Cameraman: Charles Hubert

[Laraqua]

Background music.

There's an art deco lamp sitting on a small cabinet nearby. The main room is empty. There is no one behind the couch or in the kitchenette. He (i) can't hear whimpering coming from the bedroom. Perhaps he had startled the person into silence.

[Reclaimer]

He picks up the lamp and unplugs it, holding it like a bat. "Come out now or we'll shoot!"

[Laraqua]

Background music.

The sounds of a woman sobbing and a man grunting continue to come over the mobile phone. He can also hear dragging sounds, panting and faint cursing also through the phone. Yet in the bedroom he can hear a child's whimpering, (i) so low he can barely hear it, but it seems to be only coming from the bedroom - not the phone he holds in his free hand.

[Reclaimer]

He barges into the bedroom, trying to get the drop on the intruder.

[Laraqua]

Background music.

He (i) can't hear anything anything (i) nor can he see anyone. The bedroom is large and styled identically to his own with a queen-sized, dressing table, wardrobe and bedside cabinets. There is a photograph on the bedside cabinet depicting a happy couple with a little boy.

[Reclaimer]

He feels unnerved by the phone call, and looks through the apartment for his package. He sets the lamp down and says,"Hello," into the phone. "If it was just the phone, then how did I answer him," He thinks, "maybe just a TV show from satellite, ya, that's probably it."

[Laraqua]

Background music.

He opens up the wardrobe doors and sees nothing but several sets of clothing hanging on clothes hangers. A tingle down the back of his spine causes him to glance around and, he sees a wrapped package sitting there near the bed and he sees a child's hand dart out of sight under the bed. Is someone hiding in there?

No one answers him over the mobile phone. He can merely hear gurgling cries for help, a woman's continued screaming in agony, and the sounds of a man's grunts and groans.

[Reclaimer]

"I see where this is going," He thinks to himself as he picks up and examines the package, careful not to turn his back to the bed or doors.

OOC:Any chance this package has a loaded sawed-off shotgun in it?

[Laraqua]

OOC: Edited the above to fix the mistakes. Oh, and would you want a shotgun you found in what appears to be a crime scene?

Charles goes to the gap between bed and wall, facing the door to the loungeroom and the bed itself and starts turning around the package. As soon as he touches it, the phone call abruptly stops as though someone on the other hand has hung up. The package is heavy but not inflexible - it may be stuffed with foam but what's inside it sure isn't exactly the size of the box. The lettering on the label is blurred - as though either aged or the ink has run with water awhile ago. Likely the latter. It is held closed with thick sticky tape.

[Reclaimer]

He takes a peek under the bed and puts the box in front of him as a makeshift shield.

[Laraqua]

There is only lint beneath the bed. No stains, no child, nothing. Yet no one has left the room. But Charles Hubert certainly remembers seeing the child's hand withdraw from where the box was left sitting.

[Reclaimer]

"Listen, I don't have time for this, if anyone is here really, now's the time to make yourself known," He says, trying to convince himself nothing is here more than trying to help some girl.

OOC: Depends on what happens before I leave.

[Laraqua]

There's no further movement or noises from inside the flat. Taking a quick look over the bed, he sees that the former mess he had seen on the kitchen table and carpet is gone. There are a few stains remaining on the carpet, however. (i) Come to think of it, he doesn't recall anyone having rented this room since he had lived here. Perhaps it's an old crime scene? Either way, unless Charles Hubert's a man to believe in ghosts, it probably seems most likely that someone's trying to play a complicated trick on him. Does anyone else know that he's about to apply for a job at a show that examines the superstitious world? (i) He's not sure how anyone could tamper with his phone to make it display his own phone number, but it might be possible.

[Reclaimer]

"Oh well, maybe this box will have something that will make this trip worth it," He says. He checks his phone for the time.

[Laraqua]

7:41

.

He remembers the advertisement on his bedside cabinet that will give him the appointment time and place. He's pretty sure he's meant to be there by nine, however. He will need a sharp implement to open the package - he will probably find one in his room.

[Reclaimer]

He carefully makes sure no one is outside, and runs back to his room.

[Laraqua]

The corridor is empty. The lounge room he leaves behind seems in much better state than before, though the pall of death hangs over it. Other than stains on the carpet and a missing television set (and now lamp), it was almost as though nothing had ever happened here.

[Reclaimer]

He enters his room and hastily cuts the tape with a steak knife. He opens the box up, hoping to get a pleasant surprise for a change.

[Laraqua]

Inside is a modern lightweight digital video cameras - similar to many of the hand-held cameras he knew were used in documentary production. This one looked much more expensive than most.

It came with a set of batteries, power cables and film.

[Reclaimer]

He tries to see if there's anything on the DVD.