A Way Out

[Brenn Lawrence]

Brenn floundered in the wet darkness, feeling broken bones grind against each other in tortured pockets of ruined flesh. Reaching forward, always reaching forward, the young Haunt kept half crawling, half swimming, until her hand hit something solid and metal. Grasping blindly, fingers closing on the metal, she pulled her battered frame up until she could hear the echoes of her would-be killers still searching in the tunnels behind her. Green tunnel? Neighborhood? Green Tunnel. It's the grate. It's escape, it's life, Brenn thought feebly. Only Death lay behind her, waiting in the shell of a bullet, beckoning in the dark. She didn't know what had happened to her friends but that didn't matter. She had to escape.

The strength of her Blood had already fled her limbs, leaving her battered frame weaker than it could be, but that was okay. With a concentrated shove Brenn began to force the grate open, her natural might still greater than that of most men, while fervently hoping that the noise wouldn't alert the men looking for her. Finally the grate bent with a light squeal and she slipped under the water, her hands pushing up on the damp metal of the grate while she crawled through on her knees. Once she was past the grate she let it go behind her and continued forcing her way deeper into the bowels of the city.

[West]

In the clammy darkness, Brenn can feel the cool pressure of the water slowly rise. So, too, does the debris on top of it, and the detritus tickles at her like a dozen sweaty hands. Moving forward, the pressure of the water increases to a cool breeze, then actual force she has to lean into, as she comes back to the narrowing which the group had turned away from before.

Except, this time, she knows she doesn't want to go back.

The lowering ceiling and tightening walls constrict, the concrete a rough reminder when bumped into. Brenn's hands fill with cold, sliminess from the scum growing inside the tube, but underneath it she finds divots in the concrete. Staggered evenly, and free of growth -- handholds.

Of course, as hard as that grate was to open, she might be able to just safely wait out the rest of the night here.

[Brenn Lawrence]

Brenn kept pressing on into the sewers, using the grimy handholds to haul herself through the press of the water. She remembered one of the Militants mentioning something about the "Rev" sensing their beasts down in the tunnels and if that was true then she wanted to be somewhere where they couldn't reach her without scuba equipment. It was unlikely that she could find her way out of the sewers before the day hit but she had enough vitae, just barely, to allow her to rise for one more night and keep searching. Besides, sewers required frequent maintenance and had thousands of entry/exit points.

The Nosferatu kept walking, swimming, and pulling herself through the tunnels.

[West]

The drain angles upward until the hand holds aren't a convenience -- they're necessary. She's climbing rather than swimming. It's also apparent that no Kine could survive this journey without SCUBA gear.

And then it's over.

The next handhold isn't there, and the pressure is gone. The Haunt breaks the surface of the water to the blessed relief of light.

She's in a massive room for collecting water; steps lead out to a walkway that leads to scaffolding. There's also another, huge drain pipe. Essentially, she's just climbed up and out of the sink drain.

Or toilet. Depends on if she's a girl who see's the glass half full or toilet half flushed.

[Brenn Lawrence]

After the utter darkness of the tunnel the light burned Brenn's eyes like the sun would have burned her flesh, and she gave stifled cry. It took several moments for her eye's to adjust while she blinked away water and sewage. She had always been a girl who would have said the glass had water in it, but in this case she had to say the toilet had water in it while she looked at her surroundings through a light film of waste. Swimming over to the stairs renewed the pain in her shoulder and with a grunt she collapsed outside the entrance to the new drainage tunnel.

Laying there, trying to wipe the filth off of her clothing, Brenn was able to get a good look at the scaffolding. She was probably in some sewer maintenance/treatment structure now and as long as she followed the paths people were clearly meant to walk on, like the scaffolding, she would be able to find a way out. Hauling herself back up with another grunt the Nosferatu moved onto the scaffolding and began looking for a way out of the chamber.

[West]

After the past hour, having her feet on solid ground again is almost disorienting. There's no pressure of water against her, no slippery uncertainty underfoot. Best of all... no darkness.

Of course, the down side is, now she can see what she's been in, and what her clothes look like.

The door at the top of the cat walk is metal, and looks solid. Rubber flanges surround the edges, and there's a spinning wheel instead of a door knob. It reminds her of all the submarine movies she's ever seen.

Or there's that loose metal plate she saw as she went up the stairs to the catwalk. The one with small gouges in it, that look like the same size as the hand holds in the chute.

[Brenn Lawrence]

The realization about the grate came a few seconds after she'd already reached the top of the catwalks and made the ground spin for a moment. She wasn't alone down here. Something which could rend metal, with ease apparently, might be close by. It was probably that "thing" Jillian had mentioned but either way it made Brenn want to start checking over her shoulder every few seconds, as though she heard a faint rattling off in the shadows. No, with shattered ribs, two gaping holes in her chest, and shit-covered clothing she wanted to get out as quickly and as unhindered as possible.

"Looks like Das Boot it is," Lawrence muttered, shakily edging towards the wheel-locked door. It was probably sealed against water filling up this chamber, not what was on the other side of the door, but if the reverse was true it would be dangerous. With a firm grip and a twist of her arms, Brenn decided to take the gamble and open the door.

[West]

Brenn can feel ribs grind against one another and tear through ruined flesh as she torques her body without an intact rib cage to stabilize it.

Fortunately, the wheel spins and the door opens without ceremony.

A long concrete hall lined with lights stretches forward.

Eventually, stairs lead her up and out into a drain. Cool air, damp from the river, mists her face and white stars sparkle from the drain opening.

End Scene