Broken Panes

[Vero]

Reb tried to hide the look of relief when she saw the Prof. Em was here, how bad could it be?

"Hey prof! This was how we found the room. Kinda weird, huh?"

She kept her tone light but used the excuse to walk closer to the authority figure. And the door.

 

[chris2c4u]

"Wierd indeed," I replied. There was no point interfering with the fun though, whoever had set the lamps burning surely meant to simply have fun.

Frowning though I looked to Reb's hand, still cradled against her side.

"What happened? Something on the bookshelf?" Taking her arm I held out her hand in the lamplight; nothing seemed to show on her soft skin but she winced a little as I ran my fingers over her palm.

 

[Vero]

A quick, electric shudder ran through her at the Prof's touch. He had such amazing hands - made it easy to pay attention to him writing on the blackboard, hard to pay attention to what he was writing on the blackboard. She had to borrow other people's notes, at least once a week - finding hers had turning into a sketch of his hand during the course of the lecture.

Get a grip, Reb.

"Just a...I don't really know Prof." her voice went quiet, trying to keep her concern to the two of them "It was like one of the books burned me with how cold it was." She didn't take her hand back from his.

 

[BadForm]

Yes, she probably was good in the sack I thought as Jake leaned in and asked his alcoholic question in the kind of "quiet" voice that could be heard through half the room. But asking other guys a question like that while she was within earshot was probably not the best way to find out. Her response kind of confirmed that. It made me grin. She was a spitfire and knew how to look out for herself. It was kinda arousing.

"Hey, Reb, blame him not me," I laughed. "I didn't say anything."

I headed down into the library proper and began to browse the bookshelves. What I found was an ecclectic collection to say the least. A lot of books were on magic and mysticism, but a copy of The Book of Thoth was on the shelf between "Murder at the Vicarage" and "Origin of the Species". Overall, there seemed to be no theme to the whole place.

The professor's voice interrupted my rumination and browsing. I turned to find him standing at the top of the stairs down into the library. I'd never been so happy to see a professor in my life. I mean sure, any wild partying was probably out now, but at least we had someone here who MIGHT be able to work out what was going on.

"The lights? None of us did... But its not just the lights, Prof, it's the whole room. I mean you've seen the rest of the house right? At least some of it, right? Well, how the he... I'm sorry, I mean how can there be a room this clean with books in good condition here. It don't make sense."

 

[chris2c4u]

Reb's hand lay in my own as I looked across to Dave, still not willing to offer simple answers - after all, that would surely put one or more of them on the sport as they had to be the ones who had planned all this. Then, the night would be over; over much to soon, I realised as I still held Rob's hand gently.

"This is a strange place. Perhaps magic does exist here..." I saw Rob give me a quizical look at some of the others smiled.

"Magic takes many forms; it isn't all wizards and spells. Whoever did this had a purpose and we seem to be all part of that end. Why don't we wait and see what happens?"

There was really no point getting them frightened.

 

[Vero]

Reb

Logical people don't believe in magic, what the hell was Em up to?

Besides maddeningly holding her hand. You can be the silliest little girl, Rebecca Kristine. You are far too old for a little hand holding to be all special, and that applies double for the Prof.

She took her hand back and tried on her teasing smile for Dave. "Anyone have an idea of where we should go next - or should we search this room for secret passages?"

 

[Ghost Ship]

Liam Kitson

While the other members of the party were busy talking, Liam was busy examining every facet of the library - from the eerie lighting, the upholstery, and of course the bookshelves. Here he looked in his element, as he ran his hand across the rows and rows of books, reading the titles as he went. Finally, he paused, his hand resting on a small, nameless black book. Strangely enough, he couldn't remember his brain giving the command to single out this book; it felt as if some external force had drawn him to it.

Of course, he shook his head and dispelled his thoughts - once again - as imaginings.

Pulling the small book from its place on the shelf, he inspected the nondescript cover briefly before opening the book. Inside, he found a handwritten journal, written in a spidery, almost unintelligible hand. On closer inspection, in fact, he found that they were completely unintelligible - at least to himself, for they were in some foreign language that he could not identify. Flicking through the book, he found a few diagrams - sketched diagrams of the house they were standing in! All over the pages were scribbled notes, again in the same language, and seemed to suggest that the writer had been trying to solve some riddle about the place.

As Liam flicked through more and more of the book, he found that the handwriting grew increasingly more rushed and unclear, until by the latter stages of the book it seemed nothing more than a continual random stream. Finally, Liam turned to the last page, and gave a horrified gasp in surprise - for there, glued onto the page, was a black-and-white photograph of a horribly mangled, naked human corpse. The gender of the body could not even be identified, for the head was missing, the chest horribly carved open, and the genitals mutilated beyond recognition.

 

[Vero]

Reb glanced at Liam when he gasped. The look on his face was...not good.

"Liam...Liam! What'd you find?" Her patina of false bravado broke in her worried tone. She went to him and pulled the book from his hands, he didn't start resisting her until she had already seen ... it.

It gave her an awful glimpse of truth. Reb. We all need to leave now. We're going to die. Liam, Dave, the prof, you, Lily - as much as you don't like him, you don't want him dead.

She met Liam's eyes. "Maybe we should leave." If we can. If its soon enough.

 

[BadForm]

OOC: This thread just went closed - as you'll see.

IC: I followed Reb over to where Liam stood looking over a book. As I did, the floor shook once more, this time more violently. The shelves in the center of the floor rocked from side to side, cascading books. The shock was over in a minute, but it left several of us kneeling. And it meant Liam dropped the book for all to see.

The picture was horrific, more brutal than anything I'd seen before. And that despite having lived eight years on a corner that turned into a traffic accident danger zone. No, this person hadn't been the victim of a crash. They had been the victim of a very brutal murder. And between that and the quakes, it did not take any discussion for us to decide what to do.

"SHIT!" I cried out as I bolted for the door. The professor was in the way and for a second we almost fought over the escape. Then we were through and heading back along the hallway.

Another quake. Plaster, web and dust fell like sheets across the quivering floor. I forced myself to my hands and knees and tried to crawl towards the still open doorway. Then I saw what was happening outside. The grounds were disappearing. The woodlands were thinning as trees simply ceased to exist. The driveway seemed to go transparent then invisible. The gateway and street beyond vanished. And the shaking stopped.

I stood up and walked to the doorway unable to believe what I was seeing. There was nothing outside. It even hurt the eyes to look there. I reached a hand gingerly out through the doorframe and screamed in a greater agony than anything I'd known before. My hand vanished.

I yanked my arm back desperately, but there was still no hand. No blood was pulsing through the veins, no flesh hung in gory strands. There was just the stub of my arm, ending in a solid pane of blackness where my hand should have been. It was too much, I fainted.

 

[Ghost Ship]

Liam

What the hell was going on?
Movement, sound, pain. All at once. And then? Nothing.
Something must have hit Liam in the head, because he felt the world going dark. And then he was falling... falling... falling... where was the floor?
Liam could not tell the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness as he fell away into blackness. He was aware of just one thing: how very lonely this nothingness was.

 

[IrishPitchford]

Liam offered his jacket to me, as he must have notice me shiver alittle. "Thankyou." I said, while looking him in his eyes and smiling. I slipped the jacket on and foundled for the zipper, as the lighting wasn't that great. I had Liam shine the light on me, as I tried to find the zipper to his jacket. The damn zipper was broken........just my luck. Oh well, atleast I'm warmer now.

I continue walking, following the others of the group. We noticed a light just ahead of us. As we aproached the room, the lighting in there, took us by shock. My eyes had to adjust from pitch dark, to very bright. I was very comfused as to why the lighting was so bright in here, as if someone knew we were coming.

We entered the room and was startled. The furuniture in the room was in tip top shape.....it was amazing. Things were alittle dusty, but not anything near the rest of the mansion, we've seen so far. The wonderfully arranged and intact bookshelf caught my eye. This room is breathtaking. Everything was definitely old and alittle warn, but it was in great condition. I couldn't beleive my eyes. Yet, I was still wondering, what the hell was going on!?!

Out of nowhere, the Prof entered the library. He startled me at first, as I had no clue there was anyone else in this place, than us. I said hi to him and said I was glad he joined us.

Liam was looking through a book. The look on his face was most unusual, as he flipped through the pages. He then stopped in his tracks and seemed startled and stunned as to what he was seeing in the book. Reb sped over to him asking what he had seen. I too, had raced myself over to see what was going on.

Reb and I glanced at the picture in the book. I stepped back in horror, as the picture was most disgusting and traumatizing I had ever seen.

Reb looked at Liam and suggested we maybe should leave. I for one, didn't know what we should do. I thought to myself.......should we explore more of this weird, but thrilling mansion and come upon some horrible things that will make our decision too late, or should we leave now, saving ouselves from anything bad that might happen? I stood in shock as to what I have just seen......the picture ran through my head...it was a vision I just couldn't forget. I looked around to the other's to see what they think we should do.

 

[Vero]

She didn't know if she was screaming, or just desperately wishing she could. The earthquake...Liam just...melting into nothing like that...Dave's hand. Dave's not hand.

This was not good.

The shuddering stopped and Reb gave herself a mental slap across the face. She went and gently pulled Dave back away from the door, shutting it on the...whatever that not space was. She turned his face to her and slapped him sharply "Dave, Dave, its me, its Reb. Think now, panic later. Wake up, damn you."

Think now, Reb. Panic later. She looked to the prof and her wide eyes made her look so achingly young. "Prof? What should we do?"

 

[Ghost Ship]

OOC: Woops, sorry for the confusion folks. In my last post, I didn't intend Liam to actually disappear into nothingness... I guess I got too carried away with the creativity.

IC: Liam Kitson

Liam lay in his black sleep, as yet unable to wake up. Thankfully, though, whatever he had imagined happening was an illusion: perhaps created by his fear and imagination... or perhaps by some darker force.
He was still there... in a crumpled heap, a hint of crimson beneath the hair on the back of his head.

 

[Vero]

OOC: *blush* sorry.

 

[chris2c4u]

It was clear we were all seeing the same thing; eyes turned to Dave's hand - where Dave's hand used to be.

Then there was - the outside - or whatever it had become.

"Prof? What should we do?"

Reb's voice cracked, her wide eyes showed fear yet not loss of control. I blinked.

"We're in a library," my voice croaked from my dry throat. "Whatever has done this seems to have something special about books - maybe they're sacred. This could be our chance. Perhaps some of these books are special, they have clues. I think we should certainly keep the one..." I pointed to the picture on the open book Liam had found.

"It's toying with us - whatever this force is - but maybe if we can work out the clues we stand some sort of chance."

Meeting Reb's eyes I hoped whatever confidence I was trying to prject would restore her hope. She had the sense to lead these people.

 

[Vero]

Reb

She met his eyes and looked at the offending book, swallowing her disgust.

"Yeah, look for clues." Panic later. Her tone changed as she suppressed fear, running on coldly controlled adrenaline - an ability that made her murder on the rugby field.

Her voice rang out commands "Jake, get Liam off the floor and onto one of those sofas. Try to get him to wake up, but be careful with his head, okay? Lily, come help me with Dave. Prof, you get the book," she looked at him her eyes apologetic and worried, "be careful. I'll come help soon. I want to see if I can find the book that...any other book that might be useful."

She leaned down to Dave again, looking at the others, "Well?"

Think Reb. Think. Prof can get us out of this, right? Need a battle plan. She came up empty.

 

[IrishPitchford]

The room began to shake...or was it my amagination? I looked around in complete horror to see if anyone else had felt that or was seeing the things I was!?!

I couldn't beleive what I was seeing around me. All of the sudden, Dave's hand just disappeared......it was gone. "What the f*** is going on here?" I was in shock, just standing there in disbelief.

After we ran scarcely to the door, there was nothing...absolutely nothing outside. I had no idea what was happening, all I knew is that I was scared for my life...and for the rest of my friend's lives.

Liam and Dave had passed out. Their minds seemed to be blank for that moment. They had an emptiness about them, showing on their face.

I suddenly felt sick, very sick. I got very dizzy for a moment and leaned over to the side and threw up. My stomach is now empty, but for that moment, it was a good thing. I didn't seem to feel nauseous afterwards.

I needed to clear my mind and get focused. We needed to get out of here, somehow, someway...and I was now, more determend than ever.

Reb had then said, "Jake, get Liam off the floor and onto one of those sofas. Try to get him to wake up, but be careful with his head, okay? Lily, come help me with Dave. Prof, you get the book," "be careful. I'll come help soon. I want to see if I can find the book that...any other book that might be useful."

I ran over and helped Reb with Dave. I was so scared for him, scared for us all.

 

[BadForm]

Dave

I came to slowly, being handled by both Reb and Lilly. It was enough to take my mind off what else had just happened for a second, though only for a second. When the memories did come back and I saw my hand really was gone, I felt sick. The pain had stopped, which had a horror all of its own. Somehow, not hurting when I had lost a hand seemed worse than the agony before.

"I-I'm all right," I said, drawing a look of disbelief from both the girls. "I... what happened? Does anyone know?"

The shaking had died down a lot already and was subsiding to nothing. As I glanced out through the broken windows it was obvious why - nothing else was disappearing, nothing else was disturbing the world by ceasing to exist. Of course... that didn't help us any.

 

[Vero]

Reb stroked Dave's face, trying to calm him.

"We don't know what happened, but Prof is looking at that book Liam found - we'll figure out something."

She turned to the blonde girl, "You'll stay with him? Keep each other safe, I'll go check on Liam."

 

[chris2c4u]

Taking up the small black book off the floor I began to look at it. The language wasn't familiar but the diagrams were clearly of the house. Here, one corner of the building had been circled in red ink. There, another - lines were drawn and they intersected.

I tried to get an idea where the lines crossed; the house was big and it wasn't clear and even so there was no idea which floor they might meet at.

Sooner or later they would have to have a council of war; now though, most were still recovering so I singled out Reb to point out the diagrams.

"Don't know what they mean yet though - this language isn't easy to decipher either. Should we try and find the place that these lines meet? Or avoid it?"

Silently I wondered if that was where the body had been photographed.

 

[Vero]

Reb

"Should we try and find the place that these lines meet? Or avoid it?"

Dear God in heaven, with all His mercy, she was afraid. She met his eyes and swallowed, hard.

If there was anything else in there that might help, he'd have mentioned it. If anything could help them, it was either in the library, or at those lines. No amount of waiting was going to change that. Someone should voyage, go find the convergence and see what they could find.

She examined the candidates.

She tried to keep her tone light and could only manage a whisper of her traditional spirit. "Want to help me see if X marks the spot, Professor?"

 

[chris2c4u]

"Want to help me see if X marks the spot, Professor?"

Drawing myself out of a reverie I glanced at her eyes, noticing the catch in her voice. She tried to smile.

Nothing mattered any more; we were on a voyage out of the universe. Yes, we might make it back but - well, seeing someone's hand disappear sort of put things in perspective. Things like student-professor relationships weren't important. I drew her to me, taking comfort in the feel of her soft body next to me. We were all just people here and we had to pool our skills to try and survive.

"There are myths from around the world that echo what we're going through, a voyage, a test." I spoke low so only she could hear. "This is our chance." I pulled away and grinned at her. "Jason and the Argonauts. The Odyssey. Our chance to be heroes!" I laughed; incongruous - but a laugh of defiance.

"We'll find the place the lines cross - but we have to do it as a team. A crew of the Argo."

Again I drew her close, inspired by my own words - initially bravado but now something more. "And if we're going into some abyss, I want you before we fall into Haydes."

 

[Vero]

Suddenly he was only man, and touching her as if she were a woman.

A part of her melted in the sweetness.

We are so going to die. Prof has broken, given up on getting back to anywhere that touching a student like that would be unnacceptable (felt sooo gooood...) and has cracked up.

"And if we're going into some abyss, I want you before we fall into Haydes."

Her eyes widened, crystalline with understanding, and she felt heat seep into her cheeks.

Good to know you're not dead yet, Reb.

"Are you sure we should all go - if its...what if the way out is still in the library?"

The library felt safe to her - someone should search it aswell as this new clue for the way out.

There had to be a way out, right?

 

[IrishPitchford]

Reb turned to me ans said, "You'll stay with him? Keep each other safe, I'll go check on Liam."

I grabbed onto Dave, I held him very close to me, for I was scared and worried of what would happen next.

"It'll all be ok Dave. We'll got out of here....alive." I said to him, as I was saying that to satisfy his mind and my own....I wasn't shore what would happen...I didn't know if we were going to live or die. I stayed close to Dave, looking him in the eyes at times, as he gave me looks, letting me know he was there with me to do his best to protect me. I was horrified out of my mind, but felt alittle at ease in Dave's arms.

(OOC: Sorry I've been posting slow. I haven't been feeling too good and today I got my wisdom teeth out, so I'm on painpills and feel like total shit. I'll feel better very soon, but until then, I'll still post on the threads, so I'm not completely behind. )

 

[Butch]

Jake

As soon as the rumbling stopped Jake got on his feet. He was shaking all over and lashed out in kicks and screams against the nearest book case.
"Fuck,fuck,fuck! What the fuck is going on here" but no one seemed to pay any particular attention to him. When Reb finally took command of the situation and said:
"Jake, get Liam off the floor and onto one of those sofas. Try to get him to wake up, but be careful with his head, okay?" she yelled out commands to the others as well but he was just mesmerized by her authorative tone and didn't even think about it. He lifted up Liam over his shoulder and put him down in the nearest sofa.
"Dude! You awake? Dude! You all right?" but he didn't get anything but moans and what sounded like snoring out of Liam. Could he really be sleeping at a time like this? Lucky bastard. But, what now, Lilly was coming his way act your best now Jake. Aw, she got stuck with that Dave guy. He sat down in an armchair next to the sofa and yelled to them:
"Funny friend you got here. He's alright but I think he's asleep."