[IC] Rise of the Alchemists

[TheUnknowable]

Cherrel was running down the hall, left arm hanging limp and numb and face in pain, fleeing the guards she had narrowly managed to escape. She had closed the metal door at the end of the hall behind her and welded it shut with her alchemy. There was a patient room on her right, so she put her right hand over the lock and willed the lock to be cut, then ran her finger around the edge to cut the electronic safeties. She swung the door open then ran over to the others, freeing them too, and telling them that she was fleeing. She Gave each of them a small crystal, having grabbed a few from the doctor's tray in order to make her escape, and explained them to the people there. Not waiting for an answer, though, she ran out the door and down the hallway, away from the door that was broken open by men with tasers. Luckily she managed to get through another door and weld it shut as well before continuing her flight.

The men noticed that the door in the middle of the hall was broken and stepped inside, tasers ready. "Alright," one of the four said, pointing his taser at the nearest of the patients. "Back on the bed. I'm just going to strap you back down and continue with our pursuit."

[RumikoOhara]

“Taser!” echo’d in her thoughts as Laura looked at the guard nearest her. She had no desire to be electrocuted but neither did she want to be abused in the senseless experimentation she’d recently experienced so she decided to fight back.

The Guard wasn’t prepared for her movements so her thrust kick landed with all the force her powerful legs could muster which was considerable due to her profession as a trained acrobat. He was sent stumbling back his taser barbs striking the mattress near her and discharging its electricity into the thin pad.

Laura was quick to seize her small window of opportunity and advantage and grab the fallen taser of one of the guards after the man she struck had caused him to fall when he tripped into him. She didn’t hesitate in using it against one of the other guards before he could fire his taser at her causing him to scream in pain and drop to the floor like a sack of sand.

The focus of the last guard standing she dove in a rolling tumble towards the door out into the hall where she came to her feet and was off at a dead run in the direction she’d seen the other woman run hoping it was an avenue to safety.

@TheUnknowable@jynmi88@Strange Rodent

[Strange Rodent]

Augie watched in silence. He was contemplating the power of these crystals. If this lady was for real...

The sound of a scream brought him back to reality. A brunette he hadn't noticed before had just tased one of their assailants, and rolled out the door, running away. Augie gripped the crystal, birthing possibly one of the more stupid ideas he'd had. He rushed the last man, copping a taser shot in the arm, which sent him sprawling. As he lay on the floor, all he could focus on was the electric current running through his body. Perfect. That lady said he needed to concentrate, after all.

He willed the electricity to pool in his hand, just before the man came forward to handcuff him. Augie took a firm grip of the man's arm, releasing the stored energy into his body. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the man dropped, probably unconscious. Probably. He still had some static in him, so he crawled over to the man who had only been winded and sent a fist into his head. Neither the fist nor the static were enough to knock him out, but the two combined were enough.

Augie scrambled to his feet, pulling the taser shot out of him as he did so. He ran out the door and followed the brunette.

[jynmi88]

Diana had been tased before. She wasn't sure if one such incident was responsible for the fact she found herself in some strange, with strange men, doing strange things to her, but that didn't mean she was in any particular kind of hurry to find herself, once again, on the receiving end of an ungodly amount of juice shooting into her body, wondering around the place like a bunch of tourist that didn't understand just how serious the museum curators were about not touching anything, and then surging out of her like so many past lovers with better things to do.

Luckily though, it never came to that, and she didn't have to do a damn thing to save herself. One of the other prisoners, who apparently were apparently unhappy with the arrangements attacked the man. It was quick, brutal and successful like any kind of fight should be. Before anyone could figure out what was going on, the two guards were down. They were down and out. Were they down and dead? Diana didn't know, but she crossed her fingers and toes, and prayed to every non-existing divine entity below that this was the case. The fewer people alive to chase them the better.

For a moment after the assault, Diana wondered what to do, but then she remember the brunette had run out. Then the other guy. She could've stayed. She could've waited to see how things turned out for the ones left inside the building. She didn't, of course. She had too much to live for, the least of which not being the fact that there was a piece of Cheesecake factory cake still in her refrigerator and there was a chance, a sliver of hope, within her was a shred of a dreams he could finish that cake, before it started tasting like the fridge that surrounded it, and for that she got to her feet, and followed the others who fled.

[Sedjwick]

After waking up in a lab, strapped to a table, things happened way too quickly for Seth. One moment, he was a test subject in some unknown experiment, and the next a woman had broken into the room and was freeing him and the others in the room. Seth noticed that the others in the room, besides the one freeing them, were the ones that had also been with him on the bus to Vegas, not that he really knew who any of them were.
The woman gave Seth a pink crystal, telling Seth and the others that they could alter the matter around him, whatever that meant, and then ran out of the room, leaving Seth utterly bewildered. And as if that weren't enough to think about, this was quickly followed up by four men with tasers ordering him and the other people back onto the tables so the scientists could continue their (probably illegal) experiments. Thankfully, Seth wasn't the only one who was having none of this, and before he had time to react, two others had quickly taken out the guards, one even taking a taser to the shoulder and somehow electrocuting one of the guards with it. Seth would wonder about that later. As he and the others made their way out, Seth paused to take a taser from one of the downed guards. Until he knew how to use these crystals, he would do well to be armed.

[Strange Rodent]

Augie ran along the barren hall, willing himself to go faster with each step. When he got to the end he came across a metal door. He scrambled at the handle, hoping against hope that it would turn. It did. Freedom!..... Only the door still wouldn't budge. It must've been locked from the other side.

He placed his hand on the oddly warm steel of the door, and willed the lock on the other side to open. A little click was heard. He tried to open it again. Still nothing.

He turned to the brunette who had just caught up with him and said only a few words:

"Fuck. Where to?"

[RumikoOhara]

@TheUnknowable@jynmi88@Strange Rodent@Sedjwick

---

Laura looked at Augie and smiled saying Any decision is better than none so I’m heading this way

Then she took off running across what appeared a desert scrubland under a blazing sun, it was what had made the door so warm and Augie’s little trick had broken a lock never intended to open and a lucky find. They could move outside and even though they had to run under a blazing sun the scrub that had been used to hide this sector of the base could also shield them from easy view.

Barefoot Laura ran across the hoy ground barely feeling it due to the calluses built on her feet by her profession. Then there was her endurance and dexterity as she set a heavy pace knowing they had moments to put distance between themselves and the former location of their torment.

What she and the others didn’t know was that there were guards hidden out here in the undergrowth; well that is till she literally ran into one of the men as he was trying to stand and turn from a low blind. The two of them went tumbling to the sand in a cloud of dust. Laura felt the weight of the blow even numbed a little, the man recovered quicker and was raising it to fire when she used an underhand throw to return his tactical knife it what her Uncle Juan a knife thrower would have called a barnyard throw; only good around hicks.

Laura didn’t care it wasn’t a bullseye because it was still so shockingly painful lodged under his left collar bone causing him to drop his weapon one of those black guns popular with the european military. Laura knew very little about guns but she did know they had safeties and double safeties and she was sure he’d helped her with finding the bolt an cocked it for her.

Using the butt she struck him 3 or 7 times in the head before she was sure he wouldn’t attack her so she could search him the first thing she took was his wallet pleased to see it held cards and cash.

So when Augie caught up she asked Do you want this machine gun thingy? she asked wearing his cover and goggles and his sidearm a glock.

[Sedjwick]

Seth followed the others as they ran down the hall and out to freedom. Unfortunately, Seth had never had exceptional endurance and was already starting to breathe heavily as he exited into the burning sun outside. He took a moment to lean against the wall of the building just to the side of the door he had just exited through so he could catch his breath and take stock of their surroundings. He was glad of the thick greenery around them for the cover it provided for him and his fellow escapees, but he was also fully aware that there could be other dangers lurking unseen among the scrubland. This fear was soon confirmed as he saw the brunette run into a guard who had just come up from a blind to attack her. Thankfully, she dispatched him and began relieving him of his possessions. This convinced Seth that the time for leaning against walls and catching one's breath was not now, and he jogged forward to meet up with the brunette and the other boy, keeping a watch for any other guards that may be watching them.

[Strange Rodent]

Augie Clevenger

The brunette smiled at him, which was strange because there were people chasing them. Trying to kidnap them, and fuck up their bodies. He assumed it was just a nervous gesture of goodwill. Dwelling on it would only stress him out.

He stepped out of the building, and was immediately reminded that he was barefoot. The sand scorched his feet as he ran. And he ran for a while. He ran past several people with tasers, paying them no heed. He could deal with tasers now, although it was painful. The sand was causing excruciating pain now, only serving to make him run faster.

BANG

Gah! Shit! What? They have real guns now?! He thought. So the taser trick he used before wouldn't work. He dropped flat on the sand, and began to commando crawl through the scrub. The dead leaves and twigs clawed at his eyes, but he just kept going and paid no attention to where.

He heard several meaty smacks, and a man grunting in pain. It punctured the apparent silence like a bullet would a person. These people wouldn't want to be attacking each other, would they? No, probably not. He crawled over, the sand filling his shirt and burning his chest. It was that brunette from before. He'd forgotten about her. He stood up and approached, staring at the unconscious man lying in the sand.

"Do you want this machine gun thingy?" she asked him.

"Uhh... sure?". He was hesitant about taking it. Guns are not his strong point. "I want his boots, though. My feet are having holes burned in them."

He took the gun and sat down, unlacing the man's boots.

[RumikoOhara]

@Strange Rodent

Sure help yourself though I'd skip his cloths top's blood and the bottom soiled, I do hope I didn't hit him too hard and kill him

Oh and hurry don't know how long we have before we can relax but it isn't here, they change guards she said glancing at the pistol that was like one she fired at a range with some other performers. She knew it was a Glock but no idea about its model or caliber only how the safety worked and how to cock it.

Then she looks around and sees Seth panting on their trail so goes to fetch him

She doesn't speak when she moves close and just motions him to come towards her. @Sedjwick

[Sedjwick]

Seth gave the brunette a small smile as he jogged alongside her, keeping an eye out for any other guards, taser at the ready should anything pop out at him. As they reached the other boy, Seth turned to him. "Um, what was that thing you did with those guards in the lab?" he asked still curious about what the boy had done and how he had done it despite the fact that this probably wasn't the best place to discuss that. Even as he spoke, he kept glancing around for any more people who meant them harm.

@RumikoOhara@Strange Rodent

[Strange Rodent]

Augie Clevenger

He had sand in his shirt now. He wasn't happy about this.

"Um, what was that thing you did with those guards in the lab?". The words floated to his ears across the dreary air. He hadn't noticed the other man catch up to them yet. He was average looking, apart from his red hair.

"Er... I'm honestly not entirely sure. This crystal did it." He explained, producing the crystal. The... lady... who gave it to me sid you just needed to concentrate. I figured that after being tased, there would be only one thing to concentrate on. Then I directed the electricity to my hands. My arm's still numb." He rubbed his arm.

As he watched his feet move him forward he remembered something. He hadn't got either of their names. "I don't think I got your names. Mine's August, but most people just call me Augie.". He looked at them both, awaiting a reply.

@Sedjwick @RumikoOhara

[TheUnknowable]

Cherrel was hiding in the back of a black truck as she tried to figure out how to deal with the guards in a nearby building. They were alerted when the prisoners escaped, and were watching the security cameras. Maybe she could use the crystal somehow.

She knew that she could create a bright flash of light by vibrating the air. That should stun them long enough to grab their keys to this truck and allow her to drive away. She'd get to Vegas and tell the cops about this place.

She grabbed the side of the truck and jumped over. The guards saw her and started yelling for her to stop so she knew she had to hurry. She concentrated on energizing the air in her hand and lifted her hand up to eye level. There was a bright flash of light and a loud boom as the air exploded in her palm, burning it. The men screamed in pain and grabbed their eyes, falling to the ground as she grabbed her wrist, reacting to the pain in her palm.

[RumikoOhara]

@TheUnknowable@jynmi88@Strange Rodent@Sedjwick

---

Laura looked at Augie and smiled saying I am Lara Leir, please call me Lara she said offering her hand which when they shook were different than any woman's he’d ever touched. They were calloused and her grip strong….stronger maybe than most men.

But before they could discover more than each other’s names there was a flash and a boom which lead them to discover the woman who’d helped them; she had burned her hand badly and worst of all sort of melded the crystal to the wound.

Augie Please drive she asks showing him the Big Ram Hemi 3500’s keys then turns to Seth Please look through those bags for any antibac salve

(There are two Day Packs with snacks cleaning kits for the weapons the two guards held $972 dollars, two pair of socks in each Power bars, flashlights, Credit cards, Notebooks, Pens, Gas receipts, Small First aid kit each.
Two Gym bags with gym shoes, running shoes, athletic clothing for working out and a casual change of clothing that will be baggy as they were muscle boys; shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sanitizer, deodorant….jock itch cream.
In truck 1 extinguisher, 1 large first aid kit, two cases 16 oz spring water)

She swept Cherrel up in her arms and carried the other woman to the truck and sliding her into the back seat to wait for Seth to pass them a first Aid kit

[Strange Rodent]

Augie Clevenger

Augie had driven tour buses before, but nothing like this. Sitting at the wheel was awkward. It obviously wasn't made for wiry people. The engine let out a thin rumble as he turned the key, which escalated into a meaty snarl as he pumped the accelerator.

The vehicle lurched forward, jerking to the right as Augie attempted to avoid a large rock. The scrubland parted for them, cowering under the destruction of the... car. He felt very far from home piloting this, but they needed to get out of here somehow. He marveled at their luck so far, but didn't complain.

"So what's our plan then? We have some kind of magical powers and a crippled woman, no offense intended."

He had driven up to a road and turned left without consultation of the others. It just felt like the right way to go. He had only just noticed the sharp pain in his gut

"Oh, and food. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who could eat a fucking horse."

[Sedjwick]

Seth looked at the two unconscious guards, wondering if he should see if they had anything on them that would be useful, but they had an injured woman, and more guards were sure to arrive any minute. Now was really not the time to be looting bodies for anything that was not immediately visible. He grabbed the sidearm from the nearest guard before jumping into the truck just as it lurched into motion. He saw a couple day packs and opened one to look through the contents. "What was it you wanted again?" he asked as he pulled a small first aid kit out of the pack and passed it to Lara. "Oh, and I'm Seth, by the way," he added as he hadn't had a chance to introduce himself earlier before they'd been distracted by the boom and flash of light that had thankfully provided them with a means of escape.

[RumikoOhara]

@TheUnknowable@jynmi88@Strange Rodent@Sedjwick

---

Laura looked at Augie then Seth as she checked on Cherrel We need to get the hell out of here so anything you two can do to make that happen will be much appreciated.

Then she took bandages and salves and cleaned then wrapped the woman’s fingers and noticing how she eyed the half eaten hamburger sighed and handed it to her knowing that even though the idea that she couldn’t herself eat after someone she didn’t know Laura also knew that she was starving and so too must Cherrel be as well.

I don’t know what you just did to make that explosion but you shouldn’t do it again she told the other woman as she looked at the guys wondering what their next move was

[Strange Rodent]

Augie Clevenger

---

"Seth? It's good to meet you properly.".

Augie looked somewhat indignant at the mention of doing something to get out of there. "Hey, I'm not that bad at driving. We're going somewhere, I think.", he said. You could tell he was joking a little, if only to relieve stress. He was suddenly very glad that he was driving away from the sun. He wanted to ask so many questions, but figured it would be better to let the melted lady rest before asking too much.

"Oh hey, look. There's a service station up ahead. We should stop off and grab some things."

[Sedjwick]

Seth kept an eye out the back of the van, watching to see if anyone was going to give chase to them. So far, it seemed they were in the clear; likely most of the guards were still knocked out or just barely recovering from whatever it was the injured woman had done to them. He glanced back at Augie when the younger man mentioned getting some things at the service station. "Do we have any money?" he asked before rooting through the packs again. He pulled a wallet out of one and checked through it. Seeing a fair amount of money inside he tossed it forward. "Yes," he said, answering his question. "And you should probably put something more appropriate on before getting out," he added. "I assume there are some clothes in the bags over there." He gestured toward the gym bags while he continued rooting through the day packs. "Oh, and there's some snacks and power bars here," he said while tearing open one of the latter and eating.