Diego and Wei-Li caught hold of Geoff's arms and began pulling him up - all three Reavers had now filtered into their section of the hall.  They went for the man just standing their first.  His scream rang out and although Geoff couldn't see what was happening he could feel the warm blood hitting his arms and the side of his face as Wei-Li and Diego pulled.

The third Reaver went to Clive first - the man was dead though, so he turned his attention to Geoff.  Pain shot through him as he felt something sharp enter his right calf - cutting deeply through the muscle and tendons there.  The Reaver had him, was pulling him down - back into the hallway.
This message was last updated by the player at 18:36, Wed 04 Oct 2006.

Geoff had only been focusing on pulling himself up, not even letting the splattering of blood on his arms and face distract him. He had to get up there. He had to get to the vents and then get home to Destiny. He had to get home together with Wei-Li. Those were the only thoughts he let into his mind until he cried out loudly with the pain in his calf. That was when he finally looked down and saw the Reaver on him, pulling him down.

Geoff looked up with panic to Diego and then to Wei-Li before his eyes hardened and he shook his head, looking back to the Reaver below. He began driving down the heel of his left boot hard into the Reaver's skull. "I am not going out like this! I am going home!! I'm going to go home with Wei-Li and see Lei again!! So you let go, you ruttin' bastard!!", he growled, each word punctuated by an impact of his heel.

Wei-Li's jaw dropped when she saw the look in Geoff's eyes.  With a growl she pulled even harder.  When that didn't work she pushed against the pipe with both feet, pushing off of it gave her more power to pull Geoff up.  They had to stop the Reaver, but she knew that going back down was death... and so she helped to pull it up when she pulled Geoff.

She only knew she was not going to loose Geoff, not like this.

Diego pulled harder as he heard Geoff shout and knew that the Reaver had him.  He wasn't about to let go though - he couldn't have even if he wanted to.  His body no longer wanted to respond to his brain.  And his body was busy pulling - so that's what he was going to do.  For a moment it seemed like they were going to pull the Reaver up with him, then the weight lifted - the Reaver must have let go as they were suddenly able to pull Geoff up into the vent.

Diego tried to get his bearings - he'd never climbed around in the vents before so he wasn't entirely sure where to go.  Looking around he decided heading south - that was the direction of the docks - that's where they needed to go.  "That way." he said, "Go!" the woman and child were in the front, but its not like there was a lot of leading that needed to be done, they were pretty limited on the choice of directions up here.  He let everyone move ahead of him, placing a hand on Geoff's shoulder, "Can you make it?" he asked, the gash in the back of his calf was not pretty.

Several thougths fired off at once in Wei-Li's head.  The first was to make sure that the Reaver wasn't there; second, get Geoff away from the opening, which she did.

Once they were far enough away she pulled out Geoff's pistol and set it down beside her.  Then she tore his pants leg and inspected the wound.

Geoff had not let himself relax even a bit until he was in the vent and free of the weight of the Reaver on his leg. He then sighed heavily and took several deep breaths as he leaned against the wall of the vent. He looked to Diego as he asked if he could make it and he nodded. "I've had worse. Just need ta patch it up. Don't worry 'bout me. Watch out fer those two.", he said gesturing to the mother and child and gave him a slight nod,"Thanks fer yer help back there."

He then looked to Wei-Li as she tore away his pant leg and began to inspect his wound. "I'll...I'll be fine, Wei. We gotta move. Just use what ya tore off ta patch it up fer now and then let's go.", he said and then moved a hand to grasp hers,"And....thanks. Looks like ya saved me, huh? Heh. Maybe ya should ask the cap'n fer my job when we get back ta Destiny."

He smiled slightly, making it a point to say "when" and not "if". They were going to get back to Destiny. No matter what. He gave her hand a squeeze and then let go to let her look over his wound again.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Wed 04 Oct 2006.

Diego let the rest of the group move on ahead of him, then he grabbed his gun from where he had placed it on the surface of the bottom of the vent.  He looked back down through the opening into the hall.  His men were screaming down there.  Diego swallowed hard and sent up a prayer before taking careful aim.  It took three bullets (one had missed) and all his men were dead.  It was the last thing he could do for them.  He replaced the vent then, "Move." he said, and urged Geoff and Wei-Li forward after the mother and child.

Wei-Li looked up at Geoff, a small smile on her face.  She squeezed his hand, then turned back to his leg.  Each time Diego shot she flinched, but she remained where she was, working on Geoff's leg.

"You're the reason I was up here."  Her voice was soft, but it carried in the tunnel.  She made quick work of dressing his wound.

When she stood she moved to a position where she could support him if needed then winked at him.  "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Geoff looked to Diego as he heard the shots, knowing that it must have been hard for the man to put the bullets in them, but also knowing it was better than letting the Reavers have their ways with them. He looked away and back to Wei-Li as she finished patching him up and he flexed the leg slightly, testing to see just how much movement he could get out of it. Judging by his wince, it wasn't gonna be much at all.

"Trust me, Wei. That's the best news I've heard all day.", he said as he began to move forward at Diego's urging,"Wouldn't wanna be gettin' rid o' ya at all, after all. 'Sides....I don't think I'd still be movin' forward if ya weren't here..." He gave her a slight smile and then looked ahead as he moved forward as well as he could with his leg as it was.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:46, Wed 04 Oct 2006.

Wei-Li shot Goeff a mischivious look, though it did little to hide the fear and stess she was feeling.  "Considering the kinda day we've had..."  She managed a wink but quickly got back to business.

"How far do you think we have to go?" she asked Diego.  They were moving slower now, not wanting to run headlong into a Reaver sewing party.  Plus with Geoff's leg, they weren't going to be running any marathons if she could help it.

She kept a hand on his leg as they crawled through the vent.  It wasn't much, but it was something.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:53, Wed 04 Oct 2006.

There's a loud noise then, and the vents shake for a moment, up at the front of the line the kid gives a small scream and the mother's voice coo's softly to calm him - but her words sound hollow - she doesn't think they're going to make it.  The sound continues for a few minutes, everyone in the vents are almost frozen with anticipation, looking around, wondering what is going on.

It's suddenly very quiet.  The soft whooshing sound of air flowing through the vents has stopped.  No one had even noticed the sound to begin with - but now its absence fills everyone with a sense of foreboding.

They continue to crawl, its slow at first but their breath is coming in gasps - they feel lightheaded ... must be all the running they did earlier and the sight of the Reavers ...

Geoff crawled for a long time, only having paused at the sudden loud noise which had caused him to draw his gun and look around for a threat of any sort. It seems to stop after awhile and it's deathly quiet afterwards. It wasn't until it was gone that he noticed the soft sound of air moving through the vents stopped. He didn't think much of it, except for the slight tingle of fear that moved through his spine as he holstered his pistol and began to crawl forward again slowly.

It was a slow change at first, but it was soon that he felt his breath coming in gasps and pants. Being as big as he was, he must've been one of the first to feel the sudden change as he had to stop and lean against Wei-Li, an arm about her shoulder, as he stopped to try and steady his breathing. "My...my head's all....out o' whack. I feel all...fuzzy. I gotta...I gotta rest fer a second..."

The air vent seemed to go on forever but Wei-Li didn't mind.  So far there had been no trouble from the Reavers since hauling Geoff up into them.  It didn't mean they wouldn't be trouble later on, but at least they'd had a reprieve.

It was like one of the core world spook thrillers, being alone in the dimmly lit vents.  Every twenty or thirty paces there was an air vent, though she spent very little time looking out them.

There was too much going on-- too much death and too many chances a Reaver would see her looking out.  The rattling sound caught her by surpise and for a moment she was sure the Reavers had converged on their location.

Then the lights went out.  Wei-Li knew immediatly that the vents were closed but she didn't know why.  The lack of moving air made it even worse.  She stiffened when Geoff spoke and shook her head.  Were they being gassed?

It took her a few moments to realize that nothing was moving... no air... no gas.  She shook her head in the dark and tried to take a few deep breaths and felt a chill go through her.

The air wasn't moving, which meant the air they had was limited to what was in the vents.  If it wasn't moving... they had to.  They had to get to where the air wasn't as stagnant... wasn't as deadly.

She turned and whispered in her ear, though part of her knew the sound would carry in the enclosed vent.  "Air's limited...and not moving... we stay... we die.  We gotta get somewhere and get out of here."

When she realized the others had stopped she shook her head and whispered harshly.  "... gotta keep moving.. find a vent and get it open... Everyone.. keep moving..."

Geoff looked to Wei-Li as she spoke and nodded his head, though the movement didn't help his already dizzy perceptions any. He didn't speak though finding it hard enough to breathe, let alone form words. So he forced himself onward, crawling as fast as he could, which wasn't fast at all, really. Being wounded as he was and now lacking air, it was hard for him to move too fast without becoming dizzy. So he moved at the fastest pace he could and focused on the tunnel ahead. They had to keep moving. They had to keep moving or they'd die. He'd be damned if he died in a vent from lack of air after having escaped Reavers. They'd come too far and they still had to get back home so he wasn't going to be dying of anything anytime soon.

Diego had been crawling forward at a fairly decent clip, taking up the rear.  The sound of the vents rattling however had sent a cold shiver of fear up his spine.  He didn't know what the sound meant ... not at first.  Then he had begun to feel a shortness of breath, it was minor, just a slight lack of air.  Up ahead of him he heard Geoff mention it - it must be hitting him harder, Diego thought.  When Wei-Li responded however everything began clicking in his head.

The sound ... it had been the vents closing.  They had cut the air - there was no air in here, "You're right." he spoke up, "Find a vent, we have to get out of here.  They cut the air.  The patrols ... its part of the defense procedures." In the case of a Reaver attack it had been decided that the air would be cut - possibly kill the Reavers - but mostly to show mercy to those that were most likely, at this very moment, being tortured to death.  Suffocation was a far more humane way to go.  Put them out of their misery.  He tried to suck in a great breath of air but was unable to.  The vents weren't really that large of a space.  Just the few of them were using the oxygen up quickly.  They had to get out of there quick.

The woman's voice floated back to him, "Here, there's a vent here!" she called and crawled past it so that Diego, Wei-Li and Geoff could try to open it.  Diego frowned when he saw it.  It wasn't just that the slats were closed - a metal vent door cover had slid into place.  He didn't know if they'd actually be able to remove it.

Geoff would have cursed outloud about their current situation, but found himself without breath to do so. So he merely looked grimly forward as he crawled. At the shout from the woman ahead about there being a vent, Geoff let a sigh of relief leave him as he put on extra speed, ignoring the shooting pain through his leg as he moved. He stopped with Wei-Li and Diego at the vent and looked at it quizzically as he saw that it was a solid piece of metal blocking their way instead of just the usual slats he would've expected. He could've kicked through those, but this looked to solid for that.

So, as Geoff pondered their possibilities, he, of course, came to the conclusion that he invariably always comes to. "Huh...right, then. I'm gonna shoot through the ruttin' thing.", he said as he drew his pistol, reloading it with the shells at his belt and preparing to shoot.

Diego through out an arm to stop Geoff, "Are you ruttin' crazy?  You shot a pistol in here the damn thing'll richochet - likely kill us all!" he said, the whole sentence taking more air they really had but it had just flown out in his panic as the man firing the gun off.

Geoff paused and opened his mouth to defend his actions to Diego, stopping as he found himself unable to. "Uh....tha's a good point. Hadn't really thought o' tha'.", he said in a low tone before shaking his head and looking to Diego,"But then do ya got any better idea o' wha' ta do then?" He fell silent, with the exception of the panting breaths that left him, as he looked to Diego to see if the man had any bright ideas at this point.

Wei-Li moved forward, feeling around the sealed vent.  Even in the dark, she closed her eyes as she tried to imagine the cover in her mind.  "This is a HGM-7 Pressure seal... Maybe an Meyers-Hughs 23..." She half asked, half declared.

She looked up at Deiego.  "Am I right?"

Diego took in a labored breath, the air was getting less far too quickly for them to just have shut closed the vents - he looked up when Wei-Li spoke.  Of course.  "They're pressured locked." he said, "Close the vents up, suck some of the air outta here and you got yourself a tight seal.  If we can make a hole though ..." he faded off as his gaze fell on Geoff's gun that he still had out, "Give me one 'o your bullets." he said quickly.

Geoff had to admit that he had no idea what they were talking about when it came to pressure seals and all. But he understood the idea of making a hole and the fact that Diego had an idea of how to do that when he asked him for one of his bullets. So he slipped one of the shells from his belt and handed it to Diego. "What're we doin' then? 'Cause y'all might be all good with the thinkin' an' plannin', but I'm only good at it when it comes ta fightin' so I'm a little behind in the thinkin' here."

Diego pulled out a small flashlight and set it up so it would illuminate the vent and the area around it.  He then set to work pulling the projectile portion of the bullet away from the casing. He pulled out a pair of pliers and carefully wrapped a portion of rubber glove over the ends.

"If we can get enough powder, we can blow a small enough hole in the seal.  If we do that-- theres nothing left to hold the shield in place," he told them as he rocked the slug back and forth to loosen it.

Finally it gave way and he smiled as he poured out a small amount of powder agains the seal.  "I might need a little more.. how many bullets can we spare?"

Geoff nodded to Diego's plan, thinking that it made more sense than his "shoot a lot and see what happens" plan. He watched Diego at work, hoping very much that this plan of his worked. If not, they'd probably just end up still trapped with smoke filling the vents. He shook that thought out of his head and looked to his belt to see how many extra shells he had left.

"All right, I got three extra shells ta spare, if'n ya need 'em", he said as he extracted said shells from his belt and held them out to Diego if he needed them.

Diego didn't say anything now in an attempt to conserve air, just held his hand out and took the bullets from Geoff.  He opened them the same way that he had done the first and poured the powder out.  After had made a neat pile with a slight trail leading away from it he turned to the others, "Crawl further down," he instructed, they needed to not be all huddled right here when he lit this thing, "Anyone got a match - have to light this."

When Diego told everyone to move further down, she remained with Geoff.  She knew how desperate this attempt was, and she had no itention of being seperated from him.  She remained where she was, trying to think if she had anything that would work to light the makeshift fuse but could think of nothing.

She prayed someone had something Diego could use, otherwise there was no doubt that they would die where they were.