Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Sat Oct 26, 2024 9:58 pm

IT wasn't quite what she'd expected, but she supposed this was what the work was all about. She knew that it would be dangerous, but well.. she hadn't expected things to go this badly. She'd been working with a medical unit in one of the settlements that were outside the immediate danger of the hole itself. Truth be told, she'd never even seen the hole, but she had heard plenty about it to know she didn't want to be near it. She'd been in a small camp, a spot where refugees had collected for a while, a temporary home. She'd been working to help the injured.

But something had gone wrong. Most camps had some shinigami and Vandenreich that were assigned to it. And the day before... something had happened. Some strange arrancar had shown up on the camp, and some of them had simply left. The Vandenreich had been in a stir ever since, there was only two of them, and they had been relying on the shinigami there to keep people safe, She did her best just to focus on her job. Comforting the patients, helping patch them up even as they too watched the conflict with growing anxiety. . And in the midst of all that tension, the hollows had found them.

IN the hot evening sun, Joli panted as she skidded to a hald just behind the wreck of a junked car, tumbling a little as she frantically put the car between her and what was behind her, eyes wide, panting a little, and casting a frantic look over her shoulder as she furrowed her brows, still catching her breath.

She didn't see it, but she knew it was back there. It had been following her for almost twenty minutes. A couple people had been running with her, but it had been picking them off one by one. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt sweat beading at her brow. "Fuck..." She whispered to herself as she shakily reached into the bloody bag, rummaging through it. Trying to ignore the pieces of viscera that clung to it, its previous owner. Surely there was something, ANYTHING she could defend herself with!

"Helooooooooooo darrrrrrling."

Within the Fear [Joli, Henry] 84jdcdd62g4

Within the Fear [Joli, Henry] 84jdcdd62g4

A low, drolling voice cooed as the creature stepped out from a dark paw, its head poking out as it smiled behind its beaklike mask.

Sat Oct 26, 2024 10:37 pm

A distant engine revving would soon signal the cavalry, a plume of dust spun up by tires visible from behind the nearby buildings, the torrent getting closer and closer until nearly drifting around the street corner, a rickety old jalopy skidded into view. Manning this vehicle was a smiling face, leaning out of the window and waving a hand, honking the horn. Once again, it seemed fate had Henry in the right place at the right time.

He had been delivering supplies from one camp to another, borrowing one of the dilapidated vehicles they had available to try and disperse the scarce supplies out amongst the area where needed. It seemed he couldn't have come at a better, or worse, time. Africa so far had been a whirlwind of chaotic happenstance, but even now it never seemed to break that smile from his face.

"Howdy stranger, need a ride?" He called out to the woman in view, barreling toward her and the monstrosity looming behind her. Dropping himself back firmly into the drivers seat, he spun the wheel sharply as he approached, swinging the bed of the truck outward in a daring burn out, all of the crates and contents stored back there shifting and creaking against the tailgate. As the truck skidded to a halt, Henry looked over his shoulder through the back window and honked again. "Hop in, we gotta get out of here!" He hooked a thumb behind them at the obvious monster approaching, as well as the open bed just waiting to be jumped in.

Sun Oct 27, 2024 5:26 pm

Joli almost fucking pissed herself when that vehicle suddenly SWERVED towards her! And in that moment, she stumbled onto the ground as she backed away from the vehicle, an exasperated "FUCK!" Belting out from her lungs as she watched that thing creak, not TOO close to her, but still, seeing a car speeding towards her had still been very jarring. And in the very same moment that he declared his intent to rescue her, that creature LUNGED towards her!

She didn't have time to beat this man over the head for almost killing her with the damn car. She grabbed the steering wheel from the ground next to the wreckage she'd been using as cover and promptly SWUNG! A loud PING as that weapon popped off of that beaked mask and a crack slithered across the tip, a SHRIEK escaping the monster as even with her entirely mortal strength, she managed to dent the damn thing.!

The creature reared back, its mouth parting as energy coursed in its throat.

She jumped into the back.

"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" She shouted over the shit in the bed of the truck as that creature then lowered its head and screeched.A blinding flash of sunlight bursting from it's beak, slamming into the back of the truck and promptly burning dozens of holes through one of the crates like a shotgun blast of sunlight. Joli's eyes WIDENED and she slapped the side of the truck urgently. "right NOW please!" She barked out as she began fervently rummaging through the contents of the truck bed for something to use as a weapon!

Sun Oct 27, 2024 5:44 pm

"Seatbelt young lady!" He called back through the window with a jest, only to see Big Bird shoot out some sort of energy blast that nearly blew the bed off of the truck, Henry's brow raising and attention immediately turning back to the road in front of him, slamming on the gas. "Alright, here we go, hang on to something!" The truck skidded in the dust for a few moments as it fought to get traction on the dirt road, before eventually speeding off forward, barreling back the way he had just came. Looking in the rearview mirror, Henry glanced between the monster and the woman he had just picked up, calling out to her. "Your buddy seems alittle angry, huh?" Looking over her, he saw the blood spattered across her, a grisly sight. His tone fell into a slightly more serious one, "That sure is alot of blood, ma'am, you hanging in there...?"

As he tried to establish some sort of context for the situation, needing to figure out the level of damage control he was soon to be involved in, he swerved between rubble and refuse on the road, trying his best to split his attention on the road before him and the raging monster behind them. Now not only did he need to get these supplies out of here safely, he had a potentially wounded passenger to boot. No room for mistakes, this was going to be a bit of a tight race.

Fri Nov 01, 2024 7:59 pm

"This seatbelt's goin around your fuckin NECK if you aint gun it!" She snapped right back at him! Turning in time to see the creature hissing and flaring it's big mane of sunflower petals. Ughh, it was creepy! She rummaged around the crated and began to sweat a little, tensing up a bit as she heard the driver speaking up. Blood? OH! "Aint my blood, keep yer eyes on the- WATCH OUT!"

The hollow had started charging towards them. Rapidly gaining on the evhicle before it launched itself into the air, it's body twisting like a corkscrew through the air as it sped up and promptly shot past them, a loud rattle sounding as those sunflower petals flicked loose and shot out in all directions from the spinning beast as it passed, a peppering of THUNKS sounding as those dart-like hardened petals shot into the truck repeatedly, one of them slamming into Joli's shoulder and causing her to Yell out as she staggered back against the truck. Hissing as she ripped the chunk of petal from the shallow wound in her shoulder. Possibly a surprise when Henry saw how deep it had gotten into the chassis of the car. "AHAH! Over there!" She called out, pointing to a broken down building that clearly used to be some kind of warehouse , well a fourth of a warehouse, most of the building was completely flattened. But it was better cover than being out in the open.

"Head for that there heap before it circles back. Unless you got a gun in this truck we're gonna need something ta kill this thing!" She insisted as she peeled one of the crates open and furrowed her brows. Pulling out a length of ...plastic piping? Not great but uh... it was something.

Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:35 am

Seeing in the rearview this birdy behemoth start to close the gap, Henry wished this old truck had just alittle more kick. His foot was nearly punching through the rusted out floorboards just from holding down the pedal, his fingers white-knuckled to the steering wheel. Seeing it leap into the air nearly made his stomach lurch, his muscles bracing for impact, fully expecting to feel the weight of this thing landing on the roof of the truck with a crunch, holding his breath. But in some freakish display of its ability, it instead sailed through the air like a missile, spinning off ahead of them and loosing what could only be the petals that lined its neck. Henry's suspicion was promptly confirmed as a few of those exact petals shot through the roof of the truck like spears raining down from above, their jagged pointy tips puncturing the rusted metal and stuck.

Henry grimaced at the sight of it, checking once again in the rearview, which was now partially obstructed by the feathery spikes, moving his head to check on his passenger. Seeing what he had hoped hadn't happened, he registered the spine jutting from her shoulder. Not good. Locked in now, he listened to her directions, locating the warehouse she had been referring to and barreling on down the road towards it, keeping an eye out for the monster that was now hunting them. "Hang onto something! This is might be a rough landing!" Time was not in their favor sadly, so there was no opportunity to slow down, safety was coming in short supply this trip it seemed. As Henry got close to the warehouse, he rolled the wheel sharply, not even slowing down as they skidded on the dusty road, all the of the contents in the back shifting once again, hoping he didn't throw his passenger out as they rounded the path into the building, barely making it, the back end of the truck smashing into one of the supporting columns exposed to the elements, jolting the contents and both passengers abruptly. Rough ride, but better than being skewered by big bird.

As the truck skidded to a halt under the cover of the weathered roof, Henry took a deep breath, rocking the transmission into park and jumping out of the vehicle, scrambling to circle around to the bed of the truck. First, he did his best to try and understand the position they were in, looking over the woman and her wounds, then taking a quick inventory of the crates that had been pelted and roughed up back here. His heart sank a bit, knowing that the two of them getting out of here alive was just as important as delivering these supplies. Alot of people were relying on these, relying on him. No, now, by circumstance, relying on the two of them to get these out of here as undamaged as possible. Brandishing a big grin, he stepped up onto the back wheel of the truck to get more eye level with his new friend. Raising an arm and flexing, he furrowed his brow, weakly jesting, "Sadly I don't think these guns are going to do much...heh.." His eyes kept glancing back to the wound from the spine that had been jutting out of her shoulder, before finally just leaning forward and smacking his palm right against her shoulder fairly powerfully, gripping it and nodding to her, "I'm Henry by the way! Nice to meet you! Let's get you patched up first!"

Adrenaline could do wonders in times like this, easing pain, heightening senses. But Henry knew all too well that that could truly go either way, she might not even notice getting her wound slapped, or she might retaliate out of sheer instinct. He had been in plenty of scraps over people in desperate situations, but he would much rather take a beating so long as it meant helping someone out. As his smack landed, glittery golden light would glimmer out like a small poof, his healing hands ability getting right to work at sealing up that shallow wound. It might tickle, it might sting, but it would sure as heck be much better than bleeding out in the middle of nowhere. Once he knew she was fixed up, he hopped off of the tire and back onto the cracked concrete flooring beneath them, putting his attention to the giant doorway leading to the outside, their exposure to the big freak hunting them. "What's the plan here, miss?"

Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:54 am

The sudden lurch of the car was a welcome feeling. Even as she was thrown around the bed of the truck, barely gripping the side to make sure she didn't go flying, it was better than being stuck out in the open with that thing. She narrowed her eyes and kept her eyes peeled. Peering a bit. The creature seemed to be digging itself out of the ground after its landing. At least buying them a few seconds. Whew.

It wasn't until they swerved again that she let out a hiss! Wincing as they swung into the underside of the building itself. Maybe it was a bad idea, but she felt a lot safer with proper cover. And as the truck came to a stop she promptly leapt over the back of the truck to start rummaging around. Peeling the petal from her shoulder and ignoring the drool of blood down her shoulder. It was only when she turned around and spotted Henry that she stopped in her focused path. Blinking in surprise as of all things, the guy just... flexed right infront of her.

"What're you d- OW!" She winced as he clapped his hand down onto her shoulder and squeezed it, tensing up and getting ready to punch him in the shoulder before she ... Oh! She blinked in surprise as she felt no sharp pain. Peeling the cut in her shirt a bit she ... stared a little at the closed up wound. The hell kind of ... No time.

"Come out come out~ I just want to play~"

She shivered as the voice of the hollow caused her to refocus. "Uh... we head into the main building. It's gonna have to squeeze in or wreck the building to follow us. We find something to hit it with. Don't matter if it's a bunch of trash or just scrap. Hollows always got their masks. If we can break that sucker its good as dead." She murmured, pausing as she opened one of the crates..... supplies? Her mind snapped back to the camp shed run here from. And she looked to Henry.

Had he been taking supplies to her camp?

The camp that was now...overrun with hollows, and entirely destroyed.

Not the time to worry about that. "Look. I'm tougher than I look. I can take a beating if that thing gets feisty. You head in and look for a weapon, I'll draw it's attention. If it stays focused on me, you can find an opportunity to take out its mask. got it?"

Fri Nov 15, 2024 9:18 am

As if a lightbulb went off in Henry's brain, he tugged a notebook out from his back pocket, quickly scribbling down 'Mask = Weak Spot', mumbling the words out to himself under his breath and nodding. He had been having to fight off these big baddies for a few years now, and they were tough sons of guns to put down. This would help a lot in the future. So it wasn't just coincidence that a good number of them had gone down with a solid punch to the face. Although to be fair, people worked the same way in that sense.

Okay! Snapping the notebook shut and stuffing it back into his back pocket, he clapped his hands together and nodded to her. "Alright! So we need something to show Tweety Bird whose boss. Got it! If you need help... just shout?" He said, already jogging off deeper into the building, slowing as he realized their plan sounded less and less fool-proof as he spoke it out loud.

Either way, they didn't exactly have a ton of options. This would be a good start. Shrugging and grinning to her, he called out one last time. "Good luck! Be back lickety split!" Finally, he sprinted off into the wreckage that was the remnants of this warehouse. Hopefully it didn't just come down on the both of them, but being stuck between a rock and a hard place, sometimes you just got to play ball. As he ducked and moved through the dilapidated hallways and rows of collapsed shelving, his eyes scanned the best they could in the dark for ANYTHING they could use to beat this birdie back to wherever the hell it came from.

Fri Nov 15, 2024 9:32 am

Joli couldn't help but stare a little with furrowed brows as the man just pulled a notebook out. How old WAS this dude? Thoughts for later. At the very least, he seemed intent on following her plan. Ah well...it wasn't actually a great plan, but it was all she could think of. "Just make sure yer quiet, last thing we need is it catchin..." She blinked and furrowed her brows as she watched the guy jog off, intent on finding a weapon. Well... at least he was focused. She sighed and looked at her immediate surroundings. Not much. She shoved aside some pallets and furrowed her brows a bit as she noticed a broom. Hm...

Peeling it away from the wall, she dropped the head of the broom to the floor and STOMPED, snapping the tip off and inspecting the now-broken shaft in a sharp point. Good enough for now. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see .... an enormous masked face peeking in through the door.

"Nice stick you have there~" It crooned, only to SLAM its head forward and chomp at her!

She srambled back, the thing's head barely failing to fit enough to actually reach her as she SWIPED, causing the creature to rear back to avoid the swing as she promptly bolted into the building. Shitshitshit! A loud noise from behind her before she heard something whizzing by her head. Moments later the loud THUNK of petals sinking into the wall as she kicked open the door and bolted into the central area of the warehhouse.

"Don't think hiding is going to save you, darling~" The creature crooned as it slithered in through the door and looked around. A number of shelves and materials meant that it had lost sight of Joey. But all the same, it kept a little giggle in its throat as it began slinking through those rows of storage.

IN terms of what was in the warehouse. There was a lot of equipment! A line of trucks. Gas. Tools. Repair parts. And even some forklifts and cargo crates. Inside of which was a number of supplies. Most of it had been cleaned out, but a few untouched crates certainly littered the place.

Fri Nov 15, 2024 12:23 pm

A subtle revving could be heard from within the warehouse now, getting louder as it came closer. Rounding one of the shelving corridor, the metal tines of a forklift clattered in their housing, Henry appearing and speeding down the aisle in his new rig. He had a hardhat on and safety glasses, because he knew that safety was important when handling machinery. This was kinda like that one movie about the aliens!

"Get away from her, you birdbrain." He called out, honking the horn on the forklift. As he approached, he waved to his friend with a smile, before careening right into the nearby shelf, jutting the forks under the framing and shifting one of the knobs to raise the forks until the shelf began toppling over, aiming to send it and all of its contents crashing down onto this birdy bully to help buy them some time. Plus, a drivable metal cage with two swords on the front of it did seem like a pretty safe place to be when combatting something like this.

"Any ideas, buddy?" He called out over the crashing and whirring of the engine, tires skidding on the concrete as he just held the pedal down to keep shoving the shelf forward in an attempt to keep the monster pinned and pushed back.

Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]

Re: Within the Fear [Joli, Henry]