Play@YSDC

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:10 am**

Ronald finds himself charging down a linoleum corridor with an ashen taste in his mouth and a sick sensation that there was an ambulance wedged behind him in the emergency room (was there? wasn't there?) but it's gone now. Ahead of him, he could swear he saw a little girl covered head to toe in black disappear around the corner (or did she do that a moment ago?) but he's finding it so hard to focus his thoughts that it's funny. It's hilariously funny, in fact, like his lack of injuries and the fact that he can't quite remember waking up though he does vaguely remember the emergency room and how he's back in the hospital but where is that little girl? Where are they? It's that same damn hospital. At least they made it but then they crashed it and that's actually kind of sad now that it strikes him in a gut-wrenching and horrible kind of way and now Ronald is all on is own.

At least he still has his sock puppet.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:20 pm**

Ronald continues down the hall after the little girl, his mind racing... giggling wildly.

What was her name again? That little time traveling girl from his dream?? Was it Brianna? All he wanted was to keep her safe and maybe sing her a song. Not in a creepy way tho... and where was the janitor? Where was Louie?

Damn you Louie...

Ronald slid around the corner and called for the little girl.

Hey Wait!!! Little Girl!!! Brianna!!!

Posted: **Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:11 am**

As he rounded the corner, he found a corridor strewn with stretchers, beds, and other hospital machinery, as though someone had been through the wards and dragged it all out into the main corridor. He thought he saw, though he couldn't be certain, Brianna ducking underneath one of the beds and scampering away behind some other furniture. Somewhere behind him, outside, a siren wails, its sound twisted and broken as though it were running out of battery or partially broken or something like that. Other than that one sound, the hospital was eerily still and silent.

Posted: **Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:54 pm**

Ronald gets down on his hands and knees to look fro Brianna.

She must be so scared.. poor thing.

He takes off his pack and pulls out Mickey, his trusted puppet companion. He puts his hand in the puppet and calls out for Brianna in his goofy high pitched Mickey voice.

Brianna! Oh Brianna! Are you there sweeeeeeeeeeety pie?

Posted: **Wed Oct 03, 2012 2:56 am**

His voice seems to bounce off the walls for a moment and then there's a dull roar that seems to gather around the building and the very walls themselves shudder as though caught up in a mild earthquake or a severe storm. Something howls from multiple quarters as a cold, ash-laden wind tears down the corridors brushing past him in the darkness and forcing him to shut his eyes or risk filling them with grit.

Posted: **Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:26 pm**

Ronald shrieks a high pitched lady like sound... The motivational children's singer then falls to his knees crawling towards the furniture where he thought Brianna was hiding. He tries his best to keep his head away from the ashy wind, but can't help but gag and whimper as he makes his way.

Posted: **Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:05 am**

There's not much space under the hospital bed and it doesn't keep the howling ash from buffeting him or enclosing around him as though he might soon be entombed. The ashen remains of London's inhabitants assault his eyes and clog his nostrils and mouth as he cowers.

Posted: **Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:36 pm**

Ronald chokes and gags and vomits on the ash and soon finds himself abandoning the blurry search for poor Brianna. He pulls his sweater vest over his head and buries himself in himself, hoping to shield himself from the ashy windstorm. Ronald closes his eyes and cries.

Posted: **Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:19 am**

"Hello!" calls a familiar voice. Sarah? "Where are you?" She doesn't sound too far away though he can't see her through all this ash.

Posted: **Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:30 pm**

Ronald wraps his sweater vest over his head and stands up.

He cries out " SARAH!!! OVER HERE!!!

He then desperately tries to reach the voice. Stumbling through the ashy halls like a Eskimo lost in the snow.

I THINK I SAW BRIANNA.... SARAH! OVER HERE!!! HELP ME!!! PLEASE!!

Posted: **Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:23 am**

Sarah and Lionel emerge from the ashy darkness, followed by Agnes. All three of them are wearing surgical masks and carrying electric torches which illuminate the area. Lionel has two of them, one a heavy-duty model. Sarah walks with an arm around his waist.

"Are you all right?" asks Sarah, concern on her face. "Where did you see Brianna?"

"Here, take one of my torches," says Lionel. "It's good to see you in one piece, Ronald, and to know that Brianna is nearby. Let me check to see if there's another mask in my medical kit." After Ronald takes one of the torches and frees up his hand, Lionel looks through the paramedic's kit he had gotten from Jennifer to see if it contains any surgical masks.

Posted: **Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:43 pm**

Ronalds gasps with relief at the sight of his Ashy friends. He hugs Sara a little longer than he thought comfortable and then looks around the room.

She was here! She crawled under one of the tables!! I think... I think I might be going mad!!!

Ronald suddenly has the urge to put his puppet away thinking the whole business rather silly under the current apocalyptic circumstances. He chokes on the ash for a few moments and then recovers his face with his sweater vest.

What happened to the helicopter? Have you seen the janitor?

Posted: **Thu Oct 18, 2012 2:33 am**

At first Sarah is stunned when Ronald hugs her, but then she realizes how terrified he must have been being alone in this place and how desperately he needs human contact. She had felt the same way when she had been alone except for her abductor. She hugs him back before he releases her. "My memory's still a bit hazy," she says, "and I know whatever happened was just awful. When I came to, it was completely dark, and I was being kidnapped by someone I couldn't see. He dragged me to a lift and sent me down into this horrible cavern deep underground. I...I think you and Brianna were there before. I figured out how the lift worked and came back up. Luckily Daddy and Agnes found me."

"Yes, some sort of monster ripped apart the helicopter," says Lionel. "Louie fell out the opening, and I thought I saw Brianna fall out too. When I came to, I was on the ground outside. The chopper was stuck up a tree. I heard Sarah screaming from inside the nearby hospital and ran to save her, meeting Agnes along the way."

Sarah crouches down and shines her torch under the tables. "Brianna, sweetie, it's Sarah! Are you all right? Please come out."

Lionel does likewise. "It's Lionel, Brianna! Ronald and Agnes are here too. We all love you very much."

Posted: **Thu Oct 18, 2012 4:40 am**

The roaring of the wind slowly subsides and the ash falls once more to the tiles with only the odd flecks dancing around in the torch beams. Sadly, there is no one under any of the tables. Even through the ash they can see that.

Posted: **Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:23 am**

Sarah's eyes start to water. "Where could she have gone?" she asks. "And where's Dahlia?"

Lionel peers at the ground, but he cannot see any tracks. "I wish I knew, Sarah," he says. "We know what we have to do now to set things right, though. Once we've done that, they'll be safe."

Sarah nods, also unable to find any trace of the girl. "I know it means going back down there. I...I can do it, as long as you're all with me."

Posted: **Thu Oct 18, 2012 4:49 pm**

Ronald whimpers out loud. He quickly gives up the search for Brianna but can't help looking incessantly to the floor for any sign of the poor girl he had taken responsibility for.

Ronald then turns to Lionel.

Go down where? Back under the hospital? Ohhhh maaaan..

What do we have to do now to end all this Lionel? Did you guys figure something out?

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2012 2:39 am**

"Yes, we were discussing it in the helicopter," says Lionel. "We have to lead the ash to the being sleeping underneath the hospital. That's what it's looking for. Luckily, we're all covered in the stuff. Once it finds what it seeks, it will leave our world and take it with. Then the destruction will be undone, and the world will be made whole again. And everyone who died will live again."

"Oh, I hope so," says Sarah.

"It will work. We know the way back to the lift, and we can go as soon as everyone's ready."

"At least Brianna doesn't have to go back down there. I remember how frightened she was. It scared me too."

Posted: **Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:00 pm**

Ronald stares at Lionel with concern.

You think we should get a garbage bag of the stuff for whatever is down there. We're gonna need light too. Last time I was down there..

Ronald shivers...

Last time Brianna and I were down there... there was these kids that were trying to get us. Ghost kids.. that moved in the dark... Our torches stopped em dead in their tracks. I swear it was like a game to them.

Posted: **Sat Oct 20, 2012 5:17 am**

"We have four torches," says Lionel, "so that's one for each of us. Filling a container with ash would be a good idea too, just in case."

"I remember those ghost children now," says Sarah, shivering, "but I only saw them through Brianna's eyes. She was frightened, but she was able to make it through because you were with her, Ronald."

Posted: **Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:23 pm**

I'm looking..

Ronald looks sad and frightened. He looks down at his hands and murmurs.

I miss her!

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:19 am**

"So do I," says Sarah. "I haven't really known Brianna for very long, but she made quite an impression on me. We're such kindred spirits, she and I. We've both been through some of the same things. I know I could really help her...and she could help me. She's like the little sister I never had. Maybe even a daughter."

"I miss Brianna too," says Lionel. "She was the one constant in my life during those years when we were locked up in that awful place. I was so distraught that Sarah wasn't there, and she missed you terribly, Ronald. But we were able to console each other. If she hadn't been there, I would have gone completely crazy. Even though we were separated by vast gulfs of time, we were eventually reunited with those we love the most, and we will be again. Never doubt that."

"We'll meet again..." sings Sarah, hugging her father, "don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day."

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:47 pm**

Ronald seems frantically alert for the the emotional support Sarah and Lionel are offering the motivational children singer. He then suddenly shakes his hand as if to shake something free.

Oh H-E- double Hockey sticks.. Brianna? Are you OK?

Ronald looks frantically around, ignoring the others..

Tell me what you see sweety! Be really descriptive

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:48 pm**

"Brianna!" says Lionel, looking around, his eyes alight with hope. "Sarah, keep singing! It was music that brought them back together before."

Sarah nods and continues. "Keep smiling through," she sings, "just as you always do, till the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away."

Posted: **Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:18 pm**

Ronald begins to tear up and then grits his teeth with determination. He wipes his eyes and closes them.

Focus on the hospital Brianna, do you remember your room? Try and see just that and hold it in your head. We're headed there now. Listen for Sara... Shes singing your song kiddo!!!

With that he grabs Sara's hand and runs out of the room towards the children's ward of the hospital.

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:13 am**

Ronald runs through the hospital which, despite its darkness and its gloom, might as well be well-lit and sunny in his panicked and desperate state. As the adrenaline kicks in he acts on instinct and doesn't get confused by little details like torn down doors, darkness, trash, and ashen shadows. In what feels like so little time, he manages to make his way to the Children's Ward, pushing the doors open and sending a hospital bed that had been pressed up against it sliding across the ash-slick floor, sending up motes of what were once children to dance through the air.

Sarah's song rebounds down the walls of the hospital, the only man-made sound for miles around, but the syllables manage to fall flat against the walls. Even Sarah's optimistic cheer can't help but sound false and insincere in this new world. There is no sign of Brianna. No tickle of energy. No swirl of ash that hasn't been kicked up by their feet. The world is lonely. Silent. Cold.

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:05 am**

Lionel follows Ronald and Sarah to the Children's Ward as fast as he can, leading Agnes there. "You're able to hear Brianna?" he asks Ronald. "And she can hear us?"

"Brianna, I love you so much!" says Sarah. She turns to her father. "Could she be in this room, but in some other dimension or something?"

"I suppose that's possible. She might be here, but in one of the other worlds. Hmm...maybe we need to sing the right song. It was Big Rock Candy Mountain last time, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. We should all sing it, and concentrate on bringing Brianna back. Brianna, you need to sing along and concentrate too."

Posted: **Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:04 pm**

Ronald lets go of Sara's hand and then shushes Lionel and Sara.

Shhhh.. You two! I'm sorry , but please... Give her a minute to find us.

He waits patiently in the silence for a long moment before whispering..

Brianna

Posted: **Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:27 am**

Sarah nods, and she and Lionel don't make a sound. She wraps an arm around him and rests her head on his shoulder.

Posted: **Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:38 pm**

Ronald collapses onto the floor and sobs uncontrollably.

She's... gone!

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2012 2:21 am**

Sarah begins to weep too. She sinks to the floor next to Ronald and hugs him. "Brianna..." she cries.

Lionel kneels down and puts a hand on Sarah's shoulder. His eyes also watered. "I know," he says. "I love her too. She isn't gone forever, remember. Once we save the world, we'll all see her again."

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:50 pm**

With Lionel's last words, Ronald stops crying. He balls his hands into fists and looks up at him..

Then lets finish this old man!

Ronald pulls himself off the floor and grabs the nearest garbage can.

Let's fill this gosh darn can up with ash and end this...

Posted: **Fri Oct 26, 2012 8:16 pm**

"That's the spirit, Ronald," says Lionel with a smile. He helps Sarah up, and they assist him in finding a container and filling it with ash.

Posted: **Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:33 am**

There's plenty of those in a number of nurse's stations and other supply rooms from urine or feces containers to small sharps bins to lunch boxes in the break room. They can really take their pick.

Posted: **Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:53 am**

"Let's use the urine jars," suggests Sarah. "They're small enough to carry conveniently and designed not to spill."

"Good thinking," says Lionel. "We should all carry a container of ash."

The two of them collect the jars and then fill them with ash before sealing them tight.

Posted: **Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:54 pm**

Ronald agrees.

Use something made of glass so it will explode on impact.

He smiles at Sarah... A forced smile, twisted with an unsettling mixture of grief, fear and insanity.

Ash grenades!

Ronald begins to fill up as many glass jars as he can and stores them in an empty pillow case from one of the beds in the children's care ward.

Posted: **Tue Oct 30, 2012 2:14 am**

"Good thinking," says Sarah, making herself smile back. It's either that or burst into tears again, and she feels she's cried enough. "I've gotten dashed good at throwing things lately." She and her father help collect the ash in glass jars.

"Yes, you saved us all, Sarah," says Lionel, "you and Dahlia. It's a shame we don't still have that magic dust. I hope we don't have need of it again."

Posted: **Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:52 am**

Their conversation seems troubling in the silence of the hospital. Perhaps the whole world is silent now. Silent and blanketed with the ashen remains of all those people you once knew from that brisk nurse to the perky shop assistant to that little boy who used to get in trouble a lot for playing football in the hospital car park at night. Everyone ... gone. Nothing but silence remains, left to swallow up the edges of your words, making them sound almost like desperate hammer blows in the nothing that is this world.

At least there are no more threats you can see.

It seems to be a clear path to where you want to go.

Down.

Posted: **Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:00 pm**

Ronald heaves his pillow case full of Ash grenades and readies a few good torches sticking them into the sides of his belt. He checks to makes sure his puppet Mickey is tucked safely away in his back pack and then looks sternly at Lionel and Sarah. He was angry now... angry that Brianna had not made it this far. Angry with Louie whom he still blamed for everything... just plain old angry at the world.. and his anger gave him courage..

C'mon.. lets go!

With that Ronald walked to the door leading to the stairs that he and Brianna had used to escape the evil dark basement where Louie had left them to die so long ago...

Posted: **Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:06 am**

Sarah and Lionel sling their pillowcases containing glass jars filled with ash over their shoulders and go with Ronald and Agnes. "I remember the way back to the lift that leads down below," says Sarah. "It doesn't have any railings or anything, so we'd have to be careful not to fall off."

Posted: **Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:22 am**

Ronald nods, knowing the way as well.

He leads the way with grim determination.

Everyone check their torches... Its dark as H-E-double hockey sticks down there!

He clicks his flashlight on and off several times more then he needed to before opening the door to the lift. Ronald was equal parts angry and terrified. A welcome mix at the moment.

Posted: **Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:30 am**

The path seems eerily clear as they stride down the hospital without a care for stealth and approach the store room where the lift awaits. There lights reveal that parts of the flooring have fallen away in the corners of the room but the lift itself seems relatively intact and undamaged. It's an easy matter to get onto the lift and push the button with the arrow pointing down. What is more disturbing, however, are the singed hand and foot prints of small children that cover the walls and ceilings.

Posted: **Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:54 pm**

Ronald grits his teeth and whispers 's something to himself before pushing the button.

We're coming Brianna

He shines his light on the tiny hands.

They've made it this far up... The little ghost kids I was telling you about. They're afraid of the light.

Now with courage he had not possessed until this moment in his life, Ronald takes command.

Back to back. Everyone!! torches out! Back-up torches in your belts at the ready. Keep em moving at all times. When the lift opens we move... Lionel and Agnes watch the rear. Me and Sara take the front. We move quick and we move together.. Noone gets left behind!!!

Ronald faces the door to the lift and shines his torch in a circular pattern, covering the entire door every other second.

Posted: **Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:45 am**

The lift begins its descent with a slight whirring and the flashlight shifts from the wall to an old brick wall.

Posted: **Tue Nov 20, 2012 5:27 am**

Sarah and Lionel light their own torches as the lift descends. "I remember when Brianna saw those ghost children," says Sarah. "They are scary, but now we're well-armed to deal with them. They must have gotten poor Jason, though."

"I have the big torch," says Lionel. "That one gives a brighter light. Jason must have followed Ronald and Brianna back in time. He didn't become a ghost, though, he was quite solid. He was more of a zombie-like thing. I think the ghost children were the ones who were sacrificed."

Posted: **Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:50 pm**

Ronald grits his teeth. He remembers Jason. He was a little prick if memory serves...

Get ready! We move as soon as we hit the bottom. No screwing around... Let's end this!

Posted: **Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:43 am**

The lift touches bottom into a dark, cavernous chamber. The flashlight can't pierce the gloom as far as it normally could and just reveals twenty feet of space.

Posted: **Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:10 am**

"This is where whoever kidnapped me sent me," says Sarah. "It's still scary, but not as bad now that I'm not alone any more."

"It'll be all right, Sarah," says Lionel. "We're going to have to go forward to get anywhere."

Sarah gulps, then nods. "Okay, let's do this, then."

Posted: **Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:52 pm**

ooc - oops missed this one.

Ronald nods to Sarah.. This is where Louie dropped us too..

Damn you Louie...

Ronald, feeling a tad bit chivalrous takes the lead.

Keep those extra torches ready mates! It's do or die time.. Let's find this thing!!

Then in his best Mickey voice Ronald squeals..

Never say die Ronald..

Posted: **Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:28 am**

The darkness widens in front of their light as they step out into a broad cavern. To one side slopes the amphipheatre within which Ronald had found himself not so long ago. Ahead the gloom stretches off, impossibly far, with no support structures to hold the massive ceiling from tumbling onto their heads. All is silent down here. Still. But not a deathly stillness but one alive ... watching, waiting.

Posted: **Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:56 am**

ooc- what are we looking for here again. It's been a while.

Posted: **Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:33 am**

Sarah and Lionel follow, waving their torches around to dispel the darkness surrounding them as much as they can. "It's down here, somewhere," says Sarah, trembling. "I can feel it."

Posted: **Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:22 pm**

Ronald does the same with his own flashlight swinging it up and down like a nervous traffic control guard.

He responds to Sara in a shaky voice.

It's H-E- double hockey sticks got to be.

Ronald leads them towards the amphitheater, the only real familiar landmark he has down here. A part of him wishes that Louie was with them to act as a guide of sorts..

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:52 am**

"I don't like having the fate of the world resting on my shoulders," says Sarah. "What if I make a mistake?"

"You mustn't think like that, Sarah," says Lionel. "Trust in your instincts. Just do what you know is right, and you can't go wrong. Whatever happens, nobody will blame you if you try your best."

Sarah nods. "I'll try, Daddy."

Posted: **Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:16 am**

They veer towards where Ronald feels the amphitheatre had been and, sure enough, they can make out its outline. They can also note a section of sand and flattened stone that soon becomes covered by a series of loose wooden planks across two metal bars, like an upside down railway but with no gaps between the planks. There are bells attached to those planks with wire. Considering that the planks aren't nailed down, this would make for a very musical walkway.

"This walkway must lead somewhere," said Agnes.

Posted: **Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:22 am**

"But is it where we need to go?" asks Sarah. "It doesn't exactly look safe, and anything on the other side would hear us coming. We need to be certain this is the right way before we cross, or we'll end up doing it twice for nothing."

Posted: **Sun Mar 17, 2013 11:06 am**

"There's dirt underneath it, or at least on either side of it," said Agnes. "We could follow next to it for a bit? Or...." She casts her light toward the amphitheatre. "....go that way."

Posted: **Sun Mar 17, 2013 5:35 pm**

"Ronald, what do you think?" asks Sarah. "You were down here before. Which way should we go?"

Posted: **Wed Jul 17, 2013 2:33 am**

Ronald seems distracted, clutching at his puppet, and cocks his head to one side as though trying to listen to something. He then turns and points along the path marked by the wooden planks. "I didn't see much when I was down here but I think it's somewhere down there." His voice is oddly soft and quiet. It's almost as though he were putting on another puppet's voice but this one more feminine and terribly sad. "We were in some kind of stadium or something. There were big steps all around us. I don't ... I don't know if there's anyone left in the whole wide world other than us. I think this is the end."

"There has to be someone out there," said Agnes.

"If you're here then it took you through time," said Ronald. "Maybe it gobbled up all the time in the world and this is the only time left." He sighs, a long and drawn out sound. "Maybe there's no time left in the world but for this moment."

At his words the world seems to hang poised and heavy as though his words were true and the moment itself were a heavy weight hanging loosely by a few threaded chains. It really does feel like a moment surrounded by emptiness. An uncertain future extending before them with an abrupt yet soon end and an emptiness where the past once stood. Could it be true? Surely not. They still remember the past though now it does feel hollow as though it had just been a dream. Perhaps that was expected, considering all they had seen and done since only yesterday.

Posted: **Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:58 am**

"I vaguely remember that from when I was Brianna," says Sarah, sighing as well. "All right, then let's use this moment well. Onwards we go." She clutches her father's hand.

"It's all right, Sarah," says Lionel, examining the bridge. "Shall we cross the bridge? Will it hold more than one person's weight at a time?"

Posted: **Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:32 am**

As far as they can tell the wooden planks aren't suspended over much more than the railway sleepers below them so are more like a raised pathway than a true bridge. That might change further onward but thus far they look stable enough. The main difficulty are the bells hanging on either side which are sure to tinkle. Especially since the planks don't appear to be nailed down or fastened anywhere to the sleepers.

Posted: **Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:11 am**

"Maybe we'd better climb down there and try walking beneath the bridge so we don't set those bells off," says Sarah.

Posted: **Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:24 am**

There's only a couple inch gap beneath the path. There's no sign of any larger gap beneath or around it but they can only see a few dozen feet ahead. At this stage they could walk alongside the path rather than risk setting off any bells. At least for the time being. This might change as they move further onward into the depths of this grand dark hall.

Posted: **Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:41 pm**

Agnes finally awakes from her slumber.
-We know that at least another person is alive: the one who tried to kidnap you Miss Sarah. So I think its' better that we go without ringing those bells and call that person; but time is vital here, so I think we should go alongside the path. And if by some error we latter ring them, the person will take some time to get to us.

Posted: **Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:49 am**

"Yes, you're right, Agnes," says Sarah. She gracefully steps down and helps Lionel join her. "I don't know who he was or why he wanted me, but it can't have been for anything good. He didn't even seem to feel it when I kicked him. But he put me on that lift and sent me down without him, so I don't see how he could be ahead of us. Still, maybe he was sending me down for someone else to receive."

Posted: **Fri Jul 19, 2013 9:39 am**

Agnes felt a chill: their group being the last one in the world wasn't so bad if any other group alive would be a bunch of cultits and a brute. But she decide to not tell anything to the others.

Posted: **Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:49 pm**

"I'm frightened," says Sarah with a shiver, her voice cracking.

"Whatever happens, I'm here with you, Sarah," says Lionel, squeezing her hand. "We're together again now, and nobody is going to separate us again."

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:11 am**

The shadows break apart before them as they walk through the cold silence of the enormous cavern. There's very little ash down here. Almost nothing at all. Instead there is soil and wood and those little silver bells that look to be made from genuine silver that dangle from the boards beside them. Even Ronald is silent as they walk, hugging his puppet against his chest. It's almost ludicrous that he has somehow kept his puppet throughout all this. Even the girls are gone, but there still is that accursed puppet. There's a few other well-beaten paths that cross over the wooden walkway, heading to the left and right of them. They could follow one of those well-trodden paths or they could continue and follow that walkway to wherever it leads.

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:06 am**

"I think we should continue straight ahead, following the walkway," says Sarah quietly. "What do the rest of you think?"

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:33 am**

"I don't know," says Ronald in a quiet, sad voice. "Maybe we should take a look around. See what we can learn first."

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:23 am**

-I wouldn't use the word "learn" in a place like this mister Ronald. And I agree with Miss Sara, I think we should go straight and avoid any other way unless we don't have any other choice.

Posted: **Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:38 am**

"So we go in blind, huh?' asked Ronald, hugging the puppet even tighter to his chest.

Posted: **Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:54 am**

"Perhaps there is something to be said for caution," says Lionel. "I know we want to resolve this quickly, but I get the feeling that time as such doesn't exist any longer. If there's something down here that can give us more information that will increase our chances of success, perhaps we should take a look."

"Well, that does make sense," says Sarah. "I wouldn't mind postponing confronting whatever it is we're looking for."

Posted: **Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:51 pm**

-Very well, let's see if we can discover anything that may help us- says Agnes resigned.

Posted: **Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:36 am**

"Left or right?" asked Ronald, looking one way then the other. He tries to smile but it just looks terribly sad.

Posted: **Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:54 am**

"Gosh, I don't know," says Sarah, shrugging. "They both look the same to me. I could easily pick the wrong one. Does anyone have a preference? Or we could flip a coin."

Posted: **Thu Jul 25, 2013 9:25 am**

-Use a coin, this way nobody will be responsible if anything goes wrong.

Posted: **Fri Jul 26, 2013 4:38 am**

"Sarah, don't be afraid to make a decision," says Lionel. "I know you're worried you'll make the wrong one, but you have to trust yourself. Your heart is always in the right place. Just do what you know to be right, and you can't do wrong. We may have some difficult choices ahead, and the worst option could be hesitation or indecision. Don't second guess yourself."

"I'll try, Daddy," says Sarah. "It's just that I've made a really terrible mistake before, and so many people died because of me. I don't want that to ever happen again."

"It won't. You've learned from it, and since then you've done exceptionally well. You saved me and Dahlia back on the roof, and you didn't hesitate. You saved all of us."

Sarah brightens a little. "I never knew I had it in me."

"I did. Don't forget who your grandparents were. Now, in this situation we really have nothing to go on, so we may as well let a coin toss decide it." He fishes a pound coin out of his pocket. "Heads we go left, tails we go right." He flips it up and catches it, then reveals that the coin is showing heads. "Left it is."

Posted: **Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:15 am**

Ronald looks over at him. "What type of coin is it?"

Posted: **Fri Jul 26, 2013 9:29 am**

-As long it's not a german coin, there is no problem about it- says Agnes.

Posted: **Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:43 am**

"No worries there," says Lionel, showing the coin to Ronald and Agnes, which bore the portrait of the Queen on the obverse, "the coin's British. It's a quid - a one pound coin. In your time those would only come in note form, Agnes. Nowadays the smallest note is a fiver, but the pound doesn't go as far thanks to all the inflation. That's Queen Elizabeth II on the front, though you'd know her better as Princess Elizabeth. I had an aunt that looked a bit like her, actually."

Posted: **Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:40 am**

-She is still the Queen? She will have a long reign indeed then!

Posted: **Tue Jul 30, 2013 4:50 am**

"She certainly does," says Lionel with a grin. "She's likely to give Queen Victoria a run for her money once we set things to rights."

Posted: **Thu Aug 15, 2013 2:07 am**

"So shall we go?" asked Ronald, gesturing into darkness.

Posted: **Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:52 am**

Sarah nods and gulps. "Let's get on with it, then," she says.

Lionel puts the coin back in his pocket, takes his daughter's hand and heads with her to the left.

Posted: **Fri Aug 16, 2013 9:13 am**

Agnes follows, still not very convinced.

Posted: **Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:47 pm**

The world seems so silent as they shuffle forward into the darkness, the flashlight barely probing the shadows of this mammoth cave. It hardly seems possible that such a thing could exist below London. At the very least it should be structurally unsound. There are no pillars. No scaffolding. Nothing to keep that massive weight up over their heads. As they continue on the edge of their light catches the stone edge of a wide and yawning hole whose edges they cannot find with their flashlight and whose bottom is far too far below. It appears that a series of steps descend. Each step so deep and broad that it reminds those viewing it of a seat in an amphitheater.

Posted: **Tue Sep 10, 2013 4:37 am**

"It's a long way down," says Sarah. "It'll be even harder climbing back up. Is it worth going down there?"

Posted: **Wed Sep 11, 2013 1:32 pm**

-Maybe I should go for a while, since I'm younger; it could be very dificult to Mr Lionel to return- Agnes volunters herself.

Posted: **Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:54 am**

"Thank you, Miss Agnes," says Lionel, "but I don't think it's wise to split up. Perhaps we should go back and check in the opposite direction first. It could require less of an effort, and we may want to explore up here before venturing down there."

"Yes, that does make sense," says Sarah. "We don't have to listen to the coin if we don't want to."

Posted: **Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:37 am**

-Very well- says Agnes happy for not having to go alone in a dark place- let's try the other one.

Posted: **Fri Sep 13, 2013 4:32 am**

Sarah and Lionel lead the way back to the intersection and across it, continuing straight ahead down what had originally been the right branch.

Posted: **Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:30 am**

As the group follow their footprints in the sand back across the wooden boards they can see a multitude of older prints heading off in that direction that haven't been raked over as the soil on the other side had been. Among the prints are what appear to be twin lines in the sand that are reminiscent of a wheelchair's wheels.

Posted: **Thu Sep 26, 2013 4:41 am**

Sarah pauses as she hears something, but Lionel misses the sound.

Posted: **Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:34 am**

Agnes seems to hear something...
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4235021/

Posted: **Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:47 am**

There seems to be something scuffling in the sandy soil to their far left. Something beyond the beams of their torchlight.

Posted: **Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:20 am**

"I hear something moving around in the distance in that direction," Sarah whispers, pointing off to the left, in the direction they had been heading when they had originally reached the intersection. "It's a good thing we decided to explore to the sides first. Let's keep going straight ahead."

"Yes, I agree," whispers Lionel. "It looks like people have been this way before, but we'll have to be careful. We don't know if they're still there or if they're friendly."

Posted: **Fri Oct 04, 2013 5:11 am**

It does seem to be forward and left quite considerably, as though at a diagonal from their current position. It should be safe to follow the tracks in that direction later on, presuming the wooden tracks don't veer towards it - which it may.

Posted: **Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:14 pm**

Agnes is getting nervous.
-It's better we be more careful, we don't know who is there.

Posted: **Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:22 am**

Sarah nods as she and her father cautiously lead the way forward, following the tracks.

Posted: **Thu Oct 31, 2013 1:31 am**

As they approach through the darkness they pass a set of carved stone benches that sit in a circle around a brazier and beyond that they find a wall with little bedrooms carved into the walls, containing modern beds and other furniture, visible through the gaps in the curtained windows. Somewhere, further on, in the direction of the wheelchair tracks comes the disturbing sound of rusty wheels spinning.

Posted: **Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:01 am**

Sarah gulps. "Should we keep going?" she whispers.

Posted: **Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:32 pm**

Agnes opens her eyes wide.
-Maybe it's someone who needs help?-she says without much conviction.

Posted: **Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:48 am**

"That's a good point," Sarah whispers back. "If there's any chance of that, we have to keep going. I couldn't live with myself if there were someone who needed help and I didn't do anything."

Posted: **Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:16 am**

"W-w-we can't leave anyone behind," says Ronald solemnly.

Posted: **Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:35 am**

"Then it's agreed," says Lionel. "We proceed."

Sarah nods, clutching his hand, and they lead the way onwards.

Posted: **Tue Nov 19, 2013 2:13 am**

The cavern's immense nature grows more obvious as they walk for several further minutes in the darkness before they begin to see the outline of a wheelchair in the distance. As the flashlights begin to penetrate the gloom surrounding those rusting wheels there is a writhing in the ashen shadows beneath it which pool like some viscuous mobile liquid around the wheels yet never obstructing it. The wheelchair had been in motion, moving forward, but as the light approaches it there is a soft whimper as the wheelchair begins to slowly turn, near pivoting on the spot, although it should not be capable of doing so just as it should not be possible for a wheelchair to move so readily through the sandy soil.

Posted: **Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:32 am**

"Oh no!" hisses Sarah, stepping back and pulling her father with her. "What if it's that wheelchair zombie lady? But how would she have gotten here? Does anyone have one of those sickle thingies?" She checks her pockets.

Posted: **Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:31 am**

Sarah has one and only one.

Posted: **Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:59 am**

Sarah takes out her sickle and brandishes it in front of her, gripping it so hard her knuckles turn white. "If it is a zombie, this has the power to keep it at bay," she says, "or even control it."

Posted: **Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:41 pm**

-What is a zombie?- ask Agnes puzzled

Posted: **Fri Nov 22, 2013 2:04 am**

The creature pauses within the shadows although the sickle seems to vibrate like a tuning fork now, as though desperately trying to hold on.

POW roll versus 18, please.

Posted: **Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:36 am**

Sarah concentrates, but her mental strength is flagging.

"That's a zombie," whispers Lionel, pointing at the creature. He takes Sarah's arm and hustles her back the way they came. "Quick, retreat back to the intersection. Agnes, a zombie is a monster that used to be a living person, but is now a corpse that moves around and tries to eat people. It's...it's what poor Daniel turned into."

Posted: **Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:05 pm**

Like if having huge monsters trying to destroy the world wasn't enouth, now Agnes discovered that in the future, the dead didn't stay dead. What happened to their souls? Or where just evil people?

Posted: **Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:14 am**

"Young Jason became one too, after he was killed," adds Lionel. "He followed Ronald and Brianna back to your time, when we first met. Quickly, back the way we came." He and Sarah backtrack towards the intersection.

Posted: **Thu Nov 28, 2013 2:50 am**

The wheelchair continues to slowly-oh-so-slowly turn around as Sarah's mental fortitude fails to weaken it significantly. The dust that covers her from the ruptured bag serves as a reminder of the makeshift container she had once held on her back. There may still be some powder in the bottom but likely little more than a single dose. At least she is likely protected somewhat from a zombie grappling with her.

But then ... what of that person who had dragged her down here?

Was that person human then? Or at least human-esque?

Posted: **Thu Nov 28, 2013 6:27 am**

Sarah keeps focusing on repelling the thing in the wheelchair, sweat breaking out on her brow, as Lionel leads her away from it by the arm.

Posted: **Mon Feb 17, 2014 12:59 am**

Sarah's lack of focus seems to have little effect. Luckily the wheelchair bound thing seems to move slowly, creaking ever so slowly. They should be able to run away, though running in the darkness has its own risks. Of course, to see it ... that might be the thing ... to see it and to comprehend it might be the last big shock they can take. If, indeed, they can take any further shocks.

Posted: **Fri Feb 21, 2014 9:56 am**

-It's better that we run...- say Agnes very nervous

Posted: **Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:17 am**

"Yes, but not too fast," says Sarah, hurrying back to the intersection along with Lionel at the fastest safe speed. "We don't want to do ourselves an injury. Oh, why did we ever come this way?"

"Yes, we should have listened to the coin," says Lionel. "Too late now."

"Once we reach the intersection, we can't keep going. That leads to those steep stairs. It can't follow us, but it could wait at the top and trap us down there. Nor can we turn right and follow the bridge underneath. We may not be able to get through that way, and we'd be trapped again. I think our best chance is to go back the way we originally came and cross the bridge. It won't be able to climb up there at least." She shudders, holding back tears. "I really don't want to face that thing. I don't know how much more of this I can take..."

Posted: **Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:18 am**

-Yes, of course- answers Agnes.
"I'm being chased by a wheelchair- I'm getting crazy!"

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:20 am**

The sound of wheels slowly grinding across the sand can be heard distinctively behind them. It doesn't seem to be gaining any ground on them, at least.

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:12 am**

"No crazier than I am," says Sarah, forcing a grin. "Anyway, it's not an empty wheelchair. There's something in it...something horrible. Best not to think about it, really."

Lionel nods. "Like Winston Churchill says," he says, "when you're going through hell, keep going." They keep hurrying back towards the intersection.

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:29 am**

And Agnes continues walking. What else can she do in this madness?

Posted: **Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:29 am**

Ronald stays surprisingly quiet, though they can hear his teeth grinding together in the darkness.

Their flashlights finally brush over the intersection up ahead.

Posted: **Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:00 am**

"That way," says Sarah, pointing to the left. "That'll take us back the way we came."

Lionel nods. "Once we climb out of here and get some elevation, that thing in the wheelchair won't be able to follow us," he says.

Posted: **Fri Mar 07, 2014 10:19 am**

-Then let's go and get away from that thing.

Posted: **Fri Jun 27, 2014 2:04 am**

"We should follow the railway tracks," says Ronald, his puppet desperately nodding. His teeth clicked when he spoke, fear making him sound almost mechanistic. "That path is obviously significant, meaningful, we should find where it goes."

Posted: **Fri Jun 27, 2014 5:25 am**

"Oh, I quite agree," says Sarah. "I think we're better off backtracking to the foot of the bridge and actually traversing it, in spite of the noise it'll make, though. If we follow the bridge from beneath, we might not be able to get up there, and we could be trapped by the thing chasing us."

Posted: **Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:01 am**

-And with some luck, that thing won't follow us- says Agnes.

Posted: **Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:10 am**

Ronald gazes back in the direction of that thing, lost in the mists of darkness, then nods and hurries forward to where the tracks begin. Once his feet touches the wood, he turns to look at them, his half-shadowed face looking particularly morose in their torch light. "Why is this happening?" he asked in a low, sad voice. "I still don't understand ... why is all of this happening?"

Posted: **Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:23 am**

"I don't know either," says Sarah, tears in her eyes. She takes Ronald's hand and squeezes it. "I mean, I think I understand what caused it, but that's just how this happened. I don't know why so many people had to die, why the world had to be ruined. By all rights I ought to go to pieces. I don't know how I made it this far. I should be dead or reduced to a quivering jelly a thousand times over."

Lionel puts an arm around both of them. "You're made of stronger stuff than that, Sarah," he says. "We all are. I don't know why any more than you do, but we're still here, and we have it within our power to set things to rights. If we succeed - and we must - everything will be back the way it was before all of this happened. In order to do that, I have a feeling we're going to have to cross this bridge. Everything has been leading up to this, and now we must go meet our destiny. Remember: when you're going through hell, keep going."

Posted: **Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:34 am**

-I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I'm still alive-repeats Agnes for herself.

Posted: **Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:02 am**

Ronald looks a little jealous of the two of them as he keeps moving, reaching the walkway and mounting it to the tinkle of little bells attached to the wooden planks. "What do you think we will find?"

Posted: **Fri Jul 04, 2014 9:34 am**

Agnes look at both: does Ronald expects that they may have any idea in this madness place?

Posted: **Wed Jul 09, 2014 5:23 am**

Sarah and Lionel follow Ronald across the bridge. "I'm not entirely sure," says Sarah. "The taboo, I guess, whatever that is. When we find it, we can use those ash grenades to alert whatever's seeking it to its location. That was really quite clever of you to think of them." She notices his expression. "I know we've all lost people we love. I'm so lucky to still have my father. I don't know what I'd do without him. But if we succeed, we'll get everyone back. And in the meantime, we still have each other."

"I'd be lost without you too, Sarah," says Lionel. "We're all a family, in a way, after everything we've been through together. Ronald, you're like a son to me, and Agnes, you're like a second daughter."

Posted: **Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:32 am**

The bridge continues on, long and dark, and there is an eerie sense of finality hanging about the place. After a time the walls seem to shrink inwards until they appear, rough and unworked, at the edges of the torchlight beams.

Posted: **Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:10 am**

"We're really a lot alike, Ronald," continues Sarah, her heart going out to him. "We're both gentle souls who really care about people. I'm glad to have you in my family."

"As am I," says Lionel. "I had hoped you two would meet one day. I knew you'd get on. Let's keep going. We've got to be getting close now."

Posted: **Thu Jul 10, 2014 11:03 am**

-This place is differente-says Agnes- I think we are near of the end.

Posted: **Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:19 am**

"I think you're right," says Sarah. "I do feel like we're sisters, Agnes, even though we're from different times. I've always wanted a sister, but I've never had one before. In case I don't get the chance to say so later, I love all of you so very much." She swallows, afraid of the unknown that lies ahead but determined to face it. "Let's go save the world."

Posted: **Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:48 am**

Agnes smiles
-Thank you. Whateaver happens, I was really blessed to know you all and to have the oportunity to make a better world. It's not everyone wo can save the world- rigth?She gulps and then says:
-Let's go.

Posted: **Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:55 pm**

The passageway ends with a large carved stone pair of doors, etched with imagery that appears all the more ghoulish and jagged beneath the flash of their light. The etchings show a long promenade of figures carried upon litters by individuals and at the start of the procession they have limbs but by the end they do not and the second to last icon set involves a circle of figures with their backs turned while one crouches below a lowered figure with his hands upon some sort of contraption. The final icon shows a face screaming in pain with two sharp points embedded in their eyes as water laps around their face. There is a winch on either side of the double doors, likely responsible for opening them.

Posted: **Sun Jul 13, 2014 1:53 am**

"Oh, how gruesome!" says Sarah, looking away from the carvings.

Lionel squeezes her hand. "Hang in there, Sarah," he says. "We're almost there. Let's get these doors open."

Posted: **Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:37 am**

-That's awful- says Agnes disturbed.
I hope there isn't any of those cultist- she thinks.

Posted: **Fri Aug 29, 2014 1:11 am**

Ronald simply grimaces as he looks at those doors. "Two of us will need to take those winches." He clearly doesn't like the look of them.

Posted: **Fri Aug 29, 2014 3:25 am**

"Well, I don't think I'm strong enough," says Sarah, looking doubtful.

"Nor I," says Lionel, "but I can give it a try if you'd rather not, Ronald."

Posted: **Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:54 am**

-Maybe we can try all?

Posted: **Fri Sep 26, 2014 6:36 am**

"Two on each one?" asked Ronald, making the puppet scratch his head. "Okily dokily." He heads over to one of the winches.

Posted: **Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:27 am**

Agnes go to one of the doors.

Posted: **Fri Sep 26, 2014 9:21 pm**

Sarah and Lionel also take their places at the winches. If each of them already has one of the others there, Sarah joins Agnes while Lionel helps Ronald.

Posted: **Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:02 am**

Together the four survivors, perhaps alone in this ashen world, grip the large winch handles and turn. With grating slowness, the doors begin to open, drawing inward into darkness not yet pierced by flashlights stuck into armpits or at the wrong angles. Once the doors stand halfway open, a piercing cry fills the air behind them and there is the identifiable sound of hundreds of little bells trilling as something moves along the loose boards of the path behind them, setting off the tiny bells attached to each plank of wood.

Posted: **Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:06 am**

"Run!" hisses Sarah. She clutches her father's hand, holding her torch with the other and shining it ahead of her as they race through the doorway.

Posted: **Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:09 am**

Agnes doesn't hesitate for a second and run.
"Maybe we should have close the door?"- she thinks.

Posted: **Sat Oct 04, 2014 4:36 am**

"We'll close the doors behind us once Ronald joins us," says Sarah. "I hope that'll keep whatever it is out."

Posted: **Mon Oct 06, 2014 9:03 am**

-Very well- says Agnes nervous.

Posted: **Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:16 am**

"I'm here," says Ronald, already breathless. A look around the other side finds that there are no mechanisms on this side. The cultists can block people inside but not the other way around. "Maybe the cult normally sticks too others out there?"

The doors look large and heavy and seem operated by counterweights and a block and tackle. A combined Strength roll on a single door might succeed but the odds aren't high for it.

Posted: **Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:50 am**

"We must keep going!" says Sarah. "We'll never get them both closed in time!"

"I quite agree," says Lionel.

Posted: **Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:39 pm**

-Very well, let's go then- says Agnes

Posted: **Fri Oct 17, 2014 12:16 am**

They find themselves in a short corridor that curves down and to the side and which ends at a pair of carved metal doors that show a girl pressed down onto an altar, her legs and arms already missing, as the room fills with water. A two-pronged device arches over her head, just above the eyes, and she stares at it in terror while a cowled figure crouches beside it with one hand almost lovingly upon the device. The two are surrounded by dozens of faceless solemn figures ankle-deep in water.

(SAN check 1/1d4 since you know this practice has occurred frequently for centuries now)

Posted: **Fri Oct 17, 2014 5:54 am**

Sarah winces, thinking of what almost happened to Brianna, but she retains her presence of mind. "We have to go in there," she says, gulping.

Lionel shudders in revulsion, nearly losing it. All he can think of is his own little girl, and he hugs Sarah tight, tears spilling from his clenched eyes.

Posted: **Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:09 am**

OOC: I don't find the char sheet to know the sanity, but I'm pretty sure I failed the test.

Agnes confronted with the true horror of the cultists receives a shock. She has seens people injured. Even children. But to see this kind of evil is too much to her and she starts crying

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4683047/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4683048/

Posted: **Thu Oct 23, 2014 5:18 am**

Ronald openly weeps, making an odd little strangled noise in the back of his throat. "They're all dead ... all those little children ... taken because they're more trusting." He raises the puppet to say, "It's okay, Ronald, we'll all probably be dead soon anyway."

Posted: **Thu Oct 23, 2014 1:58 pm**

OOC: Ok!

Agnes try to ignorate Ronald speech, the situation is already bad, they don't need anyone saying things like that.

Posted: **Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:13 am**

Sarah starts to cry as well. "I know it hurts," she says, hugging her father. "That's what they tried to do to Brianna. But you saved her, Ronald. You fought back when they tried to take her. Once she killed Dr. Sutcliffe, she was no longer innocent and they couldn't use her as a sacrifice any more. You're her hero. And now we have a chance to put a stop to it once and for all. If we succeed, there will be no more sacrifices, ever. That taboo thing will be taken out of this world. And these jars full of ash are how we'll do it. That was your clever idea, Ronald. But we're going to need to go inside. That's where it is."

"You're right, my dear," says Lionel, drying his eyes. "Once we prevail, everything will be better."

Posted: **Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:57 pm**

-Let's go and finish this- says Agnes.

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2014 1:01 am**

Ronald shakes his head as though denying the task ahead. "What if we're wrong? What if this is all pointless? What are we supposed to do if we're the only ones left after this nightmare?"

Posted: **Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:53 am**

"I undestand," says Sarah, putting her hand on Ronald's shoulder. "I've been second-guessing myself this whole time, but I've only messed things up worse when I did. I don't know for certain if this will work, but I know we'll fail if we do nothing. This is the only play we've got, and we have to try. The alternative is unthinkable. I could never sacrifice someone even if there were someone here who qualified, nor could you." She looks to her father.

"Nor could I," says Lionel, meeting her gaze before turning to look at Ronald. "I know we will succeed. We must succeed! I'm confident that the world will be restored once we do. Even if I'm wrong, there are always other survivors out there. That's what poor Daniel said. And even if there are not, the four of us are enough to rebuild the human race. Noah and his family managed it, although they had twice as many people as we do. You will likely all outlive me, it is true, but I have much knowledge I can pass on before that happens. We can make the world a better place."

Rebuild the human race... thinks Sarah, looking back at Ronald with fresh eyes. If I hadn't met Cael first, I could easily have fallen for Ronald. He's so much like me, and we both love Brianna with all our hearts. If it's just the four of us,..I could easily see myself marrying him, having his children. But where would that leave Agnes? She's much too young for my father. Would we have to share Ronald?

Posted: **Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:37 am**

Looks at Lionel puzzled with the idea of rebuilding the human race.
-We will not fail. At the rigth moment we will know what to do. And not having another chance will help- says Agnes and she walks forward

Posted: **Tue Dec 09, 2014 11:32 am**

Ronald's mouth drops open and he makes a few little sounds like a choked off squawk, low but still audible, as the thoughts truly sink in. He gapes at one, then the other, then realises he's only emphasised the meaning of those words by looking so he stares down at the ground, slapping his jaw shut with a clack of teeth and blushing awfully in the darkness. He raises the puppet to say something, then can't think of anything to say. Would Lionel and Agnes...? Would he be capable of it? What would I be....?" He tries not to think of it anymore but he can't shake it now it's there.

Posted: **Tue Dec 09, 2014 3:10 pm**

Agnes ignores Ronald talk.

Posted: **Tue Dec 09, 2014 7:43 pm**

Sarah blushes as well, then turns to face the doors. "We need to keep going," she says. "Whatever's chasing us isn't going to wait around forever. The only way is forward. Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, we must proceed now," says Lionel.

Posted: **Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:22 am**

These doors are more readily opened and sit so nicely on their hinges that Agnes barely has to pull for them to swing open. As they enter the space, they can almost hear the sibilant whispers of previous accusers justifying their actions. This is what we were preventing. All the dead ... all the dead ... billions lived because of the marks we laid on our own souls. What is one life against the lives of the billions that were, are and always would be? It reaches back through time, clawing, seeking, and forward through time. Its child's mewling cries directed it here and it will dismantle the world to find it and to release it from the cage that is its egg. We had to do it ... we had to betray the ones we cared about ... but we can never accept what we did ... only know that it was necessary.

A few stone steps, worn smooth with the passage of years and many feet, step down into a sunken chamber whose discolorations mark where the water would rise to its greatest amount. On the centre of the floor lie what could only be torso clamps for a reasonably small person, like a child, and to one end is a sharp two-ended prong that would be driven into the child's eyes.

So that her last sight is that of the Betrayer as the water laps her face.

There is also a wheel set into a pipe and four carved screaming faces from which water is likely to pour should the wheel be drawn around.

A chute stands at the other end of the room, likely where they would dump the still living and ever immortal bodies so that their psychic screaming could blanket out the entity's cries.

Posted: **Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:17 am**

Sarah shivers. "Oh, how horrid," she says. "I think what we need to do is pour some of the ash we've collected down that chute. I hope that'll do it. I don't want to go down there."

Posted: **Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:08 am**

Agnes faces turned white when she sees that.
-I hope so. Let's finish this.

Posted: **Thu Dec 11, 2014 12:25 am**

Ronald just stares at the awful contraption and hiccups a little with fear and sadness.

Posted: **Thu Dec 11, 2014 4:42 am**

"It seems to be the only option," says Lionel.

Sarah nods and takes out one of the jars of ash. Removing the lid, she pours some of it down the chute.

Posted: **Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:03 am**

Agnes is near Sarah in case she needs help.

Posted: **Thu Jan 15, 2015 5:38 am**

The ash pours down with ease, seemingly eager to leave the jar to slide down the chute into the waters below. No ash puffs back towards them. All makes its way down ... down ... down.... Then there is silence as Sarah puts the jar back and for a moment it feels like nothing has happened. Perhaps they will indeed need to go through the chute themselves or otherwise find some way down into the depths of this place where the Hidden God lurks. And yet the silence seems to deepen, as though the world were emptying of sound, drowned out by a noiseless wail that builds until it presses down on their flesh and compresses their skulls.

The world splits in two, images overlapping and bursting with spots, as the pressure builds and enfolds them as though in rings of steel ... and that is before the answering cry from above them tears through the air with actual sound, a roar of sharp edges that tears at the eyes and ears and nose (Con x 3, POW x 3) as they feel the pressure multiply exponentially. The world above them seems to crack and twist, ash pouring through gaps that they did not even know was there. The air is cold then hot, by turns, the ash abrading them as it passes, filling their heads with staticky images of past, future and present, of what is, what wasn't and what could have been.

Ronald stands over the stove, cooking something in a pot, and he turns to give Sarah a shy and hopeful smile as she walks in and throws down her handbag, still in her nurse's uniform.

Agnes prods a prybar beneath a hunk of concrete, levering it up and away to reveal desperate faces staring up at her. Moments later another bomb lands, too close, much too close, and then there is no more.

Lionel weeps, carrying a little girl's body to the chute entrance, and sliding it down ... down ... down. No arms, no limbs, no teeth. She falls sliding, hair sliding about her face, before clearing the chute exit and falling three feet into water to float with the other children's bodies, locked in agony, too small to cause pain should they rise again.

Lionel stands over his daughter's grave as the rain softly falls, cursing himself for not seeing the risks earlier.

And then there is a sudden rush of energy and force and ash that feels like it is moving up and back and in all directions but more than any other it is moving out, out, like someone pulled the plug and all the pressure was swiftly moving into Elsewhere, leaving them behind with all their hopes and dreams and what few possibilities are left to them on a pruned vine of ashen hopelessness. (SAN loss 1d10/1d20).

OOC: Once these rolls are made, we can move into the Epilogue.

Posted: **Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:21 am**

Sarah reels, stumbling back from the chute and trying to reach her father. The impact is more than her mind can bear. She finds an inner source of resolve, but she is nonetheless overwhelmed by the certainty that this is all her fault. She falls sobbing into Lionel's arms.

Lionel feels the weakness that comes with age, but his will is still strong. HIs daughter's presence bolsters his mind, but he too is badly shaken, sure that his advice has failed them. He hugs Sarah, relieved that he still has her.

Posted: **Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:37 pm**

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4759962/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4759964/
OOC: I don't know what her stats are, but I think she passed the first one, and probably failed the second;
OOC2 I don't know the sanityu value bnut probably more than 50, so 14 is good!
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4759969/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4759971/

Agnes is so overwhelmed with the mental pain, that she doesn't feel (or care for) for any physical pain; this ordeal is been to much. But Agnes remembers that she has already lived other horrors. People injured. People dying. And she has know some wonderful people. Lifes is worth living. No regrets. And she close her eyes when she feels the bomb. No regrets.

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:57 am**

Posted: **Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:54 pm**

Thanks!

Posted: **Mon Feb 02, 2015 5:23 am**

The air clears as the memories are whipped away and everything feels ... lighter. It's as though some terrible weight has been lifted from the world but in doing so there has been a great loss left in its place. A pervasive emptiness settles over them. A sensation that all that were and is and will be has been somehow weakened, somehow lost. The room they stand in is unchanged but the pervasive sense of misery coming from the chute seems to have died as well. Perhaps now those children, those sacrifices have finally been allowed to move on.

Yet nothing feels reset.

This basement still exists. The cold, damp air still feels as it does. The world feels so quiet. Is it just because they are so far underground? Has everything reset up there, out of sight of the four brave souls who have managed to do this?

They can see Ronald in the torchlight, gazing down at the chains and wicked looking spikes that had plucked loose so many children's eyes. He holds the puppet limp in his hand, a look of misery etched upon his face. His limbs tremble a little and he is largely unresponsive to the others, though whether it is because his own mind has been ripped away or because he is lost in thought is hard to say.

Posted: **Mon Feb 02, 2015 10:26 am**

-Do you think... that the world is saved now?
Agnes takes Ronald gently by his arm and try to return to the exit.

Posted: **Tue Feb 03, 2015 5:40 am**

"Yes, the world is saved," says Lionel. "I don't know if things are back the way they were. We'll have to go back topside to find out."

"So I didn't mess things up worse?" says Sarah, drying her eyes.

"Far from it, Sarah. You did great. I'm so proud of you - of all of you."

"Thank you, Daddy." She puts an arm around Ronald's shoulders and helps Agnes guide him to the exit. "We did it, Ronald," she says in a soothing tone. "We saved the world, and now the children are finally at peace. Nobody will ever suffer that horror again. We have our whole lives ahead of us now. Let's go back the way we came and get out of this horrid place. Maybe the ash is gone now, and we'll be able to see the sun. And we can look for the rest of our friends."

"Yes," added Lionel, following close behind. "They may still be in the helicopter. I didn't have time to look, as I had to run to rescue you right after I woke up."

"Dahlia, Cael, Jill, Charlie, Annie, Aidan...maybe we'll even find Brianna. Is it too much to hope for?" She doesn't mention Louie to keep from setting Ronald back, but she cannot help but feel sympathy for him. He had frightened and betrayed Brianna, but in the end he hadn't been able to harm her. I frightened her too, she thinks. And I got her shot. I can't condemn him, when I'm no better. She was able to forgive me, but not him.

Posted: **Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:35 am**

-Let's see then what is left of the world.
"A dead world would be as bad as no world"- she thinks but doesn't say.

Posted: **Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:07 am**

There is no sunlight in the world beyond. No bright lights streaming through the windows but after a few terrifying moments as they approach the windows they soon see stars splashed across the skies. The world outside is as bright as London can ever be with its lights out and after dark. They can see a few headlights still on in the streets beyond, the batteries not yet dead, but the world is terribly quiet. There is no sound of horns or engines or bird song. There's no laughter or shouts or even screams. There's just the quiet and the dark and out in the car park there is the wreckage of the helicopter. It's a wonder anyone made it out alive from that. The metal is tortured and twisted and there's blood and gore from at least one person who died within it, though there's no sign of any bodies.

(OOC: Spot Hidden checks)

Posted: **Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:33 am**

Sarah begins to cry, overwhelmed by emotion. Seeing the stars again fills her with relief, as it means the ash is gone. But the smashed and bloody helicopter means that people she loves are likely dead within. Then she sees something through the curtain of her tears. However, it escapes Lionel's notice.

Posted: **Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:41 am**

Agnes is too shocked to pay any attention. This is the London of the future. But a twisted and deformed version. What would it be it's normal version?

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4792808/

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:14 am**

Though the land is sheathed in darkness and even the sky seems unusually devoid of stars, and though the ground itself is shrouded in ash that no longer floats in an unfelt breeze, there is one small sign of hope. Something that is almost missed, yet catches the edge of the torchlight. A pair of small indentations move from near the helicopter and out across the dusty streets. A sign that causes Ronald to clap his hands in shocked joyfulness when he sees them. He whoops, and clutches his hand puppet to his chest, and then grabs Nurse Sarah by the shoulders and forces her to dance around with him as his cheers fill the still night air.

A pair of child sized feet, still in shoes, is the only thing that could make such tracks across the now fallen and still ashen covers.

Somewhere out there, a little girl awaits.

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:33 am**

"She's alive!" cheers Sarah, happily joining in the dance. "Dahlia's alive! Or Brianna! Or both!"

"Before we set off after her, we'd best check the helicopter," says Lionel, beaming with joy and relief. "Some of us survived, and someone else could be unconscious in there. And I think we'll also need the three seals that Annie had."

"You're right, let's make it quick, though. Best I do the checking, Daddy. In your condition, you probably shouldn't see what's in there. Neither should I, but somebody has to." She girds herself and takes a look inside the chopper.

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2015 11:13 am**

-I'l go with you, just to be sure there isn't any nasty surprise.

Posted: **Fri May 01, 2015 2:55 am**

The three seals lie shattered within the wreckage, yet not due to the wreckage. It seems as though something had almost spitefully reached in and destroyed them, leaving them in pieces. It makes sense. The entities were released and have left this barren world. The greater entity had scoured the minds of the living, broken them apart into ash, and seemingly used those ashen motes to seek out the trapped entity. Now that the trapped entity had been released, both have no interest in this place, and there is nothing left to seal.

There's no sign of anyone else in the chopper. No bodies. Nothing. Not even blood. But there is some equipment that can be gathered. Flashlights and the like. Things to help keep them alive. Though, in truth, in this barren world if the creatures conjured by those twin entities have truly been put to rest, there shouldn't be much risk. Not now. Not from those creatures.

Trees still stand so plants can provide nutrients and air, though there are no sounds of animals who could conceivably have shared in humanity's fate. Perhaps some rats and insects, pets trapped in houses, and creatures locked out of reach of the ash that choked the world. How the Earth might react to this? How they, themselves, might survive, is unknown.

But there's bound to be more humans. More like them. A bare handful here and there across London and other parts of the globe. They could join together, rebuild. All they need is to cobble together five hundred souls and they have all the resources of a dead London to create for themselves. Perhaps they can find Brianna and Dahlia, whose footprints provide a telling lead. Perhaps they can even find some of the others who have disappeared and dropped away.

But for now, it's just the four of them.

Four of them in a gloomy dead world.

WELCOME TO THE END TIMES.

Posted: **Fri May 01, 2015 3:31 am**

"There's nobody inside," says Sarah. "Maybe they're still alive!" Lionel joins her, and they quickly salvage the torches and anything else portable that might be of use from the wrecked helicopter. "Let's not wait any longer. We need to find the girls." She leads the way in following the footprints, and her father follows her.

"Yes, they must be so lonely and frightened," says Lionel. "It will be difficult living in this world, but at least we'll all have each other."

Posted: **Tue May 05, 2015 10:30 am**

-So, I'm trapped here. In this dead world. At least I'm alive- she says with a faint smile.
-Let's go then find other living.

Posted: **Wed May 06, 2015 1:35 am**

And with that, the four survivors moved out into the dead world, where so much of what they had known had been turned to ash. But at least they were alive. And perhaps, just perhaps, those they sought would be as well.

THE END.

Play@YSDC

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