CHAPTER ONE: Jack's Journey: Opening Hours

[Seon]

Jack quickly turned around and raised his shotgun towards the source of the noise.

[Laraqua]

Long, barbed chains swung forward from the left corridor into the lobby room, the chains swaying like antennae, then groping along the floor. Something drags against the floor. He can hear it, or he or she, twitching and banging themselves against the floor from the direction of that doorway. Ash flattens herself against the wall, suppressing a scream with a fist in the mouth.

[Seon]

Jack opened the door out of the police station and mouthed 'let's get out of here,' to Ash.

[Laraqua]

Ash rushes out the door, leaving Jack to pass through second, while the barbed chains lash the air with sudden speed, sensing the motion. Outside, all is as it was before. Foggy silence, damp air, but the fresh darkness that had descended when he'd approached the hospital seems to crowd around the fringes, forcing him to keep his flashlight out and at the ready if he wants to see where he's going. Luckily, Ash has her flashlight in hand, leaving Jack to focus on his shotgun.

[Seon]

Spoiler:

Doesn't Jack have a clip-on flashlight?

Jack kept a hand pressed on Ash's shoulder to urge her on while they moved away from the police station.

[Laraqua]

Ash nodded and hurried in step with Jack. Even with the longer range of her larger flashlight, most of the streets disappear into darkness leaving Jack almost to feel like he's simply running across pavement down Wilson Street. The radios both flare into static and drop back into mild crackle on several occasions as they hurry past. Shuffling, heavy movement, four-legged movement, all sound out against the pavement but Rushing down to the end, Jack can see the gaping chasm that surrounds Alchemilla. Jack's been lucky thus far.

Ash swears under her breath as she skirts around it. "How deep is that?"

Hide,this is true but hers has greater range (almost twice that of yours though with less width and yours is the more typical Silent Hill range of about 4 yards) and I presumed you'd be moving fast. She can also flash hers around without having to do a spin. Oh, I also had to hand roll a Luck Roll because my internet's being REALLY slow

[Seon]

"I dropped one of them into the crater. Never heard it hit the bottom," Jack muttered. "Come on, we still have a long way to go..."

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3320835/ Another luck roll.

[Laraqua]

Ash nods, her face pale in his flashlight. All this movement seems to be wearing on Jack as well. His limbs feel heavy and his mind foggy though his injuries are no longer causing him any pain. He must've lost a lot of blood. They reach Midway Avenue and then cross down Borden Street that sides onto the Town Hall and reaches the northern edge of South Park where trees and shrubbery spring out here and there around them. The annoying part of this park are the hedge rows. It's quite easy to make a short path a long one unless they find the cement walkways but even those tend to cross back and forth over themselves.

Hide,Stupid bartender luck! Make another one to pass through the park.

[Seon]

Jack kept a hand on Maria, partly to urge on her and partly to steady himself, as he ran with her through the forest.

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3320865/

[Laraqua]

Growls and barks sound out all around them as they hurry through the park and the two are forced to run. Jack feels the weakness spreading through his body, slowing him down and making it harder to move, but he manages to keep himself going. They reach one edge of the park and out onto the road. It's when they reach the Catfish Diner that he realises they hit Riverside Drive and worked their way north rather than south. The southern end of Riverside Drive has a crater, he recalls. They need to get to the south-west side of South Park.

"What do we do?" mutters Ash when he stops. "Are we going the right way?"

Jack's starting to feel a little light-headed.

Hide,Maria? :P

[Seon]

Jack bit his lips. "We've been going in the wrong direction... we might still be able to make it to the bar together...if we hurry..."

Jack coughed and dug through his pockets. "Here, take it!" he said hurriedly, pressing a key into Ash's hand. "It's the key to the bar. In the southwest corner of the park, there's a fence. You'll have to climb over it. Then it'll be home free to the bar."

He walked towards the park, with his footsteps becoming ever weaker.

[Laraqua]

"We'll make it," said Ash worriedly, slinging one of his arms over her shoulders and nearly buckling under his weight. Whether it's her touching concern or the flash of realisation that he's oh so close, he manages to keep on at a decent stagger. "We'll head down the road, then cross east if there's a barrier." They head down the street until the crumbling edge of the road can be seen in their flashlights, and then start heading sidelong to where the corrugated iron fences run along the back of the shops. The trouble is that the rails that hold it up are on the other side. He'll have to grab the top of it and hurl himself over without any foot holds. Their radiosremain thankfully silent as they reach the right spot. Jack fails to Climb over it on his own, his arms too weak to really pull himself up, so Ash holds her hands interlinked before him.

"Want a boost up?" she asked.

[Seon]

"Please," Jack said.

[Laraqua]

"When we get Cecilia, we should check Alchemilla Hospital for Katie..." said Ash as he steps up onto her hand. "It's our best chance to find her. I got a text earlier, but I'm not sure if it was from her. But who else would it have been?"

If he were feeling well, perhaps he could have vaulted the fencewith her aid but as it werehe had to scramble over and flop down over the other side. His attempts were to the gentle tune of low level static and not a whole lot more. He lands on the other side, nearly tumbles on weakened legs, but manages to keep to his feet. Then it's Ash's turn, but as her finger tips grasp the top of the fence, his luck folds. There's a flare of static, a growling snarl and she screams, her fingers suddenly wrenched away from the fence.

Jack's left to stare at the fence, feeling weak and drained, knowing that it'd be hard enough to clamber back over the fence let alone do anything else.

[Seon]

Spoiler:

Looks like Jack's (un)lucky enough to succeed in these rolls. There's no way he's going to survive afterwards.

"Ash!"

Jack gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the railings with a singleminded determination. He recklessly pulled up his bloodied body over the railings.

[Laraqua]

The grass before him is smeared with a few slashes of blood but nothing too immense. His flashlight reveals no blood smears nor trails to follow and his crackling radio has dipped back to its usual low-level chatter. He could try to track her but it certainly would be difficult in all of this darkness and he's not exactly a very skilled tracker.

[Seon]

"... Damnit," Jack mumbled. He turned back towards the fence and tried to climb over again...

[Laraqua]

Without a boost up, it's difficult but not impossible to pull himself up and over the fence but he manages it in the end. The static remains low even as manages to make his slow way back to Annie's Bar.

Hide,Welcome to the end of Chapter 1! You may roll to improve your skills (all the ones with a plus sign before it). Then you can make your way back into Cecilia's thread, feeling exhaustion settle over him.

[Seon]

Spoiler:

(+)Climb: 40% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321027/
(+)Dodge: 22% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321028/
(+)Jump: 25% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321029/
(+)*Listen: 60% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321030/
(+)*Locksmith: 26% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321031/
(+)Navigate: 10% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321033/
(+).Sneak: 60% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321034/
(+)*Spot Hidden: 55% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321035/
(+)Track: 10% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321038/
(+).Shotgun: 60% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321037/
(+)Baton: 40% http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3321041/

[Laraqua]

There's your skill buffs. I've already entered them into your sheet.