Better Stand Tall

[Chris Matheson]

So, the night had gone from tolerable and actually fun (hanging with Posey and Ella was still surreal to him, but he was using denial to his advantage so that he could actually enjoy it), even if he was the only one who could get drunk, to outright crazy in no time.  He'd been unsure if he even wanted to BE at the Hole in the Wall, considering how busy it started to get, but everywhere they'd considered stopping had been mobbed, so this seemed to be the best choice if they were actually going to go out.  Then, it had gotten BEYOND mobbed, which had suggested they should stay put.  He could only imagine what the traffic would be like, seriously.

The gunshots would have just been the icing on the cake, and they'd made him gesture to Ella and Posey to sit tight while he rested his hand at the gun in the shoulder holster under his coat, but Coop and the big guy who liked to hang with him lately were out the door, and that was fine with Chris.  He'd wait and see just how bad it got before running in blind.  It was probably a good thing, too, since there was horrific screaming before they even reached the door, then they were dragging injured people in just a few minutes later, with no additional gunfire.  Chris really didn't need that kind of mess, and these guys didn't need him sticking his nose into the situation while they were struggling to handle it. 

The fact that he got a call from Angela during that whole mess didn't hurt his decision.  From the sound of things, the vamps were freaking out and attacking everywhere, and wasn't that just beautiful?  He waited until Nathaniel and Daniel were standing back to observe everything that was happening to approach them, and by then Ella and Posey were already rushing to Melissa's aid.

"Hey, guys," he started as he walked up, not really sure why he really felt any need to offer them information, especially considering how many shifters and whatever-the-fuck everyone else was were in this room (Nathaniel included), but he knew Coop was human and he liked the guy, so he had to try.  "I just heard from one of my hunting buddies, and she said that Midnight has it out for the hunting guilds and anyone related to them.  From what I gather, they're just running buck-wild, so if there's anyone you need to secure, either because they're related to a hunter or because they're a tempting target, that needs to be done fast, before this whole place is under fire.  I'll help if you want me to."

Yes, he'd actually offered his help, imagine that.  Maybe Posey was rubbing off on him.  WEIRD.

[Frank Laun]

Frank grunted as he pushed the one non-barricaded door of the bar open. The injuries he had sustained during his encounter with the Midnight kill team were starting to strain even his pain tolerance. He had taken the last group of civilians across the parking lot and made sure they got to their vehicles and got the hell out of the place. The amount of weaponry he was currently carrying probably didn't help matters very much. Frank slung the big SAW onto a table, and laid his Thumper grenade launcher down beside it. He had looked like some absurd 80s action movie hero in his improvised armor, lugging a full blown machine gun, and with a grenade launcher dangling under one arm and a shotgun on his back.

Frank had made it back just in time to hear Chris's little speech about Midnight attacking hunters and their families. No shit sherlock, he thought. This shit was going on City wide, according to Mike the Police and EMS scanners were going nuts, and several senior hunters were MIA and most of the houses were in chaos. As he scanned the room he noticed some new faces, some serious fucking faces. Good...maybe they had a chance of getting the fuck out of there and to the relative safety of a Guild House, at this point he didn't give a shit which one it was, just as long as it had an infirmary. He waited a minute for the scattered conversations to die down before he spoke.

"So, all the civilians are out of here, I didn't see any weird shit outside...but we all know that don't mean shit. I say we load up and head to the nearest Guild House and figure this shit out there...we aren't in any shape here to repeal a full force kill team assault if those bastards hit us again..anybody got any ideas on how we're gonna get out of here, and get these wounded to a better location?"