#post-event

It was lucky that he found the little patio, and that it was not as crowded as usual but he was missing something, wasn't he? Right outside, staring at that hospital like it was a murder house or some shit, was Chris Elkar. Teddy lit his cigarette and walked up to the other with the intention of being polite. "Chris." he frowned, exhaling a light puff of smoke, "..you here for work?"

• Location: Outside of Ocean Crest Apartments

Mal woke up to a gloomy morning, the kind of morning that usually set her mood for the day. But today was different. Yesterday, the storm hit Aurora Bay harder than anyone expected, and the effects were still being felt a day later. Mal checked her phone, hoping to see some updates or messages, but she knew deep down that the phone lines were still cut off. She sighed and got out of bed, feeling the cool air hit her skin as she walked around her dark apartment. The power was still out, and she knew that her food would soon spoil if the electricity didn't come back soon.

Despite all of this, Mal knew that there were others in town who had it worse. She decided to check up on some of her neighbors and friends, to make sure that they were okay. As she walked through the streets, she saw the aftermath of the storm: fallen branches, debris, and even some uprooted trees. But more importantly, she saw people helping each other out, clearing the streets, and checking up on their neighbors.

Mal felt a sense of pride for her town and its people. Despite the chaos and destruction, there was a sense of community that she had never seen before. As she checked up on her friends, she realized that they were all safe, but some of them had suffered damages to their homes.

Mal knew that it was going to take time for Aurora Bay to recover from the storm, but she was glad that the people were coming together to support each other. She knew that she had a role to play, even if it was just checking up on her friends, and she was grateful for that.

As Mal continued walking down the street, she suddenly bumped into a random person. "Excuse me," she said, before realizing that it was someone she had never seen before. "Are you doing ok?" she asked the stranger.

A simple four-letter word that ignited a fire of revolution in his gut was now the source of the searing fire that radiated from the same place. Perhaps he should have left after his initial introduction and destruction, but the adrenaline was pumping and he was finally letting all the repressed emotions come to the surface, so time seemed to slip away from him.

They tried talking to him, talking him down from the proverbial ledge that he stood at the precipice of. What a joke that was. Then, bullets. The slugs collapsed in on themselves as they made contact with his person, his superhuman strength no match for the simple ammunition. Hell, even going toe-to-toe with the woman in the green glowing exosuit was quite a workout if anything, but it still didn’t phase him. After deciding to depart for the night, he turned back to get a look at the woman’s face to commit it to memory. Much to his surprise, she wasn’t bluffing about the lead bullets. He heard a single shot ring out, and rather than dodge it, Rok moved to face the woman more fully, hoping to prove a point about the useless ammunition they were using. That is, until he felt the intense pain blossom in his side.

Immediately, he turned to run, clicking a small button that had felt like a rock in his pocket all night. An explosion rang out, putting a blazing inferno between him and those trying to take him down, giving him ample time to escape into the shadows. He was grateful for the close proximity to the park he used to sleep in, and Rok fought the urge to close his eyes and succumb with each step. Taking shelter on the Eastern side of the bandshell, the orange-yellow light from the pathway barely illuminated the Daxamite as he pulled his hands away from his gut to see a dark sheen covering the entirety of his skin. “Shit.” His voice was barely a whisper as his head fell back against the concrete, ripping the mask from his face before haphazardly stuffing it in his pocket, trading it for his phone. With a few quick swipes, the phone was ringing, Camille’s face on the screen beneath bloody fingerprints. It went to voicemail and his throat tightened. This was it. He was going to die, alone.

“Camille, hey.” His voice broke before continuing. “I — I’m in the park. East end of the bandshell. I need you, now.” Rok felt his energy draining, his consciousness slipping as the lead continued to poison his system. As the darkness pulled him under, he prayed Camille would find him in time.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. 

“Master,” she greeted Alaric, running the duster over a lampshade. “Did you need something?”