Burg - Day 7

"Yeah, we should do it again. Seriously, how about dinner sometime?"

Burg: Day 7

Xandria studied him for a moment.

"How about...Sunday?" she asked.

Burg - Day 7

"Sure thing, there's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here,." Jason took a second to point it out, "I don't know what it is, but I want to try it, how about 7?"

Burg: Day 7

"I could go for that," Xandria said with a half smile. "Though let's not give it a firm time. I don't have a working watch anymore, so that means I have to guess."

Burg - Day 7

"Sounds like a date, then."

Burg: Day 7

Xandria smiled and made her way out of the marketplace, casting a glance over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. She saw Jason moving off into the crowd, then shook her head and wandered off. Second day in town, and she already had a date. At least he wasn't doing it because he was a pariah--he clearly hadn't made the link between her and, well, herself. She hurried on her way, occasionally glancing behind to see that she was alone.

It did not take Xandria long to get back to the library, and she slipped through the back door, flipping the lock shut behind her. It wasn't as if someone couldn't just crawl through the window she had broken, but it still made her feel slightly safer with the doors locked. She dropped her purchases in the break room, then wandered out on to the main floor to stretch and relax some before she selected her evening's reading. She was halfway through her stretches when she glanced over and realized that one of the computers was on.

"Now, that can't be right," she muttered, flipping over and landing on her feet. She studied the computer for a moment, then walked over, hoping against hope that this meant the electricity was back on--then again, perhaps she didn't want it to come back on. That meant that security monitoring systems would come back on, too, and that would make it harder for her to remain invisible. All of these thoughts blurred through her mind as she made her way to the computer. She leaned forward and studied the screen. There was a listing of books that someone had checked out--all psychology books. Xandria frowned, then touched the mouse and wiggled it. Nothing changed on the screen. She leaned down to make sure it was plugged in, then froze. The screen might be on, yes, but the computer itself wasn't running. She touched the side of the tower, confirming that it was both cool and off, then straightened up to stare at the screen.

"That's not possible," she muttered, leaning forward and studying it. "How is that possible?"

She reached forward to touch the screen, but the image disintegrated, crumbling before her eyes. She leaped back and bit back a scream. Something else was working--or someone. Or she was going insane. At this point in time, she wasn't quite sure of anything any more.

Day 7
Burg

Irene sighed and shook her head in disappointment. She'd gone to what seemed to be the Psychology section of the library--and it didn't feel remotely familiar. She even found another copy of one of the books from her list, started flipping through pages... she didn't recognize any of it. 'Well, just because I'd checked the books out doesn't mean I read them.' She tried to assure herself, but... well, regardless, she was still back to square one.

Irene headed back to the computer, hoping that maybe there'd be some other information that she'd missed before. Or, maybe she'd put her address in her library account at some point--in fact, why hadn't she thought of looking for that before?! Irene was so busy berating herself for not thinking of this, in fact, that she didn't even notice the other young woman in the library, standing in front of her computer, until she was scant feet away from her.

Irene froze, holding her breath and staying as silent as she could. Thankfully, the other girl--woman, whatever--was focused on the computer screen. She started testing it, wiggling the mouse.... Well, she could have the computer, as long as she didn't notice Irene. Irene started backing away, cautiously, trying to stay as silent as posible.... A few seconds later, the other woman reached out to touch the screen, and the light just shattered. A few moments later, it had faded to nothingness. Naturally, she was startled by this.

So was Irene, but she was more concerned with being discovered. She took those last few moments of distraction to leap behind a bookshelf. As soon as she had, though, her brain finally started processing what she'd seen. Computer screens didn't turn off that way; she was pretty sure of that. In fact, the way that it disappeared reminded her of... something else. Something she'd gotten used to over the last couple of days. But, how could... how could she have made an illusion of a working website without trying? And with information that she didn't actually know?

'It does certainly explain a lot, though.' She couldn't help but note. All of these coincidences were a little too good to be true. Just to make sure, though, Irene pulled the library card out of her pocket and looked at it one more time. She snapped her fingers, and like that, the card dissolved into intangible light, and faded away. "Well," she muttered under her breath, "that's weird."

Burg: Day 7

Xandria jumped as she heard a sort of pop, then looked around. Someone else was in the building--they had to be. She closed her eyes for a second, willing herself to draw upon her strengthened senses. She could hear a soft murmur--someone was around. Her eyes slowly slid open, dark and full, as she began to look around the room. She squinted in the sunlight, but her eyes adjusted quickly, and she began to move around. Until she could figure out who they were or what they wanted, she needed to stay out of sight. Not seeing anyone, she hopped up on the table and was about to make a leap to the lights and then to the support beams of the next level when she froze. There was someone in an aisle across the way. Xandria considered her options for a moment, then bolted in the opposite direction. She could get up and above them later--when they couldn't see her. Now she just needed to get away and unseen.

So much for staying at the library.

Day 7
Burg

Irene could still hear movement out there, but she couldn't see anything--the bookshelf had solid backing so she couldn't see through it, and looking around the corners would give herself away. Unless... unless she could make herself invisible? Well, why not--she was able to make things look like they were there when they weren't, why not the other way around?

Irene slowly made her way back to the edge of the bookshelf, and she crept around, trying to get a better view. As soon as she felt exposed, she tried turning herself invisible. Well... sort of worked. She must not've had the depth perception right, because she could still tell that there was something there where there should have been empty space, it just happened to be colored like the bookshelf behind her. And as she moved forward, the illusion didn't "update" itself, meaning now it really looked off. 'It was worth a shot.'

Regardless, it proved pointless; the other woman was already gone. Had she spotted Irene, and was now creeping around the other side of the bookshelf to sneak up on her? Irene spun around; no, she wasn't there. Okay, then maybe she hadn't seen her. And maybe Irene should just get out of here before she did. Yeah, that sounded great. Irene sprang up and started running... and didn't realize for another 30 seconds that she wasn't entirely sure where the door was.

Burg: Day 7

Xandria sprinted across the open space, then ducked and slid under the staircase. She paused for a moment, making herself as small as possible and listening. There was nothing for a minute, then she heard the scurry of footsteps of someone running.

Dang it... Xandria was beginning to wonder what this meant. Was this just a girl that had broken in and was trying to get a book out, or was she going to report Xandria to some authority? Scratch that. Either she was an authority, or she would report to one. She peered around the corner, and seeing no one, darted from her own hiding place to an empty set of shelves. She scaled it, and crouched on the top, looking around. Alright, where had she gone?

Day 7, Burg
West 23rd Street
High rise complex

Without electricity, elevators no longer worked. Neither did running water, lights or air conditioning. And consequently, very few people cared to remain living above the twentieth floor of the Marshall Lewis condo complex. Even now, just a week after the supernova, families could be seen hauling whatever they could out of their near-the-sky homes and locking the door behind them. Many were seeking the protection of the military; some tried to make it on their own. But through it all, one man in the building - to be specific, on the thirty-fourth floor - remained. His name was Brennan Paine.

He was a quiet, neighborly sort of young man, who never spoke about anything interesting. He had been discharged from the army, or so the unerring voice of Gossip said, for medical reasons. His family was not wealthy, but made a decent enough living to own his condo. He was just one of thousands in the building who's world had been turned on its head.

Except, of course, that he wasn't.

Brennan stared in disbelief at the paper in his hands. While out for his morning walk with his dog Cadet, this had been passed to him by a contact. The words - hand written on the recycled paper - seemed to burn blackly.

Azurema, from the desk of Pres. Wentworth

If targets resist arrest, you are authorized to use deadly force.

"Civilian targets... Unbelievable," he muttered. At his feet, the faithful black labrador picked his head up and growled at some unseen rodent in the wall. That was another reason for everyone leaving. No refrigeration had meant food spoilage and that had drawn out the pests. The building super had unofficially taken leave.

Brennan stood up, crumpling the paper angrily. "Deadly force on civilian targets... What do they think I am, a cop?" He threw the order at the wall. Which action being unsatisfactory, he threw one of the couch cushions after it.

As he stood there, breathing heavily, the afternoon sun cast a glare on his face through the large (dirty) window on the other end of the room. He was of average height, with dark skin and dark eyes that momentarily had a fierce spark smoldering in them. He was muscular, though not beyond the ordinary, and handsome, also not beyond the regular style of straight nose, strong chin and broad shoulders. He was not a very imposing figure, but that the stance, the oddly calm hand resting on a firearm concealed in his pocket, and most terribly, the expression of his blackly burning eyes, showed that he could indeed, be a very serious danger.

"No," he decided, moving towards the window to look out at the changed streets of the city below. "No, sir; not this time."

Day 7
Burg

Okay... okay... Irene needed to stop and figure out what she was doing, otherwise she was going to go in circles. Where was she now, anyways? Running blind had left her disoriented. Well, this library had signs on the ceiling; maybe one of them would lead her to the exit. She glanced up, looking over the bookshelves--wait, what was that on the bookshelf? Wait, that was the girl--and she was looking right at Irene! 'Oh, brilliant!'

Irene let out a short, instinctual scream before turning and bolting in another direction. Okay, she could worry about an exit later--right now, she just needed to get away from her. Yes, there was the possibility that the other woman hadn't realized that she was responsible for the whole thing with the computer, but if she had... the last thing Irene wanted was to get caught. Even if she hadn't figured it out, she'd probably still want to know what Irene was doing there.

Irene darted through the bookshelves, glancing up on top of them from time to time to make sure that her pursuer wasn't there. She was reminded of the wisdom of looking ahead of her, however, when she suddenly rammed into something and was knocked off her feet. 'Ow....'

Burg: Day 7

Xandria glared at the woman as she stared up at her, then took off across the bookshelves. She jumped off as she neared the circular information desk, leaped over the first desk, then over the second before she was broadsided by the other woman. She let out a strange shrieking hiss as she went flying, then thudded against the ground and back up against a bookshelf. She groaned and shook her head, then remembered that she needed to leave. She leaped to her feet, then paused as she saw the other girl rubbing her head and struggling to get up.

She's just as scared as I am.... Xandria thought. She licked her lips, wondering at the roughness of her teeth, then started to speak.

"Hey--" her voice cracked horribly. She stopped, swallowed, then tried again. "Hey...I...."

What do you say to a random girl that has invaded your illegal home and attempted researching on a magical browser while you weren't around?

"Are you okay?" Xandria finally asked. "That was a nasty knock."

Day 7
Burg

"Yeah, completely fine." Irene preferred to be slightly sarcastic over a flat-out lying; the force of the blow still seemed to be reverberating in every part of her body, from her very sore forehead down to her feet. She finally managed to stand, and took a cautious step away from the other girl. But... well, she seemed genuine enough with her concern. And one thing she couldn't hide was her own nervousness--she and Irene were in the same boat.

Irene shook off the ringing in her ears. "Yeah, I was just... just looking for a book, or something. I mean, with no power for the foreseeable future, you need something to do, right?" She smiled weakly, hoping that the other girl would buy it. Well, why wouldn't she? She'd just have to deny all knowledge of what happened with the computer, pretend like she hadn't seen it.

It'd be easier if she didn't have to answer very many questions, though; time to put the other girl on the defensive, a little bit. "I... I bet you were doing the same thing, right? I mean... no body's going to miss a couple of books until we get the power back, right?"

Burg: Day 7

"True, but since the power seems to have already come back on," Xandria jerked a thumb over her shoulder to the computer, "it seems like they'll be back sooner or later. Then what are you going to do?"