Urban Dead: The Price of the Oath

[Pcm979]

"Indeed I did." He said, holding his line carefully.

----------

It didn't seem like Melanie's day, as the two most recent patients were hauled up into the Mall at that moment.

[Dark Silver]

He was a ball, body curled up, eyes closed, he didn't hear Melanie, he didn't feel her touching him.

the only sounds escaping him was the whimpers, small, sharp cries of horror, pain...regret, and a endless trail of "I'm sorry....I'm sorry....I'm sorry..."

[Caz]

Sherry watched what little she could see of Petro inside the truck. At this point, it might be easier to just try to make the trip back to the mall by foot--at least it would keep them warm. The snow was early; hardly anyone was prepared for it. She shivered a bit.


As Punt and Ellen were carried in, Melanie barked for anyone present to assist Dorian in placing them both in the trauma ward. She'd deal with Silver first, just as long as she had to. But as she listened to him, she realised that she just wasn't breaking through.

"Help me get him back on the bed," she said to a passing man who'd just had a cut on his cheek stitched up.

"O... kay," he said.

"What's your name, soldier?" she asked politely as she did what little she could contribute to that task due to her insubstantial size.

"Riley Levin," he said.

Together, they carefully repositioned Silver on the bed.

"Okay, Riley," Mel said, "I want you to stay put and keep an eye on this guy. I'll reward you when I figure out how."

The man nodded, if a bit confused, and she jogged after where she'd seen Dorian take the two.

[Josh]

And finally, the engine caught. He bit down a cheer as the fire truck roared to life. Snatching his radio, he announced loudly. "Get your asses down here. We're going home in style, kids!"

[Caz]

Sherry let out an excited whoop and held the line fast as the Irregulars started down.

[Pcm979]

Mike winked at Sherry and slid down quickly, hitting the ground running and grabbing a handhold on the side of the truck.

----------

Punt was unconcious, but that didn't stop the dreams, the visions. Lights burned into his brain, his eyepatch blown off by the grenade.

[Josh]

He looked at the panel, then tapped a suspicious spot. A false door flipped open.

"Bless the 22nd precinct," he muttered, hitting the button the CD player. Death metal began blaring from the engine's internal speakers.

"Then again..." he said.

[Pcm979]

Mike winced. "I'm glad I'm out here!" He said, leaning into the cab and grinning.

[Caz]

Only after everyone else had boarded did Sherry jump down, rolling up the line and yanking the door open. She slid into the passenger's seat, casting Petro a glance as she just now seemed to hear the music.

"Is this the shit you brave civil servants spend our tax dollars on? Bollocks rock?"


Melanie was examining Punt while Dorian was taking care of Ellen. She'd been bitten on the neck--a nasty gusher, but fairly superficial. However, she seemed to have sustained some rather nasty trauma to the head from being thrown around, or what looked like it. She wasn't conscious when they'd brought her in.

The first thing apparent to Melanie upon examining Punt was the blood dribbling from his lips. His own blood. She tilted his chin back, pressed her ear close to check for breathing. He was, all right, but it sounded sickly. His throat wasn't blocked, but...

She looked down at his torso, examining a patch of dark bruising along his side.

"Dor, do we have any tubing here?" she asked, "anything about a half-inch wide? His fucking lung's collapsed..."

"One of Freddy's people brought in some stuff he yanked off an old dialysis machine; it might work!"

She looked down to Punt, said evenly: "I will be back. Just please don't freak out like Silver," she grumbled. She bolted for the supply room.

[Pcm979]

When Melanie returned, she'd notice that his right eye, the 'dead' one, was bleeding for no appearent reason.

----------

Mike got comfortable and swung his rifle off his shoulder. "All aboard, next stop: Petro's place!" He said cheerily.

[Josh]

"And drugs and whores," he solemnly assured her. "Everyone on?" Steve's shotgun blasted as the horde finally started to close in. Getting an affirmative, he threw the lumbering vehicle into gear.

The takeoff was less than dramatic as he geared the lumbering fire truck up to speed, but it was faster than walking.

[Caz]

Sherry kicked up her feet and crossed them at the ankles, leaning back into the chair as she rested her heels on the dashboard.

"Wagons ho," she grumbled.


However, Melanie wasn't paying attention to Punt's eye. Breathing was a bit higher on the priority list as far as he was concerned. She felt her way up his side, trying to find exactly where the bone was cracked. Finally, she felt the fracture beneath his skin and winced. Yep, most likely a rib punctured his left lung. Fantastic.

"This's gonna hurt," she warned him, whether he was conscious or not. Before continuing, she gave him a small morphine injection.

Waiting for a few moments and hoping it took long enough to set in, she rummaged on the tray and returned with a metal tube about a centimetre wide, tipped in a serrated point.

She shoved the tube onto the end of the cylinder, taping it as it didn't quite fit.

"Sorry, Punt," she said, then stabbed it into the site of the fracture.

Blood that had been pooling in his lung immediately gushed into the tube, which she aimed at a conveniently located barf bucket.

[Josh]

The horde leader huddled in the building, feeling the warmth coming up from the open elevator shafts.

The humans had evaded him, but this was their territory, and he had many eyes. He had seen them depart in their vehicle, and he would not be denied their meat.

Along their path, the trap was readied.

[Pcm979]

The drug sent Punt's visions into overdrive, and he shook his head like an animal trying to dislodge a fly.

----------

"This is too easy." Mike muttered. He leaned into the cab.

"Petro, I think you should take a detour. You know how smart these bastards get."

[Josh]

They couldn't have known their route in, but Mike had a point about sticking to straight lines. He veered the engine around to the left, taking another street. After a moment, he slid a cigarette out and lit it. Been too long since he'd had a good drive and smoke.

[Pcm979]

Mike clambered onto the top of the cab, pulling his glasses off and peering around. This felt like the calm before the storm.

[Josh]

And the timing was perfect for Mike to feel that way, because a half dozen zombies leapt from the windows of a nearby building onto the engine.

[Pcm979]

"Fuck!" He said, blasting them off with shots from his rifle.

[Josh]

Two fell to Mike's rifle as the rest of the Irregulars began to fight back.

"Sherry!" Petro said. "Do something nasty to our stowaways!"

[Caz]

Sherry snapped into action as soon as she felt the vehicle jerk. Petro kept it under control, but it swerved rather badly.

And she heard the groaning; she knew why.

"Keep this bastard steady?" she asked, opening the passenger's side door.

[Josh]

"Just lost a tire," he shouted back. "Everyone hang on."

He wrestled for control as the vehicle tried to get out from under him, slamming on the accelerator rather than hitting the breaks. Steer tire gone, power out, not back off it. Sparks sprayed alongside the fire truck as the rim dragged on the ground.

[Pcm979]

Mike stumbled, keeping his footing but losing his aim.

[Caz]

Not wanting to take the chance of waiting, she grabbed her axe, clutching the handle in her teeth as she climbed, balancing her feet on the window sill even as the door swung a little beneath her.

[Caz]

Melanie put a hand on Punt's forehead as the blood drained thickly into the bucket. As long as she kept the tube in, the bleeding wouldn't bother his breathing.

But it was such a crude tool. It could get infected so easily... she swore.

But there wasn't anything she could do about that, was there?

She tended to his arm.

[Pcm979]

"Fuck this." Mike said, swinging the rifle back over his shoulder and pulling his axe out. He started to clamber towards the Zombies.