xp_logs | King tide: Hope and Cecilia

Hope and Cecilia desperately try to evacuate the some of the remaining residents.

"Alright." Hope stood up from where she had helped the girl with her backpack and brushed of her pants. "Now don't forget to take your friend with you, okay?" She handed the girl her stuffed Tweetie and looked over where Dr. Reyes was helping the parents to gather some essentials.

"That should do it." Cecilia handed the mother a photograph she'd retrieved from the top shelf of a bookshelf. "Listen," she said, "head toward higher ground. Stay away from water, too. No rivers or lakes or what have you. We're looking to evacuate everyone before the thing hits, but..." That was too practical. Not remotely comforting, either, and now she was unsure how to finish.

She glanced at Hope for a second, then looked back to the parents. "It's going to be okay," she placed her hand on the mother's shoulder. "You'll be all right." She cast Hope a pleading glance, hoping the girl was empathetic enough to steer Cecilia out of this conversation.

Hope nodded in agreement. "You will be safe on higher ground and there is enough time to reach it if you leave now." She emphasized the last word, glancing in the direction of an grey haired woman who stubbornly seated in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. "Even for you, ma'am." She referred to her the older lady's earlier proclamation that she would not make it anyway.

Cecilia glanced at her watch and rubbed her temples. God had blessed her with a survival instinct. If others didn't share it, that was to their detriment. "You should get going soon, too. I don't know how much time we've got before an island comes and, you know," she looked pointedly at the older woman, "You might want to be with your family when a giant wave potentially washes your possessions away."

That was as much pushing as she was willing to do, callous as it was. She walked toward Hope and lowered her voice. "We should go too. There are other families around here, and then we'll need to get ourselves safe."

"I know. But we cannot leave her here." She watched for a moment as the mother of the family helped the older woman up and started moving stiffly towards the door. "Though... perhaps I can radio for Mr. Sefton or Ms. Ferguson when outside. They might be able to help her."

"Yeah, good thought," Cecilia nodded. At least the family was finally moving. "Come on." She stepped outside of the family's home, placed a hand above her eyes to block the sun and surveyed Avalon. It was a shame this place seemed so prone to seismic disruptions, because it really was a pretty island.

"Hey," she turned around and looked at Hope. "I'm not trying to be so imperious. Just... lots of people to save. Not a lot of time, which means I don't have a lot of patience for the 'captain goes down with the ship' mentality some people exhibit in times like these." Was snarky aggression excused when it had altruistic motives? Cecilia hoped so.

"I understand where you are coming from." Hope simply nodded at her explanation, tucking it away to contemplate at a different time and easily suppressing the vaguely uncomfortable feelings it brought with it. "Why don't you move on to the next house? I will radio the base and then join you?"

"Well..." Cecilia frowned for a minute then turned to look at the coastline. The waves appeared to be breaking normally - not that she could really tell the difference - so maybe her unease was a little misplaced. "Okay, I guess." Jeez, she needed to calm down if she was going to be of any use to anyone. But instead, she had become more agitated than expected since they'd landed. Something felt off that she couldn't quite place.

She ran a few strides toward the next house, staring for a second at a vaguely familiar blond man who she couldn't quite place.

Something about his expression made her turn. "Hey, Hope." Her expression softened. "When we get through all this, I owe you a trip to the mall or something." She gave a forced smile that she meant to be more reassuring than she imagined it actually was. "You're a pro."

Hope just threw her a quick nod and smile before poking her head into the next house. "This one is empty." She stated, keeping her voice as business like as possible. "Let's hope they are safe already."

"Probably the case." Cecilia glanced at her watch and then looked around. "Not too many more houses left, it looks like."

"Why don't I go this way?" Hope gestured to the houses farthest in the distance. "And you start here. We will be able to cover more ground quickly that way.

"Sensible enough," Cecilia nodded, unsure whether she was more impressed or unsettled by Hope's apparently implacable professionalism. She grabbed her radio out of her pocket. "Call if you need me." She took off in the direction Hope indicated and checked inside the first house. Empty.

Hope made her way to the houselike structure at the end of the row and quickly poked her head inside, finding it empty. The next one had two people still packing. "I am sorry, but you really need to go."

The pair looked up at Hope and frowned, then nodded. The older woman zipped up a half-full backpack and hoisted it onto her back, wordlessly slipping back Hope and outside. The younger woman smiled gratefully before following her out.

"Hope?" Cecilia's voice came in on the radio. "It looks like the waves are getting bigger." She stood outside the second house she'd checked, watching as a man she'd forcefully detached from his rocking chair scampered up a nearby hill.

"I understand. I am on my way." Hope tucked the radio back into her belt and hurried outside. She paused for just a sec, her eyes widening as she saw the water on coming. Immediately she turned around and started running.

"Joder." Cecilia muttered. She never should have let them split up. "Hope?" Cecilia shouted, searching around her for the girl until she spotted the woman. "Hope!" Cecilia raised her voice and started running toward her rescue partner. "Forget the wave, run toward me." A translucent shield began to take shape around her body.

As she approached Hope, Cecilia clenched her fists and started trying to push her force field out. "Come on, Cece, come on." Water began to rush around her, and she tried to concentrate.

Hope felt a small wave of water lap over her ankles and she increased speed. It were a rock in front of her and a large push of water behind itthat did it in the end: she went down, the water washing over her
.
"Hope!" Cecilia's heart sank as she watched Hope go down. "No, no, no, no." She continued her sprint toward where she'd last seen Hope standing, water diverting around her shield. She grunted as the pressure increased, trying to ignore the feeling of the wave pummeling into her barrier. "Damn, damn, damn. Hope, get up."

Hope tried to fight her way to the surface, but it was like she was fighting against the watery pressure.
Before she knew it, a current near the bottom pulled her away.
Cecilia cried out, her shield contracting as the full force of the wave hit her. "Madre de Dios," she muttered, her head swinging back and forth as she searched frantically for a sign of Hope. "Fuck." Her eyes caught sight of a hand grabbing at the surface, but it disappeared and swept away from her.
Radio. Once the wreckage stopped flying toward her and she could keep her guard down, she needed to radio. But for now, it was all she could do to grit her teeth and fight the tsunami that was unfurling around her.