ArchivedLogs:Blood-n-Arms

Blood-n-Arms
Part of the Future Past TP.
Dramatis Personae Ash, Dusk, Jack, Laura
In Absentia	Saturday, December 7, 2019 '
Location Upstate New York
Tall, thick walls surround a destitute camp, with guard stations every twenty yards. On each side of the walls there are fences of barbed wire, keeping people from approaching. The ground inside is fairly barren, dirt and minimal grass, mixed with spindly steppe climate scrub vegetation. There are small block like houses lined up in a regulated fashion, filled with nothing but bunks, built out of pressure treated lumber and lined with thin mattresses and basic bedding. There is one large cafeteria building where food is manufactured and assembled, but there are no tables for eating. Two outhouses stand on opposite sides of the camp, providing minimal access to hygienic facilities, simply to keep disease from running rampant. Cordoned off by yet more barbed wire is a little slice of the modern world: two tall concrete buildings with heavy metal doors stand watch. One is the guards barracks, with hot showers, laundry facilities, entertainment and a distinguishably better cafeteria. The third floor is an office space with officer's apartments on top top, providing those who run the camp a place to go over paperwork, strategize plans. The other building, the more sturdily constructed building provides a space for further detainment of more dangerous or troublesome prisoners, those that are not seen for extended periods of time and return to the general population worse than when the left -- if they return at all. These buildings stand on either side of the only entrance to the camp, providing supports for the series of gates that slow anyone coming in or out for inspection. It's hard to tell what day of the week or month of the year that it is in a place like this. Gray over cast skies remove most shadows from the grounds where helpless prisoners wander the yard, slow and listless. Those who have been here a while are thinner than they were out in the rest of the world, fed enough to keep them away from starvation, but not enough to really keep them hale and strong. Work happened earlier in the day, hefty shale dug out of the ground and stacked to one side, providing means to make more walls to keep the occupants away from civilized society. The afternoon hours begin to wane into a darker time of night, leaving people huddling together when their internal body temperatures demand it. One young man is stirring from his cot, slipping out of bed and taking himself over to one of the outhouses. He is a medium height and much more brown than his companions - more so in his clothing than his skin tone. His face is ashen and bruised, a recent release from the camp's form of solitary confinement. Not especially a firebrand, Ash still has a core of inner strength that hasn't precisely been beaten out of him yet. His body - well, that's worse for wear. As there is a line at the outhouse, he is resigned to stand and shuffle, waiting for his relief. Thank goodness there are no reading materials to make the lines even longer. Its been... far longer than Laura could recall since she was first picked up and put into captivity. She was one of the mutants picked up early in the evolution of the camps and after loosing her powers each day had begun to run one into the other in an endless progression of misery. Laura had worked as hard as her small frame would allow and now that the cold sweat had started to hang against her worn clothing she huddles against a stone wall, trying to pull what heat the wall has left form the day before the night fully takes form. But her eyes, even while the spirit behind them has been beaten back, her eyes watch everything, years built up behind them like an endless wave, she watches hoping that some day release will find her. While he would quite angrily and possibly violently insist that no one was supposed to be there, Jack was mostly definitely not supposed to be in this camp. At least not according to those in charge of it. Getting in hadn't been especially easy but he knew that when he volunteered for the job. Gather information on everything and if the chance arose, steal and sabotage as long as it didn't give him away. Completely invisible, he moves unseen through the camp. He has to check for some possible weak points in the perimeter later but for now he's looking for someone. It doesn't take him long to think to check the lines to the outhouse and he smiles to himself when he sees Ash. He's in no rush though, staying quiet and slow to avoid detection as he passes by Laura along the way. The line continues in its course and Ash ends up in the bathroom facility sooner rather than later. As he only needed to take a leak - something punishable by a beating if done elsewhere in camp - he is not inside long. Once he is finished and has washed his hands a little, he heads back out, rolling the bottom of his shirt around his hands as he stumbles away from the larger group of people. He isn't looking for someone -- instead, he's looking for a piece of land where few people are - and where Laura is seems to be the least populated. He inhales as his gaze slide over her form before staying a few feet away, slumping into a sitting position where the wall is still relatively low. There he waits, quiet. Laura watches Ash as he finds his way over to occupy the space of wall not so far from her. She watches, her eyes non judgmental, simply taking in what can be seen from the other person. There is no reason to talk, no stories to tell, everyone lives in the same world of gray and shit that their neighbor lives, talking went away a long time ago. As she decides that the man only wants to sit and that she is in no danger from him she looks back across the block at the other human shaped people who go about their business. The wait isn't a long one. Jack just makes sure there's not too many people around or looking Ash's way before approaching. He sits down as well, placing a hand on Ash's arm gently just to let him know he's there before he speaks. "Hey," Jack whispers, voice a little hoarse from disuse. Ash jumps a little when he is touched, out of surprise. He turns in the direction of the hand, then looks all around him for another source, the stiffness in his spine giving away his momentary panic. The emotion quickly subsides when he sees no one, just around the same time he hears the voice. "Jack." There's warmth in his gravely tone, his vocal chords damaged from a punch to the throat a few days back. He clears his throat and smiles a little, his eyes falling half lidded. "Are you freezing? Should I get a blanket?" He glances over at Laura, then lowers his voice more. "Missed you." Laura may not have seen Jack, she may have noticed nothing in Jacks passing, but Ash jumps, and for someone who spends nearly every day of her life looking out for where the next axe is going to drop, this she notices. Snapping her head quickly over to see what caused the jump she puts a few things together quickly, and when the name Jack is whispered she smiles, at least something has gone right in the world and she goes back to watching the people moving about the camp. Only now she is looking out for the man beside her, she pulls her knees up to her chest and puts her hands around her knees, holding out her hand beside her leg she makes the universal sigh for "OK" and leaves her hand hanging there, letting him know the coast is still clear. Jack glances up at Laura too, a small unseen nod offered to her signal. He keeps his hand on Ash, reluctant to give up the contact. Both for the sensation of touch and to get a little warmer. "Cold but I'll survive. Blanket would give us away," he murmurs. There's a short pause before Jack leans in to try to give Ash a quick peck on the cheek. "Missed you too. Sorry I haven't been back sooner." Ash leans a little toward the voice, bumping up against his light kiss, reaching out to only rest his hand over the hand on his thigh, covering it lightly while still trying to look natural. "I'm just glad to hear your voice," he draws in a deep breath and closes his eyes, relaxing for only a moment. "What are you doing here? Are... Do... Is there a plan for getting us out yet?" The whisper is desperate and tired, Jack's hand squeezed hard, before he lets go and takes a deep breath. "You okay? How are things going? Are you safe when you're not here?" Laura is not part of the conversation, though she can hear whats being said, instead her attention is focused out and around the place... her eyes always on the look out for anyone who may be more interested in the man talking to himself than should be. She is close enough that she could be the person being talked to, should anyone see them conversing, and for that reason she starts moving her mouth in kind as Jack talks. Jack really wishes he could do more than just lean against Ash but he settles for it. "Gathering intel. And there should be sometime soon," he whispers back. He's trying to sound positive but it's not easy. Especially not when he's not sure on any plans. If there is one, he hasn't been told yet. He looks up at Laura to delay answering the question. "I've been worse. And I'm as safe as I can be. What about you?" "Oh. Well, you know me. I'd probably just go into a deep sleep in a ditch if it was just me. But, well, there's always more people coming in. It's a terrible trickle and and sometimes they're are young kids. I just keep throwing myself into trouble." Ash's head bows as he closes his eyes once more. "I wish you were safe. I know there's no where safe now. I still wish it." He glances back to Laura again, making sure none of their especially soulless guards are coming by again. "Anything I can help you with? Been on lockdown recently, so I don't have a headcount yet, but I can work on that." Laura is listening, she clearly is keeping track of the conversation but from the looks of things she is staring off into her own little world. hard to say where her mind wonders to these days, but those eyes continue to search about the yard. And her hand, still stays against her leg in the sigh of the universal "OK" When Ash mentions throwing himself into trouble, Jack squeezes his hand. "You need to be careful," he sighed, leaning his head against Ash a moment. "I know. They just brought in some more this morning," he says. There's some silence as he considers Ash's question. "A headcount can help. And if you see any spots in the walls that look weak...let me know." Laura catches sight of something, a movement of one of the guards as they start to walk this way towards Ash and their conversation. She stands up, moving slowly and heads towards where the guard is standing, not to the guard himself (itself) but to someone sitting near him and reaches down, yanking away the blanket the person was huddled under. This starts a scuffle which Laura is quick to lose but pulls the attention of the mechanical guard away from where he was headed. Dusk's shape is pretty easy to make out on his approach, even in the dark; the huge spiky wings kind of give him away. They're currently wrapped around him, cloaklike; it doesn't stop his continuous shiver. He stops a short distance from Jack and Ash, brow furrowing at the feel of extra-heartbeat in the area. "There's always more," he finally says when he continues nearer, crouching down by Ash's side. "I think they just start feeding us less to cut down on overcrowding." "Okay. Look for weak spots. Okay." Ash nods slowly and presses his head against Jack's head, leaving a soft, inexplicable impression in his cheek. He stiffens when he sees Laura get up, following her progress across the yard. His brow furrows when she starts a scuffle, the expression deepening when he sees why she does so. He is tense when Dusk's voice reaches his ears, turning toward him only when the Sentinel is lead away. He draws in a breath, turning toward Dusk and nodding. "Not that there's much less to be feeding us." Ash pets part of the wall that he's sitting on for Dusk to sit on, offering him his other side for warmth. Jack watches Laura as well, tensing and preparing to leave if he has to. When Laura starts her scuffle, Jack nods faintly. He's grateful for the distraction, appreciating the time with Ash. He waits for Dusk to sit down before saying anything. "They don't feed you enough as it is," he whispers. "Nope. Before long we're gonna start eating babies. Then arms." Dusk uncurls one wing, stretching it out and over the other two, more than large enough to drape over both other men at once, like a fuzzy-soft extra layer of blanket. He relaxes slightly in at Ash's side, the shivering calming -- just a touch -- at the shared warmth. "They don't feed /me/ shit." He says this with a crooked grin, fangs glinting in the dim light. One arm, gaunt and ghost-pale, stretches out scarred knuckles to offer to Jack for fistbump. "How you holding up, man." As Dusk's wing comes down around the pair of them, Ash wraps an arm around Jack and pulls him close, trying to hide the shape of his body as much as possible. He leans against Dusk as the wing is drawn back toward him. "Well, I'm out now. I can feed you." Just ignore his relatively low energy state. He's swimming with liquids at least. "You have to eat the arms first, before the babies -- you know, now that I think about it, it's going to hard to cook the babies if you have no arms." Jack leans in more too, glad to be closer. "I'll try to sneak something to you," Jack whispers. He just shakes his head quietly at the talk of baby and limb eating, faintly amused. The fistbump is returned and Jack lets out a breath. "I've been worse. Got my hands full tonight and the next few days." Dusk's wing curls in snug and warm, behind Ash's back, around Jack's shoulders. "Snuck something in already." One of the claws that tip his wing traces very lightly inward against one of Jack's veins. "Anyway, /I/ could handle it fine, I come equipped with an extra pair of limbs. Not meaty, either, just skin and gristle and bones, nobody's gonna eat these. I'll cook the babies for all you armless schmucks." His head tips back against the wall, eyes fixing upward. "Next few days?" His smile is crooked. "Tell me that's when our big escape is." Though the dryness of his tone suggests maybe this is a question he asks every time. "Thank you, Dusk. I'm glad that you have thought ahead on this topic." Ash lets out a little pleased noise when he begins to feel a little warmth between the two men. "Not yet," he answers for Jack, having already asked the question. "It probably just takes him that long to get out of here. We're pretty much in the middle of no where. It's got to be a hike - and I have no idea how far away your clothes are." There's a slight shiver from Jack as the wing traces his vein. "I meant something better than me," he says. "But if you're still awake later tonight I can give you a little taste," he said after a moment's consideration. He squeezes Ash lightly again when he answers for him. Of course the comment about his clothes gets a little snort. "Farther than any part of me would like," but that's how it has to be. "I got so much damn time to think about food. Just. Endless daydreams." Dusk sounds so wistful. His fingers dance little fluttering patterns in the air. "Rivers of blood in my dreams. Like waterparks. Used to go to as a kid. Blood-flume. Giant blood slides. Huge -- blood -- wavepools." His tongue traces out against his lips, fangs still bared in a lopsided smile. "Not really arms so much, I admit. Worst fucking part about these toasters. Don't bleed. Just tiring taking them apart and I don't even get to eat for it. I wonder," now his idle daydreaming has a different quality to his musing, "if B's invented invisible clothes yet. Certainly make your sneaking about so much less painful." "Yeah, that's less appetizing to me," Ash shakes his head a little, "but far be it for me to look down on any one's favorite flavors. I mostly dream of peppers. There is no flavor to what they do serve us. I think we're lucky that it has any salt whatsoever." He falls into some revelry, his stomach grumbling at the thoughts that percolate in his mind. He grumbles deep in his chest next as he starts to refocus. "Hope B has something soon. Don't want you losing any bits to frost bite." "I don't think that would smell good. Or remain liquid," Jack replies. He looks as thoughtful as an invisible guy can at the mention of B and invisible clothes and makes a mental note to find out next free chance he gets. "All my bits are still attached. And if we weren't out in the open right now, I'd invite you to find out for yourself," he teases quietly. "Our guards," Dusk informs Jack with an amused snort, "are not going to look askance at you for inappropriate touching. S'one benefit, at least. They're not /prudes/." After a moment of thoughtful pause: "... 'course, they likely wouldn't even notice the inappropriate touching on account of having already shot you for trespassing, so there is that. But they're very open-minded about relationships. I mean, /equal-opportunity/ murderers is what I'm saying. Egalitarian. Progressive." "Yeeeah. There is that. We could potentially have an orgy, if you were one of the registered populace." Ash's hand may be sliding a little lower on Jack's back, giving one side of his backside a little more of a squeeze. "We'll figure out something when we go in for the night. We have to keep you hidden and warm at least." He glances upward toward the darkening sky and then over at Dusk. "I haven't missed anything important lately... have I? Everyone still doing okay?" There's a very quiet laugh from Jack and he slips an arm around Ash, fingers brushing Dusk's side along the way. "You'll just have to keep me in mind if you have to start that party without me," he says. "I'll join you as soon as I finish what I need to tonight," he murmurs, his gaze turning towards the walls. He stays quiet whem Ash asks that, wanting to know the answer himself. Dusk's eyes close, lids falling shut and blocking out their odd reflective shine. A very low rumble starts up in his throat, soft and growling, though it tapers off quite soon. "Got a plan, poltergeist?" He sounds curious, too. Or maybe he's just putting off answering the question, because when he does answer it it comes with a soft recitation of names. One and another and another and another, one youth barely more than a child. "... slow week. Would've been more but we uh." His grin is sudden again, brighter. "Had a very /small/ riot when they were, uh, fucking, /disciplining/ newcomers. Distraction-level. I mean, they did just stick half of everyone in the fucking hole but at least they're still breathing this time." Ash inhales sharply when the Dusk gets to the name of the youth, nodding slowly. As the winged man gets to the riot, there's a slow, lazy smile pulling at his lips. "Good. Good. Glad. Breathing is important. The hole sucks, but it's ..." He can't quite finish the thought, having just gotten out of one himself. He shivers and pulls the other two closer for a moment, the spark of life start to disappear from his gaze. "Any newcomers with special needs?" He exhales. "Lo siento, Jack. Dunno if this is interesting at all for you - or what you might have to do still tonight." "Got orders. Going to keep me busy but I'll come by if I can," Jack replies. He'd say more but the less people that know exactly what he's up to the better. The names are filed away for later reference, all names he'll be passing along with his gathered intel. He tenses when the youth's name is mentioned and Jack gives a quiet and amused noise at the riot. "It's interesting. Besides, I'm spending time with you so it's fine." "None that I've heard yet. No critical health needs anyway -- Ohshit." Dusk's wing shifts against their backs, slowly -- reluctantly -- pulling back to fold back inward. "/I/ still need to fucking piss tonight before it's past curfew and we're not /allowed/." He's a little grumbly about being told when to and not to pee, perhaps. "... piss on their goddamn tin /jackboots/," he's muttering to himself as he slowly starts to rise. "... but, shit," and here he's very much trying to keep the near-ravenous edge of hunger out of his words but it surfaces again in a tiny thread of growl rumbling up under his voice, "If you do stop by and you don't mind me getting my teeth in you --" He's shivering again, wrapping his wings back around his skinny-pale frame. "Could sure use some. Actual. Food." Ash has to pull his arm away Jack as Dusk starts to rise, but he does lean in to kiss the younger man... well, somewhere on his head as best he can in the distraction of wings. He rises too, giving a little stretch to keep all the movements natural looking. "Yeah, I'll come over," he replies, even if the question wasn't directed to him, "don't worry about that." he lets his hand fall to where Jack's shoulder should be and presses lightly against it as he says, "I'll talk to you later," while still looking at Dusk. Jack waits for the others to rise after they untangle. He gives Ash's hand a light and affectionate squeeze before getting to his feet as well. There's no parting words, just a fait touch to both of the other men's arms as Jack slips off to get to work.