Realistic or Modern ☽The Abyss Stares Back [IC]☾

[Archie]

It came for you.

You might have been camping in the woods. You might have gone to an old, abandoned house. You might have been with friends. You might have been alone.

But wherever you were, it came for you.

And you killed it.

When you killed the thing that haunted you, you felt a sudden rush of power. Over the next few days, your wounds may have healed faster than expected. Or, you may have been able to levitate food off your hospital tray.

Soon, you found yourself drawn to places that made your hairs stand up. Places that you knew were haunted. Places where you could find more ghosts, more spirits, more monsters, and consume them too. Every time you did, your magic got stronger and stronger.

That's how you met the rest of us. People like us are drawn to dark and haunted places, and we have a tendency to bump into each other. No one understood us but each other, so soon we started to live together. We had to live together. The more we came for the monsters, the more they seemed to come for us.

Most of us have jobs or students. By day, we work and live our lives, but when we all get time off, we go hunting together.

We're all plagued by mysteries. Are the ghosts we kill sentient? Do they have a society? Do they talk to each other? Are they plotting our demise?

Are there more people like us? Do they get power from killing other hunters as well?

Are they coming for us?

See "Other" and lore pages for more info

Rules:

1. Literacy requirement is 2+ paragraphs.

2. Maintain a posting order with whatever group you are with (don't post twice before everyone has posted once)

 

[Archie]

Luke Azar
Location: Abandoned Warehouse (Exterior)
With: House Group
​

Luke stopped his black pickup truck by the dockside warehouse. There was no moon. The night was pitch black, except for the lights that were on inside the concrete lighthouse - lights that shouldn't have been on. The place had been foreclosed by the city and without an owner for years. Luke parked between the warehouse and the harbor wharf below. He waited for the groups' other car to pull in behind him before he took his hand off the steering wheel, and put his truck into park. He looked behind him, counting everyone. Jade, Sharon, Marceline, Selena, Kara, Alistair, Donal. Everyone was here.

Without a word, he threw open the door to his truck, taking his pistol from the coffee holder and shoving it into his sweatpants. From the back of the pickup, he grabbed his katana. He knew the rest of the group would be assembling, getting their weapons as well, so he figured he should use the time to scout. The windows of the warehouse were opaque - it was hard to make out the silhouettes of anyone inside. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he saw a shadow slowly move across one of the windows. Hand on his pistol, he unlocked the safety, poised to draw it and fire rounds at whatever would come out the window, or out the door.

But nothing did. The shape moved harmlessly by - but ever so slowly. The ghoul inside was either unaware of them, or too slow to risk an encounter with all of them. Good Luke thought. This would be an easy kill.

In any hunt, it was important to watch the front and the rear. Luke darted dockside to have a peek at what was down below in the waters. Nothing but seaweed. Turning, he marched back over to the two cars where the rest of the group was assembling.

"Nothing in the water but seaweed. Everyone remember the details?" he asked, his Louisiana twang coming through when he was nervous. The question was rhetorical. They were all experienced hunters at this point - every one of them knew to review the pinned messages in their GroupMe before they arrived at hunting grounds. The pinned message from last Wednesday read:

Luke: Found this place talking to a construction crew. A couple of them were working on a dockside project last month. One of them napped on site a few nights. Said the abandoned warehouse on 10th and Dock Street kept turning its lights on at 2, and off at 3. I checked the zoning office to see who owns the place - the city said they'd repo'd it years ago and had the only key. Drove by today and didn't find any broken windows. Door was also locked shut. Freaky. When do we want to check it out?

If one jumped to that message, they'd see a long convo after about when to go, and whether to go.

Could it just be a hobo?, one message read. No, they'd have no way in without smashing windows or breaking down the door, and why'd they only turn the light on at 2? Besides, the place's power is cut off. Ever met a hobo with a generator? read one of the responses.

Between class and work, it was hard to come up with a time that worked for everyone, and the group eventually settled on Saturday night.

"We can either go through the windows, break down the front door, pick the lock if any of you know how, or try to get on the roof. What do y'all think?"

Just as Luke asked that question, the lights throughout the building went out. Was it 3 AM already? Luke scowled, checking the time on his iPhone. 2:18.

((Group members, we're a go! Should be pretty straightforward. Those of you not starting in the house, you'll have to come up with a reason to also be investigating this building same night and run into us at your own convenience. Some of you might come into the house from a different angle, others might meet us outside. Remember, survivors of hauntings seem to have a sense for haunted places))

ArchAngelLexi berristar OTL Ace Cream low fidelity camlochan Kio.exe kath1515 MePersonally Kabobtoss

 

[ArchAngelLexi]

| Jade Lee |
| location: abandoned warehouse |
| Interactions: All house members |​

Jade had been riding in the truck bed as they pulled up to the warehouse. As soon as they reached a full stop Jade jumped out, her shoes making a distinctive "smack" as they hit the concrete. She didn't really have anything to grab since all her supplies fit in her pockets, save for the hydro flask she sometimes bring but left behind considering the abundance of water at their current location.

While waiting for everyone to finish assembling she took the opportunity to stretch. So this is it huh? Interesting place for a ghoul to choose cling to. She looked up, taking in the architecture of the light house, looking for any weak points they might be able to take advantage of. Considering the amount of water here this seemed like it was going to be a walk in the park for her. At least as long as their target wasn't to slippery. It wasn't long before Luke had returned from his bit of reconnaissance.

"Yes of course," Jade responded with a teasing eye roll at his question. She leaned back against the truck, mulling over the options. Before anyone could respond the lights suddenly went out. It's much to early. Have we been discovered?

"Don't you think the window and door might be too loud? THat's just asking to be found immediately. I could probably get us up to the roof, you'd all just have to be careful not to slip," She said.

 

[kath1515]

|Kara Hudson|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse|
|Interactions: The house members|
​

Luke’s black pickup truck pulled to a stop. Kara pushed open the truck door before stepping out of the back seat and onto the concrete. She reached back into the truck pulling out a small backpack she’d kept on the floor below her seat during the ride. Opening the zipper she looked inside, it was all there. The collection of metal throwing-knives she brought along to missions, her phone, her notepad, and everything else she usually brought along, it was all there. She slipped the knives out of the backpack and into the small leather bag she had attached to her jeans for easy access and phone into her back pocket, before zipping it up and putting the bag back onto the floor of the car.

Kara looked back towards the warehouse in time to see Luke on his way back from scouting out the location. “Yes”, she responded to his question, she knew the details of the plan back and forth and so far, thank god, everything was going according to the plan. Before she could respond to Luke’s next question, the lights in the building dropped out. She didn’t have to check the time on her phone to know it was far too early for the lights to go out. Did someone know they were coming? Had they been found out? Whatever this was, it wasn’t the plan and that didn’t sit well with her.

A few feet away from her, Jade spoke, suggesting that they make their way into the building from the roof. It’s possible, Kara thought, they just had to find a way to get in without being caught, if they hadn’t already been.

After thinking it through, she said, “I think the roof is the best way in. Jade’s right, the window or door would alert them to our presence and if we can help it we definitely don’t want them knowing we’re here yet.”.

 

[Kabobtoss]

|Donal O'Malley|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse|
|Interactions: The house members|​

Sitting in the bed of Luke's truck with Jade was becoming Donal's preferred mode of transportation when they went hunting - he always enjoyed his light-hearted conversations with her. He made sure he finished his cigarette before they reached the target location. Donal's prosthetics and shoulder bag were already in the lock box of Luke's truck, so after Jade hopped out, he closed his eyes and "flicked the switch" in his mind. As if they were always there, his "Soul Limbs" shimmered into being - he was able to dim their luminescence with concentration, yet still working on making them not stand out so damn much, ever since he decided to leave his prosthetics in the truck for hunts.

His memory flickered to the "discussion" he and Luke had the first time Donal made that choice. He knew Luke was going to argue about how his power made it harder to stay hidden. While Donal assented to that, the fact remained that he always ended up dropping his prosthetics when things became intense, and he was always be the one causing the group to wait while he re-acquired his limbs after the hunt. He couldn't very well leave them wherever they hunted. Luke had agreed to Donal's decision on the premise that Donal would figure out how to be less "shiny"...

He snapped back into the present moment, making sure he was ready for the hunt. His physical body was covered as much as he could with dark Speedo shorts and shirt - he knew from experience the weirdness of manifesting his spirit limbs with clothes in the way. He had a belt with his pocket knife firmly attached - one day, he told himself, he was going to get a more combat-ready weapon. He looked up in time to see the lights go out in the warehouse and some of the group already congregating to discuss strategy. He vaulted himself out of the truck bed and approached to hear Kara back up what she said was Jade's idea - roof access.

"The roof makes sense to me," Donal added, "although it might be wise to leave some of us on the ground in case the beasty makes a break for it. If things get nasty from the roof crew, ground crew could come in for the assist." Although I guess it depends on how nasty of a thing we're hunting, Donal thought.

 

[Ace Cream]

Sharon

Sharon clipped a small flashlight into the front pocket of her blue mantle. The light provided by the device wasn't much, but definitely better than nothing considering the light in their target destination seems to be off unexpectedly. Sharon set up several tripods with cameras around the perimeter of the warehouse as she listened to the other's suggestion of how they should do the hunting. Most monster seems to have the ability to avoid being recorded, but recently she had been trying to study these creatures more. Also if she happens to be able to record the creature she would definitely upload the video to her site.

"I bet the monster already knows about our arrival." Sharon said casually, referring to the fact that the light had gone out before the time it was supposed to. "Let's just surround it. The door group barge in loudly to draw its attention then the window and the roof group attack from behind."

 

[MePersonally]

Alistair

Al didn't like playing the driver for his team mates, but since he didn't want to end up in the back seat with everyone else, this was the only way he could join them on missions. He had contemplated joining this ride for quite some time, before he had agreed to joining - having to study couldn't always be his excuse. Of course, the others knew that having to study had nothing to do with him joining or not joining them, he just liked to work alone. No liabilities, no uncalculated risks. Just him and the pitch black inside his mind when he allowed the monster to run free.

When he closed the car door, he did so in a careful manner, not to alert anyone of their presence. His backpack in front of him, he quickly checked the equipment and its functionality. Flashlight, rope, his medical kit. The guns were loaded and he attached them to the holsters beneath his black leather jacket. He had ordered them on the internet a few days ago, because he was tired of always losing his weapons when he transformed and the shoulder holsters should do the trick.
After checking his equipement and strapping the small military backpack closely to his back, he finally joined the others in their discussion. At the prospect of getting into contact with the water on the back, Al shook his head.
"No way I'm going up there with the water lift. I'm taking the door", he stated and waited for anyone to join, or not join for that matter. He was better off alone anyway.

When Sharon spoke, he took some time to consider her plan, even though he knew that she was right, this was the best tactical approach. Especially if they were expected already, they had to send in a bait, which he would gladly volunteer for. Not that he wanted to be ripped apart or be eaten alive, it was just the prospect of the possibility to take the monster down alone. The further they were away, the less they would interfere with him.
A knocking in the back of his head made Al zone out for a minute, forgetting about everything but the fact that there was a monster inside that building. He could smell it, he could almost taste it. His eyes turned white for a second, as he took in the smell. Fear, decay. Oh how he wanted to...
STOP.
As quickly as the feeling had taken over, it subsided again. Alistair stood, trying to control the urge to just burst through the door and give himself to the thrill of the kill. He didn't need the others to take that thing down. That was at least what the voice in the back of his head told him.

 

[Kio.exe]

|Selena Sparks|
|Locations: Warehouse| Interactions: All house members|​

Selena hopped out of the back of the truck, a sigh coming from between her lips. She was used to long, sleepless nights, of course, but she just wished that they all could sleep in for once. She opened the flaps of her leather jacket, taking a minute to be sure she had everything. Knives? Check. Rock salt filled bullets? Check. Her pistol? Check. Good, everything was all set. Most of her group mates didn’t use rock salt instead of real bullets, which was strange. Didn’t they know, after all this time, that bullets didn’t affect most supernatural creatures? She studied her assortment of knives, all different shapes, sizes and materials, including that set knife from so long ago. The one she’d killed the shifter with.

Selena shuddered to think of that night, the horror of it still etched in her memory. She still had nightmares, and often woke up drenched with sweat, much to her chagrin. Some nights they were worse than others, and one of her housemates would have to wake her up because she’d been screaming.

Now, Selena trailed after the others, sweeping her surroundings with a well-trained eye. She shook her head at Sharon, as the girl set up cameras. They didn’t have time for that. At Jade’s suggestion to go to the roof, and Al’s and Sharon’s just to barge in, Selena glanced between the two groups. Who should she go with? Al, she decided. The man never came on their excursions, always using excuses like ‘I have to study’. They all knew it was a lie, but they never pushed it. And he was here today, wasn’t he? She was fairly certain Al didn’t like her, though she hadn’t any idea why. She’d always been nice to him, and had offered to help him with his studies many times. He’d always brushed her off, claiming she ‘talked to much’ and ‘didn’t know anything about the world’. Didn’t the man know that acting is so much more than it seems? You had to become the role you played, and she had happened to play the role of a doctor many times. Not that that mattered, not now.

Selena walked over to Al, where he had stopped, his gaze blank. Shit, not again, she thought. This happened to him sometimes, his innate instincts taking over, almost making him charge ahead recklessly. “Al,” she said softly, going to place a hand on his shoulder when he snapped out of it. Noticing he was still considering it, still yearning to give in to that voice, she turned to him. “You can’t listen to it, Alistair, okay? That’s how you get hurt, and we can’t risk having one of our best fighters, and out medic getting hurt, or worse, dying,” she told him quietly, her eyes steely. She knew he’d likely shrug her off, would tell her to go back with the group, but she didn’t care. Selena liked to think of herself as the glue that held the group together. Whether any of them liked to admit it or not, she was always there for all of them. She knew she wasn’t the most liked person in the house, not by a long shot, but she cared a heck of a lot more than any of the others did, and that was a fact.

 

[Sir Fungus]

Brandon Lee
Interaction: House members on the porch.
Location: Grummond House

The trip to the Grummond household was grueling for Brandon, he was visibly tired, he had not gotten a wink of sleep since he started his trek across the states to see this new haunted location. A chill went through his spine, he was getting close. As Brandon pulled into the entrance, noticing the other people around, he had a visible look of confusion. Perhaps they were coming to investigate the haunted place as well. He turned his car lights off before putting the vehicle in park; pulling the key out of the ignition And stepping out, backpack slung over his shoulders. “Uhm, Hello??” He called out, hoping one of them would respond as he came closer and closer to the house.
As he neared the porch, he stopped at the stairs. He seemed lost in thought as that cold feeling got stronger and stronger. There was no coincidence that these people were here, but...something else had also arrived. In a hushed whisper he spoke to himself “What if it’s another of those...demons...” he thought as he held the handle of his hunting knife on his belt tightly. He then took a deep breath to calm down, taking his hand off the knife as he asked casually “Did you guys come to check out if this place was haunted as well?” He tried his best to try and sound as calm and collected as possible, but if one were to really focus, his voice was shaky and nervous.

Brandon continued to wait for a response from anybody there. To occupy his time, his thoughts drifted back to his first encounter, and he then began to question that creatures motives, and the mysterious existence of this ’Old one’. Brushing that out of his head, thinking that something of that calibur would be required at a later time. Now, all of his attention was put to the group, deciding not to let anything else distract him.

 

[camlochan]

​

|Samuel Miller|
|Location: Outside Warehouse|
|Interactions: No one, yet|
​

Sam stood outside the abandoned warehouse, examining it from his perch in the large oak tree next to the complex. There was a large group of people already there it seemed, and Sam silently cursed himself for being too late. Now he’d never get the bounty for this job. Not that he needed the money. No, he had more than enough of that.

Sam shot a glare at the dock, where the ocean lapped in calm waves. He still hated it, after that night that felt like years ago. In reality, it had only been two. Sam watched the group as they worked, studying each person in turn. There was a girl with black hair and tattoos, exactly the kind of girl he’d find in the bounty room, trying to bite off more than she could handle because she ‘liked scary stuff’.


Next was a man, who seemed self assured, and more like a salesman than anything. Definitely not the type he’d peg for a Hunter. He looked to be organizing the group, and they all watched him attentively. Their leader, then. Then there was a girl with red hair, who moved about with a quiet confidence, seeming like she knew what she was doing. Now she could pass for a Hunter. They were always the people who were most normal looking, who didn’t stand out. She seemed to be accessing every possible angle, something that was important. Next to her was a boy, with black hair, and some of his limbs appeared to be...glowing? Sam rubbed at his eyes before looking back to the group. Yep, they were glowing alright. Weird stuff. Other than that, the man appeared to be normal, except for the fact that he was wearing a speedo. Zipping around the yard, there was a girl who appeared to be setting up cameras. Did she know how useless that would be? She was just wasting her time. If she were under his command, there’d be no more of that. Heading in the opposite direction were two figures, whose faces he could make out mor clearly due to their proximity. One was a girl, whom he recognized instantly. It was Selena Sparks! She was a Hunter? How had that happened. As much as he hated to admit it, she’d been his celebrity crush since that show came out a few years ago, the one set in the mid 1500s. Sam groaned. Now he’d have to go down there! He couldn’t pass up a chance to meet Selena Sparks, for crying out loud. From the glares the man besides her was giving her, it was like none of them knew she was famous. Or didn’t care. The man looked confident, but like the type who would charge headfirst into danger just to prove he could. Reckless people had always gotten on Sam’s nerves.

Shimmying down the coarse trunk of the tree, Sam’s feet hit the ground almost silently, a maneuver he’d been practicing. He trailed after Selena and that guy, making sure he stayed out of sight, his hand one his pistol. He wouldn’t reveal himself, but he’d make sure they didn’t do anything stupid.

 

[berristar]

|Jesper Blythe|
|Location: Outside Warehouse|
|Interactions: No one yet|

Jesper blew into his hands, trying to get some warmth into his frozen extremities. He tugged the jacket closer to his body and started walking a bit more quickly, wanting to be out of the chill as soon as possible. He silently cursed the store manager for keeping him in for so long. It wasn't his fault some dumb idiot decided to try and re-program almost all the computers, phones, and nicknacks during his shift. Hell, he wasn't even in the main showroom when it happened! Grumbling to himself, he passed underneath a lamp, letting the yellow light wash over him. Suddenly, it flickered. Jesper almost let out a yelp before he could help himself. Jamming his heels into the cement, he turned and side-eyed the lamp post. It flickered again. A surge of panic washed over him and he struggled to keep it down. Calm down, it's just a light flickering. They do that. He tried to reason with himself but just then, he felt it. The disturbance in the force, he calls it ironically. Jesper whipped his head around, staring wide-eyed down a relatively dark alleyway he knows leads down to the dock. He could faintly hear the waves lapping at the beach, but it wasn't that that caught his attention. "Two of them?" He whispered, as loudly as he dared. His heart started beating super fast and he struggled to not pass out. He knew he should just keep going, to just ignore it and walk away. But something in his body tugged him towards them, so, very reluctantly, he reached his hand to his hip and pulled out a throwing knife, clutching at them like a life-line. Jesper took a deep breath and slowly started walking towards the alley.

With every step he took closer and closer to the two monsters, the feeling got stronger and stronger until he could nearly taste it; it was a nasty copper taste, almost like blood and Jesper nearly gagged on it. The end of the alley yawned before him and split off into two directions: left and right. Ignoring all of his instincts which were screaming at him to RUN, Jesper turned left, readying his knives in case anything jumped out at him. An old warehouse loomed into his view and before it, a group of people. Jesper froze and immediately ducked behind a row of abandoned storage containers. The taste nearly doubled and he couldn't help it when he gagged, his stomach trying to expel whatever he had eaten that day. He just hoped the people hadn't heard him. Why are they there? And how come they can't sense the two monsters?​

 

[BatBrainBat]

| Carson Waller |
| Location: abandoned warehouse |
| Interaction: Jesper Blythe |


Carson walked at a mosey down the sparsely-lit street. He held his bat across the backs of his shoulders, his hands gripping either end while his elbows dangled lazily. He rest his head back on the cold steel to look at the dull, starless sky and shivered. He didn't mind the chill in the air, really. The cold made him feel energized, alive, as it prickled the inside of his nose and lungs.

Still pretty lame that his buddy kicked him out for the night, though. That girl he's dating is no good. Carson thought it was obvious, the way she grinned whenever his buddy gave her money and gifts. And now, here he was, so the two of them could "have dinner" in the apartment alone. Hopefully not on Carson's damn couch! It made him sneer to think about.

He could have gone home by now, actually. It was long past midnight. Carson had also thought about going to crash at someone else's place, but something about the stillness of tonight made him want to explore. It sure beat some stuffy, foreign couch with weird pillows and questionable stains. Besides, maybe he'd be able to find something spooky or cool. All the dark warehouses and storage units bordering the ocean blocked the wind and made the street eerily silent.

He wasn't sure how he felt about it at first to see someone else coming down the opposite way, across the street. It ruined the rad atmosphere a little. But then, they stopped beneath a streetlight, looking paranoid about something. Carson grinned as he hung back to watch. Scardey-cat, he thought.

When they suddenly turned down the alley he let the bat fall from his shoulders and gave it a little bounce as he adjusted his grip on its handle. Someone as high strung as that guy had to be up to no good in a creepy alley like that. Or maybe they went to check out a weird noise or something. Either way, there was no chance Carson would miss out.

Quiet as he could, he jogged across the street and peered into the alley, just in time to watch the man round the corner. Stifling a chuckle, Carson tiptoed after him. Once he was in there, though, something felt off. It was a familiar niggling in the back of his head that he'd only felt a few times before. It got his heart beating harder, his adrenaline kicked up. With his back to the wall, he peeked around the corner to find the man hidden behind some storage containers. Farther down, in an opening in front of a warehouse, there was a larger group of people discussing something. Oh man, this was getting juicy. At first Carson thought that the man might be going to meet up with those people, but he looked twice as anxious now, watching them, as he did under the streetlamp.

He'd made up his mind. He held his breath and rounded the corner. Slowly. Oh so slowly. Don't make a sound...

He got right up behind the guy. Biting his lip as he focused, he slowly raised his bat, just a teeny bit. And...

Tapped it against the back of the man's calf. Not hard, just firm enough to give the guy a good surprise.

 

[OTL]

|Thessaly Fox|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse Rear|
|Interactions: None, yet|

Scouring the perimeter of an abandoned warehouse was not Thessaly’s idea of a fun time. Spots like these were prime locations for idiots who didn’t know jack about shit; drifters who thought just because they pissed on something meant that they owned it, teenagers playing thugs, junkies getting a high. The locale was even worse. The docks. Dark, dank and stinking of bilge water. The air itself was grimy, salt sticking to his skin and coating his nostrils. Thess was going to relish killing the shit out of whatever beasty had drawn him here. The niggling pull in his gut had been irresistible. Which isn’t to say that the youth hadn’t tried.

First, Thess had attempted to head in the opposite direction. The further away, the weaker the attraction, right?

Wrong. He’d found himself riding just the right bus to bring him back around to the industrial waterfront. So, ending up here, it couldn’t hurt to just have a poke around, right? See what was causing the fuss in his innards?

Again, wrong. What had started as ‘just one look’ had turned into a recurring theme of staking the spot out night after night. He’d see the lights go on and off, the silhouette sliding past the windows and…well, there wasn’t a rule of three in this case. It had been a boring couple of nights. The salty air had been more unsettling than the atmosphere around the abandoned building! It was only stubborn contrarianism that had kept Thessaly from venturing into the warehouse. He might have let his instincts drag him here, but he sure as shit wasn’t going to completely cave. Nope. He wasn’t going in there. He wasn’t going to go fight that boring piece of shit that couldn’t even put on a spooky enough show.

…right?

Now here’s the rule of three: Wrong.

Night number three and Thessaly broke. Backpack slung over his shoulders and comically large flashlight at his hip, the redhead had circled the building before the motely crew of hunters had arrived. When the trucks pulled up the front he was busy around the back, deft fingers working away at the lock of a service door with a set of picks. The mechanism gave way with a satisfying click. As he turned the handle and opened the door a crack a chill radiated across Thessaly’s skin.

 

[Archie]

Luke Azar
Location: Abandoned Warehouse (Exterior)
With: House Group
​

Luke paced around the road as the group spoke; such was his habit when he was anxious. Jade, Kara, and Donal seemed to be fans of the roof solution, before Sharon suggested they split up. Breaking up had advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, if the monster was smart and knew about defeat in detail, it could pick off small groups at a time. On the other, if it could harm multiple people at once, attacking from one direction would spell disaster for everyone. It was a coin toss at this point - the group knew nothing of the monster, except presumably that it knew they were about to enter. He was about to beckon everyone to go to the roof before Al declared that he'd barge through the front regardless of what anyone said.

Luke grit his teeth. The group's doctor was reckless and uncontrollable on account of that hellspawn living inside him. For a newly-religious man like Luke, that demon was a serious problem. God demanded the end to all demons - Luke was sure about that. He had spent countless nights browsing internet pages on exorcism in hopes that one could work on Al and get that demon out of him. All the procedures were ridiculous, something that a real life ghost hunter could easily tell.

Selena tried to calm Al down. Having known Selena for a short while, Luke thought she would probably succeed, but Al's outburst helped him make up his mind. The doctor was adept in close combat - he could cover anyone entering from the front. The ghost inside, if it was drawn to them, could be taken from the rear by everyone else like Sharon was saying.

"We should split up and hit this thing from every direction. We'll have to split up inside the warehouse anyway - better it doesn't know our routes of entry so it can't predict which way we're coming from" Luke realized. The gears turned in his head - the fact that they entered from one direction didn't preclude defeat in detail, as they would have to fan out anyway. It simply made the way they'd fan out more predictable.

"Jade, bring Donal and Kara up to the roof. I'll check it out to make sure it's safe" Luke beckoned. "Al, you take Marceline, Sharon, and Selena through the front". Luke found that, in this situation, the distribution of powers and opinions conveniently aligned. Jade's water manipulation would be especially convenient since they were on the shore of Lake Eerie - it was better she was high up so she would have line of sight. The same went for Kara and her control of metal, which was abundant around the nearby streets. Donal was essentially telekinetic and could greatly aid the group from the upper level of the house. Meanwhile, Marceline and Al both had powers naturally suited to close combat, while Sharon and Selena could provide support by going in after them.

Without another word, Luke drew his katana, leapt into the air, kicked off his truck bed, then decreased his bodyweight to a few pounds. This sent him flying through the air. Dong a flip near the rooftop so that he'd land vertically, his feet softly touched the roof before he reset his bodyweight to 210 lbs. Scanning the warehouse's roof, he found nothing but a metal door leading to the third floor. He dashed towards it, trying to open it and realizing that it was barred from the other side. From pushing on the door, he could tell whatever was barring it was too heavy for him to kick down - he'd need Donal or Kara to unlock this.

It never occurred to Luke that there would be several other hunters approaching the warehouse tonight. That possibility was impossible, even for him.

---

The number of hunters drawn to this house would be surprising to a 5-sensed man like Luke, but not for Jesper. As he approached the house, his 6th sense would pick up not just one monster, but hundreds. Some were in the basement of the warehouse, others in the sewers, and others yet in Lake Eerie. There was yet one more in the center of the warehouse, and it didn't appear to be moving.

As Thess undid the lock to the warehouse and opened the door, he was faced with the empty, wide, open space of the lower floor. There was no monster here, as far as Thess could tell - just a flatscreen computer monitor hooked up to a boxy PC. All the lights were out, but the monitor was on, displaying a very messy desktop littered with folders and videos.

ArchAngelLexi berristar OTL Ace Cream low fidelity camlochan Kio.exe kath1515 MePersonally Kabobtoss

 

[Ace Cream]

Sharon

Sharon nodded at Luke's role distribution, sounds good for her. She likes facing the horror head on. Her hands were shaking slightly from both fear and thrill. Even after facing and killing several monsters she was still not able to remove her fear of the supernatural completely, which was good, she was doing this for the feeling anyway.

Following Al and the other door team, Sharon summoned a fire axe and swung it towards the door, busting the lock and the door alike in the most noisy way she could manage. After that she switched her weapon into a shotgun. Might be or not be the best weapon against the unknown creature they would be facing but the powerful slug bullet was usually enough to at least flinch them.

"knock knock, trick or treats!!" Sharon shouted into the darkness while throwing several neon-green glowsticks to lights the path ahead.

Door team
MePersonally low fidelity Kio.exe

 

[ArchAngelLexi]

| Jade Lee |
| location: abandoned warehouse |
| Interactions: All house/roof team |​

As the team deliberated Jade could feel eyes on them but chalked it up to being whatever monsters were lying in wait seeing as to it appearing they had already possibly been discovered. More so, the idea of splitting up didn't sit well with her, but who was she to argue. As Al protested to going up to the roof with her she let out a short breathy laugh.
"Sure, sounds good," Jade responded as luke gave the final orders. "Well then, let's go team."
As soon as he had taken off she made her way to the outside of the building, pulling up water from the ocean to form into a sheet of ice large enough to fit them. As she stepped into the center she used a bit of the ice to hold around her feet to prevent slipping, doing the same for Kara and Donal once they were in position. She then pulled up more water to push them to the height of the roof before releasing them just above it. She let them get jump off first before stepping off and letting most of the water drop back into the ocean, keeping a small bubble of it moving around her in case she'll need it.

 

[Kabobtoss]

|Donal O'Malley|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse (Roof)|
|Interactions: The house members (Roof team)|​

Donal shivered a bit as the ice held his feet snug in place. He still hadn't figured out what allowed him to feel things through his spirit limbs - there weren't any nerve endings, after all. One of those metaphysical things, he supposed. As he stepped off of the ice platform onto the roof, he saw Luke gesture towards the door.

Well, Donal thought, at least the ability to feel is helpful when reaching through walls...

He heard the tell-tale sign of Sharon wielding her fire axe as he approached the door on the roof. He chuckled a little to himself; any excuse she can find to use that axe is a good one in her eyes. Upon reaching the door, he reached his right arm through the solid door, using the sensations to discern what was holding the door closed. It felt like a thick bar across the door. He positioned his hand for grasping, then focused. His fingers locked around the bar and he lifted upwards. It was a lot heavier than he realized, but he managed to pull it out. Working slowly to not make a bunch of noise, he twisted his arm and slid it sideways, leaning the bar into the corner of the door where the hinges were. He tried the handle with his real hand, and saw that it was unlocked and started to swing open.

"Open sesame," he muttered to himself. He stepped aside as the door opened, figuring Luke would want to be the first to have eyes on the situation. His gaze shifted towards Jade and Kara, speaking softly, "Ladies, follow Luke in, if you would. I'll take the rear guard."

 

[MePersonally]

Alistair Irvine

Location: Entering the warehouse
Interactions: Door team,
OTL Ace Cream

Al startled at the touch and felt the urge to hiss at whoever was standing close to him. He didn't, being content with baring his teeth just a little bit, trying to make it look like a smile. Selena fucking Sparks of all people. What did she know about the voice in his head? What did any of them know, anyway?
"That one of your cheesy movie lines, Sparky?", he asked, brushing her hand off. Something, someone was watching them. He could feel the eyes in his back, but he didn't have time to think about it or react before they started moving.

"Let's go team", Al repeated Jade's words sarcasticly, mimicking a childish smile, before turnung away and waving his hand at the people who were with him. He let Sharon open the door (not that he could do much about that, anyway) and then walked inside the building, one of his guns in hand, the other one just an arm movement away. He felt the adrenaline hit his body like some designer drug, speeding up his breath and making him hyper aware of their surroundings. He took a deep breath, breathing in the stale air of the warehouse, before he started moving after Sharon. He didn't need a flashlight, as his eyes worked fine in the twilight of the hall. Plus, it was one more thing that he woud have to carry. What for?
The glowsticks did a nice job at making the environment look like a shabby bar that was trying its best to be hip. Al smirked, as he checked the surrounding, using mostly his ears and sense of smell, which always seemed to turn more sensitive while hunting. Apparently, there was some kind of state in between monster and man, a function of his that he had yet to discover.

“Trick or treat?”, he teased Sharon, “You really wanna go down that route? What if it brings you Luke’s head? Would you consider that a trick or a treat?”
He laughed, knowing that they were probably being watched. But what was a better distraction than pissing Sharon off? They walked past a container and suddenly, the room seemed brighter, ignited by the steady flickering of a screen. Al raised an eyebrow and stopped in his tracks, grabbing Sharon by whatever it was he could get a grip on. He pulled her back, behind the container, before she could do anything. He knew there was someone else with them. Someone weird, who smelt like fear. Carefully approaching, he looked more like an aggressive predator than a human being. If one looked at his face more closely, they would see his everpresent smug smirk turn into a baring of pointy teeth, as he granted the monster in the back of his head more control over his body. Though he loved the seemingly invincible force the monster granted him, he hated the loss of control it caused. He hated transforming, because he felt like he would never be in control of its impulses.

“Who are you?”, he hissed, the knocking inside his head growing stronger, “And what are you doing here?”
If that guy was a creature of some kind, he could still attack him. But now, that figure he saw looked an awful lot like a teenage boy and monster or not, he couldn’t just kill a kid. The others would give him hell about it and he might even be kicked out. Where would he go, then? He didn’t have anywhere else.

 

[kath1515]

|Kara Hudson|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse|
|Interactions: "Roof Team"|​

Kara nodded as Luke outlined the plan. Her, Jade, Donal, and Luke would enter the building from the roof, while Marceline, Sharon, Al, and Selena would go in through the front door. It was good, as unpredictable that they could make their entrance, the better. Splitting up could be dangerous, but at this point, it was what made the most sense. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was there with them, not a monster, but something or someone else. She turned her head to the side, looking for whatever was giving her this feeling but found nothing. Chalking it up to nerves about the change in the plan, she quashed the feeling and began to follow the “roof team” up to the rooftop.

With the use of Jade’s powers, Kara and Donal were lifted up to the rooftop. Once all four of them were securely on the roof, Luke gestured towards the door, which Donal began to use his spirit limbs to open. While waiting for the door to open, Kara heard the bang of the building’s front door being busted open and the unmistakable sound of Sharon’s fire-axe.

God, she thought to herself, she couldn’t have been any louder could she? Knowing Sharon, she probably did it on purpose, didn’t she realize they were trying not to attract attention. If that alerts whatever’s in there…..Sharon needs to start taking this a lot more seriously.

Refocusing, Kara saw Donal finish unlocking the door and pull it open. “Okay”, she said to Donal’s proposed order of entrance, she knew Luke would want to be the first one in. She then followed behind Luke as the group entered the door, using her powers to hold it open as Jade and then Donal came in behind her.

 

[berristar]

| Jesper Blythe |
| Location: Outside Warehouse |
| Interaction: Carson Waller |

Jesper screamed. The sound seemed to echo twice as loudly down the abandoned alleyway, the slow rushing of waves doing nothing to mask it. He whirled around and without thinking about it, threw the first knife towards whatever had just touched him. He knew the second the knife left his fingers that it would miss; he's too high strung and too freaked out to aim properly. The knife let out a dull clunk as it clanged against something down the alleyway, making the light flicker for a couple of seconds. "What the fuck!" Jesper screeched out, still unable to stall his beating heart. It felt as if his heart was actively trying to thrum its way out of his ribcage, and he reached one hand up to clutch at his shirt. His breathing was coming out in a very sporadic panicked way, and he knew he was having a panic attack. It took a couple of seconds for him to gain enough control over his body to properly see what or who had touched and scared him in the first place. Sandy blonde hair, permanent smirk, and a bat. That was all he could make out before his vision tinted black again due to not enough oxygen entering his body. "What. The. Fuck," he gasped, leaning his whole body against the storage unit as his legs threatened to give out underneath him. The touch to the storage unit suddenly made him realize that he was trying to spy on a group of people who, undoubtedly, heard his scream and know he's here.

"What in the living fuck is wrong with you?" He spat out towards the figure, eyes still stuck to the ground as he tried to calm himself down. Suddenly, a lightning bolt of pure power raced down his spine and he jerked up, eyes wide and gasping out loud. An overwhelming sense of copper rushed over him, even stronger than it was before. He doubled over and vomited on the ground, his stomach dry heaving even after he expelled all that he had. He looked up at the figure through tear blurred eyes and managed to croak out: "There are hundreds," before he collapsed, his entire body trying to shut down. Thankfully, he was able to stay awake but all his strength had left him, along with any and all reason.


​

 

[BatBrainBat]

| Carson Waller |
| Location: abandoned warehouse |
| Interaction: Jesper Blythe |


In the next few moments, several things went on with Carson. First of all, his knee-jerk reaction was to laugh as this grown man shrieked like a little girl. Immediately following that, his eyes caught and fixated on a knife that whizzed past his nose so close he could feel the breeze it created. He paused, and spun around to stare at the guy incredulously.

"Dude, what the hell, you coulda' killed me! It's called a joke, asshole!" As soon as the words left Carson's mouth, the man doubled over, forcing Carson to jerk back a foot to avoid getting vomit on his shoes.

His eyes were wide and his brain totally blanked. This was the last reaction Carson would have expected. Then, just as he was about to react, this weirdo blurted out something like, "There are hundreds," before crumpling dangerously close to his own mess.

Carson, mouth agape, frowned. The people by the warehouse were the last thing on his mind now as he stepped around in a comically wide arc to avoid the puke and the guy's body. On the man's other side, Carson knelt down and lightly shook his shoulder. "Yo, dude, you good? Jesus, I didn't mean to give you a heart attack, man. Should I like, call an ambulance or something?"


berristar

 

[Archie]

Luke Azar
Location: Abandoned Warehouse (Exterior)
With: House Group
​

Luke watched as Jade elevated the rest of the roof team to the top of the warehouse. Concurrently, he heard the smash of Sharon's axe through the front door. His eyes widened. They would need to move quickly in case the alerted monster decided to attack the ground floor group.

"Ladies, follow Luke in, if you would. I'll take the rear guard." Donal said after opening the door. Luke nodded to him, and, knowing that time was of the essence, leapt down the flight of stairs to the top floor of the warehouse. Turning his flashlight on, he scanned the room, finding two boards that were covered up by white bedsheets in the center of the room, and a circuit breaker - stilled opened, to his right.

"This must be what the ghost used to turn the lights off. Looks like it wants us in the dark" he whispered to Jade and Kara, whom he assumed would be behind him.

Turning, he flipped all the switches from the off to the on position. Immediately, the ceiling lights on the upper level illuminated the room. With more light, the covered items looked more like mirrors than boards, with some of them being circular in nature. Slowly, he approached them, his sword drawn and his flashlight off. Reaching his hand out, he quickly grabbed both sheets, then kicked backwards, decreasing his bodyweight so that he could jump and land more than three meters away - what he judged to be a safe distance from a monster that could leap out of the mirrors he was about to uncover.

They were not mirrors. They were paintings.

Spoiler

Luke scowled. It was no wonder the bank's foreclosure agents didn't bother to take these paintings when they seized this property - no one would want to hang these in their house. But what, then, was the purpose of them?

With more lights in the room, Luke could see other objects as well - a hatch, presumably leading to the lower floor - and several boxes, all with metal locks.

"Kara, don't suppose you can get those open?" Luke asked, pointing his katana at the row of boxes.

"Carefully though, we don't know what might come out"

Just then, Luke heard a scream outside - From where Luke was standing, it sounded like it was coming from the lower floor, even though it was actually coming from outside the building.

"And the hatch! Quickly!" he beckoned. The other group must have been in trouble with the creature, and the roof group needed to help!

Of course, Luke was wrong about that, and Donal, being on top of the roof with a better indication of where the sound was coming from, knew that.

kath1515 , ArchAngelLexi Kabobtoss

((OOC notes: For some reason, the lights still aren't on on the lower floor despite Luke messing with the circuit breaker))

 

[berristar]

| Jesper Blythe |
| Location: Outside Warehouse |
| Interaction: Carson Waller |

Jesper felt the person's hand on his shoulder but all he could do for a couple of seconds is shiver and shake, his power flowing through him in a dangerously powerful way before he was able to rear it back in with a gasp. He lifted one hand to wave off the figure. "Yeah, I'm fine, no thanks to you," he managed to choke out, glaring up at the figure. "What the hell kinda joke is that, sneaking up on people?" He demanded, pushing his arms underneath his body to try and make himself sit up. Thankfully, enough of his strength had returned for him to be able to do that. Bringing his knees to his chest, Jesper leaned back against the storage unit and tried to breathe evenly through his mouth. "And it's not my fault I threw the knife, who the fuck just sneaks up on a person and taps them on the leg?" Jesper narrowed his eyes at the man. "For all you knew, I could have been trained in martial arts or something," he added and drew a hand across his mouth to wipe away the vomit, wrinkling his nose at the smell. Isn't my power supposed to be helpful or something? He grumbled in his mind, feeling positively humiliated and pissed off at both himself and at the stranger.

He finally felt strong enough to stand up and with surprising ease, he sprang up onto his feet. In the dim light of the alleyway, he could see more of who the fuck scared him. Something about the guy didn't seem right to him; his left hand automatically gravitated to the knives on his hip. "Why are you here? What are you doing here?"
​

 

[kath1515]

|Kara Hudson|
|Location: Abandoned Warehouse|
|Interactions: “Roof Team”|​

Kara followed behind Luke as the group descended into the dark upper floor of the warehouse, Donal still on the rooftop. The only light in the room came from the flashlight in Luke’s hand as he pointed it over the sides of the room, illuminating a group of boards covered by sheets, before stopping on a circuit breaker.

"This must be what the ghost used to turn the lights off. Looks like it wants us in the dark" whispered Luke before he flipped on the switches, illuminating the room.

Quickly, Kara scanned the rest of the floor, hoping nothing was planning to get the jump on them before the group could fully catch their bearings in the now lit up room. Realizing they were safe, at least for the moment, she watched as Luke approached the covered board-like objects in the center of the room. Kara readied herself as Luke began to pull off the sheets, whatever was under them could charge as soon as the cover was removed. As it turned out, the sheets had been used to cover some, admittedly creepy, paintings. Why were they still here? She couldn’t imagine anyone would ever want them, but still, there was no reason for them to remain in the warehouse after it had been foreclosed. Something about the paintings didn’t sit right with her, but she brushed it off in favor of getting a better look at the rest of the floor, now that the lights were on. Most of the room was empty, which was expected, save for a group of boxes to the side, and a metal hatch embedded in the warehouse floor.

"Kara, don't suppose you can get those open?" Luke said. "Carefully though, we don't know what might come out"

Kara followed the point of his katana over to the boxes, closed with metal locks. “Yeah, I can get them open”, she said in response, moving closer to the boxes. Focusing on the locks, she began to use her powers to break open the first box, careful not to disturb whatever was inside. Like Luke had said, they had no idea what was in them, so it was better to err on the side of caution. She barely had time to get the first lock off before a scream that sounded like it came from the lower floor resounded throughout the warehouse. So far, much to Kara’s irritation, nothing had gone in accordance with the plan they had devised before arriving at the warehouse.

"And the hatch! Quickly!" shouted Luke.

As fast as she could, Kara bolted over to the hatch, once again using her powers in order to break it open. Hopefully, they got down fast enough to stop whatever monster had gotten the jump on the floor group. “Got it”, she shouted back, once the hatch was fully unblocked, revealing the ground floor of the warehouse, still covered in darkness.

Archie
ArchAngelLexi
Kabobtoss

 

[Kio.exe]

Selena Sparks:
Location: Inside warehouse | Interactions: Floor gang
​

Selena trailed after Sharon and Alistair, wincing as the former busted the door open with a bang. Well that was hardly inconspicuous, she thought, rolling her eyes. It was easy enough to see, due to the full moon and the glow sticks that lined their path, but a twinge of anxiety still made its way down her spine. She didn’t like the dark, never had, but she’d learned to suck it up long ago. Suddenly, Al pulled Sharon behind a storage container, having seen something just out of sight. Is it the monster?

Selena crept forward after Al, who had strode towards the (rather pathetic looking) figure, his teeth (well fangs now, she supposed) bared. From the looks of it, it wasn’t a monster at all, but a boy. She punched Al on the shoulder lightly, before bending down and offering a hand to him. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you,” she said, with a glare at Al. “Are you hurt? How long have you been here for?” She added gently, searching the boy for any injury. He seemed fine, but without knowing what sort of monster they were dealing with, she couldn’t be too sure.

Selena took a moment to study the room, which seemed to be filled with twisted sculptures and paintings. They all gave her the creeps. A shudder ran down her spine as she studied one in particular, a sculpture of what looked like a man, with his mouth twisted in agony, his body marred in ways that were un fixable. No wonder this place was abandoned. And it’s the perfect place for whatever beastie is hiding around here. Speaking of, where is the god damn thing? This place was giving her the creeps, and she wanted to kill the thing and leave, where she could fall into bed peacefully and not have to worry about anything else.