Don't Rest Your Head, Stay Awake Options

[Ryuga]

Daniel Willet

Roy chuckled, as he put the book aside. “Roy Warner’s the name pleased to make your acquaintance Mr…?” he paused to let Daniel introduce himself.
“Well Dan.. You don’t mind if I call you Dan right? Things work a little different around here. You aren’t going to be figuring out how to get back to your place easily, I’m afraid. You must have noticed that this city isn’t the same one as you came from. Maybe even encountered some of them Smothered folk in the sewer?” Roy placed a hand over his nose, indicating that he didn’t exactly approve of the smell.
He stood up walking over to the only drawer in the room, before tossing some cloths Daniel’s way. “Let’s make you a little more presentable before we continue. Cloths might not be exactly your size, but it’ll probably suffice. You have any major questions about anything. I’m probably the most knowledgeable human-being in this city.”

---

Tyler Willow & Arthur Twist

The monster backed away, afraid. The “get lost” from Tyler was enough to set it in a flight response, sending it scampering other direction.

It was a good time for Tyler to have used his madness talent there, for the there were other such monsters hiding on rooftop ready to pounce. But like meagre beasts, seeing one of there brethren flee was enough of a message to have them stay away from this man. So they also moved along.

Fear wasn’t going to satisfy these monsters hunger though, and they soon returned to the prowl, looking for some other victim. Sure enough, there was another man, (Arthur) foolishly walking the streets at this hour.
Three of the monsters hopped down from the rooftops, pincering him in the street. Having lost one potential kill already, they weren’t about to give up on this one.

This post has been edited by Ryuga: Aug 11 2011, 03:52 PM

[Sparrowsmith]

Of course Arthur knew this place was dangerous, but the sudden adrenaline kick of another attack put him off kilter. He eyed down the three beasts tactically, with no time to question what they were. There were two in front of him, one behind. He knew he had to run, but which way? Something in his mind clicked into action, something instinctive that couldn't be taken. While the beasts looked agile, they'd certainly take a moment to turn around, even that small time could be valuable. Statistically the best choice was to get by the two front ones, it's an unpredictable move and would buy him a moment of time.

How to get by them though? The anxiety was creeping up on him, he could practically feel the beasts awaiting the slightest flinch of his body. He would have to act fast, he was going to need a miracle. A fraction of a moment passed, Turner's mind was racing, the same words repeating in his mind, Come on Arthur, you're a physicist, miracles are what you do...
He looked at the ground beneath the two beasts feet, hoping he could jump over them to freedom, but the height was too much. If only they were lower.

He'd barely thought the command before the ground shuffled beneath their feet. A sizable chunk of the street beneath them turned to dust, engulfing the beasts beneath it. As quickly as it had happened, it was undone. The dust turned back into the road, scattered about haphazardly in the ditch and around the pit. It was one hell of a pothole. Rather than waste time asking questions, he sprinted off towards the sudden grave of the beasts, leaped over it, and tried to escape the final one after him - but it was catching him up quick.
This place is giving me a headache

[OoC well that's the madness talent, and in the first paragraph Arthur used his exhaustion talent to think of the best way out.]

[Kratour]

Tyler stared, slack-jawed, after the beast as it fled. "Oh come on..." he mumbled to himself, "Really?" It was posed as a question, and it almost seemed like he was expecting an answer based on the way he stood there for a moment shuffling very, very slightly. Then he turned with a sigh and began to slowly make his way down the street as he had been prior to his little "encounter". After a few minutes of that however, the presence of the night was beginning to press in on him. Feeling a bit nervous, Tyler made his way over to one of the buildings to his right. There, he stopped for a moment, glancing around to make sure it was safe before crouching down in the rather roomy doorway. He kicked his legs up, leaned back, and stared out at the skyline, noting the stars. "I wonder where this place is," he said to himself, his voice low, "even the stars are different here."

[Nicsp]

"Daniel. Daniel Willet." He said, then listening to the man's explanation. "Smothered folk? Is that how you call the goo faces?" He took the clothes in his hands and looked at them for a few seconds. "Right then..." Daniel said before he changed into those new clothes, they were rather lose, were probably a size or two bigger than he was supposed to wear, but regardless, this was no time to be worrying about fashion. "Most knowledgeable human-being, you say? Very well, I just really have one question, how do I get back?"

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

The beasts fell to there grave, reaching towards Arthur as if to drag him to hell with them. Arthur nonchalantly leapt over.
That didn’t stop the fact that the last one was still hot on his tail. Two more of the things joined the one, crawling down from the buildings.
It looked like there would be no end to the things at this rate.

Vitality: Fair
Stress: Calm
Sanity: Sound

---

Tyler Willow

Tyler was startled as he heard some primitive noises nearby. Poking his head out, he could see more of the monsters prowling. None of them noticed him, instead heading off another direction, after something, or someone.
Rather than stick his head out into danger, Tyler stayed in his hiding spot waiting for things to clear. Eventually he poked his head out again to see that the monsters had moved on.

---

Daniel Willet

“Get back to the real world I take it?” replied Roy as he signalled for Daniel to take a seat again. “There are many ways to get back. A window that looks out into the daylight, a portal in your closet. Maybe even a doorway to the sky. Point is, you’ll know when you see it.” He paused to let this all sink in before continuing. “Unfortunately, all doorways between cities are locked tight during the thirteenth hour. Not to mention the feasting hour for plenty of nightmares. You can get back to getting back in about…” Roy looked over at his watch. “An hour. Until then, you have anything else you might be curious about?”

This post has been edited by Ryuga: Aug 15 2011, 12:23 PM

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur wasn't sure what he'd done, but it was a problem for another time. With another two right on his tail, and the first one breathing down his neck, he had to get away from them. He ducked down an alleyway, which sorted the beats into a single file line, and tried to think of a plan. As he came back out onto a street, he turned left and then around to face the wall of a building. Charging the wall, he hoped that he could pull of the same trick again. A chunk emptied out like a liquid, collapsing in waves on both sides. Turner jumped through the gap, and tried to make his way upstairs.

[Kratour]

Tyler quirked his brow as he stared after where the monster had gone. It was curious, but for some inane reason, a completely irrational desire to see what was going on overtook him. With a bit of care, the young man pushed himself up to his feet, a quick glance up at the sky revealing nothing but the darkened night. Then, his eyes turned before him once again, Tyler began to walk after the creature. What if they went after someone else, he thought to himself, only now bothering to put some sort of reason into his idea, they might need some help.

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

Arthur continued to work his way up the stairs, having succeeded in breaking in. The monsters still in pursuit, climbing up after him.
He must have taken the wrong direction though because he found himself on the top floor with no other way but back. And sure enough, the three other monsters were getting closer and closer.

---

Tyler Willow

Tyler continued walking. Despite the possibility that someone else may need help, cognitive dissonance kept him going. He needed to look after his own skin first and foremost.
Eventually he heard a low thump. He turned around, looking for the source of the sound.
Thump.
The sound was getting closer.
Thump.
This time he could feel the ground shake. Loose debris on the streets now rattling.
His heart rate sped up. Something was getting close. Something big.
Thump.
Even closer than before. Tyler broke into a run, not wanting to find out what was coming his way, but slowed down as the next thump was softer than before.
Thump.
He could barely feel that one. Looked like whatever it was now moving away. Maybe only passing through.
Sighing in relief, he continued on at a more brisk pace until he heard the sounds of sobbing nearby.

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur found a closet and ducked inside it. He knew what he had to do, and it may just put him over the tipping point. He focused once again, turning a small patch of floor underneath him to dust. It, and he, dropped down to the floor below. He hoped the hole would be too small for them to get through, but it was unlikely he'd have such luck. He did the same thing again, and then once more, before heading back to the staircase and hoping the beasts wouldn't know where to look.

[Nicsp]

Daniel shook his hands casually, leaning back a bit. "Bah, I ended up learning not to try and try to understand something unless you have interest in going deeper on it, so we can just leave it at that for now, I suppose. Oh, actually no, I have one more questions, what is this thirteenth hour?"

[Kratour]

"Oh wow, that was a close one..." Tyler mumbled to himself, punctuating the statement with a nervous chuckle. He didn't know what it was, but he'd bet that whatever he just avoided was baaaaad news. He reached up, smoothing his hair down a bit since the impromptu run had thrown it a bit outta' whack. Then, he turned to continue his pursuit of the earlier beasties when something stopped him. A sound... Sobbing? He thought, turning his head towards the sound in question. "Curious..." He spent a moment considering his options, namely following after some insane monster thing, or investigating the source of this sound. ... Right, so turning away from his pursuit, Tyler rather quickly began to make his way towards whatever it was that happened to be crying out in the streets at this hour. "Hey?" He said, calling out in the direction of the sobs, "You alright?" ... "If you're another monster, could you try not to scare me? These are the only pants I've got on me."

This post has been edited by Kratour: Aug 17 2011, 09:00 AM

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

Arthur dropped down with a thud. Surprisingly the room shook a bit, some of the furniture rattling away. Funny, he shouldn’t have made as big an impact upon landing.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
That following sounds answered his question. Something big was approaching the building. The monsters that were pursuing him had scattered, fleeing from whatever was approaching.
Thinking he should probably leave too, Arthur ran to the stairs. He didn’t get far however as he saw the following in the window next to him.

[Show/Hide] image

He froze. The giant eye peering in could easily see him. It blinked once distance before whatever the eye belonged to moved along, a giant thud followed after every step. Soon as the sound of footsteps disappeared completely, Arthur heard the sound of clock chiming in the distance.

---

Daniel Willet

“Well the thirteenth hour is essentially the missing hour. You know how the normal world is done in 24 hours: two twelve hour segments. Well this one has only has 13 hours. The first twelve hours lining up with either the day, or night, whichever. The thirteenth hour, might as well not exist in the normal world.” Roy paused. That explanation had been a mouthful. “Anyway, you don’t want to be our during the thirteenth hour. During that time there is no passage between cities, not to mention it’s prime hunting hour for most nightmares.”

In the distance, they could hear the clock-tower ring, once.
“Well, that hour went by rather quickly,” said Roy as he stood up, grabbing a cane that Daniel hadn’t bothered to notice before. “I’ll direct you to the nearest exit I know.” Roy walked over to the stairs, limping as he walked.

---

Tyler Willow

Thankfully, the source of the sobbing wasn’t from some creepy monster. It came from a grown man who was huddled in the middle of the street. He looked like he had been attacked, though his injuries were rather minor. The important part was he looked to have suffered a mental breakdown muttering “Go away. Make it stop,” repeatedly in between sobs.

[Kratour]

A moment of silent reflection followed as Tyler stumbled across the crying man. Soon enough, however, he came to and blurted out the first thing that came to mind in an attempt to break the ice. "Oh, hey, cool. You're not a monster." ... That bit of detective work aside, Tyler took a quick glance around. Things seemed quiet enough, save for the man's incessant sobbing of course, and upon further examination, it seemed that the man was more afraid than in any real danger. "Okay okay," Tyler said, taking a few steps closer before dropping down into a crouch before the man. He tilted his head down, a nearly tangible sense of calm rolling off of him as he tried to look into the man's eyes. "Take a deep breath there buddy, there's nothing around to hurt'ya anymore alright? Now I want you to think," Tyler immediately followed one word with another so that the man wouldn't be able to interrupt him, "what's your name? Can you tell me that? And what're you doing out here at such a late time of day?"

[Ryuga]

Tyler Willow

The man took deep breaths, as he recovered. It seemed that the company of another human being was enough to get him back to reality.
“My… my name is Long,” he finally spoke in between breaths. “And I-I just wanted to get out of the streets, but, but, I couldn‘t make it.”
He tried to stand up, but staggered before falling to a knee. Physical exhaustion, as well as the previous shock had left him drained.
“C-can you help me?” he pleaded.

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur slowly stepped out of the building he'd been hiding in. He quickly began reevaluating his choice of coming, but being unable to evaluate altogether, and with no other options, he proceeded to roam the streets again - searching for answers.
"Hello!" He shouted out, "Tell me where I can find the Tacks man or I'll start melting your houses!"

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

The calls from Arthur fell on deaf ears. Not a single thing stirred in the Mad City, so, of course, Arthur did the best thing. Bring down the house.
The first building fell with a crunch. To Arthur’s frustration, the city stayed quite, almost as if deliberately ignoring him.
The irritation kept building and building. Despite being a rather calm guy, Arthur couldn’t contain the rage any longer. And what better way was there to sooth his rage than to destroy the rest of this neighbourhood?

---

Daniel Willet

Daniel continued following the limping Roy down the street.
“Just a warning there though Dan,” he started, pausing to make sure Daniel was listening before continuing. “While the normal would has no way of interacting with the Mad City, the reverse isn’t the case. Nightmares will be intruding your everyday life. Watch yourself.”
The two walked a little further until Roy stopped. “Well here we are.” Roy pointed over to a ladder, which made it’s way up to the rooftops.
“Up somewhere on these rooftops is a Wardrobe… yes just like that one C.S Lewis book. It changes places often, but it stays in this general area. Watch out for the Hate Hives though. “

This post has been edited by Ryuga: Aug 31 2011, 01:43 PM

[Nicsp]

Daniel shook his head and frowned. "Mad City, nightmares, Hate Hives, C.S. Lewis! Geesh! Everything here is just hell bent on making me confused." He exclaimed shaking his hands. "I'll be careful, i'll be careful, no need for worrying." Daniel said as he waved away to Roy casually, then heading towards the ladder as he started climbing it. Once up in there he'd immediately proceed to go and start searching for that wardrobe that Roy mentioned. He had to go back to his hideout as soon as possible, make sure it was safe, what with those freaks searching for him back where he came from...Gah, this was going to be a pain no matter how he looked at it, he sighed.

[Sparrowsmith]

As another building lost it's corner stone and collapsed messily, Arthur felt a piercing weariness come over him. This wasn't working, and he was tired, it was time to go home and try again later. He looked around for a door and then realised something. He wasn't hungry, he'd just eaten and hour ago after all, he wasn't sleepy, hadn't been in a long time, and wasn't exactly bored. Why leave? He found a piece of rubble, an easy task, and sat on it. Maybe this place wasn't so bad.

[Ryuga]

Daniel Willet

Daniel carefully traversed the rooftops. While a fall from this height would not kill him, breaking a leg would surly mean death to him in this crazy place. The rooftops were cluttered with all sorts of junk, and doors marked most available surfaces. At one point Daniel found a hole which didn’t lead to the ground, but to some street flipped on it’s side. He knew better than to explore that however, and continued searching for the wardrobe.

Eventually he saw a wardrobe in the distance. The size, shape, and colour of it stood out like sore thumb amongst all the other junk on the rooftops. If anything, Roy was talking about this one.

“WEE DOOONNN'T WAAANNNNT YOURRRR KIIIINNND ARRRROUUUUNNND HEEEEEERRREEE!!!”

Daniel turned around to see a group of seven or eight, religiously clad individuals, most likely members of a cult.

[Show/Hide] image

They carried makeshift weapons, torches, crosses, pitchforks. And they were closing in quickly.

---

Arthur Twist

Arthur was quickly interrupted by the sounds of more debris falling. With nothing better to do, he went to check it out. To his luck, he found someone desperately trying to get the rubble off him. Upon seeing Arthur, however, he stopped what he was doing and immediately began to cower in fear.
“Oh please! Don’t kill me!” he begged. “Y-you’re looking for the Tack’s Man right? H-his office is in District 13, over that way. Please don’t kill me…”

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur approached the man sympathetically, turning the rubble to gas momentarily to allow escape, he had assumed the buildings were empty after receiving no response.
"I have no intention of killing you. After no one came to help me and then I received no response, I assumed this place was deserted." Arthur tried to be calm, but he wanted revenge, "I don't know this place well. If you can take me to District 13, or at least point me in the right direction, then I'll be out of your hair." He looked into the man's fearful eyes, "Sorry. What's your name? Are you hurt?"