Toxoglossa 2013/07/20(Sat)21:54 No. 525964 ID: f7d109
File 137438248432.jpg - (36.35KB , 340x600 , 068.jpg )

"What? What questions? No no no no no."
Sheriff Lynwood stands in the doorway, blocking your only route out of the MRI room.

>"Just relax Mr. Marks, you're not under arrest, but I've been asked to take you into custody for the time being."

Toxoglossa 2013/07/20(Sat)21:55 No. 525965 ID: f7d109
File 137438250926.jpg - (62.92KB , 508x600 , 069.jpg )

Dr Slate sweeps in between you and the sheriff, furious about the interruption.

Mary
>"Hold on one second officer, this man is my patient and in light of what we've just uncovered, I'm going to have to refuse to release him into your custody. He is in need of immediate medical attention."

Lynwood
>"Doctor, I just want to ask him a few questions."

Toxoglossa 2013/07/20(Sat)21:56 No. 525966 ID: f7d109
File 137438260179.jpg - (52.78KB , 441x600 , 070.jpg )

Mary
>"Questions about what? I don't know if this is a very good time."

Lynwood
>"Well, I ran the plates on that overturned truck outside of town, and you came back as a person of interest. Dale, were you aware that the truck you were driving was registered to a Professor Leo Schreater?"

"Professor Schreater?"
Deep within your memory something stirs, bringing with it a face and a droning voice telling you something important. Whenever you try to focus on it, your head starts to spin and it slips through your fingers like water.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/20(Sat)21:57 No. 525967 ID: f7d109
File 137438263582.jpg - (61.11KB , 492x600 , 071.jpg )

Lynnwood
>"Professor Schreater was reported missing in the state of Florida over a month ago, Dale. Do you have any knowledge of his whereabouts? Where did you see him last?"

Mary
>"Officer, please, this man has been in two car wrecks and was assaulted earlier today and may very well have brain damage. The last thing he needs is to be interrogated. "

Lynwood
>"Assault? When was this? I never heard any report about an assault."

As the two authority figures argue about your fate you sink to the floor, struggling to remember.

Beth
>"Dale, you alright? Its going to be okay, alright?"

"Beth, we have to get out of here. If we stay here, we're going to be killed." physically and mentally at your limit, your voice takes on an ghoulish monotone as you plead with the EMT. "Help me."

Okay, sheriff wants to keep Dale to ask him questions, doctor wants to keep Dale to remove the leech that might be keeping him sane, Dale wants to leave to run away from Radula, Beth wants to read the book.

Well, regardless, I think it's time we told Mary about how dangerous Radula is, and ask the sheriff for an armed escort away from the hospital and any populated areas. Maybe they can just shoot Radula when he shows up to poison someone?

Beth is the only one with all the information here and the mental state to communicate, so she's gonna have to most of the talking. She can say that Todd went crazy due to being poisoned by some monster that's chasing Dale, and Dale can mumble something about Radula coming. Beth and Mary can explain that Dale is having memory issues so an interrogation right now won't bear fruit. If the sheriff insists, show him the book and tell him that THAT is why Dale is running.

Dale should make an effort to remember anything he can about the professor, the book, and the hole in his head. Also he should request coffee and his clothes back.

Calm down man. You can't keep running forever and you are almost out of all resources to use. Maybe you can get some answers as to what all happened and how to deal with it. Here you've got at least 2 people that have your back and a lead to how this all started. This would be the best place to stay until you finish this; one way or the other. Now take a breath, hug Beth if you feel like it, and stand tall to face this problem.

Rushing out now would make you even more suspicious and more likely for them to detain you longer. Maybe you could convince them that once you get treatment you'll be able to answer questions, and you can bail out of here at a more subtle time later.

Dale have... have you been awake for over a month?

Beth: Suggest to Mary that Dale be transferred to another hospital that specialises in Neurosurgery. That deals with "thing in head" and "run away". If we can convince the Sherrif to ride along and answer questions on the way, so much the better in case Radula gives chase.

Dale you cant keep running forever. You are half dead and out of money. This is as good a place as any to make a stand.

Sure you might be putting some people here in danger but if you end up dead in a ditch outside of town because you mindlessly ran off they will be worse off when this thing shows up.

Also the leech in your head might be a good thing after what happened with the other guy. Will know soon enough if they try to remove it from him and he goes back to being a cuttlefish minion.

I am betting the professor is the one that put the leech in your head. Maybe he is where you got the book and he did it to free you from being controlled?

>>525975
Agreed. Dale is suffering from a severe neurosis, and right now it would be best to treat it. If Dale can answer questions on the way, fine, but he will have to take what he can get.

Wait, if you were cured with a leech, and he keeps coming after you, does that mean Todd isn't safe either?

Toxoglossa 2013/07/21(Sun)21:13 No. 526239 ID: f7d109
File 137446641483.jpg - (70.63KB , 600x457 , 072.jpg )

>>525991
>"...not even sure if you can understand me, but if you're in there I'm sorry for the task I'm about to place on your shoulders, but I am simply unable to keep running."

The tired, dry european accent mingles in the smoke of memories. The sharp smell of antiseptic, the sawing of ropes against your body, the sound of footsteps across a torn shower curtain.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/21(Sun)21:14 No. 526240 ID: f7d109
File 137446649591.jpg - (74.80KB , 600x563 , 073.jpg )

>"You see the creature believes itself to be literally the tongue or voice of its deity. The venom it injects is its word, all consuming and overpowering the mind with its neurotoxin."

>"Now I'm going to need for you to hold still. My hands have not been steady as of late."

Make sure your tongue isn't in the way of any teeth for the next part.

Be strong mate.

>>526240
This is going to hurt. A lot. But you have to remember.

well uh... hm... HM... uh, HMMM... yeah I got nothing.

...he put the hole in my head. Schreater.

"...Schreater put the hole in my head."

Eh, not too many nerves in the skull actually. Plus you're totally possessed right now so you'll just slobber a bit and gnash at him. Don't worry the leech is coming!

>>526240
This is gonna suck.
Wait...
THIS IS THE FUCKSTICK WHO PUT A FUCKING HOLE IN YOUR HEAD.
AND GAVE YOU THE FUCKING BOOK.
THAT COCKMONGLING MOTHERFUCKING FUCKKDICKGODDAMNITFFFFUUU-

the leeches keep Radula's poison away. When we put the leech in the other guy, it healed him and gave him his mind back. They EAT his poison.

The leech in our head is a PROTECTION against Radula's poison. We absolutely must keep it on our brain.

Could he have at least plugged the hole? Having our brain partially exposed is asking for it.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/23(Tue)19:33 No. 526713 ID: f7d109
File 137463318175.jpg - (40.10KB , 259x600 , 074.jpg )

Schreater:
>"Once again, I apologize, but from what I have found the leeches are the only thing that can counteract the venom once injected. I am counting on you to keep the tome out of the hands of the Radula entity. It has already chased me halfway around the world, and I fear that I cannot escape its attention for much longer. If by some miracle I manage to evade it's capture, I swear to you Mr. Marks, I will find a way to defeat it and I will assist you.

>"Now run. Run as far as you can and remember: do not stop, do not lose the book, and do not sleep unless absolutely necessary."

Toxoglossa 2013/07/23(Tue)19:33 No. 526714 ID: f7d109
File 137463320723.jpg - (41.63KB , 600x407 , 075.jpg )

Back in the present Beth intervenes between the cop and the doctor.

>"Hold on, Mary, we can't be sure that thing in his head is doing anything to harm him, we should hold off on removing it until we can better understand it. Officer Lynwood, Dale is suffering from some rather severe trauma right now and has demonstrated difficulty with long term memory. We would like to help you, but he really isn't in any shape to answer many questions, in fact perhaps you can help fill in some of the gaps in his memory."

Lynwood
>"Amnesia? sounds awfully convenient, but I'm not here to interrogate him, the police are looking for any leads on this missing person and from what I can tell he is the first sign of the professor in weeks.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/23(Tue)19:33 No. 526715 ID: f7d109
File 137463323728.jpg - (60.71KB , 600x460 , 076.jpg )

"He did this..."
Their conversation derails as you find your voice again.
"Schreater. He put the hole in my head. I was pumped full of venom and used as a tool to kill him, but he pulled the evil out of me and trusted me with the book."

Lynwood
>"The hell's he talking about? Venom?"

Beth
>"Shhhhh shutupshutupshutup! Dale, you okay? What happened?"

"He gave me the book, and told me to run. And then the creature took him. The same creature that is after me."

Toxoglossa 2013/07/23(Tue)19:34 No. 526717 ID: f7d109
File 137463327409.jpg - (63.60KB , 600x460 , 078.jpg )

"...and now its here."

the leeches, we need them. any swamps near here? leeches love swamps.

>>526717
Time to find the nearest emergency exit. Gotta get back on the road. Also you left out the fact that the leeches are the ONLY way to counteract the venom.

Oh, don't forget to pick up your clothes. Or do we even want to bother? We can always buy more somewhere by stopping for like 10 minutes, which is basically safe.

Beth, you're in charge I think. You're the only one here who knows what's going on, and is together enough to think strait.

Dale's not wrong. Something's coming, again.

hospitals sometimes do keep leeches around for medical purposes so if we want some we could ask if they have any in stock. As for what to do... GTFO, and maybe see if we can't get Todd and Jeff on the way out, unless this thing is focusing solely on us then that would only put them in harms way so if that is the case just run like a mother fucker.

Aw shit. I got nothing.

>>526717
If we were to run, we would either need to first convince the cop of the crazy shit or go with him to the station. First seems unlikely and the second only delays it for a little bit. What to do; swing by Todd (claim that you are coming with him to the station, but first you have to pick up Dale's prescriptions from the pharmacy. Lead him to where Todd is instead.) if we have time and make to leave. Rad should try to stop us and that would convince the cop.

Well the Outsider can take on you all without blinking, so no reason to stay together. Split into two groups. Flip a coin to see who gets the book. The one that doesn't pretends they do to try to distract Raddy. Ideally both of you escape, and never meet again. Whoever has the book hides it and runs. Whoever doesn't have the book tries to find out what it is how someone got Outside and brought the book (and presumably Radula) in.

If he goes for the group with the book, well you were doomed anyway if you just sat here. If he doesn't you might have a chance to get away.

Try to find those leeches too. I suspect ordinary leeches aren't going to fit the bill though.

Oh fuck they removed the leech from Tom didn't they.

>>526741
>Oh fuck they removed the leech from Tom didn't they.
It's the only way Radula could possibly have homed in that quickly, or that heavily.

Where is the book right now?!
Tom might have already found it!!!

>>526741
>>526749
>Tom
He has two arms, people. Two arms.

If your stuff is readily accessible then collect it and run. If it's not then just run. Get the book for sure.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/24(Wed)21:39 No. 527172 ID: f7d109
File 137472716131.jpg - (45.34KB , 600x600 , 079.jpg )

Lynwood
>"HOLD IT, No one is going anywhere. We are going to sit tight till the lights come on, THEN I plan on getting some answers.

Mary
>"Lets all calm down. We've had brown outs in this area before, the generator should kick on in a moment.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/24(Wed)21:39 No. 527174 ID: f7d109
File 137472717545.jpg - (32.08KB , 600x600 , 080.jpg )

>" There, see?"

Toxoglossa 2013/07/24(Wed)21:39 No. 527175 ID: f7d109
File 137472719884.jpg - (37.91KB , 600x465 , 081.jpg )

Lynwood
>"THE FUCK? Where'd he go?"

Toxoglossa 2013/07/24(Wed)21:40 No. 527176 ID: f7d109
File 137472722478.jpg - (32.28KB , 513x600 , 082.jpg )

Beth
>"Whoa relax, I don't think he could have slipped past all of us. Hes probably just freaked out and hiding somewhere."

Why are you holding a gun on some hospital staff and a patient with a hole in his head?

First you wander in here and panic the guy with a fucking hole in his head and now you are going to gun him down if you don't get "answers"?

Yeah I would be running away in the dark to.

This is grossly inappropriate police misconduct. Have some fucking class; you're training a gun on a doctor, an EMT, and an unarmed patient. What's wrong with you?

Dale is clearly a ninja with how good he hides.

Lynwood are you even police?

>>527179
Indeed. What the fuck is wrong with you, officer?

[spoilers]Doctor, call 911 and tell them there's a crazed sheriff with a gun pointed at you.

>>527177
>>527179
Yeah, whipping out a gun isn't the proper response to a blackout. You should never aim your weapon at someone you're not prepared to shoot, and that man has no reason he should be willing to shoot any of the unarmed medical personal or the injured rambling patient.

...I mean there is a monster on the lose, but it's not as if he believes that yet.

This guy has about as much police conduct as a doughnut. Who the fuck is he really?

Uh, while what he did was inappropriate let's not overreact. Just ask him to please put the gun away, and try to get Dale to come out of there. Say that if he comes out you'll get him some coffeeeeee!

Wait, he's waving around a (steel) revolver in an MRI room without issues? Oh mna, that means the main coil has quenched! There's going to be one pissed off cryogenic engineer.

Don't tell him where Dale is. Let Dale hide/try to sneak out. This guy hasn't seen the shit yet so like, he don't understand how serious this is. Dale needs to GTFO.

>>527176
Do not run. Period. You have nowhere to run and nowhere to turn to. You have a handful of people you can trust. You need to trust in them, let them help you and keep them safe. There is clearly more at stake here than your life.

Dont do anything stupid. You will get someone shot by Sgt. Dog over here.

Yeah, doctor.
I suggest you claim to go find some files or whatever it is Doctors do and call the police on this guy. He's going to get somebody badly hurt if he keeps this up.
Or, Beth could do it. Claim you really need the ladies' room after the scare you just got from him pulling that gun.

Right about now Mary should give Lynwood an earful for not just the misconduct of pulling his sidearm for no damn good reason, but compounding that misconduct by doing so anywhere near a MRI. He's damn lucky that revolver wasn't yanked from his hand and embedded halfway into the machine, possibly going off on impact! So before he ends up accidentally wrecking a multi-million dollar piece of medical imaging equipment and possibly injuring or killing someone, including himself, he should damn well holster and secure that firearm and wait in the hall while you two search the room for Dale.

>>527314

Pff, nothing pisses off engineers more than plot holes.

>>527314
It's off, though, isn't it?

>>527437
I thought the MRI was off? If there's still a strong magnetic field while it's inactive Mary wouldn't have let Beth in would she?

Goddam Beth stop helping! Regardless, I think this would be a very good time for everyone to hunker down, barricade up and prepare for a full scale storming assault.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/25(Thu)17:34 No. 527461 ID: f7d109
File 137479885171.jpg - (49.95KB , 513x600 , 083.jpg )

Lynwood
>"There you are, Marks! You get out of there right now."

Beth
>"Officer, please, put the gun away, Dale hasn't done anything wrong."

Toxoglossa 2013/07/25(Thu)17:35 No. 527462 ID: f7d109
File 137479893168.jpg - (46.50KB , 487x600 , 084.jpg )

Lynwood
>"Was I the only one listening when he admitted that he tried to kill someone who has since disappeared? You're both claiming he has amnesia and brain damage, and he claims its all because of some creature? I'm not sure what you people are trying to pull here, but I'm not buying any of it. "

Mary
>"Sheriff! Careful! That machine is extremely dangerous."

Lynwood
>"Eh?"

Toxoglossa 2013/07/25(Thu)17:36 No. 527463 ID: f7d109
File 137479899673.jpg - (62.06KB , 600x600 , 085.jpg )

>>527314
>>527437
Lynwood advances on you, but his gun is torn from his hands by the powerful magnetic field so suddenly that his finger is wrenched against the trigger.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/25(Thu)17:37 No. 527464 ID: f7d109
File 137479903660.jpg - (45.14KB , 600x326 , 086.jpg )

The revolver unleashes a .38 slug which buries itself deep within the machine, bursting forth forth a frigid cloud of gas.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/25(Thu)17:39 No. 527467 ID: f7d109
File 137479914327.jpg - (102.42KB , 600x600 , 087.jpg )

The punctured coolant system rapidly blossoms into a freezing explosion, filling the room with a fog of ice and helium as the liquid depressurizes.

Dr. Slate attempts to say something, but the helium atmosphere makes it impossible to hear over the sudden ringing in everyone's ears.

>>527461
Okay, if we get out of this, beat the Sheriff's head in with a fire extinguisher. He's clearly too stupid to live, and too violent to be a cop.

I think we should get out of this room, I mean exploding machines are not things you want to stand by

I'm pretty sure that would be justifiable homicide. No jury would convict us.

Medical personal, get that door open and everyone out of that room, ASAP.

Dale, resist the urge to take off by yourself. I know everything screams to run and the cop is an idiot, but this will only get worse if you separate.

>You're both claiming he has amnesia and brain damage
It's not a claim when a medical professional tells you that with the tests to back it up. It's a fact.

...and if you don't believe his monster ramblings, how can you believe the confession? You can't hold a crazy person for a crime for which the only evidence is their own word. You need corroboration, actual evidence.

Let's just get everyone outside.
Let's also not worry about the Sheriff (even if he gets possessed now that gun just got fffffucked), the hospital will likely press charges against him and sue the police department (he was clearly warned by a medical professional that has understanding of the machine, not to mention there's probably a bunch of signs saying "DO NOT BRING METAL IN" everywhere), he'll probably be demoted or fired even if Dale gets brought in by the police.

It's pretty much fucking done. We don't have to worry about that asshole. We can even call the cops on HIM right about now. So, hey, anyone that can hear our suggestions, get up and call 911 and ask for medical assistance and the police, a police officer has idiotically caused an explosion in the hospital and there's a horrific amount of irony here in calling 911.

Dale just get the fuck out of here and hide. Just don't run far away. Don't worry about legal bullshit right now. Everyone else get the fuck out of the room.

>>527467
Dale quick run past everyone while they're distracted! See if you can grab Beth since she's the only one that agrees you need to gtfo.

Dale, get to your feet and dash for the exit. Just stay low and don't inhale at all until you're outside, lest you get a lungful of chilled helium. Grab Beth's hand if you pass her and pull her after you. She'll probably be looking to help you out anyway.

Dr. Slate knows what to do in this situation, and the first thing is to get down out of the rising cloud of chilled helium, pulling that idiot Lynwood down before he inhales and half-freezes his lungs. Next is to crawl to the MRI emergency response controls just inside the entrance, yank the covers off, and slam in ALL THE BUTTONS. At this point they pretty much all should be pressed, even if the "emergency vent" one is the most needed right now.

There'll very likely be hospital staff rushing to this room to assist, so even if somebody passes out from inhaling the chilled helium they'll almost certainly be saved.

(Something to keep in mind for later, just in case we need a firearm: That pistol will be able to be retrieved once the MRI superconducting magnetic ring warms up to the point it loses its magnetic field.)

This is imperative! Everyone squeak like chipmunks while you're flailing around doing stuff!

>>527468
Too violent? It's a prerequisite for you to be freakishly violent to be a cop!

but still. Everyone needs to get out of there, you're going to suffocate pretty rapidly with all that helium. Make sure Beth and the good doctor get out. Don't even bother with the cop.

If anyone dies and that cop lives, make sure to blame him heavily for it. And remind him of it. He tries to interrogate you? Just repeat that he killed someone. You got a right.

If we grab Beth and run, we will have to somehow find Todd. I doubt she will just abandon him willingly.

Despite how stupid that move was, I don't think making a break for it is the best choice.

Do, however get the hell out of the room. If you can grab Beth try to quickly formulate a plan. Hopefully she has some ideas.

Try to leave the room as calmly as is possible, and stay nearby. You don't to give the unreasonably aggressive officer any reason to do something dumb again.

>>527467
everybody out of the room. you can't breath helium.

>>527633
This. Drag Dale out of there too, he's not in a fit state to recognise an anoxic environment.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:53 No. 527978 ID: f7d109
File 137489002377.jpg - (78.44KB , 600x600 , 088.jpg )

Seizing your chance, you bolt from behind the MRI, grab your satchel, and make a mad dash for the door.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:54 No. 527980 ID: f7d109
File 137489005407.jpg - (57.12KB , 600x475 , 089.jpg )

Taking all of your self control not to panic and run out of the building, you pause in the hallway to gather yourself. Your lungs are searing with the cold, your head and ears are pounding from the explosion, and your head is light from the helium, but you're in one piece.

A figure stumbles out of the fog backwards...

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:54 No. 527981 ID: f7d109
File 137489007029.jpg - (77.18KB , 591x600 , 090.jpg )

...flips open a cover and punches a button labeled "quench"

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:54 No. 527982 ID: f7d109
File 137489008572.jpg - (82.96KB , 500x507 , 091.jpg )

Immediately a collection of vents rumble to life, sucking the supercooled gas out of the building.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:55 No. 527984 ID: f7d109
File 137489010978.jpg - (63.06KB , 432x600 , 092.jpg )

Wide eyed, Dr. Slate turns around to address you. She indicates something inside the MRI room, but you can't understand her over the noise of the room being purged.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/26(Fri)18:55 No. 527985 ID: f7d109
File 137489012251.jpg - (48.60KB , 600x453 , 093.jpg )

You start to worrying about Beth but as chill runs up your already frozen spine you immediately reconsider your own safety.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT

OH COME ON.

If we decide to run make sure that thing chases us. We don't want any more 'zombies' to deal with seeing as we only have 2 leaches left.

If we do go back in to help Beth make sure we barricade that door... and also watch out for moody the pissy cop in there as well as I'm sure he'll blame this little fuck up on you somehow.

>supercooled gas
I hope that didn't kill the leeches.

You are pretty much immune to the mind control effect that Rad makes because of your leech. You have to be the one to draw him off. Point to your ear in an "I can't hear you" way, toss a leech to the good doctor and then point at Rad. (if you point at Rad first, she might freak out too much to catch the bottle) Immediately after, run down the hallway and try to get to the ER. Try to remember how to get back to the room if you manage to juke him.

Duck (or maybe tackle Dr. Slate if she is standing directly behind you). Raddie likes his headshots.
If you have successfully evaded doom this way, go for a leech.

>>527984
Somebody might be unconcious! Go in, try to get beth out at the very LEAST

>>527985
The gun, dale. The gun is still in that room. You know Radula isn't invincible. With the MRI broken, the magnets should relinquish their hold on the gun... soon?

You can't just run down the hall. Radula's barb is too fast. You'd need to immediately turn a corner or enter another room to dodge it. I say hold your breath and go back in there for the gun.

>>527992
I don't think a single leech will kill Radula. We'd need a swamp full of them.

Nice that those vents work without power.

>He's here
Shove the doc back into the room! He can posses her! You're safe...ish. Sort of.

We're gonna have to run, can you at least lead him away from the people in the room?

>>528000
>With the MRI broken, the magnets should relinquish their hold on the gun... soon?
There are ENORMOUS permanent magnets in that thing.

That's what grabbed the gun.

Take a good look in the room. If it's Beth, save her. If it's the cop, run like hell.

>>528005
The hospital's backup generators kicked in already, and it's pretty certain the emergency quench system on the MRI is tied into the circuit powered by them 'cause it'd be real dumb not to.

>>528007
The intense magnetic field comes from running a strong electrical current through a ring of superconducting magnets. As soon as the magnets warm up past the point of superconductivity and that current starts hitting resistance from the ring material it's going to heat up real quick. It probably won't melt, but it definitely will lose nearly all of its magnetic field strength. It's just a question of how fast the ring warms up now that it's not immersed in liquid helium.

I say grabbing the gun is a bad idea because if the cop sees us going for it, even more shit will hit the fan.

>>527985
oh. oh fuck.
get the cop! point at the thing!
no wait, you're probably the only one that can see it, so warn the others and get them to run for it. they won't know what hit them if you don't.

>>528074
>It's just a question of how fast the ring warms up now that it's not immersed in liquid helium.
Almost immediately. As even the smallest part of the superconductor heats up above it's critical temperature, it suddenly gains resistance. The massive current flowing through it causes it to act as a resistive heater, warming up very rapidly. This heats the surrounding superconductor above it's critical temperature, and the effect propagates. This is a Quench.

The gun is free, a very expensive MRI machine is going to need some serious repair, and you're between an angry refrigerated cop and a cuttlefish-mollusc-moth-man-thing.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/27(Sat)18:48 No. 528463 ID: f7d109
File 137497612632.jpg - (51.73KB , 600x600 , 094.jpg )

Mary
>"Dale, what the Hell is that?"

Shit shit shit shit shit, its right there. You've never been so close to it while you were awake. With only one exit, the MRI room would be a good place to barricade yourself, but you would put everyone inside in even more danger.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/27(Sat)18:49 No. 528464 ID: f7d109
File 137497614585.jpg - (60.60KB , 600x600 , 095.jpg )

"DOC, GET INSIDE. LOCK THE DOOR AND HIDE." You try to shout over the noise of the vents, but your voice is still pretty high pitched. Shoving the doctor through the doorway, you turn and run.

Mary
>"Dale wait, where are you going?"

Toxoglossa 2013/07/27(Sat)18:49 No. 528465 ID: f7d109
File 137497616499.jpg - (40.27KB , 536x600 , 096.jpg )

You squeak out "HEY ASSHOLE, IVE GOT YOUR REQUIRED READING RIGHT HERE" and take off into the hospital, hopefully giving the occupants of the room time to escape.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/27(Sat)18:50 No. 528469 ID: f7d109
File 137497621514.jpg - (27.60KB , 600x301 , 099.jpg )

"Urghh..."
You blink away the fog of unconsciousness and open your eyes.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/27(Sat)18:50 No. 528470 ID: f7d109
File 137497623936.jpg - (68.41KB , 490x600 , 100.jpg )

You are now Beth.
You wake up on the floor of the MRI room, cold and with a pounding headache.
Other than yourself, the broken MRI and scattered bits of insulation material, the room appears to be empty.
You aren't sure how much time has passed, but it appears the hospital is no longer running on emergency power.

Something must be wrong if no hospital staff are attending you yet, or you've not been out for too long. Find your resolve and get up. Dale said the thing that was after him was coming last you saw, so he might be in trouble and needing help. If you can find the cop's gun, that'd be cool, so look inside the MRI.

if you see the gun take it. shake away the fuzzies and try to wake up faster.

i think that was a fake cop, he was way too trigger happy.

>>528470
The gun's not stuck to the machine, is it on the ground anywhere? In the machine maybe?

If not, go out and see if you can find someone. The fact that you're not in a hospital bed right now implies that nobody had the time to take care of you, so uh... Yeah, Radula is probably here causing panic.

They're all bleeding from the ears.

Get up. The lights went out- you're pretty sure you know what that means. The thing that's chasing Dale found him again. He's going to need help. There's a lot of people in this hospital who are probably in danger now and need help.

Reflect upon the unbelievable stupidity which took place screwing up you all much more effectively than even Radula.

look around and so who and what is around you and go form there.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/30(Tue)18:20 No. 529726 ID: f7d109
File 137523361143.jpg - (31.78KB , 600x363 , 101.jpg )

You comb through the debris thrown out by the explosion, but don't see the sheriff's revolver anywhere.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/30(Tue)18:20 No. 529727 ID: f7d109
File 137523363664.jpg - (26.60KB , 600x437 , 102.jpg )

You peek your head into the corridor. Even though your ears are still ringing, the hospital is eerily quiet, normally this hall should be bustling with activity. It doesn't even look like anyone has responded to the exploding MRI.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/30(Tue)18:20 No. 529728 ID: f7d109
File 137523364909.jpg - (33.34KB , 327x600 , 103.jpg )

As you step out into the hall, you feel something against your foot. It looks like Dale dropped one of those leeches when he went.... where ever is went. You stuff the little annelid in your pocket.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/30(Tue)18:21 No. 529729 ID: f7d109
File 137523366395.jpg - (47.44KB , 600x548 , 104.jpg )

Fortunately you know your way around the hospital fairly well, but realize someone like Dale could easily get lost here. You consider checking out the front desk (A), if anyone is there, they could page Dale and tell you why its so quiet. There is also a security office (B) towards the rear of the building, it may be safer there, and you could see around the building via cameras. There is the motor pool (C), there should be another ambulance there as well as more gear for the EMT's. Dale could have also tried to meet up with Jeff in the waiting room (D), or Todd who is in a recovery room on the second floor.

I say check security

>>529729
Dont PA him, that monster's after him as we speak.
Head for security, we need backup. Tell them some kinf of weird animal's been spotted wandering around

Huh. The Doc and sheriff are already gone? And they just left you? Yeah, something bad happened again, or else everyone wouldn't have just run off.

I'd head for the cameras. Knowledge is power. We need to know where everyone is, and what bad things are happening, this time.

Head to the waiting room, get Jeff, then go to the security office. They will likely have radios in there so someone can monitor the cameras and give info to whoever goes out if necessary.

Head for security. Since Jeff is very... enthusiastic in monster situations, he probably would head to there if something was up, which seems to be the case. If he isn't, then we can still check the cameras.

>>529729
If nobody responded to the exploding MRI, you can basically guarantee that there is nobody available to. In the event of a spooky hospital you should probably immediately head to security to check the cameras to find out why it's so spooky.

>>529729
security center. we can't trust dale to have planned his route, for there to be anyone at the entrance or for us to have enough time to get supplies. furthermore the best thing you can do is take stock of the situation through those cameras.

>>529729
B sounds sensible.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/31(Wed)21:45 No. 530108 ID: f7d109
File 137533235738.jpg - (37.97KB , 600x600 , 105.jpg )

You head down the corridor to the security office. You pass by scattered medical supplies and several overturned or empty gurneys on your route, but no people. The stillness of the hospital is starting to creep you out.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/31(Wed)21:46 No. 530109 ID: f7d109
File 137533237286.jpg - (38.59KB , 600x518 , 106.jpg )

However you make it to the security room without incident. Hopefully the CCTV will give you some clues.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/31(Wed)21:46 No. 530110 ID: f7d109
File 137533239139.jpg - (42.17KB , 600x473 , 107.jpg )

SLAM
Okay, that's a pretty fucking big clue.

Toxoglossa 2013/07/31(Wed)21:46 No. 530111 ID: f7d109
File 137533241439.jpg - (66.82KB , 539x600 , 108.jpg )

Oh god... What the fuck happened here?

>>530111
If I had to hazard a guess, I'd have to say it was Radula. Yanno, that big evil monster dealie after dale.

...well, he's beyond help.

Is that a gunshot wound, or a horrible monster wound? More importantly, is he dead dead, or horrible zombie monster dead?

If he's got a weapon, you may need to arm yourself.

Are the cameras still working? What else can we see?

>>530111
Radula happened. Look at the security screens, it's your only hope to survive. You have to find where Radula is, and NOT BE THERE. Bonus points if you can get to Dale safely too.

>>530111
Does Radula have enough understanding of mortal culture to know which guys to go after? Because an intelligent, worldy (in the sense of world and people wise) otherworldly (in the sense of weird) being would totally go after this guy to puppeteer events. This is something only someone with your kind of perspective could plan!

Oh god we have an open minded god villain thing! There always too cocky and above learning about us usually! God help us! He knows Security systems! He knows law! He knows how much of a good deal 20 oz name brand ketchup is at $1.29! And he knows why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

>>530111
Shit, if it's a gun wound then you need to worry about someone else being possessed. First, close the door; we don't want anyone/anything sneaking up on you. Check if he has any keys or a weapon on him. Then check the cameras.

Of course he's beyond help. The question is, is he still animate??

Lock the door, then look for handcuffs (or zip ties) and use them on him if you find them. Then do a quick look under all the tables and corners to make sure there is nothing out of sight. Then you can look at the screens.

Slip in, close the door and lock it. Look for handcuffs, zip ties, or anything you can use to bind his hands behind him to the chair. Yes, you're restraining a dead guy, but in this situation you don't know if he'll get up and attack you anyway, so best to be safe. Once the stiff is safely tied up you can check the monitors.

Skim the screens for any sign of Dale, or anybody else you know. If nobody shows, then rewind all the camera feeds back to the time you were knocked out and play them all back at ten times speed to see where Dale and everyone else went.

Oh, here's something you forgot to check: What time is it? That'll tell you about how long you were out for and how long it took for this shit to go down.

We uh, might want to be quick. Slamming that door could've been heard by Radula or any poisoned victims.

check cameras to see if you can see anyone still alive and maybe what caused all of these. We'll work from there.

Is it possible to see anything on the monitors by quietly peeking in? If Radula's venom really can reanimate the dead it might make one of those eldritch screams and call more to you. Id avoid it altogether.

>>530111
What is that attached to his shoulder? Because I am really seriously hoping it's not some kind of egg sac.

>>530111
Aw, shiiit. this is really fuckin' bad. I don't doubt we're gonna find more casualties.

>>530315
It looks like a badge, actually.

>>530483
I thought it was a microphone

Toxoglossa 2013/08/01(Thu)20:04 No. 530525 ID: f7d109
File 137541269239.jpg - (54.05KB , 600x600 , 109.jpg )

You sneak into the room and check on the body of the security guard. The poor man's head is a mess and you can smell gunpowder over the antiseptic reek of the hospital. You don't think this is directly the work of the creature chasing you, but can't say for sure. Whoever did this, it doesn't look like he gave the guard a chance to react.

You take a look at what he was carrying. You 3 zip-ties in his pocket, and not knowing what Radula might be capable of, you tie his hands together behind the chair leaving you with 2.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/01(Thu)20:05 No. 530527 ID: f7d109
File 137541272739.jpg - (41.70KB , 600x554 , 110.jpg )

His keys are missing and the holster for his gun is empty, but he is carrying a taser, which you take. You also find a radio, when you turn it on you don't hear anything, but you realize that your radio is missing and take it.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/01(Thu)20:06 No. 530529 ID: f7d109
File 137541277498.jpg - (50.63KB , 600x600 , 111.jpg )

You then take a look at the CCTV control panels. Unfortunately you aren't very familiar with this technology, but It looks like the computer console is for reviewing camera footage, while the 4 monitors cycle between various cameras around the hospital.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/01(Thu)20:06 No. 530530 ID: f7d109
File 137541279650.jpg - (90.76KB , 800x800 , 112.jpg )

From the time-stamp on the latest video, it looks like you were unconscious for about 2 hours. You browse through several camera feeds and rewind a few to around the time of the explosion and catch a glimpse of Dale running up to the third floor. On the current screens you also see another body in the waiting room, as well as a familiar silhouette on the second floor. You also spot Lynwood, where is he going?

>>530530
Okay, the silhouette is Jeff. Lynwood appears to be directly outside this room. Get the taser ready just in case. If he's nonhostile then I think we should review the footage a bit more to find where Dale went on the third floor, and maybe find out who killed this guard.

Wait, shouldn't you have seen Dale running from Radula? Oh god don't tell me Radula doesn't show up on cameras. That would be terrifying.

Hey is that the sheriff about to enter our room? He is the only one we know who had a gun and conveniently this guy has a bullet hole in his head.

Not saying he shot him but from his earlier actions I do not trust his judgement. I mean he pulled a gun on a half comatose guy with a hole in his head. Next to a MRI machine for gods sake.

Well if the guy doesn't try and kill you I guess we head up and hope to see if Dale is ok or not.

If that's from two hours ago, I'd guess the sheriff is about to enter this room and shoot this guy.

>>530530
He's coming into the security office, by the looks of it.
Hide behind the door, immediately when he pushes it open you should shoulder ram the door so he goes flying into the wall and taze him. If you can, tie his wrists together behind him.
If he isnt Tainted or whatever, explain what's happening and why you did that to him.
If he's not grimdarked then he probably wanted to talk to a fellow enforcer, which could be bad for us if we arent careful.

Oh god something IS wrong!

The sheriff is walking nonchalantly!!!

Sgt. Dog is coming to kill you.

Think about it, this guy's brains were blown out by a gun that only the officer has. Radula must have gotten to him and he's on his way.

Brace the door. Now.

>>530569
I... don't think his gun could make a hole that big. I would expect something like a high-caliber hunting rifle to do that. Also, there would be a huge hole in the wall too. If there's no hole in the wall, that head wound wasn't caused by a gun, and the gunpowder smell is from someone firing back in self-defense.

Can't see a gun in the sheriffs hand, nor does he seem ready to draw a holstered one, he might have removed his uniform, and he has a rather casual walk......not sure what to say, if he came to before us he definitely should have tried assisting us, so he might be controlled however his walk seems calm which is completely opposite of Todd when he was all crazy like.

When he opens the door watch his eyes, if they are the W eyes then tase him and then apply straps to his wrist, if regular eyes then just tase. With the taser we still should be good to go hand to hand wise if he is violent after.

>>530579

Todd set a trap for us so it's not like they go berserk. I think approaching the officer is a bad idea. There is a man with a hole in his head on the monitor too.

It's plenty plausible that the incongruity of the head-hole is artistic license. Also, just because he isn't brandishing the gun doesn't mean he doesn't have it -- or he may have run out of rounds going around shooting everyone.

At least block the door and demand the officer say something to confirm he can at least speak clearly -- that is one thing Todd did not do.

>>530576

Rifle would just be two 30ish calibre holes in his head, if the gun was 40+ cal and the rounds were hollow-point or had the fronts shaved off that could have done the damage however when I was looking back at the body does the left eye not look like it is missing? Just like Todd's?

There's a big problem with any plan based on barricading the door or hiding behind it to ambush or knock it into Lynwood: The door opens outwards, into the hall. That's no good for an ambush, and trying to kick the door into him likely won't work 'cause he'll stand to the side to open it, same as you did.

Barricading, on the other hand, would be easier. It'd be hard for him to kick the door in from that direction, and since this is a security office it may even be reinforced, meaning he won't be breaking in here with anything less than a battering ram.

So what you should do is set the lock on the hall door as quietly as you can, then find the control that locks the screen Lynwood is on to that camera. Quickly see if the other door leads anyplace other than a closet, followed by watching how Lynwood reacts to the door being locked. Pay attention for any indication he's being controlled or influenced by Radula.

We're going to have to find out if Lynwood has been taken over by Radula before attempting to attack him, 'cause if he has then a taser likely isn't going to even slow him down.

>>530602
Agreed.

>>530602
Crap, actually, I just realized she was rewinding the video feeds. The officer is probably nowhere near her now.

I feel retarded for missing that detail.

Hey Tox, by this
>On the current screens
did you mean screens that show what's happening live or just to mean the section that is showing? (either what is currently happening, or the screen that is currently up?)

>>530586
Actually, if the bullet entered through the eye or exited from it, it could shatter a tiny portion of the skull.

>>530798
>>530815
From the way I read >>530529, I figure the bank of four monitors show the live feeds, and the single screen on the desk is for reviewing recorded footage. So based on that I assume Lynwood is in the hall outside of the security office here >>530530.

>>530841
That's what I kinda figured, but I wasn't sure.

>>530602
Go with this idea.

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:36 No. 530872 ID: f7d109
File 137549740871.jpg - (19.36KB , 600x261 , 113.jpg )

Wait that's a current feed! Lynwood is right outside this room. RIGHT NOW.
You race over to the door and lock it as quietly as you dare. Even if he's not a mind controlled psycho, you'd rather not have to explain to him how this guard was "like this when you got here, well except for the zip-tie, that was me..."

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:37 No. 530873 ID: f7d109
File 137549742697.jpg - (23.53KB , 600x511 , 114.jpg )

You turn back to the feed and watch as he tries the door, and finds it locked.

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:37 No. 530875 ID: f7d109
File 137549745167.jpg - (26.01KB , 600x539 , 115.jpg )

The sheriff pounds on the door a few times.

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:37 No. 530876 ID: f7d109
File 137549747991.jpg - (23.30KB , 600x504 , 116.jpg )

Getting no response, he stands back and yells at the door, but can't hear him from inside the room.

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:39 No. 530878 ID: f7d109
File 137549755497.jpg - (37.03KB , 446x600 , 117.jpg )

You try listening through the door and catch a little of what he's yelling.
Lynwood
>"c**m'n _ny*ne # t!r?"

Weird, you still can't really hear him.

Suggestion 2013/08/02(Fri)19:39 No. 530879 ID: f7d109
File 137549756818.jpg - (44.66KB , 600x580 , 118.jpg )

Actually, now that you think about it... you've hardly been able to hear anything since you woke up from... that... explosion...

Oh hell.

Oh ya, forgot about the ears.......well he is speaking actual words, I vote we let him in but keep the taser ready.

>>530879
I think he is saying "come on, anyone there?" Let him in. If he is insistent about the dead guy being your fault, you can let him search the room for a gun.

>>530879
Open the door a crack, show him the tazer, then beckon him in.

Damn! No wonder everything was so quiet! What are you gonna do?

You can talk through the door, explain that you're deaf from the explosion in the machine room that he caused. You locked it since there's a dead guy in here killed by a gun, and your the only one here walking around with one threatening everybody that you know.

If he has a notepad (which he should, since he's a cop), please write down messages and pass them under the door. You're not opening this door until more police show up besides him. It's just too fucking scary out there. Something is killing a lot of people in the hospital, we think it's what made that proffesor or doctor disappear and that Dale has been running from since. Has he seen Mary anywhere?

>>530879
How did you not FEEL that?

Dang. Ruptured eardrums don't really grow back. And you'd think you'd be pretty vulnerable to sonic damage actually, with them big honking rabbit ears.

...open the door. He's not a crazy possessed person, and apparently has the same idea as you. He's also not drawing his weapon to shoot the lock like an idiot, which is an improvement.

And there's dead people all over the hospital. He's not gonna give you shit about this one. If anything, you owe him shit for blowing up that MRI and leaving you injured and unconscious while all hell (literally?) broke loose.

>>530912
Shit, really? His stupidity resulted in ruining her hearing for life?

Maybe she should taze him a little, just to be sure.

is this permanent or what? Might as well let him in if your sure he won't shot you.

>>530912
Do... do they repair better for animals? Dogs and cats and other animals go deaf from loud noises easy, yes, but like, doesn't their improved hearing give them some form of biological defense?

Beth here as a rabbit might have a biological defense, like better regen stats for ear damage? I mean, I am 100% guessing here but evolution is very nice and efficient, good traits survive pretty well and are usually prevalent. So... I dunno do we have a vet suggestor here somewhere that can clarify what kind of healing rabbits that go deaf from loud noise go through?

Maybe it won't be bad as we think. Her hearing isn't completely shot.
Well, hey, we can sue the police department for sure now Beth.

>>530954

> wishfulthinking.jpg

Ruptured eardrums can heal naturally unless they are completely blown out. Even then you can fix them with surgery. But it can take several months to fully heal and you do need medical care.

If they were completely blown out it unlikely she would be walking around right now. But she might be mostly deaf for who knows how long.

Alright...Well, honestly, I think he's okay (somehow).

But let's not forget -- Our goal here is to AVOID the cops, not join forces with them (particularly ones this stupid). For that matter, in this party, less is more. We can't afford to trust anyone that isn't worth more to us than the risk they pose if they are turned against us.

I'm thinking Sgt. Dog doesn't qualify. I say stay quiet and wait for him to leave. We have an advantageous vantage point in here.

We can find our comrades once he leaves. If we bump into him again, he'll never know we were hiding. Simple.

>>530879

Quite frankly, considering he is the one that got us into this (current) stupid mess, I'm considering him a walking liability.

Let's draw this out. Is there anything around we can write on? Write down stuff, slide it under the door.

>>531023
You ARE joking, right? We are deaf man
we need copper dude's help, idiot or no. Get a pad of paper, write out "Deaf, not sure if you are sane. Someone shot officer inside, might have been you.
Also, thanks for rupturing my eardrums. Real nice." and slide it under the door.
I say WRITE this because he may be deaf himself after his little stroke off genius back there.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/03(Sat)13:13 No. 531106 ID: f7d109
File 137556080161.jpg - (36.01KB , 406x600 , 119.jpg )

Deaf or not, you get a grip on yourself. The sheriff isn't displaying the same mindless aggression that Todd did when he was poisoned, although that doesn't automatically mean he's trustworthy. You decide to try and communicate with him.

You slip a piece of paper under the door and a pen.
"I can't hear you, my hearing is all messed up from explosion, what do you want?"

Toxoglossa 2013/08/03(Sat)13:13 No. 531107 ID: f7d109
File 137556082195.jpg - (32.80KB , 466x600 , 120.jpg )

After a minute the paper comes back.
Lynwood
>Someone took my gun and is in hospital killing people, need to find him. Please let me in.
>Are you that EMT? Did not mean to blow up machine.
>Sorry

Toxoglossa 2013/08/03(Sat)13:13 No. 531109 ID: f7d109
File 137556083364.jpg - (55.28KB , 600x600 , 121.jpg )

You scribble a response.
"There's a guard dead in here, he looks like he was shot. Someone took his keys and gun already. I'm going to let you in to look. Stand back.

After a few seconds you open the door a crack and back away from it.

In this moment reflect on how little blood is on your head compared to the dead guy over there.

>>531109
Only now do I realize... there's another door in here. Probably shoulda checked in there.

see anything note worthy on the monitors or no?

Toxoglossa 2013/08/03(Sat)13:31 No. 531115 ID: f7d109
File 137556187446.jpg - (58.38KB , 600x600 , 122.jpg )

Lynwood comes in slowly, sees the body and you watch as he silently swears. He does a quick sweep of the scene and swears again when he sees the guard's empty holster. He wants to ask you something and you hand him the paper back

Lynwood
>Your friend do this?

You shake your head.
"Dale is being chased by some kind of monster. I wouldn't believe it either but earlier today it attacked my partner and somehow mind controlled him. We managed to turn him back to normal, but he could have killed us if we didn't."

>>531115
Beth: Reflect on how cray-cray and not sane what you just said sounds like. Specially to a cop who lost his gun.

>>531115
I say we review more of the security feeds.

>>531115
It's the leeches, they fixed Todd, and the professor cured Dale in the same way by drilling a hole straight to his brain, well we assume. Dale's story with the professor might have been entirely different, but we doubt it.

Dale's still going to be the lesser problem here, especially for the cop. Did he at least try and call for backup? What's important is evacuating the hospital and getting people to safety, and stopping the guy with the gun... presumably with the leech.

Does the police officer have any close combat experience? He's going to need it to get the leech we have into an orifice. Beth, you have a medical degree, you think the leech can fit down the nasal cavity or do you think we could hold the possessed victim upside-down and shove it into this mouth? What do you suggest? It seems that it has to find a way to the brain.

And if he gives you lip Beth, tell him he's lost his gun on duty only for someone to find it and start killing innocent people. Also, he blew up a hospital device against the advise of a medical professional. He doesn't have a career anymore so he should stop playing cop. This isn't a situation he can salvage. Now, he can play it our way and we can try our and precinct the hospital from pressing charges on him, or he can desperately try to contain his own fuckup his own way, fail and get more people killed or hurt, and most certainly end up in prison for a very long time if he doesn't end up dead tonight, or gets killed in prison. Because, well, he's a cop, a sheriff even. He knows prison is basically a death sentence.

Awww, he's sorry. Cute.

Why are you scribbling? Can't he hear you fine? Anyway, team up and go explore, I guess.

>>531115
Tell him that he can review the security tapes to make sure dale didn't shoot anyone. Check the door inside the room. Do not do the dramatic *check the tapes and one guy enters the room but didn't leave and then when you realize what it means, he is standing right behind you* thing. Check the door instead of having you both watch at once. Also lock outside door.

Thinking of Todd, do you know where he was in the hospital? 'Cause with what's going on it'd be good to make sure he's safe.

Mention to Lynwood that the zip-tie binding the dead guard was your doing, after you found him dead. Say that with what you've seen the possibility of the dead rising isn't an impossibility any more. Seems excessively paranoid in hindsight, though. You should undo the zip-tie and keep it, since even if the corpse does turn into a zombie then being tied to an office chair isn't going to do much to stop it.

Does Lynwood still have his radio? If he does then see if you can use the one you picked up to reach his. Even though you can't hear you can still send a message to him though it. Oh, do you both have cell phones? If you two do he could text replies back to you.

Point him at the CCTV system. He may know better than you how to use it.

>>531142
He was in the same explosion, he might be deaf too.

How the hell does a random police officer know that you evict the essence of Radula only via inserting leeches into the wound?

>>531247
When did anyone say that?

Toxoglossa 2013/08/04(Sun)20:02 No. 531516 ID: f7d109
File 137567177770.jpg - (48.56KB , 600x500 , 123.jpg )

Lynwood scowls, he gives no sign that he accepts your explanation, but doesn't argue with you. He heads over to the security system and alternates between looking through old footage and browsing the current cameras. he seems much more familiar with the console than you.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/04(Sun)20:04 No. 531517 ID: f7d109
File 137567186283.jpg - (68.14KB , 413x600 , 124.jpg )

He is in the middle of looking through the waiting room footage when it cuts out abruptly and is replaced with snowy static.
A sudden flash illuminates one of the display screens and he grabs your shoulder, pointing at the screen.

"That looks like one of the rooms in the recovery ward, its on the second floor. Todd might still be up there!"

>>531517
...let's get up there, then. He can stay here, and lock the door. He should focus on finding out who killed this guard.

Tell him to stay here and try to watch our back from the cameras. Give us a chirp on the radio if someone is nearby.(we should be able to feel it when that happens) We have to walk by the dead body to get to the second floor, and we should be able to find Jeff upstairs. Maybe ask if if he has anything we might find useful.(such as the key set?)

well at least we have an idea on where to go now so lets head off and see how Todd is doing.

>>531546
>We should be the ones to head out there
Actually, considering the fact that officer dogface here is actually TRAINED to go out there and FIGHT CRIMINALS, I think it might be best to have HIM go out while we watch the terminals for him.
Ask him for a quick rundown on how to work them, then tell him to get in there if possible.

>>531555
I kind of meant that both Beth and the cop go cause as you said the cop is trained and we go with because we don't really trust him yet

>>531556
However, having someone watching the cameras could turn out to our advantage, being able to see things we cannot.

>>531557
eh, I can see where you're coming from but I can't help but see it as splitting up the group and since we're deaf now if something tries to sneak up behind us there's a good chance we'd never see it until it's to late and again we're deaf so we can't really keep in contact with the cop unless we use the building's load speakers (if we even can) which helps out our enemies just as much as it helps us, walkies talkies are out, and unless both Beth and the cop have cell phones or pagers and fell like texting each other I really don't see how we could stay in effective communication. that's my thoughts on it anyhow.

>>531560
You can feel speakers making noise normally so I think the radios might be good for quick chirps to let us know there is something about. We should probably have the cop stay to check the videos since his priority is probably finding who killed all these people and the security footage is the best hope for that. (Beth's is finding her friends and making sure they're alright) Also, though he is trained in taking down normal people, he has not experience whatsoever in taking down controlled people. Beth is actually better prepared for that.

I feel that while he is trustworthy in the sense that he won't back stab us and cares about our general well being, he will probably not listen to our warnings about Radula's stuff, which could really get us into trouble. I would say that the bonus of being able to communicate complexly with the cop is not worth the loss of the view the cameras would give us.

I say you split up. Because being around sheriff dude totally doesn't make you feel safe anymore, and you'd rather be very far away the next time the metaphorical loaded rifle hits the electromagnet.

No no I kid. If you can't maintain effective communication it's almost certain one of you will get capped and should stay together to watch each other's backs. Cops don't have eyes on the back of their head after all. But if you can communicate, then have one person stay here while the other goes to save his partner who was coincidentally recovering from his possession at this very same hospital.

...when you think about it, having one person stay in the security room is a good idea. He has a radio, so do you. He can basically be our eye in the sky, so all we have to do is find all the other survivors then go pick him up and escape. Once you find someone who isn't deaf, they'll be able to communicate with Lynwood easier too.

>>531560
See this is why beth should be staying behind. In a survival situation, her sudden deafness is a pretty huge liability.
We need her in the room with the corpse where it is more or less safe, though we might wanna put stiffy there out in the hall or something and lock the door first.
We can guide the cop, who I assume still has working ears, a lot more easily this way.
We should set up some signals for if he needs us to go silent though, we shouldnt be giving his position away with every chirp of the walky talky.

>>531517
Send him off, lock the door and watch the cameras. You can still tell him "behind you!" over the radio just fine.

>>531612
There's a couple reasons not to do that. 1) Beth will have a hard time receiving communication through her radio while in the security room, but once she finds Todd or someone else she can just give them the radio. 2) Flynwood has more experience with the security cams.

My first vote is to go together and failing that as a possibility, to go without the office. Staying behind is not an option imo.

Sgt. Dog WILL use lethal force against our friends if we aren't there to stop him.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/05(Mon)20:35 No. 531801 ID: f7d109
File 137576014274.jpg - (49.70KB , 600x588 , 125.jpg )

Since you know the hospital pretty well, and the sheriff knows his way around the CCTV, you decide to try to rescue your friends while Lynwood scours the cameras to find out who the shooter is. You tell him to try him over the radio if he sees that you might be in danger.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/05(Mon)20:35 No. 531802 ID: f7d109
File 137576015736.jpg - (66.98KB , 595x600 , 126.jpg )

Slipping through the hospital, you race up the stairs to the second floor. The bizarre sensation of not hearing your footsteps echo up the stairwell starts to raise the hair on the back of your neck.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/05(Mon)20:36 No. 531803 ID: f7d109
File 137576017819.jpg - (26.83KB , 600x418 , 127.jpg )

Undeterred, you slow down and start hunting through the labyrinth of the recovery ward.
Did something move? You cant be sure, but you refuse to succumb to paranoia just because of your lack of hearing.

will there is someone in the room you're standing by if that's what you meant

>>531803
Taser out, find out who that is.

Turn the knob, push the door open and step back.

And make sure you got your taser ready.

>>531803
There is an eye in the window. Open the door.

>>531803
Those ears and that X mark above the eyes make me think that's Dale.

>>531864
Looks more like Mary to me.

Do you still have your paper? Don't open the door, but knock on it, and point to your ears and shake your head.

>>531825
Yeah, that. They look more "hiding" than "hunting".

wait.. wait.. you are deaf. he is going to radio you in case of danger. what part of this sounded like a good idea?

>>532102
This is why I said to send out officer buttmunch, guys. Too late to worry about it now, however.

It can only be Mary or someone we haven't met, judging by the ear length and shape. Dale's ears aren't that long and anyone in a hospital could have scars.

I'm seconding opening the door, taser ready. Might also be time to decide how and for whom we will administer our only remaining leech if that's what it comes to...

Toxoglossa 2013/08/06(Tue)20:05 No. 532176 ID: f7d109
File 137584470374.jpg - (60.44KB , 600x395 , 128.jpg )

You ready your taser and open the door into the darkened room, prepared to face anything.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/06(Tue)20:05 No. 532177 ID: f7d109
File 137584472319.jpg - (59.58KB , 600x437 , 129.jpg )

"Gah! Watch it, watch it, watch it! Good lord, Mary, I nearly shocked the shit out of you!"

>>532177
Yep, it was Mary alright. Shut the door, let Mary calm down, then tell her that you're mostly deaf now and she'll need to use the radio to keep in contact with the sheriff in the security room.

Give her the paper and ask her to explain what's happened to her so far.

Waoh! Ease up on the tazer trigger, there. You've got arcing electricity.

Find out what's happened from her perspective.

>>532177
First give her the skinny on the ear situation.

She probably said something like "Oh my god I'm so glad to see you!" before full body tackling you. Got to be careful; people expect a verbal warning to be enough!

well get your finger of the trigger on that things and let her know you're deaf and we'll work from there.

>>532177
don't close the door if it can't be opened from the inside, maybe she got locked in?

>>532179
I'm pretty sure the arc is just a stylistic thing to show motion.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/07(Wed)21:29 No. 532503 ID: f7d109
File 137593614210.jpg - (52.11KB , 600x535 , 130.jpg )

You disentangle yourself from Dr. Slate and explain the situation with your hearing. You're hoping that your ears will eventually heal, but realize this isn't exactly the time for a check up.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/07(Wed)21:29 No. 532504 ID: f7d109
File 137593619263.jpg - (56.50KB , 546x600 , 131.jpg )

You hand her the radio and tell her about how you're looking for everyone and that Lynwood is watching through the security cameras. She takes it and from what it looks like, she gives the sheriff an earful about destroying an incredibly expensive MRI and potentially harming everyone in the room, among other things.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/07(Wed)21:32 No. 532505 ID: f7d109
File 137593635804.jpg - (35.29KB , 402x600 , 132.jpg )

Mary turns to you and scribbles a quick note to you and smiles. Looks like she was pretty worried about you, and is much calmer now that she sees that you're safe. Sounds like shes ready to move out though, it you'd probably be sitting ducks in this room if someone came by.

ok so we know dale was heading up this way ask if she has seen him... or Jeff or Todd while you're at it. We should also maybe come up with quick hand gestures that would let you communicate a little better but I don't think we have time for that now, maybe once we get the hell out of here with everyone we can work on it.

Huh. Wonder why her ears were fine, she was in the same room. Guess giant bunny ears made you more susceptible.

...and if she was worried about you, why she left. Two hours ago.

Oh well. Details.

Time to move on. You got places to search, and at least now you have someone to watch your back. And who might hear something you'd otherwise miss.

Vote you find Jeff first, if controlled he will be more dangerous than Todd and so should be neutralized faster. Have the cop confirm his location and notify you of anything unusual along the way, or if he can find anyone else in the cameras. See if you can find a weapon for Mary.

>>532505
Uh, ask her if she realizes that there's someone-likely someone poisoned by Radula- running around shooting people.

>>532531

And/or/all-of-the-above.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/08(Thu)20:17 No. 532805 ID: f7d109
File 137601822969.jpg - (36.19KB , 435x600 , 133.jpg )

You press Mary for more info about what happened since the explosion, and she scribbles a synopsis.

Mary
> Saw monster so I hid in room. Felt hypoxia and went to get help, but heard gunshots and hid here. Haven't seen any1 since.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/08(Thu)20:17 No. 532806 ID: f7d109
File 137601826598.jpg - (55.08KB , 600x600 , 134.jpg )

Dr. Slate takes the top off of a drip stand, its awkward but the length of chromed steel is a better weapon than nothing.

Together you step out into the hall and consider your options. You last saw Dale headed towards the third floor and he is probably pretty well hidden by now. You think you saw Jeff's silhouette on this floor but weren't sure what room he was in, you only know it was darkened. Todd should also be on this floor, and with his leg broken its unlikely that he will have gotten far. you wonder if his remaining eye has been altered like Dale's now that he has been treated with a leech.

I could swear Dale was rambling about Todd's eyes er eye being black now. It might just be you remembering wrong. At any rate it's likely, but not really relevant since you can only see the alteration if you're looking through polarized lenses yourself, that are 90 degrees shifted from the angle on the eye.

>>532806
I think we should find Jeff first, so we have more people available to move Todd around faster.

Jeff first.

ask doc to radio in and ask if the cop has any eyes on Jeff (give a description if you have to) and maybe Todd as well. And since when could you see that Dale's eye's were black, I thought he was the only one who could see them like that?

>>532806
Yeah, Jeff.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/09(Fri)21:44 No. 533109 ID: f7d109
File 137610985052.jpg - (46.72KB , 600x600 , 135.jpg )

Lurking through the hallways with Dr. Slate you start to worry more about Jeff. His enthusiasm seems like something that could get him into a lot of trouble in the hospital.

But as you pass by an intersection, Jeff turns the corner with supporting Todd with his shoulder. They both seem surprised to see you, and Todd breaks into a slow smile.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/09(Fri)21:44 No. 533110 ID: f7d109
File 137610987249.jpg - (51.51KB , 493x600 , 136.jpg )

Thankful to find them both alive, you give your partner a wave.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/09(Fri)21:45 No. 533111 ID: f7d109
File 137610990512.jpg - (78.13KB , 513x600 , 137.jpg )

But Todd's smile quickly disappears.
Hes yelling something, pointing desperately behind you as an overhead light fixture suddenly explodes.
What the hell?

Toxoglossa 2013/08/09(Fri)21:45 No. 533112 ID: f7d109
File 137610992033.jpg - (55.97KB , 480x600 , 138.jpg )

"OW FUCK"
You grasp at your ear, feeling blood and shredded flesh between your fingers.
What the HELL?

Toxoglossa 2013/08/09(Fri)21:46 No. 533113 ID: f7d109
File 137610996341.jpg - (56.45KB , 600x600 , 139.jpg )

Lynwood? What are you doing here?
Why are you fighting? Where'd that gun come from?
WHAT THE HELL?

...one of them is infected. Either the doctor, or the sheriff, and they just tried to take your head off with that gun they had hidden on their person.

Get that gun before one of them does and yell at them to freeze. Then get Jeff and Todd to tell you what the hell happened.

>>533113
The doc had the gun and killed the man in the security room I'm guessing. The cop probably saw on the tapes and came to warn you. Grab the gun, back up and tell them both to freeze. I don't think either of them are infected, but she just tried to kill one of you so there is something wrong.

Get the gun and keep it away from them. Then find out if Todd can see anything crazy you cant.

Evidence that shows it was Dr. Slate: she hid in the room with the gun longer than anyone else, she "heard" a gunshot from the other side of the hospital through a thick security door, she did not have anything to defend herself on her when we met her even though she "knew" there was an armed gunman about, Lynewood could have killed us at any time we were together if he had a gun, the first thing Lynewood checked on the security guard was for a weapon to take to arm himself, and he seemed more worried about what was on the tape(finding who committed the murder) then about someone finding the body.

>>533113
Get the gun now! Who cares who fired it!? We and Todd are the only ones we're certain are unaffected, and Todd is highly demented. We're the only safe person here.

It is looking like the doc had the gun, bue the doesn't have (w) eyes right now, and she didn't shoot at you earlier. That suggests that Raddie is controlling her in brief bursts rather than continually.

Evidence against it being Dr Slate: Lynwood is the one going for the gun, and the Doc is holding him back.

Okay, I think the best option (if Beth has any experience with revolvers) may be to shout to Jeff to help you (I'm guessing he saw who shot at you) grab the gun, unload and pocket the rounds, set down the gun and help Jeff with whoever he focused on. We do not want to risk getting into that mess while holding a gun and I think the faster we can separate them the less chance there will be for a major injury, and since one of them is not going to care about their life at all the gun is not going to break up the fight without shooting someone.(Let's avoid that shall we.)

The other option is to get the gun and step back and let Jeff and whoever is not controlled handle it, if it is Lynwood who is still fine they should be able to handle it (especially if Jeff has the taser.) However if you do this keep your finger off the trigger and along the frame, DA revolver do have a hefty trigger pull but I would like to minimize our chances of accidently putting new holes in people. Either way we go on that part I do advise getting the gun as a loose firearm in a fight is just asking for trouble.



Now, I think that Radula can only control one person at a time however that is a dangerous assumption to make. If we want to take the risk we may want to slide the taser to Jeff, So he can subdue the shooter quickly.

Oh shit now you're Chloe!

It was obviously the doctor. Dr. Slate would have seen Lynwood aiming and have enough time to at least push you over, whereas Lynwood would have had to catch up to Slate, having only enough time to throw off her aim.

It still might not be Radula though. Something fishy here.

anyway get the gun! get the gunnn!

Instead of guesswork, get the gun and ask Jeff and Todd, tell 'em to point you're deaf! I don't care about logically reasoning who shot who, ain't enough for me. Especially when they got the full eyeballs on Mary and Lynwood. Well, Todd only has one but you know what I mean.

Then I guess we leech the person who shot you?

>>533170
I agree with this, we cant be certain and it would be best not to hedge any bets. Have our friends help us subdue them, perhaps have todd find some medical tubing to tie them up with so we can get some questioning going.
Failing that, just taze both their asses then loop back to tying them up until we got a straight story.

(of course, it is pretty clear todd saw who shot our ear out there so we should probably ask him about that, hurr.)

The obvious assumption to make is that Lynwood shot us so it was clearly Dr. Slate, even though that doesn't make any sense because she could have shot us before there were a bunch of witnesses around.

Get Todd and Jeff closer and start kicking the two to break them up. Brandish your tazer threateningly.

>>533153
I'm not saying this is false, but he could just as easily be reaching for it in order to keep Dr. Slate from trying to use it again.

Run over to the gun and kick it down the hall while yelling for Jeff to help you, then join the fray. Pull your tazer and shock both of them with it, use the zip-ties to restrain them, then retrieve the revolver. Once all that's done, then you can tell Todd and Jeff that you're deaf, and ask them to point out who fired.

>>533113
God, I just realized its likely that only dale and todd can see the eyes. You could have been talking to lynwood or mary and never saw the cuttlefish pupils!

Kick the gun away and trust no one until todd points out the one who is poisoned

>>533113
Taze whoever seems stronger. We need to find the wound from Radula's barb, and put the leech in there.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/10(Sat)15:36 No. 533350 ID: f7d109
File 137617421759.jpg - (51.07KB , 600x600 , 140.jpg )

Not sure who fired the gun, you decide the best action is to kick the gun away from the fighters. It lands behind you and slides towards Todd and Jeff.
You then try to compress as much information as possible into a single desperate yelp.
"WHOWASTHAT?ICAN'THEARSOMEONEHELP!"

Toxoglossa 2013/08/10(Sat)15:37 No. 533351 ID: f7d109
File 137617423443.jpg - (72.74KB , 600x433 , 141.jpg )

But as you turn back to check on the melee, Slate gets past Lynwood's guard and lands a blow that will keep the sheriff off of solid food for a while.

Toxoglossa 2013/08/10(Sat)15:37 No. 533352 ID: f7d109
File 137617424858.jpg - (59.00KB , 564x600 , 142.jpg )

Oh thank God, Mary. Are-"

Toxoglossa 2013/08/10(Sat)15:37 No. 533353 ID: f7d109
File 137617426412.jpg - (33.86KB , 380x600 , 143.jpg )

"-you-"

Toxoglossa 2013/08/10(Sat)15:38 No. 533354 ID: f7d109
File 137617430177.jpg - (55.88KB , 558x600 , 144.jpg )

"-Okay?"

Shit.

>The Book. You will take this one to the Book.
The words condense in your brain without bothering with your ears, feeling like drops of ice-cold seawater.

Is her species ears big enough to take a leech? Her nose doesn't look big enough and the mouth should be a last resort.

>>533354
Literally everyone here called this and we still got borked.
Shit.
Well, if we tell her the truth (IE we do not even know where the book IS) then she'll just shoot us. We need to lure her possessed ass as long as we can until A: we get an opening to leech her, or B: an alternative option shows up for us.

I would like to note, however, that I expect her usefullness to whatever team we are building up with them leeches to be a bit limited. I take it beth will be posessed up at some point, and lord knows we are a bit too attached to let that go unfixed. However, with her in the team, we would have two doctors. While yes, that seems good in theory, there has never been a case where having more than one healer on a team served any particularly useful purpose.
If it comes down to it, I might have to hedge on the fact we will likely be needing to save a leech or two for future encounters.
On the flipside, I am not sure if I can peg Tox here as the kind of DM who would pull this particular kind of bullshit in the first place, so this whole thing might be moot.
Food for thought either way.

>>533355
>>533354
oh didn't see this part... are you close enough to do a disarming maneuver? Still answer the ear question because it would be great to know and your an EMT so I'd figure you know some bits about her head's anatomy.
You also have the option to duck and trip. Don't get into close quarters combat though she'd win.
Where's the book again? I don't know where it is. Don't tell her that, she'll just shoot you regardless of the truth.
She's telling you to lead her to the book physically. You can use that to get her to a more tactical area for disarmament, or to where you think Dale is. Be careful, her body is going to be REALLY strong and dangerous. You had to take out todd's kneecaps to get that leech in his eyeball socket...
Sedatives. We need sedatives. Go where there's sedatives. A bunch of sedatives.

"dale has it, we need to go to the security room to fin out where he is"

>>533354
I figured that she had the second gun, and that was why I said to point the gun at her. I'm pretty sure she will kill Todd if we let up and try to lead her. I say Beth should rush and tase her while jeff gets the gun to shoot her. (I do like how you made the second gun a 9mm instead of a revolver like the first one.)

If you taze her, be sure to realize that the shock will cause her to pull the trigger on that gun.

Also you know what just rush her. You're like three feet away. Take the bullet wound- it's a small caliber weapon, and you're in a hospital.