2020-01-29 - Why can't you acknowledge what we have?

Believe it or not Sycamore is a quiet place for a run. Beth is bundled up to guard against the winter cold in a columbia jacket over her athletic wear. She is running past the house when the gunshots ring out. Her first instinct is to run away, like any sensible person when a gun is being fired, but the keening sound makes her pause. She starts towards the house wary of the windows.

MAGIC. 911 actually responded this time, and with them comes a rather iritated looking medical examiner. It's not the usual ME, but the newest addition to the dead body force. Ari. The short woman is hopping out of the rig, and then watching in something like dubious shock as the damn ambulance actually... well, drives off. Heart attack? Screw the gunshots, another ambulance is coming in soon, anyway. Right?

Gunshots. It's not an unfamiliar sound to the gorilla, who, when he perks his head up instantly thinks where his own firearm is. There's a quick check beside him, then slipping softly from the room, picking up his pants while he exits. Softly closing the door, the giant is caught hopping from foot to foot while putting black denim on when the call sounds, and it sounds nearby.

Suddenly he wishes he had a weapon much closer. While padding to the kitchen, Everett pulls the zipper up, at least, then rummages through someone else's drawers over the sound of clattering cutlery. With enthusiasm, Cutty McStabsalot holds up a butter knife. Looks at it. Stoic. Judgey.

Then resumes rummaging for something sharper until he arms himself with a chef's knife. Then, padding to the door, he opens the ninth A-frame door to the cold evening air, and glances around. Oh. Witnesses, I mean Spectators. The knife is dropped inside, the door closed behind the giant, ducking under the doorframe while he walks, barefoot, to join them.

"Shit, fuck, mierda..." Ari continues to snap in Spanish, what could only be further cursing. A sweeping glance of the area has her jerking her chin toward Everett and then Beth. "Either of you got a gun?" She's outside out of the house, but still a nice driveway away. Because that is so much safer.

Beth stupidly continues to run towards the house like the big idiot she is, stopping in the driveway close to where Ari has stopped. Her head turns to exchange a glance with the other woman before she shakes her head. No. She does not have a gun. She then helpfully holds up a keychain with a can of pepper spray to indicate the sort of defense she has. She holds a finger up and crouches down to creep up further onto the porch. She doesn't need to go in but knowing if anyone is still alive will be helpful. She looks like she is just being a weirdo on the porch, but she is actually attempting to sense who is there.

The choice of music is horrible and it only serves to screw Everett's brooding expression with distaste. The building still has his attention, though, what with the wailing. As the second course of gunshots ring out, Everett ducks into a crouch. Just incase. And stands back up. His right paw lifts up, fingers curling while he tries to keep track, on his fingers, how many rounds that's been so far and, yeah, his lips move a little too. At least he's pretty.

Then, he winces. The wet sound is no stranger to him either. "Aw. Fuck," he mutters to himself. And when he's addressed, he looks over and down, while stepping forward. "Just these," he volunteers, curling his left arm and flexing his bicep. Then his attention drifts to the jogger with pepper spray. Either machismo or chivalry, but the Bear isn't holding still either. And charges forward, the clown's haunting grin on his back a stark contrast to the grimace on his lips.

Beth gets a slightly disgusted look on her face for seemingly no reason. Well, beyond what's going on already, that is. She looks up just in time to say, "Wait-" to Everett when he rushes forward to throw his shoulder into the door. She winces when he just bashes his shoulder. And then that's when the pressure and the wave of emotion hits her. She has an unreadable expression on her face. Suddenly pleased, but also concerned, maybe? She says, "I heard one victim and one assailant."

Ari watches Beth move closer with furrowed brows, only to turn a glance toward Everett just in time to catch the flexing. There's a moment of actual staring, and a sighed, "Jesus H. Christ..." And then the hulk of a man is barreling himself at the house, and anything remotely 'stealthy' seems to be running out of the picture just as quickly as Everett runs toward the house. Hey, at least it'll kill the suspense? There's a slight wince when she watches the giant of a man hit the wood. Hard. And ineffectively. Ari's eyes narrow slightly at Beth's announcement, but she doesn't bother questioning how the other woman might know such a thing.

"Bruce Banner, get that fucking door down, and the two of us might be able to do something useful." This is spoken as she starts up the driveway, moving at a near-run to join the other two on the porch. Considering Everett is now Bruce Banner, 'the two of us' seems to encompass herself and Beth.

Charging the door, that final squaring of his jaw is everything he needs to completely and totally bounce off the front door and stumble back a few steps. "Fuck," he artfully mutters, shooting a look at Ari while he clasps his left shoulder with his right arm then stares down the door. They make 'em strong around here. A moment to ignore the dull pain from his feet and roll his angrily bruised shoulder. A look again towards the jogger, so she does speak, and then the water buffalo looks like he'll give it another try. Like there's a reason to. Checking to see if it's even locked? Ppfftt, that's for thinkers and not those with single-minded determination.

Beth's brow furrows ever so slightly as if she were concentrating really hard. She lets out a surprised sound as Everett rams into the door again. She looks up at him and winces ever so slightly before she goes back to what she's doing. "Um....here." She says suddenly before she tosses her pepper spray to Ari. Why is she giving up her pepper spray to this stranger? It's hard to tell. She goes back to looking like she is taking a super hard test. Meanwhile she seeks the conscious out, Stop it! Stop hurting them! Please. We can work something out.

Without warning, that damn door's hinges are ripped from the wood, and the door itself shoved rather forcefully forward. "You're fucking useless," Ari informs Everett as she steps past him, and darts a look toward Beth. "There anything human in there, or is this going to be super fun?"

Since she's closest, Everett turns jut his head Beth's way. He can see she's concentrating. The Candy Hulk holds his near bare body against the door like he's going to be frisked, hands and feet his broad shoulders width apart, perhaps to avoid the creeping blood joining their side. "Something's FEEding," he whispers, emphasizing the last word with the first syllables and a momentary widening of his eyes. A moment that is extended when the wall, I mean door suddenly gives without warning and Everett tumbles forward. Useless like a paperweight, Everett holds the door on the floor, blinking, stunned. He musta loosened it. "I musta loosened it!"

Beth shakes her head no rather strongly. "No!" She says outloud. Her breath picks up and she begins panting in fear. Her eyes widen. A sheen of sweat breaks out on her forehead despite the cool weather. She barely hears Ari's question and it takes her a moment to respond with, "It's not in there anymore. It's in me." The door opens and reveals the horror beyond it.

Beth manages not to scream. She's seen cadavers before, obviously, but she's never suddenly been afraid that her own fate may be to carve out someone she cares about's heart. "No..." She moans out. She then clutches her head with both hands.

There's another string of cursing as Ari skids along the floor, barely managing to catch her balance. It's around that time that her eyes shift upward, catching sight of the... thing? She's freezing immediately, not even bothering to look twice at the dead woman. You want to sleep now. She draws a shallow breath when the thing -- man? -- begins to droop slightly and drops the heart it had cupped to the ground below. Beth's shouting has her looking quickly toward the other woman, eyes widening. "What's in you? What the fuck is going on?"

After his little comment, FlatFace McGee takes a moment to look up with a scowl. Useless? A snort expels only partially from his nostrils, interrupted by Ari's spontaneous Krump; not that being on the floor is that much-- oh my god, that the hell is that.

Army green eyes go wide while Everett looks up from the floor to see the. Thing making a Saint Valentine's offer towards one of the women on his side of the door, and hearing the sob. His nostrils flare while he picks himself up, leveling his gaze at the critter and curling his fists into hammers. Nobody hurts the people of this town.

But him.
Bare footed, his upper lips twitches like a snarling wolf as he approaches, pulling fist back. Candy Hulk smash.

Beth continues to stare at the corpse with the cut out heart for several long moments. "Fuuuck..." She moans out before she begins scooting back away from the door. Then she stands up. And then? Then she turns to very quickly walk off the porch and away from the house.

To Ari's credit, the dark-haired woman hasn't moved from the spot she ended up in after avoiding that whole flat-on-your-ass moment. Since she spotted the creature, her eyes haven't strayed from the thing -- even as it starts to run. Her eyes narrow and jaw sets, focusing in on her efforts at knocking the thing out. At least it remains drowsy? "Get her!" She's shouting abruptly, looking toward Everett as Beth makes her attempt at bolting. "Do not let her fucking go."

"No you don't," Everett growls between his gritted teeth. He's in no hurry. Just quick enough to keep up with the critter, to follow it into the next room. "I heard you before, you son-of-a-bitch. You want love? I've got yours right here in PSI," the thug lifts his arms, even the tired left arm and squeezes his hands until the knuckles turn white and several crack harmoniously as he follows into the bedroom.

Finally catching up with the creature in the bedroom, Everett takes a step past and brings down his fist. Against the back of the head of a fleeing target. Bravery. Hims gots it. The dull, wet thud that follows precedes the spray of ichor from the blow that decorates the new room like a deranged artisan's canvas.

Beth is in the process of getting the fuck out of Dodge. She isn't running, mostly because it would look weird to run away from a house where someone just got murdered and had their heart cut out, but she is walking very quickly. As she walks she pulls her phone out to begin scrolling through it frantically.

"Sweet fucking Jesus, there's something wrong with you," Ari takes the time to assess Everett's blatant... well, let's think about this. He's about to get a kiss from the prettiest person in the house, and he could've been tackling the nice jogger. Can't say she didn't try?

Everett is left to play with his new friend while Ari finally moves, careful not to slip in the blood this time as she tips a look between the bedroom doorway and the bolting Beth. Definite direction discrepency here. "Fuck," she breathes as the woman manages to slip her hold. She turns instead toward the doorway, starting forward to see just what Everett and his buddy are up to.

Is this how all those women feel when he kisses them? More research is required, but in the meantime, "GARHPHARNAH!" Wide-eyed, the Bully doesn't want it to go down like this. Not like this. Large, seemingly ineffectual arms grasp whatever it can of the face pressed against his own and pushes. The bulky supposed hero doesn't stay in place either; he struggles to keep to his feet while pulling at anything he can lay a hand, a finger, a nail on as he staggers about the bedroom until overloaded senses screaming to 'get it off, get it off, dear fucking Christ on a pogo stick, get it off,' tell him to bash it against the hard edges of desks, dresser drawers, or window sills.

Beth is still walking down Sycamore street as quickly as she can while fumbling with her phone. She holds it to her ear and it rings several times. When the voice message picks up she begins, "...Hey. It's Beth. Obviously. Listen-" She sniffs back tears. "I...uh, I fucked with something I shouldn't have fucked with and so I'm going to be scarce a bit..." Her voice cracks as she says, "...I don't want to bring anything bad to you or Ashira. Um..." More tears are sniffed back, "I'll call you when things are better. Bye."

Ari doesn't move past the doorway of the bedroom, and whatever unspeakable horrors may be occuring to Everett right now, her eyes remain on the Thing. Still focused. Still trying to weaken the creature, if nothing else.

It's with sudden and deep found apprehension that Everett starts to retreat. His punch concaved the creature's skull and even still it seemed ... not at all put out by what few would call Everett's 'advances'. "Noph," the tank says, his split lips flapping like ribbons over a fan, just dancing in the breeze of his exhaled words while they grow more emphatic. "Noph! NOPH! I doph conphent." His large paws rise, not to punch but to slap the hands away, being extra careful to avoid fingers that writhe like his might have seemed. "And I doph't wove you like that!" That's what they said to him; he's just reading from the script.