Rapture

[Fangirl05]

"It sounded like that nurse and the dead guy were the only ones left" Erin opined, "Do you really think we'll find anybody else here?"

 

She tossed the last bottle of pills into the container and turned to Mak. "Is there anywhere they would store these things en masse?" she asked.

[DragonSpirit009]

James stepped back a little so he could see past Emily. Following her line of sight he looked down the aisle she had just come from and saw a small pile of tools and boots. He was glad she had thought of getting proper gear for their feet, James doubted his trainers would last long in a farm enviroment.

 

Deciding it would be best to take a selection of sizes James turned his attention back to the overalls. Grabbing a Medium for himself he picked up another one and two of each other size just in case any of the others ever felt like helping out and slung them over his arm. He ended up with quite a heavy pile and had to balance himself a for a moment by putting his hand on Emily's shoulder.

 

"What are we going to do about animals" he asked Emily as he sorted the overalls out a little better. "I mean, we thinking of picking up chickens or anything?"

“I’m not sure yet.” Emily said while fitting one of the boots on. “I don’t really know what animals the farms have to start with and to tell the truth I don’t know how many either. I didn’t really pay much attention to that yesterday.”

 

Finally she found the right pair for her tucking her jean in the sides before she straightened herself. From what she can tell they pretty much got everything they needed. The store wasn’t going anywhere they could always come back.

 

“It would be nice if we could have a couple of different types of animals like cows, chickens, pigs and even horses.” She spoke locking up her tool box. “We’ll see what we have when we get there. So shall we go?” Emily asked slowly making her way out.

 

[Fortune86]

James actually hoped they wouldn't find anything too large. Being a city boy he didn't know all that much about animals, especially livestock. Chickens, he felt, were more sort of his thing, being small and practically harmless.

 

He followed Emily out of the store, deciding not to get changed into boots and overalls until he had had a chance to check out this farm of hers. Dumping the gear he had found into the back of the truck he climbed back into the passenger seat and buckled himself in.

 

"Okay then MacDonald. Let's do some farming."

[DragonSpirit009]

Back in the truck Emily gave James a no-no look on the McDonalds joke. Something like that would have never bothered her but for some reason it bothered her a little bit, maybe it was because this whole last people on the earth kinda thing.

 

The trip to the farm was quick and a bit bumpy. Emily had to drive a bit slow but they had finally reached the rather big ranch. When she got out she noticed a couple of things which seemed to have gone missing.

 

“There were chickens and dogs here.” She spoke pointing to the ground and the dog kennels near the house. “I think they might have left to find food.” She was a bit worried. Animals that have been without food for a couple days will cause them to leave and look for food somewhere else.

 

She walked around a bit to have a look around but didn’t see anything so far. The field behind the house were rather spread far out and there seem nothing on the horizon.

 

“You better get those boots on. We’ll have to go into the fields.”

 

[Fortune86]

Emily sounded worried about the missing animals, but James didn't really fancing chasing after them just because they might go hungry. If everyone on the planet had gone missing save a few, then animals world over were in trouble. A lot of animals would be trapped inside of houses, pens, cages and enclosures with no one to care or feed them. He refrained from saying this outloud though. He didn't want to spark off a crusade to go around rescuing as many stranded animals as possible. It was a shame about the chickens though. Maybe they'd come back to roost or whatever later.

 

Taking the hint to get his boots on James grabbed a pair in his size from the back of the truck and kicked off his trainers. Once in his new boots he went to join Emily.

 

"So what do we do first?" he asked.

[Kestra15]

By now many animals had broken free to find food, but for those that lived on the farms they were less likely to go wandering. Food was plentiful if they knew where to look, following noses and memories to the grain stores or fresh hay. Some of the animal tracks showed that a few had indeed gone off-site and out into the countryside, but most of them had remained behind. But where had they gone?

 

If one was to look closely at the tracks, knew what shapes were cats and dogs and chickens and cows, then one would find that there were some tracks that didn't fit any of them.

 

And if one dared to look closer, now and again a blood-stained feather could be found...

 

* * * * *

 

"I worked here. Volunteered, actually," Mak replied to Erin, catching the odd box of drugs that Erin didn't quite get into the tub the first time around. As she gathered up what she could find, Mak poked around at the nurse's desk before finally grabbing out a thick green book, the pages as thin as a Gideon Bible's. He'd poked at a few of them when he'd been bored, but never really took an interest in the bewildering array of drugs and their interactions and indications. Now he wished he'd grilled the doctors and nurses a bit more. "Used to bring teas and sandwiches to patients in A&E, do rounds of coffee for the staff too. Killed time, got me out the house." He chuckled, a hollow and mirthless sound that echoed. "Story of my life until now."

 

He found another copy of the book and put them on top of the tub. "BNFs; the pharmacist's Bible," he explained. "Lists every drug available, what they're for, and the recommended doses. Hopefully we won't end up accidentally killing someone with the wrong combination of antibiotics and pain-killers." He looked to Ez as she stood guard, her body betraying the tension he felt. "I don't think a sweep would be much good. Ten floors, over a thousand bed-spaces. I'm not sure..."

 

The noise probably would have gone unnoticed a week ago, but in the silence of the abandoned hospital it rung out a dire warning. A rhythmic click-click-click, the sound of claws on tiled floors. And it was coming from the main corridor that they needed to take back to the A&E. Swinging to face the wooden doors to the ward, Mak scooped up the drugs and books and started to walk slowly backwards, tossing his head and waving with his torch to indicate the others do the same.

 

As he flicked his torch off Mak blinked, trying to steady his breathing as he slowly walked away. There was something about that noise that reached into the primal centre of his brain and simply said 'Danger.' It wasn't the soft paw-falls of a cat, nor the padded rhythmic sound of dogs. It moved with purpose, confidence, and was coming straight for their ward.

[Fangirl05]

"Oh, jackpot" Erin said brightly of the so-called pharmacist's bible, "That's exactly what us untrained shlubs need."

 

Mak suddenly swung around to look at the doors. She had to strain her ears some, but she noticed the clicking.

 

It was probably a safe bet that it wasn't coming from a therapy dog.

 

She set the container down as quietly as she could, drew her knife quickly and shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet as she moved to stand in front of Mak, seeing as he was unarmed.

 

She flexed the fingers of her knife hand to compensate for their shaking and tried not to breathe too loud despite her throbbing heart. As good a shot as she expected Ez was, there was no need to make it easier for her to shoot Erin by accident in the upcoming fight.

[Avialae]

"I did," Micah told Alistair, at first looking at the other man in confusion then comprehension dawning once he saw Alistair holding the gun out towards him. Granted, it didn't look like there were either any people or large animals in the near vicinity, but you never knew. And personally, Micah would feel much safer to be carrying a gun again. He smoothly took the weapon from Alistair, checked to make sure the safety was on, and then got out of the car. Micah could see that the other man was retrieving a knife from his boot, though personally he would rather have the gun. "Thank you," he told Alistair. "Where's the door to this place?"

[Quhanta]

"I found this bag to carry a bunch of the medications in." She spoke curtly as her idea of sweeping the building was shot down.

Ez heard the clicking the same time that she suspected Mak did. He was the first out of the room, and she followed Erin out. Realizing that Mak had no weapon and Erin was defending him, Ez stood in front of Mak, but next to Erin. The three of them forming a triangle of defense toward the unknown sounds of the hospital halls. They needed to go that way to exit, bu what could it even be? Not a domestic animal. Maybe a bird. Heh. They get all worked up over a bird. However unlikely it was to be a bird, the thought entertained her a bit, relaxing herself as her gun and light were pointed down the hall.

[Kestra15]

Still slowly walking backwards, Mak waved with his now-darkened torch at the girls to get their attention. Some forty metres behind them at the end of the corridor stood the emergency exit, which led to a stairwell that linked them to the wards above. If they got there they could always cross over to a stairwell near the A&E and drop back down, jump in the vehicle and escape. While they didn't have everything Mak hoped to get, going via another ward meant they could raid the drugs cabinet there for the antibiotics and some more fluids before going back through the Emergency Department. Naturally he couldn't communicate that; he could only hope that the two would catch his signal as he pointed to the double doors at the end, retreating as quickly and softly as he could. That, and hopefully they'd kill their torches too.

[Fangirl05]

Erin followed Mak's flashlight with her eyes to a boldly advertised exit. He probably meant for them to make a quick getaway through there. She returned her attention to the animal footfalls oh God it was getting closer!

 

She looked around desperately, trying to find a way to keep it from getting to them a little longer. There were a few stretchers scattered around, and shelves on the walls. Not great, but better than being eaten.

 

She nudged Ez's arm with her own to get her attention and flexed her fingers at her, asking for the light. "I'll distract it" she said so quietly she was practically mouthing the words, "You guys run."

[Fortune86]

As James waited for Emily to tell him what needed doing he slowly became aware of a certain smell. It wasn't one he had often encountered, even in his line of work, but there was no mistaking it. Inhaling again just to make sure he wasn't imgaining it, he turned to Emily a little confused.

 

"Can you smell that? Smells like blood. Is there a sluaghter house or something around here?"

[DragonSpirit009]

“That’s why I’m a bit worried.” Emily spoke as she kept looking around. “I saw the local abattoir outside of town yesterday by one of the other farms. There shouldn’t be any kinds of smells like this around here.”

 

Emily looked around the barn trying to pinpoint where the smell might came from but she couldn’t find anything. It was almost as if came from every direction the smell. Occasionally she found some blood on the ground but not much.

 

“The best I can think is something might have scared off the smaller animals. There is a forest over there so maybe a fox decided to take a chance on the livestock. Thou I still think we should look for the bigger animals. ” Emily slowly made it to the fence and climbed over. “Come on we might see them if we go a bit further.” She said a bit hesitantly.

 

[Fortune86]

The tiny hairs on the back of James’ neck began to stand up. He followed Emily around the bar, spotting drops of blood here and there. There was no sign of anything they might have come from though, apart from the odd feather.

 

When Emily climbed over a nearby fence into a neighbouring field James continued to trail after her. With every moment that passed the feeling that something was off grew stronger. It wasn’t just the blood. It was the silence. Didn’t they have wild birds in the countryside? Singing and twittering and chirping and stuff? The only thing he could hear was the wind brushing against the grass.

 

James looked over to a group of trees in the far distance. Maybe the birds were just too far away to hear, or the wind was in the wrong direction? If he was going to be stuck out here for a while he was going to have to look some of this stuff up. Hopefully there was a library nearby.

 

At that moment he tripped up and went face first into the grass.

 

Cursing and spitting blades of grass out of his mouth, James propped himself up a little and rolled over, wondering what the hell had tripped him up. When he finally found it he stared at it for a moment before grabbing it and holding it up for Emily to see.

 

“Em? How big do foxes get?”

 

In his hand was a hoofed leg. Not a whole leg, it was cut off just above the knee. It was definitely a leg though.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Fortune86

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily grabbed the hoofed leg out of James hand and tossed it to the side and helped James up from the ground.

“We have to get out of here now!” She said as she pushed him towards the fence. Finding something like that wasn’t a good sign. If she was back home she would have figured it was a lion or leopard which they would have tracked, captured and relocated but this wasn’t the case. There was no way something up here could do something like that.

 

“Get to the truck!”

 

[Kestra15]

Mak shook his head vehemently, grabbing Erin's sleeve with the hand holding the torch while he kept the medicines as steady as possible in the other hand. If something came charging through the door bent on killing them then perhaps heroic sacrifices would be called for, but right now there was no need; the exit wasn't far away, and with ten whole levels to run to they could quickly lose themselves from whatever could possibly chase them. He gave her a tug that was insistent enough to demonstrate he wasn't going to have her run off without tipping her over, the message clear; they were all going to leave, no distraction necessary.

 

They reached the fire exit at the end of the corridor as the clicking of claw on tiles slowed. The frosted glass panels set in the double doors to the ward showed that there was indeed something out there; tall, spindly, but aside from that it gave no other indication of what it could. Certainly it appeared to be too thin for a human, and just tall enough that it probably would have to duck to fit through the doorway. A second fuzzy outline appeared in the other door, weaving slightly. Mak wasn't sure what the hell they were, but he wasn't staying to find out.

 

The fire exit was bolted shut, a ceramic tube around the thin bolt. It wasn't built to stop the doors from opening but simply to set off the alarms should they be opened, and as a deterrent to those nipping out for a cheeky cigarette or to shirk duties. It was the same kind that used to hold the doors shut at the orphanages he'd frequented as a child - and like all children, he'd quickly learned to remove the ceramic cover without breaking it so they could sneak out anyway. Not wanting to take the risk of making too much noise by smashing the cover, he instead gave the quick twist, tug and slide that he'd perfected years ago, and in less than a second the fire exit door was quietly swinging open. Beckoning to the two girls Mak slipped through as the silhouettes lingered at the other end of the ward.

 

* * * * *

 

They were here. It could hear them. They'd found it's feast, it's own prize, and it wasn't going to let them share.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Kestra15

[Fortune86]

James didn't need telling twice. After Emily helped him up to his feet he tore across the grass after her. Having slightly longer legs then she did he actually outpaced her and reached the fence first, which he cleanly vaulted over.

 

As he turned to look back and wait for Emily to catch up James became aware of a dampish feeling on his leg. Looking down at his trousers he saw a dark red wet patch on his thigh. He must have fallen or rolled into a patch of blood when he 'found' the dismembered leg.

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily got to the fence and quickly climbed over. She nearly tripped over herself as she raced towards the truck.

“We better inform the others and fast!”

 

((Bad post is bad x.x))

[Fortune86]

James ran alongside Emily as they raced around the barn back towards the truck. When she stumbled near the corner he grabbed her arm, coming to a brief stop to help steady her. It probably saved their lives.

 

As he had grabbed Emily he saw movement out of the side of his eye. Pulling Emily with him James quickly leapt back around the barn and held Emily beside him. Very slowly he risked peeking round the corner and then shruck back again.

 

"Okay...I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best at identifying animals" he said in a low whisper. "But I think that's a leopard sitting on the truck."

[Mistress of Whispers]

When Wisperlee drew level with her, Petra turned and opened the car’s door. “Are you and Cujo okay?”

By the time Petra stopped, they had left Birmingham proper and were well into the suburbs. Everything seemed normal again. Birds were chattering - even more so than usual, as if they were letting the world know that they were absolutely fine with fewer Homo Sapiens around - and the air carried a pleasant breeze. Still, she noticed Petra kept the car's engine running; a move that Wisperlee decided to mimic and she put the bike on brake.

 

"We're fine," she answered. "Maybe we all just panicked?" She didn't think they had panicked, but it was still an option.

 

"Shall we head back to the others? Tell them that our Birmingham lead panned out, but they went missing." Plus after the scare at the hardware store, telling them about the German's strange message suddenly seemed a lot more important. Assuming that Petra wanted to return to the group of course - that wasn't the impression Wisperlee initially had, but maybe things were different now.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Mistress of Whispers

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily was left a bit confused when James pulled her next to him behind the barn. It took her a few seconds to realise what he was asking until she herself peered around the corner to see.

 

“Yup that’s a leopard.” She replied with a whisper. She then leaned back against the barn thinking on what they should do.

 

“We have two choices. Depending on how wild it is we could either get off it easily or get attacked and mauled to death.” She said peering again around the corner at the big cat.

 

“How good of a shot are you?”

 

[Fortune86]

"I don't really fancy risking getting mauled to death. Pretty sure this isn't a ginger bread situation. Look what it did to the animals."

 

When Emily asked how good a shot he was James suddenly remembered the shotgun he had hanging over his shoulder. Thank goodness he had brought it with him. Pulling it over his head he held it in his hands and looked down at it thoughtfully.

 

"I'm not bad, but this is a short range weapon. I'd need to be within fifteen or so metres to do any real damage."

 

He risked looking round the side of the barn again. The truck was much further away then that and while the leopard wasn't currently facing them, the slightest thing could alert it to their presence.

[DragonSpirit009]

“We can scare it off with a warning shot.” Emily continued to whisper. She was very nervous in their current situation. They can’t out run or hide it. It will find them easily. The best way for them to get to the truck safely is scarring it away. The only problem is, if the leopard is a wild like in deep Africa wild cat then it wouldn’t be threatened by the shot and actually attack them. If it had been in captivity then it would know that the shot is a bad noise and would run away.

 

“Keep your finger on the trigger just in case.” Emily whispered rather concerned.

[Fortune86]

"Just scaring it off might help us now" whispered back James. "But what if it comes back? Aren't leopards territorial? We want to use this farm. We can't be fending off leopard attacks all the time. We should deal with this now."

[DragonSpirit009]

“I rather come back and hunt it down with the right equipment before actually killing. I don’t fancy killing something when it’s not needed. Trust me on this. I’ve come across several of these situations back home. All I’m afraid of is how wild it is.” Emily whispered while she peered around the corner again.

 

The leopard was still on the truck, sniffing every inch of it. If they don’t act soon it will start tracking them down and surprise them in the end.