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Post by Lunapocalypse on May 27, 2011 5:25:53 GMT -5
"Okay, keep safe," Bryan said, compromising with his disagreement to Anna head back alone. The man put an arm over Alex's shoulder, not to hold himself up but to keep her warm, "Let's go little'un," truth be told his burnt out ankle was loosening up a bit.
Hurrying through the rain back to the Jeep didn't take all that long, Vincent and David were waiting under the cover of a veranda outside a shop, "What the fahk 'appened?" Vincent peaked up, "Where's tha otha wun?" he barked, trying to figure out why Anna weren't with them.
"Can it Vinneh," David snapped at his partner, frowning at what may have happened. Although when the redhead could be seen following up through the tourist square with the two jerry cans all worries were closed.
Bryan helped Alex into the back seat, "I'd give you ya scarf back, but it's covered in my blood," he smiled humorously, "Jus' keep rubbin' your chest kiddo," the man pulled a seat belt over her, closing the door and running around to the drivers seat, cracking the door open and pulling a lever to open the gas plug.
He had unscrewed the cap, ready for gas to be poured in just before Anna returned.
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Post by NotAvailable on May 27, 2011 5:41:19 GMT -5
Anna had took long strides toward the jeep and without missing a beat, she'd dropped one of the cans, pulled the other up, unscrewed that cap and began pouring in the gas. Upon emptying it, she'd grasped the other, rinse, lather and repeated. As she began to screw the cap back onto the gas tank, the loud, churn of a helicopter had came from overhead. Glancing up as her red fringes flew into her face, Anna and the others caught glimpse of a passing chopper, heading toward the rendevous point.
"Sh*t, he's here, let's get going," Anna told Bryan. Bryan nodded and went around to the driver's side, hopping in and twirling the keys in his fingers before starting it up. The other two slid in the back with Alex, each sitting on a side of her, to keep her warm. Anna got into the passenger side with Keith still out of it, sitting between them. As she pulled her radio out, the kitten's head re-emerged again to look about.
"Phillip, this is Agent McGraw, do you copy?" she tried as Bryan slammed his foot onto the pedal, sending them pushing back into their seats. There was still static as the rain had intensified, darting down all around them. Pushing, wet, sloppy hair out of her eyes, Anna finally heard a response.
"Copy that, Agent! Almost at our waypoint! The storm's just arrived, hurry your ass up, over!"
Anna grinned. "Hah, roger that, Phil, see ya soon, buddy, Agent McGraw out."
With that, Bryan and Anna exchanged a look of relief as the jeep rocked back and fourth over choppy turf. Looking into the backseat, Anna peered at the sickly Alex.
"We're almost out of here, Al," she told her, reassuringly. Problem still remained, squeezing into a civilian chopper. All six of them.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on May 27, 2011 5:58:14 GMT -5
"Mhhh," the pale girl's throat rumbled in reply, head lolling forwards for her chin to meet her chest. They moved back onto one of the roads jetting as quick towards the green Lady as possible. Bryan churned through gears seamlessly, perhaps a driver of sorts before the outbreak happened.
As if touched by an angel the rain suddenly let up, Bryan turned the windscreen wipers off in amazement looking out at the sun only just shining at them at the horizon from the water, "Wow," it felt like they had all just been rewarded for their hard work, basking in its glow, "Man... that's..."
"Ruddy weerdest wetha' I've eva seen," David said in astonishment.
Alex licked her white lips, "Eye of the storm," she managed to say, sounding very tired, fatigued, the subject of hypothermia.
They maybe only had ten minutes left, after that there wouldn't be a ride out of here for a while, "Coming up on the entrance now," Bryan said, forking a left onto wide, carefully paved red brick path which went up to the American flag in the massive circular area. He parked the Jeep just outside the quarantine gate at the Statues entrance, "Let's git on outta here," he said with a smile, pushing his door open. David and Vincent hopped out to help Keith from his spot in the back of the Jeep.
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Post by NotAvailable on May 27, 2011 6:07:21 GMT -5
Anna had gotten out of the jeep and moved towards the back seat with Bryan to grab Alex when she'd noticed her deathly pale face. Even her lips had lost color. That wasn't a good sign at all. Knitting her brows together, she'd felt the girl's forehead with the back of her hand. She wasn't burning up but she was freezing. Her uncontrollable shaking had scared the livng hell out of the two.
" 'ell?! C'mon then! Less git outta 'ere!" Vinny shouted as they'd approached the lift beside the statue. David reached over to the conrol panel and tapped a button then pulled on a handle. Within seconds the lift had descended and they'd boarded it with Keith.
Bryan grasped ahold of Alex's shivering body and pulled her up out of her seat. By this time, Anna had taken her jacket off and threw it around the girl, bundling her up tightly. "C'mon, Al, just a bit longer, alright?"
The three made it toward the lift, carefully and gotten onboard. It was going to be tough getting Alex over that small gap, but they could do it if they were precise an worked together.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on May 27, 2011 6:30:01 GMT -5
The lift was quick to reach the first observation level. Sounds of beating rotor blades scratching at the air could be heard when the chrome doors slid open, they could see the white and blue livery of the chopper just through a pair of open, large green doors. The six survivors hurried through the foyer to their escape, echoes of their experiences here on Ellis resonated within each survivor. The happy times; finding Salem in the general store. The personal times; Anna and Alex's conversation through a snow filled travel. The hearty times; David and Vincent returning with their tails between their legs. The suspenseful times; being held at gunpoint by Myra and her goons. The relieving times; being saved by Bryan. And the sad times; Elizabeth's death. Now it were almost over. Co-Pilot Philips waved urgently for them to get in, his shouts unheard over the beating rotor blades. David and Vincent were the first into the chopper, pulling Keith inside. Alex's poor ability to walk meant they'd lacked behind the other three, making it through the foyer doors and onto the observation area. Bryan climbed into the chopper, holding his hand out, ready to help Alex inside- A massive shadow cast over the chopper, looking in the direction of the giant object. Wat looked like the broad side of a small billboard flew through the air towards them, carried by the fierce winds of the storm. It turned, edged side now flying in their direction. It bounced under the helicopters rotor blades, cutting Bryan and Alex off from one another unless either of them wanted to lose a hand. Almost immediately after, as if planned, the gracefulness of the Eye passed. A huge gust yanked the helicopter from where it sat, the pilot agreeing with it unless they all wanted to plummet and crash into the American flag on the ground. Quickly altitude was picked up, a scream of detest from Philips just heard over the radio while hard rain gradually started to pour back onto Ellis Island again. The dark clouds blotting out the sky once more descending the land into darkness. "Jesus!" Philips screamed, voice mortified, "McGraw!" he called through the radio, "Anna!" things becoming more personal, stemming from human emotions, "The eye has passed! We won't be able to land again!"A sorrowful looks dirtied Alex's face, breathing shallow. She swallowed hard, feeling Anna's jacket pockets, the grip of something familiar meeting her fingers. The little PI looked to the fiery redhead with sudden energy, "An-" pulling the grapple gun out from the pocket, wobbling on the spot before looking up to head of Lady Liberty, "We c-... we can..." pointing at the popular tourist destination, desperate to get her point across. If they climbed to the top of the statue, maybe that could get a shot off at the chopper, climb up into it or let it carry them the rest of the way into the city, find somewhere safe to land and board properly. They would only have one chance, the chopper was on nary enough fuel as it were.
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Post by NotAvailable on May 27, 2011 6:41:46 GMT -5
Bryan looked down at the two women, horrified, the kitten in his other arm before hiding away in his deep pockets of his own coat. "Anna! Alex!" he yelled again.
As Alex had tried to remind Anna of the grapple gun, she'd began to choke up on the words, her throat dried and cracked. Looking back at the girl, she'd grasped onto the grapple gun before looking upward at the chopper hovering above.
"Alex, I know what you're thinking but I couldn't possibly zip on up to the chopper like James Bond. It'd be cool, but we'd probably die," she joked before proceeding on into the statue and off of the observation deck. Unclipping her flashlight, she'd shined the light into the dark narrow hall that opened up into a short staircase leading to the ground floor.
"Alright, so we need to backtrack toward the souvenir shop," Anna mentioned as she carefully escorted Alex through the area. Shouldn't have been any real threats besides the giant arse Black Widow, which was stuck inside the said Souvenir Shop.
Alex stared wide eyed at Anna once she mentioned the shop, naturally. "No, no, don't worry, it can't escape...although there were egg sacks inside with smaller spider babies...eh, we'll be fine, come on."
The radio began to crackle in Anna's hoodie as Philip's voice pierced through, urgently.
"Agent McGraw, are you two alright? I--" there were some muffled voices and then shuffling on the other end when Bryan' voice came through.
"Anna! Al! You guys okay? Are y'all on the way? We can't hold out for much longer!"
Anna grasped ahold of the radio. "Yeah, yeah, we're on our way, we're gonna take the maintenance passage to the elevator, up to the spiral staircase, and so on," she explained.
There was a bit of a pause when the women came up to the souvenir shop. Anna shone her light along the grim walls where she'd seen the maintenance sign bolted into a door. She'd grasped at the door knob, wriggling it about while keeping her eyes on the shop entrance, just incase.
"How'd you know that there was---? Bryan's voice began.
Anna found the door unlocked but inside this new, narrow hall, were bodies of possibly tourists that attempted to escape the undead or the various threats on the island. They seemed to have died recently though, which left the two incredibly nervous.
"You, uh, mentioned it last time we were here....remember?" she said, pulling her side arm out and moving at a brisk pace through the hall. The bodies hadn't budged once. Moving deeper into the hallway, the stench of decay had become overwhelming, forcing Anna to cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve, Alex doing the same.
Finally the service elevator had been reached and the little lights above it that marked the floors had been lit up like some sort of divine light. Anna pressed the 'Up' button and the elevator doors pinged open, an infected man falling out of it and grasping at Alex. Startled, Alex coughed uncontrollably and tried to push it off but with her lack of strength, it was harder than it should have been.
"Sh*t!" Anna yelped, grasping under it's arms and pulling it off. It's dead weight, no pun intended, had fell back on her, knocking her into the elevator with it's moving about, trying to get up. Struggling beneath it's weight, Anna forcefully shoved it off and onto the ground, pointing the nose of her Colt at it's forehead and pulling the trigger. The gun blast had been all it took for the eight bodies in the hall to twitch and move.
Their hungry groaning had alerted Alex and Anna, leaving Anna to grasp onto Alex's arm and yank her inside of the elevator. Shed rushed to the floor switches and tapped repeatedly on the 3rd floor button. The undead were up on their feet now, shuffling mindlessly after their potential meal.
Anna continued to mesh the button. "C'mon! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" she screamed.
Finally the doors pinged and shut tightly and in a matter of seconds,the elevator began to ascend to it's chosen destination. Anna took the moment to check up on Alex. She was looking more and more like a corpse than the undead themselves. But she was strong, Anna knew she could get through this. It was only a matter of time.
"We're almost there, Al...just gotta get up that staircase and then..." she trailed off as the elevator stopped. The doors pinged again, sliding open to reveal the restaurant and the spiral staircase that had thick webbing and eggs reaching from the ground level to the floor they were currently on. The rest of the spiral case was still untouched. She glanced back at Alex and pulled her frail arm over her shoulder and began to rush the young girl toward the stairs.
When their feet hit the metal meshing, they started hiking up the steep, spiraling case, it felt like it was taking forever and Alex was beginning to drag her feet, heavily. Anna remained determined, though. Alex was going to live. She was going to live!
A few more flights that seemed to have taken forever had finally came to an end when they reached the inside of the statue's crown. "Al, look! We made it!" Anna said, trying to carry the PI through.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on May 27, 2011 9:34:49 GMT -5
"Al, look! We made it!"
Lifting her head up; rattle of rain against salt water air corroded bronze rounded off against Lady Liberty's crown. Dark blue clouds could be seen out of the tourist windows, and the sound of the choppers blades could be heard again. A bit of colour returned to Alex's cheeks as she smiled. A strange rattling sound bolstered the spiral staircase, nothing like what their feet had made on their way up. Alex looked over her shoulder and down the shaft spotting hundreds of hairy legs pattering against the inside of the bronze statue, her eyes widening. The frightened girl patted Anna on the arm to get her attention about it. They had to get out now. Moving towards the observation windows. It was going to be dangerous, but they were now completely out of options. Alex let Anna climb through first, dangling 200 feet off the ground. Then the dark haired girl climbed up, sitting in the frame of an arch and holding her hands out for Anna to grab hold. As she were pulled out she could see the legs of spiders reaching the top of the staircase, almost inside the green Lady's crown. Cold air caressed the Statue. Alex lifted her leg up trying to help out in the climbing process, rolling onto her back once gravity no longer had a deathly grip on her. The girl got to her feet, keeping moderately crouched from the wind, feeling a little like an statue herself, one of ice. She couldn't help risking a look at the ground below, a strange admiration for their feat they had achieved. But something was wrong, the ground seemed to move somewhat. "Hey! You guys are up top! You made it!" Bryan's voice whistled over the radio in happiness, "Now... ah..." he wasn't sure what they could pull off next. The guy still weren't aware of the grappling gun they had, "Wait. What's that?"She felt sick now, the worst kind of cold, while watching as the bugs which had both saved and tormented them during their time on the island began to climb up Lady Liberty's skirt, almost covering her completely. Spiders ascending from the inside, bugs on the outside. Alex opened her mouth to protest but all that made it out were a shallow croak for a shout. Looking to Anna. They still had to use the hook to get onto the chopper, it was the only way. Alex looked from the redhead to the grand Lady's torch. Higher. It was the best they could ask for at the moment. The little PI moved closer to Anna, mouth to her ear, "Up there," she said as loud as possible, pulling the grappling hook from her pocket. The girl gave the woman a stern look, letting her know they could do this, that they were so close. Alex aimed the hook shot and fired, the grapple latching onto the railing around the torch. Both women scaled up the Statue of Liberty's arm, slowly, but surely. It took everything Alex had left to keep a hold of Anna as they reached further for the sky. The grapple whirred as it reeled in the last metre or so; they stood on the edge feeling the full force of the storm's wind. Alex took the radio out of Anna's jacket pocket, "Bryan...""Hey kiddo! We're gonna try an fly next to the-""No," the freezing girl was quick to interject. She knew the guy would be stubborn enough to likely put a gun up to the pilots head and force him to fly right next to the torch, but with the way the winds were the chopper would likely crash into it killing everyone, "Get the pilot to fly as steadily as possible over the torch. We can take care of the rest..."There were a long pause before there were a response, "Alright," Bryan said. His sign of acceptance. They waited in the flame of Liberty's mighty torch, looking toward the sky. The pilot was a master at his craft, keeping the chopper at a good position and altitude even with gusting winds. Alex aimed and fired, the grapple locking onto a skid of the helicopter. She had smirked, even suffering from hypothermia she could still shoot a coin out of the air. Slack remained on the line of the hook shot, Alex latched it onto the railing of the torch; it had a handy mechanism for zip lining which would work perfectly in this instance. Looking over the side however, the bugs and spiders were already climbing up Liberty's arm. They would make it to the rope too. Alex had been saving it even since they had arrived on the island, and this was the perfect moment. She unsheathed her knife, still fighting the wind of the storm, "Anna!" she screamed, "Start climbing!" bellowing at the redhead, "I g-gotta take care of'em. Trust me!" holding a hand to her brow, "Go!"
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Post by NotAvailable on May 27, 2011 9:44:53 GMT -5
Anna continued climbing up toward the helicopter where Bryan awaited, putting his arms out to grasp ahold of them when Alex informed her to keep going. Anna had stopped, merely inches away when she'd looked back down at the young girl. She glanced at her and for a split second, Alex's face was that of little Lucy McGraw's.
Shaking her head, Anna frowned. "Alex, no! We can keep moving and cut the line when we're inside the chopper!" she shouted, feeling Bryan grasp onto her arm and gently tug her upwards toward him. She squirmed a bit under the man's strength.
"ALEX!" she shouted again.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on May 27, 2011 11:20:07 GMT -5
At the hilt of the Vishnu Mirage combat blade was a small switch, the control of its engineering which set it aside from the rest of the knives in the world. One charge was left, something Alex had been saving for the worst case scenario. Now that they were free she felt there was no harm in using it in such a dire circumstance. Her thumb brushed over the trigger and straight away the blade began to glow, sparking with electricity. Alex held the knife above her head letting its power boot entirely before waving it over the railing at the Statue of Liberty's arm. A vine like arc of electricity slashed down on all the bugs and spiders, frying them and swatting them off of Lady Liberty. The arc continued, a surprising amount of electricity feeding into the whip as it continued down her skirt, exterminating anything within its reach. The girl continued around, flailing at all that dared to climb towards the chopper. Swiping Ellis Island's hosts. The arc began to recede, the charge waring thin, eventually running out entirely. By that point there were far less of their foes climbing up the statue, and plenty of time for them to get away. Alex sheathed her knife and began to climb, warmth returning to her body, invigorated. Once she was at a reasonable height she remotely disconnected the latch of the hookshot, swaying away from the hand rail. It must have been clear to the pilot as the chopper began to bank away from the statue, carrying Alex with it. Inching her way up the line to the open door, she could see Anna and Bryan leaning out, waiting for her, ready to help her inside. An almighty roar came from the the Statue of Liberty, the line suddenly becoming tight. Alex looked down expecting the statue to have come to life and grabbed hold of the grapple gun, refusing to let them leave. Worse things had happened that night after all. Instead she saw something else. Something that made her chew her own thoughts. Something terrifying. The dark, hooded, burly stranger from the restaurant was hanging on the edge of the line yelling nonsense up at her. A bit of give was felt at the other end of the line, looking up at the hook on the skid of the helicopter. They were too heavy. Alex started climbing, no longer inching up but going hand over hand, legs dangling violently in the wind. Looking down, all that could be seen were the water of the New York harbor beneath them. They had made it away from the island, but they had taken one of its inhabitants with them. Looking down saw the stranger climbing as well, gnarled teeth bared and a red glow in his eyes just beneath his hood. He was climbing faster than her, Alex's heart beating as she looked at the remaining line left to climb; the chopper had never felt so far away. A hand grabbed at her leg, tugging at her; Alex still had meters left, but he wasn't letting go. Another give from the line, critch of metal from the hook. Alex kicked furiously suddenly feeling her hands burn as the stranger held on with both his arms, letting go of the line. Muscles screaming. The little girl wouldn't dare test how well she could hold on with one hand. Alex wrenched her eyes shut in distress. Bryan leaned out of the chopper, assault rifle in hand, "C'mon you freak!" David held him by his belt, letting the commando lean out of the chopper to get a good shot, "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." reflex sight waving over the stranger. But as much as Bryan wanted to shoot the bastard, Alex was still in the way, "DAMNIT!" he signaled for David to pull him back in, "I can't get a shot!" slamming his fist against the wall of the helicopter. "We can't keep this weight limit up!" the co-pilot rang forth, "We've stressed fuel levels already, we won't make it back to base on this tank, but now we're over the limit this bird can carry! You're gonna have to-!""You mother f*cker!" Byran swore through his teeth, taking a step into the cockpit and bracing his fist at the co-pilot. David and Vincent held him back from his violet act, pushing him into a seat. The man held his head in shame. They all knew it. And the girl could sense it. Alex opened her eyes, looking up to see Anna; her fiery red hair burning brighter than ever. Brown hues of her eyes looking down at the hanging girl. The PI winced as her muscles tore, crying out to the storm in dread. She had no energy to fight back her tears, she didn't even have energy to hang on anymore; her hands burned through her gloves. Her own selfishness wanted to hold on, to escape the torment she had been put through. But that wasn't her. In the past night she had met people she cared about too much to let that get in the way, not after what they had gone through. After learning about them it made it all too hard. They had families of their own, something the PI had let her private life get in the way of. She wasn't going to let it get in the way of anyone else. Taking one last look at Anna, Alex closed her eyes again. She imagined better times. Times that maybe her, and Anna, and Bryan could have spent together; normal, without worries. She imagined meeting them under better circumstances. It was the only thing she could do to convince herself to let go. The girl fell through the air, the stranger toppling with her, losing his grip of her to slip away. Her lithe figure slammed into the dark waters of the New York harbor, thrown under by thrashing waves. Lady Liberty watched over as she sank into the lonely depths.
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Post by NotAvailable on May 27, 2011 11:45:50 GMT -5
Anna watched as the young girl had given up her life for the sake of their own. Her body had been swallowed in the frigid, dark, sea along with the bastard that brought it to this. It took all three men to grasp ahold of Anna and hold her back. It became deathly silent. Every single muscle in Anna's body had stiffened, her eyes widened in horror as she just sat there on her knees, staring out at the water.
Keith had his hands in his lap, staring down at them. He hadn't a single word to mutter. He'd barely known the girl but she had helped save his life.
The two goons had their own moments of silence, exchanging saddened glances. Bryan, couldn't quite explain how he felt. Null, void, hollow...didn't stop him from holding Anna's shoulder. He couldn't possibly have imagined what was going on in her mind.
"Anna...?" he said, softly.
The redhead sat flat on her rear and pulled her knees close to her chest as her eyes glazed over in tears. She could have saved her. She could have, somehow, saved Alex...
"I promised her everything would be okay..." the woman said, barely above a whisper.
Bryan sighed and looked out toward the city docks that they began to approach. The bright, morning sun had rose over the symetrical buildings that made up New York.
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