SepticGentleman

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

How widespread is the knowledge about Taylor's party?

@BurningDaisies

I'm pretty sure once the explosions and rampant sex begin, it'll be all over the nightly news. Right now though, maybe say a friend of a friend pointed it out?

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

Veronica Marlowe (Red)

---

Red was holding Veronica in his arms as he ran through the sewers as fast as he was capable of doing. The Broken Hyena was seconds from catching up. Bullet marks covered his back, cracking his skin and slowing him down some.

Before it came to this, Veronica and Red had attempted to move past the chamber where they encountered the man-dog and his new posse, but the Fiends had begun to split up shortly afterwards, in all directions. It didn’t take long for one of them to stumble upon the hulking Red, getting the call out right before he smashed the Fiend’s head against the wall. The Broken Hyena was on their trail in minutes, beating his underlings and leaving them far behind. It was a wonder why he even recruited them.

Red was coming up on a grated cistern, but before he could make his way through to one of the two runoff tunnels, the Broken Hyena lunged at him. Nails dug into his back, Red stumbled forward and let go of Veronica. She tumbled across the grated floor for a bit before recollecting herself. She stood up and watched as the Broken Hyena stared her down, stepping off of Red. He slowly stepped towards, cackling softly.

Red fidgeted a bit before shooting his hand out and grabbing the Broken Hyena’s leg. He turned his head and barked madly before whining a bit, attempting to pull away. He raised his SMG and attempted to fire, forgetting he’d run out the magazine during the chase. He growled and threw the empty gun down at Red’s head, then began to thrash about, still trying to break free. Veronica began backing away as the Broken Hyena finally managed to get loose, kicking Red’s head repeatedly. He turned and made a quicker pace towards Veronica, but Red was still refusing to surrender. He jumped up and tackled the Broken Hyena, slamming him against the cistern’s grating. He attempted to hold the punches back with his one good arm, but it wasn’t working.

After a few more potential concussions, the Broken Hyena bent his legs and pushed Red back, scrambling to get up. Red moved towards Veronica, acting as the wall between her and the man-dog. But it was evident he was weak, hunched over and riddled with cracks and marks. The two stared at each other, and the Broken Hyena looked as though he was going to make another attempt at Red, even though he was heavily bruised himself. He cackled some more, pacing weakly.

Suddenly, a roar. A loud, piercing, inhuman roar. Much more intense than Red’s. It emanated from the tunnel the three had emerged from. Veronica winced at it, and the Broken Hyena crouched and whined a bit. He turned to look down the tunnel, back to Red, back down the tunnel, back to Red… and whatever he saw heading for the scene, he was obviously not interested in further conflict. It knew when to quit. He turned his head and darted down one of the other runoff tunnels, kicking up sewage water as he made his escape.

Red watched for a moment before turning towards Veronica, stumbling towards her, clutching a wound the Broken Hyena had made with his kicking. His legs gave out, and he keeled over onto the grating. Veronica rushed forward, attempting to focus and get Red back on his feet, but he was just too weak from the damage. Cracks and marks, aching joints, exhaustion… it took its toll. Veronica winced a bit before looking down the tunnel the roar came from. People were coming, two figures, both much bigger than her. Red wasn’t getting up and they were getting closer.

_“Hey!”

Veronica didn’t listen. She gave Red one last glance before turning and running down the third runoff tunnel. Red just stayed there, breathing heavily for a moment, before slumping onto the grating. As the two figures approached him, he gave a final few breaths, and then he was still. Moments more, and he began to disintegrate, red skin and bones melting off his body and falling through the grating into the cistern below.

Nothing could be salvaged.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

ENHANCE.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

CRAWLING IN YOUR THREAD, it's Shia LaBeouf...
MESSING WITH YOUR HEAD, it's Shia LaBeouf...
RUINING YOUR OOC...

RPG ENTHUSIAST SHIA LABEOUF.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

I'll post as Vero later, @UrbanEvolution. The LeBeoufening will come soon.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

SEWER FIGHTS INBOUND.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

Carl Semken

---

“Fold.”

“Fold.”

“Fold.”

“Call.”

The table collectively turned towards the man who called Carl’s raise. Carl himself looked at the man and asked, “You gonna try it, Donny?”

“I have watched you come in here and win so many hands with that static face of yours.” Donny replied, “Not gonna get me this time. Call.” He put his money forward and glared at Carl, who glared in return, even if such wasn’t visible. It was no contest in terms of who had the best poker face here, but it looked like Donovan the mechanic was going for the gold. “Alright.” Carl said, seeming a little enthusiastic. “Check.”

“Check.”

Hudson, acting as the dealer, put down the last card. Seven of diamonds, alongside a six of clubs, four of spades, four of diamonds, and queen of hearts. Carl turned over his hand; a queen of diamonds, and a seven of spades. Donny turned over his; a five of diamonds and an eight of hearts. Straight beats the two pair.

“Fuckin’…” Carl called out, amidst the expressions of surprise from the rest of the table and Donny’s audible smile as he hauled in the pot. Carl eased himself and sighed. “Okay Donny, that one’s yours. We were playin’ Omaha I would’ve gotten you though.”

“We did Omaha last time Carl. And Hector won that one.”

The others seated at the table were a construction worker named Hector, another NEST officer named Charles, and biker-looking fellow named Patrick. Hector was often called for collateral jobs that were caused by meta-humans fighting, Charles was just some Nesty who’d been suffering from a run of bad luck on the job, and Patrick… Patrick used to be a Highway Star but, he wasn’t involved with them anymore. Old story about making a deal with some other folks to get out safely, he didn’t enjoy bringing it up.

It was always these five, every week, playing poker in this bar, with their own little stores of pocket money to bet with.

Just five friends, on a night out, having a good time.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

I'll post tomorrow. I've been playing the Lakeview Cabin Collection pretty much all day. lol

@Mr Allen J

Pig Man gonna get your ass eventually.

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

Carl post coming later. For now, have a quick doodle of the Broken Hyena.

Nnnnggg

Verthaven: A Bloody Paradise [Completed]

Veronica Marlowe (Red)

---

A new Red. All grown up.

Veronica and her child had packed up what little there was in the hideout. A few small bags of food, some crates of sealed jars of sludge, and some blankets all wrapped and stuffed into various sacks, which Red had slung over his shoulder. Veronica walked behind him, wrapped in her old wool robe, head lowered. Her dirtied feet pressed on every little puddle of filth on the sewer floor, and the flowing of the putrid waters eased her some. After the intrusion of those five Fiends, she decided her last hideout wasn’t safe. She feared they’d come back for her.

So they moved.

The sewers of Verthaven were such a maze. It was as if the architects were geokinetics with eyes for design. Dim, but with lights strung above to guide the way for service workers. Something somber, and peaceful about it. But it still drew all the nasty types.

The two walked through an open chamber. Support columns running up and down, runoff tunnels dotting interior, drains on the floors… a place so wrought with filth, yet it seemed so eerily pleasant to reside within. It wouldn’t make for much of a suitable haven but, passing through was nice. Veronica and Red continued weaving through the chamber… but they stopped as a sound emanated from the distance. Like a…

Laughing hyena?

Red grit his teeth, but Veronica backed away towards a column away from the central isle. Red followed her, and they ducked inside one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica peeked her head out to see a group of Fiends entering the chamber. One of them was holding a chain leash attached to a… she wasn’t sure what to call the thing other than a meta-human. Some kind of… man-dog? It was humanoid, but its legs were long and slender, like a dog’s. It had a wild head of dark brown hair, unwashed and pulled back over its canine face, with a flat nose, a jaw hanging down and lips peeled back. It had a pair of red goggles strung over its eyes, and it was wearing makeshift pads of armor wrapped in tattered cloth rags. And its arms… the right was gangly and fitted with sharp nails, and the left was just a stump above the non-existent elbow. A metal collar was fitted around its neck, and the skin underneath was red and flaky.

The man-dog looked as if it was attempting to pull away from its leash. But the brutish Fiend holding the chain, with a submachine gun in his other hand, seemed intent on keeping him close. “Dog!” He yelled out, tugging the chain. The beast yelped before turning and barking at the Fiend angrily. Another tug, with the Fiend yelling more angrily, “DOG.” The Fiends behind him were keeping a bit of distance, though some looked to be goading their leader into further berating the man-dog. He tugged the chain, pulling the beast closer and smacking his snout with his own helmeted head. The beast reared back, whining a bit. The rest of the Fiends whooped and cheered a bit. The leader turned towards his subordinates, calling out, “SHUT IT.” They all piped down as he continued, “Spread out. Mark points. Kill anythi-”

The man-dog lunged at the Fiend, kicking him down, knocking the gun out of his hands. In a matter of seconds, it picked up the SMG, raised it up, aimed at the leader still on the floor, and fired a volley of bullets upon him. The other Fiends reared back and watched as the beast began cackling before raising the gun at them. It didn’t fire, but it was certainly threatening to. It turned the gun on the chain and fired a few bullets, severing the link. It looked at the Fiends once more and barked, turning and waving the gun towards his direction, beckoning them to follow him.

Taking the role of the alpha male, as it were.

It took a few moments to register but, the Fiends started to follow him. Some of them even began to imitate its barks, not even minding the outright murder of their leader. One of them called out in an almost celebratory manner, “Broken Hyena!” Some of the rest said the same, waving their weapons about happily. These Fiends, they were all man-dogs.

The group exited the chamber through one of the runoff tunnels. Veronica sat and waited, keeping her cool, while Red knelt down and remained as still as he could.

The Broken Hyena. One more hunter in the sewers. And he had a posse.

They had to keep moving.