Post
by arcanus » Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:29 pm
The Mercy Heights Community Hospital now unkindly called St. Nowhere, originally had the capacity for 8000 patients, a Level 1 Trauma Centre and 3000 staff, now it sat within the centre of the Chicago Containment Zone.
Andre had lived here for the past 12 months, an eventful time, the hospital was 12 stories in total, the lower 3 called the Pits were held by squatters, minor gangs and predators.
The basement levels below had become flooded by a nearby canal breaching during the UCAS bombing, no-one went there voluntarily his older friend Elkie had heard that things came out of the basement and grabbed survivors, never to be seen again 'Bogie Men' thought Andre.
The top floors were held by the 'Trust', the original collection of Doctors, patients and hospital personel who had in the early days had tried to keep it open, administer to the unfortunates of the zone!
That was until the bigger gangs had tried to take St. Nowhere, a street war had erupted with the Pheonix Chapter of the Ancients eventually prevailing, the Ancients however were no better than any other gang and then continued to try and seize the hospital this time without distractions.
The Trust had retreated, initially they'd had help from passing Runners and similar street types, but they were transient and couldn't provide protection for long.
Six months ago The Trust had sealed themselves in from the eighth floor up, ferrocreted all of the doors, access-ways and fire escapes, The Trust had become one of the increasing 'Roofer' communities.
Groups of survivors living upon the rooftops of larger buildings, collecting rain water and trapping/growing their own food, rumours were that some of the crazier ones were trying to hunt and trap bugs.
The Trust had turned the rooftop of the hospital over to gardens, bastardising any framework, mesh, polythene and similar materials to building large greenhouses, they had captured breeding pairs of pigeon and set up captive aviaries.
However their self sufficiency was constantly under threat, The Ancients had attempted to blow their way through the 7th floor seals and to scale the outer walls, other Roofer had attempted to glide onto St. Nowheres roof and they received visits from bug scouting parties.
St. Nowhere's 2,00 Square foot roof and upper floor space was now prime real estate.
Andre had been four years old when he' become sealed in the hospital with his mom and dad, both staff had spent his life in St. Nowhere's creche and kindergarten, he was now six an old 6 year old that had seen his dad killed by the pointy ears.
Bizarrely Andre actually constituted one of The Trusts defenses, an incredibly rare awakened child, Andre had displayed his propensity to magic from the age of two, however his power was very unique, unsurprisingly it was child like calling up imaginary friends that no-one could see but were very protective nether the less.
Even Roan and Doc Farlow; The Trusts magicians, couldn't understand or see his friends and spells, the one thing they did agree on was that they had an effect.
Andre screwed up his face and stuck out his lips in a duckish manner, as he spied a raggedy man creeping along the roof perimeter, beyond the plexi-glass which he was currently behind.
'Baddie' scolded Andre petulantly and 'Rollo' was in motion, although Andre's direct magic couldn't harm anyone, his latest friend certainly could, a plush tiger of some three meters in length, his tubular orange body and limbs and happy smiley face, sported claws capable of shredding steel.
Andre's friends had all been very protective of him, however when his daddy was killed by the bad elves 'Rollo' had appeared, the toy tiger was much meaner, mean to the bad people.
As the raggedy man found, Rollo passed through the plexi-glass and landed upon the invading roofer, his claws exposing the mans Spleniu's muscles and then his spinal column, before the man had time to fall, Rollo had shattered his leg below his left knee, finally flipping the corpse off the hospitals roof.
'Mr Magoo' Andre's great big blue friend, with flippy floppy arms, a top hat and saggy body stepped in front of his charge, Andre made his way cautiously out of the exit onto the roof itself.
He could see the web of air conditioning exhausts and beyond the grown ups greenhouses, then he heard the whistle of arrows.
Bereft of ammunition, The Trust had started to use more archaic weapons, spears, arrows and swords.
This was the problem with their rooftop existence once supplies such as bullets ran out that was it, however in The Trust's eyes it was a necessary trade.
Several other roof invaders were meeting strong resistance, Andre hurtled in a frantic run to an aircon stack, although no-one would have ever had seen him. Peering around the stack Andre watched as The Trusts defenders released a volley of arrows upon the 4 gliders that had made it to the roof.
One lay at 'Travis's' feet, Travis was one of the chief defenders of the hospital, another of the gliders reached the edge of the roof, however it collapsed away due to the weight of the arrows piercing the thin membrane of its wing.
The glider spun away, taking its pilot plummeting to the street level below.
Travis looked down at the fallen attacker, a look of utter contempt and anger crossed his face
'Always trying to tear down what honest folk have built' he hissed.
'Fuck you, ain't no innocents in this hell!' retorted the invader with fury.
'You don't deserve this, you don't build anything just take what isn't yours!' roared Travis.
'Its kill or be killed!'retorted the invader.
'Yeah it is' murmured Travis as he released his knocked arrow at point blank into the invaders face
Andre's eyes widened and he fled, once again a child, a child who needed his mom and he ran.
