IC -2 - Yesterday Upon the Stair - Everyone

[aine]

Louis’s hair starts to rise, what on Earth is it? He can’t quite make it out yet. He peers closer even though he’s wishing he was running in the other direction.

Notice stuff: 80. Roll: 79!

[Mephistophilis]

Raising the bat above his head, Louis slips into the doorway, sneaking a look at whatever has squeezed through from the adjoining room. He sees movement and a figure flits through the shadows and into the light. A thin forked shape thrusts out of the darkness and Louis begins to swing the bat with all his strength at whatever hides in the blackness.

-----

Before his blow can connect the figure emerges fully into the light and Louis brings the bat to a shuddering halt before making contact. He recognises the face before him.

It's Darren.

-----

Old Danny reaches up with his bloodied stump towards Harry. With his other hand he grasps at the hem of Shirley's costume. 'Why's it so dark. Why's it so dark Harry? I can't see anything. Turn on the light.'

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm sorry, the lights aren't working," says Harry, who doesn't have the heart to tell him he's blind. "How did you end up here?"

[BoyBlunder78]

Darren recoils in shock, bringing up the the crowbar in defense. "WOAH!!!" He shouts as his eyes become accustomed to the light and spots his would be attacker."Louis it's me!!

[LiviaBlue]

As what she was sure was the corpse of Old Danny grabs a hold of her, Shirley screeches at the top.of her lungs, letting go of Harry and jumping back, leaving behind a handful of soggy paper feathers.

She struggles not to fall on the messy room in her panic, reaching with shaky hands for her BB gun.

"He's a zombie!!"

[Mr. Handy]

"He couldn't be," says Harry. "While I acknowledge that it may be scientifically possible to reanimate the dead, zombies don't tend to hold conversation, and he hasn't once tried to eat me."

[aine]

“Daz! Holy crap!” Louis drops the bat down to the floor and touches Darren just to make sure. “I thought you were Roger, sorry. But… where did you go?”
He calls back to the other room, “Hey, guys! Darren’s here.”

[Mephistophilis]

Bracing one bloodied arm against the ground, Old Danny tries to lever himself up into a kneeling position. He stretches both hands out in front of himself and waves them around blindly. 'Help me see Harry. It's so dark.' He lurches forwards and grabs Harry by his collar. 'Give me your eyes!'

[Mr. Handy]

Harry quickly backs away. "Okay, now he's acting more like a zombie!" he says.

[BoyBlunder78]

"I dont know, i remember walking through the mirror, then it all gets a bit fuzzy, i remember floating in water, then nearly drowning as i saw a huuge minster eye!! Then i was in the room," Darren points back to where he'd just left.

[LiviaBlue]

Lifting the BB gun, Shirley aims at the moving corpse of Old Danny and shoots.

BB gun (50%):
d%
1d6/2

[Mephistophilis]

In her excitement, Shirley closes her eyes and squeezes the trigger several times, firing multiple pellets in the direction of Old Danny. Harry pulls back from the man's bloodied grasp and seeing and hearing the shots he screws his eyes shut and braces for the impact of a high velocity ball bearing.

But the hit never comes. And when they both open their eyes they see Old Danny's corpse, sprawled on the floor just in front of the closet. The mutilated arm that ends with the missing arm stretched out in front of him, almost pointing towards Shirley who is huddled at the far end of the room gripping her BB gun in two hands.

OOC:   Either or both of you can roll Spooky Stuff

[Mr. Handy]

"Must have been some sort of dimensional shift between parallel universes," says Harry.

Spooky Stuff roll (5% base skill) about what just happened:
d%

[LiviaBlue]

Spooky Stuff (5%):
d%

Shirley is left blinking in confusion.

[BoyBlunder78]

"Whats that noise Louis? Where's everyone else?" Darren says worriedly.

[aine]

‘Shirley and Harry are just back there, looking in a cupboard, I don’t know about anyone else- what was that?” Louis says to Darren and then turns as he hears a bang.
“Come on!” He hurries back to where Harry and Shirley are.

[BoyBlunder78]

Holding the crowbar tight in his hand Darren hurries after Louis.

[Mephistophilis]

Back through the door, the air is cold and stale. Harry is standing in the middle of the room, the flashlight in his hand illuminating a body beside him. Huddled against the far wall is Shirley, her BB gun gripped tightly in her hands. Both have looks of fright and confusion on their faces.

The body seems to have tipped out of the closet in the south wall of the room. Clad in a heavy jacket and trousers, face down on the rough floorboards. What skin is visible seems to have been gnawed by rats. He's a white man, skin leathered by the sun, his age difficult to determine from this angle but likely fifties, sixties, or even older. A rough cord is half draped over one shoulder. One arm reaches out in front of him, almost like he's pointing at Harry, but instead of a hand there's just a mutilated stump.

Behind the body, in the closet, there's a few ratty women's dresses piled on top of each other, sitting on a slick of congealed blood, little footprints in the crimson smear, little rat footprints.

That's a 1d3/2d4 SAN check for seeing a mutilated body. Either or both can roll Spooky Stuff.

The rest of the room contains a broken bed frame with a rotted feather mattress, its contents spilling out onto the floor. There's nightstand, bookshelf, and small dresser, all half-rotten and crumbling. High windows in the north and west walls shed little light with the storm outside.



Against the west wall, beyond the bed, there is a big old picture frame still attached with a length of wire, one corner resting on the ground. The oil painting is stained and a little battered but the thick paint is still mostly intact with only a little water damage to the corner resting on the floor. It's a portrait of a striking middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair. She's smiling benignly out of the picture but gives an odd impression of furtive secrecy, perhaps even malice, but it isn't clear where that idea comes from. Behind the woman is a large library of books and sleeping on her lap is a large black cat.

There's something familiar about that cat.

OOC:   So Harry, but not Louis or Darren needs to roll 0/1 after realising this is the same cat as was on the cabinet. The other two have seen it move and know it is...not normal.

[BoyBlunder78]

1d100.1d6/2

1d100

OOC:   san 54%

[Mr. Handy]

"I've seen that cat before..." says Harry when he studies the painting.

Sanity roll (current level 11) for recognizing the cat:
d%