[log] Look Away, Look Away [closed]

[rubikscomplex]

Characters: Gregory House, Stephen Strange, Claire Temple, Ecks, Rhys, Angel
Location: Building 29
Date: Night 202
Summary: Traumatized by their exciting adventure in the snow, a bunch of people turn up at a shed where House made the mistake of staying put.
Warnings: Severe injury (face mutilation), blood, burns, frostbite, narcotics withdrawal, suicidal ideations, general discussion of psychological trauma

[A small shed outside the school, going inside reveals sports equipment is being stored in here. There are hurdles, various sports balls, giant mats, and the like. There's nothing that could be used as a weapon, though, unless you're going to try to hurl a basketball at someone's head. This is the only place on the campus it's possible to stay in overnight--if you try to stay anywhere else, you'll be made to leave at 7PM. The following is written on the wall in blue ink: "This is Building 46 on the composite map. Contact @CaptSteveRogers for details." Underneath is a fairly accurate map showing the shed in relation to the school. The school is labeled "School. Food available in cafeteria; DO NOT STAY HERE OVERNIGHT." The shed is labeled "Shed". Behind the shed is a small army of snowmen armed with sports equipment. There's a drawing spraypainted on the inside of the shed. It has been labeled "GEROMY". The skin color has been left blank.]

Comments

cw: blood, face injury/skin removal, narcotics withdrawal, suicidal ideations

[rubikscomplex]

Earlier
[House is unconscious from the blood loss and pain by the time anyone turns up. There's a thin hospital bed sheet wrapped tight around his head that has slits in it for his nose and mouth. The sheet is dark and wet with blood, and secured in place with a red bandana. There's blood staining the clothing on his upper chest, as well, where shards of plastic from his exploded tablet have ripped through the fabric and embedded themselves in him.

His whole body shakes slightly in his sleep, and anyone who tries to get a pulse will find that his is erratic and his skin clammy.]

Later
[House is a awake. He has no desire to be awake... ever again, if he really has his way about it. But going back to sleep isn't an option he likes to imagine, either, not with the nightmares that come. He's in Vicodin withdrawal and agony, so anyone approaching will find him looking not only violently mauled, but sickly, as well, feverish and shaking. It's not visible, but he feels incredibly nauseous, as well. They'll get snapped at if they linger near him.]

What?

earlier

[ecks]

[Ecks is the first to arrive, shaking and breathing hard, her collar wet with melted snow and blisters already beginning to form on the ring of raw, angry red around her neck. Her breath catches when she sees the shape on the floor, and she's at his side in an instant, tearing off her mittens to find his heartbeat.

She has at least some idea what she's doing, having assisted with a few experiments surgeries in her time back home. Stop the bleeding, keep the body warm. She turns on the fireplace application on her tablet before wrapping the device in a hand towel, afraid it will burn him otherwise, and tucks it into the front of his coat as best she can before taking off her own coat to drape it over him.

Shivering more violently now, trying not to turn her head from side to side, she finally forces herself to look at the part of him that fills her with absolute dread. Is his face gone? She feels deeply unwell at the thought; there is no living without a face, no person without a face. She doesn't realize she's making little groaning sounds as she pulls her own sheet from her pack and wraps it around his face, leaving the breathing holes clear as she gently presses with both hands.]

[rubikscomplex]

[Instinctively, House curls around the warmth. The addition of new pressure to his shredded skin makes him jerk, though, a muffled sob of agony coming out as he's roused. He lifts a hand to bat weakly at Ecks' arm.]

St-stop...

[ecks]

[Instruction. Ecks is as grateful for that as she is for the fact that he is awake at all. The pressure eases off immediately, the faint groaning a few seconds later when she goes to speak and finds her voice already in use.]

You are bleeding.

[She assumes this. There is so much blood that his face must be gone and all his blood going with it. She does not want to take off the mask he has made for himself and know this for certain.]

[rubikscomplex]

I'm dying.

[Okay. That's overly dramatic, but he really does feel like death warmed over. House recognizes Ecks' voice, though. And her groaning. Why is she groaning?]

What happened?

[ecks]

I know.

[He has no face he has no face HE HAS NO FACE.]

I do not know. I found you and you are bleeding and your face is gone and I do not want you to die again.

later!

[phaseshifter]

Just making sure you aren't dead.

[ She has to swallow back a yet, with House looking as bad as he does. Angel, on the other hand, seems relatively unscathed - her burns are completely hidden by her clothing, and she's well-trained when it comes to keeping pain from showing on her face. ]

What the heck even happened to you?

[rubikscomplex]

[He considers telling her to go screw herself, but that might just encourage her to stay and argue to be contrary.]

An anomaly came out of the tablet and tried to chew my face off. [So, that happened.] And I haven't had Vicodin in two days. What happened to you?

[Because he's willing to bet that something happened to everyone to one degree or another.]

[phaseshifter]

Electrical burns from an anomaly. Nothing too bad. You - geez, you look like a failed attempt at a skin pizza.

[ She's trying not to sound too sympathetic, but. Shit's nasty, bruh. ]

And this is you going without for just two days?

[rubikscomplex]

I'm an addict who takes twice the recommended clinical dose a day. What the hell were you expecting?

[This is why he gets upset with people stealing his meds, Angel. He can guess what 'skin pizza' means without having to ask. The fact that her world has a term for it is disturbing in the extreme.]

[phaseshifter]

Iunno. Mostly that you'd be sensible enough to try and cut down so that this doesn't hap-- mmh. Sorry.

[ There's no use in snapping back, is there? Not while he's in this state, anyway. And especially not when they're all in such confined quarters. ]

Did the admin cut you off?

later later

[nursetemple]

[It's difficult not to overhear and see everything in the tiny shed they've ended up in with everyone else. It's incredible to her that they've managed to avoid another anomaly this time, considering how many people are around, but she'll count her blessings.

It's the first time she's in the same place as Ecks and House. She - well, she looks different than Claire expected but that's not surprising. House, though. He just looks hurt, and she approaches later, when he's alone and breathing shallowly, sitting by his side, a comfortable distance away. She completely ignores her own burns for now.]

Can I check your temperature?

[She knows better than to reach out without his permission. But it's an easy place to start.]

[rubikscomplex]

I'm sweating bullets and shivering... and you need to check my temp? You're a crappy nurse.

[nursetemple]

And you're a terrible doctor. [In the end, she takes hold of his chin to take a look at his eyes before letting go.] I've got to start somewhere, and I'm the only one right now that can actually do something for you. You can tell me what you want me to do, if it makes you feel better, but I swear if you say drugs I will poke you where it hurts more. We don't have any, so there's no point.

[rubikscomplex]

[Taking hold of his chin very effectively shuts House up as he gasps and his eyes water. At least everything around the chewed skin appears to be intact. When she lets go, he hangs his head, breathing heavy.]

Cover it.

[The words are managed after a few seconds.]

Just disinfect. Cover where you can.

[nursetemple]

ER
[Once they're settled, Claire sets up shop. She pulls out her kit, and will wave over anyone who needs looking after after what just happened to them all. She's shaky, feeling on the verge of throwing up, but she'll power through. Come get nursed.]

Sleepless

[Later, she curls up with her backpack in a corner of the shed, trying to fight the shivers of cold running up and down her spine. From time to time, she can be seen muttering a prayer, fingers moving along the beads of her rosary. But she's open for a quiet night time conversation. She doesn't think she'll be getting much sleep.]

ER

[ecks]

[Ecks does not like the noise and the crowding in the slightest, but it's good -- isn't it? -- that there are doctors here other than Doctor House. She's still shaken by what happened to his face, still literally shaking from cold she can't get out of her skin. Her head doesn't feel right; she only shut down briefly but she still doesn't feel quite herself, can't quite shake the feeling that she's just waiting for the next order. When she sees the gesture she takes it as a command, her gaze refocusing, and she shuffles over in short order to stand waiting for the next.

The first and second degree burns that ring her neck are ugly, raw red where they aren't mottled with white from the frostbite she gave herself pressing snow on her bare skin. Blisters are threatening to form, but the injuries are too new to have begun the healing process.]

[nursetemple]

[Seeing Ecks come closer, Claire offers her a hand, palm up and open, to guide her to sit in front of her.]

Hi, Ecks. It's nice to meet you in person.

[Claire keeps her voice low and soft - she can see that Ecks is shaken, just as everyone else is, still reeling from the events of the day. Claire can't tell what Ecks saw, what happened to her, and she's not going to ask. Now is not the time.]

Do you mind if I look at your neck?

[ecks]

Hi Claire. I do not mind if you look at my neck.

[It's practically rote. She keeps unfocusing, but as she sits down in front of Claire her gaze gets sharper again and her shoulders grow tighter.]

Why do you want to look at my neck?

[nursetemple]

[Claire snaps on her gloves, giving Ecks a small smile.]

Because you are injured, and I am a medical professional. I can assess the injury if I take a look at it, and if it needs treatment I can provide it. If you'd rather someone else do it, that's fine.

Sleepless

[thewarningafter]

[At some point in the night Stephen's meditation finally leads into the actual sleep he desperately needs. It's not entirely deliberate; for a variety of reasons he'd frankly rather stay awake, but he'd needed to clear his mind and there's only so much a body can take before it demands rest.

The sounds that come from his spot by the wall are soft: little shifts in position, an incoherent mumble. When he wakes it's not with a shout but with a gasp, fingers grasping clumsily at the fabric of his cloak, his breathing more rapid than it should be as his waking brain struggles to ground itself in the present. Stephen lets out a groan as current circumstances come back to him, not much better than the dream he just left. Only then does he realize that someone else is awake and goes abruptly still again.]

[nursetemple]

[Claire catches it - catches everything, the usual twitching of someone having a nightmare, and waking up suddenly. Their eyes meet after he wakes up, and she doesn't move for a long time, before getting up as quietly as she can, and sitting by his side, shoulder to shoulder.]

What do you dream about?

[She asks in a whisper, leaving the question vague enough that he doesn't have to talk about the nightmare he just woke from if he doesn't want to.]

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen doesn't hold her gaze after that initial moment of eye contact, embarrassed and frustrated that he hasn't been able to keep this to himself. He doesn't shift away when she comes over, but he definitely does not want to talk about the dream. It's already fading aside from a few sharp images, memories of the Dark Dimension jumbled together with memories of things seen in the last few days. He keeps his own voice a whisper, not wanting to wake the others.]

What does anyone here dream about?

[nursetemple]

I don't know. [She's still talking just as softly, looking down at her hands.]

Personally, it's generally death. My loved ones dying. People I care for ending up here, and not making it. Or finding myself facing an anomaly that looks like someone I know.

nighttime

[thewarningafter]

[The last few days have been...not great. As comforting as it should be not to be alone after the things they've seen today, Stephen can't help but count up the number of warm bodies in this little shed. It takes maybe five people to draw an anomaly, except it only took three the afternoon he came to meet Claire and the others. He does what he can to help with House, but with the fresh burns to his hands he's capable of even less than usual, and it falls to Claire to pick up his slack.

He doubts he'll get much sleep tonight, but he'll make the usual effort to clear his mind enough to at least try. Cloak floating in the air nearby, he settles into a cross-legged position, hands palm-up on his knees, and lets out a little sigh as he rolls out a kink in his shoulders and starts to focus inward.]