St. James's Church- London, England 5:05 AM - Sunday, September 8, 1940
Benjamin, Eugene, and Anna remained at the church. A quick look outside had revealed that their cars were intact. Giles Curry served breakfast in the small kitchen on the ground floor, and Laura had decided to remain as well.
Benjamin wolfs down a surprisingly large breakfast for a man his age and size. Wiping his mouth on his handkerchief, he says:
"Well, I'm done with exploring the outside for the time being. Yesterday's excursion turned out to be rather risky and we did not find what we set out to do, so I'll stay here for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, I'll be back to work, though. Unless there's another raid by then, that is..."
"I'm glad to say both are cars are still intact, Anna." Eugene says while gobbling down his breakfast. "Say, in the institute you work at, do they employ vacuum cleaners for their tidying?"
Anna frowned as she thought about Eugene's question. "I am pretty sure they, mister Eugene. You would be surprised at how dirty the place can get sometimes. Perhaps, you would be more by the fact that, generally, it's the doctors who are being disgusting. So our cleaners generally uses state-of-the-art clean technologies just to keep up appearances and make sure it doesn't look like an utter dump."Anna said with a trace of displeasure as she was reminded of some of her coworkers' hygenie habits. As she observed Eugene being unsatisfied with her answer, she made a few deductions.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be a vacuum cleaner salesman, would you?" She stared him cautiously, edging away from him ever so slightly. Door-to-door salesmen are the worst; she still vividly remember how the last one had managed to convince scam her into purchasing an entire collection of the works of William Shakespeare and many other famous British playwrights despite the fact that she had no intention of buying any in the first place. Now, the top of her shelf is completely occupied by a vast selection of books that she will probably never finish in her entire lifetime. She's afraid she'll end up saying goodbyes to the money in her wallet and end up stuck with a large, clunky vacuum cleaner that she doesn't really need.
"Well yes I am, but not just vacuum cleaners, Haywin vacuum cleaners, the Rolls Royce of vacuum cleaners! I just happen to have a stock that I can sell, for a limited time only, at a stunning discount! Could you introduce me to the building manager?"
After a bombardment of persuasive words and cheerful comparisons, Anna stared him uncertainly. She's supposed the expert in psychology, yet she felt this guy knows about persuading people than she does. Somehow, she was convinced by the charismaic, shady snake-oil salesman that is Eugene. "Well...sure. I mean, I'll ask around to see if I could arrange a meeting between you two, but that'll be all I'll do, okay?"Anna said curtly, she doesn't want to talk with the man about vacuum cleaners for a moment longer, for she was afraid he'll start targeting her instead. Besides, it's just a simple matter of arranging a meeting, what's the worst that could happen?
OOC,PCs can't use social skills on other PCs, only on NPCs (and even then, the effectiveness may vary). Players have free agency to either agree with each other or not.
"I do. It's very...good at what it...does. I-it's great. Believe me."Anna stuttered through her response hastily, as she thought of a topic to discuss that has nothing to do with vacuum cleaners; she's actively afraid that she'll be conned into buying one of the blasted things by the salesman in front of her.
"Say, do you only sell vacuum cleaners? What about sewing machines? Perhaps I can convince my boss to buy some of the latest Singer models?"Benjamin asks hopefully.
Anna cursed inwardly as she now ponders whether she could do with a sewing machine. She really needs to stop being so easily swayed by vaguely convincing pitches for novelty products.
"Uuhhhh…the…thirties?"Anna lied nervously, as she saw a dangerous glint come over Eugene's eyes. She doesn't like the look of what's going to happen next.
"It important to update your vacuum cleaner, those older models are quite the fire risk!"Eugene looks very serious. "Just imagen losing your house, not to German bombs, but by not investing in decent appliances!" Eugene continuous: "The Haywin vacuum cleaners are top of the line when it comes to cleaning... AND safety! Besides, with a price of only 5 pounds, they are an outright steal!"
Oh its a robbery alright...Anna thought, she felt a headache coming on. Why couldn't she deal with normal people? "Three and you got a deal." Before she could thoroughly think through her decisions, she had been swept along with the conversation and she was on the verge of purchasing a vacuum cleaner before she knew it.
"Anna, I really like you. But that's just below their wholesale value. Four pounds is the best I can do, but only if you promise to not tell anyone that I sold it so cheap!"
Thrown aback by the sudden compliment, Anna said, "Sure. Here's four." as she blurted out before she think things through more thoroughly. Se has always been weak to compliments.
Anna regretted her decisions instantly. Through gritted teeth, she managed to squeeze out her address so as to not appear impolite. "Oh, uh, my house is about a way up at the, uh, third street down under the intersection between Trump Street and Russia Row, the eighth house on the right, a non descript house with an aging Dutch roof. It might be a bit challenging to find my house, but it should be there." She said tiredly, and tried to convince herself that she did not just waste four pounds buying something useless.
Anna stared at the young lady behind her, and walked towards the young woman with a placating smile. “Hello miss, are you okay?”Anna said with a soothing voice as she tried to identify the exact nature of young lady’s neurosis. Was it a preexisting trauma? And breakup? Or is it something else? “My name’s Anna, I’m a doctor, you can tell me if there’s anything wrong.”
Anna may not always be the kindest person in the room nor the smartest, but she believes that she could try to help the woman. There’s a reason she took up psychology, after all.
Anna placated the young woman with a soothing tone as she tries to implement the practical techniques that she had learnt years before to effective calm down a victim of 'hysteria'. It might work, or it might not. "It's okay, everything's fine, miss. Look at me in the eye and breath, that's right, gentle breathing. Breath in, breath out; do you feel better? The war isn't over yet, I'm afraid there's going to be plenty of opportunities for you to cry in the future as well, so we need you to be ready. Tell me, miss, how do you feel right now? Are your parents deceased?"
"No, at least as far as I know," said Laura. "After last night, who knows? My mum's working in a munitions factory, and my dad's in the Home Guard. How do I feel? I'm bloody terrified! The Nazis are knocking over country after country. They got Austria and Czechoslovakia without a fight, and since then they've grabbed Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France. And now it's our turn! I just don't see how they can be stopped."
Anna Jerkins,[b]Anna[/b] could tell that [b]Laura[/b] was being sincere. She was indeed terrified and overwhelmed. She had no signs of mental illness, just the kind of anxiety that someone living in these times would normally have, though she clearly had it to an elevated degree.
Anna tried to see if she could use hypnotic suggestions to calm down Laura. "Everything is fine. The Nazis are never going to win; they are never going to invade Britain. Repeat after me, everything is fine..."Anna said with a professionally detached voice as she tried to help Laura get back on her feet as quickly and as effectively as possible. "After this whole thing is over, maybe you should go and have a talk with your parents; especially your mother, and I believe this would be a good idea to try out."
Psychoanalysis 90%,[dice]0[/dice]
OOC: Can I...can I spend 10 Luck points to alter my roll?
"Oh, what do you know?!" snapped Laura. She pressed her face back onto her folded arms and began to weep again.
OOC,Sorry, no spending Luck in 6th edition. That roll is a critical failure, and it represents in irreparable break between the psychoanalyst and the patient. You will not be able to successfully treat her again.
Oh goddammit, Anna cursed inwardly; she messed up big time. Maybe the Blitz was getting to her, as she made a few more attempts to console the woman before gradually giving up and being forced to exit feeling absolutely miserable about both herself and her own inability to help the young woman in front of her. Gloomily, she returned to eating food as she further chided herself for being unable to help.
"Don't worry, Laura". Benjamin walked over to her and patted her on the back, in an avuncular sort of way. "I'm sure the German's won't get us. I've escaped them once before, I'm sure we can do it again!"
He hopes he sounds more convincing than he feels...
Anna remained in the background and signed in resignation. She knew enough about this situation to know that it might be a good idea to distance herself from the woman for a while, there's a high chance that the woman will lash out if she prodded further at this precise moment. Instead, she tried to focuse on the breakfast in front of her and wait for service to begin. She decided to, at the very least, try again after the service ends to see if she could do offer further help.
OOC: My character is a psychiatrist; even though I rolled a Crit. Failure, my character don't have an in-game incentive to abandon interest after only one failed attempt. However, is there anything else for Anna to focuse on at this moment? Is it possible for her to still be on friendly terms with Laura after that incident?
Laura took out a handkerchief and dried her eyes. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better," she said. "I just wish I could see how things will be all right."
"If you stay for services," said Giles Curry, "perhaps I can help you understand."
"All right, I'll do that."
OOC,Yes, you can still be on friendly terms with [b]Laura[/b], and you can still try to help her. You just won't succeed with Psychoanalysis on her any more.
"Miss Laura, I'm sorry about my actions a few moments ago. I profusely apologise if any of my actions offended you in any way. I was only trying to help."Anna said, turning towards Laura with a friendly smile on her face as she attempted to be friendly.
Anna responded with a hollow laugh. "Haha...sorry about earlier, again. It's just...I work at a sanitarium nearby. I just kinda ended up, um, bit too intrusive, I guess. My name's Anna Jerkins, you can call me Anna. The day's pretty awful, eh?" She tried making a joke, not knowing whether she managed to succeeded in sounding humorous. "I think there's some Earl Grey over there. You might want to have some. It calms the nerves, I think."
"Thank you," said Laura taking a cup of tea and sipping it with shaking hands. "Yes, horrible day. I just hope it doesn't happen again. How could they have so many planes, so many bombs? They're softening us up, aren't they, before the invasion?"
"Doubt it. Their attempts at invasion are ham-fisted at best. Let's focus on surviving the dangerous nights and we leave the whole 'stopping the war' thing for another day, when you're feel better. How about that? We live in dangerous times, and it'll be challenging to keep it together, but my job is to make sure as many people gets to keep it together."Anna said patting Laura on the shoulder empathetically.
"They may be ham-fisted, but they're bloody effective," said Laura. "Every country they've invaded has been knocked over in short order. Their invasions haven't failed once! France fell in six weeks, and they had a bigger army than we do, and that was with us helping to defend them."
”Well, true. They are horribly efficient when it comes to taking lives. But it’s not like we are short of allies either. Besides, they are led by a madman, I’m pretty sure Hitler isn’t exactly packing a lot in the attic, what with his foolish ideals and all...”Anna said, snorting at the fearmongering and looked at Laura with a reassuring gaze and an easygoing smile. ”I mean, Britain may not exactly be in its prime, but we do still have some big guns.”
"Not short of allies?" said Laura. "After France surrendered, we're fresh out of them! I mean, yes, we've got the Empire and the Commonwealth. The Canadians, Australians like yourself, New Zealanders, Indians, and South Africans all do a good job, but we haven't got enough of them here, and the rest of them are half a world away! The Americans aren't going to enter the war, not for anything. We've got the RAF, and we've got the Royal Navy, but they haven't stopped them so far. Once the Jerries come ashore, we haven't got a chance!"
Anna looked at Laura dubiously, "You do know that the better part of the war happens half a world away, right? There's no reason to focus our good allies here, defending a possible invasion. It only been one night of air raids and you think Nazis are going to kick down your door and check you family history the next morning? Ma'am, it's not like us good people haven't survived through tougher wars worse than this, and we've got ol'Churchill running around. He knows what he's doing. What's the worst that could happen, they make a bomb that could blow us all to Kingdom Come?" As she looked mockingly at the sky, and snorted insultingly. "Honestly, I think there's a lot of other thing that more worth your time than the whole blasted war thing. Like tea, for example!"
"There's never been a war worse than this one,"said Laura. "Not even the last one. The Germans came close to beating France that time, but we stopped them. This time...the absolute best we can hope for is to hold them off, and I have my doubts we can. Nobody else has managed. I like Prime Minister Churchill, and he's exactly the man we need in charge right now, but he can't work miracles, and that's what it would take to actually win."
Anna, at this point. Shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it 'a miracle'...I mean, the Germans had only just taken down France, and I'm sure the present War Front aren't that bad. We've bombed Berlin already and there's a lot more going on at the War Front that gives us hope. We may be in for the long haul,
but we'll pull through. I'm sure of it."Anna said, with optimistic determination as she tried to bring some optimism into Laura's worldview. After all, she wouldn't be much of a doctor if she can't alleviate the sufferings of her patients now, would she?
"The first step towards despair is always doubt, Laura, have trust in our armies. They can't all be a bunch of teenagers who doesn't know the right way to hold a rifle."Anna joked.
"Do you mind to sparing a minute to listen to me ramble for a bit? I kind of want to share with you a few things from my childhood. You see, when I was young, I lived with together with my family in Australia: Me, my brother Tobias, and my parents. Well, I haven't seen my brother for a very, very, very long time. He abandoned us down in Australia for America, the land of freedom and opportunities, they said."Anna said, making an attempt to try and get Laura less depressed about the war and to temporarily distract her with an anecdote. "My estranged elder brother's got a few things going for him, I suppose, he's athletic, smart, and independent. My parents had always focused more time and attention on me than my elder brother. One of the flaws he had was the bitterness that he always held inside his heart, he always seemed to distrust those around him and expect the worst of everything. He never believed in God, and he was an extremely petty person. He's the kind guy who firmly believed in dishing out revenge excessively. I never really knew why he was like that; but that's the way he was." She sighed deeply, she's not exactly good at telling stories. Especially personal ones.
"One day, he left. He just...left. No notes; no warning. He took his clothes, basic supplies, some money, and his admission paper to some university or another." Tears glistened in Anna's eyes, but she smiled at Laura, "I didn't really know what had happened to him afterwards, but after that, I swore that I would never abandon a person who needs help, and to always look on the bright side. He had always been withdrawn and, now that I think of it, silently screaming for help. At first, I had hated him; he hadn't stopped to consider how his actions will affect his family members and only cared about himself, how could I not? But now, I guess I kind of sympathise with him a little bit, if only a little."Anna stared at Laura deep in her eyes. "Laura, you may think that everything is hopeless, but it's really not. There's always situations worse and more personal than hearing about a war happening hundreds of kilometres away. Sure, they bombed us once, but we are going to get through this mess, and we are to do that with our sanity in one piece. Hey Laura, I want to help you, but I can only do that if you are willing to accept it. Do you want to accept my help?"
"I'll join you, I think the reverent said he would focus on the Old Testament. Perhaps some spiritual solace is what we need now most...", Benjamin adds.
"Thank you, Anna," said Laura, hugging her. "You're welcome to try to help me, but I don't know how much good it will do. I can sympathise a bit with your brother too. After what the Jerries did, I'd sure like to bomb them right back! See how Berlin likes it!"
"It's a bit early for me to start services," Giles rasped when Eugene and Benjamin approached him, "but I can begin if you'd like. See if the ladies would like to join us."
OOC,I'm sorry for waiting so long, but I didn't have time to update the game last week, and my health took a sudden turn for the worse this weekend, though I'm starting to recover partially.
Laura accompanied Anna to the pews, where they joined the men. Giles Curry stepped behind the pulpit and cleared his throat before speaking. "We have all been through a terrible ordeal," he began. "It may feel like we are going through hell. But as Mr. Churchill says, when you are going through hell, keep going. There has been massive bombing, the likes of which London has never seen before. People have been killed, have been injured, have lost their homes. All of us in this room have by the grace of God survived, and it is up to us to continue to do our bit, whatever it may be. God has placed us here in this place and time for a reason. It may be disheartening to see so much death and destruction visited upon this city, but we can still be of good spirits. God has not taken us yet because He is not done with us. He still has work for us to do."
Anna grabbed a daily prayers from off the shelves and quickly chose a prayer appropriate for this situation before clasping it in her hands as she prayed silently.
Giles continued, tactfully ignoring the interruption: "In this terrible time, I find comfort in the Psalms, which speak to us now just as they did to people thousands of years ago. In particular, Psalm 91 seems most appropriate. It begins thus: 'He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night: nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.'"
Benjamin sits quiet with his eyes closed, but he's not fallen asleep, as his lips move in some sort of silent prayer. Looking at his peaceful face, the worries of the past day seem to have flowed away, at least temporarily.
Benjamin startles, first annoyed that his meditations have been rudely interrupted, but as he sees the owner of the poking finger, he quickly lets out a brief chuckle.
Anna stared at the two poking each other and quietly hid a smile as she listened to Giles speak. She supposed she probably should get home and check with her boss on her week schedule, as the air raids might disrupt her work schedule. Nazi air raids aren't exactly a thing that you could plan for in advance. She quickly snuck outside after she made her quick prayers and went to find a newspaper stand. She wonders what's going to be in the press after an air raid, she dreads finding out...
Giles went on, seemingly not noticing that Anna had slipped outside. "We have been through the horror of last night," he said, "and while we know that there is more to come, we also know that we have made it through so far. We must trust in God to protect us. Even if we should die, we have the promise of resurrection. We must keep God foremost in our hearts and help others as much as we can during this terrible time."
Anna Jerkins,[b]Anna[/b] found a boy selling morning editions of the London Times, and she bought one for a penny. Most of the news was about the bombing. The East End had born the brunt of it, particularly the docks, but there had been an awful lot of civilian casualties, and they still had not finished counting the dead. It was estimated that hundreds had been killed and over a thousand injured, not to mention all those who had been bombed out and were now homeless. The RAF had lost 23 planes, while the Luftwaffe had lost 41. The numbers were presented as casually as though they were football scores. A smaller article also mentioned that a madwoman had escaped from Maxwell's Sanitarium in the confusion of the air raid. The escaped patient was named [b]Catherine Exeter[/b], and she was known to be violent. She had been institutionalized there ten years ago after having nearly killed a man. [b]Anna[/b], who worked at Maxwell's, knew about her. She hadn't been violent during her time in the sanitarium, but there was no doubt she was dangerous. She was in her forties, and very slick. She went to great effort to try to trick the staff into thinking she was cured, but she had been unable to fool [b]Anna[/b].
Anna reacted to the death with great sadness and horror. But very quickly, she had some more troubling news within the newspaper. Catherine Exter escaped. In the short time she worked at Maxwell sanitarium, she did not work with Catheine, but she knew that the details surround her case are gruesome and are a secret kept by the Scotland Yard.
Anna intends to go and make a phone call with her boss, the supervisor at the Maxwell Sanitarium for further information about this case. She is willing to contribute to the case even if it means she'll have do some parts of it during her weekend off.
Anna went back into the church to use the telephone in Giles Curry's office. He was still going on with his sermon. "The Psalmist continues: 'Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come night thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.'"
When Anna called Dr. Abner Stoddard, the administrator at Maxwell's sanitarium, his secretary answered. "Just a moment," she said. "I'll see if he's available." A minute later, he spoke. "Yes, Dr. Jerkins?"
Anna gulped nervously for a moment, before calming down and said, "Dr. Stoddard, I was curious about the case surrounding Patient Exter, I believe she's highly dangerous and needs to be found immediately. Where was she last seen?"
Anna Jerkins,"I quite agree," said [b]Dr. Stoddard[/b]. "In fact, [b]Lord Rufus Colville[/b] is in my office right now inquiring after her. [b]Catherine Exeter[/b] was last seen down in our shelter in the basement. Somehow she escaped during the raid. We had a WC set up in one corner, and she went into it, but she didn't come out. When the matron escorting her checked, it was empty."
“Did someone forget to close the window? And how do you know that she never came out? I don’t think people paying attention to the W.C. During an air raid.”Anna asked, “However, I think something must be done about this. It’ll reflect terribly upon our reputation if news were to get out that a mentally-ill patient capable of violence escaped during the air raid.”
Anna Jerkins,"I'm afraid news has already gotten out," he said. "At least it will most likely be buried considering yesterday's other events. There was no window in the WC. It was just a corner of the basement, which has solid stone walls. The only way out was the way she went in. The matron was assigned to pay attention to her precisely so that nothing would happen. She insisted she was watching the WC the whole time, but obviously she must have had a lapse of attention. Needless to say, she's been sacked."
Anna looked around a bit in paranoia, before quickly replying. “It could be possible that she had bribed another patient to take her place. There's a few ways to go about it, I'm sure. Are there any suspiciously human-sized holes near the sewage disposal units? Have there been any investigations into the W.C? Surely there's ventilation pipings in the room.”
Anna Jerkins,The doctor continued: "She didn't switch places with anyone, for there was nobody at all inside. The basement is ventilated, yes, but there is no vent in the water closet itself. There are no holes big enough for her to have escaped through. She could not possibly have fit down the drain, and she did not get out by walking through the walls. The door is the only way in and out, and the WC has already been examined, but you're welcome to take a look yourself if you like."
Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "An expertise in psychoanalysis does now translate to an expertise in investigative skills in general, but I'll have a look 'round anyways. It's always a good idea to have a fresh set of eyes on the set, though."
"Does Catherine Exter have any living relatives in London that I could perhaps visit? It may help in tracking her down."Anna said, as she casually glanced through the newspaper again to see whether there's been a police officer assigned to the case yet.
Anna Jerkins,"She has a daughter, [b]Madeline Steadman[/b]," said [b]Dr. Stoddard[/b]. "She was twelve at the time the incident happened, but she's grown up now. Married an RAF officer. She's been visiting her mother frequently over the years."
There was no mention in the newspaper of who if anyone was assigned to the case.
Anna furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as she ponders of the implications of the information given. “Have we contacted miss Steadman yet? I do believe that there’s a possibility that she will visit her daughter.”
Anna Jerkins,"It's [b]Mrs. Steadman[/b]," the doctor said, "and that is a possibility. Nobody has contacted her yet, as it's quite early. She lives at her parents' old house in Bayswater, W2." He gave the exact address. "It's just north of Queensway. You're welcome to contact her yourself if you like, Doctor."
“I’m afraid I’ll do just that.”Anna said, before hanging up the phone and heading off in the general direction of Bayswater with no idea where she’s going or where she’s even headed.
