Play@YSDC

He took the camera, photo of Katie, the maps, flyer, business cards, and the flashlight. Who knows whether or not they can be useful in the future? He removed the shirt from the broken-down door, wore it again, and clipped the flashlight onto it, stuffing the rest of the stuff in the camera bag.

"I'll... be right back then," he said, walking out. "If I don't find her within an hour or so, we... probably should just get out of here though."

Emily nods. "Yeah. Maybe the police station..."

If they can even get there. And even that's assuming the station isn't as dead as the hotel.

"Never mind. Just be careful. And good luck." She's disappointed in herself. She should be able to say something better. Not the phrase always uttered by the damselesque female lead. If this is a horror movie, it's about as genre-confused as they go.

Turning back to the little girl, she rests a hand on her tiny shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be safe with me until your mommy comes back."

Show Seon,Walter now has his own thread to explore over here: http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/posting.php?mode=post&f=215.

The door is too damaged to be drawn shut to protect them from the outside world, though if they sit over on the couch they will at least be out of view of anything stalking past the doorway. The room is otherwise quite warm and stuffy, relatively quiet, but for the cracking of wood somewhere else out there in the hotel. In light of everything she's seen, it's hard to imagine that Walter will ever return through that door.

Show Kadael,roll Sanity. SAN loss 0 / 1 for being the lone adult in such a dangerous place.

Katie stands in silence for a minute or two, staring nervously at the broken door and the eerie darkness beyond.

Eventually she asks, "Why is it dark? Mommy said this was a nice hotel."

"It is a nice hotel... I was here yesterday and everything was normal."

Well, no, not everything was normal. But the hotel was. Emily sighs. "I'm sure it's fine, maybe the lights are just acting up. Is there anything you want to do while we wait?"

The television static clears somewhat to reveal the stuttering pleas of some woman's voice. It's so hard to make out what she's saying, but to Katie, at least, it's familiar.

"Mummy?" Katie asks, turning her attention back to the screen.

There's something in the static. Something roiling in moving like a thousand tendrils of ... something. The voice continues, pleading, near shrouded in static, utterly incomprehensible, but there's a sensation there. A thickening. A sense that something is coming, searching, seeking, and that it's drawing closer ... closer ... then the television explodes in a shower of glass and plastic. Katie twists away, throwing up her arms, blocking the worst of it but Emily's not so quick. Perhaps she tried to protect Katie, perhaps not, but moves too slowly to protect herself and the shards of plastic that shred her face with more force than they should be able to muster.

In the sudden darkness, the gloom only broken by the slightly lit corridor behind, smoke roils within the television set, thick and near congealed amongst itself, and there seems to be something ... shining locked within its depths. Perhaps if someone were to reach in, they would find what they were looking for.

Show,it was meant to be Dex x 4, not Dex x 5. Sorry about the confusion!

Blood runs down her face, hot on her skin, hot enough to burn. Smoke, copper, rust; smells mixing in the air to provide a certain sort of bitterness. Emily doesn't think about the tiny flecks of glass in her skin, doesn't think about the strange voice from the television.

The smoke is on her mind. It's like an invitation. She reaches through it and lets it caress her hand.

The smoke coils around her hands and teases her nostrils. Something sharp pricks her fingers and she pulls her fingers back slightly, before feeling around a little more gingerly. It's some sort of sharp knife. Her fingers find the hilt, elaborately carved, she can feel its intricacies, and she grips it and slowly pulls it free. No, not a knife. A dagger as long as her forearm from edge of the hilt to the sharpest point. There's something about the imagery wrapped around the pommel that suggests something ancient, something connected to the town, but she can't quite grasp its significance.

"That was mommy," said Katie, grabbing Emily's sleeve and tugging on it. "My mommy, Cecelia, that was her voice. We have to go. We have to go find her."

Emily turns her gaze from the dagger to the girl's desperate face. She'd almost certainly discount the possibility that it really was her mother speaking, but the haze of last night's memories swims through her head again.

She gingerly lays the dagger next to the broken television, feeling the grit in her arm sting like sand. "Do you know what she said?" Emily asks, not making a move to stand or leave. "Or where she might be?"

Katie shook her head. "No, it ... it got all burbled. But it was mommy.""

"I believe you." Emily's eyes sweep over Katie, looking for stray shards of glass that might need careful handling. "But Walter is out looking for her right now, and it's best if you stay in one place. Your mommy's probably trying to find you, and she might look here."

"But I don't want her to look in here," said Katie. "It's scary. I just wanna go home."

"I know, hon. It's going to be okay." Emily turns her critical eye on herself, trying to pull out the glass splinters as best she can. "Is your mommy the only adult who came with you? Is there anybody who might know where she is?"

Katie shakes her head and bites her thumb tip. "No, there was Laura who was pretty fun but there weren't any other adults with us."

Emily frowns briefly, remembering her phone. Walter has her number, but she doesn't have his. He'll probably call as soon as he finds something promising, but...

"I know it's scary, hon, but your mommy loves you and she's probably looking everywhere she can." She doesn't really believe herself, but she does try not to show it. "And if she looks here and you're off searching with me, it'll be harder for her to find you."

Katie screws up her eyes and gives Emily a solid looking over. "Are you scared? I'm not. The Amusement Park looked scary but it was better than this nasty hotel. The food was good and there were rides. There's things here but they can't hurt you if you're not scared. Laura told me so."

"I'm not scared." Emily forces a smile; it's not really a lie. "But you know it's okay to be afraid, right?"

I haven't worried about monsters or demons in years. Real things are so much scarier.

Katie pauses. "What's that?" she whispers, head cocked to one side.

Emily can hear it too. It's the awkward stride of a drunk man, each foot tapping out against the floorboards in a purposeful yet slightly off stride. It's headed down the corridor toward their hotel room.