If one looked hard enough they might have seen Summer there, sitting at the edge of the chaos.Chaos was a familiar dance partner, one she usually savored, spent the evening bandying words with before they took to the floor and stole the spotlight for the span of a single song and then melting back to the dark edges of the room. Chaos was a fickle partner and these past days one she would have gladly disowned if it meant that this scenario would end with Colton safe and sound.
Dust was getting into the crevices of her laptop, she could feel the fan sucking in the debris and choking on it. Under normal circumstances this would be unacceptable, she should be in a dark, cool room where her equipment would not suffer. Today she felt as though everyone should suffer. Some people have within them the ability to separate their pain from others, to empathize and even in the face of self pain, give comfort to others. She wanted to do that, she did, but she was not one of those people.
She loved her family, she did. But there were only a precious few of them that got her, even if they didn?t understand a damn thing she was saying. Colt had been sent to find her more than once when she was growing up. Overweight, under socialized, and a mind that thought things too heady for a child her age meant a need for escape. She?d built her first computer when she was nine, it only got worse from there when it came to interacting with other kids her age.
Colt knew better than most that Summer substituted cold logic for emotions, it was the facade to her personality and one that she?d built up carefully, and precisely over the years. Smiling into the wind that brought the cruel insults and nicknames that kids were want to use and then hiding away until Colt found her and brought her back to the world. He?d find her, reach a hand into whatever hole she?d crammed herself into without saying anything. There was a comfort in the silence he wore, not trying to say things were going to be OK, not telling her again and again things that had no substance or value when you?re a kid that did not fit in.
She was reaching her hand into the hole he?d crammed himself into now. The building had been wired up, there were still machines in there that were functioning and she was using them as eyes and ears. Alain had come to her when the building first collapsed, using her skills to hack into the intercom system and find paths to get word to anyone trapped within. There were a precious few hours she had spent with Jackie until she felt the draw to return and continue the search in her way, a way of bits and bytes. She had been feeding information to the rescue workers, telling them where to dig along with some of the other folks with other ways of finding humans in the pile of debris but so far she had only caught a few glimpses of what she thought might be Harper or Colton.
One of the men in a mech, for the walking machines reminded her of nothing so much as the images of the anthropomorphic machines seen in anime or video games, was close to her and nearly ran her over. The ground shook slightly as the metal feet landed hard, the grinding of loose cement fragments and glass kicking up more dust and blinding her for a moment. A layer of foreign objects caused her eyes to tear up, those were the only tears that had come so far; she had tucked her emotions away for now they would do her no good. The spray of a searchlight washed over and past her; night had fallen while she was working, but time had no hold over the computers she was accessing in her search and so she continued.
There was another step of the mech, it?s foot rising up and heading her way, but it was lost to her as she was focused on the machine in her lap, following paths only she could see. An arm latched around her waist and forcefully yanked her out of the way, her grip on the laptop nearly giving way to gravity.
?Do you think it would do your family justice if another of their number was lost here, Summer?? The voice was calm, cool and collected, a hint of the British accent he tried so hard to conceal weaving its way through the words was the only indicator that he was annoyed. Not annoyed, that some emotion was coming to the surface and distracting him from his usual all-business demeanor.
?Jacks, you assume that I believe in justice.? Tucking the laptop under her arm as she disentangled herself from him, his strong arm still latched around her waist and being pressed up against his body was ? distracting. Her free hand waved at the scene in front of her, the ruin of a build, the bedraggled men and women working at digging through to find life and death. Closure for all today, costing only heartache and pain. ?How is this justice? Where is it? Hidden beneath the rubble? Where?? By the end her voice had risen in volume and she could hear the razor edge of her tone.
?You cannot go without sleep.? He started with that, it was a mantra she was sure had been used on all the rescue workers, on her family, on the families of the other victims. She wondered for a moment if any of them heeded such things. Sleep could be gotten later, when now was not so imminent. He must have seen that in her expression. ?You might miss something in your exhaustion if you deprive yourself longer, what has it been, three days? Humans cannot go so long without sleep.? He had not relinquished his hold on her, allowing her to distance herself but keeping that arm around her waist as if he thought she would leap into the rubble and attempt to dig her way to Colton with bare hands.
?I can go that long without sleep. The work I?ve had done makes it so I can.? But he knew that already, he was just voicing his concern in the only way she?d allow. ?It?ll catch up to me, I know, but I?ve got another day or two I can keep going. There ain?t no one else that can do what I am doing. Yes, I know they have some vamps searching for auras or whatever you do. I can dig deeper than that. I?ve got access to the lowest depths of this pit and the moment someone is in range of one of those machines I?ll know it.? She would too, she?d spent the past day upgrading the few remaining machines to act as sentinels, they would tell her when heat or motion was seen nearby.
When the digging was done and all the people were found that was not the end of it, not by a long shot. She would make someone pay for this, no one messed with a Daniels and got off scot free. Some people made the mistake of thinking because she wasn?t good at guns or other weaponry that she was harmless. They found out, if they were dumb enough, or luckless enough to draw her ire, that that perception was a deadly mistake.
There was silence and then without a word Jacks sank to the ground, patting the space beside himself. When she did not immediately join him he spoke. ?You need someone to make sure that you are not stepped on by one of those metal beasts. I will stay until dawn. I will get someone to take over that duty when the sun chases me from your side.?
Jacks was more of a traditional vampire in that fashion, the kiss of sun on his skin was a death sentence. He had raced the line of breaking dawn more than once to keep her safe, and would likely do so again today.
?You?re a good friend, Jacks.? It was a simple statement and an apology. She knew he wanted to be more than friends but she couldn?t, there was something broken inside and that wasn?t a state to be in when you wanted a relationship. ?I think I know how to get to the very bottom of the place, been working on it for hours. I?m close. I know I am. Colton is stubborn enough to spit in the Reapers eye for a while longer. He?s a Daniels and we don?t go nowhere we don?t want without a fight.?
Jacks made no reply to that, he?d seen it for a fact in his time with Summer. He would stay, keep her from getting trampled and be there if the Reaper collected more than his due this day. The dust was kicked up again as another of the mech machines passed their location, tears welled in her eyes in an attempt to clear them of the debris. She sat next to Jacks as her eyes continued to water, it was just the debris... sure it was.
(Adapted from live play with Jackson White, thanks!)
Dust was getting into the crevices of her laptop, she could feel the fan sucking in the debris and choking on it. Under normal circumstances this would be unacceptable, she should be in a dark, cool room where her equipment would not suffer. Today she felt as though everyone should suffer. Some people have within them the ability to separate their pain from others, to empathize and even in the face of self pain, give comfort to others. She wanted to do that, she did, but she was not one of those people.
She loved her family, she did. But there were only a precious few of them that got her, even if they didn?t understand a damn thing she was saying. Colt had been sent to find her more than once when she was growing up. Overweight, under socialized, and a mind that thought things too heady for a child her age meant a need for escape. She?d built her first computer when she was nine, it only got worse from there when it came to interacting with other kids her age.
Colt knew better than most that Summer substituted cold logic for emotions, it was the facade to her personality and one that she?d built up carefully, and precisely over the years. Smiling into the wind that brought the cruel insults and nicknames that kids were want to use and then hiding away until Colt found her and brought her back to the world. He?d find her, reach a hand into whatever hole she?d crammed herself into without saying anything. There was a comfort in the silence he wore, not trying to say things were going to be OK, not telling her again and again things that had no substance or value when you?re a kid that did not fit in.
She was reaching her hand into the hole he?d crammed himself into now. The building had been wired up, there were still machines in there that were functioning and she was using them as eyes and ears. Alain had come to her when the building first collapsed, using her skills to hack into the intercom system and find paths to get word to anyone trapped within. There were a precious few hours she had spent with Jackie until she felt the draw to return and continue the search in her way, a way of bits and bytes. She had been feeding information to the rescue workers, telling them where to dig along with some of the other folks with other ways of finding humans in the pile of debris but so far she had only caught a few glimpses of what she thought might be Harper or Colton.
One of the men in a mech, for the walking machines reminded her of nothing so much as the images of the anthropomorphic machines seen in anime or video games, was close to her and nearly ran her over. The ground shook slightly as the metal feet landed hard, the grinding of loose cement fragments and glass kicking up more dust and blinding her for a moment. A layer of foreign objects caused her eyes to tear up, those were the only tears that had come so far; she had tucked her emotions away for now they would do her no good. The spray of a searchlight washed over and past her; night had fallen while she was working, but time had no hold over the computers she was accessing in her search and so she continued.
There was another step of the mech, it?s foot rising up and heading her way, but it was lost to her as she was focused on the machine in her lap, following paths only she could see. An arm latched around her waist and forcefully yanked her out of the way, her grip on the laptop nearly giving way to gravity.
?Do you think it would do your family justice if another of their number was lost here, Summer?? The voice was calm, cool and collected, a hint of the British accent he tried so hard to conceal weaving its way through the words was the only indicator that he was annoyed. Not annoyed, that some emotion was coming to the surface and distracting him from his usual all-business demeanor.
?Jacks, you assume that I believe in justice.? Tucking the laptop under her arm as she disentangled herself from him, his strong arm still latched around her waist and being pressed up against his body was ? distracting. Her free hand waved at the scene in front of her, the ruin of a build, the bedraggled men and women working at digging through to find life and death. Closure for all today, costing only heartache and pain. ?How is this justice? Where is it? Hidden beneath the rubble? Where?? By the end her voice had risen in volume and she could hear the razor edge of her tone.
?You cannot go without sleep.? He started with that, it was a mantra she was sure had been used on all the rescue workers, on her family, on the families of the other victims. She wondered for a moment if any of them heeded such things. Sleep could be gotten later, when now was not so imminent. He must have seen that in her expression. ?You might miss something in your exhaustion if you deprive yourself longer, what has it been, three days? Humans cannot go so long without sleep.? He had not relinquished his hold on her, allowing her to distance herself but keeping that arm around her waist as if he thought she would leap into the rubble and attempt to dig her way to Colton with bare hands.
?I can go that long without sleep. The work I?ve had done makes it so I can.? But he knew that already, he was just voicing his concern in the only way she?d allow. ?It?ll catch up to me, I know, but I?ve got another day or two I can keep going. There ain?t no one else that can do what I am doing. Yes, I know they have some vamps searching for auras or whatever you do. I can dig deeper than that. I?ve got access to the lowest depths of this pit and the moment someone is in range of one of those machines I?ll know it.? She would too, she?d spent the past day upgrading the few remaining machines to act as sentinels, they would tell her when heat or motion was seen nearby.
When the digging was done and all the people were found that was not the end of it, not by a long shot. She would make someone pay for this, no one messed with a Daniels and got off scot free. Some people made the mistake of thinking because she wasn?t good at guns or other weaponry that she was harmless. They found out, if they were dumb enough, or luckless enough to draw her ire, that that perception was a deadly mistake.
There was silence and then without a word Jacks sank to the ground, patting the space beside himself. When she did not immediately join him he spoke. ?You need someone to make sure that you are not stepped on by one of those metal beasts. I will stay until dawn. I will get someone to take over that duty when the sun chases me from your side.?
Jacks was more of a traditional vampire in that fashion, the kiss of sun on his skin was a death sentence. He had raced the line of breaking dawn more than once to keep her safe, and would likely do so again today.
?You?re a good friend, Jacks.? It was a simple statement and an apology. She knew he wanted to be more than friends but she couldn?t, there was something broken inside and that wasn?t a state to be in when you wanted a relationship. ?I think I know how to get to the very bottom of the place, been working on it for hours. I?m close. I know I am. Colton is stubborn enough to spit in the Reapers eye for a while longer. He?s a Daniels and we don?t go nowhere we don?t want without a fight.?
Jacks made no reply to that, he?d seen it for a fact in his time with Summer. He would stay, keep her from getting trampled and be there if the Reaper collected more than his due this day. The dust was kicked up again as another of the mech machines passed their location, tears welled in her eyes in an attempt to clear them of the debris. She sat next to Jacks as her eyes continued to water, it was just the debris... sure it was.
(Adapted from live play with Jackson White, thanks!)