The library had long since closed, dusk setting in the City Slumbering. Not a single person inside save for one: the librarian Tyler Willow, who sat at the checkout desk. In his hand was a hard-cover novel. He flicked through the pages, reading intently.
Today had been a slow one. The lack of visitors meant a less closing duties. There was nothing waiting for him at home either, so he might as well read in peace before it got too late.
It was only a few pages later before Tyler encountered a passage he did not like. The protagonist had mentioned importance of his family, especially that of his sister. Just the mere sight of the word resurfaced feelings of guilt.
Sighing, he place the book down. That was enough reading for today. A quick look at the clock showed the time at just past eight o’clock. More time had passed than he had realized.
Tyler stood up, ready to close up, when the lights flickered and failed altogether. It wasn’t like this was the first time this happened. There a number of rational explanations that would account for the power failure. Perhaps it was faulty wiring, maybe some electrical work a block away. Regardless, Tyler’s paranoia flared, but this time, his paranoia was met with merit, as a creaking sound of a door opening (those stereotypical ones featured in the horror genre) was heard from behind him.
Tyler was used to catching glimpses, or hear things other people couldn’t see or hear. This time was different. He could feel a physical presence in the room. Whatever had been tiptoeing around for so long had finally decided to show itself. He slowly turned around to find three men, clad in grey business suits, their fedora’s tilted just enough to cover their face. Behind the three was a door which was not there before, or rather, should not have been there at all.





“So how long have you been considering these thoughts of self-worthlessness?” asked the Dr. Kolya as he scribbled something on his notepad.
Vincent, looked up at the ceiling contemplating things, resting his head against the arm of the couch. Well, it wasn’t really a couch, just a glorified mattress.
In all his years Vincent never imagined that he would end up in some couch-psychologists office. That was something he had only seen on television years ago. Who knew people still practice this stuff even now?

It all started with any other day at work. Now that sleep had officially dropped off the mandate, Vincent spent most of his free time working on his companies projects. Work prevented him from thinking about the depressing things, so he spent A LOT of time working. His efforts alone would have pulled the company ahead if he wasn’t constantly revising things. Nothing ever met his standards.
How long had it been since he last slept? A month or so. Regardless, by that time he started hallucinating, seeing extra doors here and there, windows that captured the night sky even during the daytime. Sometimes he would see things creeping out of the shadows in his office, or people that no one in his office would notice. Eventually he just broke down in his office. It was a wander he didn’t have a panic attack sooner.
He had no history of mental illness, so rather than hand him over to the men in white coats, he was sent into mental rehab.

“Mr Cambridge,” he heard the doctor repeat, as he snapped back into the present day. “You might be thinking this is a pile of BS right now. But you’d be amazed at how much people improve when they open up about their problems.”





Arthur looked intently as smoke poured out of his opponents mouth.
“Ya, I got nothing,” his opponent conceded as he flopped the cards onto the table, revealing a two and seven of varying suits.
Arthur placed his own cards down, indicating that he had been sitting on pocket rockets the whole time.
He didn’t know how Mitch talked him into a night of poker today. It had been months since he had completely abandoned any form of gambling. Still it was nice earning a few extra bucks, even if it amounted to just glorified pocket change.
“And here I thought you’d be a little rusty after the break,” remarked Mitch, as he stamped out his cigarette in the ashtray. “Well you’ve officially cleared me out,” he continued while standing up. “That’s a good place to call it. You’re still up for drinks tomorrow right?”
Arthur nodded in agreement, standing up as well. The group exchanged some goodbyes, before Arthur made his way out of the basement, though he could have swore the door out was further in than he remembered.
Imagine his surprise when he walked out only to find night had already fallen. It didn’t match Arthur’s judgement. He was good at keeping track of time, even without a watch (which he had left in his office, probably under a pile of papers), and he figured that it should be early dusk at best. How did he let time escape him? Regardless, he started making his way back to his office, though the inconsistency still alive and well in the back of his mind.
As he continued to walk, he began to notice these weren’t even the streets he had come from. Even the architecture was out of place.
Sudden night, unfamiliar streets, architecture a couple centuries behind the times. Yeah, something was definitely wrong.
As much as he would have like to theorize dimensional anomalies, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He turned towards the noise. Maybe it could be some stranger who could give him directions.


“Good evening Mr. Twist,” the figures spoke, adjusting the hat on his head. “I’ve come to collect your payment.”





The familiar sound of gunshots rang out as Daniel ducked into a nearby alley. It was amazing how a simple mission could spiral into chaos in just a few moments.
It was supposed to be a simple task. Break in, kill the guy, and leave. Turns out the guy was a pretty influential crime boss. Daniel still wasn’t sure how he managed to avoid the spray of machine gun fired he encountered seconds upon entering the premise.
But the men didn’t let up. Most times he failed a mission, his pursuers eventually gave up, instead returning to the target than to spread their numbers too thin. These guys, they were hell-bent on scouring every inch of the city for him.
Daniel hadn’t even finished catching his breath before he heard more shouting close by. He pulled himself to his feet and continued fleeing. He eventually stumbled upon a manhole as he ran into the open streets. Well, he wasn’t safe out on the surface, so what was to stop him from taking refuge in the sewers? So he quickly removed the cover and slipped in, all the while, ignoring the crescent moon pattern.

You are now in...

The Warrens

Daniel set foot in the sewer tunnels, the sewage coming up to his ankles. He picked one foot up, disgusted at the filth. The sewers themselves were a dark to be a network of tunnels. His eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness, and he slowly waded through the sewage. As he moved forward, he began to see a figure in the distance. At first it was too dark to make out, but eventually it was clear something was walking towards him. Its posture slanted, and moving clumsily like a zombie.

Tyler gave a bit of a double take, staring rather intently at the trio before him. His fingers tightened reflexively over the keys in his pocket, which he'd been fishing out only a matter of moments earlier; so tightly that it was beginning to send a dull throb through his reddening hand. It took a moment before Tyler was able to move, or even think, but when he could he spoke in a clear, casual tone. "Hey guys, it's closing time. Any chance I could get you to head out?" Curiously, even as he spoke to the strange, strange men, his eyes seemed to be drawn to the door behind them. Now I know that wasn't there before... Tyler thought, tilting his head very slightly to the side in a curious fashion. Then his attention shifted back to the men and his curious eyes took on a wary appearance, And these guys... I know I didn't hear them come in.

Arthur stood dumbfounded for a moment, unable to string together another thought of confusion, before thinking aloud,
"What do you mean?" he stammered, sweat forming on his brow, "I haven't missed any payments." Swallowing his doubts, he walked forwards, "And the next one isn't due until Monday. Antonio knows that." Arthur took a few more steps towards the mysterious figure. He didn't look like anyone from the club, and Antonio usually had the courtesy to show up himself. This wasn't adding up. Arthur glanced about himself, trying to find his bearings, but the time had changed, the city had changed, and it seemed the people had changed too.
He turned away from the figure and back to the door - it was gone. He could feel the adrenaline start pumping, some primitive and instinctive response to the unknown: Fight or flight; Do or die. A voice creeps out from the recesses of his mind and comforts him with the two words of motivation he needs:
Run, Arthur.

Without a second's hesitations he sprinted down the street. The moment before takeoff he could practically feel the breath of his pursuer's intent on his neck, sending chills down his spine. It wasn't hard to justify running, scary figure in a scary place, even the smallest odds of harm are too big a risk to take when there's little to be gained. For once being an almost compulsive gambler seemed to be a good thing. He knew he had to get to higher ground if he wanted to find somewhere familiar, but going into a building was far too risky. Scouring the skyline of unfamiliar buildings, he could tell that there was a gradient over to the right. When he got to the junction at the end of the street, he set off up the gradient. A moment later curiosity got the better of him, and he turned his head to see if the figure was still there.

Daniel sighed heavily as he looked at his own foot. "Great...There goes a perfectly fine pair of shoes." He blinked a few times, as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the sewers...And his nose tried to adapt to the smell. "Well, looking on the bright side for those guys, even If the bullets weren't even able to kill me then at least there's a chance i'll die by intoxication by staying in these sewers." He started walking down the sewers for a bit. "Let's see...I guess i'll just keep going down these sewers until I hit a way out...Prefferably as far from here as possible."

He then spotted that...Thing. Moving towards his direction, he pointed his gun. A sewers worker? No, didn't seem the case? Why would it be exactly here? Another one of the men chasing him, possibly? Could they have been waiting for him here? How many more could there be? Maybe they had the place surrounded alredy, he needed to get out of there, fast. But first things first. "Sorry to make your grave in here, bud."

After saying those words, Daniel shot twice towards it, if whatever he shot at fell, he'd then walk over to check out what it was. If not, well...Then he'd just start running the opposite direction, no point in wasting ammo.

The man in front turned to the other two. Those two proceeded to move to diagonally, surrounding Tyler, in a sort of triangle formation. Tyler could only look on in confusion, unsure of what the men would do next. Tensions were rising, but the man in front took the liberty of breaking the ice.
“Oh, don‘t worry. We‘ll be heading out soon,” he began, slowly, but casually walking up to Tyler. The other two men grabbed Tyler from behind putting his arm in a bind. The man was now inches away from Tyler, his hat still covering his face. “But,” he continued, his voice now carrying a hint of malice, “Our boss has some interest in you, and we can’t just leave without you.”





The figure was not there when Arthur turned around. He let out a sigh of relief, thinking he had lost it. The moment of relief was quickly replaced by fear, however, as he heard the sound of nails against slate walls. The sound continued to grow louder and louder and finally stopped.
“Hello.”
Arthur nearly jumped, turning around again to encounter the figure yet again.
“Oh, this isn’t about any debts you may have“ spoke the figure as he held up his hand, revealing each nail to be long, slender, and very pointy pins. “Monetary things don’t concern me.”





The sound of the gun echoed through the tunnels. Daniel couldn’t help but feel like he would regret doing that. On the positive note, the figure toppled over. The shot stuck true. Walking over to the body, Daniel found.

Daniel flinched, taking a couple steps backwards horrified at the sight. He didn’t have long to gather his bearings, however, as the sound of footsteps (lots of them) began creeping closer.

Answered to the sight with a few steps back and low "Ugh..." As he covered his mouth slightly with his free hand. "Well, that's not something you see everyday. Well, better you than me, I suppose. Man, am I gonna need a drink or something when i'm out of here." He'd say, crossing his arms, just then as he heard the footsteps. "Damnit..." He'd say as he started running away in the opposite direction from which the footsteps were coming from. "Wonderful, more trouble. Guess not even the sewers are safe anymore." He'd keep running until he found a way out of the sewers or the footsteps ceased.

"Well, Doc," Vincent started but his voice came out scratchy. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Well, Doc, I use to have trouble motivating myself to do things. And people would always tell me to think about my future. So I developed a bad habit of thinking too far into the future. Let's say I bust my ass off working at my company and make a small fortune then retire like society tells me I should. Then I do all the stupid stuff I never got to do because I never had time before. Y'know, take up golfing or painting or something. Then I die a sad, lonely death. My friends, family, and coworkers will be sad for awhile but they'll get over it. Then they'll die too and I'll eventually be forgotten. I'll only live on in the credit sequence of my games. Which I doubt most people read anyways. I know I don't. When I beat a game, I sit back in my chair, take a drink of soda, close my eyes and reflect on the experience. I'm sure that's what people do. Or go make a sandwich, take a piss, or just turn off the game. So I say to you: why? Why work hard everyday? Why go through all the pain and suffering of life? I'm just gonna lose it all in the end. There's no finish line where God hands me a big check and I get to have fun. All of my emotions, my experiences, my memories, everything will amount to nothing in the end." Vincent paused and let his shoulders sag. "That is why I feel worthless, Doctor. Because nothing in this world matters."

Daniel continued to run from the potential threat behind him, going random direction whenever he found a fork in the tunnels. God knows how many twists and turns there were in these damn sewers. But to his luck, Daniel soon found a ladder in the distance. A way out into the surface no doubt. Relieved, he ran straight to it, not realizing the sound of footsteps not his own.
Just then two figures appeared from the branching path to his right. They looked like rather ordinary folk, save for their aberration. There eyes, or rather, the lack of them, had a candle in each socket, which cast a pale blue light on the surroundings.
For a moment, everything stood still, as both parties seemed to register the encounter. Then the two figures lunged forward, letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

(No pic this time. Sorry.)





The doctor wrote something down on his notepad all the while mumbling, “Diminished sense of self-worth.” He set the pad aside, before addressing Vincent again. “Well Mr. Cambridge, I see that you find everything pointless. I wandered if you had ever thought of making your life worth something, not to the world, but to yourself.”
He paused as he looked over at his clock. “I’m not going to lie to you Mr. Cambridge. I can’t make your problems disappear in an instant. But before you leave, I want to drive home something important.”

Vincent soon found himself walking back to his office. The last couple minutes of his session involved the Doctor ragging on about how he was in charge of findings meaning in life, and to try new things to see if he enjoyed anything. Waste of time that was.
Frustrated, he kicked an empty soda can he found lying on the street. The can flew a few feet into the air before landing in front of some man in a trench coat. Vincent looked up, growing nervous by the minute. It was the same man who stood outside his office those quite nights. Watching, always watching.
He picked up the pace attempting to get away, but the man followed. And no matter Vincent went, or what attempts he made to lose the guy, the man was always there, just a few steps behind him.

Arthur lowered his guard, but not much. He glared at the sinister nails, or pins, and gulped heavily. "You have my attention, but I withhold the right to run if you creep me out again, and you're pretty damn creepy" he talked slowly, trying to distance himself away from the nails as he spoke. In the alleyway nearby he could see a staircase, well really it was a ladder, up the side of an apartment block. If he had to, he could use it to get up on the building - see where he is - then duck back down into the building to get away... Hopefully.

Tyler gave only a novel struggle, tugging his arms slightly to test the strength of his captors. That done however he loosened his muscles and focused his impassive face on the man who had approached from his front, puzzling out what the strange person could possibly mean. A few moments passed, his mind racing through various scenarios before settling on what was, at least as far as he could tell, the most probable case. His eyes narrowed slightly, It's them... "You... There's no way I'm..." Tyler's voice trailed off, another piece slowly clicking into his mind. If he was right and they were the ones he thought they were, then maybe... His eyes lowered thoughtfully, then he gave a sigh. "Yea sure," he mumbled, a tad annoyed with a hint of something darker filling in the edge of his voice, "I guess I've got nothing else going on."

Only now that that was said however, did Tyler even think to question the situation. Why now? he thought to himself, why me? "What do you want from me, though?" he said, slowly, his fear of the situation only now beginning to kick in. "I'm nobody- if you want the money, it's in the register, we don't even lock it. Books? They're on the shelf, the good stuff's on the far side of the room, third row." A meaningful silence grew and passed within the following few moments, and Tyler continued in a slightly less sarcastic tone. "But you're not here for anything like that, are you..?"

Daniel frowned, raising his eyebrow a bit as he stared at the attackers. "Great...That aberration had a nice family." As the creatures lunged at him, Daniel would attempt to run towards the exit, deciding that it'd be better if he didn't waste his ammo. He would only fire at the things in case they started catching up with him.

In the attempt to escape, Arthur did just that, run into the alley attempting to use the ladder. For some reason, he didn’t hear his pursuer, didn‘t try to stop him, almost as if he wanted him to go up the ladder. He was almost up when a sharp pain shot through his foot and up his leg. He looked down to see a very familiar pin sticking out of the back of his ankle, pinning him to the wall.
His pursuer walked over to the ladder, looking up at Arthur before casually kicking the ladder down.
Arthur fell with the ladder, but with leg pinned against the wall, he didn’t join it when it hit the ground. Instead his body pivoted around the pin, and he found himself hanging upside down, his head only a few feet from the ground. There was no way a pin should support his kind of weight, but there it was holding him there.
“Don’t worry,” the figure spoke, holding out his pointy hand, one of his fingers noticeably missing. “This will only hurt a lot.”
The figure plunged one pin straight through Arthur’s head.
Normally a stake through the head would kill anyone. But, Arthur was very much alive, the excruciating pain was enough proof of that.
The figure continued to poke around his cerebrum casually, almost like a person looking for the right tool in his box, before finally withdrawing his hand. Arthur weakly looked up to see a bunch of papers now stuck on the pin. He also caught a couple symbols that may look something like this...



The figure pleased with his haul went to retrieve his pin, removing it from the wall and freeing Arthur, before going on his merry way.
As for Arthur, other than being left with one hell of a headache, was left perfectly intact. Despite have something pierce his leg, there was no blood or wound.

Status:

Vitality: Fair
Stress: Burdened
Sanity: Sound





The trio didn’t bother to answer, instead giving Tyler a small shove to get him walking. Predictably, they left the way they came, through the mysterious doorway that had materialized minutes earlier.
The doorway took them outside, to the surreal city covered in the blanket of night.
Tyler noticed that this wasn’t the city he was familiar with at all. No landmarks he could remember. Even the stars in the night sky were aligned in ways he never seen before.
The four of them walked for some time in silence. The three men not wanting to get acquainted with Tyler.
He was eventually lead to a deserted area of the streets. The three men looked around as if making sure they weren’t followed.
They waited for some time. Tyler grew restless, and was about to speak up when he heard a clicking noise.
The men perked up, turning towards the noise to see a man fiddling with what appeared to be his long slender fingers.
The men gave a sudden push, which knocked Tyler to the ground. He looked upward to see the fingers man walking up to him menacingly.





Daniel managed to reach the ladder, scrambling to climb up. But just when he thought he was home free, he felt a hand grasp his leg. He could feel the despair take over as he was yanked down from the ladder, landing back in the sewers with a splash. And then the monsters were on top of him.

Arthur stumbled out of the alley, found a wall to lean against, and promptly threw up. Never before had he been as disorientated or as scared as in that moment. Somewhere between how surreal and how real it was filled him with a strange thrill. There was something entirely abstract about the figure that attacked him. Arthur was all too used to situations where you may lose, and where your opponent will take everything - but here was a situation where you would certainly lose, and where the opponent spares you...

The gambler in Twist demanded to pursue the attacker, to track him down for another round, but the coward had a far more appealing plan: Sit still until the world made some sense again. He found himself climbing the ladder, successfully this time, and sitting on top of the roof. Wherever he was, it didn't look all too familiar - say for a few buildings here and there. Maybe living without sleep had finally driven him mad.

At first a strange sense of fascination came over Tyler. His head swiveled from side to side, staring at the strangely unfamiliar city around him as he was herded down the streets. However, the company was a bit dull and didn't seem like they wanted to really talk, though that didn't stop him from rambling on, asking numerous pointless questions about where they were and where they were going. Then they stopped and gradually that excitement died down into boredom... Though not longer after it just started to get a bit creepy. Maybe her was just being paranoid, but, looking around, Tyler could feel the oppression pouring out from around him. Fortunately for him, things didn't stay creepy for too long. No, a newcomer appeared and Tyler was shoved to the ground, and from there things devolved from creepy to terrifying. He looked on at the man with the long, slender fingers for a moment, frozen in fear and surprise. Oh he had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real, Tyler knew that, but somewhere in the back of his head a traitorous thought seemed to speak to him, But what if it is? With that thought in mind, Tyler scrambled to his feet, trying to move back, to stumble however haphazardly back away from the newly-come man who scared him almost unreasonably. He had to get away, he had to get away. "Who are you!" He yelled, suddenly. It's hard to say if he was legitimately curious or if he was simply trying to distract the man for a moment, though it was probably completely fair to assume that Tyler was a bit of both. Even in this unreasonable situation, he felt a tingling desire to know with what he was dealing.

This guy again...What does he want? Vincent thought to himself and kept walking. He crossed the street and the man followed. Okay, he's definitely following me. He broke into a sprint in an attempt to get away from him. "Someone help!" he shouted. "This man is chasing me!" But there was no one around to hear him. "Dammit!" he cried. He stopped and spun around to face his pursuer. "What?! What do you want from me?!" he yelled in desperation.

OOC: Just want to make things clear that all talents were effective the minute you started. I apologize for not saying so earlier.
Hasn't changed any outcomes however. Anyone who's come across Slender Fingers is supposed to lose the first time arround anyway.

IC:



You are now in...

The Rooftop Jungle

Arthur stood still looking over the horizon of bizarre buildings. Some buildings overlapped with others, jetting in. Others in weird angles. Buildings of all sorts of time periods mingled together.
He continued surveying until he found… a cab. At first he didn’t believe it. Someplace strange as this had something as convenient as a taxi.
Now he was faced with two options, if he wanted to pursue the taxi. He could go down to street level and risk meeting another freak like the last one, or travel over the rooftops. The buildings were packed together well enough that he wouldn’t have to be a parkour, expert to traverse it.





“Well, that’s not something I get to hear often. Most newcomers are too frightened to even ask that.” The figure took off his hat. “I suppose a former introduction is in order Mr. Willow. Everyone calls me The Tacks Man.” He lifted up his free hand revealing that his long slender fingers were actually pins. “I think you see why.”
By now the Tacks Man was just a few feet away from Tyler. He held out his pins ready to pierce Tyler. “Now then… On to business.”





The man took his chance to attack as Vincent turned to face him. He pinned Vincent to the ground.
A million scenarios were running through Vincent’s head. Was he going to mug him? Kill him? Maybe something even worse?
All of Vincent’s thoughts were dispelled as drool pooled out of the attacks mouth onto Vincent’s cheek.

Arthur grabbed the ladder and brought himself down from the building as quick as he could. He had no intention of getting into the cab, not unless the cab driver was ridiculously friendly, but he could probably glean some information - besides, they probably wouldn't accept him money here.
As he approached the cab, the window rolled down, and Arthur was able to ask,
"excuse me," he said as if a tourist, and not a prisoner in some bizarre world, "You couldn't tell me where the hell I am, could you?"
he looked around for emphasis, to make sure the driver knew he meant the city - not the street. It was only then he realized the driver could be like the last local he met. Twist ducked down so he could look at whoever he was talking to, and prepared to run again if necessary.

Alright, so the creepy ass, long fingered, weird talking, guy-like-thingy is approaching. Okay, that's fine, it's all just fine There's nothing to worry about, because really, what are they going to do? Tyler looked around, taking in the empty street around him once more and noting, not for the first time, how ominous that was. Right, they can kill me. With that thought, Tyler did the one thing that actually made any sort of sense- he tried to get the hell out of there. Spinning on his heel, and dashed away from the imposing man with incredible grace and wit and- Oh god, I forgot about them. He was brought to a stop pretty much instantly as the distance between him and those who had led him here was closed, then, with a frustrated sigh, he turned to face the long nailed man once more. "Okay, come on now, don't be that way. Can't we work something out; like you don't kill me with your fingers and I don't die screaming like a small child? 'Cause I like that, I like it a lot, to be frank." Tyler held his hands up defensively as he talked, trying to put them between him and the man in question. 'Cause that would totally stop him, really, you don't even know.

Wonderful, finally I can get out of this place and my clothes, hopefully, weren't too affected by the stin- His line of thought was interrupted as he was abruptly pulled down, his butt splashing against the sewer water. ...Great, now i'm gonna have to burn these clothes when I get out of here, the smell's never going to come off. This was pretty much the only thing in his mind as the whole scene played out. "And here I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this..." He said as his attackers got above him. "Well, I don't suppose you two are willing to talk this over, are you?"

At the first sign of aggresion, Daniel would activate his madness talent, dead eye, and use it to shoot at both of the things towering over him.

The cab driver turned around. He looked like a rather normal man for the most part, save for one thing. It looked as if the skin of his face was being stretched back. Whenever he made some sort of facial expression, it unnaturally exaggerated it. This made the smile on his face rather creepy.
“Now that’s the golden question isn’t it. Where are we really?” he chuckled as he gave his non-answer. “Though if you want me to take you somewhere specific, I’d be happy to oblige.”
Though the cabbie seemed unnatural, he didn’t look particularly threatening. That non-answer also didn’t leave him with very many options.





The Tacks Man laughed in an almost maniacal manner, approaching closer and closer. Tyler looked back. He had two choices. He could charge forward and try his luck with Mr. Fingers, or take out the three men behind him attempt to escape.





The figures slowed down as the clawed away at Daniel. Now with a clear shot, and his proficiency with his gun, he shot both of them in the face. The monsters recoiled as the shot rung true, and the fell backwards, the blue fire in there candle-eyes dimming before finally being extinguished.
Daniel panted, catching his breath, his heart racing, but slowly calming. He had managed to get out of that one with minimal wounds, and a lack of mental scarring. He had taxed some resources in that encounter, and he could feel it.
But with the attackers out of the way he climbed up the ladder back to surface world, only to find himself in a dark, empty, and very surreal-looking street.

Status:
Vitality: Lively
Stress: Calm
Sanity: Sound

It took a few minutes for Daniel to gather himself, and by that time he heard some footsteps coming his direction. Turning towards it, he was met with the blinding sight of a flashlight. Holding it, appeared to be a police-man. Not a demon policeman. Just, a plain, old, policeman.

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.

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.

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.





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.

"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."

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."

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..."

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.”

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.

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."

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.”

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!"

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.

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





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.”

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.

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.

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?"

“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.”





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’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…

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

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."

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.

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.)

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.

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.]

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."

"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?"

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?”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?"