Play@YSDC

The Journey from the site of the crash to the Coach and Lantern Motel about a mile off the 75 takes about twenty minutes, and provides a first, well it seems first, look at the city of Clio. City it seems is a rather grand title for somewhere little more than a town, it seems the founders had a sense of humour. As you pass through what seems a small but thriving town centre, well illuminated by lights and flashing signs, you see several people out and about, although it seems that the imminent threat of a storm adds speed to their movements. All in all what you see looks like a typical Michigan urban development, what you were doing here is anyone’s guess.
If, as you have begun to suspect, you are part of some TV production, that would explain the technical equipment stored in the van. Equipment which would be expected for making films or such. However it seems that there is no camera or sound equipment aboard. Equipment for mixing and for viewing but no tapes of anything.
Eventually you turn into the parking lot of the motel

Gracie Gunn,You suddenly see yourself seated in the front of the van, beside you Hippo, the driver, cracks a smile,[color=#0040FF] “This looks like the only game in town”[/color]. The van then pulls into the motel’s parking lot. From behind, the voice of a woman says, [color=#0040FF]“All right, let’s get some rooms and then something to eat. I’m starving, and dinner is on me”[/color]. Turning around, you see a red-haired woman that you do not recognize, although again the feeling that you should swamps your being.

a small but modern looking building with a sign that announces a pool. In the clean and tidy foyer, complete with several vending machines, a desk area is marked enquiries and a young man, probably in his early twenties, leans over it reading a magazine set on the desk top. He smiles at you in recognition, then winces as he takes in your bedraggled state...

OOC:   Remember you each have a key to a room numbered 3,4,5,7,8,9. Todd Guzman has room #4, other than that you may choose.

Rutiger Paddington

"What, you've never seen van crash victims?" I say with a wink, I have a look at my key: number 5.

Hippo has the key to Room 9.

Gracie takes out her key, which has the number 7 on it.

Rutiger Paddington

"I'm going to go to my room and get changed. I hope I've brought a set of spare clothes, otherwise we're going to have to go shopping ASAP."

Todd Guzman

"This may sound like a strange question," Todd says to the receptionist. "But when we left here did we happen to mention where we were going?"

Karl Anderson

Karl looks at his key. No 3. 'Definitely not my lucky number, he thinks.

"Lyn's room is right next to mine," says Gracie, "so I'll knock and see if she's in on my way there. I remember when we arrived here the first time, and she was with us then."

Karl Anderson

Grasping at straws, Karl also quizzes the receptionist, "Are there any messages for us?"

The guy at the desk turns and looks at a row of Pidgeon holes each marked with a room number running from 1 – 15. All are empty and all but numbers 3 – 9 have keys in them, it seems that the only occupied rooms are yours. “Sorry pal, but there doesn’t seem to be anything”. At Todd’s question he turns back, “I wasn’t here when you went off. That would be Dad you need to ask”. He opens a door behind the desk marked private, “Hey pop the guys from the film crew are here with some questions”.
Within moments an older gentleman who bears a striking resemblance to the man behind the desk appears, you guess this is ‘pop’. The same question is asked of the old man, he shakes his head with a quizzical look in his eyes, “Nope, any reason why you should have?” His eyes look over at the state of your clothing and your collection of cuts and bruises, “Anything I should know?”...

"Our van was in a wreck," explains Gracie.

Todd Guzman

"And we're not sure if our friend Lyn made it back here or not," Todd adds. "We think she might be in room 6."

The desk clerk, whose name it seems is Bob Sawyer and along with his wife, Anne, run the motel, eyes you with a mixture of suspicion and pity, following Gracie’s brief explanation.
“Lyn...Room 6” he muses as he runs a finger down a list of names in the motel’s guest book. You note that the Pidgeon hole to room 6 is empty.
“Says here that room #6 has been rented to a Miss Lyn Cartwright” he thinks for a second or two, “Yeah I remember her, pretty red-head. Probably in her mid-thirties. Y’all arrived together and went off together in your van this morning. How comes you aint together now?”

Todd Guzman

"We must have gotten separated in the accident somehow," Todd replies. "Would it be possible to let us take a look inside room 6 to see if we can figure out where she might have gone? We're kinda worried she might be hurt."

At Todd’s suggestion Bob Sawyer looks perplexed, as if in two minds. For a few moments he seems to be chewing over the idea, “Well it aint regular but as long as I go with you and nothing gets touched, I don’t suppose it can do any harm” . He slips out from behind the desk, fishes in a pocket and produces a large bunch of keys before making his way down the corridor towards the door marked 6. “So just what were you folks up to around Clio?”

Rutiger Paddington

"Ever heard of a TV show called "The Supernatural Files"? Yup. That's us! We're filming a new episode, but for contractual reasons, we're not allowed to give more details."

"You'll just have to wait until the episode airs," adds Gracie.

Simon Quispe

Simon wonders what might be his role in the production. The safest bet is a technical assistant / general lackey of sorts, hauling equipment, maybe learning some basic camera skills...

He follows the others to the mysterious room #6.

Bob Sawyer stops at the door marked ‘Room 6’ and searches the bundle of keys. Finding the right one he inserts it in the lock, looking back as he does so, “Okay, look but don’t touch nothing”. He turns the key and pushes the door open...

Simon Quispe,For a brief moment your vision darkens and you hear a female voice, unrecognised but with a hint of familiarity,[color=#0040FF] “Don’t bitch just get the damned case, oh and bring me some coffee”[/color]. Your vision clears and you watch the door to room 6 swing open

Todd Guzman

"Thank you, Mr. Sawyer," Todd says as he steps into the room, anxious to get some answers.

Priest wrote:

Simon Quispe,For a brief moment your vision darkens and you hear a female voice, unrecognised but with a hint of familiarity,[color=#0040FF] “Don’t bitch just get the damned case, oh and bring me some coffee”[/color]. Your vision clears and you watch the door to room 6 swing open

Simon Quispe

Simon loses balance for a second.

"What? Who was that? Did anybody hear a voice?" he asks the others.

Rutiger Paddington

"A voice? It was Todd, thanking Mr Sawyer."

I will avoid entering the room, or looking inside for now. If nobody screams, then I'll follow.

Simon Quispe

"Huhh... must be a side effect of the crash. I hope I didn't get a concussion," Simon mumbles and glances into the room from the outside.

Gracie peeks into the room.

Karl Anderson

Karl follows Todd into the room. "In for a penny, in for a pound.."

The room looks just like any other motel room in a thousand different motels, neat but small. A cursory look shows traces of recent habitation, from the half made bed to the half open closet door through which can be seen several changes of clothing and a partially open suitcase; to a chest of drawers atop which can be seen a closed laptop. The room smells of perfume, vaguely familiar to you all...

Simon Quispe

Simon slowly enters the room and flips the laptop open. If needed, switches it on.

"We're not supposed to touch anything," whispers Gracie.

Simon Quispe

"Oh, sorry... sure..."

Simon pulls back his hand.

He looks around the room. Is there any sort of a case?

Todd Guzman

"I'm sure Mr. Sawyer wouldn't mind if we just took a quick look at what was on the laptop as long as we don't move it," Todd says. "Seems like our best bet for information."

Karl Anderson

"Yeah, I say we have a look. What harm could it do?"

From his position beside the door to the room, Bob Sawyer’s brow wrinkles in thought. Then he makes a barely perceptible nod, “Yep I guess that it wouldn’t hurt none. But just look don’t move anything”

OOC:   Simon Quispe - "He looks around the room. Is there any sort of a case?“ "...half open closet door through which can be seen several changes of clothing and a partially open suitcase"

OOC:

Simon Quispe

Simon walks over to the closet and checks out the suitcase. Might this be the "case" the voice in his head was asking for? He pulls it out and opens it.

Todd Guzman

Todd pokes at the laptop keys to start it up. "Let's see what we have here..."

For a few seconds the laptop goes through its start-up procedure then the screen is filled with a smiling female’s face that you recognise from the flyer found in the van. Jennifer? Beneath this picture a small panel demands an 8 letter Password.

Todd Guzman,there is something oddly familiar about a computer. It’s as though your fingers seem to have a memory all of their own. For a second the image of cameras and sound equipment flash through your mind.

Simon opens the suitcase finding inside a few items of clothing, some odds and ends of toiletries, a dog eared copy of a Stephen King novel ‘11/22/63’ (about Kennedy’s assassination) and a couple of photographs of a neat looking house and a contented looking black cat. The photos are marked ‘home’ and ‘Bast’

Todd Guzman

"Hmm, feels familiar," Todd mutters as he studies the laptop. "Password is eight letters. The name Jennifer just popped into my head and that has eight letters so I'll try that."

Priest wrote:Simon opens the suitcase finding inside a few items of clothing, some odds and ends of toiletries, a dog eared copy of a Stephen King novel ‘11/22/63’ (about Kennedy’s assassination) and a couple of photographs of a neat looking house and a contented looking black cat. The photos are marked ‘home’ and ‘Bast’

Simon Quispe

Simon flips through the book - any markings, or extra papers stuck between the pages?

OOC:   I assume the items of clothing and toiletries inside belong to a female?

Rutiger Paddington

I enter the room and have a good look around (should I roll Spot Hidden?).

"Oh my, Stephen King! I've read all of his books. I liked Christine a lot. Remember how that blasted car from hell started running everyone over?
That was neat. And Carrie! Oh, Carrie! Haha. If "Jennifer" is not the correct password, try "112263"?"

"That's only six characters," says Gracie, "but it's eight if you include the slashes. I'm partial to The Stand myself. M-O-O-N. That spells The Stand."

Todd Guzman

"Hey, maybe our memories are starting to come back if we can recall the books we've read," Todd suggests. "I remember that one about the clown which turned out to be an alien spider or something. Gave me the creeps."

Simon Quispe

Simon wonders, "Am I the only one who is not into this Stephen King fellow? Must be a generational thing..."

Just in case, he checks under the bed, and opens any drawers.

Is there a bathroom adjoining the motel room?

Rutiger Paddington

Noticing the look on Simon's face, I glare at him.

"Probably more of a Twilight fan." I think.

"Yeah, that was It," says Gracie to Todd. "That one gave me nightmares. Oh, have you ever read The Eyes of the Dragon? It's fantasy, not like his usual horror, but it's one of his best works."

Todd Guzman

"Yeah, I remember that one, too," Todd replies. "Well, at least we'll have one thing to talk about if we never remember anything else about ourselves."

Karl Anderson

Karl remembers running scared through a corn field. Is this a real memory or did he read it in a Stephen King book? Jesus.

He looks to see if the laptop has been accessed..

And so the room erupts into discussions of various Stephen King novels in the hope that maybe someone might find a clue to the possible password amongst them. While the debate ensues Tod Guzman’s fingers run quickly and expertly over the laptops keyboard – surely he has done this before. However his attempt at typing the name Jennifer elicits a simple ‘invalid password’ response.

Both Simon and Rutger, seem unwilling to join in the ‘guess the password’ game and continue looking around the room. But there seems nothing of any interest or anything to provide any clue to the password.

Tod is not the only one who suddenly notices that they seem to be able to recall Stephen King’s stuff with ease, indeed memories may be starting to return. An odd expression passes over Gracie’s face...

Gracie Gunn,For an instant you find yourself in a sun filled room. To your left is a grand piano on top of which is a collection of photographs. Suddenly you hear a females voice,[color=#0040FF] “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got this time”[/color]. You turn around and a flame haired female, Jennifer, wrapped in a white towelling bathrobe and cradling a purring black cat, walks into the room and opens a laptop. [color=#0040FF]“Now”[/color] she laughs placing the cat on a sofa, as you watch she begins to type a password into the laptop [i]– BABYBAST[/i] – the screen flickers and comes alive. As it does a deeper, guttural voice shouts, loud enough to hurt your ears [color=#0040FF][size=150]“DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?”[/size][/color] As the echoes of that cold, inhuman voice fades you blink and you find yourself in a motel room...

"Try 'BABYBAST,'" says Gracie. "All caps. Jennifer used her cat's name as her password."

Todd Guzman

"I'll take your word for it." Todd types in BABYBAST.

Hippo

"Dumb name for a cat I tell ya." mutters Hippo.

Rutiger Paddington

"That's the worst name I've ever heard." I also mutter.

Simon Quispe

"I think it's kinda cute..." mutters Simon, mostly to himself.

Karl Anderson

"Babybast babybast, life's a blast. Type those keys baby, not too fast", Karl thinks to himself, remembering not to mutter.

"I think the cat's name is simply Bast," says Gracie, "but Babybast is a nickname. Bast is short for Bubastis, the Egyptian goddess of cats. How do I know that?"

Tod enters the password and after a brief moment the screen shows a collage of pictures featuring the seven, if one includes the redheaded Jennifer, in various postures and groupings outside different buildings. The laptop seems to hold several folders each named after a different locale across the States. The oldest folder seems to date from three years ago and the most recent, well recently. Accessing the files contained within the folders show that they follow a similar pattern. They set out the script and details for a series of programmes all of which follow a similar pattern. The tem investigate a suspected haunted building, following a request from clients, The investigation entails a careful research of the building’s history. Followed by the team carrying out scientific and pseudo-mystical experimentation and investigative techniques in an effort to prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural. So fat it seems that TSF has produced two series each of twelve programmes, none of which has delivered any proof of the supernatural. It seems that they have been asked to investigate a suspected haunted house in Clio, the Cooper House, but as of yet the programme, the fourth in the new series, is unfinished.

The folder titled ‘The Cooper House, contains scans of various newspaper cuttings;
#1 comes from the Saginaw News dated June 19th 1990, Headlines read, ‘Clio Teen Still Missing by Ellen Shaw. And reports that fifteen year old Tiffany Jensen is still missing after being reported missing by her parent following her failure to come home from a bonfire party to celebrate the end of the school year at a friend’s house four days earlier...

#2 From the Flint Journal dated November 5th 1979. Headlined, ‘Unidentified Body Found: Mysterious Circumstances Abound’ by Mark Neimann. The story tells of an unidentified male body being found in a cornfield near the Town of Clio.

#3 from the Detroit Free Press March 13th 1965. About a murder committed in Clio.

#4 A story from the Clio Messenger, April 20th, 2011. About a supposed haunted house.

And a list of interviews.
Mayor Charlotte Coleman: Interviewed Sept 16th on camera.
Chief Donald Mathews: Interview scheduled, Sept 17th, 9:30am at the police station.
Vanessa Volker: Interview scheduled, Sept 17th, 2:00pm office.
Baker family: Declined interview.
Grover family: Interviewed, Sept 16th, on camera.
Joseph family: Interviewed, Sept 16th, masked audio only.
James Burke and Alexis Romanov: Interviewed, Sept 16th, on camera.
Lily Austin: Interview scheduled, Sept 17th, 12:00pm office

OOC:   There is nothing else of value on the laptop and nothing useful in the room. By the time you have finished looking around the room and the contents of the laptop it is around eleven pm on the 17th September, and as a result of your recent adventures and whatever may have befallen you before, you are all in desperate need of sleep. You all have rooms awaiting you. The full contents of the handouts have been placed in the appropriate section.

Karl Anderson

Karl heads to Room 3 wondering if the Baker family were the same folks they met earlier on.

"Man I'm fried", he thinks to himself.

Todd Guzman

"Looks like this Vanessa Volker was the last interview we did before the accident today and according to this newspaper article she's the realtor of the Cooper House. Anyway, night everyone. Hopefully things will be clearer after we get some rest." Todd heads for room 4.

OOC:   I can only see handout #4 the others say photo not found.

Rutiger Paddington

I stretch and yawn.

"Well, this baby... bast... has given us what we were looking for. I, for one, will now be heading to bed. Now isn't the time to start investigating.
It's bed time."

I will speak to the owner and request to be woken up with a breakfast of crispy bacon, eggs, and beans. Then I will head to my room for a well deserved rest.

Gracie stifles a yawn. "Yeah, I'm beat," she says. "Guess it's good night, Gracie for me." She heads to Room 7, right next door.

OOC,I can't see the first three pictures either.