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Post by rilkan on Feb 24, 2010 0:31:15 GMT -6
Etrah: 10:15 AM, M13D15, 8008 AV Haven: 11:15 UO, M8D12, 4078 I
For an instant, Taka's whole world seemed to collapse in on itself, his body pressed in on from all directions by an intense pressure. Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone. In fact, Taka didn't feel anything, apart from a falling sensation.
Then he hit the pavement hard as he fell flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him.
His eyes shooting open, Taka struggled to breathe as he scrambled to his feet. He felt like something had been jammed into his back, but as he finally managed a breath, all he could see where he'd fallen was...was...
Laying on the pavement, blood seeping from the torn end, was Jeremy's entire left arm, the fingers still twitching. Taka let out a shocked scream before his eyes fluttered shut, his mind shutting down as he passed out from the stress of the morning so far.
His body falling to the ground in the intersection beside the disembodied arm, Taka was already unconscious by the time the traffic light turned green.
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Post by gideon on Feb 24, 2010 1:21:54 GMT -6
In an alleyway a few blocks off the boardwalk, Nate Gideon struggled to his feet, fighting vertigo as he did. Old Sarah, already standing, helped him up, and as he stood, he saw the nameless tenant with them as well. However, he saw no sign of Taka or Jeremy.
"Where are we? Where's Taka? Where's Jere...my..."
As he looked around, Nate had happened to look down at the opposite wall of the alley. There, all but his right arm and left leg gone, sat Jeremy. Bleeding badly from the stumps of his left arm and right leg, as well as a few bullet wounds that must have occurred before they teleported, saying that he was in rough shape was a massive understatement.
Looking to Old Sarah, Nate wasn't sure what to do. "What...what do we do? Is there a hospital we can get to? Theres...there's gotta be something, right?"
Old Sarah gripped her cane tightly, glancing at the nameless tenant before looking back to Nate. "Shin will take care of him. We need to find Taka. Thoncir might not have the same dangers as the City, but that's not to say it isn't dangerous."
Taking one last look at Jeremy, Old Sarah gave a sad smile before walking to the end of the alleyway. "Nathan? Come along. There's no time to waste."
Nate watched the glance between Sarah and the other tenant, apparently named Shin. The name seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it before. As Sarah walked away, Nate took a look at Shin himself, then one last look at Jeremy, before walking to follow the old woman.
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Shin
Mortal
Posts: 8
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Post by Shin on Feb 24, 2010 1:36:42 GMT -6
As Old Sarah and Nate walked away, Shin crouched, looking Jeremy right in the eyes. Reaching out, he rested a hand on the man's remaining shoulder, and sighed at the pained look on his face at his touch.
"You did a very brave thing, Jeremy. Thanks to you, myself, Old Sarah, and Nate are alive, and I've no doubts that the Riskan boy arrived here as well. You should be commended for this." As he spoke, his words flowed over Jeremy's pain-addled brain, his faint, unrecognizable accent somehow calming in his delirium.
"But you took too large a jump for a mortal, even one with your power. Now, all I can give you is a release. I cannot tell you how much I wish I could do more for you, Jeremy. Your sacrifice will not be in vain. We will make sure Taka survives, and I will see to it myself that no one has to make a sacrifice like yours again."
Standing, Shin drew his bokken, holding the blade off to his side. Raising it slowly, Shin held it across his body, his right arm above his left shoulder. "Now sleep, Jeremy. You've earned your rest. Know that I shall always remember you."
With a faint swish, Shin brought the blade back down across his body. Though the wooden sword never touched Jeremy, a thin diagonal cut appeared across his neck, and in the brick wall behind him, as his body ceased its twitching immediately.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Shin said a silent prayer for Jeremy's spirit, wishing it peace in the afterlife. That done, he glanced at the wall above the body. When Old Sarah had seen the vision of this day, she had come to him. After calming her, they had begun to plan.
Shin knew someone would come across this body eventually. And he knew there was a man in this city that he needed to confer with. He would need to leave a message, its meaning unimistakably clear.
Gripping his bokken tightly, Shin envisioned his message across the bricks, and with a series of swishes, line after line was cut into the wall. When he finished, a message was carved clearly into the brick. This will do nicely.
Sliding his bokken back into the drawstring of his pants, Shin shouldered his duffel bag and walked out of the alley. He felt nothing for the bloody corpse left on the ground, for its spirit had been released. All he hoped was that his message would be found sooner, rather than later.
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Post by rilkan on Feb 24, 2010 23:31:17 GMT -6
For a moment after the light turned green, nothing happened. The vehicles stopped at the intersection proper could all clearly see the unconscious teenager, and the bleeding arm on the pavement next to him. Then, after a few seconds, horns and shouts began to sound as people tired of sitting still while the light was green. Then the light changed again, and the shouts turned to groans as traffic the other direction began to complain about the standstill.
By the second time through this cycle, someone finally got the good sense to climb out of their truck. Ignoring the protesting drivers around him, he walked into a business on the corner of the intersection, using their phone to dial emergency services.
"Yeah, operator? There's a kid passed out in the road at the intersection of 98th and Walnut. No, nobody's moved him. There's a bloody arm on the ground right next to him, of course nobody's gonna touch him!"
Giving his name, the man hung up the phone and walked back to his truck, shouldering his way through a crowd of people that had begun to gather around the intersection.
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Darzul
Veteran
General
Posts: 218
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Post by Darzul on Feb 24, 2010 23:52:56 GMT -6
No more than 5 minutes after the man had hung up the phone, a siren could be heard in the distance. The wails grew louder as an ambulance pulled into the intersection, and a pair of EMT's leapt immediately out of the ambulance and ran toward Taka.
"He's passed out from shock," one of the EMT's said after a brief examination. "He should be fine, but let's get him inside and take him to the hospital just in case."
Shortly after the ambulance's arrival, a Vorcan Army SUV arrived on the scene. A group of 4 soldiers got out of the vehicle, and began directing traffic around Taka and the technicians.
"Shit," one of them said, looking at the arm. "Is that kid okay?" he asked the EMT.
"He's fine," the EMT replied. "The arm isn't his. To be honest, I'm not sure where it came from."
"It came from nowhere," another soldier chimed in. "Same thing happened in the training area before we were deployed. Captain Apek was teaching RMMA to the fresh meat, right? Apparently he'd had a late breakfast that day. Anyway, leg fell out of damn nowhere, fell right on his tray. Knocked his orange juice right off the table." The soldier chuckled. "Oh, you shoulda seen him go off."
"I guess I don't see the humor in all this, and neither does the man who lost two limbs," the EMT said as he helped put Taka onto a stretcher and load him into the back of the hospital.
"Well, there's fuck-all we can do about it right now," a soldier said without looking as he waved cars along. "Let's help the guy we can, and worry about Lefty if we ever find the rest of him."
The EMT's glared at the man, but said nothing. They simply got into the ambulance and headed for Thoncir General.
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Post by gideon on Feb 25, 2010 0:22:34 GMT -6
A few blocks from the alley, Nate realized he had no clue where he was going. Looking to the old woman, he opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand, silencing him. For a moment, there was nothing but the noises of the city around them. Then, Nate heard a siren in the distance.
"What is that? Ambulance? Police?" By the time he'd asked, however, Old Sarah was already on the move. Nate stood in silence as the old woman shuffled away, then shook his head and moved to catch up. Knowing her gift, Nate decided to just follow her...but damn, that woman could move!
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