Play@YSDC

The journey from the Baker’s farm to the Cooper House is relatively short yet there is nothing familiar in the journey, nothing that sparks any memories of having been here before. The house itself is a short distance from the road up a weed choked dirt path that acts as a driveway, and if not for the for sale sign planted drunkenly at the entrance to the drive might have been missed. Little more than a collapsing ruin the house is surrounded to its flanks and rear by a sea of tall, thick cornstalks. Just to its rear and barely visible is a single story barn, which from what can be seen as you approach may be in better condition than the house itself. The house looks the picture of a haunted house, even in daylight you can’t resist a shudder. The outside of the house is painted a sick shade of blue, though mostly it has become chipped and faded by time, every window you can see has been boarded up, while the front door hangs open, as if in invitation.

As you approach the house you can easily see where a vehicle had churned the dirt of the driveway recently. It seems someone had been in haste to leave...

Simon Quispe

Simon examines the tracks - he can probably tell whether they were left by a normal sized car, or by a van.

Then he scans the surroundings, taking in the vast cornfield. "Corn... That King guy, your favorite author, doesn't he have a book about that too? Damn..."

"Let's check out the barn first," he proposes, unwilling to enter the house right away.

"Yeah," says Gracie, also wishing to delay entering the house. She too looks at the tracks, comparing them to the van's tire treads to confirm that they match.

Gracie and Simon spend a moment looking at the tyre tracks, which despite the recent rain still remain. The pattern seems to correspond with that of the van, with one set marking an ordinary unhurried arrival and the other a hasty departure, so hasty that ruts have been carved in the dirt where the wheels had spun as the van had accelerated hard towards the road. Then Simon switches his attention to the barn, showing little desire to face the house’s open door with its shadowed entrance hall beyond.

Although the barn looks, superficially, as if it is better preserved than the house, it is an illusion that is quickly dispelled. Double doors look as if they might fall if opened and the roof looks as if it is only held up by prayer. Simon quickly decides that entry there would result in disaster.

Gracie,[i]Your vision fades to black and you feel cold as if somewhere underground. The damp chill of subteranea pervades your being. You look around you but can see nothing, a voice calls, [color=#0040FF]“Turn on some damn lights”[/color] sounds like [b]Hippo’s[/b] voice but with an edge of fear. Your fingers trace the familiar feel of a light switch, you gently touch the on off switch. Part of you wants to turn the light on, but a deeper part of you fears what it might reveal. Ignoring your beating heart and the cold sweat that trickles down your spine you flick the switch...[/i] Beside you the team’s young trainee camera operator and general gofor, [b]Simon Quispe[/b], has moved towards the barn. Behind you the other members of your TV family climb warily from the van...

Rutiger Paddington

I pick up a pebble and throw it at the barn, to see if it will collapse.

Hippo

Hippo trudges after Simon in the direction of the barn.

Todd Guzman

Still in the van, Todd rummages around in the back for anything he can find that might be useful in exploring that house -- a flashlight or two, recording equipment, maybe even a weapon of some kind since he still has a very bad feeling about this place given all the creepy stuff they've learned.

Karl Anderson

Karl approaches the barn and has a careful look inside..

"I remember this place," says Gracie, pausing. "It's like deja vu all over again. It was dark when were here before. I turned on my flashlight, but I was afraid what I might see. I remember Simon led the way towards the barn with the camera, and then the rest of you got out of the van. Those tracks are definitely from the first time we were here."

]Simon, Karl and Hippo walk carefully towards the barn, reluctance dragging their steps although none of them are aware of why it should. Although the pebble thrown by Rutger has no effect on the structure, the sudden clattering noise has a startling one on the group.

A single window, it glass still intact if grime and dirt covered, allows a obscured look within. Other than rubbish, mostly having fallen from the timber roof supports, and shadows, the barn looks empty and long disused.

Rummaging amongst the van’s contents, Todd finds a case marked ‘flashlights’, empty it appears to have held two large flashlights along with batteries. Swallowing his disappointment, he continues his search eventually finding the van’s tool set. Mostly spanners and wheel changing tools there is a short prybar, he lifts it up its solidity making him feel better.

The front door to the house looks as if it's waiting in anticipation for your attention. Through it you can see little but shadows...

[attachment=0]105915682.jpg[/attachment

"I guess we have to go inside," says Gracie, gulping. "Again."

Rutiger Paddington

I throw a few pebbles through the door.

Todd Guzman

Carrying the prybar, Todd joins the others at the door. "The flashlights were missing from the van. I'm guessing we left them inside. You think maybe we should check around the back before going in?"

Hippo

Hippo pushes the barn doors, which look like they are about to collapse.

"Sure," says Gracie. Anything to delay going inside a little longer.

Hippo pushes at the barn doors producing an ominous rumble from the barn structure, it seems that it is not only the doors that are close to collapse, he feels sure that a good push will bring the whole lot crashing down, and that it might only be the doors that are holding the building up.

The rear of the building proves as uninspiring as the front, the same sick blue painted walls as badly in need of maintenance as those at the front. Windows all securely boarded as is the rear door set within a sagging rear porch. What may have once been a garden is now little more than a weed infested dirt patch crowded by the close proximity of the thick corn and the sad remains of a once white fence. At various points stands of trees can be seen, those to the east and south being the closest of any size.

OOC:   All those going to the rear of the house please make POW rolls (the lower the better).

Todd Guzman

Todd gazes around uncertainly at the desolate area.

Gracie works up her courage as she ventures behind the house.

OOC,POW roll (70% stat) behind the house: [dice]0[/dice]

Karl Anderson

Karl listens for any pebble related action inside the front door.

"Ok, who's going in first?" He looks around for any volunteers.

Simon Quispe

Simon nods and goes to the rear of the house with the team.

POW 80
[dice]0[/dice]

At the front of the house Karl hears the pebbles tossed by Rutiger rattle inside the shadowy entrance hall. Nerving himself he glances around as if delaying the moment.

To the rear Gracie suddenly feels a churning within her stomach, for a brief moment the pain is intense almost driving her to her knees. Then after a bout of dry heaves that threaten sickness but produce nothing, the pain is gone and the feeling of nausea nothing more than a memory. Both Todd and Simon look on unable to do anything to assist...

Gracie clutches her stomach and squeezes her eyes shut. "That was worse than what I felt when I woke up from my nightmare," she says with a shudder. "For a second I'd thought it was real and there actually were those awful worms inside me...that's impossible, right?"

Todd Guzman

"Right," Todd replies. "Except ... I felt something like that when we were drinking coffee at the farmhouse after the accident yesterday, too. Whatever happened to us inside this house wasn't good. But I guess we have no choice but to go in. Maybe if we can find Lyn and our stuff we'll get our memories back." He heads back around to join the others at the front door. Since they seem to be hesitating he steps toward the entrance and calls out, "Lyn? Are you in there?"

As Todd moves towards the open, if uninviting, front door his questioning voice draws no response, if Lyn is within she is not answering. Drawing closer the shadows inside reveal a hallway leading towards stairs. To the left and right of the front door there are closed doors. The state of this hallway, the layers of dust and cobwebs hanging thickly from the corners seems to be at odds with the brightly painted for sale sign that you had seen by the road. In the dust of the entrance hall you can see a myriad of footprints coming and going in all directions, the freshest seem to be going in and out of the door to your right...

Todd,You have been here before, you feel the recognition. Part of you wants to turn and run, you can feel ice cold sweat trickling down your spine. You stare down at your hands, where is the video camera that has over the years become a virtual extension of them?

Gracie tries to fight her fear and reluctantly follows Todd. Whatever has happened to them, the answers are in that house, and going inside is the only way to find them.

Todd Guzman

Todd points out the door to the right which looks like it has seen recent activity and starts forward, somehow knowing he has been in this situation before. He stops at a sudden idea, takes out his phone and dials Lyn's number. They tried to phone her before without an answer: maybe if Lyn's phone is in here somewhere they will hear it ringing.

Hippo

Hippo tries to peer into the barn.

Simon Quispe

Simon tags along with the rest of the team and enters the house.

Rutiger Paddington

"It's pretty obvious we were here before, and we're the ones who previously ran away from whatever was in this house. Let's be prepared. Do we have any weapons?"

I nervously lick my hand and pass it through my hair. I pocket a few pebbles before entering, which I will randomly throw around inside the house to see if anything reacts to that.

Simon looks around for a possible "weapon" - a 2x4 plank, a metal pipe, anything.

Hippo, You are able to see much of the barn’s interior through the windows. But other than heaps of rubble and other rubbish the barn looks empty. Yet in the deep shadows beyond the range of the dirt encrusted windows, did something move? Something that scuttled and crawled like some kind of spider?

Everyone else, As you move through the doorway you feel the temperature drop markedly as if you had just stepped into a freezer. Not certain if this is but an illusion created by fear or some real phenomenon you move on. The sound of Rutger idly fondling his pocket full of pebbles sounds loud in the oppressive silence.
Todd stops and reaches for his cell phone. He accesses a number which like Rutger’s pebbles make a sound far louder than expected, or wanted. For a short while you can hear it dialling without reply, then it cuts to voicemail, an electronic voice asking you to leave a message after the tone. At no stage have you heard any indication of ringtone nearby, although given the silence that seems to hang over the building it is quite likely that had Lyn’s phone been within you would have heard it.
Simon, although the hallway is thick with dust and showing little sign of maintenance there is nothing that you can see which might prove useful as a weapon. However you find your attention drawn to a piece of white card on the floor of the hallway some three feet from the entrance door. The small rectangular business card is clean and unmarked by dirt making it look incongruous in this hallway, unless it had been recently dropped. In gold script it reads, ‘Vanessa Volker Realty’, W. Vienna Street, Clio. A name and address that matches that on the ‘For Sale’ sign by the road.

Inside the dusty hallway there are the two doors and further in a set of stairs leading up into a deeper darkness.

"I don't have a weapon," says Gracie, "unless you count my sassy attitude. Let's try the door to the right first. It looks like that's where we went."

OOC:   Apolgies. It is the left hand door that shows evidence of recent activity. My bad

The door opens easily on obviously well-oiled hinges, which strikes you odd as it jars with the lack of maintenance elsewhere. The first thing you notice is all the equipment neatly stacked in the left hand corner of the far wall next to a boarded up window. Lighting rigs, reels of audio cable, alongside a portable drinks cooler.

To your left, as you stand in the doorway, is another larger boarded up window, you guess that it would look out over the front garden. In front of that window sits the tattered remains of a sofa, its sagging appearance indicates the fact the much of its stuffing has been removed probably by foraging animals. A broken coffee table rests on three legs to it front, the top as covered in dust as elsewhere, although myriads of tiny footprints give evidence to the nature of the house’s most recent occupants.

To your right, two more closed doors are set equidistant in the right had wall probably accessing rooms to the rear of the house.

In the centre of the room a half opened pack of sandwiches is abandoned.

The floor of the room shows evidence of recent comings and goings, footprints in the dust show a definite trail to and from the equipment from the door where you stand.

Rutger,as everyone crowds the door to what was obviously a sitting room, an icy shiver runs down the length of your spine. Glancing over your shoulder there is nothing just the opposite doors, closed of course.

Todd,it seems that the sight of the cooler has had an effect on you. For a moment sweat breaks out across your forehead and a burning pain explodes in your throat, as if something too big to swallow was sliding downwards. Then as quickly as it began, it is gone. Leaving only the memory of the pain...

Todd Guzman

Todd clutches at his throat but the sudden horrible choking sensation is gone. With a shudder he goes to inspect the water cooler, wondering if they had all been poisoned, the water contaminated.

"Looks like we left in a hurry," says Gracie, looking around the room. "We even dropped our sammiches."

Priest wrote:However you find your attention drawn to a piece of white card on the floor of the hallway some three feet from the entrance door. The small rectangular business card is clean and unmarked by dirt making it look incongruous in this hallway, unless it had been recently dropped. In gold script it reads, ‘Vanessa Volker Realty’, W. Vienna Street, Clio. A name and address that matches that on the ‘For Sale’ sign by the road.

Simon picks up the card and shows it to the others. "Can this be of any importance?" he wonders aloud. "Maybe this realtor told us about this haunted house in the first place?"

He walks over to the first door to the right, and slowly opens it.

"Yeah, we could go see her later," says Gracie. "I mean again. We interviewed her yesterday."

Karl Anderson

Is there a telephone number on the card? If so, Karl tries to ring it using his cellphone. He also stands behind Simon and peers through the door as he opens it.

Again the door swings open easily on well-oiled hinges revealing a square shaped room with a boarded window to your left, which you imagine would overlook the front garden, a door straight ahead in the opposite wall and another to your right. Again the room looks in desperate need of maintenance, dust covers the floor along with torn and stained carpet that looks as if it had seen beter days long ago. Several half fixed shelves along with many others that have fallen from the walls hint to the nature of this room, as do a few abandoned books scattered around the room. A marked trail of footprints make their way to the right hand door, which is slightly ajar as if in invitation.

Todd, The cooler in front room is full of water, no doubt from melted ice,in which float several cans of warm soda and energy drinks. None of the cans are open, nor are there any empty cans nearby.

Karl, there is a telephone number. After a few seconds a female voice answers, “Hi Vanessa Volker Realty, Vanessa speaking how can I help you?” The voice is rich and cultured and for some reason strikes a memory chord...

OOC:   Everyone, at this point could you all roll LUCK please.

OOC:   Not sure if you need Luck for Hippo as he is still outside near the barn but will do a roll anyway

Simon Quispe
Luck 60%
[dice]0[/dice]

Simon crosses the room (creating a new trail in the layer of dust), and opens the opposite door.

Todd Guzman

Since the cans in the cooler appear unused, Todd helps himself to an energy drink, figuring he needs it, before looking over the equipment to see if anything sparks his memory.

Karl Anderson

"Hi Vanessa, it's Karl. Karl Anderson of the Supernatural Files. Yeah. We're just at the Cooper house & were wondering when you're going to show up? Thought we'd arranged that you'd show us around?" Karl is bluffing, wishing he'd thought about it before dialing.

"Also, these doors look pretty well used & looked after. You sure no-one lives here?"

Karl, For a few seconds there is silence on the phone, then, “Um, excuse me...The Supernatural Files you say? You have me at a disadvantage...There was some initial contact between myself and your office about a programme dealing with the Cooper House. But after that I kind of thought your producers had changed their minds”. There is a moment of almost silence in which you hear a lighter being worked and she takes a deep breath, “You say you are at the house? How did you get in, the keys are here on my desk?” again a moment of silence, “Ya’ll just stay put I’m coming straight over”. With that the phone goes dead.

Karl,[i] For a moment your vision clouds and you can see all of you standing in this room with a red haired female you recognise as Lyn and another well dressed female with long mousy-fair hair as you watch she turns towards a door and says,[color=#0040FF] “Through here’s the kitchen”[/color][/i]. Your vision returns to the moment, in your hand lies the phone so recently used. There is something familiar about the cultured voice of the realtor, Miss Volker, that seems too similar to that of the female in your vision to be a coincidence.

Gracie has a bad feeling.

OOC,Luck roll (60% stat) in the house: [dice]0[/dice]

While Karl makes his phone call, Simon strides to the partially open door. Opening it further reveals what is obviously a kitchen the stove and sink point to that fact, as do the remains of pieces of kitchen furniture. A partly collapsed table and the remains of four chairs sit forlornly in the centre of the room as dusty and cobwebbed as the elsewhere.

From the doorway another door leads off in the right-hand wall, it is open and from the remnants of utensils within it would seem to have been a laundry room. Almost directly opposite you, next to the sink, stands another door, heavily boarded but from its construction you would imagine this to be the back door, it looks as if it hasn’t been opened in years. There is another door, again partially open in the far left-hand corner. A trail of footprints lead to this door, some look recent others not so.

Todd,much of the equipment seems very familiar even a long scratch in one of the light stands seems familiar. It makes you think of St Louis and a long unused graveyard.

All those who succeded their rolls,From somewhere above comes a gentle creak of a floorboard, as if someone was trying to move around without making a sound.

Karl Anderson

"Heads up everyone. Vanessa Volker is on her way and I don't think she's too happy." Karl pauses for dramatic effect. "Strange thing is... I think she's already been here with us before..."

Karl looks up at the ceiling.

Todd Guzman

"Somebody's up there," Todd says, following Karl's gaze. "Should we go up or wait for Vanessa?"

"There are lots of things about this house that frighten me," says Gracie. "A real estate agent isn't one of them. Some unknown person lurking around does, but whoever it is might not be hostile. I guess it's better to find them before they find us."

Priest wrote:, Simon strides to the partially open door. Opening it further reveals what is obviously a kitchen the stove and sink point to that fact, as do the remains of pieces of kitchen furniture. A partly collapsed table and the remains of four chairs sit forlornly in the centre of the room as dusty and cobwebbed as the elsewhere.

OOC:   I actually wanted to go the other door, the one that was opposite (and unexplored earlier). Sorry if I wasn't clear enough!

evil_scientist wrote:

OOC:   I actually wanted to go the other door, the one that was opposite (and unexplored earlier). Sorry if I wasn't clear enough!

OOC:   Right, sorry misunderstood. The other doors off the sitting room are empty, little more than cupbards. The door opposite the one into the study is firmly locked and boarded so you would imagine that it leads outside, perhaps to the porch you had seen at the buildings side.

Hippo

Hippo will look around a bit more outside.

Simon Quispe

"I heard it too, sounds like somebody's upstairs," shouts Simon from the kitchen. "I'll check out one more room here, then come back to you all!"

Priest wrote: Simon strides to the partially open door. Opening it further reveals what is obviously a kitchen the stove and sink point to that fact, as do the remains of pieces of kitchen furniture. A partly collapsed table and the remains of four chairs sit forlornly in the centre of the room as dusty and cobwebbed as the elsewhere.

From the doorway another door leads off in the right-hand wall, it is open and from the remnants of utensils within it would seem to have been a laundry room. Almost directly opposite you, next to the sink, stands another door, heavily boarded but from its construction you would imagine this to be the back door, it looks as if it hasn’t been opened in years. There is another door, again partially open in the far left-hand corner. A trail of footprints lead to this door, some look recent others not so.

Simon walks up to the door, opens it, and glances into the next room.

"Hey, what if it's Lyn up there?" says Gracie. "We know she was here with us last night, and we left without her."

As if in response to Gracie’s question, another creak of disturbed floorboards comes from above. This time you judge whoever is making the noise is carefully moving towards the stairs and doing their best to move quietly...

Simon,the door opens onto a flight of stairs going down. There is no light other than some murky daylight coming from a source somewhere below providing a limited view of the stairs, they appear to be constructed from wood and in a fairly good, if dirty, condition. In the light you can make out that the trail of footsteps continue down. You can also see something metallic several steps from the top, something that makes you think of a microphone.

Hippo,continuing to look around you see nothing of any interest.

Todd Guzman

"Sounds like they're trying to sneak up on us," Todd says. "Let's not give them the chance." He heads for the stairs.

Karl Anderson

Karl follows Todd. "Let's be careful. The realtor's on her way and I don't think we can trust her. I bet my Grandma's hide she knows what's goin' on. And I don't even know if my Grandma's still alive."

Gracie also follows the others, trying to move silently.

Rutiger Paddington

I will stay near the front door, and will not approach the noise. If I hear the others scream, I'll call the police.

Priest wrote:

Simon,the door opens onto a flight of stairs going down. There is no light other than some murky daylight coming from a source somewhere below providing a limited view of the stairs, they appear to be constructed from wood and in a fairly good, if dirty, condition. In the light you can make out that the trail of footsteps continue down. You can also see something metallic several steps from the top, something that makes you think of a microphone.

Simon Quispe

Simon shivers. But then curiosity takes over, and he steps forward, kneels down at the top of the stairs (without stepping down), and retrieves the object.

Todd, in front, begins to slowly and as quietly as possible creep up the stairs, followed by Karl and Gracie likewise stepping carefully. Although dark, there is enough dim light from the open front door and other sources to see their way.

Reaching a balustraded landing he notes a couple of half open doorways, one to his right at the end of a short corridor, another to his left across a hallway, and a third also to his rear left at the end of another corridor. There is no sound, the house seems to hold its breath, as if something is about to happen.

Suddenly, without warning a figure appears from the doorway to your rear left. It, vaguely human, is moving fast towards the top of the stairs. Huge eyes stare wildly at you from a grime covered face. Clothes little more than rags, as filthy as the face. The hands hooked into claws with bony fingers protruding from tattered woollen gloves reach towards you as it breaks into a stumbling run all attempts at stealth now abandoned. Its lips, covered by an unruly mass of hair, spray saliva as a croaky voice screams, “What happened to me, what happened to me?”

OOC:   Todd, Karl and Gracie, please make San rolls (0/1d2)

Rutiger,from your position at the front door you hear the commotion...

Simon,you reach down and retrieve the object, it is indeed a microphone bearing the TSF logo, it looks undamaged. As you begin to straighten up you are aware of movement somewhere below amongst the shadows, something, you did not see enough to describe it, moved, or rather scuttled, as if seeking a deeper darkness. At this moment you hear shouts from upstairs...

Hippo,still wandering outside the house, you hear shouted voices coming from within. At the front door you can see Rutiger start, and swing his head towards the open front door...

Simon Quispe

Startled, Simon jumps up and chucks the microphone down into the darkness. Then he turns around, and runs back to the previous room, shutting the door behind himself. He grabs a kitchen chair and tries to pop it under the doorknob.

Todd Guzman

"Hell!" Todd jumps in fright, raising his arms to fend off the creature.

"Lyn, is that you?!" cries Gracie. Then she screams and flees down the stairs.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 70) for seeing the figure: [dice]0[/dice] Sanity loss: [dice]1[/dice]

Hippo

Hippo walks towards the house to see what the commotion is about.

Karl Anderson

Karl stays where he is, bracing himself & ready to back Todd up any way he can if things get ugly.

For the next few moments chaos breaks out on the stairs. Despite Todd flinching with surprise and Karl standing firm just behind him, Gracie turns and screaming runs down the stairs.

Gracie’s blood curdling scream seems to have an effect on the stranger, he stops moving and stares at the two men who bar his way. In those few moments of stillness Todd and Karl get a good look at the creature that has appeared from the doorway. They see a dishevelled man, who from the state of his person and accompanying odour has long avoided any application of soap or water. His eyes roll in a state of madness as saliva floods from where you presume his mouth to be amongst a long untended beard. Having paused in all but facial movement he glares toward the two, “What is it? What’s happening to me?” the question is more of a shouted accusation. As he speaks fresh blood trickles from his nose, while his eyes seem to take on an imploring caste as if he is begging an answer.

Before anyone can answer or move he suddenly grabs at his stomach, howls with pain and begins to rip open his filthy rag of a shirt, “Help me! In God’s name help me! It hurts”. He drops to one knee, and you watch in horrified fascination as his stained white stomach skin writhes and ripples with movement...

Hippo,as you move towards the front door you hear a female scream of pure terror from within...

Simon,scurrying back into the kitchen you are able to close the door to the cellar and wedge one of the kitchen chairs under the handle. However from the state of the chair whether it would stop a determined assault from below is open to question. As you finish wedging the chair you hear a sharp female scream from the stairs

Todd Guzman

"Hell!" Todd says again. He figures they've found a homeless guy who'd been squatting here. He knows he should try to help or call a doctor or something but all he can do is stare, backing slowly away...

Hippo

"Gracie that you? What's going on in there?"

Hippo picks up any blunt club like object such as a branch or plank and hurries to the house.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she says, catching her breath. "There's a...person upstairs. He's...messed up."

Rutiger Paddington

I'll try calling the police, and tell them we have a potentially dangerous situation here.

Karl Anderson

Karl carefully backs down the stairs, keeping Todd between himself and the man.

"What's your name fella? What're you doing here?" he calls.

"No sudden movements Todd" he whispers. "Don't wanna agitate him further.."

Simon Quispe

Simon goes back to the rest of the team.

"There's something in the baseme..." he begins, but then notices the new person.

"Who-who is this?"

Hippo

Hippo appears at the door, loosely clutching an old plank.

On the landing at the top of the stairs the dishevelled figure claws at his exposed stomach. Todd can see the grey white flesh of his exposed stomach writhing and churning as if something within is moving.
Despite the shouted question, the hobo seems to ignore the presence of those on the stairs. His head hangs own as if mesmerised by what is happening inside, “Help me!! Dear God help me. Make it stop!!” His words, an awful scream of desperation, end with him raising his head and staring directly at Todd. For a brief moment you can clearly see the fear and pain displayed within his wide staring eyes.
Then before anyone has chance to react, blood spurts from his forehead as a tear appears in the centre of it. His eyes suddenly fill with blood and a scream of pure agony ends in a spray of redness. His stomach writhes with a renewed intensity, then, with a wet ripping sound, splits open from navel to throat depositing steaming entrails in a heap in front of the still kneeling figure. From amongst this bloody mass thousands of small white grub like spider things scatter in search of shadows and darkness, some head towards the stairs.

Todd and Karl,please make San Rolls (1/1d6) for seeing this new horror. And DEX Rolls to avoid the spidery things.

Gracie: Simon pushes past you as you run down the stairs to find Hippo entering the building holding a large piece of wood.
Rutiger: You call the cops and an automated voice informs you that your call will be answered as soon as possible.

Gracie cringes, terrified, as she gets out of the others' way.

Todd Guzman
Horrified, Todd staggers as he tries to avoid the spider things.

Karl Anderson
Karl is practically wetting himself. He holds onto Todd for support, fearing he is going to topple down the stairs.

As the tiny worm-spider things scuttle for any shadowed or dark areas, and there are plenty, some rush toward the two men on the stairs, both of whom make frenzied attempts to avoid them. For a moment Todd seems as if he is about to lose his footing and come crashing down the stairs on top of Karl. Yet at that moment he seems to rally and retain his footing. However a moment later Karl, on the step below him, screams at the sensation of something crawling up the inside of his trouser leg and clutches at Todd in an effort to maintain his balance, both men teeter on the edge of disaster.

OOC:   Todd and Karl: Please Roll luck

Simon Quispe

"What's going on? Are you alright?" Simon shouts up the stairs, realizing the stupidity of this question... It certainly sounds like that somebody is NOT alright. But Simon is afraid to go further.

Rutiger Paddington

"These blasted cops are probably looking for donuts! Ugh!"

I step out of the house, not wanting to get injured. The show must go on, and it wouldn't be the same without its host.

"What's going on up there?" cries Gracie, backing towards the front door.

Todd Guzman Todd teeters precariously, barely keeping his balance.

Back outside the house once more Rutiger falls to his knees and dry heaves a few times.

Rutiger,[i]He feels as if he wants to be sick but fear makes his forehead suddenly awash in cold perspiration. Something seems to be moving within his stomach, something that twists and turns. The pain is horrendous he knows that if he vomits the thing that moves within him will tear his gullet due to its enormity. Then, as quickly as it came it is gone, leaving nothing worse than a foul taste within his mouth and a soreness within his throat, as if something had been thrust down his throat against his will.[/i]

Gracie, with an effort, swallows the fear that is rising within her and slowly backs out of the doorway to find Rutiger on his knees heaving as if he will never stop. Before she can speak he stops heaving and looks up at her, she can see the film of perspiration that coats his forehead, he swallows with a grimace...

Hippo tightly gripping the length of wood stops at the foot of the stairs, he hears Simon’s question and sees the lad a few steps up from him. Further up in the shadowed stairwell he can see Karl and Todd balancing near the top of the stairs, as his eyes adjust to the gloom he can see other things moving around them, small grublike things but not clear enough to be able to truly see their nature. As he watches he hears Karl scream and grab at the figure in front of him...

Simon, the only answer to your query is a horrid scream from Karl as he raises one foot high as if in some kind of dance and clutches at the teetering figure of Todd one step above him...

"What's wrong?" asks Gracie, going over to help Rutiger.

Karl Anderson
Karl rallies himself and swats manically at his trousers. It's not the first time he's done this, but it may be the last.

At the top of the stairs Todd and Karl quickly restore their balance. It seems the strange creatures have gone into the shadows and vanishing amongst the cracks and gaps of the staircase, though Todd is certain that he can hear ominous scuttling all around him.

Karl, satisfied that none of the things have climbed his trouser leg, relaxes a little.

From his position at the top of the stairs Todd can see the awful remains of the tramp in the centre of the hallway to your left. The door from which he had emerged (B), to your left-rear, hangs partially open as he had left it, through the gap you can see a shaft of daylight in which dust motes dance and swirl.

Todd Guzman

"We're okay," Todd calls back down the stairs at the others' shouted questions. "The guy ... died from some kind of bugs. This place must be infested. We definitely need to speak to that real-estate agent." Steeling himself, he moves toward the door from which the man came.

Simon Quispe

"Bugs? You mean, simple, real bugs?" Simon asks, while slowly ascending the stairs.

"Oh, there's someone down in the basement too, I'm afraid, by the way," he adds stupidly, not really knowing how to say this in a better way.

Karl Anderson

"N-no, these were definitely not n-normal bugs," Karl stutters. "I'm going back outside. The realtor's on her way and I've got a few ... questions."

He backs down the stairs, wearily watching every crack and shadow.

Rutiger Paddington

"Should we just blow this place up to seal the evil inside? We're probably going to need a lot of TNT."

"Um...what?!" says Gracie, startled. "Lyn could still be in there!"

Pale faced and still shaking slightly, Karl squeezes past Simon on the stairs, before moving through the front door to the fresh air beyond. For a moment the rush of cool September air seems to provide an almost physical barrier between the normality of the outside world and whatever lurks within the house.
From the expression on the face of Gracie something Rutiger has said has caused surprise, shock even. In the sudden silence, broken only by the cawing of some distant crows, the distinctive sound of a car engine can be heard approaching.
A few seconds later a red convertible pulls into the yard, stops next to your van and a slim, attractive female with long fair hair slides out the first thing she does is light a long cigarette then bends to retrieve a briefcase from the car’s interior. Seeing you at the door she smiles and extending her hand moves towards you, “Hi, Vanessa Volker. How can I be of help?” For a moment all three of you get an intense feeling of familiarity from this woman.

Karl,you are certain this is the woman you saw in your earlier vision.

"There was someone in the house," says Gracie, not entirely sure what's going on herself. "It's...messy."

Karl Anderson

Karl relunctantly shakes the woman's hand but tries to hide his misgivings.

"Call me Karl. Thanks for coming over Vanessa. Sorry to tell you this, but I think you've got squatters. Best you go see for yourself."

Is kidnapping a realtor a federal offence? he wonders to himself. Maybe if they get her inside, they can get some answers to what the hell is going on.

Vanessa continues her smile, “Karl, okay. I was surprised by your call as I had no idea that your company had decided to follow up their initial request. So you will forgive my confusion to finding you here at the house without making proper arrangements”
She turns at Gracie’s words and for a moment the smile is replaced by a shadow, “Someone in the house?”

OOC:   Gracie and Karl: Please roll hard INT (INT halved)

Karl Anderson
Karl is lost for words. Dammit, he thinks. This dame is trying to bamboozle me.

Gracie is confused, as usual.

OOC,INT roll (50 / 2 = 25% stat) about [b]Vanessa[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

“Someone inside” Vanessa Volker repeats as she passes you all at the door and enters the house. The shadow seems to have vanished and the smile returned, “Tell me where is Miss Cartwright?”

Hippo

"Damned if we know." mutters Hippo, almost inaudibly.

Vanessa Volker stops at Hippo’s remark and looks at him holding his makeshift club. For a moment his memory swims as if trying to grasp something not quite graspable, there is something about the woman’s smile.
“Excuse me? I am assuming that Miss Cartwright is in charge here, after all it was she who contacted me initially”.

Hippo

"Yeah well, she seems to have wandered off. We had a little off road incident with out van."

"Your place is full of bugs. Got this wood here to mash 'em up." he adds.

Rutiger Paddington

"Have we met before, Vanessa? I would normally remember meeting such a pretty lady, but these last few days have been hell on my memory."

"She's probably inside the house," says Gracie.

Vanessa Volker pauses momentarilly and smiles at Rutiger, “No I do not think I’ve had the pleasure Mr...? If we had met before I’m sure I would remember such a fine well dressed gentleman”
With that she passes through the front door to the shadowed hallway beyond.
Vanessa Volker.

Rutiger,At that moment you feel the unhealthy squirming within your stomach begin again. This episode is but a momentary feeling, that causes little more than a few beads of sweat to bead your forehead.

Gracie looks inside through the open door to see what she does, but she doesn't venture back in herself yet.

Karl Anderson

Karl gestures frantically to the others. "She's trouble." he whispers. "She's the cause of this, I'm sure. I remember being here with her before. We need to do something quick!"

"Hippo, knock her over the head or something!"

"Rutiger, you got any pebbles left?"

Karl is getting desperate.

Unaware of Karl’s antics behind her back, Vanessa moves through the hallway towards the stairs. At the foot she halts and looks upward, eyes narrowing to see through the gloom, “So is someone going to tell me what’s going on and what you’re all doing here?”

Even through the shadows you can see she is a very attractive female about five five and probably in her early thirties. Her hair, worn long, is a mousey-fair colour and she wears a smart buisness suit of a relatively modern cut, you would imagine that it cost a pretty penny. She is smiling a charming smile at Stephen a couple of steps up. “Perhaps you might be able to tell me what’s going on, where Miss Cartwright might be found and just what the woman ouside the door said about someone being inside?”

OOC:   There is nothing about Vanessa Volker that triggers any memories and she really doesn’t look dangerous. Karl’s warnings appear a little too paranoid.

Todd,probably unaware of the situation downstairs continue towards the door through which the tramp had stepped prior to his grisly fate. As he reaches the remains he takes care to step over the torn carcass, nothing stirs as he does so it appears that whatever it was that burst from within him has gone. The corpse, although disgustingly torn apart, is still, unmoving.
He reaches the door and pushes it fully open...

Todd,the door opens into a ‘L’ shaped room. You are aware of it having two windows, boarded up of course, one in the wall opposite you and the other to your left (from the doorway). For the most part empty, the room shows evidence of occupation. There are pages of old nespapers, empty bags, several empty cans strewn about, and a couple of empty bottles of cheap whisky. An old stained and worn mattress has been pulled against one of the walls. The room stinks of stale sweat, urine and cheap liqour. To the right of this mattress rests an old military haversack... [attachment=0]bedroom.jpg[/attachment]'A' haversack

"What?!" says Gracie, shocked. "We can't bop her over the head, that's ridiculous. If you want to distract her, how about giving her a call on her cell phone and disguising your voice, then get her to go somewhere else or something."

Todd Guzman

If we were here yesterday then was this guy here too? Todd wonders, looking around the room. He peeks inside the haversack...

Rutiger Paddington

"Paddington. Rutiger Paddington." I say, doing my best James Bond impression while I brush my hair back.

"I still have pebbles, but let's wait a little bit before we antagonize her. She might be on our side." I whisper.

I carefully follow the group inside the house, staying at the back.

Gracie ventures back inside the house, now that others are going in too.

Hippo

Hippo follows still holding the plank.

Simon Quispe

"Th-there is also somebody in the basement," Simon mumbles.

Karl Anderson

Are these people insane?!? Karl is sure this woman was here with them yesterday. She must know what happened. Unless she's lost her memory too? Though she looked too composed..

He looks around for a handy brick or stone and follows the rest inside. He's not letting this Volker woman out of his sight.

Todd,Carefully as if he were handling an explosive device,[b]Todd[/b] opens the haversack and peers in. It contains little of interest and nothing of value, just a few pieces of stale bread, several mouldering scraps of something he thinks was cheese, an almost empty bottle of cheap spirit (possibly gin) and several sheets of a two week old copy of the[i] Clio Messenger[/i]. There is also a sheet of dirty writing paper, on which someone has been scrawling. [i]Something is moving inside me. I can feel it writhing and turning as if looking for a way out. At first I thought it simply stomach ache, caused by something I ate. But after all this time you would think it cleared up, but no it just worsens with every day. I’m going back to Clio, back to that house, the last thing I remember before finding myself twenty miles south of the city, whatever is happening must have started there, so there is where I’m going to start. But God it hurts, feels like my insides are on fire...[/i]

For a moment Vanessa stares at Stephen, her smile seemingly frozen on her face. Then the smile widens as if awareness suddenly sinks in, “Oh you’re joking”. She pats a pocket as if checking for something, “I have the only set of keys, and the house is kept locked and boarded. So no-one is inside, unless they broke in of course” She pauses, considering, “Anyway how did you gain access?”

Karl,Try a Hard POW (30%)

Karl Anderson

Todd Guzman

In mounting horror Todd reads the account of the man then hurries back down the stairs to rejoin the others. "That man who just got eaten from the inside by bugs - he was here before and lost his memory then came back looking for answers like us. What if the same thing happens to us, the things moving inside our guts... We need to find answers fast." He stops, noticing the new arrival. "Miss Volker, I presume? What happened here yesterday?"

"Bugs inside him!" cries Gracie, clutching her stomach as she remembers her nightmare. "We all need to get to the hospital and get checked out, fast!"

Rutiger Paddington

"Now that you mention it, my tummy is also pretty upset. I was hoping it was only the terrible food we got at the hotel."

I start massaging my belly, hoping the feeling will go away.

"Surely, there are no otherworldly bugs crawling inside of me. That would suck. But these things don't really exist, right? Hehe." I add, mildly sweating.

Gracie clenches her eyes shut, but tears leak out from under her eyelids anyway. "I can't die like that..." she moans.

Simon Quispe

Frightened by all this bug talk, Simon concentrates on his own body - is he feeling anything? Any unusual internal activity?

Simon Quispe: You can feel a slight churning sensation within your stomach, but you aren't sure if it is simply a feeling brought on by all the talk. However you are certain that you feel sick and there is a soreness to your throat.

OOC:   We seem to have reached an impasse. The last intention suggested was by Gracie concerning the possibitlity of heading for the hospital.

Todd Guzman

"We should go to the hospital. But what about her?" Todd points at Ms. Volker. "She must know something."

"We could...ask her to come with us, I guess?" says Gracie when she is done sniffling. "We can't force her to come with us or to tell us what she knows."

Rutiger Paddington

"Just let good old Rutiger do his thing. I know about women. I'll make her talk.", I whisper.

I start walking around Vanessa in circles, occasionally winking and smiling at her.

"I never expected to meet such a fine woman in here. You never told me, was it Miss or Mrs?" I tell her, trying to woo her.

Vanessa Volker looks at Hank and smiles, “Its Miss and I recognise you from the TV Mr?”
However you can see she is distracted, “What do you mean eaten by bugs?” her question directed at Todd who has appeared at the top of the stairs, holds more than a little hint of incredulity as if she is still suspicious that someone is playing a prank.
She begins to climb the stairs, her high heels clicking on the bare wood steps.

Hank Hankins,Please roll an Appearance check to impress her, and don’t forget you can add Luck Points to your roll on a 1 for 1 basis. Points thus used are subtracted from your Luck score.

Todd Guzman

Todd explains to Ms. Volker about what happened to the man, pointing out where it occurred and the room where he had been sleeping.

Rutiger Paddington

"Paddington. Rutiger Paddington. The famous TV host."

OOC:   Failed my APP roll with a result of 57. Not going to spend Luck points as that's too far off.

Karl Anderson

"Nice one Romeo," Karl whispers to Rutiger.

He then waits to see what the Volker woman does next.