Prologue: Field Trip

[Carthrat]

01[01:28] <@Nao> <--->
01[01:31] <@Nao> With a shudder, the bus pulls up at another stop. The thing looks dated both on the inside and the outside, with fading paint announcing it to be of the 'Vent re Bus Line'- typically mismatched with the rest of the Reno fleet. Inside isn't much better, but at least the aircon works-
01[01:33] <@Nao> -keeping the inhabitants within moderately cool, despite the hot Nevada evenings. A man and a woman stand outside- this stop is in front of a large diner, and several people are quickly vacating the premises. The woman is a pretty young thing, wearing faded jeans and a red t-shirt, labelled 'Oxfam'. She carries a cane. (More.)
01[01:35] <@Nao> They get a good look at the other inhabitants. Most on board are simple... bored. The poor suspension of the vehicle keeps things interesting, at least, turning what should have been an ordinary trip home into a rollercoaster. "Just get in, don't care about no ticket," grunts the driver, waving the duo up the stairs.
06[01:39] * Bruce pockets the fare without so much as a comment, helping his companion board before following her swiftly. He casually scans the empty seats, before directing her towards a couple near the end. It's difficult to be adequately helpful without coming off as condescending or overbearing, but that is one skill Bruce had learned during his acquaintance with Lisa.
01[01:42] <@Nao> "Thanks, Bruce," she replies, quite comfortable with the man's help. A woman- no, a girl stares at the pair as they enter the bus. Dark, spiky hair lets her stand out from the crowd, but even without it, her dress would certainly set her apart- the short denim skirt with too many chains, red-and-black striped stockings that make her legs look twice as long-
01[01:43] <@Nao> -and the too-big black shirt with sharp, hanging cuffs combine to present the image of a teenager doing her very best to assimilate into counterculture. Surprisingly, she wears it well- if such clothes can ever be worn 'well'. She smiles speculatively at Bruce, before turning away and glancing out a window. (More.)
01[01:44] <@Nao> "Jacob is really grateful to you, you know. This wouldn't have been possible without you," adds Lisa, snapping Bruce's gaze away. "You should've been a bit nicer," she adds, reproachfully.
[01:46] <Bruce> "Please don't ask the impossible," Bruce responds, as he often does whenever they discuss such things.
01[01:48] <@Nao> She sighs, dropping her head against his shoulder. "Oh, come on, now," she starts, just as someone runs up to the now-closed doors of the bus and starts bashing against them. The driver mutters some foul obscenity under his breath, before the doors creak open and let her in-
01[01:49] <@Nao> -a middle aged woman, by the looks of things, just out from work, clutching a suitcase. She stumbles into the bus and flops down on a seat, breathing hard. As such, she takes a few moments to get her bearings, but then she notices the man she's sitting next to. (More.)
01[01:50] <@Nao> Rubbing her eyes for a moment, she blinks, and in a hushed, excited tone- "You're Marco! Marco Ranieri, right?"
01[01:51] <@Nao> *Marco, geezus
06[01:53] * Bruce briefly has a light smile on, before rolling his eyes and clearing it from his face. "I did make an appearance and you yourself said Jacob was pleased. What more could one want?"
06[01:54] * Marco is dazed out of his reverie of staring out the window and turns towards the woman, flashing his pearly whites in a dazzling smile. "Hey, how you doin'?" he asks in his usual Italian-American drawl. "Always nice to meet a fan." He looks a bit dishevelled himself, wearing a pair of jeans and an untucked black shirt, but he still somehow seems rugged rather than unkempt.
01[01:55] <@Nao> "Ohmigod it really is you! I have to get a photo. Hey, you, can you take a photo?" she asks, hurriedly fishing out her- mobile, and waving it to a girl just across the aisle. It could be a poor choice, given that the woman has headphones plugged in, likely shutting her off from the world.
[01:57] <Marco> It's nice to get reminders of the time when he actually was famous, so Marco doesn't have any problems obliging his fan.
06[01:57] * Paula is pretty oblivious to her fellow commuters. Or fellow people-too-poor-to-buy-a-car, or whatever. She's got the Pixies blaring loud enough for anyone nearby to hear it whether they want to or not. The motion does catch her attention, though. "Hey, you're the guy from that show," she says glibly.
[01:59] <Marco> "Marco Ranieri," the down on his luck actor confirms, giving Paula a dazzling smile. "How you doin'?"
01[02:01] <@Nao> "You did, Bruce, it's just..." starts Lisa, before she just smiles. "Never mind. I'm glad you came, so I won't complain. Do you.. um, do you want to sleep at my place? It's silly for you to just come this way to see me off," she adds, quietly.
06[02:01] * Paula can barely hear a word through her music, which she doesn't seem eager to turn down, but Marco's meaning is plain enough. "I'm on the bus," she says simply. Really, that should explain everything.
01[02:02] <@Nao> The woman next to Marco is saying words and pointing urgently at her phone, but Paula can't hear any of it. Another woman a couple seats back looks up from her laptop at the scene, seems to snort to herself, and returns to typing.
06[02:04] * Marco looks rather befuddled by Paula's non sequiter and so just smiles and nods at her. "Here," he reaches for the woman's phone, "You can just take a photo like this - I do it this way all the time," he admits, leaning against her and holding the phone up at arms length as he fiddles with the buttons to take a photo of them.
06[02:05] * Paula finally removes the ear plugs, since something seems wanted over. Frank Black can be heard yelling something about "Un chien Andalucia," whatever that means. "Oh. Picture?" she says to the lady. She's not to eager to mess around with strangers, but she's not enough of a jerk to say not to helping them (at least, not right now). The guy seems to have things covered, though.
[02:05] <Paula> *wanted of her
06[02:06] * Bruce doesn't respond immediately. "It's not silly," he finally says. "It's getting late. I couldn't let you go alone."
01[02:07] <@Nao> The woman seems to freeze up as Marco brushes against her, and then her face melts into a dreamy smile. "I really loved 'At The Bar' you know. Ooh, say the line, say the line!" The bus begins driving off, however, and the bumpiness of the road forgoes any immediate response.
01[02:08] <@Nao> "Well, at least let me make you some tea to pay you back," insists Lisa, clearly in one of her stubborn moods.
06[02:10] * Bruce smiles again. "Of course."
06[02:11] * Paula rolls her eyes a little at the woman's eagerness and then goes back to minding her own business. Housewives, you know? What are you gonna do?
01[02:11] <@Nao> Paula's phone rings! Loudly.
[02:12] <Marco> After finally getting the camera to make the click noise that signifies a photo was taken, Marco hands it back to the woman before chuckling and adopting a stern demeanour, eyes seeming to be staring into the distance. "That's one of my rules," he declares firmly, before his usual demeanour reasserts himself. "Did you know they had a guy on the staff who's only job was to keep track of all the rules I said like that?"
[02:12] <Paula> It has to be loud to get through to her! She finally shuts off the music (obviously irritated at the necessity of doing so) to answer the phone. The ringtone, incidentally, is Green Day's Basket Case.
[02:13] <Paula> "Yello," she says simply, sounding exhausted.
[02:14] <Paula> "'course not," she lies. "What's up, kiddo?"
01[02:15] <@Nao> "Oh, yeah! In the last DVD, they had a special compilation!" she giggles, nodding. "Was it hard to do that serious face every time? I mean, the one about the melon..."
01[02:17] <@Nao> Lisa nods at Bruce's words, and seems quite content to use him has a pillow for the remainder of the trip.
[02:17] <Paula> "I figured," Paula says. Hey, work won't mind too much if she spontaeously doesn't show up tonight, right? It's not like it would be the first time. "Anything you can tell me right now?"
[02:17] <Marco> "Nah, y'see, they teach you about that stuff in acting school - you just have to think of something that brings out the emotion you're trying to convey," Marco explains amiably, "Like when I had to look sad after the chief died? I thought about the time a bird took my sandwich - worked a charm!"
01[02:19] <@Nao> The bus suddenly lurches to a halt. Paula is caught off-guard by the motion, and her phone slips out her hand and slides down the isle, stopping just near the front of the bus. The doors creak open, and heavy footsteps herald another passenger.
06[02:20] * Paula gets up and runs down the aisle to fetch her phone. Hey, this is an important conversation! Anyone trying to get down the aisle can wait a sec.
01[02:21] <@Nao> There's a crunch as someone steps on the phone. A huge, fat man, wearing what appear to be urban camo jeans, a button-up white shirt, leather jacket and a cowboy hat steps onto the bus. In his right hand is a brown paper bag, the shape of a bottle visible through his grip. The driver doesn't appear to notice or care, and the guy begins ambling down the aisle.
06[02:23] * Bruce avoids eye contact, while observing the drunk discreetly. Should it attempt to come all the way over, clearly steps would need to be taken to discourage him. A glare usually works fine for that.
[02:24] <Paula> "Hey!" Paula steps aside to avoid getting bowled down by the man, but she's not gonna take this sitting down! "Fuckin' fatass. Watch where you're going!" She returns to her seat and prods the middle-aged lady. "Hey, can I borrow your phone for a sec? I'm sorry, it's kind of an emergency."
01[02:25] <@Nao> The dude snorts. "Shut up, bitch," he drawls, southern accent plain to hear. He drops himself down near the laptop-wielding woman and promptly invades her personal space, causing her to recoil in disgust. "Uh.. sure," the woman manages, handing the phone over.
[02:26] <Paula> "Rednecks," Paula mutters. She dials the number for her parents' place. After a moment, while it's ringing, she remembers to thank the lady.
[02:26] <Marco> "What a jerk," Marco mutters in disgust, gesturing at the rude fat man.
01[02:27] <@Nao> "What the fuck you think you're saying, man? Apolo-gize!" A black guy stands up in the seat just in front of Paula, wearing a faded singlet and sports shorts. "You don't break no phone and just walk away!"
06[02:30] * Paula is glad to have someone stand up to the fat guy for her, but doesn't respond while she's leaving a message on her parents' machine.
06[02:31] * Paula then hangs up and returns the phone to the older lady (after about half a minute of forgetting it wasn't her own). "Don't worry, it was a local call."
01[02:32] <@Nao> "Shut up, nigger. Shouldn't even be on the same bus," mutters the redneck, and the black guy seems absolutely livid. "You walk out the stone age, man? I think someone needs to teach you some res-" "SHUT UP!"
01[02:32] <@Nao> The roar of the driver does indeed have the black guy fuming impotently, whilst the would-be cowboy just sniggers.
[02:33] <Paula> "This isn't fucking cool," Paula agrees with the black man. "Isn't there some rule where you can throw someone off the bus for being a raging dumbass?"
[02:33] <Bruce> "Should we get off here?" Bruce murmurs quietly to Lisa. "I could call a cab."
[02:34] <Marco> "Yeah, what the hell dude," Marco joins in the vocal disapproval.
01[02:35] <@Nao> "Now listen here y'all beggars, I ain't the idiot who dropped a phone where someone could garn stepponit," begins the man. The woman next to him seems to be typing furiously into her laptop, as if only it can save her from the smell. She seems to be rewarded for her efforts when the bus comes to another shuddering stop, and the guy tumbles out of his chair, landing awkwardly in the aisle. He moans.
[02:36] <Paula> "Sometimes the bus hits a bump, you know?" Paula coos. "Instant fucking karma, baby."
01[02:37] <@Nao> The bus seems to have stopped at another actual bus stop, the front doors opening to allow another passenger on. The back doors seem to be jammed.
03[02:38] * Nao is now known as Railroading_GM
[02:38] <Paula> Whatever. Anyone needs to get in back, they can walk over the jerkass.
01[02:39] <@Railroading_GM> "Yeah," mumbles Lisa, shakily standing up once the bus has reached another stop.
06[02:41] * Bruce moves ahead of Lisa, helping keep her steady as he leads the way towards the bus's front doors.
01[02:42] <@Railroading_GM> Lisa somehow manages to avoid poking the man on the ground with her cane, yet manages to easily step across his body. They make it about halfway to the front when another passanger gets on; an asian guy, but he's dressed like he wants to be a rapper. White headphones contrast his black hoodie, snaking up from the pocket of his jeans, and he seems to be nodding his head in time with a beat.
01[02:43] <@Railroading_GM> "No ticket, kid, just get on," mutters the driver, but the kid is fumbling in a small backpack for something.
06[02:43] * Marco notes that the obnoxious fat dude isn't moving. "Hey man, you alright?" he calls down, not really wanting to have to help him up.
[02:43] <Bruce> The other passangers can do whatever they want, Bruce figures, as long as they don't bother them. "This is our stop," he says for the driver's benefit, not wanting him to close the door prematurely.
06[02:44] * Paula ignores the drunk bastard. He deserves whatever happens to him.
01[02:45] <@Railroading_GM> Now that Marco looks at him, the guy's leg seems to be at an odd angle. The woman he was sitting next to closes her laptop, and begins putting it away. The driver seems about to say something, but the kid finally seems to find what he was looking for, and points it at Bruce. "Bruce?" asks Lisa, confused, because she can't see the revolver pointing down her friend's eyes.
[02:46] <Marco> "Hey, driver! I think this dude's legs are broken!" Marco calls to the front. "Does anyone know... CPR or something?" he asks, standing up.
[02:47] <Bruce> Bruce's eyes widen in disbelief. "Is there a problem?" he asks, keeping his voice as steady as possible under the circumstances. Lisa is already behind him, where it should be safest.
01[02:48] <@Railroading_GM> "I dunno, man!" the kid replies, flashing the peace sign at Bruce. "Hey everybody! Your night's about to get wild! Hands up if you've seen the movie 'Speed!'" He raises the gun to the roof of the bus, firing a couple shots through it. "What the fuck?!" shrieks the driver, and the woman next to Marco screams.
01[02:48] <@Railroading_GM> "I ain't seeing no hands!"
[02:49] <Marco> "Oh man, I loved that movie!" Marco puts his hands up, "But I don't wanna star in it for real!"
06[02:49] * Paula has seen Speed and, unfortunately, Speed 2. She obligingly raises her hands. What else could she really do?
01[02:50] <@Railroading_GM> "Awesome~! Hey you, the crazy chick! Tell the rest of these hobos what it's all about!" he gestures, waving the gun around theatrically. Another asian kid enters the bus, this one holding a boom-box over his shoulder.
[02:51] <Bruce> How could this happen? Bruce thinks frantically about his choices. Even if it were just him, there would be no chance of getting away. And as things are.... He raises a hand, keeping the other in Lisa's.
01[02:51] <@Railroading_GM> Lisa is shaking, Bruce realises. Her cane clatters against the ground, forgotten.
01[02:51] <@Railroading_GM> The fat guy on the ground seems to be starting to cry.
[02:52] <Paula> Does he mean Paula? She's not crazy! She's just...differently perceptioned. Yeah, that's it. "It's about a bus that can't slow down. They were going to call it 'The Bus That Can't Slow Down,' but someone at the studio thought that was stupid."
01[02:52] <@Railroading_GM> "Fuck, you suck!" the kid complains, firing a shot at Paula. It misses, smashing through the window behind her and sending a shower of glass about her chair.
[02:53] <Paula> Wrong crowd, clearly. She sits back down.
01[02:53] <@Railroading_GM> "Whatever. Hey, driver! Start going at fifty! You go below fifty, I shoot you! You get me? Oi, Ricky, hit the beat, yo." The kid with the boom box flips it on, and a loud, trashy beat starts pulsing through the vehicle. Out the corner of his eye, Marco can see the laptop-using woman pull a gun out her laptop-case.
[02:54] <Bruce> Is this about money? If so, the situation could be easily resolved. But who would hijack a public bus and fire towards that goal? It just doesn't make sense. Random acts of violence don't really take place.
01[02:55] <@Railroading_GM> "You might wanna sit down," the kid adds, giving Bruce a friendly punch on the shoulder.
[02:55] <Paula> Oh god. She's going to die to rap music. She's going to die listening to rap music,
[02:55] <Paula> .
06[02:56] * Marco doubts he could rush the kids or something, but that woman might be able to do something if he provides a distraction. He steps forward, "So hey, you guys like Keanu's work, right?" he attempts to engage them in conversation and keep their attention away from the woman who wants to be a hero.
[02:56] <Bruce> Pale, Bruce guides Lisa to an empty seat further down the bus.
01[02:57] <@Railroading_GM> "Oh for sure! Matrix all the say, man! I KNOW KUNG FU, you better belie-" BLAM! Standing up, the woman in the back seat fires a bullet into the kid! It squarely hits him in the chest, and he stumbles back, bracing himself against the wall. "Fuck, you shot me!"
01[02:57] <@Railroading_GM> "I can't believe you fucking shot me!"
[02:58] <Bruce> What Bruce can't believe is that someone shot straight in the chest is alive to complain about it!
06[02:58] * Paula thinks those are some of the best last words she's ever heard. Now if only he'd actually die.
01[02:59] <@Railroading_GM> "Oi, Ricky, take the wheel, I'ma gonna teach that bitch a lesson," he mutters. The kid with the boom box shrugs, and brains the driver with it, before pulling him out the seat and climbing in himself.
[02:59] <Marco> "Oh holy hell!" Marco stares in shock. The woman will probably die in a moment, unless... "Oh shit, look out, we're gonna crash!" he points forward out the front window of the bus, hoping to distract them.
[03:00] <Paula> What the hell? When you shoot someone, they're supposed to die!
01[03:02] <@Railroading_GM> "You're breaking the pact!" the woman shouts, taking cover behind... Paula, it seems. The kid doesn't seem too bothered, as he simply dashes up the aisle with impossible speed! The woman fires another shot, but it misses, this time, and he reaches over Paula, plunging his hand through the woman's shoulder! The bus takes off simultaneously, roaring down the street without regard-
01[03:02] <@Railroading_GM> -for safety or speed. You're definately hitting things and going straight through them.
06[03:04] * Paula screams and spasms. "Fu-fuck! Hide somewhere else!" she wails to the woman behind her. Animal instincts take over; she drops her mp3 player and flails weakly at her assailant.
06[03:04] * Marco stumbles and grabs onto the back of the nearest seat, blinking at how fast the kid moved. "Get offa her!" he yells after regaining his sense, trying to grab the gun away from the kid while he's stabbing the woman. There's no time to really think things through, even if he were perhaps capable of it and realise that this kid is not normal.
01[03:05] <@Railroading_GM> The kid obliges, withdrawing his hand from the woman's shoulder. A bloody, gaping wound is visible, and the black guy starts retching at the sight. The kid backhands Marco across the chairs, breaking his nose.
06[03:06] * Paula falls down on her seat, then onto the floor, crumpling up into a little ball. This whole situation is way more than she can deal with.
[03:06] <Marco> "Owwww!" Marco stumbles back, clutching his profusely bleeding face and almost doubling over.
[03:07] <Bruce> "I'm sorry," Bruce tells Lisa quietly, his voice shaking. He twists in an attempt to shield her with his body. "We should've stayed longer. It's my fault."
01[03:07] <@Railroading_GM> "Listen up, you punks! I'm doing you all a huge fucking favour, and some day one of you will thank me. Yeah, man, true sabbat! All the way! Ricky, take us to the place! Geezus, I'm thirsty."
01[03:08] <@Railroading_GM> Lisa shakes her head. She tries to say something, but has no words. She clutches Bruce, hanging on for dear life. The bus continues to pick up speed...
[03:08] <Marco> "My dose!" Marco groans in agony, some part of him hoping that if he gets out of this alive it won't heal all crooked or squashed.
01[03:08] <@Railroading_GM> The woman with the bloody shoulder collapse on the ground, lying over the fat man who hasn't even tried to move.
01[03:09] <@Railroading_GM> Marco's fangirl clutches onto him in fright, starting to sob, utterly unaware of his injury.
01[03:12] <@Railroading_GM> Somehow, no police sirens can be heard. The bus rattles on for around ten minutes, heading for an industrial park. None of the streetlights in this area work, and for some insane reason, the driver isn't using the headlights anymore. The bus suddenly screechs to a halt, and loud SLAM echoes from behind it. The place is plunged into darkness, and the horrible music obscures almost all sound.
06[03:13] * Marco has managed to regain some of his faculties in this time, but he's still in a fair amount of pain and doesn't think he can do much to the little punk who hit him before.
01[03:13] <@Railroading_GM> With a scratching sound, suddenly, even the music stops.
06[03:13] * Paula just hangs on to the edge of the seat, down on the floor. "Someone turn that shit off," she mumbles dumbly.
[03:13] <Paula> Someone listened!
06[03:14] * Bruce can only hope that the punks are subservient to someone who could be reasoned with. If only they survive long enough....
01[03:14] <@Railroading_GM> "V..v..vamp-" comes a choked voice from the ground. "Kill me. Kill me!"
06[03:16] * Paula gingerly climbs back onto her seat. She doesn't want to be on the floor with...whoever's making that sound. She waves her hand in front of her face. Can she see anything at all?
01[03:16] <@Railroading_GM> Paula seems to be trapped in complete darkness. "My- gun, kill me! Kill us all!"
[03:17] <Marco> "What dhe 'ell?" Marco asks in response to this plea, his voice having some trouble on account of his crushed sinuses.
[03:18] <Paula> If the two asian punks aren't apparently doing anything...well, that's at least kind of an improvement. "Dude, none of us can see," she says to the voice on the floor, the soul of empathy. "We'd probably just wing you or something. Who's still alive? Are those assholes gone?"
01[03:18] <@Railroading_GM> The bus creaks, and the engine dies out. Footsteps seem to be rushing about outside, as if circling the now-derelict transport. Suddenly, the bus begins to rock back and forth, as if being pushed.
[03:19] <Marco> "Whoah!" Marco grabs onto a seat to steady himself, this rocking not really doing him any favours.
06[03:20] * Bruce can only hold Lisa protectively, even though he intellectually knows it won't do much if they are attacked.
[03:20] <Paula> Gangbangers! And surely there is no one with less class than Reno gangbangers. They're clearly doomed.
01[03:21] <@Railroading_GM> 4"Caine!" A strong baritone resounds; clear and firm. 4"Caine!" comes another voice, ruder and more savage. 4"Caine! Caine! Caine! Caine!" The chanting begins, and does not stop. Flickers of light appear on either side of the bus- fires! They grow spread, until two great bonfires spring up on either side! (More.)
01[03:22] <@Railroading_GM> The outside is clearer, now- it seems like you're in a car workshop! Several cars are prepared, all with red paint jobs- the boots are open, and they are on raised platforms, originally intended to let workmen get underneath. Between the fires, they seem more like a series of alters. Shadowy figures in dark coats-
01[03:23] <@Railroading_GM> -have gathered around the bus, lending their voices to the chant. The woman on the ground moans. "No.. not like this. Not like this!"
[03:23] <Marco> "What's goin' on?" Marco asks dumbly, looking around for the gun now that there's light to see by.
01[03:24] <@Railroading_GM> The gun dropped from the woman's fingers and lies just under Paula's seat. The safety is off; it's ready to be used.
[03:24] <Paula> "What the fuck. We're in a shrine to Henry Ford?" Clearly Huxley was right! Paula herself goes looking for the gun.
06[03:25] * Marco staggers over and scoops up the gun. "Anyone actually a good shot?" he asks, willing to use it himself - on the gangbangers not the passengers - if nobody volunteers.
[03:26] <Paula> "Sorta," Paula says. "I've spent some time at a range. I've never shot a *person*, per se, but there're plenty of times I've thought about it if that counts for anything."
01[03:26] <@Railroading_GM> The goth girl stares at Marco, pulling herself up over the chair. "It didn't do anything before," she replies, glancing edgily out the window.
06[03:27] * Bruce doesn't want to handle the gun himself. Along with agreeing with the goth girl, it's plain for all to see that there is more of those kinds outside than there would be bullets in the gun.
[03:27] <Marco> "More'n I've done," Marco replies as he carefully hands the weapon to her. "They must be wearing vests - gotta aim for dhe head... damn, I dunno, but abything's better thab what dhey've got planned f'r us, right?"
[03:28] <Paula> "So you wanna just give up, Avril Lavigne? Shit, I'll take it," she says.
01[03:28] <@Railroading_GM> The people outside suddenly rush, as one, towards the bus. They make impossible leaps, throwing themselves up against the windows. Some simple fall down or slide off, but other grab the edge of the roof, swinging back and kicking through the glass! "HeLllllO! Ladies and GENTS! Let's... play... TAG!"
06[03:30] * Marco recoils from the inward shower of glass, raising his arms up to shield his beautiful face. If any of those maniacs come at him he'll try to defend himself, but if they've got whatever kung fu drugs that other kid was on his odds are slim.
[03:31] <Paula> "Shit!" Paula cries, shielding herself from bits of flying glass. "Okay, sure, I'm IT!" She tries to focus on the head of anyone coming at her.
01[03:31] <@Railroading_GM> Marco's estimation of his chances do not improve when the thug in the window bares his teeth- protruding fangs seem to slide out from under his lip, and he breaks his way into the window by way of head. Paula manages to point the gun in some direction.
[03:32] <Paula> Some direction is better than no direction! Probably! Hopefully someone will just wander in front of her and stay there, because her hands are shaking.
[03:32] <Marco> "Oh what dhe hell!" Marco truly does freak out when he sees those teeth, recalling what the woman on the floor was mumbling. "Dampires!"
01[03:33] <@Railroading_GM> "Bruce!" shrieks Lisa, clutching onto him even harder. More of the creatures break in through the windows, and one of them grabs onto her- a thuggish young kid, with piercings all through his face and an ugly grin.
[03:36] <Bruce> Though too paralyzed to act previously, this causes Bruce to react as he lunges at the thug, slamming into him with his shoulder to get the kid away from Lisa.
01[03:37] <@Railroading_GM> The thug stumbles back, evidently surprised at meeting any resistance. Lisa yelps, and Bruce has no more time to continue, as someone grabs him from behind and drags him away! Diving in through the window, however, another coat-wearing maniac- a woman, this time, who seems to have cut out one of her eyes- sweeps in through the window and rushes at Paula!
[03:39] <Bruce> "No, Lisa!" Bruce calls out, struggling as he reaches towards her desperately with his outstretched arm. "Let me go!"
01[03:40] <@Railroading_GM> Paula's shot actually manages to hit her target! The bullet grazes the.. the thing's head, sending it stumbling back and over! It doesn't seem to get up again- perhaps it can be killed! Small comfort, then, than about a dozen more are clawing at the windows. Bruce finds himself unable to protest further, as something sharp plunges into his neck. Sensation overwhelms him-
06[03:41] * Marco decides to stay near Paula and try to fend off any who blindside her, since she has the best chance of protecting everyone else by putting these maniacs down.
01[03:41] <@Railroading_GM> -nothing has ever compared. His body feels as if it was flooded with the finest wine, as if he indulged in all his delights within a second, and then did the same again. It's impossible to concentrate further. The only thing that pierces his haze is the sight of someone biting down on Lisa's shoulder, and the girl's face going slack.
[03:41] <Paula> It's a start! Too bad Paula didn't hit the bitch in the eye, though. That would've made for an awesome quip of some sort if she could actually think of one right now (but alas, Bruce Willis she is not).
01[03:43] <@Railroading_GM> The woman on the ground keeps mumbling 'no.. no... no...' to herself, apparently in shock. The black guy and the bus driver make similar efforts to fight off their attackers, only to meet with failure when their fists are barely felt, and they meet a similar fate to Bruce. The goth woman seems resigned to her fate, however, simply slouching against the chair and waiting for the end.
06[03:43] * Paula whips around from one direction to another, gun held in front of her, waiting for someone to try again!
[03:43] <Bruce> Again. It's happening again. At least this time, he won't survive past someone he loves again....
01[03:45] <@Railroading_GM> Paula finds herself and Marco surrounded on all sides by bloodthirsty gangbangers; some are licking their lips and wiping blood off their chins. Others are howling with laughter, or taunting her, daring her to try and run, to try and shoot. "Bite her! Let's all bite her!" they chorus. "We'll make you feel good, honey!"
[03:45] <Marco> "Just try it!" Marco challenges in a brave but surely futile gesture, putting his dukes up.
[03:46] <Paula> "Fuck you, you kinky pervs!" she shouts, emboldened by her initial success! She's not going anywhere; the first person to approach her is getting a face full of lead.
01[03:47] <@Railroading_GM> The first person to approach her does indeed receive another bullet to the face. Unfortuantely, the second one appraochs from behind, and for Marco and Paula, things beging to change in a way they could never have imagined.
01[03:47] <@Railroading_GM> <--->

[Carthrat]

<Paula> "Yello," she says simply, sounding exhausted.
<Nao> "Uh, Paula? You busy tonight?" stammers Liz. Her voice is weak and teary, and you instantly realise that something must be wrong.
<Paula> "'course not," she lies. "What's up, kiddo?"
<Nao> "Uh.. um.. can you come over?" she manages. "I really need to talk to you. I mean, I can talk here, but-" She trails off.
<Paula> "I figured," Paula says. Hey, work won't mind too much if she spontaeously doesn't show up tonight, right? It's not like it would be the first time. "Anything you can tell me right now?"
<Nao> "I did a stupid thing," she replies. "Mum's going to kill me. God, mum's going to kill me, if I don't kill mysel- oh, fuck, they're home!" You hear the clattering of something being swept off a desk. "Paula, I-"

[Carthrat]

01[01:40] <@Nao> It hurt and was yet rapturous. No lover had ever compared, nor had any drug or high previously experience. Bruce, Marco, Paula, and everyone else on the bus, sooner or later, fell prey to someone- some dirty teenager or young adult in cultish rags. Fangs sunk into arms, necks, wrists, even legs and torsos. For a long moment, the mind was almost white. (More.)
01[01:41] <@Nao> The feeling drifted away, replaced with a total lack of feeling. No part of the body seemed to be responding, the mind became drowsy. Blackness began to fade in. And then- a sensation of movement. Dragging, thumping, nothing visible. Death seemed ready to claim you at any moment- and then lava poured down your throats.
01[01:43] <@Nao> If the bite was rapturous, the drink was as if someone drove a spike straight through your chest. It hurt. It prevent you from sleeping, and tethered you to your dying bodies. It unchained a desperate desire to, above all else, survive, but not to live. It was hard to remember anything else after that; colours and sensation blend together.
01[01:45] <@Nao> How lucidity came to you, you can't be sure. It's dark and cramped, as if you're lying in a tight box- no, a tight box with someone else inside it. You can hear a faint crackling, and a heavy bass beat thumping out nearby. It's cold, unreasonably cold, and your bodies are numb, with your extremities lacking feeling.
03[01:46] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
06[01:47] * Marco makes an incoherent noise of fright as he realises he's been buried alive. Clearly he was so poor that they had to put him in someone else's coffin, to boot! Panicked, he starts to bang at the sides of his confines!
01[01:48] <@Nao> Marco finds that his hands are difficult to move. It's as if he just woke up from sleeping on one of his arms; it's numb and prickly, with no feeling when he smashes it against the side. He can hear it, though- a metallic sound, perhaps aluminium or some lightweight metal.
06[01:48] * Bruce slams his arms at the sides of the box, before try to push up in the confined space.
[01:49] <Paula> Paula's used to it being cold! Like every time she forgets to pay the electric bill and the heating gets turned off in her apartment. Well, this is what we have quilts for...except she's not waking up in her own bed, and something about this cold feels...persistent. Wait a minute, who's she waking up next to this time?
[01:50] <Marco> "Help!" Marco cries, wishing he had a flashlight or a lighter or something so he could see... but then what would he be able to see in this shared steel coffin?
01[01:50] <@Nao> Bruce suffers in a similar fashion to Marco, with his hands pushing ineffectually against his confines. He can hear a bashing sound from nearby, though, along with Marco's cry.
01[01:51] <@Nao> Paula, for her part, cannot see exactly who she's next to, but it seems like a woman, judging by the shape. She doesn't appear to be moving or breathing (though since Paula can barely see, she only has sound and touch to go by, with only one of these senses working properly.)
[01:52] <Paula> Huh. She usually doesn't swing that way. Whatever she took last night must've been some heavy stuff. "Hey!" she shouts in response to the other noise she hears outside. "Which one of you shitheads locked me up?"
06[01:53] * Bruce tries to reach out for whomever he seems to be locked with.
01[01:54] <@Nao> Bruce finds that he, too, seems to be sleeping with a woman. "Let me OUT!" comes a shrill cry from somewhere nearby, followed by a tremendous crash. "Hey, that bitch is hopped up on potence!" someone shouts, followed by hooting laughter. There's a click, and suddenly, the lid of what you're in lifts up-
[01:55] <Marco> "Someone get me out of here!" Marco calls, hearing what sounds like someone outside. He can hear everything with amazing sharpness, despite being... underground? In a closet?
01[01:57] <@Nao> -revealing that you've all, apparently, been stuck in the boot of a car, along with one other person, who to a one is lying comatose (unconscious? dead?) next to them. (More.)
01[01:58] <@Nao> The cars themselves seem to be gathered around the bus you just inhabitated, which is a sad, empty shell now. More than anything else, however, the two bonfires burning merrily on either side of the bus catch your attention! An animal urge to flee, hide, run wells up inside all of you, unlike any fear you've ever had-
01[01:58] <@Nao> -it is as if something is taking over your mind, such is it's fright!
[01:58] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[01:58] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 30."12 [5d10=3, 7, 6, 9, 5]
[01:58] <Paula> roll 3d10
06[01:58] * +Hatbot --> "Paula rolls 3d10 and gets 12."12 [3d10=7, 3, 2]
[01:58] <Bruce> roll 4d10
06[01:58] * +Hatbot --> "Bruce rolls 4d10 and gets 19."12 [4d10=5, 1, 8, 5]
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 3d10
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 3d10
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 and gets 24."12 [3d10=9, 9, 6]
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 and gets 27."12 [3d10=10, 7, 10]
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 34."12 [4d10=8, 8, 9, 9]
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 21."12 [4d10=1, 5, 6, 9]
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 3d10
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 and gets 14."12 [3d10=4, 3, 7]
01[02:00] <@Nao> roll 2d10
06[02:00] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 2d10 and gets 13."12 [2d10=9, 4]
01[02:01] <@Nao> Despite the fear, each of you manages to squash it away, able to reassert control of your faculties. But perhaps natural fear will suffice where unnatural does not, for the gathered pack of feral vampires- what else could they be, surely?- are gathered around the cars, each with a cruel smirk. "Rejoice! You have reached a higher form of existence!" proclaims one of them-
01[02:02] <@Nao> -appearing on top of the bus. "Behold your new sustenance, and take heart! No longer are you mere cattle, but wolves to freely stalk the night!"
01[02:03] <@Nao> It seems that there are nine cars in total, a variety of models, ranging from an expensive BMW to some clapped-out volvo that looks as though it's been in a war.
[02:03] <Marco> "Like hell, I'm getting out of here!" Marco blurts out, leaping from the trunk and moving with a sudden burst of incredible speed to the nearest exit he can detect with his preternaturally pumped up senses!
[02:04] <Bruce> Gaining his fear under control is hardly easy, but Bruce has more important things to worry about. Lisa, where is Lisa? He looks around in an attempt to spot her, starting with the unconscious woman in the trunk of the car he found himself in.
03[02:04] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 2/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
06[02:05] * Paula stares up at the one on the bus (the leader?), not liking the sound of this at all. He sounds like some insecure wanker mentally trapped in high school.
01[02:06] <@Nao> Marco.. runs. Where does he run? It doesn't seem as though there's anywhere to run. It appears as though this ghoulish display is taking place in a large auto garage, and the most obvious way out- through the garage doors, is impossible, since they are quite firmly jammed shut, but there is a smaller service entrance nearby for individual people. (More.)
01[02:07] <@Nao> There don't appear to be any gangsters between him and the exit. As for Bruce, he becomes aware of a slight dribbling on his lip. The woman he gazes at is surely dead; large tearing marks are quite visible in her neck, and a pool of blood is gathered nearby. (Bruce, make an alertness+wits check.)
[02:07] <Bruce> roll 4d10
06[02:07] * +Hatbot --> "Bruce rolls 4d10 and gets 21."12 [4d10=6, 1, 6, 8]
01[02:08] <@Nao> The one on the bus has produced a goblet. "Come, my brethren! Our new comrades shall partake of the vaulderie, and become one of us!" The chant begins, as if indeed still in school- "One of us! One of us! One of us!"
06[02:08] * Marco beelines for the service exit, fully intent on getting the hell away from these crazy violent people as quickly as possible!
01[02:09] <@Nao> Bruce spots Lisa- through the windows of the bus, directly opposite to him! She's utterly unsteady, feeling around with her arms in the air in front of her.
01[02:10] <@Nao> Marco reaches the service exit, and tries to force it open! It seems recalcitrant. Other figures are rising from the trunks, their faces marked with shock and disbelief.
[02:10] <Paula> Company loyalty chants are for losers! Seriously, who are these douchebags? Paula was never "one of" anything, and she's not about to start now just because a bunch of drugged-out suburban punks tell her to be! She glances around the circle, trying to see if anyone else here is as upset with this display as she is.
[02:11] <Marco> If there's a lock he'll unlock it! If it's on the other side of a glass pane he'll smash through and unlock it that way. Otherwise he tries to kick it open with all his undead might!
[02:12] <Bruce> Everything tells him that it's stupid, but Bruce still gets out of the boot of the car, absently wiping his lips with his arm. His only goal is making it to the bus, as nothing else matters at the moment.
01[02:12] <@Nao> The others rising up from the trunks certainly seem to be upset. Paula notices an indiscrepancy, though- one of the trunks wasn't simply opened, but literally busted off it's hinges. The goth girl is there, her fists balled up. She looks a sliver away from either bursting into tears or screaming her lungs out. "You sick freaks!" she shouts, but it sounds plaintive to Paula's ears. (More.)
01[02:13] <@Nao> The man with the goblet seems utterly unconcerned at those moving about, instead jumping off the bus and holding the goblet up. "Prepare the vitae!" he announces, and the young cultists- you recognize those asian kids- seem to start slashing their wrists and filling up the cup.
[02:14] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[02:14] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 23."12 [5d10=5, 1, 2, 9, 6]
[02:15] <Paula> "Damn right!" Paula shouts in agreement with the girl (and hopefully she'll be a little encouraged by other obvious dissent). "Don't you assholes have a Slipknot concert to go to or somethi--HOLY SHIT." Oh man, they're cutters, too? This just gets sadder and sadder.
01[02:16] <@Nao> Marco presses mightily against the door, but is rewarded with little for his efforts; it seems as though something has been pushed up against the other side. A hand settles on his shoulder. "There is no need to run. You shall not be harmed," states a kindly voice.
06[02:17] * Marco jerks away and turns towards the one who somehow snuck up despite his heightened senses. "Bit late for that, man! Come on, you gotta let us go!" he tries to reason with this one who seems potentially friendly, his voice carrying across the garage.
[02:18] <Marco> roll 8d10
06[02:18] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 8d10 and gets 50."12 [8d10=9, 5, 1, 7, 4, 7, 10, 7]
01[02:20] <@Nao> Bruce manages to make it to the edge of the bus. He can see the shattered windows above him, allowing him the option of either climbing up or bursting through the door. "You," the man with the goblet states, pointing at Paula. "You shall be first. Bring her," he instructs. Several of the groupies rush to Paula's side, eager to help her out the car. (More.)
01[02:20] <@Nao> (There's always More, really)
[02:21] <Paula> "Hey, fuck you guys, take your sorry gangbanger asses somewhere else!" Paula hollers, ready to hit anyone who tries to touch her.
[02:22] <Bruce> "Are you alright, Lisa?" Bruce calls over to her in a low voice, deciding not to waste time with the door. What do a few possible cuts matter, if he can be there all the faster?
01[02:23] <@Nao> The... thing... that Marco is addressing is truly hideous to behold. It seems to be nothing less than a shrivelled up corpse; absurd wrinkles cover it's dessicated skin, and it only appears to have one eye, which bulges out a black socket. "Let you go? Of course, but where will you go? You have so much to learn. I accompany you," the... thing... says, nodding his head at Macro's wise words.
[02:23] <Marco> roll 2d10
06[02:23] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 2d10 and gets 8."12 [2d10=6, 2]
01[02:24] <@Nao> roll 8d10
06[02:24] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 8d10 and gets 46."12 [8d10=8, 2, 8, 1, 2, 9, 6, 10]
01[02:25] <@Nao> The man with the goblet approaches Paula, staring at her straight in the eye. "Drink," he instructs, and she feels little choice but to simply obey and consume the draught.
01[02:25] <@Nao> "Don't do it!" someone screams- it sounds like that woman with the laptop- but it certainly won't be stopping anyone.
[02:28] <Marco> "I don't wanna learn any crap from these psychos!" Marco protests, trying not to throw up at the disgusting thing he's confronted with. "This is like some bad movie, I just want to get out of here!"
06[02:28] * Paula takes the goblet and downs it, heedless of how much she actually feels like she wants, or of conserving it, or how much the others want her to take. Maybe the leftovers will wind up on the floor. Oops, you know? A small rebellion but all she can manage under the circumstances.
01[02:30] <@Nao> "There is no escape, for you are now one of the kindred," the creature responds, with strange gentleness. "It is better to accept than to run, or you shall surely meet your final death."
[02:31] <Marco> "I ain't anything like these freaks, and I don't wanna be!" Marco replies, giving the door another kick since aside from this freaky looking but non-hostile guy the rest seem to be ignoring him.
[02:31] <Marco> roll 5d10 str+ath
06[02:31] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 str+ath and gets 24."12 [5d10=7, 9, 5, 2, 1]
01[02:32] <@Nao> "You are, even if you don't want to. Come, you must accept this. It is easier. I know," replies the figure, sounding truly sad. "If you wish to meet you true end, then you are stronger than I. If not, this is the only path."
[02:32] <Paula> "Nnghn," Paula mumbles. "Out of my head! Enough voices there already!"
01[02:33] <@Nao> "The first step is done. You. You will be next," the man promises, turning to gaze at Bruce, even as he clambers against the bus. "Bruce..." murmurs Lisa, falling over one of the seats.
[02:33] <Bruce> roll 2d10
06[02:33] * +Hatbot --> "Bruce rolls 2d10 and gets 11."12 [2d10=1, 10]
[02:34] <Marco> "If you wanna help then help me get this door open - we can get outta here!" Marco pleads, throwing a glance back towards the macabre ceremony taking place. "I don't want to die and I don't want to be here!"
01[02:34] <@Nao> Bruce can't see through the windows very well. What he does see is Lisa seem to stumble against the seating, fumbling in his direction once she hears her name be spoken.
01[02:35] <@Nao> The mob about Paula cheer, and give her congratulative pats on the back. "Drink the rest!" one of the yells, pointing at the corpse in the boot.
01[02:37] <@Nao> The creature glances about. "This door is closed," he responds. "To get out, you must go through the back fire escapes. The others are all sealed. But this is only the first thing the night has shown you. Accept this, and you have family. Reject it, and you are alone. Always alone."
06[02:37] * Paula blanches--or would, were she still alive--and whirls around to chuck the goblet across the room. "Fuck you guys!" she yells, dropping to her knees, revulsion welling up in her. "Nobody plays around with my head except me!" She jams her hand down her throat to try to induce vomiting as soon as the leader's turned to someone else.
[02:37] <Bruce> roll 2d10
06[02:37] * +Hatbot --> "Bruce rolls 2d10 and gets 7."12 [2d10=4, 3]
[02:37] <Marco> "I don't want this family!" Marco replies passionately, looking around for these fire escapes spoken of.
01[02:39] <@Nao> It doesn't seem the creature was lying. "Hey, porky, you're letting him- wow," mutters one of the kids, turning to stare at Marco. "Oh, for fucks sake, not this shit..." he adds, visibly twisting his face away with effort. (More.)
01[02:40] <@Nao> Bruce has seriously trouble trying to pull himself up the bus. His arms and legs just don't seem to be working properly. Lisa stumbles, trips, and falls. A hand lands on Bruce's shoulder. (More.)
01[02:41] <@Nao> Paula finds herself unable to vomit. Indeed, she finds herself wondering about how good that liquid tasted- better than anything she's had (Before today before today). The goblet shatters as she throws it, splintering into a dozen golden pieces.
06[02:41] * Marco runs over towards the fire escape, turning back towards the others. "Anyone who doesn't want to be here, follow me!" he yells, hoping at least a few others can escape behind him.
[02:41] <Bruce> "Leave me alone!" Bruce commands, whirling around.
01[02:42] <@Nao> The man is there. Bruce can see him close up. A severe figure, out of place amongst these people. He seems more like a priest than a gangbanger, wearing a dark red coat with one of those clerical collars- he seems as though he is both wise and stern solely by his expression. (More.)
01[02:43] <@Nao> His grip is iron, and he pays little heed to Bruce's command. "No. Drink," he orders. Already, it seems, another goblet has been prepared, with blood poured into it-
01[02:43] <@Nao> roll 8d10
06[02:43] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 8d10 and gets 37."12 [8d10=10, 5, 2, 1, 1, 9, 6, 3]
01[02:44] <@Nao> -hwoever, Bruce is under no compulsion to do so (apart from the ominous atmosphere and the fact that he's greatly outnumbered.) "Don't do it! You become like them!" shrieks that woman- you can hear sounds of movement as she rushes over to Bruce.
06[02:45] * Paula is surrounded and not likely to be able to flee, much as she'd like to. "Fuck off, you freaking derelicts! What did you do to me?!" She turns to the nearest one and fastens a glare at him. OH, how she'd love to see these freaks burn in their own bonfire. She can imagine it now, the feeling of the bastard's skin crisping away...
06[02:45] * Marco has drawn people's attention to a possible way out and hopes they take it, but isn't going to stay and risk being mobbed, so continues his escape!
06[02:46] * Bruce accepts the glass, his movements without hesitation yet rigidly slow. That woman rushing over would serve as a decent distraction, and once he fakes drinking from the glass, the vampires might turn their attention elsewhere. There's plenty of blood on him as it is to camouflage the attempt.
[02:47] <Bruce> roll 7d10 +1wp
06[02:47] * +Hatbot --> "Bruce rolls 7d10 +1wp and gets 35."12 [7d10=5, 6, 3, 8, 5, 6, 2]
01[02:48] <@Nao> "Fuck this shit, I'm outta here!" comes a sudden cry, and shoving one of the gangbangers out the way, the black guy attempts to make a break for it, rushing in the same direction as Marco! But for both of them, a mob of cultists move to prevent them from escaping!
01[02:48] <@Nao> roll 6d10
06[02:48] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 6d10 and gets 41."12 [6d10=7, 9, 8, 9, 3, 5]
[02:48] <Marco> roll 5d10 if they look at me then they're awed
06[02:48] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 if they look at me then they're awed and gets 24."12 [5d10=4, 5, 7, 7, 1]
[02:49] <Paula> roll 4d10 for Haunting may as well do so since Rat didn't say "no" >.>
06[02:49] * +Hatbot --> "Paula rolls 4d10 for Haunting may as well do so since Rat didn't say "no" >.> and gets 30."12 [4d10=6, 7, 7, 10]
01[02:50] <@Nao> The man seems taken in by Bruce's performance for the moment, and the cultists everywhere seem rather distracted. But if he doesn't act right away, it'll all fall apart when he sees the blood in the goblet or on the floor.
01[02:51] <@Nao> roll 5d10
06[02:51] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 5d10 and gets 24."12 [5d10=7, 3, 1, 9, 4]
01[02:52] <@Nao> The mob manages to impede Marco's progress! They aren't able to grab him, and quite a few of them seem to stop in their tracks when they get a good look, but others retaliate with their own might- two suddenly move at impossible speed, flanking him on either side! The black man seems to be trying to fight them off- and failing, outnumbered entirely. The two woman- the lady-
01[02:52] <@Nao> -watches Bruce drink with horror, whilst the goth picks up the sheet metal from the car and flings it at one of the vampires after Marco!
01[02:52] <@Nao> roll 3d10
06[02:52] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 and gets 12."12 [3d10=7, 1, 4]
01[02:53] <@Nao> It clatters to the ground nearby, ineffectual.
06[02:54] * Marco reacts instinctively, his speed matching the two trying to flank him as he races for freedom!
<Nao> Marco finds that his speed does not, in fact, match theirs, and the vampires seem to grin, as one. "You aren't the only one with tricks," a callow youth states, his hair down up in a blonde mohawk.
01[02:54] <@Nao> roll 5d10
06[02:55] * Bruce raises the cup to his lips with both hands, tilting his head. His throat makes the appropriate gesture of swallowing, while Bruce tries to divert the flow of blood into the sleeves of his suit.
06[02:55] * +Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 5d10 and gets 20."12 [5d10=6, 3, 1, 7, 3]
[02:55] <Bruce> The several layers he is wearing and the clothes being drenched with blood from his previous attempt to wipe his mouth might be enough to camouflage a drink from the goblet, and after that drawing his hand across his mouth once more to smear it further would complete the deception.
01[02:55] <@Nao> Marco finds him quite ridiculously impressive.
03[02:55] * Nao sets mode: -t
03[02:55] * ChanServ sets mode: +t
[02:55] <Marco> roll 2d10 +1 willpower
06[02:55] * +Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 2d10 +1 willpower and gets 7."12 [2d10=6, 1]
03[02:56] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 1/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
01[02:56] <@Nao> Marco feels as though he's going to lose control- as though he'll lose his mind! Only a surge of sheer effort keeps something from overwhelming him. (More.)
01[02:57] <@Nao> In front of Bruce, the man before him seems satisfied. "Very good. And now for you," he states, turning to the woman, who shrinks back. "No. No! You filthy monster, your kind have broken the accord! There will be a reckoning!" she shouts. (More.)
01[02:58] <@Nao> At her words, there is the screech of tires and a tremendous crash! Two vans simply drive straight through the garage doors, marked with dark blue and S.W.A.T in large letters on the sides! As if in sync, they swively about on the ashphalt to point their backs at the crowd! Doors burst open, revealing dozens of heavily-armed policemen!
03[02:58] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 1/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 2/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
01[02:59] <@Nao> The auto-repair facility has seen better days. Most of it seems to have been stripped bare; the most dominating features are the cars on raised platforms surrounding the bus, and the packs of vampires loitering around both cars and people. (More.)
01[03:00] <@Nao> The door Marco is rushing too would be virtually straight across the room, if it were not for the long distance- the place is about 70 metres square- and the assorted junk (scrap metal, corpses) lying about the ground. Still, Marco is sure he could make it very quickly-
01[03:01] <@Nao> -were it not for the vampires in his way, circling him menacingly and, strangely, entrancingly.
[03:02] <Paula> Cop! As per Paula's prior experience with law enforcement, this is probably the part where the police start beating everyone indiscriminately.
[03:02] <Marco> Well the cavalry just arrived, anyway... except, he's probably a vampire as well, considering he doesn't hear his own heartbeat and doesn't recall breathing recently. So this could be bad... "Look, guys, you've got bigger problems than me, now - just let me go!" he tries to reason with the two hypnotically fast undead dudes.
01[03:04] <@Nao> Certainly, the two figures dancing around Marco seem to have decided they have bigger problems, and ignore him in favour of pulling out pistols and pointing them at the cops! (More.)
01[03:04] <@Nao> The cops, who are packing shotguns and kevlar, do not seem impressed. (Paula, Bruce? Actions?)
01[03:04] <@Nao> (pseudoinit now, you all act, scene acts, etc)
06[03:05] * Bruce decides that retreating behind the bus is the most prudent action he could take right now. He failed to climb into a window, so trying the door is his next choice.
[03:06] <Paula> Getting the hell away from the line of fire suddenly seems like a VERY good idea. What with the gangbangers distracted by the cops, hopefully she can dart behind a car (on the far side from the fire!) and take advantage of the shadow to go unnoticed while the fight goes on.
01[03:06] <@Nao> The door seems loose, as if broken. Bruce has little trouble getting inside, where he can see Lisa lying on the ground, crying. Someone elses body is there as well- it looks like it might've been that fat guy from earlier. He seems very dead.
[03:07] <Paula> 6d10
03[03:07] * Rei-chan (Rei-chan@user-544556a8.lns5-c11.dsl.pol.co.uk) has joined #therack
[03:07] <Paula> roll 6#1d10
[03:07] <Rei-chan> 6,0Paula rolled :6,0 6#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=2 ]4,0{2}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=7 ]4,0{7}, 6,0[ 1d10=7 ]4,0{7}
02[03:09] * +Hatbot (~Hatbot@cpe-66-25-141-28.austin.res.rr.com) Quit (Broken pipe)
01[03:09] <@Nao> Paula ducks easily behind a car, and she's able to watch one of the packs of vampires rush towards the cops. Some of them make dreadful, hissing faces, others simply brandish guns and pull the trigger. They aren't trained soldiers, that's for sure.
06[03:09] * Paula is rooting for The Man, for perhaps the first time in her life!
01[03:09] <@Nao> A couple of the cops seem to panic and run, but the others return fire with their heavy-duty shotguns, knocking several of the creatures off their feet! No target appears to be safe- even that goth girl from earlier has her leg blown out, and she collapses near her car, screaming in pain. The smell of blood wafts through the air.
06[03:11] * Marco runs desperately for the fire escape, hoping the distance will prevent any shotgun slugs from accurately hitting him while the cops are distracted by the mad charge coming their way.
[03:11] <Bruce> "Shh," Bruce whispers, making his way towards Lisa as he crouches. Being seen from the outside would be a pretty horrible idea at this time. "Don't get up. We have to go. Can you do that?"
01[03:13] <@Nao> Marco manages to make it to the fire escape without another scratch! He isn't the only one! A number of the other vampires seem to be rushing after him- not to chase, but simply to flee as well! He bursts out the back door into what appears to be a parking lot! (More.)
01[03:15] <@Nao> A wire fence seperates it from the street before him; it seems to be closed, but the fence could be easily climbed! Meanwhile, Lisa has trouble doing anything but cling to Bruce, utterly unable to keep her composure. The BOOM BOOM BOOM of shotgun blasts is deafening.
01[03:15] <@Nao> Paula can see one of the other vampires retreat- and grab the prone goth by her arm, apparently deciding to have a mid-fight snack.
06[03:15] * Marco runs straight for the wire fence, intending to scramble over the top of it.
06[03:16] * Paula can only clap her hands over her ears until the noise dies down--though that sight might rouse her to action if she can get to the assholes trying to drag the girl away without putting herself in the cops' line of fire.
06[03:17] * Bruce grimaces, and looks around for the gun the woman with the laptop produced. Last he can remember, that gun was still somewhere on the bus.
[03:18] <Bruce> roll 4d10
[03:18] <Rei-chan> 6,0Bruce rolled :6,0 4d10 --> 6,0[ 4d10=32 ]4,0{32}
[03:18] <Bruce> roll 4#1d10
[03:18] <Rei-chan> 6,0Bruce rolled :6,0 4#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=3 ]4,0{3}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=4 ]4,0{4}
01[03:18] <@Nao> Floodlights from the busses illuminate the garage. Some cover is provided by the mob of vampires exchanging fire with the cops (and losing), but they seem to be shooting at anything that moves. There's some cover between Paula and them, but if she rushes across the ground scrounging for guns, or to pick up the girl-
01[03:19] <@Nao> -she may certainly wind up with the slugs to the back. Or perhaps worse- some of the vampires in the line of fire seem to be catching fire when they get shot.
06[03:20] * Paula decides to chance it! She crouches low to minimize the target area should anyone shoot at her and means to bolt after the vampires trying to drag the girl away. It's odd, but she feels some sort of kinship with the others who were kidnapped with her. Grabbing a gun along the way is important, of course!
[03:20] <Paula> roll 4#1d10
[03:20] <Rei-chan> 6,0Paula rolled :6,0 4#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=8 ]4,0{8}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=7 ]4,0{7}
[03:20] <Bruce> roll 2#1d10
[03:20] <Rei-chan> 6,0Bruce rolled :6,0 2#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=8 ]4,0{8}
06[03:21] * Bruce tries to get to the gun, helping Lisa along as gently as he can. But if there ever were a situation that necessitated pulling her along forcefully, this is surely one!
01[03:21] <@Nao> Bruce can't see the gun very well, but he does manage to pick it up. "You two! Run! Now!" That woman again, commanding and furious. A red mist seems to be drifting away from her. (More.)
01[03:22] <@Nao> Paula, however, manages to pick up a gun and make it to that girl's side! The vampire there seems to have his teeth in her already, but he's so absorbed that he doesn't even notice Paula!
[03:22] <Paula> Then it's time to unload a clip in that fucker's head!
06[03:23] * Bruce helps Lisa to the bus's front door. "We'll have to move quickly," he tells her quietly. "You'll have to run. I'll be your eyes."
[03:23] <Paula> roll 5#1d10
[03:23] <Rei-chan> 6,0Paula rolled :6,0 5#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=6 ]4,0{6}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=2 ]4,0{2}
01[03:24] <@Nao> Paula somehow manages to miss, even at point-blank range! The shots get the guys attention, and he tears his teeth away and lunges for Paula, throwing a punch!
01[03:24] <@Nao> roll 5d10
[03:24] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 5d10 --> 6,0[ 5d10=38 ]4,0{38}
01[03:24] <@Nao> roll 5#1d10 right
[03:24] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 5#1d10 1,0right --> 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=6 ]4,0{6}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}
01[03:24] <@Nao> He's clumsy and disoriented, missing his blow! Worse luck for both of them, as the loud BOOM of a shotgun echoes out...
01[03:25] <@Nao> roll 1d2
[03:25] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 1d2 --> 6,0[ 1d2=1 ]4,0{1}
01[03:25] <@Nao> roll 7#1d10
[03:25] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 7#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=7 ]4,0{7}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=6 ]4,0{6}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=9 ]4,0{9}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=4 ]4,0{4}
01[03:26] <@Nao> Part of the car both Paula and her thuggish friend are close to is punctured by the sudden impact!
[03:27] <Paula> If that near miss doesn't scare away Paula's target, she's going to try again! She's not normally like this, but...the drive to take some kind of retribution out on the vampire's sorry ass is too strong.
[03:27] <Paula> roll 5#1d10
[03:27] <Rei-chan> 6,0Paula rolled :6,0 5#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=4 ]4,0{4}, 6,0[ 1d10=8 ]4,0{8}, 6,0[ 1d10=9 ]4,0{9}, 6,0[ 1d10=4 ]4,0{4}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}
[03:27] <Paula> roll 6#1d10
[03:27] <Rei-chan> 6,0Paula rolled :6,0 6#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=4 ]4,0{4}, 6,0[ 1d10=2 ]4,0{2}, 6,0[ 1d10=8 ]4,0{8}, 6,0[ 1d10=3 ]4,0{3}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=6 ]4,0{6}
01[03:28] <@Nao> roll 2d10
[03:28] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 2d10 --> 6,0[ 2d10=11 ]4,0{11}
01[03:28] <@Nao> roll 2#1d10
[03:28] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 2#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=8 ]4,0{8}
01[03:28] <@Nao> The shot slams into the vampires chest! He stares at it, dumbfounded, before panicking at the sound of more gunshots and bolting for cover! The goth at Paula's feet seems to be unconscious, however.
01[03:30] <@Nao> "Bruce.. Bruce..." moans Lisa, over and over again, slavishly following his lead. The woman- her suit now tattered and bloody, her hair ragged and unkempt, points towards the back doors. "Run. Run!" she shouts, dashing off on her own. "The cops are not our friends," she hisses.
[03:30] <Paula> Hell. Paula's not exactly a weightlifter...She kneels down by the girl's side (incidentally making herself less of a target for the cops in case they don't get the picture that SHE'S ON THE SAME SIDE AS THEM). "Um, hey!" She tries shaking the girl by the shoulder to see if that rouses her.
01[03:31] <@Nao> The girl does not react at all to Paula. It seems as though she's dead 7no silly she's just sleeping, and lies still.
06[03:31] * Bruce doesn't need more incentive, running outside with Lisa in tow. If he's right, that woman both knows what's going on far better than he can guess at, and helped save him from some entirely unsavory fate earlier.
01[03:33] <@Nao> For the first time, Bruce realises that the woman running ahead of him still seems to have that massive hole in her shoulder, but she seems far less bothered by it than she should be.
06[03:34] * Paula blinks. That was an odd notion she just add. Where did it come from? Who the hell knows, and she doesn't have time to wonder. She looks around at her surroundings carefully. Is there any place nearby where she can get out of the building? Dragging the girl if at all possible. Otherwise...she'll have to hope there's some place in here where she can lurk unseen for a good long time.
[03:34] <Paula> *had, not add. >.<
01[03:35] <@Nao> The people who aren't fighting the cops (and it seems they're starting to win; some have simply rushed the cops and are grappling with them in hand-to-hand; bullets don't seem to be stopping them...) are dashing madly for the back of the room, heading to a fire-escape near the rear.
01[03:36] <@Nao> MEANWHILE
[03:36] <Paula> Right! Paula will take advantage of the widespread confusion as best she can and try to drag the girl out of the building!
01[03:37] <@Nao> Marco manages to climb over the fence! He's the first to do so, and he can see, through a tinted haze, that the parklot is at the end of a no-through road- he can run straight forward to rejoin the main street. On either side of them seem to be large workshops or office-like buildings- words like "FORD MOTORS" and such are emblazoned on the shopfronts.
06[03:38] * Marco runs forward, intending to duck between some of the buildings to the side and hopefully lose any unwelcome tagalongs in the alleys there before rejoining the streets proper.
01[03:39] <@Nao> A steady stream of cultists seems to be rushing out the doors. They scatter in multiple directions, some running right past Marco without a care, others running to the street. Marco is suddenly glad he hid where he did-
01[03:40] <@Nao> -because another SWAT van suddenly pulls up at the end of the street, blocking off escape in that direction!
01[03:40] <@Nao> The black guy from earlier also rushes out, looking panicked and in every direction.
01[03:40] <@Nao> He pauses once he clears the fence, before deciding to rush into shop Marco hides alongside.
06[03:41] * Marco keeps going, intending to cover some distance through the twisting maze of alleys and paths between these buildings so he'll be well away from the scene before emerging into the open.
[03:41] <Marco> roll 4#1d10
[03:41] <Rei-chan> 6,0Marco rolled :6,0 4#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=5 ]4,0{5}, 6,0[ 1d10=1 ]4,0{1}
01[03:43] <@Nao> Marco quickly gets lost in the industrial park. Before he knows it, he manages to come out through another alley into what looked to be another street, only to find that he's simply managed to move about ten meters down the original road he started on. The cops are advancing down the street, it seems- (cutaway #2!)
01[03:44] <@Nao> Meanwhile, Bruce and Paula, loads in tow, finally manage to make it to the exit. Lisa suddenly pushes Bruce away from her, clutching at her teeth; tiny fangs sprout from her lips.
01[03:44] <@Nao> The chain fence stands before them, and it's going to be impossible to get an unconscious girl simply over it.
06[03:45] * Paula spots Bruce and Lisa and calls to them. "Hey, you guys! Help me out with the load here?"
[03:46] <Bruce> "We're almost free," Bruce hisses, grabbing back at Lisa. "Just hold on for a little bit longer!" He glances at Paula when she calls for him, and after a brief look around makes his way to the gate. "Over here."
01[03:46] <@Nao> Lisa's face whirls at Paula's words, and Paula realises that she's clearly blind; her eyes are a milky white.
01[03:47] <@Nao> The gate seems to be locked with a padlock, but is otherwise a typical mesh gate; rather flimsy, really.
06[03:47] * Bruce places the gun to the padlock, depressing the trigger.
06[03:47] * Paula drags the unconscious girl over to Bruce. She looks at the fence and the gate. "Some heavy duty wire cutters would be aces right now," she says, miming clipping through the fence.
06[03:48] * Paula winces. "...Or that."
01[03:48] <@Nao> There's a click. The gun is empty. The woman glances at it, and suddenly seems to brighten up. "Use this," she says, withdrawing a clip from her jacket it and handing it to Bruce.
06[03:48] * Bruce fumbles with the gun momentarily before reloading and trying again.
01[03:49] <@Nao> This time, the gun's report is unmistakable, and the lock is blown off it's hinges. The entire group can see vampires right up the other end of a street, apparently getting blown away by more cops piling out a van. With all the gunfire in the air, one more shot won't be noticed.
01[03:49] <@Nao> Lisa clutches onto Bruce's hand so tightly that it hurts. Should hurt.
06[03:50] * Bruce was counting on that, and gestures at one of the buildings ahead. "We'll regroup there for now."
01[03:50] <@Nao> Marco sees this escapade from his position in an alley, as well as the violence at the mouth of the street in more detail- the vampires seem to have resorted to machetes.
[03:51] <Marco> Seeing the people blowing through the gate and recognising them as fellow victims rather than crazies, Marco leans out just enough to wave them in his direction before quickly retreating back into the alley, lest he get caught in the crossfire.
06[03:52] * Paula follows along with her ward. NOT going in the direction of the cultist/cop struggle is clearly the best idea. Also safety in numbers and so on.
06[03:53] * Bruce alters course upon seeing that actor guy from the bus. He was smart enough to try and run, so going with him should be marginally safer, there being strength in numbers.
[03:53] <Marco> roll 2#d10
[03:53] <Rei-chan> 6,0Marco rolled :6,0 2#d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}
01[03:54] <@Nao> Marco is calm. Very calm. It's almost as if the raging instict to feed, right now, didn't even exist. The group manages to converge in an alley, but it's no time before they hear the report of a couple of shotguns, followed by running feet in their direction. "Go around! Cut them off!" someone yells.
[03:55] <Marco> "Lets hurry, try to lose them in the alleys!" Marco hisses to the group joining him before he retreats, trying very hard to get very far away from here. They can discuss what happened once they're safely away.
06[03:55] * Bruce has a gun, and checks to see if any of the others are carrying weapons as he follows Marco down the alley.
01[03:56] <@Nao> Bruce and Paula are the only ones who are armed, and Paula has a depressing feeling that she's almost out of bullets.
01[03:57] <@Nao> "With these two cripples, we'll never get away," hisses the woman, suddenly clutching at her shoulder. "Someone needs to distract the pigs!"
[03:57] <Paula> Ohshit. Paula glances aren't in the dim light of the alleyway. Any doors or windows they could bust through? Hell, even a manhole to dart down? "I've got a gun," Paula says, "dunno how well I can shoot dragging Avril Lavigne here, though. Maybe superstar actor boy can take her for me?"
[03:58] <Paula> *around, not aren't
06[03:58] * Marco takes the hint and grabs the girl away from Paula, slinging her over his shoulders with a grunt but a curious lack of expelled air. "Forget shooting, just run!" he encourages, not wanting anyone left behind.
[03:58] <Bruce> "We're going together," Bruce retorts, not pausing. "Rethink your escape plan."
[03:59] <Paula> Good enough! Running is better than having a showdown with the cops, or the gangsters, or however the hell else is around. But does this alley actually go anywhere?
[03:59] <Paula> *WHOEVER, lord my typing is epic today
01[04:01] <@Nao> "Run faster than you ever have, then," she snaps, whilst Paula notices a back-door to one of the auto shops nearby; she can't tell if it's open or closed, but it's worth a shot.
01[04:01] <@Nao> *could be worth a shot.
[04:02] <Bruce> That is one suggestion Bruce can listen to, hauling Lisa along.
06[04:02] * Marco doesn't run faster than he ever has, feeling too drained to put on the mind-numbing speed he used within the garage, but he still hauls ass at a pretty rapid clip.
01[04:02] <@Nao> roll 6d10
[04:02] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 6d10 --> 6,0[ 6d10=14 ]4,0{14}
01[04:02] <@Nao> roll 6#1d10
[04:02] <Rei-chan> 6,0Nao rolled :6,0 6#1d10 --> 6,0[ 1d10=10 ]4,0{10}, 6,0[ 1d10=3 ]4,0{3}, 6,0[ 1d10=3 ]4,0{3}, 6,0[ 1d10=3 ]4,0{3}, 6,0[ 1d10=7 ]4,0{7}, 6,0[ 1d10=9 ]4,0{9}
06[04:03] * Paula Paula stops for a split-second to try the door, just in case hiding out seems better than running.
01[04:03] <@Nao> "They're down here!" comes a cry, just after the girl and Marco manage to cut across one alleyway, through a lane, and into another! Paula and Bruce are left on the other side, whilst someone is coming down a road between them!
01[04:04] <@Nao> The door seems to be unlocked, and Paula is able to open it!
[04:04] <Paula> "In here!" She hisses to Bruce and Lisa. Well, after a glance inside to make sure no one's waiting for them.
06[04:05] * Bruce changes directions once more, alerting Lisa with a tug on her hand before following Paula swiftly.
06[04:05] * Marco isn't going to waste time fighting, though he does look for potential hiding places as he scrambles through the alleyways with his comatose passenger.
01[04:05] <@Nao> Bruce, Lisa and Paula manage to cram into what seems to be a storage backroom. It is dark in here- very dark. Even as you go in you can feel yourselves brush up against rickety shelves.
01[04:06] <@Nao> "Keep running," hisses the woman, cursing. "There's a park at the other side of these roads. We can escape through there and then try and find a better spot to hide."
[04:06] <Paula> Ugh. Hopefully she didn't just back everyone into a corner! Paula strains her eyes to see if there's any way out of the storage room aside from the way they came in. Surely there's a door to the building interior somewhere in here?
[04:06] <Marco> "Got it!" Marco grunts, pushing himself as far as he can to keep moving.
[04:07] <Bruce> It must have a door leading further into the building. Bruce doesn't waste time searching for it. The gun can be safely shoved into a pocket after flipping its safety on fo the time being.

[Carthrat]

Everyone gets +1 XP for showing up yesterday, thanks. We'll resolve the other stuff over the week and that should wrap up the prologue.

[Carthrat]

Bruce, Lisa and Paula manages to shove their way into a dark storage room, and they can only navigate their way by touch and sound. No illumination seeps into the glorified cabinet, but their stumbling causes quite a few things to fall off rickety shelves.

"Sonar would be really awesome right now," Paula mutters, feeling her way around the room along the wall opposite where they came in. There's gotta be a door somewhere.

"Can't we hide?" whimpers Lisa. Running footsteps and a shout of 'FREEZE!' seem to be coming from just nearby, and there's still the sound of gunshots coming back from the place you just ran out of- but nothing seems to be heading towards you at this moment.

A door. There must be a door leading further in, Bruce thinks, unknowingly repeating Paula's thoughts. "We're trying to," he whispers to Lisa. "We need to be quiet."

Paula manages to find a doorhandle, and she likewise manages to avoid knocking any more junk over. The door is unlocked, and a draught of air seems to indicate that she's walked into a much larger and far less stuffy room. Fumbling around the doorframe allows her to locate what must be a lightswitch.

Paula keeps the lights off for now. Unless it's clear that this is a windowless room, turning them on could only help to alert the goons outside to their presence. "C'mon," she whispers, "Mr No-Name and Helen Keller, let's get out of this closet."

"Lisa. I'm Lisa. And this is Bruce," says Lisa, sounding dazed. "We work for the Saint Mary's community aid center downtown. What do you do?"

Socializing with the bait can surely wait until they're out of danger, Bruce thinks. But he would hardly cut Lisa off, instead following the sound of Paula's voice to head further inside the building.

"Uh. All kinds of stuff. Right now you have the privilege of talking to a cashier at a record store. Try to restrain your gasps of awe." Wandering around the perimeter of the room to check for windows seems like a good idea right now.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Bruce mutters, taking stock of the room they're in.

Paula stumbles over- wood, long panks of it laid out over tables. A nearby metallic clatter can be heard- it seems probable that they're in a carpentry workshop, or possibly a hardware store.

Windows is what Paula's looking for! She wants to find a wall and follow it around the room. "Hey, anyone need a tablesaw?"

"Any idea where we are?" Bruce asks, grimacing at the question.

"Shop class," Paula whispers back. "Brings me back a ways. There was a light switch over where we came in, but I don't wanna turn it on if it would lets the folks outside know we're in here."

"What? No. Our current location. Rather than run blindly, we should pick a destination to head towards."

"We're somewhere that's not filled with hopped-up gangbangers and cops gone ballistic," Paula snaps. "I call that an improvement."

Paula does find a window, though it's shut and blinds seem to have been drawn over it. A peek through indicates that it faces onto the main road out front, and briefly lets in a burst of bright light- one of those vans is still there.

"They're still out there. I dunno if it's safe to go anywhere. Mebbe we hole up inside for a while?"

"Let's wait until it's quieter outside, and then get away," he responds. "We're too close to just hope to sit this out."

"Sure, sure, you're the Bruce." Paula stations herself by the window, where presumably any significant noises or bursts of light (like, say, from a car's headlights) will be noticed by her.

Lisa seems to slacken against Bruce, sliding to the ground. "I... I..." she mumbles. "I think I killed someone," she whispers, and it's easy to imagine her huddling on the ground, arms aroudn her knees.

"Hopefully they deserved it," Paula whispers. "Gangers sure as fuck did. I shot one of 'em trying to chew on that goth chick."

"Yes, I'm sure they were all bad." Bruce sighs. "We can't think about that right now."

"What are we supposed to be thinking about, then?"

"Escaping from the vampires. And the cops, at that. What a night."

"Home. When it's quiet, let's go home. Then just pretend it never happened," replies Lisa. "I'm hungry. Maybe get some fast food on the way. Think we can call a cab? Bruce, what are you saying?"

"Beyond the fuckers being a lot of Lestat wannabes, yes, what the fuck are you saying?"

"I wish I weren't saying it. Really. With all my heart. But incredibly strong people who didn't die when shot in the chest had fangs and were drinking blood. That woman seemed to recognize them and called them vampires. How much of a logical leap is it to accept their existence?"

"Okay, so Reno's got a fucking vampire infestation. As if I needed something else to tell me what a crap town this place is," she mutters. "No, seriously. Vampires?"

"Then- that makes- I'm a vampire, they must have made me a vampire. Are you okay, Bruce? They didn't get you, right?" asks Lisa, sounding suddenly hopeful.

"I'm sorry, Lisa," Bruce says quietly. "I'd lie to you if I could. But it's going to get pretty difficult to do that when a few hours from now, at sunrise, we're both going to see just how off the folk tales are from reality."

Paula raps her knuckles on her skull. Which probably looks crazy to anyone capable of seeing her. "Nngh. This is right fucked. Those losers made me drink their blood and it was like they were in my HEAD."

"Not drinking that was a good call," Bruce mutters upon hearing that. "I'll need to thank our gun-totting friend."

"Then.. then we're vampires? Both of us? That's not good. How am I supposed to teach people how to walk now? Classes don't run at night," mumbles Lisa, apparently delirious.

"If we see her again." She leans against the wall and slides down to sit on her ass, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Shit, I'm gonna need a new job," she mumbles, with a bitter laugh. "Some place that lets me work a night shift."

"I'll make it happen," Bruce assures Lisa, not sounding the least bit troubled about such an obstacle. "Don't worry about that. Just hold on until we can get home." He realizes he is repeating himself, but their prospects look bad enough that Bruce simply can't find the proper words of encouragement, falling back on what amounts to cliches.

Bass music starts playing back from the auto yard. The heavy sound of shotguns seems to be getting outnumbered by the sounds of semiautomatics.

"Do you think we can get better?" asks Lisa, sounding hopeless. "There must be a cure."

Paula sits up on her knees and takes a careful peek through the blinds. Anyone coming their way?

Bruce winces. "We can look for it, sure."

It seems that some more cops are running towards the autoshop, but bursting out the front door are a horde of cultists, knocking over the police and making mock of their weapons and protection, simply overwhelming them with numbers. A few others can be spotted emerging from hiding places aroudn the street, surrounding their would-be executioners.

"Not right now, that's for sure," she mutters in response to Bruce.

"How does it look?"

"Bad," Paula says. "Like that Stones concert where they hired the Hell's Angels for security. That kinda bad. Cops and gangers beating up on each other again."

"Time for us to move on, perhaps," Bruce says, heading to listen at the door through which they entered the workshop.

"I dunno. Go anywhere while these goons are out in the street still beating the crap out of each other?"

"I- do we look all bloody?" asks Lisa, clenching her fists. "Maybe we really could just call a cab."

Bruce gets his gun once more, and after flicking the safety off opens the door to look outside.

"Cabbies have better sense than to drive through a warzone. Actually, cabbies have better sense than most people, in my experience."

Bruce looks down the street, using the outward-opening door as cover. He can spot what seems to be the actor guy and that woman from earlier down the alleyway, looking his way. There also seems to be a body lying there as well- not the goth chick's.

Bruce gestures with the gun, waving the two inside and stepping to the side to allow them to enter, if they so wish.

[Carthrat]

01[22:57] <@Nao> She's heavy, and there's still a couple stains of blood on her jeans. It's all Marco can do to keep himself under control, but the hunger keeps gnawing at him, threatening to burst free any moment. "FREEZE!" he hears once from behind him, just as he reaches a T-junction! (more)
01[22:59] <@Nao> To the right would lead back onto a main street, whilst to the left leads deeper into the alleys. A couple of trash cans are out here, lids still on, and he can hear some cars driving nearby. The woman from before is right behind him.
06[23:02] * Marco really doesn't want to get shot. Although he is a bit relieved it's a cop and not one of those insanely fast vampires from before. Slowing as he reaches the junction, he turns to face his pursuers. "Just let us go, man - we don't want anything to do with what's going on back there!" he insists, the full force of his vampiric personality let loose. "You never saw us, okay?"
03[23:03] * Hatbot (~Hatbot@cpe-66-25-141-28.austin.res.rr.com) has joined #therack
[23:06] <Marco> roll 8d10
06[23:06] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 8d10 and gets 52."12 [8d10=7, 3, 8, 5, 7, 9, 9, 4]
01[23:08] <@Nao> The cop doesn't seem entirely impressed by Marco's display, and the awful barrel of that gun is staring right down his face. He's wearing a balaclava that obscures his face, as well as a chunky-looking bulletproof vest.
[23:10] <Marco> roll 6d10
06[23:10] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 6d10 and gets 30."12 [6d10=7, 1, 2, 2, 8, 10]
[23:11] <Marco> roll 4d10
06[23:11] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 4d10 and gets 23."12 [4d10=4, 4, 5, 10]
01[23:13] <@Nao> The cop's finger twitches over the trigger, and Marco realises his eyes are heavily bloodshot, as will as dilated- the guy's clearly hopped on some kind of drug, and he advances towards Marco, gun held steady. "Put your hands where I can see 'em!" he shouts, either ignoring or uncaring of Marco's load. The woman curses to herself, raising her arms.
[23:16] <Marco> What kind of cop is on drugs? This just seems entirely fishy to Marco, but vampire or not he doesn't want to be shot. He raises his right hand while the left keeps the injured girl over his shoulder. He's just a harmless actor who's clearly out of his depth, there's no need for the cop to be especially careful in approaching him... right?
01[23:20] <@Nao> The cop taps a radio on his breast pocket as he approaches the two. "Perps have surrendered. I'm taking them in," he states, keeping his gun trained. The radio crackles back- "Kyle, that ain't in the plan! We don't need them alive!"
[23:21] <Marco> How close is he?
01[23:22] <@Nao> The cop is only two meters away from Marco and one away from the woman. He's holding a large shotgun. "They don't seem like they were with the rest," he argues. "You sure the boss wanted-" "Don't you dare fucking second guess the boss!"
[23:27] <Marco> On one hand, this is exceptionally risky. On the other, they're almost certain to die if they just let this guy do as he pleases - he's clearly not a cop. While he's distracted with his radio argument, Marco drops the goth chick and steps forward past the length of the shotgun, intending to grab hold of him and... he can't believe he's even thinking this, but he intends to drink the man's blood. So hungry...
01[23:28] <@Nao> At virtually the same time as Marco, the woman lunges forward to try and wrest away the gun! The man fires-
01[23:29] <@Nao> roll 7d10
06[23:29] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 7d10 and gets 41."12 [7d10=2, 7, 9, 4, 3, 6, 10]
01[23:29] <@Nao> roll 10d10
06[23:29] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 10d10 and gets 52."12 [10d10=10, 9, 4, 10, 1, 7, 1, 5, 1, 4]
01[23:29] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[23:29] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 20."12 [4d10=4, 4, 3, 9]
01[23:30] <@Nao> The shotgun blast slams into the woman, knocking her off her feet and sending her screaming onto the ground, even as Marco lunges towards the cop!
[23:30] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[23:30] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 21."12 [5d10=3, 9, 4, 4, 1]
03[23:31] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 0/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 2/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
[23:34] <Marco> roll 5d10 might as well go all out
06[23:34] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 might as well go all out and gets 38."12 [5d10=5, 10, 8, 9, 6]
01[23:35] <@Nao> Marco pounces on the cop, hunger quickly overwhelming any remaining sense of reason! The guy attempts to shove Marco off him-
01[23:37] <@Nao> roll 6d10
06[23:37] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 6d10 and gets 36."12 [6d10=9, 5, 9, 2, 2, 9]
01[23:38] <@Nao> But he isn't able to shove the crazed figure of Marco off of him!
[23:40] <Marco> His fangs extending from beneath his lips, Marco savagely yanks part of the balaclava aside as he shoves the man against the wall of the alley and attempts to sink his teeth into the arterey he's certain to find on the neck, claiming the blood as is his right!
[23:40] <Marco> roll 4d10
06[23:40] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 4d10 and gets 18."12 [4d10=1, 6, 6, 5]
01[23:41] <@Nao> Marco's teeth are shoved rudely into the man's neck, and there is a sudden influx of blood. It tastes sweeter, now, almost delicious, he can't get enough, everything he needs is right there. The prey gasps, eyes rolling back in his head-
01[23:42] <@Nao> -he can't offer any further resistance. Why would he ANOTHER IS STEALING MARCO'S PREY. On the leg, some female, biting at the ankle. The blood is not all his.
03[23:42] * Nao changes topic to '1Bruce: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 3/13 | 4Marco-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 4/13 | 6Paula: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap, Blood: 2/13 |2 Prologue: Field Trip'
06[23:45] * Marco bodily pulls his prey along the alleyway a few feet, trying to keep it away from the scavenger! But he can't take his fangs away from the sweet source of vitae in order to enact stronger measures against the interloper who would try to steal his blood! Once there is nothing left, then he can take back the stolen blood from the other!
[23:47] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[23:47] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 27."12 [5d10=3, 8, 6, 3, 7]
01[23:47] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[23:47] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 33."12 [4d10=8, 10, 7, 8]
01[23:49] <@Nao> Marco finds his prey torn away from him, the woman fiercly pulling the man down and going for his neck on the ground, stealing the precious blood and ensuring his hunger will continue!
[23:51] <Marco> "Graaah!" Marco rears back, about to viciously kick her away from his rightfully claimed prey! But something tugs at him... her? That's not right...
[23:51] <Marco> roll 2d10 +1 willpower self control
06[23:51] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 2d10 +1 willpower self control and gets 19."12 [2d10=10, 9]
01[23:53] <@Nao> It isn't right to hit a woman, even if she's behaving like a feral dog, clambering over the corpse of a cop and biting out chunks of his neck.
[23:55] <Marco> Sanity has returned, and with it no small amount of shock at what he... what they, did! "G-get off him!" Marco tries to pull the woman away. "You'll kill him!" But even as he says that, his heightened senses tell him that no heart beats within this shell, no breath is being drawn...
01[23:56] <@Nao> The woman hisses at Marco, flailing in his grip! She keeps trying to break free, to lunge back down towards the fallen man-
01[23:56] <@Nao> roll 3d10
06[23:56] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 and gets 12."12 [3d10=1, 9, 2]
[23:56] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[23:56] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 28."12 [5d10=8, 6, 2, 9, 3]
01[23:56] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[23:56] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 33."12 [4d10=10, 8, 6, 9]
01[23:57] <@Nao> She breaks free of his grip, returning to the man before her! There's certainly no chance of helping him now, if indeed there ever was. When she's finished, she sits up, and then lunges at the goth woman as well, perhaps intent on feeding further!
[23:58] <Marco> "No!" Marco shoves her away, trying to pin her against the wall without hurting her. It's not her fault - she's as crazed as he just was. "C'mon, don't do this! We've gotta get out of here!"
[23:58] <Marco> roll 5d10
06[23:58] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 5d10 and gets 14."12 [5d10=1, 3, 3, 2, 5]
01[23:59] <@Nao> roll 4d10
06[23:59] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 4d10 and gets 20."12 [4d10=5, 5, 6, 4]
Session Time: Mon Dec 08 00:00:00 2008
01[00:00] <@Nao> The woman shoves Marco off of her and sends him sprawling against the pavement! He's helpless to stop her from biting into the goth-vampire girl's throat, continuing to suck- it doesn't seem the same, there doesn't seem to be blood this time, but she's drinking something anyway-
01[00:00] <@Nao> roll 8d10
06[00:00] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 8d10 and gets 41."12 [8d10=1, 1, 9, 4, 7, 6, 10, 3]
01[00:00] <@Nao> roll 5d10
06[00:00] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 5d10 and gets 22."12 [5d10=4, 8, 3, 2, 5]
01[00:01] <@Nao> An undeniable chill passes through Marco as he witnesses this act, and the woman suddenly sits up, the dark haze from her eyes starting to fade. Her face is the all-too-common expression of horror, tinged with regret and shock.
01[00:02] <@Nao> The goth girl suddenly dissolves into ash, leaving only her clothes behind.
01[00:02] <@Nao> roll 3d10 oh right conscience
06[00:02] * Hatbot --> "Nao rolls 3d10 oh right conscience and gets 21."12 [3d10=7, 6, 8]
06[00:03] * Marco sympathises at the feeling of revulsion. She couldn't help herself... can any of them? And so he can't even blame her. "Come on," he reaches for her arm. "We've gotta get out of here, we can figure shit out later!"
01[00:04] <@Nao> "You keep running," she replies, as if choking back tears. "Those others. They didn't follow, they'll surely die if they stick around here. Go, run! To the park, I'll find you there."
[00:07] <Marco> "Don't be stupid! I haven't heard any other shots, they must have escaped another way," Marco tries to pull her to her feet, "We've got to stick together - you'll only get yourself killed if you go back!" Part of him thinks it's probably dangerous to stay to together given what just transpired, but he isn't about to run off and leave a woman behind.
01[00:08] <@Nao> "Maybe I should get killed!" she yells, tugging away from Marco. "I just did something terrible!"
[00:11] <Marco> "If... if that's all we can do now, then maybe, yeah. But not like this!" Marco does his best to get through to her, not coming close to understanding the situation and not wanting to give up until he does. "Maybe we can figure something out - a cure, or something - but we have to get away from here, and I'm not gonna leave you behind!"
[00:11] <Marco> roll 8d10
06[00:11] * Hatbot --> "Marco rolls 8d10 and gets 34."12 [8d10=3, 2, 7, 5, 1, 4, 3, 9]
01[00:15] <@Nao> The woman grips Marco's shoulder. He can see her wound- it seems to be closing up of it's own accord, making a weird, grisly noise. "I think I have figured something out. We have to get away, but not with just us. We might be able to turn this around, but it'll take more than the two of us." She pauses. The fighting, as far as Marco can tell- it's centered around the autoshop again-
01[00:15] <@Nao> -with less footsteps in his immediate area.
01[00:17] <@Nao> Distantly, he hears the sound of an opening door from down the alley he left the others in.
[00:18] <Marco> "Okay... then I'm coming with you to look for those others," Marco nods in reply. Briefly craning his neck as he listens, "My ears seem to have gotten a lot better - there's fighting back at the garage but I don't think there's anyone nearby. It might be safe to go back to where we split up, at least. Just heard a door opening back there - could even be them."
01[00:19] <@Nao> "Auspex. Discipline of advanced perception," recites the woman. "Yeah, that matches up. Celerity accounts for that speed you showed. I think that's it."
[00:21] <Marco> "How do you- crap, we can get the info later, lets hurry and see if we can catch those guys," Marco decides, stepping away from her as he starts to head back down the alley, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. Good thing it's a black shirt. "I'm Marco, by the way. Marco Ranieri," he provides an introduction.
01[00:21] <@Nao> Three figures emerge from the door, the others who fled this way initially. They warily glance around either way, before stepping out and starting to head towards Marco...
01[00:21] <@Nao> <--->