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Remnants of the Earth
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TEINAR
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There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
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Topic: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!] (Read 1323 times)
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nephero
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There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
on:
May 20, 2014, 09:57:14 am »
A storm was brewing. It didn't take a genius to notice the blackening sky, the way the winds whipped back and forth, throwing sharpened sand motes and small pebbles into the skin of one's shins.
In an hour, or maybe two, the skies would open up in a great cacophony of acidic rain, each drumming drop packed with enough chemicals to burn your skin like the sun already did. What mud there was (it was rare that the soil could hold any kind of water, even for a moment) felt oily, clung to whatever it could, and never quite washed out, no matter how many times or with how many caustic chemicals it was scrubbed.
And then there was the air. The rain brought up the moisture index by a fair margin. What was once simply dry air (smoky and not at all healthy) became packed with microscopic droplets of that same acid rain; it got in your lungs, made it hard to breathe, and if you got on your mask quick enough, the worst you got for it was a wet cough for the next few days. Thick. Mucous.
Green like the rain.
Sister Sarah Toombs (why she kept the title was anyone's guess) sat out on what was jokingly referred to as her porch. Really, it was just the mere foot of ground that was still covered by the overhang of her roof (a joke in and of itself; it was little more than a haphazard assortment of aluminum sheets, tilted downwards to keep the rain from sitting). She looked skywards, took a breath, and shivered.
A storm was brewing, she could feel it in her bones, in her hair, in her skin and every molecule beneath it. It made her break out in goosebumps despite the choking heat; it turned her stomach sour and her pulse cold. She felt sick, and was made to feel even more so from the sheer anxiety of it all.
Her supplies were late.
She ticked off the list of what she had on hand, for the fifth time since her scheduled drop off was supposed to have been there.
Four days of rations-- assorted cans of nutrient-infused mushroom paste, a few bags of jerky. Her mother had gotten her different flavors, bless her, and somewhere deep inside, Sarah's shriveled conscience gave a shudder of guilt. Sarah had long forgotten what guilt felt like, and simply thought it another wave of impending sickness.
About another week's worth of filters, both for her mask and the water filtration system she'd rigged. She'd had to burn through those pretty quick; it was summer, and summer still meant roiling storms and great deluges of poisonous rain, rain that lingered in the air even after the storm had passed on. Her mask was going to need a new lens in one of the eyes, soon, too.
Assorted tools. A mostly functioning spade shovel, the head and handle very nearly rusted to the point of breaking. She had to wear gloves to even handle it anymore, for fear of metal splintering off and getting into her skin. She wouldn't survive that. Her machete, which was going to need sharpening soon, if she wanted it to keep in good shape.
No medicine. This was what worried her the most, especially with the growing ache in her bones. If she got sick, out here, and that storm cut off her supplies for another week, she wasn't sure she'd be able to come out of it alive. If she got sick, her suppliers might not, either.
She shuddered, squeezed her eyes shut, and fought the wave of nausea down. No, no, not yet. Not before the supplies got here. Not yet.
"Fuck."
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Ferr Windston
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #1 on:
May 29, 2014, 07:38:10 pm »
Running through the hell in which he hated so much, Mino could see the outskirts in view. The man had been searching the wasteland for any pieces that would go for a good trade or do well in one of his machines. With his hood up and a spare filtration mask on, he looked similar to some rougish person running away from a mutant. Thankfully he hadn't had to do that throughout his two day trip. With the oncoming fear of a storm of acid and chemicals, he might have preferred the mutant. At least those could be avoided, unlike the rain.
With his breath fogging up his mask, it became hard to see. Mino kept thinking of taking it off to remove the fog by hand but chose otherwise. Alone with a heavy bag and nearly empty slead in tow, he would have no one to save him should he have a reaction to the air. Well, a deadly reaction anyway. The robotic expert would feel good about finding an nearly intact collection of CPUs. It wasn't something crazy like a supply of untainted water or seeds though. That would have been vastly better he thought.
He himself was comfortable with the stock of mechanical and electrical parts he had back in his home. The only thing on his mind was trading what little he found for more useful items. But that required him making it back alive. Which was not happening at this rate.
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nephero
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #2 on:
May 30, 2014, 01:46:55 pm »
Sarah pressed her head between her knees, and took deep, calming breaths. Slowly, so slowly, her stomach righted itself, and no longer felt like it was playing host to a swarm of mutated bees. She took another breath for good measure, and stood up.
She would get through this, some part of her tried to convince the far more panicked side of her. She had been through far worse. That time in lock up? Really, this was a dream vacation compared to that. Another breath, and she found herself actually feeling better. She reached down, and plucked up the binoculars that hung from a nail in the side of her house.
Putting the devices up to her-- admittedly tired-- eyes, she began a slow pan of the landscape. Her heart sank a bit when she didn't spot the usual rumbling junker that brought her supplies, and even lower when she didn't immediately see any critters that she might chop up for some home cooking.
Her stomach gave another angry roll, this time out of protest. She had to agree-- the last time she was forced to eat some of the wildlife, it had not agreed with her in the slightest. But it made her feel full, and that was all that had mattered at that point in time.
Sarah stopped her slow pan, however, when a glint of something caught in the lens of the binoculars. She moved back, and squinted, even through the decent magnification. It looked like... a person? A person running across the swimming waves of heat that always seemed to prelude a storm. Sarah licked at her lips, cracked and prone to bleeding as they were, and dropped the binoculars back onto their post.
It only took a second to go inside and grab her machete and unsheathe it-- it never hurt to be prepared, there was all sorts that wandered the wastes, and not very many tended to be of the friendliest persuasion.
Just as the figure entered what she guessed was hearing distance, she raised her free hand up into the air.
"Hey!"
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Ferr Windston
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #3 on:
May 30, 2014, 08:52:09 pm »
As he knelt down to take a breath, Mino heard the echo of a call. Looking around and finally to the side, he noticed the worn house in the hellish sand. Forcing a squint in order to see the woman, Mino gazed over the home. He returned with a wave and stood up. "Hello there!" He called back.
With caution, he turned towards it with his full body. With sled in tow, he gingerly approached the woman's home. "Hey, do you think it is going to get worse soon?" He asked and placed his hands up, praying to any fictional deity that would listen to not get shot. Should this one woman be crazy.
"If so, do you think I might be able to take cover until it passes!?" He asked, getting only slightly closer as time passed. "I swear I am not crazy, mutated, sick, or a threat. I am just out here gathering some parts for my robots." And with that, he placed his hands down.
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nephero
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #4 on:
June 03, 2014, 08:23:01 am »
Sarah's eyebrows nearly shot straight into her hairline, and she made a very solid point of looking at the storm clouds before looking back at the man approaching her. She kept a tight grip on her machete, just in case, but every line of her relaxed when she spotted him carting a sled.
"Have you even
seen
the sky? I'd be shitting you if it don't last a few days,"
She rolled her eyes a bit at the usual list of assurances of not being a threat, which she was pretty sure was a line she had used herself on some poor folk before gutting them.
Okay, so she had used it a lot.
Still, this one looked harmless enough-- if he was a killer, he hid it well. She craned her neck to look over at the sled, and even went so far as to sheath her machete back at her hip.
"You can stick around, I guess. Maybe. Got any supplies? Or a name, Not-Sick-Crazy-or-Mutated?"
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Ferr Windston
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #5 on:
June 04, 2014, 04:57:10 pm »
"The sky?" Mino asked himself in curiosity. It is true that he hadn't actually seen the clouds in some time. He had only been feeling the winds and temperature. Looking to the sky, Mino had a face of terror. He began hurrying over once the woman gave him permission.
"Thanks Madam!" Mino left a trail in the sand as he approached the porch. "My name is Mino." He placed his bandaged hand up for a handshake. "I might have some stuff for your trouble." He couldn't help but smile internally, safe from the hellish storm to come.
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nephero
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Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #6 on:
June 07, 2014, 08:59:47 pm »
Sarah couldn't help a sharp, mocking laugh when Mino turned to actually look at the clouds above them. The action, however, was not without its consequences, and the second her stomach muscles contracted to let out the sound, she was hit with another crippling wave of nausea.
It was only through sheer force of will that she didn't dry heave right then and there. She swallowed, and shuddered at the vague taste of bile on the back of her tongue, and instead forced a wide grin at the kid. For a moron, he was kind of adorable with all his exuberance.
"It ain't madam, not fuckin' yet while I still gotta say in it." She reached forward, and gripped his proffered hand, giving it one quick shake before letting go. "I'd be Sister Sarah, as far as I know that's what most still know me as."
She began her slow return back to the shack doorway, gesturing vaguely at the batches of rust-worn bins and oil drums. "There's a tarp or two in there, keep your shit good and dry. Bring whatcha need in, and any
sensitive
crap. We ain't gonna be runnin' out every time you need a doodlebop or what have you."
Once inside, she took a moment to breathe, in and out, good and deep. She could do this. She could make it. Hell, maybe she could even use Mino to make sure of it, maybe he could keep her from wandering off into the rain-- she shuddered, remembering the hellish moment when she had awoken from a fever dream in the middle of a downpour, how badly her skin had burned and peeled and the utter agony of the weeks that had followed.
Yeah, this could work.
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Ferr Windston
Guest
Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #7 on:
June 09, 2014, 03:57:34 pm »
Mino started out with a confused and largely uncomfortable expression. This woman seemed to not be too fond of guests such as him. But he did not wish to try out running that kind of weather. Perhaps the weather of long ago, but that rain didn't burn you to death.
Putting on a forced smile, Mino guided his sled away, doing as he was advised. Walking over to find just one small tarp, the man placed it over his sled tightly. Ensuring the cover wouldn't fall or fly off, Mino walked back onto the porch and took one last look out into the sand before taking a step in. He fully removed his mask and lowered his hood before taking off his hat. "So nice to be in doors after a few days." He took in a deep breath through his noise, picking up on a few...smells before letting the air out quickly.
Looking around the inside of the home, the engineer slowly placed down his thick and full bag down on the floor. "Well uh, thanks once again for the roof to keep me alive under. Uh, Sister Sarah huh? That's a...pretty nickname I guess?" He shrugged with a quirky smile, praying to whatever that he didn't insult or come off as anything bad.
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nephero
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"*squints* Buuuut I'm into it."
Gender: He/Him
Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #8 on:
June 15, 2014, 10:39:35 am »
If Sarah noticed how uncomfortable her guest was, she didn't show it. Or rather, she didn't usually much care for the comfort of others. By all rights, it was well beyond her usual range of altruistic behavior just letting the guy inside at all, his potential usefulness be damned.
She coughed into her elbow, fought down the urge to keep coughing, and made her way across the little hut to her dual purpose cot/couch. She sat down without any kind of grace, and rested her elbows onto her knees while she watched Mino mill about, and she gave a loud snort at the attempted niceties.
Wow, this kid was really something, trying to be polite all the way out here. She was well aware the place probably reeked; it was an unfortunate combination of old rain, rusted metal and even older dust, and given the proper application of heat in the dead of the wasteland summers? Yeah, no, it was not a perfume line in the making, there.
"Ain't much a nickname, so much as it was a professional title. But yeah, sure, we'll go with that." She shifted, sitting back and crossing her legs at the ankle, trying to look like she didn't have a splitting headache brewing inside of her skull.
"So, what brings a cute little thing like you out here in the middle of nowhere? And without cover, no less."
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Ferr Windston
Guest
Re: There's a reckoning a-comin' [open!]
«
Reply #9 on:
June 15, 2014, 11:24:28 am »
Mino covered his face and rolled his eyes before his face could grow pink from the tease. Clearing his throat, Mino shrugged his shoulders. He walked into the room after her and stood by the door.
"Well I was out hunting some parts for my robots back in the city. Broke down to nothing but scarp after some stuff happened. So that is why I am out here. As for 'cover'," He wiggled two fingers to emphasize quotes. "I kinda lost my makeshift tent in a quick sand storm the other day. It totally wouldn't have maid it through the rain coming up."
The man then let out a long sigh before sitting down on the ground. He then put on a real smile, thankful to have a safe place to sit for once. Even if it was in this shape and condition. "So why do you live out here?" Mino asked Sarah as he looked round the room and then back at her. "Just want to be isolated?"
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