Hospital Car Park

[Laraqua]

"I want my gameboy," the little boy murmurs, putting his thumb in his mouth. He begins to weep quietly.

Outside, the sound of rain drops falls briefly against the roof of the ambulance. Either rain drops or leaves, it was impossible to be sure. Karlene gazes up, the cigarette limp between her lips, her face pale and drawn. She trembles a little in the darkness, little puffs of cloud visible in the well-lit interior of the ambulance.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah's eyes brim with tears too. She picks the boy up again and hugs him. "We'll get it later," she whispers in his ear. "Right now there's something really bad outside, and we have to be very quiet so it doesn't hear us."

[Laraqua]

The boy nods and nuzzles his head in her shoulder. His warmth is comforting in the freezing interior of the ambulance. The metal has become so cold, the two paramedics move to squeeze in on the stretchers just so they can minimize touching anything. The flimsy nurse's uniform Sarah wears provides little protecting against the cold which bites into her skin and seeps into her very bones. Her pulse, hardened by the cold weather, beats violently in her neck almost like a twitch int the muscles. The air stings her nostrils with its icy cold touch. The boy, at least, wore a hoody and thick pants.

Roger feels too numb to truly feel the cold but he can see its effects on the others. At least with the paramedics pressed in beside him, he has their body temperature to keep him warm, even if he can't feel the effects of the chill.

[Zombiedla]

Roger look for a blanket or something else that could keep one warm. If he doesn't find anything he suggests that the the entire crew go search for someplace warmer, for the kid's sake ofcourse. Maybe there's nothing to worry about outside.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah trembles, both from the cold and from fright. When she sees Roger looking around, she nods and looks for some heavy blankets as well: one to wrap around herself and the boy, and additional blankets for the patients and the paramedics.

[Laraqua]

There are two compact blankets, kept there for use with victims of near-drowning or exposure victims, and while they easily wrap around one person, couldn't easily be wrapped around several. Perhaps two adults squeezing together tightly could share but other than that there was no chance.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah knows that the patients have to come first. She puts one over the unconscious patient and offers the other to Roger. She holds the child close to keep him warm, hoping his clothes will also help insulate him, and tries to keep her teeth from chattering.

[Zombiedla]

Roger gratefully accepted the blanket and wraps it around himself. Although, a few minutes later he hands it to Sarah and the child. He hardly felt the cold anyway.

[Laraqua]

Time passes. No one speaks.

OOC: Act as you will or tell me how long you are willing to wait before speaking/acting? You may get the time to do as you please. Or you may not...

[Zombiedla]

OOC: If noone have any objections Roger would like to check outside.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah nods in thanks when Roger returns the blanket to her. She wraps it around both the boy and herself. When she sees him move towards the door, she whispers: "Don't open the door or remove any of the tape just yet, but you can look outside. If that stuff is still coming down, we'll need to tape over the rest of the window completely."

Sarah then looks around the interior of the ambulance for a first aid kit she can carry with her, as well as for a scalpel or other cutting instrument she could use to protect herself and the others. Whatever had hit the ambulance earlier could still be out there, though it had seemed so massive that she isn't sure what good having a knife will do. Still, it had to be better than nothing.

[Laraqua]

The two paramedics have a sort of backpack rig they can carry with them that contains various first aid goods. However, in the transparent drawers are a number of other first aid items that could be put into Sarah's pockets or put into a piece of cloth folded up and tied up at the top, much like the stereotypical tied-up handkerchief on a fictional runaway kid's stick.

As Karlene peels back the tape, it becomes obvious that the darkness is still out there, blotting out the sun. "I don't think it's-"

The doors explode outwards and Karlene is yanked out into the darkness. She screams, her body contorting as it is pulled up over the ambulance itself. There's a thud on the roof, then another one further off. Her screams are cut off abruptly.

Ash floats into the ambulance from the darkness outside.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah reacts quickly, placing the boy down on the gurney and springing for the doors to pull them shut. She winces at the thought of Karlene's fate, but she knows that there is nothing she could do for her at this point. If she were to try, the same thing would happen to her.

[Laraqua]

The doors swing shut with ease, the ash landing on Sarah's arms and face. It isn't thick enough to be a shroud, more like there are thousands of ash motes dancing in the air. Unfortunately, the violence with which the door was opened has damaged the doors' hinges and the lock. She has to hold them in place to keep them closed. The little boy cries and covers his head.

[Mr. Handy]

"Shhh..." hisses Sarah softly, trying to shrug off the ash as best she can while holding the doors in place. She motions to the duct tape with her chin and looks at Roger and Geoff, soundlessly asking for help.

[Zombiedla]

Roger is both mentally numbed and terribly chocked 'cause of what just happened. But he manages to get back to his senses and tapes the door shut with the duct tape. "Wha- What was the thing?"

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah shrugs and whispers "shhh" again. She holds the doors shut while Roger secures them with the duct tape, looking at the motes of ash on her skin with worry. What is this going to do to me? she wonders. I'm not dead yet, and I don't feel any different. I was only exposed briefly, but still...if only I had thought to put the blanket over my head and body before going for the doors I could have kept it off of me. Too late now, I guess, but if I hadn't moved fast it would have gotten on everyone. Have to wash myself off once the doors are sealed up.

Once the doors are taped up enough that Sarah no longer needs to hold them closed, she helps tape up every last gap.

[Laraqua]

Roger's attempt at taping end in failure as much of the tape is folded back on itself, forming a clumpy mess that refuses to stick to the window, and requiring more tape in order to hold it up there. Roger falters and slumps back against the ambulance wall, exhausted by his efforts.

Geoff has backed up against the taped-over grille at the other end of the ambulance, his knees taped up close to himself, his wide eyes flicking from person to person in shock. His blue-tinged lips tremble, his goatee wagging a little as he pulled his jaw out and in almost compulsively.

[Mr. Handy]

I could do that instead, thinks Sarah, if I didn't need to hold these doors shut. We have to hurry before that thing that took Karlene comes back for seconds. Poor Karlene... She looks at Roger, her eyes swimming with tears. "Switch places?" she whispers.

[Zombiedla]

It takes some time for Roger to answer but he agrees to try to hold the door shut while Sarah tries to tape it shut.