[log] love, let the poison bleed out of me [closed]

[bywolves]

Characters: Alfie Solomons & Royce Melborn
Location: Downtown, Building 150
Date: Day 229-230
Summary: A couple of girls chase a couple of guys.
Warnings: Nothing out of the usual - violence, description of anomalies, language. Event stuff!

150: A small toy store that sells old-fashioned toys. Dusty, long-forgotten dolls, wooden blocks, and rubber balls line the shelves. There are a few board games, and even some stuffed animals, with polar bears and seals being favored alongside more traditional teddy bears. While the building seems normal enough, it has an eerie feel to it. Are the dolls moving around while you're not looking at them? There's a door near the back that leads to an employees only area, but it's completely empty except for one a chair that has a note glued heavily onto it. The note reads "dont trust the toys. i took a marionette apart and it put itself back together overnight plus every other toy moved up against this door. the chair kept the door closed fine but i still wouldnt trust them". At least there's also a public bathroom readily available.

Comments

[devoutish]

[Alfie hates this fucking building. He doesn't normally find toys and dolls creepy, but there's something weird about these, and that note only confirms his suspicions. He's tired and feeling ill in the morning, but that doesn't stop him from being up and about comparatively early, wanting to get a quick start.

That is, until he peeks out the door and sees a faceless Fiona standing a short distance from the house, along with another similarly faceless woman. Nope. He shuts the door quickly. Not going anywhere today.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce is dragging, this morning. He's tired, especially after the anomalies that have been cropping up, and he hasn't been sleeping well when he can. He's dragging on his boots when Alfie closes the door, and he looks up, concerned. ]

What?

[devoutish]

[He wearily lowers himself onto the couch and closes his eyes. He is so fucking done with his entire life right now.]

Outside - hallucinations, anomalies, I don't fucking know. Let's stay in, eh?

[bywolves]

[ Royce's expression shifts, and he pulls himself to his feet. ]

Can't be anomalies. It didn't try to grab you. [ He's going to go check, himself. ]

[devoutish]

They're just watching.

[He puts out a hand, holding it up in a stop gesture.]

Stay away, Royce; I don't trust it.

[bywolves]

[ No, he's curious. If they didn't attack Alfie, they're not real anomalies. Royce opens the door and looks out into the snow. Two women, both familiar, but - only one really gets his attention. Dark skin, long black hair - a hole, through her chest, gaping and dripping static, and eyes that are blank. He knows her immediately, knows the way she stands, the way her hair drapes over her shoulder.

Royce can't help himself - he takes two steps out the door, expression stricken. ]

[devoutish]

[He doesn't need to say the name for Alfie to know. The way he's acting is enough.]

Royce, no.

[He scrambles to his feet and follows, grabbing his arm to hold him back.]

It isn't her.

[bywolves]

[ He startles terribly when Alfie grabs him, looking over his shoulder and yanking his arm away reflexively. Royce can't even think about controlling his expression at the moment. It takes him a second to even remember he can speak. He's going to, it's just - he gets distracted. He looks back at her - at Gwen. At the woman he's never had the words good enough to describe, at the one woman he's loved more than anything.

She opens her mouth, and that blood-static drips out of the corner of her mouth, and Royce takes another step forward. She's going to fall, he thinks, it's just like when she died, she fell forward and he was there to catch her and he has to be, this time, he can't just let her fall -- ]

[devoutish]

[Next to her, Fiona lifts a hand and wiggles her fingers in a wave. Alfie studiously ignores her.]

Royce.

[He grabs his arm again.]

I'm not letting you go.

[He shouldn't run - not with his back and his barely-healed ribs. But if Royce tries to make a break for it, Alfie is absolutely prepared to give chase.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce chokes a little, faltering. ]

Solomons, it's - she's... [ Royce starts, and he loses his voice as Gwen shifts and moves unnaturally, body moving like a marionette, like someone forgot to attach a string to her head. It lolls back and to the side, but almost impossibly moves forward, joints all in the wrong places, the wide wound tearing further as she walks. Alfie most likely just sees her move forward normally, but Royce is horrified, and he actually takes a step back. ]

Don't - don't walk, Gwen. [ He says, brokenly, but she doesn't respond. She does stop, however. ]

[devoutish]

[She's coming closer, they're both coming closer, and that's alarming. What are they going to do?

Inside, now.

[His voice is clipped and strained.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce knows he should. He should go inside, this isn't real. But she's close to what she should be, and if he can just - if he can just touch her, maybe, if he can put his hand against her cheek and try to get her to look at him he can bring her back to normal. This can't be real, and yet he's moving anyway, completely ignoring Fiona, yanking away from Alfie roughly to go to her.

She lets out a sound as he moves, gurgling almost, like she's choking on her own blood, but he doesn't stop. He moves until his own nose bleeds - staggers slightly, but continues stubbornly, reaching out to touch her, to take her hand. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie tries, valiantly and stubbornly, to hold him back. He grits his teeth and latches onto Royce, but he's just not strong enough - instead of keeping him from moving forward, he's dragged along. Blood from his own nose drips onto Royce's cloak, but still he doesn't let go.]

Royce, snap out of it!

[He smacks Royce's shoulder, hard, because it's the only thing he can think of to do. He can't let the anomaly touch him - he'll go unconscious, and it'll drag him away, and then that will be that.]

[bywolves]

[ No - stop, stop dragging him back. Royce makes a frustrated noise, angry that Alfie is trying to stop him. He knows he shouldn't be angry. He knows he shouldn't try to touch her, but he can't stop himself. She makes another gurgle of a sound, horrifying and like death, the worst sort of rattle, and he drags in a breath of his own unsteadily, eyes burning. She's dying all over again.

Royce takes the hit, and Alfie yelling at him makes him furious and not. He shouldn't. But he touches anyway, just one last time, just because the loneliness and hurt crawls up his throat and threatens to strangle him. She's so close. Royce reaches, and the second he gets her hand in his, he passes out. Gwen - or rather, the anomaly - chokes, and jitters away from them. ]

[devoutish]

[When Royce suddenly becomes dead weight, Alfie can't support him anymore, and they both go crashing to the ground. Royce is small and not very heavy, but still, it knocks the wind out of Alfie - he just lies there for what feels like a long time, but which is in reality only a second or two. Then he comes back to himself and realizes that Fiona (no, not Fiona, the anomaly; not Fiona, never Fiona) is still there - not approaching, not reaching for them, but still much too close for comfort. With a groan of pain, Alfie rolls Royce off of him and moves to stand. He grabs Royce under the arms and pulls him up inelegantly, dragging him through the snow and back towards the toy store. After a few steps, he gets a good enough grip on him to haul him up and over his shoulder. It's backbreaking work, but somehow, he manages.

Inside, he drops Royce unceremoniously onto the floor and collapses next to him, gasping. He grabs a free end of Royce's cloak and pulls it around himself.]

[bywolves]

[ It's a good, solid fifteen minutes of Royce being completely out.

And when he does wake up, it's with a sharp gasp - he sits straight up, terrified for a full few seconds as he tries to figure out where he is. Where Gwen is. It takes him a few more moments to catch his breath, shivering, and then he catches sight of Alfie. There's no protest at Alfie being wrapped in part of his cloak, not even a little, but still, he doesn't know what to say. What do you even say, after that? What do you even do? Royce pulls his knees close to his chest and brings a damp, gloved hand up to cover his face, trying to compose himself. One breath. Two. Three. He doesn't say anything. His voice will break if he does, he knows it. ]

[devoutish]

[Oh, thank god he's not dying. He's awake. He's... well, he's probably not okay, but he's alive.

Careful not to move any other part of his body but his hand, Alfie reaches into the bag next to his head and pulls out a pair of warm, thick socks, which he tosses onto Royce's lap.]

Put 'em on.

[bywolves]

[ For once, Royce doesn't argue or even really do anything but just do what he's told. Royce carefully pulls the boots off his feet and pulls on the socks without thinking too hard. It's fine. This gives him something to do, to think about. His hands tremble a little, but he's alive. When he finishes putting the socks on, he stares down at his feet. ]

What. [ Royce starts, hoarsely. ] What did you see?

[devoutish]

What you saw.

[Not exactly, but he doesn't know that.]

It doesn't matter. It wasn't her.

[bywolves]

It wasn't her. [ Royce repeats under his breath. Like he's trying to force himself to believe it. ] I passed out when I touched her. It. Like an anomaly. But she didn't drag me under. It didn't.

[ He brings his hand back up to half cover his face. ]

[devoutish]

Yeah. Yeah, but it still wasn't her.

[The's a scrabbling sound on the door behind them.]

[bywolves]

[ Nope. No. Absolutely not. Royce goes tense, completely frozen. He's so done. ]

You -- [ God, he's really having a hard time. And it sucks, but... at least Alfie knows why he can't get the words out. Ignore the scrabbling sound. Just talk over it. ] You brought me back in here.

[devoutish]

You fell into the snow.

[And leaving him had been out of the question.]

[bywolves]

... Thank you.

[ For more than just that. For way more than just that. Royce lets out a shuddery little sigh, and lets his hand slip from his face. He's freezing, and he's pretty sure Alfie must be too. He needs to get them both somewhat warm and dry. ]

[devoutish]

Yeah. I'm glad it didn't take you.

[Glad is an understatement. he's immeasurably relieved.]

We'll need to stay here a bit.