| Something Wicked in Mikshol Arba; [M] Lo-Sheol | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 10 2015, 09:36 PM (186 Views) | |
| Teah | Sep 10 2015, 09:36 PM Post #1 |
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Mikshol Arba, the area that was more or less the center of the island body that was the 'habitable' portion of Lo-Sheol. While the island itself was not technically Lo-Sheol, nor was the ruined city, Lo-Sheol was still the name that most thought to call them. The Mikshol Arba area, though, was a crossing of two major roads that brought together four major areas. On the North-East square mile plot was an old Railroad Station and Clocktower, their architecture resembling early 1900's make. Despite it being a ruin, it is in surprisingly good repair. It might have something to do with a barrier that occasionally flickers over the area, evidently meant to protect the station and clocktower from external attack. The barrier does give some peace of mind to those who find refuge within, but to get caught on the perimeter of the barrier when it flickers is to risk the barrier separating one's body across the plane of intersection. The clock in the tower occasionally ticks, but none of the gears or hands ever move. At the North-West was a roughly square mile block that contained a hospital resembling early 1900's architecture, very much run down and easily described as 'haunted.' The main hospital building was accompanied by smaller buildings on the premises of the property, including wards attached by enclosed ground-level walkways. An external quarantine ward, asylum ward, and administrative building were the most obvious. A children's ward and ruins of a playground exist, but are more in the center of the campus and harder to identify from without. The South-West block is the site of a church, more a cathedral. Above ground, the church dominated the views from the streets, but large wings of cemeteries filled the remainder of the square mile plot a short distance from the cathedral. Beneath ground the basement of the church has passages that lead to cloisters, and beyond and beneath are networks of catacombs. South-East is the Police Headquarters, City Hall of Justice, and a small Prison. While the City Hall of Justice is in remarkably decent state, the Police Headquarters is in rough shape. The ruins of the prison are mostly reduced to rubble and bent metal bars. There are dungeons beneath the ruins of what was the prison, but they are supposedly haunted. These four plots, each roughly a square mile each, separated by a crossing of major roads, are Mikshol Arba. The Four Blocks. The core of the Ruins area. Four cloaked figures walked the road leading East to West, headed West. The apparent leader of the group held up his hand and clenched it to a fist when the were drawing near to the hospital campus, indicating for the group to stop. A long minute passed, the group remaining still, before he finally turned to address those with him. "This is it. The rumor is that there is a stash of food, real food, somewhere in the hospital. This hospital." A tattered brown cape and hood obscured much of his body, and his face was wrapped in brown rags and circular lens goggles. His race, age, identity all obscured. His voice, though was thick and rasped like a middle aged man in need of a good stiff drink and a smoke. Beneath the cloak, a dagger on one hip and a pistol on the other pressed against the fabric. "You can count on me to root it out, if it exists." A woman, dressed in scuffed leather from head to toe, boots, pants, vest, and hooded duster coat, stepped forward. The pair of cross axes strapped to her back were still crusted in red from the last fight on the way here. "But I don't know about our medic." She glared over to the other woman in the group. A tattered white linen dress, stained and ruined, covered whatever the woman was wearing beneath it pretty well, though boots and black pants were somewhat visible. She clung to a length of white cloth wrapped around her upper body, over her head, and around her face. Pulling the stained and worn white fabric more tightly around herself, she didn't speak at first. "She fixed my leg, where that wolf-man got me good." The other male of the group, a slim man wearing little more than shoes and torn jeans reduced to shorts interjected. His brown eyes and dirty brown hair were not as dull as his dirty tan skin covered in scars. "And since she uses some sort of healing magic rather than medicine, wouldn't it make more sense to call her our healer of the group?" The metal rings on his fingers and wrappings around his hands and wrists seemed to indicate he was the martial artist of the group. "I still say I don't like her." The Tracker snorted, kicking a bit of dust the way of the Healer. Leader clicked his tongue under his face-wrappings. "If she betrays us, she will die. Right, Tracker?" He turned back toward the Hospital campus. "For now, she is worth more to us alive." "Especially if she can help keep us alive, right Leader?" Brawler grinned, swiping a finger under his nostrils. "At least she doesn't stink as bad as the last Medic." "Shut it. Time to get to work." Leader lifted his hand, open palm out, then turned the palm to face sideways, and dropped his hand, motioning them to go forward. Leader and Tracker in step, Healer followed close behind, with Brawler keeping an eye on the rear. Edited by Teah, Sep 13 2015, 08:49 AM.
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| Maggy | Sep 11 2015, 09:59 AM Post #2 |
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Deep in the recesses of the hospital, atop a bed of discarded rags and articles dropped haphazardly about what once was the operating theater, lay a jumbled pile of bony skin, cloth and hair. Rats darted about the room, a few even dared to stop and lick at exposed pustules that covered the thing that laid there. For the longest time it had remained still, but now the bundle stirred, aroused by the presence of fresh meat. Although she couldn't see them, Maggy could feel the intruders through her connection to her Sanctuary, crossing the threshold into her domain. Four of them, a larger group by any measure, foolish enough to tread upon her territory for reasons unknown. Four more poor dumb bastards, whose minds would end up as food for hers. She never knew why they kept coming - sometimes she heard mutterings about food or supplies from those who were on their last - but then again, she never cared to question her Patrons about it. Just one of those things, she figured. But four was a large group, so many minds to afflict with so many different visions. Splitting them up would be easiest - one by one if she could, but two by two if it came to that. Rising from her nest upon four spindly limbs (four, four, four, so many tonight!!), Maggy skittered across the floor and up the rope that lead to the pipes overhead, her lifeline to the rest of the hospital that she could access. She made little noise as she moved, taking her time to track down the intruders. Her hands clung to the ceiling, leaving a trail of black hand prints hidden behind a mess of low-hanging pipes - she dared not touch them, lest the vibrations of her touch echo throughout the building, but they made an excellent hiding spot. Almost no one looked up, and even if they did the shadows and poor lighting made it difficult to see anything. Below her passed one of the latest victims in his dying gasps, as his body slowly expired without him even realizing it. When she first began stealing the memories and selves of others, there was a twinge of pity for them; over time, that small bit of humanity had eroded, replaced by a simple, base hunger that never seemed to be silenced. Now, after several close calls and enough experience, she merely found it amusing to watch them grope about dumbly, reassured that they would likely have done much worse to her than she did to them. Finding the group was hardly complicated. Maggy stopped mid-stride when she could hear footsteps, and detached her hands from the ceiling, twisting her upper body almost completely around to carefully grasp the pipes below her before the rest of her body followed suit, carefully steadying herself atop the disused lines as she listened. The pipes were her highway, her method of staying out of sight while being able to see everything around her; they ran all around the building, although some places had fallen into worse disuse than others, and after some minor modifications they were very useful for hiding in and around when the need arose. Sound was her primary means of hunting, until she could see her prey. Humans were always so loud when they moved. It took very special training and thinking to learn how to move quietly; most simply stomped about as they pleased, unaware of how noisy they were. Maggy could hear them, at least one room away, maybe two if they were being extra noisy. While not quite in earshot yet, she could hear faint footfalls, as well as the creaking of a door - probably the front. Wary of her own movements, she settled down in the darkness behind a flickering florescent light. If they came this way, she would see them easily; if not, she would follow and track them for a while, waiting for the perfect moment to have her fun with them. The tension was palpable, but Maggy would wait. She was good at waiting - even They said so, the Silence that spoke to her in her dreams, the ones that had granted her these "gifts". Straightening out and tucking in the loose ends of her crude skirt attached to a straitjacket she had found, Maggy settled in, ignoring the invisible Hunger that ate at her belly as she prepared to wait. |
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| Teah | Sep 11 2015, 11:26 PM Post #3 |
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Stopping near the front entrance, Leader seemed hesitant. Tracker took up position at the other side of the door and waited. Healer stood in front of the entrance, hands still clenched and wrapped in the cloth hooding her head and veiling her face. Brawler, obviously not the patient type, strode right up and kicked the door across the handle. The latch rattled and the door swung open with groaning hinges. Lifting his hands as Leader and Tracker stared at him, Brawler snorted. "You know I don't like all this tension. Let's just find it or fight something, already." Leader shook his head and exhaled in disgust. Tracker rolled her eyes and grinned. Healer lowered her head further and cringed away from Brawler. Tracker followed Brawler in, Leader pushing Healer to follow so he could take up the rear. The front lobby was a mess, which was not unusual for buildings in Lo-Sheol. Tracker looked around a bit with a look of disinterest, before quickly coming to the conclusion, "Nothing to see here." "Lets go deeper in. Maybe check out the cafeteria?" Brawler sauntered past some broken doors and went down into the hallway. A fluorescent light flickered, and he squinted against the light. "Huh. This place has electricity. No need to use those magelights of yours then, huh Tracker?" "Shut up, Brawler." Tracker drew one of her axes and whispered into her free hand. A small globe of white light flickered and formed in her palm. Lifting her hand and snapping, the globe left her palm and hovered over her shoulder, casting a magical torchlight around her. Brawler still at point with Tracker close behind, Healer lagged a distance back. Leader took the crook of her arm in his hand roughly and hurried her along. |
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| Maggy | Sep 12 2015, 08:01 AM Post #4 |
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It wasn't long before Maggy could catch a glimpse of them; one that was the typical "high on muscle, short on brains" type, and had been the offender who'd broken her front door, another with some sort of witchery in hand along with a pair of wicked-looking weapons, and a third that seemed to be the director of this troop. The fourth, though, caught her interest most; something about the way it moved told Maggy that it was different than the rest. More tasty, perhaps. The sticky pitch-like substance peeled from her hands as she carefully trailed the group, disintegrating before it even hit the ground, leaving little in the way of a trail except maybe some extra dust. Irritatingly, the group was moving in the opposite direction from Maggy, and there was a gap where the pipes had rusted or fallen away some time ago in the entrance. Rather than risking a double-back and losing sight of her prey, she instead carefully slid off the pipe and to the ground; it was a dangerous move, but there was enough cover to hide herself in or behind, and it was better than losing sight of her hunt. Bare soles hit the broken tile below, causing a soft crunch as Maggy landed on the balls of her feet. She never understood why the black stuff coiled around her feet, but never questioned why; it protected them from common threats, and without it her feet would have been torn to pieces just walking around the dilapidated building she called home. Relaxing as she assured herself that her fall hadn't been noticed, she shuffled closer to the door the group had gone through. Mentally listing off how many ways she would make that loud bastard pay for ruining her entryway, Maggy peered around the corner momentarily, heart thumping as adrenaline began to make her skin itch in anticipation. Someone near the front was using witchlight to illuminate the area, which could be a problem. The rest seemed simple enough; all Maggy had to do was give them a reason to split up. And she had several ideas. An abrupt, blood-curdling scream would break the relative silence for several seconds, apparently coming from deep within the complex. Moments before, the lights near the group began to act weirdly, subtle changes in color and alternating intensity causing shadows to cast abnormally about the walls around them; only the acute among them would notice that it was only the overhead lights that were affected. Another noise, something like loud machinery, slowly started up from the other direction, closer but locked behind a door that was stiffly barred and, surprisingly, still looked rather solid as well. Several rats scurried by, spooked by the display, running blindly towards the entrance, right past where Maggy was. She barely made note of them, her eyes rolled back in her head as she pressed to the wall, working her twisted magic. It would take time and effort to drive the loosely knit group apart; if her current act didn't do it, she had other traps and trips she could spring. All she needed was time, which she had aplenty. Her imagination and powers would do the rest. |
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| Teah | Sep 12 2015, 12:52 PM Post #5 |
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The scream made the group stop short. Brawler's skin visibly paled a shade and his muscles tightened in rigidity. The machinery noises were of more interest to Tracker, who went toward the noises as if too curious to stop herself. Brawler's back still turned to Healer and Leader, Tracker was headed back, about to pass them. Leader released Healer, pushing her toward Brawler and took hold of Tracker's arms with both hands. Shaking her violently, he hissed. "Snap out of it, Clara! Did you notice how the lights in the building changed, but yours didn't? There is some sort of sorcery going on here." Eyes dull, Tracker lulled her gaze to meet the goggles of Leader. Her voice lacked the fire it had before. "Don't try to be a psychic, Daniel. You've rejected those abilities till now." Slowly turning her face away from him, "Mika is there." He shook her harder now, Tracker sharply inhaling at the pain from the rough treatment. "Mika is dead, Clara. Our child died many deaths ago, before we arrived in Lo-Sheol." His voice wasn't a hiss anymore. It was loud and full of regret. Brawler and Healer both had turned to look at the couple. Brawler's face was twisted with feeling and his body posture showed how awkwardly he took this exchange. Healer's eyes were down, her arms wrapped around herself. Lips moving silently in prayer. "We came back, and died again." Tracker's axe dropped from her grip and clanged on the floor. "What if Mika came back and has died over and over without us?" Lifting both her hands, she shoved Leader hard enough to knock him off and fall back against the wall. Eyes filling with tears, she began charging energy into her hand that took on an amber glow. "Mika needs me! Mommy is coming, Mika." Snapping her fingers, the energy flowed down around her calves and ankles. With added speed, she sprinted down the hallway, back the way they came, toward the sound of the machinery. The dropped one of her two axes was left forgotten. |
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| Maggy | Sep 12 2015, 06:00 PM Post #6 |
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Maggy was silently shocked upon hearing the confessions and wailing of the stoic woman. It usually took a while to wear down these rougher types, but this one did all of the work for her; this was almost too easy! She resisted the urge to giggle - she could do so to her heart's content later, although a small whispered snicker got through - and changed her plans. There were other ideas she had for those in the wing, but for now she took the bait given, making her way closer to the room while staying out of sight as she began conjuring up a true nightmare for her uninvited guest. The door appeared, as mentioned, quite sturdy and well-barred. Not with a padlock or simple iron bar, but in a number of ways; Nothing that a desperate mother-has-been wouldn't have her way with in a few minute's time, though. But that time was necessary for setting up the next part, as it gave time for the illusion to congeal. A loud whimper broke the silence, and the grinding sound got louder. Once the woman broke through, she would encounter something out of her darkest nightmares. There was blood on the floor grates, which rattled with the press of the machine beyond them. Said monstrosity was some sort of generator, possibly something straight out of the early 20th century, with large meshing wheels and a thunderous humming. And trapped within it was a small slip of a child. It was difficult to make out, but from the pitch of the noise it made, it seemed to be a girl. One of her arms was stuck elbow-deep in a press of the gears, which even now ground in abject protest, sucking the child another finger's length further into itself. Breathlessly the child screamed in insurmountable pain, but there was little to do to save her. The world would seem to slow as she would no doubt try to reach the distressed girl, as her arm slipped another inch into the machine. Even with her powers the distance between her and Clara seemed too great to be of much use. Despite being able to see her clearly, attempting to run to the girl's rescue would feel like it took much longer than it should have. Strangely, even if they caught up to her and saw inside the room before the door slammed shut, the others would not see much inside; just a blank (if very dirty) wall at the opposite side of the room, with the woman at about the midpoint left in a trance-like state. In truth, the door was merely part of a physical trap, springing if anyone were foolish enough to wander in and slip the rusted tripwire out of place, yanking the doorstop out with little effort. The door itself was a hearty steel security door solidly attached to its frame that began in a propped-open state, and would close only when the trip was activated, a push-bar on the other side clicking into place once it shut to bar access to interlopers. In the darkness above the door was a small space along with pipes, barely big enough for a skinny human to get through. It was one of Maggy's favorite trap rooms - so simple yet so effective for cutting off individuals or small groups that wandered through. Once the door was properly locked from the other side, nothing short of a bulldozer would break it down. As she worked on the one woman, her other trap continued. The rest of the group would hear more screams from within the hospital complex, aiming to unnerve and perhaps even separate the group further as they meandered between brash action and languid indecision. |
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| Teah | Sep 13 2015, 12:46 AM Post #7 |
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Tracker reached the door and clawed at its machinations barring her from the other side. She struggled against a padlock for a moment, the flesh on her pointing finger slicing open at the effort. Clenching a fist, she slammed it against the metal door with a thud of frustration. Drawing her remaining hand axe with her free hand, she took a step back and brought it down on the lock multiple times. When it finally gave, she tossed her axe away and shoved the door open to give her access. The sight that met her on the other side made her breath stop. Mika was trapped in a machine, getting pulled into the gears. Words failed her. Tears stung her inflamed eyes and scalded pink streaks down her face and neck. Breath wracked through her in convulsing shakes, when it came at all. Her wretched heart throbbed so hard it felt as if her ribs would be shattered by the percussion. Running to save her baby seemed to last... forever... ...like a moment frozen in time it persisted. Running. Her child's pain all she could see, but she never seemed to reach her child. Her instincts carried her toward the place of action, but the place of action couldn't be reached. Brawler went to Leader's side, crouching beside the fallen man. "I-uh didn't know you and Tracker had been together since before-" Leader kicked Brawler in the front of his bent knee, sending Brawler sprawling back. While Brawler fell back on his back and stayed there a moment, stunned, Leader climbed up and went toward Healer. "We are staying together. We will retrieve Tracker." Taking hold of Healer's hand, he pulled her with him as he went toward Brawler. Just as Brawler was getting himself up, Leader took him by the wrist. "Someone is trying to separate us, and Tracker fell into their hands. Mika isn't here." Pulling them along, Leader continued talking. "Call it her neurosis. Her crazy that has developed. Every so often she snaps, and is convinced Mika is somewhere and needs her." Rasping over a knot in his throat, he admitted, "It usually gets her killed." Brawler stuttered, "I-I didn't k-k-know, man." When they reached the door, it was closed tight. Tracker's hand axe was near the door, so it seemed to indicate she was within. There were screams elsewhere in the facility, but Leader seemed completely transfixed by the door ahead of him and no other directions. As he released Healer's hand and Brawler's wrist, he warned, "Don't separate. Or it will get you too." Moving to the door, he beat on it with his hands several times. Pressing his forehead against the door, he spoke through the solid metal. "Clara. You are in there, aren't you? I'm sorry, Clara." Forehead still resting against the door, he banged on it a few more times, then gave it a hard kick. "Brawler?" Taking a step back, body posture making him look defeated, Leader looked to Brawler. "You can't do anything about this door?" Brawler gave him a sad look, but approached the door anyway. Shoving the door, it didn't budge but he pushed back. A hard flat-foot-to-door kick pushed him further back, without even denting the door. He felt the frame, but there were no hinges on this side to focus attack or faults in the door frame. Next he tried tapping on the wall on either side of the door to feel for weak spots. He didn't identify any. "Sorry, Leader. I don't think I can even bust through the walls. It is solid as a safe." The men looked to each other. Leader looked back to the door and Brawler looked down, backing away and scratching the back of his head. "Should we try finding the room above it? Maybe break down through the floor, to her ceiling?" The suggestion came from Healer, who was looking into the darkness for a door. "We need to find a stairwell." Leader, at least, seemed encouraged. Moving to pick up Clara's hand axe, he took it in hand. "She will want this, when we get her out. After she is safe, we can go back for the other one." Brawler fidgeted. "We are going deeper into this freaky place?" Leader made a fist with his free hand and lunged in, punching Brawler right in the pectoral. "Yes, you meat head! Man up! Stick together!" Brawler grimaced from the impact, but seemed to focus on the pain and draw strength form it. Muscles flexing and going more rigid, he nodded. Shaking out his punching hand, Leader moved next to Healer. "It is darker without Tracker's magelights, so hold hands or something till we have a reliable light source. I don't want to waste my three flares unless it becomes necessary." Taking Healer's hand in his free one, she did the same to take Brawler's hand in her other. Leader, hand axe before him, took point. Edited by Teah, Sep 13 2015, 01:10 AM.
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| Maggy | Sep 13 2015, 04:37 AM Post #8 |
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Maggy knew that one of them was now lost. She didn't have to see it; her lifeline to this accursed place told her it was so as she completed the illusion, not sparing one detail as the ghost-child was sucked into the machine, violently threshed into the generator in a mist of blood and gore that would ebb away into nothing once Clara's mind was shattered and utterly defeated. But her concern now was the last remaining threesome, whom seemed to be heading deeper within. Perhaps she'd found the only easy prey she would have tonight, and the rest would be more difficult to crack. Despite her urgent Hunger, little miss Clara was defanged and likely asleep by now. Might as well see to the rest of these pests. Shifting her focus, she once again followed the group, staying out of sight and mind, but within range of her powers. Within her Sanctuary she was stronger, but not so strong as to have absolute control within; she still had to be inside a certain perimeter, as she'd learned the hard way when she was first experimenting. Especially with a place of this size. Still, the group would be finished long before they reached their weakest member, so there was some solstice in that. Curiosity did get the better of Maggy, though, and she examined the weapon dropped by the bloodhound. To her it was heavy, hardly something she would burden herself with, but it might make a nice trophy to drag to her inner sanctum. Speaking of which, the direction they were heading would lead them there if they continued; that was not something Maggy could have them finding. She needed another distraction. As they headed deeper, a new sound presented itself; beginning as a whispered scuffling, it soon grew into a low buzz of activity. At this point the group comes to a crossing; a wilted and awkwardly hanging sign indicates that one route leads towards the ER, while the other way wanders towards the children's ward. A choice has to be made, although there wasn't much of one to make; if the place was haunted, the latter was likely a worse spot to be than the former. Besides that, the path to the ER was better lit than the way towards the kid's wing. On down the trail, the buzzing slowly built to a muffled chattering as the group nears this double door to what had been the ER area. While there are small windows on each door, they're fogged over with age and grime on both sides, and it is impossible to tell what is on the other side without opening one of them. Upon pushing open a door heading into the ER, the group would be met by what appeared to be nothing short of a rat stampede, which someone (or something) had terrified and whipped into a berserker fury. If the door was not immediately slammed shut, that mob would catch up to them, and they would feel - and even smell - the rodent wall would wash over them, biting and clawing at their skin as they desperately tried to get past, leaving all too real wounds. Attempting to wade through the rodents is likewise a losing proposition, as they wrap around and into clothing, chewing and clawing through anything in their path as they panic. Even if they're quick enough, "holding" the door would be a difficult task in its own right, like holding back an oceanic tide. With just the three of them, the doors won't hold for more than a few precious moments. Edited by Maggy, Sep 13 2015, 01:39 PM.
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| Teah | Sep 13 2015, 09:47 AM Post #9 |
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Leader stopped short, pausing for a long moment. As the moment stretched, Healer drew closer and spoke over his shoulder in a quiet voice. "Is everything alright?" Leader didn't react, remaining still. A scuffling and whispering filled the air. Leader finally snapped out of whatever was on his mind. "There is a sign just ahead." His voice was thick, as if he was crying under his wraps and goggles. His gloved hand squeezed Healer's tighter as he pulled the group forward. Reaching a crossing, the group stopped again. Leader pressed the hand-axe in his forward facing hand into his belt, the handle pinched between the belt and his curve of his outward hip. His hand wandering further back beneath his cloak, past his buttock, he withdrew a cylinder that was strapped with two others at the small of his back. His hand that held Healer's guided her hand to take hold of his cloak. "Don't let go. I will light this." Healer silently nodded. Using the striker in the cap, Leader lit the flare, producing a red-orange light. By that torchlight, the wilted and awkwardly hung sign could be read. "ER or Children's ward?" By his body language, Leader did not seem to want to go to the Children's Ward. What he didn't reveal to his companions was that he had felt a disturbance between him and his past wife. She was already lost, if not physically dead then mentally lost. Death and rebirth was probably the only way to get her back now. When they found her, he would need to be the one to finish her off himself. Then a search to find her anew would need to begin. Brawler's skin crawled. "ER." While Brawler liked to seem the manly man, probably a driving factor why he had pushed himself to bulk up in muscle mass in his first life, his emotional fortitude was admittedly weak. He had just been assaulted by the learning that Leader and Tracker had been married, had a kid, and the kid had died. He didn't want to deal with dead brats again this week, if he could help it. He didn't know what the E and the R stood for, but it didn't sound nearly so bad. "I sense a lot of life energy in the ER direction." Healer's comment earned looks from both Leader and Brawler. Behind her obscure cowled face, she offered no explanation. She could indeed sense life, and it seemed like it was enough to cover a room. A standing gathering of people, perhaps? Leader took her hand again, and they went in the direction of the ER. As they neared doors, Healer stopped. It wasn't right, the lifeforce she sensed, could practically see like heat signatures through the doors and walls, was on the ground and seemed to swarm. "I don't want to go in there." Brawler was the first to respond, and he did so irritably. "You just said that you sensed life in here. Might be someone itching to get their skull cracked or someone that needs help, and will pay rations for a rescue. Either way, can't be worse than what's back there!" Tossing her hand away, Brawler approached the door. "Wait a-Brawler!" Leader reached out to stop Brawler, Healer taking several steps back. The din of noise muffled through the door became louder as Brawler pushed the door open with his hand. Something writhed in the darkness, making the floor move. There was added resistance in the door, as if something had to be pushed back for the door to open. Several furry bodies fell and scurried through the opening to their side of the hall. In that moment, Brawler realized he had made a grave error. In the same moment, Leader had thrown the torch through the opening in the door and grasped the handle. Yanking hard, he pulled the door shut again and snatched Brawler's hand. "Run." The word was hissed with urgency, spurring Brawler to action. Healer was already running, and the men rushed to catch up to her. Something was clawing at Brawler's ankle as he ran, but after several footfalls, it caught under his shoe and crunched underfoot. It made him stumble, but Leader had his hand and pulled him along, righting him in his forward momentum. Edited by Teah, Sep 13 2015, 11:04 AM.
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| Maggy | Sep 13 2015, 02:27 PM Post #10 |
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Well, one attempt didn't work very well. Still, that cut them off from one route, and kept them away from her little cubbyhole, so that was perfectly fine. It would be a bit before they would reach the other hall, so Maggy took her time devising something particularly nasty, more subtle than the previous assaults. The ER door bulged at its seams, rats squeezing through the cracks trying to follow the fresh meat. Slowly the numbers thinned as the illusion faded, but any attempt to return would renew the rodent rampage. That left only one open path... The other route would lead towards the children's ward, past a number of windows overlooking a small playground outside. While the buzzing would die away, it's replaced by soft laughter and playful screams, although there is no exact source for them. Occasionally, dark figures dart across the edges of peripheral vision, toying with those present, daring them to follow. A game of Marco-Polo seems to be going on in one of the abandoned dormitories. Besides being completely unnerving, some of the giggles seem to be calling out individual members of the remaining group by name. Almost as if beckoning them into one of the side rooms. Some of the voices might be reminiscent of lost family or friends, if any are remembered, or comrades that had died in Lo-Sheol or even before them. Something unseen brushes past Leader, which reveals upon turning to face it to be wearing clothes similar to that of Tracker before she was lost. It moves hurriedly away, though, towards a locked door. Said door is far less solid than the one that held them back at the engine room, however, and leads upward into the truly dark floor above them. |
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| Teah | Sep 14 2015, 05:47 PM Post #11 |
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Leader was puffing, gasping for breath through the wrappings obscuring his face by the time he and Brawler reached the fork that led back to the locked door where Clara had been lost or the Children's Ward. Slowing to a stop, Leader let go of Brawler's hand and put his hands on his knees. Gasping, sucking in air, he struggled. Brawler was not doing much better. Curling his brawny legs under him, he sat cross-legged to inspect his ankle in the low light. There was a number of claw marks and several puncture marks that looked like they had been caused by rodent teeth. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I really hate animals, man." As Brawler moaned about the damage to his leg from the rodents, Leader began to recover his breath. Looking around, he shook his head at the distinct lack of Healer. Had she kept running? Stupid woman should know better than to go off on her own. Breaking from the group in a place like this was a good way to get ki- "Healer! Fix my leg. Healer!" Brawler whined, rocking back and forth on the ground while holding his damaged leg. "Oh, would-ya shut up already? Healer is probably-" Leader cut himself off when a figure walked around the corner in the direction of the Children's Ward. He quickly drew another flare. Nearly fumbling and dropping the striker cap, he struggled to quickly light it. When it did light, the woman lifted an arm to shield her eyes at the flare's light. It at least looked to be Healer. "Ghosts ahead. Shades or illusions, I know not which." Speaking almost to herself as she approached Brawler, she ignored Leader beyond squinting against the light. Gently touching the back of Brawler's hand, she soothed him with a kind whisper of "I will make it better." As she rested a hand over his wounds, a warm yellow glow briefly illuminated his leg and shone through her hand. The way the light outlined the bones within her hand and caused the flesh to appear shades of red, pink, and orange made her seem real enough. Brawler stopped moaning, ceased his rocking, and visibly calmed when Healer revealed herself and soothed him. Pressing his forehead gently to her shoulder as she healed him, he hummed softly to himself. When her had was removed, revealing the freshly healed tissue and lack of any new scars from the wounds, he breathed more evenly. "Thank-ya." Tilting his head back as she drew back and stood, he looked up at her for a long moment before getting up himself. Going over to Leader next, Healer spoke in a low tone. "I do not wish to travel through the Children's Ward. It is my belief that you do not wish to go that way, either. As for Brawler," she glanced back at the muscular man that was brushing off his backside, "I am not confident he could handle it." "What did you see there?" Leader whispered, bringing his face closer to hers. "Shadows. Maybe ghosts. It was what they said that unnerved me most, though. As if they read thoughts." Healer's face tightened into a deeper and more serious expression. "I used to teach children. My heart aches that there might actually be remnants of dead children there." Taking a few steps back, lengthening the distance between he and Healer, Leader turned his attention to both Healer and Brawler. "Lets go back toward the holding cell. Maybe we can find our way back to the entrance and climb up to the second level from the outside of the building." Edited by Teah, Sep 14 2015, 05:54 PM.
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| Maggy | Sep 14 2015, 07:13 PM Post #12 |
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Damn them, only one seemed to have walked that way, and then only briefly. Cursing under her breath she began to conjure up a new horror to throw at them. Still, even as she prepared her next visual taunt, something felt amiss to her. It wasn't until she heard the footsteps growing louder that Maggy realized she was in deep shit. Soft whimpers escaped as she desperately searched for a way out, panic setting in. She was not helpless, but having seen them knew that she would last all of a second before being overwhelmed. One of them was growing wise to her tricks, and if they figured out what she'd done and caught her... She took to the wall, leaving a trail of black handprints in her wake as she crawled to the ceiling, terror driving her more than . Her caution was considerably less than before as she scrambled for the one place of safety nearby - the heavily bolted room where one of her prey was ensnared. Maggy almost seized upon seeing the red light and figures walking below, but instead slowed, hoping she wouldn't be spotted or heard as she tried to hold her breath as much as she could - only partially succeeding. Only when she was behind the thick door did she slow down, wheezing from her frightened escape. Not like this place was much calmer, as evidenced by the lucid woman slumped in the middle of the room, muttering and crying to herself in hushed tones. As Maggy forced herself to breath (as well as check the door's lock, just to be sure), what was left of Clara did not even register the new presence inside there with her. Once she got ahold of what senses she had left, Maggy eyed the incapacitated woman hungrily; why not have a snack while she schemed on what to do next? |
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| Teah | Sep 16 2015, 07:20 PM Post #13 |
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Walking back, Brawler made it a borderline obsessive point to look carefully at the floor, especially along the edges of the walls. His eyes were peeled for rodents, insects, or creepy little ankle-biters. Kids didn't ACTUALLY bite ankles, did they? Oh, he really hated rodents, kids, and probably now hospitals too. Damn scary hospital... Leader led the group, Healer's hand on his shoulder as she walked slightly behind and to his side, and Brawler with his hand on her shoulder as he walked slightly behind and to her side. He was tolerating this much physical contact for one reason. Survival. The skin beneath the layers of clothing practically crawled. If one of them managed to accidentally touch his skin, he feared the possibility of a psychic advent. While he didn't want to die today, he would take death in preference over psychically linking with one of these strangers. While they walked, Healer thought carefully. Something about this place had her off-balance. Normally she could sense lifeforce and 'see' it similar to how some could see auras or heat signatures, even through walls at a short distance. Here, she was getting reads off suspect sources. The rats could be sensed from a distance, but she had not been able to identify the read as a great number of rodent bodies. Then, when she had briefly discovered the way to the children's ward and some shadowy figures, she had sensed lifeforce readings from them too. That is what alarmed her most. Was this place such that it was full of empty and rogue lifeforce readings? Suddenly, a chill went up Healer's spine. It was the strangest sensation, like someone had walked over her grave, was the best description that came to mind. When she looked up, she got a vague sense that there was a lifeforce moving on the ceiling... but quickly put it from her mind as another anomalous sensation. When they reached the locked door, Leader pulled ahead and pressed his free hand to the hard surface. Speaking through the metal door, he tried to sound reassuring. "We are coming for you, Clara. Hold on." Pausing, he arched his palm from the door so his fingertips and tip of his thumb of his gloved hand were against the surface. "Is someone in there with you? Clara!" His tone was raising now, urgency in his voice. "Clara, is someone in there with you?" He waited a moment, but when no response came he scoffed loudly. "Maybe she was on to something. Maybe Mika is... no... couldn't be..." Taking off, he hurried for the front door that Brawler had busted on their initial entrance. Brawler and Healer struggled to keep up with him as he hurried outside. "What crawled up your ass, Leader?" Brawler brayed after him. "Wha-" "I think I sensed it too," Healer chimed in, though not loudly. Brawler seemed to hear what she had said, but Leader paid it no mind or didn't hear her. |
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| Maggy | Sep 16 2015, 08:32 PM Post #14 |
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Maggy's Hunger had gotten the better of her, and before she'd known it her hands were pressed to the woman's head, black veins stretching out from her fingertips and into the poor lady's skull. Still locked in her own personal nightmare, the one called Clara barely noticed, although a small whimper escaped as she sat there, eyes unfocused, staring off into nothing. The man was right, although Maggy was not privy to his thoughts; she wasn't coming back, and part of her never would, now that she had fallen prey to the Mindeater. Voices from the other side of the door startled the impish woman from her lull, as she stared irritably at the entryway. Any interruption to her feeding was met with animosity; knowing that it was those that had invaded her turf in the first place did not improve her mood at all. Despite knowing better, she had an urge to whip the door open and tell them to shove off. While gratifying, it would likely be one of the last things she ever did for her current life, and seeing as how she actually liked the hospital, Maggy eventually decided against it. But what to do about them? If she left a response go for too long it would likely attract more attention, and cause more issues. Plus it was distracting, and Maggy liked being left alone while she fed. Perhaps more illusions, more bendings of the mind, but what could she follow up a corpse rat pile-on with? Maggy considered this, trying to think while she fed, but soon it became too hard to concentrate on both. Be that as it may, though, she had taken some of the woman's memories, and Maggy tried to put the bits and pieces floating around in her head together into something coherent before they were snatched up by the Others... It took a while, but eventually some heavy footsteps could be heard, and some heavy breathing came from the other side of the door, a voice familiar to Leader. "Sorry, just... very tired, hon." After a few moments the breathing slowed to a steady, if heavy, rhythm, and she continued with the odd pause "I swear I saw her in here... Must've been seeing things. Can only remember seeing her... stuck in some machine... then everything turned red... Woke up on the floor, sweating..." Her voice was strained, as though she had screamed herself hoarse or lost her voice temporarily. The door rattled from the other side, and a moment later "Can't... seem to get... the door open. Its stuck... or something." If asked whether the door should be broken down, Clara's voice would disagree, saying "No, I'll find another way. Maybe a weak wall or something." |
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| Teah | Oct 14 2015, 07:48 PM Post #15 |
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Leader was already out of earshot when the voice finally came. Healer stopped, grabbing hold of Brawler's arm to stop him as well. Rather than run after Leader, both turned and made their way back to the door. Brawler chuckled nervously as he put his face near the door. "You sure can run. We will get you out of there." Looking back to Healer, Brawler paused. Healer wouldn't come near the door. Her eyes were fixed on watching the opening above the door and occasionally looking around to make sure nothing came to surprise them. She was obviously uncomfortable. Brawler just assumed that it was the situation, that she was uncomfortable because there was no easy way to help get Clara out. "Leader is coming to help you." Brawler rested his forehead against the door. "We tried breaking through before." He swallowed hard. "It didn't work." Pressing his hands on the surface of the door, he craned his head back and spoke up at the opening above the door. "Leader is going to see about trying to get down into your room from the floor above." Healer chimed in, her tone reserved. "He should be reaching the front entrance to get outside any moment now." |
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| Maggy | Oct 15 2015, 02:33 AM Post #16 |
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Oh how hard it was to not snicker at these fools. They had dared to cross into her territory - really, they deserved their fate. But Maggy held her illusion, as it seemed to be working, and once again the pack was being separated. It was so simple to screw with someone's perceptions when they wanted to believe every single thing that was happening to them. Perhaps that was simply the magic of this haunted realm. Trying to focus back on the task at hand, she croaked out in Clara's voice "That is good to hear. Was afraid... afraid he would tried to forgot... about us again. " Maggy had to hold their interest. If she gave up or botched her performance, they might return to him, ruining her hard-fought illusion. At least her recent meal's jumbled memories were becoming clearer - it just wasn't fast enough for her liking; there was something very deeply wrong between her and the Leader which could be useful, but with so many lingering emotions present Maggy was having trouble pinpointing exactly what that was. Nevermind that she was becoming increasingly impatient, and just wanted to devour the memories and strip away this charade, to return to her hunt as before. But rushing the illusion would likely ruin her chance at a most delectable meal, and that she could not have happen - so she forced herself to continue playing with the remaining two while working on sealing the straggler's fate. "I don't blame him... I'm his heaviest burden... His greatest failure... Might be better to leave me here." Her mind raced to think of how best to tackle this situation. There was no way to reach the straggler's mind directly from here, even within the confines of her Sanctuary, but maybe that was not necessary. If she could only touch his mind a little, mislead his steps without his notice... For Leader, the halls were becoming increasingly twisted and maze-like; it would make him feel that every direction he took looped back in on itself, even if he chose alternating paths. What should have been a jaunt back to the front quickly became a growing pain in the ass. All the windows along the outermost walls were barred solidly - the only parts of the building that actually appeared to have remained fastened in place - so exit through them was likely impossible without extreme force. And once he reached the entrance - or where it should have been, regardless of the labyrinth that had appeared between the machine room and here - there simply wasn't one. Sure, the doors remained on the floor where they'd been smashed in, but the entrance did not appear to lead back outside; Indeed, it seemed to be leading, impossibly, back to the child's ward on the other side of the building. And now any attempt to return to the machine room looped back to the entrance. The children's ward had not changed a bit; it was every iota as creepy as before, though this time without the ability to turn back. Maggy was not going to let him slip away again so easily... Edited by Maggy, Oct 15 2015, 11:00 PM.
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| Teah | Oct 15 2015, 10:35 PM Post #17 |
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Tried to forget about them? Again? Brawler stuttered uncomfortably. "I-I-I dunno about any of that. Nope. He is going to get you out of there." "...both of you..." Healer added under her breath. She didn't think Brawler heard her, maybe he didn't want to hear her either. The illusions of this place had her a bit confused, but that in mind she still got a sense of two distinct sources of life energy behind that door. Clara wasn't alone in that room, if it was even Clara talking to them now. If it really was Clara, then it would just upset her to make a big deal about her not being alone in that room. If it wasn't actually Clara, then it would upset Brawler and Leader to try and explain what she felt. For now, it seemed better to keep her thoughts to herself.
Brawler reacted in one of the few ways he knew to react to social awkwardness. He blubbered, stuttered, and fidgeted. Finally he got out, "None of us are staying here. We found rats back there. RATS!" Shivering, he rubbed his hands on his arms. "Makes my skin itch just to talk about it. A whole bunch of the varmints. Would you believe it, a whole room of rats?" "This isn't right." Leader turned another corner, now more at a jog than a sprint. It felt like he was winding through a maze, a maze that hadn't been here before. He couldn't decide if this was something to do with the location, like some sort of warped physical location in Mikshol Arba, or the power of someone residing in this cursed place. Was this the handiwork of some psychic that had managed to penetrate his mind? Could someone be actually warping space and rearranging the physical world around him? Trying to pin down a how was soon overpowered by the sense of relief and self-satisfaction when he reached the front entrance room. That satisfied sensation soon caught in his throat and soured his stomach. Those doors didn't lead outside anymore. Now they led to... "Children's ward?" His body went slack. It felt like he floated toward and through the portal. Deja Vu. This ward was not the lower medical floor of Vox tower in Japan. He knew he wasn't at the Twin Campus after he and his wife were called about a medical emergency with their enrolled child. Even so, it felt like he was re-living that wretched experience. The shades around him seemed all too eager to join in, playing out the memory like hellish puppets in satan's ghastly playroom. Clara walked at his side, holding his arm, leaning on him for support as if she could not walk on her own. Tears like black ink streamed down this shade's withered semblance of his wife's face. The shades of students and staff that stood or walked around them in the hallway, too, were deathlike apparitions that were either something out of a nightmare or a cruel joke of the long-dead. He allowed the memory to play out as far as the walk to the room where his child would be laying on a bed, dying. The doctor would tell him there was nothing more that could be done, even with the magic and powers the campus had available. Room 13, 6:06 P.M. on a Friday. The death certificate would say, issued with condolences from the Twin Campus Vox Medical staff. Daniel went as far as the outside of Room 13. The shade on his arm imitating his wife pulled him forward even after his legs stopped moving. He refused to budge. "No, I don't want to remember. This dream haunted me enough in my first life. I have moved on. I choose to not revisit that pain." His face twisted in a mix of emotions, all obscured by the wrappings over his face. The goggles obscuring his eyes locked in the damp of tears threatening to escape the edges of his eyes. Edited by Teah, Oct 15 2015, 10:36 PM.
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| Maggy | Oct 15 2015, 11:56 PM Post #18 |
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Ooooooo, how delicious! How delectable, such sweetened sorrow. The mindeater was positively giddy with anticipation. Were she nearer to him and not locked in here with his now-mindless woman, Maggy might not have been able to control herself. But circumstance had decided to be a cruel bitch today, and thus she needed both to satisfy the two outside as well as move in for the kill. Multitasking had never been one of her strongest suits. Returning to her previous illusion, she tried to ignore the giggle in her throat as she mimed the half-dead woman's voice once more. "You never could stand those, could you? Don't blame you, really... gross little things, all ways scurrying and... biting." Feigning a deep sigh, Maggy pushed herself away from the door, stating in ragged breaths "I'm sorry... just feel so tired... Guess we'll just... have to wait some more..." With their curiosity hopefully sated, now she could focus upon the loner, putting all her effort and concentration on the Leader instead... "But you haven't, have you?" For the first time his tormentor chose to expose herself in a form. Besides the creep factor, Maggy was growing bored of waiting and hiding all the time. As the ghostly woman at his arm turned to face him, in place of Clara's face was Maggy's own, her tangled raven locks obscuring one side of her ugly mug, paler than even the shade of the Leader's wife. However, nothing could hide the stalker's grin on her face. "You failed her. Both of you. I know, thanks to your dearly undeparted..." Whether he wanted it or not, his feet would edge him closer to the door, moving under their own power with minimal prodding on the ghost wife-tormentor's behalf, despite every effort against. "No sane one can every truly escape their past. But perhaps I can help silence your nightmares, quiet that unspoken torment. Ease suffering." As the door to the hospital room creaked open, the mindeater faded from view and Clara's visage returned, a weary smile on her blurred face. Her mouth moved, but the voice was still Maggy's. "Besides, she is here as well; think of it as a permanent reunion! No more separation. No longer seeking what can't be finding. Just one last thing to do, and then no more to worry over." The other entities here, faceless shades that now took on vaguely varying properties of their master, appeared to gently press in on the couple, as if ushering them through. Of course, Maggy was lying through what teeth she had left - the only thing to be found beyond that door was torment and madness, followed by oblivion once she physically located him - but he didn't need to know yet. Besides, happiness could itself be a kind of madness, under the right circumstances... |
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3:23 AM Jul 11