hadriel_logs | Event Log: The Stampede

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for Stampede event
Where: All over the city
When: December 26th-December 28th
Warnings: None

There's a rumbling sound in the air early in the afternoon on December 26th. Whether you're new in town or you've seen it all, something like this hasn't happened before. Is it an earthquake? It feels kind of like a small one, and that might be endurable if not for the sudden snarling and gnashing of teeth!

As it turns out, these yet-unnamed apex predators are overrunning the city, ignoring their previous apprehension to barrel right through anything- or anyone- that stands in their way. Seemingly spooked by something, they are aggressive and violent and won't hesitate to tear anyone they meet to pieces... after trampling them underfoot, of course. They're so large and muscular that they may even take a few portions of buildings with them- how would you like to see one of these monsters crashing through your living room?

At least it's only these weird mammoths, though... right?

► This log covers December 26th-December 28th.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Whoops. He totally just went into leader mode again, took control and gave an order... the sharpness in Ephemera's tone isn't missed, but the words are agreeable, so. They're doing this. Wash nods once and turns on his heel to run down to the next wide intersection, pulling his magnum. The weapon won't be much use against them, he's pretty sure, but it's loud.

As he gets in position, he kind of wishes he'd asked to swap a gauntlet... fire is the smarter move here but whatever. Hopefully they're scared of it in the first place, or Ephemera's just going to get trampled.

He engages his radio. ]

Sync.

Sync.

[ ~~And isn't this just like the old days?~~

Ephemera grits his teeth. Decides he won't go there and shifts into stance. He hopes the animals fight. He hopes these things are mad enough to try something, anything at all, because he needs to hit something. Go into that corner of his brain that goes a little sideways with the violence and lets the world go simple. He really needs just one fucking thing to be simple now.

The ground is shaking beneath them. Ephemera breathes. Smiles. ]

Incoming. Get ready.

Copy that.

[ Wash turns his attention back in Ephemera's direction, watches for a plume of flame as the ground rumbles slightly. Any sign that they've reached Ephemera, as he can only see glimpses of movement between the buildings. There. They're headed straight for him.

Hopefully he'll be smart about this, dodge if they don't seem to be reacting to the fire. Get out of the way and hunker down, even if that's not what Wash would do. But he knows he's reckless about protecting people.

...that's about when he realizes he's not sure where Drake is being contained. Ephemera might be reckless right now too, if it's in the path of the beasts.

Shit. ]

[ There are a lot of them. A massing cloud of movement and flailing limbs.

Good.

Ephemera breathes. He's been doing this for long enough that his hands are steady when he lines up the flamethrower. The first one rears back with a screech and changes course as planned. The second follows, perhaps out of instinct or some inclination toward following the herd. The fire whooshes across its face but the animal doesn't seem to notice.

Not so good.

The one after that doesn't slow down at all.

Ephemera holds his ground and gets his rifle up. He's survived being hit by worse. And starts firing.

The animal keeps coming. Takes a shot to the face and screams. Rears back and clips him in the shoulder, slams him right into the nearest wall. He sees stars.

Laughs. Gets back up.

Yeah. Just like back in the day. ]

[ Only one mammoth comes Wash's way. He fires at it, and already spooked it takes off in the direction he intended, away from housing and hopefully out of the city but they seem to keep getting turned around to be stuck here. But that's it. Just the one mammoth, and he can still see fire and animals charging way down.

Shit.

Wash breaks into a run towards the commotion, trying to get back as quickly as possible. ]

Ephemera, report! Are you okay?

Peachy.

[ Ephemera's voice is mean and low. He's taken a hit but that just makes it better. He can take it personally now. ]

You're missing the fun.

[ And what fun it is. There are more gunshots. Another gust of flame. ]

Coming back.

[ Since the plan didn't work very well, because of course it didn't. Maybe he was assuming the creatures were more intelligent than they are, or maybe he's the idiot, who knows? He's never actually dealt with a stampede before.

He skids around the corner to see just a mass of stomping animals, but he can hear the shots, see Ephemera's flames. From just around the corner he takes aim, trying to draw the mammoths' attention with careful head shots. One actually goes down, and the others just charge right over it. ]

I'm on the wrong side. Are you hurt?

I'll live.

[ The adrenaline's kicked in, blood tuning high, but Ephemera's pretty sure nothing's broken. Might've cracked a rib or two but he's had worse.

He doesn't really like killing animals, he decides. They're just scared. Not their fault they're big. ]

This isn't working. Should've just sniped 'em.

Maybe. But that's not working so well now either, and it's cruel and a waste to kill them all.

[ They can't possibly eat all the meat of the mammoths they've killed already before it goes bad, even in this climate. He sighs into the mic, takes another shot. Another mammoth goes down, but several more plow right over it like they did the first. He can see the end of the herd, though, the last one coming down the street. Where they all went... he isn't sure. ]

I hope someone knows how to make jerky because I don't.

We'll find out.

[ This was supposed to help. It hasn't, Ephemera realizes, with no small amount of disgust. They're just animals. There's no satisfaction in killing them or watching the spread of their blind panic. They run, he shoots, they run some more. A few of them get burnt until they divert, changing directions to run into something that's either not him or something they need.

It's work. He used to like this sort of thing. ]

They still coming?

Last one's turning the corner.

[ Wash ducks back behind the building he's using as cover, because they aren't going to be able to divert any more, he doesn't think. It's over a few seconds later, the last of the animals barreling past to do whatever damage they're going to do. They tried. They failed for the most part, but they tried. Wash looks at Ephemera over the mammoth corpses they've amassed. ]

At least we thinned the herd?

[ Ephemera shoulders his rifle. Then deliberately, he stomps down on the nearest mammoth's head with an armored boot.

The skull crunches. Makes a mess.

He doesn't feel better. ]

Fuck this.

Event Log: The Stampede

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