[CENTER][h3][color=#913C16][b]RAM HEAD | Vernon Thompson[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
[SUP]Dark Necessities[center] 07APR2017 - 23:30 - Michaels Nuclear Power Facility - Power District[/center][/SUP]
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		Vernon panted heavily then doubled over. [color=#913C16]"Bongo,"[/color] he shouted between gulps of air, [color=#913C16]"Gimmie a minute."[/color] Tiredly he wondered what had possessed his dog all of a sudden. They had been hauling ass since the moment he parked the truck all of fifteen minutes ago. He made a point of parking a bit of a distance off, so as to not get in the way of emergency vehicles and maybe to avoid looting. Maybe.

This place wasn't hard to find once he started driving-- all he had to do was find the source of sirens and eventually he saw the lights. Bongo lead the charge toward what his gut told him was the place on fire. Well, his gut and the large plume of smoke, that is. Barking pulled Vernon's attention off of the rain soaked ground. Having come back to check on him, Bongo snuffled and sniffed a small puddle in front of Vernon, before barking again. As soon as he made even the slightest movement, she twitched and dashed ahead a little bit.

[color=#913C16]"Alright-- shit. My back can't take much more of this pace, ol'girl,"[/color] Vernon spoke up as he began to jog. They were running behind a set of buildings, uphill, in the grass, and the rain. A lot of things could make this suck more, Vernon was sure but, this sucked pretty seriously right now. Then he noticed a color change on the horizon. 

Flashing lights and an orange tint lit up the night sky. He could hear a mumble, that of many voices at a distance, and the smell of smoke was stronger here. Bongo sprinted up and out of his sight completely. The horizon seemed to dance-- the light of fire reflected off of heavy clouds-- then it briefly came into full view. 


Briefly.



		Vernon found himself planting one leg far further down than the ground was supposed to be. As he began to tumble and slide down a rain soaked hillside, toward the power plant, Vernon determined he couldn't be mad at this happening, really. He should have expected this to be a buffer hill-- of course it was a buffer hill-- but at least the grass tasted alright. The rattle of a chain link fence announced his halt. Bongo barked.

Tensely, Vernon hissed, [color=#913C16]"My back,"[/color] as he tried to assess the ball of person he had temporarily become... oh. He was upside down. Slowly Vernon righted himself while looking about for Bongo, spitting pieces of grass and soil out idly. There she was, staring at him, wagging her tail, with her head tilted to the side. Bongo barked at his gaze. Vernon [color=#913C16]"woof'd"[/color] back then shook his head at the nonsense of it all. 

[b]"Woah--"[/b] came a surprised voice, [b]"--You alright?"[/b]

Of course. 
Just when Vernon thought no one had saw him [i]eat shit[/i]...
Not even bothering to clean the mud and grass off of himself, Vernon slowly eased to his feet, then replied, [color=#913C16]"Yeah I'm alright. Just a little--"[/color] Vernon didn't know where that sentence was going [color=#913C16]"-- hey this place on fire?"[/color]



Smooth.



		A man with a rather charred look about him replied, [b]"Uh? Y-yes."[/b] Closing his left eye so the right eye augment could take over, Vernon read the man's name tag, then replied, [color=#913C16]"How do I get in, Greg?"[/color] Just then, Greg stared at Vernon as if he'd sprouted another head. Vernon shrugged. 
[b]"You don't look like you a fireman or the parame--"[/b]
Vernon asked more aggressively,[color=#913C16]"How do I get in, Greg?"[/color] 
Bongo whined.
[b]"Ah-- uh, this way-- you here to help?"[/b]
[color=#913C16]"And make s'mores,"[/color] Vernon replied darkly, [color=#913C16]"Lead the way."[/color]

A profound thought occurred to Vernon as he began a hasty walk, following behind Greg-- Vernon could have been practically anyone seeking entrance to this facility and this guy, [i]Greg[/i], was just going to straight up let him in? Just show him the way? Just like that? Who was this guy, anyway? He looked like he worked here but... what if this fire hadn't started on it's own? What if Greg had started the fire? Vernon halted, eyed the fence to his right, then reached out for it. 

Taking a firm grip of it with his right hand, Vernon watched the steel links bunch up in his grasp-- the grasp of an augmented right arm. Feeling the arm vibrate slightly, Vernon pushed the links aside until he was able to firmly grasp the steel support pole. Greg looked over his shoulder. [color=#913C16]"See you later--"[/color] Vernon said as he began to feel the heat of his augmented legs powering up, [color=#913C16]"--Greg."[/color] With a sharp scrape and crack of cement, Vernon uprooted the fence post like a daisy. Too bad he couldn't tuck it behind his ear like one.



		Greg's mouth hang agape as Vernon passed beneath the fence, then set it back down roughly, letting Bongo remain on the other side. [color=#913C16]"Keep an eye on that fella-- but I don't need to tell you that,"[/color] Vernon told Bongo. 
[b]"Wait,"[/b] Greg shouted, just as Vernon turned to walk away, [b]"Go left-- tha-that paramedic! He hasn't come back yet. I-I-I think he's in trouble. I. I gave him my key card and I. He. He's one of two we got on site. Shit--"[/b] Greg cut off there then mumbled, [b]"He's one of two we got." [/b]

Vernon could hear the hints of shame in Greg's voice then reconsidered his previous stance. Perhaps this really was a worker-- or it was a convincing trap? Or it was both. Vernon squinted at Greg then shifted the squint to Bongo. She seemed content to stand near Greg and was even sniffling him, trying to get his attention, perhaps to distract him from his worries. [color=#913C16]"Well,"[/color] Vernon spoke up, deciding to trust Bongo's judgment, [color=#913C16]"Which way do I go again?"[/color]

Greg shouted, [b]"Left til you see an entrance-- there's still folks trapped and running out but--but-- that guy he. He should've been back by now I-- there's no firemen here. He went in through the o--"[/b]



		Vernon didn't wait to hear anymore-- now the urgency level had increased greatly. Turning, Vernon broke out into an almost immediate sprint, thanks to his fancy augment legs, and wondered just where the fire department was? Did it matter right now? How deep was the shit everyone was in?

He sprinted for the door that Greg had indicated, smacking into a terrified man fleeing the building. Without a word of apology as he bowled the guy over, Vernon charged into the building and barely took notice of the flames. He wheezed, then began to cough heavily, the smoke irritating his already damaged lungs-- why hadn't they replaced those damaged organs when they replaced his arm? Whatever-- too late to ask that now. 

He reached one door handle and felt the temperature, twisted it, and it didn't budge. That was a thing, wasn't it? Cool handle means no horrible fireball-- right. That was right. He tore the handle off, sent to door flying inward with a kick, and didn't see a thing but empty office space. Vernon stared down the blazing corridor and shook his head-- there were too many stupid doors in this stupid building. 

[color=#913C16]"Hey Medic,"[/color] Vernon called out, [color=#913C16]"Medic-- Where you at!?"[/color] 

This was going to take forever but, Vernon was going to check every single stupid room in the stupid building if he had to. He had to have been close, right? Greg mentioned something about a key card and all of these doors required one-- wait. Where were the sprinklers? Again, too late of a question.

Vernon kicked another door in after feeling the handle's temperature, [color=#913C16]"Yoo-hoo! Medic!"[/color] He waited only a moment for response before he continued kicking doors and taking... handles.


[hider=Summary]
Vernon has made it to the power plant. Bongo is comforting Greg. Vernon's kicking down doors inside of the burning building, searching for Joseph while calling out, [color=#913C16]"MEDIC YOU RECKLESS LIL SHIT! C'MERE!"[/color]
[/hider]