Twilight Raid (Join at your own risk)

[Anonymous]

Twilight: The time when the sun and the moon are present in the sky at the same time. Usually, and most commonly at sunset or sunrise. At this given point, the earlier of the two. The sky awash with the various pinks, oranges and purples used to portray the late hour of the day across the wasteland's bleak terrain. Broken up by the various mutated plant life and occasionally a mutated critter.

Now dashing across this rugged terrain was a dust cloud, kicking up dirt as it zipped westward across the wastes at a frightening speed. It was Juno, the pink haired catboy, riding on what appeared to be some kinda motorbike. Tires kicked into the ground, mulching up the terrain as it went, heading towards some ruins in the distance. Juno was trying something new for a change.

A few days ago he had found the location of a few of the previous nieghboring towns in this post-semi-apocolyptic future. In this case he was headed for an old mall, more than likely for the handy thrown away crud it held. And there, in his plane vision, slightly crumbled but otherwise in good condition was the Mall.

There was only the problem of getting inside. Juno pondered for a moment as he headed straight forward... From what he could tell the doors were baricaded from the outside, with nice blood splatter decorations on the glass... this meant that what ever was in there probably was locked in for a good reason. But, he judged, that the blood was old, and given the age of this mall whatever was in there was dead now. So the main question was getting in...

After a few more seconds of pondering he came to a brand new question.

Does the mall really need that Atrium Skylight?

And so 50 seconds later and finding a big enough rock to launch off, down came the motorcycle into the abandoned building sending glass flying and bouncing about as if to hail in the new arrival. Juno was in the building.

[Anonymous]

Hi there! They hadn't expected this to happen. Not one bit! I mean ... yeesh! You'd think one of them would have known better than to wander off the way she did. But nooooo ... After all those years (centuries) of making and breaking, the slip-up was not avoided as it should have been. Their number was cut down by one, and the rest sauntered off looking.

First they started by circling the perimeter of their last camp area. Which was, technically, the whole area outside of Daanu. They'd found the holdout locale. And stayed there for a bit. Were going to linger for a few more days to catch up with the times, refresh, and figure out their next steps. But then she'd gone off and went missing.

Search Results: 0.

They widened the search-party perimeter. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Soon enough they were combing the whole of the Wastes, being sure to only go out at night so they had less of a chance of being seen by prowling dragons and their Pilots. Getting caught now would hinder everything ... Time and patience came in the form of three long days. When the third night ended in failure, they'd slept against some strange, solid stone wall that jutted out of the earth. Whether it was attached to something or not, they could not tell. It was too dark, and they were too tired. Slept overcame easily. And in the morning ... a reward in the first glance towards their resting spot.

The wall attached to a building. A large building. A ... it almost looked like a mall ... Sections had fallen away over the millions of years. Those spots were barricaded from the outside. From what? Closer inspection showed splinters of blood here and there, sprayed against panes of glass, dragged across walls visible through said panels. Barricades protecting the outside from whatever was in there. And from the looks of it ... no way in.

Around this point, Terry started freaking out. He was pointing frantically inside. A streak of red flew by the window, marred by yellow ... And it could only be one thing.

"Scarlet."

Of course there was no -easy- way to get inside. Everything was boarded up. So when you cannot look down, next go up - straight up. No intention lingered about teleporting to the roof: too risky when you didn't know if there was a roof or not. And while Nakéminae could expand her wings, flying would draw unwanted attention. So they were more than grateful for the emergency ladder still parked on the side of the building. It held long enough for them to reach the top : a cement section of roof that aided in the support of a magnificent (but dusty) skylight not twenty feet to their west. Once Naira stepped foot off the last wrung, the ladder, corroded with rust, collapsed and crumpled in a bent heap on the ground some twenty stories below.

Nearby their landing spot and far from the skylight were little diamond-shaped domes of glass. Peering in gave them the visual of a hallway lined with rooms. And boxes. Lots and lots of boxes. Aramark was printed across a good deal of them. There was no blood in this area. It was clean, with cream-painted walls and a lush tan carpet ... But it was quiet.

Breaking in was twice more fun than climbing. There were no trapdoors. The only other option was to bust a glass dome (in the case of rain, it could always be covered with a garbage bag). It wasn't a long drop to the rug. Their feet, and talons, landed soft ... hardly a creak. Just a barely audible foof.

Not five minutes later, Nakéminae experimentally opened a box. She pried through with little hands, her face showing bright teeth with that enigmatic grin. These boxes contained cans and packages of food, both dried and preserved. Plenty of them were out of code ...

"January 24, 2045," Naira stated, reading the label off a box of Oreos. She made a face. "Ew." Gloved hands opened the package. "Oh. Green cookies!" Hurray mold!

"Spam." Nakéminae held up her prize and the half-dragon across from her had to wonder if that stuff would still be edible after all this time. Of course it would!

"I don't suppose you have a can opener?" she asked randomly. Terry was in the corner, gnoshing some green Oreos (an not puking).

"Well no, I don't."

"Then don't knock it, it has its own key." The joke was old. It earned a confused stare from the Ethernian. But Naira grinned nonetheless. "We'll rest for a few minutes, then hunt for the crazy lady."

Nakéminae nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly ducked with her arms over her head. Somewhere in the mall was a loud crashing of glass ... something thrumming ... "What was that?!"

"Ten bucks says its Scar."

But they would wait a few moments before heading down. If it was ... anything but Scar, rushing in blindly could be fatal.

[Anonymous]

Every so often, life really sucked.........

How had Pico gotten into this situation?  Well, first there had been that long ride, followed by a bit of conflict that had required him to think fast and move fast.  A period stowed away on the attacking ship, a run from that ship to station, from that station to another ship... then down to the planet.  Once down, forced over and over to run, intense desire to gut those responsible... to eat their nads, chew out their kidneys, and crack their bones when he was done.  Civilization here, unfriendly, to put it ever so freakin' lightly.  Then this place...

... out of the way, off the well-traveled path.  Or so he thought.

Distant sound of shattered skylight touched his sensative ears.  Pico, not in the best state of personal hygiene, though thankfully not yet in rut, though it would come due in a few weeks... yes, Pico didn't like that sound.  Carefully resealed the piece of gear he'd been servicing, secured it back on his belt, made sure all his supplies and other gear had been packed and stowed and hung on his person.  Not much, just his toolbelt and backpack.  Secured all on his person, in case he had to run, again.  His campsite... within a mall store that had, ironically, once carried camping gear... given one last look around, before he slipped out to investigate.  Wicked toeclaws lifted, so they wouldn't clack.  Dusty hide, smeared with grime.  Teeth, however, still sharp and white.  Determination in his eyes, grim.  But no regrets.  Never any regrets!  Life sucked, but the very fact it sucked meant he was still alive, still had a way out.  Still had hope....

However, he had little in the way of patience.  If this was an intrusion into his territory by those who'd chased him away from civilization, they... would... pay.  Pound of flesh, and all that.  So, silent and already smeared with unintended camo, Pico paced his way though the mall, towards the sound... the sounds echoed in the distance.  Intruders, yes.  The closer he approached, the more clearly he heard.

Voices.

He'd been very swift in responding, very swift in his approach, though very careful not to make his own presense known.  Not hard to do, for an apex predator.  Not for the nastiest, most xenophobic species in this known corner of the universe.  Except...

...  Pico was a freak.  A reject.  A follower of a gentler philosophy.  A tolerant belief.  And that had been the least of his sins, in the eyes of the ruling Theocracy.  But... still an apex predator, not someone... not some thing anyone wanted to mess with.  Or back into a corner.

*Sniff... sniff sniff.........*

Yes, intruders.  Two, already inside.  Signs that an earlier noise he'd heard, and thought animal in nature... wasn't.  Evidence the new noise had been the responsibility of the second intruder.  And two... three?... more.........

Pico ducked down onto all sixes, and crept behind debris... crept around a corner, the intruders somewhere just on the other side.........