Chapter 1: One of Our Students is Missing

[SunlessNick]

Jumping out of her skin, Emily turns back toward the scream. "What happened?" she asks. "Did you say there's someone alive?"

[aine]

Fort jumps up in consternation. “By golly, are you alright, Miss Stanton?” He isn’t at all sure who shrieked but everyone around the corpse looks alarmed.
He stubs out the cigarette, gives a look to Emily and walks over to see what’s happened, rather hoping it’s not too nasty.

[Philulhu]

“Don’t get too close!” cautioned Bruce. He’d slept outdoors more times than he could remember and even the sound of a mountain lion sniffing around his tent one night hadn’t spooked him as much as that scream had!

He gripped his stick firmly. Whatever that arm belonged to, he had a bad feeling about it.

[HoneyDog]

Harden rallies the other officers.

“Come on” he says. “Get the corpse up!”

They pull Cardigan’s body out and lay it on the sand, discovering another body underneath – or at least at first glance, they might be fooled into thinking there’s another cadaver.

The other occupant of the grave attempts to stagger up. It is male – gaunt, feeble, with blackened skin as if he has been scorched. He is bald, with only tatters of rags attached to him, and seems to have a hunched back.

Unable to get up, he reaches his hands imploringly to the bystanders.

“Henry – Henry Atwater!” he cries. He collapses before the shocked onlookers.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm fine," says Alice, remarkably calm. She renders the injured man what medical aid she can. "We need to get him to the hospital."

[HoneyDog]

“Can you take him? We need to stay with the body” asks Harden. He indicates one of the officers. “Officer Yoder here will escort you. Follow him to St. Mary’s.”

The officers pick up the unconscious man and take him to the cars. Yoder blasts his siren, and the companions pile into their transport and follow.

At the hospital, the man is admitted into the care of the medical staff. While Yoder goes to call in, the investigators discuss events.

[Silver Priest]

"Hopefully they can get something out of him." Henry says. "But the next course of action seems quite clear-- we need to speak with Atwater. I imagine the police will be doing so very soon, so any of us so interested should probably head off sooner than later. " This mystery is intriguing to him, and he wants to see where it leads.

[Starspawn338]

Harrison is able to compose himself on the way to the hospital and he goes over everything they have learned so far, which isn't much. Once at the hospital, he speaks with the others gathered there.

"We do need to speak to Henry Atwater but we don't know anything about this other man that was found. What was he doing buried underneath Cardigan? How did he know the boys? He seems older and so gaunt, as if they found him out in the wild." Harrison muses. "Is it possible that he can be brought to consciousness and questioned before we go see Henry? We have an opportunity right now with Officer Yoder gone."

[SunlessNick]

Emily bums another cigarette from Fort if she can - the scream was rattling enough - she can't imagine what it must have been like to be right by it. "He sounded like he was trying to tell us something about Mr Atwater," she says of Harrison's suggestion.

[aine]

“The poor chap must have been beside himself; what a situation to be in!” Fort shudders and digs out his cigarettes, passing one to Emily.
“Do you think he was like that all night? And he looked burnt. Perhaps it was he who was struck by lightning. I wonder who he is.”

[Philulhu]

“I wondered the same thing,” said Bruce, thoughtfully. “We were told that Atwater and Cardigan were missing, no mention of a third person.”

[Silver Priest]

"I'm not sure they'll let us in to see this stranger," Henry says. "He seems in pretty bad shape. No harm in asking though I suppose, if one of you has an idea that might work."

[Philulhu]

“Well, if being a Professor at Miskatonic University counts for anything, I might be able to get us in,” said Bruce.

He approached the nurses’ desk. “Excuse me, nurse? I’m Professor Patterson from the Miskatonic University. One of our students - Richard Cardigan - lost his life in an accident yesterday. The poor fellow in there was found with his body earlier today. I need to find out what we can from him about the events that lead to Mr Cardigan’s death.”

”May we speak with him please?”

[HoneyDog]

“I’m sorry, Professor” says the nurse. “The doctor said absolutely no visitors for that patient right now.”

She turns away and busies herself with other duties.

[Mr. Handy]

"Could we perhaps speak to the doctor?" asks Alice.

[HoneyDog]

"I'm sorry, you'll have to come back later" replies the nurse.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, we will," says Alice. She speaks to the others. "We could go try to see Henry Atwater."

[Silver Priest]

Henry looks a bit smug that he was right but gives a nod of agreement.

[Philulhu]

“Short of trying to sneak in,” said Bruce quietly, “I’m not sure what our options are.”

[Silver Priest]

"We're unlikely to be allowed to see Atwater either," "Henry admits. "But it's probably worth a try. We could also examine missing person cases and see if our mystery man matches any of them."