The cohort puts their plan into action and attempts their escape before Camille can take them somewhere never to be seen again.Now including music and SFX from Ovani Sound.--------Episode Transcript:Get your snack and beverage of choice ready. It’s time to “Gather ‘Round the Trashfires” for a tabletop roleplaying story! I’m your host, Bek Andrew Evans.My current and main running story for this podcast is the misadventures of the cohort from the Deviant: the Renegades chronicle I’ve been playing in since early 2021. And I play Geri.For those of you unfamiliar with Deviant, it’s a TTRPG about people who were formerly human but were irreparably changed in traumatic ways to the point their very Souls broke and they became something Other. They seek vengeance on those who made them, those who hunt them, those who seek to exploit them for what they are and will never leave them be.As such, this podcast will feature heavy themes and content throughout. There’s an overall content warning for language, violence, criminality, homelessness, substance use, human experimentation, cults and religious extremism, mentioned torture, kidnapping, implied incest and incest-related comments, and abusive relationships. On episodes where there is a new content warning or a particularly notable instance of one of these, I’ll call it out.I hope y’all enjoy hearing about my cohort’s antics and stumbling headfirst into the mysteries of the world as much as I have.[Music Intro: "_violence" by Avantist]Episode 4: The Great EscapeIt was lunchtime on Saint Patrick’s Day of 2021. The ward staff had decided to be festive for the patients by making some concerningly-green-dyed food - including green buns for hamburgers that they had to assure over and over again were not moldy and definitely not from whatever was growing on AJ’s neck. Despite the attempts at a little celebration, the staff’s tension was palpable. As soon as they cleared all the lunch things away and let the patients have their limited free time, the staff got to busying themselves in preparation for Ms. Mason’s impending arrival.They all seemed terrified of her, afraid to even be seen if it was possible to avoid it.Geri had linked the cohort in her telepathic network, that she nicknamed the “MINDcraft server,” the last the group was in range of each other for lunch. And then they separated to get into positions.AJ and Robert use a side door to go down a corridor around the offices toward the main doors. AJ’s wearing his scrubs plus a purple baseball cap and a backpack. Robert’s got his scrubs and, as usual, is barefoot and has his huge blanket wrapped around him.Madison gets ready to activate her electrokinesis, but it fluctuates wildly on any given day. Today, it fluctuates so powerfully, it flickers all the power in the hospital off for a moment just from her attempt to wrangle it and makes the backup generators kick on. Sparks fly over her skin from where she’s hiding with Geri near the elevators.AJ and Robert were good at sneaking, but the surprise from the sudden light flickering (even though this is a fairly common occurrence on this ward) distracts the guards just long enough to not see AJ and Robert right away. But the guards get on alert that something is afoot. Four guards in the common area glance to each other, two at the door stand straighter and one whispers over a radio.Out of his backpack, AJ pulls the shittiest-looking, most McGuyvered RC car with clockwork for wheels to exist and sets it on its rickety path toward the main doors. He silently signals Robert to put his face mask on.AJ whispers to Robert to keep the guards busy once the smoke starts until he gets the signal.Meanwhile, the guards notice the approaching little RC contraption. When one goes to investigate it after calling in the disturbance over the radio, it starts sparking and spraying smoke everywhere. The guards yell to lock the ward down. Two of the common area guards head for the main door and the other two head back toward the fire exit.Robert ambles through the smoke and pretends to be a bumbling, confused patient. He loudly asks the guards what’s going on, what’s happening to the electricity, why is there smoke?Over the mindcraft, he gives Madi and Geri the green light to head to Zuse’s room.Two guards pull tasers on Robert and tell him to return to his room. There’s a potential breach in security. As if on cue, a robotic voice begins announcing a similar command over the loudspeaker to the entire ward. Steel grates slam down to seal the wide, sunny windows and blanket the ward in darkness other than the eerie, flickering fluorescent lights.AJ, in the chaos and smoke, sneaks over to a janitor’s cart in the common room. Robert continues to stall, raising his hands and innocently claiming the elevator was taken and he was looking for personnel to help him.Meanwhile, on the other side of the ward, Madison makes lightbulbs explode ...
