leaving behind the weight [closed]

[assembles]

WHO: Steve Rogers & Claire Novak
WHEN: Early September
WHERE: Libertas, post-attack
WHAT: General relief efforts
WARNINGS: Mentions of war, violence, death, and removal of injured civilians from debris will be involved.

[ It's early in the day, with Steve having only taken the bare minimum of sleep required the night before in order to keep going come dawn. He feels refreshed despite that, spurred on by the knowledge that there may still be people out there in the destruction, holding out hope for rescue.

They'll have been under the rubble for days now. That means that they're going to find more in the way of corpses than anything else, but he can't assume that there aren't still a few survivors left.

It's as he wades his way through yet another residential district that he pauses for a moment and hears it, the faintest and most wheezing of breaths from somewhere below him. There's a large slab of what must have once been a stone wall in the way, and so he quickly jumps to work. He pulls the shield that Jayce made him from his back to pry up the edge of the stone, then grips it with both hands and begins to heave it up with all his strength.

Beneath, he sees a figure covered in dust and ash, face barely visible under all of it, but they're just barely moving. Writhing in pain, more accurately.

His head snaps up, looking around the immediate area. He spots a young woman not far off and raises his voice to her, even as he strains against the weight of what he's lifting. ]

I have someone here! Grab a medic!

Comments

[waywardsister]

[ It's disorienting, over time. The way the air's still too thick with smoke and dust, the way the the last few days have been a non-stop start-and-stop rush of saving people - or trying to - without hunting things. Claire's good with killing things that go bump in the night. This entire thing right here is so far beyond her level of familiarity she has moments where she almost just wants to stand still and scream. Because what do you even do? Thankfully, there are enough people around that know what needs to get done that she doesn't have to admit she hasn't the faintest, and can focus on doing instead of thinking. Lets herself be directed without being a smartass about it for once in her life - for the most part at least, her snark is still faster than her manners at the best of times.

And it doesn't matter, right - people need help, and she hunters monsters not just because she gets a kick out of throwing herself at danger, but because she gets to save the people that don't need their lives ruined in all the ways hers was. It's always been about the people at the end of it. And awful as it sounds, all of this has shaken her loose from that corner of self-pity and grief she'd burrowed into. ]

On it!

[ She calls it out before her eyes manage to track to the source of the call, and then moves before her mind actively registers what she saw. Steve's in luck in that regard - Claire is fast. Just a normal human, but one more than used to running for her life. Speed and endurance are what keeps a hunter alive. So she's off to the race before her mind's caught up to everything fully, casting her gaze around until she spots what she's looking for. Yells for medics, waves to flag their attention. 'We got someone under rubble', even though she has no idea who 'we' even is. Doesn't matter though. Claire skids to a halt just long enough to make sure she can see people grabbing their supplies and rushing to follow her before she sprints back the way she came.

By the time she drops to her knees next to Steve, her lungs are burning, her legs screaming, but she crawls half under him to wedge one of Jayce's crowbars in there just to add a little bit of stability - shit, is he lifting all this? ]

They're coming. Almost there.

[assembles]

[ While Steve has no idea who it is that he just yelled to, he appreciates the fact that instead of freezing in place or staring at him agape, she immediately springs into action. She understands the gravity of the situation and the fact that even a second saved could make a difference.

While she's gone he focuses on simply keeping the piece of wall raised up so that it's no longer trapping or suffocating the person beneath. They're too weak to do or say much, but he nonetheless assures them that help is on the way, and to just hang in there for a little bit longer.

Then, in what feels like record time, the young woman is back — closer now, dropping to the ground to do her part and help. Steve can only assume she's had reason to function in crisis situations before. That, or she just has really good instincts. ]

Thanks. [ His voice continues to waver as he keeps hold of the stone slab, its size making it awkward to hold for long periods of time like this. That wedged crowbar does give him at least a little bit of a break to catch his breath. And then, to the poor person who's been buried for days now: ] We've got you.

[ It's just a few moments later that the rest of the team arrives, the medic hanging back while two other men race forward, asking them to please hold strong while they pull out the survivor. Steve nods, readjusting his grip but not letting the large piece of rubble slip an inch.

And then the two men go crawling underneath in hopes of unearthing and pulling out the survivor. As soon as one of them grips onto her ankle, she lets out a muffled yell of pain. She probably has at least a few broken bones. ]

[waywardsister]

[ Claire briefly turns her head with a small shudder at the sound, though the accompanying wince is more one of sympathy. The sound reminds her a little of that one time she had to drag her calf out of a ghoul's bear trap of a jaw, flesh and skin and all. Only Claire had been alone - safe for the ghoul, and really, since when do ghouls count for company - and therefore free to cry, cuss, whimper and scream in pain as she pleased without being overheard and losing any tough-hunter-points.

Only, well. Flipside of no one being there to overheard was that no one heard. And that under there isn't someone fucked up enough to throw themselves at deathly danger voluntarily again and again - probably. Maybe.

Just some unlucky civilian. So maybe Claire needs to think more of the shellshocked people she'd pulled out of vampire nests and werewolf dens, instead. Bleeding, hurting, and with their world view forever altered. Trauma's a bitch, huh?

So Claire glances up at Steve, brief and assessing. ]

You got this, right? [ He looks like he's struggling, but... he's got this, right? ] Don't drop it on me.

[ And lowers herself down, flat on her stomach. She's still holding onto the crowbar best she can - but she does ease herself forwards, just a little, so their poor survivor can catch a glimpse of her - careful not to get in the way of the people working on freeing them. ]

Hi.

[ Directed at Unlikely Survivor. Claire keeps her tone surprisingly soft for someone who usually survives on air and attitude alone. Goal is to keep them calm, give them something other than the pain to focus on while people to pull them out. Claire can't make it hurt less. But maybe she can make it just a touch less scary. ]

I'm Claire. This is... ah. Sir Lifts-A-Lot. So, if you can, why don't you keep looking at me while these fine people get you out. Hey, I know it hurts. But you're not alone. We got you.

[ And she keeps that up. Strains to hold the crowbar in place - she's not gonna last long, she's just trying to last long enough here. And she keeps up words of encouragement for Soon To Be Saved, with the occasional affirmation thrown towards Tall-Blonde-Shieldmaiden and Team Rescue. And then, inevitably... ]

Hey, so. Y'know, I could get further in there... I'm small enough, I could get in there and help move her better than just pulling on broken bones...

[assembles]

[ At the woman's question, Steve is quick to nod, even if it isn't quite as firm or pronounced as it would normally be — just the slightest of movements. While he is capable of holding the weight, that doesn't mean he can just carry on a conversation while he does this. He needs to remain focused on not dropping it on any of them, and he understands the stakes well enough that there's no way in hell he's letting his grip falter.

The stranger goes beyond her initial job of running for help and then her secondary job of shoving the crowbar as a wedge under the debris. She then starts wriggling her way under to speak to the person they're trying to save, making attempts to set her at ease, even as Steve can hear sounds of the poor girl starting to hyperventilate.

The man who'd originally grabbed for her does seem to be having a difficult time getting any further under. Steve grits his teeth and tries to lift the piece of rubble even higher, but he can only manage an inch or so before his arms truly start to burn from the exertion.

The blonde helping them, who looks like she's still barely out of adolescence herself, makes a suggestion. Whether it's directed to him or the others, Steve doesn't mind being the one to call the shots here. They can't waste any more time. ]

All right, do it. Quick as you can.

[ She's already proved she wants to help and that she's capable of swiftly jumping to attention in a high-stress situation like this. She's also smaller than the two men who came to help. This is their best chance. ]