Hillwood forest RP

Helga wished it would get dark soon. The blush that had crept into her cheeks felt hot, and she felt certain everyone was staring at her. "Yeah, yeah, Arnold. You're my hero and all that," she said it with half hearted sarcasm. At that moment especially, as so often before, he really was her hero. She was still wishing she'd managed to do more for his birthday than the picture. It was well intentioned, but didn't seem like enough to thank the boy for all he'd done for her.

Phoebe felt something crunch beneath her feet. She stopped and stooped over, brushing away the thin layer of leaves and twigs. There was gravel beneath the leaf litter, the chunky white kind used on roads and driveways.

"I think we might be close," she said, brushing her hands clean as she stood.

Rhonda

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "If Curly was somebody to compare yourself to, trust me, I'd let you know, Harold. You're much better at- uh, well you'd probably be a lot more reliable if something DID attack us, I mean. Cats have claws, after all," She glanced at him, hiking her purse up onto her shoulder a little higher. She patted herself on the back for the save, it was clever and true without saying anything else. She grinned suddenly. "If it makes you feel any better, I'LL protect you if something goes bad, Harold."

She almost jumped for joy when she felt a different sort of crunching on her feet. "Thank God, I am so ready to see a beach of any kind. Phoebe, you rock."

Arnold

Helga looked a little red in the face, which was understandable with the exertion and the stress but- Arnold was suddenly aware of how close their faces were. "I uh- I dunno about hero. I probably would look pretty terrible in sparkling spandex," it was a pretty poorly formed joke but it was the best he could do suddenly under the circumstances. "Just don't like seeing you in pain, that's all."

Arnold looked down at the ground, in part to see what Phoebe was talking about, in part because... well he wasn't really sure. "Look at that, we'll be lounging on a beach chair or something soon! The day is taking a turn for the better, you guys were right."

Helga was torn between blissing out at how close she and Arnold were and tearing herself away from him. She loved the feeling of being so close, of how warm his skin felt on hers, but she still felt embarrassed. She was glad for Phoebe's distraction. "Glad things are finally starting to turn around. And maybe we can agree to never try this again. Ever."

"There!" shouted Phoebe, one arm outstretched and the other grabbing Helga's arm. Through a gap in the trees she could see the afternoon sunlight glittering off the surface of water. Sure enough, as she jogged forward, a huge lake revealed itself. The water splashed happily, a light breeze making waves along it's graveled beach. She sighed in relief. Reaching into her pocket, Phoebe retrieved the map and spread it on the shore well away from errant splashes and began to study it. The lake seemed to be much bigger than she had originally believed, but sure enough there was a line passing by the far side indicating a road. She sat back on her heels to think.

Helga pushed herself off of Arnold and practically collapsed beside Phoebe. "I know it's still a ways, but I think I need to rest a bit." The admission from Helga that she needed a break was probably surprising to the others, but it was actually fairly light compared to the true problem. She was starting to suspect there was far more damage than she previously thought. The pain was getting worse, even if she barely put any weight on the injured limb. Someone who wasn't as strong as she was likely to have passed out from the pain by this point. "Just for a minute."

Harold

"Thanks, Rhon." Harold said as he patted her shoulder. "I think you're probably giving me a little too much credit. It's really nice knowing you've got my back though!" He also came to a halt with the others and sighed with relief before dropping to the ground beside Helga and stretching his arms out as wide as possible.

"Oh man, the beach! And a road nearby and maybe people and food and all that good junk." He rolled over and poked Helga's side. "You excited, Helga?"


Gino

Gino strode towards the front of the column, leaving Eugene behind him. He came to a stop by Phoebe and Arnold.

"Anything I can do to help speed up the process?"

Rhonda

Rhonda didn't even bother responding to Harold, she nearly bolted to the head of the group to catch a view of the lake.

It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, and she almost shivered at the feeling of the breeze blowing her hair, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I've never been so happy to see a body of water before in my life."

Arnold

Arnold glanced up at the lake, grin spreading across his face. "Phoebe, you're amazing," He almost fell over when Helga vaulted away from him though, and reached out to try and catch her, thinking she was falling or something. She hadn't really fell, but she certainly didn't look like she was doing too good, and he knelt down next to her to put a hand on her shoulder. He looked up at Gino. "Helga does need to rest, maybe we should carry her the rest of the way to the lake? If you're up to it, I mean. If we get you over there we can put your ankle in the water, it might feel better."

Phoebe turned in time to see her friend hit the dirt. She lurched to her feet and ran to her friend's side. "Helga?" She stooped to examine her leg, frowning as she did so.

"Thank you Arnold. It's really nothing, just an acute sense of direction. But yes, if we could get Helga to the water, the cold should help the swelling go down." she smiled at both of the boys, one hand resting on Helga's splinted leg.

"Stop babying me, I'll be ok," Helga attempted to push herself to her feet, but the pain caused her to lose her footing, which resulted in her falling and taking both Gino and Arnold down with her. "....that proves nothing." she stubbornly insisted. She wanted the focus off of her, and back onto Arnold. "I'll take Phoebe's advice and soak it for a little while."

Gino

Being the muscle wasn't really something he was any good at - it's what he hired goons for, but with Phoebe so focused on him it was hardly the time to back out of his offer. He sighed inwardly and stood back up, arms outstretched to help Arnold carry the injured blonde down to the water.

"Geez, Pataki." Gino grunted as they slowly made their way across the beach, "what the heck have you been eating? You're all dead weight."


Harold

Harold toddled along behind the group, Eugene at his heels.

"Hey, Eugene - you got any painkillers in that bag of yours? I've had sports injuries before and my bet is that Helga's probably feeling the brunt of that pain now." Harold asked. Both boys stopped as Eugene began rummaging around in his bag.

"These are pretty strong," Eugene said as he handed them to Harold. "Make sure to limit how many she gets - they can be super addictive."

"Thanks," Harold said, pocketing the bottle and heading to where the rest of the group was gathered by the water.

Phoebe scurried after the boys, wincing sympathetically every time they jarred Helga's leg. She hastily ran through everything she knew about rough first aid. In her mind she constructed a brace out of smooth stones to prop Helga's ankle on, elevating the swollen area, and began to select rocks in the area that she thought would be a good resting place. As she thought, she absentmindedly laid a hand on Gino's upper arm.

"Thanks." she said, then let go as she spied one particularly good stone and rushed to grab it.

Helga wanted to gripe about all the attention on her (well, not Arnold's attention) and she was already devising ways to get at Gino for complaining about her weight, but she was having a hard time voicing her criticisms, especially as the pain killers started to take hold. "Thanks." she muttered. It was intended towards the group as a whole, but her eyes were focused on Arnold when she said it. If pork rinds made me sleep walk and the gas at the dentist almost made me spill my guts, I wonder what kind of effect this stuff's gonna have on me? Helga wondered to herself. For now, she was just starting to feel sleepy.

(( sorry for disappearing a bit there! Working retail during Labor Day Weekend: you're gonna have a bad time ))

Rhonda

Rhonda watched the scuffle and hubbub around Helga rather uselessly. She didn't have anything super helpful in her bag, except for maybe some tylenol down in the depths of it somewhere. Everyone else seemed to have something of a handle on it, and so she hovered around the edge of the group, trying to not get in the way as they made their way to the lake. "Puh-lease, Helga, nobody's babying you," she piped up, trying for humor. "Babies ask for help, after all."

Arnold

He helped Gino lift and start carrying Helga through the treeline and down the beach of the lake. He was suddenly very nervous, Arnold didn't like that Helga was having such trouble, and he hoped the painkillers they'd given her didn't put her out of commission or anything, and realized that Helga was probably a bit more scared than she was letting on. The idea of Helga not being a force to be reckoned with made him uneasy. He met her eye when she said thank you and found himself clinging a little bit closer to her for some reason. "Thank us when you're standing and can punch me in the arm, okay, Helga?" Arnold smiled reassuringly and helped Gino sit her down at the edge of the lake.

"Why would I punch you?" Helga said lazily. "I lo..." before she could finish the sentiment, Helga had nodded off. She would be grateful when she woke up that it was the only affect the pain killers had on her, but the small part of her that was still alert was grumbling about not being in control.

Harold rubbed at his arms as a cool breeze swept across the lake.

"Maybe we shouldn't have given her those pills. It's getting colder and the sky is clouding over again." He looked upwards at the approaching darkness. "I think it might storm again."

Gino nodded in agreement.

"While I'm sure Pataki is enjoying being hopped up on some intense painkillers, the rest of us should probably figure out what to do next." Gino crossed his arms over his chest.

"Um, this is sort of a longshot," Harold said as he huddled in closer next to the group, the wind sending shivers up his spine. "But when I saw the map earlier it did look like this lake was supposed to be really close to some sort of summer camp? It's probably deserted now since it's October, but don't a lot of kid's camps have some sort of cabins?"

Phoebe looked up as the wind ruffled the edges of her map. The horizon was indeed darkening, the towering cloud bank flashing with lightning. She shivered.

"...some sort of cabins?" she heard Harold say. She glanced up to look at her friends, the wind whipping dark strands of hair into her face. The weather was going to get nasty quick, and Helga did not need to be left in the elements any more than she already had. She looked back down at her map. Sure enough, a thin blue line delineated a park or camp of some kind, although it was not very specific about the facilities.

"It's possible," she said finally, standing and folding the map. "Whatever kind of place it is, we need to find shelter soon." She bit her lip in worry. Fall storms could be severe, the one the night before just a taste of what might be coming.

Arnold

He managed to catch Helga's head before it hit the ground or anything, sliding to his knees so he could keep her shoulders and head propped up in his lap. She'd been on the verge of saying something but... Arnold brushed the hair out of Helga's face and looked up at the others. "A cabin might have a bed or something for Helga. How far away does the map say this place is, Phoebe?" he glanced up at the darkening sky. "If we're going, I say we go. Even if it isn't much, there might be a radio."

As far as he was concerned now, the birthday was pretty much over with. Things were getting a little too scary for his liking, they were out in the elements, and Helga was hurt, and it was getting harder to think everything was going to be okay when the wind was picking up the way it was.

Rhonda

Rhonda curled her arms around herself against the wind, shivering. "Shelter sounds great about now. If everyone is in agreement, I vote we throw Helga over somebody's shoulder and make a run for it before the rains hit us," she tucked herself into the huddled group next to Harold, trying to get a little barrier from the wind. Last night hadn't been fun, but those clouds looked downright terrifying. She glanced down at Arnold, who had given her a look. "I mean gently, gently toss her over someone's shoulder."

"I've got it," Harold said as he took a step towards the unconscious Helga. Before he stooped down to pick her up, he gingerly extracted his arms from the long sleeved shirt he'd been wearing over his wife beater. He held it out towards Rhonda's shivering frame. "Here, Rhonda. I'll warm up soon anyway if I'm gonna be carrying Helga."

"Shelter sounds like the best idea." Gino agreed, sighing at the approaching clouds. "Though I think we also maybe need to start thinking about food too. It's been over 24 hours since most of us have eaten." He said with a cruel glance towards Harold's thick frame. Gino's stomach's timely grumbling seemed to echo in agreement.

"Which way, Phoebe?" He asked gently, stepping towards her.

"That way" Phoebe said, pointing. The lake shore curved away from them towards an open field or meadow. She could see dark shapes hunching in the clearing - they could be cabins. Against the dark sky it was somewhat hard to distinguish them. A crack of thunder split the air and Phoebe jumped, her hand going to her throat. The smell of ozone was everywhere.

Helga, even in the fog of the pain killers, was vaguely aware of being picked up. "Arnold?" she muttered questioningly. The arms around her were being cautious, but it didn't quite feel like how Arnold would have held her. She thrashed a little before settling down, starting to go even deeper into sleep. She let out a very loud snore that made Harold jump.

Harold fumbled a bit as Helga thrashed about before settling down.

"Man, she's just as big of a pain asleep as she is when she's wide awake! Let's hurry to the cabins, guys." Harold said, pushing onwards. The top of what looked like a small, wooden camp cabin was slowly creeping into view. Meanwhile, the storm was swiftly approaching from behind them all.

It wasn't Gino's style to lead the pack, but the way the wind was whipping about his ears was making all his hair stand on end and shelter suddenly seemed more important than looking cool. He bolted along the path beside Arnold and the two boys made their way up to the steps of the closest cabin.

Gino tugged on the door.

"Shit, it's locked." How he would kill for his goons' assistance right now. But they weren't there and it was starting to feel like he might never make it back to his rightful place as mob king. With a scowl, he knelt down and grabbed the largest rock he could find and then hurled it with all his strength at the nearest window. To his surprise, it actually broke the glass and shattered pieces flew in all directions.

"Shit." Gino swore as he turned his head just in time to avoid a shard of glass to his eye. It still nicked his cheek, but at least the deed was done. He rolled his sleeve down over his hand and delicately reached inside the cabin, feeling for the door's lock. With a quick flick of his wrist he unbolted the door.

Phoebe had taken up the rear as their troupe ran across the windswept field. The thunder seemed to follow them, growling on their heels. As they came up on one of the cabins, Phoebe turned to see the storm front finally reach and watched the first wave of rain race towards them. The sound of shattering glass made her squeak, and she whipped around just as Gino thrust his arm through the broken window.

"Go, go!" she cried, pushing at Harold's back to get him and his sleeping cargo through the door as quickly as possible.