[table] [row][cell][h2]L O R A L I E[/h2][/cell] [cell][right]4:45[sub] am[/sub] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 42[sup]o[/sup][/right][/cell][/row] [/table] [hr] [table] [row][cell]There were five more lights blinking on the radio tower than usual when Loralie went out to investigate. It’d been a normal night, and then suddenly they were getting weird feedback in the booth. “Oh, each of those lights is a fuse. Oh my god, all the fuses are blown.” Diane’s voice got high, like a falsetto. She’d followed the radio host into the parking lot to look up at the tower a few hundred feet away. In the two years Loralie worked there, nothing like this had ever happened. “Power rooms this way.” It was attached to the exterior wall of the building they broadcasted from. Inside, Loralie found the breaker box was trapped behind four massive rusted-on bolts. Without tools to strip them off, they were going to be dead in the water. Diane's voice started to quake, as hypothetical threats from iFart Radio’s monopoly villain bosses filtered through her mind. “Oh god, they’re going to fire me.” She stepped out of the small room and immediately lit up a cigarette, hands shielding it from the wind. They were a little bit down Kittatinny Ridge, and that meant they were pretty well exposed to the elements on the side of this round topped mountain. Loralie was dialing Sharod not a moment later, “Hey, I know it’s early but, could you bring over my toolbox from the garage? Fuse box to the tower is rusted shut”. He wasn’t due to be awake for another hour, when was also supposed to pick her up. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute Lor.” He’d hung up immediately after. In the meantime, Jack had come outside to see what was taking them so long. As the weather man for the station, he’d gotten there 15 minutes before everything went to hell to prep the forecast notes for most of the stations in Dauphin county. That’s where the three of them stood for a while. Barely outside the lobby of the broadcast building, Jack and Diane chain smoking cigarettes while Loralie eagerly watched for Sharrod. It was nearly 5:15 when Sharod’s headlights beamed through the parking lot. Loralie waved at him with her flashlight and he pulled the truck to a stop next to the building. It was a white GMT400 that Sharod protected with his life. Hopping out the side, he pulled the hatch down, and as he did- the ground shook hard. Sharod stumbled back from his truck, and suddenly, everything around them was gone. The station, the power room, all three cars in the parking lot. “Holy hell.” “Oh what the fuck.” “Fuck fuck fuck fuck” Everyone’s outbursts around Loralie were concerning. But Loralie just watched the radio towers above them fall at lightning speed. The robotic voice starts up inside her head and her heart begins to beat faster inside her chest. "Attention surviving planetary inhabitants. This message contains important information, please listen carefully." The words filter in front of her vision, and she is still through the entire presentation. Sharod shakes her when it’s over, and they look out over Harrisburg, two spotlights clearly visible. One too far to make it, the other closer, but it’ll still be close. “Alright yall, get to steppin’” Sharod grabs the front of Loralie’s jacket and begins pulling her down the mountain. Jack and Diane stumble after him protesting the entire way down. Jack is the more vocal of the two, “you can’t be serious about going in there.” Sharod comes to a dead stop. “As far as I see it, without Loralie’s meds, she’s dead in a week either way. So we don’t have much of a choice.” He turns to level a fiery gaze at Jack which shuts him up for the remainder of the trek down the hill. “5 minutes until dungeon entrances close permanently.” Sharod pushes open the large golden doors, peering into the odd hallway. “Sharod, this is crazy, am I hallucinating here?” His best friend levels a glance at him. “I wish.” It comes out in a huff, and Loralie feels icy fear race up her spine. She turns back to find Diane hovering at the door, Jack a few paces behind her. She looks behind once and then steps inside. Jack catches her hand and pulls her back. “Diane, what are you thinking?” It comes out gravely, angrily even. “I’m going in Jack- you heard what the robot said” in a mocking tone she parrots- “this may be the last communication you receive during your lifetime. Well everybody is [b]dead[/b] Jack. What are we going to do out here in the cold?” Jack doesn’t take this well. He wrenches her backwards by her arm, causing her to cry out. “Hey!” Loralie rushes forward, Sharod on her heels. She grabs the shorter woman’s arm and pulls Diane into the hallway. Jack tries to catch the back of her coat but ends up snagging her around the waist. “You can’t leave me alone out here Diane.” Sharod grabs both Diane’s arms, and somehow Jack’s got ahold of both of her ankles. It’s a brutal tug of war on Diane’s body as she starts to wail. “Let me go Jack! I’m going with them!” Shifting so he’s got her around her shoulders, Sharod wrenches them backwards to the door. They’re teetering on the edge of the entrance as the woman starts banging her arms down on top of Jacks, scratching into his flesh. “Let go of me!” She screams. Loralie feels time running out. She wraps her arms around Sharod’s waist and pulls once last time. The air around them shifts, and she stares in horror as Pennsylvania disappears from sight. Dirt packing in its absence as they are locked inside the dungeon. Diane’s in the dungeon with them. Diane’s upper half is in the dungeon with them. Sharod and Loralie fall to their knees, in front of the bisected woman, her eyes dimming nearly immediately. A few inches of the bottom of her shirt is missing, but it’s obscured by the darkening fabric around it. “Oh-” is the last word her mouth forms. Diane was in the dungeon with them for less than a minute. [/cell][/row] [/table] [table] [row][cell] [hr]Loralie [hr]New ACHIEVEMENT! Threshold Casualty! You have successfully killed another human using the dungeon entrance itself. This action occurred during transitional instantiation, prior to floor assignment, party formation, or sponsorship eligibility. [sub] This has never happened before.[/sub] Congratulations, Crawler. [sub] You didn’t cross the threshold alone.[/sub] Rewards: Gold Asshole Box [s]+1 Burden (Hidden)[sub]The weight does not lessen. You simply grow stronger beneath it.[/sub][/s] [hr] [/cell][cell] [hr]Sharod [hr]New ACHIEVEMENT! Necessary Grip You maintained physical control of a human being during dungeon instantiation while said human was split between inside and outside the dungeon. Release would have prevented death. Holding on ensured it. You did not make the final decision. [sub]The system recognizes your hands anyway.[/sub] Rewards: Passive Flag Applied: Unseen Liability Bronze Asshole Box [s]-1 Presence (Hidden) This reduction cannot be mitigated by equipment, illusion, or audience perception.[/s] [hr] [/cell][/row] [row][cell] [/cell][/row] [/table] [table] [row][cell] Loralie lets out a blood curdling scream “I didn’t kill her! She was my friend- you killed her!” She leans over Diane and begins to rage sob into the woman's body. “You fucking bastard! You didn’t have to kill her!” [/cell][/row] [/table]