Evil Dead - Versus the World [CONTENT WARNING]

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

Though his eyes remained clamped shut for the moment, his other senses were perfectly alert. He could feel the heat of Ed's burning corpse seeping under the little gap beneath the door, though it had lost all of its ability to singe on its way. He could also hear quite well, despite the barrier, and what he heard almost made him laugh.

His eyes pop open and looks up at the others, saying with a level of incredulity rarely matched, "Are they nuts? They think we're going to open the door, now, for them? Jeez, they wanna finish us off--prolly think we're all zombies, now, too."

Having provided his typically paranoiac sense of rationality to the unfolding situation, he rolls away from the door, bumps into Jeff's leg and then rises to his feet.

Staring at the door he, just makes a weird squeaking sound that can only be taken as support for his words.

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" he asks in the same tone of disbelief.

[Gargernon]

Acid

Realizing now that while the bottle of flame he had just tossed at the demon creature that burst from the office beyond the door was not the wisest of ideas, he couldn't help but to smile. A small glimmer in the corner of his eye could be seen as he admired the blanket of flames the corpse was covered in. A second later the glimmer faded as a grim smile set on his face. Running his hands through his nearly shoulder length hair, glancing around for the fire extinguisher sign that was plastered on nearly every support beam in this hell hole. While the fire was a nice addition, and Acid was pleased that his cocktail had landed near enough to the body to set it aflame and ensure its demise, if the fire was not put out soon enough they would have another problem on their hands ... the fire alarms would soon be going off, bathing the area they were in with gallons of water and setting off the alarms that only a management level employee could silence.


"Fek..."

Acid muttered as he quickly moved to the nearest extinguisher lifting it off the support beam and pulling the pin.

[WhiteKnight777]

Jack

Jack's eyes blur for a moment.. still reeling from shock and loss of blood, he stumbles forward a bit, shuddering a little as he watches Ed go down in a hail of gunfire.. He drops to his stomach, wincing in pain as he feels the twin pains flare in his shoulders.. he then gets up, smiling weakly...


Damnit.. instinct

Looking around at the others, he sighs as the smell of charred and burning flesh, a stench Jack remembers all too well, filters into the tiny room. He shakes his head and rubs his eyes.

Not much we can do, honestly. Guy went section eight, got himself ventilated. Shame, but we don't have many options at this point. We can go outside without supplies and definitely die, or take a chance on these folks and possibly die.

[Logain]

Jeff

Jeff rests his head against the door, listening to the rest of the survivors. He turns, looking toward Jane, waiting for her two cents.

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

Skunk flicks his eyes from one spot in thin air to another, then motions everyone to a position to the right of the door, several feet away, whispering, "Over here. I have an idea."

When the last of the group is off to the side, safely away from the door, he says, "Stay there a sec." He then takes the several steps back to the door, staying flat against the wall, and to the side.

"Hold on a minute." he yells at the door, then returns back to the others.

"Okay, this guy out there wants us to believe we're not gonna be tagged the instant we walk out there. He also says he's a priest or something like that. So here's what I figure we do, since we don't have a lot of options. Let's tell him we'll let him in here to talk. Just him. If he's so confident, then maybe he will. Even if he turns out to be a zombie, we should be able to deal with him. If not, then maybe the rest of them out there are just as hyper-reactive as I figured, and not zombies, too, and can be persuaded by Father Who to chill out. We can use him as an intermediary, at least."

He raises his eyebrows in request of comments.

[Logain]

Jeff

Jeff moves with the rest of the group, and listens as the punker outlines his idea. It was a good idea, and Jeff ponders it for half a second before nodding. He pulls Ed's gun from his waistband, pausing for half a second biting his lip, trying to decide what to do. Jeff flips the gun around, and offers it to Jack, grip-first. "As near as I can tell, you and he are the best shots," Jeff says, nodding in the direction of the punker whose name he still can't remember, "and he already reloaded his one."

After he's passed the gun to the injured soldier, Jeff will crouch and pull out the maglight he got from Tom, leaving it off but holding it like a club.

To Skunk, he says "Tell him to stay by the doorway, so that his friends can see him- otherwise thier trigger happy asses might ventilate him too."

[HellFencer]

An averagely tall man, with a thick scruffy beard of black hair. His hair is a bit unkempt, but kept mostly under a green trucking cap. He wields a hunting rifle, with exceptional skill. His clothes are all mundane, including sneakers, jeans and a green screened t-shirt. Despite his seemingly unkempt nature, he is clean, and lacks a sense of humor.

"Padre, what in the hell d'ya think yer doing? I'd advise you ta' step back. We don't know if there's more of those things in there, and I'm not ready ta' lose the only medic we got on some hunch a' yers." The voice is hard and has a slight accent, though it is unmistakably Mark's. A second man, though much larger than the first, steps towards Charles and rests a hand on his shoulder. "Charles, you better step back here... Mark's a bit tense..." he says.

Mark raises an eyebrow and yells, "Julian, get his ass over here, will ya?" as a man called only "Acid" runs over and sprays down the burning husk of a body. the remains are all charred and grotesquely in the shape of a human. Its impossible to tell whether it was a monster, or just a wounded man.

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

Nodding back as if somehow not speaking just then made a difference, Skunk takes a breath and slides himself along the wall toward the door.

"You still there, dude?" he half-yells through the door. He thought he heard other voices, but couldn't make out the words.

[Twilight]

Jane

She watches, horrified, as Ed is gunned down. Jane's chest feels as though it has been caught in a vice, she can't breathe, she can't think...

"I was...I was just talking to him."

She remains quiet as events roll on. The sound of a fire extinguisher makes her close her eyes in disgust.

She shakes her head and tries to inhale as little of the burning human stench as possible. Keep moving Jane. He's dead now and maybe he's the lucky one... Take care of the living. Deal with the crazies beyond the door.

She shuffles her feet and arranges her already neat hair. Her eyes are red at the corners and tears threaten to tumble down at any moment. She nervously nibbles at a corner of her lower lip but she walks over to where Skunk stands making sure to let him know of her presence behind him by a slight cough.

The image of Ed's charred remains is burned in her retinas. Her eyes tear up the closer she gets.

"This is more than a little mistake. You gunned down a human and torched his body beyond recognition. He...he was going to try to find his girlfriend...do monsters scream the name of their loved ones as they die?"

Her tears tumble down and make her eyelashes glisten in the artificial light. Her voice is just steady enough to be heard by all but not steady that the tragedy and horror of Ed's death and of the evening's events in general don't colour it; her tears are echoed in her voice.

Spoiler

Show

Apologies for the long absence...I've been avoiding my computer because I tend to not do work when it's on...I'll try to be better about keeping up.

Some sort of charisma roll...
http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1046199
Bonus depending on the nature of the roll:
Straight Charisma is +3
Diplomacy +5
Bluff +7
Perform (Acting) +5
I'll leave it up to you to decide what applies...

[Nighteyes5678]

Charles winces at the feel of Julian's hand on his shoulder. He had been right: Mark wouldn't like his action at all. Was he sure about all of this? Could he be sure about anything anymore? Where did his loyalties lie? This whole night had been crazy, he was lucky enough to have found refuge here at the store, he owed Mark a lot. He was a good man, Mark, just trying to protect his own... and he was doing it a lot better than Charles had protected his parish. A wave of shame rolled over the Priest and for a moment, it looked as if he'd turn and meekly walk back into line.

Through the door, a woman's voice drifted through and Charles could barely make out the words. "Do monsters scream the name of their loved ones as they die?" No, they wouldn't, demons don't know the meaning of the word love. That much, Charles would sure of. It was enough. No more innocent blood would be spilled if he could help it.

He turned then and looked Mark in the eyes. "Mark, please. There are things that don't add up here. What happened to the demon that we did trap in there and why was there gunfire? If these were more monsters, then would they be fighting among themselves? I remember when I came to you not long ago; I proved to you that I am no monster and then proved my work. Allow these to do the same. Can we not allow at least one of them through for testing?"

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

Skunk listens for a moment, then turns to look at Jane. "He ain't sayin' anything back, but I can hear him talking to someone else out there. You wanna go ahead and try to convince him to come inside or, like Jeff said, just into the doorway so he can block the whackos behind him, at least? I really don't think anyone out there is a pod, but they're definitely triggerhappy and we all know why. 'Sides, we can feel him out a bit. See what we're dealin' with."

He moves a bit away from the door, still with his back to the wall. He then snakes his hand out across the jamb, and says to Jane, "Don't open it yet. See what he says first. And when we do open it...if we do, no one stands right in front of it, kay?"

[Twilight]

Jane simply nods and waits to see if anything further happens.

[WhiteKnight777]

Jack

Jack shrugs a little, then winces and grunts in pain as the wounds in his shoulders flare up.

I've said my piece. It's up to you folks.

[HellFencer]

Mark gives Charles an annoyed look and grunts. Sliding a hand down his face in some effort to keep things from flying out of control, he says, "Fine, the girl can come out, but she's gonna be in front of guns the whole time. Got it, Padre?" There is no sign of a smile or even so much as a smirk on Mark's face, as Charles has come to learn that he has absolutely no sense of humor. Its always business with him...

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

Black-rimmed eyes blink a few times in Jane's general direction.

"Ummm...ain't you gonna do the talking? I mean, if I try, I'm just going to get them to lob grenades at us. You're the one with the sweet, trusting voice."

He pauses a moment.

"But I guess if you're not up to it. Y'know, after what just happened, I could try. But really, negotiating ain't my thing."

Just then, he raises his hand and makes the age-old gesture to keep quiet.

A moment later, he says in a low voice, "Yer not gonna believe this. I think they expect Jane to go out there. And some other guy we didn't see when the door was open said something about guns. They might not be zombies, but they're freakin' nuts."

Probably out of sheer disbelief, Skunk proves he's no negotiator.

"Whoa! No way she's going out there with you gunhappy whackos! You just blew away one of our friends already. We ain't no braindead zombies like that thing you locked in here! We can do some talking through the door with Father what's-his-face, just fine." Skunk's voice has gotten a bit squeaky as it tends to do when he's excited, but--probably unfortunately--it should carry well enough through the door.

Skunk anxiously licks his lips. The gun still in his hand, wobbles from side to side, though it remains pointed downward.

[Nighteyes5678]

Charles felt the age old sensation of annoyance compounded with the profound feeling of being the butt of some Cosmic joke. Mark was a good man; he had saved lives... but did he always have to make things so difficult?

The voice was squeaky, denoting fear, suspicion and mistrust. Charles couldn't blame the speaker, but it did make things more interesting. "Peace, my brother." Charles started, raising his hands up in a symbol of goodwill despite the solid door between him and his audience. "I understand your misgivings; it was not long ago since I was in the same place you now find yourself in. My name is Charles Montgumry and I was a Catholic Priest in a parish not far from here. I say was because almost my entire parish was murdered by demonspawn before my very eyes. I, and a few other God-blessed survivors, took refuge here. I and mine were met with the same distrust you now face and who can blame them? If you are still alive, it is likely you too have faced demons in human flesh. These are not easy times, but it is important to remember that God has not yet abandoned the world. Come now, there is a simple test we can perform to prove to all that you and yours are no demons: we simply watch you for a certain number of hours and, if you have not changed into demons, then we will know you are safe." Charles took a tired breath, then let a wry grin show. "Besides, I do not mean to compound your uneasiness, but where else have you to go? Behind you is a world lost to madness; here you have the relative safety in numbers. If you have wounded among you, I know some of the healing arts. I am very sorry about your friend, but his death is no reason for the rest of you to lose your lives needlessly."

[Logain]

Jeff

By Jane and Skunk, Jeff looks to Jack and then to Tom. Jane is apparently a little freaked out by seeing Ed shot to pieces and then burned, which was understandable. The punker shouts back and forth through the door with whoever is on the other side, and Jeff takes a step forward, talking to Jane and Skunk in a conspiratorial whisper. "They want us to send Jane out? Are they spooning kidding? They just shot one of us to death. I'd like to believe it was an accident, but they could just want us to send out another one to get killed."

Looking back across the small warehouse area, Jeff swallows. The door they had entered through had slammed, mystically warping shut, so they were trapped here. They literally had no other choice than to deal with these people.

If Jeff was a cartoon character, this would be the point where a lightbulb would go on over his head. Without consulting the others, Jeff shouts through the door "Okay, so you guys have fought these things before, right? Did you see that weird sap-stuff they bled? What if almost all of us were already wounded and you could see our blood? Would that prove we weren't these things?"

Jeff unconsciously crosses his fingers.

[Gargernon]

Acid


Acid yawns with boredom mumbling to himself as he fiddles with his zippo. Muttering under his breath about the stupidity of people with big guns he takes a long swig from one of his bottles and walks calmly to the door people have been yelling from behind.

"Stupid redneck and his stupid lackies. If they were let out they would be help in defending this rathole."

In a more audible voice once he reaches the door

"Im comin in, now's your time to prove yourselves.

Acid's hand rests on the hilt of his gun safely hidden in his pack.

[HellFencer]

At Skunk's response, Mark's face contorts into a vile frown. "Right, that's it. We're done here. Padre, get your ass back over here. Now!," he says, nearly screaming at the end. Its clear he's very on edge and not in the mood to be called a psycho.

Julian sighs and walks towards Mark, talking calmly and trying to ease the agression. He also hopes to buy some time for Charles, whom Julian is secretly rooting for.

[Twilight]

Jane

Jane looks incredulous when Jeff suggests that they all bleed themselves in order to prove that they aren't monsters.

She edges closer to the closed door. "So...you want me to go in and leave the people that have kept me alive up to now on their own? Sounds like a raw deal to me...Can't you observe all of us at the same time? We have a wounded man in dire need of care and painkillers..."

"Mr Montgomery, you sound like a reasonable man... None of us want to remain in the warehouse with the corpse of that thing that used to be a security guard..." She shudders involuntarily and her hands reach by rote for strands of hair that are out of place (none to be found of course). She diverts her attention to her clothes, smoothing out any small creases.

Her now familiar ritual done she breathes, smiles to the others and whispers: "I guess we need to wait...they have the upper hand in terms of firepower but Jack needs medical care asap so I'll do what needs to be done if it comes to that."

[HellFencer]

Jane's words fall only on Charles', and Acid's ears, as Julian keeps Mark occupied. In fact, he's doing quite the job, as Mark becomes red-faced and begins to yell. The two go back and forth, failing to notice that Acid has walked up to the door.

Inside the room, everyone here's a voice of someone else, extremely close to the door. Indeed, the doorknob turns and the door is thrown open wide, a man standing in front of the gleaming lights.

[Nighteyes5678]

"You have someone wounded?" Worry was evident in the priest's voice and a firm look of determination steals over him. "Wait right here. When I come back, you will all be coming inside, just put up your weapons and do what I say. I guarantee your safety as long as you do that." He spins on his heel and walks straight to where Mark is arguing fiercely with Julian. "Excuse me, Mark," Charles cuts in smoothly. "They have people who are in dire need of aid in there. If you do not promise me that you'll allow them safe, if guarded, entry into this store, I'm going in there with them." He talks quietly, his voice only meant more Mark, not wanting to present a face of hostility to the rest of the group. "Now please, be the leader I know you are and give the order to let them in." Charles stands far enough away from his leader that he can't be easily grabbed and he begins a short prayer that will hopefully give the angry man sanity.

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

In a relatively subdued voice, but with an obvious sense of urgency, Skunk says, "One of 'em's comin' in, back off."

Taking his own advice he backs away from the door, keeping a shoulder to the wall and bringing his pistol up, held steady with both hands. Well..steadier.

[WhiteKnight777]

Jack

Jack chuckles, sliding down the wall, his head hanging down between his knees as he listens to the back and forth between the two parties, feeling the blood seeping through the ragged holes in his shoulders and soaking his shirt, shuddering a little and licking his lips.. his laughter comes out a bit dry and papery, and his throat is dry. His voice is rough as he speaks to the others

Looks like we have a regular stand-off here, folks. This is really only going to work if somebody trusts somebody. Of course, I'm probably delirious from blood loss.. ya know, from these huge wounds in my shoulders. So it might be better to ignore me.

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

"Yeah, well, I'm not usually inclined to trust anyone that's just killed someone I know without even a split-second of thought. I don't care how freakin' scared they are, we didn't blow away that creeped out guard just because we thought he was probably a thing."

He glances to the door, waiting for it to open, then across to Jeff.

"I dunno about you, but if this guy comes in and makes one false move, I'm gonna give his ass the same treatment."

Skunk hadn't really become friendly with Ed, probably because the man was in bad shape for most of their acquaintance. But he identified him as a sort of de facto comrade by association, and his slaughter stuck deep in his throat where the bile continued to build.

[Twilight]

Jane steps a bit away from the door and nods at Jack's comment. She steps over to him after a second's thought.

"If the only way to get them to give you medical help is for me to go over there...I'll do it. I'll break their standoff. Hopefully it won't kill me." She gives him a small but sincere smile.

[Logain]

Jeff

Jeff freezes, standing across the door from Skunk, as someone opens it. Wait... there was a plan. What was it? Jeff looks back at Jack, sitting against the wall. Jack had Ed's gun. Jane was offering to go out and break the standoff. Skunk was threatening to ventilate the guy if he made one false move... Yup. No plan there.

Not that any of it matters when they open the door. Jeff is standing there, gasping, hoping these aren't his last moments alive on planet Earth.

When Acid opens the door, Jeff is standing there, hands empty, shoulder bullet wound bandaged messily.

[Velvet Elvis]

Skunk

The contentious door swings open, revealing someone that didn't appear, in any way, to match the calm voice that he'd heard earlier. But, looks can be deceiving. Skunk, himself, wouldn't give anyone the impression he was academy trained--or trained in anything at all.

A quick look revealed the man's hand was hidden in a pack he carried. Alarms went off in Skunk's head.

"Aright, hold it right there! Getcher hand outta that bag, and do it slowly. And be damn happy we're not as bloodthirsty as you guys, or you'd be toast by now."

He silently hoped to hell this guy wouldn't do anything stupid, because in this new world, shooting first and asking questions later had rapidly become de rigeur.

His trigger finger rested heavily, but he still had the muscle memory required to avoid a misfire.

[Twilight]

Jane turns around as Skunk begins to speak. Her smile has left her lips and left nothing but a solemn gaze and squared shoulders. She cringes inwardly at the sight of Skunk's pistol.

[Logain]

Jeff

Jeff, always ready to avoid anyone getting shooted, waves his hands at the punker and this new guy, "Whoa! Whoa! Both of you calm down!" Hopefully he has both thier attention now, and they won't be shooting each other.

He looks to the punker first, "Dude, enough people have gotten shot today. Please stop waving that thing around."

Then he looks to this new guy, "And dude, you just scared the crap out of us. I was half afraid you were going to kick in the door like the swat team and start shooting people. Please don't do anything crazy."

That being said, Jeff moves away from the door, hoping not to be in the line of fire of any of the more trigger-happy S-Mart occupants.