Ashgan

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

"It's possible," Trisha interjected between Joe and Alex's nervous talking, "There was incense in any case. Didn't recognize the smell, but I'm not in drug enforcement. But it wasn't a hallucination. We've all seen it and I don't think a collective, shared hallu is - plausible."

She had to pause for a moment, thinking about the use of the word plausible. None of what had just happened was, technically, plausible by any stretch. How could she discard the notion of a collective hallucination as far-fetched when the alternative was to accept that she had just seen a, for all intents and purposes, monster? When it meant that she had to admit that something like this existed, that it was real? There were no good options here.

"Sometimes," she went on, sounding a bit wistful, "we find out that there are things in this world we wouldn't have thought possible. Happens all the time when you're young, but there are surprises even for adults. We just have to adjust."

Adjusting was hard in this case. There were so, so many unknowns. About the creature itself: what was it? What motivated it? How did it operate? Where did it come from, where would it go? Where *could* it go? Was it intelligent? Were there more? Could they procreate? Could they die? What from?

There was no body of knowledge to rely on here, no scientific papers to consult or even just a basic wikipedia article to read. And Trisha felt decidedly unenthusiastic about establishing the basics through empirical testing in the future. Of course, there was one person who might consult her on the ins and outs of what had just happened - what had he called it again? An 'obscure event'? The term fitted like a glove.

"But more importantly, I want to dig. I can't rightly say that we've been made victim of a crime, but I sure do want to talk to McCoy. If that's his real name, I'm sure I can find him soon."

There was no guarantee, of course, that there ever was a doctor by that name. This could all have easily been a hoax to force them into a trap. But why? She could see no conceivable motive. If the goal was to get them killed there would have been far more effective methods. So much more effective that she wanted to rule out the possibility that murder was the motive. But what else could it be? Was it just a set-up to make them *see* the thing? Was it a way to force these people, and herself, to expand their notion of what was real in a way that exposed them to danger, but did not kill them? But again, why?

She needed to find the doctor, and soon. If for no other reason than to better establish a basis for further investigation.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

Joe retorted something back in the room; probably didn’t agree with her order to evacuate. She had no intention of repeating herself; the others complied, or they died. Their choice. Whatever he had said, she understood not a single word of it. There were far more pressing things on her mind: the shuffling creature before her, and the chilling thoughts it dredged up from the unconscious. Indeed, her predicament reminded her of something very specific, something she would rather not have remembered until it returned to collect its next due.

It was similar to a recurring nightmare she had every few years: She would be alone in dark place. A corridor or a basement perhaps, someplace lightless where abhorrent things happened out of sight. There too, an undefined thing was lumbering towards her, vaguely humanoid but with no discerning features. She could not describe its aspect, but she knew who it was. A demon who had given up humanity long ago, whose only purpose for humans was for him to slake his unnatural and vile desires. He approached her ever so slowly, but with inexorable certainty. In this dream, she was unarmed. She had nowhere to run. But the worst of it was this:

In this dream, she was a child.

Even if Joe had been drinking and intended to yank the gun from her hand, her fingers clutched the metal in a deathly cold grip, like rigor mortis. Save the index was at ease, hard discipline overriding her instincts even in this situation and preventing accidental or ill-conceived shots. It was the unmistakable sound of a photo being snapped that pulled her out of the mire and back to the present. Somebody had… snapped a photo. A photo? Were they out of their minds?

“The fuck are you doing?!” she hissed, eyes trained on the monster, “Get out already!”

More people were mobilizing now, including the unruly thug. It seemed that curiosity got the better of him and he too became witness to the thing that was coming uncomfortably close. Joe took hold of a fire extinguisher; normally, Trisha would have to see about disarming and calming him, but in this situation she figured it was permissible. Perhaps it was better this way. He urged her to shoot, but she would not. She was not a cowboy or a gangster, not a movie hero. Shooting at someone had to be the last resort, the purpose of which was not to subdue or kill, but to prevent greater harm. Shooting was a choice for the lesser of two evils. Moreover, discipline forbade her from being goaded towards violence by a third person. She would fire only if there was no alternative… or if she found the Violator.

The room emptied surprisingly quickly all of a sudden when the realization of real danger finally dawned upon every last person present. With nobody left inside, Joe suggested the two of them leave as well; his tone was almost agreeable.

“Is everyone out?” she asked, casting a brief glance into the meeting room to confirm this. Her feet were carrying her slowly backwards, arms still extended towards the thing. “Okay Joe, let’s move!”

With his agreement, the two of them would run for the staircase where, hopefully, the rest of the patients had already descended towards the lobby and the street.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

Follow your own judgement here, but I'll move us along before the weekend is over. You can always write retroactively.

@Poet

All right. I'll see if I can't get something up within the next 24 hours or so. If it's relevant for your post and you go before me, Trish is essentially going to retreat after making sure everyone else has done so before she has. Will fire on the thing only if she has no choice, i.e. if it's getting too close.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

I think everyone except Trivval's character have left the room, right? With an update on what he does, I feel I am ready to make a post.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

@Poet All right, cool. So it's basically like most RPs I've been in then; that rule could do with a light re-write. ^^

@Bishop That's why I rolled a whopping 8 willpower. Somebody has to keep their cool when things get dicey :P

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

All right, I guess I'll leave it as it is then.

Poet, I have one more question regarding the rules, namely this bit:

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜.

Opening Post

I'm wondering how strict you are on this. Clearly, the GM is in charge of the game world, as it were, but would it be allowed for a player to control a specific NPC they made up?

More to the point, the reason I'm asking is because I'm thinking that, if/when I write a scene where Trish is 'home', I'd like to write her friend who lives there as well because I have some very specific character dynamics in mind.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

I guess Poet can give a definitive answer, but way I understand it, it's in a straight hallway, that our door is perpendicular to, and it's fifteen meters away from our door. That's not something you spot from inside the room unless you peek out.

I mean, I can adjust my post so that she's inside the entire time, but I'm having some line of sight issues here. :P

---

Edit: I'm sorry, but I'm really super duper tired. I'll leave this detail pending for now, see if Poet adds his 2 cent at some point. Then, after catching up on the thread, I'll change this detail in my post tomorrow when I have a few spare minutes.

Sound okay? :)

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

So she peeked out?

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

She had to have at least her head in the hallway to spot it around the corner.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝙻𝚘𝚜𝚝

He looked like a man but spoke like a child. Trisha saw no point in arguing with Joe; if he wanted to be the contrarian, she’d leave him to his own devices. She owed him nothing, least of all a reply to his pointless outburst, predictable as it might have been. Evidently he had never known the yoke of authority, or at least had chafed under it for the entirety of his ill-conceived life. That’s how he ended up the crook he was in the first place. It’s painful, Joe; but sometimes, other people do know better than you.

She blinked a few times, waiting for anyone to muster the common sense to agree with her and ask to be escorted outside. Nothing ever came; the closest she got was Alex, who had shuffled closer to her but said nothing. Perhaps she was too frightened to speak up? Even without the occult nonsense going on, it would have been a tense situation: a tough-looking thug threatening to snap, and a crazed-sounding old timer who already had snapped by the looks of things. Best to cut her losses, she figured; there was no sign that these people were in actual danger, and she was just offering to take them out as a nice gesture. Her main interest was and remained going home.

“Looks like that’s it – hey?” Trisha was about to address Alex when she noticed that the girl had slipped through the doorway and was standing still in the hall – unnaturally still. The detective could spot the gentle shiver in the twitch of her fingers and the quivering of her lips. She stared at something, wild-eyed, before stumbling back into the room. She still did not speak a word, and simply pushed herself behind Trisha, holding onto her coat like a frightened child. She decided that she was not feigning it.

“What’s wrong? Is someone there?” she asked over her shoulder, trying to sound comforting but unable to shake the intrinsic coldness that seemed to permeate her every word. McCoy? Who else could it be? Why would they scare her so? Were they armed? Had McCoy gotten a gun? Or simply turned out to be a madman, perhaps finding a knife or a pair of scissors? If guns were involved, she had to be extremely careful – but, more importantly, she had to be in the know and find out. The only thing worse than a confirmed gun was an unknown element of threat.

“Let me look,” she said to Alex, gently and briefly squeezing her shoulder. Alex’s gaze had been towards the right of the exit, so that’s where the danger was. Trisha emerged into the hallway, shining her bright white smart phone screen towards the gloomy end of the hall.

The lizard brain reacted before the human one. Her blood froze, her heart skipped a few beats. Fight or flight. Like Alex before her, she stared at the inhuman monstrosity, half-way illuminated by light from the front and the back. She could not help but notice that same quiver on her lower lip. She thought she’d gotten rid of that long ago. Old habits died hard. Fight or flight? Maybe this was it. She had finally gone insane for real. Years of mental and physical abuse, inflicted by none other than herself, finally caught up with her. Wait, maybe it was the candles. Hallucinogenic? Yes, that could explain – No, it didn’t add up. Alex had seen it. Reacted the same way, looked at the same place. Could not be a coincidence. Shared hallucination? Too farfetched, even for candles with a strange oriental smell. Maybe, maybe – a prop? A costume?

Anything?

Panicked hopes were dashed when it howled like a buzz saw; a fierce screech that penetrated glass and bone. She saw no mouth. Fight or flight? Fight or – Fuck you, lizard. There were people to protect. This was her god damn job. She was not going to turn tail and run like a little girl. But the thing was already moving in her direction, albeit slowly – its every motion a disturbing twitch that evoked the dying spasms of road kill more than it did a wholesome, living thing. She had to be fast.

“Listen up civilians!” she yelled into the room, keeping her light and eyes peeled on the thing whose aspect dragged her deeper and deeper into a dark mire. “There’s someone dangerous in this building! For your own safety, I need all of you to form a line and evacuate the premises right now!”

Her tone of voice was stern and commanding; she left no room for doubt. “No dallying! Get out, take the staircase, get onto the street. Now! Move, move!”

With her free hand, she fumbled in the inside of her cloak and pulled out a sleek, black gun.

“Whoever you are, stay back and identify yourself!” she warned the creature, training her gently shaking barrel on it. It did not occur to her how ridiculous her demand was, given the situation.