Chapter 4b: Listening in (Ray, Nat, Tobias)

[Cotton]

Ray nods his assent and stands up, but waits to hear Dr. Corman's reply.

[evil_scientist]

Nat's stomach gurgles loudly. 'Man.' He groans. 'Shouldn't we be getting back to the old man? Maybe get something to eat on the way? Ma'am, if I did happen to get some samples, what would they be exactly?"

"For starters, just try to chip off small fragments. If the split boulder still exists, concentrate on the area of the fissure."

Dr. Corman shows a couple of samples as an example.

"Well, see you around, folks! Wish you luck."

Nat and Ray get back to their car, pick up some food on the road, and drive back to their stake-out place.

They find Tobias still manning the equipment. He shares what he's heard so far...

OOC,You can go back now read the full wire-tap transcript, see my next post below!

[evil_scientist]

Copying the full transcript, so you don't have to look back + adding an update:

Full transcript,The wire tap continues transmitting: [i]"Hi! "Nice to meet everyone. I'm Julie. Don't feel you need to stop on my account,"[/i] Julie says, entering a building. There is some incomprehensible stage murmur in reaction. Judging from it, there at least 5 other people in the room. Tobias sort of recognizes one of the voices, which introduces herself as 'N - the girl he met a few days back at the parking lot. [i]"We were just wrapping up, Julie. Take a seat! Why don't you tell us more about yourself?"[/i] Malcolm says. Some rustling noises, as Julie supposedly takes a seat. A slow, pulsating hum is heard in the background. [i]"Sure,"[/i] says Julie. [i]"Liz and I have been best friends since we were little. We grew up together in San Diego. She's always been the smart one. Me, I was never very good in school, but I've always been athletic, and a bit of a tomboy. My favorite sport is roller derby, and I'm pretty good at it."[/i] After Julie sits down with the Temple members and tells them about herself, Cavendish says [i]"Roller derby? Must be a great way to release tension, and to..."[/i] But his sentence is interrupted by an awfully loud distorted sound! Then there is the sound of commotion and coughing. [i]"Oh! That looks bad. You should see a doctor,"[/i] Julie says to someone. She sounds quite calm. [i]"Must have eaten something bad... Happened to Ria too a couple of days ago... We should really stop getting food from the dumpsters, go back to shoplifting,"[/i] comes an answer from the side. [i]"Do, Eli, please, help Sy. Take her back to her room, get her some water. I will bring around some pills soon,"[/i] Cavendish says.[i] "Me and 'N will clean up here."[/i] There is some movement and shuffling. Then Julie says: [i]"Here, I'll help you with her."[/i] Pause. [i]"Those are some bad burns on your skin. How did you get them?"[/i] Julie asks of somebody. [i] "It's alright, Sy. You just need some rest,"[/i] you hear Elizabeth say, quite close to the microphone. [i]"I'm sensitive to the sun... it's only getting worse, I get these rashes lately, they itch..."[/i] the girl, presumably Sy, answers. She continues mumbling: [i]"...shouldn't work in the sun... but I want the plants to grow..." [/i] Sounds of walking, then a door creeking. [i]"...Eli, wake me up later... I don't want to miss anything..." [/i] Julie asks, concerned: [i]"I know what you mean, Sy. With my red hair, I turn into a lobster in the sun, so I always wear suntan lotion. I've seen my share of sunburns, and this doesn't look like that. It looks like descriptions I've heard of radiation burns. Is there an old nuclear test site out this way or something?"[/i] Elizabeth answers instead of Sy: [i] "Radiation burns? Nuclear test site? No... no, I don't think so. I thought they were from, you know... bad hygiene," she says. "Like some of the people had at the shelter. But they do look a bit different. Still... radiation?"[/i] The door opens once more, and a low mechanic hum begins in the background. [i]"Here you go, Sy, drink this up. How are you doing, sister?"[/i] you hear Cavendish say. [i]"What are those pills?"[/i] asks Julie. [i]"Just some painkillers,"[/i] Cavendish says. [i]"And some activated charcoal."[/i] [i]"Oh,"[/i] says Julie. [i]"What's the charcoal for?"[/i] [i]"They say it's good against toxins, absorbs them in the stomach,"[/i] Cavendish explains. [i]"I don't know anything better. But I'm sure Sy's body will overcome this all. She is a strong young woman."[/i] [i]"That makes sense,"[/i] says Julie. [i]"You sure know a lot about medicine. A lot more than me, anyway. Where did you learn about it?"[/i] [i]"From manuals, and a first aid course I did back when... well, a long time ago. I have to take care of my flock,"[/i] Cavendish smiles.[i] "Let's go outside, Sy needs to rest."[/i] [i]"...wake me up later... don't want to miss anything..."[/i] the sick girl mumbles.

[aine]

Nat finishes his cold fries and warm beer. "Now I feel human again! That Sy woman should be in hospital. If it is radiation then that ties in with what Dr. Corman thinks. I don't mind trying to get some samples when it's darker. I think I might be able to get under the fence round the back; it's a bit broken in places."

[evil_scientist]

There are sounds of a door creeking, and some static, and a constant hum in the headphones. But overall, the dialogue between Julie and Elizabeth comes through clear:
"What is it Sy doesn't want to miss?" Julie asks.
"Our prayer and meditation session. We hold one every other evening," Elizabeth explains.

[Cotton]

Ray shakes his head. "No, no according to the doctor, even with long term exposure, there shouldn't be enough radiation emitted from anything out here to do that. I think we should definitely get some samples to take back to her."

[evil_scientist]

There are sounds of a door creeking, and some static, and a constant hum in the headphones. But overall, the dialogue between Julie and Elizabeth comes through clear:
"What is it Sy doesn't want to miss?" Julie asks.
"Our prayer and meditation session. We hold one every other evening," Elizabeth explains.

On the other side of the wire, Julie continues asking Elizabeth about their evening plans:

"That does sound interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing that myself," says Julie.

"I'm not... I'm not sure that's possible," says Elizabeth.

There is some crackle, then Cavendish speaks:

".....a communal effort. But, unlike the gardening, cooking, cleaning, or repairs, it is not something anybody can attend to straight away. There are stages you have to complete first. You are free to stay on the compound as long as you wish. Perhaps you'll grow to like our way of living, work together with us. Work on yourself."

"Oh, okay," says Julie. "I might just stay here a while longer. It's be good to be with my best friend again and make up for lost time."

"See you later, Eli!" Cavendish says.

After a short pause, Elizabeth says:
"I'm tired. I want to catch some sleep. Maybe you should rest too? It gets awfully hot out here."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. It is hot, and it's been a long day. Where does everyone sleep around here?" Julie asks.

"Most of us sleep in the little house. I share a room with Ria. Sy lives in the trailer. 'N is in the big house, Do too. Some people keep changing places. So you can just pick any place you want. Did you bring any stuff with you?"

"Yeah, I've got a bag of stuff," says Julie. "Which room is yours? I'd like one nearby."

Judging by the sounds, they enter a building.

"This is me here. The next room is empty, you can sleep there if you want. Or sleep on Ria's mattress for a few hours, she isn't around right now and she won't mind," Elizabeth offers.

[aine]

"Sounds like they're all turning in for the night. Shall we give them an hour to settle before I head over? In which case I might grab a nap myself." Nat looks at the darkening sky to gauge timings and moonlight tonight.

[evil_scientist]

They are settling for a "siesta". It's currently around 4 PM. They plan to wake up later for the meditation/prayer session, which will take place sometime in the evening.


The moon is in its waxing crescent phase, so it won't be too light tonight.

[HelplessBystander]

"Well, that would be a good time to head over." Tobias said, after giving them the details on the radio transmissions.

OOC:   Sorry about almost dropping off the radar again!

[aine]

Nat lies sprawled on the back seat, asleep.

[Cotton]

Ray offers to take over on the headset for Tobias. "Do you need to head back into town for any reason? Now's probably the time for it. Might be a good idea to get more food and water either way."

OOC:   Happens to us all

[evil_scientist]

OOC,So, what's the plan, folks? Tobias can definitely take his car and go back to town to get provisions. According to what you've heard so far, Elizabeth will onw get some rest, then wake up later in the evening, to take part in the cult's prayer session. Nat wants to sneak in under the cover of darkness. We will probably fast forward to that point, just let me wait for some stuff to resolve in the parallel thread too.

[HelplessBystander]

"Excellent idea, I need to have a wee lil' chat with me wife about tonight's plans anyways, or else something other than my wine flask is going to be tippy toppy. It's...complicated, having a family and all that." Tobias said, as he shrugged.

[evil_scientist]

OOC,Okay, Tobias can go back, do his thing, shop, and be back in time for darkness. Will Tobias and Ray go sneaking in as well?

[aine]

Nat wakes up and then snoozes until nearly dark. Then he gets ready to make a plan for sneaking in when Tobias is back.

[Cotton]

OOC:   Ray certainly will be sneaking in with Nat.

[evil_scientist]

At one point, there is a whispered message from Julie, that she is going to rest a bit, switch off the microphone (to save battery life), then wake up later when Elizabeth goes to the prayer session.

After this, the wire stops transmitting.

Hopefully, the Temple members don't pick this exact moment to abduct Julie and sacrifice her!

[HelplessBystander]

Tobias headed back to the hotel, feeling significantly more sober in a slightly less awful mood than when he had left. Feeling slightly apologetic for his unannounced absence, he picked up some vegan curry and a figurine for his daughter on the way there from a nice little supermarket. Entering the hotel room, he smiled as widely as he can and held up his spoils of war, "Honey, I'm back."

[evil_scientist]

Tobias finds his family lounging in the motel room, Charlie's Angels on the TV.

Rachel (Tobias' daughter) looks at the figurine, then at her father.

"You know I'm 14, right?" she asks, then takes the curry. "But at least this doesn't have meat. I've decided to go vegetarian."

"Where have you been? You know what? I don't really care. And why are you encouraging this hippie vegetarian non-sense?" his wife, Heidi, asks. "Where did she even get this idea?" she shakes her head.

"'N told me meat is murder," Rachel murmurs, inaudible to her mother.

OOC - Tobias,Tobias has to be back very soon with the other investigators, so he has to keep this brief!