"Ah."
Make a run for the building, get up to the wall, then relinquish control of host to allow a bit of respite.
You start running or at least attempt to start running, the weight and restrictiveness of your armour forcing you to do something more akin to hobbling as you stumble and almost fall a couple of times. Meanwhile the fire that attacked you dissipates, striking at the area you occupied until a few moments ago and bathing it in flames, some of them reaching you as they disperse but failing to do much harm.
You can hear the sound of bullets coming from behind you, popping like firecrackers due to the heat and striking the concrete and the remains of your host's car. But that doesn't concern you very much. Without a barrel to accelerate in they aren't that dangerous. What is dangerous is the RPG missile inside the bag with them.
When it explodes, the blast wave is much stronger than the one that hit the wall. You can feel it in the force pushing you from behind, your lungs tingling, the shock causing you to fall down. Fortunately for you, the distance you managed to put between yourself and it coupled with all your armour seem to be enough to keep you unharmed.
Looking behind you, you can see that your host's car has been thoroughly wrecked and most of the flames around it have been extinguished by the explosion. The police officers you came here with are nowhere to be seen. Probably cowering somewhere.
You get up and continue fast-walking towards the warehouse. The front wall seems to lack any means for you to easily climb and the same appears to be true when you round the corner to the right of the front wall. It's just a smooth concrete wall, with a few small cracks in it.
Do you want keep exploring the other walls, try climbing this one or do something else?
Your interface beeps and its screen displays an orange light for a moment.
"Almost out of there," Zechariah whispers to himself in the void of his unconsciousness. "Use the Shadow to hide the truth."
>Take some pain-reducing drugs and get out of there. If they begin stirring or if there are people watching, use the Shadow to disguise yourself and ghost your way out of there.
((Why are you unconscious again?))
Your host takes whatever pain meds he can get his hands on without being particularly picky and gulps them down. They won't have any immediate effect but they will hopefully make it easier to manage the pain in the near future. Assuming he doesn't overdose or have an allergic reaction.
He begins crawling out but those tubes going into him are holding him back. The tubes lead to a number of plastic bags hanging from the gurney he was on, some of them filled with blood while others are filled with other liquids, most of them clear.
The paramedic stirs and starts getting up. Your attempt to hide your host doesn't work very well, merely resulting in the back of the ambulance becoming darker.
You hear an explosion very close by.
Your interface beeps and its screen displays an orange light for a moment.
<Hmph. Too late now.> your entity says with annoyance in her voice.
Bryan
Getting so close...
Faron
Turn off the car's lights. Continue driving.
There's another explosion, this one sounds closer.
You turn off your car's lights and turn at the next intersection to Redmore Avenue. It's mostly devoid of activity like much of the city, its emptiness made all the more apparent by its width. Large warehouses and office buildings pass you by as you drive, most of them empty and with their lights off. Not that you'd expect to see many people at the limits of the industrial district at 2AM.
In the distance, you can see the half-burnt remains of a car, some embers still burning on it. It has been slightly deformed, like it was hit by an explosive.
Close to the half-burnt car is a police car with some bullet holes in it.
Your host is still a fair distance away, so he probably hasn't been spotted.
Your interface beeps and its screen displays an orange light for a moment.
<This is it. The end is near. Are you ready to face it?>
((Thanks so much Parisbre. ))
Theri
Argh, sorry Awena! I-..I should stop trying to take authority here! Just tell me what you need and I'm at your disposal.
Act as servant to Awena. Provide aid.
Also try to focus energies onto her body--stabilize her condition and get her in healthy condition.
Also thank the man--don't influence Awena, just say it from my cozy place here.
((I don't understand why you're thanking me but you are welcome nonetheless.))
You try to thank the man, but he can't hear you. Seems like your influence only extends within the confines of Awena's mind and body. Well, no harm done. It would probably just raise more questions than it would answer.
Awena thanks the man on her own initiative anyway, or at least tries to, once she has calmed down a bit and realized what's going on.
"Thanks. Thank you, I..."She stops. The man doesn't seem to pay much attention to her. He simply looks at her for a few seconds, as if to acknowledge what she has said and then looks back at the container blocking the door, pointing his rifle at it.
You take a few seconds and try to focus on helping your host physically. A ripple of silver spreads from your interface across Awena's body. Nobody else seems to notice. But Awena does feel a bit better, even though she doesn't know why. Your interface beeps a few times.
You hear an explosion outside, this one coming from further away. The men around you grow silent again, listening.
The man that grabbed you keeps looking forward for a few seconds, before turning to look at the rest of the men. He whispers orders, pointing at the men with his eyes and at their objectives with his hands as he declares them.
"Mendoza, go check the windows. Tell me what's going on out there." he says, looking at a man of hispanic descent that you presume to be Mendoza. Mendoza turns to look at the injured man lying beside him, obviously reluctant to go. "Don't worry. You'll be fine." he lies to ease Mendoza's concerns.
"Wilson, Martinez go check the back door. See if they need help."
"Allen, make sure the roof is secure."
Finally, he turns to face Awena.
"You. What's your name?"
"Awena-""Can you fight?"
Your interface beeps and its screen displays an orange light for a moment.
Irene
Focus on current vicinity and achieve some respite--how is Zoe doing? Is Amelia Ok? Boris, what about him? What is he doing? Any notes on our attackers?
Try to sense the current area.
((Sorry, my mistake, I am forgetful/busy, I should had given a bit more details last turn. I'll do so now. The following includes events following
that turn as well as the events of the current turn.))
"Answer me dammit! What's going on?"Boris continues speaking to his radio but there is no response.
Meanwhile, Zoe has managed to regain her bearings and tentatively approaches the door leading to the next room with her gun drawn.
Zoe turns to face Boris when she realises something.
"What did you mean?" she asks and then looks forward at the doorway again.
"Excuse me?""You said 'They weren't supposed to-'. Weren't supposed to do what?""I... I meant the guards. That the... They weren't supposed to use explosives against them. This is sensitive equipment."Zoe presses her body against the door and leans to take a peek. She sees Awena and another man being dragged back towards cover. She feels the urge to go help them but at the same time, she also feels the need to stay with Amelia. She is certain that man is lying.
"Who are they? Who is attacking us? Police?"Zoe turns to face Boris and Amelia, her back against the wall.
You let go of the flames you are controlling, allowing them to dissipate.
"No." Boris shakes his head.
"Maybe! I don't know." he says, raising his arms and dropping them a moment later in a gesture of resignation.
Another explosion is heard from outside. Zoe peeks out of the door again but sees nothing of interest. All the men have retreated behind cover.
"Why don't you go out there to see whether or not you know them? Go help your men? See for yourself?""My men?" he makes a strange expression, something between surprise and anger.
"I've come too close. I can't risk loosing it all now. I'd rather stay here.""Too close to what?"Your interface beeps and its screen displays an orange light for a moment. Its beeping is echoed by more chimes and beeps from machines around the room.
"This. It begins." whispers Boris while looking at the machines and at Amelia, still lying there amongst the machines, still unconscious.
Noises of attentionYYYYYAAAAAAAWWWWWWNNN. ACTION GO GO GO
[rudeness intensifies]
Most of the people in the movie theatre around you are quite angry with your little outburst. But you pay them no mind.
The two scientist protagonists are simply descending the rest of the way towards the rocks.
Someone walks up next to you and shines a flashlight in your face.
"Sir, if you do not cease this at once, I'm going to have to escort you outside."