TDRP: The Last of X - Log 5: The Choice
Dec. 16th, 2018 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThey've been on the road for several days now since hightailing it out of the warehouse where they'd encountered some human survivors. Rachel had joined their group amidst their escape. They've been taking shifts driving and sleeping and scavenging for gas. The consensus had been to get this place in Baltimore as fast as possible to save Rahne, who's stuck in an between state of werewolf and not, and avoid any more close calls.
Natasha glanced back to check on Rahne and the others. The sounds had faded into background noise but there was still the occasional one that Natasha could do without hearing. She couldn't imagine the pain Rahne was in. She shook her head and glanced back at the road. Jean was driving with a death grip on the wheel. The last few days had been a blur of driving as much as they could when each of them took a shift and scavenging for fuel and food when they absolutely had to stop. Their short and easy shot to Baltimore had been derailed by abandoned and rusted out cars lining the highways and stretches of roads where nature had taken back over. Not to mention those detours had forced them to use up their fuel and then be constantly on the lookout for gas stations or other likely looking establishments to raid. Sometimes those raids had been entirely too successful and made Natasha feel uncomfortable, but they'd all made it out safely so she ignored the feeling. They were all on edge and the faster they found some answers the better.
Jean was starting to get tired but she refused to let to get to her. Pure adrenaline was a beautiful thing, sometimes. She occasionally cast an eye on the rearview mirror at the people in the back of the car. Things got worse with every passing moment. She only hoped they would get better. But part of her still had to be realistic.
Xavin sighed. The last detour had sent them almost fifty miles north while they worked out which country roads were still working. Probably, Taneytown Maryland, current population a lot a dead people had been a real dive before the world ended. "Look, I know Rahne's sick but I really think we'll make better time on foot. There's basically no gas anywhere, most of the little roads aren't even on the maps we've got and the fuel light is on again." Which meant another detour probably and another pause while they siphoned gas residue out of abandoned cars in... in some asshole housing estate that was probably also full of dead people and had originally had an asshole white homeowners association. "Or pushbikes. We could try bikes. We're literally just going in circles."
Laurie looked drawn but her hand was steady on Rahne's shoulder as she pumped pheromones into the younger woman for the second time that day. It was lucky that she'd only needed to use a small amount each time but over days the continual use of her power had had an effect. Her entire body now stained violet with the residue of her powers, and she'd long ago run out of anything that would allow her to wipe her hands or somehow stop the others from being affected. Lucky again that all she was doing was keeping Rahne's system calm rather then trying to do anything more strident.
"Do you think we'll find what we need?" Laurie asked, voicing the worry that had been niggling at her for days now. How long ago had that note about Baltimore been written? "In Baltimore, I mean."
Flicking her gaze from staring blindly out the window, Felicia looked at the two of them and then away again, her throat ticking as she cleared her throat against disuse. “Does it matter?” she asked flatly. “Like, come up with a backup plan in your head I guess, but if there’s nothing there we’re all fucked, so?”
The growl that filled the SUV seemed louder thanks to it bouncing off the SUV walls and Rahne flinched, accidentally pulling away from Laurie's touch. She was so full of pheromones at the moment, though, that it didn't matter. She was curled up even more awkwardly in the SUV, her limbs too long and stretched out. The pain from the half-transformation had nearly driven her mad as her healing factor had been torn between keeping the virus contained and keeping the pain of the transformation at bay.
She settled back down against Laurie. "I can walk," she said, though she knew that they knew that she wouldn't be able to walk for long.
"I will float you if you can't," Rachel said, more matter of fact than reassuring. She had not said much to the group since their sudden and bloody reunion, essentially keeping out of their way and following their directions, as though it would somehow make her seem less threatening to them. But there was an unvoiced intent underlying the thrumming tension in her lithe frame, that she would burn down the world to get them to safety, or die trying. "Let's get out."
They'd pulled into the drop off area of what had once been a hospital from the looks of it. No one came out to greet them but that was expected. Natasha unbuckled herself then moved to open the door. "Maybe you guys should stay in here while I go figure out what's going on?" They'd at least have the option of escaping if things went sideways since she felt like they were being watched from behind the hospital doors.
"Good idea. We'll be here when you get back."
Laurie had no intention of leaving her patient to wander around what might be a place heavily invested with the living dead. Let the people who were trained for the front line do their thing, she was quite happy to come along behind.
"We should go with you," Xavin said softly.
Felicia squeezed Xavin's shoulder as she hopped out, following Natasha; she'd never been good at following directions anyway, and while she fully knew Natasha could kick her ass at any age she still looked like a child. "I got it. We'll be right back."
"I'm coming too," Jean said. "If you're here for why I think you are, I can be able to confirm or deny."
Natasha nodded. "Sure, probably wouldn't hurt to have someone with us that can do something drastic if things go sideways."
It only took them a few steps before a small group came out to meet them, armed and unfriendly. Felicia raised her hands, taking a half step in front of her companions. "We're unarmed and not a threat. There's a girl in the van that needs medical attention and... we have a note?" she said somewhat feebly, looking back.
Natasha produced said note and watched as the faces surrounding them morphed from wary danger into relaxed surprise.
The weapons were lowered, some even holstered, and the leader of the group stepped forward, a gaunt, lanky woman with shadows under her eyes and hope making them shine. "We didn't think you'd ever make it through. We had no idea what was going to happen if you didn't. But we're so glad you're here. You know why you're here?"
When the women shook their heads, the leader continued. "The cure. The cure for this plague that's destroyed the world for the last two decades is in your blood. We can save the ones that haven't been infected and rebuild."
Jean's jaw clenched as she listened, feeling a knot forming in her stomach. Sure, this was salvation. But not for them.
The awe and wonder in the leader's voice made Natasha's skin crawl. She'd heard that tone of voice entirely too many times in her career with SHIELD. That blind fanaticism was lethal to arguments of logic or course corrections when a plan went wrong.
"But what about our friend? Can you save her? She was bitten and her body's fighting off the virus but it's not been easy."
The leader exchanged glances with a man standing beside her, communicating silently, then looked back at them. "I don't know but you've brought us an even greater gift. There may also be more information about this virus lying in your friend's brain. We'll have to drill into it so we can learn everything we can to give the cure the best chance of working."
It was a lot of information to process and Natasha wasn't sure she was hearing everything correctly. She looked at Felicia and the wideness of her eyes meant that she hadn't. This wasn't something she wanted a hand in. She'd watched enough people die. She wasn't going to participate in this.
Jean's face was unreadable. "This facility has been picked clean. You don't have enough supplies for after-patient care. You would kill her." It was a statement of the obvious rather than outraged surprise. The line between medicine and science.
That's exactly what Natasha was afraid of. The zeal of finding a way forward to the future at the cost of a few. That's all they wanted and it didn't matter who got hurt in the process.
Felicia rolled her eyes, arms already crossing. "I think that was a given with the drilling into her brain comment. But seeing as how it's not your body, it's not your decision. I say we at least let them choose."
Natasha glanced back to check on Rahne and the others. The sounds had faded into background noise but there was still the occasional one that Natasha could do without hearing. She couldn't imagine the pain Rahne was in. She shook her head and glanced back at the road. Jean was driving with a death grip on the wheel. The last few days had been a blur of driving as much as they could when each of them took a shift and scavenging for fuel and food when they absolutely had to stop. Their short and easy shot to Baltimore had been derailed by abandoned and rusted out cars lining the highways and stretches of roads where nature had taken back over. Not to mention those detours had forced them to use up their fuel and then be constantly on the lookout for gas stations or other likely looking establishments to raid. Sometimes those raids had been entirely too successful and made Natasha feel uncomfortable, but they'd all made it out safely so she ignored the feeling. They were all on edge and the faster they found some answers the better.
Jean was starting to get tired but she refused to let to get to her. Pure adrenaline was a beautiful thing, sometimes. She occasionally cast an eye on the rearview mirror at the people in the back of the car. Things got worse with every passing moment. She only hoped they would get better. But part of her still had to be realistic.
Xavin sighed. The last detour had sent them almost fifty miles north while they worked out which country roads were still working. Probably, Taneytown Maryland, current population a lot a dead people had been a real dive before the world ended. "Look, I know Rahne's sick but I really think we'll make better time on foot. There's basically no gas anywhere, most of the little roads aren't even on the maps we've got and the fuel light is on again." Which meant another detour probably and another pause while they siphoned gas residue out of abandoned cars in... in some asshole housing estate that was probably also full of dead people and had originally had an asshole white homeowners association. "Or pushbikes. We could try bikes. We're literally just going in circles."
Laurie looked drawn but her hand was steady on Rahne's shoulder as she pumped pheromones into the younger woman for the second time that day. It was lucky that she'd only needed to use a small amount each time but over days the continual use of her power had had an effect. Her entire body now stained violet with the residue of her powers, and she'd long ago run out of anything that would allow her to wipe her hands or somehow stop the others from being affected. Lucky again that all she was doing was keeping Rahne's system calm rather then trying to do anything more strident.
"Do you think we'll find what we need?" Laurie asked, voicing the worry that had been niggling at her for days now. How long ago had that note about Baltimore been written? "In Baltimore, I mean."
Flicking her gaze from staring blindly out the window, Felicia looked at the two of them and then away again, her throat ticking as she cleared her throat against disuse. “Does it matter?” she asked flatly. “Like, come up with a backup plan in your head I guess, but if there’s nothing there we’re all fucked, so?”
The growl that filled the SUV seemed louder thanks to it bouncing off the SUV walls and Rahne flinched, accidentally pulling away from Laurie's touch. She was so full of pheromones at the moment, though, that it didn't matter. She was curled up even more awkwardly in the SUV, her limbs too long and stretched out. The pain from the half-transformation had nearly driven her mad as her healing factor had been torn between keeping the virus contained and keeping the pain of the transformation at bay.
She settled back down against Laurie. "I can walk," she said, though she knew that they knew that she wouldn't be able to walk for long.
"I will float you if you can't," Rachel said, more matter of fact than reassuring. She had not said much to the group since their sudden and bloody reunion, essentially keeping out of their way and following their directions, as though it would somehow make her seem less threatening to them. But there was an unvoiced intent underlying the thrumming tension in her lithe frame, that she would burn down the world to get them to safety, or die trying. "Let's get out."
They'd pulled into the drop off area of what had once been a hospital from the looks of it. No one came out to greet them but that was expected. Natasha unbuckled herself then moved to open the door. "Maybe you guys should stay in here while I go figure out what's going on?" They'd at least have the option of escaping if things went sideways since she felt like they were being watched from behind the hospital doors.
"Good idea. We'll be here when you get back."
Laurie had no intention of leaving her patient to wander around what might be a place heavily invested with the living dead. Let the people who were trained for the front line do their thing, she was quite happy to come along behind.
"We should go with you," Xavin said softly.
Felicia squeezed Xavin's shoulder as she hopped out, following Natasha; she'd never been good at following directions anyway, and while she fully knew Natasha could kick her ass at any age she still looked like a child. "I got it. We'll be right back."
"I'm coming too," Jean said. "If you're here for why I think you are, I can be able to confirm or deny."
Natasha nodded. "Sure, probably wouldn't hurt to have someone with us that can do something drastic if things go sideways."
It only took them a few steps before a small group came out to meet them, armed and unfriendly. Felicia raised her hands, taking a half step in front of her companions. "We're unarmed and not a threat. There's a girl in the van that needs medical attention and... we have a note?" she said somewhat feebly, looking back.
Natasha produced said note and watched as the faces surrounding them morphed from wary danger into relaxed surprise.
The weapons were lowered, some even holstered, and the leader of the group stepped forward, a gaunt, lanky woman with shadows under her eyes and hope making them shine. "We didn't think you'd ever make it through. We had no idea what was going to happen if you didn't. But we're so glad you're here. You know why you're here?"
When the women shook their heads, the leader continued. "The cure. The cure for this plague that's destroyed the world for the last two decades is in your blood. We can save the ones that haven't been infected and rebuild."
Jean's jaw clenched as she listened, feeling a knot forming in her stomach. Sure, this was salvation. But not for them.
The awe and wonder in the leader's voice made Natasha's skin crawl. She'd heard that tone of voice entirely too many times in her career with SHIELD. That blind fanaticism was lethal to arguments of logic or course corrections when a plan went wrong.
"But what about our friend? Can you save her? She was bitten and her body's fighting off the virus but it's not been easy."
The leader exchanged glances with a man standing beside her, communicating silently, then looked back at them. "I don't know but you've brought us an even greater gift. There may also be more information about this virus lying in your friend's brain. We'll have to drill into it so we can learn everything we can to give the cure the best chance of working."
It was a lot of information to process and Natasha wasn't sure she was hearing everything correctly. She looked at Felicia and the wideness of her eyes meant that she hadn't. This wasn't something she wanted a hand in. She'd watched enough people die. She wasn't going to participate in this.
Jean's face was unreadable. "This facility has been picked clean. You don't have enough supplies for after-patient care. You would kill her." It was a statement of the obvious rather than outraged surprise. The line between medicine and science.
That's exactly what Natasha was afraid of. The zeal of finding a way forward to the future at the cost of a few. That's all they wanted and it didn't matter who got hurt in the process.
Felicia rolled her eyes, arms already crossing. "I think that was a given with the drilling into her brain comment. But seeing as how it's not your body, it's not your decision. I say we at least let them choose."
