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Post by Artie Cade on Jun 1, 2017 14:18:31 GMT -5
Artie found himself dreaming. Everything was quiet. Everything was soft.
So still.
His subconscious made him think of home, back in New York. Jessie was waiting for him. Probably worried sick.
Lock was dead. He hadn't gone to visit her in a bit. Maybe she was worried too...?
He found himself in a warm place. There was nothing. But there was everything, like a great warm sea enveloping him.
But he could still breathe, just...felt a tide all around him.
An endless, ebbing, flowing tide...
...until his body and brain registered that the ebbing tide was throbbing pain.
He cried out and shot up quickly, gripping the scalding burn on his shoulder.
"AAAAAAAAAH WHAT THE FUCK...!" he shouted, looking around in a frenzy as he spat out the fabric from his mouth, "WHO THE HELL JUS.....oh..."
His eyes looked over at Laura and he calmed slightly, looking around, remembering where he was.
Not in an endless tide, but an endless...wilderness. Great. This is what he came back to? Where was the warmth, it was freezing.
And now even more so, his skeletal form shivering from the cold and having his clothes cut open, finding himself unable to button them.
"What the hell happened...?" he stammered through chattering teeth, looking at Laura, then at his wound, "...you....you didn't waste time with me did you?"
Artie had expected her to get away, not bother with him when he couldn't make it. Had he passed out? He looked the girl up and down and then looked back to the plane wreck.
"...huh...." he marveled, bundling himself up as best he could, permitting himself a grin, "...nobody's ever done that..before..."
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X-23
Heroes 
There are two types of people. you are weak, or you are me.
Posts: 120
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Post by X-23 on Jun 19, 2017 15:36:09 GMT -5
Well that was certainly a reaction. Laura looked at Artie with surprise at just how fast an unconscious man could react when given the right stimulant. "welcome back." Laura said simply, paying no mind to his outburst and simply taking a hold of his wrist to pull his hand away from his burn. "it is not bleeding. you should not touch it, the blood on your hands might get it infected."
what the hell happened? a lot all at once. This felt like the first moment the world was allowing her a moment to breath since they had been talking on the plane. madness. danger. blood.... "Pain." was the word she spoke as an explanation, not sure if he would understand. but it was a good as any way to sum up what she'd done to him. burns hurt. "I had to save your life. I would not have taken such drastic steps if you had not been in such danger." she finally continued as she moved over to the supplies once more.
"done what?" Laura asked with curiosity. she'd seen the scars so she assumed he'd been patched up one way or another before, and wasn't quite able to put it all together herself. Regardless, she found one of the water bottles and pushed it into Arties hands with a firm look. "drink. you have lost a lot of blood. it will not fix you, but it is a start."
how, exactly, she planned to get him back to full strength any time soon was not something she was going to worry about for now. if he was still alive by sunrise she'd call that step one. if he wasn't? then she honestly didn't know what step two could be.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jun 22, 2017 18:33:47 GMT -5
Artie surveyed the girl as she thrust the water bottle to him. He examined it and began to drink before he looked back at her, still in surprise.
"Well I guess I'm used to having to pay a doctor," he said, "Or at least somebody else to get me to one. Never really had anybody do somethin' like this for the hell of it, for nothing. I don't get to keep many friends in my line of work."
He took another swig of water. He hadn't realized how parched he'd become but it felt good. He started to relax as he sat more correctly in the car and bundled himself up. Sure his shoulder was still throbbing angrily, but that wasn't such a worry for him. He wore plenty of bullet wounds and scars, what's another? Might mark the occasion at least.
He looked off at the setting sun and sighed. Admittedly, it was beautiful. And now that the danger had passed for the moment, it was good to collect his thoughts a little more.
"Guess we should get outta here and make camp or something, huh?" he asked, looking around, "Doubt there's much for miles....unless..."
Artie looked down at the snow, at the footprints and trudges left in it. They lead back into the woods from a pathway.
"...the men from that facility of yours...must have tracked the good ol' boys who came out first, so...hunting cabin perhaps..."
It seemed logical enough to him. There were countless sets of footprints along with the truck's treads. Thank hell no new snow had fallen. He turned and looked back at Laura.
"Question is, do we chance it with half a tank?" he wondered aloud to her, "Or do we make off somewhere else?"
A chill wind rushed in for a moment and Artie began to shiver, bundling his arms around himself.
"W-w-well whatever we do..." he said through slightly chattering teeth, "We'd best do it sooner than later, huh?"
Artie was no fan of freezing cold weather when he wasn't properly dressed for it. And if a cabin were in the woods back behind them, undoubtedly there'd be a place for a fire...and who knew what other supplies. He'd vote to chance it, but it was Laura's decision now. He wanted her to have that.
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X-23
Heroes
There are two types of people. you are weak, or you are me.
Posts: 120
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Post by X-23 on Jul 24, 2017 15:53:16 GMT -5
Laura's eyes stayed on the water until he was done drinking, like an overly pushy parent figure wanting to see him drink every last drop so he could grow up big and strong. The idea that Artie did not have many people to rely on surprised Laura, "but you came... upon me with your own men. None of them were your friends?" A part of her cringed at the question, knowing that if any of them were, Laura was dragging to the surface the topic of having killed them. But it was useful to learn more about him regardless and Artie was not stupid enough to have forgotten details like that so if he didn't bare a grudge up until this point he was not likely to turn on her because of the question.
"I have never had a friend." Laura admitted, understanding the concept of friendship well enough but never having had anyone fill the roll for her. She looked at him as he relaxed a little and nodded, seeming to have come to a conclusion. "I will be a good friend." the girl said firmly, declaring this with a seriousness that beguiled the childishness of the words. Before sipping back into a crouch near him to try and come down from the adrenalin high the violence still had her riding the waves of.
It said a lot for how hyper and on edge she was, that Laura had not even began to consider where they would find shelter. But Artie's observations were smart and she could not see any flaws in his logic. "No matter what we do, the lack of fuel will be a problem. the homes of either Weapon X or the first group we killed are the only likely source of more. Which we will need. you can not walk in your condition." She agreed, moving around the van to slip into the drivers seat once again.
"I prefer the option of taking their things. there is..." The girl trailed off as she tried to find the right words. no one had ever explained to her the concept of spoils of war to her, and it was hard for her to articulate the feeling that she would find a sense of satisfaction that the supplies meant for the team hunting her down would be the ones to help her. "there is more likely to be higher quality materials. professionalism." she finally left it at, not feeling the need to delay any longer to sort out her own emotions.
Laura turned the keys and took it into a slow pace in the direction back where she had gotten the van from. tracks were tracks, footprint or vehicle, and if nothing else she would simply follow the scent trail if it began to snow again but that would take far longer as they would need to keep stopping and starting for her to get out and sniff around. so hopefully something would at last go right and the weather would hold. at least for now. "The sooner you are not in danger from element exposure the better." she agreed.
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Post by Artie Cade on Jul 27, 2017 23:52:08 GMT -5
The question took Artie by some degree of surprise, to the point he didn't have an answer. His friends...? No. Artie Cade didn't keep friends....or hadn't in years, anyway.
It took some doing and it took some time, thanks in no small part to Laura's thoroughness and her keen senses of smell and direction, but they finally discovered that there was indeed a small log cabin deeper in the woods. Artie observed that from that distance, the men who had first come to discover the crash had a clear view of the sky from just about anywhere and would surely have seen the plane and heard the subsequent sounds of the thing.
Thankfully, the cabin was still in an excellent state. Probably their hunting lodge for whatever getaway they had gone on. What day was it....Sunday? Sunday, surely. But Artie couldn't quite recall. Everything had been so crazy trekking around that he could only barely tell what time it was let alone what day of the week.
When the truck pulled up to the cabin, Artie hauled himself out of it, insisting on helping to take things inside after scouting the place out.
"Here, let me check on the place first..." he pleaded with Laura, "It'll only take a moment. And there's no light in there anyway, we can already assume nobody's around. But....lemme be useful while I can."
With a playful nudge to her arm, which caused his gunshot wound to throb for a moment, Artie snatched up one of the pistols and walked slowly into the place.
The door was unfastened.
It creaked open as he slowly entered, checking his blind spots expertly.
"Hello?" he called out, looking around, "Anybody? We seem to be lost...."
He didn't have to keep the act up long. The place was small and it was official: nobody was home.
Holstering the pistol on his belt, Artie set about examining the place. The vertigo from his lack of food and proper hydration was a bit of an inconvenience but he soon steadied himself and lit an oil lamp which was situated on a desk at the far end of the room. With added light to contrast the almost entirely faded sun, Artie was pleasantly surprised at how well furnished the place was.
"Hey, Laura!" he called as he kept looking around, "This'll do...actually very well."
He explored the place. A set of beds, covered in fur blankets. A small kitchen with coffee still warming on the low-turned stove. A vast fireplace. An icebox full of what looked to him to be venison. No doubt a kill from earlier on this excursion. Plenty of cookware. A cabinet with medical supplies and nonperishable canned food. All seemed...surprisingly in order.
"Here, I'll get a fire going and then help you bring in supplies," he offered, walking over to the fireplace and trying to haul the rather sizeable logs into place, "And I'll cook something for us after."
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X-23
Heroes
There are two types of people. you are weak, or you are me.
Posts: 120
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Post by X-23 on Sept 7, 2017 17:23:41 GMT -5
If ever there had been a time not to be picky, this was possibly the greatest example of it. If this cabin was filled with seven rotting bodies and an angry bear, Laura would still insist this was where they would be staying. Artie was far too close to dropping dead, and if he did, it would take Laura a while to figure out which life threatening thing was the one to do him in first. each of his dangerous wounds, blood loss, the cold, dehydration, stress. from what she had observed of the man, if there was anything else wrong he probably would try to keep it secret and pretend he was fine.
She could not for the life of her comprehend why he was going in first. But an argument was a waste of time and she couldn't hear any heart beats coming from inside. not that that was enough to say there were no threats, or that the howling winds couldn't be blocking anything out.
"be careful." Laura insisted as he headed towards the door. as he went, Laura set about grabbing the closest box in the back and pulled it from the back of the vehicle down into the snow, wincing at how it thudded to the earth, and hoped it was not full of fragile things as she dragged it over. her tiny body probably weighed only a little more then whatever was in this so even with near unlimited stamina it took her a fair bit of effort to get it to the doorway her companion had gone through and was glad to be done with it as she returned to the jeep. she was relieved to find she'd managed to start with the heaviest item, but was still having to put some strain in to get to work.
When Artie called out that the place was both clear and suitable for them, she paused her work to reply. "good. but you need to sit down. you are going to kill yourself trying to do so much." she entered the hut and pushed at him to try and force him in the direction of the sofa. "I will light the fire. you need warmth. once it is going you can cook but only if I retrieve the items you ask for and you do not move." the small child was staring at him with an intense look, daring him to argue.
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Post by Artie Cade on Sept 7, 2017 18:21:04 GMT -5
Artie scoffed at the girl's protestations.
"Oh, come on, kid I don't need to sit-" he started to say before her nudging sent him stumbling onto the very large sofa.
He sat there in awe for a moment....well, awe mixed with a twinge of embarrassment.
Admittedly, Artie was an unusually slight man but he didn't anticipate having been so weakened from his current condition that this little kid could just nudge him around.
Even so, he looked back at the intensity in her eyes and held up his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay..." he said, "I'll be good, I'll just sit for a while....on this surprisingly comfortable couch. Wow."
It was comfortable, he had to admit. Granted, the man in question was constantly on edge, didn't know how to relax, was mostly composed of nicotine and self-loathing and alcohol but he found it much easier to be off his feet. He sat quietly and lit a cigarette from the pack he had taken off the dead men, blowing smoke at the ceiling.
"....now, hear me out, I have an idea..." he said cautiously, "Do you want me to...scout the area? Around the cabin?"
In truth, Artie just felt the need to be useful. Or as useful as he could manage. After all, he was the adult here, shouldn't he be the protective one? But this kid was so fierce and determined to protect him in his current state that she'd probably veto the idea completely.
He couldn't blame her. Him flopping around in the fading daylight seemed a poor idea when he thought about it, but he hated to see her hauling things in, setting logs up, prepping to start a fire while he just sat there.
"Look, I don't want ya to feel like you have to take care of me, that's all!" he said, "I mean, we take care of each other but you've already hauled my ass through the snow, helped me take out a bunch of jerks in rain gear, cauterized a wound for me...! I don't think I'm set to die out here, but I've gotta be some good to ya, not just sitting here needing to be tended to..."
Artie felt a twinge of embarrassment at his whining. But felt justified in what he was whining about. He was always the killer, not the protector...well, except for Jessie back home...but she more often than not protected him. And now here he was and he couldn't even keep himself in one piece enough to take care of a kid. Well...she wasn't exactly an average kid, but still.
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X-23
Heroes
There are two types of people. you are weak, or you are me.
Posts: 120
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Post by X-23 on Nov 26, 2017 11:54:37 GMT -5
The kid hadn't expected to be able to push him THAT easily. Every time she got a clearer picture on things, the clearer it was he was weakening. For the first time Laura was starting to think he was more likely to die then live. Which was upsetting to dwell on, and not something she was willing to let happen if she could help it.
"Good. Thank you." Laura said carefully, happy to make this bit of progress and not wanting to endanger it. as long as he was in place, it was only bleeding to death they had to worry about. They were probably both way too calm about all this, but panicking wasn't going to do any good at all. As he started to try and take some care of himself, Laura selected one of the chairs in the room. there was three besides the sofa, and only two of them so it was the most time effective way to aquire wood and expendable.
Scouting? Laura looked up at Artie as she popped her claws and shook her head. "once you are no longer bleeding, you can move around as much as you feel able to without causing yourself risk." she brought the bone spikes down again and again, hacking at the old wood until the chair was little more then a pile of large splinters. It was understandable that he wanted to feel useful and not dead weight. Laura would be feeling the exact same way if their rolls were reversed. so she thought of a bone to throw him.
"there is only one entrance to this cabin. we will give you the inventory of fire arms. you will be covering our only means of escape, I will be able to move around without having to worry about being trapped in here." It was very unlikely they would have any extra threats coming soon, and they both knew that, but it was the best she could do.
She gathered the wood up in her arms and looked around. People lived here, there would already be a way to..... there. A large iron drum with holes bored in pattern to release heat. a make shift log burner certainly but it was a welcome sight. Laura dumped the wood into it before wrapping her arms around it, straining with the effort to carry the bulky, taller then her, thing over to Artie with it. "can you light it? I do not have a fire starter."
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Post by Artie Cade on Dec 11, 2017 15:07:23 GMT -5
Practically leaping to his feet, and subsequently holding his head and swooning slightly from the rush, Artie nodded.
"Keep the door covered, that I can do..." he said as he blinked and cleared his head, "....guh, maybe you're right, I should take it easier...."
He moved slowly toward her, withdrawing a book of matches from his pocket and striking one. He withdrew some of the identification notations he had taken off of the men back there to use as kindling, lighting the paper gingerly before setting it on top of the logs and closing the stove's small door.
With a sigh of relief, Artie blew out the match.
"....well I feel more useful now." he joked as he began to light the wood similarly in the large fireplace. Some warmth in the cabin would be incredible, he realized, initially forgetting about his torn garments.
And then proceeded to his work. He moved slowly and somewhat painfully, dragging a wooden chair with him along the floorboards. He poured a cup of coffee for himself in one of the tin mugs before he reached the side of the door where it would swing open, to provide him with cover if anyone entered, and took his seat at the diagonal position. Drawing out a pistol, he checked the ammunition and twirled it, setting it on his lap.
He had little need for immediate sleep, so he sat and kept diligent watch.
After a short time had passed, he turned to Laura.
"....won't have to worry about this kinda thing in New York," he said, nodding, "It's a big city, buildings so tall you can't see over them. Nothing like out here....and not so many mountains either. And they have people who sweep the snow off the streets."
He shivered for a moment, wanting the cabin to warm up swifter than it was.
"If you're still interested in going back with me, that is," he went on, "We did say we'd save it for later. Now's as good a time as any to pick where we're heading I suppose."
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