Play@YSDC

A storm seems to be coming, blocking out the evening sun before it has a chance to fall, the dark clouds seeming almost like a wall, covering about a fifth of the horizon. Down in the car park below, are a myriad of old, rusted cars and a throng of injured people milling about, interspersed with medical staff. If there is something odd out there, Carter can't see it.

Daniel nods "Big storm coming. Okay doc where do we go from here?"

A bead of sweat forms on Daniels brow and drips down into his eye. He very slowly moves his hand up to wipe it away, careful not to make any sudden movements, but again his eyes flick towards the door, and for any makeshift weapons on the doctors desk.

The closest thing to a weapon on the doctor's desk is a large paperweight. It appears to be made of a chalky substance, however, embedded with sea shell fossils, and probably will not make a good weapon. Other then that, there's a monitor, several pens and dozens of sheafs of paper. On the filing cabinet behind the doctor, though, is a six inch metal spike, similar to what is used at a fish and chip shops, where peoples orders are stabbed into it on yellow pieces of paper.

"I don't mind shooting you," says Doctor Bernard Scott. "But I will give you a choice." He places a large syringe on the desk. "Trust me enough to inject yourself with this or choose the bullet. Your choice. However, I promise to put down the gun if you use the needle."

"Would everyone please remain where they are?" asks a calm voice over the intercom. "A chemical incident in London Central has caused massive storm clouds containing high quantities of dangerous substances. Could everyone please remain inside and, where possible, find a secure place to stay until the all-clear is called? Thank you and have a good day."

Feigning obediance, Daniel picks up the syringe and holds it up in front of him, peering intently at the liquid inside. With his other hand he quickly grabs a handful of papers and throws them up in the air in Doctor Scott's face. Hoping the brief smokescreen of paper will give him enough time, he bolts for the door!

Daniel hears the doctor cackle in response but no shot goes off. His hand reaches for the handle, grasps it, yanks it, and then he's out into a far more empty corridor then it had been previously. The man on the stretched who has grabbed him before is still there, however.

Still clutching the syringe, his heart threatening to beat its way out of his chest, sweat dripping from his brow, Daniel charges down the stairs, heading for the main exit. As he nears the bottom, another twang from his ulcer causes him to stumble and he grabs the handrail tightly. Surveying his surroundings, he looks around for someone, anyone, to warn them about the doctor.

A woman stands on the stairs, her young face beautific, her dress embedded in her charred flesh. She smiles sweetly, and gazes at him with loving blue eyes. She is cradling a baby to her chest, its flesh charred and blackened, seeming to have partially melted into her arms, pus has drooled down the baby's chin as it makes a soft, mewling noise.

"Don't you wonder what the ash is?" she asks. "Don't you wonder what it might do? I wonder if it will get you." Then her eyes glaze and she starts moving up the stairs as though to pass him by.

"WAIT - dont go up there! Let me find you a nurse."

Fearful of what Doctor Scott might do in his clearly deranged state, Daniel tries to stop the woman heading upstairs. His hands hover though, as he struggles to find somewhere to grab her that isnt burned. He slips the syringe into his jacket pocket, and frantically searches around for a member of staff.

She continues to move regardless of his actions. There is no one else on the stairs. "They are all going to die," she murmurs. "The cloud ... the cloud is coming. Do you know what the cloud is made of? I do. I saw. It isn't ... it isn't the cloud. We are the cloud."

Daniel is too stressed from his encounter with Doctor Scott to comprehend her words. His head spins.

"Cloud?... Um, what?.. Err. just wait there, let me find a nurse"

Not used to being out of control, Daniel still perspires despite having escaped the stuffy office. Is it hot in here or what, he thinks as he moves into the hospital lobby to see if there is anyone at reception.

The first floor is still swollen with patients, families and wannabe patients but it seems deserted of medical personnel, though even their numbers are greatly reduced. Nothing like a warning to stay indoors to have most people running for the hills. There is a mob of people standing around the reception desk, hiding any nurses who might be there from view. It's hard to hear what she's saying, if there is anyone there saying anything at all, over the multitude of voices that emanate from the several dozen people who press in against the desk.

Amid the throng of people, Daniel starts to feel a little more secure. His heart rate has slowed a little, though he is still on edge.

He looks in revulsion at the injuries of those around him. Craning his neck high to get his bearings he starts to press his way through the crowd. Unsure of the consequences of venturing outside, he vaguely forms a plan to find someone with some degree of authority to report his run in with Doctor Scott. Seeing a sign to some sort of enquiry office he heads across the lobby in that general direction.

(OOC: the title of this thread is wrong now. Should I move to the first floor thread, or do we need a new one?)

The enquiry office has been left open but there's no one inside. However, the telephone within is ringing steadily. In fact, it sounds like every telephone in the hospital has just started ringing.

The ringing phone reminds Daniel that he has his mobile. Finding a quiet spot under a "No Mobile Phones" sign, he dials Gemma's number, to make sure baby Hayley is alright.

"Oh, thank God, Daniel!" says Gemma's relieved voice, sounding happier to hear from him than she had in a long while. "I've been trying to reach pretty much everyone. No one in West London's answering. Please, tell me you know what's going on."

Daniel is also more relieved than he would like to admit to hear Gemma's voice.

"You would not believe the fucking day I am having. Doctor Scott has gone nuts - pulled a fucking GUN on me. Now I'm trapped in the hospital surrounded by burns victims with some acid rain cloud or something on the way. Other than that I'm fine. How's Hayley?"

"She's fine," says Gemma. "We were having a little party when the storm hit. She's got most of her friends over. I'm in the bedroom, don't want the children to hear all of this. Jane, Gary and Christine are here, too, with their children. The rest of their kids ... I can't reach their parents. It was Christine's idea to block up all of the cracks, tape them up, when we first heard the radio... My God, before it reached the radio, they were telling us all sorts of things but then the cloud hit and there was screaming. You wouldn't believe, I mean, they'd done what we had done but we were safe, are safe, aren't we? But they aren't. The children are so terrified. They want their parents."

There's a sound of her moving, pacing, then the sound of weight landing on something soft. Perhaps she's sitting down now?

"What am I going to do? I have seven children here and I don't know what to tell them."

(OOC: Hayley is a girl!)

"Just sit tight I'll see what I can find out, presuming I dont get shot. Whats this cloud business all about anyway? All I know is there are a whole lot of unhappy people here at the hospital. Its a madhouse. Just keep Hayley inside and I'll see if I cant find out whats going on."

Daniel looks around for a television. Surely there must be something on the News about this.