Please note more specific warnings in subject lines!

close we will live, dilly dilly
and when we die
both in one grave, dilly dilly
close we will lie

Comments

[majorlazer]

[Zach gives Steph a look, feeling his whole body relax with knowing what he has to do, and that she's with him on this. He needs to check on in with Kesara, too, since she's back.

He breaks into a grin, raising an eyebrow at her as his fingers slide to his waist, where his own letter opener is sheathed.]

Yeah, I feel real good now. What about you, old man?

[rubikscomplex]

[No, actually. Right at this very moment, seeing them go for weapons in the dim glow cast by his tablet has House feeling on edge. Not just any weapons... blades. Knives to stab him, to cut out his tongue. His heart begins to race as he turns and picks up his pack, shouldering that and then stepping out the door so that he's facing them, not turning his back.]

Stay here. I'll scout around and make sure it's safe.

[And then stay the hell away from them.]

[spoileralert]

Wait, House, don't go--

[ She tries to fake concern as she steps towards him, one hand out in a placating gesture. It isn't safe outside, she wants to say. He'll get hurt.

It makes her pause, and frown. Something is wrong here. Something she can't put her finger on. ]

[majorlazer]

[Zach goes around Steph, towards the door, to block House's exit.]

Yeah, we should stay indoors. We don't know why - the doors -

[Why are the doors open? The echo in his head, the faint thought of sinners, punish, gets stronger when he looks at House. But he doesn't know why.]

[rubikscomplex]

[They're boxing him in. House reaches back into his pack and pulls out his hammer.]

Get the hell away from me. Both of you.

[His eyes are wide with fear. He shouldn't have let them travel with him. Stupid! But they'd had a ragdoll, they were all heading the same way... God damn it!]

[spoileralert]

[ She catches sight of the hammer and thinks yes, just like an unbeliever. He will destroy because he doesn't understand. She takes a few steps closer, fingers tightening around her knife. ]

Put the hammer away, House. You don't know how to use it, anyway.

[majorlazer]

[Zach flicks his own knife, rolling the handle in his palm as he wonders how quickly he could unsheathe his shovel to knock the hammer out of House's hand.]

You don't get it, do you?

[They have to do this. They have to punish him. He's a sinner, a Prophet-killer - they have to do this.]

[rubikscomplex]

[Yeah, Steph, this hammer? It is so not being put away.]

Right. So you two know how to use letter openers on me, instead. I have no idea what the hell's gotten into you outside of Jesus. Oops, I'm sorry. The Prophet. You're about to tell me I'm a dirty nonbeliever who has to be killed now, right? Think about that. Actually think about that.

[He's guessing here, but the Prophet eyes the pair of them are sporting, the pain he'd felt earlier... There are only a few ways this particular horror movie trope can go.]

[spoileralert]

[ Steph ignores his words, of course. He would say whatever he could to delay his fate. She takes a step forward, ready to strike -

- but she doesn't want to. Why doesn't she want to? This is righteousness, this is justice. This is for the good of the town.

There are others that need to be taken care of. Easier pray, even.

No. Why doesn't she want to kill House? She likes House. She's asking the wrong question. Why does she feel like she has to kill House? ]

Zach...? Something is wrong. This isn't-- something is wrong.

[ She puts a hand to her head, trying to ward off a headache. She has a town to protect. Doesn't she? ]

[majorlazer]

[Zach frowns as he looks at Steph, wavering when he sees her looking conflicted, looking like she's in pain. He takes a step, two, towards her, leaving the door open for House as he does.

He gets what she means. He doesn't - he keeps on thinking he has to hurt House, make him pay, punish him for his sins, but. He likes House. He doesn't want to hurt him. What is happening?

He groans, throwing a look House's way, trying his best to get him to run. He can't make himself say the words, but - there must be plenty more people he can punish.]

Steph -

[He grips her shoulder, nods at her.]

We should move.

[rubikscomplex]

[House takes the opening immediately, moving to just outside the door and looking back in at them in the dim glow of tablet lights.]

Lock yourselves up, if you can. If not... give me the best head start you can manage.

[And he'll be absconding after that if they don't stop him. Let the crazies work themselves out if they need to.]

[spoileralert]

[ Why does she feel like she has to kill House? If she lets herself she'll just walk away, just go about her business. She is going to figure this out, dammit. ]

Get out of here, House. Now.

[majorlazer]

[Zach's hands shake as he looks at House. he clenches his jaw, trying to keep himself from lunging at him. He has no idea why, but the needs to plunge his knife in House's stomach is so strong it's physically painful to keep himself from doing it.]

Please.

[He adds that to Steph's words, feeling like screaming.]

[rubikscomplex]

[There's one last moment where he stares into the apartment at them, eyes glowing a cold blue light. He pulls one of the Vicodin bottles from his pocket and tosses it inside.]

Take two each if you can't control yourselves.

[And he's gone, moving as quickly as he can away from the pair. He was almost out on that bottle, but it's almost physically painful for him to give it up at this point, knowing how limited supplies are. But he's meeting with Undertaker. Undertaker is going to trade him an almost full bottle. It will make up for this if he can survive.

How many more are like Steph and Zach tonight?]

[spoileralert]

[ She keeps her eyes shut until he's gone, trying to work through what her brain insists on telling her.

She doesn't get very far. But she does look up at the bottle of pills.

Take two each if you can't control yourselves.

She can't control herself. ]

[majorlazer]

[Zach snatches the pill bottle away from Steph's hands in a surprisingly swift move, shaking his head.]

I know what you're thinking, and no. Not yet. You're stronger than this.

[spoileralert]

[ She blinks at her empty hand, then up at Zach. What was she thinking? ]

Don't we have work to do?

[majorlazer]

[He nods, hard and determined, then takes her hand after throwing the pills away to a corner of the room.]

Yeah.

[spoileralert]

[ She smiles at him, reassured. This feels right. But that thought nags at the back of her mind. There's a puzzle left unsolved. ]

There should be plenty of people along the tunnels behind us. Let's see how far we can get before the doors lock again.

[majorlazer]

Kesara is at the chapel. We should try and catch up with her, too.

[spoileralert]

We should call her. Even if we can't make it that far, maybe she can meet us halfway.

[majorlazer]

[He nods, squeezing her hand.]

Yeah. Yeah, let's do that.

[spoileralert]

[ She smiles at him, then pulls her hand free to send a quick message on her tablet. ]