Play@YSDC

Salmon Lane - London, England
7:10 AM - Sunday, September 8, 1940

Archie, Benjamin, Eugene, and John arrived at the ruined warehouse, which was little more than a huge pile of rubble. Seamus was on his knees sobbing, a Chinese-looking constable putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Story, Elizabeth, Brook, Eddie, and Tinker were also present. An area of the rubble at the front of the warehouse had been cleared, revealing a young lady's corpse. She had been crushed by the rubble. A handbag was slung over her shoulder, flattened but not broken. The damage to her body made it difficult to tell how she had been killed, but if they had not heard otherwise, they might have assumed she was killed by the building falling upon her after the bomb hit.

OOC,[b]Archie[/b], [b]Benjamin[/b], [b]Eugene[/b], and [b]John[/b], please roll Sanity for seeing the body. Sanity loss is 1/1D4+1. If you lose 5 Sanity, please roll Idea. If you succeed at the Idea roll, you will go temporarily insane. Otherwise, you are free to act.

Upon seeing the badly damaged corpse of the girl, Benjamin quickly suppresses a oncoming wave of nausea.

When he notices Seamus sobbing on his knees, he suspects a link between him and the dead girl. He rushes over and puts a hand on his other shoulder. "Seamus, I'm so sorry..."

Brook looks towards the new arrivals, nodding a bit.

After seeing the corpse of the young girl Eugene shouts out in anger: ”Those damn nazi's!”. In a blind rage he punches a nearby piece off wall still standing, bloodying his knuckles.

Sanity 54%,[dice]0[/dice]

John smiles as he sees Brook and the rest of her companions and walks over to them, looking at the dead girl from a distance.
"G'morning, Miss, what's happening around here?"

SAN,[b]Archie's[/b] SAN is 90 and he rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

SAN Loss,[dice]1[/dice] + 1 Total 4

Archie groans quietly at the sight of the battered girl's body, and the blood drains from his face. For a moment he has to bend forward and breathe deeply.

Recovered somewhat, he walks (or at least staggers) over to the body and makes the sign of the cross. Dropping to one knee, Archie pulls his battered RN issue bible from his jacket, closes his eyes and starts praying over the girl very quietly.

Brook looks to the American captain. "Hi again. A bomb fell on the warehouse." The teenage girl sighs. "The girl was already dead, but now that a building's crushed her, it's impossible to tell what killed her." She seems concerned and sad for the dead young woman, but not freaked out. "And also, our ride's buried under the rubble."

"Yes, we found her, murdered, when we first arrived here," says Elizabeth, sadly. "It was like, I don't know, some sort of animal attack. The bombs landed later, after we'd left with the air raid warden. And yes, our vehicle is under there."

"It's certainly an unfortunate fate that fell upon the girl..." Story glances at the corpse, then Archie. "Be it by bomb or beast, death ensnares the just and unjust alike."

'Well, with any luck, your beast is buried under there as well.', John looks over the rubble and sucks his gums.

'Your vehicle had better be made of sturdy stuff to have survived that...unless you parked in the basement.' He adds with a smile at Elizabeth.

Archie rises and stows his bible. He turns to the Chinese constable, recalling him from earlier. "Thank you, Constable, I'll leave her in your hands now." Archie gives him a gentle clap on the shoulder.

Archie moves over to Story and his companions.

"Glad to see everyone's recovered from a night in the shelter."

"I'd very much like to talk to you about what you saw last night. I met a second German Luftwaffe POW this morning, same aircraft as our lad from last night. The strange thing is, the second lad corroborated the story of the aircraft being attacked by a flying animal. A flying animal with a tail."

"I could just about imagine an eagle from somewhere like the darkest Amazon, that might be big enough and trained to attack planes. But what bird has a tail? This isn't, so far as I can tell, some secret weapon of ours and logic would suggest it isn't the Germans' doing. Is it the Russians?"

"Whatever the case, an animal that can fly and destroy military aircraft on the same night as an animal that kills girls in London, it seems too great a coincidence. So, can any of you add anything to the tale, anything that the authorities need to know?"

Archie's tone suggests "authorities" here does not mean the Chinese-British constable, however good a job he may be doing. Archie's uniform looks less clergy and more Naval officer just at this moment.

Curious about Archie, but going along with his questions, Elizabeth responds. "We didn't see the animal, we saw the remains of the body afterwards. It looked like an animal attack, vicious, chewed up by something with unusually large teeth. And from the blood trail it looked as though the body had been dragged through a closed door, into the building. Something dragged it in." She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts. "I know this sounds crazy. We're saying animal attack, and something that could negotiate a door. Did it have help? But based on what you've just said, I don't think it's that mad an idea after all. Though it's one thing to attack this poor girl, it's another to bring down a plane."

"Any idea where the beast went after the attack?"

"No, we didn't see where any blood trail led outside," says Elizabeth. "We met the air raid warden there" - she nods towards Eddie - "and had to dash to the air raid shelter as quickly as possible. And then the bombs fell ..."

Archie ponders this for a moment. "Well, I'm no detective but I am a Conan Doyle fan. I think the first thing Sherlock Holmes would do is examine the scene of the crime. I wonder, were you able to tell where the poor lass was first attacked before being moved? Or has it all been obliterated by the bombing?"

"No I'm afraid we couldn't see that," says Elizabeth. "Again we had to rush to the air raid shelter. We found the body where it was left, went outside, and there was the air warden. She may have been killed nearby, and it could be bombed out, or it may be further away."

Constable Lee stood and turned to survey the scene. "I suppose she was probably attacked there," he said, pointing to large area of dried blood in the street. "Then her body must have been moved inside to where it was found, judging from the trail of blood leading there. Or she might have fled inside and died there. But how could someone who'd lost so much blood move? Well, it could be possible. It's the only thing that makes sense. Sherlock Holmes also say when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Archie claps the constable of the shoulder. "Constable - ah - Lee isn't it? You sir, will go far."

"Now, I know nothing about police work but I do know something about archeology, and archeologists like to uncover the evidence." Archie looks at the poor deceased. "With that in mind, this poor young woman needs a proper post-mortem examination. One imagines the police morgue is very busy at the moment. Could I beg that this lass be sent to Bart's, St Bartholomew's Hospital, for examination? At my request and I take full responsibility, all above board I assure you."

"Is there anything to be seen at the start of this trail of blood?" Archie closely examines the spot Constable Lee pointed out.