Don't Rest Your Head, Stay Awake Options

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur chuckled, odd was much better than frightening, "home." he answered jokingly, "But I have no idea how to get there from here. Hell, I don't even know if I'm in the same country anymore, what currency do you take?" He opened up his wallet and looked inside, he doubted any normal taxi could possibly charge him the entire sum - but this wasn't a normal place.
I need to get somewhere safe, maybe some information. This guy could be a silver lining, If he'll take the cash that is.

[Kratour]

Well, Tyler had always heard that you had to know when to walk away, and know when to run. He'd never really gotten it before, not really. It was just a few words that people would spout to make themselves seem clever, and it had always managed to do the opposite. Now though, now he was saying it, or thinking it or something, to himself. And yea, it still didn't feel all that witty, even when there was no one around to hear it. So wait, wasn't there a saying about that, too? ... Right, if a tree falls in the woods and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, given his last little realization, Tyler decided then and there that yes; yes the tree did make a sound. But wasn't something important happening, because you know, this whole thing is really quite Oh crap, I forgot about the guy. Tyler blinked, dragged out of his brief, incredibly stupid, monologue by whatever kind god may be looking out over him somewhere. He briefly considered turning to try to move through the three men behind him, but frankly he'd rather fight this one guy than the other three, no matter how creepy he was. So Tyler took a few quick steps, closing the distance between himself and the "Tac" Man before throwing a wide right hook, swinging his fist out at the side of the man's head with as much force as he could muster. He needed to take that guy down, then get moving as quickly as possible if he wanted to get away from the other three, so he'd need to make this little fight quick.

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

The cabbie opened the door for Arthur, letting him hop in. Arthur grew more and more restless as the vehicle rolled through the streets, the occasional local looking at him through the window with empty eyes.
“I take it you’re new around here?” asked the cabbie as he made another turn.

---

Tyler Willow

The Tacks Man recoiled, the fist striking his face. Turns out though that the most force Tyler could muster wasn’t very much because the Man simply returned to form.
“Oh! So we have ourselves a tough guy,” chuckled.
It was then that Tyler regretted taking on the man with metallic points for fingers, for the he could feel himself being stabbed in the gut seconds later. After confirming that the Tacks Man’s hand was indeed plunged into his gut, he looked up to see the other hand approaching his head.
“Too bad it didn’t pay off.”
The pin pierced Tyler’s head, but for reasons he couldn’t tell why, it hadn’t killed him. He could feel the pin probing around his mind searching for something. After being probed for about a minute, the Tacks Man withdrew his hands, letting Tyler fall to the ground.
The Tacks Man inspected the merchandise he received from Tyler. A photograph of a young girl.
“What a small world,” he remarked, raising an eyebrow.

[Sparrowsmith]

"oh not just new" Arthur answered to the taxi driver, who was slowly growing on him, "Fresh. I walked through a door, met some bastard straight from a horror film, got a pin in my head, and then found you." Arthur smiled, somehow he'd survived that pin through the head, and now the idea that certain death isn't certain here was actually a relief; he was more intrigued than afraid having lived through death.
"I take it you know this place pretty well though. I haven't got much to offer, but any advice you can give me would be just golden right now." he chuckled a little, "And if not, then at least tell me a good place to play cards around here."

[Nicsp]

Daniel covered his face as he had a flashlight aimed at him, more trouble, alredy? What a pain. As he managed to make out the figure of a policeman he raised an eyebrow, not really knowing whether he should be glad for the fact he found something that doesn't want to maul his face off or sad because...Well...It was a cop, cop and hitmen don't really get along very well...But then again, this cop probably didn't even know who he was...Daniel would've tried to hide away the gun in his body, waving over to the policeman. "Uhm...Hello."

[Kratour]

Oh god it hurt. It hurt like it should have killed him, which to be fair, it probably should have. Really, spiky fingers through the head; who does that!? And then he pulled something out, and things just got a bit weirder. Looking up at the "Tacks Man", Tyler could see he was holding some sort of picture. It was strangely vivid, and though it took a few seconds to register, the little girl in the picture was definitely familiar. Rather suddenly, the air of cynical humor that had surrounded Tyler even through his failed attack vanished, only to be replaced by an almost tangible feeling of anger that filled out around him. "You..." He said, his voice still dragging out slightly as he was reeling back from the pain he'd only just received, "You know... Where is she..?" He moved his glare from the picture to the man holding it, looking him straight in the eyes as he spoke, "Give her back. You bastard..."

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

“I take it you ran into the Tacks Man then. Well one simple word of advice is to steer clear of him. You never know what he’ll “collect” next time. Damn bureaucracy around here throws around fees for simply existing. System’s screwed up man.
As for a place to play cards around here, there’s always the Gambling House on the south side of town, but you really don’t want to go there. If you just want a good old friendly game, than you might want to find Roy. He likes the occasional visitor who isn’t of the horror variety.”
Eventually the cabbie pulled up to a street before stopping.
“Well this is as far as I can take ya. Get into that alley over there and take the door on the left.”
The cabbie then cut the engine before turning around to face Arthur. “Now then, about your fare. I think that betting ticket of yours should cover it.”
Sure enough, Arthur found a betting ticket from a horserace from who knows how long ago. Why was it in his pocket? It wasn’t like he made a habit of keeping these things on him.

---

Daniel Willet

The policeman adjusted the brightness on his light as to not blind Daniel as he approached.
“It’s a little late to be walking around. You lost there?” he asked, though he seemed to ask it out of obligation than out of actual concern.
He eventually stopped as he got within a few feet of Daniel. “And what is that horrible stench?”

---

Tyler Willow

“Can’t give back what I don’t have,” replied the Tacks Man as he turned away to leave. “All I did was collect her payment and sent her on her way. Though I don’t know how long a girl her age will last out here.”

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur smiled, "This ain't no ordinary city, that's for sure" handing over the betting ticket. He struggled to remember exactly what the tacks man had taken from him, he recognized it... numbers... He snapped out of thought and headed for the door, bidding a final goodbye to the driver before heading down the alleyway.
Tacks man... Tax man. Weird place.
He came to the door on the left and took a sigh of hesitation before thrusting it open.

[Nicsp]

Daniel chuckled, scratching the back of his head for a bit before he started. "Ah...Sort of." He replied, trying to think of a story he could make up as he spoke, something not to raise suspicion about himself..."I uh...Dropped something and it fell down to the sewers, I had to go down there and search for it." He shrugged some, waving a goodbye. "I think I can find my way back home from here though, so...If you'll excuse me, officer."

[Ryuga]

Arthur Twist

Arthur half expect a blinding light to escape the door as he opened the door to welcome him back to his world. Needless to say, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic.
He was merely greeted with the view of the city, under the night sky. This time a familiar city, and a familiar sky. Though he couldn’t be sure of anything anymore, he was confident that he was back in the normal world. There was his apartment right there.
Sighing in relief Arthur walked up the stairs to his room. Maybe this had all been some sort of weird acid-trip. He would have to ask Mitch if they had been hanging around any druggies that evening.
He unlocked the door walking in before settling down at his desk, leaning over to rest a bit. After letting the comfort of his place sink in, he pulled out a couple papers, and booted up his computer, ready to work on that project. It wasn’t like he would be able to sleep anyway, though today was likely the closest he would likely get to.

And so Arthur lived happily ever after, forgetting that one surreal experience he had that night.
…
…
…
Not!

Arthur frantically looked over the material. All the equations, all the concepts he had committed to memory had escaped him. The numbers on the pages were reduced to mere gibberish.
It didn’t make sense. He had spent years studying this. So why was he reduced to a mere commoner in the realm of physics?
And then it hit him.
“You’ll never know what he’ll collect”

“Well Shit.”

---

Daniel Willet

It must have been something Daniel had said, for the officer walked straight up to him as he attempted to walk away.
“Mighty dangerous hour to be walking about be yourself,” he said in a more confrontational manner than before. “Let me escort you. I insist.”

[Kratour]

Though still on the ground, and still in great pain, Tyler reached out after the man as he walked away. "Wait... You bastard, you..." His hand slowly closed into a fist and he brought it down, striking the pavement angrily as he stared after the man, his eyes growing blurry with... anger, sorrow... maybe pain? Yea, probably that last one since his head hit the pavement pretty quickly after that. He rolled over onto his side to stare up at the sky, and was still for a bit before turning to face the men who had accompanied him to his current location. He spoke before he could even see them, saying, "Do you know where she is? Tell me!"

[Nicsp]

Daniel scratched the back of his head, forcing out a laugh, this cop was going to prove to be a nuisance...Well, looking on the other hand though, he could be useful if the people who were after him had actually alredy moved over to his house...Daniel grinned some. "Of course, if you're so worried about me, who I am to turn down such a gentle offer." Daniel turned around to face the street. "Very well then, let's get going." And with that, he'd now try to walk off to his usual hideout, a small house, not far from there.

[Ryuga]

Tyler Willow

The two of the men simply ignored Tyler and followed after their boss. The third stopped to look down at him, perhaps out of pity. Tyler couldn’t tell. Regardless though the man stayed silent and proceeded to follow after his companions, leaving Tyler on the street.

Status:
Vitality: Fair
Stress: Calm
Sanity: Sound

---

Daniel Willet

Except he didn’t. Walking a few blocks, he soon realized that this place wasn’t the town he began in. None of the streets were familiar. Buildings were leaning into one another.
He could see a clock tower in the distance, and he could swear it had one more number on it than it was supposed to.
The patrol man must have noticed Daniel’s confusion for he spoke up.
“You really know where you going?” he asked, before pulling out a pocket watch. He inspected it briefly before closing it and putting it away. “We really want to get indoors before the 13th hour.”

[Nicsp]

Daniel looked around one more time, once more trying to make out where he was. "...Fuck..." Was the only thing he muttered up as he sighed, he slowly turned to the cop, scratching the back of his head. "Thirteenth hour...? Anyways..." Daniel shook his head. "I guess I must've gone a bit too far from where I expected I had gone...So...Yeah, I don't really have any idea of where I am...Sorry." He said, shrugging some.

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur grabbed his phone frantically and dialed.
"Hello? Harry it's me. Yes I know it's late, just listen. I have to take some time off the project. No, I can't really explain why" he glanced at the jumbled mess of symbols and hieroglyphs where his work was supposed to be, "Family crisis. I'm going to be... Out of town. I don't know how long, just listen, this is important. A week. Tops. Thank you Harry, you're a lifesaver"

With the small problem of work dealt with, Arthur needed to go back in. He relayed the memory in his head over and over, searching for how he got there in the first place.
Was the door always that close.
Different door. Had to be. He'd seen a few of them lately, doors he'd never seen before, windows too, he'd shrugged them off. He began forming a plan, first he'd rummage his kitchen for something to eat - this could take a while, so he'd better be full - then he'd head out onto the streets, looking for one of these doors...

He walked towards his kitchen when a thought occurred to him.
You draw Cowboys on the pre-flop, you're heads up texas hold 'em, your opponent goes all-in. What are the odds you'll have the nuts by the river? He paused for a moment, I don't know. He thought again, what are the odds you'll find a third Cowboy? he paused again, Damn! One more reason I have to do this.

[Kratour]

A soft thud filled the air around Tyler as his head dropped back onto the pavement, bouncing slightly once before coming to a rest. Probably should've hurt, but it didn't, not really. Tyler was simply staring blankly at the slightly overcast sky, and he lay there like that, unmoving, for the better part of an hour. Then, when it seemed like he'd simply fallen asleep, or died or something, he sat up and cupped the back of his head with one hand. Gingerly, he pushed himself to his feet, and then he took a moment to look around. "Nope," he muttered to himself, "still don't recognize anything." Despite his words, however, Tyler did in fact recognize the way he came, and so he turned and started to walk in that direction. He wasn't really paying attention to anything around him, he was too busy thinking. What the hell had that guy done to him, and why did he have a picture of... that girl..? He took a quick glance, sweeping his eyes across the street before him before bringing them back up to the sky. A sigh pulled from his lips and he finally took his hand off the back of his head. "Damn that guy," he mumbled a little bit louder than he'd intended to, "what was he playing at?"

This post has been edited by Kratour: Aug 9 2011, 04:24 PM

[Ryuga]

Daniel Willet

“Thought so,” replied the patrol man as he turned the other way and signalled for Daniel to follow. “I know a place you can stay until tomorrow.”
The two walked for a couple minutes, picking up the pace when they heard the clock tower in the distance strike midnight. The trip went on with no interruptions, thankfully, and they soon wound up by a small shack. The patrolman knocked, whispering something before the door opened. It appeared to be a one-room shack, save for the door at the very back. The people there to greet them was a very frightened woman and what appeared to be her son.
The patrolman walked in, heading over to a door at the back. The patrolman opened it before gesturing Daniel to go in. “After you.”
Daniel walked down the stairs which were at the other end of the door, entering what would appear to be the basement. Just like the first floor, it was one small room with only a few shelves to decorate the walls, and a candle lit table in the center. Sitting by the table was a lone man, his attention fixed on a book.
“Brought someone for you Roy,” the patrolman spoke up.
The man looked up, putting his book aside. “Didn’t hear you come in,” he replied before turning to Daniel. “Have a seat.”

---

Arthur Twist

After filling his belly with leftovers in his fridge, and gathering some supplies he deemed useful for the trip, Arthur went outside looking for his alternate dimension.
It was harder than he thought it would be. Most of the strange portals looked into a night sky, or had some strange symbol on them. Under the cover of night, it became harder to find these obvious signs.
Eventually though, he found himself a doorway to another dimension if he’d ever saw one. A door right in the middle of the street, attached to nothing else physical.
He opened it, looking through and around the door before walking in. Indeed, he was greeted with the same surreal city that he had been to just hours earlier.
Then he heard the clock tower chime in the distance. 1...2...3... …12...13? The doorway behind him made a clicking noise, as if someone had just turned the lock. Grabbing the door handle, Arthur found out, sure enough, that the door would no longer open.

---

Tyler Willow

Tyler’s train of though was interrupted by the familiar sound of the clock-tower. He swore the clock rang more times than it was supposed to. 13 chimes? Really?
Just as the last chime ended, noises of doors locking surrounded him. Tyler looked around trying to piece together when he heard a low animalistic growl.
He looked up at the rooftops where he swear he heard the noise to see…

[Show/Hide] thing

The monster leapt down from the rooftops, ready to feast.

[Nicsp]

Daniel would've kept his hands on his pockets as he walked, looking around casually as he followed the policeman down that weird place. Daniel kept on following until they arrived at that small room with the man the cop had called "Roy". Daniel chuckled some and got a seat, crossing his legs and leaning back, smiling. "So uh...Roy, is it? He told me you could get me somewhere where to stay for the night, i'd be pretty glad for that, if you want payiment for it I can provide it to you by tommorow after I figure out how get back to my own place."

[Sparrowsmith]

Arthur continued trying to open the door in desperation, but it was no use. He was trapped. Turning around, he faced the streets where the Tacks man prowled and prepared himself. He didn't have a plan, in fact it only just dawned on him how stupid he was being, but that didn't really matter now. Turner swore he could he noises in the distance, and wasn't too keen on finding out what they were, he began walking in the opposite direction.

[Kratour]

Oh... Tyler thought as the creature fell from above, landing before him with a rather hungry look about it. A moment passed, "Oh shit." Tyler mumbled out loud. He stumbled back a few steps before tripping and falling to the ground, cursing silently to himself as he did so. "The hell is wrong with this place!?" he said, voice rising until he was yelling. That done, he worked his way up to an awkward sort of crouch and stared angrily at the thing that seemed pretty damn intent on finishing him off. "You, I've had just about enough of this today..." Warily, Tyler pushed himself to his feet, glaring at the thing the whole while as he reached down within himself into something he'd never really touched on before, but something that, somehow, he knew was there. A strange, detached feeling of fear filled his mind before flooding out, feeling the air with it's invisible presence, and moving to press itself around the thing as he spoke. "I've been herded like an animal, and stabbed and shoved around, and I've had enough of it! So I'm telling you this once and only once," his eyes flashed angrily as the fear around the creature intensified, "get lost!"

(Feel like I'd ought to point out that I'm using my Madness Talent here.)