She had been staring at the device for a while, and had completely zonked out, her brain floating in the clouds. She jolted when the girl talked to her, and looked over at Billie (@NOTaHFfan ) , and jumped.
“WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS ARM!?”
She blurted out, confused and worried tones mixing in her voice.
Her own mechanical hand twitched.
“Why- I don’t- why- I’M NOT ABLE TO PROCESS THIS! WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS ARM?!”
She looked torn between trying to pounce on her as anxiety gave way to outrage, and to just ask to take it from her to give back to Oswin.
Altier’s head did a small twitch towards her direction as she passed. If not for the glasses, he would have looked at Billie confused. Of course they’re being followed, what part of the suit lady possibly being a spook was so hard to understand?
However, his focus changed when Billie started to seemingly threaten their guide. Altier moved his hands into his pant pockets, sticking all the fingers in except for the thumbs. His right hand slowly reached around for something as he repositioned somewhere behind Billie. If things started to get messy or too loud, he was ready to bash Billie in the back of her head. He wouldn’t allow an angry drunk to jeopardize things just because she’s paranoid.
Before he could say anything and help Trevor, he then noticed the arm. Which lead into immediate questions of how many store employees did she assault already without him noticing? Or the person following? Surely she didn’t grab a spare arm off one of the racks.
He didn’t have to look far or ask before an answer presented itself. And that, if nothing else, seemed to stop Billie from attacking the others. Altier took his hands out of his pockets and shoved one of them under his shades to rub his eyes. Gracie’s screaming didn’t help.
“Just shove it and get inside, late birds are donated to science. Boy, get over here and collect your arm before she starts hitting people with it.”
After the initial shock of discovering that she had been holding someone’s disembodied mechanical arm had passed and Billie was able to think again, she just stood there, looking quite miserable, as she listened to Oswin’s explanation. Even if his words shed some light on what had just occurred, they didn’t provide Billie with any solace. What do you mean Disconnected? Maybe just don’t do that???
As he continued his speech, Billie became increasingly more unsettled with his predicament. Is there any part of him that’s not… artificial? Is that even possible? How can he live like that?
At least she didn’t rip anyone’s arm off and he seemed to be able to reattach it… Although the kid seemed to be more concerned about her reaction than he was about his own arm missing, which only served to frustrate and unsettle her more. Why is he being so darn empathetic towards me? Doesn’t he have other things to worry about? Like his arm?! She would prefer if he got angry at her for ‘stealing his arm’ or something and decided to never talk to her again rather than attempt to explain himself and… apologize?
Once again, Billie found herself in a deeply uncomfortable position as she clenched Oswin’s missing arm around the wrist, looking completely emotionally drained, unable to decide how she was supposed to act in this situation. He didn’t ask to give it back and didn’t try to take it away… what do I do…
Billie was so distraught at that moment that had Altier decided to follow through with his intention to bash her on the back of her head, he wouldn’t have met any resistance. If only she knew that he was preparing to do that, she’d wish that he did and put her out of her misery…
Billie slowly moved her eyes towards Trevor’s leg. The sight of the injury and all of this missing limb talk caused her mind to suddenly flash back to that day and the horrific scene that unfolded right before her eyes four years ago. There was so much blood…
Fear showed in her eyes and for a moment she looked like she was about to pass out. Gracie’s screaming in the background didn’t make the situation any better as it worked together with other factors to reactivate Billie’s headache from earlier in the morning.
Altier’s comment was able to get through to Billie and saved her from spiraling further into misery. Color gradually returned to her face and didn’t stop returning until she was red from embarrassment.
I would never-
She hastily walked up to Oswin and practically shoved his detached arm into his hand, trying to get rid of it as quickly as she could, as holding onto it any longer was too embarrassing. She was too flustered to even look him in the eyes, let alone try to speak to him, so she immediately stormed off towards the broken vending machine and stared at it intensely, avoiding eye contact with everyone present.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!!”
Gracie looked like she wanted to explode, though that probably was what she wanted to do at all times anyway, as she marched over to Billie.
“DO YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR ANYONE ELSES BODY PARTS?!”
She snapped, her voice filled with a sudden venom.
“THERES A REASON WE HAVE THESE, YOU KNOW!”
There was likely, no UNDOUBTLY, a memory or two that reminded her.
How many times she broke her hand in frustration, or how many times she repaired it…
Or when she first lost…it…
Oswin’s expression changed as it became clearer what Billie was going through. Obviously, due to her worn-out expression, almost depressed attitude, and limp stance, she was… uh…
Tired! No wait, that’s obvious.
Then another thought occurred to Oswin, one that fit perfectly in line with the mental image he had already constructed of her. Something that, given her evident friendless status, should have been obvious before now, but silly Oswin was just too distracted to see it. She needed something he wished he could have had more of, both during his time in the college and in his past life.
She needed a hug.
Trevor’s comments about his artificial leg blew right over Oswin’s head. The thought of poor friendless Billie desperately needing a hug consumed all else in his mind until there was nearly nothing left. But she’s so tall… How do I, um… Convince her to like, crouch down or something and then offer a hug? Maybe I can stand on a table? But what table could possibly support-
Oswin’s pupils shrank and he started moving forwards, as it seemed like Billie would drop unconscious then and there. However, before he had the opportunity to intervene, Altier cut through the tension with that brilliantly unenthusiastic voice of his.
“But she wouldn’t-”
Oswin stumbled back a step as the arm was shoved into his hand, Billie not even attempting to look him in the eyes as she did so. It was impossibly cold compared to the moment of perceived fragility he noticed from her before, and it left him staring after her, his face clearly showing how injured he was at the gesture, trying to decipher what her intent was. Was she just done with the entire situation? Or was she done with him?
Oswin could feel his eyebrows shoot up his forehead as Gracie marched over and began screaming unnecessarily in Billie’s face. “Whoa, hey, um,” Oswin quickly caught up to her, making nervous glances at everyone else in the storage area as he did so. “There’s no need for, um… Everything’s fine, it’s not broken or… uh…”
“Can we move this along?” He whispered at Trevor, perfectly audible to everyone in the area, with a pleading expression on his face. “Please?”
Watching as Gracie went off on Billie, and Oswin pleading with him to hurry up, Trevor started to wonder if it was time for him to leave.
Altier’s suggestion also reminded Trevor of how his general manager lead the store - his voice filled with authority; and had to agree with Oswin on this.
Not wanting to accidentally get pulled into a possible argument with Billie and Gracie, Trevor closed the gate and moved some tools around on the work bench until they made a mechanical “click”. The noise alerting those near the soda machine that something had “released”. Following the sound came the familiar lack of outside noise the group had encountered at the diner earlier in the morning.
Beyond the gate, and back into the warehouse you can see the staff; still unloading the truck. Neither they or the forklift make a sound as they go about their business.
Trevor walks over the the soda machine, squeezing past Gracie as he did. “Excuse me.” He said just before standing in front of the machine. Pressing a series of buttons on the touch pad, he paused for a moment.
“I forgot to mention this earlier, but if any of you have weapons of hacking tools on you; you’re going to want to leave them on the table once you get inside.”
After saying this, he pressed the last icon on the screen. A hidden handle popped out of the machine, allowing him to pull open the main ten r door for the vending machine.
Looking inside, you all notice that the machine is a false doorway, leading to a decently large room.
“Good luck!” He says, before moving aside to let you each enter.
“So …” the girl who joined you earlier asks, “Who’s first?”
There were very few times when Altier thought about other professions. And Gracie’s constant shouting in this area made him wish he followed his mother’s dreams of being a horse doctor. She just wanted free medical care for her horses, but if he was at this moment, perhaps he would have a nice large tranq for the delirious women. Maybe they would faint at the size of thing before he got to use it.
Then again, if he was a horse doc rather than a tractor one, he wouldn’t be in this position at all. The grass is only as green as you make it - no time to further wish for tools that weren’t here.
Instead of saying anything to Gracie, as much as he felt like retorting, he answered the girl by entering the room.
“You mean who’s going last.”
He’ll find the table and deposit his firearm and a couple of blades.
Oswin jolted quite violently at the returned presence of the dead zone, which made the rest of the world feel unnatural… And unreachable. It was like being trapped in an invisible cage, glass walls sealing him off from the outside world. It was a very scary feeling, and his face could not help but show it.
He also could not help but look back at Billie. He had reached out to her in fear of similar circumstances before, and with her current pitiable state, it was impossible to reach out to her again, with the same frightened eyes he had possessed in the diner.
Oswin looked about his person, turning his entire body around to look behind him, in the event that a hacking tool or weapon of some kind was somehow on his person. Whoever these people are, they don’t mess around. Although I guess I’M technically a weapon… Do they want me on the table?
After picturing a horrible scene in which the table was an operating table and he was back in that horrible surgery room, Oswin shook his head slightly to snap out of it. There could be anything lying behind that door… Some kind of trap, other people we don’t know… I’m scared.
He began to sidle towards Billie, but stopped halfway to her, realizing what he was doing. Looking up at her, it became evident to him that he wasn’t going to make any headway at being a very good friend if he constantly had to hold her hand to do anything, much less in the face of dangers she seemed completely capable of handling.
It’s hard to be brave, but… I can do it. If it means she has a friend, it’ll be worth it.
As Oswin glanced at Billie, his eyes slowly set with a resolve, and his frame naturally uncollapsed. His image went from insecure paranoia to determined resilience, as much as someone his age could actually be resilient in the very subtle and subdued manner Billie had shown. Turning back towards the doorway, he locked eyes with the ominous entrance.
“I’ll-”
“Oh.”
If Oswin had been capable of blushing, his entire face would be a deep cherry red by now. His eyebrows crinkled right along with his frame, and he quietly shuffled in after Altier, not bothering to look at the room at all as he entered, feeling completely ashamed of himself.
All that talk and all those promises of bravery, all for two seconds of pretending to be just as much of an adult as she is and get left in the dust… I’m just a kid. What the heck am I trying to do?
Why does she have to be so loud? It’s a small room, everyone can hear her already…
Billie thought that had they been in a forest right now, Gracie’s screams would scare away all deer in a three mile radius and Billie would come back from her hunt completely empty handed and receive a very disappointed look from the butcher she sold most of the meat to. Then she wouldn’t be able to afford groceries for the next week…
It took Gracie walking directly up to Billie and getting very in her face for her to realize that she was the one being yelled at.
Billie’s neck sunk into her shoulders, she grabbed her forearm with her hand awkwardly and a pained expression appeared on her face in response to Gracie’s barrage of words. Her headache was getting really bad again.
She tried to look anywhere but directly at Gracie, so her eyes traveled around the room, primarily above Gracie’s head. From the perspective of everyone else in the room, Billie receiving a verbal beating from someone so much smaller than her must have looked completely absurd.
She tried to retort, saying “Maybe if it was really so important, he wouldn’t have detached it”, but her voice was completely drowned out by the flashily dressed girl’s next remark, so everyone else present was only able to see her barely moving lips.
What does she mean, We?
Billie finally managed to look directly at Gracie, sizing her up. Only now she noticed that one of her hands appeared to be fully mechanical. It looked like a much more crude and less sophisticated version of Oswin’s lifelike arm, so it should have been quite easy to spot, however the one thing the girl’s colorful mismatched attire was evidently good at was hiding the robotic nature of her hand by blending it together with the visual noise of everything that surrounded it, which is why noticing it took Billie so long. Well, that, and the fact that she didn’t like looking at people in general and avoided doing so at every given opportunity. She flinched slightly, considering the implications of Gracie losing her arm at some point in the past.
She realized that she had never actually considered how people with artificial limbs felt. She grew up and lived her entire life in a rural part of town where seeing those was not very common, so it never really came to her attention. It clearly must have meant a lot to Gracie, if she was so outraged about it. How does the kid feel, if most of his body is artificial? Does it hurt when your limb gets replaced? How much does it hurt if all of them get replaced? Does it hurt afterwards? Is he unable to feel anything at all?
As Oswin appeared next to her and Gracie to intervene, Billie looked away awkwardly and attempted to move away from the pair slightly. She rubbed her temples with the index and middle fingers of her hands, trying to deal with her worsening headache and at the same time thankful for this moment of comparative silence, hoping that Gracie finally ran out of things to say.
She assumed that Oswin’s reason for intervention was to clear up that everything had indeed been fine with him and not to protect her from Gracie in some way. The latter option didn’t even cross Billie’s mind for a second, the idea that somebody would willingly be on her side was so alien to her.
When Oswin addressed Trevor, he really did seem like a kid desperately trying to stop someone from screaming and arguing because it made him uncomfortable.
Billie had been craving for some peaceful silence, however the full disappearance of sound coming from the warehouse area still made her flinch. Even though she had already experienced it once before, it wasn’t easy to get used to. There was something deeply unnatural about this silence, which made it the complete opposite of calming and peaceful and instead actively alerted all of her senses, which only served to add to Billie’s miserable, paranoid state.
At first, Billie was confused by Trevor’s remark, but what immediately followed it quickly cleared it up. The vending machine opened up like a door, revealing a secret room behind it. Billie had thought of this before, but now she was almost sure that this computer store was the place where the group was going to meet their boss. Or this could easily be a trap and they wouldn’t be coming back from there… It was surely one or the other.
Billie certainly didn’t have anything that could be considered a ‘hacking tool’ and she wasn’t eager to part ways with her trusty hunting knife that was tucked neatly inside one of her many pockets. But it looked like it couldn’t be helped. She knew what she could go without any weapons just as, if not more effectively if things got bad, even if the prospect of having to go through that process wasn’t an attractive one whatsoever. In fact, Billie would hate to have to do it, but if there wasn’t any other option, she’d have no choice. She started mentally preparing herself for the worst, which wasn’t all that hard, considering that her whole existence was usually comprised of that very ‘worst’.
The damaged tissue on her lower arms and cheeks itched in response.
Billie gave the stranger a dismissive look with an undertone of suspicion. She certainly wasn’t going first. luckily for her, Altier seemed to agree with her as he promptly took that initiative upon himself with very little hesitation.
As Billie noticed some movement in the corner of her eye, she looked over at Oswin just in time to observe the sudden change in his demeanor. Something seemed very different about him. There was a certain confidence and resolve in the way he carried himself at the moment that she had never seen before. Such a look clashed rather absurdly with Oswin’s youthful stature and Billie would have probably found it rather amusing if she still had some humor left in her. But in her current emotionally drained state she could only look at him in pained confusion and wonder what could have prompted such a drastic and sudden change.
He was certainly trying to act tougher than he really was, that was clear even to someone as socially inept as Billie, however his intent behind this stayed a mystery to her. Who is he trying to impress here?
Then she realized that the kid was looking at her specifically, which prompted her to blush slightly and look away.
Is he doing this for me?
Oswin finding the bravery within himself to go into the secret room only for the initiative to be immediately overtaken by the significantly more confident Altier and lose all of his resilience in an instant was such a sad and pathetic sight that Billie couldn’t help but feel bad for the kid, just a little.
She shuffled in place uncomfortably as she waited for Oswin to pass through and, after a moment of hesitation, realizing that she didn’t want to be left alone in a room with Gracie, awkwardly entered the secret room as well.
Going up to the table, she took out her box of painkillers and quickly swallowed two pills at once. She was aware that she was taking way too much, but if things were to get dicey in there, she knew what she was going to need those.
After taking care of that, Billie pulled out her hunting knife, put it on the table next to Altier’s admittedly more impressive arsenal and waited for what was going to happen next…
She indeed drowned out her voice, her own like a missile blowing up mid flight.
“AND ANOTHER THI-”
She took a deep breath, as her gaze softened slightly at his concerned remark, his face a mix of trepidation, a complete and utter contrast to the inferno that exploded across hers just now.
She exhaled, and put her hands to her face.
“Alright, I’m sorry for that outburst, I just…”
She hated thinking back to that star filled night. She hated the fact that she could still feel that burning sensation in her arm.
“I don’t like it when…other peoples cybernetics are mishandled. They’re supposed to be a part of you, and they shouldn’t be…flailed around.”
She turned around, with a look of ‘Seriously?’ painted across her face.
WHAT?! OH COME ON, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU-wait, bombs don’t count for this I hope.
She was worried at that. Technically, they were only weapons in her hands, or hand, and she didn’t like not having one with her at all times.
She placed the bag down, and the weird little scanner, and her pistol, but she kept her tools.
She’d never leave her little beat-up beauties behind, her screwdrivers and wrenches.
Seeing that everyone else had already gone into the room, the new girl entered last. Once across the threshold, the door closed behind her with a soft hiss and a subtle but substantial THUNK. A thin line of LEDs lining the edge of the door slowly pulses red for several moments before finally turning green. In the corner where you each placed your items, the basic looking wooden table sits. Glancing at each of you, she carefully makes her way through the group and places her bag next to Gracie’s on the table.
Once she removed her hand from the bag, a thin blue line of light passed over the table, each item it passed by was outlined on its surface with a brief description of the item (Make and Model) along with a digital tag of who the item belonged to. Your full names displayed next to each item.
Next to the new girl’s bag you can read her tag as “Clarissa Sterling”.
Each piece of technology (phones, tablets, etc) are outlined with an amber colored line with the word ISOLATED tagged next to them. Gracie’s bag is outlined in red with IED tagged for it.
Seeing her name on full display to the group, Clarissa turns and sheepishly says “Guess the cat is out of the bag.” She extends her hand to Billie in an attempt to shake hands “I’m Clarissa.”
Billie shuffled in place uncomfortably as the secret door began to move with a prominent sound.
As the door closed behind the stranger girl, she concluded based on the sounds it made and the light show that was displayed after the closing sequence that it wasn’t going to be easy to get though in case such a need were to arise. If this was a trap, they didn’t have a way out. More disturbingly, it was very unlikely that the door would be an issue for the thing that followed them into the store, so they’d essentially be trapped inside with it.
Billie tried to estimate if she would be able to break through it if she were to resort to that option, but there was not enough information to go off of. She’d have to see if it ever got to that on the spot.
Billie’s singular not particularly fancy hunting knife looked utterly unremarkable next to some of the arsenals of some other members of the group. The accuracy with which whatever system that was responsible for this display determined the nature of every single item didn’t seem to impress or interest Billie whatsoever, so she looked at the table with complete apathy up until the moment when she noticed that the full names of the members of the group were displayed next to their items as well, which included Billie’s knife. Billie flinched slightly at the sight of her full legal name being displayed so casually. Other than that, she wasn’t particularly interested in finding out the names of everyone else, it’s not like she was going to attempt to start conversations with any of them, so she didn’t care. She already knew Alt and, as for the other two, “freak” and “kid” would suffice.
But there was another person she was forgetting about. Billie turned her attention towards the bag that the stranger had just put on the table. The labeling system had been very helpful when it came to all the other items, like pointing out that Billie’s hunting knife was, in fact, a knife, but, much to her dissatisfaction, not this one. At least there’s a name… Clarissa Sterling… That doesn’t help at all.
Just as Billie was turning away from the table, realizing that it wasn’t going to provide her with any useful information about the suspicious stranger, she was immediately met by said stranger’s extended hand.
Billie stared at it for a moment, caught off guard by the girl’s gesture. When was the last time she had been offered a handshake by someone?
“uhhh…” Realizing with a significant delay that the socially acceptable thing to do was to accept the handshake and give her own name in response, Billie awkwardly gripped the girl’s hand and quietly responded “Billie…” Despite the awkwardness with which Billie extended her hand, Clarissa would be able to feel that it was strong and sturdy, clearly belonging to someone who did a lot of physical activity.
Had the circumstances been different, Billie wouldn’t have given her name to Clarissa, as she didn’t trust the girl one bit and still found her suspicious, however considering that her full name had just been exposed to literally everyone in the room, there was no point in trying to hide it. Everyone already knew either way.
At least the headache’s getting better after the pills…
Oswin turned towards her when she stated her reasoning, unsure how to interpret her comment. How would she feel if she knew his entire body - every hair, every detail of his skin, every artificial nerve - was completely prosthetic?
Well, except for my stomach and heart. And brain. Okay actually I don’t know which of my internal organs are actually real.
If Billie had paid any attention to Oswin, she would have noticed him trying to both hold his arm and play with his collar at the same time. She was popping them like candy… Was she in pain all the time?
And if so, how did she sleep? How did she eat, or bathe? Would water inflame it? Was she able to touch things on her arm without it hurting? The door had struck her and clearly hurt her; he still felt guilty about that. Was there any way he could hug her without risking her arms being injured?
His face would remain in a state of utter pity until something happened that distracted him from the notion entirely… At least for the time being.
Oswin gawked even further at the table than he had at anything else thus far, which appeared to be made entirely of wood, somehow displaying technological projections that detailed the identities of everyone in the room. It didn’t terrify him at all that their names had all been revealed without their permission, because the technology was simply too cool-looking for him to be afraid of.
It didn’t say anything about my name… Should I introduce myself?
Oswin opened his mouth to say 'Hi! I’m Oswin! Nice to meet ya! What job do YOU have in the group? ’ But considering this was a conversation between two other people which were not speaking to him, it seemed rude to interject.
So, instead, he took the angle of approach that, surely, anyone would be able to relate to. And who knows, maybe something would happen if he said it.
“Well, we’re finally here.” He looked about the room, specifically choosing not to look for any kind of discrepancy he could focus on. “Where’s the person we’re supposed to meet?”
Compared to the sound filtering, the identifying lightshow was less impressive. Simple image identifiers and some laser projectors was all one needed for something similar. The real question was whether that light also put the stuff under some sort of shielding. If you are to give up weapons and tools, it’s to ensure none will be used in a meeting. And if there’s nothing to prevent them from taking them back, then what was the point?
Altier looked around to see if there were any obvious cameras, projectors, vents, etc. And of course, if there was any seating. He didn’t how long they would be here, but unless it’s so short surely there are at least some folding chairs.
“In our minds and hearts. . . Maybe not the heart, but at least the brain.” Altier commented while looking for those chairs.
Looking around the room (14ft x 10ft) , you (and the others) could notice the air ducts are similar in design the those of a starship’s airlock. Filtration systems evident on the vents. The air is cool, and the level of humidity is far lower than that of the warehouse. The wooden table is against the wall and in the corner (North East Corner) directly next to the entrance you and the group entered through. On the west side of the room, you can make out a slight shimmering in the shape of a rectangle (roughly 3ft tall x 6ft wide) the color matching the color of the room, with a simple looking stainless steel shelf just underneath the rectangle. There are tiny sensors through the room along the ceiling, in the corners and near the door, the table and the odd shimmering rectangle. Upon further inspection, you notice that there is a smaller shimmering rectangle against the north wall and at the same level as the wooden table.
The south west corner of the room has a large then dome made of what looks like a heavy gauge steel with a small sensor/camera attached to the bottom of it. It reminds you of something, but it’s also triggers a “red flag” for the memory.
The south side of the room has stairs leading down to another level (a light can be seen coming from wherever the stairs lead - voices can be heard coming from the stairwell; but they are difficult to distinguish at this time).
The south wall also shimmers, but instead of just a rectangle - the entire wall seems to do so when you look at it long enough.
Oswin had such difficulty comprehending what in the world Altier was talking about that he forgot not to pay attention to his surroundings. Plus, Altier’s obvious searching of the room prompted him to take a look around as well, and…
In spite of the tech present, the peculiar walls, and the odd camera, Oswin’s attention was drawn to the barely audible voices he could hear coming from below. Suddenly the whole situation seemed much less scary and more like getting dropped off at a sleepover. I wish I could go to a sleepover again. It’s been so long since I was able to do that.
“Oh hey, I bet he’s down there!” Oswin looked back at Billie and Altier for a moment before jogging to the stairs, rapping his knuckles on the adjoining wall to announce his presence, and then loudly yelling “HELLO! WE’RE HERE!! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!!”
Oswin being Oswin, it was almost mandatory to include an apology in there somewhere, even if he wasn’t actually sorry in the slightest. Maybe I want to be sorry; is that such a problem?
Clarissa raised an eyebrow as she waited for Billie to take her hand, and was about to say something when Billie finally shook her hand.
Seeing Billie’s awkward response, she made a face and looked around the room; trying to make eye contact with everyone - at least for a second before looking back to Billie. “Thanks for the warm welcome.” She finally said, some annoyance in her voice; Frustration evident from her expression as she looked away.
After an awkward moment of silence, she turned back to Billie, opening her mouth to speak when
Seeing Oswin in her periphery as he made a move toward the stairs, she suddenly stopped trying to speak with Billie and turned; grabbing her bag off the table.
“Hey, wait up!” She said.
Her action suddenly triggered something, the lights in the room turning from a sterile white to a deep ominous red.
Oswin’s sudden movement to the stairs also triggering a barely audible sound as the sensors tracked his movement.
@Ghid (invisible to the other players, Oswin’s advanced optics can pick up high frequency lights from the sensors as the dome tracks you)
@NOTaHFfan (Something about the dome triggers a similar feeling Billie sensed earlier in the store.)
@ajtazt (although this isn’t farm equipment, you recognize this as a weapons platform - the type that are typically installed in highly sensitive areas onboard military vessels.)
A second later, the dome lowered from the ceiling, rotating into place a smaller version of the old M249s. The barrel of the weapon pointing directly at Oswin; but only for a second before it raised and faced Clarissa.
Oswin had turned his head to listen in the event that someone down the stairs would reply when the entire room turned an ominous red. His shoulders pressed against his neck; he had seen enough sci-fi movies to know what a large amount of red lights meant.
Something ominous is about to happen, I just know it…
The dome immediately caught his attention, lights scanning across his body. No, no, scanning was an inaccurate description. They were looking at him, analyzing his actions, watching his every move. Whatever this thing was, it was not friendly, and it especially didn’t like him.
“H-Hi.” Oswin began to raise his disconnected arm to wave at the machine, but it chose to interrupt his action with yet another ominous move, one that spooked Oswin pretty badly.
Oswin flinched back at the sight of the gun. It was not easy for him being his age to keep it in his memory that he was bulletproof, but then again, not that bulletproof. Handguns had no effect on him, but something of that caliber could likely cut through him in a matter of seconds.
Then it changed. The barrel of the gun was suddenly pointed behind him, and Oswin didn’t need to look back in order to determine exactly who it was pointed at: the only person in the room it possibly could be, because not only did Oswin consistently neglect the rest of his new friends in his subconscious, but it seemed most obvious to him that it was her regardless of whatever evidence existed to contradict that.
Billie.
The gun was too high off the ground. There was no way he could reach it, to try and get in front of it, or somehow distract the machine briefly, as he was simply too short. But, thankfully, he had a bit of an extended reach at the moment.
“Wait!” Oswin yelled, raising up his disconnected arm and attempting to slam the palm of it over the barrel. “Don’t shoot! We just- We’re just waiting for someone to show up! Please don’t shoot us!”
“Please?” If his eyes were capable of watering enough to appear bigger, they’d be glistening right now.
Billie glanced at Oswin and then at the staircase, from the direction of which muffled voices could be heard, with a hint of frustration. It seemed quite obvious to her that whoever they were supposed to meet expected them to come down there on their own. Meeting them in the room where they had direct access to their weapons made no sense, but Oswin evidently hasn’t had a chance to develop logical thinking yet.
Billie looked back just in time to meet Clarissa’s frustration-filled eyes with her own tired ones. She felt some relief when her hand was let go of. Not only did touching someone else’s hand create an unpleasant sensation in the damaged tissues of her arm (it wasn’t as bad, considering that her palms weren’t damaged), but she also felt uncomfortable making physical contact with another person in general.
Billie was able to pick up on the girl’s blatant sarcastic tone. What else did she expect? Nobody in the group had any reason to trust her after she showed up completely out of nowhere…
Billie started getting ready to get screamed at again (it wasn’t out of the question, given how frustrated the girl was about not receiving a warm welcome), when a loud sound from a completely different part of the room caused her and Clarissa to look in that direction in unison, interrupting any further awkward conversation.
Billie’s face showed a great deal of frustration and discomfort as Oswin’s unreasonably loud scream threatened to destroy her ear drums, or at least reinstate her headache immediately after she’d taken a couple more pills.
What does this moron think he’s doing?!
Before she could contemplate the fact that Oswin’s yell was a childish, immature move that didn’t help them in any way, events started occurring at a rapid pace, not giving Billie any time to be annoyed.
The dome on the ceiling of the room kept drawing her attention. It gave her a similar uncomfortable feeling of being watched to the one she had experienced in the shop. Its presence lingered in her mind, alerting her senses.
She observed Clarissa in the corner of her eye grab something off the table and call out to Oswin in an attempt to stop him, as she seemed to share Billie’s sentiment that the kid’s actions were unreasonable, which was immediately followed up by ominous red lights illuminating the room.
Billie tensed up and her eyes darted around the room, trying to determine what exactly caused this, just in time to see the dome she had found to be unnerving earlier move down, revealing an old light machine gun.
An old light machine gun that briefly pointed at Oswin, but then, before Billie could act, immediately changed its position to point right next to her. That’s where the girl stood.
Not having any time to think, Billie darted towards Clarissa in an attempt to shove the girl with significant force with the intention to knock her away and towards the floor, removing her from the line of fire. This would put Billie directly in the guns line of fire instead, but she didn’t care. The turret’s target getting knocked down could win her a little time and allow her to get to it before it started shooting. If the push also resulted in the bag getting knocked out of Clarissa’s hand, that could result in the turret deactivating or at least not firing at the girl immediately, so it was worth a try.
Billie sharply turned her head towards the turret, preparing to dash towards it only to get briefly stunlocked by the sight of Oswin making an extremely poor attempt at covering the barrel of the gun with the hand of his detached arm while screaming something at the turret.
WHAT’S THIS IDIOT DOING?!
She thought how the only thing this would accomplish was deflect one bullet maximum and send the arm flying across the room. Best case scenario, it would give her an extra moment of time before the girl got shot…
Altier was trying to place where he knew this dome. It gave a bad feeling and before he could place it the kid decided to run towards the stairs. He could reach out and stop him before the room suddenly turned red and the dome lowered. As it did so, it finally dawned on him all too late what the thing was.
“Stop!” he shouted all too late.
Before he knew it, a tornado formed and threw everything around. The gun pointed at the boy, then that idiot girl grabbed her bag, who rightly got shoved by Billie, and now the boy was trying to lose his arm. Altier made a point to check on where Gracie was in all of this before taking any action. Plenty of small words escaped either under his breath or about normal volume that were lost in the mix.
He didn’t move from his spot and this time spoke louder to the group.
“Put - the freakin - bag - back on the table. Nice - and - slow. Don’t. Move. Otherwise.”