Impact: Chapter 1

[Shin]

(Alan stitchity stitch stitch!)

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"Well, a little. We met not too long after the crash... found you, your Grandfather... hell, I don't know exactly what she has going on with Cyrus, but she found him too..."

It's true, Richard had been lucky to find his sister and grandpa... but the lady seemed grumpy, but also sad. Was there someone she missed?

"Some people have all the luck, don't they?"

"Miss, did you lose some of your friends too? I suppose I'm very lucky to have found my family, but it was really scary. The crash killed most of my friends, and I'm not like Kayla or Grandpa, I couldn't help any of them... and then some of them got eaten by the monsters... I hid from them, but I could still here them."

Richard sat down, the world had changed in one day, but why?

"Miss, do you think we'll be rescued? It's been a long time and we haven't even seen anything fly by."

[Ether]

"Since that shockwave hit, I've only seen a single person that I used to know... and even that was no sweet reunion... he went berserk and tried to eat me... I ended up killing my best friend with my own hands." Selena murmured in response, biting back the tears that were attempting to spill from her eyes.

"And now what do I get to show for it? After everything, the only solace I get down here is to have my arm ripped clean off my body by one of those beasts like it was a damn twig." Selena spat out, her sadness replaced with a profound bitterness.

"As for rescue, who knows? Maybe the other fortresses figure nothing could survive a crash like that, and hell, we always thought living on the surface was impossible... maybe they think we're all dead already and don't want to sacrifice rescue parties... or maybe the same thing that got us got them too... maybe they all went down. There's no way to know what happened unless we see someone from another fortress who can tell us just that."

[Eail]

Not long after he healed Dustin and finally got to sit down Cyrus fell asleep leaning against one of the trees surrounding their encampment. Using his power and the stress of the day had finally caught up with him, the doctor figured that if he was really needed someone would wake him up anyways, so for the time being he just entered a blissful state of unconsciousness.

[ReformBlade]

"Well... Maybe it's something... uh." thinking about it for a moment, Janson was puzzled. "I honestly don't know. If it was worldwide, we'd be fucked. If it wasn't, then that's still possibly just as bad for us. Either it means it was an attack, or now... it still means we're just screwed in general due to someone screwing up, maybe there was a power overload... I don't fucking know, I really don't, I'm not an expert on this shit, I just fix broken machines, I don't... know! Rrgh..." It was a frustrating topic for him. "It's like... So many worst case scenarios here. It really, really sucks. And we're thrown into the middle of it, no warning... But you know what? It is what it is." Looking towards the sky, Janson shivered. "It's pointless to cry about it. Sorry about it. It is a bad situation, but... well, we aren't dead and we've actually survived a night in this fucked up place. We can do it again, and again, and as many times as we need to. We cannot be the only things left aside from those murderous... things. Anyway." Looking back a little, he got a good look at Amera, giving her a smile to try and assure her that he wasn't going to get moody. "Let's just go find out what kind of landscape we're dealing with." Waving her to move on, Janson proceeded up to a nearby hill. Maybe we can see what's where, maybe... just maybe we can try and find some civilization... There's gotta be more of us out there. I know it.

"Well, that's certainly a possibility. And calm down, dear." Wyuna stifled a giggle. "I was just joking. I highly doubt it's contaminated, if at all. Look how crystal clear it is? See how you can actually see the bottom easily? That means it's, for the most part, devoid of anything harmful. Yeah, the water certainly tastes funky and there may be a lingering scent, but that's due to being outside. Didja ever go on a simulated camping trip? I know I loved em as a kid, and that's why I know what I'm talking about here. Don't worry too much!" she added at the end, before removing her shoes and socks, as well as her gun, and jumping in herself and quickly getting herself cleaned, a little bit of a shock from the sudden cold. "Oh! Wow, dunno why I didn't expect that, haha!" Running her fingers through her hair to get it completely wet and for the most part cleaned, Wyuna hopped out almost as quickly as she had hopped in, taking her clothes and deciding to change in privacy. "When you're done, I'll be waiting for you, ok? Don't be too long, but... do enjoy yourself if you want."

[Nanami Touko]

Amera hadn't expected her questions to end up like this. Janson started to freak out, and Amera stopped herself from hugging him. She didn't want to push her luck, even if he was getting like this. "Janson, just... c-calm down, okay?" She started to reach her hand out to him when he calmed himself down, sighing herself a sigh of relief. His sudden change to positivity brought a smile back to her face. "Yeah. They can't keep us down! No creepy creature's gonna stop us all after what we've been through!" She laughed a little, glad the negativity hadn't stuck around. He even smiled back at her, which made her turn the slightest shade of red. He smiled at me? That's a good sign, right? Does this mean he doesn't mind me holding his hand or something? Guys like him are just too complicated, urgh. I bit frazzled, but nonetheless happy, she jogged after his wave, climbing up the hill. Taking a look out across the place, she simply stood there and blinked. "There's really nothing out there but green, isn't there? At least from what I can see. It's kinda cool, if you think about it." She sat herself down on the hill and just looked at the sights. "It's kinda pretty. Who knew the planet was like this the whole time?"

[Phoenix]

Amnesia and Windchill

"Simulated camping trip?" Firmia echoed curiously. It seemed obvious even to her that there wouldn't be huge parks for people to camp in way up in the sky, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't remember anything before the crash. If not for Nielson, she wouldn't have even known her own name. "I-I'll be done soon!" she called back to Wyuna. The water was probably safe, but she didn't want to stay in it for too long. She quickly knelt down to get back under the water and began running her fingers through her hair over and over again as fast as she could, trying to clean it in one breath. It took three tries before she was satisfied, and she eventually came out of the water to find a whole new problem waiting for her ... windchill. "I'm finished ... and cold ..." she called, her gaze moving to her new clothes and the towel nearby. She quickly grabbed the towel and tried to dry herself off without activating her powers.

[ReformBlade]

"I guess it is cool in a way. A way that makes you feel all alone yet completely okay with the idea." he mused before looking around a little more. Upon further inspection, there were definitely some buildings, or at least something resembling not-trees way off in the distance, barely standing out over the canopy. "Hey... there's actually something over there, but damn it's far. I know I'd love to go and see what it is but I don't really wanna just abandon you guys. And what if that place is crawling with those beastly people? Bad news... Oh well." Clenching his still healing hand into a fist, Janson winced as he smiled. "Just means I'm gonna have to endure. Only God knows what's in store for us, and maybe there's a silver lining even in all this shit, something we can't even see. Or perhaps I'm just deluding myself into thinking that, but be that as it may, maybe being blind is the best choice in this stupid situation. If I knew the outcome, and if there was no avoiding it, I don't think I'd care. Not one bit. It'd be like watching a movie you've already seen. No matter how much you care or how much you want something to happen, there's already a set of events destined to happen. Heh..." Plopping himself down on the ground, legs akimbo. "Look at me, rambling like a fucking fortune cookie dispenser. Hahaha." Laying flat on his back and covering his face with his arm, Janson still had more to say. (but not much more, I promise) "We should really be going back now but this is so comfortable. I'm not tired, haven't really been tired since that damned crash, but this... this feels good."

Smiling at the apparently cold little girl from a distance, Wyuna couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, that's what happens when you get out of cold water. Wind is your worst enemy, heh... But yeah, just get your clothes on and you'll be fine." Wyuna looked her over, something from a moment ago bothering her. "Did you... never go on a camping trip, dear?"

[Phoenix]

File Not Found

Firmia had finished drying off quickly enough, so she went to answering Wyuna's question while she put on the clothes from the pile. "I'm not sure. Maybe I did once, but I can't remember anything before waking up in that school. Mister Nielson never mentioned it either. He only told me about other things, like how good a student I was. Can you really simulate a camping trip? That sounds amaz-wait ... how does that work?" Unfortunately for Firmia, the only technology she had been in close contact with since waking up were Nielson's personal effects, all of which were broken, apparently. She had too many ideas about how one might 'simulate' something to settle for one; everything from lying down in a simulation device that looked suspiciously like a coffin to entering an enormous room that would fill itself with a fake background, sounds, temperatures, and various holograms.

[Nanami Touko]

"You sound like a real philosopher, Janson, hahaha!" Amera was most amused at what he was saying, but she wasn't laughing at him. It was just nice to... talk. He'd always been so closed and away from the rest of the survivors. She felt like she was making some real headway into understanding him, if at least a bit better. I know I've only known him for two days, now, but he's been better than most of the guys I've known. Could do with less anger, though. Maybe be a bit more open to hugs? He laid back and she got a bright idea. She leaned herself over and rested her head on his stomach, hoping he wouldn't object. Her head wasn't that heavy, anyway. "I sorta like all this. Don't get me wrong, I know the crash was a terrible thing and so many people died, but... all this freedom, all this adventure waiting to happen... It's exhilarating. It's fresh! It's... I really wanna go check out that city you pointed out, now. Look at me, getting myself all worked up. But, maybe..." she turned her head to look at his, "we can get everyone together, and we can all head off there? You said it yourself, we can't hang around here forever. Might be best to pack it up and head for whatever's out there." She smiled, enjoying the adventuring thought. Just stay positive and this'll all be a great journey.

[ReformBlade]

An Amera head on his stomach was not what was in the brochure for the apocalyptic trip Janson was forced into, as such he jerked his arm away and gave a rather panicked look at the disturbance, only to find, get this, Amera's head. Listening to her, he couldn't help but feel that she had quite a different opinion of the current events than he did. It was refreshing but at the same time irksome. Gently shoving her off, Janson sat up. "I think that's enough... wandering. We should really head back before we outstay our welcome or something." In reality he just wasn't comfortable with Amera getting as close as she was to him. Why is she so persistent? I don't hate her but dammit, she's making this extremely difficult...

"Whaaa?" This was a bit of a turn of events. "You... don't remember..." Wyuna got quiter as she spoke, but eventually she found her 'voice' again. "Um, well since you're so curious, I'll uh... try to explain!" coughing and forming her thoughts, Wyuna had to recall how it was done properly. "Well you see, what happens is... well basically your brain is tricked into seeing something it wants to see as opposed to what's actually there. For instance, if you want a camping trip, you've gotta really concentrate on that being what you want, and then, well... Let's just say science takes care of the rest." Wyuna didn't really have the heart to go into detail about the questionable drugs that were used to bring about controlled hallucinations, or the needles. "It's a very expensive process, and since we don't really have actual landscapes like we've got around here" Wyuna kicked the ground a little. "We kinda found ways around it. At first people tried simply trying to set up physical locations for resort type vacationy areas, but there was simply not enough room for markets companies, all that jazz, and room for living arrangements! So instead they decided to make it small scale AND more... imaginative, let's say. Honestly, I'm not too fond of the whole process, it makes me skiddish just thinking about it, but if you don't remember going on a camping trip like that, I'll just say you're lucky I have!" Taking note of the ever darkening sky, Wyuna's tone grew the tiniest bit more serious. "And i think you and I should head back. You're cold, so why don't we both go enjoy a nice warm fire, sound good?"

Edited August 20, 2012 by ReformBlade

[Nanami Touko]

She felt her head getting pushed off, and she rolled her eyes, but she kept her smile. "You can't even deal with just my head? Alriiiiight~" Maybe he had a bad experience that he's not telling me about. I guess I have to wait until he makes the first move. Pushing stuff at this rate isn't going to get me anywhere...

"I think that's enough... wandering. We should really head back before we outstay our welcome or something."

"Okay, sounds good. It looks like it's getting a bit darker anyway, so maybe that's for the best. I could use a good night's sleep after all that's happened!" She stretched up her arms, letting out a contented sigh. "Well, lead on, captain Janson" She gave him a little fakey salute and laughed a bit, having way too much fun with the day. This world isn't that bad when you're not getting attacked by grotesque monsters. It's actually kinda cool.

Edited August 20, 2012 by seph1212

[Shin]

With the last few stitches, Alan had finished. He was pretty pleased with the results, especially considering the circumstances.

"OK, Kaden, your sister should be OK. As long as we keep it clean she should have no problems... she didn't lose too much bloods either."

He took some wipes from the bag, her face, as well as his hands needed a good cleaning. He leaned over to look at Kaden's wound, he had been less fortunate than his sister. Her wounds, whilst nasty looking were pretty superficial... Kaden's not so much. Maybe when Cyrus was done resting up he could lend a hand. Alan might not have superpowers, but 35 years of experience was nothing to scoff at.

"Let's get you sorted out then. I understand why you ran at it, but you need to think first... if you go charging in, who knows what damage you'll do to yourself."

Alan noted the irony of his words, but his situation was a little different... Cyrus wasn't quite as bad as a flesh eating monster... just.

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"Since that shockwave hit, I've only seen a single person that I used to know... and even that was no sweet reunion... he went berserk and tried to eat me... I ended up killing my best friend with my own hands."

That must have been scary for her. It was bad enough to see your own friends eaten, but to have to kill them yourself? Richard didn't even know how he'd go about killing someone, let alone doing it. Had her friend become a monster too? Were the monster-men people like themselves?

"As for rescue, who knows? Maybe the other fortresses figure nothing could survive a crash like that, and hell, we always thought living on the surface was impossible... maybe they think we're all dead already and don't want to sacrifice rescue parties... or maybe the same thing that got us got them too... maybe they all went down. There's no way to know what happened unless we see someone from another fortress who can tell us just that."

Not even the grown-ups knew. Hopefully it was just them, if the entire world had crashed... no, he didn't even want to think about it. They'd have to all stick together and live, maybe just like they did in ancient history, where people used to makes houses out of straw.

"That sounds horrible, Miss. I'm sorry you had to do that to your friend. Do you think the monster people remember what they were like? It's hard to believe they used to be just like us."

The pair's conversation caught the attention of Caliban, who decided to make his way over. He recognized Selena from earlier, talking to Richard.

"Hey there, you two managing alright? I haven't seen either of you for a little while now."

[Ether]

"I have no idea... when the blast hit, we were thrown aside like rag dolls... when I got up, his body had... changed. He had become some sort of lizard man... he lunged at me straight away, and kept coming until I..." Selena began, stopping herself abruptly and holding her remaining hand to her chest as she grit her teeth.

"It's been so little time, but everything's different now... the hand that killed him isn't even a part of me anymore..." Selena reflected, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. That was when the other man approached, asking as to their condition.

"As alright as one could expect, I suppose." The woman answered flatly, as she slumped her back against the trunk of a nearby tree.

[Phoenix]

The Real Deal

Camping in the sky fortress didn't sound as appealing after Wyuna explained it, but on the other hand, it was looking like she'd never have the chance to go sim!camping, anyway. No, it was looking more like she would be stuck doing the real thing until further notice. She wasn't finding the real thing appealing either ... "Yeah ... and a blanket too if we have any." A blanket ... now that was one thing she didn't mind getting stuck to, so to speak. "I'm ready to head back."

[ReformBlade]

"I'm not a... Ugh, nevermind." Quickly abandoning that train of thought, Janson crossed the stream (take that, ghost busters) and found his way back to the makeshift camp. Looking about, an almost imperceptible smile crept onto his face, glad that there were still others alive and that there was a chance to sit back and relax after the nightmare they'd gone through. But it won't be the last thing, will it? It couldn't be that easy... Shrugging, he examined his injured hand, testing it out and pleased with the results. The pain wasn't nearly as intense, though it was still present. "Should be fine by nightfall..." And so he decided to wait, silently thinking to himself as he sat next to a tree. The fire didn't interest him as much as wondering how they were all going to make this work.

"Yeah, we can head back..." Wyuna couldn't help but smile at Firmia, almost proud of the little girl, envious even. Must be nice to not have to remember life as it once was, though I can't say it's optimal... Still, it'd be a nice experiment. I wonder if they could've tried simulating memory loss? God that'd be fucked up. With that thought lingering, Wyuna lead Firmia back to camp, quickly locating something resembling a blanket for Firmia, "Here you are, dear~." A little pep in her step, the woman made her way over to the food stockpile, wondering if she should start something now or wait.

[Phoenix]

What Do

"Thank you!" Firmia gladly accepted the makeshift blanket and practically span herself into it before taking a seat a short distance from the fire. She kept her hair out in front, so her back wouldn't get dampened and tightly closed up the blanket, making a big knot-like bulge over her chest where her hands were. She took a moment to gaze at the fire ... she still couldn't remember anything before waking up in the school building, not even people. No one in the group seemed to know her, she decided as she looked around the campsite.

[Nanami Touko]

Dustin

Alan and Kayla seemed too busy with their patients to continue talking, and Cyrus had fallen asleep. He noticed that Wyuna had also come back, giving him the chance to finally go about talking to someone again. Noticing her checking the food as he walked over, he got a bit hungry. Never mind food, you don't need it right away. "So, Wyuna, how was the trip? Was the stream nice? I might take a trip there tomorrow morning, get cleaned off. There weren't any crazy monsters there this time, right? Haha." Some more small talk might be nice. It's looking like it's getting a bit late, though.

Amera

Janson started to say something, but she couldn't piece together what it was. A shrug later, she was following him, watching the sky get ever darker until they were at the camp. They had a nice fire going, so Amera decided to plant herself next to it and warm up a bit. Her clothes were still mostly damp, since she hadn't had a towel, so the feeling of heat was nice. Everyone seemed to be doing something, either getting help or talking, or relaxing. That Firmia girl seemed to be sitting on her own. And so did Janson. Did I bother him that much? Or maybe he's just having another deep thought moment. He seems like the type. Deciding it best to leave Janson to his devices for the moment, she stretched herself and walked on over to Firmia. "Firmia, right? How're you doing? You look pretty comfortable." She giggled a little. I'm not very good with kids, but maybe I can learn.

Edited August 26, 2012 by seph1212

[Phoenix]

Camp

"I'll be more comfortable when my hair dries completely." Firmia replied with a frown. She realized that wasn't giving quite the impression she intended. "B-but I'm alright! Everything's fine." Well, not really. There were monsters on the prowl, the first person she'd met in the new world was dead, thanks to the aformentioned monsters, and everything about this place was a mystery. If she wasn't an optimist full of curiosity, she'd still be in tears, still. "Is Janson okay?"

[Nanami Touko]

A bit abrupt, but how could she blame her? "Don't worry too much. I feel the same way, I wish these clothes would dry off, let alone my hair. I should have remembered a towel, haha." She ran a hand through the damp mat that was her hair and sighed. I wonder if they have any more blankets over in that pile of stuff we brought. I obviously can't take Firmia's, how cruel would that be? The question posed to her made her smile a little bit less, but she held it there anyway. "He's... I don't know, honestly. I don't really know if he'll be okay. I hope he will, and I hope he'll talk to me if something's wrong, but..." She shook her head, "never mind that, are you okay? You're pretty young, and this whole thing must be hard on you. Is there anything you want to talk about?" Just gonna change the topic...

[Phoenix]

Focus and Water

"I'm ... trying to stay positive." Firmia replied, showing some sadness. "I mean, there was a huge crash, right? It would be so horrible if we survived that, and then came this far just to die." As she said that, Nielson came to mind, and at first, she thought she had just found an example of someone dying for nothing, but she quickly realized that if he hadn't sent her to the room below him, they both would have been killed. So perhaps, his death wasn't for nothing. He died saving her; he didn't die at random, or for nothing. That's about as comforting a thought as she could manage regarding him, and quickly put the images back out of her mind with a bit of head shaking. "No, we haven't come this far just to die ... so I'm trying to focus on that."

"There is something weird that happened down at the stream, though. That water didn't mess with your powers, did it? It messed with mine ... I think."

[Nanami Touko]

"Yeah, that's a good outlook. That's rather mature coming from someone so young. Not that young people can't be mature, just... it's refreshing." It made Amera smile to think that even the youngest member of their group wasn't letting the crash get to her. "I think of it as a new start, really. Something that can work if we make it work. Glad that you're not going to give up." She gave Firmia a small pat on the shoulder, laying down to relax. "The water? No, I didn't notice anything other than it was way too cold. Like, really cold. I know it's not the warmest around here, but still. Might go take another dip tomorrow morning, who knows? If we're still around here, that is." She sat back up, a big grin on her face. "Janson and I saw what looked like a city on the horizon, just down the ways. We're thinking of walking there, see if there's anyone else alive. And at the very least it'd give us a good shelter. How does that sound? I think it sounds like adventure!" She raised her voice a bit on the last bit, before laying back down and laughing a bit. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

[Phoenix]

They Built Cities On The Ground; True Story

It certainly sounded like an adventure. "As long as it's not full of monsters, heheh." she replied with a nervous laugh. "Wait ... if it's a city, maybe there are other people living down here! Or ... maybe it's ancient and dead." Her tone had gone from excited to depressing in a second. "Mister Nielson said that we were living up in the sky because things were horrible down here ..."

[Nanami Touko]

"Yeah, they taught us that in school, up there. But I guess they were lying to us, for whatever reason. It seems pretty green and habitable, other than the monsters. Those really are a problem. Maybe that's why we moved up? I don't think I could tell you..." Amera sat back up and scratched her head, not wanting to think much more about it. I don't know why they were lying to us, but maybe we can find out down here. "This Nielson you keep mentioning, was he... important to you? If you don't want to talk about him, that's fine. Just... don't think it'd be the best to keep that inside. I find it easier to cope with things after talking about them."

[Phoenix]

Link to the Past

It definitely wasn't easy to talk about, but if not now, when? Procrastination really wasn't Firmia's 'thing'. "Mister Nielson said he was my school teacher before the crash," Firmia began, looking down at the fire as she tried to remember the last twenty-four hours or so. "When I woke up, he was the only person around ... and there were a lot of bodies. He told me I was his only surviving student, but I couldn't remember him or anything else and the harder I tried, the more hopeless it seemed, so I ... started crying. He tried to make me feel better, but I ended up getting stuck to him and ... cried even more. We were like that for almost an hour, and he calmed me down by telling me about how things used to be." After that, she smiled a bit, though she had become a bit teary eyed by then. "I guess he never stopped being my teacher."

[Jaybee]

Kaden

"Let's get you sorted out then. I understand why you ran at it, but you need to think first... if you go charging in, who knows what damage you'll do to yourself."

"It's just one of those times where you do something without thinking... Anyway, even if I had stopped to think about what to do, I'd still have charged at it."