Post by Jack Dawson Jr. on Feb 26, 2020 20:10:17 GMT -5
●●●
Scorpion sting, I don't wanna
bleed
tell me that I'm not
lost
Somehow, by the grace of whatever gods resided above, Jack was still conscious, and still on his feet.
He'd been woken as soon as the band of scared villagers and underqualified students was ready to move out, and he did his best to take point near some of the most vulnerable. He was moving on pure willpower, at this point, though- it was cold, he was beaten down, and worn out, and he could hardly keep himself upright. But he had his shield, and he had the drive to protect these people, so he did.
He wasn't quite tough enough for the Lancers, but he managed to fend off a few Ravagers, though it was clear that he wasn't nearly fast enough to stop the bloodshed when more than a few charged in at once. Nasrin and Colton were handling things much better than he was, being much more experienced in combat, and a lot less tired.
They forged on.
As they reached the road where the safehouse was, a look to the side opposite it showed Kishka, Argent, and what appeared to be a severely wounded Carmim coming towards them, from far off. It didn't look good.
And then he heard the gunshots ring out.
Turned to see the airship opening fire on the Safehouse. His eyes widened with alarm- his first thought was that bandits must have taken control of the ship, but then he remembered hearing Shadecloak's voice, mere moments earlier. No. It was definitely her. And intentional. Sure, it cleared a path through the Grimm, but...
He remembered Doc's speech to him about having to make tough decisions in the heat of the moment.
Was that what he was seeing? Or a grotesque perversion of those principles? His stomach churned, at the thought of firing blindly into a building full of scared, defenseless, civilians.
What exactly made Shadecloak any different from Qiu'li, in that moment...? He wasn't sure. Now wasn't the time for philosophy and ethics. If they didn't make it to the ship, before the Grimm got to them, they would all die anyways. But then... She'd said there were ninety spots left...
There were more than ninety people that needed to be saved. He was sure of it. Where was the second airship? Van Sange's? It was supposed to be there, too...
Colton pulled him from his thoughts of "what if," and "why," with concrete orders and a plan of action. That was what he needed right then, so the avian faunus appreciate it greatly. Passing by the safehouse. Carry the wounded. Jack reached out to support a man beside him, who seemed to be struggling. It was almost funny to note the way the grizzled old man started to flinch at the touch of the faunus, before silently accepting the aid. No doubt, he was a Faunus War vet, and in another place, may very well have rebuked Jack's touch, as if he were a black-winged devil. And yet, here in Rochdale, where it was live or die, race was hardly the first issue on anyone's list of priorities.
And then people started sprinting towards the airship. Jack wanted to reach out and grab them, pull them back to safety, with the rest of the group, but now, with this older man in tow, he couldn't exactly do that. So he was forced to let them go.
Up ahead, it was chaos.
The people within the Safehouse were mobbing after the airship like their lives depended on it. Not a figure of speech, either. It looked like a massive brawl at first, from where he stood, but when the gunshots rang out, his eyes were saucers, and his already-pale skin, ghost white.
They were... Killing each other.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Well no shit, Sherlock, it wasn't supposed to happen, but- this wasn't- no, after everything they'd done, they-
He wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he knew this wasn't right. This was wrong.
And now they were opening fire on the airship... Jack looked to Colton, but found his eyes facing forward, focused on the scene in front of them. All he could do now was move forward.
He felt through his pocket with his freehand as they marched forward, feeling for his single remaining Dust Crystal.
Fire Dust.
He'd been saving it for Holly's signal fire, but it seemed she was just fine without his help. And even if she wasn't, the ship was right there.
It was a sobering thought.
But if the villagers attacked their group... He didn't think he would have the stomach to use it. But someone might need to. They didn't have many options. He thought for a moment to toss it to Colton, but when he went to open his mouth to address him, he felt a sharp shove from the side- the old man he'd been helping had thrown him to the ground, while he was distracted thinking. And then he, too, broke from the group, charging forward in a mad rush for the ship. Jack grunted as he hit the cold ground, and took a moment to pull himself to his feet, jogging forward to keep his place in the small herd of people, staring after the wounded man in his frenzy.
Part of him wanted to charge forward too. He was exhausted, but he was pretty quick, and he could fly. Not high enough to reach the ship, but enough to clear the crowd.
But he didn't. Couldn't. He had a responsibility, if not to his classmates, then to the people he'd sworn to protect. To save.
Selfishness wasn't allowed.
And wasn't smart, either- the old man he'd lifted up, seeing that he was wounded, charged at the masses. He didn't make it far. A stray bullet fired from the crowd cut him down, mid-stride. Bullet to the head. A life case closed.
All he could do was hope that they didn't bring down the airship before they got there...
Health: 90% ● @wowrood ● WC: 1003 ● TWC: 6008 ● hahaha let's all not die, ok?
MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0