The Return (IC/OPEN)

[Jessjohnesik]

Anna remained quiet ever since they got on the bus, her mind too littered with other things for her to talk to someone. She occasionally looked around, trying to notice any familiar people, but failing to see anyone except Sun and her mother, not even noticing George, who sat only two rows behind her and Connor. Even though Anna had a strange feeling that there was someone else on the bus, although she didn't bother turning around. Instead, she looked outside the window, hoping to sight something interesting.

[Lancearc]

Anna remained quiet ever since they got on the bus, her mind too littered with other things for her to talk to someone. She occasionally looked around, trying to notice any familiar people, but failing to see anyone except Sun and her mother, not even noticing George, who sat only two rows behind her and Connor. Even though Anna had a strange feeling that there was someone else on the bus, although she didn't bother turning around. Instead, she looked outside the window, hoping to sight something interesting.

Her attempts to see much anything out the window was useless - the rain outside was so heavy as to render glancing out useless, as te water concealed everything as it streaked down the outside of the glass nonstop. The weather was certainly dreary, and everyone in the bus felt that it was the best time to catch up on sleep lost due to the early morning evacuation process keeping them up. Even Connor seemed to share this notion, having drifted off beside her. The bus itself maintained a sleepy atmosphere about it in this regard, and the journey remained very quiet.

This quiet was pierced extremely quickly by the sound of an explosion, shattering glass and a few shrieks from passengers sitting on the side the explosion had occurred on. Some were lucky enough to be killed in the initial blast, though some would suffer as the bus was rocked onto its side by the force of said blast. Passengers were strewn across the bus, one side of it now becoming the ceiling, some of the broken windows on the side now directed to the sky allowing rain to fall on the still living but wounded occupants. Broken windows on the side of the bus that was now planted firmly on the road didn't help, as ost falls were broken either by the metal of the bus, asphalt or shattered glass.

Cymitia had blacked out for a brief second, now waking up again after what felt like an eternity. Rain falling onto her white hair left it looking dirty, and still being in a dress didn't help the situation much - she'd have to change at the soonest possible moment. Her forearms and hands had been shredded by the glass, among other injuries that were too minor for her to care about at the moment. Luckily she hadn't gone far, she still had a grip on Hunter through the bus rolling over. "Hunter--" she began, but boots hitting the ground outside the bus and gruff voices - speaking in ENglish - forced her to gasp and hold her breath in silence.

[Cadia]

Unlike Cymitia, Mike wasn't lucky enough to blackout during the blast. With the blast having knocked the bus over, he lay on his side in pain; the hard rain pouring into the bus and pooling into the windows now faced towards the ground. He looked down to see the water around him turn red as he let go of his stomach, a heavy pain suddenly erupting from his right shoulder.

This was all within one minute.

Hearing voices, Mike decided to slow his breathing and to lay limp in case they looked for survivors. Giving a small indication to his survival to some of his nearby allies through a small cough, he began his ruse and hoped for the best.

[Mincaldenteans]

There was a pressure on his hand, but Hunter couldn't register what it was. Or who it was. All that came in was the ringing of the explosion, a jarring internal sound that was going to be a headache if he somehow got back to the consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy, there seem to be a weight upon him and his body stung in a hundred places though from what, he couldn't be sure. When he finally opened his eyes, the roaring of the blast had turned into a tide of pain and he felt shards in his left arm, leg and something very alien at his side. He registered Cym's hand, but that was the only thing and she was quiet. He would speak, yet his body didn't allow it and his eyes shifted around, bleary vision that couldn't make out anything solid or informative.

[Lancearc]

Cym heard a cough from nearby, and upon a quick glance she realized it had come from the direct Mike and Thelin had been seated in. While this helped to ease some of her worries, she immediately noticed that Hunter didn't appear to be in the best of states. He didn't seem entirely responsive, and he was cut very badly from what she could tell, most of the blood on her hands and clothes was probably his, she thought. His lack of acknowledging she was even there made her worry even more. "Hunter, please, are you alright?" she urged, hoping to get some kind of audible response from him, preferably understandable words.

"Look at this!"

A voice from overhead came soon after, the barrel of a large shotgun aimed down at Cymitia through the window. Her heart seemed to stop as she gazed up both the long passages that were loaded with shells ready to tear through her at the pull of a trigger. "They look like they might have some fat wallets, drag 'em out." the same man chuckled in a rough sounding voice. The man pushed through the window and crouched behind her, a massive hand taking her by the neck roughly and hauling her up to another man waiting at the window, who pulled her up and tossed her to the ground beside the flipped bus, where she landed somewhat awkwardly on her leg, a pain shooting up it near simultaneously. Hunter followed not long after, and she scrambled over to him as he landed hard on the road, hoping he was alright.

From what sounded like a much larger group earlier, these two appeared to be the only ones left.

"There's supposed to be another bus coming, you'll have new friends soon enough." one of the men chuckled, hinting that perhaps his comrades had gone to ambush the next bus. These men were obviously not the finest of society, they were dressed as beggars but were rather intimidating in their rag-tag image, still lethal looking. At least to Cymitia, anyway, though this was probably because she didn't have a means of defending herself at the moment.

---

Connor had seen two people, a couple, be lifted from the bus. Like many others he imagined, he was playing dead amongst the unconscious and truly deceased. He knew Anna was still at his side, and he also knew that the rest of these bandits had gone. He'd been conscious the entire time, and he'd earlier heard someone outside the bus speaking of another ambush being set up further down the road. Connor wasn't the most heroic type, though he knew those two that had been pulled out weren't in the best condition, and likely weren't all that wealthy if they were on this bus, so he figured the scum that had caused this would simply kill them. He had injuries, but he wasn't all that aware of them at the moment, he was running on a determination and adrenaline as he reached for his knife that he still carried with him at all times (although Anna didn't like him doing so) and crept towards the open window, stepping over bodies and the occasional wounded or dead body.

[Mincaldenteans]

Hunter
Hauled out of the bus, Hunter didn't so much as register being thrown to the ground as he just felt something gravelly on his face. The sting felt sharper and he knew somewhere, that alien object on his side wasn't doing him a kindness. He heard Cymitia, but couldn't respond and there was some kind of talk, buses and friends or some such, he simply wasn't sure. His eyes still felt heavy and the promise of rest sounded good right now. Perhaps if he closed his eyes...

Thelin
She jerked back to consciousness and gripped on Mike's arm instinctively, "What happened?" The woman groaned. She was just shutting her eyes for a quick nap in the silent (and very boring) bus ride. She told Mike just a few z's would be all that was needed in order to perk back up. Next thing she realize the bus came to a loud halt and Thelin felt like someone had slammed her head against the wall of the bus.

Butters
The Vorshaj had slipped out of the bus quietly, scampering into the woods. It couldn't get its bearing and his back legs were hurting but not broken. It looked back and saw his keepers, baring its fangs it stalked to the other side wondering why there were strangers near Hunter and Cymitia. Their faces showed something it remembered as threatening, and the creatures protective nature kicked in moving silently closer.

[Cadia]

Thelin
She jerked back to consciousness and gripped on Mike's arm instinctively, "What happened?" The woman groaned. She was just shutting her eyes for a quick nap in the silent (and very boring) bus ride. She told Mike just a few z's would be all that was needed in order to perk back up. Next thing she realize the bus came to a loud halt and Thelin felt like someone had slammed her head against the wall of the bus.

Mikes eyes slowly opened to look at Thelin. "Bandits I assume," he whispered, "Play dead is my only suggestion right now.". He heard footsteps approach the bus, a man peering in at the wounded. The man didn't speak, but simply resumed walking. This can't be the end, can it? he thought, the pain in his shoulder forcing him to be alert to every noise around him.

[Lancearc]

Hunter
Hauled out of the bus, Hunter didn't so much as register being thrown to the ground as he just felt something gravelly on his face. The sting felt sharper and he knew somewhere, that alien object on his side wasn't doing him a kindness. He heard Cymitia, but couldn't respond and there was some kind of talk, buses and friends or some such, he simply wasn't sure. His eyes still felt heavy and the promise of rest sounded good right now. Perhaps if he closed his eyes...

Thelin
She jerked back to consciousness and gripped on Mike's arm instinctively, "What happened?" The woman groaned. She was just shutting her eyes for a quick nap in the silent (and very boring) bus ride. She told Mike just a few z's would be all that was needed in order to perk back up. Next thing she realize the bus came to a loud halt and Thelin felt like someone had slammed her head against the wall of the bus.

Butters
The Vorshaj had slipped out of the bus quietly, scampering into the woods. It couldn't get its bearing and his back legs were hurting but not broken. It looked back and saw his keepers, baring its fangs it stalked to the other side wondering why there were strangers near Hunter and Cymitia. Their faces showed something it remembered as threatening, and the creatures protective nature kicked in moving silently closer.

Cymitia kept a grip on Hunter, hands cradling his face in an attempt at comfort. "This isn't funny Hunter, don't close them like that!" Cymitia said, a pool of tears beginning to form in her eyes that made them appear exceptionally blue (even for Nevidians). She kept slapping at his cheeks in an attempt to keep him awake, but she felt like it was a futile attempt. His wounds weren't helping, and she began to wonder if he was suffering from blood loss. One of the men came over, roughly separating her from him and aiming his weapon towards her. "Try ta keep back if ya want ta keep that pretty lil' head of yours, lass." the man spoke in the same gruff manner, and all she could do was try not to let her tears of worry and anger leak out while he was looking, she didn't need these people seeing her as weak.

---

"Eh? Piss off you big damned freak." the other man said while his partner was dealing with Cymitia. He'd spotted a vorshaj, and being a Nevidian this man was rather familiar with the creatures themselves, and their behaviors. He was sure to keep his distance, away from the rather strong jaws of the animals. He didn't point his weapon at the creature though, no need to make it feel any more threatened than it may already feel.

---

Connor spotted another Nevidian woman sitting up next to a Human man, making his way over to them and speaking in a low voice. "Are you two alright?" was his first question, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure Anna wasn't being yanked from the bus. He figured it was safe to speak, as there began a racket outside that would surely drown them out.

[Mincaldenteans]

Hunter
He opened his eyes, almost lazy to feel of... was it a slap? Maybe it was a kick, for all he knew. He lolled his head to one side, noticing a few strangers but other than that couldn't register the significance of it. Were they responsible? Blood was flowing liberally from the wound at his side and Hunter only managed to raise his left hand with concerted effort to feel the object in his side, but his hand dropped back and Hunter managed to look up. Cymitia wasn't far from him and she was in tears, silent yet evident. He wondered why and said something in silence though Hunter didn't know what exactly he said.

Butters
The creature growled at the man, it was one of the Nevidians and it bared its teeth. Its hind legs had a sharp sting, but the creature wasn't to let up. Hissing at it, it came closer, its fangs were dripping in anticipation for an attack.

Thelin
She looked up to see a stranger and nodded slowly, but Mike's warning was still clear. She remained silent for a moment. Unsure whether even moving was advisable.

[Lancearc]

"Get back from it mate, he's got a bite on him."

The man that had been threatening Cymitia turned towards his comrade who was currently locked in an intense stare off with Cym and Hunter's vorshaj. When the man turned away Cymitia immediately scrambled back to Hunter, who mumbled something incoherent, gibberish. The tears streamed down her cheeks now, the large open sound that housed some deadly flying piece if metal or whatever it was was bleeding profusely, and for the first time she wondered if Hinter would make it. "Stop it right now, I'm not losing you too, don't do this to me, do you understand?" Cymitia went on, hoping that her being angry with him would somehow bring him back to stability, though the appearances indicating him slipping away made the tears pour out even faster.

[Jessjohnesik]

Anna was knocked out in the crash and was now only partially conscious. She has twisted her ankle and had a painful sensation in her elbow and back. After a few minutes, she understood what had happened and heard voices outside of the bus. Seeing that the people outside were far from friendly, Anna kept quiet and watched as Connor communicated to the two people taken prisoner by the people outside.
Realising that Sun and her mother were also on the bus, Anna quickly starts to search for them. Crawling through the wreck of the bus, Anna can barely get through all of the bodies until finally finding Sun's unconscious mother and a semi-conscious Sun nearby, a piece of glass stuck in her right leg and the skin on her side very bruised.
"Connor! Sun and Park are alive. Sun's injured." Anna whispers to Connor, hoping he would hear her.

[Phoenix2012]

Jon didn't even know what happened. One second he was looking outside, the next, he found himself in a ditch. Pain was shooting up his left arm, where he had landed on his rifle, and his back felt like it had been smashed repeatedly with sledgehammers. He winced at his attempts to get up as more pain erupted all over, and almost blacked out. Eventuall easing himself to a semi-seated position, he strained to see what was happening, but could only make out the overturned bus and people moving. He couldn't make out what was happening, and heard loud talking. Another wave of pain overcame him, and he blacked out. When the pain had receeded, he tried to get up, but found that he had been badly bruised. He started stumbling out of the ditch when he saw several people being escorted by a man with a shotgun. Confused, he was about to yell out when the guy shoved one of the passengers and poked the shotgun into his ribs. Angered, Jon swung his rifle around and pulled the trigger.... and was rewarded by an empty click. Mentally kicking himself for being stupid, he quickly chambered a round.

"Drop the gun!" He demanded...

[Lancearc]

Jon didn't even know what happened. One second he was looking outside, the next, he found himself in a ditch. Pain was shooting up his left arm, where he had landed on his rifle, and his back felt like it had been smashed repeatedly with sledgehammers. He winced at his attempts to get up as more pain erupted all over, and almost blacked out. Eventuall easing himself to a semi-seated position, he strained to see what was happening, but could only make out the overturned bus and people moving. He couldn't make out what was happening, and heard loud talking. Another wave of pain overcame him, and he blacked out. When the pain had receeded, he tried to get up, but found that he had been badly bruised. He started stumbling out of the ditch when he saw several people being escorted by a man with a shotgun. Confused, he was about to yell out when the guy shoved one of the passengers and poked the shotgun into his ribs. Angered, Jon swung his rifle around and pulled the trigger.... and was rewarded by an empty click. Mentally kicking himself for being stupid, he quickly chambered a round.

"Drop the gun!" He demanded...

Connor had managed to creep out of the bus by this point as well, gripping his knife tightly. He'd told Anna to stay put, hoping that she wouldn't be taken like the two unfortunate ones out in the road. The heavy rain still fell, and over the thunder he'd heard just barely a shout ordering one of these men to lower their weapons. The one not dealing with the vorshaj turned to the man, and the Nevidian creature apparently took advantage of this - the strange reptile leaping towards one of the thugs. It latched onto his arm and in quick succession ripped the limb fiercely, not clean off but it did leave a very deep wound. Connor was about to leap when he noticed the Nevidian woman in a dress was moving to the other man who was prepared to fire on the stranger aiming his weapon at him. Just as he fired the Nevidian woman had managed to disrupt his aim, and was now in a struggle for the weapon. Connor took this chance then to rush out, jamming his knife into the neck of the armed bandit.

As the man fell, Connor immediately turned his attention to the woman. "Are you al..." he began, but she seemed more worried about what was perhaps her husband, a Human as far as he could tell. She didn't seem injured, so he turned to the man with the gun instead. "Do you have wounded in there, maybe you're a doctor?" Connor asked, as the man the Nevidian woman was worried over was bleeding badly, the heavy rain soaking the asphalt with his blood as it washed off of him.

---

Cymitia was trying her best to apply pressure to the largest wound, using both hands in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She wasn't fully aware of the other two and she really didn't care, Hunter was her first priority right now.

[Phoenix2012]

Jon didn't even know what happened. One second he was looking outside, the next, he found himself in a ditch. Pain was shooting up his left arm, where he had landed on his rifle, and his back felt like it had been smashed repeatedly with sledgehammers. He winced at his attempts to get up as more pain erupted all over, and almost blacked out. Eventuall easing himself to a semi-seated position, he strained to see what was happening, but could only make out the overturned bus and people moving. He couldn't make out what was happening, and heard loud talking. Another wave of pain overcame him, and he blacked out. When the pain had receeded, he tried to get up, but found that he had been badly bruised. He started stumbling out of the ditch when he saw several people being escorted by a man with a shotgun. Confused, he was about to yell out when the guy shoved one of the passengers and poked the shotgun into his ribs. Angered, Jon swung his rifle around and pulled the trigger.... and was rewarded by an empty click. Mentally kicking himself for being stupid, he quickly chambered a round.

"Drop the gun!" He demanded...

Connor had managed to creep out of the bus by this point as well, gripping his knife tightly. He'd told Anna to stay put, hoping that she wouldn't be taken like the two unfortunate ones out in the road. The heavy rain still fell, and over the thunder he'd heard just barely a shout ordering one of these men to lower their weapons. The one not dealing with the vorshaj turned to the man, and the Nevidian creature apparently took advantage of this - the strange reptile leaping towards one of the thugs. It latched onto his arm and in quick succession ripped the limb fiercely, not clean off but it did leave a very deep wound. Connor was about to leap when he noticed the Nevidian woman in a dress was moving to the other man who was prepared to fire on the stranger aiming his weapon at him. Just as he fired the Nevidian woman had managed to disrupt his aim, and was now in a struggle for the weapon. Connor took this chance then to rush out, jamming his knife into the neck of the armed bandit.

As the man fell, Connor immediately turned his attention to the woman. "Are you al..." he began, but she seemed more worried about what was perhaps her husband, a Human as far as he could tell. She didn't seem injured, so he turned to the man with the gun instead. "Do you have wounded in there, maybe you're a doctor?" Connor asked, as the man the Nevidian woman was worried over was bleeding badly, the heavy rain soaking the asphalt with his blood as it washed off of him.

---

Cymitia was trying her best to apply pressure to the largest wound, using both hands in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She wasn't fully aware of the other two and she really didn't care, Hunter was her first priority right now.

"I'm not really a doctor, but I have had a bit of basic first aid training." Jon replied, stepping over broken glass to have a better look at the wounded man. He seemed to be bleeding quite badly from multiple wounds, the most serious being a gash in his side. He quickly tore a strip off his shirt and made a make shift gauze, which he applied to the man's side, holding it firmly in place to stop the bleeding.
"That's about all I can do right now, until we can find a doctor" He informed them. "The wound isn't the worst, but he his lose a lot of blood. I can't be sure that he hasn't suffered any serious internal injuries, and I'm not able to treat it if he did, but let's hope that it isn't that bad..."

[Mincaldenteans]

"I'm not really a doctor, but I have had a bit of basic first aid training." Jon replied, stepping over broken glass to have a better look at the wounded man. He seemed to be bleeding quite badly from multiple wounds, the most serious being a gash in the back of his head. He quickly tore a strip off his shirt and made a make shift gauze, which he applied to the man's head, holding it firmly in place to stop the bleeding.
"That's about all I can do right now, until we can find a doctor" He informed them. "The wound isn't the worst, but he his lose a lot of blood. I can't be sure that he hasn't suffered any serious internal brain injuries, and I'm not able to treat it if he did, but let's hope that it isn't that bad..."

Thelin
Realizing that the stranger had helped three people she knew, Thelin rushed over after jabbing Mike's arm and gesturing toward their friends. George was... she didn't know, she'd have to look in the bus eventually, though she was too relieved to see Cym and Jon... and then her face faltered at the sight of Hunter and Jon's attempt to dress a wound on his left side. "Is he going to be alright? And anyone else seen George? I'm going to check the bus."

It was too sudden, too fast for anyone to respond fully to her. It was Thelin's way of coping without lingering around for stress to overwhelm her. She moved off to the bus, several more people were in there and how she, Mike, and the rest managed out or were even separated was something she didn't bother figuring out, instead she yelled for George midst the groans and cries of the crowd.

Butters
Tearing a chuck of the man wasn't enough. Being thrown, the creature limped on its right but launched itself again at the Nevidian man. This time for its thigh at the back while the man retreated. Screaming it tried to kick Butters, but the jaws of the creature latched on with more power than a crock.

[Lancearc]

"Help him then, please!" Cymitia urged the stranger, hoping that he could do something for her husband.

"Thelin!" Cymitia said as she noticed, running over to her friend. "Please, if you find anyone able to help, I know he's not the only one but please have them help Hunter, one man says he can do it but he's not a doctor or anything..." Cymitia said in tears as she quickly relayed Hunter's condition. "Are Mike and George okay?" she asked, worried too about her friends.

[Mincaldenteans]

Thelin

"Is anyone of you a doctor?" Thelin asked around as soon as Cymitia had shouted over to her while she searched the vehicle. Some were conscious, a few looked empty out to the window - clearly dead. And those that were coming back were groggy and just gathering their bearings.

"Did someone call for a doctor? I am." An old man grumbled out, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh thank goodness, please help us, a friend of mine is seriously injured! It doesn't look good, you have to come with me!" Thelin urged, grabbing the old man by the arm, only to be rebuffed.

"Hold a tick, will you, I can't even balance myself!" He grumbled some more even as he got up from his chair. Moving at almost a pace that Thelin wanted to kick the man in the ass to hasten his movement, the scruffy doctor finally picked up his pace and walked over to Cymitia and the man whose head was on her lap.

Seeing the dressing on the man, the doctor crouched down with some effort, Thelin by his side to help him down. The old man moved the makeshift bandage, wondering who did the work as it wasn't bad at all. However, "There's a huge glass piece in his side... we have to remove it or its just going to bleed him out til he dies. I'm going to need something to grab the piece."

Thelin didn't waste time, ripping her sleeve of her sweater with effort. "Will this do?"

Looking up he nodded and took the piece of cloth. He looked at the woman who held Hunter with dear life. "This is going to hurt; but that's not the issue. He's going to bleed more, so we'll need to stop it with anything we can. He won't have long either, so hopefully help arrives soon. Or he'll die. For now I'll do what I can."

Thelin pursed her lips, almost edgy in her feet. She looked to Jon, the other guy that had intervened, and Cymitia. Mike was close by, she surmised though she hadn't seen him since launching herself out of their spot to Cymitia and Hunter's side.

Gripping the piece, Hunter fidgeted. "Hold him still, I need to yank the piece out or it'll cut in deeper," he ordered with gruff annoyance. Gripping the tip of the glass with the torn cloth, he yanked it, dropping the shard on the ground and quickly covered his wound with the makeshift bandage that was there previously.

"Anyone call for help?" He asked around.

[Lancearc]

"No, not as far as I'm aware..." Cymitia began, holding Hunter's head gingerly in her lap and running fingers through his hair as she did what she could to help the doctor. Little did the survivors know that the bandits had returned, the bus they'd been sent to ambush having been delayed for whatever reason.

"They killed Willie 'n Jason, the bastards!" came a voice, and before they knew it they were surrounded by a much larger force of bandits, each of them armed with either some sort of sharp or blunt object or firearm. "It looks like you've all for some begging for your lives to do..." one of the men chuckled, stepping forward as many others did the same. "Take 'me back to the camp,make sure they don't try anything funny." the first man ordered as people started being dragged from the bus roughly.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

“Damn. Damnfuck. Damnfuckdamndamndamnit blazing hellfire.”
At his awakening, George began to moan these obesities. He’d been knocked out by a flailing foot, which had hit him in the head like a sledgehammer. He’d lost his sight, temporarily, because of the knock to his visual cortex. Slowly, while regaining a little strength, George’s lungs began to breathe more and more, making speaking easier. Bit by bit, he could speak louder and louder, until the was cursing obscenities at the top of his lungs. “FUCK! GODDAMNIT! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” Some searing pain went through his body as he tried to move, so bad he nearly fainted at the feeling. As his vision began to return, he looked to the side. This immediately explained the pain he’d been going through. First, it was blurry, and out of focus, but the more George looked at it, the clearer it became. From his shoulder perpetrated a two feet steel rod, covered in clogged blood and pieces of clothing. George’s eyes shot wide open. It was a sharp piece of steel, with a pointy end, going into his shoulder in one end, and out the other. For about a second, George sat there gazing at the thing, asking questions to himself like:
“What in the name… Why am I alive? How didn’t that thing kill me? Who makes buses with sharp steel rods?”
All these questions disappeared, as he heard someone calling his name. As he was pinned down (literally), he could only shout back. “Here! I’m here! Help me!”

[Jessjohnesik]

"Stop fucking shouting!!" Anna loudly whispered as she covered George's mouth with her hand, not noticing that he was George. "If you're going to fucking shout, those idiots will come back. And this time they won't leave us behind." Anna angrily explained, frustrated at the fact that Connor and most of the surviving people were taken away. Fortunately, Anna managed to pull out the piece of glass embedded in Sun's leg by herself, effectively wrapping the wound up. Though Sun's mother was still not in the best condition to, for example, run.

All of a sudden, some of the bandits returned, getting in to the bus through the broken windows. One of them grabbing and bounding Sun and Park, the other 'freeing' George of being pinned down, the third one bounding a blonde, female survivor and the two last ones going after Anna. Soon, all were bound and taken away.

[Phoenix2012]

Jon was busy tending to wounds, as the aging doctor could only do so much for the group, and didn't notice the arrival of the bandits in the innocent looking vans. One minute he was tending to a leg wound, and the next he had a rifle barrel pressed into his back. Alarmed, Jon's training kicked in immediately...


Jon was sitting with about 50 other cadets like himself, half paying attention to the instructor at the front of the room.
"The most important thing during a crisis it to keep calm." The man declared,
"Panic will prove to be your worst enemy. Panic will greatly reduce morale in troops, and can easily turn into mass disorder, in which the enemy can then mow you down. The first thing you should do is to analyze the situation, of the position of yourself, friendlies, and of the enemy. Always expect the worst, and prepare accordingly. Have at all times multiple plans of what you will do when anything unplanned happens. The next step is to pick the best plan, and to execute accordingly..."


"Get up", the voice demanded.
Jon prepared himself, and came up quickly, shoving the barrel aside and connected his fist to the man's jaw with a satisfying crack. However, he was quickly subdued by the other rouges, whom took their revenge by smashing his head with the butt of a rifle. Jon felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, then blackness.....

[Lancearc]

The survivors of the bandits' original ambush on the bus would find themselves being taken away from the road, though the rains overhead still fell to a lesser degree. Connor had been roughly bound and unable to locate Anna thus far, though he was certainly looking amongst those that remained from the bus's fatal flip. Meanwhile, Cymitia was surprised by these men. Though she didn't think of them as any kinder for this act, they'd been courteous enough to support the wounded as they limped further into this forest - including Hunter, who she was determined to stay with until he became better.

She looked down at the talisman that Pleaos had given her the night before they'd decided to escape London, holding the intricate piece of jewelry fondly. Pleaos had said that it would protect her from harm, and she was one of those not wounded badly in the ambush. She'd never been too near death, though there were close calls. The civil war had made up a majority of these. The method of how exactly this jewelry protected her though, was never specified. There were Nevidian tails that claimed some people had the good fortune to be divinely protected from harm, but because of this the misfortunes that would befall them plagued the ones that they were close to.

While none of this was true of course, being a very traditional thinker, Cymitia couldn't help but feel like she was one of these people. She caused the pains of others around her, hers was too fortunate a series of events called life to be a coincidence while everyone around her experienced so much pain.

These thoughts faded when one of the men roughly separated the talisman from her neck. "This'll fetch a nice price surely, thanks miss." the man sneered, tucking it into his pocket.

---

When the prisoners arrived at their destination, they would be surprised to find a rather sizeable camp amongst the tall trees of the woodland. The rains had lightened by then to nothing but a drizzle, the smell of it drifting through the air rather pleasantly. Most notable was the large fire in the center of the camp, a rather jolly man in his mid-30's perhaps near it with a wide grin. When he noticed his men returned them her raised a mug of beer and greeted them cheerily. "Glad to see you've all made it back! Come, let them be free and we'll all turn up a pint in good faith, eh?" the man said. While some of the prisoners would surely be greatly surprised as their bindings were taken off, the bandit men were certain not to let them think they were free, keeping their weapons aimed firmly.

[Phoenix2012]

Jon woke with a throbbing headache in addition to the numerous sore spots all over. He found himself on grass, and made his way to a sitting position, waiting for the pain to subside. Surprised that he wasn't bound, he looked around and found the others also sitting around a fire. A middle aged man, presumably the leader of the bandits, was talking, though Jon couldn't make out the words. Armed men had their weapons trained on the prisoners, and Jon was slightly surprised at their weaponry, which included British assult rifles and submachineguns in addition to the usual mix of shotguns and rifles. Looking around, he saw that for the most part, the wounded were doing all right, and that they didn't seem to be suffering too badly. Having made sure that everything was all right for the most part, Jon glanced around, finding their weapons and belongings were in a heap on the back of a worn pickup truck. Knowing that he couldn't do anything about it, he tended to his own injuries. Other than the lump on the back of his head, he didn't seem to have any serious injuries, mostly bruises from being launched out of the bus. Limping, he made his way to the group and sat next to the campfire.

[Cadia]

Mike sat next to the fire, a book in his hands. His eyes bobbed and weaved as he went through the pages of the novel, pausing occasionally to reflect on the previous paragraphs. Bandits tried to raid his rucksack, but they found nothing of value; "Bunch of useless books.". The walk to the camp wasn't terribly bad, but that was probably because of his sprained shoulder taking most of his thoughts off of the current moment.

[Lancearc]

Some of the more horribly wounded were taken to be treated, including Hunter. Cymitia had insisted that she follow, however the several armed men standing behind her had deterred her from any attempts at wanting to do so. For now all she could do was hope that her luck didn't run out, or more specifically Hunter's. If she was to lose him she'd feel as though all of the fighting done in the war was a waste of time to the highest degree, like the life she'd secured for herself and him would have been for nothing.

At the same time, the middle-aged man who was apparently the leader of this group of highwaymen was passing around pints of beer, the foamy alcohol being received by both bandits and several of the confused survivors. When Cymitia was handed her own she glared at it confused, before shrugging. She'd never liked the taste of it, but she was extremely thirsty and supposed she could stomach it well enough. She took a long gulp, not because she enjoyed the drink but because of her previously mentioned thirst. She shuddered as she downed the alcohol, hating both the taste and smell of the beverage.

"I'd like to thank all of you for contributing towards our funds." the middle aged man announced, suddenly growing solemn from his very cheery attitude. "It is unfortunate we must use this method of gathering funds but we have been put in a position which we have no say in." the man muttered, almost to himself, only those closest to him able to hear. "I'm sure you all have questions, drink, ask, and I will listen!" he encouraged with a hearty chuckle, glancing around at his own bandits and the captured survivors of the bus ambush.