Hospital Car Park

[Laraqua]

Her trousers absorbed most of the damage, leaving her with only a few scratches to deal with.

The ambulance's choked wail sounds ominously closer.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah hurries about her duties, knowing that her injuries are minor and other people need her help a lot more. She continues assessing and tagging patients, keeping an eye out for the ambulance or for anyone else who needs immediate medical attention, heading closer to the sound of the siren as she does so in order to be close to the ambulance when it arrives in case her help is needed.

[Laraqua]

As Sarah Carpenter breaks through the lines of traffic and the small crowd of desperate people, the soot-covered ambulance swings into view. It appears to be one of the old ambulances that must have been sent off years ago to the crusher's. It's paint is faded and flaked, coming off in thin strips as the ambulance tears forward on a flat tyre. The lights on top of it are busted. The windows are cracked and covered in ash and soot that seems to have gathered especially around the wind-shield wipers. It's so thick, she can hardly see the man inside. The ambulance mounts a patch of lawn, scrapes between two trees and comes to a sudden halt in front of her.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah gasps. "What the bloody hell happened?!" she exclaims, not really expecting an answer. She faces the driver and speaks quickly. "I'll take a look at your patient and assign a priority for treatment, and I'm here if he needs immediate help." She runs to the back of the ambulance to open the door and see what shape the patient is in without waiting for a response.

[Laraqua]

Sarah speaks through the sooty windows, barely able to catch the silhouette of the man inside, and yet he had somehow managed to drive. Then again, judging by the many dents and prangs that seemed quite fresh in the vehicle's body, he probably had been affected. She darts around to the back of the ambulance without hearing a response and takes hold of the door handle. The metal seems to drain the warmth from her fingers but she tugs on it before noticing. The door seems stuck, somehow, as though the rust were keeping it closed. With a bit more effort on her part, she might be able to yank it open.

[Zombiedla]

Roger feels very dizzy. Have the ambulance stopped? Are we still driving? Am I dead? Roger didn't even know anymore. More darkness covered his eyes.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah continues pulling on the handle, trying to gain whatever leverage she can and wishing she were stronger. "Help me with the door!" she calls. "It's rusted shut!" She knows that the Jaws of Life could cut through the rusted metal, but ironically they'd be inside the ambulance. Still, if she managed to get the door open she could then use them to get the driver's door open - if they're not rusted too, that is. He might be injured too, from the look of him, and it wouldn't do to leave him stuck out in the parking lot with that cloud coming. She has no idea how these vehicles have seemingly aged abnormally quickly, but she suspects the cloud has something to do with it.

[Laraqua]

With a grunt, Sarah manages to yank the doors open. The rusted hinges screech in protest but she manages to draw them open, revealing thick duct tape on the inside of the doors as though to cover the gaps. The interior is immaculate, with two paramedics and two patients inside. One patient seems to be barely conscious, his eyes fluttering open and then closing against the light. The other patient is either asleep or unconscious.

The two paramedics are unfamiliar to her. Perhaps they belong to another hospital?

"Look, this Mercy Cross?" asks the female paramedic.

"What the hell is going on out there?" asks the male paramedic.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah," says Sarah quickly as she examines the two patients, "this is Mercy Cross. Someone should have a look at your driver too; he might be injured. You probably know more about what's going on than I do, since it looks like you've been through it. All these vehicles look like they've aged decades in mere minutes, and I suspect that black cloud's the cause. It's getting closer, and we need to make sure everyone's inside before it arrives. Looks like taping up gaps on the doors helps, since you lot came through okay. We've got a full parking lot and I'm prioritizing the patients for treatment. It'll go faster with your help. What's wrong with these two?"

[Laraqua]

"Karlene Davenport," says the female paramedic in a thick, Australian accent. "This one's an attempted suicide, we reckon," she says, nodding at the barely conscious man. "No idea what this man's problem is. Poisoning? We've done basic treatment on them both. The first seems like he'll be good when the pills wear off. The other one needs his stomach pumped. Hope our driver's okay. Anyway, we gotta get everyone inside and get everything sealed up. Maybe aim for the smaller rooms first. The air ducts'll spread it right throughout the place."

"We're from the Royal London Hospital," says the male paramedic as he hops out of the ambulance. "Don't know what happened to it. Heard some weird ass shit just before the cloud rolled over it." He goes to the front driver's side door and struggles with the handle, finally managing to wrench it open. "Aww, shit."

Sarah can't see what's going on but she can smell something awful. Something that smells a lot like some of the other cars she had inspected.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm Sarah Carpenter, by the way," says Sarah, already running back to the driver's door to see what she can do to help - and dreading what she would see.

[Laraqua]

At first it appears that the driver is entirely undamaged but then she sees that his eyelids have been peeled back, revealing ashen eye sockets, and from his slightly open mouth come lines of smoke, or ash, as though he had been charred on the inside.

"H-how did he drive us here?" demands the paramedic, whirling on Sarah and grabbing her shoulders. He shook her so violently her teeth rattled, her own hair coming somewhat loose of the pins and hair tie, a few thick strands of hair slapping her across the face. "What the hell is going on here? What have you heard?"

Tell me if Sarah's hair is cut short and I will amend the post.

[Mr. Handy]

(I never said how long Sarah's hair is, but I'll say it's shoulder-length, so there's no need to change the post.)

"I-I have no idea," says Sarah, tensing up at his touch. "I don't know any more than you do. I've been busy trying to save people's lives and haven't heard a thing. What have you heard?" She shakes her head and looks him in the eyes. "Look, we don't have time for this. These people need our help! Now, please let go of me!" She waits for him to release her shoulders so she can go back to the patients in the back of the ambulance, but stands ready to protect herself if he tries to hurt her.

[Laraqua]

He shoves her away from himself with a cry of disgust and marches into the throng.

[Mr. Handy]

Still shaking, Sarah returns to the back of the ambulance to help Karlene with her patients. "It was so horrible," she says, "like the driver was burned from the inside out. I think your friend lost it a little back there." She told the paramedic what had happened. "I'll help you move these two."

[Laraqua]

Karlene Davenport sighs. "These two'll live for now. You keep doing that whole priority thing you do so well." She looks around, a stricken look crossing her delicate features as her eyes catch hold of the black cloud that seems ominously closer. Had the distance been halved between them and the cloud since last Sarah looked? "I don't think we'll have the time to do much else."

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah," says Sarah as she tags the two patients, "I'd better hurry. Tell the hospital staff that everyone should be moved inside stat and to seal all the gaps, and you should grab the duct tape and whatever medical supplies you can when you go. Good luck!" She sprints for the next vehicle, hoping against hope that she can finish before it's too late.

[Laraqua]

Roger is rolled out on a stretcher when his upturned gaze fixes momentarily on the sun. The dark clouds nibble the edges, moving slowly across, and the light begins to dim. His mind is still too addled to truly understand what's going on but he feels the danger shortly before the brightness forces him to lower his eyes. The paramedic at the end of the stretcher pauses, then starts pushing the stretcher back onto the ambulance.

Sarah has to step out of the way of a van that groans to life as the driver decides to take his chances on the open road. The van slams into two other cars and shoves its way clear. That driver seems to not be the only one with the same idea as other cars lurch forward. A 4WD slams two parked cars, shoving them slowly aside as it attempts to leave the parking lot.

Patients and families and staff members from inside the hospital begin streaming out for their cars. There are people everywhere. Where a moment before was calm, now there is only the grinding of steel.

"Sarah!" screams Karlene Davenport, her voice barely heard over the ruckus.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah turns and races towards the sound of Karlene's voice, doing her best to avoid the traffic. "I'm coming, Karlene!" she shouts, racing as though her life depends on it. While it might not, she knows that someone else's probably does. Did one of these drivers run someone over in their haste to get away? she wonders.

[Laraqua]

The cars are moving slowly enough, though with a fair amount of force, that Sarah can climb over the bonnet or slide across the boot to keep going. In some places, the traffic is fierce enough that she has to. Thankfully, the ambulance is sitting far enough away from everyone's path that nobody has rammed it.

"We're going to seal up the ambulance," says Karlene. "Wait for it to pass. They'll need us when they declare the all-clear to help with the injured. You have to keep yourself safe, too. We can fit one or two more but that's it. You got five minutes to choose then we're sealing this place up for good and you're on your own."

The male paramedic, who seems to have regained some of his senses, nods as he tends to the two male patients already inside.

OOC: There's enough variety here for you to make up who you choose, if you decide to take that route.