[log] the high life [closed]

[devoutish]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Emily Kaldwin, Gregory House, Royce Melborn, Tifa Lockhart
Location: building 48 and building 42
Date: afternoon of 200 to night of 201
Summary: meeting up with the squad and taking advantage of a vulnerable man for the purposes of robbery
Warnings: probable discussion of drug addiction and withdrawal

Catch-all for EVERYTHING - reunion schmoop, highway robbery, etc. Top-level and tag as you see fit.

Comments

[bywolves]

[ Royce is - alive, but not doing well. He's managed to drag himself away from the rest of them a little, holding his arm and shaking, coughing to try and get the feeling of being strangled out of his mind.

He lets out a nasty, nasty curse, sharp and angry when he moves his arm, and thuds his head against the wall on accident, out of the pain from his arm. He doesn't answer, but he taps an okay with his good hand on the floor, figuring Alfie will hear it. ]

[powersouls]

[Tifa got off easy, she thinks. She stays there, curled up on the floor for a minute, struggling to catch her breath through the shrieking protest of her ribs, but she's had so much worse than this.]

I'm okay.

[It comes out choked, but audible.]

Emily?

[empireofrats]

[Emily is unconscious because the law of compression asphyxia dictates she is too tiny to have been able to breathe with all the squeezing of hands and bodies.

Luckily, she has dropped exactly where they had been, near Alfie and Tifa.]

[devoutish]

[Alfie's stomach drops when he sees her lying there, because his immediate worry is, of course, that she's dead. He tries to ease himself up onto his feet, but is stymied by loud, screaming pain.]

Fucking--

[He remembers screaming himself, he thinks. He remembers feeling sure that he was going to die.

Still on the floor, he edges himself over to Emily, first checking to make sure that she's breathing and has a pulse.]

[bywolves]

[ The second Royce realizes Emily's not okay, he drags himself back from the wall, crawls the couple of feet back to her side. He doesn't bother getting up, he hurts too much. He lets Alfie take care of checking the pulse, reaching out with his not-injured arm to Tifa, to get her to come close. ]

Is she... [ Royce croaks, coughing at the end of it. ]

[powersouls]

[Tifa is closer, so she stays right where she is, moving only when Royce reaches for her. She presses up against his side, holding her breath as Alfie checks. There's clear panic in her voice when she finally speaks up.]

Alfie?

[empireofrats]

[SURPRISE!

She has a pulse, though it's somewhat weak. Despite being smooshed by three adults between 9284928 arms and hands, she has lived... unfortunately... to see another day in Norfinbury hell. She'll probably wake up in a minute or two.]

[devoutish]

She's alive.

[Thank God. He taps her cheek firmly with two fingers, trying to revive her.]

Yeah, she's breathing. Her heart's beating. She's only unconscious.

[bywolves]

Good. [ Royce sighs. He's - tired and in pain enough that when Tifa curls up against him, Royce rests the side of his head against hers. He keeps his arm to his chest, trying to make sure his breathing evens out. ]

What else? What's injured for both of you?

[powersouls]

[Tifa lets out a shaky breath, covering her face with her hands for a moment. She's too distracted and anxious to register the fact that Royce isn't usually this physically affectionate, so she just shakes her head when she finally lowers her hands.]

Just my ribs. It's okay. Can I see your arm?

[empireofrats]

[Her brows twitch first, just a little near the middle of her forehead. If Alfie keeps tapping occasionally, she'll finally murmur out a small groan, turn her head, and blink open her eyes.

Each time she draws in a breath, a sharp, burning pain lights up her side, and she winces considerably.]

[devoutish]

[Alfie doesn't answer Royce's question - all his focus is on the slowly-waking girl.]

You're all right.

[Once her eyes open, he runs a hand over her hair, and leans back a little so he can look her up and down.]

What hurts?

[bywolves]

[ Royce is too distracted by Emily waking up to argue Tifa looking at his arm. He lets Tifa see, eyes on Emily. He doesn't say anything, though he does wince at the movement, and any touching that Tifa does will get him biting his tongue to stay quiet, as always. ]

[powersouls]

[His arm is hurt, but she doesn't know enough to tell how it's injured, so she lets go gently and then turns her attention back to Alfie and Emily.]

[empireofrats]

Ah... [For a moment, she tries to make sure what she remembers is accurate: Alfie, Tifa, Royce. Okay, check.

Hands and arms? All gone. Was it a dream?] My side. My side hurts really bad when I breathe.

[devoutish]

Yeah.

[He glances back at Royce and Tifa.]

We might both have broken bones.

[bywolves]

My arm is broken. Or at least fractured. [ Royce adds, taking a deep breath to test his ribs. They ache, but not like a break. ] Ribs are fine.

[powersouls]

Oh, Emily.

[Tifa bites her lip.]

I think I'm okay. My ribs hurt, but... I don't think I broke anything.

[empireofrats]

[She frowns at the lot of them. Wow, they're worse for wear.]

What happened? Where did all of those arms come from? They tried to catch us, and they wouldn't let go. They kept squeezing, and I thought I was going to die.