Blueprints 005: Mushrooms and nightmares

[hardhat_truckie]

(Engie is not usually a fan of mushrooms, and he usually will not eat them, especially the weird looking ones that have just popped up everywhere in Mayfield. However he doesn't notice that one of his drone kids have slipped one into the stew he was cooking for lunch that day.)

A. Action: 1450 Mitchell Road(Anyone who's around the house, or even

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[bye_to_yer_head]

Truckie? Are you...

*He listens to the ruckus for a bit before that final gunshot.*

Truckie? Engie? You alroight?.....Engie!

*He drops the phone in an instant and heads for the house of the RED Engineer at a dead run.*

[hardhat_truckie]

(When the Sniper gets there, he'll be greeted with the front door swinging on its own ominously. There's blood splattered on it as well, and some trailing inside into the house.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

*He has his gun out at this point as he cautiously enters the house and looks around. Judging from the various calls on the comm today something was going on in the town, something bad. He looked down at the trail of blood and slowly followed it, straining every one of his senses to find where the Engineer was.

He needed to find Engie, find whatever the problem was and shoot it, then go check on Miss Pauling, Crowley and Tara. Maybe get them all into his house since it seemed to be safe.*

Truckie? Can you hear me?

[hardhat_truckie]

(The Sniper is greeted with the dead body of the other drone child. Or what's left of it. The body is mangled to a bloody pulp, the skeleton inside pulzerized. Closer inspection will reveal that the child must have been fired at point blank range with a powerful firearm; probably a shotgun.

The house itself is a mess. Upturned chairs and tables, broken plates and the like, and the phone receiver lies in pieces on the floor, almost as if it had been shot itself. There are holes on the walls too, and the gunpowder residue can only suggest that someone had been a bit too trigger happy.

There is no sign of the RED Engineer on the ground floor.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

*Sniper barely spares the child a second glance. The kid is a drone, and he doesn't much care what happens to it. The holes in the wall are far more unsettling. And the tracker just can't piece together the scene. It was almost like the Engineer had been chased, but Sniper couldn't find any evidence of anyone else being around, what the hell was going on here?

He cautiously mounts the stairs, so quietly he can hear his own breathing as he readies his gun for whatever was waiting at the top.*

[hardhat_truckie]

(Upstairs is a bit more normal, if one were to ignore the bloody footprints leading up the stairs. Follow the red path to a bedroom (it appears to be the child's bedroom) and the Sniper will hear some whimpering coming from the closet. There's blood on the handles as well.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

Truckie? You in here?

*He can't quite identify the sound, and there's still one drone child unaccounted for. Though he's not sure if they'd even react to what was going on like this. On the other hand, whatevers in there could be what attacked Engie.

Shouldering his gun, Sniper flipped out his knife and approached the door. He stood there for a minute listening. When nothing happened and it became apparent that no one was going to leap out and attack him, he pulled the door open, while keeping his knife in a defensive position.*

[hardhat_truckie]

(Two things happen when the door opens. There's a shriek, and there's a click. Look out Sniper, because someone's shot you in the shoulder. With a SHOTGUN.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

*At this close range the Sniper is lucky his arm is even still attached. He stumbles backwards with a yell and nearly falls over. Instead he clamps his hand onto his now shattered shoulder and looks back over towards the closet at the shaking form of his friend the Engineer.*

What th' hell Truckie?

[hardhat_truckie]

(The RED Engineer stares up at the BLU Sniper, with eyes wide with fear. He immediately shrieks again and drops the shotgun like it's a hot potato. He then crawls/stumbles towards his friend.)

Dad? Dad I'm sorry! I didn't...I didn't want to! Don't die on me!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We can still work things out, it don't have ta end this way!!

[bye_to_yer_head]

Strewth.

*Sniper pulls his hand away briefly to look at his shoulder. He was loosing a lot of blood, but it could wait. He looked back over at Engie.*

What are you talkin' about? I'm not yer father. An' I'm not gonna die either.

*Well at least he's not in danger of getting shot again. He awkwardly kneels down near where Engie had crawled to.*

Tell me what's goin' on.

[hardhat_truckie]

(Engie grabs for Sniper, his hands dripping with blood. That's going to be hard to get out of the wash.)

Dad I never wanted to...I was...I mean, I wanted to save you! I really wanted to! Even after, even after...

(And suddenly there's a shift in his behavior as his tone suddenly turns angry and harsh.)

Why Dad? Why!!?? She never hurt anyone or anythin'! She took alla your bull for all those years, just because she wanted ta protect me!!

(His grip on the Sniper turns iron as he suddenly tries to fling the Australian hard on the ground.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

You can't even see me can you?

*Sniper feels uncomfortable seeing Engie like this. he doesn't want to know these kinds of intimate details about anyone, especially not people he considers his friends. And certainly he doesn't want to find out about them like this.*

Engie. Snap out of it!

*He goes to take him by the shoulder and shake him when suddenly the Engineer lashes out. Sniper's taken by surprise and lands on his back on the ground, yelping in pain as his injured shoulder is jostled. For a brief moment he's too stunned to even react, all he can think about is the pain emanating from his ruined shoulder. But he finally pushes that aside and kicks at Engie before he can be pinned to the ground.*

Knock it off! Before I have t' hurt you!

[hardhat_truckie]

(There's another switch in Engie's behavior when Sniper yelps in pain. He suddenly grips the side of his head and shakes it furiously.)

No, no, no, no! God forgive me, I didn't, I'm not...I'm so sorry...

(And when the kick connects, it doesn't do much to knock the sturdy Texan back. But Engie's reaction to it makes it seem like he had just been hit by one of Solly's rockets. He immediately scrambles back into the cupboard and slams it shut. The whimpering starts all over again, and the last thing the Sniper sees before the door slamed shut is Engie's terrified face.)

[bye_to_yer_head]

*Sniper just stays where he is on the ground for a while, too stunned to really process what's happening. What's clear is that Engie isn't himself right now and he's a danger to himself and others. For a moment Sniper considers just locking him in that closet. But he's got that shotgun of his in there.

With a grunt Sniper stands up and goes back to the closet. He's not sure if the Engineer can even hear him, but he's going to give it one more try before he takes drastic measures. He knocks on the door in a friendly manner.*

Truckie? It's Sniper. You in there?

[hardhat_truckie]

(There's suddenly utmost silence in the cupboard, as if Engie's gone completely dead inside. A few seconds tick by, before a quiet reply comes out.)

S-s-snipes...you're...you're alive...?