Lily Thompson's Journey: Deception

[Laraqua]

Show,we can assume from her last post that she entered the lighthouse and at least came up the stairs with you. We'll leave it until she re-posts to see what she does once you go through the door. I imagine she'll follow along placidly but you never can tell.

[Garrett]

great, so I'm left on a cliffhanger. lol

[Kadael]

Lily's eyebrows arch at the vaguely familiar melody. She didn't think there'd actually be anyone up here. Still keeping her mouth shut, she follows Cole.

[Laraqua]

The humming continues as though pointedly ignoring him as he rounds the platform and goes up the seven steps to the next ring. On this platform he can see the round glass walls of the central lighthouse and the machinery within. Although they had followed its light before, it is off now. Through the rounded glass, they can see a woman standing at the railing and gazing off towards the ocean. She is the source of the gentle humming and she turns as she hears their footsteps on the metal grating of this platform.



"Well, don't you look like an asshole," she says with a smirk, leaning back against the railing as though without a care in the world.

[Garrett]

My hand returns to my gun and I hold it out in her sight. "Shut up bitch, where's Charles?" I demand roughly.

[Kadael]

Lily stops slouching as her spine goes rigid, leaving her in a posture about as comfortable as a flagpole. Her eyes grow wide as saucers and her mouth falls open, further exaggerating her doll-like features. Sound warbles from her throat, not managing to form itself into anything coherent.

She forgets the gun. She forgets Cole's presence entirely. She forgets to breathe.

This is completely ridiculous. Some small part of herself is yelling at the rest of her to quit being stupid and focus on the danger. But maybe there isn't any danger anymore.

Maybe all of her thoughts about the lighthouse are true.

It's beautiful.

[Laraqua]

"Charles?" asks the woman airily, waving away the gun with a dismissive flap of her hand. They still have a half dozen feet between them around the curving structure but, of course, it doesn't appear that she has a weapon. "Who'se Charles? I've never met the man." Her gaze drops to the laptop awkwardly held in his armpit. "Is that Cecie's laptop?"

[Garrett]

"Charles is a huge, muscly guy covered in tatoos." I turn to Lily, once again getting frustrated. "You said he'd be here!"

[Kadael]

Lily snaps out of her distracted thoughts and forces her eyes toward Cole. "Well, uh, he probably left! Th-this was just the last place I saw him. What, you don't think he has better things to do than stare at the water all day? My brother is a very busy man!"

[Garrett]

As everything falls apart the blood starts rushing back to my head. Once again I begin shaking as I stare at Lily, does she not understand how fucking important this is? "You said you were on vacation, WHAT THE FUCK IS HE BUSY WITH!?" Screw it I don't care. "WHERE THE FUCK IS HE THEN!" I scream, towering over this young girl. I can't believe how much time I've wasted, Mary could be dead by now! Wait isn't she already dead, so how would...? Fuck I don't have time to think about that. I stare at Lily demanding an answer.

[Laraqua]

The strange woman sighs deeply. "Rage and scream as though the whole world owes you anything when you give the world nothing but hatred and pain," she says airily. "I know your type. What did this Charles do to you? Owe you money from a football game?" Her gaze remains on the laptop. "I don't suppose I could have that, could I? It is my friend's, after all."

[Kadael]

"I don't know where he is," Lily says, her voice quivering as she backs up against the wall. "What do you think I am, his watchdog?! It's not my job to know what he's doing!"

Her eyes flick over to the woman again. Her friend's laptop? Maybe she'd know something about how to get into it.

[Garrett]

The volume of my voice increases and as my voice is more strained the words become harder to understand. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! I NEED THIS DAMN LAPTO-" My vision was still fuzzy from rage when the realization shot through me. "-your friends with that bitch who clubbed me? What's her computer's password?!" My head clears a little, this girl could help me, this girl has to help me.

[Laraqua]

"Wow, you really know how to make a girl want to help you," says the woman, pulling herself up into a sitting position on the railing. "And before you come over to strike me, let me tell you that I can be up and over this railing quick as a whistle and since I didn't come up here feeling exactly cheery and wishful for a long life, you should take that seriously. Username is CBrooks, right? I can see in your eyes that's so. In other words, I know the password so don't try to throw your anger around and expect me to help you because I absolutely despise your type and taking a tumble just to ruin your day. You're a bully and since you're here you're probably worse besides. The world was cruel to you and denied you something once upon a time so you run around smashing everyone else's lives up and screaming in their face like a two-year-old because somehow the world owes you something you never gave to the world."

She pauses to let it sink in and smirks a little, enjoying baiting him.

[Garrett]

"Don't patronize me you rotten whore, YOU DON'T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT ME!" I knew I shouldn't be yelling like this, I really needed her help if she was telling the truth, which their was a fair chance she wasn't. Still though, I couldn't risk it. After battling with my choked up throat for a moment and taking a few deep breaths I speak again. "Please,-" I force out through gritted teeth. "-I have to save my sister, she's somewhere in this hellhole and that computer might tell me where." My voice is pleading, a tone I cannot remember the last time I used non-sarcastically.

[Laraqua]

"There, was that so hard," she said drily and completely unsympathetically. "Let the woman go and I'll help you find your girl. I knew Cecie well while she was on vacation here but even I couldn't get her off the laptop. I was tempted to change the password if I didn't think she'd get fired or something so I paid attention when she was typing it in." She sighed heavily and gazes over her shoulder wistfully toward the fog-shrouded lake. "If only I'd done just that...." She turns her gaze back on Cole. She could be bluffing about tossing herself over the edge but she acts like a woman who is beyond fear or anything at all really. "It makes sense that Cecie might have information on your little sister. She was looking into her own daughter ... trying to find out what got her. She'd gotten close and then ... this town got to her. It gets to us all." She gaze past Cole at Lily. "Enjoy your visit, girl, take a look around, but don't let anyone try to take your fate away from you."

Her gaze lands once more on Cole. "So what do you say? You going to let her go?"

[Garrett]

I didn't much like some stupid girl trying to sieze control of the situation but the option she offered was too good to pass up. I start approaching her. "Yeah, sure I don't even care about her. Can you really help me?" The gun is still in my hand but it is hanging aloofly now.

[Kadael]

In Lily's impressionable mind, she places this woman on a pedestal of inner strength and raw beauty. Her heart slams loudly in her chest as she hangs on every word. She really hopes she won't jump. That would be such a terrible loss, she thinks.

Whoever she is, she's taken control of the situation just like that with nothing more than words and knowledge.

She wonders, in her slightly dazed state, what she means about the town. About whoever Cecie is. It gets to us all.

But then the woman is talking to her, and her thoughts fall apart, and all she's doing is nodding her head like an idiot.

[Laraqua]

When Cole approaches, the woman tilts back over the railing and tuts. "You can stay right where you are until she's safe and away."

[Garrett]

I bight down so hard at nothing a feel a tooth chip. Too mad to mind the pain I simply stand where I am. "Okay, you heard the nice lady kid, get he fuck outta here." I say in a quick, mocking tone.