Ch. 9 Copperhead Road

[Philulhu]

Thursday March 6th, 1930 (exact time unknown)
Uncertain Location, Pointes-aux-Chenes, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

The four men found themselves bundled out of the house and into the darkness. Before they had a chance to react, they had rough sacks pulled over their heads and they were guided, none too gently, onto what they presumed were skiffs beached nearby.

They were jerked off their feet as the skiffs were roughly shoved out on the water and they found themselves sprawled in the floor of the boat, being jostled to and fro, as the oars propelled the boat through the swamp. Any attempt to talk was met with a kick or a sharp tap with the butt of an oar, so the journey passed in tense, uncomfortable silence.

After an unknowable time, the front of the boat lifted and the scraping noise from beneath suggested that it had beached. The four men were lifted with strong hands underneath their arms and frogmarched forward, the sacks and the general darkness preventing them from seeing where they were being taken. The only thing they could tell was that they appeared to be escorted along wooden walkways, the tell-tale wooden echo giving that away.

After a minute or so, they sensed a change. They no longer walked on the wooden path and the noise from the swamp was dulled as if they found themselves indoors again. They were guided down some uneven steps and the air changed, becoming colder and still. There was an iron creak as if long-rusted hinges were being forced open, then they were shoved roughly forward into a low stone cell. Their bonds were released but the hoods left in place as the iron doors screeched closed again and they were left with just the sound of footsteps fading away.

From the darkness, a vaguely familiar voice with a British accent, snapped, “Who’s there?! Identify yourself!”

[Mr. Handy]

"William Preston, Esquire," says William. "I think we've met before."

[Philulhu]

There was a moment’s pause, then a resigned chuckle, “Well, well, Mr Preston, you are a resourceful fellow. Did you come alone? How did you find me?”

[HoneyDog]

"Where's your friend from the lake? You know, the spiny one?" Howard sneers.

[Philulhu]

“Who’s that? The one with the big mouth and the quick fists?” snapped Brophy. “Thanks to your interference, we had to leave him behind. When we get out of this mess, we’ll go back... ...”

[HoneyDog]

Howard

"What about James? What have you done with him?"

[Bullfrog]

"I ought to thank you for for those shotgun pellets, Brophy. It looks like the locals don't like either us or your little operation." Lawrence bitterly stated, feeling around the sack on his head to try and find some way to remove it.

[Mr. Handy]

"Do you know what happened to your brother?" asks William.

[Philulhu]

Lawrence pulled at the sack on his head and it came away freely. He could see that he was in a small, dark cell, with stone walls and a damp floor. It was musty and there was a skittering noise that he recognised as rats running around. To the front of the cell was a door made of iron bars roughly four inches apart, a large enough gap to reach through, but little else. The cell looked out onto a dimly lit corridor, where a candle just about kept pitch darkness at bay. Opposite was another cell of similar appearance.

In reply to William, Brophy said, “I don’t know what happened to Robert. I had gone to run an errand and when I got back, those men were waiting for me...”

From a cell at the end of the corridor, one that had a solid metal door, rather than the iron bars, there was a snuffling noise. When Howard spoke, the noise stopped for a moment then a voice they all recognised, albeit deeper, slower and more gruff than they remembered, said ”Howard, dat you?!”

OOC,Your cells are all the same.

[HoneyDog]

"James!" shouts Howard. "Is that you?"

[peper757]

Thomas removes the hood from his head and takes a moment to adjust to his surroundings. He shouts to Brophy; "What kind of errand? Murdering more people?".

[Mr. Handy]

William also removes the sack from his head.

[Philulhu]

“H-How....” came a snuffled reply before great wracking sobs came from the cell.

”James, James! Listen to me, James!” said Brophy quickly. ”Vulgtlagln Gla’aki! Stell'bsna f’tagn!” He repeated the alien words again, and whatever it meant, it seemed have a calming effect on their young friend and the sobbing subsided, with James taking up the chant himself in a low rasping voice.

“He is in transition,” said Brophy, matter of factly, like a college professor giving a lecture. “We must be careful not to excite him as that might have dire consequences for us all.”

He was now stood at his cell door, a dark outline behind the iron bars. “Now, Thomas, the Police Officer, if I remember correctly. It was not murder, it was never murder. Gla’aki is great and wise and his knowledge is beyond comprehension. For those who serve him well, he can grant eternal life. Who wouldn’t give themselves up willingly for that?”

[HoneyDog]

"Transition to what? What have you done to him you bastard!" shouts Howard.

He has pulled off his hood too.

"I"m going to wring your scrawny neck!" he shouts at Brophy.

[Mr. Handy]

William waits to hear Brophy's answer. He had been about to ask the same thing, though with less colorful language.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence kept silent with a scowl forming on his face, taking a look at his cell bars in search of any flaws or weaknesses. Brophy would pay for what he had done to James, but that would have to wait for now. On the subject of James, Lawrence was dreading to see what had become of him, though he did have a morbid, horrified curiosity about his friend's fate.

[Philulhu]

“William is becoming an avatar of our lord and master,” replied Brophy, calmly. “Ia! Ia! Gla’aki ftagn! We worship Gla’aki for his gifts of knowledge and the grant of eternal life.”

More quietly, he continued. ”I fear for James, however, for I know not what our captors want of him.”

Lawerence,The cell is hollowed from the rock and the only exit is through the doorway, which is blocked by the iron gate. The fittings appear to be in good condition, comprising of butt hinges and a hasp and heavy padlock to secure the door.

[HoneyDog]

Howard takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself. His mind is black with hate for Brophy, but there's nothing he can do for now.

"Who are these people?" he manages to say. "What did you do to them?"

[Philulhu]

“I doubt that he himself knows,” came a voice from the darkness, rich and deep. “Perhaps one of you gentlemen would like to guess?”

[HoneyDog]

"Who's that?" asks Howard. "How many other people are here?"