ASH: Dahlia

[Mr. Handy]

"Great Scott!" breathes Lionel softly. He leans over to where Dahlia is holding the phone and speaks into it. "Sarah, do be careful! What's that shooting?"

[trixie]

[OC Is the shooting in the hallway Dahlia and Lionel and Brianna are standing in, or can it be heard over the phone?]

[Mr. Handy]

[OOC: Actually, I think it's both - the hallway outside the room on the other side of the door, and on the phone - but I'll let Laraqua verify that.]



"Big Rock Candy Mountains," murmurs Lionel. "Yes, I remember that now. That was a fun time. Remember, Brianna? Where have Ronald and Agnes gone?"

[Laraqua]

OOC: Both.

[trixie]

Brianna's cheeks are suddenly wet with quick tears spilling down her cheeks, and she looks confused at Lionel's mention of Big Rock Candy Mountain. The reference brought up memories of sweeter times in a bomb shelter, where life didn't seem so difficult.

She manages to murmur above the gunfire, seemingly oblivious to the danger of the situation, "Where is Ronald? Where.....where is he? No! Ronald! Where did I.....where did he....." She grabs onto Lionel's arm. "Ronald! What happened to him! Where did he go? Why did he leave me?" Her eyes show the desperation she's feeling,

[trixie]

"Sarah! They're shooting! Are they shooting there too?" Dahlia's voice cracks from anxiety, she ducks behind whatever cover is available, and skulks down, folding herself into a small ball and clutching the phone, terrified. "Sarah, I miss you. I wish you were here! I don't wanna be here anymore!"

[Mr. Handy]

Lionel hugs Brianna, relieved that she is speaking again. "I don't know where Ronald is," he says. "I can't remember when I saw him last, but I'll bet Daniel knows where he is, and he's on his way. We'll find him, Brianna, or he'll find us. Ronald loves you very much, and he'll do his level best to get back to you. He must have gotten separated when things went all pancake-shaped."

[trixie]

"Candy.....mountains. And.....lollies....." Brianna looks about, her eyes glazing over, "chocolate rivers.....Candyland. And.....mum." She begins to sob uncontrollably. "And Ronald....the only one......to stay with me......and now.....he's not......where......"

[Mr. Handy]

"It's all right, Brianna," says Lionel. "Ronald wants to be with you more than anything, and I know he's going to do his best to get back to you. He wasn't expecting this to happen, but I'm sure he's all right. He's not the only one who stayed with you. I've always been here, remember? I'm sure Ronald misses you very much, just like I've missed Sarah all this time, and she misses her mum just like you miss yours. I wanted to be with her, but I couldn't before. But now she's almost here, and once we're all together we'll find all our friends and there will be candy for everyone." He suddenly remembers something. "Oh, that's right! I forgot I had these. Care for a Jelly Baby?" He takes out his bag of Jelly Babies and offers some to her. "You can help yourself too, Dahlia."

[Laraqua]

As Lionel speaks, bullets thud into one of the walls in the corridor, then when it stops someone screams and yowls out in the corridor. The sounds of agony almost cover the voice of Nurse Sarah over the phone.

"Oh, Dahlia, I miss you too," Sarah says into the phone. "I love you so much! That gunfire is Cael shooting at something bad. He said it has a gun grafted onto its arm, and it was trying to shoot back, but we're all okay. He's right outside that stuck door, and the rest of us are around the corner. Once he says it's safe, he'll open the door and we'll all get out of here together. There's a metal door downstairs that can only be opened when it's completely dark, and that's the way out. I need you to be brave for me, Dahlia. My daddy is very confused right now, and he's going to need you to help him make sense of things until I get there. And Brianna needs your help too. You have to reassure her that she doesn't need to be afraid of Cael, or of me. He will never hurt her again, and he's terribly sorry about what happened. We both are."

[Mr. Handy]

Lionel leans close enough to speak into the phone. "Sarah, are you all right?" he calls. "Whoever's out there sounds like he's in pain."

[trixie]

"Cael? Why would he.....why would Cael.....hurt Brianna? I don't.....I don't understand." Dahlia's eyes well up with tears.

It was Cael...that hurt Brianna....Dahlia felt her guts roll around at the sight of Brianna's blood soaked shirt. And then there was the somewhat absent expression that had been her face since she came back. It was true....Cael couldn't be trusted....he was....responsible.

"Sarah? Did.....Cael.....mean to......hurt her?"

{OC Edited to reflect the last convo}

[trixie]

Brianna wipes away tears as well at the mention of Ronald and then looks dubiously at Dahlia carrying the phone.

She doesn't seem to recognize the name, however.

[Mr. Handy]

[OOC: Sarah did tell Dahlia about it on the phone, though she didn't go into detail about it.]

[Laraqua]

OOC: She's ten, isn't she? Or thereabouts? In all the stress, it may not have sunk in/been forgotten. So Trixie, take it how you like.

[trixie]

[OC Note the edit]

[Laraqua]

"I'm so sorry, Dahlia," says Sarah into the phone. She begins to cry too. "It was all my fault. We were scared of Brianna and she was scared of us. She thought we were going to hurt her even though I told her we wouldn't, and she used her mind to throw us across the hall and set us on fire. We're not mad at her, though. I got hurt real bad and knocked out, and that's why Cael did it. He may have even thought I was dead. I'll explain everything and apologize to Brianna personally when you guys get out here. Please, get Daddy out here fast. Daniel's having some kind of convulsions and I'm trying to help him, but I don't know what else I can do. Like I said, the door's open and it's safe to come out now. Through the door, turn right, then around the corner to the right." She does her best to keep Daniel comfortable and prevent him from injuring himself any further. "Daniel, hang on, Daddy's coming to help you. Can you tell me what's wrong? Is it because of the sigil, or your mental powers?" She checks the file that her father had transmitted to her phone to see if there's any relevant information in there about the sigil's side effects.

[Laraqua]

The two can hear the door open. Someone's out there. Is it this Cael?

OOC: Please join the Nurse Sarah thread if you plan on getting up and leave.