Shake Hands With the Devil: Foreboding

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

In Sri Lanka, the situation turns bad based on worrying news from refugees seeking aid at the Red Cross camp,a nd red-X finds themselves in the middle of a possible invasion.



The mood in the camp had gotten past worried long before, and was now only a razor's edge away from panic. The flow of refugees from the north had been steady, and each of them had carried a disjointed story about troops in Indian army uniforms marching people from their homes at gun point, out into long lines winding into the countryside. Some had even carried worrisome reports of men and women flying on their own, or casting fire from their hands against those who resisted. The radio stations and phone lines to the major cities were all dead, and the only reports they could find were from the official government channels. The Sinhalese government had issued a state of general emergency, and surprisingly, with the support of the Tamil Eelam of Western Sri Lanka, had asked for assistance from the Indian military to stop future acts of terrorism.

The Red Cross volunteers and staff had been gathered into a large room, where Dr. DiAlvito had explained the role of the Red Cross in situations such as this as being strictly apolitical. They would provide aid to anyone who reached the camp, but would not involve themselves in any element of the new potential civil war. He stressed that despite anyone's personal feelings, the ability of the Red Cross to operate as they do depended on neutrality to ensure access to the people who needed help. He also stressed that their own safety depended on that fact as well. The various members of the camp had grumbled, but when the meeting broke out, each of them moved with purpose. After all, if their worst fears were true, they represented the only safe place in North Sri Lanka, and they were all ready near capacity. Only their efforts would allow them to save all that they could.

He had asked to speak with the Red-X team following the meeting, and mopped his brow with a grey cloth as he sat down. "I've been in touch with the Xavier's Institute concerning your presence here. Unfortunately, evacuating you immediately is not an opinion. The airports in the North have been temporarily closed, and until we know more about the situation, it would be dangerous to leave the compound. I've spoken with Professor Xavier, and he asked to me pass along that the political situation is being monitored very closely, and if there is an imminent danger to the camp, he will assist in ensuring your safety, along he did not elaborate how to me."

Laurie thought she knew how but only smiled at the doctor. "That's okay, Dr DiAlvito. What do you need us to do in the meantime?"

"Right now, we'll need help keeping things organized and safe. We have supplies, but if we get overcrowded, it will be difficult to make sure everyone is receiving them fairly. Scared people try to horde or get access to food and medicine without thinking of others. We need to make sure that people are getting treatment and sustenance in an orderly fashion, so it will last as long as possible." He sighed and mopped his brow again. "There's also basic sanitation and housing issues, putting together makeshift tents and latrine facilities so we don't have to worry about disease. And... well, there's finally what happens if we have to shut the gates. Once we hit our limit, we need to stop anyone else from getting inside. Otherwise, this whole camp will end up collapsing."

"How many more people can we be fitting here?" Yvette asked quietly from where she was listening intently. Her hair had begun to harden slightly into spikes as Dr. DiAlvito had explained things - it all sounded too terribly familiar to her.

"Another hundred. One-fifty, two hundred if we really stretch."

Crystal nodded slowly, more to herself than to anyone else. This trip had quickly become much more than the usual Red X trip usually entailed, if it had ever been that to start with. While she was sure that there were multiple ways to get the Xavier's residents out of the camp, she hoped those wouldn't be necessary. This was not a good situation for anyone, and the safety of those who had come here from the school was especially important to her, but just up and leaving right now didn't seem like the right thing to do. Their help was needed now, more than ever.

Cessily stood with her arms wrapped around her middle. How many would clamor at the gates once they closed? "What can we possibly do?"

In a chair across the room, Angel had tucked her legs against her chest so she could rest her chin on her knees. The severity of the situation was slowly starting to sink in, especially considering the lack of what they could potentially do. "What happens if we do close the gates?" she asked quietly. "To everyone? Inside and out?"

"Those inside the gates... well, the Tigers Eelam have never attacked a Red Cross camp yet, and I can't imagine Indian or Sri Lankan forces doing the same. It happens rarely, since attacking the Red Cross is the first way to cut the flow of medical supplies into an area, but it could happen." Vasco turned grim. "As for those outside, there is simply a limit to the number we can support. Once we reach that number, there's nothing more than we can do for them."

There was a long, quiet sigh from the corner of the room. Callisto had stood, sticking one hand in her pocket and hunching her shoulders characteristically, lifting the other to run it across her face. She never looked terribly healthy or alert, her pale skin and eyes giving her a somewhat ghost-like appearance at the best of times, but now she looked as though weeks of sleep deprivation or hard labour or high stress had all crashed down on her at once, even though this was patently not the case. Her stance had changed, too - usually carrying an easy, slightly dangerous looking grace, her movements were now jerkier, clearly charged with nerves and tension.

Her face reappeared from beneath her hand, and she spoke. "How can we make sure we're taking everyone we can?" she asked quietly. "I mean, uh, maximise capacity?"

"Paula will help getting you all to expand our facilities to the upmost. One thing that we are good at is gauging just how close to the wire we can stretch things." He leaned forward, coming to his feet slowly. "This is a very worrying situation. It will be stressful and exhausting, and could get worse every day. But we're going to save every last person that we have the power to."