Event - All In Your Head

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All In Your Head

➥ Night's Embrace

(cw: supernaturally-induced hysteria/intense emotion; violence; maiming; assault, burglary; murder; implied violence against children)

There's been a sense of unease hanging over Gloucester as the Ides of March approach. First a few, and then a great many locals begin to hurry indoors each evening, lights kept blazing in the windows of homes and businesses all night…when they can be. Stories of assault, burglary, and vandalism dominate the news and no one can seem to agree on the cause, psychiatrists weighing in on air as reports flood in of a woman, a creature, that hunts in the night, along with perpetrator after perpetrator with no history of violence before they suddenly broke into a neighbor's home to smash every source of electric glow. It might be mass hysteria, the talking heads hypothesize, or perhaps pranks taken too far. The alternative is not spoken. It's safe, though, with the lights on and the door bolted. Stay inside, stay in the light, and nothing can harm you.

Too bad about the blackout, then.

It's the night of March 16 when the efforts of the shadow woman meet success thanks to the earnest efforts of a kindred spirit. Gloucester is plunged into darkness with only the waxing moon to dapple the city in silvery shadows, the entire grid taken down. ADI Headquarters and apartments flicker weakly back to life on emergency power, though there's more shadow than light in their halls. Bonnie's Flophouse, like much of residential Gloucester, doesn't have even that saving grace.

The attacks are swift and furious. The shadow woman seems to be in many places at once, appearing simultaneously in family homes, all night businesses…and ADI properties. Where there had been some reprieve in the last days for those in ADI apartments or spending the night at headquarters, as of tonight those places are no safer than the city streets. Some of those she catches she kills or maims; others are sent spiraling into blind terror by the touch of her claws and released to run and be chased again.

But still she does not step into the light, seemingly repulsed by what little brightness can be found or made. Best hope the batteries in your flashlights are fresh.

➥ Illuminating

(cw: derogatory language; mention of long-term imprisonment and murder attempts)

un: n.lehrer

To All Staff,

Report to ADI HQ for an emergency meeting at 11 AM in Conference Room 6. I will be broadcasting over the network, but I would prefer to have everyone together so that we can hand out equipment. Reyes has briefed me on what's been going on while I've been away.

Katie Dunn, an avatar for the Dark native to this world, was recently set free by Deepthi Anand. Dunn is practically allergic to light. We'll be handing out supplies for those who attend the meeting in-person. More soon.

- Nia Lehrer, Warden

It's only a few hours after the message goes out that people who come will find Nia Lehrer stepping up to a podium in the designated conference room. There's also a filming set-up so people can watch the broadcast on the network. Questions that come from the network will be… read by Reyes for Nia to answer, but a back-and-forth conversation may be more challenging for those not physically in attendance. On the wall behind her, there's a projection of a seemingly harmless-looking woman.

There's a definite air of relief among the native staff, along with a significant uptick in focus. Non-native staff may notice a similar sense of renewed determination and attentiveness for themselves, if they let themselves be swept up in it. Whatever fog and oppressive sense that's hung about for the past month or more appears to have dissipated… at least for the moment.

"Thank you all for coming. I'll make this brief: Katie Dunn is one of the most dangerous avatars we've ever encountered since I joined the Apocalypse Disruption Initiative. We've had run-ins with her more than once, but haven't actually figured out a way to kill her, yet. Her capture was a major achievement about two years ago. Which makes her escape particularly frustrating. What's done is done, though.

"Deepthi Anand developed a connection of some sort with her while she was assigned to assist with guarding her while here at ADI. I suspect that's why she returned to free her. And make no mistake, everything I've seen about the attack points to Deepthi… with her boosting Katie's abilities somehow. Right now, we're most concerned with keeping the lights on. Cape Electric has been trying to restore power, but each time they fix something, another piece of the grid gets hit. Whoever blew the entire town's power supply gave her the in she needed to wreak havoc.

"We're going to need all hands on deck. First, we block her ability to cause problems. For that, I need people willing to help with requisitioning generators and high-powered lights, and getting them to the places and people in town who need them most. Hospitals, nursing homes, food supply warehouses, all-night locals, playing interference for electric company personnel. I'm also going to need PR folks spinning up some reasonable explanations for these blackouts and what's been happening with people who get touched by her. Electromagnetic storms? Something about tectonics. Experimental drug from the military that blew through on the wind. Whatever you can come up with.

Little Ms. Blackout wants to play games to create fear and turn people on each other? We cut off that power flow to her, and she becomes an inconvenience, more than an actual problem. I expect her to start targeting us more directly once we start squeezing her, so we'll be issuing flashlights to everyone here. If you know someone who needs one, tell us, and we'll get them one, too."

Nia takes a breath. "While Dunn doesn't like the light, she can survive in it. Direct exposure to it will ward her off, but as long as she can find some kind of shadow, she can squeeze herself into it to stay alive. We know she has the ability to split into multiple shades of herself to cause wider problems. We caught her by trapping all of those in beams of light last time. We need a more coordinated response to be able to handle her, though. I'll be here, working on that if anyone wants to weigh in. In the meanwhile… let's make that bitch's life harder, huh?"

➥ WALKING HELL

(cw: altered mental state, hallucinations, violence, scopophobia, body horror)

Suddenly and without much warning, the world changes. Or….it changes for some people, some of the time. Anyone who finds themselves outside the sanctuary formed by ADI’s buildings will feel woozy, perhaps drowsy for a moment before they blink….and find themselves trapped in a nightmare.

The exact flavor of the nightmare isn’t always constant. In fact, it may not even feel like anything at all is wrong….at first. Characters may continue on after their brief dizzy spell, going about their business until they slowly start to realize that the strangers that they pass in the street are watching them. Watching them as they pass, watching them as they walk away, watching them as their heads turn at unnatural degrees to just keep watching.

Or maybe the nightmare is more immediately obvious. A hole you fall down and just keep falling down for what feels like forever. An angry mob of townspeople who descend on you at random, hands like claws that seek to rend your flesh. It can be any number of things. And it can change. Characters might find that seeking to get away from the source of this horror might work….for that particular horror. Get far enough away, and trade one nightmare scenario for another. They might even find familiar faces stuck in the same situation and can try and work together to get out of whatever nightmare they’ve found themselves in. (It won’t work. But they can try.)

The nightmares don’t come over everyone at the same time, though, and they may even be intermittent for some. Characters might find themselves walking with a friend, only to have one of them begin to react to something that the other can’t see. (..Any injuries sustained, however, will become visible. Even if what’s causing it isn’t. Where did that chest wound come from?)

Even if you’re alone, snapping out of a nightmare might mean finding some of Glouscester’s townspeople staring at you in something like distress or horror. Trying to get medical help from them…will only exacerbate their concern. What wounds, you don’t have any wounds. But you do…don’t you? They’re definitely there.

The only true safety seems to be in ADI Headquarter or housing. ADI staff will be concerned when they do hear reports of the nightmares, but most will swear that they can’t see any wounds that characters have either. And they understand it might be terrifying….but things still need to get done. Characters will be asked but not pushed to go out into town. Or they can just stay inside until this is fixed. Whenever it’s fixed. If it’s ever fixed.

➥ Dunn With This

(cw: attempted capture and imprisonment; reference to attempted murder; violence)

There comes a time when the best defense is, as they say, a good offense. The work ADI has done to cut off Dunn's power by turning back on the lights and calming the public is working; though there are still sightings around Gloucester, she does not seem to have the full free reign she enjoyed in the first nights of the blackout. It's clear that she hasn't given up on whatever she means to accomplish, that she isn't prepared to retreat or lie low.

It's ADI's turn to go on the attack. Word comes down from the top that all staff with field or combat experience are requested to assist in a coordinated effort to recapture Katie Dunn. The plan, as it stands, is to lure each of her shades to a location where she can be pinned in a beam of light. The catch, of course, is that they've done this dance before and she'll be expecting them to try just that. As such, the floor is open for suggestions.

Characters who volunteer to participate in the effort will be informed that the planned procedure for an encounter with one of the shades is for an agent (chosen from those quickest on their feet) to act as bait and try to get Katie to chase them to a predetermined location where other ADI agents lie in wait with a rig of floodlights. It's tricky, dangerous work, and there's no guarantee she won't catch on and avoid the trap or even attack the agents waiting there for the return of their comrade. Worse, it's unclear whether the multiple shades of her roaming the city are separate entities or if they're a hive mind instantly aware of whatever trap one of them falls into.

Characters may also propose alternate plans and methods, and agents will be allocated to assist with any such plans that are deemed to have a decent likelihood of success. Or, of course, they could strike out on their own, though ADI strongly advises against it.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompts should be sufficient and ordinary people will act like… ordinary people! You're welcome to make up any details beyond that for your specific scene. Nia Lehrer and Katie Dunn will be available as mod-played NPCs for their specific prompts via the starter below. Also, please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly!
  
  
• NIGHT'S EMBRACE (16-18 March) - Characters may find themselves the victims or the perpetrators of the violent and wild acts induced by the shadow woman and her touch. They may also be able to ward her off of an active attack if they're lucky and happen to have a good flashlight with them. After the 16th, nowhere will be safe in town, and characters may find sleeping a challenge when there's a good chance they'll be attacked in the middle of it. Sucks that the coffee pot runs on power, too.
  
  
• ILLUMINATING (19-23 March) - Nia will be available to take questions directly from PC's during the meeting. Players will generally be welcome to threadjack as everyone will be hearing Nia's responses collectively at the same time. Network interaction will be possible, but less focused on quick back-and-forth, and more Q&A-style things that Nia can respond to. Characters in the Administration and Public Relations departments will get a particularly heavy tap to assist with requisitions and spinning up stories, but everyone is welcome to help with either the logistics of acquiring supplies or actually bringing them to people in town or setting up extra floodlights around town. The locals will be very grateful, but confused by the gifts of the generators and lights. Characters with mechanical knowledge will be asked to help with actually installing these for people. If you would like your character to come up with a specific IC story for the blackouts and/or crime streak, please let the mods know in the Questions header on the event OOC post! We will incorporate these into our Headline News items next month.
  
  
• WALKING HELL (22-28 March) - This prompt is very much open to players inventing their own nightmare patches. As stated in the OOC summary, the nightmares can last for any amount of time (including days). Anyone not experiencing the nightmare (including other PCs) will not be able to see what the character is reacting to or see any sort of wounds they suffer while stuck in the nightmare. Any wounds sustained during the time in the nightmare will continue to be visible to PCs and some NPCs even after it ends, but will not be immediately life-threatening no matter what. Two characters in the same place who are both stuck in the nightmare will see the same thing. Please remember to appropriately warn for any triggers/content warnings, especially considering that they are going to vary greatly between different threads. Here is list of player-requested content warnings to keep in mind specifically.
  
  
• DUNN WITH THIS (29-31 March) - While characters are advised by ADI to use the tactics noted above, they are welcome to employ alternate methods of dealing with Katie Dunn. They will have ADI's general support regardless of whether they follow ADI's playbook or come up with their own tactics, including equipment as well as the ability to recruit background ADI NPCs to their plans. However, NPCs generally will not agree to take part in anything that looks like a suicide mission (if you have any questions about whether background NPCs would agree to your character's plan, please submit those under the Questions header on the OOC post). Katie will be available for (hostile) NPC interactions. Please note that the outcome of all encounters with Katie must be decided by March 31, as the outcome of this event will impact the April TDM. If threads have not reached their natural conclusion by that date, players will be asked to decide OOCly on the outcome (and are welcome to continue to tag to reach that conclusion ICly).
  
  

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Comments

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"The wrong book," Nia says with a nod. "I'll be here at HQ until this issue is dealt with. I'm hoping that means recapture or permanently taking her out. You got questions, just check with Reyes to find an opening in my schedule."

((OOC: Please feel free to handwave Ainsley getting a meeting slot with Nia at a later time during the event, if you'd like. And go ahead and timeskip us, if that's what you'd like to do!))

[musicdied]

"Has anyone tried tagging her with something chemically luminescent? To see if it will stop her reintegrating, or-" She flares her free hand - poof. "Moving through the shadows?"

[lesbeau]

Of couse it's not supposed to happen, they're prisoners, but again--

[She takes a moment to take a breath, as if to try and emphasize the situation.]

Not even a little 'by the way we keep prisoners here'? I get if you don't want to say where they are because people could bust them out or whatever, but even a 'just so you know somebody could break out pretty much at any time and kill your ass' would really have been helpful.

[canofmanji]

Blowing out his candle, Manji will try to remain on alert. It was the laugh. Too much like Shira's laugh for him to ever feel truly comfortable around her.

"So, if you don't mind, my question? Did you come here from some other world like the rest of us? Or were you born here?"

(OOC: I forgot to say that you can feel free to attack/hurt Manji as he should be able to bounce back from most injuries, but I'd like him to live through the encounter, please!)

[canofmanji]

His thousand yard stare might clue her in that this man has no idea what a laser is. "Oh... yeah, sure." He has no idea what he's agreeing to, but he'd like to sound smart. "If you think that would work."

Yelena Belova | MCU | OTA

[musicdied]

I. Night's Embrace
Thus far, Yelena has avoided signing on for security detail, for reasons entirely her own. The blackout puts an end to that, and she can be found prowling the halls and grounds of the housing complex after dark, a heavy maglite in hand, and a backup clipped to her belt, alert both for stalking shadows and maddened victims.

Perhaps it's prompted by the scent of smoke on the wind, or a siren or wild scream the next street over, or simply the approach of someone with whom she's familiar, but eventually, of someone non-hostile, she'll ask, "How long do you think they can hold out?"

Not ADI - they have resources and equipment and, perhaps most importantly, some understanding of the things that go bump in the night. But there's a whole city's worth of people out there, trapped in the dark.

II. Walking Hell

Yelena doesn't stay penned up on ADI property. Even if she felt no obligation at all to help deal with the nightmare that's spilled forth from the bowels of the organization's headquarters - and she does - the thought of being trapped in place again after February's blizzard makes her want to crawl out of her skin. She helps to deliver supplies, heads out to follow up on sightings, and plays escort for those without much combat capability who might find themselves uneasy travelling alone through the stricken city.

And that, of course, means that in due course, she'll stumble into a patch of nightmares.

a. cw: blood, gore, animated body parts
The first time, she's standing at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. There's a gurgle from the storm drain, and she glances over in time to see a wash of blood burble up over the grate, carrying with it a matted clump of long, dark hair like some macabre string of seaweed, pieces of scalp still clinging to the roots.

"What the fuck?" she mutters under her breath, and grimaces, choking on the stench of rot.

There's another gurgle, and then blood geysers up out of the drain, thick and dark and clotted. Some of the pieces are more solid, here a finger, or an ear, or an undifferentiated clump of flesh. It repeats along the street in sequence, like the world's worst decorative fountain show.

She jerks back, jumping away from the red tide that washes along the gutters, not quite in time. Something collides with her ankle, hard and heavy, and she looks down in mute horror to see a hand, fingers shredded and showing bone, scrabbling at the leather of her boot. She kicks it off (sends, in the waking world, a stray can soaring with more force than could possibly be necessary), and backs away rapidly as it struggles against the river of gore lapping at the kerb, scrambling its way up onto the sidewalk.

b. cw: child death, violence, murderous children, mention of human trafficking
One moment it's daylight, bright and crisp and as close to safety as anything can come at the moment. The next moment, it's night, sodium lamps reflecting eerily off the damp ground, the air reeking of salt and oil and rust. Shipping containers loom nearly as tall as the buildings that should line the street Yelena had been walking along.

Her stride falters, then stops, and she turns a slow circle, and then freezes for a moment, breath catching, before she's racing across the pocked ground to drop to her knees beside the small, slim figure in the yellow-and-white shirt and jean shorts, blue-dyed hair just beginning to grow out.

(Distantly, she's aware this isn't how it happened, that they both survived this place, survived to be separated and collide again years later, but memory is nothing in the face of the young girl crumpled on the asphalt, blood already drying around the bullet hole that punches clear through her chest.)

Someone coming across her might see her clutching the girl to her chest beneath the dull orange lights, might see something shift at waist height between the shipping crates, see light glinting off of pale hair, reflecting off of something metallic as who or whatever's lurking circles to get a better angle.

Or they might just see her clutching at nothing at all, murmuring something in Russian between ragged sobs, tears rolling down her cheeks.

c. cw: blood, injury
The third time, she breaks free before anyone else can become tangled in her nightmare, darting across the boundary separating ADI headquarters from the street as though she's fleeing from something, then stumbling to a stop, blinking in surprise as the world shifts abruptly back to something sane and familiar. She pauses a moment, gaze searching the grounds as though not entirely convinced that what she's seeing is actually real, and then moves towards the entrance at a more reasonable pace.

It isn't until she's inside and down a largely-unoccupied hall that she stops, leans one shoulder against the wall, and pulls her coat open enough to extract the hand she's been holding clamped against her side and grimace at the sticky blood coating it.

Blood that, judging by the puzzled look the native admin agent passing by shoots her, isn't necessarily visible to everyone.

Wonderful.

[cuttypie]

That was...not the reaction he was expecting. What does that even mean?

His hands go up even higher, trying desperately to placate him.

"I'm-I'm not going to make you do anything, a-all right?" He tries to keep his voice steady. Luka shakes his head, keeping his movements slow and non-threatening. "No maintenance. I promise. All right?"

[cuttypie]

What? The whole city!?

[He moves to get a better look, so he can see out a window--or at least what he assumes is a window, because it's so dark. He flicks the flashlight up and--well, yep, that's definitely a power outage out there.

It really is probably worse.]

We need to get the lights back up, somehow. Or find as many flashlights and lanterns as we can and turn them on. Does this place even have a generator?

[worthallthis]

It's still movement, her manifesting out of the dark: it's still a change. And change is what his eyes are looking for, and his goggles help filter the light.

He doesn't hesitate when she appears. He trains the scope on her and slams the light right onto her face in the same second. Hopefully it does what ADI said it would do, and pin the shade down. Even if it doesn't, it's a very bright light right in her face, so at the very least it ought to blind her and give him time to fire a regular bullet.

Which he will do in the next second, just in case. Might as well put a bullet through her forehead, if it'll do any good.

[cacophonish]

Jeff's no longer got his guitar hanging off his shoulder. Did he ever have his guitar out here, though? The song's still playing inside the coffee shop, coming out clearer as he opens the door. Rhiaaaaannon sings a voice that doesn't belong to Stevie Nicks. Must be a cover.

"I thought we were meeting up for coffee." He extends a hand to Malcolm. Martin remains seemingly unnoticed, though Jeff's aware, certainly, of the man's malice. There's an edge to his smile, a sharpness in his eyes, that Jeff never seemed capable of carrying before, and it's all for Martin. "C'mon. My treat."

In a blink, they're sitting down at a table, half-empty drinks in front of them, like they've been here for a while now. Someone must've served it to them, but there's no sign of others in the shop.

There's also no seat for Dr. Whitly, but he can pull one up, if he wants. Jeff's laughing, not like he just started laughing, but like he's been laughing-- in media res-- like they've been talking about something really fucking funny. The same song still plays, in spite of the time that had to have passed.

[abrightboy]

"Is that true, Malcolm?" Martin asks archly, though his gaze is still on Luka. "Well," he concludes, without waiting for an answer. He reaches behind his own back with his free hand and Malcolm tenses. "Maybe I will. Maybe I'll need both hands for this."

"Don't," Malcolm says to Martin urgently. "Don't do it."

[abrightboy]

Martin is still looking menacing, but he's peering through the window from the sidewalk outside. Malcolm feels like he's been here, chatting with Jeff, only somewhat aware of Martin's existential threat, but he suddenly looks at Jeff with clearer eyes.

"Where have you been since you left that message for us?"

[cacophonish]

Now there's a question that even if he wanted to answer, Jeff doesn't know if he could. Not in any satisfying way, anyway. Where had he been?

Dead. Not-dead. Drifting and existing in a state where reality and delusion blended seamlessly, hallucinations indistinguishable from the tangible world...

He wasn't in Gloucester. Maybe he was in Boston. New York? Who knows. But he's back, and he knows his strength, and all that he's now capable of.

"Mm." He seems to consider the question for a moment, head tilting as if hearing something, then says, "Listen. Hear that? The answer is blowing in the wind..."

Then he laughs. Another joke. And, should Malcolm look away for even a second, Jeff will turn his attention to his father, looming on the other side of the window , looking right at Martin with wild eyes, and a vicious smile, as he spares the man a cheery wave.

And then his attention is fully back on Malcolm, without missing a beat.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm takes the joke seriously and he does look towards the jukebox for a moment.

He gestures towards it as he looks back at Jeff.

"Do you mean this song? Is that why it's the only one that's played this whole time?"

[cacophonish]

Jeff thinks for a moment, then shrugs one shoulder carelessly. "Could be. You're the insightful one, not me."

After a beat, he adds, "You know, this was my mom's favorite song. She used to sing it to me. Then I'd sing it with her, and..." He laughs again, softer now, without any sharp edges. "I never knew if I wanted to meet Rhiannon or be her."

He says it as if it's the most neutral observation, still hanging in the air, without any resolution. The truth is, he supposes both are true now. He met a woman in the night, monstrous and tempting, and now he is the monstrous, tempting thing.

Not that Malcolm knows.

[abrightboy]

"Is this the song you used to set my father on fire?" Malcolm asks.

[cacophonish]

Jeff wrinkles his nose, looking genuinely perplexed. "Huh? I never even met your dad."

Which is, you know, technically true. More importantly, he adds, "Or set anyone on fire. I feel like that's an important point to make?"

[cuttypie]

Luka sees the movement, sees how Martin reaches back and how Malcolm tenses.

What Martin and Malcolm say next is all he needs to hear. Someone's about to get hurt and he's not going to let that happen.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Luka raises his voice, reaching out in an attempt to grab Martin by the collar--

IIb because of course I did

[worthallthis]

Winter's been through a couple of these before, now, so just like with the circus, when he steps into this one he knows it's not real. That doesn't make it not awful, finding Yelena on the ground clutching a face that he knows he's seen before. He's seen it shaved, the blue long gone, but he knows that nose, that mouth, those eyes.

There might be danger here, sure. But he goes to Yelena first, going to one knee beside her. Maybe he's keeping the metal arm between her and whatever is making that moving glint of light, but Yelena is still his prerogative here.

cw: blood, injury, altered mental states

[apocalypsehownpcs]

She watches from the edge of the light, still laughing, as if waiting to see whether he'll make it to help before he collapses from his injuries. Then there's movement in one of the building's windows and she startles, disappearing abruptly into the night.

ooc: gotcha!

[apocalypsehownpcs]

"This is my world," she replies more sharply than seems necessary. "And I don't know that I believe the rest of you came from anywhere else. You don't trust them, right? And you shouldn't. What makes you think you can trust anything since they got their hooks into you?"

[abrightboy]

“…Maybe I dreamed it,” he concedes. He looks cautiously over his shoulder, spies Martin looking through the window. Even though Martin is outside and they’re inside, Malcolm can hear him like he’s standing next to them.

“Don’t trust him, my boy. You know what he’s doing,” he points out.

[abrightboy]

Martin lets go of Malcolm’s shoulder in the same moment his free hand comes around and slides not a small knife under Luka’s ribcage, holding him there, the knife in up to the hilt.

“I would never hurt my son,” Martin tells him almost indignantly. “As a fellow surgeon,” he purrs softly right into Luka’s face, “you know this wound won’t be immediately fatal. But I do promise you that, by the time we’re done, you’ll wish that it was.”

cw semi-graphic description of death by shooting; discorporation; body horror

[apocalypsehownpcs]

She doesn't even get a chance to scream, really. There's a choked-off little sound of shock and pain when the light hits her, and in that moment and the next Winter may or may not notice that while she has a forehead through which to put a bullet, it's strangely impossible to make sense of what her face looks like, washed out in the brightness. There's something wrong with her, her outline indistinct--

And then the bullet hits, her shadow splashing out like blood. She drops like a puppet with its strings cut, like a crumbling sculpture, and breaks apart when she hits the floor of the balcony. Shadow drips from the balcony--not shadow, something tangible, something it might take him a moment to recognize from this distance as black sand.

That seems to have taken care of that. But the shade Winter just reduced to sand was far from the only one at large in the city tonight, and it won't be the last he encounters. Unseen and unknown, another one of them is already on her way here.

cw: blood

[cuttypie]

He wasn't expecting that.

A punch, yes. Getting shoved, sure. But the sharp pain in his ribs and the small bloom of blood that appears on his shirt are an unwelcome surprise.

Luka lets out a gasp, frozen in place, his hands up--if Martin would have simply stabbed him and backed off he probably would have attacked again, but the awful sensation of the knife keeps him frozen in place for fear of him jabbing it in deeper.

"What the hell...?