St. Claire Memorial Hospital, 6:45 AM (OPEN)

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar wanted to cry.

It was another 15 minutes until sunrise proper but in that strange pink light of dawn he could see everything he wanted to. Yet it was not the old stone and mortar of St. Claire, still resplendent in it's withered beauty even after a century of chaos. It was not the way the light glanced off the windows making them seem like glimmering stars of hope still holding onto their place in the sky against the oncoming dawn. It wasn't even the old sign still bearing those two clasped hands, like the hands of god holding onto the tired and weary with the promise of salvation... no.

It was the front gates. The Padlock still remained in tact.

His heart nearly sprang from his chest as he let his binoculars drop to his side, swinging back and forth on the lanyard as he bolted the last block and a half down Bower Hill Road. He was giddy... and his feet flew over the pavement as if racing the sunlight to his destination. His lungs burned with exertion and excitement. The clean padlock was testimony that nobody had touched this aging hospital since the day after the world fell into ruin... which meant that the abandoned hospital was now a giant treasure horde of surgical supplies, medicine and... god he could only hope... medical machinery and equipment... REAL machinery.

His mind was so filled with daydreams of once again having a properly stocked office that the last block of his sprint became nothing but a blur against the background. His hands finally reached the old chainlink fence... With several empty nylon duffelbags in tow he scaled the fence with the ease that comes with euphoric enthusiasm and dropped down in the empty hospital parking lot.

[Aida]

She was back in the city, a place that didn’t worry her as much if he was day or night. It was almost morning. The creatures of the night should already be tucking themselves in for the morning. Getting comfortable to have wicked dreams if they even dreamed at all. She was tired exhausted and her supplies were limited. It just seemed her luck to run down to bare minimum of anything before gathering up more of what she needed. Using her staff for more support then normal she wanted to get some rest. Having been up all night she wasn’t a super human. Rest was a big thing for her. Yawning softly she saw the sight of the hospital. Hospital’s normally had bed. Beds were meant for sleeping and it was the day after all maybe she could actually rest. Regain some of her strength before having herself beat down to just about nothing once again.

Approaching the back of the hospital she noticed how the gate was locked and it didn’t look like anyone had disturbed it. Well from the outside. Grumbling she pushed her staff through the one link in the fence before climbing it easily then hoping over to the other side. Landing softly on her feet she walked up the back entrance and looked around scented the air and caught nothing. Pulling out a knife she picked the lock instead of damaging the door. She wanted to sleep, hell a floor in a building that was standing was good enough for her. The lock came undone in a couple of seconds before she fought it open. Having not been open in so long it didn’t want to move.

Slowly she made her way inside. One never knew what they might find in a building just like this. Walking down the hallway she heard only the echo of her boots as she looked around for a room that had been empty and not filled with life before the person died. Shuddering at some of the bodies she found she continued on her way stopping at a supply closet and seeing what bandages and other useful things she could take with her.

[hrothgar]

The sound of a rattling fence outside alerted him to the presence of someone else approaching the hospital. Had he been followed? and if so then by whom? The streets this far from the center of town weren't as heavily watched and there was no telling what may have followed him in here. However, this inquiry would have to wait as his fight-or-flight mentality kicked in. Immediately he dropped to the floor behind the Information desk in the front lobby, his back pressed against the dirty half-destroyed remains of an old PC.

Silence washed over the main lobby, turning the 40 foot walk between the info desk and the front doors into a blasted no-mans land of ancient Periodicals and upturned chairs laying scattered about the tile floor. He lowered the sound of his breath, calling upon every muscle in his chest and diaphragm to control the expansion and contraction of his lungs. The decrease in vital oxygen began to make his head feel dizzy but he fought the feeling back, Willing his mind to remain stable as the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder.

Hrothgar reached into his old beat up brown winter jacket with more patched-up rips and tears in it than he could rightly count. He felt around for a second until he found the revolver strapped into a holster on his side. Careful fingers flicked back the snap on the holster slowly drawing the weapon out. It was an old weapon, a .44 Magnum, the gun that had been widely toted by Clint Eastwood and a number of others as a powerhouse, a marvelous triumph of high Caliber engineering. His mind could recall countless scenes played out in movies, of grim looking criminals, outlaws and villains being blown away by this magnificent weapon but here in his hands it was only one thing... Unwieldy. It felt like a brick, and he knew only too well that he hadn't nearly enough training with the heavy pistol. It would kick like a mule and he'd be lucky to get an accurate shot with this thing within even a square foot of his target... but it was the only weapon he had and damned if the thing hadn't intimidated it's fair share of would-be assailants.

The footsteps were closer now from the way they moved it didn't seem at all like he had been noticed. From the sound of things she must have taken her time, going around the back and entering the lobby through one of the side corridors instead of simply coming in the front like he did. The tension began to subside and very quietly he peered over the desk to see a young woman, blonde, making her way down one of the corridors to the supply closets. He smiled... probably some drifter scrounging for something worthwhile. She was going for the regular supplies, first aide kids, surgical equipment.. basic things he had plenty of.

Good... go ahead and have them, take all the ace bandages and rubbing alcohol you need... I'm here for the big score.

He took a few moments now to study her from behind the counter. There seemed a bit of an issue now, it seemed her mannerisms held the confidence of a vampire but the steadfast pragmatism of a human being. A half breed? Perhaps... if this was the case there was a chance he could negotiate something with her. He tucked the revolver away and stood up, bounding over top of the desk and brushing himself off. He made the act sound clumsy, careless, figuring that he might get a more amicable reaction out of her if he made her think she might have gotten the drop on him, and that he hadn't been quietly watching her and... to a lesser extent, very seriously considering the prospects of having to put a bullet in her (or in this case shooting a bullet in her general direction and praying to god that it actually hit it's target.)

[Aida]

Aida had to of been loosing her touch with lack of sleep. She had not sensed another in the building as first she was looking for a bed. A safe place to catch a few hours of light sleep before moving on. It was impossible for her to stay in one place long but during the day she was safer then at night. Hell that was how it was for many anymore but it shouldn’t of had to be that way for her. She was after all a nightwalker, a vampire like all of them yet her blood was pumping through her veins like that of a human. Shaking her head she flipped the hood off looking at what goodies this supply closet still had that were still good.

Slipping her bag over her head she unzipped it, setting her staff down beside her she started to fill her bad with valuable supplies she could use. Mainly bandages, alcohol was always an added bonus. There were other medical supplies that she could use, scalpels and other instruments could come in handy if needed. Movement and the noise coming from behind her caused her turn quickly her bag still in her hand as she zipped it up dropping it to her feet as she knocked the staff just right with her boot causing it to roll up her toe and she caught it eyeing the male before her.

His scent was that of a dragon. Cursing inwardly if he figured out what she was… Shaking the thoughts away she glared at him. Picking up her bag she stepped out of the supply closet but didn’t move any further. “Friend or Foe?” she asked him slipping the bag over her shoulders. It wasn’t on which one he picked it would be how he replied to her. Almost everyone said friend hoping that it wouldn’t cause any issues. There were far more foe’s then friends in this world.

[hrothgar]

There was no initial hostility from her. This at least was promising, he didn't come to this place looking for a fight. Quite the opposite in fact, this city didn't need another bloody corpse laying in the corner, moldering like so much wasted potential. He reached to the lanyard around his neck, holding up a digital ID badge bearing the name.

"DR. LUTHER CHRISTOPHSEN.
ALLEGHENY GENERAL HOSPITAL"

Allegheny General had long since been looted dry. The place was a goddamn morgue of bodies that nobody had bothered to clean up. Still, here stood a man of healing and for what good it was worth he was making an attempt to show her that he hadn't forgotten the promises he made to aide those in need. With his other hand he pulled open his coat showing that he was indeed armed, a precaution to ensure that anyone thinking of doing him any harm would have to rethink this decision.

"You look like a you might be part vampire... so probably foe if you want to think of things in the long run. But in here I'm a friend... This city's got enough death running around and I'm not about to see a place like this get turned into another battlefield. My name is Doctor Christophsen, and if you have any experience with electronics, I need your help."

[Aida]

Aida stayed close to the door of the supply area. There were plenty of places to run if she had to but she didn't want it to come to those options. Being dead tired and sluggish already she just wanted a decent place to stay the night. Her body stiffened, hand gripping her staff tighter when he moved, but only reached for the lanyard pulling out a badge he had around his neck. Arching an eyebrow as she read it Aida forced herself to relax a bit. "A doctor, in a dead hospital... is odd" she said outloud but it was just her thoughts. He could answer or not, none of it mattered any to her.

Her eyes moved when he pulled open his coat showing her his weapons. Rolling her eyes she didn't bother to move as her body was exposed, the hood off her head her upper body was barely clothed showing off her stomach as her hips had no holsters of any kind and he could see her, no use showing the inevitable. Plus it would have been stupid to show him any other weapon she hand other than her staff. He was carrying more and was a dragon. Nothing she had would harm him much unless she could get close enough and survive to make a blow that would hurt him.

When he said that she looked part vampire her eyebrow rose. "Vampire, that is an interesting assumption. Why would you think me to be a part blood sucker by appearances?" He could probably smell it, damn special senses of all the supernaturals. It had been a few nights since she had fed so the smell of fresh blood wouldn't be on her, minus the blood splattered on her boots and cape from the night before. "Friend it will stay then old man" she said moving a little bit closer to him, "I really don't want to fight, piss me off and I might but help... I could try. Not really an expert or anything..."

[hrothgar]

"As rational beings we are eventually driven to assumption as a consequence of our need for information." He stated with a smile. "You came in through the back door , showing that you're at least taking into consideration the hazards lying in wait for you which would suggest a mortal heritage, but your entrance lacked any sort of preliminary check of your surroundings which suggests you exist with heightened senses or may very well be suffering from severe fatigue. However since you don't show any of the typical symptoms associated with any severe fatigue I'm guessing you're just a little tired, which means that you're also somewhat nocturnal, although these days that very well could mean anything."

His eyes drifted skyward innocently as he continued. "Now of course you could be straightforward with me, after all if you WERE part vampire, not to immediately state or suggest to any real length that you are but in more of a hypothetical capacity, then this would be important information for me to know as this place used to have a nice blood bank. IF everything went according to plan the fail-safes in the vault would have engaged and allowed for the prolonged storage of the blood in a cooled state... again that is IF the backup generator hasn't failed by now. Now this would be a nice thing to probably check out if you were part vampire... all that blood... cool and chilly... tasting just as fresh as the day they took it out of the arteries... just lying in there ready to dig in. However, if you're not one, well, there's really no reason to check it out, I can always get a blood drive going if I find enough cigarettes so I'm in no shortage thereof"

He cracked his knuckles, stuffing his hands in his pockets and coughing. "even without experience with electronics what I want is still do-able... it just might take a bit more direct force... how good are you with a crowbar?"

[Aida]

Leaning against the wall she listened to him as he went on with how he came up with his assumption of her being half vampire. Smirking at him as he knew exactly how she had came in. He had to of been scouting the front of the hospital when she had entered or had been doing so before she did. Damn he was to alert to the little details. Pushing herself up from the wall She took a step closer to him. “I do not suffer from fatigue you are correct on that assumption… doctor, we are all tired beings anymore. Its not safe at night for anyone.” she paused and rolled her eyes unless you are a dragon. I hear their skin is so tough that a vampire leaves them be unless they are truly crazed.” shrugging her shoulders she smiled back at him. Aida knew what he was but wasn’t letting on to it. Not yet she wanted to hear what else this doctor had to say about her.

Smirking when he said that she could be straight forward with him, she wanted to ask where the fun was in that. Biting her tongue she resisted starting a verbal confrontation of any kind. Stepping even more closer to him she chuckled at what he was saying and then arched her eyebrow at the mention of a blood bank in this hospital. Her eyes narrowed as he continued, there was a slim chance that the blood was even good. She would never drink it herself, animal blood did wonders for her, but someone who could control a decent amount of human blood could control the vampires or attempt to. It could be used as a weapon as well. So many thinks were going through her head. “Even if I were…say half breed of a vampire why would I drink human blood?” Closing the distance between them she hopped up on the counter crossing her one leg over the other smiling at him. “There is after all a very slim chance the blood is still good. Do you know how long this hospital has been dead?” she asked uncrossing her legs, turning on her bottom and hopping behind the desk where he had been.

Aida watched him and nodded. “Crowbar? Yes I am but normally I don’t need one.” smiling she moved to stand beside him, waiting for him to tell her what he needed done. It never hurt to have another friend after all. Especially since she didn’t pick either side, she thought of herself only and how to survive. Looking up at him with an amused look she chuckled. “I am guilty as charged but what I said earlier about human blood… I wont touch it, made a promise a long time ago…”

[hrothgar]

Hrothgar eyed her as she seemed to shift her stance quite a bit while he spoke. To be honest it put him a little on edge, Ironically enough he wasn't fully prepared to deal with such a friendly response from the woman. He kept his head however, if she was going to be amicable then there was no reason to ruin a good thing so his animosity and anxieties would have to push their way to the back of his mind for the time being.

"Fair enough, you'll have to forgive me if I'm somewhat uneducated about vampires and their half-cousins. I don't often get a chance to study the physiology given the animosity between our two races... as you can Imagine I'm rather hard pressed to find willing subjects for study."

He knew it probably sounded pretty cold to her, but he was still a little unsure as to her attitudes at this point. Sure enough she'd claimed she didn't drink human blood, but she must have known he was a dragon by now and she'd made no mention about not drinking his. He didn't like the notion of having to put her down, mainly because he wasn't entirely sure he was capable of it either mentally or physically.

He beckoned her to follow as he made his way back to the information desk and began pulling out drawers until he found an old hospital directory in the form of a brochure. Unfolding the little map he began looking through the various cutaway layouts of the hospital's floors.

"Now, what I'm looking for is the Pharmacy... if one thing in this place should still be good its the medicine stores. The pills are all kept in automated airtight bins that are operated by a main computer terminal. These were designed so that nobody could come in and lift any drugs without the hospital records showing. There's only two ways to open one of those containers, either by somehow restoring power to the building and flipping on the hospital mainframe, or by taking a crowbar to those bins and getting them all out ourselves. Now if you can help me crack those bins open I can help you get your hands on the blood in the blood bank, if you're still interested, or you can go ahead and help yourself to all the Morphine, Oxycotton, Percoset, Mescaline, Prozium, Uppers, Downers, you name it... I've got no use for any recreational drugs and I'm certain the market value of that nonsense should fetch a pretty penny."

[Aida]

Aida wanted to chuckle at how he kept his eyes on her as she moved while they talked. She moved in no way like she was going to attack him. Exhausted is what she was, Being up over 24 hours straight with no rest was slowly starting to get to her. It was habit to keep moving so that she did fall asleep when and where she didn’t want unless her body started to shut down. In the presence of this dragon who figured out what she was so easily she wasn’t sure if she could honestly trust him.

When she hopped up on the counter he apologized for not being knowledgeable of her kind. Shrugging her shoulders she grinned at him. “Not many are and I hope to keep it that way. You see…Doctor…. It is safer for me and anyone who knows of me to keep it that way” Listening the rest of what he said she just shrugged off the words. They could have came out cold, uncaring but since she knew what he was or had been a Doctor then he had this sense about him to study and to know. “Vampires they are still plenty… Blood Thirsty many crazed, a fair amount who aren’t buy my kind are rare. So don’t get your hopes up to studying anyone soon.”

She would let him ask her questions but that was it. Anything else he would have to try and find another half breed. She didn’t know of any others as it was safe to stay hidden, silent and pretend to be human. Sliding over the desk she landed softly on the balls of her feet. Moving nearer to him she watched him open drawers and begin to look through them. A pen caught her eye and she picked it up clicking it a few times until he found what he was looking for. Aida moved closer as he started to go through the map of the building. Following his finger when he stopped at the Pharmacy she listened to him and raised an eyebrow.

“Restoring power… Doubt that will happen. Your lot is the one with that kind of ability I don’t believe they have ventured down this far.” Placing her hands on the desk she glanced up at him. “You would have to restore power to this general area… I say we take a crowbar… my fingers and get it cracked open for you… that is unless you have a plan.” When he mentioned giving her pain killers and other lots of drugs her eyebrow raised in suspicion. “You want none of those for yourself? And you will just give me those and show me where this blood is for just my help? What all is in this for you Dragon?”

Aida didn’t mean to come out so cold. But she didn’t want trapped in any way, one person after her was enough to keep her on her toes. Lack of sleep and everything else was making her extremely cautious of the dragon. Though he showed no signs of being hostile towards her this whole time.

[hrothgar]

"Ten to fifteen thousand human lives saved depending on the circumstances, that's what's in it for me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and there's a great heaping goldmine of prevention on the second floor of this building sitting packed away in neat little bins. Right now the people I watch over are vulnerable to disease, without the proper care they could be wiped out by something as simple as a streptococcal infection or a common cold and god help if they come down with a good case of Influenza or even worse... Tuberculosis or Typhoid."

There was a brief pause, and now those eyes seeming so caring and worried carried a wracked and desperate look to them. All the stress and anxiety of his position finally shone through in those eyes, revealing a glimpse of a man who could think of nothing else but the saftey of others. Here was Hrothgar, the dragon who guarded mankind from the hidden dangers of world even more dangerous than the claw of the shifter or the fangs of a vampire, for no Blood drinking Baron or Feral murderer could kill as fast or as painfully as disease.

Hrothgar's knuckles were white, balled into tight fists..."I can save them..." He began " not all of them, but enough of them, with what is in this Hospital. Penicillin, Vaccines... It's not going to solve all our worries but it's a start, even if all I'm doing is buying time it'll be worth it. Now I know this won't mean much to you, I know you probably don't owe humanity any favors... but I do. They showed me fifteen centuries worth of knowledge and learning and I owe it to them to put it to use, it would be wasteful of me otherwise.

I'm willing to pay in blood or in mercy... now choose which one you'd rather have."

[Aida]

Aida straightened up when he started to answer her question. Her eyebrows rose at how he said it. She had never thought of how few human numbers truly were. There were a fair amount in this city and the surrounding area’s but their life span was short. Life for them was hard and never seemed to get easier and well disease was a big killer, if the vampires didn’t get them first. Lowering her eyes it reminded her of her mother and how she took care of her. Nodding her head when he paused she looked up at him.

Shaking her head at the look in his eyes her features softened. He was giving her a glimpse of who he was, a man, dragon that had spent way to much time with humans it seemed. Glancing at his hands she placed one of hers on his. Looking up at him she patted his hand before pulling hers away. Pulling the hood over her head, green eyes sparkling. “Then by all means Doctor lets get this medicine… help you save a few people.” Moving from behind the desk she glanced down the hallway then back at him.

“Mercy is stronger than any drop of blood, but if you can even save a handful of people you are something…. To bad you couldn’t have been around a few years ago” With that she dropped her head from his and started moving towards the stairwell. Stopping at the door she waited for him. "You don't seem like a man who would take a life unless he had to as well Doctor." she said with a smile and waited for him to lead the way from there

[hrothgar]

His breath calmed a bit, his look had lost a bit of that fearful fire that had enveloped it the moment before. He very quietly shouldered up the duffel bags on his shoulder and kept his eyes downcast. Yes... if only he'd been there a few years before, when the disease hit. He was in Pittsburgh at the time yes, too busy tending to those who needed him immediately, too blinded by the issues in front of him to pay any attention to the coming storm. He'd tried his hardest when the infections broke out, he did everything he could but it had always stayed at the back of his mind eating away at him day after day...

What if he'd been there? What if he'd gathered his knowledge from years past and worked on a cure? things might have been different. Experience told him not to dwell on the past when there was still time to save the future. He put the regrets of yesterday behind him.

"Yes... its too bad," He murmured as he opened the door to the stairwell and began to head down to the maintenance levels below the hospital "and Yes I've killed before in the name of mercy. I have had to make the hardest calls, to let someone die than let them live in agony, and even to kill one man in order to save ten. These are not decisions I wanted to make, they are not decisions I wish to make again, but they are decisions I no doubt will have to make again. Now come, we should check out the basements first before going upstairs. There should be tools down there as well as the Emergency Vault."

Down two flights of stairs below the main basement to the sub basements used for supplies and storage of the main systems. It was dark down here, damp from pipes long since corroded through and broken. Hrothgar reached into his pocket pulling out his old flashlight peering around in the darkness where the sun couldn't reach. Every muscle in his body on edge as he pressed on into the black unknown.

[Aida]

Aida was a bit stunned at his reaction to everything but it didn’t take him long to regain his composure and be almost a stiff again. There was not very many of them left, or that she had met. It was always look out for number one, no one cared anymore about a group as a whole. Really no one could honestly blame them. It was after all how they grew up. Hell she only looked out for herself and she was going to be getting a treasure when she was done helping out this dragon.

Moving away from him she had mentioned if only he had been there a few years earlier. He could have possibly saved her mother from dying. She could have possibly been living or died another way. Fate, she thought as she pushed away thinking about the past. It only hurt and she didn’t need those thoughts to be plaguing her. Pushing open the door to the stairwell she held it open for the Doctor catching what he said. Smirking she listened as he caught her comment nodding at what he had to say. “Good I didn’t think you would stick a knife in my back” she replied as they made their way down the stairs in silence.

It got dark and she pulled out her dagger from her boot and held he staff in a better position. Green eyes looked to the doctor as he pulled out a flashlight. She didn’t need the light to see, it was one of her gifts from being half vampire. She felt him go on edge and glanced around. Taking a few steps in, her boots making a soft sound on the ground. This would be the perfect hiding spot for anything that didn’t like the light. Looking to the one wall she saw a whole, large enough for two humans to fit through. Shit she thought as she pointed to it for the doctor. Something could easily be lurking in the darkness here. Moving slowly she ended up getting tackled by one of them. “Son of a---” she yelled as she hit the ground with a thud. Her staff fell from her hand as she managed to hold onto the dagger.

Aida used her free hand to grab its throat, keep it from biting down on her. Her blood was no vampires snack. Hissing at it she Took the dagger piercing it through its side hitting its heart. It turned into a pile of ashes on top of her. Catching her breath she rolled to her feet crouching on the ground before calling out to Hrothgar. “Another coming at your Left Doctor”

[hrothgar]

His mind went blank for a second and a half as things began to move rather quickly around him. Things seemed to slow down as he heard the shouts of his companion while she grappled with some unseen attacker. In a single moment his flashlight was dropped to the ground and his revolver was slid out of the holster. He could feel the weight of it, the adrenaline seemed to help with the hefty feel of the weapon but he still swung it in an unwieldy arc as he tried to level it off, peering into the darkness and aiming at the first movement he could see. With a eyes squinting in the panic he pulled the trigger.

There was a loud BOOM as a solid metal slug discharged from the chamber of the weapon. The darkness was lit up for a single millisecond by the muzzle flash as his shot flew wild, only grazing the arm of his phantom attacker. The kickback of the weapon caused him to stagger backwards only to catch himself and level the weapon off again. There was no second shot however. Before he could aim and fire again the vampire was on top of him. Shoving him to the ground and throwing him with a splash into the two and a half inches of stagnant water on the floor. He growled, his own draconic strength was only a fraction of what it should have been, such were the limits of this form.

In Darkness now he grappled blindly, fighting with the unseen form, kicking, flailing and narrowing his eyes as he fought mind and body all at once, forcing the shift towards his hybrid form. Rock like scales broke out on his neck and cheeks as his fingers began to grow subtle little claws.. He growled, gnashing his teeth as he felt his humanity begin to slip away just enough to let the elegant beast inside of him push forward.