Hold the Line against the Night - IC

[Erulasto]

HOLD THE LINE AGAINST THE NIGHT
A Hunter the Vigil Chronicle


OOC THREAD (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?596880-Hold-the-Line-against-the-Night-OOC&p=24121579#post24121579)

I am the pirate signal. Let me in. I am the word virus. Let me in. I am the ear worm. Let me in. I am the brain pathogen grammar. I am the dreamers’ dream. I am what I am. Let me in – let me in – let me in – let me in. Let me in!

https://i.ibb.co/d0T8mkj/Outer-Gods-Borja-Pindado.jpg






”Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the Abyss, the Abyss will gaze back into you.”
- Friedrich Nietzche


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th, 2019

Fall had come early to Terrace. Like most of Western Canada, the summer had been exceedingly wet with barely any days where the sun had shone and the heat seeped in to warm ones bones. The heavy dampness had brought with it cooler than seasonal temperatures and as the waning days of August passed by, those cooler temperatures had begun to crisp the leaves to early golds and reds. These cooler days had stifled most of the tourism to Terrace. Only the brave, the bold and those with a truly adventuresome spirit had come to bolster the city with forays into the various nature preserves and campsites that littered the thick temperate rainforests that lay vast across the Skeena Valley. Unfortunately, that had also caused some stress among the many small businesses in Terrace, and even the larger chain stores were experiencing a painful dip in profits.

By the end of the first week of September, the kids had returned to their classes for yet another year of school and the leaves were already beginning to fray on their branches. It wasn’t uncommon to see many of Terrace’s residents out getting an early start on raking up the steadily growing leaves that inevitably found their way from lofty homes to an inglorious end, mulched in yellowing grass. The mood across Terrace had been somber, as day after day weather forecasters had been predicting heavier than average snowfall on the horizon. The skies were bleak and grey, and if the sun chose to peak its radiance from behind the cover of clouds, it did little to life the peoples spirits.

The sun had set not long ago, dipping beyond the Kitimat Range of the Coast Mountains to the West of Terrace, casting an early gloom upon the town. The sun had been setting earlier and earlier as Summer made its way into the thick of Autumn. Shortly before sunset, a light drizzle had begun to fall from the grey sky and with a terse wind to break up its continuity, had become more of a misting spray that swirled about capriciously.

The Trainside Café was quiet, for a Wednesday night. Lonesome street lights flanked the small parking lot that encircled the small café, offering a brighter respite from the pervading gloom of early evening. A few stray cars sat in the parking lot. The forest green RAV-4 driven by Claudia Tweed. Luiz Garcia’s off-white Silverado. A silver mini-van owned by the Wells family, and borrowed by their teenage daughter Tanis so she could get to work. Finally, there was a black sedan bearing an out-of-province license plate and the bright sticker for Budget Rent-a-Car.





EVA

The week had been particularly unpleasant so far. The moodiness that had settled on the city from the bleak weather had smothered the desire for many of Terrace’s citizens to go out and about if they didn’t have some pressing business to lure them from their couches, their Netflix, and the comforting warmth of their homes. As such, the shift was boring. Even many of the delinquents who would skulk about and cause trouble had opted to stay in this week.

Eva had only just finished her twelve-hour day shift, and that seven in the morning start had seemed so far away. Jill had come down with a nasty cold, and was cooped up in her own house nursing a steaming mug of Neo-Citran and popping Halls like there was no tomorrow. That had left Eva to patrol on her lonesome. Her watch-sergeant, Gill Mayweather, was apologetic. But the aging officer could only work with what they had available, and it seemed like that wasn’t much at the moment.

The patrol car had been parked just off highway 16, with a photo-radar gun propped up on the dashboard for most of the morning. A small stack of traffic violations for speeding had been neatly sorted on the passenger seat. The doldrums of having to sit and file all of them with the Provincial clerk weighed heavily on Eva, but she figured there was time to grab some food before she had to return to the precinct.

As she had been sitting out on the highway for most of her day, the closest place was the Trainside Café.

The drive there was relatively quiet. The road was practically empty as she made her way towards the intersection of a rail line and the highway that the café sat adjacent to.

Eventually, Eva pulled into the small parking lot. There weren’t a lot of cars present. A single rental and a few with plates that indicated they were local. Eva stepped out of the car into the chilly mist that was permeating the air and made her way towards the front entrance to the café. As she passed, she saw Luiz Garcia puffing on a cigarette just out back with a couple overflowing bags of trash sitting next to the dumpster. The cook tipped his head and gave the RCMP constable a small wave of acknowledgement before she stepped foot inside.

The warmth was palpable, heaters already running strong and the air was filled with the smell of coffee, doughnuts and burgers sizzling in the back.

A cursory glance around the diner revealed Claudia behind the counter, wiping down some basic white coffee mugs and placing them on a rack next to the three coffee pots that sat next to the soda fountain. A plump young teenage girl in black leggings, an athletic T-Shirt from one of the local high schools and a black apron was busy handing a plate of rare steak to an older gentleman in a somewhat damp beige overcoat at the counter. He had grey, thinning hair that barely covered the sheen of a balding head and a pair of thin, wire-framed spectacles balanced on a slightly overlarge hook nose. His cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were shadowed by the dark circles that accompanied one who put far too much overtime in at work. A thick, steel briefcase sat on the floor next to his stool and Eva noticed he kept brushing it with one of his legs as if to ensure it was still there. A nervous tick if Eva had ever seen one.

The teenage waitress, whose name-tag proclaimed her as Tanis, smiled as Eva approached, and tipped her head towards one of the many empty booths.

”Have a seat, officer. I’ll be with you in a jiffy!”





ROSA

Rosa had arrived via Flight 3105, operated by West Jest Encore from Vancouver a couple weeks ago. The hacker had planned more than enough time to settle into her room, and grab some take-away lunch at the small restaurant on the main floor of the Best Western hotel. The rest of the two weeks had been spent getting the lay of the land, and trying to uncover more clues as to what exactly she was looking for out here from that strange little program secreted away on a portable hard drive.

Presently, she was gazing out of the fourth floor window at the grey and dreary sky, and Rosa was struck by how strange it was to be led out here of all places.

Sure, Terrace was well-situated on several major roads and railways through Western Canada, but it was just on the edge of being considered a backwater city. There was one Best Buy in town, and a couple of folks ran electronic repairs out of their stalls at the Skeena Valley farmer’s market. It was very probable that Rosa was the most competent living person in Terrace when it came to computer sciences.

Sitting on the bed, covered in a faded floral-print comforter, Rosa cracked open her laptop and began to boot it up in between bites of the toasted clubhouse sandwich sitting next to her in its cheap white Styrofoam carry-out container.

When Rosa was sure that she’d secured her connection to the hotel’s WiFi, and ran all her usual sniffer and protection programs, she finally allowed herself to bring up the command prompt for the closed network she’d stored on a portable hard drive.

That had been a challenge, to say the least. The script and programming code she’d stumbled upon seemed unusually hard to contain. It moved – flowing and puddling through the script on her original hard drive. It was only the shock of seeing such elegant, but alien, programming before her very eyes that delayed her responses long enough for whatever she had found to infiltrate every corner of her workstation. It had taken her four solid days to clean that mess up, purge the strange code and transplant it into a well-protected…and well-contained network on the portable drive.

Rosa opened a read-only access to the drive, and allowed herself once more to look upon that strange code.

And the message contained within.


BLUEHAWKBIOS©2017
BIOS Date: 2/22/17 20:54:23 Ver: 03.00.01

Press DEL to run Setup
Checking

777MB OK
Auto Detecting Pri Channel (0)….IDE Hard Disk
Auto Detecting Pri Channel (1)….Not Detected
Auto Detecting Pri Channel (0)….CDROM
Auto Detecting Pri Channel (1)….Not Detected
Pri Channel (0): 1.1 Virtual HD
Pri Channel (0): uVirtual CD

C:\hd program files
C:\Program Files>cd world_engine
C:\>dir
Volume in drive C is Windows
Volume Serial Number is 3929-5BA3

Directory of c:\

08/22/2019 04:42 AM <DIR> inetpub
08/22/2019 05:46 AM <DIR> intel
08/24/2019 07:11 PM 904,485 msdia80.dll
09/01/2019 03:50 PM <DIR> perfLogs
09/01/2019 04:21 PM <DIR> Program Files
09/01/2019 04:31 PM <DIR> Program Files <x86>
09/01/2019 07:14 PM <DIR> Loading…

C:\cd_world_engine\
C:\cd_world_engine\start [world_script.exe]
.
..
…
….
…..
GC.CG.CG.AT.GC.TA.TA.CG.AT.G.A.GC.TA.TA.C.C.G.A.AT .GC.AT.TA...ERROR.

Theh yeh alef-hamza-below noon qaf noon seen reh waw noon beh waw teh waw heh reh yeh alef-hamza-above reh yeh theh yeh beh waw lam dal reh seen

WARNING: SYSTEM FAILURE

That was as far as the code would go. It would continue to repeat, over and over, ad nauseam until it crashed her system. The strange words upon her screen meant little to the hacker, but through careful prodding and poking, she had eventually made out a sequence of numbers buried within. It had taken a day or two, but eventually, Rosa had figured out that it was a set of coordinates in longitude and latitude.

Coordinates that had led her to Terrace.

Rosa hadn’t been able to bring herself to go to that exact point, but she had found it easily enough by surreptitiously accessing Google’s GPS satellite systems.

It was out in the middle of no-where. Out in the wilderness and the woods, on the slopes of the Coast Mountains near an old mine closed in the eighties after one too many industrial accidents. The closest point of interest had been a little truck stop diner called the Trainside Café on the outskirts of town. It was sitting along highway 16 and one of the major rail lines that ran through the countryside. She had driven past it once or twice on her forays through town, but had only stopped in once to grab some lunch before a brief visit to one of the Provincial nature parks that lay between the café and her eventual destination.

Rosa wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Even if she had driven all the backroads through the Provincial park, she would still likely have to walk for a couple hours to get to the mine. The single old road that led there had been blocked with a large chain-link fence capped with rusty old barbed wire and a plethora of ‘No Trespassing’ signs.

Having spent most of her day trying to glean new insight from the alien code, Rosa was drawn from her work by a grumble from her stomach. Maybe another trip to the Trainside Café would serve a dual purpose. Food, of course, and maybe she’d encounter a local who had some more intimate knowledge of the area.

Rosa packed up a messenger bag with what she thought she would need. Her laptop, the portable hard drive, and other odds and ends. Grabbing her keys from the nightstand, Rosa made her way to the parking lot where her hideously orange rented Acura was parked. Just looking at that paint job made her skin crawl.

The trip from the hotel to the Trainside Café was a bit winding, but at least the streets were clear enough.

As she pulled up, she saw a police cruiser parked in the lot next to another rental and a few of the vehicles she’d recognized as some of the staff.

Parking it the lightly occupied lot, Rosa made her way towards the Trainside Café. As she was approaching, she saw a bus pull up to a nearby stop and a young, beautiful teenage girl get off. She was clutching an olive green messenger bag in her thin-fingered hands. The bag bore a white imprint of the Triforce on its side and long, wavy locks spilled around a slightly-too-large black hoodie bearing the visage of Jack Skellington.

The young girl, head down, barreled into Rosa as she thumbed through her cell phone with a pinched expression on her pretty face.

”Oh!” she exclaimed. ”I..I’m so sorry!”





JEREMY

The bleary sky was about as optimistic as Jeremy’s overall mood. He’d just spent the day trying desperately to ignore the many housewives who’d taken to coming to the gym since he’d started working there. Husbands off at work, these women had often come in wearing clothes as revealing as they could, trying to attract his attention. Something about the ‘danger’ of a former fighter.

The last client of the day was Lynn.

Mother of two, with a pear-shaped body that didn’t do much to inspire confidence in Jeremy at how serious she was about working out and getting into shape. She’d spent most of the time talking about how she was lonely at home, and rubbing up against him at any opportunity she got. A couple of the other trainers had flashed Jeremy pitying looks across the appointment.

But, all through the day, one thought kept him going.

He’d finally managed to get ahold of Cat. While Liz hadn’t been overly forthcoming, she also didn’t immediately shut him down. His ex had told him, in no uncertain terms, that this decision was entirely on Cat now that she was sixteen. IF she wanted to give him a chance, then so be it. But Liz was expecting the most upstanding behavior he could muster.

And now? Now he was supposed to meet Cat at the Trainside Café for a late dinner. Cat would have just gotten off a soccer game after school, and figured the Café was a safe place to meet as her friend Tanis worked there and could give her a ride home.

Just in case.

Jeremy had time for a quick shower after Lynn’s appointment, and pulled on the nicest clothes he’d managed to pack into his suitcase with him when he arrived in Terrace.

Despite running quite late to begin with, the lack of traffic had made the trip as painless as it could otherwise be and he even managed to make up some lost time.

As he turned the corner onto the street that the Café sat alongside, he saw the city bus pulling away and the slim, leggy form of his estranged daughter bumping rather abruptly into a young woman. Even as he was pulling into the parking lot beside them, he recognized them both. Cat, from pictures on her mother’s social media site, and Rosa – a young woman who he’d encountered at the gym a couple times in the past.

That was a surprise.





HENRY

Laying low sucked.

It was boring!

It’s not like he could go joy riding that often. Even in a smaller place like Terrace. Admittedly, that didn’t entirely stop Henry. There was a reason he was called ‘Driver’.

He’d spent the day out in the back country on some old roads in a nearby provincial park. Aside from some park rangers, the area had been desolate of hikers, campers or backpackers since the weather really turned south. He’d been keeping his skills sharp on some of the more treacherous trails, hoping that he wouldn’t hit a root or a stump that would put an end to his vehicle.

He’d stopped after a couple hours, and sat on the hood of his car and cracked a beer open while he took a breather.

Henry had only been hanging out for about a quarter hour when he heard the shouting in the distance, the roar of an engine, and two sudden cracking booms that he immediately recognized as gunfire. Nothing big. Probably a basic rifle of sorts. The kind that a lot of backwater families kept to scare coyote’s and mountain lions away from their yards and their pets.

In his day, he’d learned not to stick his nose into business that didn’t involve him. But some of the shouts sounded like a woman. And that didn’t quite sit well with him, much as a part of him kept repeating a mantra in the back of his mind:

Just drive away. Ignore it. Just drive away.

He was still warring over the thoughts when the decision was made for him.

A young man with a black eye broke through the underbrush at a break-neck speed. He was wearing a black and red checkered flannel shirt that was tattered and torn and he bore some scratches from where he looked like branches had whipped into him during his flight.

The young man came to an abrupt halt as he approached Henry.

”Hey! Hey, man! You gotta help me! We gotta get out of here or we’re dead!”

He was immediately moving towards the passenger-side door of Henry’s vehicle. Henry stared at this young man incredulously, until he heard another gunshot.

And a second later, one of his break lights exploded as a bullet shattered it.

Now they were shooting at HIM! Whoever they were…

Wasting no more time, Henry was into his vehicle and gunning the engine. Even as they peeled away, a couple more gunshots sounded through the forest, and in his rearview mirror, Henry thought for a half moment he saw a dusky-skinned woman covered in blood staring from the foliage.

But he blinked, and she was gone.

They began the trip along highway 16 back to town. The young man introduced himself as Roger, but aside from a soft ‘thank you’, spent the drive back to town staring blankly out the passenger-side window with a glassy, glazed expression. The only words exchanged otherwise was a promise to explain later.

After a bit of a drive, Henry pulled up at the Trainside Café – which seemed busier than he remembered it – and as Roger was getting out of his vehicle, the young man turned back to Henry.

”Hey..uh…man?” Roger asked somewhat quietly. ”Thanks. Again. Really…I…appreciate you helping me out. It’s been a ****ed up day. Do you..uh…want some dinner? I can tell you what happened. Sort of owe it to you, you know? If you want. And my brother…Harvey…he’s got some cash, so he can pay for the gas.”

Even as Roger asked, another car began to pull into the parking lot. The occupant was driving furiously, his tires squealing as he peeled in.

”That’s my brother…” Roger said after looking up at the sound of burning rubber.





HARVEY

For a Wednesday, the day seemed like any other for Harvey. He’d idled around for much of it, before meeting up shortly after lunch with some of his friends – the same friends his parents would have called hoodlums and ne’er-do-wells. They’d cracked some beers open, and before long there were even a couple of joints passed around in rotation.

Thus, his day passed in a pleasantly blissed manner.

Until, at least, he got the call.

It was from Roger, but was showing as an unknown name – someone named Henry Baker – and an unknown number with an area code that most certainly wasn’t local. His younger brother spoke in an anxiety-laden whisper, rushed and yet with forced softness as if he was actively trying not to be overheard.

The call was extraordinarily brief, lasting just under a minute.

In a hurried tone, Roger practically begged Harvey to come pick him up. Claimed he needed help. He’d been picked up from one of the local provincial parks by a passerby. The aforementioned Henry Baker. The tone of voice was worrisome for Harvey, but the fact that Roger of all people seemed to be having some trouble with something was all the more concerning for his older brother. Roger was a pretty upstanding young man, and it was rare he ever got involved in anything that would give his parents pause.

Harvey had packed it in right then and there, and made the trek to where his brother had claimed to be waiting – at the Trainside Cafe. As he pulled up, he saw his brother standing next to an African man. His brother was sporting a black eye, and the red and black checkered flannel shirt he wore over an old Metallica t-shirt was ripped. Harvey was sure some of the dark stains on it were likely blood. There was a police cruiser sitting in the lot next to a number of other cars. One of them even looked like one he’d tried to break into a few months back. But he couldn’t exactly be sure. He’d partaken a bit too much of the ganja that day and the details were a bit fuzzy.

The place was popping!

Once out of the car, Roger turned to Harvey and got a good look at him for the first time, and Harvey thought that Roger looked…off.

That’s when he noticed bruising on his brothers neck. At first, he thought it might’ve been a hickey. But Roger was notoriously bad with the ladies.

What the hell was going on?




Alright folks. It may seem a touch disjointed. I’ve gone through a couple revisions on the post to try and fit everything in effectively.

Eva got there first. Then Rosa bumped into Cat Coleman, and Jeremy showed up moments later. As they entered, Henry and Roger showed up – followed very closely by Harvey.

For all intents and purposes, I’ve tried to set this up to get you all together in one room within a couple posts.

If there’s any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

On an unrelated note about SPOILER boxes. I’m going to ask that if you see a spoiler box like this:


Example!


You don’t read the contents unless you are the named character. This will obviously not be able to be enforced, but I’m going on the honor system here.

Thanks!

And welcome to the Hunt!

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

Henry had never thought himself to have a net positive Karma, but, days like these really made it feel like the universe was punishing him. Cursed with an eternal sense of boredom and stuck in the middle of some unheard-of city in Canada of all places. He hated the cold, far preferred tropic places. Why couldn't he have gotten lucky once? Just toss the dart and hit, say, Hawaii. He hasn't been there yet, and nothing ever goes wrong in Hawaii. Taker got to go there once, she even grabbed herself a few souvenirs. Like that utterly disgusting looking flower button up. Henry..really hated that shirt. As well as the matching one she got for him as a joke.

There was, however, one perk about such a place like Terrace. The Back roads tended to be empty of cops...most of the time. The nature trails also offered a good opportunity to practice on less urban terrain. After the Black Forest heist he has learned the perks of knowing how to dodge a few trees's on the off road. Henry usually prefers to dress up on most occasions, sporting a black vest with a white button-down, alongside some slacks..but for practice? he just needs to be comfortable. He goes in jeans and flannel, though, he does take his preferred cap.

Not being chased allowed him to really work his magic, testing out various ways to drift on dirt roads and speed by tree's. it was very hard for him, almost like he was blessed to be one with the car he was in. After some practice anda good bit of near misses, He takes his break. He gets out of the car, and takes a seat, beer and hand. He's about to take a sip..before he hears it. Distant gunshots. His first reaction is to drop the bottle, diving behind his car and fishing for his own smuggled handgun inside his car. He could leave. that would be easy.

And yet, he doesn't. His hand on the wheel, car ready to go..but seeing a desperate man running so close..wait..didnt a woman scream? It's too late though, the man was already at the car....might as well. He lets him in.

Tires screech, and loose rocks along with dirt kick off from the Driver's muscle car. He makes sure to try and take a unique route through the woods, trying his best to make the tracks hard to keep up with before he gets onto the highway


He looks at his mirror momentarily, spotting what he thought was a bloodied woman...until there was nothing there. He shakes it off and drives.

The ride was rather quiet, Henry disliked sudden choices that were not made with some measure of caution. He did, however, let the man borrow his phone. Just a quick call.

They park at the Diner, and Driver hops out of his car along with Roger. He looks at the man, his face flat, unimpressed, and almost annoyed. "I'll do best with an explanation. What happened, and why were you there." he leans down closer "And who was the woman."

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey drives up to the Trainside Cafe in what could at best be described as a rustbucket apparently American car with the driver door in a light blue tone while the rest of the car maintains a rusty red color.
Edward got out of the car fast not even locking it but did take the keys with him.

A tall young man with dark brown messy hair, brown eyes wearing a open brown black checkered flannel shirt and a black acdc t shirt underneath. Blue jeans and brown boots all in a slightly used look.

" Damn who did this to you, you ok?" Staring at Rogers black eye Harvey asks in a tone that leaves little doubt whoever beat up his little brother was in need of a clear message himself.
"Is that.." Harvey steps closer to the two people "Is that blood?"

[Lokio]

It had been a long day. At least with Jill around, the monotony of traffic duty was cut with witty banter and a laugh here and there, but with her out sick, it had been a long day. Alone. With her thoughts, punctuated by the occasional flashing of the reds-and-blues as she pulled someone over for speeding or texting while driving or whatever. Her uniform was a little rumpled after twelve hours in the seat. The kevlar duty vest, her utility belt, perma-pressed pants and combat boots kept her looking vaguely professional, but the end of her shift was apparent in the small details. The occasional fly hair popping out of her tight bun. The hint of bags under her youthful eyes. Things like that.

At least the café wasn't far. She could kill a burger. Salads were for other people today. Future Eva could suffer for the choice at the gym tomorrow. Today, there would be grease and meat. Anything to spice today up a little. The cook's wave was returned with a "hello" as she passed and headed in to find a seat and get out of the cold.

The waitress and the matron of the place earned tired nods as she accepted Tanis's offer, found herself a booth and glanced about the joint and thought about that hamburger. But cop eyes never stopped scanning, and the greying older fellow with his overcoat and his briefcase drew her attention momentarily. She watched him for a short time, absorbing him as she did so many people with her trained sense of how humans worked.

Then, her eyes moved on, looking out the window, trying to relax and just taking it all in...

[roll0] using the Empath merit on the guy with the briefcase (Wits + Empathy)
[roll1] Perception to notice things going on outside

[Lokio]

OOC: Correction - gotta use rollv!

[roll0] using the Empath merit on the guy with the briefcase (Wits + Empathy)
[roll1] Perception to notice things going on outside

[Daishain]

Rosa shifts her weight to compensate as the young girl comes barreling through, "Hey, its okay kiddo, I certainly can't be mad at anyone with such excellent taste." She waves a hand at the triforce symbol.

"Are you looking for something..." She trails off as some kind of encounter crops up in the parking lot. One of the men involved was clearly hurt, it put her on edge. She watches for a moment, trying to assess if the situation was a threat.

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

Henry turns to Harvey as he starts to approach, He looks to Robert for a second, working out there relationship. He grits his teeth and takes a step forward. "You're the Brother then"

Henry crosses his arms "Your brother found himself in some sort of...mess in the forest. if it was not for me he would likely not be standing here. He's very lucky but...you two do owe me. I take cash, as well as answers. Youre brothers here Robert...pay up. What happened?"

[Bennosuke]

Sorry for the delayed response everyone.

@Daishain: I'm kinda expecting to fail this roll, so we will probably start interacting. Should be fun.

Jeremy wondered if there was a way to get his daughter's attention without being noticed by Rosa. He liked woman (girl is what went through his mind), she came to classes actually looking to learn, and trained hard; she wasn't just there for an instagram photo. Even so, Jeremy was there to see his daughter, and he wasn't too proud of how he was making his money these days. He didn't want his daughter to see him as the fighter he used to be, or the loser he was currently. And he definitely couldn't afford his daughter getting the wrong opinion, that he was "with" other women.

So Jeremy stuck to the wall, hoping to move closer while staying behind Rosa's back.

Dex 2+ Stealth 0 (-1) for a single d10 [roll0]

[Erulasto]

JEREMY and ROSA

”Oh!” the girl said, somewhat startled it seemed that Rosa seemed to not really mind the solid bump. Or perhaps it was that she seemed up on pop culture. Regardless, the teenager shuffled from one foot to the other awkwardly.

”I’m…I’m here to meet my dad for dinner. He…he should be here any minute.” she said, even as she cast a quick glance down to her phone and the time displayed prominently across some cartoon characters that Rosa recognized as being from a show called “Adventure Time”.

The young girl paused as she looked up from the phone screen, noticing that Rosa’s attention was pulled to the other gathering of people in the lot.

It was at that moment that the young girl – Cat to her friends and family – finally noticed the miserable attempt at stealth her father was making as he lurked just off to the side.

Jeremy saw the crinkle on her brow as she tried to wrap her head around what she was looking at.

”…..Dad?” she asked hesitantly.





HARVEY and HENRY

Roger seemed somewhat uncomfortable, standing between his brother and his rescuer. ”I was…out…with some friends. We were gonna check out the old mill. You know...the one they shut down in the seventies? Kyle said something about the kids from the Rez holding keggers there sometimes. We just wanted a drink. Honest…”

Roger lapsed into silence for a moment.

”Do you mind…if we talk about the rest inside? I’d...I’d like to get out of the rain.” His words spoke one thing to the two men, but the furtive glances he kept casting down the road whence they came spoke more to his anxiety than any actual comments given.





EVA

The smell of hand-made patties of ground beef mixed with a healthy dose of seasonings, and finely diced garlic and onions was wafting through the café as Eva slipped into the booth. The bright, fire-engine red vinyl of the seats contrasting sharply against the black and white checkered linoleum and the basic off-white formica of the tables.

Ever the consummate officer, Eva’s gaze fell upon the weary-looking man. His shoulders were bunched up as he leaned forward slightly, and he kept wiping his palms on his pant legs as he sat there, and Eva was sure she could hear him muttering under his breath.

He might have been drinking. Or on drugs of some kind. Eva had heard the reports about the precinct that the instances of cannabis-related psychosis in emergency departments countrywide had increased since Trudeau had legalized marijuana. A DUI might be in his future.

It seemed, however, to Eva that she had arrived at just the right moment – for the seemed to be a rather sudden influx of patrons pouring into the parking lot. She caught a glimpse of an older man in extremely good physical condition – with the build of a brawler – talking to a young woman and a teenage girl.

But even as that group began to make their way inside, another group gathered – and one of them had some blood on his clothes.

Before that fact could register fully, Tanis appeared before Eva’s table with a smile.

”Sorry ‘bout the wait. What can I getcha?”

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

Henry's patience with Robert was getting close to reaching its end. It was already a risk to bring a man with blood on him to a public space...a diner of all places! Gritting his teeth, Henry moves to the door, opening it for Robert and Harvey. He points his open palm inside not unlike that of a doorman "Go on go on, I'll get you some tea. Maybe a burger Huh?" he says, holding back his aggression...al be it the sarcasm in his voice was evident "I didn't expect my day to be going like this..." he mutters, fishing out a wallet with a decent amount of cash, ready to pay for there meals.

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey answered Henry:
" Hi! Yeah I am the brother Harvey and you are?
If not that's true I do owe you and what I owe I pay.
I am glad to hear some answers."

Harvey looked at his brother with a
lot of questions in his eyes .

"Sure let's go inside. The old Mill that's not a nice place to... "
Harvey stopped mid sentence knowing that
..to drink . That's a place to meet your trusty local drug dealer .. might not go down well with everybody.

" Take my shirt and let's clean you up." Covering Robert with his flannel shirt to cover at least some of the stains. Using one hand to point inside towards the bathroom.

[Lokio]

What...?

Eyes snapped up to what was right in front of her, and she absently replied, "Coffee, water, and a burger with fries, please," but even as she asked, she was rising to her feet slowly, prioritizing in her mind what was off about the man with the briefcase, what was going on outside. The blood was concerning, but there was no immediate violence and he wasn't inside just yet.

It gave her a minute to investigate.

Sidling up next to the fella, Eva quietly asked him, "You doing okay, pal?" She flashed him a smile, something empathetic, her manner direct but non-threatening. No need to rile the dude up any more than she had to. The closer look gave her the opportunity to see him from the side, to check for visible medical signs...

[roll0] Wits + Medicine, looking at the guy with the briefcase (1 success)

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy stifles a curse, and quickly pulls together a grin, trying to look like he wasn't just creeping around. He ignores Rosa as he approaches, pouring all his attention and energy into his daughter. "Cat," Jeremy says warmly, stretching both arms out to offer a hug, "I'm so glad to see you kid!" The smile on his face was 100% sincere, though he hoped it didn't make him look like a maniac under all that scar tissue.

[Daishain]

Rosa grins, she could take a hint most of the time, "I'll see you at the Y Jeremy, have fun." She walks into the diner and has a seat.

[Erulasto]

EVA

With a precision and speed born of countless repetition, Tanis scribbled down the order on a small, heavily creased notepad.

”That’ll be a few minutes. Thanks!”

With that parting statement, Tanis sped across the diner and into the kitchen where Eva could pick out her voice relaying the order to Luiz.

With her attention now freed to worry about the older gentleman at the café’s counter, Eva was able to get a much better view as she approached from the side. He really and truly looked ill. He bore many of the hallmarks of withdrawal symptoms, Eva realized. His skin seemed to hang looser on his bones beyond the softening that came with age. His cheeks hung limp from sharp cheekbones, creating small jowls around his thin-lipped mouth. The dark circles under his eyes were sallow like middling age bruises. Hanging from a blue lanyard around his neck was a small plastic sheath that held a stiff plastic ID badge.

Doctor Dwight Edmundson, Lab Researcher for something called Ascendyne Health and Wellness. The name of the company twigged in Eva’s mind, suddenly recalling a police report that crossed her desk about six months ago about a special school for troubled children that was located about twenty five kilometers outside the city in a patch of private land. Supposedly, this school – Brighton House – was surrounded by several acres of wilderness to give the teens who attended there some peace and solitude outside the normal hustle and bustle of Terrace.

Ascendyne Health and Wellness was the primary financier of the school.

As Eva spoke to Doctor Edmundson, the sickly looking man turned his head to look up at the young constable with glassy eyes.

”Hm? Yes?” he asked, as if he hadn’t actually heard her question to him. He gave her a hesitant smile, the expression seeming quite forced. But what struck her as the most odd was the blackened gums she caught a glimpse of behind those thin lips. The way his tongue wriggled in his mouth as he spoke reminded her of a slimy grub. His gums had receded heavily, and the flesh reminded Eva of the old advertisements for cancer she had seen on the old cigarette packages when she was in school.

And his breath, which washed over her the moment his lips parted, held that sickly sweet scent of old blood.

The shock of his ragged appearance, and the tension of the moment was broken as Claudia slip up to the two of them at the counter and set down a plate in front of the doctor. It was steak. Three of them. Large slabs of meat. And at first glance, Eva could tell that they were far undercooked for Luiz’ normal fare. Even if one liked it ‘blue rare’, this would be a bit much. The steaks were pooling in a puddle of red.

Even Claudia looked a bit disturbed by the order as she glanced warily to Eva.

”Here’s your order, sir.” she finally said.

Like a foxhound scenting its prey, the doctors sallow eyes suddenly sparked to vigor and he turned towards the food. Not even bothering with a utensil, he grabbed the first of the steaks and tore a chunk from it with his teeth – a hollow, deep moan of bliss slithering past his lips as a dribble of the juice trickled from the corner of his lips.





ROSA

After seeing the heartfelt greeting that Jeremy had flashed the teenaged girl – obviously his daughter – Rosa had excused herself and slipped inside the diner. Giving the place a quick once over as she found a booth of her own, she noticed a lady cop sliding up to a haggard looking man in a damp overcoat at the counter and began asking him if he was alright.

The scene was somewhat strange, but nothing entirely out of the ordinary.

Rosa set her bag on the seat next to her and settled in as a plump waitress named Tanis approached her from out of the kitchen. She set a menu down on the tabletop and a glass of ice water, flush with condensation.

”Hey there. I’m Tanis. What can I get you?”

As Tanis asked about the order, there was a loud DING and a plate of barely cooked steaks were put on the warming tray between the kitchen and the front. Claudia, the matronly looking wife of the café owner grabbed the plate and set it down on the counter in front of the old man.

He immediately began tearing into the meat with his fingers, muttering and moaning as if it was an orgasmic experience for him.

Rosa caught the look of shock on Claudia’s face, mirrored perhaps by the expression on the young police constables own.





JEREMY

Maniac or not, it was clear that there was a level of awkwardness that still held strong between Jeremy and Cat. It was clear in the way she stiffly eased into his outstretched arms for a hug. It was clear in the way she shuffled a bit nervously when they finally withdrew.

”Hey Dad. It’s…it’s good to see you too.” Cat said, a bit stilted. Her clear, blue eyes seemed a bit shimmery, as if there was an undercurrent of emotion barely held in check. Not for the first time did he look at the young woman Cat was becoming and feel a pang of longing, and maybe a bit of remorse. She was the spitting image of Liz in her younger years. Strawberry blonde hair, the high cheekbones, the gentle slope of her nose, feathery brows and dimpled – if shy – smile.

”I thought I was going to be late. The bus driver stopped for Chinese along the route.” Cat said with some good-natured exasperation.

Even as she spoke, she began to shuffle through the diner’s front door, a rather loud grumble rumbling up from her stomach. It caused the pinkest flushing of her cheeks from embarrassment.

”Sorry, I skipped lunch today. We’ve got a test already in math this week.” That exasperation didn’t hold nearly the same level of good-naturedness to it.

As Jeremy followed Cat into the diner, Jeremy glimpsed Rosa now seated in a nearby booth as well as a young police constable speaking to an older gentleman in an overcoat.

”So, where do you want to sit?”





HARVEY and HENRY

As Harvey helped get Roger covered up with his flannel shirt, the three of them made their way into the diner. It was already a bit more crowded than it had been not long ago. A burly looking man and a teenage girl were picking out a booth while a young police officer that Harvey recognized was talking to an older gentleman at the counter. Another young woman was seated in a nearby booth, hovered over by a plump young waitress whose nametag proclaimed her to be: ‘Tanis’.

As Henry was pulling his wallet out, and fetching some cash, the waitress – Tanis – glanced up at him.

”Good evenin’! Help yourselves to a seat. I’ll be with you in a sec! Oh, and your friend can use the washroom back there if he needs to freshen up.” Tanis said, pointing to the bathrooms tucked in the back corner near the antique jukebox. It was apparent she had at least noticed the black eye that Roger was sporting.

Roger slipped into the bathroom to wash up with Harvey while Henry settled into a booth. Roger was uncharacteristically quiet as he cleaned up, but Harvey noticed his brother didn’t seem to be able to look too long at his roughshod appearance in the mirror, wincing every time he glanced in that direction.

Eventually the two made their way back to the table, and sat down next to one another.

”So…uh….” Roger began, as they waited for Tanis to finish taking the order she was currently working on.

”Oh man. Where to start. So me and Kyle got there and the party was already started. There had to be twenty or thirty kids, most of ‘em from the Rez. I saw a couple others hanging about. But they’re the ones you keep telling me to stay away from, Harvey, so I didn’t really talk to them. We’d only been there a couple hours and I’d only had a couple drinks, you know. Something wasn’t quite…right. A lot of the kids from the Rez were getting pretty amped up. I didn’t see any drugs, but I wouldn’t be surprised. This one big kid brought a few of the kids into the mill itself to give ‘em the good stuff…I heard, anyhow…and when they came back, he took in another group. And then another. And the kids who went in? When they came out they were getting really riled up. Hooting, howling. Real savage like.” Roger shook his head. ”This one girl. Said her name was Sher. She’d been flirting with me most of the night. But some guy got in my face. Got pissed I was messing with his girlfriend. You know?” Roger sighed heavily, and pressed his palms to his face with a groan.

”That’s when I heard the first gunshot. People started to freak out. This big pick-up truck. Ford F-150. The kind that could haul farming equipment, you know? It peeled into the clearing with a bunch of big guys in the back and they had guns, man. ****ing guns! Started shooting. I don’t know what happened after, but I started to run. I was running with Sher. I saw her get shot, man. Right in the back!.”

Roger paused, wiping at his eyes furiously as he tried to calm himself down a bit.

”But…I swear…I saw her in the tree’s as we were driving off. And she didn’t look shot. Just a bit bloody.”

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

Henry gives Tanis a smile and a nod "Thank you miss, We'll just take the booth" No need to be rude to the waiter's, I mean, he doesn't need anyone spitting in his food. However, seeing the cop inside the dinner, he tucks his cap down, hoping to remain a bit inconspicuous.

Henry sits in his booth, listening to this rather odd story. Sure, henry's been in shootouts and had his own fair share of close calls. Even in nightclubs. But this? This was Canada. You know, apologize for everything, no gun violence Canada...

Yet, Henry couldn't exactly deny any of it either. he heard the gunshots himself. Worse? He swears he saw that blood-covered woman in the forest as well. Sher....why does that sound like Cher? Single names, maybe she's a singer too. Though, she gives off more of a Stevie Nicks vibe

"So...A gang of random men showed up with rifles and just...shot everyone? You didn't even think t report this to the police? or tell me they had a car to and to be careful? Getting shot in the middle of nowhere is not the way I really wanted to die, i'll be honest."

Henry grits his teeth "And..you left your girlfriend. When we were driving off, I saw her" he says with a shrug "Getting shot isn't always as deadly as you think it is. She was probably grazed and you just...left her behind." This..dosent seem to trouble Henry that much though. it's not a judement of action..more a statement of events.

[Justanotherhero]

"I think he is right. I don't think it was a bunch of random people.. but as much as I know you should tell them just so later nobody thinks you were involved in any of this. You did nothing wrong so telling them what you saw only proves that. We don't want anybody saying you didn't call because you had something to do with this. Obviously you did the right thing I will check it out and take care off stuff while you stay here. If there really is blood and stuff there we obviously call the cops."

If Harvey could have handled this anyway he wanted the answer probably would have been different but Rogers future is to important to be messed with and Kyle would definitely recognize him.

"To Henry: Thank you for picking him up ! I think you are right on how to handle so if you don't mind I would take a look at that place you guys were? How far did you guys drive? There is somebody I would talk to just to be on the safe side. If you give me a minute? Harvey starts whispering: There is no reason to start telling people details if we are not sure anything happened?"

[Lokio]

The waitress gone, Constable Cartwright's attention was fixed on the medical condition of the older gentleman. Jesus, Doc,, she thought as her eyes snapped over his ID badge and looked him over. He looked sick. Not just a little sick, like, very sick. The police report about a special school, about Ascendyne Health and Wellness financing it, flashed through her mind as she processed this man and where he was from.

She took a step back. Glassy eyes. His gums, absolutely trashed. The smell of blood on his breath... well, the steaks that Claudia put before him were just... cow. Just slabs, right off the side. The thing might still be mooing back there, hanging out with Luiz. She knew it, too; Eva could tell, when she looked Claudia in the eye.

The constable stepped back. There was nothing illegal here, but the guy seemed... off.

Training flashed in her mind as she assessed whether or not this was something she could validly call in. She sure as hell didn't want to touch him.

"Doctor Edmundson..."

She slipped on a pair of first aid gloves from her pocket, taking on a more authoritative tone that suggested that no, she was not going away.

"My name is Constable Cartwright. I asked if you're feeling okay, sir?"

Welfare check. That was where she was at right now, even if everything about this guy gave her the heebies.

Let me know how much of the conversation the others are having Eva can hear. I'll toss Perception if it matters:

[roll0]

Also, a memory roll to remember details about the report on the special school (Int + Composure):

[roll1]

Finally, a Wits + Politics - this guy isn't doing anything wrong, technically, but he's giving off crazy vibes. Is this a thing that would be ridiculous to call in?

[roll2]

[Daishain]

Rosa smiles at Tanis, "I'll have a coffee thanks, and maybe a small order of..." She stares at the older man as he tears into the raw meat like a starving wolf, "uh, never mind, just the coffee thanks."

Feeling queasy, Rosa busies herself with her phone so that she has something to look at other than that mess. Besides the cop seemed to be checking up on the older man already.

First the guy that came in looking like he lost a street fight, and now this guy doing a coke addict elder werewolf impression... Maybe this cafe wasn't such a great place to stop after a run...

[Bennosuke]

Maniac or not, it was clear that there was a level of awkwardness that still held strong between Jeremy and Cat. It was clear in the way she stiffly eased into his outstretched arms for a hug. It was clear in the way she shuffled a bit nervously when they finally withdrew.

”Hey Dad. It’s…it’s good to see you too.” Cat said, a bit stilted. Her clear, blue eyes seemed a bit shimmery, as if there was an undercurrent of emotion barely held in check. Not for the first time did he look at the young woman Cat was becoming and feel a pang of longing, and maybe a bit of remorse. She was the spitting image of Liz in her younger years. Strawberry blonde hair, the high cheekbones, the gentle slope of her nose, feathery brows and dimpled – if shy – smile.


"Thanks," Jeremy said, keeping the tight ball of sadness at his daughter's discomfort forced deep down in his chest. He allowed his daughter to release her stiff embrace, taking one long mment to study his daughter, hoping that moment wasn't too obvious.


”I thought I was going to be late. The bus driver stopped for Chinese along the route.” Cat said with some good-natured exasperation.

Even as she spoke, she began to shuffle through the diner’s front door, a rather loud grumble rumbling up from her stomach. It caused the pinkest flushing of her cheeks from embarrassment.

”Sorry, I skipped lunch today. We’ve got a test already in math this week.” That exasperation didn’t hold nearly the same level of good-naturedness to it.

Jeremy reveled in his daughter's stories about her day, enjoying her willingness to share herself with him, thinking back to when she was younger and shared everything with him. "Yikes!" he exclaimed, "didn't you kids just start?" He had no idea when school had started. "Well I'm glad you're hungry, because this meal's on me!" Jeremy added, throwing in as much enthusiasm as he could to the statement. He couldn't help studying his daughter, anxious for her reaction


As Jeremy followed Cat into the diner, Jeremy glimpsed Rosa now seated in a nearby booth as well as a young police constable speaking to an older gentleman in an overcoat.

”So, where do you want to sit?”

Jeremy grinned, placing a five pound hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Wherever you want Cat, today I'm treating you like a Princess." Jeremy said, wincing internally at the words and hoping they came out the right way.

[Erulasto]

ALL

The Trainside Café was bustling, all things considered, for this time of evening in the middle of the week. Normally, it would have the occasional trucker, stray tourist or hungry local. But with the final arrival of Harvey, Henry and Roger, the place had officially become the busiest that they’d seen it all Summer.

Tanis practically skipped from Rosa’s table to the trio of men, a bright smile on her rounded cheeks as she mentally calculated the tips she’d hopefully be receiving at the end of her shift. Maybe she could snag a new iTunes gift card and pick up the new Tool album her father had been gushing about all week. She’d never heard of the band herself, but if her Dad said they were good enough to knock T-Swift off the number one spot, then maybe she’d need to take a listen as well.

As she approached the table with Henry, Harvey and Roger, she caught a glimpse of Cat and Jeremy and gave a little wave which Cat returned with her own smile.



HARVEY and HENRY

”She…she wasn’t my girlfriend….” Roger said, obviously flustered by the insinuation. It was an obvious tell that he was still a young man and wholly unaccustomed to the fairer sex. ”And…and you wouldn’t need to worry about them drivin’ after us. I ran through the bush to get to you. They’d have to backtrack about eight kilometers to get to the nearest road to follow us. And…” Roger puffed up a bit indignantly. ” I know she wasn’t just grazed.” As sure as he seemed to be, Henry didn’t think that Roger really had enough life experience – let alone experience with being shot at – to make such a claim.

Roger fell into a sullen silence after his tirade, half-listening to the conversation between his brother and Henry when Tanis finally arrived.

”You boys look hungry.” she said with a smile. ”Need a menu or d’you know what you want?”

That’s when the sound of choking began……


ROSA

It was unfortunate that the older man’s eating habits – unpleasant as they were – had caused such a loss of appetite in Rosa, but the sound of his gnawing would drive even the most stoic of people to be a bit queasy.

It begged the question of what the hell was going on in this town though.

With cellphone in hand, Rosa did her best to try and distract herself from the gross display.

And it was working. Especially when her phone – meticulously kept in peak shape for optimal performance – began to glitch. The screen lagged horribly. The blinking icon in the top corner of her phone’s display showed that not only had she automatically disconnected from the local WiFi, but that her hotspot was being disrupted.

Suddenly, her phone screen went black as if powered off.

Tapping the power button a few times, Rosa confirmed that it wasn’t actually off.

Across the screen came a scroll of code far too fast for even her trained eyes to decipher. Again, and again, the screen flickered between the code and simple…black.

Then, all at once, a message blinked onto her screen. It blinked once…twice…then the entire screen of the phone became a rolling, scrolling mass of words.

A single phrase, repeated ad nauseam.

<<Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in.>>

That’s when the sound of choking began…….


JEREMY

It was clear that Cat knew the waitress, Tanis, as she gave the plump girl a wave and a smile as they locked eyes. When Cat’s gaze finally returned to her estranged father, she flashed him an awkward grin.

”That’s Tanis. She’s in my social studies class. Pretty cool. She came to my birthday party last year.” Cat offered diplomatically, as if trying to give Jeremy some insight into the life she’d been living in his absence.

”You don’t need to treat me like a Princess, Dad. Just regular, little old me.” Some of the tension Jeremy had sensed seemed to be dissipating as Cat became a little more comfortable with his presence. It was early, yes – but it was enough to give Jeremy a small spark of hope.

Before he had a chance to respond however, the wretched sound of garbled choking loudly filled the Café…..

EVA



For Perception, that’s a damn good roll, and enough to pretty much pick up on the overall nature of each conversation. Maybe not all the pertinent details, considering the number of conversations going on, but you get the idea. If it’s been said in text, you can assume to have at least heard it in passing.

While the Doc isn’t exactly being a threat, Eva may consider that he’d require medical attention more than anything else. If she was going to call something in, it would likely be to request an ambulance.



One of the things that stood out for Eva was the distinct lack of information provided to the Terrace police department about the aforementioned Brighton House. It was strange. It had been open for a little while now, but never had any complaints or required the police to get involved. For a school for supposedly troubled children, she would have assumed there might have been at least a single call for an officer to head out.

So it was the silence that was the most conspicuous.

Tugging the bright blue latex gloves onto her hands, Eva’s authoritative tone seemed to jar Edmundson from his carnivorous frenzy. His head whipped in her direction, the blood from the almost uncooked meat spilling across his chin and dripping now onto the front of his shirt.

”Fine..” he gargled, voice rough and far deeper than it had been the last time he spoke. It almost sounded like he had something lodged in his throat. Which could very well have been the case, considering how rambunctiously he was devouring the meat. ”Fine. **** off! Hungry!”

His demeanor was deteriorating. That much was obvious. He was becoming more erratic. Almost…feral.

That’s when Eva caught sight of something truly disturbing. His eyes? The tiny capillaries that were visible were all wrong. She had never seen black leaking in someone’s eyes like they’d burst a blood vessel.

But there it was…black and oily. Pooling behind his sclera. Pooling like viscous, vile tears.

And then, his head wrenched back and the sound of choking began…..




ALL

The haggard looking man in the beige overcoat with the unusual dietary predilection threw his head back, body convulsing with tremors and spasms. The sound of choking - wretched, gurgled and thoroughly nauseating – filled the air.

From her closer vantage point, Eva saw something bulging beneath the flesh of his throat. It was the size of a cantelope and she was sure it wasn’t there a moment ago. It was throbbing and undulating to his own spasmodic heartbeat. The black veins in his eyes seemed to burst further as his face was locked in a rictus and the black oil seemed to completely consume his eyes from lid to lid.

Claudia, who had been across the counter still, dropped one of the coffee mugs she had been preparing for Rosa’s order and the shattering ceramic mingled with her sudden shriek.

Gasps of shock came from Tanis and Cat, who had pressed one of her hands to her mouth in horror.

From the back, Luiz could be heard shouting to call an ambulance.

A new tremor shot through Edmundson’s body and the sound of snapping bones in his back as he suddenly contorted in a strange angle was very audible above the retching.

This was not turning into a normal Wednesday night…..

[Lokio]

The conversation around her washed over her passively, all the reason in the world for her to call for other units just to investigate a... mass shooting? What?

But then, her attention was drawn back to the doc. His demeanour. As he told her to, ahem, leave him alone, the cop's brow furrowed. But then, she heard it. The hunger in his voice. The deterioration, like he was a frickin' animal. Then, she saw it. The inky blackness in his eyes. And then it happened.

The strange, pulsing goiter rising in his throat.

The breaking of bones, out of nowhere. The twitching. The writhing. Unnatural angles and freakish noises.

Eva staggered back, a hand fumbling for the radio on her shoulder. "Dispatch, Alpha Three -- 10-33, 10-33, Trainside Cafe! What the f*** --"

Ten-thirty-three.

Danger. Help me, now.

She was swearing even as her finger came off the radio button; she didn't even know the curse had gone out over the air.

"EVERYONE! Exit the building, now -- and stay away from him!"

The command came abruptly, sharply. The civilians needed to get out, and now.

She'd seen some things. Live. In movies. But nothing ever like this. Things like this happened in movies and television, not a sleepy little hole like Terrace, BC. Positioning herself as a barrier between him and the civilians so that they could get to the door, the young constable stared into the face of darkness --

[Justanotherhero]

"EVERYONE! Exit the building, now -- and stay away from him!"

Trying to get out with his brother as fast as possible. Harvey grabs his brother and shoves him out of the Door. Harvey walked directly behind him and started looking for the next solid stone or wooden wall to cover there backs and take a look around and see what the hell was going on.

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy was less concerned with evacuating the building as he was with making sure his daughter was okay. It wasn't even a thought that passed through his mind, he simply began to act, putting himself bodily between his daughter and the man with the strange neck condition. Both hands balled into fists, coming up reflexively to cheek level. "Cat, get back," Jeremy snarled as he began to try to take in what was happening.

Gonna roll perception here to see if there's anything else that Jeremy didn't pick up on first glance. [roll0] and 10 again [roll1]

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

Henry rolls his eye's waving a hand nonchalantly "Even if your not grazed, you can survive a bullet wound. It's painful, but you can live if it didnt hit you anywhere too important. Still, my car might have left tracks. If they wanted to be through, they could try and follow those. THough, the liklenes sof them tracking us down completely is still low. Once you hit the rode that gets a lot harder. As long as they didn't see my car, we'll be fine"

As Tanis makes her way to the table Henry turn, now looking to Tannis in a wide, comfortable pose, leg resting on his other leg "Ahh, yes, I'll take a coffee with two sugars and a dash of...milk..is that man alright?"

That question is soon answered for Henry. He wasnt. Cracking, bleeding...choking? Why was he eating that steak with his hands and why was it so bloody! He was to absorbed with his own issues that he wasnt even paying attention to this....thing?

The man's neck bends in an odd direction, and Henry's eyes widen with shock. He almost falls out off his chair as he fumbles way, holding onto his cap "BLOODY HELL whats wrong with him!" Henry yells, starting to move to the exit. he was by no means a good Samaritan most days. His good deeds for the day have in fact nearly reached his limit. He tries to force his way through the door and get into his car

[Daishain]

With practiced speed, Rosa cracks off the protective casing on her phone and removes the battery, then the micro SD card. After pausing for a moment, she slides the SIM card out as well. What in the hell was that? She hadn't seen code behave like that, other than... No, this was different somehow. The FEEL of it somehow nauseating.

Then the sound of the choking got to her, she'd tuned it out at first but... Her mouth falls open at the disturbing scene by the counter. Forget werewolf impression, this was Stephen King material. Definitely time to go, she'd seen how movies like this end. She grabs her bag and heads for the door. Her first impulse is to run across the boothtops on the way out, but she slows down for Cat.

"Come on kiddo, this way, quick. Jeremy, are you coming, or am I going to have to try that chokehold you taught me? You can try punching it after we get a good look from a distance if you want."

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy says nothing, only following if Cat moves first, and then will try to keep himself between his daughter and the abomination.

[Erulasto]

Like a horror movie unfolding before them, the scene was grotesque. While still seated upon the stool at the Cafe's counter, Edmundson's position was now more precarious as his torso arched unnarturally backwards.

There was no way a human body could bend or contort like that. With the ever-present grinding of snapped and broken bones playing percussion against the good doctor's ragged choking, weathered hands grasped at the tumescent mass erupting in his throat.

Eva was dimly aware of further strangeness the moment her thumb touched the button of her police radio. Beneath the frantic calls for assistance, the constable registered the crackling static. Was the signal being disrupted? Blocked? The specifics weren't important. There was no one able to hear her calls for help.

Edmundson toppled backwards off the chair, landing with a sickening crunch and the white of the dress shirt he wore beneath his beige overcoat was staining with a spreading blot of red. From the tell-tale press of something hard beneath the fabric, it was clear the broken shard of a rib had burst through clammy skin. His head lolled back, lips growing blue and swollen and veins of inky, sluggish black began to pulse unwholesomely across his face and down his neck.

The SIM card had popped out of Rosa's cellphone with practiced ease, but the phone would not silence. She had even thumbed the power button several quick times but it was as if the phone was powered by itself. And still the strangely frantic voice called:

<<Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in!>>

In stereo, for sounding deep and cognizant from Eva's radio the voice began there. Lights flickered, and a few stray bulbs popped with a sharp snap and a shower of sparks. Claudia, who had been growing pale and panicky at the scene before her, let out a shrill scream and with no further though, bolted through the swinging door into the kitchen and beyond - screams carrying on as she unhinged. Tanis stood with eyes blown wide in terror, hands clasped over her mouth in silent screams - her pen and notepad discarded on the floor.

Roger allowed Harvey to manhandle him to and through the front door. But his gaze never left the writing form of Edmundson.

"I...I think I know him...." The young man mumbled, his attention so riveted on the horror that he seemed as if in a trance. With Henry hot on their tail, the front door slammed open so harshly the chain holding the bell atop the door snapped and the small brass instrument clanged upon the linoleum and the broken links scattering around.

Street lights up and down highway 16 as far as the men could see had begun to flicker in the distance; sputtering like candles drowned in wet wax. One by one they began to gut, dousing the pavement in thick black. The train of dying light was glowing closer and closer to the Trainside Cafe - the last beacon of real light after the last truant waves of the sun had went to rest.

But in the distance, a pair of headlights winked through the dark, the vehicle now turning onto the main stretch. It was still a ways out, but Driver knew...he knew the break-neck speed it must have been traveling from the way they raced onwards.

Harvey shoved Roger towards a small bricked wall that seperated the diner from a small ladder that led up on to the roof. There were no windows here to see inside, but they could still hear the noises filtering from within.

Within the Cafe, Cat was out of her seat in a flash. The fight or flight response pumping adrenaline into the teen.

"Dad...Dad, oh my God!" She trilled, grabbing frantically at Jeremy's arm as her father stepped in front of her. Even as Rosa deftly flowed across the tabletops to drop down next to the teen, Cat was tugging on Jeremy's arm insistently. Jeremy caught the darkening of the streetlights beyond the cafe, and the oncoming vehicle far down the road. It appeared this situation wasn't contained to the immediate horror, but something more. But Cat was on the edge of panic and this scene wasn't the best for her. So, even as Rosa, Jeremy and Cat fell back - the bruiser taking up the lead with hands balled into tight fists - the horror unfolded further.

That lump within Edmundson's grossly distended throat seemed to surge up, his jaw snapping loudly as his mouth tore open. From the depths of the doctor's gullet, a squirming black mass was regurgitated onto the floor. It rolled and bounced, about the size of a graprefruit but covered in some foul ichor that at once seemed thick but grew oily and viscous upon its surface. Another great bulge began to rise in Edmundson's throat again, this time seeming to be flowing up with much less...resistance.

The mass on the floor unfurled like a flower, revealing a starfish-like shape surrounded by a crown of whip-thin tendrils that reminded Rosa of ethernet cables. As it unwraveled fully, the center of the starfish blinked a single, cataracted eye that jiggled as it spun about in its socket before settling on Eva.

[Daishain]

For the first time in her life, Rosa wishes she had her hands on her father's shotgun. She had never liked it, but right now being able to send a few hundred shards of metal into that... thing on the floor sounded like a fine idea.

When she gets the door, she calls out to Eva, "Everyone is out, come on! Let that thing have the diner!"

[Shadowflick]

Henry Barker

This..this wasn't normal. Not that he needed to think that, that old man was snapping himself in half! Add to that the fact that every light on the street is breaking down and the darkness somehow seems..darker? Not even the moon lighting up the area around him. Why couldn't he have hit Hawaii? Or Florida. Sure they have alligators,s but they don't have THIS!

Another car is coming this way, please let them be cops...and...not those mass shooters that he had just escaped. In times like these though, Henry's fight or flight responses activated.

He chose flight

He runs to his card, taking out his key's he tries to get inside his car and start it. Maybe he can make his way Toronto. away from this hellhole

[Lokio]

Let me in. Let me in. Let me in --

Cartwright's teeth grit against the idea of the message as much as the gore as the monster rose and rose. She had no intention of doing that. Rosa's message was received, but it wasn't making sense to her. Not here. Not now.

Not when letting it have the diner was letting it in. Her keys were lobbed gently to the hacker.

"Get me my rifle from the trunk, please."

Calm. Like this young constable was a force of will all unto herself. There was no time to waste. A second one was coming up from the doctor's throat. The young cop turned, her service Glock in her hand in a smooth, practiced motion. Her foot was propping the door open to give herself room to move.

A slow breath. Front sight, front sight, front sight --

A loud bang, louder than people ever thought it would be. A flash of discharge. A bullet in the air.

FIREARMS: [roll0] (Dex + Firearms + Specialty) (1 sux + 1L for the light pistol's damage rating is 2L. Please advise if Beaten Down applies.)

[Justanotherhero]

He runs to his card, taking out his key's he tries to get inside his car and start it. Maybe he can make his way Toronto. away from this hellhole

Harvey yells at his Brother "Get in the backseat!"

To Jeremy: "Champ, you staying or leaving? "

And starts running towards Henry's car opening the passenger door.

And attempts to enter Henry's car on the passenger side. After entering :
To Roger: "Who or what the hell is that ?
Seriously you are getting new friends!"

[Bennosuke]

"Go," Jeremy snarls at his daughter, not moving his eyes from the horror before him, "I'll be right behind you I promise. I'm not stupid, but I'm gonna make sure you are safe."

The moment Cat moves for the door, Jeremy is right behind her, shuffling away keeping his face towards the horror in case it started coming for him or his daughter.

[Daishain]

Rosa catches the keys, and numbly moves over to the police car with them. Opening the trunk she rummages around for the rifle and whatever the ammunition is carried in. Awkwardly she starts to carry it back to the officer, though she stops outside of the door, far too nervous to step in.

[Erulasto]

HENRY

Having left the madness behind, Henry slid into his car with the precision of many harrowing escapades. There was some fumbling with the keys, however. It was one thing to be shot at by armed guards after a job gone wrong. It was entirely another to see some grotesque manifestation of horror erupting out of some poor sod’s body in front of his very eyes.

Dimly, Henry was aware of Harvey and his brother half-way to his car. From the frantic look on their faces, and the shouting, it was clear they were desperately hoping Henry would be willing to spirit them away from this place out of the goodness of his heart.

Even as the key slipped seamlessly into the ignition, Henry heard the banging on the window from Roger and Harvey just outside. Driver turned the ignition and the car sputtered. Again he tried, and this time the engine roared to life.

But as if on cue, the radio seemed to spark to life as well. As if giving voice to his car.

<<Hey Bucko! Where ya goin’? Dontcha wanna stay for the party? Yeah. ‘Course ya do!>>

The voice that spilled from his car stereo was much like the voice that had filled the diner, begging and pleading to be let in. But this one was more personable. More…human. And it began to laugh. The sound was jovial, if a bit manic.

And that’s when the engine of Driver’s car suddenly went silent. A quick check confirmed to Henry that there was still power to the car. The stereo was still playing. The headlights were still on. It was like something had severed the connection between the engine and the rest of the car.

Frantically, Henry was cranking the key in the ignition – desperately trying to get it to turn over. In his rearview mirror, he saw that other vehicle fast approaching. It would only be minutes at the breakneck speed it was traveling.

They had just overtaken the street lights as they blinked out one by one.

At least their car was still working.


HARVEY

The ******* was going to leave them there.

That was the first thought that ran through Harvey’s mind when he realized that Henry’s doors were locked and he wasn’t letting him or his brother into the car.

Glancing up from the locked door, Harvey met Roger’s frantic gaze for a half moment before the muffled voice spoke loudly from the car stereo within. Then the engine just…shut down. From the reaction of the driver, it was clear he hadn’t cut the engine himself.

It was…something…else.

”****, Harvey! Look!” Roger yelled, pointing down the road to the vehicle getting closer and closer. ”Maybe we can snatch a ride with them? At least their car looks like it works!”

The single, thunderclap retort of the police constable’s pistol sounded from inside the diner and brought with it more screams. From the teenage waitress and the girl who had come in with the muscle bound guy earlier. They were standing just outside the café, frantic and panicked as the bruiser stood in the doorway as if preventing anything from getting out.

And Harvey caught sight of one of the ladies from the café pulling an honest-to-god rifle from the back of the cop car in a desperate hurry.


JEREMY, ROSA and EVA

Cat and Rosa had slipped out of the café readily enough, though with Rosa now possessed of the police constables keys to fetch her rifle, Jeremy figured that she’d be returning soon enough. Tanis slipped past Jeremy frantically, leaving only Eva, Jeremy and the likely dead Doctor Edmundson in the café.

Eva had raised her service pistol and took careful aim. She had to make this shot count.

The pistol’s retort in the café was deafening, momentarily blotting out the pleading voice that still seemed to be coming from every available speaker in the place.

That bullet flew true, and struck the hideous thing square in that polypy eye. It burst like an overripe pimple, and spilled its phlegmy contents out onto the checkered linoleum where it began to sizzle and hiss as if it were acid.

The starfish shaped monstrosity quivered and convulsed for a moment, before flopping noiseomly onto the floor. Even as another was pulling itself out of Edmundson’s throat.

And again a bulge rose in his throat as the second pulled itself free on a dozen whip-like tendrils.

What the hell was going on?!

Eva caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Rosa, now holding her police-issue rifle just inside the doorway. The Colt Canada C7 was a reliable rifle, found almost exclusively in the hands of the RCMP. Where municipal police often carried a shotgun in their service cars, the RCMP in smaller towns focused more on a longer range firearm.

The second of the creatures unfurled upon the floor, took one look at its fallen sibling and slithered over towards it. Those long tendrils reached out, tangling and ensnaring the corpse before pulling it close. As it did so, the petal-like limbs began to ooze together as if devouring or consuming the one Eva had shot.

With Rosa and Jeremy in the door, and Eva still in the café with gun trained on the things, the flickering lights suddenly went dark. Not with the explosive popping of bulbs. But a simple absence of electrical flow to their fixtures.

The only sound was the wetness of the creature, the gurgling of Edmundson that had begun to slowly quiet, and the voice that still carried across the sound of the speakers, radios and Rosa’s cellphone.

<<Hey lady! That’s not very nice, y’know? What did I ever do t’you, eh? How ‘bout you just put down the boomstick and….Let me in!>>




The Beat Down condition isn't necessary as of...yet. :smallwink:

[Lokio]

The shot was true, blowing out the eye of the creature, popping it, dropping it. She reacquired, taking aim at the next one even as her gorge began to rise at the sight of Doctor Edmundson's body being used as a host for starfish monsters. A nod of thanks to Rosa, even as the creature began to...

...Jesus. It was eating.

Now. Now was the moment, while it was busy. Something was important to this man, something before he had died. Something they couldn't afford to leave behind right now, not if it would contribute here and now.

And so with a grunt of effort, Eva Cartwright fired one more shot into the gestalt creature and charged forward, grabbing the briefcase and getting set to make a break for it...

[Lokio]

FIREARMS: [roll0] Dex + Firearms + Spec to kill the creature, and time to grab the briefcase.

[Daishain]

Rosa relinquishes the rifle gladly and backs away, she calls out, "Does anyone have any kind of signal to call EMS? My phone went crazy and the police lady only got static on her radio."

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver could hardly care about the banging on his windows. This isnt the first time it's happened. Inside a car, he was safe. he was home. he was free...

Why isnt the car starting? Driver thought looking down at the wheel. The key's in the ignition. He turned it twice, he even kicked at it! The car's supposed to bloody start so why isnt it! The world around him is only getting darker, and the lights of the other car are getting closer...that car works.

He looks to his radio "Sorry, havnt been much for radio shows" he says in a surprisingly calm manner as he pushes the power button...and reaches into the glove compartment, grabbing his pistol and cocking it. "I'm more the cut and run sort of bloke, but in times like these, it's good to know how to shoot. GET AWAY FROM THE BLOODY DOOR" he yells, as he kicks open the door and tries to start making his way toward the Dinner..with that..man.

Driver knew how to end this. The easiest way. Back in the days of old, they'd just amputate the infected limb. Or leave the sick person to die.

In Driver's case? He'll just execute the bastard.

[Justanotherhero]

"What the .."
Harvey has no intention to stay for any party. Nor does he intend to die.
After Driver pulls a gun Harvey throws his hands up and stands still as long as Driver is looking at him. While Driver heads back into the direction of the Diner Harvey knows Roger needs to get somewhere safe. And God help him right now Harvey could only think of one "safe" place. The backseat of a police car. Watching the Lady open the trunk of the car triggered instincts.
Harvey runs to the police car honest to God praying that the lady maybe pushed the wrong button on the car key so she unlocked all the doors instead of just the trunk. Harvey knows that happens to people because well reasons.
He tries to open the backseat door knowing that even if it does open he wants Roger to hide flat on the seat so there will only be space for one of them. And that will be Roger.
To Roger: " **** I hope so but maybe they are the maniacs with guns so get in here and hide!" Pointing at the Backseat of the police car.

It takes a second in this chaos for Harvey to realize Rosa is talking. He checks his own phone to see if he can make the call.

Assuming he can't:
Answering ROSA with a voice half born of desperation and half confused feeling overwhelmed:
" **** do you want me to start a fire? Bring liquor cause a lighter is all I got and fire they will see. Explosions they will hear."


Thinking:And maybe it will kill whatever the hell that thing was or is.

[Bennosuke]

"****," Jeremy cursed under his breath. This was a lot more than he had bargained for, especially now that the diner had become a firing range. Strangely enough, it was the guns that unnerved the retired fighter more (not that he realized it clearly in the moment); you could punch a monster in the face, but once gun's got involved, Jeremy's fists meant nothing.

With his daughter safely outside, Jeremy calls to Rosa, "I'm getting the **** out of here. Coming?"

[Erulasto]

Again, the retort of Eva's service pistol is loud even amidst the chaos. Whether through nerves, burgeoning anxiety and panic, or a simple misfire the bullet missed; the floor splintered as the nine milimeter round tore into the linoleum. But the thunderclap of gunfire was enough to startle the second of the hideous things, and it lurched awkwardly away from its partially consumed kin.

That was the moment Eva was waiting for, and the constable capitalized on the opening. The briefcase was heavy as she hauled it up from the floor next to Edmundon's spasming body. Even as Eva turned away, she saw the helpless terror held in the good doctors eyes.

It couldn't be...he was still alive....somehow....

With rifle and reinforced briefcase in tow, Eva hurried towards the door - even as Driver was forcing his way in with his own pistol in hand.

Jeremy and Rosa stood by the door as Driver pushed past them, almost colliding with Eva as she made her own swift escape. The two bystanders took the opportunity to slip out quickly, Eva hot on their heels. Soon enough, the three were outside in the cool night air.

Still inside, Driver was able to take careful aim at the good doctor twitching on the floor. The second of the starfish creatures was slithering and scuttling its way back to its dead kin to resume the feast. It didn't register the potential threat of Driver as he leveled his pistol at the scene before him.


@Shadowflick: Give me a killing blow roll if you're aiming at Edmundson. If you're going to shoot the beastie, then count its defense as 3 for the roll.

Also, as this is a prologue, I'm not going to be as strict about things but I'd ask whether or not you'd feel that a Breaking Point for shooting Edmundson would be appropriate? I could argue it's premeditated, but then again...he shouldn't be alive to begin with. I'll let you make the call in this instance. If you opt for it to be a Breaking Point, it's a Resolve+Composure test +1 for your current Integrity, -4 for Killing in Self Defense, +1 for Protecting Himself.



Outside, Harvey and Roger made it to the police cruiser. Luck was with Harvey tonight! Rosa hadn't locked it again when she had finished looking through the trunk for the rifle. Roger slipped into the back seat first, followed swiftly by Harvey. They closed the door over as quietly as they could, trying to avoid any undue notice.

The dying streetlights continued, until finally the chain broke. One of the street lights exploded in a shower of sparks, and the sequence ended, leaving the Cafe sitting in a small halo of artificial light maybe a dozen or so meters beyond the perimeter of the parking lot.

Rosa, Jeremy and Eva found themselves awash in a sea of black. The night seemed to be pressing in on that small bastion of illumination, and even the normally visible lights of Terrace were obscured beyond a slight glow.

The vehicle swiftly approaching was visible now. It wasn't a pick-up truck like the ones that the maniacs Roger had described were driving. It appeared to be an old jeep with the top down and a handful of shadowy figures holding on for dear life as they ripped towards the Cafe. It was too hard to see them in the dark but they could make out at least three.

One thing that did draw the eye was the sparkle. Like the glint of glass catching the light, strange shapes covered the vehicle in designs that were somehow geometric, even without being anything that was found in even a college-level mathematics course. Whether it was shiny paint, or some metal filigree was uncertain - but the small island of light around the cafe seemed to be reflected in those designs.

One thing was for sure, staring at them made one's head hurt.

[Lokio]

"Thank you," Eva said to Rosa as she hustled out with the rifle and case in tow. The other guy with the pistol was going in, but she had far more immediate concerns than his illegal possession of a firearm under Canadian law right this second. Maybe he was going to shoot the other starfish. That was in her option plan for a moment from now, once the briefcase was secured in her vehicle.

And so it was. She put the case down in her open trunk, closing the trunk. The other vehicle that was rampaging toward them, burning streetlights behind them, drew her attention. The geometric sparkling, the confusing pattern that made her eyes sore, and somehow, the car was working even as the radio and the lights were not...?

The constable posted up using her car as cover and peered through the scope of her rifle at the oncoming Jeep, trying to get a better sense of what they were dealing with in the car. Every moment, every action, drove out the vision of absolute terror in the eyes of Doctor Edmundson; every choice that drove her forward kept her from having to remember the insane impossibility of what she had seen.

Were the occupants threats? Did she see firearms or other weapons? Did they look frickin' insane? Nothing could be ruled out: what new madness was crashing in, into their little world? Or was it something more mundane, more sane...?

PERCEPTION THROUGH SCOPE: [roll0]
EMPATH MERIT (Wits + Empathy): [roll1]

[Lokio]

PERCEPTION 10 AGAIN: [roll0]
EMPATHY 10 AGAIN: [roll1]

Here's an extra die rolled if either ten explodes a second time: [roll2]

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Bloody hell this was a disgusting scene. just the sight caused Driver to feel bile rising in his throat. Black...starfish? Leaking out of this old fat man and..eating each other? What the hell was Canada? Why did he have to end up here? He grits his teeth, this wouldnt be the first time he would be taking a life. Though, in this case, he truly believes this might be a mercy killing, if this man wasn't dead already. If the source of these things die...maybe that will stem the tide. He ***** his gun, takes aim...and fires



Gun: [roll0]

Breaking Point!: [roll1]

As for Justification about the breaking point: Driver has certainly killed people before, he's been in shoot outs and hits people with his car. Killing him isnt a breaking point for him. What IS a breaking point however, is watching this old, fat man, snap like a twig and twist like taffy as he vomits out living, writhing black forms that seem to eat eachother....and instead of running, he's shooting it in the head

[Bennosuke]

It had taken a moment, but Jeremy finally recognized the cop from the diner who had escaped with him as Eva. She had swung by the gym a few times as well. He was about to say something to her, when he realized he needed to find his daughter.

If his daughter was safe and not too distraught, he would lead her to the cover that Eva had taken behind her car. "Hey, wait a second," the brawler says stupidly, "I know you right? You look different in your gym clothes, but we've uh, we've sparred before, haven't we?"

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey turned to Roger:
"Keep your head down and be quiet. We are going to get out of here."
Harvey also hid most of his body and peeked outside with only a little bit of his head showing. Trying to see the entrance of the Cafè and the car that was driving towards us.
Harvey locked the doors from the inside if possible.

Description:
This occupant has no firearms and looks scared but curious.

[Erulasto]

Hidden in the back seat of the police cruiser, Harvey kept his younger brother pressed low to keep out of sight. It took a few frantic minutes of searching, but eventually Harvey realized that there was no method to control the locking or unlocking of the doors in the back of the cruiser. The best he could hope for is to hold the door closed with all his might if someone were trying to force their way in.

Outside the car, Eva bunkered down and aligned the scope of the rifle with the oncoming vehicle. It was indeed an old jeep; surplus from the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry regiment most likely. It was painted a matte green, though in the darkness it was hard to make out the exact shade. What was distinct against the matte paint and oppressive darkness was the designs. They were done with an artist’s touch, that much was obvious. Like metallic silver paint mixed with copious amounts of glitter, meticulously drawn and curved across the entirety of the jeep.

The occupants, of which now Eva could tell there were three, didn’t seem particularly mad looking. The driver was a broad-shouldered man with dark skin and a shaved head. He looked like he was, maybe, middle aged, but even sitting behind the wheel Eva could make out his rigid posture and the strain of muscles beneath an army issue tank top. In the passenger seat was a much older man. Mid-fifties, in the very least, with a windswept mane of wiry grey hair and a thick mustache. Arms covered in a tweed jacket held what appeared to be a small wooden case against his chest. It reminded Eva of the old ingredient boxes snake oil salesmen used to carry back during the Pioneer days of Canadian history. The last person was in the back, clinging to the jeeps roll cage for dear life. It was a woman – maybe of Middle-Eastern or Mediterranean descent – and while she wore what appeared to be a simple athletic top and leggings, Eva caught the curved shape of a sword slung across her back. While unusual amidst a sea of strange, Eva didn’t get the impression they were here to cause a lot of grief. But their arrival, the fact their vehicle still worked, and their general appearance was still another piece to this puzzle.

The screeching of their tires was so close now. The jeep was only moments away.

While Jeremy stood protectively near Rosa, Cat and Tanis, they watched as the jeep finally peeled into the halo of light around the café and swerved rather abruptly towards the parking lot.

Inside the diner, however, Driver was horrified by the scene. The deceased remnants of the first creature was almost entirely consumed by the second and it was growing in size so fast that it was visible as tumescent growths pulsed along its back. While Driver hadn’t seen it fully before, it looked like it might have been almost double in size now.

And another was pulling itself from Edmundson’s throat.

Driver raised his pistol, and took the shot. The bullet sunk into the starfish, splattering the linoleum behind it with a grotesque, oily sludge. It had torn one of the star-shaped arms off the creature, which swiftly turned its greasy, beady eye towards the new threat. The remaining arms of the starfish seemed to split down the sides, revealing hundreds of tiny razor-like teeth, turning the entire inside around the eye into something faintly reminiscent of a lamprey’s maw.

The shriek that rose in the diner was painful to Driver’s ears.



I wasn’t going to make people roll for Breaking Points during the prologue for seeing the horror in the first place. Didn’t want to be overwhelming right off the bat. To clarify a single point, I am using the Breaking Point rules from the CoD 2e book instead of the one from HtV as it is still 1e and I feel they’ve streamlined it a bit better in 2e. :smallwink:

That being said, Shadowflick I’m totally down for you going ahead with the Breaking Point for Driver. You got two successes on that roll, so that’s a success. A success indicates your sanity is intact, but it gives one of these conditions (or a different one, with my approval): Guilty, Spooked or Shaken.

I don’t imagine Driver feeling guilty for shooting Edmundson, given the circumstances. But spooked or shaken seems apt.

Also, just a note for everyone to remember! If you fail a roll, you can opt to make it a Dramatic Failure to gain a Beat. For simplicity sake, if you’d like to take the beat please let me know after you make your initial post so I know if it’ll be Dramatic in my following post.

Thanks!



Back outside, the jeep squealed to a rather harsh stop. The driver hopped out deftly, revealing army camo pants and solid, steel-shod work boots. He appeared of African descent, and pulled a good hickory baseball bat out of the backseat. The end was studded in crooked nails, and wrapped in razor wire.

The woman, who was most assuredly of Iranian or Syrian origins, slipped out as well, followed by the older man in the tweed jacket. He hobbled out awkwardly, though with some urgency. It created a strange mix of frailty and frenzy. He held a cane in one hand that was gnarled as if arthritic, and the small wooden box in the other.

As the three exited the vehicle, the man in the tweed jacket looked about the gathered bystanders with wise, grey eyes shadowed in his eye sockets by far too many laugh-lines and wrinkles.

”Goodness me. This is not the result I had hoped for.” He spoke with a heavy British accent. ”Lee, Saleh, please be dears and go clean up the mess inside while I speak to our new…friends here, yes?”

The black man and the woman nodded silently, before making their way towards the café. The woman pulled the sword from her back. It was slender and curved – a scimitar – and quite old if one was knowledgeable in such things. Persian too. An antique from the heyday of the Persian Empire.

Then the older man turned to Jeremy, Rosa, Eva, and their companions with a friendly smile.

”Quite the eventful night, is it not? No, no. I am certain had anyone told you that you would come face to face with the profane spawn of some filthy god’s dream, you would have stayed home. Am I right, or am I right?”

[Daishain]

Rosa is still standing outside of the diner, unsure of what to do when the jeep screeches up. She narrows her eyes at the older man, "You know something about this then. From the sound of it you might even have had a hand in these events. I think you had best begin by explaining who the hell you are."

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver stood there, staring down the maw of an infinitely hungry creature. Teeth gnashing, eye-rolling. He...this had to be a nightmare. He felt his gun shake in his hand, sweat rolling down his temple and dripping into his collar. Is this ho his life is gonna end?

If it was? He wouldn't be known as the bloody coward who ran. "WHY DONT YOU JUST F**ING DIE"



I think Spooked would fit for this instance! But, Instead of running, Driver's going to stand his ground and empty his pistol into it

[roll0] (Guns! with -2 from spooked?)

[roll1] (THe other two rolls just in case there needed)

[Lokio]

"Hi, Jeremy," Eva replied to the fighter as she gazed through the scope. It was flat, distant, like her eyes, as she stared through the scope at the oncoming Jeep. Satisfied that the occupants were not in fact coming in hot to murder them all, she decamped from her corner to knock with a knuckle on the rear right window of her car, mouthing a 'what are you doing?' at them. She didn't open the door. Cop cars didn't open from the inside anyway. They could chill there for a minute. They had questions to answer about a mass shooting.

Holding the rifle idly before her in two hands, she looked on as the vehicle peeled in. The woman has a sword; the old guy had a little box; the soldier guy had muscles. In any other situation, this would probably be a detain-and-arrest. Hell, it might still be, but as the old guy talked and sent his dudes inside, the young cop accepted that right this second, other people who knew what the hell they were doing with all this were here. Another shot from within. Driver's shout. He had help coming.

Which meant she could take stock. Breathe for a sec. Try to make sense of all this.

"It's certainly not traffic stops and petty thefts," the constable replied. "I've got two people talking at a frickin' diner about a mass shooting, an old doc pulling the Exorcist in the diner and puking up starfish monsters, the lights are all going out, and my radio has been intercepted by something out of Little Shop of Horrors asking me to let it in."

She glanced over her shoulder at the diner.

"But she's got the right of it. So, let's start with the basics. I'm Constable Cartwright. Could I see some ID, please? And what do you mean, the results you hoped for?"

Welcome to investigative detention, sir. We'll start with the creepy occult starfish puking death, and we'll go from there.

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy growls at the indignity of being asked for ID. But he reaches for his wallet in his jeans pocket, even as he says, "Do you really need that kid? Don't you know who I am already?" He pulls out his wallet and clumsily removes his drivers license for review, mumbling, "Just don't look at my age."

As requested [roll0] and 10 again [roll1]
EDIT: THat's a failure. Can I ask what the purpose of the roll is? Maybe I'll take a dramatic failure or spend my first WP...

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey keeps his hand on the door ready to keep it closed. Peaking outside he whispers to Roger:
"Are those three the ones that shot at people during the party? Keep your hand on that door. And we will make it! "

He looks around is there a way from the back seat to the front seat inside the car? Or do I have to leave the car to get to the front?

Harvey listens very closely to the conversation right now and I would roll Perception if necessary to make out details of it.

Thinking: What kind of wierd religion are they into. I do not now what God dreams about but that for sure was no Angel.

[Erulasto]

The older man in the tweed jacket set the small wooden medicine case down on the hood of the strangely painted jeep, and holding his walking stick in his gnarled, arthritic hand began to pat down his jacket.

”My apologies!” He said, rather jovially for the situation. ”But I seem to have left any form of ID in my other jacket. But my manners are a bit old fashioned, so….Professor Edwin Sutherland, at your disposal.” He stepped forward and offered his good hand, still strong and intact, to those gathered outside in greeting.

”My friends…” Edwin gestured towards the café where his two companions recently disappeared into. ”Are Lee Cooper and Saleh Sati. I’m sure you have many questions, and I assure you I will provide answers to the best my faculties allow. But you may not be particularly happy with the answers.”

Hanging the cane in the crook of his arm, Professor Sutherland unclasped the small latches that held the antique medicine box closed, and gently slid the lid open. Inside was all manner of strange concoctions. Small glass vials filled with strange colored liquids, bound sprigs of dried herbs, various sticks of chalk, candles and a couple small pocket-edition copies of the King James Bible, the Qur’an, the Tao Te Ching and the Torah.

After a moment of consideration, he plucked a few small vials from the case with a hum of approval and turned back to the others.

”You see, my good folks, you have stumbled – quite unfortunately – into the middle of a bit of a secret conflict. That none of you are mewing and rocking on the floor like babes is a testament to your strength of will. That alone would be enough for me to ask your assistance.”

Popping the small cork from one of the vials – this one filled with what appeared to be mercury – the small wax droplets that had sealed the cork in flaked to the ground. With a grimace, the Professor brought it to his lips and downed it in one swift swallow. It took a moment or two, but it seemed to the others present he suddenly was standing a bit taller. His arthritic claw of a hand seemed less gnarled and his flesh bore less of the pale wasting of age.

”I would be happy to get into the specifics at another time, as time itself is our enemy here. Your friend in there? Doctor Edmundson? What has been gestating inside of him is giving off a vile signal that will draw others like it as a beacon. But I can give you the Cole’s Notes version while Lee and Saleh secure the area. And your friends in the back seat of the police cruiser can come out. I guarantee that it is as safe as can be. For now, at least. The swifter we are done with this business, the better for everyone.”

With the other small glass vials still held in his hand lightly, Sutherland glances down the street both ways before looking back to those gathered before him.

”This world…our world….is not as it seems. We are…or have been…asleep to the greater mysteries that surround us. Oh, sure, there have been small snippets of the Truth that some have caught onto through the years. Mary Shelley was one such when she wrote of Doctor Victor Frankenstein. Bram Stoker, much as he embellished details, was not wrong when he described the blood-hungry Prince of Wallachia. Ghosts. Haunted houses. The Tuatha de Danann. Werewolves. Wizards and Witches. It is real. All of it. In one sense or another. There is a veil upon the eyes of every human on this planet that shields them from the Truth of the matter. Many children do not develop this veil until later in life, so many stories of imaginary friends and other spooky phenomena are rooted deeper in reality than their parents would like. The problem, my dear friends, is that once you have seen past the veil…you can’t unsee it through normal methods.”

Sutherland looked at each of them in turn, an expression of remorse on his face.

”There was no rhyme or reason here.” He gestured towards the café. ”We have been following the good doctor for a few days now after we had learned but a smidge of what has been going on in his place of employment. Brighton House, you would know it as. We knew he had been infected with a pathogen of exceptionally vile origin. It has been called many things, but most of us know it as the Filth these days and it is older and more pervasive than one can fathom. We had hoped to find Edmundson and contain the situation before it got out of hand, but it took some time for us to find him. Now that you have seen what you have seen, there is…for most of you…no going back. The mind of an adult cannot handle the transition back to being asleep. But for youth, there is still a chance.” This comment came with a pointed look towards Cat.

From inside, there was some shouting, and further sounds of gunfire.

Sutherland sighed heavily, and looked to Eva.

”My dear Constable. I hate to add to the stress you are already feeling, but I assume you and all those here realize you cannot report this. For one, the likelihood of being believed is slim. For the second, you would be drawing dangerous attention to yourself and your loved ones. There are many who know of the shadows that we share a world with, and would hinder you greatly if they felt threatened.”





Inside the Café, Driver had just taken another shot. His hand was trembling with the horror and the panic that sought to rise like bile in his throat. But, regardless, the second shot connected and popped the viscous eye. The filthy starfish shuddered, before sloppily falling over and laying still.

But even as Driver heaved a relieved sigh, a third creature had begun to crawl from Edmundson’s body.

That’s when the door slammed open, revealing a large middle-aged black man with a baseball bat and a beautiful foreign woman with a curved blade. They pushed past Driver, and pounced on the third creature – striking it with bat and blade until naught was left but a black, inky mess.

The black man turned to Driver with a frown.

”Good shot, son. Impressive.”

Even as he spoke to Driver, the woman set her blade upon a nearby table and pulled a flask from a snugly fitting utility belt at her hips. Popping the cap, she poured the contents onto the three starfish bodies and Edmundson’s body.

It appeared to be water, but contained a sweet smell like honeysuckle or saffron, but it burned like acid. And quickly too.

Within moments, there was nothing left aside from a puddle of blood and the good doctors clothes. Everything organic had dissolved completely.

[Daishain]

Rosa frowns, "That... actually fits with a few things I've been looking into. I encountered snippets of strange code months ago, I speak the language of computers even more fluently than I do english, but this was something I've never seen before. It doesn't even use phrasing my system should be capable of recognizing, and it keeps apparently rewriting itself. It led me to this town, and I've been noticing other strange things ever since. I've fallen short of absolute proof that I'm not just going nuts, but there's solid evidence of some really weird stuff out there mixed in with all the BS conspiracy theories and whackjobs in rubber suits."

"In any case, the code isn't... malevolent... like this stuff was. It doesn't feel like a virus. More like its everywhere, just not always seen."

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy gritted his teeth, failing badly to suppress the rising bile in the back of his throat. But instead of unleashing his anger on the strange man babbling about secret truths, he turned to Rosa and said, "You have to be kidding me. It's been a ****ing strange night, but you're not telling me you buy what this guy is saying?!"

[Daishain]

Rosa holds up a hand, and says, "I'm not sure that I do, but he knows something about what we've seen, and I've some reason to think it might not be bonkers. Its worth listening, and finding out if he can verify his words."

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver's hand shakes as much as his breath. His legs were weak as the monster falls. He hears the other man speak and whirls around with his pistol, almost firing on instinct but stopping just moments away from firing. "WHo~ WHoa re you! What the Hell is going on!" he yells, at a loss for whats going on.

Watching the two go about melting down the 'man' and the black goo, Driver falls into one of the booths, looking down at his hands. "What...happened."

[Bennosuke]

Rosa holds up a hand, and says, "I'm not sure that I do, but he knows something about what we've seen, and I've some reason to think it might not be bonkers. Its worth listening, and finding out if he can verify his words."

Jeremy raises an skeptical eyebrow in response, but shrugs, before turning back to the old man. "Very well," he says, the statement a verbal equivalent of an eye roll before bringing an expectant gaze down to bare on the old man in the tweed jacket. The fighter was way out of his depths here, but knew he wasn't smart enough, or charismatic enough to win anyone over to his side. So instead, he waited for Eva to reply.

[Justanotherhero]

Peaking outside Harvey whispers to Roger:
" Keep your hand on that door. Maybe he is a regular crazy drug dealer but I have seen people use a thing or two that .. is not normal. Besides he has his goons here If the cops do not arrest him I sure won't. Those two look like they are willing to...
Stay inside , stay safe!"

Harvey opens the door and maybe it is fear maybe force of habit from his last arrest or the arrest before that. He raises his hands visibly to show he is not armed and does not want to hurt anybody. Slowly closes the car door behind himself giving a as confident as possible look towards his brother.

"Hi! Professor Sutherland let me just say that I absolutely respect peoples need for privacy so if the constable says we are all ok with how this happened I guarantee I did not see anybody do anything. So if it is ok with you you can conduct your very impressive Business."
Harvey nodes towards the bag with small bottles.
"Selling or not selling or drinking whatever substances make you happy. I have never Heard anything about any living computer code I don't know anybodys real name so if you would bei so kind to make my car work again and maybe tell me what happened to the young lady at the roadside that looked like she was shot we would be on our way?
Or not.
I mean people see things all the time. Was she shot was she not Shot? I don't know? You can definetly tell me and I am sure it will be the truth."

Harvey would slowly lower his hands If nobody starts threatening him. Very willing to compromise the truth if it keeps his brother safe.

[Lokio]

Eva stared at the professor mutely, letting him speak. She didn't reach to shake his hand, but she didn't interrupt him either, simply affixing him with a Cop Stare (TM) as he explained himself and what was going on. Professor Sutherland, with his little medicine box full of oddities and his polite explanation that nothing in the world made sense and that the supernatural was real and he was drinking potions that made him look less... old?

Blink. Blink.

"You two and I are going to have a chat about a certain shootout after we're done with this nonsense," she said to Harvey and Roger as she mulled over vile signals and creatures gestating and the fact that they've been sleeping. Vampires? Dr. Frankenstein? Werewolves?

One part of her brain, the logical part of her brain, thought she should detain him under the Mental Health Act for evaluation. Setting that aside for a moment with a mental Post-It that that could still take place, she glanced back at the trunk of her car as he discussed Brighton House. Where that guy worked. The school. For kids. And his point about not being able to report this was... well...

...who would believe her?

With a sigh, she went to the trunk and produced Edmundson's briefcase. If it was carrying the infection, someone with more expertise would need to know about it.

"All right. Let's say for a moment I believe you and any of this. You're probably going to want to see this. This was his. He cared about it."

She offered it to the professor for examination.

[Erulasto]

Inside the Cafe

As the dark-haired woman nudged Edmundson's stained, sopping pile of clothes, the big black man rest his solid, nail-studded bat across a shoulder and pat Driver's shoulder reassuringly.

"Name's Lee Cooper. Royal Canadian Air Force. Retired. You, son, just found yourself in the middle of the worst live-action horror movie you can imagine. Monsters, aliens...demons. Call them whatever you want, but you look like the kind of guy who believes what's right in front of him."

"Do not speak of djin so casually, Lee. You know it bothers me." Came a beautiful voice, thick with an accent Driver couldn't immediately place - but it was decidedly and distinctly feminine. The Persian woman tucked the flask back into her belt while scowling at Lee. The retired airman put his hands up in silent deference, though he smiled somewhat.

"I am Saleh Sati." The woman announced to Driver as she slung the sword back over her shoulder. "We should get outside and tell the Professor it is done."




Outside

Professor Sutherland tilted his head to the side curiously as he watched Harvey approach, rubbing a knuckle across his mustache in thought.

"My boy, I appreciate your ready acquiescence, it's not so simple. It's never so simple. I want you to listen to me very carefully, if you please. You can go if you like. We won't stop you. But, what you have seen tonight....simply being here has marked you. Every time you look around, you'll have the curse of seeing things as they truly are. You can't unsee the unseen, my boy. I'm sorry." The Professor did look saddened by this, as if he understood what it was to wish it had not been you who saw the truth. "As for this young lady you speak of who was shot but still moving. While we haven't been in Terrace long enough to do any digging ourselves, the Kitsumkalum indiginous people's of the Skeena Valley have long histories of the yeenadlooshi - or "he who goes on all fours". Skinwalkers. Werewolves. There is a grain of truth to all the old stories and legends. You'll come to see that soon enough, I'm afraid."

"Strange code, you say?" Professor Sutherland asked with a pleasant smile as he turned gaze to Rosa, curious interest dancing clearly in his friendly eyes. "Oh, my dear. Our meeting is so very fortuitous then. Perhaps some good will come of this after all." Sutherland nodded thoughtfully to himself. "People speak of God. My friend Saleh does quite frequently...or, well...Allah, anyhow. These are human creations, though they all represent the same thing. A Creator diety. While I can't say whether there is truth to that or not, I do know that the organized chaos of the universe is run by something. I've only ever seen traces of its existance a handful of times. Mostly in strange code. Or flashes of wires and gears where there should be none. One of our other...friends...has had a recurring dream about such a thing but we...well, none of us have any skill with computers that would help us."

As Eva reveals the briefcase, the old man turned to Eva with a small chuckle. "Thank you, constable. He'll have had it locked up tight to make sure it's not easily accessed. We can't break in ourselves. No talents, so to speak and Lee has tools, but not with us unfortunately. Would you know how to...pick a lock...so to speak? Otherwise, I'd welcome you to return to our hotel if you'd like to see the contents."

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver falls back into one of the booths, smoke trailing up the end of his gun. This is far from the first time he's fire it...but never at something like that. He swallows a thick mass of spit, looking between the two hunters? "Maybe there was something in my beer..like..moldy..beer. That doesn't make sense"

Driver shakes his head, putting his hands in his head "This is worse than running from crack addicts. Though, I will say took about the same amount of bullets to stop one. You can Call me Driver...best not to give your real name to people you just met." He pulls the magazine out of his handgun, checking it for how much ammunition is left "Especially after something like..that"

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey


A smart man would nod and go away. If necessary by foot. A smart man would consider his existence more valuable than curiosity. But sometimes Harvey just was not that smart, but very curious.

Well, my cousin is a locksmith that showed me some stuff so I could give it a try if wished?

[If anybody wanted to he would recognize that Harvey was using a well used but not convincing excuse that wasn`t entirely true. ]

At least Harvey liked that idea more then following the strangers to the Hotel.

Harvey started looking around for approval from the group of well strangers, but not as strange strangers.

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy shrugs as if to say 'go ahead'. He certainly wasn't much for lockpicking, and he still wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with everything that was happening.

Instead, Jeremy looks back to find his daughter, and make sure she was still okay.

[Lokio]

Professor Sutherland telling the guy who had been talking about gun battles he could go freely was a little off, especially after what she had just said, and she shot the old academic a sharp look of warning. However, Eva did not interrupt. The information that was being passed on was something that, if they believed him and them and any of this nonsense, they might want to know. Werewolves. Great. That complicated investigations.

Of men in trucks.

Shooting werewolves?

How could she even...

With a sigh, the cop placed the briefcase down and offered Harvey his crack at it with an open palmed gesture even as she scanned the area around them for further threats or clues.

PERCEPTION: [roll0]

[Daishain]

Rosa glances at her phone, half afraid to still see the scrolling "Let me in" text. Otherwise she just watches the briefcase being opened. Her leg muscles tense up to start running without her realizing it.

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey

Harvey takes a look at the case.

"Thank you! I guess nobody has a small screwdriver a hammer or a plier at hand?

Harvey walks to his car and opens the side door to get a well used cheap knock off swiss army knife.

"Well lets see if this will do the trick. Can I put this on the truck as to take a look?

Harvey would place the case on the truck and start taking a look to understand and open the case.

[Erulasto]

Inside

”Crackheads would be a welcome relief, son.” Lee said, setting his brutal looking hickory baseball bat down on the table and settling in across from Driver at the table he’d come to rest in. ”Driver, eh? Nice to meet you….though, I’m afraid it’s not something like moldy beer causing this ****storm. We’re here with a friend who’se outside. He can give you all the nitty-gritty details if you’d like.”

The Persian woman – Saleh – slipped outside, leaving Driver and Lee sitting in the otherwise empty diner.

Now that the trouble had passed, the lights had settled and the strange voice was no longer speaking from the café’s sound system.


Outside

As Harvey stepped up to the hood of the car with the briefcase set upon it, Eva let her gaze wander across the surrounding area. There was no movement. Even the wind seemed to have died down. The only thing that caught her eye was the gradual return of illumination as the street lights began to flicker back on down the road in either direction. The static from her radio had run silent as well.

Now, the only sign of life was the breathing and shuffling of those around her, and the clicking of the briefcases locking mechanism as Harvey began his work.

Rosa’s own glance down at her phone revealed an absence of the strange. It was her normal screen, with apps aplenty – though without a SIM card, the phone shouldn’t have been connected to any network and yet she was getting a signal still.

It was faint, but it was there. Like a router broadcasting from a distance. But one that didn’t require any ISP or network connectivity to work.

Finally, there was a loud click as Harvey managed to pop the lock after several tense minutes of fiddling.

Professor Sutherland stepped forward to get a closer look as Harvey lifted the lid gingerly.

Inside were stacks of paper held neatly in a few thick manila envelopes, a small hard-covered notebook, and a block of stiff black foam – much like they used as sound insulation in a recording studio – that held what appeared to be some futuristic looking jar. It was capped with metal on both ends, and that metal was covered in a thin layer of what appeared to be brass foil. There were strange hieroglyph-like symbols engraved in the foul. It was well-made, but engravings with such complexities as this would have taken a long time to make by hand.

Inside the glass jar appeared to be a few small slivers of black crystal. Sort of like obsidian or basalt, though more opaque with razor-sharp edges. They were suspended in a fluid that looked and moved like it was olive oil.

”My, my. The good doctor has been toying with dangerous things, it seems.” Sutherland said as he lifted the small glass jar from the foam block and gave it a light shake while holding it up to inspect closer.

Around this time, the Persian woman – Saleh – slipped from the café and approached.

”It is done, Professor. The Filth has been cleansed.”

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey

A satisfied smile on his face Harvey started to look around and decided somebody probably should have a look at 2 of those manila envelopes. He takes 2 and inspects them to see and if they are closed and if not, to peek inside and read one. Then stopping.

Dangerous as in radioactive? Or dangerous as in: Drugs are a menace to society dangerous?

Harvey steps a bit back.

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver puts his head in his hands. He just needed to calm down. Take some breaths. He may not be able to fully comprehend this..but he can look like he does. "RIght..Right. Today has been far too eventful. Should have stopped at a bar instead of this dinner. Definitely not going to eat here again. That's for sure" He stands up, moving toward the door "Let's head outside then. I want to know what's happening. And im not sure if it's healthy to be around this place...don't want to start vomiting up black stars."

[Daishain]

Rosa frowns at her phone. This keeps getting weirder. Out of sheer curiosity she opens a browser, halfway expecting to see an access page for some manner of private network.

[Lokio]

With the end of the threat came the power, it seemed, and Eva Cartwright let out a breath of small relief at that fact. The stranger working the lock got the job done and the lid came open, earning the constable's attention as she moved to look. Paper, a notebook, foam -- and a strange jar, with odd symbols on it. It was Greek to her; hell, it might have been ancient Greek for all she knew, some odd inscription that meant something only to the dead doctor in the diner...

...the diner.

"Wait. The folks who worked at the diner. Tanis. Luis. Claudia... where are they?"

The Filth had been cleansed?

What about the innocents here? She hadn't seen a critter get Claudia. Stepping away from the case and the dangerous stuff, she moved to try to find the staff...

[Erulasto]

You know how some days you do something and immediately regret not only the action itself, but every action you had taken that led to that point?

Harvey now knew that intrinsically.

None of the manila envelopes were sealed with more than a thin red string coiled around a small metal rivet on the back. It was easily uncoiled to reveal the stacked pages within. Some pages were thicker, and appeared glossy – like photographs. Others were normal, either stapled or held together with paperclips.

The first page that Harvey pulled was covered from top to bottom in tight, clustered lines of hand-written text. Like a journal entry of some kind, or notes made in doctor’s office. A cursory glance had picked up some key words like specimen, test subjects, Filth exposure and psychic phenomena.

It wasn’t until he pulled a second piece of paper from the envelope that the reality well and truly sunk in.

It was a large eight by ten glossy photograph of a young girl, a few years younger than Roger. It was a digital photo in high resolution, showing the girl with abrasions and lacerations across her arms, neck and face. She wore what appeared to be a simple medical gown, and had bruising under her eyes that implied heavily of sleep deprivation. Some of her teeth were missing, and there were spots on her face and neck where her veins were thick and black, like worms under the skin. Many of the lacerations appeared on or around the grotesque veins as if she had tried to cut whatever was beneath her skin out herself. A small wooden placard was set next to her on the wall.


Subject 008: Claire Hawthorn
D.O.B: July 3rd, 2004 (Age 15)
Exposure Count: Six

And under the information upon the placard was the culprit: Ascendyne Health and Wellness.

”Perhaps a bit of both.” Sutherland had said while Harvey scanned the photograph. ”Thank you, Saleh. The situation, overall, is much more complicated than we had anticipated. But our new friends here are helping me crack the proverbial case.” The professor said to the woman as she exited with a pleasant smile.

Meanwhile, Eva’s sudden panicked revelation about the bystanders had drawn her attention away. The waitress – Tanis – and her friend Cat were huddled nearby, hugging each other while they tried to come to terms with what they had seen. Their faces were ashen and pale, and Eva could make out a sheen of nervous sweat upon their brows. It was likely they were in shock. But there was no sign of Luiz the cook, or Claudia the wife of the owner. Eva recalled they had fled out the back door of the kitchen, but it was obvious they hadn’t circled around as their vehicles were still there. There was a nearby train yard behind the café where some of the trains that passed this way would stop for refueling or resupply, but the café was fairly isolated from the rest of Terrace and that meant that it was mostly wilderness for Claudia or Luiz to have fled towards.

For Rosa, the curiosity of the strange technological aspects of this situation was gnawing. The browser she popped open on her phone began to load as normal, though the suddenly frozen screen and lagged hang-up of the network connection seemed to – at least initially – indicate it was as it should be. Hard to connect to the network with no SIM card.

However a moment or two later, the screen went black and she found herself looking at a torrential stream of code that spilled across the entirety of her screen. Some of it was normal code she had seen in the common programming languages. But some of it was not right. It was much like the code she had originally seen, but this one seemed…broken. Disjointed. As if segments of the code itself had been deleted. Or consumed by a worm virus.

Lee led Driver out of the café and down towards the small gathering, giving the professor a small nod as they approached.

Professor Sutherland sighed wistfully.

”I know it has been a trying night for everyone. Really, there is not much more than can be done at the moment. We have to get the contents of the good doctors case back to our hotel to review the information, but I would welcome any assistance you kind folks would be willing to give. Perhaps join us for coffee and breakfast in the morning?”

Sutherland held up some of the small glass vials he had pulled from his medicine case earlier and gave them a light shake before he looked between Harvey and Jeremy.

”I do not know the details of the relationships you hold with the others who have witnessed this. The young ones.” He meant Roger, Cat and Tanis. ”But this experience has marked them as it has you all. I cannot imagine that you are inclined to let this event taint them. Have them drink the contents of this vial before they sleep and they will awaken fresh and cleansed.” He paused for a moment. ”They will have a fever in the morning, and feel rather unpleasant. Perhaps a day off school to recuperate would be prudent?”

[Daishain]

Rosa frowns at her phone, this just keeps getting weirder... It shouldn't have been possible to load anything at all, not to mention the code aberrations. She puts it away for now, there's little she can do to analyze the thing here.

"So let me get this straight, the doctor was working with some kind of virus, one with some very strange properties to it, including some sort of EM interference or transmission, and became infected. And that led him to vomiting up those things? Is there any particular reason we're not calling the CDC, oh, right, I mean the CHA, in to burn this Ascendyne place to the ground? And how do we know we're not infected?"

[Bennosuke]

”I do not know the details of the relationships you hold with the others who have witnessed this. The young ones.” He meant Roger, Cat and Tanis. ”But this experience has marked them as it has you all. I cannot imagine that you are inclined to let this event taint them. Have them drink the contents of this vial before they sleep and they will awaken fresh and cleansed.” He paused for a moment. ”They will have a fever in the morning, and feel rather unpleasant. Perhaps a day off school to recuperate would be prudent?”

Jeremy steps forward, his face an ashen grey mask, but the snarl in his words belies the anger bubbling in his veins, "Awaken fresh and cleansed? So what, you want us to drug them? What, that's some sort of date rape drug or something?" The muscles of Jeremy's jaw were swelling and tensing, the vessels and tendons in his neck creating taught cords under stubbled skin.

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey looked at this "picture" and almost barfed this was not the expensive sellable information he was looking for.
The documents placed back on the truck with a shaky hand next to the suitcase.

Filth exposure? Psychic phenomena? Test subjects? What... she is absolutely right! If this.. the government needs to take care of this like... with guns and cops. And have we been exposed to filth? Are we infected?
Champ is right, I think some medical supervision would be good for this drug? So how about we stay close together in case of complications? And well, I think the police would gladly help investigating? And I will tag along for.. snacks? So yeah lets help.
And for Ascendyne Health and Wellness the government will take care of them?

Harvey turns away from Prof. Sutherland with questions in his eyes and very much agreeing with the notion that Jeremy should beat the crap out of people should this "cure" prove to be harmful.

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver takes his time walking to the assembled group. It was times like this he wishes he had a pack on him, but he is trying to quit that habit. Even whern you fight abominations beyond human understanding, you have to watch your health. He follows behind Lee. He makes sure stuff his pistol in the back of his pants with the saftey on. Dont need anyone getting shot..and maybe the cop wont notice. Maybe.

Driver isnt able to hear the whole conversation from the professor, just the end, but the responses are enough to clue him in somewhat to what might be going on. "Oh no. A Private corporation committing experiments that are against the public good for there own benefit. Who would have guessed" he says rather flatly "I feel fine right now, so I wont worry about any infections for a while. If you start feeling sick though, I'd say down a molotov and light yourself up. It's what i'd do. Also, doubt the government are going to do much to help. Besides take us in for questioning. Or just helping this Corporation cover up this whole mess. See, I think thre are other ways to get to the bottom of this situation. First things first, did that Briefcase contain a ID? Since we may want to hold onto that for when we break into the place" It's hard to resist the temptation of a score, and getting his hands on a bio-weapon? Buyers would certainly be in the market for that. Keeping the government out of this as much as possible is also important for him, he's still lying low. If they get a whiff of him being connected to certain events across the pound this could get hairy.

Either way, He'd best inform Mr.Moon of what's happening in Canada.

[Erulasto]

Professor Sutherland listened to the concerned cacophony from those before him, still wearing a pleasant smile. It was sort of soothing – almost grandfatherly – and reassuring, as if he was aware of just how hard a pill all this was to swallow.

To Jeremy, Sutherland shook his head slowly.

”I do suppose that drugging them would be as apt an analogy as any, but I assure you, my good sir, that there is nothing inside these little vials that would be anything similar to a drug you, or even our constable friend here, would recognize. In essence…” The professor gave one of the vials a tiny shake. ”It would be closer to an elixir of sorts. A potion. It does not contain anything synthetic. A little sage. Some olive oil…extra virgin, of course. The extract of a few herbs like turmeric, ginseng, frankincense and cedar. I suppose the only thing that would be troublesome is an infusion of hemlock and hellebore. Both of which are used in many medicines by indigenous tribes. I promise you that it is not harmful in the slightest. It will both sooth the troubles of their mind, purify their spirits and treat the anxiety and mania that often accompany exposure to such spiritual trauma. I made them myself, so I can guarantee their contents.”

Sutherland glanced back over his shoulder down the road in the direction he and his companions had come, as if looking for something. Or perhaps he was just checking to make sure that they had no further uninvited guests. Then he turned his gaze to Rosa.

”You are not entirely incorrect. It is not a virus in the traditional sense, composed of bacteria or microbes of any kind. It is not natural. It does not come from here.” He gestured around him as if meaning more earth than any local location. ”I will explain this as easily as I can to you all, to soothe your concerns. The good doctor here was not infectious. He was a…carrier, yes. But the creatures you encountered were the larval stage of things much worse. You have not been exposed to the actual contagion. It is black. Like oily sludge. And it feels wrong. You would not mistake it for anything natural, if you had seen or been exposed to it. The contents of the small container in the briefcase is as close to a portable vector as one can find. We will dispose of it, rest assured.”

Sutherland pursed his lips, a small frown on his face for a moment as he considered their expressed concerns.

”Those are all valid concerns.” Sutherland said, and opened his mouth to speak again – but it was Lee Cooper who spoke next.

”Listen. This right here? This is conspiracy-level ****. You think there aren’t people in the Government, the army…anything you could count as an authority…that don’t know about this? That won’t try and cover it up? You want bad people to take notice of you for trying to blow the whistle on this?” Lee scoffed, shaking his head. ”The CHA and the Government are probably infiltrated.”

At this point, Lee scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration and Saleh came to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder.

”We all, like yourselves, encountered this frightening new world in our own way. I was made a slave of a vampire in my home country of Syria. Lee here….” She gave him a small smile. ”Was in Afghanistan during the war to remove Sadam Hussein. His whole unit was wiped out by werewolves during a patrol.” Saleh turned to face those assembled and let her exotic gaze wander across them.

”We all were chosen for a higher calling. We hunt the things that go bump in the night and work in secret to keep the world and the people we love safe. It is our duty. It is our curse. As Professor Sutherland has indicated, your eyes have been opened to the truth of the world and as such you will not be able to look away. You will see the monsters behind the masks of normalcy. You will see things that the news will brush aside as gas leaks, or animal attacks but you will know that it was something more. Something darker.”

Professor Sutherland sighed heavily.

”I would not presume to dictate your futures…or to remove your agency and your choice. But there are not enough of us to fight this war against the Dark. We are but a few, and as we have already discovered in our short time in Terrace…there are many things here that prey upon the people. We could desperately use your help.”

[Bennosuke]

To Jeremy, Sutherland shook his head slowly.

”I do suppose that drugging them would be as apt an analogy as any, but I assure you, my good sir, that there is nothing inside these little vials that would be anything similar to a drug you, or even our constable friend here, would recognize. In essence…” The professor gave one of the vials a tiny shake. ”It would be closer to an elixir of sorts. A potion. It does not contain anything synthetic. A little sage. Some olive oil…extra virgin, of course. The extract of a few herbs like turmeric, ginseng, frankincense and cedar. I suppose the only thing that would be troublesome is an infusion of hemlock and hellebore. Both of which are used in many medicines by indigenous tribes. I promise you that it is not harmful in the slightest. It will both sooth the troubles of their mind, purify their spirits and treat the anxiety and mania that often accompany exposure to such spiritual trauma. I made them myself, so I can guarantee their contents.”

Jeremy scowls, the majority of the Professor's big words sounding impressive but going right over his head. He didn't like this. He did not like being so far in over his head. It would be better to try to trust his gut, rather than reasoning with the professor, so Jeremy instead tried to judge the man's character.

Composure 3+ Empathy -1=2d10
[roll0] and 10 again for some reason [roll1]

[Daishain]

Rosa frowns, and states, "Look, this is all a bit much, I've been doing some digging on my own before this, and I've come up with enough evidence of really crazy stuff to corroborate some of this. But a video of some nutter dragging people into an alley and biting them in the neck isn't quite the same as actual proof of a vampire."

Addressing everyone now, she states, "How about this. We all go home, get a few drinks, and whatever else we might need to actually get some real sleep after seeing... that. Then we'll come meet up at some good spot to have a private chat. I'll bring my evidence, you bring yours. We'll compare notes and go from there."

She looks to Jeremy and hesitates, then pops her SIM card back in. If that lets her connect as normal, she'll start looking up medicinal impacts of the uncommon ingredients listed and the LD50 levels of hellebore, hemlock, and any other things listed as potentially poisonous. If what she finds doesn't raise any red flags, she'll convey that to Jeremy. She's already fairly sure that mixture would just taste bad with no ill effects, but she's not going to trust her memory alone when it comes to Cat's life.

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey listened carefully.


"Hi ! Well sorry ...my name is Harvey!

I think I owe you a debt of gratitude. I don`t know what we would have done if you hadn`t showed up. I can`t consider myself called. I'm really not a soldier... If the police says it is okay to assume the government is infiltrated?"

Harvey looks around with questions in his eyes.

"If it is okay with everybody here. I am willing to listen and if the plan is realistic I would help. If it is true that this girl exists then....
I do want to know what these wierd papers are about so if you are willing to share that information I will listen.
I honestly don`t want to send Roger home without somebody looking after him so I will stay with him. If you are staying in a hotel and would be willing to give us a phone number? And well you are right a place to meet would be nice."

[Lokio]

All of it was a lot, a lot, the pages, the hunt, the elixir, everything. Eva Cartwright held her rifle tensely in both hands as she looked around for Claudia, for Luiz, for anything to make this make sense. But what she needed was right there in front of her. Werewolves killed his unit. She was a slave of a vampire. There was a Hunt ahead for the people who were behind the experimentation.

And the government couldn't be trusted?

"We need to slow our roll. I agree with... Harvey. And Rosa."

A sigh as she scratched at a cheek, a far-off look in her eye.

"I need to find Claudia and Luiz. I'd appreciate your help. They can't have gone far, and they saw that stuff same as us. If they're hurt or scared, they're going to need aid... and to know that maybe they should be careful about what they say."

She gestured back toward where the two must have run.

"Help me out, and I'll come meet with you tomorrow evening. We can get a drink, have a beer, talk this through. Maybe watch for consequences arising from all this overnight and compare notes?"

[Shadowflick]

Driver looks between each of the newly made hunters. it seems they've all agreed on there new reality. Vampires. Werewolves. Ghouls and ghasts. Maybe Aliens really did build the pyramids. "And next you're going to say lizardmen run the government. This is one thing, Vampires and werewolves are another. Fictional characters. I'll believe it when I see it, for now though, this seems to be a top priority. If you want to meet, I know a good spot that should be a long way from most civilized people. Should be free to talk." he says, walking to his car which is hopefully no longer possessed. he opens the door and leans it grabbing a map from the glove comparment along with a pen. He lays it out over the hood and circles a small part, the place he goes to practice his driving. he then walks back to the group and Hands it to Sutherland "That should work. Now, I can not say it was a pleasure." he pauses for a beat.

"So I wont. Goodbye" he turns, and starts going to his car, popping open the door as he gets ready to head back to his motel room.

[Justanotherhero]

To Everybody: "Well if somebody is willing to stay here and secure the restaurant against that is I will help look for those two?"

To Driver:"Good well.. night."

[Erulasto]

Sorry for the delay folks. Work’s been kicking butt this week and ignoring the taking of names.

On a side note….Nice roll, Benno!



One thing seemed certain to Jeremy. For all the strangeness and trouble of the evening…for all the plethora of reasons Jeremy had to not trust this Professor Sutherland, his words seemed to strike true to his senses. Something in his gut was telling him, emphatically, that Sutherland really wasn’t yanking his chain. It could have been the genuine sadness that permeated the depths of the old teachers eyes.

He was truly sorry that this had befallen the rag-tag group of café patrons.

And as such, he was trying to help.

”It is a bit of a stretch, no?” Sutherland said, with that pleasant smile of his. But the expression carried a weight of experience that even Rosa couldn’t ignore. ”I think you have a fair request. It would be best to continue this conversation in the morning with the sun in the sky. It may not be more than superstition, but some things are best spoken of when the dark does not lay heavily upon the land. And I am quite sure that it has been an…emotionally trying evening thus so far.”

Lee and Saleh had begun to pack up what little they had brought with them, including the briefcase, after Sutherland tucked the containment canister back into its foam housing within. As they were loading up, Saleh looked to Eva.

”I would be happy to assist you, Constable, if you would be so kind as to provide me a ride back to the hotel when we are done? Lee can accompany the Professor now. We have learned from hard, cold experience that it is not wise to wander alone in these times.”

”If Driver here has a secure spot to talk, then we can meet tomorrow morning if that’s okay with everyone else? You’ve got no obligation to be there, really, but I’m hoping you all realize that this is some serious **** and it might be worth hearing us out.” Lee said, finally hoisting the briefcase into the back of the jeep and slinging his brutal looking baseball bat into the back as well.

Professor Sutherland pressed one of the small vials into Harvey’s hand, and two into Jeremy’s. For Roger, Cat and Tanis respectively. Whether they chose to use them was now wholly upon their own shoulders. While he does so, he gives them the number for a burner cellphone that he and his two companions were using to get ahold of him if needed.

While this was going on, Rosa had managed to fully connect to the LTE network of her cellphone provider. It seemed whatever interference had been plaguing the area had dissipated and normal services had returned.

While hellebore and hemlock were traditionally considered poisonous, there were ample methods of preparation that were held by many indigenous tribes across the world that would allow them to be used in a medicinal sense. Nothing jumped out, really, aside from the idea that some of this would directly impact the imbiber’s ability to process anxiety: meaning, it was a primitive anti-anxiety medicine, of sorts.



This is sort of wrapping up the end of the prelude here, and I’m just about ready to move on to the next scene. If anyone wants to say or do anything else before the end of the evening, please let me know and I’ll post accordingly.

Eva and Saleh will be looking for Luiz and Claudia, which I intend to summarize in my next post, and anyone else who wants to join them can feel free.

Otherwise, as soon as we’re in agreement I’ll move on to the next morning. So please include in your next post anything of note that you’d like to accomplish across the remainder of your evening. This could include everything from whether or not you give the drug to the youngsters, whether or not Eva goes to file her paperwork, or get tanked.

My next post will summarize the results of these as well.

Thanks!

[Bennosuke]

As much as Jeremy didn't want to, he had to trust Sutherland. He rolled his teeth over his tongue, trying to find the will to swallow the words that were about to come out, but finding that he couldn't. "Fine," Jeremy says hesitantly, "I'll trust you, and take your advice... as long as you promise no harm will come to my daughter." He takes the vials from the professor with shaking hands, inspecting each one curiously, before pocketing them. Jeremy also stores the man's contact in his cellphone.

Ya, I was kinda planning to fail that roll and enjoy the drama of Jeremy being convinced that Sutherland was lying to him about everything :smalltongue:. Ready to move things along on my end.

[Justanotherhero]

I would help look for the missing civilians and afterwards drive home to give Roger the option of forgetting this whole devilish experience. Won`t sleep a lot since I would check how he sleeps to call an ambulance if anything goes wrong. Afterwards, I will attend the morning meeting.

[Lokio]

I think Eva's next actions will depend greatly on what state she finds Luiz and Claudia in...

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver will take one of the burner phones, before speeding off on his own. The dashboard lights up his face, and he is met with all manner of new thoughts. What does he know about the world? Really? if things like this were really out there...

He takes a deep breath, taking the rode back to the Motel. Quickly, he gets out of the car and rushes to his room, gun still tucked into his pants just in case. Might be sleeping with it even.



Driver's never seen anything like this before. This isn't his wheelhouse...so, he checks in with his usual Fixer. Mr. Moon. Maybe they might know something about this 'Filth'

Using his other secure line, Driver types out a message describing what happened over the past day.

[Erulasto]

The Hunt for Luiz and Claudia

Eva, Saleh, and Harvey began to canvas the surrounding lot and wilderness behind the Trainside Café while Roger hung out back at the café with Cat and Tanis – overseen by Jeremy and Rosa while they finished up their business with Sutherland and Lee. They had huddled back into the café itself, and sat around a booth drinking the some hot chocolate that Tanis managed to scrape together safely out of sight of the pile of stained clothing that once was Edmundson.

For those who were looking for the wayward cook and waitress, they didn’t have to go very far. Just past the edge of the café’s parking lot was an old storage shed that was used primarily for keeping the café’s pressure washer, and other tools used for lot and garden upkeep and maintenance.

The door was adjar – a lock laying scattered on the asphalt near it. But the sounds of soft sobbing could be heard echoing from within.

Claudia was pasty-white, like the belly of a fish with clammy skin and was laying on the dirty floor with her head in Luiz’ lap as she cried. The cook seemed just a bit more put together, but the erractic twitching of his facial expressions and frantica searching of his eyes showed his own instability.

They’d gone next to catatonic inside the shed to hide, the vision of horror they’d come across searing itself indelibly into their waking minds.

There was hardly any sign of recognition as the door was nudged open by Eva to reveal their hiding spot.


Mister Moon

It didn’t take too long to receive some sort of response from Driver’s fixer.

It never did.

No matter the time of day, or where the mysterious benefactor was hiding out, his response was always prompt, succinct and full of whatever details that were necessary at the immediate moment.

In this particular case, Mr. Moon’s response was…uncharacteristic in it’s pure lack of information.

<<Sorry to hear that, Driver. Some nasty business, the Filth. Hope you like horror movies. Normally I don’t touch the Filth. But you’ve done good work for me, so I’ll send you a care package in the morning. Good luck.>>

It didn’t tell him much, exactly, aside from the fact that it seemed his fixer had at least a passing knowledge of whatever was going on. Maybe not the specifics for this situation, but if Moon had some experience in the past it was good that he was at least trying to keep an eye out for Driver.

[Shadowflick]

Driver


Raising a brow, Driver was rather surprised by his Fixer's response. Seems Mr. moon knew quite about the world they lived in...but, he wasn't going to pry. It's not biting the hand that feeds you to ask a question, but it's also best to not annoy it. Just smile and take your feed.

"Thanks. I'll update you if I see anything else odd. There may be profit to be made here with this Company or whatever." he messages back, before putting his phone down, and getting ready for bed.

[Lokio]

A flashlight, sweeping the night with Harvey and Saleh's help to find who they were looking for. It didn't take long. The shed's door was open, its lock on the ground, and sounds of crying were coming from inside. The math was clear. Holding up a hand for the others to give her a sec and slinging the rifle on her back, Eva Cartwright advanced, a hand held out in a greeting, soothing gesture.

"Hey, Luiz... Claudia... you doing okay there?"

Soft. Gentle. Whether it was training or just raw talent for calming people, the constable shined the light near them, but not on them. Nobody liked a Maglite beam to the face.

"You're safe, now. You got through it."

[roll0] - Empath merit roll used to ease breaking points.

[Lokio]

[roll0] 10 agains

[roll1] if the 10s explode again

OOC: Exceptional Success on Empath. Should generate a positive Condition -- and be extra helpful maybe? ;)

[Erulasto]

FINDING THE CIVVIES

The relief that was plainly visible in Luiz’ eyes at the sight of a uniformed police officer gave Eva a firm idea that at least he would be okay after a good night sleep. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t likely he’d seen all of the horror that had played out in the café itself.

Claudia, however, had seen much more.

Despite the shock, something in Claudia seemed to deflate as Eva’s soothing words whispered through the storage shed. The woman gave a stiff nod, and with Luiz’ arm wrapped about her shoulder, the two of them staggered up to their feet with the help of Saleh. The Syrian woman was watching the two of them with a concerned eye when she wasn’t glancing at Eva appraisingly.

”Dios Mio!” Luiz muttered. ”What in [i]nombre de dios was that…thing?” The question was perhaps abstract, not asked of anyone in particular. But Eva was the most likely to be able to give at least some sort of answer.

”Kan alshaytan.” Saleh spoke softly, honey eyes seeking across the horizon as she helped lead the two troubled souls out of the shed. While neither Luiz nor Claudia spoke what Eva thought sounded like Arabic, something about the words struck a chord and Luiz was quick to make the sign of the Cross over his breast.

”What is the plan, Constable?” Saleh asked.



Exceptional success! Due to the awesomeness of that roll, I’ve re-evaluated Luiz and Claudia. Claudia was going to be given the Fugue condition and Luiz was going to be given the Spooked condition. Neither will suffer now.

On top of which, I think it might be appropriate to grant Eva the Steadfast condition. When you fail a roll you can resolve the condition to grant a single success.

Great job!

[Lokio]

With a sigh, Eva explained, "Something dark and nasty... and alien. But for now, let's take it easy. Let's get you out of here for now, get y'all home. There's someone I'd like to introduce you two to who can explain it all a heck of a lot better than me."

Glancing to Saleh and pondering a moment before replying to her question, she replied, "It might make sense for you to introduce them to the Professor. He's probably the right person to... tell this story?" She shrugged, giving a sigh. This was so, so not what she thought her shift was going to end up as...

Good to proceed to the next day, ideally with Saleh getting them briefed off screen by the Prof.

[Erulasto]

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBR 11th, 2019

Sleep had not come easily to those who witnessed such horror.

In the dark of the night, when the mind was keen to wander down the twisting roads of the subconscious mind, the visions came fast and terrible.

Dreams of broken bodies used as cocoons for unearthly, alien things. Dreams of blood and viscera and pain. Dreams of standing upon the shore staring out into the night, where a starless sky joined with black water until it seemed that all before you was absolute. Dreams of inky filth that slithered and wriggled like maggots upon the corpse of the world.

Dreams of something old watching from behind and within that endless black.

And when the sun finally crept slowly up in the East, the radiant beams of light filtering through mountains and forests seemed to barely banish the gloomy, autumn morning. At some point during the night the misty spray in the air had become a light dusting of snow that covered everything in a thinning blanket of white.

It was a strange dichotomy; the purity of the untouched snow…and the filthy horrors that they now knew lurked just beyond the proverbial firelight.

Before the night had run its course, however, there was still some activity amongst those involved. Jeremy had bundled Cat and Tanis up and brought them home to Cat’s place. Liz was understandably a bit concerned as to the state of their daughter and her friend, but seemed to take it in stride when Jeremy had told her they’d talk about it the next day. Liz had even offered to let Jeremy crash on the couch. It was a strange offer, but it was a strange night and perhaps Jeremy’s ex-wife was perceptive enough to pick up on the troubled shadows that hid behind his eyes.

Harvey had brought Roger home, and the young man had seemed readily accepting of taking whatever it was that would help him forget the horrors he’d seen. Having tucked Roger in, and brushed off any questions from the rest of their family, Harvey listlessly watched his brother toss and turn. At one point, it seemed as if he’d begun to have a fever though it had broken swiftly and otherwise the night had passed uneventfully.

Rosa had spent her night pouring through the strange coding of the program she’d contained in that hard drive. The one that had begun her own sojourn into the mouth of madness. Her dreams were filled with a cascade of strange algorithms and code that she felt bending her mind into strange paradigms.

Driver had managed to get back to his place unscathed. Despite Mister Moon’s indication he’d send Driver some information, he waited and waited but nothing had come through. Even an attempt to shoot Taker a message had been unanswered as well. As he tossed and turned in bed, there was a palpable sense of tension waiting in the air – like a bubble, overfull, ready to pop.

And as for Eva, after she and Saleh had brought Luiz and Claudia back to meet with Professor Sutherland and Lee, the constable had parted ways for the evening with an ardent promise from the Professor to make sure the two were well taken care of. She had spent the rest of the night staring at the reams of paperwork that she’d had to take care of, mind constantly flowing back to play over the events of the night before.

In the morning, when they’d all awoken, they were met with a text message on their phones. Whether or not they’d provided their phone numbers or not didn’t seem to matter. The message was there, regardless.

<<Good morning. I hope you managed to find some sleep. I know I was not able to after my own encounter so many years ago. If it pleases you, please come to the attached address where we can speak freely. Coffee and muffins will be provided. –Sutherland>>

[Bennosuke]

Before the night had run its course, however, there was still some activity amongst those involved. Jeremy had bundled Cat and Tanis up and brought them home to Cat’s place. Liz was understandably a bit concerned as to the state of their daughter and her friend, but seemed to take it in stride when Jeremy had told her they’d talk about it the next day. Liz had even offered to let Jeremy crash on the couch. It was a strange offer, but it was a strange night and perhaps Jeremy’s ex-wife was perceptive enough to pick up on the troubled shadows that hid behind his eyes.

Jeremy had not slept well, and was unable to sleep in that morning. He rose from the couch, in a strange room, and needed a moment to catch his bearings. He was even more put off when he saw the snow outside the window. Snow in September? Perhaps that's how it was up North, but it made the man's skin crawl.

Somehow, Jeremy had managed to put much of the night's strangeness out of his mind for a moment. He was on the way to go check in on Cat in her room, just to make sure she was sound asleep and comfortable, when the text message came in.


<<Good morning. I hope you managed to find some sleep. I know I was not able to after my own encounter so many years ago. If it pleases you, please come to the attached address where we can speak freely. Coffee and muffins will be provided. –Sutherland>>

The digital words on the small glass screen helped bring back every minutia of the night's events, and it made his stomach roll over. He didn't want to follow the Professor's directions, but he couldn't stay here. Jeremy couldn't face Liz this morning. He'd already overstayed his welcome by crashing on the couch, and lord knew what Cat would say about the previous evening.

Jeremy resolved that first he would go back to his motel, shower and change, and then, if he couldn't think of anything better, he'd make his way to the listed address.

Of course, he never did think of anything better.

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Not a Thing Driver thought as dawn rolled around. Mr. Moon seems to either think he's crazy...or worse. Stepped into something a bit too big for him. Either way, no messages from Taker only added to his sense of foreboding. It may be best for him to be more cautious going further. He pulls open his curtain slowly, checking outside. Once he knows the coast is clear, he makes his way out and gets into his car, heading to the meeting place outlined in the message.

[Justanotherhero]

After a odd night and making sure Roger feels good Harvey decides to attend this meeting this time with a crowbar and a flashlight in his car and a knife beneath the driver's seat. Just in case things go wrong again.

[Daishain]

Rosa wakes up with a start in her small flat. Every light in the place was on, just like she'd left it. Even the half bottle of Port in her stomach hadn't been enough to help her sleep, not while there were shadows about. Shadows where she could imagine a creeping infection would spread...

Rubbing her eyes, she gets up and takes another swig of Port before getting into the shower and staying there for a good half hour. Eventually, finally, she gets out and with bleary eyes checks her messages. "Great, Dr. Caligari still wants to have a chat and I wasn't just having a nightmare. Ugh, fine."

She sets her keurig to brewing some coffee while she starts collating some of the most solid evidence she has on file concerning the freaky stuff she'd been noticing onto a tablet. She had promised to try and corroborate the guy's story, at least in terms of this not being a singular freaky incident.

Taking the tablet, and after a moment's thought, her mini projecter, she heads out to her rental, taking it slow on the way to the address.

[Lokio]

Paperwork. It was a long, long night of overtime, putting words to page about the shift's incidents. As Sutherland said, she didn't bother to put anything down just yet about the incident at the bar. Her service weapon was cleaned, her rounds reloaded, and as the visions slithered into her subconscious even as she fought to keep them out, she found herself sleepless. The paper was more pleasant to stare at than sleep would have been, of that she was sure. The nightmares would have been real.

The text came, eventually breaking her of her reverie. A shower. A hot cup of coffee and a day old everything bagel. Mouthwash. Teeth brushed. Thank God she didn't have to work the next day. It was her weekend, four days off that would hopefully bring rest...

...and answers.

Putting on an athletic zip-up sweater over a tank top and a pair of jeans on, Eva holstered her pistol in an underarm sling beneath the zip-up. All the license she needed to carry it was in the handsome badge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Jumping into her personal vehicle, she headed for the meet, wondering what the hell Sutherland had to tell them and if it was anything better than yesterday...

or maybe it was all a dream

[Erulasto]

Jeremy

When Jeremy had checked in on Cat, he saw his daughter had tossed and turned so much that her covers were splayed across the off-white carpet of her bedroom floor. He felt a pang in his chest at the sight, realization washing across him like a chilled wave at just how messed up the last twenty-four hours had been. This situation had, in all likelihood, indelibly marked his daughter in some way.

He’d slipped out of the house silently, and plucked his way across town in the early morning to his motel. A calm had settled on Terrace that seemed to make his skin crawl – how such serenity hid horror just below the surface.

The hot shower was nice, washing some of the tension away, but it did little to help the uncomfortable feeling in his gut. As he dressed for the day, something kept pulling his gaze to the small television on the nightstand that occupied the spot perpendicular to his bed. Memories of the static-filled voice that spoke to them in the diner came unbidden, and as if with an afterthought, Jeremy unplugged the motel phone and television.

Just in case.


Driver

The curtains parted at Driver’s urging, his gaze settling on the quiet winter wonderland that had seemed to crop up overnight. The snow, light though it was, blanketed the city and the street showed no sign of having been traveled on.

All was clear as Driver set himself about the task of preparing to meet the professor.


Harvey

Roger had seemed a bit feverish across the night, but awoke seemingly fit and healthy. The only thing that Harvey thought might have been strange was that he was ravenously hungry – and wolfed down three helpings of corn flakes before tottering off to use the bathroom. He rambled during breakfast about getting together with some friends to play the new Call of Duty game, but made no mention of the night prior. Perhaps the tonic the professor had given Harvey worked its magic?


Rosa

The process of getting ready for the meeting was slow going, checking and double checking data and variables. The deeper Rosa dug into this mystery, the deeper it seemed the proverbial rabbit hole went.

A cursory evaluation had brought up at least a half-dozen incidents from fringe sites on the internet talking about black slime and strange monsters, but those stories were from people that Rosa would normally consider crackpots.

But, it seemed she could easily be counted among their number now she realized, as she put the finishing touches on her information.

The tired looking clerk at the desk gave her a timid wave on her way out, but the streets seemed eerily quiet and devoid of traffic as she steadily headed out to the meeting.


Eva

During the long hours staring at paperwork in a brightly lit room – Eva couldn’t bear to shut them off and let the shadows creep in – something of note came across her desk that made her breath hitch.

An APB had been posted in the wee hours of the morning for one Doctor Edmundson. He had, apparently, been declared missing by his immediate supervisor at Brighton House. Director Amelia Hart.

Grabbing a copy of the APB, Eva prepped herself and headed out to meet the other unfortunate souls who Sutherland had requested to join him.




Through a fortuitous chance of fate, everyone arrived within minutes of one another in the sparsely occupied parking lot of the Northern Motor Inn. It was relatively close to the city center, but it looked a bit worse for wear. The sign flickered intermittendly, but a middle-aged man in a heavy parka was busy shoveling the light blanket of snow off the sidewalks.

Standing on the outdoor walkway of the second floor of the motel, they saw Lee leaning on the railing smoking a cigarette in the early morning gloom.

As they arrived, he took a final drag before flicking the butt into the snow of the parking lot and waving them up haphazardly.

[Shadowflick]

The Cold wasn't the worst. Driver's been in some cold places in his day, but this was awfully sudden. he thought there would be at least another good day of sun. Or maybe he didn't pay attention to the weather report. After all, he just had his perception of the world shattered. He slips on a few extra layers of clothing and tosses on a scarf with some gloves.

The drive is uneventful, and he finds himself getting to the meeting location at the same time as everyone else. He hops out, trying to get out of the cold as soon as possible. He gives Lea a nod as he makes his way inside.

[Daishain]

Rosa grabbed her stuff and heads for the door. Sidling up to Jeremy, she asks, "How's Cat? You don't have a murder face going, so I'm guessing we don't have reason to punch these guys at least?"

[Justanotherhero]

"Good morning!"

Harvey follows the waving hand.

[Lokio]

Grabbing a copy of the APB with a frown on her youthful face before she hit the road, Eva Cartwright sighed. Edmundson's disappearance would likely never be solved, but the fact that he was being declared missing so damn quickly told her a thing. Normally, the cops wouldn't react so fast. He'd only left, what, the night before? Who did Hart have on the force to move it so quick? These were the thoughts that troubled the young constable as she pulled her vehicle into the parking lot for the motel, stepping out and pulling a coat on from the back seat of her nothing-special personal vehicle.

"Hey," she said to the group quietly, clutching the paper in her hand as she followed them up the stairs to where Lee was smoking.

"Got something you might want to see."

But it could wait a second, until they were inside, until they were with the prof and the swordfighter.

[Bennosuke]

Rosa grabbed her stuff and heads for the door. Sidling up to Jeremy, she asks, "How's Cat? You don't have a murder face going, so I'm guessing we don't have reason to punch these guys at least?"

Trying to maintain a mask of calm, Jeremy says, "She's fine. Was still sleeping when I left. You?" A casual observer might think the man was a cold collected killer, a Clint Eastwood character, but close observation of the fighter's wavering glassy eyes said otherwise.

[Daishain]

Rosa grimaces, "I've slept better, but I think I'll be okay. Lets go see what these guys have for us."

[Bennosuke]

"I can't wait," Jeremy says dryly, perhaps too tired to truly emphasize the sarcasm as he had intended, adding, "After you."

[Erulasto]

The cheap motel room looked like some kind of trope out of a crime movie. It had two single beds with the ugliest floral-print sheets and blankets they’d ever seen. There was a pull-out couch that was a too-pale-for-beige color, and while the overall feel of the room was cheap, a bit dingy and distinctly outdated, it still seemed rather well-kept by the three occupants. A number of large cardboard boxes – the kind you’d find in an accountant’s office – were stacked about the room and filled to the brim with various papers and other research documents that may have helped them in their investigations.

Saleh was sitting cross-legged on the couch, sliding a whetstone gently across the curved blade of her sword. As Lee ushered the others into the room, she flashed them a pitying smile.

”Good morning.” She murmured softly. ”Help yourself to some coffee. It isn’t very good but it’s hot and strong.” On the small kitchenette near the bathroom, there was a tall decanter of freshly brewed coffee. A small carton of cream and a bowl of sugar cubes sat next to a small pile of simple, white ceramic mugs.

Professor Sutherland was sitting at the only desk in the room, leafing through a thick tome bound in aged and faded leather as they arrived.

After a moment, he closed the book with a dusty slam and rose to greet them. Unlike Lee and Saleh, who were already dressed and ready to go for the day, Sutherland was wearing a pair of comfortable looking blue silk pajamas and his somewhat frizzy white hair was stuck to the side of his head from where he slept upon it.

”Ah! Good morning, good morning! Punctuality is so appreciated in these troublesome days. I do hope that you all at least had a modicum of half-way decent sleep, though it would not surprise me if that was not the case. Witnessing such events is such a dark thing to experience, and the human mind struggles frequently to accept what it has seen.”

While there were barely any real seats available, Sutherland gestured to the beds with a gnarled, wizened hand. ”Please, as Saleh said, grab a coffee if you would like and find someplace comfortable to sit. Have you eaten? The room service is not the greatest, but they do make a mean bacon and eggs.”

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy simply grunts in response to the kind gestures offered by Saleh and The Professor, and makes his way over to the coffee, pushing gruffly past anyone milling about in his way. At the table, he finds the largest cup or mug possible and fills it with the coffee, forgoing milk or sugar. He then finds himself a seat somewhere, collapsing into it, and huddling himself around the cup of coffee like a campfire on a Canadian winter night.

[Daishain]

Rosa looks around, "So, I take it this group isn't exactly funded by a bunch of eccentric billionaires. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed."

Looking rather pointedly at the sword she states, "Is that sort of thing necessary a lot of the time? I can throw a not horrible punch, but fighting isn't really my thing."

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver's eyes flash between the three hunters, as well as the others from the dinner. Great, everyone's together. They seemed skilled enough, and with a cop on their side breaking into that company's facility should be a bit easier. just flash what looks like a warrant. it's a good enough distraction. He makes his way to the coffee, letting the black brew poor in his cup. he's about to take a sip...until her remembers last night

.....

Maybe a bit of milk, put some color into it.

He takes his seat. He looks over to the sword as Rosa does "As popular a hobby fencing is, I find shooting someone in the face with a gun to be a bit more effective." Driver gives a thin-lipped smile "I'm good on food, for now, It's best we discuss why were ere...Monsters. Are these just your Universal variety? Vamps, Werewolves, Sasquatch? Or more..creative. Don't recognize black bleeding devourers in the movies. Least not the one's I watch."

[Erulasto]

While everyone helped themselves to coffee, the three hunters had settled themselves down comfortably – though Lee took a moment to brace a heavy suitcase against the door to impede easy egress into the room. It would appear to the casual onlooker as a bit odd; perhaps a bit paranoid. But given the strangeness of the last twenty-four hours, could anyone really blame him?

”That would certainly make life so much easier.” Sutherland chuckled softly at Rosa’s question. ”We three are not the only hunters around. Hunters exist across the entirety of the world, my dear, and some of them even have disposable wealth to help the cause. But to imply were are a well-funded secret organization is a gross misunderstanding of what it is we do. We are not a regimented army of sorts, fighting against evil. We are but regular people who are doing what is right to protect those who cannot do it themselves.” He explained slowly, while he massaged the gnarled and withered hand with his much healthier looking one.

”An apt anology would be like a resistance group. Many cells operating independently, though keeping in touch just enough to share information, yet distant enough to not compromise others if we fall. Lee, Saleh and myself are but three of the Vancouver cell. We left a handful of our companions back home to hold down the proverbial fort while we did our digging up here.”

”As for the sword my dear Saleh carries..” Sutherland continued. ”Not all of us are fighters. I assure you that sword has tasted unclean blood far more than most of our number. I, myself, am quite old as you may have noticed.” He said with a good-natured chuckle. ”I leave the fighting to Lee and Saleh most of the time.”

”And we leave the research to the Professor.” Saleh piped up with a smirk. ”It takes all sorts to combat evil.”

The conversation lulled as the rest of those gathered finished fetching a coffee and settled down to continue their discourse. Lee was leaning against the wall near the front door, his wicked baseball bat close at hand.

”Monsters.” Lee muttered after Driver had spoken. ”Yeah, that’s the jist of it.” This elicited a small laugh from Saleh and Sutherland.

”You’ll find vampires, werewolves, ghosts…the staples of Hollywood horror to be sure. I’ve never encountered a sasquatch myself, but I’ve heard from some colleagues who did. They’re not the most social, nor dangerous. From what I hear they like to keep to themselves. The Wendigo on the other hand? Farther north, but have a craving for human flesh.”

There was a pregnant pause as Lee let the information soak in before continuing.

”You can’t really think of it like the movies. For example, I’ve never met a vampire who was repelled by a cross. But Saleh here has met one that couldn’t abide seeing its reflection in a mirror. So…take it with a grain of salt. I’ve taken a werewolf out with a claymore, but we couldn’t put it down with normal bullets. We’ve seen ghosts, fairies, goblins, and other much nastier things. The Professor is pretty sure he’s encountered an honest-to-goodness Angel before, but that wasn’t anything like the Church would have you believe.”

Sutherland had a pained look in his eyes at that, before raising his good hand to silence Lee.

”The long and the short of it is, my friends, that most of the myths the world was built on hold at least a grain of truth. But even that is only the outermost layer of Truth. There are things deeper and darker than mankind and our monsters. You have encountered the spawn of such last night.” He paused again to let that sink in before continuing with a heavy sigh.

”I will cut to the chase. Get right to the point, yes? There are never enough Hunters. You have seen the truth. You survived seeing the truth. This makes you all valuable. I would like you to consider working with us to keep everyone safe. Your friends, your family, your neighbors…each other. There is enough trouble brewing up here in town that we need a permanent presence in Terrace and the surrounding area. We cannot keep splitting our cell in Vancouver to keep watch up here as well. It is a thankless job, on the whole, but we can at least provide a modest sum of money to all of you for your services. Enough to help keep you afloat if needs be.”

[Daishain]

Rosa tilts her head, "Is there some kind of database or at least books we could peruse? Telling us that all the myths are true... sort of, isn't exactly the sort of specific information I'd like on hand when dealing with honest to god werewolves, and I doubt you want to spend month teaching us what you know."

While she speaks, she quickly sets up the portable projector she'd brought and flips through a few images before throwing up a picture of the strange code she'd been teased with onto the most convenient wall. "In the meantime, is there anything you can tell me about this? You seemed to know something about it. I came to this town because of it, and there are coordinates embedded in there. They point to an old mine outside of town."

[Bennosuke]

The speech of the so called Hunters is like nails on the chalk board of Jeremy's sleep deprived brain. He was already skeptical of everything that had transpired the night before, his rational brain already starting to rationalize away many of the events. And the coffee was not enough to anesthetize his headache, exacerbated by the dribble of vampires and werewolves that Jeremy was hearing. "Proof," Jeremy mumbles through a heavy slurp of coffee, "where is the proof of everything you are saying?" The words were more fore himself, though Jeremy was speaking too loudly.

[Daishain]

Rosa looks to Jeremy, "Right, sorry. I have some of that I think. I've been poking around this sort of stuff for a while now, but I didn't share it with anyone because I was half afraid I was going nuts. The code up there on the wall was the start of it for me, it doesn't behave like normal computer code at all, it appears to rewrite itself on the fly, and it's able to communicate with devices that use completely different programming languages without any apparent translation function, something that should not be possible. It doesn't even appear to be binary in nature, meaning our computers should not be able to process it at all, and yet they do. I was halfway to thinking that I had stumbled upon an alien computer virus when I started finding hints of other weird stuff in the process of trying to track down where it came from."

"I cannot offer absolute proof, and I don't know if they can either without arranging encounters with these creatures they're talking about. But here is what I came up with for the sake of this meeting. I'm going to show the three best pieces of evidence that I've ever dug up of supernatural events or beings, and two pieces of evidence that look convincing but I have managed to determine beyond a reasonable doubt to have been faked. I'll explain each one as best I can, and let you know which is which afterwards."

"It would not be definitive, but if these three can easily identify which ones are fake, well, my vote will be to at least play along for now."

it is up to the Storyteller I think in regards to what evidence Rosa has uncovered and how this plays out

[Shadowflick]

Driver

Driver sits down on one of the chairs, leaning back and taking a sip of his coffee. Vampires, werewolves, and other such monsters. Maybe he should have given the ranting hobo's a chance. "Right then...Well, sure. I have nothing better to do. Monster hunting may be a good distraction from sheer boredom...and if we happen to find some photo evidence to sell later I could make some money on the side"

And now magic codes? At least it points out somewhere to go "Right right, Magical texts and emails, of course. Do they point to a mine around here? Why Not head over today? Unless we have some other world-saving item on the schedule today

[Justanotherhero]

After Harvey looks around, he decides to take a seat on the edge of the bed closer to the door, keeping potential windows in view.
"Well, personally I agree with Champ and would not mind some more of that proof?"

Harvey looks at Jeremy, hoping for approval of his Nickname.

"So...If I got this right, you are a global organization that well.. hunts stuff?
I don`t run around and hurt people....
But if the pictures are real I would not mind visiting what was it... Ascendyne Health and Wellness?
And... confiscating... everything valuable they might have? If everybody gets out."

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy begins rifling through the files that Rosa handed to him. The small script definitely isn't helping his morning headache. He looks up at Harvey, surprised to be backed by the man. He looks down bashfully at the way the kid used the nickname "Champ". Jeremy certainly didn't feel much like a Champ these days.

[Lokio]

Accepting the offer of a cuppa, Eva found her way to a chair, holding onto the APB paper in one hand as she sipped the cup with the other. Listening to the answers and questions, the police officer was silent for a couple of minutes as talk went on around her. It was hard to focus through the fog of exhaustion, but the smell and sharp taste of the coffee slowly got Cartwright's brain online as she tried to process what was being said.

Hunters, all over the world.

A badass swordfighter.

Code, and calls for proof.

A cash offer, and a need for help so they could return to Vancity. A pang in her chest, as she realized that this wasn't isolated, and that there were monsters around the man who had her heart.

Silently, she handed the professor the APB.

"All that, I'll consider. I will. The future. I want to see what Rosa's got. But there are problems in the here and now. Someone with influence is trying to push a fast find on Doctor Edmundson. They're not going to, but then, they'll start looking into tracing his steps. And that could lead to us. I think we need to get eyes on Ascendyne, and handle the problem that's coming at us. Influential people want their guy back, and their guy had evidence that could bury them on him. Monsters or not, this is real."

[Erulasto]

Sutherland hefted a rather heavy sigh, and leaned back into the small wooden chair he’d been sitting in as they spoke. Absent-mindedly, he gently massaged the withered, gnarled hand that seemed bent to a rictus-like claw. Now that they could see it in better light, they saw the flesh was darkened and dusty-looking. Like something you’d see beneath the bandages of a Mummy from the minds of Hollywood’s screenwriters.

”No, sir. We are not part of a global organization. It is not as simple as that. While there are some organizations that do this, we are more loosely organized. We try and keep a cell of hunters operating in every major city, but there are too few of us and far too many places that monsters creep out of the shadows. We may share some financial backers, and we may share information and goals, but we often work alone.” Sutherland said, looking pointedly at Harvey before letting his eyes drift to Driver. ”I would warn against trying to publish some of that photographic evidence for money, though. In my experience, it tends to attract the wrong kind of attention to yourself. And if my estimation of you is correct, that is not something you are particularly fond of, yes?”

As the rest of the discussions wear on, Sutherland took the APB from Eva with a small smile at the constable. While Rosa was setting up the projector, he scanned the document with inquisitive eyes.

”You have the right of it, Constable.” He said after a moment, before handing the document back. ”Regardless of what we have to share, this is a pressing concern and in a place like Terrace, it would not take much to eventually track you all to the scene.”

”God forbid they think you actually saw something.” Lee muttered, leaving the implied doom hanging like the sword of Damocles.

When, at last, Rosa had finished setting up the projector, Sutherland turned his attention back to the young hacker.

”If you are willing to come back to my home in Vancouver, I would be more than happy to show you the small library I have been accumulating across the years.” Sutherland said to Rosa with a pleasant smile. ”I do have a few with me here that I brought along. They are more specific to this particular region. I would be happy to lend them to you for some time.” The old man gestured to his luggage, where one of the suitcases lay open and stuffed with a number of incredibly old books and a handful of legal notepads filled with looping, delicate script. ”Perhaps I could interest you in putting together a more readily accessible online database. It certainly would help the cells across the country…if not further abroad.”

As the first image is projected onto the off-white wall of the hotel suite, it is immediately noticeable that the code looks wrong. Even the most uneducated person on the planet has seen lines of code while they use a computer – be it a bad HTML link or a javascript error that popped up during daily use.

This looks nothing like that. In fact, for those who remember it, it spoke far more to the scrolling green text made notorious during the Matrix movie franchise. But even then, there appeared to be no rhyme or reason to it.

The next slides progressed as the first, though a growing sense of unease had settled in the stomachs of everyone observing it. As eyes scanned the lines of unnatural text, that sense of unease would quickly blossom to full on nausea and a growing headache that seemed to begin from just behind the eyes to radiate outwards.

”We do not know much about the code you have discovered, my dear.” Sutherland said with a grimace, turning away from the code to look at her directly. ”It lies beneath everything. Each blade of grass. Each cloud in the sky. Each building, tree or car. The signal is stronger in some places. Weaker in others. Imperceptible…most of the time. But it is tied to the supernatural somehow. For example…” Sutherland pauses for a moment. ”The signal is much easier to receive and find in areas where there is a concentration of supernatural entities. As far as this mine outside town, that would be a good place to investigate. Carefully.”

When, at last, Rosa had shown the slides and moved on to the evidence, it was as if a breath of fresh air had ebbed into the room, taking the sickly feeling with it and leaving them all unbothered.

It was most disconcerting.

The first appeared to be autopsy photographs from the coroner’s office in New York. Perhaps from the early 70’s. Lots of the accompanying documents had been heavily redacted, but the images spoke volumes. They depicted a humanoid figure on the autopsy table, restrained by heavy leather straps and steel chains. What was most interesting is that the creature looked human – more or less – but feral and wild, with sunken cheeks and ribs protruding as if they had been starved. The incision in their abdomen was wide open, and the man in full surgical dress was holding what appeared to be an atrophied, dead heart in his gloved hands.

But the creature, though frozen in the photograph, was clearly awake and aware.

The code had led Rosa to this, buried deep in the dark web on a site devoted to stolen conspiracy-theory documents.

The other two bits of evidence Rosa had revealed were much the same, though not nearly as telling.

For example, a video once posted on YouTube – having been summarily removed – and now hidden away depicting a trio of youths taking a stupid video of themselves checking out some old standing stones in the forest. They found the carcasses of several dead animals in the center of a ring of these stones that appeared to have been mauled by a bear or something similar. As they approached, they began to hear the howling of wolves. Many wolves. And as the shaky camera footage revealed, they turned tail and fled quickly at the sound.

The last was a written report from a telecom maintenance technician who was busy fixing a signal receiver from an FM radio tower. Most of the information looked like numbers – though the perceptive could pick up things like decibels, hertz and other more common parlance. But the specific numbers were not at all normal.

After the evidence had been shown, the three hunters sat in silence for a moment.

”The first one? On the table. Had to have been a vampire. Maybe a ghoul.” Saleh said with a frown on her face. ”Some werewolves have been known to practice some strange predator-based faith as well, as far as the video is concerned. But I am not familiar with anything on the latter.”

[Bennosuke]

At the last statement about werewolves and vampires, Jeremy scoffs, "You have to be kidding me?" The statement is one that would only be appropriate if truly made under once breath, which of course this is not.

[Daishain]

Rosa shakes her head, "I wish I could say I was kidding. Well, its not proof, but they picked out the ones that are real as far as I can tell, so take that for what it's worth. What really worries me about the maybe vampires and werewolves is that information about both seems to be heavily protected. Based on what I've been able to find, near every single time evidence pointing to the existence of such things pops up, someone does a damn fine job of scrubbing it off the web. In some cases the person who posted it disappears too."

She turns to Sutherland, "As to digitizing your library, that shouldn't be too difficult, especially if the writing's legible enough for text recognition software to pick up. If we want it to be accessible anywhere though, the trick is going to be secure access. We just post the thing on a standard server accessible on the web, even one with a non standard address, and someone who we don't want to find the thing is going to find it within days at the most."

"Its less convenient, but it would be far safer to distribute copies, secure flash drives that people in the loop can plug into their own computers. Every once in a while distribute updates."

[Lokio]

Eva felt wretched looking at the code, and she let herself glance away. There was no sense in staring at it; nothing sensical could be seen and nothing sensible would come of puking her guts out in the lieu over it. The evidence photos and video were grisly and concerning as well, the words washing over her as she stared at them almost like she was seeing them through a dream. It was a lot. Nothing about this made any sense, and she found herself continually thinking about to the file, to the doctor, to Ascendyne. A conspiracy theory that wasn't one. Something tangible, a door they could kick in if they needed to.

Something she could try to take control of, here and now.

"It needs to be scrubbed. Controlled. The public obviously can't know about this. Think about the panic."

The constable sighed.

"Let's move on the Ascendyne thing. Eyes on the place. Photographs and cameras. Now, before they get their hooks in deeper. Maybe we can find a way to get a blueprint of the place, if needed? I don't know what we'll learn, but it seems a hell of a lot better to surveil them and know if they're coming than be blind."

[Shadowflick]

Driver winced at the sight of the code. It was almost staring directly at a bright light. Not the sun, more like a bright UV in your face. He could feel his eyes start to water looking at the code. He looks away, getting the message at this point. As the other pictures flashed Driver looked with interest. Scratching his chin at the odd sight of the corpse on the table...thought the video does vaguely remind him of something. He feels like he watched something about it on one of those top 10 found footage videos when he was bored in the car one day.

"Jeez, now I wonder if Santa Clause is real." Driver says with a chuckle "Still unbelievable to me that we have some real monsters running around the world. Though, it does give me confidence that they hide in the shadows. THey know well enough that humans working together might be able to beat them. Almost gives me some faith in humanity. Almost."

"Still, Cops right in the fact we should do something. Ascendyne is likely going to be a bit of a fortress if there hiding a secret like this...were going to need a key. Now, iI can think of two things to act as our key.


1. Find someone else who works for this company who is somewhat high ranking and put a gun to his head, or his family's head. Then have them lead us through, or take whats important from them.

2. Find a shipment of theres. Hijack it and drive on through. Course either way were going to need more then these handguns and a bloody sword to get in so...anyone know a smuggler to get us guns from the States? Or Am I going to have to do that myself?"

[Justanotherhero]

"Ok. This is a lot to take in."
Harvey looked around for help but realised people were most likely as confused as he was.
"" So am I supposed to eat garlic and drink holy water from now on?
Do we need alibis for the time in the Diner?
We will definitely need alibis for Ascendyne thing.""
Harvey realised this could be his breakthrough a real heist. With professionals and guns a plan and maybe some fake identities the possibilities...
""Would it be possible to break into some employee's house and steal his access key? Well, I just don`t know if we want the attention of shooting somebody?""
Harvey was not entirely sure he actually was ready for that kind of stuff.

[Daishain]

Rosa blinks and raises her hands, "Whoa guys, hold on, lets at least get a grip on things before we start going all Ocean's Eleven here, and especially before we start talking about smuggling guns or stuff along those lines. I'm way too pretty for jail."

"I suggest two things, one, lets prove to ourselves that this stuff is real. Documents, even video, are one thing, but everything I brought to show could've been faked. I'm pretty sure they haven't, but not entirely, and you guys only have my word on that. If this is real, I think we need to KNOW that its real. And I think that's going to require seeing it in person. Now, I don't think we ought to go out and practically invite a vampire to feed on us, but there ought to be something we can safely poke into, see with our own eyes. Maybe there are Brownies or something like those legends out there, little fey critters that might play tricks on us if we come a calling, but not leave us dead in a ditch if things go wrong. Any suggestions Mr Sutherland?"

"Secondly, for Ascendyne. We need information above all else. So, how about we start with sneaking a couple of hidden cameras to just outside the place, covering the entries. Fast forward through a couple of day's footage, and we should be able to put together a list of everyone and everything that regularly goes in and out. Miss... Eva? Should be able to help us put profiles together on the staff."

"From there, information security's my thing. I'm more often working to keep hackers out rather than the other way around, but its the same skillset. If they're even half as competent in that field as they should be, most of what we need to know about what's going on inside won't be accessible from offsite, but there is always something vulnerable. Chances are with a little work I can get into at least some of their email system, find out what they're talking to each other about."

[Bennosuke]

"Secondly, for Ascendyne. We need information above all else. So, how about we start with sneaking a couple of hidden cameras to just outside the place, covering the entries. Fast forward through a couple of day's footage, and we should be able to put together a list of everyone and everything that regularly goes in and out. Miss... Eva? Should be able to help us put profiles together on the staff."

"From there, information security's my thing. I'm more often working to keep hackers out rather than the other way around, but its the same skillset. If they're even half as competent in that field as they should be, most of what we need to know about what's going on inside won't be accessible from offsite, but there is always something vulnerable. Chances are with a little work I can get into at least some of their email system, find out what they're talking to each other about."

Jeremy chuckles as he looks around the room. "I hate to break it to you Rosa, but we aren't exactly a group of international spies here." He throws back his coffee, chugging the remainder till his mug is empty before grimacing at his burned tongue and says, "I mean, no offense but we're just ordinary Joes here."

[Erulasto]

Sutherland nods along with Rosa’s assessment on the prospects of creating a more digital information system for various Hunter cells to operate on. As she finished, he flashed her a pleasant smile.

”That would be wonderful. Time permitting of course. I would venture it is not permitting, at the present time.” He taps his good hand on the small desk in thought. ”For now.”

There was a murmur of assent among the three hunters at Eva’s recommendations, before Lee finally spoke.

”You’re right. Ascendyne themselves will move Heaven and Earth to keep this under wraps. I don’t know about finding blueprints. Maybe city hall? They usually keep building records, though it might be a longshot. Brighton House was entirely privately funded and I’d imagine some cash in the right pockets would keep too much information from being accessible to the public.”

The conversation lulls for a moment as everyone fell deep into thought. Could Ascendyne have paid off city officials to falsify building permits, among other things? It was, of course, entirely plausible. Driver himself would have had some experience with more clandestine groups keeping their paper trail clean. He knew Mr. Moon certainly had done it in the past.

Of course, the inevitable responses from Driver and Harvey warranted a bark of laughter from Lee.

”Santa isn’t real. I’ve heard some German folklore about something called Krampus might be, but that’s outside my personal area of expertise. And no, kid, garlic and holy water aren’t going to work. From what we do know, it takes an unusual amout of Faith to make the traditional religious trappings work. And all garlic will do is make you stink.”

Rosa’s suggestions brought a few nods from Saleh and Lee, and a mirthful chuckle from Sutherland at Jeremy’s assertion that they are simply regular joes.

”Indeed, indeed. You are not spies. But to call yourselves regular would be a great disservice. Regular folk do not have the ability to see what you have seen and walk away with your mind and soul intact. That alone, would make you special. But…” He pauses for a moment. ”That does not mean that precaution and preparation are not important.”

Sutherland sighed, and rubbed his hand across his chin thoughtfully.

”I know of two individuals who may be able to help you find the proof you so desperately seek.” Sutherland began. ”But I warn you that digging into the business of the supernatural often brings unforeseen consequences. For one, you would be making yourselves known to others. While not inherently a bad thing, I do suggest proceeding with caution.”

The Professor rose from the chair on unsteady feet, his advanced age showing now more than it did the night before. He shuffled across the room to one of the suitcases strewn about and after a moment, pulled a small notepad out. A pen was produced from his breast pocket, and he began scribbling on a spare page before tearing it out and handing it to Rosa. It contained an address located in the Kitsumkalum First Nations reserve, north of Terrace.

”The safest bet would be a Kaigani Haida medicine woman I’ve known for many years. She lives up North on the reserve. Her name is Glena Cardinal.” Sutherland smiled at some memory for a moment, before beginning to scribble again. ”Glena would be easy enough to speak with, though a group of Wasi’chu stumbling through the Reserve might draw some attention.”

Sutherland handed them the second piece of paper. It contained a name, and a phone number.

”This one requires a bit more caution.” Sutherland explained. ”Petra is…fickle.”

”Oh, Professor! No…” Saleh exclaimed with a profound look of horror on her face. “Why would you send them to Petra?!”

The Professor raised a calming hand to his Syrian companion and shook his head gently.

”Seeing is believing, Saleh. You know this. And there are few who could provide a more visceral impression than she.” Sutherland turned his gaze back to the others. ”If you do opt to call Petra, I would strongly advise that you all offer to buy her a drink. She will, of course, only drink if you drink. So long as the wine keeps flowing, so will her tongue keep wagging.”



Please check the OOC thread.

[Daishain]

Rosa looks uncertain, "What exactly is the risk with this Petra? are we talking a a relatively friendly werewolf that might decide to not be so friendly?"

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey looks around nervously: "Can I take a look at that book?" Pointing at the old tome.

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy throws up his hands in defeat. He wasn't convinced, but the others were already going for the Professor's story and there wasn't much point in protesting. With half-hearted enthusiasm, Jeremy says, "I'm okay with it. No werewolf is going to drink me under the table."

[Erulasto]

”Fortunately, Petra is not a werewolf. I would not risk your lives so callously by asking you to meet with one, and proceed to intoxicate them.” Sutherland laughed mirthfully, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

”No, no. Petra is one of the Lost, as they call themselves. From the little I understand, she was taken by fairies as a child and she changed by her exposure to the magic of the Fair folk. And she is not physically dangerous. But those touched by the Wyrdling world are…tempermental and capricious, and while Petra is not a monster per say…she can still draw on the magic of the Fey. Just…tread lightly.” Sutherland said in an even, yet cautious tone.

The professor nodded to Lee, who fetched the large old tome from the suitcase and handed it to Driver.

”Of course, son. Be careful. It is quite old.”

The cover was plain, if faded, brown leather wrapped around what felt like wooden planks for covers. The corners were capped in rusted iron to protect them, but despite this there were many scratches and small tears on the leather covering.

Inside, the book was filled with thick pages. Harvey couldn’t readily identify what they were made of – but he was sure it certainly wasn’t normal paper.

But what was most unusual is that the small hand-drawn pictures and hand-written text were as close to hieroglyphs as he’d ever seen in day-to-day life. But still, they weren’t anything like what he’d learned about in school. But something about the flowing script looked…strangely familiar to the young man.

Like he could almost sound out the words, even if he didn’t know the meaning.

”It is written in Aramaic.” Sutherland said, as if sensing Harvey’s confusion. ”It was a Syrian dialect from the sixth century…BC, of course. It was supplanted by Arabic in the seventh century AD.”

[Daishain]

Rosa blinks at the writing in the book, "Um, I do hope you have a version in English? I know of some decent translator programs, but none for something like that. That's an abjad language right? Where its all consonants, no vowels? People still argue about how to translate the Hebrew text in the old testament after millennia of study, I don't want to know about the squabbles over something like it, but even older."

Turning to Jeremy she says, "So, how about it old man, shall we go see this Petra? Look at it this way, we all saw something ****ed up last night. Maybe it was all in our heads, maybe not. That latter doesn't seem likely, but we're never going to be sure either way unless we check things out a bit. So maybe we see a bit of faerie magic, maybe we go and find a charlatan. Either one would help settle the question right?"

[Shadowflick]

Moving from one job to another. This was very much the opposite of laying low, but boredom can be as bad as insanity at times. Hearing of an honest to god Witch inrigued Driver, just a bit."A witch then? What she can turn people into toads? Lives in a gingerbread house?"

He chuckles at his own joke "I'll pass on that. I'll stay here and try my best to see what Ascendyne is about. Check some records, maybe start a bit of a stakeout to see who goes in and out of the facility. Might follow a few of them home even..."

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy's scowl turns to a grin, his headache finally starting to subside. He says to Rosa, "Fine, as long as you're buying." He gives the young woman a grin as he rises to properly put away his empty coffee mug, adding in lighthearted defiance, "Not that I believe in any of this still."

[Justanotherhero]

Harvey takes a long close look at this old tome and realises he can not read anything.
Still he turns some of the pages slowly to simply look at what for him are pretty pictures. While he starts gazing off.

[Erulasto]

”Unfortunately, no. We are rather short on translations at the moment.” Sutherland chuckled. ”I am fluent in a few old languages, but Aramaic is past my area of expertise. But you have the general understanding of the complexities of the language, at least. It is somewhere to begin.”

The discussion as to the direction they will progress in takes over, while Sutherland watches them with a bemused – and pleased – expression. He had been worried about whether they would accept this news – and while it seemed there were still understandable concerns, the fact they were willing to challenge their perceptions was a good sign.

”As for Petra turning people into toads, I have never seen her do something as overt as that. Nor does she live in a gingerbread house. Her magic is more emotionally-driven. She can bend minds and incite madness with a smoldering glance.”

Meanwhile, Harvey let his eyes wander across the ancient text in the book. Something was hidden beneath the words. Some power. He could feel it tugging at his mind in a not-unpleasant way. Like he had seen it before, somehow.

As he slowly thumbed through the pages, he felt his mind begin to slip away as if entering a waking dream. Images had begun flashing in his mind, scenes from a lifetime ago, though he had never lived them. It was so hard to make anything specific out. It was too quixotic.

Maybe…just maybe…if he could focus more….

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy shrugs at Driver's reply, and practically ignores the Professor, asking the group, "Well does anyone else want to come then?"

[Shadowflick]

Driver raises a brow at the professor's reply "Oh, so she can control minds? Fun." he says flatly. "Either way I've had my fill in with the supernatural, so I'll stick to fighting the real monsters. Capitalists. Doctor, do you know of anything that can help fight against the Filth besides shooting it several times in the face? Salt? Silver maybe? Trying to get a shopping list together."

[Erulasto]

The words on the page, despite the strange call that Harvey felt, swirled in his mind’s eye but became no clearer. There was something hidden just below the surface, but whatever it was it eluded the young man.

Perhaps his mind had not opened fully to accept what he had seen and heard in the past day to truly comprehend?

”Well…against Petra and her kind, cold-forged iron is the best defense.” Sutherland began, ”But the Filth is much trickier. Salt does nothing. Silver…with a high mineral content…helps. It hurts the Filth, but not on its own. It needs to be blessed. Doesn’t matter by whom, or what Faith. Sterling silver is about ninety-two percept silver. The rest is usually copper. I would suggest trying to find something a bit purer than that.”

Sutherland began to rummage through one of his bags, and pulled out a small velvet and dumped its contents into his palm. There were honest-to-goodness silver bullets. A half-dozen of them. It looked, at first glance, to be forty-five caliber.

”Here you go, son.” Sutherland said as he offered them to Driver. ”This is all I have left at the moment. I would suspect you will need them more than I.”

”It sounds like you have a workable plan, at the moment.” Sutherland said, ”Is there anything else we can assist with before you begin?”



So if I’m correct, Rosa and Jeremy are going to see Petra.

Driver, Eva and Harvey are going to look into Brighton House/Ascendyne and get some things together? Blueprints, and a shopping list of supplies?

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy shrugs and with a grin says, "Let me just get one more cup of coffee, then I'll be good." He gets a new cup, practically chugging it black despite the heat and bitterness. Putting the empty cup down he says, "Okay, now there is nothing else you can assist me with. Shall we go?"

[Daishain]

Rosa shrugs, "I think so. Lets go meet this Petra. Believe it or not, I used to like the idea of getting taken off by the fey when I was a little girl. Getting to go running off in the forest while my parents had to deal with some trickster of a changeling that took my place." She grins.

Pausing at the door, she turns back and quickly checks something on her phone before writing a model number down on a scrap of paper. She hands it off to Mr Sutherland, "Most of the initial work in digitizing a library just takes a good scanner and enough patience to keep scanning. That's the best designed scanner I know of, not least because it keeps the pages flat, isn't bothered by inconsistent lighting, and is easy on the books, especially older ones. If it is too expensive for your budget, there are cheaper models, though they tend to come with drawbacks, so use your discretion."

"If you can get each book scanned into a separate PDF file, and I can walk you or someone else through that part of the process, I can get most of the rest done whether or not I ever find the time to get out to your library. The ones in Aramaic and similar stuff we'll probably have to leave as they are, but for the ones with recognizable english or other modern languages text recognition can grab the information and sort it into a searchable database. Think something like an offline version of wikipedia, but for whatever topics the books cover. I will need to work with you guys for some of the context on that. If I don't know what a book is talking about I can't reference it properly. Just, ah, don't expect this to get done tomorrow, if that library's as large as you're suggesting it is this project could easily take months, even a year or two." That done, if none else bring anything up, she'll head out the door.

[Shadowflick]

Driver nods, standing up and rolling his shoulders. He takes the silver bullets, feeling the weighty metal in his hand "Custom made? Hmm. Ought to give me the number of who made these. Six shots are better than nothing." Driver tucks the bullets away into his back pocket "I'll split them with the cop latter. First though, I say checking the library for information might be a good idea. that and the internet maybe. If anyone knows where I could find a camera with a good zoom I would be grateful. I'd like to try and take a few photo's of the Ascydene building as well as a few of the vehicles that make their way in and out of the facility."

[Justanotherhero]

Okay, I like the idea of getting some more information before we head in there so lets check what do these guys actually make and sell ? Where is the company located? I can do the search engine research if you guys don`t mind?

[Erulasto]

After departing the hotel, Rosa and Jeremy shuffled off to the parking lot and stood near their cars. The piece of paper that contained Petra’s phone number was hot in their hands, as if daring them to pick up the phone and make the call.

Whomever this Petra was in truth, the warning to get her drinking wasn’t lost to the two. A few pubs immediately came to mind; mostly ones that they’d driven past in their comings and goings.

One, an Irish pub called Finn McCool’s seemed like it would be the best bet. It was quiet, and business wasn’t going so well – so it was more likely that they’d be untroubled there if they set to drinking with Petra.



Lee had given Driver a contact number for a guy who was identified simply as Joe on his phone. It was the guy who did the custom bullets for them. He wasn’t local. Based out of Surrey to the South near Vancouver, it was most likely that he’d have to ship any custom work Driver wanted. But at least he was able to do so.

Driver and Harvey made their way out of the hotel, the address and contact information for both the Ascendyne Health and Wellness corporate office for their Western Division in Victoria, and the actual physical address for the Brighton House that was the subject of such horrific speculation.

Harvey knew where the library was, having lived in Terrace for many a year, and knew that the library also held a bank of computers for public access. Might be the easiest way to look up anything on Google that Harvey wanted. But it was also substantially public and open to just about everyone.

[Bennosuke]

Jeremy passes the number to Rosa, saying, "You go ahead and make the call. I'm not exactly known for my uh silver tongue, if you know what I mean."

[Shadowflick]

Driver parks his car in the Library's parking lot "Right. I'm going to leave you here for now. Go in, research Brighton house and all of that other fishy nonsense, but try not to be too obvious about it. I suggest using newspapers and any records they might have. If you use the internet, someone might find out what your doing. I'm going to head to the convenience store and try and get myself a cheap video camera so I can try and get some useful pictures of the places. Might need to get an Uber though...don't want them to notice a suspicious vehicle driving past....Unless I can get a high zoom camera..."

[Daishain]

"Yeah sure, long as you hold up at the table, I'm no heavyweight when it comes to drinking."

Rosa takes the phone number and starts dialing. When the line connects, she says, "Hey, uh. Hi, we have a mutual friend. A Mr Sutherland? He gave us your number and said we ought to chat. Would you be willing to meet us at Finn Mccool's, or perhaps somewhere else?"

[Justanotherhero]

Okay. I am not particular good at this but let`s give it a try.
Harvey nods and leaves towards the library to begin the research.