Chapter 5: Into the Void (Ray, Nat, Julie)

[Mr. Handy]

"I wouldn't know," Julie whispers back. "I never saw her lift anything before. If she comes out, I'll make like I'm heading for the outhouse and start talking to her to distract her. In fact, maybe I should just stand watch at the outhouse now."

[aine]

Nat and Julie,[color=#0000BF]"Yeah, it'll be good to watch Ray's back." [/color]whispers Nat.[color=#0000BF] "Be careful."[/color] He adds lamely.

[Mr. Handy]

Nat and Julie,[color=orangered]"Thanks, you too,"[/color] says [b]Julie[/b]. She moves to the outhouse and stands in front of it, poised as if to open it while she keeps watch.

[evil_scientist]

Ray,Ray quickly makes his way through the courtyard, and reaches the trailer (7). The trailer is old and rusty. The wheels are missing, and the chassis is propped up with bricks. He opens the door just a crack. Inside, it's dark and silent. Ray notices that hangar door opens once more, and the same old scene is repeated: [b]N'[/b] comes out, carrying a body over her shoulder. She heads towards the big house, but then melts into the darkness, as the hangar door closes and the faint light disappears.

Nat,Nat stays at their hiding place. [b]Ray[/b] hurries off into the darkness, in the direction of the old trailer. [b]Julie[/b] heads over to the outhouse. She disappears from Nat's field of view (obscured by the smaller house), and also the night is dark. A minute later the hangar door opens, and in the faint light that seeps from inside Nat sees that [b]N' [/b]comes out, carrying a body over her shoulder. She is headed towards the big house.

Julie,Julie quickly makes her way to the outhouse. From here, she can sort of see the hangar, but anything that's further away (like the trailer) is obscured by the darkness of the night. A minute later the hangar door opens, and in the faint light that seeps from inside Julie sees that [b]N' [/b]comes out, carrying a body over her shoulder. She is headed towards the big house. Julie can approach her and meet just before the porch of the big house. If she wishes to stay hidden, she can easily do so by moving behind the outhouse.

[Mr. Handy]

Julie,[b]Julie[/b] ducks behind the outhouse and keeps watching, seeing no reason to reveal herself yet if [b]N'[/b] isn't heading toward the trailer. [color=orangered]"[b]N'[/b] just came out of the hangar, carrying a body toward the big house,"[/color] she says softly into her microphone. She peers at the body, trying to identify who it is. [spoiler]Spot Hidden roll (45% skill) looking at the body: [dice]0[/dice][/spoiler]

[evil_scientist]

Julie,Julie recognizes that the (unconscious?) person carried by N' is [b]Do[/b] the hippie boy. [b]N'[/b] takes him inside the house. A light is switched on inside.

[Cotton]

Ray,[b]Ray[/b] will slip inside the trailer a carefully search around.

[evil_scientist]

Ray,Ray quickly enters the trailer. Inside, it's almost complete darkness. He carefully reaches out with his hands, to at least get a sense of his surroundings. The place is cramped and narrow. His hand collides with a kitchen sink, and his shoulder brushes against a cupboard or shelf. He slows down. He becomes aware of a presence: ragged, painful breathing. The sounds come from the further end of the trailer. Then there's a brushing sound, like somebody turning around in their bed. Likely, it is the person [b]N'[/b] carried inside - asleep and unconscious.

[aine]

Nat,"Holy crap! What's happened in there?' Nat thinks as the third body is carried out. In his mind the big house is the destination for the more important members of the cult, the trailer and outhouses for the more lowly. He wishes he could see the bodies more clearly but daren't leave his post.

[Mr. Handy]

Julie,[color=orangered]"[b]N'[/b] just carried [b]Do[/b] into the house, unconscious,"[/color] [b]Julie[/b] says quietly into the microphone, continuing to watch.

[Cotton]

Spoiler:

Ray whispers, "Elizabeth? I've come with your friend Julie to help you out." At the same time he gets ready to pick the girl up and carry her back... or to cover her mouth if she's been brainwashed too thoroughly and starts to scream.

[evil_scientist]

Ray,Ray sneaks closer. The person lying on the bed is a girl - sickly thin, with short, buzz cut hair... She is not Elizabeth, but another member of the congregation. She doesn't wake up. Her body trembles, and her muscles twitch. Ray gets the impression that she is having an awful nightmare. Ray wonders, what was it like to be inide the hangar, to lay there in that strange substance... Was that for real, even? Ray recalls that there were several girls in the hangar, but he was so overwhelmed by the terrifying scene, that he couldn't distinguish them. It is likely that Elizabeth is still in the hangar - but who knows in what condition?

[Cotton]

Spoiler:

Ray will leave the girl where she is, and check to see if the coast is clear outside of the trailer. If it is he is going to sneak over to the hanger, if Elizabeth is still in there he needs to get her out now. Hopefully Nat and Julie will spot him and figure out what is going on.

[evil_scientist]

Ray,The coast is clear. Ray sees nobody in the courtyard. The only change is that now a light is on in the big house (4). Ray quickly covers the distance between the trailer and the hangar, and enters. Inside the hangar, it is still hot and humid. The oriental curtains are open. The black pool is gone. The spit rock stands in the middle of the hangar. Five young people, members of the Temple, lay scattered around the rock on the sand. Ray now notices Elizabeth. She is motionless, perhaps unconscious, like the others.

Nat,A light is switched on inside the big house (4). A minute passes, and Nat sees Ray. The boss quickly crosses the courtyard, and enters the hangar.

Julie,A minute passes, and Julie sees Ray. He quickly crosses the courtyard, and enters the hangar. N' is still inside the house.

[aine]

Nat,Nat watches nervously as Ray disappears through the hanger doors, surely most of the cult are still in there. He considers following to help but quickly decides against it: he has a good view of the compound here and will be better placed to help either Ray or Julie. He feels around on the ground for a small stone and hefts it silently in his hand while he watches.

[Mr. Handy]

Julie,[color=orangered]"[b]Ray[/b]'s in the hangar now,"[/color] adds [b]Julie[/b] into the microphone softly. [color=orangered]"If she comes back out before he's clear, I'll have to distract her."[/color] She keeps watching.

[Cotton]

Spoiler:

Ray carefully avoids the prone cultists as he makes his way to Elizabeth, then he quickly checks to make sure she is just unconscious and not dead.

[evil_scientist]

Ray,Ray enters the inner room of the hangar. The building stands on the desert ground, without a floor or foundation. Ray notices that there is a wide, circular depression in the sand, the same size as the strange shimmering black pool he witnessed earlier. It's about 7-8 inches deep in the middle, at the split rock. A quick check confirms that Elizabeth is alive. Her body twitches now and then, as if tortured by nightmares. She is unconscious.

Julie,A minute passes. Then the door of the house opens with a creek, and [b]'N[/b] exits the building. She starts walking towards the hangar.

Nat,A minute passes. The door of the house opens with a creek, and [b]'N[/b] exits the building. She starts walking towards the hangar.

[Mr. Handy]

Julie,When [b]N'[/b] is not looking in her direction, [b]Julie[/b] moves back around to the front of the outhouse and opens the door partway, keeping her hand on the handle as if she is just entering or exiting the outhouse. [color=orangered]"Oh, hi, [b]N'[/b]!"[/color] she calls loudly, waving with her free hand.

[evil_scientist]

Julie,'N stops, slowly turns around, and takes a few steps towards Julie. [color=#0000BF]"Oh. Hi there. I didn't notice you. Julie, right?"[/color] she asks. Her voice is strained and hoarse. Quite a contrast to the youthful and spunky way she spoke earlier today. Around 25 feet separates [b]'N[/b] from Julie now. There is some light, coming from inside the house, but not enough: 'N is a shadow or silhouette against the darkness. Julie cannot make out any details, like her face. --- You can make a [b]Psychology[/b] roll!

Nat,'N exits the house, then stops, turns around, and moves a few steps back, towards the outhouse where Julie is hiding. --- Roll [b]Listen[/b]!