Chapture One, Broken Car

It has been a cool September, lately there has been a lot of
rain and the air has been heavy with cold winds from the south. Your group is heading over to a school reunion,
though the reunion is only a few days away, you are planning ahead for a long
trip and are leaving early so you can get a hotel before all of them are filled
up with your old class of “XX”


All of you are stuck
in a white van that was given to one of your family members to drive; you have
found getting to the location to be quite difficult. Much of the main roads
have flooded, someone has lost the GPS cord, so the GPS is running low and to
top it off the snacks you have brought from the gas station are nearly gone.


While taking a quick detour, the GPS finally dies and
already the long one road detour is taking you further into the woods, and
already it is starting to get dark.


Ahead you see the lights of a town and civilization, a small
post sign near the front entrance states:


“Welcome to Crossing”


The buildings are close to one another, and a few catwalks
are placed to lead to second floors or across to the other building. Not many
are out due to how late it is but the faint lights from the overhanging lanterns
are fighting the fog to illuminate the darken streets.

Code:


http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/125/7/2/Town_of_endless_sleep_by_Miyukiko.jpg

Inside the van

Spoiler:

((You can play yourself or play someone else, you known each
other due to collage))


((someone please play the driver, you can describe as little or as
much of your reactions or thoughts, please describe what you have on your person you normally carry in your pockets, this maybe used int eh game and what you are wearing ty))

Matthew had his Sig Sauer 228 in his Black CQC holster inside the belt band, under the drivers seat he had the zip up black case with 2 magazines inside so he could reload twice if necessary. He also had his Leatherman tool, and Swiss army knife. He was wearing black slacks, and a grey 2012 Scarborough Renaissance Festival T-shirt. In the pockets he had a calculator, a pocket Gideon bible, glasses cleaning cloth, Wallet, and credit card case with credit cards. Also on his belt on the opposite side was his Emergency Management Official Badge with his callsign KE5FCW. He was wearing his Cocoran Jungle boots, worn quite a bit since he was wearing them to work as well. He had his quarterstaff with ranger beads so he could count his steps and figure out distance, he was hoping to hit up a trail on the way back, he loved hiking!

Naturally in his own duffel bag and camelback he had lots of gear, as he would not have gone on a trip without his usual gear.

In the Camel Back:
Complete change of clothing, All Identification (including 101 card, 76 card, First Aid card, etc.), Watch, Tissues, Orange Reflective Vest, Comb, Robert Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Signal Mirror, Hurricane Whistle, Pocket knife, Tanto Style Diving Knife, 2 Swiss Army knives, Leatherman type tool (it was a knockoff variant, its not as good).

In the Load Bearing Equipment Gear: (all individual sections are waterproof)
Hard Green plastic First Aid Kid containing (2 Antiseptic cleansing pads, Antiseptic ointment, 12 Band-Aids, various sizes, Moleskin, 2” X 4”, Roller bandage, 4 Safety pins, large, 8 gauze pads, 1 Triangular Bandage, Medical Tape, first aid, Multivitamin, C Vitamin, Golden-Seal, Anti-fungal cream and Rubber surgical gloves (4 pair))
Survival Kit containing (Duct tape, 50 feet, large Leaf Bag, 24 wooden waterproofed matches inside a waterproof match container with striking surface, 3 Green Chemical Light Sticks and 50’ of paracord.)
Personal Hiking/Hygiene equipment (in a Ziplock bag)
Change of socks, Flagging Tape (1 roll), a L-Flashlight (with red, blue, green, and blackout lenses), with spare bulb and batteries, Spare flashlight (LED flashlight), Insect repellent, Lip balm, with sunscreen, Sunscreen lotion, Tissue Paper, Leather Work Gloves, 20 Interviewing Form(s), blank, 4 Moist Towelettes, clean, in foil wrapper, $5(quarters) Change for phone calls, calling card.

In Duffel Bag
2 meals (MRE's), If its cold I packed an appropriate jacket. 2 Poncho (to be used for rain and possibly shelter), 2 Nalgene bottles for storing water, Compass Pouch, containing orienteering compass (which has a glow in the dark dial), Protractor, Map Case (maps from home, not maps from in area) (Large Zip-Lock bags to keep them dry), Pencil with erase and sharpener, Alcohol Pens, fine tip, at least yellow and purple (so I could use any flashlight lens and still read it), 2 alcohol swabs or a special alcohol pen eraser, A fold-able straightedge ruler, 12” long.

Framed Backpack
Tent (pup tent), 5 Meals (MRE)(which doesn't include the 2 in the duffel bag), 2 Leaf Bags, large, Bag, waterproof, containing: (Spare clothing (t-shirt, slacks), Underwear and socks, 3 changes.), Sleeping pad foam, Spare shoe laces, Sewing Kit with spare buttons, Shoe Shine Kit, Diddy Bag containing: (Toothbrush and paste, Shaving Kit, Deodorant, Washcloth and soap), Sleeping Bag, Webbing, nylon, 1” wide, 20’ long, Handheld Dual-band AM/FM Transceiver

Spoiler:

, Water Purification Tablets, Eye Protection (Lab Goggles), Entrenching Tool, Machete.

Matthew was tired from the long trip, realizing that even his navigational prowess couldn't get around the fact he didn't have a map of the area, and the GPS charger he brought got lost. Throughout the trip he had been stopping regularly to let people go to the restroom, and grabbing a liter bottle of Coca Cola, to keep him awake, despite his propensity for highway hypnosis.

Finding a town by the name of Crossing was a good turn of events. Perhaps they might find someone who sells chargers for the GPS, so we could get it recharged. The fog was thick, making the trip sluggish, and arguments between the other members in the van had been quite distracting. Everyone was annoyed at being cooped up in the van with each other, bringing out the worst in most if not all of those inside. Being the driver, Matthew would find the closest gas station or local store and see if he could hunt up a GPS charger, so we could press on to the school reunion.

Comander Dominique Esticado U.S Marine "Dom" or "Domino" to his friends had been unsure about coming to the reunion, his fiance Lottie who had allways possesed a frail constitution had taken a turn for the worse during his time in Iraq and it was only at her behest that he bothered to attend at all rather than tend to her deteriorating health.

Standing at 5'11" and 165lbs Dom's hazel eyes are framed by a pair of polarized sunglasses. Hidden bellow his overcoat lies his colt 45. Peacemaker and three dozen rounds in his dufflebag, Domino is currently sporting a grey dress shirt with a switch blade tucked in the pocket protector, faded denim jeans with his wallet, credit cards, in his left pocket and iphone4s in his right. His bowie hunting knife is tucked into a pair of ruged leather boots with a faded steel toe. Around his neck lies a locket bearing an ornate christian cross with a picture of Charlotte within.

In his cameo backpack: A hand held USB mechanical crank charger with a single outlet, six rolls of duct tape, a gun mateinace kit, Four cartons of filtered cigerates, A box of matches, A hollowed out bible with a flask full of whiskey, A magnifying glass, A zippo lighter with two canisters of lighter fluid, A compass, A sewing kit, ID and vital identifacation papers/ passport/ war medals etc, A chrome water proof time piece, a steel canteen, Flashlight, Masquito repellent, Bug repellent, a box of bobby pins, and a pair of thick black leather gloves.

In his black dufflebag: Four signal flares, A solar powered USB charger with a single outlet, three dozen revolver rounds, several pairs of clothing (includeing socks and undergarments), A pair of goggles, A silver saxophone within an ebony wood case bearing an faded inscripsion, two pairs of swim trunks, an thicker overcoat for cold weather, A colapseable fishing rod with a tackle box, An first aid kit with a box of bandages and medical wraps, A pair of ruber gloves and electrical tape, A pouch contains personal hygine products (electrical tooth brush, tooth paste, mouth wash, deoderent, two combs, two cans of hair spary, a pack of ruber bands, a pack of razor blades, shaveing cream, soap, lip balm, shampoo and bodywash.), An tent (sleeping bag, a sealed bag full of dehygerated food, a swiss army knife, a blanket, lottie's stuffed bear TED-D)

----

Dom remained silent for most of the ride his thoughts fixed solely on Lottie's well being, telling him not to worry and enjoy himself only served to bring his thoughts to her once more.

The abrupt halt of the van snaped Dom back to reality quickly, a glance a the driver's side mirror and into Matthew's face was all the explaination Dom needed, figures that the car would break down in the middle of nowhere.

Glanceing at the group's designated driver and inquireing as to the current state of things Dom offers what assistance he can "Matthew I've got a mechanical and solar powared charger with me I suggest that we make use of either one to get the GPS back online so we can figure out just where Crossing is." Dominique chukles slightly at the name of the town "...Crossing eh? Sounds like something out of a Stephen king novel."

Matt looks over at Dominique, annoyed that he thought the engine died. I mean, it is very quiet, and barely audible over the air conditioning, but, its not like the vehicle wasn't currently moving, it was just moving sluggishly, due to needing the bright headlights so he could see what areas were flooded, and avoid chug holes. They really needed to fix the roads around here, they are absolute crap.

"It hasn't died, also, towns right over there!"

He points towards the foggy, darkened streets of the town very obviously called 'crossing'. Slowing down a bit, as due to the luck they have had thus far, he expects the bridge to town to be out or something. He was also very weary, as he was nervous of getting the engine flooded, so he avoided hitting water too fast, for fear of killing the engine. They DID however, need to stop for gas in town, due to the fact they were decently low on both gas, snacks, and he needed to piss.

"Also, its foggy, no solar powered anything is going to work until the fog lifts. Just let me keep driving, thought we might want to wake the others, since we're getting close to a town."

(( Hoping before I post again, we get more players. ))

((Same here, Who wouldn't want to get in on a survival/horror game? I fondly remember a certain WoD game composed of a bunch of snarky characters which ended prematurely due to a certain doctora.))

In situations such as these tensions tended to run high and the moods of Matthew and the other passengers have begun to worsen due to stress that comes with shity predicaments such as this.

Dom understood that Mattew was exhausted and more than a little miffed, arguing with the driver who obviously knew the vehicle better than he did wouldn't acomplsih much, so with a resigned shrug Dom whiped out his iphone half a charge not bad at all..

Looking out through the window twords the murky road ahead of the van Dom took a moment to inhale the cool fall air in order to calm his nerves though the dense fog only served to piss him off slightly more, he needed a smoke badly but he'd been trying to kick the habbit for a while with little sucsses.

Dom would meet Matthew's gaze once again "I see the town just as well as the rest of us hoss I ment that I wanted to know exactly where Crossing is located and how far it is from our destination I'm not familiar with the area and I'm unsure if the others are, but I suppose that is besides the point now. Waking the others is a good idea and we should figure out what else we'll need besides snacks and beverages, for the record the chargers are seperate one has a hand crank and powers electronics with kenetic energy the second one is solar."

((just to have more fun two npc time))

The couple inside the van had been asleep and quite, though every once in a while they rumbled with argument and requesting the driver to get to a gas station.
Tom was a lawyer from Nebraska, he was a city boy all the way, and his term of camping was renting a hotel, and hiking was getting to a corner of a sidewalk for a cab. The 28 year old was thin 5’8, his black hair was spiked up and back. Though he carried a large metal suitcase, it only had his clothes, back of batteries and a few papers from work.

Already Tom was peeved, his cellphone plastered to his head was giving him static when getting to town and already he lost contact with his secretary, “DANG it! I was asking Myelin where the hell Crossing was!”

Sighing he wished Barbe didn’t convince him to go along with this trip, he wanted to work and he really wished he didn’t wear his Tistoni shoes with all the nasty rain an fog. Loosing up his black tie around his neck, he hoped he could take off his grey matching suit jacket and just wear his white long sleeve business shirt but he would have to wait tell they got inside.

Barbe rolled her eyes, she had two suitcases with her, one with her clothing and the other for her makeup and shoes, as the idea was for them to be dropped at a hotel and picked up later when they got to a more decent town. Already she was turning her noise up on the thought they would go to some hillbilly town, “Shut it Tom,I told you don’t bring your cellphone, we are supposed to have fun!. Geeze can we hurry up to a hotel already?”

Barbe was 26, fashion was the key for this female to always look her best, and this brunet was damned sure to get what she wanted. Already she was eating the last remaining health candy bar, as her little trips to the gas station was only to keep up her 160 figure. She wore a cut off red dress and tip white shoes to match with her little red riding hood design but even with this weather her little red outfit would get soaked to looking a dark dingy red…

Meanwhile the new arrivals came closer and closer, the driver would see with luck the red wooden bridge was perfectly above the rushing water river at the entrance of the town and to the right past a few house of the slick black streets. Away from the protection of the cluster of buildings a lone metal building stood with a metal shack at the left side of the building as they where coming in.

Faint glowing lights of a red neon sign glinted in the horrible weather “G-S”, though the luck of the new party was running low, already the old vans dashboard warned the driver it was running low on gas and the strange sounds coming from the van after getting over the bridge caused some worry. With steady careful driving they had managed to make it to the pump, before the van dropped to a complete stop as a loud pop from the two left tires could be heard.

Code:

http://th01.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2012/040/2/5/256c91e026953b489b9daca4a4e4a13b-d4p4vho.jpg

(ignore the desert background, everything else is there))

The buzzing of the gas stations neon sign brighten the area up with a fuzzy red glow, as the lights of the building indicated with the new group that the gas attendant was inside and the place was open.

The van though had two flat tires, each tire having many large sharp piece of crud metal imbedded in the thick rubbery wheels, it had appeared the trip had landed them inside the town of crossing in-front of the gas-station.

The elderly man inside the wooden old gas station gazed out through dust covered windows and smiled a gaped smiled. Slowly the elderly figure looking like he was in his 70 walked over to the wooden door and spoke out in a crocky southern voice, "Aye, Yall look like your in a mess of trouble now, yall wanna come inside from the cold?"
He held the door open as he waited a reply, the elderly figured revealed him self to the group as a weathered line old grinning man with a simple white collard t-shirt and brown pants that was hiked up above his waist, supported by black suspenders. His boots looked to be simple and black, as if he was ready for any times of weather..

Already Tom sighed, upset of the new situation, as he just made a fake smile and spoke through closed teeth, giving the old fart that everything was fine in the back seat, "hurry up commando joe and camper coon, and get us the hell out of this hillbilly town."

Barbe was quick on the fly an slapped Tom the back of the head and frowned, "Tom, they are our classmates, behave, I'm sorry guys, Mr. Fancy pants sees places like these and knows he can't get a good hotel. Will stay inside, no offense you guys have simple outfits and our are a little pricy if you understand what I mean." Already the couple began to fight again about how to act with other people..

Inside the store if anyone ventures, they would find it rather old 1970's style inside, small tables containing slabs of meat was cooling in a strange old ice chest. While glass bottles of soda pop lined up on the cooler on the shelf, a few rows of old brand chips and candy was lined up with outrages pricing of costing 50 cents to a dollar. To the corner of the store by the locked back door saying employes only, held a gumball machine, while a large 25 cent barrel held tons of casset tapes to listen in the radio. It appeared the only advance thing sold in the store was flashlight and batteries, behind a u-bind table as a metal register that had at the right side packs of cigarets and fruit..

((almost standered gas station stuff))

"I think we should go inside, its nasty out here. We DO need to find replacement tires, as we only have 1 full size spare, and no mini."

Going inside, Matthew went over and grabbed 2 sets of flashlight and batteries.
"Tom, Barbe, have a flashlight and replacement batteries. It is too dark for me to help you see with my flashlight at all times, so your going to need them. Don't use them unless you need them, conserve the battery."

After paying for the flashlight and batteries, he turned to the old man and then asked about the most pressing issue, at least in his opinion.

"Thanks for inviting us in. Do you have a place around here that sells tires?"

Dom would slide his hand into his backpack to fish out a single cigarette, light it up and step out into the cool air and neon lights of the service station.

Taking a long drag on his death stick he'd close his eyes and let the alkaloid known as 3-[(2S)-1-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl]pyridine a.k.a nicotine, give him the "Down" he needed to center himself. Taking a moment to sling his back back over his shoulder he shot a quick glance at the couple in the backseat "Those two can hardly stand to be around each other...relationships like those never last... Blowing a small cloud of smoke from the side of his mouth Dom would follow Matthew to the entrance of the gas station.

Another long drag preludes Dom blowing a sharp whistle and holding out his hand in greeting "Nice town you've got here I'm Dominique Esticado and this here is Matthew. Is there a place where we could lay up for the night?"

The old man watched them as he was confused why the young man named “Matthew” was talking to himself as he guessed the couple refusing to leave the car was Tom and Barbe. The elderly man rang Matthew up, still having that grin across his face, “It’s good to have ya’ll here, though the weather is rather darken at this time but my store is always open no mattar what it is out there like our post mans motto but add in gas station.”
He chuckled at his own pun and scratched his head with his right thumb, thinking it over of the question he was given, “Well not in this late night, Jeb will sell ya some tires though they an’t as good as his brother tires, oh his brother name is Jeff if you must know. They are across town and how bad this weather is, ya’ll are stuck having to truck it out, can’t miss the place they are called Jeb and Jeffs..Both boys are slow in the head but if you treat them nicely, they will treat you nicely..”
He wavered his hand in a direction toward the west, giving a broad general direction of where the store would be located, “ Guessing Jeb and Jeffs tire store opens around 10:00 in the morning, so it be a long time..” He paused looking over to Dom and saw him whistle and held out his hand, the old timer just grinned brighter and shook it.
Dom would find though the old man seemed frail, his hand shack was abnormally strong, as the old codgers broke the greeting after three shacks and nodded, “It was nice, guess still is, buildings are still around but its nice to meet you Mr. Dominique, and Mr. Matthew, My name is Priser le’ Keapevy, Mom thought it be fancy to have le’ there and as of mi father, he is from itela. Funny howed the world is, but here I am flapping my gums.” He coughed and nodded going into the counter, “Gotta a map of the town, little outdated but the’re be a few places to go to, if I can find it if you wait a second I might be able to find it.” He dug around, his head down from them, but his voice still held that cheerful greeting as before, “The old hotel is burned down, terrible incident happen there so that is outta the window, only three options though, first option I wouldn’t dare do is sleep in the old library school up the road from here on the old cemetery hill, second option is the old Marsh Manor, kinda a makeshift hotel tell the old hotel is rebuilt, and the third option is the best if I where ya. Sleep in the broken shack in the woods, kinda damp and broken down but safest place besides the roaming critters every once in a while. “

"Nice to meet you Mr. Keapevy. Whereas you suggest the broken shack, why not the library or the Marsh Manor?"

Matthew was not looking forward to sleeping in a damp and broken down shack, but if push came to shove, he would take that over roughing it in the wild. He didn't want to get attacked by wild critters, after all.

Dominique cocks his right eye brow "Two questions friend just what kind of incident took place at the old hotel and secondly are there any landlines we could make use of, our wireless reception is very...funky out here."

((forgot to mention, the guy your talking to speaks in a southern Louisiana draw, I’ll just type normally and you can use your imaginations from there ))

Mr.Keap, smirked softly and wavered his hand, “Call me Keap, it makes it easy on the tongue sonny..” He almost bashed his head against the register, when he heard the question about the library and the manor, “Well, if you’re superstitious as I, I wouldn’t sleep in the place, not for a million dollars.” His face grew rather serious as he lost his happy demeanor for a second, “ The place is haunted, Many years before I was even born, the story goes’ the librarian had managed to buy a book overseas called, the Tumb’ler, or tumbla..something tum..” He coughed shaking his head on getting back on the subject, “Anyway, the little lady, being quiet, lonely and seeking adventure in her own little story world. Was all excited about reading this book, and when she finally got it, she found the book, that she had always wanted. It was covered in some kinda red cloth, some people say it was silk with symbols on the edges, and tied by thin black twine. A letter was ontop of the thick book, warning the new owner of what she obtained but the lady being so excited for her book, just ignored everything around her and undid the twine. Discarding the letter ontop of the table and fretting over the condition of the tome..

She had opened it and stared at the book for hours, standing still as a statue and lost her mind, other say a demon came out of it and went inside her. No one knows what had happen but it must have broken her mind, soon the quiet little lady was no more. She locked 14 people inside the old school library, what happen inside? We don’t known besides Maggy, they found her when she was six, hiding in the fireplace, with her little white dress soaked in blood and holding a candle close to her chest as if she the darkness was going to get her. Somehow she managed to survive with all the injuries she got,but that little girl never really talked much of what had happened.

I Think Maggy is still alive to this day? Poor girl, I go by her old house and drop off food and supplies sense she can’t really take care of herself. “

He paused seeing he was ranting and wavered his hand in apology, “rambling anyway back to the story, all we do know is a lot of people died, and librarian kept her self-held up in the dark, for almost 7 days, it took almost the whole town of men to get her out and hang her for the crimes she committed. When they managed to bring her out, and finish her off, they said the tree that helped them with her death had started to die and so did much of the soil around the library. When she passed on, someone had said that they saw a dark shadow of her holding a book and slipping into the library. “ He paused as the whole store seemed to grow eerily quiet before the old man broke a smile and laughed, “ But it’s just a story, they say her spirit haunts it, and hides in the dark, waiting for others to join her.”

He moved his hand to his head, moving back his wispy white hair about mentioning the manor, “Manor had a rich man, from some university and accompanied him was his a strange brother. Well they said that they were scientists, and they had built the manor because it was the perfect spot to overlook the whole town. They say when they built the manor, a lot of construction workers had died on the project, saying that the land was haunted and nothing good would come living there. The rich man had paid them to swallow their fears and to keep building, from what I was told; The rich man had taken a lot of women, up the manor and they never came down, the cops never looked into it because the guy paid them off to turn and overlook the whole thing. All I know is the manor has some kinda darkness around it, brothers never were seen again. Ever sense the construction of the building, and when wind is just right, townsfolk will hear a scream of a female."

The storekeeper soon found what he was looking for and pulled up the map, “Here ya go, its outdated but still is useful, better than nothing.”

Mr.Keap, smiled to Dominique and handed him the map, “The Hotel had a horrible fire, the townsfolk had gathered for a comity, and had been interrupted by an outsider.” He moved his sleeve up, to reveal the large burned abrasion across his shoulder, “He had cocktails, and the place light up like a matchbox, he was screaming like a lunatic about us being the true evil and the fires will greet us again?” He made an unsure look as his face scrunched on remembering exactly what had happened, “mayor had died, and so did his family, and three other people, half of us in town had gotten injured..” He paused moving his sleeve back down and gave a wide smile, “Well this whole town deals with mining, and our place is on a heavy metallic mineral deposit, so cellphones and wireless electrical doodads don’t work well around here. As of the lines, the town lines work fine but the weather has knocked down the lines outside of town by the river. I think they will be up in a few days once the weather dies down and it’s safe to work outside. ..”


(will post map later, just keep posting))

Dom took another long drag on the cigarette before musing to himself "Yep straight outta a Stephen King novel."

Looking up at their venerable host Dom would take the map give it a quick once over before handing it to Matthew for his appraisal "Thank you kindly for sharing your stories Mr.Keap, If the others agree then I think it'll be best to avoid the places with sketchy history." Another Drag on his smoke "A little elbow grease an I'm sure the shack will be serviceable for our time in crossing."

Shooting a glance at Matt then at the Keap "Oh and one more thing...would you kindly tell me where to find Maggy or mark her home on the map I'd like to go a bit further into the rabbit hole while I'm here."

After listening intently, giving appropriate reactions like "Oh, that sucks" and "Wow... how horrible" when Mr. Keap finally finished, he rubbed his eyes a bit.

"Man... I am too tired to put up with this..."

After the map was given to him, he glanced at it thoroughly then looked up at Dom, who was asking yet another question, but not the one he felt was most pertinent.

"Hold your horses Dom. Mr Keap, would you mind informing me of these... roaming critters, we might expect to run into at or near the Shack?"

The old man looked to Dom unsure, “Mind putting that out? Place is too old and fire an gas doesn't sit to well with me.” He nodded seeing no harm on giving them the information, “Sure thing, Maggy might love visitors, but mind if you drop this bag of groceries off to her?” He pointed to a red bag, brimming with produce on the corner of the counter, “I’ll mark it on the map for ya.”
He awaited for Matt to give it to him as he heard the next question, “Ah critters, common coon, squirrel, random deer, snakes and the cave bears that might venture down from the mine to snoop for food. Though we have the legendary Squoobea, he paused seeing the looks of not understanding what he meant, “Squoobea, the critter that kinda looks like a bear, but his size is half of an adult cave bear, long tail and claws like a squirrel. His fur is the pattern of a coon, but the critter is blind like a bat, so as long as you don’t move or make too many sounds, I’m sure you will be fine… Though I recommend not covering your selves up with honey.” He chuckled on that last nonsense pun.

"Don't... move... make... too many sounds... Um? Is it related to a snipe? or is it a real ceature?"

Mr.Keap looked unsure, “Well, don’t known if its real or not, can’t say I laid eyes on it but a few people around her has said they had seen it. Think there is even a store dedicated to the legendary phenomenon, but it being so late it isn’t worth going out and asking..” He looked puzzled, “Snipe?”

Taking a quick look at the map before picking up the grocery bag and walking out of the gas station where Dom spat out the half smoked cigarette and ground it between his heel and the asphalt.

Once he reached the Van he would share the information he gathered with Tom and Barbe, before awaiting Matt's return so they could make a consensus.

Matt returns to the vehicle, but not before asking.

"Can we not stay the night here?"

Mr.Keap looked to Matt unsure, "Um? here? This is a store, its not a hotel..think its kinda against a law or something?" Not fully understanding what the young man was getting at and yawned tiredly, "mmm, might close the store due to weather if this keeps up.." Looking out at the thunder and lighting flashing across the sky, the wind howling in anger.

Of course Tom and Barbe, didn't think anything of the stories, Tom just scoffed, "Hillbillies, I swear, mphf, I guess the manor sense its big and has to be more suitable than a dingy library."

Barbe of course agreed, though she looked outside in the wet weather, "But how are suppose to get there with out getting completely soak?"

Walking back to the van, Matt heard Tom and Barbe discussing the situation.

"Nevermind, your right. Mr. Keap. Ok, so, my thought is, the shack, since both the library, and the manor have bad histories, and are not a good place to get sleep, from what I hear. Getting there is going to be the hardest part, on the plus side, I have trash sacks we can cut holes out of, and I have a poncho and a spare, so we all have something to wear, to not get soaked.

Sparing a look at the grocery bag tucked under his coat Dom would give a slight cough to get the attention of the others "Before we go out into the woods to look for this shack, I'd like to know if you guys wouldn't mind making a detour to deliver some food to an orphaned girl who is in god knows what condition?"

Tom snickered at Mathew, “Fine, why don’t Barbe and I go to the manor and you two boyscouts can have fun in a leaky shack.”

Clearly not settling with the idea of having to deal with the woods and even noted Barbe had finally agreed with him on this matter.

Barbe held Toms arm, Looking to Tom unsure, “I rather go to the mansion, but if we have to split up its fine, let’s do our good deed with delivering some produce to an old woman and then head to the mansion..” she smiled hoping that would settle any dispute as she approved of the bags being some sort of poncho.

Tom gestured to the one who had the map to lead toward the woman’s home, while he was already setting up the bags and getting things ready to deal with the rain.
While Barbe was nervous on the thought of splitting up in a hillbilly town but she couldn’t image herself being in a small wooden frame leaky shack.

((pushing the story forward XD epic on grocery bag btw))

When or if they headed toward the old woman’s house, it would be outside of town, up the road past the gas station and along a dirt road that was three inches of running muddy water going downhill. The house would be up a hill and taking the party about thirty five minutes of trudging along a stone path toward the residence. With natures wailing fury of rain and thunder, it made the whole scene appear to be some old fashion horror flick, and even showed a flurry of black birds flying from a dead tree into the damped sky when they came closer to the property.
The path lead to a white painted house, peeled and chipped, leading to a solid black wooden door that gave the house an ominous aura of gloom.

Code:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=9&q=old+house&offset=24#/dji9zb

((kinda like this with a few modifications))

The solid black boards covered all the windows except for one main window above the door of the house and even that window was covered with thick thick gray flowered curtains. The faint glimmer of light was behind the curtain of a long candle stick that outlined a figure peering through the curtains outward and blowing the light when they came ten feet from the door

Matt would go and pack up everything he had, putting on his poncho once he had his Camelback on. He also made sure the pocket of his poncho was working properly, so he could draw his gun out with ease from the Blackhawk holster on belt.

While Matt was packing up he would state.
"I am taking everything to leave nothing except the vehicle of my gear for the possible looters. The Manor is in the marsh so we might get sunk up to our armpits in it, which isn't sounding like a very good idea Tom and Barbe, and if you decide to go there I will be forced to just tell you "Good Luck". Also, the manor sounds like a place any of its visitors might find to be a permanent abode, as you might be murdered in your sleep then left in pieces either in the walls or under the floorboards, or even worse, as the main course at dinner. Feel free to just think of me as Paranoid and ignore me, as I really am. Paranoid that is. It has kept me alive for a quarter century and has served me well thus far."

He would talk to Dom for a bit and decide who went first, the other would be in the back to keep and eye on Tom and Barbe in case they tripped, fell, went unconscious, or looked worse for wear, as he didn't want to leave anyone behind. Whoever was on point, most likely Matt would have the compass, so as to better use the map, he would also be using his flashlight on the blackout light setting so it could not be spotted from a distance and wouldn't ruin their nightvision, since that was crucial to navigating in the dark. As Matt was carrying so much gear and was wearing his waterproof jungle boots so the mud would cake his shoes and make suction sounds but not take his shoes away and also keep his feet dry, which was a great survival tip he knew well.

For Tom and Barbe he would offer to wrap their shoes with a Trash Bag coated in Duct Tape so they wouldn't lose grip on the ground, and it would keep their feet dry and shoes from being destroyed, since they were wearing very nice shoes. If they said no, he would suggest they took their shoes off and carried them, so the shoes would not be destroyed, but would suggest they not do that as there could be sharp things under the mud that could cut their feet open. As usual for Matt he was trying to use their fear as an instrument to make them agree, and although it often worked for the naturally uninitiated, he wasn't sure it would work on either of them.

Once the group got close to the shack he would stop for a second and say.

"There is Maggy's Shack"

Then he and whoever else had the food and supplies would approach the shack and he would state when he got close.

"Maggy! Maggy! Maggy! We come with food and supplies from Mr. Keap! You know Mr. Keap, he comes here sometimes with Food?! We'll leave it here at the door for you Maggy. Hope your doing OK, if you need anything just let us know, we are here to help."

Stifling a yawn as he turned to face Tom and Barbie Dom would shoot them one of his "looks" the kind that demanded the attention of his fellow squad mates back in Iraq.

Seeing that he held their attention for a fleeting moment he would voice his thoughts on the situation "Now here's my two cents, we've all ready been told that there have been attacks on the towns folk round these parts.....*another yawn* and that there have been disappearances in that FUCKING manor that you two seem dead set on bunking down in for the night! *Shoots a glance at barbie* you of all people should be against resting there seeing as women have gone missing in the past...Matthew may not care edgewise but I will give you an final warning, there IS safety in numbers and if you could swallow your GOD DAMN pride and spend the night in a place that lacks the standard of living that you've grown accustomed to we may all just make it through the night and be on our way in the morning!"

Finishing his tirade and turning to Maggie's door "I apologize for the rucks ma'am my name is Dominique Esticado and I was hoping to ask you a few questions if you wouldn't mind."