[M] - The Town Time Forgot (IC)

[Jherrick]

Waking up to the slight sound of ringing in your ears, you regain consciousness slowly, your vision blurring into view as you blink. With a slight groan you begin to stand up, your whole body aches, and your head feels like you've been hit with a baseball bat. As you regain your composure and sense of balance, staggering a little bit, you look about your surroundings.

Abandoned buildings stand crumbling all around you, some of them have busted out windows and missing doors, vegetation has taken its rightful place where it had once been removed, leading you to believe that this place hasn't been touched in many years. You look down at your feet, noting the paved, cracked, and slightly overgrown street, and follow it with your eyes. For as far as you can see, the dilapidated surroundings continue on both sides, ending on one side at a heavy fog bank, obscuring any further investigation from where you are standing; on the other end, you can make out the shadowy outline of a forest, with trees standing as tall as some of the taller buildings around you.

You let out a light shiver as your body begins to re-awaken all of your senses, your skin is damp, like you have been sweating, and as the air around you creeps in, you feel yourself becoming chilled. You catch the minor scent of decay and mold on the small breeze wafting out from the center of the town, causing you to crinkle your nose in disgust. The whole place has an eerie sense of complete emptiness about it, like it hasn't just been abandoned, but that the town has been completely forgotten, manifesting an aura of loneliness about it, causing you to become slightly unnerved.

You can't recall how you have managed to get here, but you're almost certain that you hadn't planned on it. A gentle trickle from behind your ear alerts you to a gnawing, but prominent, pain. You reach up and touch the area, coating your fingers in a warm, slightly sticky, wetness. Bringing them back into view, your suspicions have been confirmed, it's blood.

You let out a sigh and shake your head gently, trying to ignore the pain and find your way out of this place. You tighten up your body, drawing it in upon itself, to provide at least some protection against the encroaching cold. You place your hands in your pockets, searching for anything that you might have on you, finding nothing, no ID, no wallets, nothing that you had had before ending up here, save for a small crumpled piece of paper.

You pull out the paper and investigate it, opening it up to read the message written on it. At the top of the paper is a logo, a finely printed M in the center. The words found on it were typed, but not by anything computerized, the font is too far spaced and the ink is too thick and dark, but the message is perfectly clear. Two words, that after reading, fill you with a sense of subtle panic.“Welcome Home".

http://i.imgur.com/5zurJt3.png

[Mr. Gen]

"Home..?" He repeated to himself, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he looked about. He wasn't wearing much, a simple pair of cargo pants, boots and a t-shirt, he had to find himself a jacket or something, if this place got any colder he'd have more things to worry about than the loneliness. The paper was folded neatly and put away in his back pocket, and so he started his walk, eyes roving back and forth. He hoped he'd see someone, yet he didn't, something wasn't right about the place. The air was thick, thick and unsettling, as if simply breathing had become that much harder to do, but he paid no mind to it. After walking for a little while he managed to find himself what looked to be a tailor, and of course, the door itself was locked.

With a sigh he'd step back a little, only to find half a brick laying on the curb of the street, and sure enough the brick flew through the tailors window and into the darkness beyond. He hesitated for a moment, but after a second to steele himself he'd move in, beginning to search the place for anything useful, jackets, gloves, bags, anything he could use.

Most would wonder why Rook didn't try to call for help yet, but there was a perfectly acceptable reason, he had spent a lot of time in survival situation, being a war photographer and all, and most of the time not making noise was the wisest thing you could do, so he kept it as quiet as possible, except for the breaking and entering of the tailor store. Once he emerged he had managed to find himself a pair of woolen finger-less gloves and a simple coat, it wasn't a winter coat, it reached his knees and after closing it and feeling his body start to warm up again he'd continue his walk down the road, it had to end somewhere, right?

[Jherrick]

The shattering of the window was louder than you would have expected, reverberating off of the surrounding buildings, breaking the eerie silence that hung over the place like a veil. With a small curse under your breath, you enter the store to find your new attire, hoping that whatever was going on, that brick didn't cause you any trouble.

As you walk along the street, you take in it's emptiness, the loneliness that is almost suffocating, you watch the corners of the buildings, observing the shadows, almost wishing you would see something move. The road stretches on in front of you, never seeming to end; you bundle up a little more, the air becoming frigid as you're enveloped by the fog, obscuring your vision to almost nothing. After what feels like hours, when you've really only been walking for 30 minutes, or so, the road comes to a stop.

In front of you is a T-intersection, leading off even further in either direction. You can't make out any details through the fog except the vague outline of a few more buildings. As you decide which way to turn, a howl erupts from behind you, cutting through the silence and fog like a knife. You cup your ears, groaning in slight pain, against the noise.

The howl erupts again, powerful and heavy, it sounds unlike anything you have ever heard before. Seeming to come from all around you now, you can't pin-point an exact origin, but you're pretty sure that whatever it is, it isn't far off, and judging by how you could tell it was behind you just a moment ago, whatever it is, it's getting closer.

[Mr. Gen]

He came to a slow stop, arms crossing as he sighed heavily, a t-section, he swore a moment ago he saw trees in the distance, but thanks to the fog even he was starting to second guess himself. He started thinking to himself then, he was good with geography, maybe he could pinpoint himself on the world if he could get a good look at some sort of traffic sign, maybe some vegetation and the buildings, but that's when it came, the loud howl in the fog.

He turned instantly in the direction, his body instinctively turned towards him and it barely took a second for his flight or fight to kick in, and this time, he was going to fly. His feet instantly lunged him down the right road, his coat flaring lightly in the wind as he ran as fast as he could through the fog, using anything he could along the way to guide him, he had to find somewhere to hide, or a weapon, something, that wasn't human, it was an animal right? He had dealt with wild animals before.. He needed that weapon. His silent running slowly turned into heavy breathing, and finally panting, he was a sporty fellow, but not a track runner, but his speed maintained, he'd rather die of tiredness than die as food for some hungry animal. He quickly glanced back, trying to see if he could spot anything in the fog before continuing, and as he turned his head forward he'd wish for another road, if this road kept running straight the way it did, he'd have to make a stand, as out running any animal would be a bad call.

[Jherrick]

The howling echoed after you once more, slow and mournful, filling the entire street with its power, as you run further down the pavement, franticly searching for anything that you could use, either as a weapon, or shelter. Your eyes dart back and forth, all you see is crumbling buildings, nothing that would be a good shelter, until you come to the end.
Standing in front of you is what appears to be a diner, the windows are all in tact, and it seems that it has yet to be reclaimed by the encroaching wilderness. The buildings around it are all dilapidated, with windows busted out and doors that have rotted away, but the diner stands proudly, almost as if it is defying the reclamation.

The howl comes again and you shake your head, seeking shelter is what you have been after, and this place seemed as good as any. You try the door and find it unlocked. Stepping inside, you look around yourself, having difficulty adjusting to the complete darkness of the building, you fumble around some tables and chairs, blindly following your hands as you look for somewhere solid to hide behind. Finally you grab ahold of the counter and follow it around towards the bend, and then climbing behind it, crouching low, hoping that you're not visible from the outside, you peer out into the fog, trying to see if you can make out any shapes of what was out there.

The fog swirled against the glass, a feint blue hue touching against the almost pure white cloud, almost as if it was trying to get inside. What tiny amount of light that was allowed in did little for your sight, but you could swear you saw the fog taking shape, only for a moment, but plain as day, the vision was etched into the back of your mind. It appeared to be some kind of quadrupedal animal, maybe a wolf, but it was much larger than any wolf you had ever encountered, on all fours it was easily as tall as yourself. However, just as quickly as you thought you had seen it, it was gone, leaving you to wonder if maybe you had imagined it, dreamed it up out of your fear.

You rest there, behind the counter of this diner that has stood the test of time, and catch your breath.

[Mr. Gen]

His eyes were wide open, his breathing slow and deep as his body instinctively tried to catch its breath. His mind however, lingered on whatever he had been running from, what was that, a part of him wished he had his camera, the other part of him wanted to simply get out of this hell hole. He glanced over the counter once more, looking at the windows with one eye, leaving the other one closed. His closed eye was soon used to the darkness of the diner, and carefully he'd searching the diner, being as silent as possible as he looked for anything that could work as a weapon, a knife, a fire axe, maybe tool closet with wrench or something in it.

He was methodical, first crawling through the main floor of the diner and peaking into doors in hopes of finding the maintenance closet, then he'd move it around the back, keeping low as he searched the kitchen and storage rooms for anything that he could use, he wasn't particularly good at fighting, but he'd be better off fighting with a weapon rather than fight with his bare hands, especially if something as big as whatever chased him lurked about outside.

(Sorry for the late response, work things came in.)

[Jherrick]

The creature outside soon faded back into the fog, which seemed to part itself in order to make way for the beast. You let out a sigh of relief as you continue your search for a weapon. After a couple of minutes of slow, deliberate crawling, you find a rusted knife and a broken piece of pipe inside one of the kitchen cabinets, it wasn't much, but at least it was something.

Deciding it was safe, again, you slowly stand up, watching for any sign of the creatures return, but when nothing happened, you regained yourself, letting the adrenaline slow and eventually disappear. You take a moment to look around yourself, taking in the diner as best as you can.

The tables and chairs were all covered in a thick grime, but other than that, nothing really seemed to be out of place, none of the chairs were moved from their resting places under the tables, nothing was on top of the tables or counters, the place was empty, for the most part. The back rooms, the kitchen and a small closet, were stocked with various pots, pans, and cooking utensils, none of which were very useful to you. The air felt thick and heavy, now that you've collected yourself a little more.
You notice the smell of decay and mold in the air as you breathe, causing you to cough and choke.

You pull your shirt up over your nose and make your way into the back of the building, deeming that safer than venturing back out of the front. It becomes so dark that even your adjusted eyes cannot penetrate the void. You let out another small cough and fumble around a bit, tripping on something and falling face-first to the floor, landing next to an old pack of cigarettes and a metal lighter.


(Its fine, I'm having school things going on at the moment, myself, so I understand, take your time.)

[Psyche]

Holding the thin slip of paper in her hand, Blaire frowned down at it in confusion. Who or what was M? It probable didn’t mean anything. With a shake of the head, she crumpled the note in her hand and shoved it back in the pocket of her light gray rain coat. She couldn’t fight the feeling of panic settling in the bottom of her stomach like a rock. Suddenly her neck prickled with anxiety as the feeling of being watched overwhelmed her. Whipping around, she looked behind her only to find more empty buildings along the street. She pulled her jacket closer around her, glad she wore something warm today. With her gray jacket, black slacks, and white long-sleeve button up blouse, she was well insulated from the chill.

“Where the hell is everyone?” She mumbled to herself, still looking around the little town center at all of the apparently empty buildings. As she took a step forward, she stumbled as the skinny heel of her shoe hit a crack in the pavement. The heel broke from the sole of the shoe, forcing her to stoop down and deal with it. She cursed under her breath as she pulled the black patent leather shoe from her foot and examined the heel. She sighed heavily, then went ahead and pulled off her other shoe so she wouldn’t have to stumble down the street.

There had to be a shoe store around here… and a phone, and hopefully another person around to explain what the hell was going on. She began to walk barefoot down the sidewalk, the cement cold on her feet. Every time she passed a window, she glanced inside the building, to see if anyone is inside. Many of them were dark, too dark for her to see inside at this time of day. As always, her eyes scanned the street ahead of her, watching for dark alleys and corners to avoid as well as for objects she could use as potential weapons. It was a skill she developed years ago after being assaulted on the streets. There was a fallen branch in the sidewalk not too far ahead of her she could use, should she need it. Or that large rock stuck in the gutter by the curb.

“Hello?” She called, suddenly feeling as if someone – or something – was near. “Is anybody there?” She slowed her pace as the moved toward the street corner, where a large official-looking building blocked her view of the road beyond. She reached down to grab the two foot long branch from the ground as she continued forward hesitantly.

[Jherrick]

@Psyche:
The hairs on the back of Blaire's neck started to prickle up again as she walked down the desolate street, her eyes searching around for anyone who might be watching her, as she found nothing, she let out a sigh and shook her head, dismissing it as just anxiety of her surroundings. This place had a way of creeping up on you, it seemed.

She walked further down the street, rounding a few bends here and there, until she came to a stop in front of a building that read "Cobbler's". A slight sigh and a bit more of a chuckle than she expected escaped her as she saw the shoes in the window. She stepped inside and looked around in the almost complete darkness. her eyes couldn't adjust properly in the murky black of the room, but she was determined to find something to wear, lest her feet fall off.

The air inside was heavy and thick, almost suffocating, as she explored. A slight creak from behind her followed by a heavy slam as the door was shut caused her to cry out in fright and quickly spin around, seeing nothing. She gripped the branch tighter as her eyes adjusted a little more to the dark building.

[Psyche]

"Who's there?" She demanded, brown eyes darting from the origin of the noise at the door to just around it. Twisting the branch between both hands, Blaire held it tightly in front of her body. As she listened to the silence and stared into the darkness, she began to chide herself. The wind probably blew the door shut, by opening the front door, she probably created some sort of back draft. Yes, that had to be it. Slowly, she let out a long breath and then did a scared sort of chuckle as she forced her arms to relax her grip on the branch just enough to keep her knuckles from turning white.

"I'm just being paranoid. There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this." She thought out loud, as she often did when she was nervous. A psychologist once told her that if she could rationalize her way through the paranoia, it would keep her from having a panic attack. Keeping her breaths deep and even, Blaire attempted to calm her racing heart down to a steady beat again. "I'm sure the store employee just stepped out..." She began reaching a hand out in front of her into the darkness to check her way. "Just stepped out with the rest of the town..." She muttered, moving deeper into the darkness.