Empty World IC

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OC- Ok, this should continue the story a bit. You folks can decide what to do with this.IC-

At the Restaurant-
Sean stepped out into the night before Hector could stop him.

Whatever was outside the restaurant, it wasn’t an Asian man bent on stalking Veronica. This was not her nightmare.

And there were many of them. They would slip past, moving in and out of the fog, using it to hide their distinct features. Darting in and out of the light, apparently gliding over cars, leaping, scattering. Moving.

ON two legs, on four. Quick and graceful, like animals.

“Wait!” Called out Hector, too late.

Sean took a first step out, gun in one hand, when Hector shouted his warning. Before Sean took another step, he glanced back, suddenly aware that the dangers outside were too great, that there was something else out there.

He opened his mouth to ask a question, when something moving terribly fast and with purpose connected with his body, knocking him back into the room, hitting him like the way a professional hockey player might check a teenager against a walls of an ice-rink.

Sean felt his feet leave the ground for what seemed a long moment before his body collided with a stinging crash against what appeared to be the podium of the maitre d’ which fell over under his weight. Sean rolled to the side, his hands searching for his fallen pistol, which lay on the floor just out of reach and between him and the creature that had hit him.

The figure seemed to fill the doorway, well over seven feet in height, and covered with muscle. It wore some kind of workman’s overalls and stood on two legs, but that’s where the relationship with anything human ended. It gripped either side of the door with two clawed hands, and where it’s boots should have been were two large paws that easily balanced its weight. It glared at him with a canine eyes, as if measuring him up. A long nose blew a hoarse breath through it’s quivering nostrils. Under its nose a its jaws were open, revealing a long reddish tongue beneath glistening white teeth. Coarse hair covered it from its long triangular ears down to the paws where its feet should have been. And Sean could not help but feel the animal glared at him with a sense of its own superiority the way a wolf might glare down on the final moments of a wounded stag.

Then Hector’s shotgun thundered as it discharge fire and Sean blinked. When his eyes opened the door was empty and Hector was slamming the door shut.

“Holy fuck! What was that?” Demanded Sean as Hector turned his attention to a nearby dresser, which he dragged to the door.

“A Coyote?” Said Hector.

“What the fuck is a Coyote?” Asked Sean, now getting up and reaching for his gun.

But something else was now bothering Hector, “Where is Veronica?”

The Asian girl had disappeared.

A woman screamed from back in the Kitchen. Both men looked in that direction. Then something heavy hit the door, the wood cracking under the impact.

________________________
At the mosque

Behind him, Khaliq and Nasi half carried, have dragged Sobia back to the sanctuary of the Mosque. But Andy stayed frozen.

A few meters in front of him one of the dogs had approached, growling, snapping.

Andy didn’t bear to move, but it was more than fear that froze his arms and legs. More than the images of the killing fields of Iraq, of the landscapes of corpses. His guilt in that carnage and how perhaps the hounds of hell had been sent to reclaim his soul.

No, it was more than fear that stopped Andy from bringing up the gun. Rather, it was the knowledge that the dog was close enough to leap. Close enough to lock its jaws around his throat before he could squeeze off a burst. Close enough to tear loose the blood vessels from his body, and the thought of his body weakening as it was engulfed by what seemed to be thousands of starving dogs.

And their seemed to be no end to the dogs. Their numbers stretched back into the growing mist that engulfed the city until their bodies became one with the fog and he could no longer distinguish them. A hundred, a thousand dogs, scavengers of the dead and dieing, no here to claim him.

One closed on him. At one moment it might whimper as if making a plea for food that might elicit some morsel. Another it would growl a warning against movement.

Slowly Andy moved back.

One step, then another.

But so to the skeletal dog approached, closing the distance. Behind it the other dogs seemed to be closing around. If they got between him and the mosque, Andy would have no chance to escape.

Another step back.

Take it slow and easy.

Gentle. Don’t alarm it.
The animal growled, threatening him, a tremor seeming to shake through its body. Its muzzle red, bloody. The smells of fear and blood driving it insane with hunger.

Another step back.

The animal suddenly dropped low, it’s ears going back, tail under its body. The hindlengs tightening like a spring waiting for release. It’s jaws bare, a low growl coming from deep inside. The eyes small and wicked.

Andy hesitated, anticipating the spring.

And then the growl suddenly cut off.

His rifle went up and the dog yelped and turned, scurried, turned around. A rock bounced on the pavement.

“Gotcha you little fucker.” Said Sarah from behind.

Move.

Andy was now moving back quicker. But the dog, seeing its prey attempt refuge turned and began running.

He wouldn’t make it. Andy trained his rifle on the dog, promising himself that this one he would bring down.

But before it could squeeze of a round, the tentacle lashed out from under the sewer grate and wrapped itself around the dog, and then pulled the canine back into the sewer without the animal having time to emit so much as a desperate howl.

For a moment nothing moved.

Then the other dogs sprang for him.

Andy ran for it, his back to the dogs, the others at the mosque doors urging him on. He didn’t see the tentacle again slash out from the sewer grate, slamming down on the pack of dogs before it, breaking some of them into the pavement, bodies smashed and crippled, before pulling another hapless victim into its underground maw. The attack scattered some of the dogs which soon turned on the wounded members of their pack. Andy was through the door by the time the tentacle had dragged away a third victim.

Khaliq slammed the door behind him and the others began searching for furniture to block up the other doors to the windowless mosque. Outside they could hear the sounds of dogs yelping and growling, some howling, the slithering sound of something heavy and wet hitting the hard pavement. And they heard the desperate scratching at the bottom of the door as the dogs outside tried to scratch their way inside.

Exhausted the small group retreated to the meeting room where introductions had been made not so long ago. Khaliq took a seat by Tim, the small Asian boy who continued to draw and color with desperate purpose.

Khaliq glanced over the boys shoulder.

The child was drawing a picture of a skeletal dog trapped in the embrace of the tentacle of a beast with a multitude of tentacle that waited beneath the ground, a pile of dead dogs under its body.
__________________

WHile back at the restaurant-

Veronica had realized that she was not carrying her gun when Hector and Sean had returned to the seating area of the restaurant. The lack of the weapon and the awareness that Lee was nearby raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She had thought she had put the gun down with her backpack and medical kit, but it was no where to be found. Checking the contents of her pack proved fruitless. It had to be back in the kitchen.

Back where Lee had been waiting in the ice-cream freezer.

But without the gun, she felt defenseless.

And Lee was after her.

While Hector and Sean where preparing to go outside, she stepped back towards the kitchen and quietly slipped past the heavy swinging doors, and flicked on the lights.

The kitchen was huge, a sea of shelves and cabinets, freezers and refrigerators, cutting boards and stoves. She went back to where she had stood before.

“Veronica May.” Something whispered.

She tried to ignore it.

But the gun wasn’t there.

Perhaps it had fallen under the freezer.

“Veronica May….”

She bent down and looked underneath it.

“What are you looking for May?” The whisper.

It wasn’t there either.

She thought of the draw with the silverware. Of the long kitchen knives.

“No Gun, May. Today is the day for Veronica May.” Said the familiar voice. Louder, closer now.

Inside the draw, long knives.

“Today is the last day for Veronica May.” The voice laughed.

Something moved. Close. Behind a cabinet.

Veronica closed her hands around a long heavy knife.

“Nice knife.” Said the voice, Lee’s voice, “Are you going to slice open your wrists for me again.” Then it giggled.

Veronica pulled the knife back and held it close.

“I’d like to see that.” Said Lee, “Perhaps this time you won’t fuck it up.”

“Get away Lee.” Replied Veronica, her voice small.

“Better yet May, slice open your throat and lets see the blood spurt out. That would be nice.” More giggling. Closer. The air getting hotter. She could smell him over her own fear. His cologne, sweet and fragrant.

“Fuck off Lee.” She said.

“Oh May, remember when slit your wrists for me. May, this is the day, May gives her life away.” It sang, “May, May, going away today.”

“Leave me alone.” She said, louder.

“Leave me alone, leave me alone, “ It mimicked her, teased her. “Come on May. You want to, tell the truth, you want this. Give me your blood May and maybe I will love you the way you want me to.”

The truth was she had wanted this. She had once been willing to give her life, to show Lee how much she loved him that she would rather die then lose him. That she had taken a razor to her wrists to show him how much she loved him. How he had laughed at her. Her life had been so meaningless, so empty, so desperate and pathetic and lost.

Why? She didn’t know. She didn’t understand it. She had not understood it then, and now only a few short years later, she still didn’t understand it.

But she knew that she was different. That she wasn’t that person anymore. She had gone for a few years unsure of herself, scared. But she had gone on. And she had met Keith, and Keith and helped her make it better. She had found something she hadn’t known with Lee. Something better, more fulfilling. An understanding what love could be, what love should be.

“Go away Lee, I don’t want you no more.” She said, holding the long sharp knife with both hands.

“I can’t May.” The voice further away now, smaller, almost desperate.

“Leave me alone, I don’t love you no more.”

“Whore!” It seemed to shout near her ear. Veronica turned, stabbed at it, but there was only air.

“Whore. Fucking whore! You don’t know what love is.” The voice behind her.

She turned, slashing. But it wasn’t there.

“And who are you to teach me, you sick fuck.” She replied.

“I can teach you many things May.” Lee spoke, his body still hidden, “ I can teach you about the warmth of blood on sharp metal. I can teach you the sensation of organs pulled from your body.”

“I will slice you open if you come closer.”

“I am going to peel that pretty skin off your body, my little whore. I am going to fuck you skinless. I am going bite off your nipples. I am going to eat your liver while I scoop out your intestines with my fingers.” The voice said, angry now, whispering.

“You can try.” She challenged.

And then the lights went out.

Outside Sean and Hector heard Veronica scream from inside the darkened kitchen. Ignoring the pounding of the restaurants door they raced for the kitchen, flipped on the lights.

Once again the kitchen was bright in light, metal tops glistening with a fresh sheen. But it was empty of people. Veronica had vanished.


OC - Ok, Andy and company in the house- you have the tentacle thing outside duking it out with the dogs, the dogs trying to scratch their way inside. Chances are they will not succeed.

Sean and company, the creatures outside are "coyotes." They are trying to get inside. What happened to Veronica, I will write up on Monday.

Ideally both groups should survive the night and meet up the next day.
 
Sean grimaced in pain as he clutched his shoudler, poitning up. There, in the kitchen, was a small studio window. As for Veronica, he had no godamn clue where she was, but they couldn't remain there unless they wanted to be eaten as well. Someho, he didn't think her psycho SOB boyfriend let the three of them go yet.

"Lets get to higher ground man...you look like a strong enough guy. Ill give you a boost up, and you help me up afterwards."

He stepped back, covering his face as he threw a roller at the window, breaking the glass before climbing on the turned off stove, a crowbar edging out the rest of the glass as his arm went up protectively. Thank God for the heavy jacket, but those werewolf things had freaked him out badly. They needed to get to better ground, someplace where they could cover themselves easily.

Sean quickly took his bag, shouldering it as he tossed up a small duffel bag of food and condiments through the window onto the roof. He then turned to Hector, hands locked with ten fingers, though wanting badly to be holding his pistol at the moment (which he had since recovered).

"All right Hector, let's do it. With luck, there should be a fire escape or something we can get to another building with."
 
Slowly the blackness and disorientation lifted. Mike found himself lying on the floor, realising he had feinted after crashing. His body felt numb & a little unresponsive. Lifting his head a little, he noticed no one was paying attention at him. Only some little kid looked at him, with a faint smile on his face. Quickly the kid's face turned serious again & he continued drawing.

Around him were a bunch of people, some cowering in a corner, trying to hide their fear, but dreadfully failing at that. An asian girl was maniacly walkin through the room, holding a weapon close to her chest, clinging on to it as if her life depended on it. Near the entrance, there was some soldier carrying an assault rifle. His stance looked calm, almost routine, but his eyes betrayed both exitement and fear. He seemed to check his ammo every 30 seconds.

The cause seemed obvious. A sickening sound filled the room. Nails scratching wood and dragging over glass. The sound was periodically accompanied by a low pitch oosing 'thud' followed by a weak whimper. Scavenging dogs could be he source, but Mike couldn't place the 'thud' sound. Maybe, just maybe, it was that 'thing' he had ran from tonight. The thought made him shiver.

Mike sat up straight, still not drawing attention. Releaving himself from his backpack, he sat with his back against the wall. He reached for his shotgun, hanging from his backpack. It looked still intact and in good condition after the crash. With a swift pull, he injected a shell into the barrel. The characteristic noise produced startled most of the people in the room.

Casually, Mike rested shotgun on his lap, aiming away. Trying not to look hostile, but still ready for action. He nodded at the strangers and spoke.

"Thank you for pulling me off the streets, I'm Mike" He said. "Well, not really, but that'll do."
 
Andy had been about to disarm the man - he had never seen so many people carrying weapons, not really the done thing in Britain, and things could easily have got out of hand. But then he thought again. The more firepower he had against the dogs, the better.

"Andy." he said. "I'm a Lieutenant in the Army."

"Good to hear. Speaking of hearing, what the fuck is on the other side of the door?"

Mike noticed Andy go a little white and stiffen slightly. Then he relaxed, and coughed as if to show himself to be unafraid.

"Nasty buggers. Dogs. Not your usual pet Yorkshire Terrier, though. These dogs, I saw them while on Service in Iraq. These dogs will kill you just to eat your finger. Judging by how many there are, a finger each is about all they'd get."

"So, that explains the scratching, but what about the thudding noise?"

"Ah, that I'm not so sure of. Some kind of squid or something. Look at the kid's drawings. I'm not leaving the door uncovered, though. My rifle stays pointed at the door. When I get a chance, I want to get back to my barracks and get an underslung grenade launcher. That'd show the buggers."
 
Thump!

The door seemed to splinter open a bit more from the impact of the beast, or beasts behind it. (They're not real). Soon they would break a hole through a large clawed hand would come through looking for them. (They are just a dream) And eventually they would get the door open, and get inside.

And then the Coyotes would be upon them

Both men had heard the scream from coming back in kitchen area, behind the large swinging doors. There was no light coming from there, nor had they heard anything else coming from Veronica.

"Sean, we can't leave Veronica." Said Hector.

Sean shook his head. "She's probably gone already."

Hector nodded. "I know."

Both men nodded and neared the door.

At the door there was another thump, more splintering. Behind the thumbing they could hear the snarls.

Hector nodded to Sean as Sean opened the door. Then Hector went in with his shotgun, saying "Veronica, where are you?"

Just blackness.

Then white light as Sean hit the lights.

"Where the fuck is she?" Asked Hector.

Further back a door seemed to swing back and forth. Behind it was a stairwell going up.

"That way." Said Sean.

"Wait a second. Look at this."

On the floor was a green pool of liquid that seemed to be fizziling into a strange sulphuric vapor. Moments later it had all but disappeared.

______________

Upstairs raced door a corridor of locked doors, checking each in her desperation. Behind her

Lee was still there, behind her somewhere, using the darkness.

She glanced back. Another of the bare lightbulbs flickered and then burst. He was in the darkness, perhaps he was of the darkness.

She continued running until she came to the final door on the corridor. Her hand, sweaty with fear, reached for the door knob, turned it.

Locked.

She slammed her shoulder against the door, but got nothing for it but a sharp ache in her shoulder.

She turned.

"Come on Lee."

She had cut him once, but how badly he was wounded, she didn't know how deep the knife had gone in. But he was bleeding.

Another light flickered, seemed to fight to stay light, then exploded in broken shards and ozone.

She thought of Hector and Sean, but to get to them, she would have to get past Lee.

But in the end, she knew, they couldn't help him. This was her fight.

Another light gave, and then another. One more light. He wasn't taunting her no more. He didn't need to.

As it flickered she could see the Lee's hand reaching out to her from the darkness of the corridor.

A phantom hand from the past .

The last bulb flickered as she got her balance and strength ready.

A sputter, a sudden blue flash and a pop. The hand reaching for her throat, Veronica lunging forward with the knife.
 
"That would show them indeed..." Mike said. "But I'm afraid there are 2 complications. One, being getting out of here alive. Two, actually finding those barracks of yours. If you hadn't noticed, this place seems to be continuously changing."

Mike slowly got up and walked around the room, checking the layout of the building & looking anything useful. The others seemed to keep their distance & the girl was still clinging on to her weapon, now even more on her toes than before.

"As for the tentacle thing, I believe we've met before. It was actually the reason why I was speeding like a maniac." He added. "But lets focus on the matters at hand: Are there any other exits that we can use to leave or that we need to secure if we are to stay here for the night? Being an officer and seemingly having operational experience in Iraq, that probably makes you more adept at making calls like this, lt."
 
Khaliq moved his eyes across the two men. Having seen bombs dropped on Iraqi civilians in what the West had called its surgical air strikes, he was not quite ready to trust in these strangers.

"I would suggest that we not leave here for the night. The dogs outside are too numerous to fight." He said. "As for exits. There is a back way that has been barracaded. It might be possible to break through a wall to the next building, but an exit for us would mean an opening for them."

The man with the shotgun looked at him as if noticing him for the first time. Khaliq noticed the shotgun move in his direction.

"And who might you be?" He asked.

"He's the one who carried your ass back here." Said the girl with the rifle.

"And you?" Asked the man.

"She's the one who helped me." Said Khaliq.

"I don't like staying in one place." Said the man.

"This is a safe place. THe dogs will not get in." Said a middle aged Indian woman, "ANd before you asked, I am the one who almost got killed saving your ass."

"Well what about going underground."

An black woman who was looking at items in a shopping cart, said, "No way. You go into the underworld, you ain't comin' back. I heard some'in down there I don't want to see, and down there's been my home."

"So we're stuck here?"

"Until the morning." Said the boy. "Monsters only come out at night, or hide in the dark places."

"What makes you think this place is safe?" asked the man.

"This is a holy place. They will not come here. We are protected." Said the Indian woman.

"A church?" The stranger asked.

"A mosque." Said Khaliq.

"But I'm not muslim."

"Islam teaches that sanctuary will be provided for those who ask of it." Said the girl, who said, "I'm Nasi."

The woman smiled at the girl. "Yeah, Besides I got chased into a church last night and I came out ok. I expect this will do as well. Its the same God. I'll accept your sanctuary very much. Oh and I'm Sarah, I think."
 
The hands encircled Veronica's neck as she plunged her knife into dark.

She felt the resistance of skin, and then the feeling of the knife sinking into the flesh, smooth and deeply.

Something warm and sticky flowed from the wound and covered her hands.

She withdrew back the knife and stabbed again, and again.

The hands relaxed and seemed to transform. Something else replaced them. Something warm but ropey. It's skin feeling not like that of a man but like a frog. When she stabbed she felt no bone, not muscle resist her blade contradicting what she knew of human anatomy.

Yet still, in the darkness of the corridor, she stabbed and slashed at her unseen assailant.

Around her legs, her arms she felt the ropes wind, pulling her to it. She could feel it pressing against her, trying to pull her. A rope seemed to circle her head, slip aross her lips.

She sank her teeth into it, and felt the warmth flowing against her teeth, filling her mouth.

She spat it and continued to stab into it, feeling the blood it cover her body know, soaking her blouse, her jeans, her socks and shoes.

ANd slowly she felt it give way.

Exhausted she fell to the floor kneeling as she heard it move, a liquid like squishing sounds, an oozing, and then a fizzle.

And in the dark, her body now hot in the exertions of her defense, began to cool. The stickiness seemed to mix with her sweat, until all she felt was the sweat rising out of her pours.

ANd she heard the creature no more.

A flashlight glared at the end of the corridor, it moved, it's beam cutting across the corridor until it found her, and there it settled.

"Veronica?" Hector's voice.

"I'm here. I'm ok."

"Lee?"

"He's dead."
 
"Well, the problem would be that I'm an atheist. Hence, I disbelief that it's any kind of god that provides you sanctuary." Mike responded. "Still, this is seems safe enough for the time being."

He walked around the room once more, trying to familirise himself with the people & the layout.

"Anyhow, that doesn't matter at the moment, we seem relatively safe here." He continued. "Andy, if we are to come out on top of this situation, I suggest we sleep in shifts. If we don't, we'll be exhausted by the time something happens. What do you think?"

(occ: sorry for lack of posts, was at a lan party where there should have been a conn, but obviously they were having some probs with it... going to sleep now, gonna try to post more asap)
 
Sean walks in slowly, a pistol in one hand, a flashlight held upside down as he aimed it about the dark room, a bit nervous. He wasn't scared of the dark per se, but obviously something was pretty damn weird about this place, and his nerves were on edge. As Hector went to comfort Veronica, he jsut sort of stood there, looking around, trying to find the body. He wasn't very good with comforting people in person anyways, far too shy and self-doubting to be very empathic. He leaves that to the nominal party leader it seemed, trying to find another way to get the hell out of this place before those 'werewolves' broke in. Certainly there had to be a fire escape or back door or garage or something?**
 
At the mosque-

It was agreed that the group would sleep in shifts. Tim, the boy had fallen asleep atop his drawings, the last being an incomplete drawing of a building surrouned by a dense tropical forest. Another drawing was of a long winged dragon flying over a city.

Sobia, despite her small size, remarkably carried the small Chinese boy to a cot that was in the mosque's storage. Khaliq volunteered to take the first watch. Nasi, who volunteered the second but stayed up because she was too nervous to sleep. THe others spread their watches evenly, with Mike taking the last watch.

Sarah had wandered into the kitchen where she found some packages to make bread, some juice and other items. Whistling old blues tunes to herself she set to work preparing something to eat. WHile she couldn't speak for the others her stomach was growling. Hell she might even be willing to eat one of them dogs.

While she worked the others searched through the mosque for bedding, blankets, pillows and other supplies. These they brough to the central meeting room. Rooms were closed off and locked away, in some cases barricaded should the dogs be able to force their way through. They also accounted for the few weapons they had. During all, at least one person kept a watch on the dogs.

The scratching at the bottom of the door meant that the dogs were still there, eager and hungry. Occassionally one would yelp, or they would head a loud thumb. Apparently the thing under the sidewalk was still picking at them, though rather for hunger, for spite or fun, none of those in the muslim holyplace would know.

Sarah prepared a meal of warm breads and juices which they all consumed, each sharing their stories of the day before. Sobia's family had owned a stationary store and she had woken to find it empty. Nasi was a college student, studying pre-law at Columbia. She had fallen asleep over her books at the library and woken to find the library strangely empty. Tim, still groggy from lack of sleep, offered no stories but eat with little emotion.

Finished, they each went to a chosen cot and tried to find what sleep they could. Nasi joined Khaliq and the two talked in quiet whispers, Khaliq trying to take some of the tension for the girl. But it was difficult with the sound of claws scraping away at the doors and walls outside, at the thought of what the dogs would do if they gained entry.

THey were still talking quietly when they heard something else. SOmething above them. Like wings slapping at the air, Something big. And then the echo of long shreak.

__________________

At the restaurant,

Hector's light focused on Veronica, and despite himself Hector couldn't but think of how wild and beautiful the girl was. Different from his wife and the girls he knew before who were mostly Latinos. Veronica was a strange mix of virtually every ethnicity- a melding of all of humanity in one body.

He had recovered the girl's things, strapping her pack over his shoulder. IN his belt he had her pistol which he had found left behind with her other things. Why had she gone without her gun?

He was thinking this when she said, "I'm ok. I think Lee is over there."

Hector moved his light in the direction of Veronica's fingers until it came to the body.

He let out a gasp. "It's dissolving."

He could not see all the body under the cone of light, but it was wearing jeans and a shirt, but the body seemed to be dissintergrating in some greenish mass. A vapor seemed to rise from the back of the head, and the blood seemed to be boiling like hot oil. One arm seemed remarkably twisted and long, like the tentacle of some octopus. But even that seemed to be fizzling away.

"What the hell is that?" Whispered Hector.

Sean spoke behind Hector, shaking the man from his trance. "I don't know but we got to get out of here. I think those things are breaking through."

"What things?" Asked Veronica

"Coyotes." Replied Hector. "But they are not real."

"They're real enough to break doors." Chided Sean.

"ANd something almost strangled me." Added Veronica.

Sean went back to where they came and began to go down the stairs towards the kitchen. He had taken two steps down when he realized he couldn't hear the sound of the door being battered.

But he heard something, something faint.

He paused, listened.

Like the sound of a swinging door swing closed.

He looked down to the landing of the stairwell. The door from the landing went into the kitchen and it was open. He could see the light from the kitchen on the floor of the landing.

If he could only close that door to the kitchen.

But before he could take another step down, a shadow past through the light. Then it was gone again.

SOmething was down there. A werewolf or a coyote or whatever. It had gotten inside.

He stepped back.

The step seemed to creak, giving him away.

He heard a low growl from below. THen another.

Another step back.

Louder growls now.

Back up, back up.

He heard Hector had come to the top of the stairs behind him.

But then the sound of movement. Something knocking over dishes and glasses, something coming.

A pull from behind, and Sean was back at the top of the stairs.

A blast from the shotgun

Sean pulling on the trigger of his gun, pointing the gun down the stairs.

Veronica slamming the door shut. Then stepping back as something big hit the door hard, almost knocking the door off its hinges.

"We need to go."
 
oc- Edit- by welsh- to keep it consistent with above-

IC-
"Yep. I'll sentry duty late. The rest of you should get some shut-eye - we'll need every scrap of energy we can get. Mike, you look like you know what you're doing - I'll wake you up in about four hours time so you can take the last shift. I hope you guys don't mind me taking control like this, just we need a leader of some sort."

The people hiding out in the mosque found themselves corners or pillars to rest up against, whilst Andy found himself a cot and tried to get some shut eye. His rifle was loaded and made ready all the time.
 
Having guard shifts had been a good idea, but sleeping just didn't work. It wasn't just the scratching at the door, or the dampened 'thump' noise outside that kept sending shivers down Mike's spine, but his body finally decided to stop the adrenaline production. The price for his cras became more & more obvious, his body was aching all over without the adrenaline to numb the pain.

He decided to sit against the wall & wait with a blanket over him, but still holding his shotgun. He sat there, trying to rationalise what he had seen today. His conclusions were not to his liking. The others had eventually fallen asleep due to exhaustion, except the one on guard & Nasi. The girl was still clearly shaken. Mike smiled at her to try to make her feel better at ease, but it was an empty gesture and they both knew it.

Mike realised that there was nothing he could do to comfort the girl, especially now that new sound from outside had been added to the others. The sound of a bat flying across the night sky, only about a hundred times heavier. He didn't want to speculate what it was, it would be useless anyway.

Without thinking about it, a song came to mind & Mike just went with it:
"Say your prayers little one
Don't forget my son
To include everyone
I tuck you in
warm within
Keep you free from sin
'til the sandman he comes

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to never never land

Something's wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of snow white
Dreams of war
Dreams of liars
Dreams of dragons fire
And of things that will bite, yeah

Sleep with one eye open
Grippin your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to never never land

Now I lay me down to sleep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
If I die before I wake
Pray the lord my soul to take

Hush little baby don't say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
It's just the beasts under your bed
In your closet in your head

Exit light
Enter Night
Take my hand
We're off to never never land." he sang in a hushed voice.

When his dreadfully misplaced song (yet oh so to the point) had ended, he noticed that the girl had finally fallen asleep. Now he just sat there, faintly smiling.
 
Khaliq kept the first watch patrolling the inside walls of the Mosque, checking locks and doors. He went up to the second floor and down into the basement. Surprisingly the lights seemed to be still working, though who had decided to keep the generators running was unknown.

In the basement he found some bags of food that the mosque had collected for a charity drive. There was also a children's center full of toys that would not be used again. He picked up a toy truck and brought it upstairs. Upstairs were offices. A dropdown ladder went to a trapdoor to the roof, but Khaliq decided against going up there.

Down on the ground floor the dogs continued to scratch away, but it seemed there were fewer than before. Perhaps they had scattered from the thing under the street. Or perhaps the thing had consumed them all.

Mike was still against the wall, humming a tune to himself. Khaliq went to him, rested Nasi's rifle across the wall and sat down.

"You should sleep." He said.

"I can't"

"You still have watch later."

Mike merely nodded. "This is pretty fucked up."

"Yes, very much." Agreed Khaliq.

"I am not even sure which city this is."

"I was in London, but Sarah seemed to think we're in New York." Said Khaliq. "Maybe it doesn't matter."

"It's like a mix of cities."

"And it keeps getting recreated. I tried to paint it but the damn buildings keep moving." He said.

"What do you think the city will look like tomorrow?" Asked Mike.

"I don't know. Tim drew a picture of a big forest. Maybe that."

"What about the dogs and that other thing."

Khaliq shrugged. "At least they weren't in the picture."

"Do you think there are more people out there?" Said Mike. "Like us?"

"Yesterday I was alone. Now I am with people." Said Khaliq. "Perhaps tomorrow there will be more people. How many? I don't know."

But the process of sitting and talking suddenly made Khaliq very aware of how tired he was. "I am going to wake Nasi, it's her turn for watch. You should sleep too."

Make said he would try.

Nasi woke quickly under Khaliq's hand, and he had restrain her from jumping. "It's ok. You are safe here. Inshallah."

The girl calmed and Khaliq could feel her pulse ease. Then she sat up, gave a soft yawn, picked up her rifle and got up. "You should sleep."

But Khaliq had already found his cot and had closed his eyes. A moment later, he was fast asleep and dreaming of a dry desert country far away.
 
Andy too was dreaming of a warm, desert country far away.

He remembered the Corporal, the Corporal he had killed, leading a bayonet charge. Except in the dream, he was seeing it from the Corporal's point of view. He could see his rifle, the sharp knife like bayonet fixed to the end, obbing up and down infront of him, he could hear the noise of distant gunshots and screams. He was sweating. Then he saw, Andy, or was it the Lieutenant, or were they the same person? The Lieutenant, or Andy, or himself, was carrying a rifle. Then Andy felt himself in the Corporal's bod become Andy again, and it was the Corporal carrying the rifle. The Corporal shot him.
Andy could see the hole in his forehead, and new what a mess it made in the back of the head. He could see himself lying, dead, in the Iraqi heat, the flies already swarming over him.
Then they came. The half-dead dogs, with mangy fur and slobbering mouths. They were eating him, and Andy was screaming, but nobody could hear him, because the Corporal had shot him, and he would have to lie there and be eaten whilst nobody could help him...

"Hey, wake the fuck up, man!"

"Wha-?"

Andy awoke, feeling sweat covering himself. Nasi had been shaking him.

"What?" he asked, pretending nothing had happened.

"You were screaming, You okay?"

"Uh... fine. It's the dogs... they were trying to get me, and I couldn't stop them..."

"You can stop them, though, that's what the rifles for."

Andy nodded, not having the strength to argue.

"It's your turn to gard, anyway, but if you want me to-" Nasi began, but Andy cut in.

"It's fine, being awake will calm me down." Andy could see various people staring at him. He waved them away.

"'sokay, just a dream..."

Andy was beginning to fear sleep, though, as if it lowered defences against the dark, against the empty world.
 
"Ok.....we need to get out on that roof somehow. We can hold out there for a long time. I think maybe the fire escape is all we have left."

He motioned Veronica away from the stairs, glad suddenly to have Hector there as well with his own gun. Those damn beasts unnerved him. He started walking quickly backwards, gun still aimed somewhat shakily at the stairs. Before long, he had taken off after the two of them, slamming doors closed. Maybe the things weren't smart enought o open doors and had to bash them...but he doubted it. Eventually, he rounded the corner, coming to a halt with the rest of his 'party', looking around the storage room. There was a ladder outside, and presumably it led both up and down. Yet, who would go first?

"Veronica, I suggest you climb and ah, quickly." His voice still somewhat breaking as he aimed for the door behind them. It would only be a matter of time, but he did his best to shove boxes, debris, any shattered glass, anything at all to slow those bastards up behind them. This he scattered over the floor behind them, waitring for the two of them to MOVE.
 
"Don't you think those things will jump up?" Asked Veronica.

"I don't know, but I am guessing they will come bashing through the door any second now." Replied Sean.

Hector was watching the door with a shotgun, but Veronica could see the fear on him. He was visibly shaken by what he had seen below.

They quickly lowered the ladder and Veronica went up the steps till she came to the trap door. It took a few minutes to work the rusted latch, but finally he came lose and he pushed it up.

She could see no stars outside, but only the dim light of nearby buildings.

She paused, hesitated. Listening for the whisper of something.

"Veronica get going." Sean Sean.

She stepped up on the ladder and then heard it.

Wings flapping, from a distance. Long flaps. She looked for it, but could only see the lights of the buildings and the white of the moon.

"Something is not right." She said, barely loud enough for Sean to hear it.

Down below the two men were growing impatient, both knowing the door would not hold against repeated attack.

Flapping wings. Long and relaxed. She was looking for whatever it was when the moon went dark.

Then she felt it closing on her, coming down hard and fast.

She ducked back down under the ceiling, back through the trapdoor as something large and dark soared past her, covering the door, she felt the woosh of air being pulled behind it. If it had screached at her she didn't hear it because she was screaming.

Sean had saw the brief flast of a large reptilian body fly by, had seen a claw stretch out for Veronica, snatching at her. Had she not ducked the claws would have plucked her out through the door and carried her away.

Veronica half stumbled down the ladder. "There's something up there." She said repeatedly.

"I guess we can't go up there." Said Sean still looking up through the trapdoor at the night's sky.

Then something big hit the roof above them. Whatever it was, it had landed.

"'I think we should get away from that trap door now." Said Hector.
 
The night passed uneventfully in the mosque. When light was once more beaming through the windows, Andy woke everyone up. Not many had slept well - most were groggy-eyed and stiff.

"Alright everybody, we're still okay. I hope none of you mind if I take a bit of control here - I think I'm right in saying I have the most experience in Combat situations, and I've been trained to deal with difficulties. Any problems?"

Andy looked around - nobody complained.

"Right. We need to make a descision. In military terms, we are, quite basically under seige. The main door is the main way in and out, and that is being blocked by the dogs. As you can hear, they are still there."

The noises of the dogs growling at each other and scuffling could still be heard.

"Now, after my sentry duty, I did a quick recce of the mosque. Now, on the first floor - or what you Americans would call the second floor - there is a trapdoor which I assume leads to the roof. However, the roof wouldn't be an ideal place to go - I doubt there are any easy ways down from there. However, in the cellar I struck lucky. This place is apparently bult over what must have been an old entrance to the sewers or something - there's an old rusty iron door, and when you look through the keyhole there's a long passageway and the sound of dripping water."

Andy stopped, because Sarah had coughed.

"I don't think we should go to the sewers. Down there there's monsters and al sorts of bad shit." she said.

Then Khaliq spoke up too.

"Plus, that tentacle thing had to be down there. I think the sewers would be an unwise place to be."

"Alright." said Andy. "I think you two have a point. In a minute, we'll gather all our stuff together and go and have a look on the roof."

"You sure the door'll hold?" asked Nasi.

"I'm sorry, what?" replied Andy.

"The door. I can hear the dogs knocking against it."

Sure enough, thumping could be heard against the door.

"Err, I'm sure it will hold." said Andy shakily.

"It won't!" said Nasi, louder.

Crack. The door began to split.

"It will. Calm down, Nasi."

But even now Andy had no faith in the door holding. There was another sickening crack, and then a dog's nose appeared through the split.

"Get up the stairs. Quickly," said Andy firmly, cocking his rifle and putting it up to his shoulder.

Everyone ran upstairs, Andy coming behind them, rifle pointing at the door. There was another crack, and they heard the SA80 fire off a burst, and a dog yelp in pain.

"Run!"

They did so. They reached the trapdoor - Nasi threw herself through it, everyone following her. Andy was the last. He slammed down the trapdoor and stood on it.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, and then was swept off his feet onto his back by the winged reptile which had come from a nearby building.
 
'Oh, just great.' was the only thought that went through Mike's mind when he turned to answer Andy, but instead only saw some winged beast knock him down.

Mike didn't even try to identify it. A dinosaur, a dragon? Whatever, it was none too friendly & that was all he needed to know. As the beast flew away, Mike took aim & fired. The kid let out a hushed scream, more out of surprise than out of fear, but Mike paid no attention to it. He was too concentrated on the beast, which now was making a big turn around another building & was coming back around.

Instinctively, Mike's hand reached into the side pocket of his bulky backpack & he grabbed a flare. Quickly he ignited it & waved it towards the incomming beast, in the hope that like all animals it would be afraid of fire. This effort would prove a sick joke if the animal turned out to be a dragon after all.

The others quickly scattered as Andy got back onto his feet. Sarah, Sobia, Khaliq & the young Tim sought refuge behind a rather bulky metallic construction on the roof, that was probably was some kind of ventilation or aircooling setup. Nasi hesitantly took a place next to the two men, out in the open and leveled her rifle.

The girl shivered when as Andy let his first burst rip, but soon she opened fire as well. Mike, still franticly waving with the flare (it would be useless to fire with a shotgun at that range anyway), saw small reddish dots slowly appearing on the monsters body. He smiled at the sight.

'If it bleeds, we can kill it.' he thought.

As the beast came into range, it finally came into range. Mike leveled his shotgun & shot his second shell at the incoming menace. Andy at the same time switched to full auto & let his assault rifle rip. Whatever Nasi was doing, Mike could not make out due to the deafening rattle of the assault rifle.

The 12gauge shell tore a piece out of the front of the beasts left wing, the 5.56mm NATO rounds left a trail of bloody holes across the beasts chest and a part of its face. The beast lost his velocity & tumbled down. The crash shook the roof & the three had to run for cover as the beast rolled across the roof. At the edge, it came to a halt.

As Andy dropped his clip & reloaded, the beast started to crawl up straight again, back towards his three attackers. Both Nasi & Mike opened fire again, but the scales on the back seemed a lot more resilient & took little damage. Slowly the monster turned, revealing massive damage to its facial area & its torso. Wounded it sat on the ledge, eyes defiant and angry.

Slowly the beast changed. It literally petrified. The beast turned into a twisted, oversized & damaged gargoyle. Fascinated & repulsed at the same time, Nasi gathered her strength and took a step forward.

"Don't!" Andy yelled.

The girl quickly took a step back & as she did, the gargoyle started to change again. Now, the beast seemed to mend whatever damage had been caused in the fight. Mike stook aim & shot a single shell into the rocky beast, but it barely left a few scratches that moments later disappeared. Once restored the beast, started to change back into its original form of flesh & blood, but before the three could open fire again, it tumbled backwards off the ledge & flew off.

Painstakingly slow the beast made another approach, this time, sleaker, with its wing closer to his body & his belly nearly invisible to its three attackers. As it came into range, the three opened fire again. The monster seemed first to take interest in Andy, as he was the most dangerous of the bunch, but then he changed course & headed straight for Nasi.

A luckily placed shotgun shell damaged the left wing again & caused the monster to make a emergency landing onto the roof. That did not stop it however. With renewed hate the monster thundered towards Nasi, who prepared to fire straight at the beasts head while Andy emptied his clip into the side of the beast.

Both Andy & Mike were now empty. Andy dropped his clip again & started reloading, but Mike was all too aware that there was no time for the slow reload time of a shotgun. Hopeful, he watched the beast nearing Nasi, who was taking careful aim. In his mind, he saw Nasi fire straight into the eye of the beast, killing the beast on the spot. However, in reality, the gun made a soft metallic clicking noise... The gun had jammed.

In panic, Mike turned to Andy, but he was still reloading, so he couldn't expect any help from there. The beast was now almost on top of Nasi, who was now frozen into place by fear. The beast now looked very human to Mike, he could see an expression of both hatred & joy on the beasts face. He did no longer think, but acted on instinct.

"Hey, numbnuts! Catch this!" He yelled so load that his voice almost gave up the ghost. Below the building, the doglike horrors replied to the scream with even more growls.

Mike threw the flare at the beast, who had turned his head in a reflex. Due to some animal instinct, the beast took a bite at the flying flare & swallowed it whole. For a moment, nothing happened, but then a painful expression could be read on the beasts face. While maybe not life threathening to such a big beast, the flare would prove very painful & annoying.

Disappointed in having missed his mark, the beast headed to the ledge again, while Nasi now ran towards cover near the others. The beast struck his previous pose & petrified again. Slowly the bodily harm was repairing again. But then, Andy slung his rifle on his back & charged forward. It didn't take Mike long to realise what he was planning to do & he dropped his empty shotgun & rushed forward as well.

The beast did not react at all, either because it was underestimating the danger, or because it simply couldn't act while regenerating. Both men now slammed into the petrified horror & caused it to tumble off the ledge. A stinging pain originated from Mike's shoulder, but he felt empowered by the fact that they had successfully pushed it off.

The two men peaked over the ledge & saw the beast fall as it transformed back into its normal form. It hit the ground with a crash after the two story fall, but seemed only dazed. However the horrific dogs had already started to circle it. Andy opened fire & caused blood to splatter across the ground. More of an invitation the dogs would not need. The winged demon let out a shreak of pain & surprise and began to beat around him with his wings, but it was to no avail... The beast would never be able to get away.
 
Andy reloaded his rifle. He had used several magazines, but had brought plenty. In fact, he could have sworn he had more stached away in his assault vest than he remembered putting in there at the barracks - another thinkg to make the whole situation more surreal.

"Chuck the rifle here." said Mike to Nasi. Still dazed, she threw him the rifle. Mikey swflty unjammed it and threw it back.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely interupted, is everyone okay?" said Andy, smiling slightly.

"Think so." said Khaliq. "I must say, this place is perfect for seeing out across the city."

Everyone looked out - they could see clearly the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben. Also, there were some famous monuments and buildings from other cities - the Golden Gate Bridge, smaller than usual, was next to Tower Bridge, and Canterbury Cathedral was next to the similar Washington Cathedral.

"Okay. I know everyone will be relieved that the... thing is dealt with, but we must remember that we are on a rooftop. I need everyone to go and scout out for a possible way down."

They all split and looked around - the only way down was found by the boy Tim, who gestured wildly at a fire escape ladder, old a rusting, hanging precariously from the building as if it was about to fall. At the bottom of the ladder the dogs waited, drool sliming the ground around them.

"Well, it's not perfect, but it'll have to do. Mike, you go first. I'll keep the dogs away from up here, then you keep them clear. Everyone with a werapon should go down first, bar me. I'll stay up here and pick any off that you don't. Any problems?"

OCC- minor edits from welsh. GOod posting guys.
 
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