SuAside - Locked in

[SuAside]

"I didn't say I didn't believe you... It's just hard on the uptake, ye know..." Jason sighs "As for protection in numbers. Well, there are armed adults here and armed adults downstairs too. How exactly do you intend to keep them from harming us if they decide to do so?"

[trixie]

"Well, not all the adults are bad. We just have to figure out which ones we can trust."

Dahlia's cheeks are still flushed from getting angry, and she pulls the book open again to view the same photo of the strange, large room. "I really think there's answers in this book, Jason. I mean, the doctors wrote it before all of this happened. They knew what was going to happen before all of this started. So it's only wise to read it and try to piece it together. I wonder what all the carvings stand for. Like, that room must've been there a long time."

She starts looking around the room they are standing in, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. "We should try to find scalpels, or knives, or something. Sarah said there was a bunch out there," she points out the door, down the hallway, "but I'm not going out there til we find out who's in the elevator. I want to keep away from the adults as much as I can. Of all of them, I think we can trust Jill. Maybe....." she trails off thoughtfully and studies the picture again, mulling the information over in her head.

"You asked about Brianna? I don't really know much about her. Like what do you mean, a princess?"

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan gives up and turns away from the elevator, setting down his fire axe and briefcase to hold onto his golden spike with two hands. He begins to speak in a cross tone, though not directed particulalry at anyone.

"That's enough, we don't have this time to sit on our hands. The helicopter is going to arrive soon and God only knows how long they can wait for us. We need to move and we need to do it soon!"

[trixie]

{O.C. Clarifying that Dahlia and Jason are not by the elevator, they are in a room down the hall, out of earshot and sight]

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah thinks again about what the mushrooms might do, but she can't figure it out and she doesn't want to dwell on it. "All right then," she says, emerging from behind the cart and crossing over to the panel beside the lift. "Everyone hide." She presses the "up" button on it to summon the lift and then runs back to the cart, ducking behind it once more.

[Hammond]

Hammond sinks back just inside the doorway with her gun ready. Peeking around the side of the wall she keeps an eye on the lift. She glances at Sarah as she positions herself behind the cart. "It's go time sister." I've never felt so scared or alive as I do right now.

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah nods to Dianne and then peeks out around the edge of the cart to see into the lift once the doors open, gripping her weapons. Her pulse quickens in anticipation too. Why am I so scared? she thinks. It probably is someone from the helicopter coming down to look for survivors...I hope.

[Laraqua]

The elevator reaches the 2nd Floor and the doors open to reveal empty space.

[Mr. Handy]

"It looks clear," says Sarah, slipping her gun back into her pocket and pushing the cart forward into the lift before the doors can close. She pulls out the button that will stop the lift from moving even if it's called from another floor and then moves the cart into a corner. While she's inside, she checks the weight limit and the available space to see how many children could safely fit, as well as how stable the lift looks, and returns to the hall. "Okay, let's start getting the kids aboard. At least two adults will need to go with them to protect them. If the doors open on another floor and there's something bad there, we'll need to be ready."

[trixie]

Dahlia turns the page in the book to the next two page spread, curious to see what else might be written.

[Laraqua]

The elevator buttons have been plucked out, revealing exposed wiring.

Dahlia finds the second page shows a serious of ritual robes and religious paraphernalia in what appears to be some sort of dressing room. It looks like the usual Satanic mumbo jumbo, right down to the upside down pentacle spread with the remains of a disembowelled goat.

[trixie]

Dahlia looks at the photos, enamored for a moment, looking at each picture. "Oh...." she breathes, and looks at Jason, her face turning white right in front of him. "This is really gross," she says flatly, and claps the book shut abruptly. Her face has twisted into a grimace, as though what was on the page was bothering her deeply. She shudders deeply.

"I need to keep this safe. I don't want to lose it." She pulls the napsack Jason had found up from the floor, and puts the book in it. "You comin?" she asks Jason, as she turns to the door to poke her head out into the hallway.

[SuAside]

"What? Wheretoo?" Jason asks Dahlia, then looking back to Alisha "We're not finished looking for stuff yet... If the temperature keeps dropping we'll need more clothes and whatnot."

[Mr. Handy]

Sarah wheels the cart right back out and rejoins everyone in the hall. "Well, the lift's out after all," she says. "Can't say I'm too disappointed. The control panel's buttons were removed and the wires are sticking out. Unless someone can fix it, we're stuck taking the ramps up to the fifth floor and then the stairs to the roof. Begs the question of how the lift was being controlled in the first place, but there's no time to worry about that. New plan: everyone who's ambulatory except for two of us will wheel the beds and the cart up the ramps to the fifth floor, and then we'll carry the kids to the roof. We can double up the smaller children on some of the beds, but even so I doubt we'll be able to bring them all in one go. Once they're safely aboard the chopper, we'll go back down and bring the rest upstairs. Even if you're not going on the helicopter, it'll be better on the fifth floor. It's not as cold higher up, and there are radiators to keep you warm. There's also the staff kitchens in the northeast, which are easier to block off and defend. There isn't a lot of food there, though. There's a lot in the ground floor kitchen, but it's dangerous down there."

[Laraqua]

There's the increasing sound of a powerful fan and engine from the direction of the roof. It doesn't sound like anything approaching. It sounds more like something readying to take off.

OC: Wait for every person in this thread to post before moving onward - not based on initiative, though, so just state character intentions. Hammond, post last.

[trixie]

Dahlia hears Jason's words, and turns around to go back into the room.

"Oh. I thought you found a bunch of clothes in here?" she asks, lifting the knapsack he found to remind him. She shrugs. "That's ok.....what're you looking for again?"

She takes a quick survey of the room and begins to rummage through drawers. "Oh ya, I was gonna look for a knife..." she says absent mindedly. Dahlia is quite caught up in the moment, and completely forgot about protecting herself. Her mind whirls with the images she saw in the book. The pentacle covered in blood and remains seemed burned into her memory, taunting her.

She soons gives up looking and wanders into the hallway, still clutching Middles tightly. He squirms occasionally, but she is comforted by his presence.

[Mr. Handy]

"Knives are in the cart!" calls Sarah, already running for the stairs to get up to the roof as fast as possible. "Someone with a torch follow me! We've got to tell them to wait!" She holds her knife in her right hand and her gun in her left, just in case there's anything nasty on the stairs.

[SuAside]

"And you think one knapsack full of clothes is going to be enough for a busload of kids and a bunch of adults?" Jason asks...

"Uhu! If you want to get that chopper, you'll need to send someone up to tell it to wait for the kids before it leaves..." he agrees with Sarah.

Jason then goes on to walk down the corridor as he pulls his jacket closer, now searching for a fireaxe for himself. While he doubts he will be able to swing it at something more than once, they might need an extra one to pry open doors and whatnot.

[TheKingInYellow]

"That's it! We're out of time, we have to go now!" Aidan yells, clearly frustrated. "Everyone who's able grab a child! We'll take the damn stairs if necessary." He exclaims back to the children and not waiting to see if anyone agrees with him.

[Hammond]

Hammond watches the events unfold around her. "Seeing as I have the other gun I'll stay here and protect the children, just in case we have any visitors. I'll start readying them for the second trip. Maybe Jason since your one of the bigger kids here you could stay and help me keep control, and get things ready. It's up to you sunshine, but I could use your help."