hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Death Comes

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Intro Log: Death Comes

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for July.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: July 10th-15th
Warnings: Deathclaws. That's all you really need to know.

As usual, the new arrivals in Hadriel will be waking up on the dirt ground of the colosseum, and as usual, they won't be waking up alone. This month brings coat hangers of all shapes and, uh, sizes strewn about the colloseum floor around all of the new arrivals.

Get up, get out, meet and greet, find some new exciting interior decorating options, but don't forget about the more prominent threat: the (newly) local deathclaws roaming about in the inner halls of the arena. These deathclaws are vicious bipedal creatures with long arms ending in curved talons, horns ripe for goring and, of course, teeth as long as fingers. These animals have been engineered to be as deadly as they can possibly be, so you might want to buddy up before taking one on.

Have you escaped from the deathclaws? Made a few friends? Not died horribly? Great! Feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers July 10th-15th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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She may not have shown up at all.

[He really doesn't want to be explaining this right now, trying to figure out what to say and what not to say while keeping an eye out for anything that might be coming toward them, carefully avoiding the weird coat hangers scattered about in case they happen to be dangerous. Who knows in this place.]

Y-You've probably only been here like, a few minutes? But this isn't... We're not on the mountain.

[It's a way to dance around actually answering the question while still hopefully getting across that the situation is definitely not normal.

The growling is getting louder and he tightens his grip on his gun; if one of those things appears they're going to have to run, Beth or no Beth.]

"Shown up?" [ He may not want to talk about it, considering what he knows, but Hannah is persistent. This is her twin, after all, and what she knows is that they'd both taken a dangerous tumble from a cliff's edge. Hannah is here. Where is Beth? ]

Well, we're in the caves, right? [ Obviously, not exactly the mountain, not where they'd been before, but the apparent stretch of tunnels beneath them. Who knew all this was here? ] How do we get back up? How did you get down here?

[ If Chris and the others had come down to get them, there had to be some way that was accessible. Anything else wouldn't make sense.

Of course, there's the growling to contend with, too. It's hard enough to think rationally with everything going on, with what's happened, but to then hear that nearby...? ]

Where did you get a gun? [ She whispers, eyes wide. It'll be a good thing to have, but it's not something she ever imagined seeing in Chris' hands. An arcade gun, maybe, or a paintball gun, but not a real one. ]

[Hannah, please work with him here. He definitely understands her asking questions, he just really wishes she could hold them back for a little bit longer mostly because he really doesn't know how much to tell her.

But there are some things that are going to be very obvious very soon, and those are probably safe to explain. As long as Hannah doesn't think he's crazy and decides to bail on him, anyway.]

No, we're... W-We're not in the caves, Hannah.

[How to say this? His attention is still mostly on their surroundings, so it's difficult to really concentrate on the best way to explain.]

It's another world. I know, totally ridiculous movie stuff, but it's true.

[The growling sounds even closer now and Chris isn't seeing Beth, and he's becoming more and more certain that she isn't here.]

Short answer: Got it from Mike.

[That's true, and definitely a short answer.]

I'm not... I don't think Beth's here, Hannah.

[ "Another world?" Suddenly, that 'explanation,' combined with the mention of Mike, has her pulling away, frowning stubbornly and planting her feet. ]

What is this, Chris? [ Comes the shaky question. ] You guys... already got me, okay? I get it. I'm not-- I don't want to deal with this prank stuff anymore.

[ That's what it all is, isn't it? Just part of the big scare. Beth couldn't have been in on it, so maybe she's being led through the same, stupid story by one of the others. ]

I'm not falling for this again. [ She says firmly, eyes beginning to shine with the humiliation of the 'first' prank. ] Just... don't. Please.

[Damnit. He stops when she does, more concerned with staying close to her than anything else, and he's not surprised she doesn't believe it but he isn't expecting her to think it's actually a prank. But of course she would, right? Especially if that's pretty much the last thing she remembers, and surely it would be.

He takes a brief glance around again before turning his attention totally toward her, so hopefully she'll believe what he says. It probably won't hurt that it might be easier to notice how different he appears, since it's been a year at home, after all, and another eight months in Hadriel; he's a little taller, thinner, and definitely more exhausted looking.]

I swear it isn't a prank. This is way too over the top of not-funny.

[It would've been even before everything happened, and it definitely is now.]

I know it doesn't make any sense but it will, and right now we--

[But he stops because there's a loud snarling roar and a Deathclaw lumbers its way into the main arena. It hasn't quite noticed them yet, but it's only a--surely very short--matter of time.]

[ She does notice. The change of clothes is easy to explain away, but there's something in his voice, manner, and face that's different enough to bring her pause. Hannah stares hard at him, swayed easily by his explanation, about to press on with explanatory questions, then, when something growls above their heads. ]

What-- [ It's an automatic reaction, a shocked question on an exhale, but she covers her mouth immediately, recognizing the danger. It makes her think of the animal from the woods, the man with the flamethrower, except... whatever this is, it isn't any animal she's ever seen or heard of before.

Oh my god. Her heart pounds in her throat and she draws closer to Chris (Chris, her friend, who has a gun). The Deathclaw is... indescribable and her mind goes blank with panic as she turns to stare in horror at her friend.

What do we do? ]

[Now that Chris can see the monster a little better it's even more terrifying than the glimpses he'd gotten of it in the tunnels, and he freezes in place for a moment until Hannah steps closer to him and he snaps out of it. Okay. They can deal with this.

He glances toward her, trying to project some level of calm even though he probably isn't actually showing it on his face. His voice is almost inaudibly quiet, and he begins to gently nudge her to move slowly toward the wall of the arena as he speaks.]

W-We'll circle around behind it to the tunnel it came from.

[Hopefully now that the Deathclaw is here, that tunnel might be empty. If they can just disappear into the tunnel before it notices them, they might be safe.]

[ She takes the hint. Hannah is confused and terrified, but she's also smart. Her heart pounds, but Chris nudges her and she moves, as carefully and quietly as possible. ]

Okay. [ She breathes. It makes sense, to head out toward an exit, through wherever that... thing came from. As such, she follows alongside Chris, eyes trained on the monster's distant form, pulse a heavy drum in her ears.

Quiet. Slow. Deliberate movements. ]

[Chris stays close to her, trying to make sure he's between her and the monster in case it does attack, but so far they're managing to go unnoticed. But their luck runs out when they actually reach the tunnel, and the creature's gaze fixes on them sharply.]

Uh, Hannah, time to run.

[ Hannah feels her heart leap into her throat and there isn't time for much of anything but to follow Chris' advice. She bolts, stumbling a little at the beginning, but using practiced athleticism to push through blind panic. She isn't alone, though, and periodically glances over her shoulder, wide-eyed, to make sure Chris is there. That the... thing, whatever it is, hasn't caught up. ]

Where do we go?! [ She exclaims breathlessly, still in the midst of their mad dash. He seems like he knows these caves way better than she does, after all, and she's terrified that she'll lead them into a dead end. ] What is that thing?

[Chris is really not a huge fan of running, but fortunately enough he's decently fast when he has to be. So he stays close enough to Hannah, periodically glancing over his shoulder to see if the creature is following them; he can't see it, but he can hear it snarling just down the tunnel.

He really wishes he actually knew the tunnels as well as Hannah thinks he does, but he doesn't. Still, he thinks any direction will eventually lead out from here, so--]

Doesn't matter, just pick a direction!

[They'll deal with a dead end if they come to one; he still has several bullets left.]

I-I have no idea, but lets not find out up close, okay?

[ She does pick, darting whichever way her gut draws her toward with Chris right behind her. Hannah can hear the... thing's noises, its approach, and her heart pounds wildly in her chest as they go.

Could this thing be whatever that guy with the flamethrower was aiming for? ]

Hey-! [ She breathes, as a little light opens up at the end of this particular tunnel. We can make it, we can do this-- ]

[There's a literal light at the end of the tunnel, and though it doesn't mean they're safe it means their chances will be better. Once they're out in the open they have more options, more room to run, and more places to hide.

The monster is still right behind them as they emerge into the artificial light of the city, and they're not going to be able to keep outrunning it for long.]

There, Hannah, building!

[There's a cluster of shops directly ahead, and though he doubts a door or windows will stop the monster they'll have a chance to hide.]

[ He doesn't have to tell her. She follows his gaze and bolts, still, powered by athleticism and adrenaline. The noises behind them are only growing louder and it takes all her strength of will to not look around and see exactly what is chasing them.

Instead, she doesn't turn back. Hannah ducks into one of the nearest buildings and, when Chris follows suit, shuts the door and presses her back to it.

She doesn't speak, but she does catch her breath, eyes wide. ]

[Chris is really not sure about this leaning on the door idea, but at this point it's better to stay still and quiet and hope the monster just passes them by than to risk making noise moving around and attract it. So he just stays where he is next to her against the wall, ready to have to pull Hannah out of the way if the thing tries to come through the door, but for several long and terrifying seconds the monster's growls get louder and louder and then pass by, fading as it continues past them.

And then there's silence, and Chris dares a glance out the nearest window, and nothing.]

I-It's gone, Hannah. We're okay.

[He's just... Going to sit down now, because wow adrenaline rush. He might be able to handle monsters a lot better than before, but that's still terrifying and not even considering the shock of the fact that he's talking to Hannah. She's here, and she's alive, and despite everything part of him still can't believe it.]

[ "We're okay" is a relative statement, of course, but she's happy to accept it for now. Hannah heaves a sigh and slinks down against the door, leaning her head back and catching her breath for a while before speaking. ]

Thanks, Chris. [ She says finally, glancing over at him. ] I think I would've froze up if I'd seen that thing on my own.

[ And then died, she assumes, and shudders. ]

... Where'd you get a gun? [ Hannah asks weakly, because it's an easier question than most of her others. ]

Y-Yeah, it's no problem. I'm just um, glad you're okay.

[Somehow. Not just despite the monster and the situation, but everything that happened back at home--

Thinking about this won't help, though he really doesn't know how to answer her next question. Still, he's thinking the same as Hannah in that it's a lot easier a topic than pretty much any of the others, so...]

It's um, a long story. Short answer is Mike, who found it in an abandoned building or something.

[He'll just leave it ambiguous where that building was, because if she assumes it was here then all the better.]

Mike um, isn't here anymore, but uh... Josh is. Em and Ash too.

You, too. [ She agrees solemnly. Of course, she doesn't know the full implications of what he's said, and for herself, Hannah is only referring to Hadriel and its terrifying monster(s). ]

He would. [ She says lightly, though a little bitterness, maybe, seeps into it. Quickly, she adds: ] I'm glad you haven't just been here alone.

[ He's got to be happy to have Ash around and Hannah herself is glad to hear about Josh.

Emily is a little more complicated. ]

[He hears that hint to her tone but doesn't make any mention of it; she has plenty of reason to be less than enthused with Mike, even if it's a little weird to hear Hannah talk about him with anything other than adoration. But that's so not important at the moment, and he offers her a weak but hopefully reassuring smile.]

Yeah. Thanks. It uh... Isn't as bad as it seems?

[Yep. He's being so reassuring.]

I think um, the monster's passed though, and it's not super far to the house. We're probably good to go, and um... Josh will be really glad to see you.

[It's gonna be a shock and things will be super complicated, but that's all worth it to have Hannah with them again.

He gets to his feet again, taking a cautious look out of one of the shop windows before peeking out the door, and the coast is indeed clear. So then he glances back at Hannah.]

Ready?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Intro Log: Death Comes

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want to start to wind this one down? c:

yeees sounds good