07-08-2016, 02:17 AM
With a moment to breathe and think, Abner first wondered how exactly this town had time to be built, inhabited, and then abandoned so it could degrade into this derelict state. Either something big was happening right under Karl Jak’s nose, or the overseer of this Verse was playing them all very well. In Abner’s mind, both options were equally likely and also equally as bad. This place was full of surprises, the latest being whatever the hell had just ran them into this town. He just wanted to get Christa and get the hell out of here. Was that really too much to ask?
“Probably,” Abner muttered the answer to his rhetorical question out loud, earning himself two confused looks from the duo of secondaries.
Colonel was right, though. The odds of finding something useful were abysmally low. Abner spotted a building worth investigating, however. In the midst of this city was a decent sized saloon, complete with old school swinging doors, just like in every old western movie he’d ever seen. Sure, the odds of finding alcohol were part of the appeal, but other supplies would likely be in here, as well. Despite its traditional appearance, the building was still made with the same brick and mortar that all the others on the block were constructed out of. Combined with the few exits he saw, this would make it defensible for the duration of their search, which should also ease Colonel’s processors.
Convinced this was the place to start, Abner drew his pistol and approached the saloon doors. He shoved them open and immediately stepped in with his gun raised, avoiding lingering in the doorway. To his great pleasure, the place was completely deserted. While he scanned the open floorplan, Trent and Kristen followed behind him, with Colonel entering last. Abner grimaced. He didn't doubt Colonel's ability, but with these two untrained secondaries in tow he couldn’t exactly clear the building like he wanted, so he’d have to chance it.
“This place should have a storeroom,” Abner announced, holstering his firearm as he did. He grabbed Trent by the man’s good arm and guided him to a chair, then forced him into it. “Sit. Rest.”
“Get what you need,” Colonel was brief and stern as he stayed near the doorframe and peered out at the abandoned streets. The only thing that escaped the observant machine’s eyesight was Abner’s silent, mocking imitation of his orders.
Abner got serious, though, pointing to Kristen and then the back room as he approached one of the doors. “Come on. Let’s take a look.”
The young redhead jogged after him, and Abner kicked the wooden door leading to the back open. He honestly had no idea if it was necessary to enter it so forcibly, but it did feel good. Little victories. Fortunately, nothing jumped from the shadows, so they were free to investigate in peace.
“Alright, look around, grab anything useful,” Abner ordered, not even looking to Kristen to see her blank look.
“Like…what?” the shellshocked secondary asked quietly.
“Anything that’ll keep us alive,” Abner explained as he started ripping cabinets open. “Preferably some medicine for your boy, out there.”
“I, like…I don’t know what exactly to look for in medicine,” Kristen flatly admitted. She wasn’t exactly a survivalist.
Abner groaned. It wasn’t her fault, but he really didn’t need this level of inexperience slowing them down. “How about food? You know what food looks like?” He turned around to see the girl silently nodding in embarrassment. The older man just rolled his eyes in response. “Find food.”
Leaving Kristen to her task, the ex-trooper continued to rip through cabinets, grabbing anything that looked possibly useful. This place had clearly been looted already, though in somewhat of a rush. Anything remotely hidden was still there, so he found a little bit of painkillers, medicine, and all the makings of a first aid kit with a bit of spelunking. What really concerned him was wondering why this place had been ransacked once before. Best case scenario to him was that it was Christa, or another survivor from the plane crash that had hit it. Maybe they'd even still be nearby.
Abner gripped his stomach suddenly, feeling a pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. It was as if something was churning from inside of him, trying to rearrange his internal organs. He stumbled forwards and braced himself against a table, and suddenly vomited a glob of blood onto it. Just as soon as it happened, he felt fine again. Abner turned to see Kristen puke in much the same way.
“You alright?” Abner asked the girl. Was there something in the air here?
“I think so?” Kristen responded, the confusion dominating her tone.
Abner stormed back into the main room, where Colonel was stepping away from Trent. He looked to the machine, then the boy. There was another stain of blood on the floor near where he was seated.
“Did he just throw up blood?” Abner asked Colonel directly, because he needed to talk with someone that could keep it together. “Because we just did, too.”
“Yes, and something felt like it was tearing me apart, as well,” Colonel replied. “I’m sure I would have too, were it possible.”
“What the fuck?” Abner asked aloud, looking back to Kristen as she entered the room behind him, then at Trent. He then looked back to Colonel. The robot should not be suffering the same effects as them. It just didn’t make sense.
“We need to go,” Colonel announced, and Abner had to agree. Sleep could wait. After all, the ex-trooper figured the machine was sticking around for strength in numbers, and if the rest of them became a liability he would likely bail.
“Yea,” Abner agreed, then pointed to Kristen again. “Get everything we set aside bagged up. We’ll sort it later.”
Kristen quickly nodded and ran back into the storage room, and Trent followed after her, wanting to find a way to be useful. In the meantime, Abner and Colonel went to the entrance, and stood on opposite sides of the doorframe. They gazed out at the empty street, staying ever vigilant.
“What the hell is this island?” Abner asked aloud, unable to stop himself. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed, too.
“I don’t know,” Colonel replied without emotion.
Abner could only sigh in exasperation. He’d seen a lot of strange shit in his days in the Omniverse, but the Dante Verse really took the cake.
“Probably,” Abner muttered the answer to his rhetorical question out loud, earning himself two confused looks from the duo of secondaries.
Colonel was right, though. The odds of finding something useful were abysmally low. Abner spotted a building worth investigating, however. In the midst of this city was a decent sized saloon, complete with old school swinging doors, just like in every old western movie he’d ever seen. Sure, the odds of finding alcohol were part of the appeal, but other supplies would likely be in here, as well. Despite its traditional appearance, the building was still made with the same brick and mortar that all the others on the block were constructed out of. Combined with the few exits he saw, this would make it defensible for the duration of their search, which should also ease Colonel’s processors.
Convinced this was the place to start, Abner drew his pistol and approached the saloon doors. He shoved them open and immediately stepped in with his gun raised, avoiding lingering in the doorway. To his great pleasure, the place was completely deserted. While he scanned the open floorplan, Trent and Kristen followed behind him, with Colonel entering last. Abner grimaced. He didn't doubt Colonel's ability, but with these two untrained secondaries in tow he couldn’t exactly clear the building like he wanted, so he’d have to chance it.
“This place should have a storeroom,” Abner announced, holstering his firearm as he did. He grabbed Trent by the man’s good arm and guided him to a chair, then forced him into it. “Sit. Rest.”
“Get what you need,” Colonel was brief and stern as he stayed near the doorframe and peered out at the abandoned streets. The only thing that escaped the observant machine’s eyesight was Abner’s silent, mocking imitation of his orders.
Abner got serious, though, pointing to Kristen and then the back room as he approached one of the doors. “Come on. Let’s take a look.”
The young redhead jogged after him, and Abner kicked the wooden door leading to the back open. He honestly had no idea if it was necessary to enter it so forcibly, but it did feel good. Little victories. Fortunately, nothing jumped from the shadows, so they were free to investigate in peace.
“Alright, look around, grab anything useful,” Abner ordered, not even looking to Kristen to see her blank look.
“Like…what?” the shellshocked secondary asked quietly.
“Anything that’ll keep us alive,” Abner explained as he started ripping cabinets open. “Preferably some medicine for your boy, out there.”
“I, like…I don’t know what exactly to look for in medicine,” Kristen flatly admitted. She wasn’t exactly a survivalist.
Abner groaned. It wasn’t her fault, but he really didn’t need this level of inexperience slowing them down. “How about food? You know what food looks like?” He turned around to see the girl silently nodding in embarrassment. The older man just rolled his eyes in response. “Find food.”
Leaving Kristen to her task, the ex-trooper continued to rip through cabinets, grabbing anything that looked possibly useful. This place had clearly been looted already, though in somewhat of a rush. Anything remotely hidden was still there, so he found a little bit of painkillers, medicine, and all the makings of a first aid kit with a bit of spelunking. What really concerned him was wondering why this place had been ransacked once before. Best case scenario to him was that it was Christa, or another survivor from the plane crash that had hit it. Maybe they'd even still be nearby.
Abner gripped his stomach suddenly, feeling a pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. It was as if something was churning from inside of him, trying to rearrange his internal organs. He stumbled forwards and braced himself against a table, and suddenly vomited a glob of blood onto it. Just as soon as it happened, he felt fine again. Abner turned to see Kristen puke in much the same way.
“You alright?” Abner asked the girl. Was there something in the air here?
“I think so?” Kristen responded, the confusion dominating her tone.
Abner stormed back into the main room, where Colonel was stepping away from Trent. He looked to the machine, then the boy. There was another stain of blood on the floor near where he was seated.
“Did he just throw up blood?” Abner asked Colonel directly, because he needed to talk with someone that could keep it together. “Because we just did, too.”
“Yes, and something felt like it was tearing me apart, as well,” Colonel replied. “I’m sure I would have too, were it possible.”
“What the fuck?” Abner asked aloud, looking back to Kristen as she entered the room behind him, then at Trent. He then looked back to Colonel. The robot should not be suffering the same effects as them. It just didn’t make sense.
“We need to go,” Colonel announced, and Abner had to agree. Sleep could wait. After all, the ex-trooper figured the machine was sticking around for strength in numbers, and if the rest of them became a liability he would likely bail.
“Yea,” Abner agreed, then pointed to Kristen again. “Get everything we set aside bagged up. We’ll sort it later.”
Kristen quickly nodded and ran back into the storage room, and Trent followed after her, wanting to find a way to be useful. In the meantime, Abner and Colonel went to the entrance, and stood on opposite sides of the doorframe. They gazed out at the empty street, staying ever vigilant.
“What the hell is this island?” Abner asked aloud, unable to stop himself. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed, too.
“I don’t know,” Colonel replied without emotion.
Abner could only sigh in exasperation. He’d seen a lot of strange shit in his days in the Omniverse, but the Dante Verse really took the cake.