Knock on Wood, Season 1, Episode 1 - "The Crooked Lady of Cookeville, TN"

[ZombWie]

Wenda waves to Officer Sizemore as she turns and walks down the alley, "See ya, Jane! Thanks for keep Cookeville safe." Once Jane is gone Wenda turns to Marrok and Erin and says, "Get inside, we'll talk once we are sure we are alone."

Wenda turns and walks through the door past an older Black gentleman who Erin would recognize as the man with a mop from a few minutes earlier. He is holding a double-barreled shotgun which he is pointing toward the floor. He gives Marrok and Erin a look of irritation. When they are both inside the door he closes it and slides shut a large brass latch.

Marrok and Erin follow Wenda through another door into an office, where she motions for them to have a seat in two wooden office chairs. She leans on a desk with her arms crossed and looks them both in the eye for a few seconds each.

"Okay," Says Wenda. "Do you two want to tell me who the fuck you are and why the hell you are making eyeballs appear in my hotel basement?"

 

[ZombWie]

As Erik is running down the street he notices that there are fewer street lights the further he runs. He is hopelessly lost. He stops for a second to catch his breath and look around. Hands on hips, he stands there trying to get his bearings. A scream breaks the still night air. Without thought or hesitation, he turns and runs toward the scream.

It doesn't take him long to find the source of the scream. He stands in front of a two-story house that looks too narrow. It's almost as if this was once a half of a double and the other half was demolished. The house is dark as the night that surrounds it. The only light comes from a single yellow fixture that goosenecks from the front of a single car garage. Standing beneath the light is a probably a woman. It is difficult to tell because she is bent back at the waist at a ninety-degree angle. She looks like a still photo of a gymnast, no a contortionist who is halfway through a backbend maneuver. Her arms dangle loosely next to her swinging back and forth as the woman sways. Her torso juts out toward Erik and her head twists to makes eye contact.

The woman screams and starts a trotting toward Erik with a hideous gait. Her long greasy hair sways with each awkward step.

 

[Moonpenny]

"Okay," Says Wenda. "Do you two want to tell me who the fuck you are and why the hell you are making eyeballs appear in my hotel basement?"

"So, Wenda, right? I was minding my own business, just making my way across the country when a gal named Lolli recruited me for ... something I have no idea what, and I was introduced to this guy and two others. We drive along, she drops us off and we end up with a guy named Bert who tells us to come here and find you. This guy here sees a bloody guy running, I guess? I'm not sure about that part, and he starts chasing him and I primarily don't want to lose him, so I run after him. We get to the back of your hotel, the bloody guy's vanished, and I figure maybe he ran into the back of the hotel, so I cast a spell to put an invisible eye on the other side of the door, but the invisible part failed to work. Sorry about that, by the way. Then Officer Shootsalot decides to pull out her gun and pretend she's Dirty Harry, a bullet goes who knows where, and the moment we get a second I'd like to check him over and have him check me to make sure neither of us is actually shot and it just got someplace hidden, because I was dumb enough to wear a red sundress for one."

"I wasn't really trying to spook anyone with the eye, by the way, but somewhere there's apparently a guy without a shirt and bleeding all over the place. I think he's a regular human, so it'd be nice if we could get him an ambulance."

"Lolli?" Asks Wenda. "Most days, that name will get you free room and board in this place, but you two may have brought more attention than I need. What are your real names?"

Erin shakes her head, "I wasn't lying earlier when I introduced myself. I'm Erin Rose."

"I was, I'm Marrok," quoth the Marrok.

"Can you show me some ID to prove that you are not lying?" asks Wenda

"I'll have to get it out of my backpack, if you don't mind?"

Meanwhile, Marrok pulls out his expired drivers licence and hands it to Wenda. Yet Erin waits for permission before removing her backpack.

"Sure, get your ID" Wenda replies.

"Slowly." Says a deep voice from the hallway.

Erin nods, stands up briefly to unhook the flower-print backpack from her back, and sets it down on the chair. She moves to the side so both the doorway and Wenda can see her hands as she pulls out a clutch (purse) and pulls the ID from it, offering it to the woman.

Wenda scrutinizes both IDs. Then hands them back. She looks to Marrok and says. "That's an old ID. Who are you running from?"

Erin puts her ID back in the clutch, then that into the backpack, then scoots it off the chair so she can sit.

"To be honest, ma'am, just about everyone." He looks down at his shoes. Erin frowns, reaches over and squeezes Marrok's hand gently.

"You may have found a temporary haven Marrok. I can explain more tomorrow. For now, let's get you set up with a room. Ronny, get these two a room.", says Wenda then she looks back at Marrok and Erin, "A double bed is it?"

Marrok's face goes beat red, even visable under his beard.

"We've got two more, ma'am, Erik and Selene. It depends how you'd like to run your house, as I don't think they're a couple."

Marrok stutters, "Buh... um... huh.."

"I'd be happy to room either with Marrok or Selene, but I don't want to offend you or put any of them out, of course."

"Selene? Oh, she just arrived." Says Wenda, "No Erik though."

"Ah...that's not good, I don't actually think he's got any sort of powers, and he'd be out on the street alone if Selene's here."

Marrok snaps out of it. "Wait, where is Erik, he should have been with Selene."

After a moment, this is followed with, Shit" as he moves for the door.

"You can ask her yourself. She is just checking in now." Wenda gestures to the door.

Marrok looks up to see Selene at the front desk, "Where the hell did he go?"

"Oh, and about that eyeball. Please keep the magic to a minimum while you are at the White Lady."

Erin nods, picks up her backpack and slips it on, "Of course, and I'm really sorry about our introduction."

 

[ZombWie]

Somewhere pulled over along a coastal highway...

Lolli sips her coffee as she pens a letter on loose leaf paper that she pulled from her green sticker covered Trapper Keeper. The Trapper Keeper has a picture of a galloping horse on the cover and the name "Edwin" written in black sharpie on the cover. Lolli finishes and signs the letter, folds it and stuffs it in an envelope. Then she adds it to a stack of similar letters standing upright in a napkin holder on the RVs kitchen table. The elderly woman stands up with a pause in the middle of the action to as if to ease her joints into the idea of being in another position. Assisted by her cane, she moves to the front of the RV and sets her coffee down on the dashboard and reaches for the CB mic.

"Breaker Breaker, I got a 10-17 for Big JoJo this is Pop's Lady. Anyone in the area got yer ears on?" Says Lolli into the mic.


"This is Beaker Man. I hear ya Pop's Lady. What's the 10-17? -over-" asks a voice from the speaker.

"I got an all ears for Big JoJo. I need some encyclopedia on the Crooked Lady of Cookeville, TN. -over-" responds Lolli.

"I'm sorry Pop's Lady. Can I get a 10-9 on that? -over-" the voice responds.

 

[Moonpenny]

SCENE: Dusk, an unidentified country highway in the Midwestern United States, featureless fields flash by.

The KNIGHT RIDER theme music plays in the background as blue and red flash against the passing grain.

KITT: "Michael, the police officer would like us to stop. I told you that law enforcement in this part of the country uses the new K-band radars that I can't detect."

Michael Knight, played by David Hasselhoff, starts to pull over: "I know, I know, you don't have to tell me you told me so."
KITT: "I already did, Michael."

Minutes later, a police officer played by Clifton James knocks on KITT's window.

"Son, I'm gonna have to ask for your license and registration, do you know how fast you were going?"

KITT replies, "Seventy eight miles per hour in a fifty five."

"That's a smart car you have. It's a shame you don't have one of these new Electrolert Fuzzbuster K's. They're on sale at quality retailers near you!"

Officer James shows Michael the radar detector he conveniently carried to KITT's driver side window, "It just plugs in your cigarette lighter and stores enough juice in it that you can even unplug the detector to use the lighter without losing your driving protection!"

KITT exclaims, "Michael, that device uses an eight bit processor. It's almost as smart as I am!"

"Here's your ticket, you drive under the limit, you hear?" Officer James shakes his ticket book at Michael warningly.

CLOSE UP of Michael Knight looking at the ticket, "I have to pay HOW MUCH? I should've gotten an Electrolert Fuzzbuster K earlier, it would've been cheaper!"

"Don't worry, Michael. I won't tell you I told you again," KITT replies.

FADE TO BLACK

 

[heylookitsme]

Surprisingly, this concierge's accent startled this other American with a stranger's accent.
"Why hello there, good to see at least one friendly face tonight," she says with a sigh and a tired smile. "My name is Selene, I was sent here by a friend to see someone named Wenda. I'm not sure exactly what room she is in or how long she's been here, but was hoping you could at least put me in touch with her. I do believe she should be expecting me, and my three friends may have already met with her, but I lost track of them recently."
Thinking for a second, she thought to mention who the friends were.
"Two friends, actually, one named Bert, recently met, and Lolli, an older friend."
"Aaahhh, you're here to see Wenda? And Lolli sent'cha? Well, lemme give you a biiig discount. How many rooms and beds?"
"Well, thank you very much, I greatly appreciate it. I'm not entirely sure, but could I reserve four, single twin's? If that doesn't work, two rooms: 1 double, one twin, I have a feeling one will want to sleep in our van. One is also currently very unaccounted for, so I can''t be sure."
"I can... get you... two king's... or one single. I''m sorry I can't get exactly whatch're looking for. But it will only run you 10 dollars. And if you're feelin' peckish, room service is on us up to 30 dollars between the four of you." Selene pays, and the receptionist winks and walks away, "I got some work to do, so just ring the counter bell when you need me back, sug!"

The receptionist walks away, and Selene is left with her thoughts. Elbows on the counter, she sees a bunch of VHS tapes lined up behind the desk. All reachable. In the midst of titles like "Jaws" "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" "Weird Science" and "The Breakfast Club," among others, she spots a single tape in a unlabeled JVC case. It has a note taped to it, which reads "Home movie, left in VCR in room #12." Not usually the one for taking things that don't belong to her, she hesitated."It has been an odd few days or so, though, hasn't it? And when it gets returned to the Circus Videos, it will probably just be thrown away, right? I'm giving it a new home, if I can't return it to its rightful owners. I'm doing the environment a favor." And with that logic, she pinches the tape. but not literally, that would damage it.

Slipping it into her purse, she walks over to the guitarist playing around with the tuning on his guitar, who actually stops her before she gets all the way up to him. "Hey there, miss." A deep, rumbling voice that could make the ground underneath you rumble if he really tried. It matched his massive, hulking figure. A veritable mountain of bulk. No discernible accent on him, one of those generic American accents, but has one of those very specific regional dialects when it comes to produce or something. "Was that you whistling outside a couple minutes ago? I could hear you whistling for what felt like way longer than Dreams actually is. Is your singing as good as your whistling?" She stopped in her tracks. It was the first time she'd had her musical skills questioned, or even commented on. She'd never joined any sort of musical activities while in school, all singing or whistling was extracurricular. And sure, she'd read some books on good vocal technique, but theory and practice are two things. With the only critiques she had coming from books, she didn't kow how good or bad she was. "Um... Uh... I.. I don't... nor-..."
"I don't know the chords to Dreams, but I know Landslide, know that one?"
She nodded, steeling her nerves. He plays and she sings along. On occasion, he provides a bass-y, backing harmony.
Upon playing the last note, the guitarist gave a good hearty chuckle and clapped his large, square hands together. "Not bad, miss, not bad. If you and ol' Stevie were at auditions for a band at the same time, I think they just might have picked you over her. Good stuff. What's your name, by the way?" "Selene Luna." She said it with that calm and light buzz that performers must have when they step off stage after heir show is over. "Nice to meet you, Miss Selene. I'm Sam, Sam Saunders. On my way to Nashville, busking my way there from Iowa. Just another farm boy with finger callouses who wants to make it big. What brings you here from... What would that be, jolly old England?"
She had a laugh, the most common question she would be asked, right after, "Is that actually the name on your birth certificate," which she was surprised wasn't asked first, since it did come up in that order.
"Unfortunately for you, no, haha. I'm from New Mexico." His eyes widened, understandably. "But my mother did learn to speak the Queen's English in its native birthplace, yes. My father was from Colorado, then the Bay Area. He met my mother once in Chicago doing some Raku firing, ceramics. Two different hippy convoys were headed there because of the combustible materials the fired pieces would be put into. It starts with an M and was commonly smoked at the time. But they head in different directions for a few years, then met again while they were both crossing the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, figuratively and literally."
"That's some fairytale reunion they seem to have had, there. Different countries converging on one place in space-time. Real poetic. Just might write a song about it, even, there, moonbeam. Hope you don't mind. Especially if I happen to change a few words and details here and there."
"Sure, just send us a copy of the vinyl once you release it. They kinda refuse to listen to cassettes or CD's right now, but they'll come around. Consider this a pre-order." She drops a 20 into the case. "If we happen to be going to Nashville, I don't think we'd mind giving you a ride. Just em... stick around here, and we'll see if we intersect again later. Don''t get your hopes up too much, though. Who knows where we'll go." He waves her off, seeing as two of her friends came up to her and greeted her, asking questions about gunshots and injuries and where the last of their pack was, then making a plan to find the straggler.

 

[ramonlimon2]

Erik shoots at the Crooked Lady, but once again his gun proves useless against the monster. He runs away in a panic, still lost.

Unnoticed by him, his wallet falls out of his pocket somewhere along the way and is lost. Perhaps forever.

 

[Moonpenny]

Selene headed to bed and Marrok and Erin visited the hotel's restaurant. It's nicely appointed, considering the outside of the building. Considering the lateness of the hour, it was no surprise they quickly got a table.

Erin put her fork down, scrambled eggs and toast half-eaten, "I'm too anxious to eat, we need to find Erik."

Marrok sat and had a beer and several bratwursts, 'hold everything that's not meat'. To this he added a strip of bacon, since the girl across from him seemed to be done eating.

He turned to her, "Yeah, I was starting to get a bit nervous, we can't have our ride turn up missing."

Marrok notes the arrival of Wenda, who speaks up, "Is he the type to just go wandering off at night?"

Erin shakes her head side to side, "Not that I know of, he's not super-strong or anything, and I guess there's something here, so I think he'd prefer to be somewhere safe."

Erin cocks her head to the side and thinks a moment, "He's kind of like Shaggy, you know?"

Marrok adds, "We don't know him all that well, but I want to make sure he's safe."

"What do you mean by "something here"?" Asks Wenda

"We're supposed to be a group of four, according to Lolli, and she said something about … what was it, a manifestation? Well, we're supposed to be a group of five, but one of us didn't make it. Anyway, last time it was a … bug person thing … and who knows what it is this time. Could be a walking cockroach."

Erin pauses a moment, "Er, giant walking cockroach, like that walks on two legs, not that regular cockroaches don't walk."

Wenda gives you a sharp look then leans into the table and whispers. "Look, I need you all to keep the supernatural talk to a minimum here. This isn't a friendly town for that kind of shit."

"If you are going to go find your friend you need to be aware that the townies won't take kindly to strangers talking about looking for monsters in the alleys of their town. Just keep it to yourselves, yeah?"

Erin nods to Wenda, "Okay, we can keep it low, but we'd still like to find Erik and make sure he's okay."

Marrok just stares at her, not sure how much Lolli had told her, and now he didn't want to piss her off with any new info.
It didn't seem like anyone at all knew what was going on, why they were here, or what they were supposed to be doing.

"Of course!" Wenda glances over at Marrok, "You must have been pretty hungry fella."

Marrok leans back in his chair, "Yeah, I appreciate the dinner. We will be back, just need to figure out where our friend got off to."

Erin stands and clicks her tongue a moment, "We'll need to find out one way or another, since he's our ride out anyway. I mean, I guess Greyhound has a stop here?"

"Stay safe. If I know anything about those working with Lolli it is that trouble tends to follow them around."

"Ha, you aren't wrong," Marrok smiled to himself, but then the thought of Erik being in danger made his face drop.

"Honestly, ma'am, being sent to a strange city to complete some mission that we don't know the details of when we're probably walking into a hornet's nest isn't really my idea of a good time. Ideally I'd get my friends here some greyhound tickets, head back up to Muncie, and live a nice quiet life where the most I use … that eyeball for is peeking at answer sheets from the comfort of my dorm bed. It's apparently hazardous work that's got no less than a 20% mortality rate for this group and the pay is atrocious."

Erin sighs and adds, "It's completely not our intention to come here and spook people, I don't even know what we're supposed to do beyond finding you, frankly."

"Well don't look at me for guidance. I am not one of the Lucky ones." Wenda instantly looks like she regrets what she said.

Ignoring the barb, Erin kneads Marrok's shoulder, "Let's find Erik, hey?"

"Yeah, lets go."

As Marrok stands, Erin nods to Wenda, "I'll try to make sure we're out of your hair as soon as possible."

The two head out of the hotel with haste, intent on finding Erik.

 

[ramonlimon2]

After sprinting for what feels like minutes away from the monster, Erik comes across a phone booth. Looking around to make sure there's nothing within spitting distance, he steps inside and dials 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" the dispatcher asks.

Erik spends what seems like an eternity dealing with the dispatcher, lying about shooting his gun and claiming he ran from a drugged-up assailant when he heard gunfire. Meth heads are more believable than monsters, after all.

Eventually the sounds of sirens emerge from the distance, and the police cruisers arrive not long after. Either because information was mistranslated or the cops are assholes, Erik finds himself handcuffed on the ground with someone's knee in his back as they read him Miranda.

Luckily for him one of the officers who arrived at the scene was Jane Sizemore, the cop he charmed earlier. She talked the other out of arresting Erik, convincing them only to confiscate his gun. Jane gives Erik a ride back to his van, where he is thankful to see the others already waiting.

 

[ZombWie]

Back in Kansas...

Randy Mertz is forced to walk in a zig-zag pattern to avoid stepping on any of the piles of dead insects that cover the loading dock floor. The Sheriff's Deputy is wearing plain clothes and carrying a camera. Sal Carabino leans his broom against the wall, brushes a hand clean on his corduroys and reaches out to greet the deputy with a handshake.

"Morning Randy. I thought you finished up in here yesterday. I was under the impression it was ok for me to start cleaning up this mess." Says Sal. "It's a big job." Sal sighs and puts his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah. Yeah, We're all wrapped up. I just wanted to stop in to take a few photos that I wasn't able to get yesterday because I didn't have the right lens. I won't be a minute." Responds Randy looking down at his camera and advancing to the first frame. "You mind?"

Sal sighs and says, "No, go right ahead. I won't get much further than the dock today. I have a crew of cleaners coming tomorrow. They are going to be doing the heavy lifting. I'm just taking today to clear a patch so we don't have to be stepping all over these crickets as we work."

"It's the damndest thing, Sal. Never in my life have I seen something so strange in Paradise. I mean, crickets? I've been reading up on the locust swarms in Kansas a hundred years ago, but that was grasshoppers and it wasn't such an isolated thing like this. It's like these crickets all decided to head over here to the ACME and do some random shopping then just up and died." Randy squats down and pulls a pen from his pocket. He stirs a pile of dead crickets around with his pen then grabs one black cricket up by a broken wing that sticks out at a right angle. He holds the cricket in his hand examining it for a second before dropping it back into the pile then taking a quick photo of the insects. He looks back to Sal and says, "It's really starting to stink in here."

"Yeah, no shit Randy," says Sal. He picks up his broom and gets back to the task of cleaning up the dock. "The lady from KU said that this place was going to have that odor for a while. I will just have to put a bucket of nose clips by the door next to a sign saying 'excuse our stench'. Hell! Who am I kidding? I won't be getting any customers back. They'll be driving out to the BuyLo in Stockton before they come into this house of horrors. I wish that mystery van full of morons and that skank Erin would have just torched the place. Oh, hey, did that piece of shit in the parking lot turn out to be Erin's car?"

Randy stands and puts the camera strap over his shoulder. "That's unclear at the moment Sal, but I assume that it must be. I am doing a little research down at the DMV on Monday." Randy looks back toward the open dock door and just stares off into the cornfield. "I just don't get why a girl would join some roving band of arsonists during a once in a lifetime cricket swarm slash shoplifting spree and get the hell out of Dodge. None of it makes much sense to me Sal and with Bill being killed during this shit storm I just can't let it go, ya know?" Randy runs a hand through his hair and snaps back to the moment. Without another word he turns and heads into the grocery store to take his photos.

"Hey! Take all the time you need Randy." Sal yells through the door after the deputy then returns to his for a few seconds before dropping the broom on the floor in frustration and walking out the back door to take his second smoke break of the morning.

 

[ZombWie]

Each of the new residents of The White Lady Hotel receives a message under the door that must have been delivered sometime in the night.

Please meet me in my apartment downstairs when you wake. I will provide breakfast.
-Wenda

The accommodations are unlike any hotel that the crew has ever stayed in. Sure, the rooms have beds, dressers, and closets, but they lack a private bathroom. Instead, there is a sign on the back of each room's door with a map directing the resident to the men's and women's showers down the hall. This inconvenience causes the crew to each arrive at a different time.

 

[maasnssmaamsm]

Marrok is the first to arrive at Wenda's door on the first floor of the hotel. He knocks and Wenda hollers for him to let himself in. She says, "Have a seat out on the porch." There is a screen door that has seen better days directly across from the entrance to the apartment. Outside there is a round metal table covered with a yellow and orange vinyl tablecloth. There is already a bowl of fruit salad and a pitcher of OJ on the table.

Marrok slowly sits in one of the farthest chairs. He doesn't take any food or drinks, waiting for his friends. "How was your night, Wenda?"

Wenda walks through the screen door backward bumping the screen door open with her butt. She turns around and sits a huge plate of pancakes and bacon down on the table. She responds, "It was fine. I was up listening to the police scanner wondering what was going on across town."

Marrok's face goes a bit red, having heard Erik's story about last night. He tries to change the subject, "Well, luckily, we found our friend last night. I think we plan on trying to do what Lolli sent us here for, whatever that is."

Wenda asked about how long they had been working for Lolli and Marrok told her that it hadn’t been long at all, and that the whole thing was not quite clear to him. As she looked at him, a bit puzzled, there is a knock on the door and Wenda yells, “It’s open!”

Selene entered, smiling and chipper as ever. Wenda offers her food and inquires about when they had met Lolli. "Why, yes, I only just met her in Paradise. I'm still not entirely sure what it is we're doing, but I'm eager to help." Selene chirped, "Obviously, I seemed to have some kind of divine connection to everyone else here, so I must be in the right place."

There is a faint knock on the door and it swings open. Selene must not have shut the door properly. Erin enters after peeking in and saying “Hello?”

"Morning Erin. Come on in." Wenda leans back and gestures for Erin to come in. Behind Erin she spies Erik as well. "We're on the porch. So, Marrok was telling me that you found Erik last night. Mind telling me how you ended up in the police cruiser Erik?"

"I got lost chasing down gunfire and ran into the monster. Managed to get away from her, found a phone booth and told them I got attacked by a meth head. Then the cops very nearly decided to arrest me instead. Jane talked them out of it and brought me back to the van." Marrok looked a bit concerned when he Erik brought up monsters.

"We'll get to that Erik, but first let's cover some of the etiquette that Lolli hasn't bothered to relay to you. She's not the greatest communicator to those of us that are living in the present. You see, when you arrive at a safe house you typically don't want to do so with the cops in tow. I don't want the attention, you see? Now Erik, you say you saw a monster? Can you tell me exactly what you saw?"

"She looked like a woman at first. Really pale, with black greasy hair. Then her body started twisting all out of control, like the world's most fucked up contortionist. She bent over backwards and her neck started twisting, then she started shuffling toward me. Slow at first, like real pained movement."

"Are you sure that you weren't just looking at a regular crackhead? From the addresses I heard on the scanner last night it sounds like you were down in the Cliffs. Not the best section of Cookeville. It's mostly abandoned since the tile plant shut down in the 60s. Which one of you is the book nerd?"

Selene chokes slightly on her pancake and sputters out, “I believe that may be me.” Wenda pointed her to a bookshelf containing a scrapbook with Cookeville on the binding. She leapt up to search.

Wenda then inquired about the rest of the group’s weird attributes, letting them know that "Lolli doesn't recruit you unless you are special. I just want to know what makes you special."

Marrok responds, "There’s something dark and dangerous inside me. It helps when I need to fight or run away, but it is much more of a curse." He looks up, raising an eyebrow at Wenda, "Wait, Lolli recruited you, didn't she?"

"I think the same can be said about many people Marrok. Yes, there was a time when I worked with Lolli. My role was much different from yours, and that is all I need say about that." She turns toward Erin and asks, "So, you want to tell me how you were able to make an eyeball appear right in front of my janitor? I can't say that I have ever heard of that kind of magic before."

Erin shrugs, pulls a slender mimeographed folio from her backpack and sets it on the table. It's a third party AD&D supplement titled, "Pages from the Sages". "Pulp paperbacks, game manuals, magazines for teens... if it's got some crackpot spell in it, I can usually make it work."

"You are self-taught? I didn't even know that was a thing. The spells you are reading are just lame imaginary game spells. Are you telling me that you are able to make magic work spontaneously without training?"

Erin puts the book back in her pack, "I started out with pulp magic books you'd get from Waldenbooks or someplace. Nobody's ever helped me with it, and I got these from my brother who stopped playing last year... he gave me his collection."

They talked about being careful, because Erin’s innate abilities could make her a target, and then Wenda called for Selene to see if she had found anything.

Selene presented her findings, showing off the picture of the Crooked Lady. Erik confirmed that it was what had attacked him the night before. Erik inquired as to how Wenda got the scrapbook.

"I don't know. That book was sent to me a few weeks ago. One of the lucky ones I suppose. I can't tell you anything about the woman, but I can tell you where those tracks are. That's down by the tile factory."

"Oh, you mean by that crackhead I saw? By that tile factory? Is that where the monster is? Exactly where I said it was?"

Wenda looks at Erik and frowns. Wenda snatches the Polaroid from Selene and takes a closer look. She is quiet as she scrutinizes the image. Then she says, "There is no shadow. The woman seems to be incorporeal. I assume you can work out the rest." Wenda stands and starts gathering the dishes then heads to the kitchen. "You can let yourselves out." As you leave you can hear Wenda slamming dishes as she cleans up the mess in the kitchen.

"Thanks for breakfast" Erik calls. Sincerely, for once. "So, which of you can drive us over there so we can look for my wallet?"

 

[ZombWie]

The van rolls to a stop in front of the behemoth factory which stands silent. The windows are mostly smashed, the roof is caving in on itself and the lot surrounding the factory is completely overgrown with kudzu and sumac. It is clear that no one has been here for a very long time. The tracks cross the road out front and create a line between the industrial zone around the factory and the run-down residential area adjacent to the factory. Perhaps at one time, this was a vibrant community that survived because the factory employed the residents. In the absence of the factory, the community died and the residents moved away. Erik recognizes the house where he saw the Crooked Lady last night. It is one of the many abandoned homes in the area.

Though this area is abandoned there is one person visible. He looks to be looking at the ground pacing back and forth around in a field across from the factory. He pays you no mind when you pull up. The weeds obscure the area around him, so it is difficult to see what he is up to.

 

[heylookitsme]

While everyone else is actively investigating the scene of Erik's missing wallet, Marrok is left behind to stay with Selene, who is planning a library daaaay!
She hands him the yellow pages, and issues of the newspaper that would have had any mention of encounters with otherworldly beings, anything involving the crooked lady, asking him to get any sort of contact information he can find on any of those people, they might need to conduct interviews. And before they know it, that's almost their entire day there. But they do find promising leads. They find an incident involving a woman named Brenda Williams, and her two children, Timmy and Jennifer. Their car had a collision with a train at a railroad crossing out by the Titan Tile Factory, the place the rest of the team was. Her husband is still around, however. His name is Robert, Robert Williams. What a good work day. Although. Selene has some issues with how to ask the man about his loss and gain any useful information about how to solve their ghost problem.

 

[Moonpenny]

Erin very nearly dropped the van keys that Erik threw to her, "Don't you, like, warn people that you're going to toss your keys to them?"

A few minutes later, Erin and Erik found themselves standing outside of a small field and factory where the birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and an old man seemed to be looking through the field for something.

"So, here's the plan: I try to use you as a focus to cast a spell that lets me see into your past. We know you dropped it last night, so I'll look into last night, watch your back pocket, and then follow that to the location the wallet landed. Then, when I get to that spot, I pick up your wallet and hand it to you and we can either solve this Scooby Doo nonsense or maybe just take the first bus back to our homes until Miss Wenda decides that maybe having people here helping isn't a bad idea," Erin announces.

Erik replies seriously, "I get the frustration, but still kinda sounds like petty bullshit. There's a monster running around Cookeville, just like there was in Paradise. Whatever your feelings toward Wenda, you know it's not just her that's in trouble here. And you're basically a superhero. So I don't know the nice way to say this, but nut up and get to work."

Erin shrugs and touches Erik's forehead and says, "Clairvoyance!"

After a few moments, she opens her eyes and frowns, "Nothin'.. apparently I have to be in contact with the Earth."
She mutters something along the lines of "This is some bullshit," then takes off her sandals and offers them to Erik, "Be a dear and hold these for a bit?"

Erik says nothing, but accepts the sandals.

Erin stands out on the road, seemingly a vast desert of broken glass, random brads and nails, and tetanus as far as the eye can see.

"Okay spirits, where's this guy's wallet? Show me the wallet, guys," she asks.

Rather than a verbal response or light show, she merely gets an indication to start walking across the road.
"Great, just great."

Minutes later, her feet are freely bleeding and she's taken on a bit of a headache, but finally arrives at the location of where the wallet fell, to find... nothing.

"Crap."

She reaches down and touches the exact spot, getting a brief image of a man's hand picking up Erik's wallet, but once the connection with the Earth breaks, so does the image.

"Double crap," and she heads back to Erik, "So, someone - a guy - picked up your wallet."

Erik hands Erin her sandals and informs her that he's going to go chat with the man searching through the field.

"Sure, I'll put up a wall behind him to trip on in case he runs."

She pulls bits of glass and a nail out of her feet and rests them on the towel from her backpack, "Going to need a new one of these."

As Erik walks over, Erin tries to ignore the growing headache as she casts a spell to put a shin-height wall of force behind him... it doesn't go well.

This is battle magic, so it is pretty powerful. The "wall" makes an explosion when it pops into existence. Just like the eyeball that was supposed to be invisible this is a low stone wall that drops into place from nowhere. right near the dude in the field. The man drops his metal detector and headphones and runs for the road. Behind him is a billowing cloud of dust rolling across the field. He gets to the road and looks up at you and says "I think I almost fell into a sinkhole!" He pants and takes a knee to try to catch his breath.

Erin's headache doubles and she decides that a nap would be nice, "This magic stuff sucks."

 

[ramonlimon2]

Erik rushes over to check on the man who was just tossed aside by the explosion. He helps the man up and discovers, to his surprise, that the guy is a metal detector-wielding treasure hunter named Robert who recovered Erik's wallet. They get to talking for a minute, and Erik attempts to casually bring up the Crooked Woman.

"So I was at the college the other day and a couple guys were telling ghost stories. They said some lady got killed by the train around here and now her spirit haunts this whole area. You ever hear anything about that?"

 

[ZombWie]

Robert gives a smile and hands Erik his wallet then turns to walk away. Just as Robert is walking away Erik asks one more question. "Wait, just a quick question. I was at the college the other day and a couple guys were telling ghost stories. They said some lady got killed by the train around here and now her spirit haunts this whole area. You ever hear anything about that?"

Robert stops dead in his tracks. He is facing away from Erik and the van where Erin sits picking glass from her feet. A long moment passes before Robert runs his hand over his head to smooth his hair. Another moment, then Robert turns back around toward Erik. His face is a mess of emotions. His visage tightens and looks older than it had just a second ago when he was smiling and waving goodbye.

"Let me guess. You are out here looking for evidence of this ghost you heard about. That's how you lost your wallet last night, isn't it?" Robert purses his lips and flashes a quick smile then his mouth returns to a pinched line. "Erik, if I were 20 years younger I would be tackling you back into that van, but I am not the angry man I used to be. Instead, I am going to give you ten seconds to get back into your car and get the hell out of here or I will be telling the police how you were out here trespassing on private property. Now git you goddamned grave stomping ghost hunting bastard!"

 

[ramonlimon2]

Erik starts quickly walking back to his van. He shouts out "I'm sorry I touched a nerve, but I was actually out here running from gunshots. I had lost my friends a while ago and didn't want to wind up dead in an alley!"

 

[maasnssmaamsm]

Marrok left Selene with her nose buried in one of the half-dozen or so she had open on the tables. He couldn't get that guy out of his mind. He was bleeding, and he came toward the hotel, and then he was just gone?

He went to the back of the hotel, around where Wenda had let Erin and him in the night before and tried to pick up the scent again. There it was, dried blood. Someone had tried to clean it up, but he could still smell it. He followed the trail through a few doors and down some stairs. It lead to a large heavy door that it took Marrok some effort to get open. He was faced with a completely dark room. He thought back to the convenience store and pulled out the lighter he had taken on his way out. He flicked it on and began to walk inside. He made it about ten feet in when...

 

[ZombWie]

The door slams shut behind Marrok and something moving faster than Marrok has ever seen a creature move reaches over his shoulder and blows out the lighter. Then from around the room as if there are multiple voices talking to him he hears the same voice come from different locations. "How... did... you... find... me?"

Then the voice sounds as if it is fifty feet away or farther. "You should not be here. You must return the way you came or I will not be responsible for what happens to you. Leave now! LEAVE!"

Then silence.

 

[maasnssmaamsm]

Marrok prepares to leave, not really wanting to mess with something so quick in the dark. As he makes his way to the door, the lighter falls from his hand. "Fuck," he shouts as he blindly feels around for his light source. The feeling of whatever is in here with hiom moving begins to frusterate him. He tries to find the lighter or the door, but fails. He can feel the wind rush right behind him, this thing is trying to scare ME.

Marrok shifts to his half-wolf form, causing his arms and legs to crack and reshape. His fingers grow out into claws and the hair grows to cover him completely. He slows his breathing and finds the pattern that this creature is rushing by, and just before it makes annother pass, Marrok turns and holds out his hand right in it's way. He slams the creature onto the ground, slashing with his razor shap claws on the way down. The creature drops the lighter and Marrok quickly snags it with his other hand, flicking it on to reveal a young man with blood around his mouth.

"Sir, Please, stop. I had no idea you were a were-mongrel. I mean you no harm. I was merely trying to scare you off. You have entered my sanctum without permission."

"Stealing my lighter and fucking with me while I fumble around in the dark is a bad way to get me to leave, you dumb-ass" Marrok spat back with a snarl.

"Well, I wanted to make sure that you were sufficiently frightened. You seemed so sure of yourself when you waltzed into the dark with just a lighter and your swagger. I mean, I had to make sure you knew that I was not to be trifled with. I think we need to mediate with my protector. If you will just allow me to stand I will call her. I mean, unless you like the position we are in, hmmm?"

Marrok growls loudly, ensuring that this man knows who is in charge here before allowing him to get up and glaring at him as he does so.

 

[ZombWie]

"Thank you sir. I can only imagine that was a very masculine moment for you. Congratulations on defeating someone in such a broken state." says the creature that stands before Marrok. "My name is Alden Kinsley. My protector is Miss Wenda Lynn Culp. If you are local you may know her as the owner and proprietor of this hotel which you stand beneath. I just need to pull this rope by the door and she will be here to help you leave so that I may continue my eternal self-flagellation in the stillness of this great chasm. Now..." As Alden reaches for the rope the door swings open and Wenda stands in the threshold with her hand on her hip and a smile.

"Well, it looks like you two are getting along. Abomination one, please meet abomination two. So, you both survived. I guess that is a win." Wenda turns and heads to her office. "Come on Marrok, don't you want the rest of the story?"

Alden looks at Marrok and shrugs. "Don't look at me. I thought she was going to come down and shoot you with a silver bullet." Alden steps out into the hallway and moves toward the office with a fluid, but alien stride almost as if he floats in a raft bobbing on a lazy river.

Wenda gestures for Marrok to sit down. "I should have explained this from the get-go, but honestly you four are so new to this I didn't want to scare you. That, and I think it is Lolli's place to lay out the details. Instead of giving you what she should have told you in the first place I am going to tell you how I fit into this puzzle." Wenda grabs a mug of tea from the desk and takes a sip testing the temperature. The mug has a quilted paste pattern with a teddy bear in the center. She begins again, "I am what the folks of The White Lady Hotel call their Protector. Now, you may be asking why a..." and she gestures to Alden who gives a little wave, "... a vampire needs a protector. Well, he is what we call an Unlucky. He once did a job very similar to yours. He traveled the country cleaning up the messes created by the various monsters and manifestations of evil that burst forth into our world from, well God knows where. The problem with that proposition is that you expose yourself to the negative flow of fate long enough and it taints you. Little by little your luck runs low until one day you can't pick up a butter knife without accidentally severing a limb or a matchstick without burning down your house. In this hotel, the Unlucky Ones have a haven from the negative flow of fate. Alden prefers to wallow alone in the depths of the cave system below the hotel. However, on occasion, he has been known to sneak out and drain a tiny amount of blood of an innocent then scurry back here to his hole." Wenda pauses and looks at Alden who looks away. "Ain't that right Alden? Anyway, you happened to pick up his trail while he was on the way back from one of his little jaunts. The blood on his shirt was not his own. The blood was from a cute little frat boy that wandered too far into the Cliffs."

Alden interjects, "I only took a pint, it will not be missed. In fact, it was so laced with Schlitz that I nearly spit it out on the ground. Well, I tend to make a mess, so the blood you saw was the, hmm, I guess the overflow. You must understand, this is how I survive. Sure, there are friends upstairs who will donate a pint or two around the holidays, but that barely stretches me to Spring. So, I need to supplement my diet. I hope you of all people will understand." Alden sits back and crosses his hand on his crossed legs.

 

[maasnssmaamsm]

As he followed Wenda to her office, Marrok slowly reverted back to human form. There was audible cracking and grinding of bones as they shifted back into place. He sat and listened to the explanation, not sure if he was buying this “luck” concept, though he realised he probably should have had a harder time stopping something so fast.

Alden said that he hoped Marrok of all people would understand him. This made Marrok more angry than anything. He nodded to Wenda as they finished their talk and stepped outside of her office. He waited in the hall for Alden to exit, heading back to his sanctuary. He shut Wenda’s door as he grabbed the vampire by the neck, slamming him up against the wall.

“You need to know, my friends upstairs are off limits. Do you fucking understand me?” He whispered through gritted teeth. “If I find out that you even looked at any of them, I will end you. I don’t know about all this ‘luck’ stuff, but you’d better not push yours.”

Marrok released him and walked down the hall to find his friends. I am nothing like that fucking monster.

 

[ZombWie]

Alden crouched in the hall for a few minutes after Marrok left. He rubbed his neck, but it was just to appease the part of him that used to be human. Alden felt no lingering pain from the attack nor did Marrok's attack harm him in any way. A minute ago he sure that Marrok would understand his curse and sympathize with him. It will be many years before Marrok will accept his situation and be able to see what Alden has dealt with. After he had sufficiently sulked Alden stood and slinked back into the dark depths below the hotel.

 

[ramonlimon2]

After dropping Erin back at the hotel to heal, Erik heads to the police station with Marrok and Selene to get his gun back. Marrock waits in the van while the others go inside, where they are greeted by the jerk of an officer that wanted to arrest Erik without cause.

The cops refuse to return the gun, saying that although Erik is not a suspect of a crime they don't feel comfortable returning it because he was in the area when some weird stuff happened. Jane reveals that the factory owner--likely Robert--is edgy because of something that happened, and that a frat boy from the local college is still hospitalized after wandering around the abandoned tile factory during the night last week. She then suggests it's better the two of them don't talk anymore, because Erik is starting to draw a lot of heat from the police department and it could impact her in a big way. He agrees, understanding but still sad, then returns to his coworkers in the van.