Ward 15, Third Floor

[jtull_84]

He presses himself against the archway, with his mace in one hand and baton in the other. He tries to still his breathing and hopes the girls will do the same.

[Laraqua]

His throat twists with every creak of the wheels and an icy coldness clutches at his heart. His heart feels like its stopped and his lungs catch on a breath he didn't draw as it closes in towards where he assumes the door would be. Sweat beads his forehead, cold and catching the ash that floats on the breeze. He trembles so hard with fear he feels he might drop the baton (Stamina x 5 roll not to - if you do drop it, Dex x 5 roll to catch it before it hits the floor).

[jtull_84]

OOC:
CONx5-70 or below (1d100=21)
Bernard's heart threatens to burst in his throat. He almost loses his grip on his baton, but manages to keep it together. He hopes the girls are just as lucky.

[Laraqua]

The creak of the wheels turns and starts moving away. This operating theatre is at the end of the corridor. There is nowhere else it could have gone but inside the operating theatre. THe sense of relief as it leaves is palpable.

[jtull_84]

IC: Bernard lets out a small sigh. He listens to make sure the wheels are really receeding. Once they are gone, he begins rounding up the girls.

[Laraqua]

The two women are anxious, vulnerable, a far cry from the action heroines in the movies these days. The creak of the wheels fades into the distance until only the oppressive silence remains.

Then he hears, distantly, the sound of footslaps echoing in the full silence of the world around him and a voice, ever so familiar, calling weakly amidst coughs: "Bernard?"

His wife?

[jtull_84]

IC: Bernard stops midsentence. He chokes out a half whisper, "Helen?" His throat is tight, his eyes water, and his hands shake. He turns, starts towards the door, motiated by a deep, heavy grief. With an urgent needfulness he cries out, "Helen!?"

[Laraqua]

"Bernard?" calls Helen, sounding further away now and very weak.

[jtull_84]

IC: Bernard lurches through the doorway into the hall. He calls out for Helem once more, his eyes straining to see her.

[Laraqua]

The other two women follow shortly behind him, clutching at each other. He glimpses a woman in a hospital gown turning the corner from the operating theatre hallway to the great hall where the stairs up are. He can't be sure if it's her or not.

[jtull_84]

IC: Bernard stops momentarily, just now aware of the potential danger lurking somewhere in the coridors. After a brief pause to check for danger he follows the woman around the corner with the two women in tow. He tries to keep as quiet as he can.

[Laraqua]

The woman he was following is no longer in sight. Melissa comes close to him and clasps his hand, giving him a long, mournful look and then looking around in confusion at what the hospital has become.

[jtull_84]

Bernard shakes his head clear from the grief. He gathers Melissa and the woman and plans to usher them upstairs in search of people.

[Laraqua]

Sirens begin to wail. The sound pressure nearly swallows him, rumbling up and down through him. The other two women seem terrified of the sound and start trying to pull toward the double doors that exit the hospital. Through the glass, light can be seen. The hospital lighting fixtures wobble as the sound causes plaster to fall down in cracks and spotches. The place seems very unsafe.

[jtull_84]

Bernard is reluctant to venture outside the hospital. "Ladies, it might not be safe out there, but this place is liable to fall apart. Shall we? Be sure to tighten you bandannas around your face."

[Laraqua]

They huddle near him, sobbing, nodding their heads mutely to whatever he might suggest. The world outside seems brighter than within. Not well-lit ... but the darkness of an urban landscape rather than the true darkness of the abyss that has confounded his senses for so long.

[jtull_84]

"Alright ladies, it looks better. Let's make it. Miss, shall we go to the observatory and try to find where to go from there. This is no longer a simple surival mission. Something went balls up, and we have to fix it." At that, he takes the girls gently by the arm and heads for the door. Maybe he wouldn't see his wife outside.

[Laraqua]

They flee the hospital as it shakes and trembles, out into the parking lot beyond. Beyond that, beyond the rusting hulks of the vehicles, beyond the cold death of the night, is light. The headlights of a car trying to inch its way slowly through the tangle of vehicles. Its hard to see what's inside in the darkness that oppresses, drawing in around them like a blanket of ash.

[jtull_84]

Bernard looks hopefully at the lights. "Ladies, that is not some nightmare. Those must be actual people. Let's get their attention, but cautiously. No need to spook anyone." He then ties a piece of pillowcase to his club and starts toward the lights.

[Laraqua]

The three make it passed the crowding hulks of steel toward the vehicle. It becomes clearer that it holds two men and a woman (who sits in the passenger seat). These three don't seem to have noticed him. Luckily, though, the car is barely moving 2 miles per hour, so they had sufficient time to catch their attention.