The earth rumbles

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Soraya laid on her bed without moving. Moving made the nausea worse, as did standing, and she could hardly solder herself to Naitachel's side for relief, as much as she would have liked to. She sighed and closed her eyes again, willing herself to sleep if for nothing more than the relief of her tiredness, though that would make her oblivious to her churning stomach, as well. She had willingly exiled herself to her room after yet another set of conversations with some of the more excitable colonists regarding what was happening with the security measures that had left her exasperated and frustrated. They would hardly listen to reason, and she could talk to them until she was blue in the face without doing any good. They believed what they wanted to believe. She simply hoped that they would contain their behavior to gossip and not actually act out on their (unfounded) suspicions. Still, dealing with it all left her even more tired than before, and, with a quick explanation to KC that she was taking a nap, she had gone into her sleeping quarters for a bit of peace and quiet.

It was the popcorn feeling in her stomach that brought her back to full-alertness. The redhead smiled and brought her hand to her already-rounding belly, caressing it gently. At about 13 weeks it was a bit early, she thought, but not unheard of...

"Already making yourself known, are you?" she cooed quietly to the baby she had just felt move for the first time inside of her.

<The baby just moved,> she sent to Vlad happily, though she knew he wouldn't be able to feel him or her just yet from his side of things. Still, this was a welcomed, happy moment she was willing to cling to after a difficult day.

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Settling on the couch in the library with a history book in his lap, his tea steaming on the nearby table, Naitachel sighed blissfully as he carefully placed the earpieces of the iPod in his ears and flicked it to several new songs, intent on catching up with the world's music. Pop and rap were something he understood, but wasn't certain he agreed with. Then again, "Modern" Classical artists rather clashed with his taste, too. Poor Liszt was likely laughing his head off on the other side. So much for being considered "risqué" anymore...

A cup of tea, a good tome, and new music to enjoy... and Naitachel was content.

In a sense, he needed this.

Since his arrival, he could feel the tension grow, the suspicion and unrest, threatening to climb to explosion at some point, though he couldn't guess as to when that might be. The Seraph had done what he could to ease it, singing in the chapel fit for the whole system of tunnels to ring, exerting what influence he may. However, over so many, and attempting to cover such an expanse--through rock at that--made that influence minimal. It would have been stronger had anyone other than Mircea and himself dare step into the chapel itself, as proximity would have helped. But he kept trying, feeling much like the proverbial boy with a finger in the dyke, waiting for the levy to collapse.

Add to that, the job of aiding Soraya's nausea and mood swings was his, as he was most suitable for it. His soothing influence did her a lot of good, allowing her to eat and function almost normally... so long as he kept a hand on her, staying in physical contact. So when he wasn't singing or meditating, he was tagging along as her white shadow--unless she was having private discussions with various colonists (which seemed to be more and more often of late, in his opinion), or with Vlad, or simply resting.

Like now.

So, such opportunities, he attempted to become more familiar with modern technology... catching up on history, medicine, literature, music... and at times, more than one at the same time.

Michael sauntered down the hallway, brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled to put pieces together that just didn't seem to fit. There were weapons missing now, and some of the blame was falling upon Nari, Everett, and his uncle, but he knew they weren't the culprit. His uncles and father were already trying to figure it out, but still, it bothered him.

His relationship with Nari had deepened during the past two months, and he admittedly enjoyed her company more and more. Enough so that any other prospects he might usually have pursued in tandem to this were nonexistent. Uncle Min might be a little dismayed by that...

They hadn't moved fast, far from, and he had even managed to keep away from most physical portions of it, knowing her hang-ups about it all. There was cuddling allowed, which he enjoyed as well, but anything else she seemed to shy away from. Not that he pushed, but still, it was getting harder to be good.

The vampire sighed as he checked the next security camera on his route, keeping an eye out as he walked for possible intruders but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Everett was down in the shop, working on a new melee weapon system he had designed, and he finally had the last two parts he needed. Putting them into place, he secured the rest of the weapon and checked his schematics before testing it. Attaching the weapon to the lower part of his arm and locking it in place, he pressed the lever on the inside of his palm--the blade shifted down the arm piece and out through the hole on the wrist area.

It went smoothly with no errors--pressing the lever again the blade retracted back just as smoothly as it had shot out. "Awesome," he said quietly. "I want to go show the vampires this new piece and see if they like it!" he said to himself.

He let Eric know he was going to see them and that he would return shortly after, then made his way through the tunnels and doors to where the vampires all lived. Everett gave a knock at their door and waited, marveling at the new piece again and feeling very excited.

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Vlad smiled at Soraya's proclamation. <Demanding attention already?> he asked, laughing.

He sobered quickly as he and Radu came upon yet another series of broken lights. Radu set upon repairing them quickly while Vlad noted the damage on his clipboard. They'd had those capable among them sniff out the scents of those who'd been in the damaged tunnels, but there were no foreign or unexpected scents lingering to indicate someone unauthorized had been there. Whoever had done this had hidden their tracks well. Too well.

Who among them was capable of that?

"I grow weary of these games," Mircea growled, joining them. "We've lost more livestock and small weapons cache."

Radu just nodded, Vlad making note of those losses as well, as they awaited word from Min, Matt and the twins, each of whom were inspecting damage to another section.

"I think it's time for action, brother. Whoever is responsible for this is clearly provisioning themselves for action. We must be ready to defend these humans against this threat."

Radu sighed. Unfortunately, Mircea was right...

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At Vlad's answer, Soraya merely smiled and resettled into her fitful wake/doze state, hoping for more signs of life from within.

What woke her completely again was the sudden shaking of the earth. As a commode crashed down next to the bed, she yelped and dashed out of the bedroom, hoping for a safer place to ride out the danger. The problem was that dust seemed to coat the air, and she had to feel rather than see her way to the common room, and, more importantly to the table under which she sought refuge. It was the most logical thing she could think to do, and she made herself as small as she could, clutching her stomach protectively. Her lungs burned with the dirt that she inhaled upon every breath.

Frightened, Soraya reached out to feel her family, but the only one she could find clearly was the one nearest to her. <Naitachel! Are you safe?> she asked as the world continued to shake around her.

As Everett was waiting for an answer, the place began to shake and rumble; dust and dirt flew from the wall and ceiling, nearly blinding him.

"What the hell is going on? An earthquake--now?"

He was a frightened and more then a little. He was underground during an earthquake--that couldn't be good! Immediately he looked for something to get under, and saw what he though was a rock overhang sticking out from the wall down the tunnel.

He ran as fast as he could to get under it, hoping that he would be safe and that this earthquake would not crush them all underground.

The first rumbles made the Seraph frown, pulling the earbuds out and setting the iPod and book aside, confused, curious... but once the walls began to shake and the ground trembled, he realized what this was. Never before had he been underground during such! He bounded off the couch and close to a wall, mantling his wings over his head to protect himself and crouching down.

No, this felt as though it was not only going to be big, but had yet to reach its climax!

Dust and debris began to tumble from cracks in the ceiling and walls. Artwork and nicknack's crashed down, taller furniture falling over, lamps and other items sliding from tables, even the iPod cracking against the floor (though that one made him wince as he had borrowed it from Brianna).

And it still had not reached its maximum upheaval yet?

The destruction around him was the least of the Seraph's worries. He was safe enough, to hop between this plane and the next... and he knew the vampires could endure most injuries and deaths if need be... but for all the other colonists, there was great danger, especially if this built to further, more violent vibrations--many lives could be lost, many injured, and perhaps even the tunnels collapse, trapping all within?

If he but could... match the sound with a different frequency... perhaps he could at least keep this from worsening!

Taking a deep breath from under his safe canopy, Naitachel SANG with all the strength and volume he could muster in such a cramped position, to counteract and cancel some of those deep vibrations. The note he was forced to use was low and deep, a heavy thrumming, not his normal range and below the hearing of most people, rough on his throat because it was unnatural for him to produce such.

Though distracted, forced to concentrate on the sound he was trying to produce and maintain in hopes of taking the edge off this earthquake's attack, he felt Soraya's mental touch and query, and gently prodded back, unable to give a more specific answer yet.

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The sound of the earthquake filled Michael's ears, the cacophony of its rumblings louder than anything he had heard in recent history. What was more frightening, however, was the movement of the earth beneath his feet. Dust filled the air as the very hallway Michael stood in seemed to shift sideways, before plunging upward and downward in a sinuous, wavelike motion. This was a big one. The vampire braced his hand to a wall to keep steady as he looked up warily to the ceiling, hoping no rocks would fall on top of him, and even more so hoping that his loved ones were safe.

Nari's call alerted him that perhaps she wasn't.

Spurred on by concern and his superhuman abilities, it only took Michael a few moments to reach her, though those moments were long enough to have created a danger to Nari's life. He arrived just in time to push her out of the way as a large rock fell where she had been standing against the pillar. The timing was such, however, that he could do no more than save her and get himself pinned under the boulder, crushing his legs and creating nasty gashes along his abdomen.

The earthquake roared on around them, having hardly exhausted all of its power, though its gnashing anger seemed to have lessened somehow.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this area," Michael managed to sputter just loud enough to be heard over the growling of the earth

The vampires shifted toward the cave wall supports as large portions of the section they walked came down around them, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the underground community. They began working in unison, digging their way through the rubble wall as Radu reached out mentally, touching the minds of the rest of his family one at a time, trying to determine their condition.

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After the initial quake, Soraya had begun emerging from the table only to be taken off-guard by the aftershock. She yelped in surprise as a nearby commode was sent crashing to the floor, and she quickly retreated back under the table, still protecting her midsection with her arms. In her haste, she bashed the back of her head painfully against the table's edge, which left stars dancing in her vision, and which she would surely feel later in the form of a knot on her head.

Somewhere along the line, the main lights had shut off, plunging the entirety of the compound in darkness, and Soraya forced herself not to panic based on this fact; the backup generators would kick in in a few minutes. She hoped.

Still, all that seemed secondary to the struggle breathing had become, and she covered her mouth and nose with her shirtsleeve, trying to filter at least part of the dust in the air out.

This time, as the aftershock faded, Soraya remained hiding under the table a few extra moments to ensure she wouldn't be taken off-guard by yet another tremor. When she finally found the courage to leave her sanctuary, she was forced to grope through the darkness in unfamiliar terrain, as the entire room was turned upside down and backwards as though someone had toppled all of its valuables and smashed them on the floor. Even the furniture wasn't there to give her an idea of where she was, as it had fallen as well.

Those weren't what mattered, however.

<Naitachel?> she called to the seraph, all the while casting her senses outward to find her family. She found Tommen who was relatively nearby and unscathed, and after a bit more searching, she managed to locate Brianna, who had been with KC. Both were unhurt.

Still coughing, the redhead made what she hoped was her way toward the library, where Naitachel had been last she had spoken to him, hoping to locate at least another living being.

She was on the verge of panic as she sought him, however; though she knew it was likely due to sheer distance and the chaos that was going on, she couldn't locate most of the other vampires, notably Michael or Vlad.

Nari wrote:

With tears leaving muddy runnels down her cheeks, she started pushing on the rock, trying to get it off of his legs. "I had to get away Michael. I promised you I wouldn't run any more, but I couldn't take any of their accusations. I haven't done anything wrong!" Well, not exactly true, since she /had/ continued to sneak down here, using one of the broken doors.

Michael coughed weakly as Nari tried to shoulder the large boulder off of him. "I know you haven't done anything wrong," Michael soothed despite his condition, "and I think it might be a little too heavy for you," he told her weakly, referring to the boulder, before crying out as a jolt made its way through his nervous system, ensuring him that he was, indeed, still alive. "Hey, at least even if I die, I should come back from this one," he informed her, then more somberly added, "I thought we said not to wander around in here," he complained, his voice was full of pain. "Are you okay?"

Nari wrote:

The dust was slowly clearing, then an aftershock hit, sending even more rocks and dust flying through the air. Over the rumble, she could hear a shattering crash as the entrance to the cavern collapsed, leaving them trapped. "No...." She whimpered, her body over his to protect him from any falling debris until the aftershock passed. Once it passed, she went back to trying to move the rock off of his legs. In all this time, he hadn't spoken a word. "Michael? Michael!" She cried, panic starting to overwhelm her. "HELP!" She screamed, both vocally and mentally (though she didn't even realize she was screaming mentally).

Darkness was nipping at the edges of his vision as the aftershock hit, and the vampire had to struggle to regain his senses, to make sure that he didn't pass out... to make sure that he didn't leave Nari alone down here. The dolt had even gone so far as to try to protect him when the second quake had hit by using her own body. They'd have to have a chat about that later.

For now, he merely tried a gentle, "No panicking, we'll get out," before he began pushing on the boulder himself, hoping to at least get unpinned. The process made him cry out in pain again as the rock /did/ shift.

And his fangs were starting to protrude from lack of blood. He needed to at least get unpinned, no matter how much it hurt.

"I need to get out from under this," he told Nari warily. "I think I'm bleeding out." He hadn't asked to feed from her yet, nor had she offered, and he knew that she wasn't likely to be keen on the idea, given her past. As such, he refrained from asking her for that part, at least for now. He just hoped help could get to them quickly.

Naitachel had managed to sing enough to be of some help against the initial tremor, for all it was grating on his throat to produce such a sound. Once it finally died away, he uncurled, wings folding over his robes, and straightened to look about the chaos that was once the library.

Furniture had toppled over, adornments fallen from the walls, items slid off tables, books strewn all over the floor... dust all over, and rock and debris coating everything. The lights, the power had all gone out, even the ventilation system grinding to a halt... Such a sad state of affairs.

Never a creature in complete darkness, Naitachel's feathers gleamed with a light of their own in the pitch blackness, like liquid fire, geometric marks rippling on their surfaces--enough light for him to see by, at least.

Yet even as he looked about the room, raising a hand to cover a cough from the dusty air, the next tremor came.

The Seraph opened his mouth to take a deep breath and attempt to sing again--only to choke on the dust from the previous rumbling, doubling over and curling up under wings again to protect himself as he hacked, trying to breathe but only getting more lung-fulls of dust instead. The best he could do was try to screen his mouth and nose of the suffocating dust with his long sleeves, golden eyes watering as he focused on just trying to get his breath back.

The tremors faded to nothing again...

Soraya wrote:

<Naitachel?> she called to the seraph...

<Here...!> he answered, straightening as the dust began to settle a bit. <Sorry--could not help against this one...>

Covering his face again, he shook the worst dust and debris off his feathers and robes like a horse after rolling. It didn't help his breathing, instead adding to the thick atmosphere, but once he uncovered scarlet-stained eyes again, he could see once more... well, what little his luminescence could reveal through the thick dusty air. Wrapping his wings about himself, like a second set of robes, he cast out with his mind as well, checking on those all around and loved ones in particular using telepathy and empathy... even as he continued to fight for breath.

He could sense... *Fear, pain, panic!* below, but who or where... and certainly more than one was broadcasting that.

Everett had managed to not get hurt during the quake. He had gotten up to walk right when the aftershock hit and threw him on his butt. A piece of ceiling rock broke off and he rolled out of its way.

"Whew!" he puffed.

It was dusty all around and hard to see and breathe. He took his jacket and wife beater off, ripping the shirt into sections. Pulling string and his knife out, he began constructing make-shift breathing masks. They weren't the best, but they were better then nothing. He put one on and held the others around his arm.

He remembered then why he had came here and drew his flash light, bolting down the hall way to the door he had been at. He opened it up and asked, "Hello anybody in here?"

Looking around with his flash light for a few moments, he then found Soraya. She seemed to be okay, but he asked anyways, "Are you alright Soraya?"

<Be at peace, Michael,> Radu assured his great-nephew. <We come...> He looked to Vlad, knowing he sensed it as well. "Your wife is fine, nephew. Your son, however, is in need. Focus your strength on him now. He will need it."

At his brother's words, Mircea growled, redoubling his efforts at clearing the way even as the aftershocks continued. Honestly, he thought. They were already trapped beneath the earth. Must it continue pummeling them with stones besides?

Farther in, Min, Matt and the twins were working to unseal themselves from another collapsed tunnel. Min could hear the sound of voices nearby, but couldn't make out whose they were or what they were saying just yet, but he could sense the pain and fear from them as clearly as if it were his own. "Come on," he urged the others. "We've got wounded on the other side of that wall..."

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Everett Mccoy wrote:

He opened it up and asked "Hello anybody in here?" He looked around with his flash light for a few moments before finding Soraya, she seemed to be okay but he asked anyways "Are you alright Soraya?"

Soraya blinked against the light, coughing as she did so. The beam barely cut through all the dust in the air, but at least it was enough to give her an idea of where she stood. Had she walked another three paces she would have tripped herself right over a fallen bookcase.

"Everett," she said, grateful for someone else's presence. "I am free of any major damage," she answered his question as she absently rubbed at the self-inflicted knot on the back of her head. She had a few cuts and bruises from falling debris, but she felt nothing out of place. Still, she was worried for the babies, and she rubbed at her stomach again with a frown. "Are you hurt?" she asked, then, trying to look at Everett, though all she could make out was his silhouette holding the flashlight.

Still, she hadn't found Michael or Vlad. "Naitachel is this way. If you do not mind holding the flashlight to light the way, I would greatly appreciate it," she told the young man so that she could navigate toward the seraph more successfully.

"Naitachel?" she called aloud this time. "Are you hurt? Can you feel the others? Vlad and Michael?" she asked in almost the same breath, concern obvious in her tone.

<Yeah, rescue would be nice,> Michael answered his uncle groaning inwardly as Nari began trying to lift the rock off of him. <I might be able to match Tom's five deaths with this... but I don't think Nari'll handle that too well, so for her sake, hurry,> he said with a poor attempt at humor. He did his best to assist her as she pushed, and he couldn't stop from crying out again as, with their combined efforts, the rock finally rolled off of his legs and onto the floor with a loud crash.

The sight of his legs was as grizzly as it was painful, and his black tar blood oozed out copiously. His vision began to darken even more, and it was certainly not due to the flashlight going out.

"Nari... I need... your help," he managed to choke out, his voice slowly getting quieter and more strained.