Shock and Awe

[Ignatius Wilde]

With a ragged gasp and a cough, Nate’s lungs fought for air.  It was not enough.  Panic filled him as he fought to breathe.  His chest plunged again and again with every desperate wheeze until the burning in his lungs eased and he could finally open his eyes.  

He blinked in confusion, chest still heaving to replace the air that had been knocked out of them.
His vision was blurry and the ringing in his ears muted and muffled every sound that came to him but he slowly realized...something was happening.  

His heart leapt at some unknown fear and he shot up.  Something was happening.  His head swam and the darkness around the edges of his vision surged forward, threatening to overtake him.  With gritted teeth he waited, willing the spell to pass.  What was happening?!  He clawed at his memory, as he cast about trying to get his bearings, desperate to remember... anything.  Looking down at his hands he saw one gripped his wand so tightly his knuckles shone white around it and the other…

His mangled arm was barely discernible from his tattered and bloody jacket sleeve.  It didn’t even occur to him that he should be in pain as he watched his own blood drip almost lazily to the ground.  And then he remembered.  

The screams, the explosion, the chaos: It all came back to him in an instant.  He remembered the snarl and raising his arm in defense before he even knew what was happening.  It had attacked from above, jaws wide -

“Gemma!” the name tore from his lips as the last missing piece shot through his foggy, shock-riddled brain.  He had come here with Gemma and they’d gotten separated and he had to find her.

@'Gemma Simpson' @'Elsie Beauregard'

The following 1 user Likes Ignatius Wilde's post:1 user Likes Ignatius Wilde's post
   Elsie Beauregard

[Gemma Simpson]

Gemma was, without hesitation, overly eager to go to the Wizarding Market this afternoon. It was made all the better by being able to lure Nate into joining her for an afternoon of frivolous shopping and sweet treats. Not to mention she'd missed him as of late. Without August around (she refused to believe anything other than he was missing) sometimes when they spent time together the missing third piece was even more obvious.

Being who she was however, Gemma was not about to let that get her down, so as she dragged Nate through the market, she was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

That was of course until things started crumbling around them- literally!

Obviously caught off guard by the commotion and the explosion, Gemma, with a few of her quidditch instincts kicking in, moved to dodge some of the falling debris. She was cast aside by some rubble, though managed not to get seriously trapped beneath it. From where she lay, square on her back, staring up at the ash and dust, trying to breath after having the wind knocked out of her, Gemma could only guess as to what may have happened. Gasping in the stifling dust Gem stared upward, realizing she was not staring at the sky as she had been previously when enjoying the sunny afternoon.

Trying to register what had happened, Gemma pulled herself more upright, wincing as she tried to focus on something other than the pain. She had not had the best of luck in this regard lately! It was then that a panicked shout of her name, had her head whipping around, making her a little dizzy. "Nate! Nate are you alright!?" She hollered back, though she couldn't see him straight away.

  

[Ignatius Wilde]

Nate moved forward through the cloud of dust almost blindly, his left arm dangling limply at his side.  He could barely see more than a few feet in front of him and no matter how hard he tried to think of a spell that would dispel it nothing came to him.  With out an incantation to speak the desperate swipes with his wand only managed a feeble spark.

His feet hit rubble and he finally understood what the explosions had been.  While he was staring down teeth and claws the world had fallen down around him.  He called out again and this time there was an answer.  He followed the sound of her voice until he saw her among the dust and debris and skittered to her side.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine.  I was afraid you were -"  He stopped mid-sentence as a nearby scream was quickly followed by wild roar that chilled is blood .  "Can you move?"

  

[Gemma Simpson]

Relief flooded her system when she saw Nate come through the cloud of ash and dust. something was clearly wrong with him though, Gemma had been subjected to far too many injuries as of late not to recognize something serious when she saw it. She'd had her ankle crushed, her ribs and arm broken, a concussion and a whole host of other minor injuries in the last year, this really was the last straw!

She'd been about to make a joke about this being her third time being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she couldn't find it in her. It was just then that a scream echoed through the rubble, followed by a roar.

What in the name of Merlin's beard was that?

"I'm stuck, my leg is stuck." She said, panic rising up in her voice as she tried in vain to scramble backward, from the debris trapping her leg. Her body froze, blood turning to ice as she heard a low growl through the smoke. She turned wide, terrified eyes on Nate and tried harder to free her leg. "We have to get out of here." She whispered frantically.

  

[Ignatius Wilde]

He felt a surge of panic that matched the tremors in her voice.  His mind went blank as his heart raced.  Like there was some invisible clock that was quickly running down, he was being suffocated by the idea that any second their time would be up.  He couldn’t move but every instant they didn’t move was a step closer to disaster.

We have to get out of here.

He blinked and felt the lead in his limbs and heart ease just enough that he could move again.  He dropped his wand and tried to lift what was pinning her leg with his good hand.  It shifted an inch before Nate was forced to let it back down.  He resorted to his wand with a feeble ‘wingardium leviosa’ that made even less progress than he had managed manually.  

“Wingardium leviosa!”  he insisted more forcefully this time, his voice tinted with frustration and fear.  The thing shot up instantly and Nate sent it crashing off to the side.  "Can you move?"  He whispered as if the great crash hadn't already given away their position.  He didn't know where they would go, just that they needed to go.

  

[Gemma Simpson]

Gemma gasped audibly as Nate tried to move the rubble pinning her down. Unfortunately shifting it only made it more painful, though she tried not to cry out. Something was lurking in the dust and debris and Gem would rather not find out first hand just what had gotten out of the menagerie in the fallout.

Finally it was lifted off, once Nate managed to levitate it high enough for her to move and Gemma didn't even bother to look at her mangled leg. She knew it was broken again and she wouldn't be going anywhere very fast, but they had to move never the less. One of Nate's arms looked suspiciously dislocated or broken, she couldn't tell, but they were quite the pair at the moment. "I think it's broken." She replied with a whimper, trying to stand anyway. She crashed back down after one attempt, good leg collapsing under the weight. Not to mention she was dizzy and disoriented.

"Can you apparate?" She knew she couldn't, the ringing in her ears and disorientation would land them in the middle of a lake or splinched, she knew it. Maybe they should just hide somewhere, would that even be safe? Who knew what was lurking in the shadows right now!

@'Leander Grantham'

  

[Ignatius Wilde]

Nate tried to imagine pulling together enough focus to apparate and couldn't get past the memory of the feeble sparks he'd cast earlier.  If simple spellwork was beyond them there was no way he could get them anywhere in one place.  

"Not without splincing" he said hearing the dazedness in his own voice.  "But in a pinch..." he added after a moment, glancing over his shoulder

  

[Gemma Simpson]

Gemma tried to muster the strength and the focus to get upright on her one good leg. If she could lean on Nate's good side they might be able to get somewhere. Another growl in the dust had her trying to hurry, using nearby rubble to support herself. Pain seared through her let and hip, it felt like that entire side of her body was bruised, but they had to get a move on.

"Come on, over here." Leaning heavily on the rubble. Behind it was at least a little sheltered from view and perhaps if they were quiet, they could remain hidden well-enough to calm down for a moment and between them, apparate away. It would be hard to focus, but if they could at least find a moment to catch their breath, they might find a way to concentrate. "Nate come on." She urged with a wave of her hand. "I could use a little help!" She added in a hoarse whisper.

@'Leander Grantham'