Forum Thread

Cloudy perked up as the ringing bells echoes in his ears. He grabbed his bat and the map, opening the window. Just as he was about to jump out, the door to his room opened; "Cloudy, dear. Are you ready to come to the basement with us?" His mom's eyes widened at him "Cloudy...?"

He grinned "Sorry, mom. But I'm not hiding tonight. I have business to take care of. Later!" He leaped onto the lawn below, ignoring the protests of his mother. He started to sprint, having memorized the location of his first target, he wouldn't need the map yet. The explosions and gunshots didn't faze him, they only seemed to push him further. The Purge was starting and boy was he ready for it.

---

“ιт ιѕ fσявι∂∂єи тσ кιℓℓ; тнєяєfσяє αℓℓ мυя∂єяєяѕ αяє ρυиιѕнє∂
υиℓєѕѕ тнєу кιℓℓ ιи ℓαяgє иυмвєяѕ αи∂ тσ тнє ѕσυи∂ σf тяυмρєтѕ.”
― νσℓтαιяє

｡ೃ⁀ :｡.｡:+* ˚ ✦🗡✦˚ *+:｡.｡: ̗̀➛

It was quiet. At least for now. So far they had only lobbed one knife at someone, hitting the other straight in the shoulder. Non-lethal, but enough for to warn them away from the hospital. Honestly, if they were trying to enter through the front entrance, what else did they think would happen? They would have to begin doing rounds soon, staying in one place was never a smart way of defending any place and that was possibly the only glaring problem with this arrangement. Aoi was only one person and the hospital was way too big for someone to defend on their own. Oh well, they only really cared about getting their hands on expensive medicine and making sure that the hospitalized long term patients would survive the night, not much else.

Idly flipping their knife, they gazed out onto the empty street as screams and cries filled the air. They wondered how many times the president had been targeted yet and scoffed at that thought before quickly banishing it. That good for nothing scumbag had some of the highest level of security even outside of Purge days, there was no way a normal civilian like them could ever hope to breach it. Picking up the knife case which rattled a little suspiciously with the amount of sharp objects shoved into it, Aoi wandered back into the Hospital. Making their way over to the pharmacy, they had no qualms about stealing a few loose packets of painkillers and antimalarials and taking them as they wound their way up to the storeroom. If they could catch some of the hospital staff, perhaps they could chat with them for an hour or so, killing some time in the process. Humming happily, they threw open the door to the spiraling staircase which elevated them to to the needed floor, taking them two at a time. So lost in his thoughts and the gentle chatter of knives knocking against each other, Aoi almost didn't notice that others were on the stairs until he turned a landing and came face to face with two unfamiliar bodies.

Narrowing their eyes in suspicion, they leveled the knife in their hand at the two strangers. "Hi there, if you're here to hurt any of the patients, I'm sorry but I'll have to kill you. If you're here to take medicine, I can give you the name and address of the corresponding pharmaceutical company or warehouse. Stealing from the hospital isn't very nice, there's patients here who really need that stuff. They have a medicine shortage right now, did you know?" They warned with a warm smile, despite how cold the words themselves were

---

“Nice of you to become my bodyguard.” Andrea commented, as she gaily skipped after him. “And thank goodness you didn’t dirty my outfit, it’s extremely expensive, hand tailored to yours truly.” Andrea was playing with a syringe yet again. This time though, the syringe was filled with some thick black sludge. She held it up to whatever little light was present, grinning to herself as she spotted little flecks of gold within the black sludge. She stays back a little as Azrael goes down the basement, instead choosing to stop and inject one of the dead men lying on the ground. She then picks up their gun, and pockets it, before turning to stare with fascination at the now quickly mutilating body. She picks up her pace to follow Azrael, and cheers softly to herself when she hears the explosion, and the no-doubt satisfying splattering of that mans organs all over the place. Messy, yes. But fun. She takes out a new vial this time, shaking it, before opening her mouth again. She sure loved to annoy him. “You’re not the one in control are you? Definitely not the one pulling the strings…you’re just another puppet of their, aren’t you? Come on then, now’s your chance. The Purge has started, get your senses together, pull your emotions together, and get some common sense for God’s sake. Stop being so easily manipulated by them. Listen to the voice in your head and break free from the restraints. Get back your freedom, stop being like a wimp. Otherwise you’ll continue submitting to their wishes like some pathetic puppet. Coward. Yes, they’ve done terrible things to you, yes, they may have found your weakest spots and stabbed them over and over again. But if you continue following their wishes, it’s going to end up in a vicious cycle of self destruction, isn’t it? Prove to me you’re worthy of my alliance. Your first challenge? Do you really want to kill that man they ordered you to kill? What has he done? And if you choose to kill him, why? Because they said so? Or because of your own decision making?”

As if to demonstrate, she pulls out a second vial of translucent crystals. She puts them into the first vial of cloudy liquid, and it slowly turns purple. “That cloudy stuff represent you, and the crystals the influence of others. You’re being influenced so easily it's slowly corrupting you. And it’s laughable. However….” She takes out a lighter, heating the vial. The cloudy liquid disappears, leaving only the translucent crystals. “You can break free, start anew…but you’ll have to be the one willing to change, and actually make that change. It’s definitely going to be painful, far from a smooth ride…but are you willing to try?” With that, she smirks, tossing her hair as she continues her descent down the spiralling stairs.


It’s only then they meet Aoi. “I’m offering him an alliance. Wanna join? And he wants to kill someone, too, come to think of it. Do you want to join my alliance? Hmm?” She seems unbothered by the weapons pointed at her, instead choosing to use her time to look between the two. Aoi, and Azrael, both of which she found fascinating.

---

Downtown always seemed to be the worse of the chaos. There were lots of businesses to rob, lots of apartments close to each other, lots of opportunities to do some sort of petty crime. But it never took long for people to get high on the thrill, or to become paranoid. The moment blood was spilled was the moment everything went to Hell.

It was why Cassandra and Aster chose to drive down these streets in a 'borrowed' ambulance from Aster's work. In the middle of the death and chaos, they would stand brave. Healing the injured and saving lives! Aster was busy in the back, anxiously counting all of their supplies for the fifth time while Cassandra kept her eyes on the road. She drove slowly, there was no need to drive quickly yet. It was unlikely that they would find anyone injured in the early hours of The Purge. If someone was going to be attacked, it would be targeted, and they'd likely die.

Both Cassandra and Aster jump as the sound of bells playing. Signaling the beginning of The Purge. Cassandra and Aster silently exchange looks. They didn't need to speak out loud, the two were thinking the same thing. Cassandra takes a steadying breath before returning her gaze to the streets ahead while Aster sits down next to Cassandra. Sensing her fear, Aster calmly reaches a hand out and places it onto her free hand. She catches him offering a smile on the corner of her eye and smirks back. For one moment, the two felt like everything would be okay.

Boom!

The sound of the explosions shocks the two into place. What the Hell. This was completely unexpected. The bloodshed was starting already? This early!? Cassandra acts quickly, stepping on the gas and lurching the car forward towards the explosion. Many people would die today, but the two would try to save as many innocent lives as possible.

“ιт ιѕ fσявι∂∂єи тσ кιℓℓ; тнєяєfσяє αℓℓ мυя∂єяєяѕ αяє ρυиιѕнє∂
υиℓєѕѕ тнєу кιℓℓ ιи ℓαяgє иυмвєяѕ αи∂ тσ тнє ѕσυи∂ σf тяυмρєтѕ.”
― νσℓтαιяє

｡ೃ⁀ :｡.｡:+* ˚ ✦🗡✦˚ *+:｡.｡: ̗̀➛

Aoi's face scrunched at the mention of killing and an alliance. They weren't exactly the biggest fan of murdering people willy nilly without a good reason, and teaming up with someone who was hunting for a target didn't... seem like the best time really so no. no thanks. Possibly at the eleventh hour if they were still alive, Aoi would join but they doubted that the two would stay that long. They said nothing, keeping their face neutrally schooled before slowly moving backwards to allow them to continue. While neither Arezel or Andrea had stated their names, intentions, or even made any move to attack, Aoi wasn't going to take any chances and was still on the fence about the two.

"What are you doing in the hospital? Answer and I might consider joining." They finally bargained, lowering the knife as a wary sign of goodwill. There were still too many unknown factors that Aoi didn't know yet before they could trust these strangers enough to watch their back

---

Lmao, was a bit bored while waiting for a class to start. Very long and dramatic read ahead.

Fire was still raging through the building when the ambulance slowly approached the scene. Rubble was scattered across the road, making it difficult to easily maneuver the vehicle around. Without realizing it, Cassandra had tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and her knuckles were beginning to turn white. She didn't like the idea of being stuck in an enclosed space, unarmed, in a place where escape would be difficult by vehicle. She constantly was checking the mirrors, anticipating an attacker or two to approach at any moment.

"Stop!" Aster suddenly shouts, making Cassandra instantly slam on the breaks and look towards him with wide eyes. He was digging through the glove compartment and was careful to avoid her shocked gaze when he pulls out a pistol and moves to the back of the ambulance to open the double doors. "Stay there" he orders while racing out into the street. Cassandra watches with baited breath while he moves towards some rubble. She didn't notice it until he got close. Feet were sticking out from behind the rubble. Someone was laying down and hiding behind it. From her position, she couldn't hear what Aster was saying while he approached the person. He moves with cation, eventually saying the right thing because the person managed to sit up. They visibly wince and tighten their fist into their bloody stomach. The poor person doesn't have a lot of options. With no team to help move the person into the ambulance on a stretcher Aster is forced to half lead, half drag the person into the ambulance. They move as quickly as they can. Both anticipating danger. Whoever stabbed the person would likely return to finish the kill.

Climbing to the back of the ambulance, Cassandra helps haul the person into the back. The two move quickly. Cassandra climbing to the front to drive to the nearest hospital while Aster works to keep the person alive. The person's pained screams were haunting. Aster tried his hardest to assure the person that they'd be okay while he worked on them. But they were understandably in too much pain to focus.

It seemed to take forever to maneuver the ambulance around the rubble, but eventually, Cassandra successfully managed it. She moves quickly, nearly driving at highway speeds down mostly empty streets towards a nearby hospital. She approaches the emergency room side, where four gunmen carrying assault rifles stand in wait. Two nurses approach the ambulance while two of the four gunmen follow. They all move quickly, placing the person onto a stretcher and moving them inside. The whole process was over in minutes and soon Aster and Cassandra were back on the road again.
...
The two decided to stick close to the burning building. This time, they moved down side streets to avoid the rubble. More people seemed to be out on the streets. Many avoided them due to being unable to catch the fast moving vehicle. Cassandra was thankful that they had yet to reach someone carrying guns.

The two approach a suspiciously empty street. The two sit up, suddenly alert. A fire hydrant had been busted down, causing water to leak out into the streets. Fortunately, there wasn't enough water to cause the ambulance to hydroplane. A gasp escapes Cassandra's throat when she glances into the rear view mirror to see two masked people armed with axes step out into the streets behind them. Aster also gasps when two more step out into the road in front of them. One carried a large knife, while the other had a pistol. The gunman draws their weapon and points it towards them.

Out of fear and instinct, Cassandra steps on the gas right as the gunman fires. But rather than hitting the window, he shoots at the road. The bullet hits a planted pipe bomb that Cassandra didn't notice until now. She swerves to dodge the worst of the explosion, causing the ambulance to slam into a light post. The sudden stop combined with the high speeds causes the vehicle to flip onto it's side, then again onto it's back. Time seems to move in slow motion. There was the explosion, their screams, the sound of shattering glass, the distinct sound and scent of air bags exploding. Pain slams into the side of her head as her head slams into the side of the door- where an airbag has yet to properly deploy. Everything went dark for a few seconds. But eventually, Cassandra came to. Her head felt groggy, and her ears were still ringing from the explosion and air bags. She could faintly hear Aster calling out to her. She could feel arms guiding her out of her seat belt. She could see Aster, grabbing a backpack and partially dragging her towards the now open door. Her senses were working, but it felt like a dream. "Cassandra! Come on!" Aster screams. His voice was shaking with terror. He keeps a tight grip on her hand, dragging her down the wet streets until her feet finally complied and she could race with him. Her head hurt, and blood was dripping into her left eye. But miraculously, they were alive, and mostly uninjured! It was almost as if the author needed something bad to happen to them, but couldn't kill them in two posts! But they had yet to be out of the clear. Now they were alone in the streets, still fighting for their senses. They had no idea if the four would follow them, or if they would find more trouble. One thing was certain though, they needed to find safety.

“Like I told ya. He’s looking for someone to kill. I’m jusssssst tagging along. In case no one has noticed, we’re kinda in the middle of the Purge. So it’s good to have alliances. After that we can screw everything and go back to the good ol' rules. Sunshine, sparkle and rainbows, no nonsense rules. And then crimes become crimes again. I’d say that again, but it would be a pain. Also, are you another madman who stabs, shoots and kills your opponents? Very inelegant, but I suppose it’s effective. My specialty lies in a…far more elegant area, I’d say. And this alliance is just to keep us alive during the Purge.” She taps the wall, inclining her head towards the outside. “The melodious sounds of bloodshed.” Andrea was busy contemplating. If she had to choose one partner to stick with, though, would it be Aoi, or Azrael? Who would she get along better with? Obviously she didn’t know the pair well….but who would she get along better with? She thought for a while more, then came to a decision.

---

“ιт ιѕ fσявι∂∂єи тσ кιℓℓ; тнєяєfσяє αℓℓ мυя∂єяєяѕ αяє ρυиιѕнє∂
υиℓєѕѕ тнєу кιℓℓ ιи ℓαяgє иυмвєяѕ αи∂ тσ тнє ѕσυи∂ σf тяυмρєтѕ.”
― νσℓтαιяє

｡ೃ⁀ :｡.｡:+* ˚ ✦🗡✦˚ *+:｡.｡: ̗̀➛

So the lady was a murder hobo, good to know. Even lowered, the grip on the knife was adjusted to be more sturdy as the staring contest continued. "And you're target is in a hospital?" Aoi deadpanned. "I'm so terrified, hurting people who are already injured. Very scary of you." They tossed around the idea of just straight up leading the two to whatever room they needed to go to and finish their business before herding them out of the hospital. They didn't actually really care about some of the residents in the long term care wards nor did the short term patients ever strike his hard earned empathy so they were willing to cut a few strings here and there for the sake of the greater safety of the hospital's residents. Well, whatever they were going to do, they'd at least like to hear from the other person who had, up till this point, stayed eerily silent. "And you? What's your deal? I'd like to know who I'm potentially teaming up with before agreeing."

---

𝕬𝖟𝖗𝖆𝖊𝖑 𝕷𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓
» Nightmare (English cover) «
0:58 ─〇───── 2:50
╔⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╗
"Oh, where has that little boy gone?
Trampled over by the cruelness of the world,
With no one to go to,
He shook hands with the devil.
╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

Andrea was suddenly met with a knife being thrown to the wall besides her, only narrowly missing her ear and nearly hitting Juliana if the snake wasn't fast enough to react to the flung weapon. The look on Azrael's face told her enough that he was already extremely pissed and he was really considering throwing the offer of alliance out of the window.

"Let out another word out of that damn mouth of yours and I swear I’m going to slice your tongue off” he challenged. "I bet you're one of those sick people, labelling every twisted experiment you're doing and claim they're 'in the name of science' but all you really like is to watch living beings suffer," he continued, glancing at the ugly mutilated body behind her. Yes, he was a heartless murderer who wouldn’t care at all when told to kill, but he wasn’t a fan of suffering, which was why his blows were quick and, hopefully, painless. Not to mention the way she worded everything was as if he never put in the effort, and maybe his life and sanity, to reach his freedom. If breaking free from their grasp was that easy, Azrael would have done it ages ago. How many times had he tried to escape, coming up with so many plans to run away from the labs he had been locked up in or trying to stir a rebellion, getting caught every time and facing the painful consequences. They had tabs on him too, he knew it all too well. He already had trackers planted in scattered places in his body and one, which he heard from eavesdropping, in his brain. The chances of escaping or running away is almost impossible. While he probably knew Andrea could switch them off somehow, and was planning to ask nicely for her to do so, she was getting too much for him to handle.

He pulled his knife out of the wall besides her without another word and made the last steps to the basement on his own, accidentally bumping into Aoi on the way, a little too forcefully. He looked up at the man, who clearly was one of the hospital members or something.

"You don't need to know," he answered, his glaring crimson eyes almost daring Aoi to ask further about his business. "I have no interest of joining forces in the first place," he added as he made the last few steps to the basement on his own. His mind was set, there was no way he’s surviving with that woman, not one bit. Though, knowing her attitude so far, she'll probably just catch up to him later, probably with a syringe of poison to shoot up Azrael for what he did, maybe send that snake to kill him off.

But he wouldn't mind finally having release from this hell.

The static noises in his ear were starting to clear up and he could make out several words in between the buzzes, which meant the connection was probably fixed and would be back up soon. He'd better just finish off this task before that man starts rambling in his ear again. Finding the only door in the dark area, surprisingly terribly and scarcely guarded, and kicked it open, purposely this time, sending it crashing just besides the man, who frantically looked up from his computer. A quick scan of the face, however, told Azrael that this wasn't the person that he was looking for, making him let out a mental groan.

"Hey, can you hear me clearly now?" the voice perked up in his ears, Azrael instantly cut into business.

"Old man, if you're going to send me off again, I swear-"

"No worries, my boy, we have plenty of time to play. This Purge will last for half the day after all. Wouldn't it be boring if he was such easy prey?" the man interrupted. Azrael heard him take a sip of whatever beverage he was having before he continued. "But that man you're seeing, he is one of his subordinates. My agents have lost track of him, maybe he could give us some clues?"

The voice went silent and Azrael paced towards the man, who had continued to furiously type on the keyboard, and slammed his foot on the desk, almost cracking it with his strength. The man was suddenly met with a knife just inches away from their throat.

"I'm tired of playing these games, so you better talk fast or you’ll be the next corpse on the list," he threatened. The man shook his head, breaking out in cold sweat.

"I swear, I don't know where he is. We were only told to safeguard this chemical he had, nothing else," he shakily confessed, which resulted in a curious hum in his earpiece. Judging by the clothes, he was probably one of the doctors, with the usual white robe and, literally, a stethoscope hanging by the neck. With an angry sigh, Azrael was about to plunge the blade in when it was clear this man was totally useless.

"Azrael" a foreign voice suddenly popped out.

The boy looked to the computer screen to see the shadow of a person. Since it was too dark, he could only make out the shape and some facial features, but nothing else, but he knew this was the actual person he was looking for. He didn't bother asking him how he got his name.

“What?” he asked irritatedly, the knife still just inches away from the man’s neck.

“Put the knife down and we can talk this through,” said the voice from the laptop.

“I’ve been hearing too many people talk today and I’m starting to feel sick, so no thanks-”

“I can give you freedom,” the man blatantly stated, freezing Azrael’s movement, his hand slowly lowering the knife as he moved all of his attention to the man on the other side of the glass monitor. Just one simple word that was enough to almost hypnotize the boy.

If the one talking wasn’t that woman, that is.

“Azrael, you know you have no chance-“ the boss started before the sentence was cut with a sharp zap in his ear. Azrael threw off the small device to the ground, watching small lines of electricity flying off the tiny broken earpiece.

“Now with that out of the way, we can finally have some privacy,” the anonymous figure sighed. “You see, the one who had cut the communication between you and the man over you was me, and I can deactivate all those pesky chips inside of you too. That’ll give you complete freedom from that man. You’d like that, right?” he pressed. Azrael started suspecting something. Surely, the price for liberty must be high, just as the first one was, and he was tired of being manipulated. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, the nonsense that woman was spurting previously was actually true, he was exhausted.

“Let me guess, you’re going to switch the roles and make me hunt down that guy instead?” Azrael said, still wary with this new person.

“No, that would just be pointless and almost childish. I will allow you to roam free, with just a simple task,” he answered. “I’m not sure whether or not you know the actual reason you were sent to kill me, but I’ll say it anyway. What your boss is looking for is not revenge on a past business. He’s looking for something else,” he started.

“The story began way before the city started to thrive, when the land was constantly in war over food and resources. Killings happened everywhere and 10 to 20 deaths a day wasn’t unusual. As the population grew, so did the chaos, and the government was not able to suppress all of this. To overcome this, they devised a plan, and this was how the first Purge began. The aim they had in mind was to cut down the number of people to result in some form of stability, but the plan didn’t work out so well. Not everyone was a bloody murderer who just craved for bloodshed, so the huge number didn’t even seem to reduce.

Until, some sickos decided to create some sort of illness. One that strips a person any feeling of empathy and dwindles away at their sanity until they become nothing more but bloodthirsty monsters. An airborne virus that also spreads easily through blood, with early symptoms that are hard to diagnose. They released the plague through this very hospital, giving almost every patient the illness, as well as those staying in mental asylums. Just before the day of the Purge that year, people were killed everywhere as the sick ran wild, pouncing on every living being on sight and cutting more than half of the population. Those who survive are left infected to continue the gruesome cycle, and all went well according to the government’s plan, until they got too close for comfort and started killing off the important and wealthy people. With all the hate they’d obviously received, they annihilated anyone who they suspected had the virus and, a few years later, the illness was never recorded again and people had started forgetting about it,” he talked on and on. Azrael rubbed his eyes from feeling sleepy over the boring tale.

“So, what about it?” he yawned as he slumped on the chair, the doctor stood surprisingly still instead of making a run for the stairs, or maybe he was instructed to do so, Azrael didn’t know.

“You know what the city is like right now, don’t you? We’re back to where we were before, poverty problems are rising, people are fighting over the very little assets we have left, deaths and chaos happening in every waking hour. While people nowadays are starting to become more… violent, a mere few thousand lives taken is not enough. Which is why the government is actually thinking of bringing the illness back,” the man admitted grimly. “However, our team has been studying the very last sample of the virus for years and we finally managed to produce some sort of cure, a vaccine that gives a person immunity to the virus, and the government didn’t like that one bit. Our efforts to mass produce and distribute it… didn’t end well and the labs where the vaccines were created were all destroyed by their men. Though, we managed to save a vial of it, our last hope to this problem, but our forces are dwindling and it may not be enough to enact the plan I had in mind. The threats are increasing too and they’re working with the organizations of the underworld to hire more dangerous killers after us. But the tables will turn if you decide to side with us,” the man on screen continued to speak, starting to shift into a subtle pleading tone. “We could really use your strength and healing for this mission. I am sorry to say that I might be taking advantage of you just like your superior, but you get to choose to helps the government literally wipe out half the human population or fight for the cure,” the man finally ended, met with a long silence as Azrael pondered over the offer.

“What if I don’t accept it?” Azrael asked, he saw the figure on the screen shrug.

“Then I won’t force you, but sadly I’ll have to send one of my men to kill you off since you’d be a huge threat. Though, I hope we don’t have to resort to that, you have a lot left to live for,” he answered.

“You haven’t told me what this ‘mission’ is though.”

“You know well that they have their eyes and ears on you, they might be hearing us as we speak. I won’t risk letting them know too much detail on the plan until I can deactivate all the trackers,” the man explained.

“Okay, what if I want you to deactivate them but not give me that damn task of yours,” Azrael questioned. The mission sounds unbelievably dangerous and he might as well go with his actual killing job if he had to choose one. The man nodded.

“I understand if you’d want that, and we can do it for you if you want,” the man confided. “While it won’t get us going anywhere yet, it’ll be one concern out of the list.” Azrael’s eyes literally shone bright red. He might be getting his hopes too high, but he had yearned It for so long he couldn’t suppress the sudden warm feeling bubbling in his chest.

"If you're joking I might literally kill you through the screen"

"Do not worry, you have my word. Dr. David here can start on the procedure right now if you'd like," the man reassured. Azrael was about to answer-

Before he was met with a blinding headache.

The pain was so excruciating that he collapsed, biting on his tongue to suppress a pained scream. His body shook as he felt sharp currents rush through him and his vision blurred. The doctor looked panicked again and he could hear the man sending out orders as the he scrambled around the room to find something. He could hear him calling for more people through the ring in his ears and the torture abruptly stopped when Azrael’s body went limp, leaning against one of the shelves in the room. One of his arms raised off the floor.

But Azrael never thought of lifting it. He watched as body moved on his own, taking out a knife inside his pocket and throwing it straight at the doctor’s arm, earning a scream of agony. Azrael wanted to cover his ears to muffle away the cries but he couldn’t coordinate his movements properly.

“Restrain him! He’s out of control!” came the order from the end of the room, where a few more people started rushing in. The boy’s mouth suddenly opened to speak, a monotone voice that sounded almost robotic, his sentences were forced out.

“Wrong choice,” he said.

---

Andrea went off into peals of laughter, sweet, tinkling yet insane laughs. Juliana hisses, but calms down when Andrea strokes her. When her voice speaks, it’s not one but two. “Bad move, teacup” She shakes her head again, and shifts her voice a few octaves deeper. “Get. Up. Now.” She told Azrael, standing beside him. Her voice sounded uncannily like the one Azrael had heard in his earpiece all along. Turning to the laptop, her hair covers most of her face, and she flashes pearly white teeth at the screen, smiling at the silhouette.

[a while back]

“Great, so now I’m tasked with babysitting? What’s his name again….Azrael? And how much will I receive in payment?…Mmm alright then, fine. I’ll babysit him. That doesn’t mean I’ll get along with him though. Yes, right, no driving him over the point of insanity. Since he has a temper, I want a raise. Add a 100 grand more and I’ll accept.” Andrea hangs up the phone, sighing as she returns to her nail polish, a hand half done, with only three nails painted. They just had to interrupt her spa treatment. Humph.


[present]

She digs around in her satchel, drawing out a long syringe, swirling it round. She hands it to Azrael. “This will help. Are you gonna be a baby? Return to your senses, for goodness sake.” She stares at his robotic movements, before rolling her eyes and scoffing. “Too sloppy. Maybe that hospital boy might be more useful than you.”

---

These people that were out on the streets, they were no longer human, they were animals. Cassandra could see darkness in their eyes, these people were killers. They would stare at Cassandra as the two passed. Their eyes would fall onto her bloody forehead, and remain there for a few seconds too long. Cassandra had a good guess on what they were thinking. But any plans they had to attack the injured duo were thwarted by the pistol that Aster kept clearly visible. Cassandra wanted to be angry at him, but right now, she was relieved by the brief protection the pistol gave.

"This way." Aster tells Cassandra softly. He was sticking close to her, obviously intent on trying to hide her as best as he could. He steers her over to a store that had it's door busted down. The move towards a register and sit behind the counter. Cassandra had no idea how long they walked, but it had to be for awhile due to the immediate relief she felt when she sat down. "Are you okay?" Aster asks while digging through his bag.

"I'm-... alive" Cassandra replies. "What about you? That was a horrible crash. I'm sorry-" she clenches her fists together, but she was unable to stop the heavy emotions from pouring out. "I shouldn't have panicked! I put us in danger all because I couldn't keep my cool! I'm sorry Aster!" She chokes out. She turns away from him, only to hear him softly shushing her. She feels hands fall onto her shoulders to turn her to face him.

"I'm fine" Aster assures her. "What happened wasn't your fault. You reacted quickly, and saved us from the explosion. We just got unlucky with the placement of that lightpost" he adds with a soft smile. It goes away when Cassandra doesn't smile back. "Let's get you cleaned up" he says while pointing to her bloody forehead. "I do hope the cut isn't too deep" he mutters while pulling a first aid kit out of the backpack. She lowers her gaze, downcast to the floor. She couldn't fight away the nagging guilt she felt. "There" Aster says after a few minutes of trying to clean and wrap up the wound. "It wasn't deep, fate must be on our side!" He pauses to put the first aid kit back into the backpack. "Do you feel any head pain? Any memory loss? Problems focusing?" He visibly relaxes when Cassandra shakes her head no to all those things. "Good, then you don't have a concussion. After what just happened, we are more than lucky to get away with one minor cut." Aster slowly stands up to peek over the counter. "We should keep moving. I didn't like the way those people were looking at us." He bends down again and digs through his bag to pull out two Halloween masks. Both masks looked like fox-like creatures.

"What's this for!?" Cassandra asks, horrified.

"We need to blend in" Aster replies. "All the crazies wear masks" he adds while putting the mask in Cassandra's hands. He stands up again and his gaze rest on the cash register in front of them.

"Don't-" Cassandra warns.

"You remember our promise? To leave America after this year's Purge? We need money to survive Cassandra" Aster says with a sigh. "I did some research. Canada and Mexico have support groups that'll help us cross the border and settle in. But we still need money. This super store, it'll be fine if it's missing a few bucks." Cassandra doesn't reply. She just watches him slam the pistol repeatedly against the register until it breaks. There wasn't a lot in there. Just some cash to prepare for the next work day. There couldn't be more than $50 comprised of dollars, fives, and change. The duo take the money anyway and move back out into the streets. This time though, nobody gave the two a second glance.
...
The two continued to walk for awhile, and soon, in the distance, was a house ahead. The two exchange questioning looks. Maybe the could hide in the backyard until the Purge was over? Or the shed? Nobody would come looking for them there, and if anyone was going to attack they'd go through the front door.

They two slowly approach the house and Cassandra's blood runs cold when she catches the owner standing on the porch outside. He was tall, covered in scars, and was quite literally armed to the teeth. She curses and grabs Aster's arm to stop him from moving forward. They had to run, now, before this man noticed him. What were the chances he'd shoot the two masked Intruders? Then again, what were the chances he could shoot them while they were retreating? Too high...

The best thing they could do now was surrender, and hope he would show them mercy. "Hello!" She calls out with a trembling voice. "We aren't here to hurt you!" She cringes, suddenly realizing how unconvincing she sounded. "Aster, drop your gun!" She demands. Aster nods and throws the pistol away from them and raises his arms up. "We just need a place to hide, I know we're strangers and you can't trust us. But please! We need help!" Cassandra continues. "We'll get out of your hair as soon as we can! But right now, the streets aren't safe!"

At the sound of a voice, Gordon whips his head around. Oh god, oh chirst. He clutches his shotgun with one hand as he turns to face them fully. Two people, in what looked like halloween masks... That was never a good sign. Masks alone were relatively normal, perhaps even understandable in the circumstances. Halloween masks, however - masks of animals, or otherwise recognisable things - people who wore those wanted to make a name of themselves. The mask is the trademark.

If he wasn't so focused on keeping his expression unreadable, he would have cocked an eyebrow at her words. Oh, yeah, 'We're not here to hurt you.' Said every person here to hurt someone ever. But the sight of a pistol being thrown aside made him think twice. He stood his ground still, however. They could have more than one gun.

Gordon listened on to their little story, glaring slightly in their direction. A place to hide? she was certainly right about his lack of trust for strangers. It was probably an understatement, how little he tended to trust those that walked these streets. Especially today. But something about this seemed... genuine. The distress in her tone, and something in her stance that made her look injured.

...The streets weren't safe, huh? Yeah, obviously not, he thought to himself. No serial killer or worse would stoop to such obvious statements in their pleas. These were just two people who probably assumed they could help, bit off more than they could chew, and need a place to camp out. Probably sought out the most terrifying, intimidating, burly dude to hide out with, too. He supressed a chuckle at that. Man, he really did need to forget how much smarter he was that other people, huh?

He walked forward slowly, standing against the railing of his barricaded balcony. "There's a door 'round the back." He spoke, voice firm and, okay maybe a little scarier than it usually was because sue him, he liked being scary. The power was cool, and it was what he deserved anyway. "I'll go unlock it for you. But you bring anyone else here, and you're gone. I don't want to be making too much noise." He limped off without another word, walking inside to, presumably, unlock the door for the pair.

Walking through the smoke scented house, he made his way over to the back door. God, was he really doing this..? He'd been through worse than a couple of troublemakers trying to kill him, but still... Ah, whatever. He had his shotgun, he'd be fine. He unlocked the door with hands he refused to admit were shaking, and he leant against the wall to wait for the duo to come inside.

---

What was that...? Alex whipped his head around in an instant, the overwhelming feeling of dread and unease falling over him like the weight of a truck. His heart almost stopped, his breathing became irregular, his skin went cold, and every muscle in his body froze. His face would've went white, if it wasn't an absolute mess. He had the feeling he was being watched, which normally wouldn't faze him, and honestly anything about this normally wouldn't faze him, but it was too overwhelming... At this moment, with all the fear and lack of control he had, he wasn't even sure that he was in his own body. He couldn't move, nor could he even feel his limbs. His mind was in a similar state, thoughts that didn't even seem to be his flooded every thought he had before, making it impossible to think. What he did know, strangely, is that he had an urge to walk back to the hospital. He swore to himself that he wouldn't go back, wouldn't get involved, but this urge was killing him, almost literally. He felt as though he was slowly dying, or at least in a lot of pain, and the only way to fix it was to give in.

First, he let his eyes scan the area the best they could, which was impressive given how hard it was to do so. They darted all over the place, looking at everything they could. So far, he couldn't spot the person, or thing, that was watching him, or he assumed they were. He couldn't turn his head either, but that probably didn't mater, since he immediately rushed over to the hospital. The itch was too great, the pain and lack of room to think was overwhelming. He ran in and started looking around, now beginning to feel the glare and the odd urges fading away. That was so weird... Alex didn't even have time to collect himself before an odd voice came out of nowhere, startling him. It was almost like he had become and entirely different person, becoming susceptible to all these things, getting jumpy all of a sudden, and having this much fear, it wasn't like him. "What's up, ash-boy? How've you been?" That tone was almost snarky, like the person behind him was trying to piss him off. He whipped around to see a familiar looking face, but not a friendly one that's for sure. The woman was short, skinny, and had shoulder-length purple hair. She also had deep red eyes that were narrowed to match her evil smile, completing the typical 'psychopath look'. She was wearing a black turtleneck with grey shorts and combat boots. She held her hands cutely to the side like she was a child, her smile stretching to the edges of her face. "Whaaaaat, happy to see me? Come on, talk to me! It's been a while, hasn't iiittt?" God, her voice was annoying. She was trying to act like a child, but he knew that mask she constantly wore hid the most vile and disgusting things a human could possibly be. He wasn't even sure she was actually human anymore.

Alex couldn't believe he fell into this. How could he not remember? This woman always loved to play tricks like that, she had a gift for manipulation and intimidation, causing that whole ordeal. How could he not know it was her? He was so stupid, and now he was probably going to die for it. "The hell do you want, Rei..." His face became full of hate and anger, memories of the hell this woman put him through flashing like a slideshow in his head. His voice seemed to become deeper, more broken and painful to listen to. Rei, upon hearing the negative tone, got rid of her smile and made a concerned frown, her eyebrows furrowing *. "Awww, aren't you happy to see me? What do you mean, 'what do I want'? I just wanna taaaalk..." She pouted, getting all up in his face the best she could. She backed away after a moment of silence, then cleared her throat before speaking again. "So, it's the purge again, and I decided it would be nice to have a nice chat on this beautiful day... It's really nice outside, the sun is shining, the flowers are starting to bloom, but I think those explosions scared the birds away... Anyways, hope you're not doing anything, I've got a loooot to talk about!"

Alex scoffed and turned towards the stairway, wishing he wasn't stupid enough to stick here long enough for the doorway to be blocked off. How'd she do that...? Was that even her doing...? "Get the hell away from me, torture someone else for christ's sake..." He quickly walked up the stairs, keeping his eyes ahead of him and didn't bother to check where Rei was or what she was doing. As he was walking, he saw a hallway engulfed with fire to his right, freezing him in his tracks for a second. With what he's been through, it wasn't a surprise that he had PTSD when it came to flames. He let out a deep breath and covered his mouth and nose with his shirt until he made his way to the stairs to the 3rd floor. He couldn't let himself get caught up with stuff like that, especially not with Rei right behind him. He heard footsteps as soon as he reached the staircase, causing him to groan and walk faster. "Get the hell away from me!" he called out, probably loud enough for everyone else in the building to hear. "Aww, come on! Just a quick little chat, that's it! Besides, didn't you see? The door's locked, can't leave! Hehe... Guess I'm stuck with you now~" Alex couldn't take this anymore, there was really nothing he could do at this point. He stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for Rei to reach the bottom of the staircase. "Stay there, come up these stairs and I'll shoot." He pulled the glock out of his coat pocket and aimed it at her, which she replied in a laugh and held her hands up. "Oh come on, I don't wanna yell to talk to you!" "Shut up..." He laid his hand on the trigger and scowled, gesturing for her to speak with his other hand before placing it back on the gun.

"So... I've been following you around lately and... Well, let's just say that this morning was pretty interesting, wasn't it? I'm so proud of you, being nice for once and talking with others! You've grown so much, but it makes me sad you won't be nice to me!" She pouted again, then continued when Alex groaned. "Anyways, I just wanna tell you that the weapon you're holding is a toy, I have a bomb in your jacket and the detonator in my sleeve, I caused the explosions at the beginning of the hour, and I'm gonna go and finish some business, toodles!" She turned away to head back downstairs, waving her fingers goodbye while flashing the detonator at him to confirm what she as saying was true. As soon as Rei moved, Alex took his shot and tried firing at her, but nothing happened. At least, nothing that he wanted to happen, happened. Instead, the gun fired confetti and glitter, once again proving that she wasn't lying. He didn't doubt that she set off those bombs either, that's how he got to looking like this after all. "Nice chat by the way, but I'm gonna have to kill you now. Y'know, finishing the job and all? Yeah... Sorry about that, hope I see you in Hell!" She giggled and walked away, then pressed the button to set off the bomb. Luckily, Alex was able to fumble through his jacket and find the bomb, which he tried throwing at Rei. Sadly, the explosive detonated before he threw it far, causing him to be blasted away into the wall, knocking him unconscious. The last thing he heard was her haunting laugh echoing in his mind before everything went dark.

*yes, like the megamind 'no maidens' meme

---

If the strange man was purposely trying to scare them, it worked. Suddenly, the streets seemed a lot safer. Cassandra spoke big about how you couldn't trust strangers, especially on a day like this, and it held true now.

"Are we really going to do this?" Aster whispers while the two walk around the side of the house. "What if he is dangerous?"

"If he wanted to kill us, he would've done it already... Probably" Cassandra responds. "Look, what choice do we have? We can keep running, but who knows how long we'll get lucky for? All it takes is for one person to attack us. Then what?" Cassandra asks. "I say we try to trust him. What's the worse that can happen?... Don't answer that" Cassandra says the last part quickly.

The two were equally nervous as they stepped into the house, and they were too focused on looking around the house to notice Gordon's trembling hands. "Thank you" Cassandra tells the man politely while pulling the mask off her face. Aster cringes slightly at that. Hopefully that action wouldn't scare Gordon. Killers who show their faces are dangerous. He hesitates before doing the same. "If it means anything, it's just the two of us. Nobody followed us" Cassandra assures before realizing how cliché that sounded. Man, I'm not good at this Cassandra thinks to herself.

"I'm Cassandra and that's Aster" Cassandra says awkwardly, desperate to change the subject. "Again, thank you for letting us stay here. We'll try to not overstay our welcome. We'll leave at any point. Can we offer anything to show our thanks? Money maybe?" She asks while glancing over at Aster, remembering how they stole from that store.

Yukimore aimlessly wanders around the streets with an evil smirk on her face as always, looking for another victim to torture. All she has been doing is just mercilessly attacking people ever since the Purge started, she could care less, though. But, where she was at, it was now all pretty quiet. Yukimore's chainsaw was still violently shaking from the loud motor, but she turned it off so she can surprise attack whoever comes in her way.

She proceeded to leave the area though, as it was getting pretty boring for her. She remained silent so her enemies would never expect the unexpected.

(My posts wont my crazy long since I only have 1 character in play, but y'know lol)

He'd waited a little longer than he'd expected to, considering how eager they seemed for protection before, but he tried to ignore that as the door swung open. He didn't move at first, keeping a close eye on them as they entered. He gave a nod at the word of thanks. He tried to hide how weary he was of the strangers, but he knew a thin layer of worry must have buried itself behind a false look of apathy.

He noted the removal of the masks, pretending not to know about how dangerous these people had the possibility to be. No, he could defend himself even if they were here for malicious reasons. He was fine, dammit.

The house was in pretty good condition, aside from a few holes in the walls. Boxes of painkillers and various medications for all sorts of things were scattered about the house, most of them in plain sight. It didn't seem like he had visitors often, and looking at him, why would he? The walls had the occasional poster or photo taped over them, of old rock and metal bands and what looked like old polaroids of friends. Something about the house seemed... lonely, still, even with the decor and the signs of clear life inside the rooms that felt so lifeless. There were a lot of things to look at here, but somehow it was all... bleak.

He doesn't speak again until they introduce themselves - or rather, the girl introduced them both. He nodded slowly, considering offering them a handshake. He decided against it, but his hand moved slightly as if he had almost done so anyway.

"Gordon." He states simply. "And it's not a problem. I have enough everything to last me, trust me on that one." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. "There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry. Don't feel bad about it or anything, you guys seem..." He pauses. "Well, you must've been desperate to ask a guy like me for help." He chuckles under his breath.

He doesn't seem as intent on keeping them afraid of him anymore, but he doesn't seem any less intimidating, either. The mysterious man doesn't say anything more, limping over to the window to make sure nobody else is around. Two people was enough, even if they were somewhat-maybe-tolerable people. He didn't wanna take any more chances, either.

---

Even though nothing had happened to her, Amber was hyperventilating. She had kept on constantly checking the nearest window that overlooked the street, and she felt like she could hear everything. The house kept creaking, and she raised a shaky finger to her mouth as if the house could see her.

She could hear the sounds of chaos. She could hear explosions and yelling. So far, nobody had even glanced at the begrimed building. She wasn't even sure the knife could save her. Doubts flew in her head, doubts replaced her thoughts until she was blinded by the stress of her inevitable fate.

Amber's grip on the knife loosened a bit, and then tightened. She didn't wanna hurt herself any more than she had already, any more than others had already. If she had dropped it, it would've landed on her foot. Realizing she hadn't taken a glance out the window, she became a little more paranoid. I just wanna live, I just wanna live, I just wanna live. She kept repeating in her mind, as if that would change the outcome.

---

Asking him for help wasn't the problem. In all honesty, the two would've preferred to silently hide in someone's backyard or shed. They would've rather avoided an interaction all together. But the way things were ending up, this was the best outcome. Siding with someone who had access to multiple grenades and guns was safer than hunkering in some bushes with only a pistol to protect them. Still, I hope it won't come down to needing to use any of these weapons Cassandra thinks to herself. "It's nice to meet you Gordon" Cassandra says with a smile.

"No thanks" both Cassandra and Aster reply to the mention of food, despite their empty stomachs. Not that they would feel the hunger anyway. The stress of this whole situation was a good distraction. "There are a lot of desperate people out there" Cassandra points out softly. Once again, she felt guilty for crashing the ambulance. How many people are dying out there? How many people could we have saved? She sighs and looks towards one of the photos on the wall. She couldn't help but frown at the picture. What could drive someone to live alone with access to multiple weapons? Where did he even obtain this stuff? Who was this mysterious man?

He raises an eyebrow when they decline his offer, but says nothing. Hm, weird... Whatever. The mention of the people outside makes something in his gaze darken. His guess about how they ended up here didn't seem far from the truth, at least. As per usual, he thought to himself. Still, he looked down at the window sill, momentarily seeming lost in thought.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." He doesn't face her as he speaks, opting to look directly out the window instead. "You can't save everyone, and in a place like this, putting yourself at risk for someone else could mean you die for someone who deserved what they were about to get. The scum that walks these streets.." He glances around outside again as he speaks, as if talking about them would summon them to his doorstep.

He noticed her looking at the picture on the wall, and sighed. Walking a little closer to where she stood, he leant against a dusty cabinet full of various items that seemed almost sentimental. "Old friends, back before college. None of 'em live around here. Only have contact with one of them now, anyways." He's not sure why he felt the need to explain such a trivial thing. Maybe it was the recent lack of interaction, the isolation getting to his head again. Maybe he was just trying to make conversation, which... he almost never did, so he doubted that.

And he certainly wasn't lonely. That was the last possible conclusion.

---

She had to admit, he was right. Who knows? That man they saved could be a murderer, and they just destroyed more lives than they saved. Still, it didn't feel right to ignore those in need. She silently listens to the man speak. It felt strange, listening to him share his past with them. Suddenly, he didn't feel as scary as he was just seconds ago.

"That's a shame- having your friends move away from you" Cassandra replies. Who was she kidding? She was that friend to other people. Her own family, her childhood friends, people she met along her travels. She had a nasty habit of leaving them behind. "But it's great you still keep in contact with one. Do you talk often?" She asks.