private Sanctuary, Appaloosa (1x1 Reboot w/ driz)

[Driz 1,552]

Lory came to a sudden halt shortly after Raze did, staring back at the ghastly figure that stood before them. Utterly perplexed, she didn't have a clue on what to do; on how to react. They had never seen that lady anywhere in the house before. Despite the terrifying atmosphere that surrounded her, she didn't look threatening in the slightest. In fact, it seemed as if even a gentle summer breeze would be able to down her if she were to try any abrupt movement.

After a considerable amount of time of hesitation, Lory gulped and attempted to carefully walk past the old lady, following Raze. However, once she got closer, Lory couldn't resist the curiosity. She leaned down to reach the lady's height on the wheelchair, brought a hand up in front of her face and began waving it around in an attempt to get her attention. "Helloooooo?... Anybody home?... Granny?...." The frail woman did nothing but stare vacantly with half-shut eyes. "Do you need help?... You... You got somewhere to be, or?..." No response whatsoever. Lory sighed, placed her hands on her hip and walked along.

"S...Should we do something about that?" She quietly whispered to Raze.

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

"...Let's leave her be for now," Raze said to Lory. "Also, don't wave your hands and ask if 'anyone's home' to the elderly, that's just rude."

He walked out of the scorpion door leading back to the main hall, and to the front door. He took out the final dog head relief and and stuck in the empty space. There was a click, and the door opened. Raze quickly pushed it open and ran outside, getting the first breath of fresh air he had in hours. Granted it smelled like swamp, but that was better than the stench inside the house.

Suddenly, his optimism dropped when he realized where they were. He looked around for the front gate they saw when they first arrived. It wasn't there. Instead, he saw a giant trailer in the middle of the area, along with a strange building to the left of it.

"Wait, this isn't the front yard... It's the back!!" he said, turning around. Where there would have been a path to go towards front from the sides of the house were makeshift barricades made of sheet metal and covered with tons of barbed wire on the top.

"Dammit... we're not out yet!!"

[Driz 1,552]

Lory stared at the barricades in disbelief, then looked at Raze. "You're fucking with me." She assured, approaching the barrier and attempting to climb it. She inspected the metal wall from all directions while trying to come up with a plan inside her head, simulating climbing over it. After a few seconds, she realized it would not be possible.

"...There's no end to this nightmare, huh?" She brought a hand to her head in distress. "There has to be another way out; there has to be." At the very least they had succesfully escaped from the main house. Even if not completely free yet, she still felt like they had already bested the worst. She then began looking around the yard. Soon, her eyes fixated on the trailer cabin in the middle. At first glance, it looked somewhat out of place to her. The mare pointed at it.

"Let's check that place out. Maybe we can find some food, a phone, or even catch some z's while we're at it." She said, beggining to walk towards it.

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

Raze quietly followed behind her, then went ahead and opened the door. The first thing he noticed was how well-lit the place was. In front of them was an open wardrobe, with various articles of clothing neatly hung and sorted. All of them were for women. On one of the shelves of the wardrobe was another old telephone. To his left, a bed that hadn't been made, with a  Colt 1911 handgun on top of the pillow. He took it and inspected it.

"Broken..." he said, sighing in disappointment. "Trigger mechanism's busted." He looked around. "Wonder if there's a gun repair kit around here..."

He looked around some more. The right side of the trailer was a little dining area of sorts, with a small kitchen and table for eating. To the right of the table was a TV, still in working condition, though currently it was displaying nothing but static.

"Well then..." he said, closing the trailer door and sitting on the bed. "I say we take a break here, maybe wait for her to call us."

[Driz 1,552]

"Huh..." Lory muttered, climbing the small wooden steps that lead onto the makeshift home. "What a comfy crib..." As she took a brief stroll around the place, inspecting the belongings. As far as first impressions went, it did look as if someone had been living there as of recent. In fact, that room in the trailer definitely seemed like it was occupied by a sane person for once: no black mold, or rotten entrails anywhere to be seen. A nice change of scenery, Lory found.

While scavenging through the wardrobe, the mare stopped at the sight of a piece of clothing slightly sticking out from the rest. Pulling on it revealed a simple-looking bra with a checkered pattern on it. Raising an eyebrow, Lory absentmindedly picked it and positioned it in front of her chest as to perform a quick comparison. Seemingly unfazed, she soon placed the undergarment back in its place and resumed the investigation.

After another while, the mare stopped at the right end of the trailer, facing Raze, and reclined against the dining table.

"I wonder what her story is..." She commented while staring blankly at the ground. "The phone girl... I mean... If she's really related to those lunatics, how come she isn't missing a few screws as well? Why is she helping us out, even?... This could very well be a trap, y'know... I'm half expecting that chick to kick that door open and run at us with a knife just like honeybee did... I don't like this. At all." She sighed. "Where is she??"

Edited July 21, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

"Could be she's watching us from another part of the property," Raze responded. "I wouldn't be surprised to find a few hidden cameras installed throughout the house, considering all the other screwed up crap in this place..." He stared at the phone on the wardrobe. "You're not wrong in saying it could be a trap; I have my doubts as well... but we don't really have much of a choice, now do we? Besides, she didn't sound... insane. But I guess that was the case for Honey Glow too, wasn't it?" He sighed. "I say we keep going along with it, but be extra careful. If we feel like something's up we'll find another way..."

He set his backpack next to him and pulled out the bottle of apple whiskey. He opened it and took a small swig to calm his nerves down. Too much of it would affect his thinking, which he desperately needed right now. He walked over to Lory and sat down in the dining chair in front of her, putting the bottle on the table.

[Driz 1,552]

 

"Ohohohoho! Let me correct you right there, sweetheart!" Lory raised a finger in the air and turned to look at Raze. "Honeybee was bonkers from the get-go. The moment she began spouting shit about her 'daddy' and becoming a part of the 'family' was when I learned why she was locked up in that cell in the first place... You just happened to realize it a little too late." She smirked tauntingly, then grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a big, somewhat lengthy gulp from it - perhaps more than she should have. After pulling the bottle away from her mouth, she let out a deep sigh in delight, promptly feeling the heat make its way up under her skin. While still holding onto the half-empty beverage container, she got up on her hooves and began strolling around.

"Perhaps you were infatuated by the dreamy curves on her body~" As she spoke, she acted out the scene, running a hand down the sides of her shape. "Or maybe it was her angelic voice that immediately captivated you~" She continued to spin around in a mocking manner, waltzing with the air. "Oh! How painfully painful is love! Romeo and Juliet shall never be together because Juliet is a goddamn disgusting, cannibalistic psychopath who kills for fun!... Thus lingers the mystery of whether or not phone lady will satisfy your feral desires the way honeybee did!"

Edited July 22, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

Raze stood up, firmly putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her, turning her around to face him. "Or... she was kidnapped and dragged in there against her will, was probably subjected to extreme amounts of torture, and the mental weight of it all finally caused her to snap. We have a videotape of her entering the property with her friends, with one of them getting killed! If you're trying to say she's one of the Goldhoof psychopaths, why would they lock her up in a cell in the first place, why not have her wandering around the house, killing other victims like us? Oh, and where was she during the whole 'dinner' scene? If she were crazy like them, I'd feel like she'd be more than happy to torture us with them. She's as much of a victim as we are." He paused for a moment. "They did something to her, I could tell. Whenever she attacked us, her face, it... changed. It looked like it was decaying, and her eyes were pitch black. I think she's turning into one of those creatures, but she's not there yet. Makes more sense than whatever nonsense you came up with. So maybe think next time before you start spouting crazy theories with no evidence, sauntering about and acting like they're fact." He leaned in closer to her face.

"And even if it was true, why would you care so much? You jealous or something?"

[Driz 1,552]

"Ah-ah... Hit a nerve, did I?" She asked - the playful, provocative smirk even more proudly decorating her feature. "Chillax, Ray-Ray, I'm just messing with ya! Thought you knew not to listen to me when I got a bottle of booze in my hands." She laughed joyfully. "Nah, but seriously, I'm just... playing around. I promise I'll stop drinking now before walking a straight line becomes a bigger problem than surviving against Gang Hillbilly and their army of walking claws-and-teeth... Hard to believe, but I'm not that irresponsible." She said, acquiring a slightly more prudent, sensible expression afterwards.

Still facing Raze up close and staring deep into his eyes, Lory proceeded to place a hand on his shoulder. She took a deep breath, puckered up her lips and suddenly puffed out a heavy gust of breath onto his face, intending to peeve him even further with the strong smell of alcohol from her mouth.

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

Raze's nose scrunched up slightly at the smell of the alcohol, along with his cheeks turning red from embarrassment. He looked annoyed at first, then sighed and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, sure, you got me," he said. "Doesn't make what I said any less true though." He lightly tapped her right cheek with his left hand, then went to sit back down, blankly staring up into the ceiling.

 

"On the off chance you are jealous and trying to hide it... I always thought you were kind of cute. Take that as you will."

[Driz 1,552]

Suddenly, Lory stopped on her tracks and stood completely still. While frozen in place, her face attained a shade of vivid red as she slowly turned her head around to face Raze. She stared at him for a few seconds: an absolutely perplexed, astonished expression taking over her feature.

"C...Cute?..." She stuttered. "...What the hell do you mean by cute?" There was a tone of actual curiosity in her question, as if she truthfully attempted to comprehend what that adjective meant when attributed to her name. After all, it was one she wasn't used to hearing very often.

Edited July 23, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

"...What?" Raze said. "It means what it means. I think you look cute. You know... like endearing? You need a dictionary or something?" He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling again. "You act as if you've never been called that before... Wait." He looked back down again to face her. "Don't tell me that's actually the case."

[Driz 1,552]

"O...Of course I know what cute means, dude, that's not what I meant!" She scratched her head and looked away into the distance. "It's just that... uhm... from where I come from, we don't really use that word, like... unironically... y'know?" Lory explained. "That's the sort of compliment that would definitely get your ass beat in Manehattan's underworld. Like... how can I say it..." She became pensive; deep in thought.

"In my hometown, if you call someone 'cute', what you're actually saying would be something along the lines of: 'you have a very punchable face and my fist really itches right now'... like that, y'know?" She concluded. "We don't use it as a compliment. We use it either to reeeeeeally piss off someone else, or as a joke among pals." She crossed her arms and nodded.

"So my point is! No, I've never been called cute before, because I've been raised to make fun of people who can say that word with a straight face..." She thought for a while. "...N-Not that I'm making fun of you! I wouldn't, honestly. We're cool. I've matured from my close-minded teen phase ages ago." With a deep sigh, Lory attempted to slow down. "Sorry man, I... I know you meant it as an actual compliment. I was just confused, is all. So... um... thanks, I g-guess..." She finished with a clumsy puff. "I ain't cute, though... Just sayin'..." Unknowingly to herself, she also blushed.

Edited July 23, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

Raze slowly nodded his head in understanding. "Uh-huh..." he said. Suddenly, the phone sitting on the wardrobe began to ring. He stood up to go and get it.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I see you made it out of the house. Good," Dawn Goldhoof said on the other end. "You two are the first I've seen to make it this far."

"Alright, look, you need to tell me what this is. What the hell is your family doing?

There was a long pause, before she finally spoke again. "It wasn't always like this... my family and I have come down with something. To put it simply... we're sick. No, not just sick; infected."

Raze was confused. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait a minute... infected? With what?"

"I'm not sure... but I know that's what's causing my family to go insane. Another pause. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it? Is it gonna help us get out of here?"

"Yes, now listen. I can't leave the property unless I get this infection out of me."

"Ok... is there a way to do that?"

"...There's a serum I need. It should clear this stuff right out of you, as long as you're not too far gone."

"I'm assuming your family is 'too far gone' then?"

"There's no hope for them... but there is hope for someone here other than me. The girl you met before, when you first came here."

"You mean Honey Glow?"

"Yes, her. She doesn't look like she's reached the point of no return yet. You can help her as well... assuming you'd want to."

"Of course I'm gonna help her! Now... where's this serum you're talking about?"

"If I knew where it was, I'd already be long gone," she said with a slight chuckle. "However, I think my mother has hidden some in the old house somewhere. There's a gate leading there behind the trailer."

"Alright then."

"Oh, there's a green supply crate next to my bed filled with things you could use. Take whatever you need."

He turned to the left, noting the large crate. "Got it."

"I'll be in touch." She hung up, and Raze put the phone down.

He turned to Lory. "Looks like we're going serum hunting."

[Driz 1,552]

After being able to barely hear the conversation through the phone by placing her ear up close, Lory looked at Raze with an unimpressed look on her face. She then placed the bottle of alcohol back on the table and stretched her arms upwards, when her hands collided against the trailer's ceiling due to its low height. Slightly startled by the sound it made, she quickly retracted her arms and soon went back to stare her partner down.

"Yeah, sure." She shrugged. "I was stupid for thinking we were ready to leave this damned place once and for all. Of course you need to play the hero and go save the damsels in distress." She concluded with a sigh. "Fine, let's do it. Not like I could stop you anyway."

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

"Yeah, I will," Raze said. "Imagine if you were in her shoes. Would you rather be stuck here, or would you want someone to save you?" He quickly went over to the supply crate Dawn had mentioned and opened it up. Inside was a rather large backpack, along with a few bottles of first aid med and a small gun repair kit. At the way bottom of the crate was a small electric buzzsaw, with a couple of batteries for it. He opened the gun repair kit and set the broken Colt handgun on the kitchen counter. After fiddling around with the kit parts for a while, he managed to repair the broken trigger mechanism. 

"Now we're talking..." he said. He picked up the handgun and holstered it, then took the rest of the supplies and buzzsaw and gave them to Lory. "You're gonna need this," he said to her.

[Driz 1,552]

"What in the world--" Lory exclaimed once being handed the circular saw. She didn't quite expect it to be as heavy as it was, so she nearly dropped it onto the ground at first. "Y...You expect me to carry this goddamn thing around??" She asked in disbelief. It was a rather uncommon weapon. The mare inspected it for a while in order to learn how to operate it: upon finding a small open compartment on the instrument's rear end, she carefully placed the batteries inside and closed the lid. Then, with just a gentle press of the trigger, the saw promptly spun to life vigorously, emitting a sound so loud it startled Lory.

"...Wow." She breathed out. "Kinda looks like the little sister of honeybee's chainsaw." She commented with a large smirk on her expression. "Hell, this looks fun! I'll be cutting through those freaks like butter!" After playing around with the saw for a little longer, she placed it back inside the backpack recently found in the green crate, along with a few bottles of first-aid medicine. She picked up the bag and her signature lead pipe, then looked at Raze.

"Yeah alright, big cat, you managed to win me over by giving me a kick-ass weapon to use. Big fucking deal." She scoffed. "Let's get on with it already." Then signaled the door to the outside.

Edited August 12, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

Raze suspiciously eyed the saw in Lory's hands.

"Just... please be careful swinging that if I'm next to you..." he said to her, then slowly opened the door. He went behind the trailer and found the gate Dawn was talking about. He opened it, following the path down and finding himself at an old covered bridge. Various old baby dolls and their parts hung on ropes by their necks, along with rusted buzzsaw blades. 

"...Dope," he remarked sarcastically at the decorations, slowly crossing the bridge. Ahead of him, he could see the old house. It was rather large, with a dim light coming through from the windows. 

"Right then," he said as he made his way to the entrance, waiting for Lory to catch up.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Jack Baker

[Driz 1,552]

Right behind him, Lory steadily made her way through the jungle of exotic decorations that extended across the bridge leading to the old lodge. She extended her arm and touched one of the hanging dolls, making it swing back and forth a few times. Shivering slightly due to the macabre environment, she soon reached the entrance, stopping next to Raze.

"Alright, so what are we up against here? Old fart is dead for good, now we have to deal with the rest of his family?..." She glanced the door to the house and sighed. "I really don't wanna meet his wife right now... You think she's mad we blew up her beloved husband into tiny little pieces in a gory demise?"

Edited August 13, 2017 by driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@driz

"Pshhh," Raze said, waving his hand in dismissal. "She doesn't know what's happened to him. And what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Let's just get this over with..." He opened the large wooden double doors and stepped inside.

The interior was a mess. To the left, an entire chunk of the house has collapsed and was flooded with water. To his right was a door that led further in. In front of him, two large hornets were resting against a wall. He was shocked at how big they were, about the size of a soccer ball. When he stepped closer, they took off, buzzing around both of them.

"Shit!" Raze said, unholstering his new handgun and taking aim, though he couldn't get a clear shot.

[Driz 1,552]

"Bugs?? Fucking really!?" Lory exclaimed as she readied her steel pipe. Startled, she took a few preemptive swings in front of her in order to keep the insects away. At the very least, their massive size, as well as the buzzing sound, helped keeping track of their movement - albeit they were still impressively nimble.

Trying her best to follow the monsters with her eyes, she was prepared to smack them down if she found an opening. After missing a couple more swings, she managed to hit one of the hornets with the pipe. It plummeted to the ground and began spazzing out, but it wasn't dead yet. As fast as she could, Lory lifted up her foot and firmly stomped on it. It was considerably harder than she expected - likewise, it made quite a mess.

"Ugh..." She grunted in disgust, lifting her boot back up and staring at the hornet's mutilated carcass.

[Jack Baker 698]

@Driz

Raze tried to follow the other hornet around, waiting for the right moment to strike. After a few seconds, the hornet immediately stopped in front of him, giving him enough time to line up his gun and shoot. One bullet was enough to blow it up into tiny chunks. Raze sighed, looking at the bug's remains.

"Ugh..." he said. "This just got a whole lot worse..."

 

((Sorry for the delay, been busy  ))

[Driz 1,552]

(( No worries~ ))

"Tell me about it..." Lory added, wiping her boot against the floor to try and clean it from the insect's remains. "With all of these weapons we got, all we're missing is one of those electric racket bug zappers thingies, y'know? Only, like... three times bigger." After managing to scrape off most of the gore, she took a few steps forward and took a better look around the place. It seemed like an old abandoned storehouse, not too different from the main building they'd escaped from. The wooden board beneath their feet creaked as if the construction was about to collapse.

"Let's look for the thing and gee tee eff oh. This place is really--" She took a small pause and opened a wide grin. "...bugging me." Then a small, soft chuckle.

Edited August 19, 2017 by Driz

[Jack Baker 698]

@Driz

Raze looked at Lory with slight disbelief. "...What? Are you--? Seriously?" He shook his head, then continued walking. "Fucking hell..." He found a slightly narrow path next to the broken down part of the room, leading to a door. He entered inside, and the first thing he saw was a message written in red paint. 

"She's upstairs. Don't go up..." he read aloud. He scratched his head. "Hmm..." He turned to his immediate right, and almost jumped back. 

"Holy shit!!" he yelled as he saw what looked like a giant hornet's nest. Dozens of small hornets were flying around it, protecting their home.

 

[Driz 1,552]

"Woooooow..." The mare froze in place at the sight of the nest, just a couple of meters away from them. For a second she had no idea what to do. She didn't know whether those insects reacted to their sound, to their smell, to their presence, or to their heat. Despite being considerably smaller in comparison to the ones at the entrance, just the sheer amount of the wasps surrounding their nest was definitely intimidating enough. Lory took a slight step backwards and whispered to Raze.

"M...Maybe we don't go upstairs..." She suggested.