Re: The Fifth Age IC

[Digital Muse]

Valeria rolled her eyes at Daniel’s supreme overconfidence and prayed he didn’t get her killed. Brigg’s would never let her shade hear the end of it. The thought of her first mate made her smile briefly, but it vanished as she and Daniel boldly walked toward the library’s front doors. The hair on the back of her neck stood up in reaction to her apprehension.

Being greeted by the business end of a shotgun did nothing to allay Valeria’s fears, but Daniel proved good as his boasts when he managed to talk the pair of them inside the half ruined space. While Daniel smooth-talked the old man, Valeria looked at the restoration job the crazy old man was doing on the interior mosaics and paintings. Instead of repairing the scenes, the old man had filled the ruined art with images of eyes, fire, mathematical and physics formulas. None of it made any sense and added to the sense of unease crawling up Valeria’s spine.

Tearing her eyes away, she called out to the old man for permission to call the others inside and out of immediate danger. Thankfully the old man was agreeable, so she returned to the door to signal Rick and the rest to get inside where at least they had a defendable position. She waited till everyone was inside before murmuring instructions that they should spread out a bit to check for any other exits, but try to stay away from the old man and Daniel who was rapidly building quite the rapport with the old loonie.

Leaving the disturbing images in the ruined foyer of the library, Valeria rejoined Daniel and the old Librarian at an overflowing magazine rack with bowing shelves. It groaned under the weight of thousands of magazines piled carefully upon it and reminded Valeria of the unstable buildings outside. The old man was regaling Daniel with tales of his filing system and how he knew where every book or magazine was and how he’d sorted them all by himself. The old man barely glanced up when Valeria rejoined the pair.

“Indeed,” He intoned smoothly. “For I have been in this place of learning for the entirety of my years. My predecessor was here during the Fires of Annihilation.” The old man actually bowed his head in reverence when speaking of the original librarian. “The light of purity shone upon her head and she was not burned, nor was this place. Surely a sign of its immortality.”

Valeria quirked a brow and glanced sidelong at Daniel. The old man was completely insane, no doubt of that. But, the question that niggled at the back of her mind was how had he survived alone? One shot gun wouldn’t stop the Raiders for more than 10 seconds. Her mind cast back to Farrah’s gnawing sense of being watched and noted that she too could sense something or someone watching them. But try as she might, Valeria could never catch any hint of anyone else in the library.

Finally, curiosity won out and Valeria had to ask, “How is it…brother, that you have survived with so much danger in the city around you? How do you eat and avoid the Raiders?”

Rheumy blue eyes regarded the Airship captain steadily for a moment. “I am blessed as my predecessor was. The Light of Purity and Innocence sees to all my needs.” With that cryptic answer, the old man shuffled further along the rows of magazine racks until he found the one he wanted. “Should be…” He ran a gnarled finger along the exposed spines of the National Geographic and Scientific American magazines until he poked roughly between two issues. “Right here.” He smiled beatifically.

[Squall Reyes]

Rick was uneasy with the idea to allow Daniel to be the one who tries to barter the magazine from the old man. However the fact that there WAS an old man living in the library made Rick even more uneasy. How had he missed him before? Rick had indeed been inside before, though it was during the dead of night. The old man was possibly asleep. Or perhaps he is a new resident. Either case, it was an annoying development.

With the Captain gone Rick figured the group outside was his responsibility. Considering he had not worked with anyone else for near 2 decades to say he felt awkward was an understatement. He looked over the Shepard and others and then just sat down next to the door. "Just keep you eyes open. And don't do anything stupid. "He said as he pointed to the buildings surrounding them. "Raiders don't usually venture this far inside of the city, I'm sure they've had several men squashed before they learned that lesson."

Rick was quite relieved when he saw the captain come out and told them they had been allowed inside. But the relief was temporary. It was quickly washed away by the sight of the library's interior, it was the first time Rick had gotten to see it in proper light. If you asked him though he would probably tell you he'd had been just fine not seeing it all very clearly. The little voice inside of Rick's head was growing much louder now. It was telling him something was very wrong here.

An odd sight caught Rick's eyes as stood behind Daniel and the Captain. Rick walked over to a shelf which had found its place near the corner of the room. On it sat something Rick has not seen in some time. It was among the softest things Rick had ever touched, though it was clearly in need of some stitches. The fur of the bear was matted and some bald spots were present, none the less it had enough fluff inside of it. Rick looked up and around the area, for such a strange item to be around a place like this only heightened his uneasiness of the situation.

[quakernuts]

Daniel (Co-post Digi/Quaker)

Valeria’s heart leapt in her chest. He had the magazine! The key to the treasure hunt she’d been on practically her whole life! Unconsciously, the red-head’s hand shot out to take the magazine from the old man’s hands, barely daring to breathe in her excitement.

The Librarian was far faster and more protective of his property than Valeria had given him credit for. He snatched the magazine out of Valeria’s reach with an ominous hissing sound. Valerian recoiled as if the old man were a rabid dog, her eyes wide in shock. It took her a moment or two to regain her composure again. Her eyes flit toward Daniel, a silent plea for him to step in and save the situation.

Taking a few steps back, Valeria mumbled, “I’m sorry. I’ve never seen a complete….uh…I’m sorry…” She realized she’d nearly let her enthusiasm, and admittedly, her greed completely derail the entire mission and she berated herself for it silently.

Daniel looked over at the woman with a slight smirk on his face, but his eyes spoke of harsh reprimands to the woman. Captain or not, In charge or not, this was his area of dominance, and she had nearly destroyed the entire deal. His eyes peered over the document in his possession, with which the librarian was now guarding even more closely than before thanks to the actions of a certain someone. His shotgun was still lowered, but the old man's gaze had turned from enthuastic to hostile. Daniel physically pushed the Captain behind him, enjoying the slight amount of power he was getting in the situation as he tried to break the ice with a small laugh.

"You'll have to excuse my wife. She get's so excited, even over the little things. I've tried to warn her to keep her hands where they're not supposed to be, but it's like a reflex, you know?" The man backed down slightly, but his guard was still raised as his eyes went back and forth between the two of them. "So you have this very magazine in your possession." Daniel took a moment to look it over from where he was standing, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "In very good condition despite its age. You do a very good job of preserving our history Librarian." That sentence was all that was needed as the man's gaze returned to being enthuastic about the entire deal.

"I take much pride in my work! If we let the world fall without having a way of looking at what we've done, we'll simply do what we did again...and fall once more." The man faded away from the two of them, seemingly lost in thought as he made his way closer to the rest of the group, who were looking over the murals. He looked ready to go and explain them to the group, but Daniel cleared his throat loudly to grab the man's attention once more.

"As much as I would love to hear your stories sir, we don't have the luxery of time. We want to grab what we need and get out of here before the raiders notice us and decide to use us, and our knowledge, as target practice." The old man looked back over at the both of them, before wandering closer to them.

"What would you be willing to give of yourself, my good soul?" Daniel's face was that of a simple smile, but on the inside he was cracking up about the irony of that statement. Instead, he reached into one of his vest pockets, and pulled out a small bag. He shook the bag slightly, clinking together as the contents hit each other. He reached into it, and pulled out a small diamond, holding it in clear view for the man to see. Val's face betrayed her as shock became evident on her features. Daniel put a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye.

"I know this is our emergency fund dear, but I would call this an emergency, as in, without this magazine, we don't go forward." The Librarian reached for the bag hesitantly, and Daniel took it away, and placed it behind his back.

"First, we have to settle ourselves on a deal there, my good sir."

---

Nico

Once Daniel and Valeria had taken the lead, Nico had done little in the way of helping anyone else. He kept his eyes constantly on the surroundings, and his hand was instinctively finding it's way to the gun that Farrah had given him. Every time he touched the cold metal, he forcibly brought his hand away from it. It was disturbing that, even after all these years, he was still in the habit of having his hand on a weapon. He guessed it was just something you never lost, like riding a bike. He sighed quietly to himself as he turned around to find that the captain was inviting them inside. Nico nodded, and followed with the rest of the group as they quickly made their way inside.

To put the feeling into words, Nico felt safer outside with the crumbling buildings and bloodthirsty raiders. Something about this building was off, just it's feel and atmosphere made Nico want to find some cover and hide from whatever was coming next. Everyone was having the same feelings, or at least, that's what Nico got from the way everyone's eyes kept darting left and right, trying to spot something that was making them this uneasy. Nico found himself shoving these thoughts aside though as his attention was brought to the drawings and paintings that were crafted onto the wall. Math symbols, and blasphemous creations etched upon the stone of the building that made Nico want to gag in disgust. He couldn't believe a son of God could create such things, but this man, this Librarian had obviously fallen into the state of insanity, and could not be helped.

Daniel and Valeria had talked the man into grabbing the magazine in question, and Nico took this time to study the drawings more clearly. As he got closer to the wall, he felt his hand moving on its own accord, sliding down the wall and feeling the places where the symbols and pictures had been etched into the surface. Disgust started to well up in his stomach as he started to see the madness behind the images, and forced his hand away. "Insanity wrote these, maddening drawings meant to drive the weak willed into dementia where they are no longer under their own conscious control. These things should be destroyed." Nico said to no one in particular. He started to turn around when the Librarian, still clutching the magazine, stormed away from Daniel and Val straight for him.

"What did you say?! Destroyed? My work?! You have no understanding of what is going on in the workings of my genius! Yet you disregard them as the work of a madman, inconsequential and unneeded!" The man stopped just short of Nico's face, who did nothing but stare at the man in response. The Librarian was angry, and Nico saw past the man the worried looks of both Daniel and Val as they thought out some of the possible outcomes to this confrontation.

"Yes. These symbols have no meaning, and they have no purpose. You force yourself to believe because you have nothing else to cling to."

"Blasphemy!" The man spat back in his face, clutching the magazine even tighter now. "You have no idea...None of you have any idea what these are! These are my life work! Without them, I would not be where I am today!" The librarian pointed a finger accusingly at the Sheperd. "You speak of them as nothing! You, a man of God who is berating a man for having conviction in the works of his own mind! You sir, are a hypocrite!"

"And you try to use my religion against me in a futile attempt to try and make me see reason where there is none. You will not change my mind, I follow a path as do you. Mine simply allows for better lighting." The librarian sputtered something, yelling out half words in an attempt for an argument, but quickly became to angry for anything other than raising his shotgun and pointing the business end at Nico's face. Nico stood there, unfazed by this course of action, and showing no hint of being worried about the fact that there was a shotgun staring him down.

"Reason? You want reason? I will kill you and use your blood to continue my life's work. My reason? The blood of a hypocrite makes for a wonderful center piece!" There was a tense moment as neither side said anything, and it wasn't until Daniel interferred, and put a hand on the shotgun and forced it down did anything seem to come of it.

"I understand my companion has...angered you, but you are not dealing with him. He will be reprimanded later, when we are all gone from here and you can continue your work without interruption." Daniel looked at the man, who tried to raise the shotgun once more, but Daniel kept it firmly pointed at the ground. The Librarian spit at the Sheperd, and quickly turned away from him. With him gone, Daniel quickly looked back at Nico. "What the fuck are you trying to do Sheperd? We need him to get the magazine, and you trying to get shot is not helping us." Daniel said in a hushed tone so as to not gain the attention of the Librarian once more. Nico looked Daniel in the eye, noting the hidden uncaring beneath it.

"I did nothing wrong. I voiced my thoughts, I was threatened for it. I didn't raise my weapon, he did. If you want my apology, then I'm sorry. I did not intend to incite anger." This seemed to pass for Daniel, who only gave a smug smirk and turned backwards towards the deal at hand. Nico turned back towards the writings but quickly found himself looking away. They were simply hard to look at, and he had no intention of trying to understand them. Instead, he focused more on the building itself. The feeling of being watched hadn't gone away, and he could have sworn he saw movement a couple of times, but nothing concrete. Since he couldn't anything about it, he leaned againt the wall and waited for the dealing to be at an end, absent-mindedly rubbing the cross on his neck.

[Loki]

Janus entered the library in file of the others, fanning out at the first opportunity he had. Last thing he wanted to be was in a cluster when there were this many unknowns in play. Like the others, he occupied himself by looking at the various pieces in the library. While Nico examined the nonsensical collage made by the resident librarian, Janus walked along the other end of the room, looking over the worn bindings of all the books. Or at least pretended to do so while using it as an excuse to survey the area. His arms pressed idly against the small of his back, under his duster, as he walked assuming a casual meander facade.

Though the gesture had much more purpose than that. It was diplomatic in the sense that any man that chose to live here is bound to have certain reservations about people messing with the battered tomes. This pose would help pacify the man knowing that strange hands were kept in check from what he protected. It was a deterrent in that by doing so, his duster was pulled away from his hips, revealing the maintained metal of his revolver in its holster. Janus' hand was far away from it so it wouldn't come off as a threat, rather it was a sign of truce. Saying 'I won't draw steel if you don't' without using words. Finally, as a means to arm himself. Although the jacket revealed the weapon at his hip which also served as a distraction, the heavy cloth still covered his modified one-handed shotgun that was at the small of his back. The clasps holding it to his pack had been undone and it was already mounted upon his forearm ready to draw in a moment's notice. Should anybody try to spring an ambush, he would be ready to bring his weapon to bare much quicker than the aggressor would have anticipated.

When the librarian's tone turned hostile, Janus froze in place keeping him and the Shepherd in his peripheries while is focus darted around the rest of the room. If there was to be a firefight, the old man would make the perfect distraction for any of his theoretical friends to strike when everybody is focused upon him. The entire time, his arms remained where they were as a means to hold onto his ace until the best time. Fortunately, Daniel managed to disarm the standoff without incident and Janus let out a breath that he had not realized he had been holding before resuming his subtle patrol.

[Crazy Hobo]

Farrah entered the library last, all the while keeping her eye on the groaning city even as she entered. Raiders liked to attack when their targets were vulnerable, when their guard was down. Farrah made sure that her's was permanently up, especially since the events that had occurred a few days ago. Farrah slipped her SMG back into it's holster as she cleared the doorway into the library. There was no reason to start a firefight with the old man if it could be avoided. However, her body was ready to react to any hostile behavior in an instant, although her posture belayed that. She positioned herself along one of the walls, allowing herself full view of the library in case something happened. Her posture looked disinterested and frankly, rather bored. It was a simple use of misdirection, for in reality, she could have freed her weapon and shot the old man as soon as he turned hostile, but she certainly didn't want to give that impression.

As Farrah leaned against the wall and listened to Daniel speak with the old man, that same sense of unease crept over her again. She had already made sure that there was no one else in the building, but she could not shake the feeling. It clung to her like wet clothing, and burdened her like rocks. Farrah knew that her gut usually lead her in the right direction, and her gut felt just awful about this whole building, but there was really nothing Farrah could do for the moment. She would simply have to wait until the feeling manifested itself as something physical, only then could she do what she did best. Kill. Until then, Farrah would maintain her passive stance, and keep a careful eye on the room.

As Nico began to insult the old man, Farrah instantly broke her passive stance, and began to focus directly on the old man and his reactions. The situation move from bad to worse as the old man drew his weapon and trained it on the Shepard. Farrah's hand went instantly to her weapon as he raised his, but she kept from fully drawing it. That Daniel fellow was rather good at talking his way out of things, and perhaps he could use those skills in this situation, although Farrah was prepared to shoot the old man if things didn't look like they would work themselves out peacefully. Farrah relaxed slightly as Daniel convinced the old man to back off, but she never dropped back into her passive stance. The time for that was over. The librarian, or whatever that old idiot fancied himself as, was now officially on edge, and he showed that he was more than willing to shoot any one of them for disagreeing with him. No, Farrah needed to look and feel 100% ready to deal with that man if he decided to try something again. She just wished that damned sense of unease would leave her. It was really starting to grate on her nerves.

[quakernuts]

Daniel

What little of a bridge that Daniel had managed to make with the Librarian had just about been ruined by the man that he thought he could trust enough to keep his mouth shut. The Sheperd instigated the fight, and Daniel had to fight down a sigh as two religious nut jobs went at each other, both spouting their versions of life and it's work. Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose as the shotgun was brought up, and stepped in to stop the fight, and get the deal back on track. Everyone else had tensed, but it was only one old man. If he decided to fire, he would be nothing but a bullet filled carcass faster than he could say 'Blasphemy!'. As Daniel managed to finally get the gun lowered, and the attention focused at hand, he turned back to the Sheperd.

"What the fuck are you trying to do Sheperd? We need him to get the magazine, and you trying to get shot is not helping us." Daniel reprimanded in a hush tone, he didn't dare try to attract the attention of the old man while he still had what they needed.

"I did nothing wrong. I voiced my thoughts, and I was threatened for it. I didn't raise my weapon, he did. If you want my apology, then I am sorry. I did not intend to incite anger." The Sheperd replied, cool as always. Daniel simply game a smug smirk at the man before turning and heading back towards the Librarian.

Smug little self righteous bastard. Daniel thought to himself as a smile plastered itself on his face again, the Librarian obviously a little more than annoyed at the whole scenario. "Can you believe that...that...that hypocrite! Belittling me! ME! I have never been more insu-"

"I understand sir, and I will deal with him after our deal is done, but for the time, I would like for us to remain focused." The Librarian started to go off again, but Daniel held up a hand and cut him off again. "Sir, you of all people must understand. We do not have the luxery of time. The Raiders in the area must have seen us, and they might simply be preparing for us to leave here." The man seemed to hesitate some more, obviously wanting to continue his rant, but Daniel held up the bag of diamonds, pouring some into his hand. "Please sir." Seeing the glittering stones in Daniel's hand woke the man up from his revenge spurred rant, and he once again reached out unconsciously towards them. Daniel stuck them back in the bag, and slipped them behind his back.

"Now, we need to work this out. You hand over the magazine, and we give you this bag of diamonds. We walk out of here, you never see us again. We got a deal?" The Librarian sat there for a moment, his eyes lost in thought as he stared between the book and Daniel, who still had the bag behind his back, making sure to keep it out of his sight. There was a tense moment, as if the old man didn't want to give up the magazine just out of reverence for it being made on paper. Slowly, he stretched his hand out, and looked up at Daniel.

"I need those to continue my work. Here, it's yours." Daniel smiled, and held up the bag towards the man, both of them releasing their items at the same time. Daniel did a small bow towards the man, and continued smiling as if he had won the lottery.

"It has been wonderful doing business with you sir. Enjoy." Daniel turned, and started walking away quickly, Val had to jog a slight bit to catch up to him. Her eyes flicked to the magazine, and her hand reached out for it but Daniel pulled it away from her. "Not just yet 'dear'. I believe we should at least get out of this place before you start rubbing the pages too vigorously." Her eyes narrowed at the insinuation, but she said nothing for the moment. It wasn't until they had taken a few steps and the others had fallen in behind them that she said anything.

"That was actually pretty impressive back there Daniel." Daniel gave a grin, but it wasn't of happiness at a job well done, it was more of evil mischief.

"Hey Babe, you haven't seen anything yet." He let his hand drift down towards a piece of string attached to his pant pocket, and gave a quick pull on it. Val's eyes followed the string back to the Librarian, who opened the bag, and quickly gave a yell of anger.

"Betrayal! Kill them my chil-"

He was cut off as the grenades in the bag exploded, showering them all in blood and gore of the old man was body parts strewn across the room, ironically, fitting in with the disturbing pictures on the wall. Daniel gave a small chuckle to himself as he slipped his hand into his back pocket, and pulled out a diamond. It took a second for him to even register the looks of shock and horror from anyone else, and even a second longer to register what the old man said.

"Wait...who was he yelling too?"

[Squall Reyes]

Co post of Squall Reyes and Digital Muse.

Rick was fuming in the background, so much so he had forgotten all about the stuffed bear he had found. The rage in him seemed to override the uneasy feeling he had once felt and he had to take to breathing slowly to keep from shoving one of his blades into Daniels throat. He had the diamonds the whole time. He nearly died who knows how many times to not only retrieve the treasure but to escape the General when he knew it was something the maniac must never get his hands on. But Rick found himself somehow able to rationalize his rage away saying that the diamonds were a fair price for the magazine which would be priceless.

Rick tried to keep his distance from the Captain and Daniel as he felt that coming any closer to that son of a bitch might trigger a violent episode. Rick's feeling of uneasiness never returned as the transaction went smoothly, despite the Shepard's insistence on speaking his mind. Rick was a stubborn son of a bitch himself with his own rather loose moral codes so he couldn't blame the man. But he did he wish would have found a better moment for it. Still he was much angrier at Daniel and decided to blame him for the Shepard's near deal-breaking words.

Rick had already turned and took several steps toward the door, wanting to be out of the same room as that bastard as quickly as he could. But then Daniel's swaggering remarks caught his ear, and he stopped dead in his tracks. The events of the last hour moving through his head, he reached for his grenades and his heart stopped. He turned and screamed, "ST-!" but he never finished the word as the wire was pulled and the old Librarian became one with his paintings. Rick’s face as crest fallen, not because of the violent death. Oh no, he was much more worried about other things. But he didn't have much time to express it as the walls themselves seemed to move.

Valeria walked beside Daniel as he gloated about his success. But when he pulled on a hidden wire and blew the Librarian to smithereens, she could barely believe what had just happened. Red ichor and brain matter became part of the eerie and disturbing artwork the old man had been painting on the walls of the library. Small fires started among the devastated old books and once beautiful wooden shelves under a snow-fall of shredded paper and splinters.

As they watched, the walls seemed to move of their own volition. Figures stepped from unseen niches in the walls and huge marble slabs in the floor were pushed aside around the perimeter of the ruined room. Tattered children of all ages began to materialize from every nook and cranny of the devastated library. They were universally clean, though a few sported some of the blood of the Librarian spattered across their clothes. Their clothes were the usual cast offs so common in the ruins, some fit, some didn’t. Not a word was spoken, though a few of the littlest ones cried softly into the shirts of the older girls that held their hands.

As the group looked around, they realized they were entirely surrounded by 25 or so children ranging in ages between 9 and 17. Both boys and girls made up the group and nearly all of the older children held weapons in their hands. Only 3 or 4 guns were seen, however, pitchforks, pipes, bats with spikes driven through them, chains, every manner of make shift weapon was represented in those hands. Valeria was struck by the raw hatred reflected in the eyes of the children. Had the Librarian been some sort of Father figure to them? Why were they here? Was the presence of the children the reason the Librarian survived while surrounded by Raiders?

Before anyone could start anything, the ominous sound of creaking steel beams and crumbling concrete could be heard. The explosion of the grenades had been just the tipping point needed to start the final failure of the structures that towered precariously over the once stunning library.
Rick and several of the children’s eyes met as the noise began and while the others had a look of bewilderment on their faces he and the children shared the same look of horror. Rick yelled as loudly as he could over the thunderous noise which began crescendo. "Everyone out the back, NOW! GO GO GO!"

The children had already begun their run while the crew were not far behind. It was pandemonium inside the beautiful library interior with the human bodies running for their lives toward the back throwing tables, chairs and anything else out of their way. Rick reached the windows first and used his elbow to shatter the windows open.

The groaning roar and Rick’s order to run, jolted the entire party into action. They all leapt out the smashed stained glass window and ran for the cracked parking area beyond the library before pausing to see what had prompted the shouted command. To their horror, the group saw the skyscraper beyond the library tilt and with an elegantly lazy dip, begin to lose its long battle against gravity, In a groaning roar, the skyscraper loomed over the library causing the group to tear off down the broken streets praying to gain enough distance to survive the collapse of the skyscraper.

He hopped out while others followed or found their own way out. But several running paces into the street Rick noticed only adults among the ruined mess around them. Rick looked back, but could not see a single child had made it out. He made his way back to find the children as well as one of the young members of the crew who was screaming desperately to get them to follow.

"It's coming down now! We need to go!" Rick shouted from outside the window looking at the pale, terrified little faces looking up at him and the young crew man.

"NO! They need to come with us." The young man shouted back to him.

Rick had realized he never even took the time to learn the young man's name as he spoke quietly to the shaking, frozen faces. "Please, come with us." The young man cajoled as he reached out and began to take a child by the hand. She reacted instantly, stabbing him in the arm and suddenly they all joined. The children turned into a small swarm of painful blades and makeshift weapons. Rick watched with horror which was only broken when a shadow enveloped him.

Looking up he saw a surreal sight, as the formally tallest building west of Chicago leaned over the library. Rick left the window side in perhaps the fastest, most frantic sprint of his life. The sound of crushing glass, steel and concrete began its deadly crescendo again, this time however it was met with the sound of a mighty roar of tons of weight hitting the ground. Rick could only continue to run and not look back as the roar seemed to get closer and closer. Rick began to slide over the hood of a car which stood in his path before he felt himself being overtaken by the roar.

With a devastating roar, the skyscraper smashed into the roof of the library, completely obliterating it in a huge pulverizing cloud of concrete dust and rubble in an obscene imitation of the nuclear cloud that had created the burned and ruined LA Maze in the first place. The ground beneath their feet lifted and rolled as if some giant had flipped it like a carpet. Valeria was thrown to her face and she covered her head to protect herself from the falling concrete debris from the devastated buildings behind her. The thick cloud of smoke, dust and debris threatened to choke her, cutting off the oxygen around her.

Finally after several long, terrifying minutes of Armageddon, Valeria struggled to her feet, coughing and choking from the dust that lingered in the air. Shading her eyes, she called out trying to find the others. One by one, she began to find the rest of the group. But, as time slipped by, she came to the realization that she didn’t see a single child among the debris, not living or dead. Her heart leapt into her throat as the dawning realization hit her. They hadn’t made it out; neither had Devon, one of her own crew, or the Scavenger. She began calling out to their names. She started to scramble over the piles of debris. “Rick! Devon!” Her calls echoed emptily among the groaning and swaying buildings all around them.

Valeria kept searching, fearing to get any closer to the library due to the unstable ground all around her. Dear gods! Where were they? Please let them be alive. She prayed under her breath. Her mind shied away from the very idea that the children might all have died. “Devon! Rick! Where are you?” As she peered into the darkened dust cloud, Valeria barely made out a figure emerging from the gloom. Racing forward, she finally saw it was the Scavenger. He staggered weakly and coughed from inhaling a dangerous amount of dust, but appeared unhurt. Slipping under his shoulder, she tried to support him, “The children? Where are they? What happened?” She demanded desperately.

Rick's lungs were recovering in the cleaner air, but the cloud of death which over took him still polluted his lungs. After several harsh coughs, and very much thankful for the Captain's help the Scavenger finally turned his eyes up to Valeria's. He was almost shocked by how vulnerable and pleading they were, Rick couldn't really find the words to describe what had happened to the crew member and children and could simply shake his head.

Ricks ear's perked however, as the terrifying sound they had just escaped began a new and it came from everywhere. This however was no echo as each new sound of creaking metal and breaking glass had its own source. The fall of the tallest tower of the LA Maze was the last straw for every surviving skyscraper around them. They were all coming down. This time, the fear wasn't only a child's eyes and Ricks. It was on everyone's and there was only one way to escape. Down.

"The subway! Run! Now!"

[Loki]

Janus had been keeping an eye on the exchange between Daniel and the old man in his peripheries while still staying alert for any others that may be present. He picked up on the sound of rage in the librarian's voice and already brought his firearm to bear before he had gotten through shouting 'betrayal'. The trap had been so subtle that it took several moments to realize what it was that caused the old man to erupt into a violent display of gore and crimson among a thunderous roar. Though Janus didn't pick up on Daniel's trap, he was more than attentive at the librarian's dying words to whomever was lurking in the library with him.

The ambush couldn't have been more perfect. Figures appeared from spaces that weren't even there in such mass that would have all but ensured their demise had the very earth not began to shudder in response to the explosion. A flicker of movement at the far side of his field of view alerted him to a present and he spun, causing his duster to whip around in a flourish as he trained his gun at its source intent on firing a heavy slug round into whoever attempted to attack his flank. Janus' finger tightened on the trigger before his entire body froze, his eyes wide with realization. Time slowed to a crawl as adrenaline allowed him to take in the details of his opponent in the space of a heartbeat. The short barrel of his modified shotgun was trained on a young girl who couldn't have been older than thirteen. Smudges of dirt marred the pale complexion of her youthful face, her dress tattered and worn. The otherwise innocent appearance was a stark contrast to the murderous expression on her face and the gleaming chef's knife in her hand.

She lunged at him, intent on burying the length of her blade into his guts and though he had more than enough opportunity to drop her, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. At the last moment, he managed to sidestep the strike as the weapon's edge passed within an inch of his body. The reach and force she put behind her attack threw her off balance, causing her to take several steps into it giving Janus plenty of opportunity to bring the hard metal casing of his gun down upon the base of her neck in an assault that would have knocked her out cold at the very least. He managed to wind up for the strike, but once again flinched. Even with his own life on the line, he could not bring himself to hurt one so young. Instead, he used the brief moment of opportunity to disappear into her blindside and get a lead for sprinting out of the room with the others.

By now, large chunks of the structure were crashing around him as steel screamed in protest and concrete exploded with a bang from being overburdened. All the while, his instincts screamed at him to get out of the area immediately. As he rounded into the hallway, he watched as a silhouette jumped through a window frame in the distance as several shorter ones bobbed in and out of the doorways along the corridor. Janus didn't want to take the risk of being hamstrung by a waiting ambush. Instead, he ducked into the first room he came across that had been bathed in a modest amount of daylight. At the far end of the room was another window empty of the glass that it had meant to hold. Between them lay a boy who was still several years from his teens, plaster dust coating his hair as a chunk of ceiling lay broken around him.

Janus sprinted towards his escape, but slid to his knees as he reached the kid in an unconscious decision to try to help. His hand reached towards the kids throat and he felt a strong pulse. The kid was alive and entirely at the mercy of the building dying around him. With a quick motion that he forced himself to memorize ever since he created the handheld shotgun, he fastened the firearm back to his pack and hefted the limp form over his shoulder before continuing towards the window as fast as his long stride could carry him despite his additional burden.

Janus never slowed as his feet hit the worn pavement surrounding the library. The loud roar behind him caused him to glance back for a moment to see one of the mammoth skyscrapers singing its death song as it began to plummet. His efforts into sprinting redoubled as he put as much distance between him and the building as possible, sprinting as fast as he could towards the rest of the group that were still a few hundred feet away. A moment later, the ground began to quake as the first massive sections of building struck the ground; a sign Janus marked as time to brace for impact. He dropped to a crouch, bringing the unconscious boy around so he presses against his chest, covering his head with his duster. The rumbling of heavy impact grew louder and Janus had just enough time to place his goggles over his eyes, lower his head, and huddle over the boy before they were enveloped in an avalanche of dust and noise.

The weight of the moving dust and air was nearly enough to send him sprawling on the ground before he had a chance to square himself. He covered his mouth and nose with the collar of his jacket, making sure the boy's was also covered; there was no telling what all floated in the cloud, but he felt sure that breathing it in wouldn't do him any favors. The sound was deafening as the building collided to the earth nearby with such intensity that it shook him to his core as chips of concrete ranging widely in size rebounded off his back, his pack taking most of the hits. Janus felt thankful that none had been large enough to simply bulldoze him over from sheer mass. Minutes spread into what felt like hours until the roar finally settled; he waited a few more seconds just to make sure. The cloud still hung in the air, thinning out enough so that silhouettes could be seen nearby. Voices came from those shadows, shaken but seemingly unharmed. After shaking off the thin layer of dirt that had accumulated on him, he lifted the kid in his arms and carried him towards the others.

Janus froze in place as he heard the city crying around him; concrete cracking, steel straining, and joints snapping. That doesn't sound very promising...

The subway! Run! Now!"

He hesitated for a moment. The subway? Raider country?! The wails of failing supports grew louder all around him and he gritted his teeth. Stay above ground and get crushed or go below ground to get shot at and potentially crushed as the falling buildings crush everything below. Fantastic.

"We shoulda fired Miss Maggie like I suggested and saved us all this hassle!" He cried out as he followed the others towards the subway tunnels.

[Digital Muse]

One by one, Valeria’s crew staggered to their feet from beneath the layers of crumbled masonry, dust, and steel. The look on Rick’s face told her all she needed to know; the children didn’t make it out of the Library. She was about to organize a detail to return to search for them when the ominous sound of more crumbling concrete and the groaning death rattle of surrounding buildings sent a shudder through her. The fall of the largest building as the catalyst for horrifying game of dominoes the remaining buildings were about to play with them at the bottom.

“Move your asses!” She shouted to her crew. She is quick to organize the group, “Rick! We can’t see in this cloud of dust, Take the lead with Daniel! If he flinches, shoot him!” She glares at the Con Artist. Looking about, her eyes widen in shock to see that Janus had managed to save a boy, at least she thought it was a little boy. She ranges the rest of the crew by capabilities and knowledge of Raiders. “Jimbo and David, flanks, Sorry, Farrah, I need you in the rear. Janus, Preacher in the middle. You’re our extra eyes, make use of them. Now shake it!

The group covered the treacherous ground with amazing speed only one of the crew members took a hit on a shoulder, effectively rendering her right arm useless. No one stopped, however until Rick lead them into the crumbling subway entrance. Pausing long enough for Rick to check the yawning opening for any of the more lethal of Raider traps, he led them inside. Cautiously just as another series of buildings to the west imploded, collapsing in on themselves with the roar of long-extinct nuclear explosions. The woman with the injured arm shoved her hand into her shirt to immobilize her broken shoulder, but kept moving.

The all-pervading darkness engulfed the group within 20 feet of the entrance. For the open air-loving sky-pirates, it was claustrophobic in the extreme. The heavy rumbling of the buildings collapsing in their dozens outside caused the entrance to collapse behind them, forcing the group even deeper into the dank and dripping darkness below the old city. Dust rained down on them from the ceiling and the concrete groaned under the additional weight it was forced to support above.

The floor of the subway was covered in several inches of stinking muck and was slick underfoot. The scurrying and squeals of enormous rats somehow mad the walls themselves seem to crawl. When the roaches and spiders did move aside, painted sign in old paint, charcoal or even blood could be seen. But to Valeria it was nothing more than simple graffiti. A myriad of tunnels, both old and new lead in every direction and was completely disorienting.

As the group paused slightly, several of the side tunnels rang with the hoots and howls of the Raiders that were even more dangerous than the collapsing buildings above. Half-gang, half-psycopath; running into a Raider gang was tantamount to a death sentence. Valeria began to sweat slightly and walked abreast of Rick. Speaking softly, she urged him, “I think it best we keep going and get the hell out of here.” It was completely unnecessary to say it at all, but it made her feel better. She then walked back to the group counting heads. Her eyes closed in despair when she realized that Micah wasn’t with them. Where’s Micah?” She looked at the others, “Did anyone see him?”

Suddenly, almost before their very eyes, a Raider appeared from a hidden opening in the ceiling. With a war hoop, he looped a thin wire about the injured crew woman’s neck and in a flash both he and she disappeared back up into the ceiling once more. Her screams could be heard moving further and further away in the tunnels before being suddenly cut off in a stomach-churning suddenness.

Valeria was so shocked by the sudden attack that she had been caught completely flat-footed. She screamed for the girl and rant to the spot directly beneath the opening they’d all missed. “Jaycee! Jaycee!” She spun with a wild-eyed stare as more war hoops started to close in on them. “We just ran out of time!”

[quakernuts]

Nico

The exchange after his little outburst seemed to be going well for the most part. Still, Nico couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching them to save his life. Someone was out there, but they were incredibly well hidden. It wasn't until Daniel and Val started walking away that he felt even the remote sense of comfortable. They were getting out of there, and they had what they came for. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

At least, until he heard what Daniel said, and watched his hand go to a string.

Nico turned around, and started running for the man. Before he could even get halfway there, the man yelled in anger, and exploded from sight. Nico was thrown to his back, the entire group now behind him as he stared where the man had once been. Instantly, the shadows started to move, revealing children with makeshift weapons and a couple of firearms. As much as Nico wanted to stay, wanted to explain, wanted to apologize, he had seen things like this before. Very similar to child soldiers, which meant they wouldn't care who they kill out of the group so long as they believe that they are avenging their father figure. Nico pulled himself up from the ground, and quickly took after the group as the building started to shake violently.

Nico caught up to the others outside the library, his body groaning as he forced himself out of the window and into a roll. He was too old to be doing things like that anymore, but it was amazing what the instinct of survival could do for a man. He didn't have time to even think as the creaking and groaning of metal and concrete threatened to overwhelm him. He was at least several paces behind the group, and even though he had been fit for his entire life, was finding it hard to catch up to them. Being old was considered an amazing feat in today's world, but being old was also a terrible weakness. Suddenly the roar of the building became deafening, and Nico came upon the car that Rick had just slid over. Instead of trying to keep going, Nico slid under it, dug his mouth into his collar, closed his eyes, and prayed.

Several tense moments later, Nico sprung up from beneath the car. His eyes were watering, and his throat felt like it was on fire, but he was alive for the time being. Val was running around to try and find everyone, and Nico managed to spot everyone else shortly. Unfortunately, Daniel was among them. He appeared uninjured, and was coughing and gasping for air like the rest of them. Before Nico could say anything though, more creaking of metal and stone caused him to look up as the rest of the skyscrapers started to sway.

"The Subway! Run! Now!"

Nico didn't need to be told twice as he quickly caught up with the rest of the group, and took his spot in the middle as per Valeria's instructions. Soon, they managed to get to the entrance, and Nico half ran, half jumped down the stairs. As soon as they landed, and were a decent length inside the subway, Nico doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath. The others were better off than he was, but that was to be expected. Everyone was looking around confused, angry, and completely afraid of what was happening. Nico had been in enough of these situations to know that fear did nothing but hinder you, and was able to push it to the back of his mind. Instead, what really caught his eye was Daniel leaning against a wall, reading a bit of the magazine they had managed to grab. Nico walked up to him, and quickly grabbed the magazine from his hands. "You don't deserve to hold onto this." The Sheperd's words filled with so much venom, it felt as if they could kill on their own. Instead, when he made to turn around, the sound of a pistol being cocked was what made him stop.

"I don't know about you Sheperd, but I have no problem killing men of God. Delusionists...all of you. Now hand back the magazine before I put a bullet in your head and leave you for the raiders." Nico turned around slowly, but before he could do anything, one of the women was yanked up by a wire through a hole in the roof. Daniel looked away for a split second, and Nico yanked his wrist off to the side, and slammed his fingers into his throat. Daniel released his grip on the pistol, taken completely by surprise by the attack, and Nico grabbed the weapon for himself.

"I don't know about you Daniel, but I have no problem in using non-lethal means to get what I need. Now stay quiet, and we'll see what He has in store for you up ahead." The message was clear, and even though Daniel was no longer gasping for breath, he glared the man down. Nico made his way to Val, and presented the magazine to her. "I believe Daniel wanted you to have this." Nico stated in a matter-of-fact voice. He slid the pistol into one of his pockets, and looked around the subway. "Rick!" Nico looked over, hoping to snap the man out of his reverie.

"We need to move, and we need you to lead us. Move! The raiders are literally on top of us!"

[Crazy Hobo]

Farrah continued to watch the interaction between the old man and Daniel and turned to leave as Daniel finally managed to get the magazine away from the old man, and moments later when Daniel pulled the string that ended the man’s life she hardly even blinked at the sudden explosion of fire and gore. It was only when the building began to show signs of collapse and the children began to basically come out of the walls did Farrah being to react. She was out of the crumbling building in moments and quickly running for any cover she could find. She had seen a few building collapses in her day, and they were never pretty, especially one of this size. Farrah slid behind the wreckage of a bus, covered her mount and nose with her arm, and shut her eyes mere seconds before the library came tumbling down. As the dust began to settle Farrah emerged from her hiding spot coughing and with red eyes despite her best efforts.

When the other buildings began to crumble, Farrah needed no urging from Val to take up the rear and get the hell out of the deathtrap they had made for themselves. Even Val’s order to go into the subway seemed fine for Farrah, even though she knew that nine times out of ten a place like that was home to a band of raiders. They would have to risk it, and at least Farrah was confident that she and the others could take care of some raiders, as long as it wasn’t a particularly large band of them. She hoped that that would be the case. Farrah was on even higher alert as soon as the subway entrance collapsed. Now they didn’t have a way out. They were forced to keep moving forward no matter what might be out there.

Farrah’s head swiveled as she heard someone speak in a rather venomous tone, only to see the preacher and that con man talking. Farrah almost turned away, but when she heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking her SMG was raised and aiming at Daniel. Oddly enough, the preacher didn’t seem to need any assistance, disarming Daniel and walking off with the magazine in a matter of seconds. That was odd. It wasn’t very often that you even saw a preacher do violence, let alone outdo someone who was familiar with it. Farrah knew in her gut that there was something off about that preacher. First he knew all too much about raiders, and now he disarms a man with ease. Later Farrah would have to find out more about the preacher.

The thought was instantly cut off as the injured girl screamed from behind Farrah. Farrah turned just in time to see her lifted into a hole, but Farrah wasn’t quick enough to shoot the girl before the raider took her out of sight. Hopefully the wire the raider used killed the girl before he and his friends could do anything else to her. Hopefully. Farrah wouldn’t wish being captured by raiders on her worst enemy, let alone an innocent girl. Farrah shoved the thoughts back down to the depths of her being before continuing on.

Farrah was once again spun around by the sound of raider war hoops coming from behind. Before she had even turned fully, the hoops seemed to be coming from all directions. This whole day was turning from bad to worse in an instant. It was hard to pick out how many raiders there were from just the hoops, but it seemed like quite a few. This wasn’t going to end well unless they outran the raiders. This subway was just the kind of place raiders liked to fight. Dark and labyrinthine.

“Rick, we need a way out, and fast.” Farrah hollered to the scavenger. Time was beginning to run short. Another minute and the raiders would be too close to really run from, and then they would have to fight. Under a lot of circumstances, Farrah would have loved to mow down some raiders, but the odds were thoroughly stacked against them. If they got into a fight down here the best that they could hope for was to die before the raiders captured them. “Rick, another minute and we are all worse than dead!”

[Digital Muse]

The Preacher handed Valeria the magazine that seemed to have been cursed for all the trouble it had caused since they'd attained it. She was almost loathe to take it from him, but finally rolled it up and slipped it into her leather messenger bag. Farrah echoed her call to Rick to get them out of the subway as quickly as possible and soon they were all running for their very lives.

With no natural light and only the occassional torch jammed into cracks in the aging concrete. Time, earthquakes and other collapses were doing what the initial nuclear blasts had started a hundred years before. Valeria tried hard not to look too closely at the torches, the small lizard part of her mind knew they were human bone wrapped in rags soaked in tar. The group ran down one tunnel after another. To Valeria, used to the open sky, it was hell on earth. Old, twisted rebar tore at her clothes and skin. The war cries of the Raiders echoed all around them as if they were being herded. Rick often deliberately led them directly toward the sound to keep the group from being funneled into some hellish killing ground. She noted the spray-painted or chiselled or signs made with charcoal all over the walls. They meant nothing to her. But, to Rick, they appeared to mean something for he glanced at them as they ran down one tunnel after another.

Rounding one particular half-collapsed corner, Rick ran head-long into a particularly large male with a face that had been half burned. Valeria didn't even think, she lifted her pistol and pulped the man's head in a single gorey spray. The Raider's heavy body slowly slumped bonelessly to the floor, leaving Valeria shaking until Rick grabbed her arm and jerked her after him. "Keep moving!" He shouted at her. The darkened, enclosed sewer system was having it's affect on the Sky Ship captain. Valeria was becoming disoriented, the darkness was closing in and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. Her lungs felt lik they were on fire and as if there were iron bands crushing her ribcage.

The group kept running, always just ahead of the raiders. Gunshots often dug holes in the concrete close to their heads, sending shards of chips to cut exposed skin. The Raiders were closing in. Valeria could hear their running footfalls splashing though the opposite tunnels. The only daylight were rare holes to the surface that were blocked with cast iron grates in what used to be storm drains. They not only made her heart leap with hope, and then crushed it when it proved to be no exit. Once in a while glimpses of side tunnels flashed by. Some appeared to be rooms the Raiders used to sleep or cook in. Others were...horrific. Bodies or parts of bodies hung like sides of beef in a butcher chop. Valeria's active imagination made her stomach churn with the possibilities.

She just ran, following the Scavenger and glancing behind her to be sure everyone else kept up. She'd lost 2 ship mates thus far. She'd be damned if she'd lose another.

[Squall Reyes]

Rick's mind had worked faster than perhaps it ever had. The old survivorhad been in some tough situations, but to be in the raiders home? He's never heard of anyone doing that, perhaps because no one ever survived. But damn it, he would be the first and he would bring as many with him as he could. The shouts from the Preacher and Farrah spurred him to just make a damn choice. "Daniel and me are up front. Preacher, you and the Captain behind us. Janus you take the rear-." His eyes spotted the child. "Never mind stick to the middle of the group. Farrah, you and your weapon cover our rear. The rest of the crew will stick with the Captain. So if anything moves back there. Shoot it."

Rick made his way to the front of the group, but stopped for a moment next to the Shepard and spoke under his breath. "I'd put money on you knowing enoughabout raiders to know they have some kind of signs to guide them. I'm
going to keep these people alive as long as I can. As soon as you see something that can lead us out of here tap me on the shoulder which way to go. Don't argue with me just do it. If I'm wrong then maybe God will give you a vision of how to get out of here. "

----------------------------------

Rick guided everyone through the tunnels the best he could. Pretending to look at various things as some sort of sign or map. He really had no idea what they meant and concentrated on moving the group toward Raider war cries. He did not need them all to get surrounded, and the best way to do that is to blow through the lines of the enemy. A simple but exhausting strategy, and Rick saw on the Captain's face that the usual high flying air ship crew was nearing a breaking point.

By the time a slap on his right shoulder came from the Shepard, Rick didn't care if it was the right way or not. If this wasn't a way out, there wasno getting out for anyone. Rick lead them through more blood and bodypart to find themselves finally at a new station with very hazy lightcoming from the stairs in the back. Maybe the old man really did have a vision because right now that light looked like heaven to Rick.

As they approached the stairs a deafening howling of wind became more and more apparent. Rick had somehow nearly forgotten the devastation that had happened outside of their own personal hell they were going through. The dust and wind caused by so much force would still be impossible to talk over. Rick stopped the group from going any farther and looked back to give new orders.

"With all that shit up there and wind we won't be able to hear each other. So here is the plan. Everyone with goggles, get them on now. Make sure to cover your mouth and nose. The ship should be coming over the city to get us, since it's obvious plan A was shot to shit." He gave a glare at Daniel. " It would be impossible for them to find us in that shit so Farrah and Janus you guys need to give them something to find us with. The muzzle flash from your guns
should be able to cut through the dust up there. But if you have any other ideas, try it. I don't care what it is. But please use the damn bullets your using to give our defense some cover."

He looked over the group once, "Our defense will be anyone who has goggle, if you have them you've volunteered. Those without stick with the guns, keep yourselves covered with whatever you have. Myself and Daniel will be facing the exit here once we get out. Most of the Raiders should be coming through there. Anyone else make a circle as best you can around the guns and defenseless. We hold till the ship comes." As he passed the Captain to the front of the group again he muttered. "I hope that first mate of yours is stupid enough to be coming out here to look for
us...."

"Yeah. Me too." She replied.

With that Rick got to the front of the group and got his goggles on, and used his scarf to cover his nose and mouth. "Let's go!" He shouted as he lead the rest of the group out into the howling mess of dust and broken metal.

--------------------------------------------

The fight in the broken landscape lasted for perhaps 5 minutes. But for Rick, it was an hour of fighting for his life. Perhaps some of it was thanks to Daniels nack for not quite getting himself too involved with the fight. Rick had to keep himself from using one of his knifes to stabthe bastard in the back. But he couldn't break the line they had created and which was holding fairly well. But the dust and lack of proper oxygen was making the fight harder to continue.

Finally the ship had found it's Captain in the world of dust and smoke. As it began to hover over the group it's engines blew away much of the dust covering the area and for the first time in the whole fight Rick had some sense of what they were fighting out there. As the rope ladder fellfrom the ship, Rick took a step back as he looked across the much clearer field of combat. There was hundreds of Raiders now finding theirway out of the tunnels. "Fuck defense." Rick said to himself as he left his spot to make a dead run to the ship's hanging ladder.

[quakernuts]

Daniel

That self righteous God spoken mother fucker thought he could just waltz in and take whatever he wanted! Had the Sheperd not taken Daniel's gun, he would have shot the man repeatedly in the back. However, due to the unknown capabilities of the Man of Faith, he had his pistol taken from him. You're not a Sheperd...I don't know what exactly you are yet, but you are not a Sheperd. Daniel thought to himself as the geezer walked over and released the magazine to the Captain. He made a note as to which pocket the Sheperd placed his pistol in, and didn't say another word. Everything happened in little more than a blue, a girl got yanked up, Rick was giving orders, and everyone was moving out. "Oh, I'd love to help. Nothing I love more than leading everyone through raider infested territory..." Daniel stopped and looked to Nico. "Without a weapon!" Nico ignored him, continuing on and catching up to Rick. He had another weapon, several actually, but they were concealed and he didn't feel like revealing them to everyone. It was better to give them a false sense of security around him while he still could.

Daniel heard Rick say something to Nico about leading them out of the subway, and Daniel almost gave off a laugh. You're not fooling anyone Preacher. He thought to himself as he followed Rick's lead as they continued onwards. Although it seemed like Rick really had no idea himself. While they were managing to make their way forward, Daniel faked a trip, and while he fell behind for that half a second, managed to sneak his hand into the Sheperd's pocket and relieve him of his weapon. He twirled the weapon between his finger a couple of times, and looked back to see the Sheperd's face, which he could recognize, as disdain behind a mask of neutrality. It was all in the eyes, and how they glared back at him. Daniel simply gave a smile, and continued forwards.

They walked on for what seemed like an eternity before the Sheperd finally gave them a direction. Next thing they knew, they were at the base of some stairs leading to the surface, which was covered in dust and wind so thick the raiders could simply run up to them and they wouldn't be able to see them. Not the best escape route, but it was their only one. Rick started laying out the plan, making a special note to chastise Daniel who only gave a smile in response, and loathed at the part of having to hold out for the others. He reached into one of his vest pockets, and pulled out some small goggles he kept for just such situations. Well, not exactly the Raiders-going-to-kill-us-all situation, but dust situations. As he slipped them on, readied his pistol, and made his way to the top, he wondered just how he was going to manage to hide the diamonds now that they knew about them. He would find a way, he always did.


Just like the first time they met, Daniel let Rick handle the bulk of the fighting. If the line was holding, there was no need for him to do more. Daniel would pop out every so often, and take a couple of surprisingly well aimed shots, before huddling again and pretending to reload forever. He was sure he wasn't fooling Rick, but again, his previous explanation had already been told. It was about five or so minutes later that Daniel finally saw the airship coming down to get them. Suicidal bastards is what they were, but he was glad they were. He had been looking for alternate routes should they not get there, and while he had seen a few, he doubted he could have gotten away without a distraction. The engines blew the dust away, but the moment the ladder touched ground, Daniel was already running by the time Rick had decided to as well. He didn't need to take in what they were fighting, he already had a good idea. So, as everyone made their way on board, he rushed his way up, and while he was doing so, he took a moment to fire a couple more shots over, taking out a raider which was ahead of the pack and rushing up the subway. Moments later, he was on board and letting the crew take care of any runners who thought they were lucky to be ahead of everyone.

---

Nico

As Rick started laying out a plan for them, and Daniel complained quite outwardly, Nico simply obeyed in silent compliance. It wasn't until Rick said something to him that he actually wanted to say something back. "I'd put money on you knowing enoughabout raiders to know they have some kind of signs to guide them. I'm going to keep these people alive as long as I can. As soon as you see something that can lead us out of here tap me on the shoulder which way to go. Don't argue with me just do it. If I'm wrong then maybe God will give you a vision of how to get out of here. " Nico wanted to say he didn't know much, or that he had only learned a little bit of their culture through his travels, or anything really. Mostly what he was trying to get at is that he really couldn't remember most of the signs.

As they were travelling along, he noticed that Daniel tripped slightly, and didn't give it much thought until he held up his pistol, obviously taunting him. Nico did his best to remain neutral, but this man was a tax on anyone's patience. Instead, he simply remained silent and hoped the man didn't say anything more, less his grating voice strain their ears. Instead, he kept a lookout for the signs. A couple he didn't remember or recognize, but a few made him think about long past memories. There was a blood marking on the wall, looking like a cresent moon with a slash going through it. If he remembered that one correctly, that was a body pit location. No need to explain that one. Another one he recognized which was two palm prints followed by two circles in the middle. Rather crude, but effective method of labelling the sex slave locations. Finally, he saw one that made him almost jump in joy.

Two bodies hung up on either side of the tunnel, obviously meant to look like it was suicide going in that direction. It was a trick, meant to fool trapped 'prey' into going the wrong direction. That was their way out. Nico gave a quick slap on Rick's shoulder, and they immediately started down that tunnel. Turned out his mind wasn't as far gone as he had thought, and light soon cascaded down a stairway to heaven in his mind. The wind and dust were going to prove a problem, as he wasn't adequetly prepared for such a situation. So, he prepped as best he could. He brought up his collar, and had his arm ready in front of his face, prepared to face the sandstorm topside. Next thing he knew, they were all climbing the stairs, and hoping for a miracle to save them.

It wasn't long before the signals gave way for the airship to come landing down on them. Nico had been praying the entire time, and it looked like it paid off, at least, in a small matter. Nico attempted to help the others onto the ship, before being usherd on himself, most likely due to his age. He would have scoffed at the idea if they weren't in threat of being overrun by raiders. Half way up the ladder, Nico gave a look back, and saw just how trouble they really were in. Raiders, as far as the eye could see, were coming to greet them. Suddenly Nico had all the vigor of a twenty year old, and was up off the ladder before anyone could offer a hand. Adrenaline was definitely a nice kick when the survival instincts start to hit the body. He took a seat next to the ladder, hoping to help anyone else on board.

But mostly praying that they would get out of there before the raiders could start shooting.

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