foolishwren | 70. [DREAM/DREAM/DREAM/DREAM]

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70. [DREAM/DREAM/DREAM/DREAM]

_{[So while the rest of Johto alternately panics, cries, or rushes around trying to capture as many of the soulstealing insects as possible, there are dozens of souls floating around in that dream limbo, drifting in and out of each other's slumbering thoughts and visions. Whether it's nightmarish flashbacks or just those dreams where you're at school taking a really hard test, and then Dracula shows up, and then everybody's naked ... anything is possible when it comes to what people see in their sleep.]

[But what appears in the darkness in this particular spot in the spaceless, shifting mass of dreaming souls... is a door.]

[It's old, and covered with boards and bolts, rusted near-through in some places. The lock is broken-- mangled and half-melted and wrenched out of the keyhole. The only thing on it that doesn't look ancient is a scrap of torn notebook-paper that's taped up on it at roughly eye-level. It reads only a single phrase:]}

Fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh.

_{[More importantly, though... the door is ajar. Through the gap come the scents of rust and metal-- and something organic, fleshy-- and a low, deep hum of industrial machinery. It's not a door that anyone in their right mind would want to go through. ... But for anyone who may have stumbled this far into the dreams of their fellow lost souls, either in flight from some other nightmare or just pure, wandering curiosity... there's just no other place to go but through the door.]}

_{[Go on. Open it. After all.... it's only a dream.]}

[ooc: SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, GUYS. Thanks for being patient! If you commented on that planning post, there's something spooky planned for your character to do here so please feel free to tag or not tag as it pleases you!]

~*~

[ooc: This is the IC post for what was announced over here! Even if you didn't comment there, feel free to participate! I'm still happy to whip up Silent Hill scenarios for folks!]

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[Oh.

Okay, bad dog.

It takes a moment for the horror to sink in, and he tries not to yell. Instead, he makes a strangled sound and takes off running. Back to the dead end? Probably, but all he can think of right now is running.]

_{[That's probably the smartest decision anyone can make in the situation. Because... really. Would anybody in their right mind run towards it? Probably not.]

[As he takes off running, the split-faced creature bares its broken teeth and lets out a deep, guttural bark, ribbons of thick saliva spattering in ropes onto the ground. Luke won't need to look over his shoulder to know that it's coming after him-- he'll be able to hear its paws striking the pavement as it runs.]

[... And judging by the other sounds coming from behind him... it won't be alone much longer.]}

[He doesn't think about how many of them there are, what they're doing, and he tries to keep from looking behind him and just keep running.]

_{[Good plan.]

[Fortunately for Luke, the alley seems to go a little further than just the door he'd come through... but not much further.]

[It eventually opens out into what could be a little courtyard, if it had contained anything but loads of junk and a big dumpster against one wall, anyway... But it's a dead end. There's no exits, no windows in the walls to clamber through...]}

[Well that's not good.

The courtyard forces Luke to turn around and see the dogs.]

_{[There's a good four or five of them-- slamming into each other and scrabbling around the corner after him. All of them have the same split heads and moldy bandages, now rapidly unraveling from their bodies in all the motion... Some of their eyesockets are empty, others are still filled with sticky, blank eyeballs.]

[These are not the kind of dog Luke probably wants to associate with... at all.]

[But they're running straight at him... and there's no exit. ... Better find something to climb on, kiddo...]}

[In that case, he attempts to climb up the dumpster. He doesn't have a plan beyond this, too scared right now to think calmly.]

_{[Who could blame him, seriously? The dumpster is large, but with some effort, he'll be able to climb up onto it before the dogs come barreling into the little square, barking and snarling.]

[They waste no time hurling themselves at the dumpster, jumping up and down and trying to scrabble onto it.]}

[Luke is backed up against the wall, standing on the dumpster and trying to avoid their jaws.

Now what does he do?]

_{[... There isn't much FOR him to do, is there...]

[But fortunately, something is on its way... and he'll probably be a little happier to see it than the dogs.]

[A booming CRAK, the blast of a shotgun, rings out from somewhere down the alley he'd just run into the alcove from-- the sound echoes off the walls, and the dogs cease their barking and jumping briefly, turning their attention back to the mouth of the alley.]}

[The shotgun blast causes him to jump, but he stays very still on top of the dumpster.

He looks in the same direction as the other dogs.]

_{[... Footsteps. Boots on pavement. There's someone coming, and they're getting closer!]

[The dogs begin to growl. One of them turns back to the dumpster and tries once again to hurl itself forward-- only for a sharp POK to sound and part of its head to abruptly disappear in a small fizzle of red. It shrieks.]}

What the HELL is-- ... Luke?

_{[Aaaaand the cavalry has arrived. ... In the form of a gangly, banged-up looking teenage girl with a shotgun in one hand and a little handgun in the other. She's standing in the opening to the alley and STARING at the boy on top of the dumpster. 8( WTF IS THIS.]}

...Heather?!

[Not that he's not happy to see you, he just wasn't expecting it at all.]

_{[They can both be mutually surprised together! Unfortunately, there's no time for a joyful reunion, because the dogs are not happy about this new intruder.]

[Growling like sluggish chainsaws, they turned away from the dumpster to menacingly approach the girl-- who didn't look quite as concerned as most people would when faced with obviously-undead canines.]}

Hang tight up there, I'll handle this!

Be careful!

[He wants to help in some way, but well - she's the one experienced with this kind of thing and he's stuck on top of a dumpster. So all he can do is watch.]

Don't worry, I got this, I got this--

_{[She's itching to just reach for her pipe and bludgeon the hell out of the dogs, but (and unfortunately, it has nothing to do with not wanting to commit acts of justified-but-gorily-brutal violence in front of a kid-- that doesn't even occur to her because she is Heather and she is A LITTLE DESENSITIZED) since there's another person besides herself at risk here... she wants those things as dead as possible, as soon as possible.]

[One lunges-- she fires handgun at it four times in rapid succession. It yelps shrilly and flinches backwards under the fire until it falls to the ground.]}

C'MON! Any other takers?

[He watches briefly with concern for Heather at first, but as soon as she starts firing, he squeezes himself closer to the wall and covers his eyes and ears.]

_{[Probably a good idea. Poor kid...]

[The sounds he'll hear over the next five or so minutes are a cacophony of snarls, yelps, gunshots and-- particularly at the very end-- the thud of flesh on concrete and boot on that flesh.]

[But eventually, Heather's voice, out of breath, will sound right in front of him.]}

Hey... Luke, it's-- ... it's all right. They're d-- ... gone.

[He doesn't answer right away, and he's shaking a little from the whole fight. His eyes are shut tight and he doesn't move his hands away from his ears.

A few seconds when he can't hear gunfire anymore, he opens one eye.]

_{[She's standing in front of the dumpster, looking concerned.]}

You okay, buddy?

They didn't bite you, did they?

[He doesn't want to move, and he doesn't want to look at the aftermath of the dogs.

He feels kind of sick.]

N-no, they didn't...

Good, 'cause I'm fairly sure they have rabies...

_{[YOU ARE SO GOOD AT BEING REASSURING, HEATHER.]

[In any case, she offers a hand to help him down.]}

C'mon... I don't know what you're doing in this place, but it isn't safe here.

[He takes the offered hand and starts getting down.]

...Are we going to go back to Johto soon?

Edited 2011-07-05 06:47 (UTC)

_{[... Ooh. About that. :I]}

Uh-- I don't know, Luke. Maybe not for a bit.

I don't like it here. What is this place, anyway?

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foolishwren - 2011-07-12 23:15 (UTC) - Expand

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