Video - Zombie Transformation

[devilishly_handsome]

[The video comes up, Anton's sitting there, wearing his plate mail. He's dropped his glaive on the ground. He's breathing heavily, and the people watching might notice a black, necrotic bite wound on his left bicep that his armor leaves uncovered.]

Hey...are any healers...able to handle something like this? ...I think...it's infected.

[His breathing becomes raspier, and after a few more seconds of this, it suddenly seems to stop. He slumps forward. Silence. Then, after a moment, he stirs, moaning. He starts to get up, still looking pale and unwell. And then...he opens his eyes. Somehow, the silver of his eyes doesn't seem quite as bright as it did a moment ago. He growls, revealing his sharp canines, as the infernal, armored zombie staggers to his feet.]




((OOC: If anyone wants to encounter him like this, feel free to action spam. Also, let me know if you'd like your character to be the one to finish him off.))

Comments

[action]

[viciousmaukery]

[Keep him contained until we get here, Georgia said. Well, Molly doesn’t want Anton to feel guilty about eating people if he comes back from this, so he rushes down to where Anton must be, cursing up and down because all his useful combat abilities require drawing blood.

Molly’s a lot of things, can even be self-sacrificing, but he knows a lost cause when he sees one. And it hurts, it does, to think of Anton that way, but—better to take him down now than to let him turn somebody else. At least Molly will be there, he owes him that much.

With swimming goggles and a surgical mask on, Molly probably looks more than a little bit comical. And it would be funny, if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s about to try and make himself a great big target for the shambling corpse of a good friend.]

Anton! Look at me, I’m fucking delicious! [He holds no real hope Anton’s going to hear him, but it’s not the words that are important, it’s the magic he pushes into them: enthralling, pulling attention towards Molly and Molly alone.]

[action]

[choosetruth]

[Georgia is, thanks to the Porter, invulnerable, and according to Becks, likely actually immune, assuming this really is the same kind of zombie as comes from her world.

She's still not taking any chances. She's decked out in full body armor. Steel toed boots, kevlar vest, a leather jacket with reinforced joints, and goggles over her sunglasses. She's got a button camera on her lapel and a handful of other cameras and audio recorders hidden in her clothes and hair. Never hurts to have redundancies. Especially if they search you.

And we're not even going to get into weapons. Let's just leave it at her favorite .40 pistol in her hand.

She and Shaun are moving as fast as they can, given the circumstances. They've had to stop a few times to clear out other outbreaks. They don't have the time or resources to properly bleach and dispose of the corpses. Georgia has a sinking feeling this will only get better before it gets worse.

When she gets there and sees Molly's antics, she raises an eyebrow, though it's somewhat difficult to tell under all her gear. She glances over at Shaun.]

Looks like you've got a kindred spirit.

[action]

[irwins]

[Shaun is less obviously armored -- partially out of habit and partially because his own powers here make him a little harder to grab and snack on than he used to be.

He pulls up to a stop beside Georgia, nodding.]

I'll have to remember that strategy.

[But. This is a crap situation. He has a crossbow in hand (and a gun or two tucked on his person). A glance at George. How do they play this? They need to get some distance between the still living guy and his zombified friend.]

[devilishly_handsome]

[Molly's plan works. Of course, all he'd need now is sound and movement, as there's no more thought behind his actions, only hunger. He turns toward the source of the sound, and lumbers forward, his gait now stiff and clumsy. His tail, which usually would have been waving expressively behind him, now simply dragged the ground as an extra weight as he moved toward Molly, growling and groaning as he approached his potential meal. As of yet, he doesn't seem to notice the two others that just arrived.]

[viciousmaukery]

[Molly’s own tail waves nervously, a dead (ha!) giveaway over the nerves he’s feeling even when he spots the Masons coming. He’s deeply aware that he’s probably a sitting duck, but all he needs to do is keep the thing that was Anton distracted while the other two line up a shot. He backs up, just far enough to be safe but near enough that he hopefully doesn’t lose Anton’s interest.]

That’s right, eyes on me, and I’m so sorry. [It’s different from his usual Vicious Mockery taunts, a sadness weaving into it, but the content doesn’t matter, only the intent to hurt and the language.

Back up, back up, up the street—he can’t afford to pull his swords here, they’re hardly effective without the rites, and he doesn’t dare use the rites after what Georgia’s mentioned.]

Any time now would be great, [he mutters, eyes flicking towards Georgia, although with their solid red color and the distance, it’s likely she won’t be able to tell.]

[choosetruth]

Right. [She doesn't have to be great at reading his eyes to see that he's nervous, though honestly, anyone who isn't nervous when they've got a zombie lurching towards them is either stupid or already dead. She gives Shaun a nod.]

Do the honors? I'll cover you.

[She raises her gun just in case there are nasty surprises that need to be taken care of, then she raises her voice, looking up at Molly through her sunglasses.]

GET CLEAR!

[irwins]

[Shaun gives Molly a beat to comply, because this could go bad. These things could always go bad. He makes his way in closer, though far enough to stay out of reach because while his power is to make himself intangible, he can't afford intangibility when he's trying to shoot a projectile.]

Hey!! Friend-o, over here! [His turn to try to catch the attention of the newly minted zombie -- who is clearly Molly's friend, which makes this suck in a familiar and heavy way. Whether or not zombie Anton looks or not, Shaun will let a crossbow bolt fly, aimed for his head. If this doesn't work, the guns come out.]

[devilishly_handsome]

[He doesn't turn. He doesn't react. His attention is solely focused on Molly, who he's prepared to lunge at when...the arrow fires, piercing his skull clean through. Blood trickles down his face. Then, after a split second of stillness, the thing that was Anton collapses.]

[viciousmaukery]

I’m going—

[—is what Molly snaps out, backing away fast now. He does not like the way Anton is looking at him, the way he seems about to lunge, and he ducks out of the way into an alleyway just in time to hear the twang of a crossbow bolt.

Then, with great trepidation, he looks out. Doesn’t quite step closer just yet, but collapses onto his knees like a puppet with its strings cut.]

Fuck. [He takes the mask off, pressing a hand over his mouth.] Fuck, Anton, I’m sorry. [He looks up at the Masons.] He’s not going to get up now, right? It’s safe to touch? [At the very least his body shouldn’t be out here. It’d start to stink up the place.]

[choosetruth]

Safe is an overstatement. But yes, he's down for good now.

[She pulls rubber gloves out of her bag and snaps them on over her hands. Then she gives Molly a critical look and takes out another pair. If he's going to touch, he should be protected. She approaches just enough that she toss them to him easily.

Slowed reflexes are an early sign of infection. Then again, they're also a sign of trauma. She wishes to fuck she had blood testing units left. Not knowing for certain is unsettling.]

Text

[by_candlelight]

[ There's a long pause on Ruby's end. She hadn't seen a transformation before, well, not into a zombie. The reality of how fast it was was jarring. In the end she found herself typing dumbly into the comment box. ]

It happens that fast? One moment you're fine, just injured, and the next you've gone rabid?"