Re: Skeletons in the Closet (Semi-Open)

Seiko Ishitomo Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:53 pm

The rain. As it fell it offered the delirious creature that which she enjoyed most... Solitude. The thick crowd of persons congesting the walkways thinned as the rain fell, allowing Seiko an unimpeded stroll to which she’d no destination. Oblivious that her stalker had alerted the authorities to her exact location; she remained easily visible, keeping her eyes alert for any signs of potential threats. Soon enough, the phone call that had been made instigated the events to follow.

Reaching her hand to sweep rebellious locks from her brow those deep emerald pools befell a squad car as it neared; behind the wheel the eager young cop locked eyes with the girl as he passed. Watching the patrol car over her shoulder, Seiko would curse softly under her breath as it pulled a U-turn over a double line and come back upon her, the sound of its tires sloshing through the sodden streets louder then anything she’d ever heard. Tucking her chin she’d slow her strides, gripping that knife tighter in her grasp as the sound of that car was her only focus, the hum of it’s engine growing more and more defined…even pen-pointing that one of the belts squeaked just a bit because of a wet pulley…

“Ma’am..” The officers voice over the PA system caused her to growl.. She wasn’t in the mood for this shit right now… All she wanted was something to eat and a chance to relax.. Without so much a second glance she broke into a dash to the right, towards the parking garage that Penn had nearly been run down in front of, leaping the short concrete wall with what ‘free runners’ called a ‘kong-vault’ and continued on.

Officer Nickel’s P.O.V.

After giving his location and that he was in foot pursuit he slammed his vehicle into park and dove out of it, running up the sidewalk and over the same wall just behind the suspect. So close on her heals that the wafting aroma of her perfume lingered in his nostrils. It’s just one woman.. I can handle it till back up arrives.. these thoughts motivated him, already the burn in his legs began as the girl darted between two cars and leapt over the hood of a third with surprising ease, and as he rounded the obstacles he’d slide to a stop as she’d eluded his sight and for a no more then a second he stood and listened before the sound of her boot’s echoed through the garage.. Darting forward he’d notice the door to the stairs was swinging closed and through it he shoved just in time to see and hear the suspects foot rounding the second flight of steps. For three floors he followed, spiraling upwards until he’d hear her push through another door and in second’s he was upon it. Realizing his first mistake, he drew his pistol and leaned against the wall just near the closing door, using the toe of his boot to keep it from fully closing. Listening he realized that she wasn’t running anymore and this alarmed him. Pushing the door open with his foot he’d swing into the doorway gun first and ready to fire when just fifteen feet away the suspect stood, her knife pointing in his direction upon and outstretched arm.

“I just want to be left alone..” She’d hardly the chance to whisper before he started commanding her to drop her weapon. She refused and recited her previous claim, neither coming closer nor moving away.

Drop the weapon!

“I don’t want to hurt you.” The officer would notice that the girl had troubled eyes, as if she were at odds with herself as to what to do.. She was quite beautiful he thought once he’d taken a moment to evaluate the situation.. Her knife seeming the only weapon as her other hand hung idle at her side, this hand he watched closely.

Drop the fuckin knife! This time he insisted with a forward thrust of his gun. He hated standoffs, especially ones in which he was alone and no matter how close they got, the sirens in the distance did little to ease the tension of the moment.

He hated the sound that erupted from the barrel of his gun as her empty hand disappeared behind her, the tension of the moment and her movement cause his finger to hastily squeeze upon that trigger. In the seconds that followed, he watched as something unnatural occurred. As one of the top three ranked shooters at the academy it was hard to believe that not only did his shot miss… But it buried its bullet in the fender of a Mercedes twenty foot to the suspects right..

Carolina Kenyon Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:53 pm

“North mid-west for me.” she said with a nod, before her attention shifted back to Ava and Riley. A slight frown furrowed her brow at the red that now tinged the blonde’s face. And she couldn’t quite understand why he felt the need to explain anything. And Carolina could empathize with how he might be feeling. She’d been told plenty of times that what she talking about was nonsense, by people who didn’t understand. And so she felt the need to at least somehow support him.

“Well,” she said, “I think ghosts can be real. Or spirits anyway. Why not? There’s tons of unexplainable things in the world. It‘s no different than believing in anything else.” A slight pain ran through her. She liked to think her mother wasn’t a wandering spirit, but sometimes she felt she might drawl some comfort from the idea if she knew her mother was still with her in some way. “I didn‘t have a favorite monster as a child, though I was terribly frightened of getting off my bed in the middle of the night.” She made a face, “My fourth oldest brother hid under it one night when I went to bed and waited till my youngest older brother called me. Needless to say I was traumatized when he grabbed me.“

She might have gone on, but she felt a vibration against her leg. She gave a fond shake of her head, and pulled the phone from her jean pocket. Figuring it was her oldest brother texting to see if she was okay and hadn’t suffocated on the paint fumes, she was surprised to find that it was a text from an unknown sender. With a few jabs she had the text message pulled up and she bit her lip in thought, glance going to the time in the top right corner. Should she go? It was a bit shady wasn’t it?

And then a drop of rain landed on the cover and she looked up, surprised. That was a sudden change, wasn’t it?

Riley Cameron Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:55 pm

Honestly, he was thankful that Carolina had stepped in and voiced her opinion. He had fully expected to drown in his own words, but being saved had him grateful. Usually he had his words under control, but the subject itself tied in so wearily with his encounter that he was finding it hard to keep everything from blending in to one weird world. Turning his head to face the brunette girl he had befriended, he frowned at her horror story about her brother. "That sounds like something my brother Alex would do to me. He's a callous prick." Not that Riley didn't love him all the same, but he had endured many a torturous prank from the slightly older male.

Truth be told, he somewhat missed the pranks that were played on him. They were far better than the abusive fights Alex used to love to put Riley through, even though they weren't too far up on his list of favorites. Sometimes he wondered just how Alexander had all the time he did to plan out his pranks, but they were all seemingly creative. He faintly remembered one time when the buffer male had replaced his eldest brother's shampoo with honey, and could still hear the yelling that had rang through the house once the joke had been pulled. William had always been the calmer one, the oldest who succeeded at everything he did and didn't put up with Alex's crap.

But Riley knew why Alex pulled the stuff he did -- he had always thought that the older man did so in order to gather some sort of attention from his parents. They all had their own ways -- William had law school, Alex had his pranks, Riley had his modeling career on top of Yale, and Charlie was .. well, Charlie. The second eldest had taken on an 'I don't care' attitude when it came to attention, though it seemed he was the one who sought after it most -- branded in tattoos with some piercings, Charlie was the one who stood out the most at family gatherings. Or, he would, if they had family gatherings. Riley liked to think that was why Alex pranked everyone else; he felt shadowed by Charlie's nonverbal pleas for attention.

Ava happened to look up as the rain began to fall. Scooting her chair back and out of the way of the falling droplets, she stood and smiled to the three. "I'm sorry to run, but I should get back to work. It was nice meeting you all. Please stop by if you're near." And with that, she began to make her way out. Left with just Carolina and the somewhat strange starer from before, Riley took one look at the falling rain and frowned. Pissed? He was definitely on the verge. He hadn't thought to bring his umbrella -- the weather forecast had not called for rain, mind you -- and now it looked like he was going to get soaked. With a sigh, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time, finding that he had one new text message.

The graveyard? That was absolutely insane. Considering it was from an unknown number, Riley had half a mind to think it was someone who had his number mixed up with someone else; but, thinking on it closer, he had been waiting to hear from his manager, so perhaps that was where the shoot was for tonight. Even still, it seemed like an odd place for a photoshoot. "Fortunately, I'm not from Seattle. That does mean I'm not used to being as soaked as a drowned cat, though. I didn't bring an umbrella." Inwardly groaning, he ran a hand through his, for now, dry blond hair. This day was getting even stranger as it went on.

So did he go or not? The text was pretty ambiguous, and Riley wasn't exactly one to follow mysterious texts. A photoshoot would do him good though, it'd allow him to take his mind off of this terrible weather and give him a feel for the area. Standing, he pushed his seat under the table before smiling pearly whites at Carolina and Michael, the only two left at the table. "If you'll excuse me, I just got a text requesting that I be somewhere. It was nice meeting you, Michael." Stopping a waitress and asking for her order pad, he wrote his number down once before ripping off the sheet and handing it to the brunette. "Here's my number. We'll explore L.A. together, if you'd like." Besides, he and Carolina were going to be best friends, it was inevitable. Taking one more look at the rain, he huffed. Didn't the cafe sell umbrellas just in case something like this happened? Hopefully the weather in L.A. wasn't always this unpredictable.

Taking in his lip between his teeth, he nibbled it slightly before setting off on his way to the graveyard.

Michael Hawthorne Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:55 pm

Michael looked to his phone, and the back to the make shift creation of a conversation he was having with Carolina. Part of him wanted to cut her off and just run out, would that have been rude, yes, but she was just not keeping his interest at the moment, neither were the others. Leaving cash underneath the plate he stood up nodding to everyone in the general direction. He didn't make any conversation, there was no need for him to, he didn't owe anything to any of them. Quickly rushing past them, he'd left his notebook unknowingly. But he was in such a hurry, and in all honesty he himself did not understand why. Why would he be rushing to a graveyard, why would he trust a number he'd never seen before? It was very unlike him, but there was something pulling him to it. He could feel his heart race with anticipation a he got outside of the cafe, looking around, he was unsure where the graveyard was, but he was going to follow his gut, and see where it took him.

Carolina Kenyon Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:56 pm

Carolina took the sheet of paper from Riley, she looked at it and nodded. "Talk to you later," she said, sliding it into her pocket. The abrupt leaving of Michael caught her off guard and she found herself quite alone at the table. "Well than," she said softly to herself, standing. There was really no need for her to stay any longer. Leaving a tip on the table, she frowned slightly at the rain. Surely there was a shop nearby that sold umbrellas. If it rained like this often, than she would suppose that there would be a market for it. Asking one of the waitresses she was pointed to a nearby store. It wasn't a few moments later that she had made her purchase, a bright purple one, and had asked for directions to the graveyard.

The teller had given her an odd look, and realizing it was one of those moments that called for a white lie, she had frowned and explained that she was visiting her great grandmother's grave, but had never been there before, as she'd never met the woman. Carolina didn't know why she cared what the employee thought, but she supposed it would be a bit odd for her to just go around randomly asking people where certain cemeteries were.

Stepping out of the shop, and expanding the umbrella she started on her way, the water on the sidewalk seeping into her sneakers and getting her socks wet. Not a pleasant feeling, but at this point the bottom of her jeans were soaked as well, and she didn't quite care that she was walking through puddles.

Seiko Ishitomo Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:57 pm

Officer Nickel suddenly found his rational thoughts abandoning him, his shot was surely accurate. Never had he missed a target so perfectly aligned within the sights of his pistol. Revered for being the only Cadet at the academy that had ever hit a target dead on from a hundred yards he was absolutely dumb-founded. It seemed his bullet curved at it’s own will to deliberately deviate from its trajectory, which even to an underpaid civil servant was highly irrational.

W-What…?

The very moment the authority in his tone changed to confusion, the girl; she herself unsure as to what occurred turned and darted away, deeper into the parking garage. The officer didn’t pursue her further, left to just stand there dwelling in his own ignorance. As if by some celestial guidance, she slowed to a halt as she exited the garage at ground level. Emerald green hues scanning the surface streets in silent study before something pulled at her gut faintly. As her head turned in study, the pull got stronger, an urge if you would to follow. Hypnotically her feet moved in the direction her body seemed more then eager to go.. Despite the torrent of rain, she etched her way through the not so crowded streets toward whatever destination captured the interest of her gut.

Penn Rutherford Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:57 pm

His actions were coerced by an overwhelming curiosity. Penn was following people he normally wouldn’t have thought twice about, and having vivid dreams that mysteriously breached reality. It was completely out of character, but he was desperately drawn to the idea of there being something beyond inking drunken celebrities and monitoring psychopaths. So when the text message directed him to the graveyard he ignored all sensibility and obeyed it’s orders.

He picked up a crude bright yellow umbrella from a vender stall just around the corner from the graveyard. There wasn’t any sign of the storm clearing since he started his trek, and he didn’t expect this rendezvous to be indoors. California wasn’t built for this kind of weather so he had to choose his steps carefully as to not soak his entire feet. Most plots of soil were softened to the point of intangible mud piles, waiting to act like quicksand if anyone were bold enough to venture through them.

When he finally crossed onto sacred grounds the clearing was littered in headstones like a minefield for the eyes. He tried to make out any clues that could be traced back to the text message, but it seemed as though he might have just experienced a dead end. His neck craned to react to a sound behind him when a back handed claw swung into his body. The effort of assailment launched him onto a headstone, bruising Penn’s hip and spinning him into an open grave. The descent caused further damage than the engraved memoriam. He couldn’t detect if he twisted his ankle, but he endured the harsh response of his muscles surging through his nervous system. Penn’s shoulder also felt as if he had dislocated it on the casket lid, he wasn’t normally so susceptible to this kind of punishment. According to the event he expected whatever attacked him to come over and finish the job, but he only witnessed an eerie silence as the grave filled up with rainwater.

Riley Cameron Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:58 pm

As soon as he had found a store that was selling umbrellas, Riley slipped inside to purchase one. He may have already been drenched, but there was no sense in continuing to walk in the rain – if Los Angeles was going to have random bouts of rainstorms, then he’d have to learn to start carrying an umbrella with him, even if the forecast didn’t call for one. The store that he walked in did nothing to keep him warm. With the air conditioner on freezing and cranked all the way up, the `friendly breeze` that greeted his wet form was anything but. The air tickled his skin, causing goose bumps to rise and a quick shiver to race down his spine. It didn’t take him long to buy the umbrella or to get out of the Antarctic shop.

The trip to the graveyard didn’t take him very long to make. Considering he was relatively new to the town, he had to ask for directions twice before the destination was just on the horizon. The sight of the cemetery brought an unwelcoming feeling into the center of the blond’s gut, though that didn’t stop him from trudging forward. Why was he here again? He had originally thought that the reason for him being here was due to a photo shoot, but if that was so, then everyone had already left him and not bothered to mention that it was cancelled. ”Great, now I’m a loon, wandering around a creepy graveyard in the middle of a storm. If only Alex could see me now.” His brother certainly would have made fun of him being ditched by his agent – and the rest of the photo crew.

His eyes caught movement not too far in front of him. Moving along the sacred earth carefully, the lone body was making its way towards a grave. The still-soaked boy could barely make out the figure, and as the rain picked up it became even harder for him to see. One thing his eyes did manage to catch was the sight of the body falling down – and disappearing from eyesight. Had he fallen in an open grave? Had he jumped? It would be easy to turn around and leave the stranger be, but the feeling in his gut was still present. It didn’t take him long to trek through the mud towards the grave, though he cursed with each step he took, his shoes halfway sinking into the muddy ground on the way. Eventually he stood at the edge of the dugout grave, and holding the umbrella over his head still, he peered down into it. “Are you okay?” He was going to ask if the other had fallen, but that seemed redundant. He couldn’t rationalize the stranger jumping down there, no matter how strange his current situation really was.

Unfortunately for Riley, he hadn’t caught sight of the true cause of Penn’s fall, and the shredding of skin on his exposed lower back proved that. A claw – nails? talons? – had cut into his flesh, slicing into him. Riley yelled in protest, arching backwards into the cruel touch, dropping his umbrella and stumbling back as well. His own hand reached backwards to grab at his wound, though when the blond looked around him, there was no sign of what had caused him damage. “What the hell?”

Carolina Kenyon Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:59 pm

Carolina was honestly second guessing her decision to do this. What was she thinking? She could hear her brother’s voice in her mind telling her to turn back around and just go home. It wasn’t the same sort of voice as when she’d followed him and his friends incessantly when she was five, but rather that of concern and exasperation with her stupidity. Regardless of what others believed, Carolina was not an idiot, but she was starting to feel like one now. She shivered slightly as she walked down the paved pathways set into the grass.

“Hello?” she called softly, and felt silly. The dead wouldn’t answer her. Her free hand shifted to her jeans pocket, hovering over where her phone was, just in case. She heard a sound and she turned quickly, nearly losing her balance. In the distance she could make out vaguely through the rain an open grave and a figure holding his back. The person who had yelled.

The same curiosity that had brought her to the graveyard had her moving quickly forward. Another shiver ran down her spine and she knew it had nothing to do with the rain or the cool breeze against already wet skin. It slowed her movements, made her cautious. Carolina wasn’t one to ignore her own instincts. Feeling, rather than seeing, a displacement near her, she ducked just in time, swinging her umbrella around, only to have it ripped out of her hands.

admin_jared Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:59 pm

(All characters and events within this thread should continue in Chapter 001.)

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