CHAPTER ONE: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

[Laraqua]

The older boy tilted his head to one side. "I died because I was weak." He lowers his head. "I understand." Then he raises it again and looks Cole unflinchingly in the eye. "How did I die?"

[Garrett]

"You killed yourself, didn't you?" I said questioningly, stuttering I start again. "Look uh, sorry, I really don't know what happened to you. But maybe you do matter, because maybe you can help me. I'm not really sure whats real and whats not but I was told there were a lot of unguarded kids in here, and I'm pretty sure theres a really bad man in here with them. He has a gun, and if he finds them he'll probably kill them, so if you could tell me where they are, or better yet where he is you'd be helping me save their lives." I give him a pleading look, hoping things will finally solidify a little.

[Laraqua]

"How did I kill myself?" the child asks again, as though that's the most important detail.

[Garrett]

"You slit your wrists, or something with a bloody razer." I say irritated that my question was ignored.

[Laraqua]

The older boy hung his head and went to crouch down facing the wall, head lowered, arms wrapped around knees which were drawn up tightly to his chest.

"Why did I die?" asks the younger boy more firmly, his gaze seeking out and trying to catch Cole's. "I don't understand why it was me. Could you help me? Could you tell me why?"

[Garrett]

With a groan I turn to the younger boy. "Look kid I'm sorry! I really am! And maybe I can help you but not now, not until I'm sure whats going on." I turn my attention to the older boy. "Okay I helped you now you help me, answer my fucking question; is the shooter real, and are there any re- living children in this building in danger?"

[Laraqua]

The older boy simply stares despondently at the ground without responding.

The younger boy graps Cole's elbow in an iron grip. "How did I die?" he asks tonelessly, his gaze growing milky before Cole's very eyes. There's something about that gaze that draws him in with a sucking and eerie finality.

[Garrett]

Once again losing my rationality I kick the older boy, hard. "ANSWER ME!"

[Laraqua]

The older boy collapses on the floor as though in a faint before recollecting himself back into his initial position.

The younger boy's hand grips his elbow tighter. Its starting to hurt. "How did I die?" he repeats in his toneless and dead manner.

[Garrett]

"I DONT, FUCKING, KNOW!" I yell yanking my arm away and begining to walk away from him.

OOC-I'm not great at riddles, does Cole have a way of knowing how he died yet?

[Laraqua]

Show,you didn't gather enough information so Cole wouldn't know either. Taking a look at the boy's corpse would give you some clues. The information is in the various rooms but now you know what you're looking for you can find it.

[Garrett]

After I have a moment to put my thoughts together, I let out a frustrated groan. Well while I'm looking for this shooter and the kids I might as well keep an eye open for whatever killed these damn brats. Who knows, maybe their real.

[Laraqua]

The younger boy takes a menacing step forward and something seems to glimmer in his hands, as though there were a sharp wire there, or something similar. His face is set in rage, teeth gritter, as he takes yet another step.

[Garrett]

I point my gun at him angrily. "You wanna play it that way kid? Take another fucking step!"
-If he stops I go back to sweeping the school, picking up where I left off.
-If he does I fire and immediately draw my other gun.
Success 17 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723108/
Success 6 damage http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723111/

[Laraqua]

The boy steps forward again and the bullet echoes in the silent confines of the room, tearing off a chunk of his lower jaw and shredding through his cheek. The boy takes another step, implacable.

[Garrett]

Shit, saw that coming. Reallly hope this isn't a real kid I'm hallucinating over. I pull out the glock I scavenged from the police officer and blast away again, taking steps back to match his steps forward.
Success 49 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723357/
6 damage http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723358/
OOC-I'm rolling the d6 for the glock right? Also is the little girl still just sitting their?

[Laraqua]

The little girl hasn't moved from her position. The older boy seems undisturbed by the gunshots. The little boy hits the floor, its head split open from the many bullets. As he collapses, an eerie siren wails that reminds him of old movies and tales of Nazi Germany. As the siren sings, the plaster begins to peel free from its moorings to reveal a steel skeleton of criss crossing girders and popes overlayed with steel mesh beyond which are the odd pinpoints of reddish light like the glare from over heated steel. The skin and flesh peel back and drift away into motes of oily ash and blackened meat to float away on the sudden breeze that kicks up through the location. Somewhere within the bowels of the building groans steel against steel coupled with the whush-whush of large fans pumping air throughout the location.

[Garrett]

Not a real kid, not a real kid, not a real kid. I chant mentally as I regain my breath. After I've had a moment to regain my composure I go back to sweeping the building, but avoid any children I see.

[Laraqua]

It seems the effect has spread to the entire school and as he walks across the steel mesh he can sweep his light through the gaps in the walls and see something moving in quick shadowy darts, and humanoid figures jiggle and dance in hovering positions like they're hung in the quadrangle that can be glimpsed through the metal walls to the left of you. There are no longer doors, simply rent and twisted gaps in the walls that you have to squeeze within. As he turns down the rearmost corridor, he can see two gaping holes where the double doors once led into the ante-chamber leading out (the exit being blocked with rubble) and the quadrangle itself. A quick glance into the quadrangle sees a dozen child-sized figures whose flesh have melted and run down their naked bodies as they kick and twist from thick steel cabling that wraps around their throats.

A multi-limbed creature of shadow and ash with long and sharp limbs darts across the steel mesh and, as he watches, its long limbs reverse toward some strange section of what he thought was the rear end which slowly produces a length of steel cabling. Smaller limbs on its hindquarters pluck at the steel cable, teasing it out, until its long enough for the larger limbs to take hold of it and loop it into a noose. Its hard to be sure if the creature has yet seen him.

[Garrett]

Cole drops to a crouch and keeps his gun on the monster, ready to blast away if it comes at him aggressively.
Sneak success 14 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3728074/
gun success 45 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3728075/