"Sooo much for that..." Syd murmurs, heaving a sigh. "Any kind of back entrance probably uses the same lock, so..." She hefts her bat, tapping the end of it against her palm. "Want me to do the honors, or would someone else rather?"
The glass shatters and falls in thousands of tiny pieces, allowing a rather large opening through which the survivors can enter the building. Of course, non-survivors also now have fairly free access to the lower level as well.
Inside the lobby everything seems quiet--the crash of glass didn't seem to summon anything from hiding within.
(OOC: You guys can feel free to pick the layout of the inside if you want.)
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Sydney carefully steps through the now-shattered window, brushing the collection of shards aside with the sole of her sneaker. "... is the power still on?" she asks, stepping out into the middle of the atrium.
On the inside, the building looks more like a 5-star hotel than an office building - the furniture and interior design is very modern, all sleek curves, black leather, brushed steel and thick glass. Whichever company owned this place before the collapse of modern society must have been extremely well-off. "Wouldn't it be crazy if there was a Starbucks in here?"
Mike Danger"Diane..."a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered Userregular
edited December 2009
"Possible," Bark says, "but it could be they've just had this area spruced up and kept the rest pretty blah so they look good when customers come in." He looks over towards the door and shrugs. Next time, I'll figure one of those things out.
Jack followed with Elly in his arms. "If the doors were locked, there probably wasn't anyone in here when things...started happening. Let's get out of sight of the street until things calm down at least." He leads the way deeper into the building, finding a wall of elevators along with a stairwell door. Beyond that there was a large room full of cubicles, and what appeared to be a conference room. As they moved, Jack kept an eye behind them for the two that had been following. "Maybe we should take a seat in the conference room. Talk things over. I don't see any starbucks or much of else in here, though probably a couple vending machines at least, somewhere."
Vince is one of the last through the new "door" and watches as folks start working there way in different directions. A cursory patrol reveals nothing that resembles a cafe, but looking behind the receptionists desk does reveal a small room with a coffee and vending machine.
"Ahh, sweet, sweet coffee," murmurs Vince as he fishes his wallet out of his sports bag and puts a dollar into the machine. A little paper cup drops down and hot coffee begins filling it, like a gift from the heavens. While the coffee fills, Vince moves to the Snack Machine, only to find his last bill is a $10, and he gets the feeling there is no one about to make change.
"Heya, can we get that Axe in here? I am in need of your smashing skills!"
Snacks, coffee and a comfy chair is exactly what Vince needs right now. Then he can start thinking about a next step.
The middle-aged couple that had been following eventually steps through the portal of broken glass, looking nervously about and unsure of where to go. They do, at least, follow everyone else's lead and get out of sight, tucking themselves away in a corner and sliding down to sit.
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As things calmed down, Jack spotted the followers settle down in a corner nearby. He put Elly down and took her hand, thinking. He lit another cigarette and puffed on it for a minute, took a pull from his flask. A couple of the others had found a kitchen area. Jack stared at the middle-aged people who had been following. They looked scared, harmless. He walked over and crouched down in front of them. "Who are you and why are you following us?"
"With people like that maniac with a gun back there, it's good to be sure of people." Jack stood up. "That girl was trying to help, which is respectable in a world gone mad. I don't like you following behind us. Why not come and introduce yourselves to the rest?" These people seemed to be what Jack had first thought, harmless, but would they get in the way? Slow them down? If they did, they'd get left behind. Maybe it'd be better not to tell them that.
"Trying to help and helping are two different things, y'know?"
Vince walks around the corner to see the shady guy who carries a kid around getting his feathers ruffled up over a girl he just met. Men.
"Sorry, but I don't think I caught your name back there." Waving towards everyone in the room, "I am Vince, it's a pleasure. Either of you have a dollar or a crowbar I can borrow?" Sipping his coffee, Vince looks around, a frown creasing his face and his hunger for a Snickers bar temporarily fades.
"You know, with you two just mozying in behind us, I am feeling a wee bit vulnerable... How about you fine folks," Vinnie nods to everyone in the area, "help me put something up against that back window. At the very least, lets hang some cloth or curtains or something up so no one, or no thing, can just look in here and see us lounging."
"And I'm Kathy," adds the woman, clinging to John's arm as they both stand.
"I'm not sure what we can throw up though," the man continues, "this whole place is one big window. Might be okay for now with the sun causing a reflection, but once it gets dark the light in here is going to shine right through."
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"Yeah, because four of you really turned that situation into a peachy one. I totally should have risked that psycho putting a bullet in my wife just to make it a bit more of a party, right?"
"Babe.." Kathy starts.
"No," John stops her. "What does he expect us to have done? I don't have a weapon. I'm not a god damned counselor who gets people off ledges. What was I supposed to do?"
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"I'm just saying if all of us worked together, maybe he would have realized how ridiculous he was being. If something like that happens again, we need to work together, or it could be any of us in that psycho's arms. I just don't want to have to leave someone like that again."
Mike Danger"Diane..."a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered Userregular
edited December 2009
"We should probably find a conference room without any windows," Bark says. "We can probably hide out in there for the evening, get the table up against the door."
Jack wasn't sure he liked the newcomers. They seemed scared and worse, helpless. "I don't know what you were supposed to do back there, but what you could do right now is shut the hell up. You followed us, which means you want to stick with us. That's all fine and dandy but you better listen up. You slow us down, you just may get left behind. You remember something, you came to us." Jack surveyed the area around them, considering their circumstances. "Here's what I'm thinking. We bash in the vending machines, take everything they got. Maybe there's some canned food or something in the cupboards in the kitchen area or something too. Whatever we can take for food or water, we grab. Then we head up to the second floor, find a small secluded place. Once night comes, we'll sleep in shifts. No lights. I doubt anything will come looking in here without a reason, and we'll make sure not to give 'em one. Once day comes, we'll take a look out the windows, see where to go from there."
"Forget this," John says, tugging at his wife's arm. "I'm not going to slow you down because I'm not sticking around."
"John," Kathy pleads, "I don't want to go back out there."
"Its better than in here," he replies. "apparently people who pick fights are just fine and dandy, but people who stay out of them have the potential to slow them down."
"John," she says again, "everyone's just on edge. We're all scared."
"Just come on," John demands, pulling his wife towards the stairs that lead further up into the building. "Thanks for opening the door. You won't have to worry about us anymore."
Kathy clings to the strap of the backpack that she carries, keeping it from falling off her shoulder as she's forced into a trot to keep up.
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Vince glares at the shady man, "Maybe I missed the part where you jumped in and saved the day with that bus driver? Oh, wait, that's right, you didn't do anything. Right, sorry, memory is fuzzy right now."
Breathing deep, Vince tries to not get carried away, "Look, we are all freaking out and that is gonna get us dead. For all we know, those two might be helpful: maybe he's a doctor or something. Don't go pissing people off until they give us a reason." Another deep breath, "But other than that, your plan is solid. Let's get whatever we can, as quickly as we can, to a windowless room upstairs and make sure all the lights are off in the building." Vince points back to where he came, "You will find a vending machine and coffee machine over that way, maybe something else, I didn't look too close."
Vince starts to head upstairs, pauses and looks around, "Hey Syd, where you at?" He calls, "I am gonna say hi to these two and work my way to the roof, care to come along? I wanna talk to you about something."
"I never said I did anything, but you don't see me insulting her for trying to help. It was foolish and dangerous, but I'm not gonna badger her or any of you for trying to help someone." Jack watched the two begin to leave. The man had ticked him off, but was it really worth it to send them away, likely to die? "I guess I came off a tad too strong there."
"Oo gonna wet im go? Der's bad tings out dere." Elly spoke up, looking into his eyes with her own frightened ones.
"Shit." Jack muttered under his breath, turn to his companions. "You guys get the supplies and head upstairs, I'm going to try to talk them back here." He picked Elly up and quickly caught up to the two. "Hey." He called out. "John, is it? Hey, I apologize for my words. Things are hectic. It would be safer for you to be with us. Safer for all of us. The more, the merrier, right? Can we at least talk about it?"
Syd had spent the majority of that conversation out of earshot - the woman's first comment about her going off to pick a fight had left her cold, and she'd ambled away soon after in order to distance herself from the others. "Yeah?" she called back from her place in one of the lobby's many chairs, turning and sitting up on her knees to wave over at Vince. "Sure, I'm coming." Climbing over the back of the seat, she shuffled her way over toward Vince, hands in her pockets, the soles of her shoes clacking quietly against the marble floor.
Sorry about being so inactive these past few days. I've been sick as a dog.
Nodding towards Syd, "Lets take a look upstairs a bit and try to find a way onto the roof. I want to scope out the city and have a talk. I think we should let him talk to those two on his own for now, let them clear the air and what-not"
Vince starts upstairs, hoping to save the important part of the conversation until they reach their destination, for maximum effect. He climbs the stairs in silence for a bit, then asks, "So, what do you think of the situation? Its hard to take it all in, isn't it? I mean, it feels safe enough, almost normal inside here, you really think everything has gone to hell out there?"
John stops and turns to look at Jack, eying him suspiciously.
"I've watched nearly everyone I've cared about die in the past twelve hours," the man says. "So I'm sorry if I'm not in the mood to be told that I did something wrong. I'm not going to risk my life or my wife's for anything that isn't going to save hers." The man looks toward Elly for a moment. "That make sense to you?"
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Jack glanced at little Elly in his arms, then back at John. "Makes perfect sense to me. Stay with us, at least for the time being." The screams were faded, and rare, but still now and then there was another. "It doesn't sound like it's going to be safe out there for awhile. The others are in the conference room or headed up to the second floor. The idea is to hold out there, sleep in shifts, until tomorrow. Someone may notice the broken glass, but I doubt they'll investigate too long without anything in sight to attract them. Will you help me grab some food?" Jack motioned behind him to a couple vending machines.
He didn't wait for a response but headed over, pulling his gun. He put Elly down and told her to stand back, gripped the gun by the barrel and pounded the handle against the glass until it smashed through. He started grabbing everything and tossing them onto the floor. There were candy bars, bags of chips and crackers. It wasn't much. He moved to the next and smashed the glass. A drink machine, it was filled with bottles of water, vitamin water, soda, and energy drinks. He grabbed the water, the vitamin water, and the energy drinks and set them aside. He stuffed what he could, snacks and drinks, into his pockets. "We don't need it all, we can grab some more on the way out tomorrow." He was about to leave, and to call John and his wife to follow, when Elly spoke.
"Wait!" She said suddenly.
"What is it?" Jack asked, glancing around nervously, but there was nothing. Then he noticed Elly was pointing at the pile of snacks, particularly at a milky way bar. He smiled and shook his head at himself. He grabbed it and held it in front of her. "Want it?" She nodded with hopeful eyes. He opened it and handed it to her before picking her up. She happily chewed messily on the chocolate bar.
John and his wife moved to follow Jack, and the husband watched as the other man hastily stuffed things in his pockets.
"I don't think we should leave any of it for later," John says before Jack can leave. "There might not be a later, ya know?"
With that, he moves searches about momentarily--it was a breakroom, there was a trashcan, and so, there had to be trashbags. Quickly discovering his treasure, John begins filling a couple of heavy duty black bags with the rest of the food and drink.
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Sydney wordlessly follows Vince up the stairs, one hand on the railing and the other in her pocket, head craned down to stare at the toes of her sneakers. His question draws her attention, and she looks up at him long enough to give a helpless shrug of her shoulders and crack a small smile. "I dunno. Maybe it's like all those zombie movies I've seen and there's some safe place down in South America or wherever... I just hope that there's someplace to go. I don't wanna depress myself thinking about there not being anywhere safe left in the world, you know?"
They walk in silence for a few more minutes, and then Syd suddenly stops. Letting her arm swing free of the railing, she turns and takes a seat on the step below her, propping her elbows up on her knees and putting her face in her hands, rubbing at the tops of her eyes with the heels of her palms. "Sorry, gotta sit for a minute. Real dizzy alluva sudden and I'unno why," she mumbles. After several seconds of renewed silence, she looks up and ahead, staring at the wall across from her. "I almost got that bus driver killed, didn't I? That guy almost shot him 'cause of me, right?" she asks, looking toward Vince for some kind of confirmation either way.
Vince stops, sits, and studies the girl looking at the wall. He had it all planned out, a nice lecture about how playing the hero was gonna get her killed and she needed to think before she opened her damn mouth.
Vince opened his mouth to speak, "Well..." and realized if he started spouting off like he had planned, like he really knew the right way to act in that situation, it was going to come out with all the weight of hot air leaking from a party balloon.
"... I don't know Syd, maybe? You could say that sure, but then look what happened to them." Vince shudders a bit, shaking his head, "I mean, we don't know exactly what happened, but those screams... You may as well say you nearly got him saved to. Either way, I don't know how much that sort of thinking is going to matter from here on out."
Vince scootches down the few steps separating them like a sliding toddler and puts a hand on her shoulder, "I think... I think everything is going to be different from here on out, and I don't really know what that means. I can't but think of something my professor said, 'reality is only an illusion we have forgotten is an illusion.'"
Weary and drained, Vince gives his best half smile and tries to catch Sydney's eyes, "Of course, I only pretended to understand what the hell he was talking about." Realizing he has, as usual, gone a bit off topic, Vince returns to the issue, "So, while I would say what you did was pretty stupid, its the kind of stupid that tells me your an ok sort of person. I guess my take on it, and this might be my father talking, is you look out for family and friends first, the rest can fend for themselves."
Jack led the way up to the second floor, boots echoing throughout the empty stairwell. He opened the door to the second floor and went into the first conference room on the right. No windows, a long table stood in the center surrounded by plush office chairs. He placed the bags on the table, and John did the same. He left the door open so the others would know which room they were in.
Jack watched John and his wife thoughtfully. "So what'd you do before..." Jack gestured around him, "all this happened?" He pulled out his flask and took a nip, then offered it.
John accepted the flask and took a sip before handing it back.
"Nothing useful, unfortunately," he says, shaking his head. "You never think about how useful your job would be after the end of the world, ya know? I was in Advertising."
"I taught at a elementary school," his wife adds--there's a huge amount of sadness in her voice. "I can't imagine what happened to all of the children."
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Inside the lobby everything seems quiet--the crash of glass didn't seem to summon anything from hiding within.
(OOC: You guys can feel free to pick the layout of the inside if you want.)
On the inside, the building looks more like a 5-star hotel than an office building - the furniture and interior design is very modern, all sleek curves, black leather, brushed steel and thick glass. Whichever company owned this place before the collapse of modern society must have been extremely well-off. "Wouldn't it be crazy if there was a Starbucks in here?"
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"Ahh, sweet, sweet coffee," murmurs Vince as he fishes his wallet out of his sports bag and puts a dollar into the machine. A little paper cup drops down and hot coffee begins filling it, like a gift from the heavens. While the coffee fills, Vince moves to the Snack Machine, only to find his last bill is a $10, and he gets the feeling there is no one about to make change.
"Heya, can we get that Axe in here? I am in need of your smashing skills!"
Snacks, coffee and a comfy chair is exactly what Vince needs right now. Then he can start thinking about a next step.
"Do you really need to even ask? Nobody is going to survive on their own out here. Are we so different from the others?" he asks.
"At least we didn't go running to start a fight like that girl," mumbles the woman.
Vince walks around the corner to see the shady guy who carries a kid around getting his feathers ruffled up over a girl he just met. Men.
"Sorry, but I don't think I caught your name back there." Waving towards everyone in the room, "I am Vince, it's a pleasure. Either of you have a dollar or a crowbar I can borrow?" Sipping his coffee, Vince looks around, a frown creasing his face and his hunger for a Snickers bar temporarily fades.
"You know, with you two just mozying in behind us, I am feeling a wee bit vulnerable... How about you fine folks," Vinnie nods to everyone in the area, "help me put something up against that back window. At the very least, lets hang some cloth or curtains or something up so no one, or no thing, can just look in here and see us lounging."
"And I'm Kathy," adds the woman, clinging to John's arm as they both stand.
"I'm not sure what we can throw up though," the man continues, "this whole place is one big window. Might be okay for now with the sun causing a reflection, but once it gets dark the light in here is going to shine right through."
He turns to the newcomers, "Which apparently means you too. Thanks for the help back at the bus, by the way."
"Babe.." Kathy starts.
"No," John stops her. "What does he expect us to have done? I don't have a weapon. I'm not a god damned counselor who gets people off ledges. What was I supposed to do?"
"John," Kathy pleads, "I don't want to go back out there."
"Its better than in here," he replies. "apparently people who pick fights are just fine and dandy, but people who stay out of them have the potential to slow them down."
"John," she says again, "everyone's just on edge. We're all scared."
"Just come on," John demands, pulling his wife towards the stairs that lead further up into the building. "Thanks for opening the door. You won't have to worry about us anymore."
Kathy clings to the strap of the backpack that she carries, keeping it from falling off her shoulder as she's forced into a trot to keep up.
Breathing deep, Vince tries to not get carried away, "Look, we are all freaking out and that is gonna get us dead. For all we know, those two might be helpful: maybe he's a doctor or something. Don't go pissing people off until they give us a reason." Another deep breath, "But other than that, your plan is solid. Let's get whatever we can, as quickly as we can, to a windowless room upstairs and make sure all the lights are off in the building." Vince points back to where he came, "You will find a vending machine and coffee machine over that way, maybe something else, I didn't look too close."
Vince starts to head upstairs, pauses and looks around, "Hey Syd, where you at?" He calls, "I am gonna say hi to these two and work my way to the roof, care to come along? I wanna talk to you about something."
"Oo gonna wet im go? Der's bad tings out dere." Elly spoke up, looking into his eyes with her own frightened ones.
"Shit." Jack muttered under his breath, turn to his companions. "You guys get the supplies and head upstairs, I'm going to try to talk them back here." He picked Elly up and quickly caught up to the two. "Hey." He called out. "John, is it? Hey, I apologize for my words. Things are hectic. It would be safer for you to be with us. Safer for all of us. The more, the merrier, right? Can we at least talk about it?"
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Vince starts upstairs, hoping to save the important part of the conversation until they reach their destination, for maximum effect. He climbs the stairs in silence for a bit, then asks, "So, what do you think of the situation? Its hard to take it all in, isn't it? I mean, it feels safe enough, almost normal inside here, you really think everything has gone to hell out there?"
"I've watched nearly everyone I've cared about die in the past twelve hours," the man says. "So I'm sorry if I'm not in the mood to be told that I did something wrong. I'm not going to risk my life or my wife's for anything that isn't going to save hers." The man looks toward Elly for a moment. "That make sense to you?"
He didn't wait for a response but headed over, pulling his gun. He put Elly down and told her to stand back, gripped the gun by the barrel and pounded the handle against the glass until it smashed through. He started grabbing everything and tossing them onto the floor. There were candy bars, bags of chips and crackers. It wasn't much. He moved to the next and smashed the glass. A drink machine, it was filled with bottles of water, vitamin water, soda, and energy drinks. He grabbed the water, the vitamin water, and the energy drinks and set them aside. He stuffed what he could, snacks and drinks, into his pockets. "We don't need it all, we can grab some more on the way out tomorrow." He was about to leave, and to call John and his wife to follow, when Elly spoke.
"Wait!" She said suddenly.
"What is it?" Jack asked, glancing around nervously, but there was nothing. Then he noticed Elly was pointing at the pile of snacks, particularly at a milky way bar. He smiled and shook his head at himself. He grabbed it and held it in front of her. "Want it?" She nodded with hopeful eyes. He opened it and handed it to her before picking her up. She happily chewed messily on the chocolate bar.
Lastly, Jack looked at John. "You coming?"
"I don't think we should leave any of it for later," John says before Jack can leave. "There might not be a later, ya know?"
With that, he moves searches about momentarily--it was a breakroom, there was a trashcan, and so, there had to be trashbags. Quickly discovering his treasure, John begins filling a couple of heavy duty black bags with the rest of the food and drink.
They walk in silence for a few more minutes, and then Syd suddenly stops. Letting her arm swing free of the railing, she turns and takes a seat on the step below her, propping her elbows up on her knees and putting her face in her hands, rubbing at the tops of her eyes with the heels of her palms. "Sorry, gotta sit for a minute. Real dizzy alluva sudden and I'unno why," she mumbles. After several seconds of renewed silence, she looks up and ahead, staring at the wall across from her. "I almost got that bus driver killed, didn't I? That guy almost shot him 'cause of me, right?" she asks, looking toward Vince for some kind of confirmation either way.
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Vince opened his mouth to speak, "Well..." and realized if he started spouting off like he had planned, like he really knew the right way to act in that situation, it was going to come out with all the weight of hot air leaking from a party balloon.
"... I don't know Syd, maybe? You could say that sure, but then look what happened to them." Vince shudders a bit, shaking his head, "I mean, we don't know exactly what happened, but those screams... You may as well say you nearly got him saved to. Either way, I don't know how much that sort of thinking is going to matter from here on out."
Vince scootches down the few steps separating them like a sliding toddler and puts a hand on her shoulder, "I think... I think everything is going to be different from here on out, and I don't really know what that means. I can't but think of something my professor said, 'reality is only an illusion we have forgotten is an illusion.'"
Weary and drained, Vince gives his best half smile and tries to catch Sydney's eyes, "Of course, I only pretended to understand what the hell he was talking about." Realizing he has, as usual, gone a bit off topic, Vince returns to the issue, "So, while I would say what you did was pretty stupid, its the kind of stupid that tells me your an ok sort of person. I guess my take on it, and this might be my father talking, is you look out for family and friends first, the rest can fend for themselves."
Jack watched John and his wife thoughtfully. "So what'd you do before..." Jack gestured around him, "all this happened?" He pulled out his flask and took a nip, then offered it.
"Nothing useful, unfortunately," he says, shaking his head. "You never think about how useful your job would be after the end of the world, ya know? I was in Advertising."
"I taught at a elementary school," his wife adds--there's a huge amount of sadness in her voice. "I can't imagine what happened to all of the children."