The Banished

Time: Day1, 8:42AM; Cara


Cara was walking towards the others to see what she could do when the explosion hit. She was thrown back into a wall as a table rammed into her stomach. She gasped as the air was shoved from her body. She pushed the table off and she bent over in half and gasped. She looked around as she tried to get her breath back.

"H-help." A quiet voice from beside her sounded. She looked down and saw the figure of an older lady covered in debre. "M-my daughter, i-is she o-ok?"

"Yea, she is ok." Cara lied slowly sitting next to the lady pulling the debre away, ignoring the pain shooting through her own body. It was hard to talk, but she had forced herself to do so, she had been able to talk after having been beaten real bad in a fight. She could stand some smoke. She coughed violently as she tried to free the lady. Maybe smoke was harder then a fight, but she was going to help this lady.

Day 1- 8:44 am
Dhani-

"Well." She thought wryly as she pulled her leg out from under the collapsed table. "At least my luck is holding. From bad to worse." Dhani felt strange her head was fuzzy, and the world felt out of focus in a detached sort of way. Shivering she rubbed her arms, the skin was pebbled with goosebumps even though it was summer out.

Something flickered at the edge of Dhani's vision. She turned her head and caught sight of one of the fires. Dhani gazed at the flame mezmerized by it. The mark on her hand gleamed gold again. It pulsed with the steady beat of a heart. The flames rose higher fed by some unseen force.

Dhani looked up at the other people in the room, she managed a weak smile before the roaring in her ears swamped her and she blacked out.

*alright, my girls abilities have manifested for the first time now*

Day 1, 8:39am, Ethenia


She stood up when the gunman was down. Ethenia watched the two men talk a little bit before one went behind the counter to see the cashier.


Ethenia looked around the coffee shop to see that nobody else was injured, she grabbed her book and purse so she could leave. Ethenia began to head for the door that her car was nearest, when the building began to vibrate.


“Outside" She heard someone say. But before she could make it to the door, pieces of the ceiling, furniture, and dust blocked her way. People scattered everywhere and she could barely see anything through the crowd of people and the dust. Ethenia tripped over a ceiling piece and hit the ground.


Shit!


She thought as she scrambled to her feet. Ethenia continued to make her way out when she saw a girl trying hard to free a woman. Ethenia grabbed the other arm of the woman and began to pull, but it was no use.

"Pull when I tell you to, I'm going to lift the thing thats on her leg!" Ethenia shouted. The other girl just nodded as she ran to the leg. She began to lift the ceiling piece.

"Okay, pull now!" She shouted. The girl pulled on the woman, then shouted to Ethenia.

"Lift it more! She is almost out."

"I can't!" Ethenia replied, as she tried hard to lift the piece more.

Day 1, 8:39am, Cara


Cara thought fast. She moved down to where it was and laid back on her back putting her feet on the ceiling peice and holding the lady's leg with the others.

This is gonna hurt She thought.

"Push!" She gasped. The other girl did and she pushed with her feet pulling at the lady's leg pulling her fee. She fell back her head hitting the ground hard, she groaned and sat up fast looking at the lady. She could barely see in front of her but the smoke was clearing. Her head was pounding as she tried to look the lady over. "What hurts?" She said, it sounded like a squeak though.

Day 1, 8:38, Chelsea



Chelsea got up from under the table she had dove under in time to see the first guy jump over the counter to where the cashier had fallen. The second man remained behind to keep an eye on the gunman. Shaky from the end of the adrenalin rush, she crawled back in her chair. Several people already had their phones out, no doubt calling the police or loved ones.

She took a breath to calm her stomach. Not even a month on the job, and she had witnessed her first shooting. She rested her head on her arms, trying to get her stomach under control. The cashier came to mind again, this time on the floor, eyes glazed over, blood trickling from the wound.

She was going to hurl. She got up suddenly, scraping the chair as she began to run for the bathroom.

"Outside!" someone shouted a split second before the building began to shake. The ceiling fell in pieces around her. She immediately changed direction and sprinted for the door.

The door, which had been clogged with people trying to get away from the gunman, was now blocked again with people fleeing the collapsing building. Something fell on her shoulder. She cried out more in alarm than from pain, but fell none the less. She scrambled to her feet when she realized she wasn't dead yet, much to her amazement, and ducked under the arms of screaming people, trying, unsuccessfully, to get to the door. They pushed her behind them in an effort to save their own butts. She looked around for another exit and saw two women were struggling to lift another one out.

One of them was struggling to lift a piece of debris from the fallen women's legs, the other was pulling at the fallen's arms.

"I can't!" said the girl lifting the piece. Chelsea added her strength to the girl's, and they managed to lift it enough for the puller to get her out.

"The door!" Chelsea screamed at them, pointing at it before taking off. They needed to get out of there before they got squashed.

(Read the discussion board before you post, please. And those who have posted, read it, discuss... get in contact with some of the other writers.. particularly those who have a problem with your posts.. and then edit accordingly)

8:41: james

James walked out of the facility in a daze, nearly blinded by the unexpected morning light and the sheer expanse of the urban sprawl.

The facility was on a hill, and the view James, who remembered none of this and was as new to it as a child, had was overwhelming.

Nearby a a white van of some sort, with coloured lights flashing on top, went to pass by the clinic. James circled his arms quickly around one another, faster and faster. As he did this the tatooes on his wrists glowed brightly. The vehicle slowed, though those within it did not realise because their movements too became slower, and eventually stopped entirely.

James quickly ran to the vehicle, and latched himself onto a metal ladder that sat on a door at the rear of the vehicle. He did a wuick cutting motion with his hand and the vehicle returned to it's former speed so instantaneously that James was nearly thrown from his perch.

The ambulance sped off to the nearby accident scene.

Day One, 8:42. Prosper

An explosion! An explosion? Prosper flung herself backwards, rolling awkwardly to avoid crushing her guitar, and covered her head with her arms. What the hell was going on in that cafe?

When the sound of rubble falling began to die down, she peered over her head, coughing as dust flooded her lungs. The fellow she'd been talking to was on the ground, not moving; his head was turned towards her, and she could see cuts all over his face. She loosed the guitar strap with some difficulty from around her and staggered to her feet, inching over to him through the rubble, eyes flicking from him to the inside of the cafe. She could barely see anything through all the dust, and all she could see was rubble and indistinct movement.

She kicked some rubble off the man and brushed some of the dirt away, then rolled him over and crouched beside him, patting his cheek. "Hey... hey, man. Wake up," she rasped, coughing. Her throat was thick with dust, and she could feel it settling onto her skin and in her hair. "Wake up!" she coughed again.

People from the street were swarming towards the cafe now, she realized; she heard dozens of muted voices, or so it seemed. Her head swam for a moment, and she leaned on the bleeding man, eyes closed, until it passed. When she was back again, she grabbed hold of one of his arms and, grunting with the effort, struggled to drag him as far from the debris as possible. She stopped once she passed where she'd fallen, and turned him onto his back again, kneeling beside him and patting his face. "Hey man, wake up!"

Day 1. 8:42. Josh

"Hey man, wake up!"

Josh broke into a fit of coughing, sitting up and turning to spit a little dust out of his mouth. He looked around, dust was still settling from the explosion. When did that happen? One minute I'm about to check inside the cafe, the next I'm waking up in a dust cloud! He coughed a little more, struggling to his feet, "What the hell's going on?" he rasped. It's going to be merry hell trying to play my sax like this...

He looked around, trying to brush some of the dust out of his eyes. There was rubble everywhere, dust clouding the air up to the point that all he could see were muted silhouettes and he could barely hear anything, just indistinct yelling. The explosion had apparently come from the cafe. He pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his saxophone case, picking it up and inspecting it for damage. Luckily, he hadn't yet got one of the lighter, less durable cases, and this one was still tough enough to escape virtually unscathed, unlike him. He winced as he began to feel the cuts, and there was some pain in his leg as well.

Day 1. 8:42am. Tiernan.

Fueled by rage and channeled through the massive gash in his arm, Tiernan heaved the heavy table off himself and climbed shakily to his feet. The cut didn't bother him, for he was no stranger to pain, but the mere fact that the Banished would assault a cafe full of innocents cut him to the core. And it *had* to be Them, for the explosion had come from outside the cafe, not within it. Unless someone had decided to fire a Tomahawk missile at the cafe, it had to be a fireball or something equivalent. If the fool had been wise, he would have detonated something inside the building, which surely would have killed everyone inside, including Tiernan. Looking around, he saw a fair share of unmoving bodies, and a few former Watchers whose auras were dimming. One was snuffed out even as Tiernan watched.

He did not have time to dwell on it, though, for his magic would not help them. He strode quickly to the caved in door, ducking under a ceiling beam and stepping over the dazed form of a young man that had been about to walk into the cafe.

"Find shelter in a reinforced building," he said to the young woman crouched beside him, staring tersely at her. His gaze immediately went to the sky, looking for signs of the Banished who had attacked the city. He dipped his index finger into the gash on his arm, hissing against the pain of moving shrapnel embedded there, and closed his eyes, concentrating fully on the magic that flowed within him. He touched the bloody tip to each of his eyelids, immediately feeling the flesh go cold against his eyes, and wiped the blood absently on his shirt.

He paused for a moment, waiting for the simple spell to take effect, then opened his eyes. The world had taken on a gray scale, all hue simply gone from spectrum. As the spell continued to evolve, however, tiny specks of color began to blink into existence. The blots weaved through the air, floating around like dust particles when the sun hits them just right. He turned around to face the cafe and immediately the world turned crimson, every inch of the place covered with the minuscule blemishes.

Banished, indeed. A trail of lingering magic led from the building high into the air, disappearing over a tall building to the South. He grimaced and blinked twice, sending the world back into the visible light spectrum and making him wince at the sudden change. He'd never seen a magic trail go so far without dissipating--the strength of the caster must have been immense. He stepped back into ground zero and looked around, seeking the soft, comforting glow of a Watcher with the ability to repair his wound. At the rate it was bleeding, he would not have the strength to pursue the Banished and do battle.

"Break cover and listen closely. I need someone to Bind this," he said indicating his wound, "And someone to get these people to safety. I also need--" He froze mid-sentence when he saw the intense yellow glow radiating off the would-be gunman, laying in a pile in the center of the room, only just beginning to stir. "--Need one of you contact Oracle to get in touch with the others. Take these people to a Sanctuary. this place was targeted for a reason, and I intend to find out what that reason is. No questions, just do it." He took a breath and waited for the others to respond, for he was sure none of them had ever heard another Watcher speak in public, let alone give them orders on the fly.

No memories, merely the instinct derived from them.

That was all James had in way of a compass. The city was alien, the lights and sounds and voices of those nearby were unknown to him. The ambulance came to an abrupt stop and JAmes jumped of the steel ladder before it was knocked aside as the paramedics emerged toting their guerney.

Auras, plenty of them. He could not remember being taught what they meant or where they came from, but he didn't remember learning to MAnifest and he could do that just fine. With the amount of aurured people he could see at this accident scene he was hardly surprised that it looked like a battlescene.

Aware that he was still lightly clad in a patient's gown and slippers, poorly covered in a doctor's lab coat, James ran back to the now abandoned ambulance. Inside was a paramedics uniform and JAmes wasted no time putting it on. Thusly atired he walked back out to investigate what must be watchers. One, with perhaps the strongest aura, wore dark clothing and had a....hard, look to him. For a second James thought he had been....if not recognised then at least noticed.

The young man went back to talking with a few of the survivors, who were clustered around him and James retreated into the shadows.

Time: Day 1, 8:42 AM; Erion

Even after everything fell silent, Erion hovered protectively over the girl. He was silently analyzing the one wound he felt. A shallow gash that ran the length of his back. Thankfully, whatever had caused it hadn’t hit with enough force to damage his spinal cord. It was as he began to move, to inspect the girl that he felt the second would. The shrapnel lodged inside made it difficult to move. He winced slightly but kept his attentions on the child. He would be sure she was uninjured before tending to himself.

Noting only a few minor scratches on the child, he pushed her in front of him as he started to work his way through the debris to the door, lifting her over a beam that blocked their path despite the pain it caused. He didn’t move far before he was standing before Robert. His eyes looked over the man, and then drifted down to the shooter he’d held at gunpoint just moments before. Funny how things changed with the ring of a bell. He noticed then that the gun was still in his hand and it nearly brought a chuckle from him.

The man was speaking, but little of what he said made any sense to Erion. His curiosity had been perked nonetheless. Besides that, the one thing he thought he understood was that someone should be coming forward who can dress and bind wounds. Grey eyes turned down to the girl who was now clinging to him, blood from his wound matting her hair. She’d started whimpering again and her face was turned against his side. He would have to find her mother soon.

That in mind, he began looking around him. He could now see a few feet in any given direction, but the dust was still thick in the air and the smoke was thicker still.

Day 1. 8:43am. Prosper.

Prosper looked up as a dark-haired man paused beside her and the boy, telling them to find shelter. Eyebrows knotted, she opened her mouth to protest--why should they need to find shelter, and what exactly did he mean by 'reinforced'?--but he moved on before she could.

She glanced back down at the boy, supporting him gently as he coughed out dust. "Hey, man, take it easy, take it easy," she soothed, blinking dust out of her own eyes as he looked around him. The man who'd spoken to her was staring around him, almost absently, a concerned look on his face; after a moment he stepped back into the cafe, and Prosper staggered back to her feet.

"Wait here for a minute, okay?" she said to the boy, smoothing his hair with an off-hand, maternal gesture. Without waiting for a reply, she followed the first man into the cafe, just as he spoke out.

"Break cover and listen closely. I need someone to Bind this. And someone to get these people to safety. I also need--need one of you to contact the Oracle." He kept speaking, and absolutely none of it made sense to Prosper. Well, the little words, like "people" and "place." But all that about a sanctuary, and targeting? Nevertheless, it was pretty obvious to Prosper who was in charge around here; the guy radiated power.

She tapped the guy on his shoulder. "Hey, Ace--what's happened? What should I do?"

Day 1: 8:42am. Jillien

Bright lights rudely entered Jillien's brain as her eyelids flared open again and again. She winced a bit as the light began to regulate. She was on her back, a few pieces of debris around and on her. A hand went up to her forehead and came back with a bit of blood on it, Jillien groaned that's going to scar she thought. She sat up a bit too quickly, getting a bit dizzy but she quickly recovered--though with a killer headache she'd never admit too. She moved a large piece of wood off her ribs and pushed herself up using the debris around her. She turned to Tiernan as she spoke to her, but raised a brow a bit. Did he really know who she was or was that an unconscious dream?

"Find shelter in a reinforced building." he told her. She nodded a bit and helped him up, but was still a bit confused on what was happening between the two of them.

"Is it..." she trailed, she didn't want to finish the sentence for a couple reasons: someone else could be listening and it could not be what he was talking about.

Tiernan shrugged and nodded slightly, just enough to let her know his thoughts, "I believe so."

She nodded and turned away from him, steading a bit on the surrounding debris, but the most sobering sound came in that of a childs whine. Jillien's eyes instantly shot up to the people standing outside the building area.

"Emma!" she yelled, catching sight of a small blonde girl holding onto the leg of a man she did not know.

The child turned to her and stopped her whine for just a moment, replaced by at least a small look of relief. Jillien made her way out to the others as quickly as she possibly could and scooped the girl up into her arms, who prompted squeezed her neck as tightly as her little arms would allow.

"Are you okay?" She pulled the girl up and did a quick survey of her little body before concluding there was nothing horribly wrong with her, and then held her tight.

Jillien had been working with Emma's family for years now. Her mother was a very decent woman but has had many issues being able to provide for Emma--Jillien was the one who kept taking Emma away from her abusive, well off father and placing her back with her mother when the courts failed them, and they often did.

She turned to the man, "Where is her mother?" The cut on Jillien's head was still bleeding, but by this point she had completely forgotton about it--as soon as a child was involved Jillien dropped anything else that she could have possibly had going on.

She turned to look for Emma's mother. The scanned the debris. She didn't see her, but she did catch a glimpse of the shooter out of the corner of her eye. Her blue hues went wide,

"Booker."

Day 1: 8:42am. Cara

Cara looked at the other two that were helping her and the other woman.

"Let's try and pick her up. I doubt she will be able to walk." She said, adrenaline was pumping through her system now and any pain wasn't registering in her mind just yet. The other two nodded and she grabbed the lady's shoulders. One of the others grabbed her torso and then the other her legs. They slowly started moving towards the outside world. Cara slowly began hurting again. Her eyes slowly started to get black but she ignored it focusing her mind on getting out of the building and setting the lady down before she passed out. "We need to hurry." She heard her voice squeak. She heard someone yelling something, but the only thing that would register in her mind was the pain and her goal. She had to get there and soon. She had probably hit her head a little to hard and now she was paying she conciquinces for it.