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Bad Seed
Pulp Cthulhu in a wealthy Connecticut town, 1928. Kidnappers, baby snatching cultists, or alien abductors – what is happening to the local children? Find out – but do try not to get eaten… Investigation of things better left unknown and dire consequences. [d20 Call of Cthulhu RPG (horror)]

Henri Lamarre - played by Aman
Zoe Bodine - played by FeanorOnForge
'Lucky' Lucy McKinley - played by SilverAvian012
Earl Simpson - played by Killa_Robot
Arnold Penshaw - played by Aeon_Spiral
Freada Van Hoff - played by Drakilian

Maps & Other Info

Welcome to Ansonia Welcome to Ansonia, a wealthy Connecticut town circa 1928. Note the darkness of the map; the shadows have always held a bit of Ansonia – ever deepening, as impending threat of economic recession looms increasingly closer. The rise of darkness is near and the Mythos stirs…

1928 The Ansonia Day Wednesday, November 14th

Baby Snatchers Still At Large

It was another in an incomprehensible string of heartbreak and loss when Mrs. Shay Farrel, wife of Farrel Foundries CEO Henri Farrel, found an empty nursery yesterday morning as she went to wake her one year old daughter Ellen.

The window was found left ajar by the kidnapper and some light footprints in the flowerbed below suggest a culprit of light build, possibly female. A search by local authorities found only a small acid burned depression in the ground 130 yards east of the home in a wooded corner of the estate. The coroner examining the area found no evidence that the baby had been killed or hurt by the acid, so hope remains that she will be found and her kidnappers put to justice.

The strange acid burns are identical (and believed to be directly linked) to those found with the disappearance of three other small children in recent weeks, suggesting that a kidnapping ring or even (as has been voiced by concerned residents) an evil cult may be operating in the area.

Flash Back
Now let’s go back to when it all began – the date is June 26th 1928 (five months earlier)…

Current Map : http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=395.msg7029#msg7029

The Scene opens on Arnold, Lucy, and Freada, who have been sent by Social Services to bring in a two-year-old boy, Sonny Kingsly, from his abusive father, the wealthy socialite Mr. Brad Kingsly. The case was brought by Mr. Kingsly’s wife, Mrs. Sara Kingsly, who mentioned that the police were unwilling to get involved due to Mr. Kingsly’s political clout in town.

The case officially belongs to Arnold, but Social Services has asked Freada Van Hoff along to assess the child, as well as Mr. Kingsly’s mental state; and has recruited Lucy McKinley in case Mr. Kingly gives them any trouble.

The three of them arrive at the house in the afternoon without any trouble and are invited in by a seemingly hospitable Mr. Kingsly.

Brad Kingsly’s home is located in an affluent neighborhood of high-priced homes and overly-tended lawns. A privacy fence surrounds a patio and pool in the back, guarded by two Doberman Pinchers. A brand new, freshly polished, 1928 silver convertible Bentley sits in the open garage, a garish symbol of status on display.

Inside is a fastidiously well-kept home, luxuriously appointed with artistic fervor and the finest of furnishings. It is readily apparent from the décor that Mr. Kingsly has an affinity for both horses and sailing; pursuits common to society’s more privileged.

Everyone is just taking a seat in the sitting room, talking to Mr. Kingsly and his son, when suddenly his mood dramatically changes.

“He killed one of my dogs you know,” he abruptly states out of the blue. “I don’t know how he did it, but it’s done. I am a good father, raised with discipline. It will be the same for my own son. DAMN IT! I’LL RAISE MY SON HOW I SEE FIT!” Mr. Kingsly then leaps out of his chair and actually hurls it through the window with a crash. “SHE WON’T TAKE MY SON AWAY FROM ME! SHE WON’T HAVE HIM! – You! You won’t take him either!”

As everyone starts from the sudden and wildly dramatic swing in mood, Mr. Kingsly draws a P08 Luger pistol and levels it at everyone. It is clear from his ravening stare that he is going to shoot!

Meanwhile, Henri, Earl, and Zoe are driving by in Earl’s tow truck after a minor fender-bender with Henri’s car. Nothing major, but Earl is driving them back to the printing office, after having dropped the car off at Earl’s shop for a little body work. As they are going along, they suddenly see a chair crash through the window of nearby residence and notice Lucy McKinley’s car parked out front. A few neighbors on the sidewalk or out on their lawn stand gawking at the strange scene – which clearly, has ‘big story’ written all over it.

Snip.

Henri looks shocked, as he turns to Earl. 

"Earl, stop the car. Zoe, get your camera ready.  Whatever is going on in there, I need to know about it now. And I want to know it now,"  Henri says, as he quickly gets out of the car (when Earl stops the car), and begins advancing towards the house. 

"Way ahead of ya!" Zoe says already hopping out of the car. She loops the camera around her neck ready to use, grabbing her bag to keep it (and its contents) close.

OOC: Or not :(

.

Freada gives a slightly nervous smile at Mr. Kingsley while carefully feeling her pocket for her hypodermic needles.

"Now Mr. Kingsley, no need to point a gun at us, we're not going to take your child away, we're just here to talk to him. Are you ok with that? Will you let us talk to him and you? I'm sure you're a fantastic father, I know how important discipline is, you don't have to worry about us taking him away, we all know how great a father you are."

"Sir, whatever do you hope to accomplish? If you shoot us then, well then you really don't think the g'vment will just leave you alone do you? I mean, murder is prison. You lose your son either way. Why not do it civiliy and avoid all the extra paperwork?" Arnold grips his cane tightly ready to move into action should the need arise. Although he hopes he can reason with the deranged man.

Lucy tries to display a false sense of calmness when Freada starts to calm down Mr. Kingsley, while slowly and surely reaching out for her own gun but tries to do so with the utmost stealth and only draws it when an clear opening arises. She decides not to add anything to Arnold's or Freada's words as it would seem that no improvement could be made with persuasion alone.

Sweat tickles down her face with every passing second while slowly lowering her hand to her holster, while breathing shallow and keeping her eyes on Mr. Kingsley at all times.

Current Map : http://www.bountyheadbebop.com/forum/index.php?topic=395.msg7029#msg7029

Uh oh...

Mr. Kingsly seems oblivious to anyone’s words and only seems to be hesitating long enough to decide who to shoot first. When his raging eyes finally settle on Lucy, everyone knows what is coming next.

Arnold however, with cane in hand, tries to knock the gun from Mr. Kingsly’s grasp – but the ravening lunatic leaps back out of the way as Arnold swings twice at him.

Henri meanwhile, makes it up to the large bay window in front of the house and looks in, as Earl is parking the tow truck and Zoe is gathering the gear. Henri sees the wealthy socialite, Brad Kingsly, inside with the others, but he has drawn a gun on them and shoots at Lucy!

A loud bang is heard and shocks the gathering bystanders – as the bullet zings past Lucy’s head and out the window past Henri.

As this goes on, Freada remains calm and discretely pours some chloroform on a rag. Hopefully, Mr. Kingsly won’t be able to hit anyone before she has a chance to use it.

In response to being shot at meanwhile, Lucy’s training takes over and she has her Smith & Wesson .45 in hand. Two even louder shots fire out – and both center mass hits shred Mr. Kingsly’s heart and lungs – covering the wall behind him in the gore.

Mr. Kingsly is killed instantly and falls over with a thud, smashing a coffee table as he goes down.

In the dead silence that follows, Henri – still standing outside the window – briefly notices Sonny Kingsly’s eyes flash solid black, then return to normal.

“Why did you kill my daddy?” the boy asks rather impassively considering what just occurred…

 

"Son you saw what happened, he shot at us. I'm sure given the chance Lucy here wouldn't have killed him. It's just the way the cards fell this time around, albeit unfortunate. Son we're going to need to talk to you when you've had a chance to collect yourself. I am sure Freda here would be more than willingly to help you in any way you need it." Arnold says to the boy as he goes over and taps Mr. Kingsly's body with the tip of his cane.

Earl, hearing the shots, immediately grabs the hunting rifle he keeps in the back of his truck, and runs across the grass to Henri and the broken window.

"What's going on Henri? Is everyone alright?"

He asks hurriedly.

"No troubles Earl, seems like Lucky had everything under control." Hanri says, nodding to Earl, as he heads to the door to enter the house. 

"Zoe, take some pictures of the scene, then come over and we'll talk to those inside." 

Earl glances through the window and sees the dead body and boy beside him, then follows Henri inside.

"Poor boy, seeing his father killed in front of him. Why'd they kill him anyway?"

"That's what I hope to find out Earl. Hopefully, the ones inside have an answer." Henri replies. 

Lucy's face visibly goes pale as she returns her weapon in her holster, her gun was still hot from the sudden ignition of gunpowder, the scent of gunpowder was all she took in until the boy started to ask why she killed his father, out of sheer guilt she refrains from answering the boy's question, turns towards the window and covers her eyes with her right hand, tears soon streamed down her face as she supported her body against the wall beside the window.

''T...Thank you, Arnold.'' She softly stuttered while her emotions flowed freely. 

Freada is visibly shaken by the man's death, so much so that she nearly uses her own chloroform rag to wipe her face. She catches herself and tucks away the thing, then says "Well... that w-was quite unpleasant. Could someone please call the police? There is quite a mess to clean up here... Arnold, I suppose you will take the child anyways, considering lucy just killed his father..."

She feels disturbed by the child's lack of any emotional response

Perhaps he's in shock? Poor child, to have this happen...

"Sonny, Sonny would you like to talk with me for a dew minutes alone? We'd just go to the next room, I promise we won't hurt you, I just need to speak to you, is that all right with you Sonny?"

Zoe sprints towards the window with her camera ready, as he nears she quickly takes a couple of pictures inside the room on reflex before pausing.

"What on earths going on here?!"

"Do you mind? This boy just lost his father, report later, you know when he's at least left the room?"

Goddamned vulture Arnold thinks to himself.

Zoe just stares at the blood ignoring whats sad to her for a few seconds.

"What? Oh! sorry!" she drops the camera back around her neck. "I just, but what happened here?" she stammers out, clearly upset by the situation.

Arnold draws closer to Zoe and lowers his voice.

"The father stricken with grief, fired upon us. We retaliated, he is dead, and the boy saw it all. That is what happened."

 

"Huh?" little Sonny Kingsly says in reply to Freada's invite to talk to her alone in the other room and gives her a confused look. He does however, give her his hand and allows her to lead him into the den across the hall from the sitting room - where he sits down on the rug and stares blankly at the floor.

It suddenly occurs to Freada that the complex sentence structure the two year old boy used in the other room 'why did you kill my daddy' was rather advanced for his age...

Arnold looks around the room at the decorum. He finds that he fancies a lot of the art here. He figures if he had a large enough place he may decorate the same. He scans for anything that may stand out, or maybe haphazardly placed. All while avoiding the body and the pooling blood.

Arnold does not find anything otherwise out of the ordinary in the sitting room...

After Freada and the boy left, Lucy dried her tears, composed herself and reassures herself that this was an action that had to be done.

C'mon Lucky, get a grip! You know darn well that you had no other choice!

After trying to regroup her own thoughts she goes outside to light a cigarette, she inhales the smoke deeply before exhaling donut-shaped smoke rings and waits for the police officers, ready to explain what happened. 

Henri quickly enters the house, and heads over to 'Lucky' Lucy. He pulls out his notebook and pen, and coughs a bit. 

"Excuse, Ms. McKinley, may I ask you a couple of questions? Why did you shoot the man? Why did he shoot at you? Why are you here?" He asks, quickly. 

"Vultures" Arnold whispers to himself.

 (OOC: Lucy stated going outside to smoke and Henri stated going inside then asking questions so I have to assume they are in or near the doorway therefore near where Zoe is standing just ouside the window.)

Zoe is still shaken up but hearing the questions being asked nearby she moves over closer. She sees Henri's note pad is already out so doesn't get here own out an instead just tries to listen in on the answers

OOC: Whoops. 

OOC: Holy shit, this kid is two? I was thinking he was around 6.

Meanwhile, the dogs bark out back and scratch at the gate from the gunshots, while concerned neighbors gather at the periphery, but stay well enough away and wary.

One man yells over but does not approach, "I called the police and they are on the way. Anyone hurt?"

In the far distance you can hear sirens...

Once Freada enters the other room, she sits Sonny down and talks to him, trying to be soothing

"Sonny, you seem like a very smart boy, do you understand what just happened in there?"

"Huh?" he says again, then frowns angrily and says, "Dogs are dumb! I hate Dogs!"

What... why is he talking about dogs...? His father has just been killed! Maybe... maybe he's just trying to cope with the loss, to forget that his father has just been killed. Verdammt, muss die Leiden dieses Kind fühlen

His father mentionned a dog, maybe i'll just continue with that for now...

"I know dogs are dumb, they're so loud and they pee everywhere, they're such mean animals. Do you hate your dogs? The ones you have here?"

She holds the boy by the shoulders and sits next to him, still very worried at the damage this event might have done to him.

"They bite!" the boy replies and shows Freada his hand - though she is unable to see anything really wrong with it and certainly no dog bites.

"Where do they bite you schatzchen?"

 

Lucy manages to open the door before getting ambushed by Henri and his barrage of questions, usually she would regard the situation with calmness but now she has reached a point where she really doesn't want to be answering questions.

''No Comment!'' She shouted before slamming the door behind her and began walking her car (which I assume is the car on the porch).

She lights her cigarette and began to make donut-shaped smoke rings while focusing on the sirens to keep her mind off on her act of self defense.

Henri raises his eyebrow, and shakes his head. 

"You can't expect us to simply stop asking questions, Lucky. The public needs to know what occurred here." Henri says, writing some notes. 

''Sure! Of course you can Henri. Do you mind if I can catch my breath though and talk to the police first!?'' Lucy stated with clear agitation, she takes a drag of her cigarette and forces herself not to exhale smoke in Henri's face.

For heaven's sake! Can you just shut it and let me be for a second.

"But then the story will be old news, Lucky. You know how fast stuff gets around in this town. It's just a couple of questions, nothing to get so agitated about," Lamarre says, still writing on his notepad. 

OOC:

What happened: PI defends herself against crazy shooting lunatic with gun

What Aman will say happened: PI brutally murders old man in front of two year-old son

OOC: ^_^ (nah, but that would be hilarious.)

''Go try your luck elsewhere or speak to me after I've done business with the police. Until then I'm not willing to share my story. I wish you a good day Henri.'' With that she abruptly broke off the conversation, Took another drag of her cigarette and blows it forcefully to her right side. Signaling the end of their encounter. 

"If that how you want to appear in the papers, sure. Don't know if it'll help your reputation, I distinctly remember that you lost out due to others taking credit for your work. (OOC: I'll assume that's common knowledge (or at least, knowledge a reporter like Henri would know)) But, if that's what you want to do, that's what will happen." Henri says, nodding sadly, and walking away from Lucky Lucy. 

''Alright! I'll indulge you with a couple answers.. I'll stop whenever I want.. So ask before I change my mind.'' Lucy stated with reluctance.

Seems that Henri's words touched a sensitive subject for her.

"Thank you, Lucky. Now, if I may ask, what happened here?" Henri says, nodding, and jotting down notes. 

''Freada van Hoff, Arnold Penshaw and myself were asked by social services to bring Mr. Kingsley's son, named Sonny away from his Father.''

Lucy took a drag of her cigarette and exhales the smoke through her nose before continuing.

''He let us in without problem we had small banter before he suddenly turned a 180 degree in his personality and threw a chair out of his window and drew a Luger on Freada, Arnold and myself. Freada and Arnold tried to calm him down and he failed, so he took aim at me and was about to shoot until Arnold swiped at with his cane causing him to misfire and the bullet failed to hit me. In an act of self defense and in order to save everyone else I was forced to grab my pistol and fire 2 shots in his torso....''

Lucy's voice trailed off at the end and she looks at her feet for a split second and tries to hold back oncoming tears. But she soon looks at Henri again with agitation and tears in her eyes.

''Now that I've indulged you, can you please give me a moment to recuperate?''

Henri writes down a number of notes, and nods. 

"Thank you, Lucky. I apologize for the brutish tactics, but sometimes they are neccasary. I appreciate your explanation of what occured." He says, smiling, and begins to walk over to Arnold Penshaw. 

Earl lowers his rifle and stays with Henri. He leaves the majority of the investigative work to the others, and simply stands by Henri, listening into the conversation he has with others.

A few minutes later and a single cop car pulls up. The two officers that get out - Officer Cray and Officer Smith - are know by everyone, especially Lucy and Henri who have dealt with them occasionally in the past.

"What is going on here?" Officer Cray immediately asks Lucy (though anyone is free to answer) - "We have reports of shots fired and someone hit."

"Yes," Officer Smith adds, "Isn't this the Kingsly Residence? Where is Mr. Kingsly?"

Lucy immediately throws away her finished cigarette and meets the 2 officers, she rubs her her forehead with the back her of hand before speaking.

''That's right, Officer Smith. This is the Kingsley residence.'' She takes a deep breath before going on with business.

''Mr. Kingsly is dead, I shot him in an act of self defense after he deliberately threatened Freada van Hoff, Arnold Penshaw and Myself with a P08 Luger and shot it at me. It's a long story though Officers.''

Lucy looks away while waiting for a reply.

"Holy shit Lucy!" Officer Cray exclaims in disbelief, while Officer Smith just lets his jaw drop.

"God damn had to be a Kingly in this town! Couldn't be a fucking hobo!" Officer Cray continues - actually walking away from Lucy, still muttering to himself.

Officer Smith meanwhile, closes his mouth and turns to Lucy - "You better just wait here a moment for him to ah... check out the scene and verify your account of things with the others.

Officer Cray however, doesn't pay anyone else any mind and just storms off into the house to get a look at the body.

Officer Smith then turns to those gathered; "So, I need some statements as to what happened. Can anyone confirm Ms. McKinley's story?"

 

"Certainly, I saw the man's shot whizz through the window, and saw the shooting. But, I think listening to Cray's view of the scene is rather interesting, excuse me." Henri says, and then follows Cray into the house. 

OOC: BZ? What's Cray doing? 

See below.

"Well ya see Officer."

Earl begins.

"We were just driving by when we saw a chair thrown out the window there."

He says, pointing to broken window.

"Then we heard a shot, and right after that two shots. I don't know who did what shootin', but I think they're telling the truth. It don't seem like Lucky Lucy at all to be the source of the trouble here, though she seems to have a habit of findin' it."

A neighbor - now emboldened by the presence of the police - steps up. "Yes Officer," he says, "I saw the chair fly out the window then heard a pop, followed by two really loud bangs."

Lucy sighs as she rests her head against the palm of her hand (Facepalm).

Well what do you know, bad luck apparently doesn't come in three times.. In my case that is..

Seeing the Officers arrive, arnold grabs his cane and begins a gentleman's walk out to them.

"Sirs if I may *clears throat* My name is Arnold Penshaw we were sent by social services to take The Kingsly boy into custody. The father in a fit of rage threw a chair out of that fine window there *he points with his cane*, then he drew a ruger on us and proceeded to fire at Ms Lucky here. She returned fire in self defense striking him quite dead."

Officer Cray barrels past ignoring Arnold, but Officer Smith listens and begins writing down the account...

"Is there anything else you require good sir?"

"No, I just need to hear it from anyone else that saw anything," he replies. "You go ahead and take the boy downtown. We'll clean this up here."

"Thank you sir." he pauses for a second "Sorry about the mess"

he then leaves to go inside and reunitie with Freda.

"Where do they bite you schatzchen?"

Freada says, ignoring the police outside. She had to make sure this poor boy would be fine.

Sonny Kingsly shows Freada his hands again - then curls them up like he is crushing something in them.

"Dead doggy hehehe" he giggles.

Feeling disturbed by the child's words, Freada continues questioning him, though she gets the feeling that she already knows what the child is going to say next

"When your daddy says that someone killed his dog dear, who did he mean?"

"Any luck with the boy madam?" he asks Freda seeing as she is still with the child. "The officer says we are to take him downtown and are free to go."

"Dummkopf! Get out, we're not done yet" She says harshly.

The boy gasps at the question - "not me!" he says sheepishly.

"Do you know who it was then?" She brings her tone back to the soft, endearing one she had been using before the magician had entered the room.

The boy just shrugs his shoulders and remains silent. Freada can tell that he's done talking for now...

"Are you ok Sonny?" Freada asks one last time

Whether or not he answers, Freada will lead him out of the house, specifically taking a route that will prevent the boy from seeing his dead father, and then hand him off to whoever is in charge of taking him downtown.

"Freeda I can take him from here."

"Tell me boy do you like magic tricks?" Arnold begins to do some low level magic trick to win the boys trust.

The little boy seems genuinely enthralled by Arnold's magic tricks and willing goes with him.

Arnold Takes the boy by the hand and leads him to the parked vehicle. puts him inside and waits for anyone who ia coming with him to hurry up.

"Penshaw, who's the kid?" Henri says, "He's the one Lucky was talking about, right?"

"Ooh!" Sonny Kingsly suddenly cries - "Teddy! Want Teddy!"

Arnold sighs. "Im too old for that shit" he laughs at Henri. "Yeah thats him."

Continue below.

OOC: ignore

"Alright Lucy," Officer Smith says, "I think I've heard enough, you're free to go. Just don't leave town in case we need more details later."

Officer Cray meanwhile, heads into the sitting room, looks over the body and at the blood and broken window.

"Shit. Not looking forward to this paperwork."

''Thanks Smith.. Good luck with the paperwork though.'' Lucy said with slight sadness in her tone, she waited for Arnold and Freada who she intends to give a lift to their employer in her car that's parked on the porch.

OOC: Ignire again.... Sigh

OOC: Ignired.

OOC; I shall brutally murder you. *probably not

I didnt Ignire the fire. its been burnin since the worlds been turnin...

As Arnold and Freada start to leave with Sonny, the boy abruptly starts crying and resists - though he is easily carried if need be.

"No! I want Teddy! I want Teddy!" he wails, reaching back into the house...

"Ha, I'll take him Arnold."

"So, child? Let's go get your teddy."

Lucy opens the door of her car and gets into the drivers seat, meanwhile she notices Sonny being taken away by Henri, which causes her to raise an eyebrow.

''Arnold! Freada! C'mon! We need to leave!'' Lucy shouted from inside the car and the windows rolled down.

Sonny Kingsly stops crying and leads Henri by the hand to lead him into the kitchen.

There, the small boy points to the kitchen sink - "Daddy wash Teddy," he says.

Henri and anyone with him, notices the salty-sick smell of old blood in the Kitchen and looking around, see two disturbing things.

First, is a teddy bear soaking in red-stained water in the sink and second, is a large hemp sack near the door to the garage that is completely soaked in blood to the point that it has pooled under it...

"Doesn't seem like he washed your teddy very well, child. Now, what's in the hamper...." Henri says, going over to the bloody hamper, and checking inside it,

Freada's face pales at the sight of the kitchen, re-shakkening her.

"I'm going to go tell the police..."

She goes outside and looks for Officer smith, once she finds him she tells him about the blood and the blood-sack in the kitchen.

Henri meanwhile, looks in the hemp sack and sees what could possibly be a Doberman Pincher - that looks like it was tossed into the sack and then beaten repeatedly over sharp rocks.

In spite of everything Henri has seen in his life, the sight and smells of the crushed dog hit him full force and he abruptly vomits right into the sack with the remains.

After puking, Henri spits the disgusting taste out of his mouth, shaking his head. 

"What.... What kind of person would... *spit* do this?"

The two Officers come into the kitchen to check everything out. Rather than looking in the bag though, they just ask Henri what he saw.

"A dog." Henri says, shaking his head. "A dog crushed by sharp rocks.... My god, for all I've seen...." Henri says, still shaking his head. 

The boy Sonny meanwhile, fishes his teddy bear out of the sink and hugs the sopping wet thing to his chest. He then scolds the hemp sack - "Bad doggy! My Teddy! Mine!"

"Hey, get that kid out of here already!" Officer Cray says bruskely.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. Come on kid, let's go." Henri says, shacking his head. Walking with the kid, he looks at Somny. 

"Hey, kid, did you punish that dog?" 

The boy just smiles knowingly...

Henri, still thinking of the reason he was still here, smiles at the kid, though on the insides was shocked and disgusted. 

"Did the dog try and take teddy away from you? Is that why you punished doggy?"

"Bad doggy bite Teddy!" Sonny says and then begins to hug his wet bear some more.

Henri whats going on?" Arnold exclaims resting on the hood of the vehicle.

"The kid 'punished' a dog." Henri says, shaking his head. 

Freada follows Henri out discreetly, this child's behavior in the face of so much death was deeply disturbing...

''Can we please save the small talk for later, we need to bring the child downtown. So let's get in now.'' Lucy stated with annoyance in her tone.

"If you all don't mind, Zoe and I would like to tag along. As well as Earl, I'd assume. We have our own car, of course."

Arnold shoots Henri a concerned look an tells the other to follow them.

''I don't really mind. It's a free country, but I wouldn't be so sure of the fact that you're allowed to witness our briefing. If that's what you're after.'' 

"I have good ears." Henri says, smiling. 

"Now, this kid creeps me out, and I don't want blood water dripping in my car. You take him. Let's go Earl, Zoe. " 

Arnold and Freada load Sonny into Lucy’s car and the three of them pull out of the driveway to take the boy back to Social Services.

The two Officers meanwhile, remain to wait for the Coroner and protect the scene, while Henri, Zoe, and Earl hurry back to the tow truck to follow Lucy – as Henri wants to see this sensational story through to conclusion!

As everyone is driving along, a dog suddenly runs out from between two parked cars – right in front of Lucy’s car. She tries to avoid it, but it goes right under the tires. There is a gruesome thump and a yelp – and then Sonny Kingsly starts rocking back and forth in his seat, giggling gleefully for a moment in response to the dog’s demise.

Earl and the others, following behind Lucy see the dog’s entrails squirt right out of the creature’s mouth as it is flattened in a most horrific manner.

---

Arriving at Social Services, the group is met by a waiting Mrs. Kingsly.

Upon seeing her son, she runs to him and scoops him up in a tearful hug. Then turning to everyone she thanks them emotionally for returning her son to her.

“Thank you so much for rescuing my son from that monster!”

Standing near Mrs. Kingsly is Mother Carol, a nun and the director of Ansonia’s orphanage – “There now, you see?” She says to Mrs. Kingsly, “I told you it would turn out all right.”

As Sonny and his mother are reunited, a black limousine pulls up to the curb and a chauffeur gets out, opening a door for Mrs. Kingsly and her son. As Mother Carol watches them get in, she turns to the group – “Please forgive me if I sound cryptic, but now that you are all here, I must see you tonight at the orphanage. I cannot talk here, but it’s about something too important to dismiss. Please, I need all of you to meet me at the orphanage, in my office, tonight at 7:00 pm.”

Lucy's previous relieved expression after reuniting the child with his mother vanished after hearing the cryptic request of the nun. She frowns before giving in to her curiosity.

''I can't help but wonder for what purpose you're asking for our attention this cryptically. Can't you just tell us something, Mother?'' Lucy asked with politeness notable in her voice.

Zoe, who has been quietly following and making notes while her nerves recovered finally joins in. She walks up beside Lucy and starts speaking before the nun can respond.

"I had also hoped to speak to Mrs Kingsley about the boy, did she say anything unusual or interesting about him? Also do you know where she will be staying?"

"Well, I... Ah..." Mother Carol begins when Zoe interrupts her. Then Mother Carol answers Zoe first, before turning back to Lucy again.

"Mrs. Kingsly is staying with her mother at the Warner Estate," she informs Zoe, "It may be prudent to speak with her about her son after speaking with me first though."

Then to Lucy she finishes, "I really can't speak of it here," she reiterates - this time looking worried and making the sign of the cross over herself - "but it concerns your 'investigative society'..."

"Well then I'm sure I can come along before paying her a visit, this is starting to turn into a very interesting story indeed" Zoe replies before walking over to Henri  "I just need to get more information first." she mutters as she does.

"Henri, I assume your going to this little clandestine meeting, did you want me to get my two pictures developed first?"

OOC: usually I'd have to loose the whole film unless developed fully in a dark room then re-insert the rest of the roll back into the camera, how does it work in the game- can I develop singly or only a whole roll? also how long would I need?

"Of course we will be going to this meeting. It'll give us a more interesting story, I hope." Henri says, chuckling, 

Lucy frowns and shakes her head in a disappointed fashion.

This better be good then..

''I really hope it's worth it then, Mother.'' Lucy replied firmly.

"Well I am an old man, I have nothing better to do. I'll be there." Arnold says matter-of-factly.

"Good, good," The nun nods to Arnold.

"Miss Van Hoff," Mother Carol adds, "I do mean all of you.Your presence too would be most beneficial, given your insight and expertise in the field of behavioral science."

"Yes, yes i'll be coming, but I might be a little late, I need to talk to Mrs. Kingsley about her son..."

Mother Carol whispers to Freada so no one else can hear - "This very much concerns the boy - and others - I am afraid."

Then the nun nods to everyone and turns to walk away.

The Orphanage

Arriving later that evening at the orphanage, everyone is met by Mother Carol the nun, who leads them into a small cramped office, bursting with piles of disorganized paperwork. Once everyone had taken a seat, Mother Carol sits down behind her desk and begins to explain why she has asked everyone here.

“First of all,” she says, “I want to thank you all for bringing in little Sonny Kingsly this afternoon; I simply don’t know what changed in his father recently.”

“Mrs. Kingsly says that Mr. Kingsly had stopped sleeping and got more and more abusive. When she threatened to leave with their son, Mr. Kingsly became violent and forced her out of the house.”

“That’s when she came to us (the church), and Social Services. I think it wonderful of you helped return Sonny to his mother – especially given the extent of Mr. Kingsly’s violence.”

Then after a thoughtful pause, she adds “It’s a shame about Mr. Kingsly’s death; and Mrs. Kingsly was very distraught to hear of it. Still, I think the right thing was done in getting little Sonny out of that situation.”

Henri writes down some notes on his pad, and looks at the nun. 

"Is that all? You didn't need to bring us out for that, Mother." 

"Of course not," Mother Carol replies.

"Well, as a Sister of the Cloth you know better than anyone that everyone deserves a second chance no? I feel we've given the boy a chance here tonight to be more than his father. I am still very concerned however about the Teddy he was so adamant on bringing. It was soaked in blood? And there was a dead dog in a bag in the kitchen, which thankfully I didn't see. But it has yet to be determined if the boy had some part in it or if the father did it. Have you discovered anything?" Arnold asks calmly.

Mother Carol grimaces at the mention of the bloody teddy bear and dead dog in a sack; then replies, “I asked you here because I would like to appeal to all of you to do something for our town.”

“You see Mr. Lamarre," she says, looking at him, "I know about your paper and that you sometimes investigate strange things. Normally, I wouldn’t get upset about odd goings on, but something is happening that’s affecting the children of this town – or at least the quality of their lives.”

She then motions to all the paperwork and continues to everyone more passionately – “I can’t sit by and watch as my orphanage fills up to bursting. You see – the past year there has been an unusually large number of new orphans. Parents getting killed, some disappearing, some children simply being abandoned on our door. A typical year in Ansonia brings less than a dozen unfortunates to our humble orphanage. This year however, we have been literally swamped with children – more than fifty!”

Then wiping her face with a white cloth, Mother Carol continues – “Another odd thing, is that the majority of these children are all toddlers of about three years of age. Most of them exhibit social disorders, autism, or violent tendencies, no doubt due to all the trauma they’ve suffered losing their families. It’s so very disturbing.”

“But I think there must be something behind this, though I don’t know what. If it made sense, I’d go to the police, but I have nothing but a horrible feeling that something terrible is happening to our town. That is why I’ve called you. I want you to investigate and find out what is causing this.”

"maybe there is something in the water, from all the new factories popping up in the area? It isn't unheard of now you know" Arnold appears as if this doesn't even feel right coming from his mouth, but he continues on, albeit uncomfortably. "Mother Carol, what exactly do you expect us to find? Something supernatural?"

"I... I just don't know," she answers, wringing her hands and clutching a set of Rosary beads with a small silver cross.

"I did notice that the child was rather off. Has anyone had anything strange occur recently? We should probably discuss anything we saw that has been odd." 

Freada enters the orphanage in time to hear this last tidbit of conversation "Yes sir, you are correct, the child was exhibiting extreme psychopathic tendencies, I've never seen anything like it in one so young. Could someone tell me what I've missed?"

"All of them?" Freada gets a saddened look on her face.

"Could you perhaps give me some time with the children mother? It would help if I knew what exactly they were suffering from" 

Earl gives Henri a quick, almost unintentional glance upon hearing that Mother Carol thinks something sinister is at work in the town, having an awful familiar feeling.

"I'll help."

Earl replies.

"When do you think all this started? All this strangeness I mean?"

He asks Mother Carol.

"All in this last year," Mother Carol answers.

*continue at bottom of thread

Lucy rose her eyebrow at the last words of the mother, though it was the only thing she could have in such a situation, Lucy felt weird hearing a woman who devoted her life to god to say something like this. It slightly unnerved her.

Henri's impatience show again early on in the conversation, she saw it coming but the fact that she was right made her smirk a bit, until Arnold spoke up about the 'Teddy bear'.

Shivers went down her spine as Arnold explained what he saw and heard and even though she been in this line of work for ages and worked on several murders, she never had any real experience with psychopaths and anything similar to those freak occurrences that happened today.

Her paranoia grows worse as the Mother continued to tell the real reason why she called them. She heard of the whole thing with children but that was just too bizarre, is it?

"Why yes," Mother Carol answers bluntly - "You are of course welcome to go through out records to see if you can find any correlation or reason for this... this, madness..."

"I will look at them, maybe we can talk more in depth about your reasoning along the way Mother carol?"

"Of course," Mother Carol says. "As for reasoning, it is just that from my position as Head of this Orphanage, I see it all firsthand and it is not natural. Poison water or something against The Light - it matters not the cause. Whatever it is, it must be rooted out and stopped!"

''I hate to be a buzzkill here, mother.. But I have bills to pay as well, you cannot expect my help without anything in return.'' Lucy felt uncomfortable saying this to a person who devoted her life to god.

Lucy decided to speak up, and get to work researching rather then coping with her thoughts.

''Can I see your archive, Mother. It'll be a second?'' She asked politely while masking her uncertainty.

Mother Carol gives Lucy an embarrassed look, but then motions to the huge mess of files littering the room - "I'm sorry that we are a bit unorganized with the huge influx of cases at the moment, but you are welcome to go through the files."

Clearly, this will take a bit of time...

"Lucy I will give you a hand. Why Don't you take all names A-M and I will take all the rest?"

''Thank you for the compliance, Arnold.'' Lucy said politely once again.

Lucy immediately heads for the nearest pile of files and begins to search the files of the children for any strange anomalies she took the files that were arranged in A-M alphabetically.

"Of Course my Dear Lucy." Arold nods to Mother Carol and searches through the stacks of files taking the appropriate ones and handing the others to Lucy. He scans them throughly.

She briefly stops searching and turned in the direction Arnold is.

''Arnold, I would prefer it if you call me 'Lucky', instead of 'Lucy'.'' She acts rather shady about the reason why she wants to be called Lucky but it isn't anything alarming.

"No problem Lucy" Arnold grins a sideways grin.

When asked about recompense by Lucy, Mother Carol pleads - “Payment? Our orphanage is already strapped, due to the large increase in board. Alas, I cannot offer you temporal reward for your services, but can only assure you there is greater reward than that which this life can offer. I appeal to your generosity and good hearts, please help.”

 

Scanning through the files Arnold snickered to himself about the "payment" proposition. he just wants to know what is going on here, his curiosity for the unknown driving him.

I figured it would be charity work.. *sigh* If today wasn't such a mess I'd actually have the energy to refuse her request. Karma hits hard.. Very Hard.

''I'll comply..'' Lucy stated reluctantly.

And immediately returned to her research.

"Well I for one need to get to the bottom of this story so I'll help out. I'm wondering why the police haven't been involved more if there has been such an increase in these types of events?"

"For now mind if I take some pictures?"

"I guess that would be all right," Mother Carol answers.

Zoe's question regarding the police, causes Lucy to smirk pridefully before bluffing about her own investigation skill.

''Oh? But Zoe. You already got the best PI of Ansonia on this case. I assure you don't need no wacky police.'' Lucy grinned with a child-like atmosphere regarding her pride.

"Well then lets start investigating shall we?"

Turning to the Nun again. "Do you have a list that simply details all the families affected and a map so that we can mark their locations down?"

"No dear, I'm afraid not," Mother Carol Answers.

Ignore.

Turning to Freada, Mother Carol consents - "You may speak to the some of the children if you like; but it will be bedtime soon, so please be careful about agitating them in any way."

"Of course, may you lead me to the children?"

Mother Carol rings a small bell and another nun enters the office. "please escort Ms. Van Hoff to the children; She wishes to interview some of them."

"Right this way," the nun answers, waiting for Freada.

Freada follows the woman.

Diving into the paperwork before them, the investigators pour though the files scattered haphazardly about the office.

After three hours, the following information had been rooted out of the records –

In the last year:
There have been 53 cases involving children near three years of age. Of those:
OOOO 8 Normal cases, mostly illegitimate births from poor girls
OOOO 12 Life disrupted cases (by divorce or domestic violence – children pulled out by social services)
OOOO 7 Disappearance cases (where both parents disappeared)
OOOO 4 Parents killed cases (where both parents killed)
OOOO 22 Abandonment cases
OOOOOOOO 5 can’t deal with child
OOOOOOOO 2 want better life for child
OOOOOOOO 8 parents suffered mental breakdowns
OOOOOOOO 7 left on doorstep

Lucy and Henri are familiar with some of the police cases and those that hit the newspapers, while Freada is aware of the cases involving institutionalization at the asylum.

Any of them could follow up by checking out those particular records, plus there are public records available too.

Looking at everything as a whole however, a disturbing trend starts to emerge – more than two thirds of the cases involved children born at the Martin Steward Maternity Hospital to wealthy families.

The very hospital where Lucy McKinely’s Sister Laura is due to give birth any day now…

---

Meanwhile, Freada’s interviews confirm a wider than normal margin of inappropriate behavior responses from many of the smaller children – those under three years of age. While nothing actually sinister stands out, many seem completely detached emotionally. She eventually has gathered as much information as she can and heads back to find the rest finishing up with the Orphanage Records.

"Lucy, my dear, we need to get over to that hospital. I figure you will have a vested interest. Tell me isn't your sister due to deliver soon? I'm heading there now with this information."

"Yep we really need to see whats going on at this hospital. I say we take our investigation there now. We can always talk to the mother of the kid later."

Zoe slings her camera back around her neck and checks the weight of her bag to re-assure herself that everythings still there

Perhaps the people at this hospital are the ones in charge of making super-humans... That child, Sonny, he was far more intelligent than any two year old i'm ever seen. He was emotionally detached, and if he was strong enough to kill a fully grown dog at such a young age...

These are them, these are the American's perfect killers. I must report this immediately, but perhaps I should first examine the hospital personally, make sure of this...

"I will go, these children need my help" Freada says.

She also begins mentally composing a list of the damaged children she'd seen...

After reaching the breakthrough Lucy began to sweat profusely, the moment she realized that all these horrible events relate to the Martin Steward Maternity Hospital. Everything flowed around her as she herself loses grip over her rationality.

Life Disrupted.. Disappearance.. Parents Killed.. Abandoment.. Can't deal with child.. Parents suffer Mental breakdown.. Left on doorstep.. Want a better life for child.

Laura.. No.. No..

Lucy began to breathe shallowly and with a rapid pace, normally this would never happen, she would never get worked up like this.. But everything had gone down hill today after the whole Sonny Scenario. His words still echo in Lucy's mind.

Why did you kill my father? Why did you kill my father Why did you fath-- Why did you ------ 

Why did you kill Laura..

The sudden thought in her mind caused Lucy to act on instinct, she jumped on her feet and dashed towards her car as fast as her feet can carry her.. Disregarding the other people she came with. She just couldn't let laura suffer the same fate as these parents or let her soon-to-be-born niece get swept away in this madness.

"Lucy!" dammit.. "After her somebody!" Arnold began to limp on his cane as fast as he could to keep up. Shouting at Lucy the whole way.

Seeing her run and hearing Arnolds cry Zoe (having already been getting ready to leave fast) starts running after her.

"Hey wait up! You can't head in there alone!" Then over her shoulder "I'll try and get in her car, follow us!"

''There is no time! You lot should go to the hospital, I'll go to Laura's home!'' Lucy shouted without looking back running forward with her speed.

 

.

Lucy takes off in her car and speeds away, leaving everyone behind to decide whether to follow or not – and then where was she going again? Her sister’s house? Was she planning on meeting them at the hospital or did she want them to follow to the sister's house first? It wasn’t made clear when she bolted out of the orphanage into the dark of night (10:30 PM)

Three blocks down the road meanwhile, Lucy runs through a red light and suddenly finds Officer Cray and Smith behind her in their cop car with the lights and siren blaring…

"Well, we best get going. I just hope we can fit everyone in the car." Henri says, walking to his car. 

Arnold fearing a vehicle maybe too slow walks outside and when he is sure no one is looking uses animal form and shifts into a Raven. He soars into the sky heading for the hospital.

Since he will have some time before the others arrive he is going to scout the area (including looking in windows and listening to people who will obviously not be able to distinguish him for a typical bird.) And try to learn as much as possible about what is going on before everyone else shows up.

Zoe jogs over to Henri and his car clearly annoyed at being left being.

"Well now, she just drove off without me when I was going to help her out! You'd best get us to the hospital Henri so we can find out whats going on over there."

Henri nods. 

"I'll assume that is where Lucky headed to as well?" He says, getting into his car and starting it. 

"I have no idea but thats where we need to go to follow the story."

(OOC: Isn't his car broken? I mean it was being towed by Earl in the opening sequence.)

"I would guess that's where she's headed Henri."

Earl says, as he gets into his tow truck.

OOC: BZ said Henri would have picked it up by now. 

"So that's where we should go. 

Lucy shivers when hearing the screeching sirens, though she slams her steering wheel with her fists in frustration, the leather of her gloves wrinkle and twist in an unhealthy manner when contact was made with the steering wheel. She frantically looks in her car mirror to find out who was actually tailing her, it was Smith and Cray.

''Fuck-a-doodle-doo!'' Lucy shouted angrily but tries to refrain from cursing badly by saying that odd childish word she always used when something bothered her at the Law Enforcement Academy.

She knows she needs to pull over and the thought of doing so frustrates her knowing that her sister and her soon-to-be-born niece are in danger, Lucy reluctantly pulls over while gripping the steering wheel tightly with her hands, the leather squeaks under the pressure.

Lucy tries to waits for the officers, but she hopes they'll give her a fine and she can drive again at full speed, hopefully Smith won't give her a lecture... Now is not the time..

Officer Cray and Smith stop the police car behind Lucy and turn off the lights and sirens, but still have the headlights on.

They both exit the vehicle and walk up to the driver's side of Lucy's hot rod.

"Hey, it's Lucky Lucy!" Officer Smith says, "Maybe she needs to change her name though, ha!"

Officer Cray meanwhile, frowns, but actually tucks the ticket book he had been carrying back into a pocket. Hopefully that is a good sign.

"What's the big hurry Lucy?" Officer Cray asks, looking a little annoyed to see her again in the same day...

Lucy tries to mask her frustration with a fake smile, but doesn't let go of the steering wheel in order to focus her haywire emotions elsewhere. She tries to humor them a bit before leaving.

''Funny, Smithy. You really are a jokester aren't you?''

She averts her gaze to her watch and sees that's a lil' over 10:30 PM. She immediately cuts to the business.

''Look gentlemen, I have some family issues I need to attend to quickly, I have something to tell her. So if you won't give me a ticket, I have to take my leave as this is quite important, please understand Officers.'' She tries to act as politely and submissive as she can, even though in the inside she's panicked to no end.

"Her?" Officer Cray asks, giving Lucy an appraising look - "Who do you need to see so badly?"

"Something we can help you with?" Officer smith asks with a friendly smile.

''It's something about my soon-to-be-niece or nephew, you know about the pregnancy and and so on.. It's really something you 2 gentlemen should come with me for, I'll be fine.'' Lucy said while holding the true reason of going to her sister.

Lucy starts to get impatient at this point.

''But gentlemen I'm already late so.. Can you let me leave?'' Lucy asks once again while trying to fake her friendliness.

"Uh... yeah sure, go on," Officer Cray says, waving Lucy off.

As Lucy drives away, she sees Officer Cray and Smith watching her go, and something seems off about the two of them. Something about the sudden end of that conversation just doesn't sit right with Lucy... 

Lucy briefly wonders where this dark feeling comes from, but disregards it for now, as there are more important matters at hand. She tucks away the dank feeling and proceeds to drive to her sister's house as fast as the law permits.

Soon after she arrives at her sister's home. She jumps out of the car and runs towards her door and rings the bell 4 times, each time faster then the other.

Roger Kennedy (Lucy's brother-in-law) comes to the door dressed in a smoking jacket, and opens it.

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" is asks in surprise to see her.

''Good evening, Kennedy.'' She started off by acting polite like as she was before she found out about what's going on with the hospital and the mentally disturbed children.

Lucy takes off her leather gloves and begins to speak while doing so, making eye contact every now and then.

''Look.. I need to speak to Laura Immediately, It's very important.'' Lucy stresses on the 'very' part of her sentence hoping that he would see the severity of her words without a second thought.

"Are you all right Lucy?" Roger asks, "you are certainly acting strangely."

"Laura is at the hospital; going to have her baby - why ever would you think that she was here?"

''Oh.. God.. Oh no.. I.. I.. I need to get there.'' Lucy muttered under her breath.

Her eyes widen in fear for her sister's wellbeing, She didn't even have time to think as her bodily instincts kick in faster then she herself expected and she forced her muscles to move to the car. She totally forgot about Kennedy in the process.

Lucy speeds to her car, jumps onto the hood of her car, slides horizontally over it and gets in the car to drive away with screeching tires, and the smell of burnt rubber on the place her car was just a second ago. She drove to the hospital.

Fuck! I'm not going to make it to the hospital in time.. Why! Why did this happen! C'mon, I need to be faster, I can't.. No I won't let my sister suffer a fate similar to Kingsley..

Freada enters her own car and drives herself to the hospital, not bothering to wait for the other people, who seemed to be taking forever to make up their minds.

Public Knowledge About The Martin Steward Maternity Hospital (est. 1910)
The wealthy Sean Steward family of Boston Massachusetts originally built the estate in 1802. After his death in 1842, the home was passed on to Sean’s only son Martin Steward, who continued to live in the estate, raising his many children there until his own death in 1902. By that time his children had all grown up and had families of their own.

Though still owned by the Steward family, the estate remained dormant for eight years until Martin Steward’s youngest son James, fresh from medical school, returned to renovate the home, turning it into a private maternity hospital for society’s well to do. In honor of his father and the family name, he called it the Martin Steward Maternity Hospital, established in 1910.

Doctors who have worked at the hospital are:

Dr. James Steward	| Day Shift 1910-1918
Dr. Thurston Miller	| Night 1910-1917
Dr. Giles Marrow	| Night Shift 1917-1918
	| Day Shift 1918-present
Dr. Reginald Stone	| Night 1918-1922
Dr. James Phillips	| Night 1922-present
Sister Martha, Nun	| Day Nurse for past five years
Nurse Vivian Vance	| Night Nurse for past three and one-half years

 

Martin Steward Maternity Hospital

Second Floor

Third Floor

Flying through the night sky in Raven Form, Arnold notes a massive wall of dark storm clouds not too far off. The cool blustery wind is blowing the clouds this way – and it won’t be long before they sweep over Ansonia. In fact, the wind is making it quite hard to fly in any straight sort of line and Arnold arrives only a minute or two ahead of everyone else.

As Arnold comes down, he can see the headlights of his friends approaching in the distance.

The Martin Steward Maternity Hospital is a large two story Victorian mansion just east of Ansonia in a quiet well to do neighborhood. The area is tranquil and spacious, with well-tended estates set at comfortable distance from one another in the lush rolling hillsides. A long gravel drive opens through an iron gate and into a large prim lawn, at the end of which stands the hospital proper. Beyond is a carefully manicured garden with a gold fish stocked reflecting pool and a working marble fountain.

Large windblown oak trees line the right side of the gravel drive; and it is in one of them that Arnold comes down among the branches. The sky still threatens rain, with strong gusts of wind now rocking Arnold on his perch.

On his way in, Arnold saw that an outdoor light is kept on over the entry, the veranda, and above the entrance to the parlor. Inside, all the lights are off on the first floor, except for the parlor and hallway by the washroom and stairs. On the second floor, the only lights on appear to be in the nurses’ station.

As Arnold is about to decide what to do, a flash of lightning illuminates the front of the building and Arnold sees the silhouette of a large man in a Doctor’s coat up in the darkness of the third floor window looking out at him. He appears to be watching Arnold dolefully (who is still in his raven form).

---

On the road meanwhile, everyone (except Lucy) drives up to the closed iron gate. They can open the gate and drive right in if they want, but it will certainly give away any chance at stealth if they want it. Up the road about a hundred yards however, is a thick copse of trees with an old logging road. If they turn off and park there, they can approach the hospital from the woods.

As everyone thinks the situation over, the wind suddenly picks up and it starts to rain. Flashes of lightning and thunderous rumbling in the distance announce a coming storm that will last well into until morning.

It is 11:05 PM...

Freada prepares a hypodermic needle, filling it completely (four doses) with sleeping medicine, and does the same with another needle, except she fills it with the Uber-lobotomy drug. She didn't want to be caught off guard like she was with mr kingsley...

She does this all in her car, then opens the iron gate and drives through. She then exits her car, keeping the syringes hidden on her person, she was only here to examine the children- for now...

Arnold squawks at the man in the window, that creepy off putting figure, and flies towards the side of the building opposite of him. He land son a window sill and looks in with his beady bird eyes. After assuring himself no one is looking out at him, and making sure no one can see him from the current angle he is at. He morphs back into his human form and slowly walks around to the main entrance and waits for the rest of the team to arrive.

As Arnold flies around to the backside of the building, he just catches a glimpse of someone disapearing into the woods out behind the hospital...

Then something pricks Arnold's left hand. When he looks, he sees an eyeball open up in his palm and look at him - OH GOD! TSATHOGGUA HAS FOUND HIM!!!

OOC: (Minus 1000000 sanity points...)

"Hello Arnold, how did you get here so quickly?" Freada asks politely.

DM OVERRIDE - Arnold needs a moment...

"Well, visiting hours are done, but I don't think that really matters to us, does it Zoe?" Henri says, chuckling a bit, and driving over to the old logging road, parks, and exits his car, ready to go to the hostipital from the woods. He's not be cought and kicked out, after all. 

Earl follows Henri and parks behind him.

"Do you think it's still open Henri?"

He asks.

"One of the entrances should be open, but just in case, I'm bringing my lock picks." Henri says with a grin. 

.

The portals are opened, the eye is watching. 

"What have you! The hand is mine!" Arnold could be seen screaming a his hand. He flops on the ground rolls around grasping his hand like he was trying to strangle it. He stands back up abruptly. He looks back at his hand, seeing as how the eye is still there he shakes his hand violently.

"Blast, fucking leave me be! You damned devil you've had your fun!" He dances in a circle shaking his hand violently about like he was trying to cast a bug off of him. He smashes his hand as hard as he can aginast the building hoping to squicsh the eye.

The eyeball is still there, observing... Best just to close your fist over it or put on a glove...

Arnold mumbles to himself and balls his hand up tight. So tight he is hoping the eye gets poked out by his fingers. 

"Stupid damned magic, stupid damned devils I AM A FREE MAN!" He shouts at the night. Surely someone would hear him making such a ruckus....

"Arnold, what in brennenden Inferno are you screaming at? And how did you get here so quickly?"

Arnold hearing her voice stands straight as a board and quickly tucks his hand behind his back and into his billfold pocket.

"Dear Freada, I wasn't screaming? Also I left right after Lucy, I wanted to be first here. After all the Kingsly boy was my case, Still  is my case... Has to be me, someone else may get it wrong... Charming weather don't you say?" He peers over his shoulder and stretches his hand out bheind his back hoping the eye has gone.

"Arnold, don't lie to me, I heard your shouting very clearly. And this has to be vone of the worst storms i've seen in this place yet, look at those clouds!

Are you ok Arnold?"

"Peachy, peachy (he laughs hystericaly)." He claws at his hand behind his back. "Just upset over the kingsly case and the fact this place is closed. While waiting for you I saw a very menacing man in the window. UP THERE! Up there I tell you... (he mumbles incoherently and points to the top floor windows where he saw the doctor figure)) Didn't look friendly. I also saw how we could get in, around back there is a Veranda that is lit up. We could make our way that way when everyone else is here." 

He kicks at the ground, his mannerisms are blatantly off, as well as his usualy docile speech.

"Arnold... oh no..."
He's gone back of the deep end, poor man. Perhaps it's not so bad this time... I helped him before, perhaps I can do it again

Freada begins to use her skill in psycho-analysis to try and find the root of Arnold's problem and help him get over his insanity, to bring him back.

"Oh yes! We can definitely get up via the Veranda!" 

Freada gets close enough to Arnold and then slaps him sharply across the face. Arnold is shocked at first, but is also shaken back to reality a little by it. Looking at his hand, he sees that it is normal again and that the eye is gone.

OOC: Masterful. ^_^

 

"Hmmm, I don't appreciate that, but thank you. I am not, uh well, I am not sure what just happened. There was a man, or something, in the woods, when I turned away there was this... well, it isn't important. I still think we can just knock, or that Veranda looked promising."

 

Arnold rubs his sore face.

Back on the road, Lucky tears along at breakneck speed! As she nears the area where the hospital is, she happens to see the red taillights of a car up on the road ahead. Slowing down so as not to come up on it too fast, Lucy sees that it is a cop car!

She immediately turns her headlights out and tails the car ahead without being spotted.

It’s Officer Cray and Smith again and they are turning off the road into the driveway of the Hospital!

---

Arnold and Freada meanwhile, hear a vehicle pulling down the long gravel driveway and see Officer Cray and Smith’s cop car approaching. When the car gets close, it flashes a spotlight on the two of them and the police get out.

“What are you all doing here this time of night?” Officer Cray demands.

Officer Smith’s hand hovers near his service revolver a moment, until Officer Cray waves him off a bit.

“Well?” Officer Cray asks again.

---

At the edge of the woods meanwhile, Henri, Zoe, and Earl just step out of the tree-line and see Arnold and Freada being confronted by the police. As of right now, no one can see Henri, Zoe, or Earl, as they stand in the dark shadows on the west side of the hospital grounds…

"Officer's delighted to see you again." Arnold shifts his attention from his conversation with Freada. "Our investigation has lead us here on this dreary night. I say though, what brings you two boys here?" Arnold stands still except for rubbing his face.

"Just on our rounds about town," Officer Cray answers, "now once again, what the hell are you two doing here?"

Freada smiles at the two officers

"I'm here to request permission from the hospital staff to examine the children at this hospital, and to gain access to certain records on certain toddlers. You are familiar with Arnold of course? He came to help me. Is there anything wrong with being out at night officers? Your approach seems unreasonably hostile.."

"Nice way to poke the bear my dear." Arnold mouths quietly to her.

.

Freada's ability to sense motive tells her that she is in danger. The two cops showing up is not a coincidence and there was a very subtly gritting of the teeth at the mention of the toddles - my god, are they in on it?

"It's way past vivsting hours," Officer Cray responds...

 

"Why, i'm not going to visit anyone, i'm simply going to ask the good officials at this hospital if I may be given permission to speak to certain patients- perhaps tomorrow if necessary" She makes sure to stay as calm and genial on the outside as possible, while at the same time she slowly reaches into her pocket for her Uber-lobotomy syringe...

"If you'd like, you could come with us into the hospital, though I honestly can't imagine why you would be so suspicious of us- we're only doing our jobs after all" She adds, stil smiling.

"In any case, I'd rather be indoors than continue standing out here, that storm coming seems to be a particularly bad one, don't you think?"

OOC: How far away from them are we?

"What do you make of this? No one is awake and it hasn't been long enough for anyone to report our little incident here" He says quiter than before.

"Well, seems like we made the right move." Henri says, in a whisper. "Let's try and get to the hospital through the woods. They shouldn't be able to see us." He's holding his lock picking gear along with what he usually carries (aka, everything in his inventory aside from stuff that he can't carry) 

Lucy gets out of the car silently and circles around Freada, Arnold, Smith and Cray. For now she doesn't want anyone to see her. Especially since it's Smith and Cray again.

What the?! Smith and Cray.. How did.. Oh.. Crap I ratted myself out didn't I, oh c'mon Lucky!

Lucy mentally lectures herself while keeping out of sight of those 4, and searches for an easy way in.

It's too bad that I can't enter by any normal means.. Guess I have bend the law to my favor.

She prepares her lockpicks and takes out her flashlight but doesn't use it as she's still trying to sneak past those 4.

But.. Isn't it strange that I ran into these fellows three times now.. Today of all days as well.. 

Lucy gritts her teeth, as she continues to try to sneak past them.

"Yes officers, why not come in with us, that is if we are permitted entrance. You can rest assured we have nothing to hide here." Arnold moves inches closer to the guards as stealthly as he can.

Henri, Zoe, and Earl are about 150 ft to the west of Freada and Arnold. Each Square is 5 ft, so the cops (C & S) are about 10 ft away on this map. Lucy is hidden on the east side of the map.

"Yes officers, why not come in with us, that is if we are permitted entrance. You can rest assured we have nothing to hide here." Arnold moves inches closer to the guards as stealthly as he can.

 

(repost)

"Yeah, sure," Officer Cray says, then waves Officer Smith forward.

Officer smith then walks past Arnold and Freada on his way to the parlor door - though Officer Cray stays where he is...

Arnie knocks on the door (OOC? not sure what to do here) and waits for an orderly to open it.

Freada opens the door, since people don't lock the entrances to hospitals, ever. Cuz, you know, that would result in a lot of dead/sick people.

It's locked. But someone is coming to open it...

OOC: WHO WOULD LOCK THE DOOR TO A HOSPITAL? (Seriously, who? They're always open, the building always has people in it)

Seeing the two officers talking with Freada and Arnold, Earl walks closer to Henri and talks to him in a whisper, so hopefully Zoe can't hear him.

"Henri, maybe we should try and get them officers to help us. Something feels off here."

He whispers, pausing to look at Zoe to see if she overheard him or now.

"What do you think?"

An ugly old man that looks like the night caretaker opens the door and shoves the barrels of a ten-gauge shot gun out into Freada’s face.

“Who’s prowling these private grounds this late hour?!?” he demands.

At that, Officer Cray and Officer Smith draw their service revolvers.

“Inside!” Officer Cray commands.

“Oh, visitors to see the facilities eh?” the old man says in response to seeing Office Cray – and then backs into the parlor room so Freada and Arnold can enter – “Right this way then,” he adds, keeping the shotgun leveled at the them and smiling in a most unwholesome manner.

---

Henri, Zoe, and Earl see this of course, but Lucy only hears it…

"Uhm thank you sir for permitting us entrance from this dreadful storm that is approaching, I am Arnold Penshaw, a social services worker. And we are investigating a case. I would like access to some files if I may." Arnie shows his credentials. "Also this is Freada Van Hoff a psychologist she would like to investigate with me, and also ask a few questions."

Arnold seems tense from the weapons but is trying to diffuse the situation.

"Oh put that weapon away, there are two officers of the law here with us, if you take a single shot you would have to hope it killed all four of us, including officer Cray who is outside, else the others would kill you in turn. Not to mention the repercussions of killing a police officer or comiting murder less than a few feet away from one. Now, Officer Smith has been kind enough to escort me and Mr. Penshaw through this hospital, however neither he nor I nor Mr. Penshaw know where your receptionist is. Could you direct me to her so that I may schedule an appointment tomorrow?"

"I am afraid that you misunderstand our intentions," Officer Cray replies, "You are following Old Man Withers down into the lab."

Freada's eyes narrow, and she replies

"I do not know what you think you're doing officer, but I have no desire to visit "the lab", I am here to schedule an appointment and then I am leaving."

She also discreetly reaches into her pocket and grabs the sleeping syringe.

"Oh, I assure you," Officer Cray replies, "all the answers that you are looking for are down in the lab - now get going!"

With that Officer Cray violently shoves Freada forward.

Seeing Freada pushed Arnold Spins and swings his cane at Cray's skull. With the silver Eagle part aimed at his temple. Hoping to swng hard enough to cave it in or knock him off balance long enough to grab his gun.

As he shoves her, Freada takes her sleeping syringe out of her pocket and stabs it into him, emptying one dose of the sleepy-juice. if she succeeds at this she will then quickly hide the syringe, so that the others didn't see how she knocked him out, and she will act extremely surprised at Officer Cray's sudden unconsciousness.

OOC: Let's hope this doesn't end as badly as I see it ending...

.

OOC: To Earl

"Seeing how they just pulled their guns out, I don't think they are here to help." Henri whispers back to Earl. 

"I think we should head back to my truck. Those two cops ain't acting like they usually do. You can fire a gun, right Henri?"

Earl asks, preparing to walk back through the forest.

"We should hurry too."

"Yeah, looks like this isn't as simple as I'd hope." Henri notes, heading back with Earl. 

OOC: assuming both Smith and Cray went inside:

Zoe reaches into her bag and pulls out her pistol, checking to make sure its loaded and ready to go.

"Well I think we need to get in there fast and find out whats really going on. Crooked cops are nothing new after New York but these guys seem like bad news."

Zoe heads for the door

Lucy gets the chills.. She genuinely scared for her own safety at this point, she decides to take the long route to the Veranda to break in the hospital from there, since there is no way she wants to be anywhere near that creepy-sounding man. She continues to stealthily get to the other side of the hospital.

Shit Lucky.. You really picked the best charity job EVER!

Lucy makes it around to the Veranda and can look in through the window, but doesn't see anyone yet. Unfortunately, the veranda door is locked...

Lucy drops on her knees in front of the door, she takes a deep breath as she recollects her mind and form some sort of plan..

Think Lucy.. Hospitals never keep their patients on the first floor.. it's always the second one or higher.. Once I get there I'll search for Laura and.. and--

Then Lucy suddenly recalls Kennedy.. His oddity regarding this situation as well the sudden thoughts that loomed in her mind made her sweat.

K--Kennedy isn't here.. His wife is about to have a baby and He's NOT here.. What the actual doodle?! What is going on? This just doesn't make any damn sense! Fuck! Could he be part of this too?

Lucy slams her fist on the ground in anger, anger of the unknown, anger of not knowing. She calms herself down and proceeds to grab her Lockpick equipment, she rests her flashlight on her shoulder and rests her head against the flashlight to secure it and stop it from moving while she starts picking the lock.

Out back on the veranda, Lucy picks the lock on the door open with a practiced ease, and steps quietly into the hospital’s cafeteria. The place is richly appointed with fancy carved wood paneling, matching tables, padded black leather tortes-tacked chairs, and three large electric ceiling fans. There is also a huge tropical aquarium with a small white marble statue of a boy and girl inside chasing unseen butterflies with nets; and filled with colorful clown fish and strange neon sea anemones.

Looking down the wide hallway, Lucy doesn’t see anyone, but can hear the muffled sounds of the others down at the end.

In the parlor meanwhile, Arnold and Lucy are a little too distracted to notice the fancy silver tea and coffee set next to a window into the nurse admin area, where visitors must sign a logbook when entering the hospital – or the large fish tank set into one wall (accessed from the room behind) that is filled with an exotic collection of small colorful fish and a sunken pirate ship.

Instead, Freada pulls out her syringe and tries to jab Officer Cray with it, while hiding the action from Officer Smith and the old man with the shotgun. Her sleight of hand is lacking severely – and it is quite obvious to everyone, when she shoves the needle into the policeman’s arm and lets him have a dose of the sleep inducing drug.

“Ow! What the fuuuu…” – Officer Cray manages to get out, before his eyes roll up in his head and he collapses to the ground unconscious.

At that, Arnold considers going for Officer Cray’s revolver, dropped to the floor with him, but he sees that Officer Smith about to put some slugs into Freada with his own revolver – and tries to smash him in the head with his cane before he can pull the trigger.

Officer Smith sees the blow coming and absorbs it smartly with a high block. Arnold swings again misses – while Officer Smith turns the gun on Arnold and shoots! Fortunately for Arnold his wild cane action has upset Officer Smith’s aim enough that the shot misses completely and lodges in the doorframe behind him.

“Whoa, we’ll have none of that now!” Old Man Withers yells and let’s Freada have a barrel of buckshot. The old weapon kicks so violently though, that he actually nails the ceiling rather than Freada!

Up in the cafeteria, Lucy hears the pop of the revolver and louder blast of the shotgun – but it is remarkably subdued – being more like the sound of a books dropping to the floor than that of gunshots.

Outside, Zoe sprints across the open lawn between the wood-line at the edge of the periphery and the building itself. She just gets to the door of the parlor room when she hears the muffled blast of the shotgun – almost lost completely in the wail of the wind and rain now hammering the area. From here, she can see Old Man Withers through the doorway – but not Officer Smith.

Out in the woods meanwhile, Henri and Earl make their way through the darkness back toward the truck. The wind howls through the high branches and actually blows a few of the dead ones down around them now and then. Worse though, is that with each illuminating lightning strike, there are cast bizarre shadows that seem to move and follow as they go. Maybe it’s just their imagination playing tricks on them, but it sure feels like they aren’t alone in the woods tonight.

They are now halfway to the truck…

Arnold drops to the floor in a flash, almost as if Gravity had intensified greatly just for him. He lunges for the revolver, he hopes to grab it, roll over, and put 2 in the chest of Withers.

Freada grabs Officer Cray's body and uses it as a human shield, protecting herself from the gun-fire rocking the room. She also keeps her syringe ready at hand, in case anyone comes any closer.

Zoe Quickly stops at the door and aims her at the man with the shotgun. He had just seen him and the officers taking Arnold and Freda inside then heard the shooting. Pulling out her grenade with her free hand she holds it out where it should be clearly visible to those inside and yells/screams.

"THIS IS A GRENADE, DROP THE GUNS OR I"LL BLOW YOU ALL TO HELL!"

Hearing the muffled gunshots, Lucy deducted that Smith and Cray were probably in fire fight with that creepy man. Out of a precaution she drew her Smith & Wesson .45 Revolver after returning her lockpick equipment. Lucy briefly begins to wonder if she should bother to save them and lose time, or abandon them for now and search for Laura..

Damn.. What to do.. Laura or the rest.. Well I guess Smith and Cray would keep them safe, they are fine men after all, regardless of what's happening. Laura is my primary goal, keep your eyes on prize Lucky.

Trusting her judgment in the two men, Lucy decided to go in the direction of the doctor's lounge (through the men's and women's rest rooms) and carefully peeks around the corner (In the direction of the Parlor), if she sees anyone she will hide inside the doctor's lounge, if she doesn't see anyone she will head for the Nurse Administration to go through their register and find out where Laura is.

Lucy hurries through the back corridor and (when she sees no one else around) across the hall toward the nurse admin room. As she arrives, Lucy can see that it houses many large filing cabinets – likely containing the hospital’s medical records and files for all patients who have visited the hospital in the last couple years.

In the adjacent parlor room, Arnold dives for Officer Cray’s gun on the floor and brings it up to fire at Old Man Withers.

Simultaneously, Freada ducks down and pulls Officer Cray’s unconscious body up in front of her to shield herself from further gunfire – retaining her syringe in case someone gets close enough to use it on.

For such a rickety old gentleman, Arnold shows remarkable ease at firing off two quick shots from the colt .45. The first shot slams into Old Man Withers’ shoulder and the second one thunks into his gut. Old Man Withers howls in pain, and nearly falls over from the shock, but steadies himself against the wall.

Officer Smith then shoots at Arnold and misses again – shooting the floor as Arnold rolls back up to his feet.

At this point, Zoe arrives with her grenade and threatens to blow everyone up.

“Hey! Wait!” Officer Smith says in alarm, not dropping his weapon, but clearly shocked to see the dangerous explosive device.

“Aw hell no!” Old Man Withers grunts and fires his last shell at Arnold. The blast just clips Arnold across the ribs and blows a huge hole through a sitting chair behind him. The wound burns like mad, but Arnold can tell it could have been a hell of a lot worse – and it doesn’t feel all that bad, considering.

Old Man Withers meanwhile, takes two more shells from his pocket and opens the breach of the shotgun to reload.

“Throw your damn cherry bomb girlie!” He yells – “I don’t care who you kill tonight, but it ain’t gona be me!”

Lucy meanwhile, being in the adjacent room with an open service window between the two, hears all of this as it unfolds.

Out in the woods, Henri and Earl arrive at the truck and load up on weapons and other equipment before turning back into the dark wet tree line…

Seeing Arnold getting hit and having the old man insult her grenade in a way that isn't really  normal Zoe keeps her aim on him and fires twice with her colt .38. one handed She knows her accuracy will be lowered but she is more hoping to wound or distract him rather than kill him. She is also panicking a little now.

"I SAID DROP IT NOT RELOAD!" she screams as she fires.

Arnold winces from the hit of the buckshot but rolls with force of the impact. While withers is reloading Smith turns and aims his revolver at Officer Smith's head and pulls the trigger till it's empty.

OOC: I didn't know Smith was suicidal.

BIC: Freada backs up to the door, and should she reach it, she will leave through the door, to safety. She continues using Officer Cray as a human shield.

"I sure hope we make it before anything bad happens."

Earl says to Henri as they rush through the forest. While Earl is familiar with forests and the outdoors in general, something about this night makes him want to get inside as soon as possible, even if that inside is a creepy hospital.

"Would hate for us to miss anything interesting." Henri says, nodding, running with the rifle he got from Earl's truck. 

Lucy, intent on her mission, ignores the gunplay in the parlor and begins looking through the files for her sister Laura’s records. She goes to the correct file alphabetically, but for some reason is not seeing the record. Maybe it’s on one of the desks?

In the parlor, Arnold fires twice at the distracted Officer Smith, but the man is not stupid enough just to ignore everyone around him and he throws himself to the side as Arnold trains the gun at him and is missed. Then worried about getting a grenade thrown at him, Officer Smith actually ducks in closer to Arnold – hoping his proximity to one of Zoe’s allies will keep him safer than his original idea of pulling away to join Old Man Withers in the hall. Fortunately for Arnold, Officer Smith wants him alive (as long as the grenade is still in play) and fires a shot at Zoe instead of him.

The shot goes wide of Zoe however, and she doesn’t even notice as another of Officer Smith’s slugs go into the doorframe nearby.

While this goes on, Old Man Withers is trying to reload the double barrel shotgun. Zoe takes aim at the old man and fires her .38 at him – striking him twice in the face and shattering his jaw in the process. The old man instantly drops to the ground dead. So much for trying to wound or distract him…

Freada meanwhile, takes advantage of the chaos to drag Officer Cray out the door with her until she’s safely around the corner of the sturdy stone building.

Out in the woods, Henri and Earl continue to make their way back toward the hospital. Thunder booms in the driving rain and visibility has become dismal. Then, just as they break the wood line and step out onto the edge of the hospital grounds, they see Freada exiting the parlor across the way with a body.

(OOC: It is too stormy to call or yell between the wood line and the hospital, but Henri and Earl can get to the parlor in 1 round if they sprint.)

Freada lays down the body and then leans against the wall, nervously waiting for the fighting to end. She stays right at the edge of the door, prepared to syringe anyone (hostile) who comes through.

"Damn storm, makes everything seem worse then it is. Can You see who Freada is pulling out?" Henri asks Earl, moving quickly to the entry.

"No siree, I can barely see my own hands in front of me Henri."

Earl replies.

"At least we know Freada is still alright."

Arnold seeing how close Smith is to him Whips the gun around and holds it by the barrel and swings the butt at the back of Smith's head, hoping to incap him

Seeing The old mans face disappear in an explosion of blood Zoe quickly tries to dodge out of the doorway, still holding her grenade out visible.

"You've got three seconds to surrender!" she screams as she tries to get behind the door frame hoping the screaming is taken to be related to the noisy storm rather than her nerves...

Lucy rips through the paperwork on the desks in the nurse admin and still doesn’t find her sister’s record. Where the hell is it?!?

Zoe backs out of the parlor door and gives her ultimatum – threatening to let everyone have it with the grenade again.

Arnold meanwhile, tries to pistol-whip Officer Smith, now that he is in close, but Officer Smith blocks the hit and shoves Arnold back to avoid any more of them.

Just then, Arnold, Zoe, Officer Smith, and even Lucy in the parlor and Freada outside the door, hear a loud thump from the second floor through the ceiling – sounding like a baby bassinet (or something) just fell over in the nursery above!

When Officer Smith hears it, he is visibly shaken and suddenly bolts away from the melee. Arnold takes one more swing at him as he disengages, but the much younger man is too quick for him and gets away clean – fleeing the parlor into the main hall and disappearing around the corner toward the broom closet.

As this goes on, Henri and Earl sprint across the hospital grounds to join Freada and Zoe at the doorway leading into the parlor.

Seeing the last enemy flee the area, however temporarily, Zoe goes back in to search the old mans body for any clues about whats going on

"Arnold are you ok? you look wounded"

Zoe finds keys to the entry, parlor, and veranda - but nothing else of any signifigance.

"It's just a flesh wound, I'll be fine. Now you wanna help? Stop Smith from getting to the second floor before we do." Turning back towards the main room where Smith ran off to, Arnold balances himself on his cane and heads off after him.

"Smith you stay where I can see ya or I will shoot you in the back of the head like the coward you are" Arnold considers the pistol but realizes there are 2 shots left in the Boomstick Withers dropped. He ditches his cane and puts the pistol in his belt and grabs the shotgun. He keeps it pointed on Smith as he rounds the corner into the hall.

Officer smith is not in the hall, but Arnold sees the door to the broom closet left open wide as he comes around the corner...

Arnold cautiously approaches the closet and kicks the door hard to see if Smith is hiding behind to ambush him. He then swings the barrel of the shotgun towards the open closet to make sure he doesn't get flanked.

OOC: (pretty much all one motion if the door hit smith it would give Arnold time to line up a shot or intimidate him into submission, also would give him enough time to see what was in the closet before turning around to hit smith)

Lucy who is clearly frustrated by the lack of much needed intelligence, kicks the desk in frustration whether it topples over or not is something she didn't pay attention to, as she sprinted upward to the 2nd floor and bypassing the Doctor's Lounge in the process, while holding her gun and flashlight.

Lucy is so wrapped up in finding her sister, and reasoning this bizarre situation that she is totally oblivious to all that is not in her direct vision.

As Lucy rushes across the main hall, Arnold sees her, but Lucy is too distracted to notice him and disappears into the hallway that leads past the doctor's lounge to the stairs...

"Freada? Everything okay inside? Earl and I headed back to get his guns." 

"Yes, yes i'm fine. Officer SMith and cray and this vile old man attacked us, they wanted us to take a tour of their "lab". I believe we should investigate it now, on our own terms"

So I can get information back to the third reich.

"We are ok in here, Arnold got wounded and is chasing officer Smith, hows Freda? she injected the other one with something and dragged him outside."

"I see. We saw the two draw guns on you, but I didn't think there was something actually done here....." Henri says to the two, nodding. 

"We shouldn't split up though, no doubt anyone in this place heard the gun shots." 

"We need to find a way downstairs, have you seen a way to the basement anywhere here?"

"Been to the hospital a number of times, but I've never been to the basement. Let's first check up on Lucky and Arnold" 

Zoe rises from having checked the body. "Well I have some Keys now, they might be useful, anything worth while on the one Freda got?"

"I'm not really a fan of searching police men's bodies." Henri says. "As for the basement, I did see storm doors outside." 

Earl listen in on the conversation, then heads inside.

"I'll go get Arnold, he shouldn't be chasing people around while injured."

He says, going after Arnold.

"Arnold!"

He yells as he walks down the hall.

Freada loots Cray's body of everything mentionned in the OOC thread. She puts away the handcuffs and keys, and then locks officer Cray in the trunk of her car.

She prepares her syringes, filling the other two to the max with anti-anxiety and waking doses, just in case.

She looks through Cray's notepad, hoping to get some idea of what he was up to.
She also takes Cray's car keys and looks through his car...

 

Outside in the storm, Freada goes about her task, first securing the unconscious Officer Cray in the trunk of her car and then going to search the patrol car, while taking a moment to glance through Officer Cray’s notepad.

Inside the officer’s car (and out of the rain), Freada finds the key to the patrol car, a Winchester 12 gauge shotgun with a box of deer slugs, and a radio – though it’s not portable or anything like that.

Looking at the notebook, she sees a bunch of innocuous items, including some details about their run in at the Kingsly house that morning; but nothing linking the two officers to the hospital in any way.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital, Lucy has run past the doctor’s lounge and starts up the stairs, while Arnold kicks wide the door to the broom closet.

Officer Smith is nowhere to be seen, but the room is cluttered with numerous janitorial supplies and has a set of stone steps leading down into some sort of basement beneath the hospital.

Henri, Earl and Zoe catch up with Arnold in the main hall and the group enquires about Arnold’s wound and where Officer Smith went. When it is clear that Arnold is relatively fine and that Officer Smith must have fled down into the basement, Arnold mentions seeing Lucy going the other way.

It is not clear whether they should follow Officer Smith or Lucy or split up.

---

At the top of the stairs, Lucy enters the second floor of the hospital alone and cautiously moves toward the central hall. She sees a dim light on through the windows of the nursery and can see that one of the bassinets has indeed fallen over! Her heart skips a beat when she sees it, but then something utterly shocking rips her attention away from the nursery and completely shatters her perceptions of reality!

Up the hallway past the nurses’ station (which is bordered by a tall counter with a telephone, intercom, and logbook) – Lucy sees two tiny infants actually walking toward the elevator – carrying a third little infant over their heads.

The two creepy newborns then set the normal-looking baby down and climb, one on the other’s shoulders, to press the elevator call button. Lucy also notices a young orderly girl slumped over a desk in the nurses station, near a small wheeled-cart that holds a fancy silver tea and coffee set.

The scene shakes Lucy to the core and she find herself screaming uncontrollably – but then it abruptly dawns on her that she can hear nothing! An unnatural silence blankets the macabre scene and her screams are soundless.

Then the disturbing little creatures notice Lucy standing there, when they hop down from the elevator to pick the other baby up off the floor again. In horror, Lucy watches as the foul things drop the baby back to the floor, which wakes with a start and begins to cry – silently. They then begin to convulse violently and a moment later – they have each vomited up a scalpel. Holding the scalpels in their tiny tiny hands, they grin a toothless smile with pitch black eyes and advance on the astonished private eye…

---

Out in the cop car, something heavy suddenly thumps down on the roof hard enough to dent the metal in a few inches.

Inside the vehicle, Freada is startled and then hears the clicking of something akin to a dog’s claws on a tile floor – as whatever is on the roof moves around. She then sees a black cloak or wing or something brush over the rain obscured windshield briefly.

"Ok guys so what do we do? Smith is down there and he is armed, we could barricade this door so he cant get out or we could follow him. Or we could go get Lucy.  What do you guys want to do?" Arnold asks still pointing the shotgun down the stairs.

"Lucy? Is she in here too? This place has too many floors, well at least we know theres an armed cop in the basement and somthing going bump upstairs, wheres everyone think we should start?"

"I say we barricade this door so Officer Spaz ass down there don't sneak up on us. Then we head upstairs to get Lucy and get to the bottom of whatever is going on." Arnold stands ready to fire...

"Um, Arnold, have you ever shot a shotgun?" Henri says, eye brow raised. 

"You pull the trigger and things go boom. Anything else?" Arnold sneers sarcastically. 

"Yeah..... Someone take the gun away from the old man. He's bound to blow his arm off with that." Henri says, shaking his head. 

Arnold swivels the gun around and points it at Henri's feet

"Wanna dance? Because I aim to shimmy on upstairs with this here Shotgun and see why Lucy was in such a hurry."

"........ You really aren't making your case Arnold. Drop the gun." Henri says, looking a bit annoyed. 

"Fine give me a smaller gun and you can have this shotgun. I'd rather have 2 pistols anyways." Arnold offers up the shotgun to Henri in exchange for a pistol/revolver.

"I.... Why do you need another pistol?" Henri asks, looking confused. 

"Because I've only got a couple of bullets left. I could always keep the shotgun if you're gonna be stingy with a little pistol." Arnold stays sneering

"You don't need a second pistol." Henri says, shaking his head. 

"Damn kids these days, help me barricade this door then we can go after loosey Lucy. And I am keeping the shotgun ya hear?" Arnold shakes his hand defiantly.

"You'll blow your arm out. But no, I don't think we should barricade the door. Earl's right, we should head down and take care of it now." 

(OOC: God Damn you Aeon ignoring Earl.)

Earl turns to Arnold.

"We need to go after him, Arnold."

"Well folks mosey on down into the dark damp cold. My joints would lock up down there so I am gonna find our girl upstairs with or without you... By theway, where is Freada?"

"Outside, probably still looking through the police's belongings. She's only been out for a little while." Henri says, shaking his head. While Arnold is generally considered intelligent, it seems his sanity has made him lose it... (OOC: :P)

"Why not two of us go after smith, someone can check on Freada and someone go upstairs with me? That way everyone is happy and we're all still within shouting distance of each other?"

"Check on Freada? What for?"

Earl asks, rather confused she would need to be checked in on after only being gone a few moments.

"We need to go downstairs and figure out why that cop attacked you. We can find out why Lucy is here after."

He says, repeating himself and beginning down the stairs, shotgun at the ready.

Henri follows, holding his rifle. 

"We have to go after him Arnold."

Earl replies, readying his own shotgun.

"Maybe we can talk and figure out why the hell he attacked you guys."

Freada shuts the car door. She moves herself into the relatively safer backseat of the car, and aims the shotgun at the front window, hoping that whatever was up there could be killed with shotguns, and that the others would maybe come out to wonder why she hadn't come back in yet. 

What the hell is that? Verdammt! I hope the others come back soon... 

Arnold watches the team head into the dark of the basement and turns to find the stairs to go after Lucy.

Zoe watches the debate and everyone starting to split up. "Well I'll be dammed if I'm waiting here by myself." she says to no-body in particular "I'll grab Freda then come back and join you!" She heads back towards the doors outside leaving it rather ambiguous as to who she said she would be joining.

Never before had Lucy felt so conflicted as this very moment, on one side of her mind her survival instincts scream loudly, urging her to flee faster then ever before, but on the other side, the side hold her strong morals of justice outright refuse the act of fleeing as 2 innocent people could get injured - or worse Death..

I can't.. I can't... I can't.. I JUST CAN'T RUN! B..b..but I can't either.. AAAArgh!

Lucy quivers as she rose her weapon to the same level as the demonic children, she steels her fragile mind, sets her thought on zero.. Ending the mental conflict in her mind, and only pity remained.

I'm sorry, wherever your soul is, I hope you'll rest in peace..

Lucy calms pulls the trigger, intending to shoot twice at the demonic children. A bullet for each child.

 

 

 

Arnold hurries to the stairs as fast as his ancient form will take him and starts climbing – for a second he considers calling out for Lucy, but then thinks the better of it.

---

Henri and Earl cautiously head down the stone steps into the dark basement under the hospital, wary of the armed officer lurking somewhere within.

At the bottom, they use their flashlights and see the boiler room, which houses a large coal-burning furnace, water heater, and electric pump. Beyond that is a large coal bin with a huge pile of coal under a dump chute from outside.  A nearby cellar door allows access to the basement from the outside but is currently barred from the inside.

To the east is a large storage area – and it is a mess of old hospital equipment, furniture, gardening supplies, and junk – covered in dusty cobwebs and crawling with spiders. Dated boxes of old hospital files – Including legal, financial, and patients’ records older than five years are piled high in one corner, while a collection of old metal gurneys and wheelchairs sit along the south wall near a giant folded-up tent pavilion.

To the north, up a wide hall from them, Henri and Earl also see some kind of a laboratory, lit by a few incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling and a door at the far end of the hallway that reads “Morgue”.

Officer Smith is nowhere in sight – and the nearby elevator shaft hums – as the elevator is now going up it, to one of the other floors.

---

Upstairs, Lucy levels her firearm at the two infernal infants, as they surge forward at her, and squeezes the trigger twice. Her first shot strikes one in its shoulder, ripping the tiny body nearly in two from the force of the impact and spraying not blood – but a strange black goo everywhere in the process. What is left of its (apparently tar-filled) body convulses and roils a few moments – before erupting into a pool of black acidic goo that quickly eats a two foot wide smoking hole into the hospital floor.

This proves absolutely appalling to behold, shocking Lucy even further, and tearing at the very fabric of her sanity – causing her second shot to go right into the bubbling acid reaction, rather than into the second baby – as was her intended design.

The demonic infant meanwhile, springs off the floor with surprising agility and lands on Lucy’s chest – where it holds on with one hand and slashes the scalpel across Lucy’s throat with the other. Fortunately, Lucy’s natural reaction to pull herself away from the evil thing causes the blade to nick her, rather than cutting as deeply as it could have. Either way, she now has whatever the hell this thing is stuck to her and violently trying to cut her open!

---

Zoe meanwhile, heads back out of the hospital to fetch Freada and steps out into the storm tossed rain. She then rounds the corner of the building and stops short – her heart leaping into her throat – seeing something altogether unnatural squatting atop the police car.

It is terrifying to behold – almost the size of a man – but distorted and faceless and covered in mangy black fur – with batwings and long spindly arms ending in sharp claws – while its thick squat legs end not in feet – but two clumps of powerful-looking tentacles and rasping teeth-filled suction cups making odd clicking sounds as it shifts its weight around on the roof of the car.

Uncontrollably, Zoe lets out a scream and the thing leaps at her like lightning – crashing into her and knocking her to the ground – then in an instant, it has sunk its claws into her shoulders and dug toothy suction cups into her flesh – wrapping her waist in those vile tentacles! Zoe screams again and is lifted skyward – up and over the roof of the hospital!

Fighting off panic induced shock – Zoe looks around and sees that her arms are free and that she is currently only 10 feet above the roof of the hospital and that the thing looks like it is going to take her onto the top of the third floor music room. She is in pain from the wounds, but nothing vital has been hit – though she’s pretty sure that a drop to the ground from this height would kill her if she somehow managed to get free, but then missed landing on the roof…

---

In the cop car, Freada hears a scream and then suddenly, the car shakes – as something leaps from the roof and is gone – followed by more subdued screaming moving away. Wiping the now fogging windows of the car, Freada tries to see anything outside the vehicle, but there is nothing – just wind, rain, thunder, and lightning…

Freada goes up to the driver's seat and starts the car. She drives herself right to the edge of the hospital door, going right over the sidewalk. She didn't want whatever was up there to come down and get her too. Should she reaches the hospital door with the car un-attacked then she'll immediately exit, taking the what she'd looted with her, then immediately enter the hospital, hoping that the extremely close distance between the police car and the hospital door would keep her safe from whatever was up there.

Should she make it into the hospital, she'll yell ouT "SOMEBODY HELP, THERE'S SOMETHING OUTSIDE AND I THINK IT'S KILLING SOMEONE!!"

 

Zoe is half loosing it from the terror but she knows she has to get free, She has her arms free, And never put her gun away. She waits until she is right above the roof and empties her gun into the monster at point blank range, hoping that it will let her go, or at least land on the roof due to injuries.

"Shit!" Henri shouts, as he quickly runs to the elevator, and rapidly presses the button. 

"Earl! We need to shut down that elevator!"

Earl hurriedly follows Henri.

"Can we stop it from here? You think he tried to escape in it?"

Earl asks as he scans the rest of the area.

"He's trying to get around everyone, don't know if he's heading out or trying to take out Arnold and Lucky. Try and find an electrics panel (OOC: Dunno how to call it in 1928), they re usually in the basement." 

"Sure thing."

Earl replies, as he quickly walks in the Laboratory and further (NOT THE MORGUE!) to find some sort of electrical panel. If he finds it, he'll attempt to disable the elevator.

Arnold's frail archaic frame rattling under the strain of rushing up the stairs surges forward, his affinity for magic must be kicking in because he has a churning in his gut that is taking everything in him to force into submission. As his line of sight passes over the horizon of the landing he readies his weapon for what is to come... 

 

"Lucy?"

 

 

 

Running up the stairs, Arnold turns the corner at the top, and see’s Lucy in the main hall being attacked by a newborn baby with a scalpel. Normally, someone would find that particular sight quite disturbing, but Arnold has literally seen it all.

What spooks him however, is the magical energy he feels in the area; and when he goes to call at Lucy, he realizes that someone (or something) has cast Silence of the Grave up here on the second floor –creating a soundless environment to no doubt mask their nefarious purposes. For some reason, that knowledge and his soundless voice, unhinges something deep within his psyche and he knows that it’s going to cause him problems later.

The evil infant meanwhile, abruptly vomits all over the front of Lucy’s blouse. The disgusting viscous bile sizzles and smokes, burning Lucy’s chest like acid! She yelps soundlessly in pain – as it hurts a lot more than the slight scalpel wound she had already taken to the throat!

Lucy then manages to grab the infant’s wrist and violently yanks it off her – dislocating its arm and slamming it to the ground – where she then puts two bullets into it! Like the other before, its tiny body is blow apart by the gunshots and it erupts into a bubbling acid bath that eats yet another hole through the floor!

The sight of it causes Arnold to have a sudden and vivid flashback to when he had been chewed up and spit out by Tsathoggua – and for a moment, he drops everything he is holding and silently screams “Tsathoggua” over and over again. When he finally regains himself, he notices a familiar prick in his hand and sees that the 'Eye' has returned to his palm once again…

---

In the basement, Henri and Earl cautiously move forward, looking for some way to stop the elevator.

As they go past the laboratory, they see that three heavy slate-topped lab tables occupy the area, set with a wide array of strange equipment and chemicals that would do any mad scientist proud. Each table also has a natural gas burner installed at one end, connected directly to the hospital’s gas line. A baby scale sits on one table near a petri dish and microscope.

A set of locked metal and glass cabinets against the east wall hold additional chemicals and standard laboratory equipment and supplies. Along the northeast wall is a medical skeleton hanging from a stand and four large breeder tanks filled with colorful tropical fish.

Henri can’t help but notice that all the fish in one tank have strange tumorous growths on their heads – and in fact, one of these fish lies in the petri dish near the microscope, the tumorous growth cut out with a scalpel. Also, a number of odd chemicals have been mixed into an elixir of some sort on the same table as the microscope and baby scale.

Earl meanwhile looks around the corner from the lab and finds a well-marked electrical fuse panel. Pulling out two fuses for the elevator, Henri and Earl hear the elevator motor kick off and it stops going up, lodged in the shaft between floors somewhere.

---

Outside, Freada starts the cop car and drives it right up to the parlor door, where she parks it and then hurries out the passenger side to enter the hospital. Once inside, she moves down the hall, calling for anyone to help her, but she gets no response.

When she arrives at the main hall, she sees that the door to the broom closest has been left ajar, and then notes two strange smoldering pit-marks in the tile floor of the corridor and then looking up – actual holes going right through the ceiling above them.

---

Over the roof meanwhile, Zoe takes out her .38 and starts firing at the creature that has her in its grasp! Her first shot goes right into its odd faceless head and it shudders violently from the hit – almost dropping Zoe. The second shot blasts a bloody hole through the creature’s chest and it actually falls out of the sky – dead at that point – and causing Zoe’s third shot to hit and shatter a window pane in the third floor music room.

Falling ten feet to the roof, Zoe slams down hard and feels her ankle roll badly as she topples to the side. Fortunately, she goes sprawling across the flat part of the roof and doesn’t end up over the side. Then, shoving the dead thing off her and taking a moment to walk the pain in her foot off, she limps toward the door that allows exit from the roof.

A moment later, Zoe hears a strange squishy percolating sound coming from the body of the strange beast and glances over to see that it is actually dissolving in the rain – turning into a nasty pile of normal-looking earthworms. Zoe doesn’t care to go over and check them out to be sure though…

Lucy hold her chest with her freehand, and yelps soundlessly once again. She has trouble breathing due to the shock she has just experienced, and when Arnold began screaming soundlessly, Lucy began to read his lips, before she noticed she began to form the word Arnold has been shouting.

Tsa.. Tsat.. Tsath.. Tsatho.. Tsathogu.. Tsathogurra..

What?! I... I.. I.. I... I... I...

Whatever meaning the word meant doesn't matter, the word itself felt ominous to her, as if dipped in the deepest and dankest darkness and crawled it's way into your mouth.. It doesn't help her situation at all..

Lucy grips on her revolver anxiously, she scared out of her mind. Her heartbeat raising to what might be dangerous levels, she literally couldn't take any more of this. 

Lucy is startled the moment she saw what Arnold dropped in the first place.. A shotgun... And.. A revolver.. Is.. Is he out to kill her too..

Arnold, having broken from reality picks his weapons up and put the barrel of the revolver firmly against the palm of hand and pulls the trigger.

As he does this he looks Lucy right in the eyes and clearly mouths the word "Bullseye" He flinches in the pain and continues walking towards Lucy, the hole in his hand gushing blood, leaving a trail on the floor...

B.. B... Bull.. Bullseye

The panicking Lucy stands up faster than the speed of lightning and backs away towards the baby, taking careful notion of where the holes in the floor are, and hopes to keep away from Arnold.

She grips on her revolver but decides against it to aim it to Arnold for now.. Decides to check on the baby that's still sprawled across the floor.

Arnold seeing her back away from him holds his bloody hand up to motion for her to stop

he notices a strange similiarity out of nowhere. He can see through the hole in his hand at her...

Is this what the eye wanted? For me to see as they see?

He puts the back of the bloody mess to his face with his eye visible through the palm of his hand. He stares at Lucy through the gaping wound. Still walking slowly to her.

Lucy starts to breathe rapid shallow breaths and begins to quiver in her ever growing fear upon seeing Arnolds creepy behavior. She shouts at Arnold, even though knowing that speaking isn't possible in this weird realm.

''STOP ARNOLD! D..Don't come closer!'' She shouted soundlessly with notable fear in her facial expression.

She tries her best to back away, locate the holes and avoid them, plus trying to sense Arnold true motive, if it involves anything that might be bad for her, then it's time to raise the peacemaker.

Arnold reads her lips and can tell she is afraid he pauses briefly and scans the area with his hand/eye pose. He notes the babies and the holes in the floor and makes his way over to the baby that Lucy most recently disposed of and begins ton inspect it. Still thinking that his hole/hand/eye insanity will reveal some ethereal link.

Arnold, looking at the acid-melted hole in the floor through his seriously injured hand, sees no magical auras or anything he doesn't see already with his normal vision. At least he has the satisfaction of putting that stupid eye out - and the 'Russian Voices' in his head seem to agree.

But there is something about this situation that Arnold does find familiar. In his deep study of the occult, he has come across accounts of things that could shape-change and in true form had amorphous bodies of slime, acid, tentacles, and even genitalia.

Notably, Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, or the Shoggoth Lords. Though to be fair, an appearance of the first two would herald the end of the world - being true gods and all. But the Shoggoth Lords... Arnold has heard that they can individually take human form, but has never heard of 'baby' ones...

Lucy makes it to the tiny infant wrapped in a pink blanket that the two demon creatures had been carrying. The baby cries helplessly on the floor and looks completely normal. She is about to reach down to pick it up, when she has an almost overwhelming desire to wash her hands first...

Lucy began to calm down ever so slightly after lifting the infant in her arms, so much that she holstered her gun and began to cradle it to sleep. She tries to sing a lullaby, regardless of it being soundless.

''Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star How I wonder what you are.'' Despite knowing that the infant might not hear it, she tried her best to calm herself and give a calm and friendly aura, and lifts her own spirits in the process.

If she succeeds in calming the child down she'll make her way to the Linen Supply to search for a new blouse or something similar.

The baby does calm, almost immediately, and actually starts to fall back asleep.

Then moving to the linen supply, Lucy finds something she can use in place of her acid-burned blouse - and also a little water closet (bathroom) tucked in there as well - where she can wash her hands, clean the wounds, and take a moment to fully recompose herself.

She immediately dashes towards the water closet after gently putting the baby on a stack of linnen.

Must Wash Hands.. So dirty... Must Wash.. Clean.. Yes, I need to be clean.. Cleansed.. Clean.. Clean.. 

She haphazardly washes her hands with intensity so much that she digs her nails in her skin to truly get the 'dirt' out. She repeats this process for a second time, then a third, and a fourth and a fifth and finally the 6th time until feeling a little bit more 'cleansed'.

She takes a deep breath before taking off the acid-burned blouse and inspects her wounds, checking if she needs some disinfectant for it.

Lucy's burns are severe, but haven't blistered yet. She may actually need to check herself into a hospital after this is all over, just to make sure her burns don't get infected once they start to open up...

Lucy makes a sour face, the pain itself hasn't kicked in. But she felt the need to 'clean' the wound. She grabs her new blouse and wears it but refrains from closing the blouse to prevent it from touching her burns. She takes the child in her arms yet again, and  makes a speedy walk towards the medical supply room in order to disinfect her burns and wrap them in bandages.

Lucy makes a mental note not to ever go to the hospital again, unless it's truly serious.

*snip

Zoe Limps to the door, she slips down beside it  and quickly reloads her gun, checking her things are all still intact. After getting her breath back. She then takes a strip of her 'Clever clothing' (hoping for a ribbon here) and binds up her ankle to make it easier to walk then tests the door handle, checking carefully if it is open or locked.

Zoe finds the door to the third floor music room unlocked and goes inside. There, she finds an old music room, complete with a few cobweb and spider covered instruments – an oboe, a flute, a cello, and three violins, including a Stratavarious in a black leather case with gold letters that read “James Phillips.”

As Zoe makes her way across the floor to the stairs leading down from the room, she has a disturbing feeling about the place and suddenly feels something slithering over her feet! Looking down, she sees nothing…

Then a second later, he has an incredible vision from the perspective of Doctor James Phillips in the basement of the hospital. Even though she has never been down there, she sees the laboratory as if being there in Doctor Phillip’s body while he does some blood work with a specimen – then suddenly, something knocks him down from the side and rolls over him – burning the flesh from his bones and murdering him in a most horrific manner! For a second, Zoe even seems to feel his pain, but then in a flash the vision is over and she finds herself still in the creepy third floor music room… 

 

Zoe shakes her head to clear it of the weird vision. Now shes seen several things she ever wanted to but she has to get out alive. She quickly grabs the Stratavarious in its case and limps to the stairs to get out of the music room. She pauses and takes a few quick pictures before leaving.

At the bottom of the stairs, Zoe finds an extremely dusty landing (no one has been in here in years) leading into the second floor of the hospital, but the windowed door out is locked with an old skeleton lock in the door itself.

On the other side, Zoe can see Arnold in a wide hallway, crouched over some kind of hole in the floor...

 

 

Zoe bangs on the window and screams at Arnold hoping he will see her and get her through the door since she isn't great at lock picks. She has no idea why there are holes in the floor, or blood on Arnold but at the moment she just want out of the creepy music room and back into company...

"Thank god." Henri mutters, as he examines the elixir. Knowing nothing about chemistry, Henri simply takes it with him, to show to a chemist. 

"Earl, something very odd is going on here." Henri says, heading over to him. "I'm going to check what's in pantry." 

Henri finds the security grate, pulled across the pantry, locked with a large iron padlock.

"Good thing I brought my lockpicking tools." Henri says, trying to lock pick the padlock. 

Henri easily picks open the old iron padlock and opens the steel gate – which squeals loudly from the rust as he does. The hospital's food stores are kept in the pantry, perishables stored in one of two huge electric iceboxes against the south wall beside a large wooden ice house.

Checking the ice house itself, Henri sees that it is filled with large blocks of ice, buckets, hammers, and ice picks.

Henri nods, seeing that the ice isn't anything odd. 

"Seems that everything is good in here Earl." Henri says, as he opens the ice boxes. One hold the perishables, the others holds what? 

Nothing, not plugged in - just a spare...

"Alright, unless we want to check out the morgue, it seems like nothing else is here. Lets head up Earl." Henri says, heading up the stairs. 

"Sure thing Henri, let's head back up with the others."

Earl says, following him up the stairs, quite relieved to have avoided going into the morgue.

"I wonder what floor that cop got stopped on..."

"Hopefully one where it'll be hard for him to escape from." Henri replies. 

Freada readies the shotgun, and heads downstairs. Whatever these people were up to, she would likely find out there...

 

Arnold touches the baby, still holding his hand over his eye, peering through his gorey hole. He grabs the baby by the leg and stands up with it, mouthing the words "Shoggoth" over and over again. He turns and faces the door Zoe is standing behind. He looks at her and cocks his head sideways, much like a dog does when they are trying to understand their master's command.

He then moves to the door, as he approaches i would be clear to Zoe that his hand is fucked, his mind is broken, and that the baby he is holding is not a normal infant. He stops right in front of the door, just looking at her, hand still on face, still holding the baby in the other.

Zoe is about to run when she realizes that the only thing behind her is the music room stairs. She glances back at the stairs several times then points at the lock on the door several times then takes a small step back and draws her pistol keeping it very low and completely out of sight of the window so Arnold wont know its drawn ready to fire on the doorway.

Arnold rationalizes what Zoe is gesturing and reaches for the door with his empty hand. He then prepares to open the door for her.

The door appears to be locked - but with a simple skeleton lock. It wouldn't be hard at all to just force the door...

Arnold shrugs his shoulders at the fact the door won't open. Still looking at Zoe he shakes his head no and walks off.

Zoe lets out a sigh and starts trying to kick the door open, aiming for the lock area, knowing that she probably can't do it herself.

 

 

Henri and Earl climb up the stairs from the pantry into the kitchen. It is well stocked and includes lots of counter space, two gas ovens, a massive sink, and racks of cups, trays, and utensils. As they walk toward the door, they happen to see someone in a soaking wet nurse’s outfit walk past their field of view through the open service window in the east wall.

Whoever it was, is headed south out of the cafeteria and down the main hall. When they hurry to the door of the kitchen however, they find that it is locked from their side and that they can unlock it simply by turning the small locking mechanism set in the handle.

As they consider their options, they hear the nurse somewhere out in the hall cursing – “Damn elevator! What the hell is going on with it?!? WITHERS! HEY WITHERS!”

---

Upstairs meanwhile, Zoe gives the door a solid kick and is surprised, when the brittle thing spits right up the edge with a loud pop and swings open. As she steps through however, she suddenly becomes aware that she can’t hear anything all of a sudden – and stands a moment snapping her fingers silently to herself just to be sure.

Arnold meanwhile, seems to ignore Zoe and wanders aimlessly to one of the strange holes in the floor and gets on all fours to poke his head through. As he does, he sees a nurse in a white outfit in the main hallway below – totally drenched in water – standing at the Elevator, angrily pushing buttons.

Just then, Lucy exits the linen supply room with a tiny baby girl in her arms and cautiously walks around Arnold on her way to the medical supply room, when she in sees Zoe up there, near the broken door to the stairs heading up to the third floor music room, she stops – wondering a moment what the heck she should really do next. Is she going to carry this baby around all night? Are there more babies still in the nursery? Is that girl in the nurses’ station dead? Is her sister Laura all right?

---

Freada meanwhile, is just about to head down the stairs into the basement, when she hears a woman yelling for Old Man Withers. She is about to turn back – when Officer Smith abruptly appears at the bottom of the stairs and shoots his service revolver at her!

The shot just grazes her leg, as it zings past and lodges in the ceiling behind her.

In response, Freada levels the pump shotgun she recovered from the police car at Officer Smith and pulls the trigger. The deer slugs cause a tremendous buck of the weapon, but Freada’s aim is true and the heavy lead projectile blasts through Officer Smith’s leg – shattering the femur and dropping him screaming to the floor!

Unfortunately, the man fails to lower his weapon – and Freada knows that she is still in danger of being shot! At least there’s no way he can chase her now though…

---

Back in the kitchen, Henri and Earl hear a subdued pop followed by a louder – yet still subdued boom. Then they here the sudden movement of high heels clacking away down the main hall.

Upstairs, the slightly unhinged Arnold watches the strange Nurse react in surprise to something unheard by him – and then she gestures magically and actually vanishes into thin air!

Freada dashes off to the side, grunting slightly as she uses her wounded leg. 

I'll need to get to my medical supplies later...

She begins reloading the shotgun, if necessary, and yells out to Officer smith

"Officer Smith! Throw your weapon here to me and handcuff yourself! If you do not I will be forced to shoot you again! If you do surrender yourself, I will help bandage your leg and you will get off with only going to jail for your wrong-doings."

"Wrong doings?!?" Officer Smith yells angrily, gritting his teeth from the pain - "You are the ones trespassing here!"

"You and your partner assaulted me and Arnold, and tried to forcefully bring us down into the basement of this hospital by gunpoint! Now please officer, you have suffered a grievous wound, if you do not let me help you, you will die!"

Arnold watches the nurse vanish, and decides to crawl down through the hole in the floor to inspect the floor below him.

While the hole is certainly wide enough for that, the twelve foot drop might be a little hard on Arnold's old bones. Then the thoughts in his head ask him in Russian - 'Why not just Animal Form into a Raven again and fly down?' ...

"Because idiot, I don't want to have shoot my other hand!" Arnold could be seen arguing with himself. He backs away from the hole and goes to find Lucy.

Lucy begins to collect herself ever so slightly, she was so in a trance with the child she had in her arms that she forgot about Laura entirely.. Lucy feels like smacking herself but tries not to do so, as the walls looked 'dirty', if she does that she'll need to 'cleanse' her head too.

L.. Laura.. I.. I'm still coming for you!

While reaffirming her determination she takes a quick glance at the girl she carries in her arms and runs to the nursery, to put the child back in the fallen baby crib.

First, put the girl back.. Then fix my wound... Then cleanse my hands and Finally go to the maternity suit, if she isn't there then the mother's ward, and if she isn't there I'll check on the nurse for further info. Yeah.. That's a fine plan, Lucky.

She didn't try to converse with Zoe, as she doesn't feel the need to speak a word with her.

"Well, let's go Earl, shotgun should go infront." Henri says, raising his rifle waiting for Earl to open the door.

Earl nods.

"Let's see if we can find where that shot came from. Smith should be trapped in the elevator, so we can get him after."

He says, heading through the door and down the hallway to where-ever the source of the shots seemed to come from.

"Whose out there?"

He yells as he enters the hall, keeping in mind they just heard footsteps.

Henri follows, keeping his rifle level and ready to fire.

 

As Freada seems to be getting nowhere with Officer Smith, Henri and Earl exit the kitchen and cautiously move down the main hallway.

They can see a trail of water on the floor (what one could expect to drip off someone that had just come in from the storm outside) that goes from the door to the veranda, through the cafeteria, and down the hall to the elevator. From there, it appears to head over to the hallway leading toward the parlor room.

As the Henri and Earl draw closer, Old Man Withers suddenly stumbles out into the main hall – his movements jerky and his eyes glazed over – with the two holes in his head still quite there! He moans at them and starts shambling forward!

Earl meanwhile lifts his barrel and shoots the thing with his 10 gauge shotgun – blowing what is left of the head completely off in one shot. The body then collapses lifeless to the ground once again.

“Dang Zombies,” Earl quips, like he does that every Saturday night or something.

In the broom closet, Freada hears the blast in the hall, but still has Officer Smith armed down in the stairwell – though she’s out of his line of fire at the moment and could simply leave the broom closet at any time.

---

Upstairs, Lucy moves into the nursery and finds another baby boy in one of the bassinets. As she rights the overturned bassinet nearby and gently places the baby girl down in it, she realizes that she can hear herself again.

Arnold meanwhile, follows her and stands near the doorway to the nurse’s station, but is still in the area of silence. Lucy perceives that she is just on the other side of the spell’s effect.

Zoe meanwhile, not exactly sure what to do, watches Lucy and Arnold through the glass viewing windows through the nursery – waiting to see what they will do next…

Freada, hearing the shot, cautiously pulls the shotgun up, then nervously calls out in the direction she heard the shot come from

"Who's out there? Arnold, is that you?"

She doesn't leave the broom closet, likely fearing that whoever was out there might be hostile.

After saying dang zombies, Earl turns to Henri.

"Wait, zombies?"

He says, shocked at what he just did.

"Henri this place has zombies. I think something is very wron-"

He then hears Freada's voice.

"Freada? Is that you?"

Earl yells back, slowly heading towards the sound of her voice, being careful to avoid the wet ground. Wouldn't want to get wet.

"Yeah, looks like this is far worse then two cops going rouge. Look at the ceiling." Henri says, pointing to the ceiling. "Don't know how that happened, but we need to get everyone togheter." 

Henri follow Earl. 

"Earl?" Freda calls out, recognizing (I assume) his voice. She holds down the shotgun and then carefully exits the broom closet, doing her best to stay out of smith's line of sight.

Arnold grunts in pain as he enters the nursery. He supports himself against the wall. He holds his bleeding hand. He does nothing else. He makes no other sounds.

As Arnold crosses the threshold, he can suddenly hear again...

Noticing that Arnold entered the spell's blind spot, Lucy to make a reach to his last remaining bits of sanity. But before she does she grabs her .45 and shoots at the middle window in nursery hopefully causing it to shatter and gain Zoe's attention, if Zoe sees her she'll motion her to come to this location. She reloads her gun directly afterwards.

Lucy then walks to Arnold and stands an arm length away from him, she still has .45 still in her hands but doesn't try to use for intimidation purposes. She tries her best to snap him out of this.

''Arnold, I know you're still there. You're stronger and smarter then this. I implore you, come back to us.'' Lucy begins to prepare herself for his reaction, if he's for some reason hostile, she'll pistol whip on his head hopefully knocking him out and allowing her to disarm him and go to the Maternity ward to further inspect there.

If Arnold shows signs of regaining sanity she'll reach to him by giving him a one-arm hug, but her other hand stays by pistol in case of he does go on a rampage.

If he's still acting the same, Lucy will just try to pass him, while being alert as hell of course, and with a gun in her hand that couldn't be good.

The blast of the ballistic powder and the shattering of the window startle Arnold, shaking his core. 

"Lucy what the hell was that for?" He backs away and stumbles into the wall behind him. "Why are you randomly shooting guns? And what in god's name are you doing with these babies?" Arnold has clear shock in his eyes that Lucy would fire a gun while so near such small children.

 

As Freada exits the broom closet into the main hall with Henri and Earl, a rather gorgeous nurse abruptly appears out of thin air in the corridor leading back to the parlor.

The woman is soaking wet – having recently been outside somewhere in the storm – she looks very angry and yells – “Die! Die in your own blood!”

Instantly, everyone’s chest contracts like they are having a heart attack and they double over with intense pain – then their lungs abruptly fill with blood – that comes gushing in a non-stop torrent out of their own mouth and nose!

The panic of drowning suddenly grips them and they writhe uncontrollably – unable to do anything but claw desperately for air!

“Ah ha ha ha ha!” Nurse Vance cackles evilly – “I’ll teach you to interfere where you’re not welcome!”

She then goes over to Freada and touches a strange cowrie shell of some kind to Freada’s arm. Immediately, Freada feels her very soul being ripped away from her – being drawn into the cowrie shell! No! Must Resist! You can’t have my mind!

Amazingly, Freada’s willpower is strong enough, not only to resist having her soul sucked into the cowrie shell, but also to throw-up and cough out the last of the blood filling her lungs!

Henri and Earl too, cough and sputter up the blood and the three of them are finally able to suck in real air once again. As they groggily try to collect themselves and get back to their feet, Nurse Vance disappears into the broom closet.

A moment later Henri, Earl, and Freada hear a shot fired out – followed by Nurse Vance yelling – “Idiot! You shot me!”

Then everyone hears Officer Smith cry out – “No! Please! Not that! – Aieeearrrgh!”

"Magic? Here?" Henri mutters to himself. "We stumbled on something far bigger then I prepared for..." 

"She went into the broom closet."

Earl says, and he quickly walks over to it with his shotgun at the ready, wiping the blood off his face.

"I wonder how Officer Smith got in the broom closet from the elevator though..."

He continues, a bit confused.

Lucy smirks deviously after noticing that she finally snapped Arnold out of it. But that deviousness soon changed to scorn as she let's out her rage over situation at Arnold.

''Did that got your fucking attention, good!'' She said with a very angry tone.

''Listen up, Psycho. I can't have you going crazy on me, so you better sober the fuck up, Arnold.'' She stared intently at him.

''What do you know of this... I know that you some fucking knowledge of what the fuck is going on here. So tell me, what is this shit! Demonic babies.. Acid slimes, A room that cannot conduct any fucking sound, this Tsathogurra! What the actual fuck is going on!'' She spat out angrily.

''And why the fuck did you shot your own godamn hand! Speak up, lunatic!''

"Shoggoth, has to be Shoggoth Lords. I don't know of anything else that could come into our world without tearing it asunder. I don't know how, why, where, when, or what but these "babies" are terrifying proof of demonic intervention on our mortal lives. As for my hand dear Lucy, I did what had to be done..." He sighs and stands up propping himself against the wall.

"This is bad Lucy... Oh yeah! and Some nurse just vanished into thin air, i was watching her through the whole over there. She just vanished!" He shakes his head 

Zoe finally makes her mind up and decides that since both Arnold and Lucy are acting rather nuts, she should find Henri again,. She pauses to look down from the hole in the middle of the floor and sees Henri and Earl advancing on a broom cupboard. He frantically tries to shout and get their attention.

Continue below.

Shaken, Freada looks at Henri and Earl. A look of intense fear can be seen across her face, and she stares at her blood on the floor.

"I-I-I need to return to my psych ward, I fear that I am having hallucinations"

The massive pools of blood across the floor and the crimson footprints Henri and Earl are now trailing as they move down the hallway belie the notion that any of this could be a hallucination...

OOC: She could be hallucinating the blood, if it was a hallucination. There IS however, a way to prove it independent of this (though it could still leave her suspicious)

BIC: "Henri, Earl, do you both see what I see on the ground right now? Describe it to me, and describe what just happened, please."

Continue below...

--

''The Shoggoth lords.. I can't say that I know of them, Arnold. But I believe your words.. If this what I think this is then.. then, Then..'' Lucy's sentence trailed off..

''Then the nurse must be the Shoggoth you mentioned, only demons have the powers to teleport, or so I assume.'' Lucy scrathes her head anxiously.

Damn it Zoe... You need to hear this..

''Arnold, I'm sorry for my words just now. But I need you to listen to me, check on the unconscious nurse over there.'' She points to the slumped over nurse in the nurse station.

''She might know more about this.. And tell Zoe what you told me.. Oh.. And might I have that shotgun, you see I still haven't found Laura, and with these creatures on the loose it's best to be armed to the teeth. Besides you might injure yourself with that.''

Lucy was about to chuckle when she recalls the baby girl that's caught up in this.

''Arnold.. When I came upstairs, those things carried that baby girl I held, they must want her for some purpose, will you protect them until I find Laura?'' She asked pleadingly.

"I'll give you the shotgun and I'll watch the kids for a bit, Im sure Zoe won't mind either." He hands her the shotgun realizing it is probably for the best he not dislocate his only good arm, plus the fact that he can't really hold it with his bleeding hand.

"I'll check on the nurse after we get this hand somewhat cleaned up, I'm losing a lot of blood. Look around for anything we can use."

 

''Thanks.. There is a supply of medicine next to the elevator, save some bandages and disinfectant for me, this wound is aching like hell.'' Lucy gently touches her burned chest and withdraws her hand after the shock of pain startled her.

She takes the shotgun. Inspects it for a bit and then nods.

''I'll be with you soon, if you need me, go to the Maternity ward or the Mother's ward.''

Lucy is about to leave until she saw Zoe run into her direction and decides to wait it out a bit.

Freada, Henri, and Earl then see Zoe (through one of the holes in the ceiling above) frantically waving an arm at them. She also appears to be trying to yell something at them, but her voice carries no sound...

"Zoe?" Henri says, noticing her. "Come downstairs! How are the others!?" He shouts to her. "And raise your voice! The storm seems to be blocking your voice."

"We killed a zombie, then some nurse did something to us, I reckon."

Earl replies to Freada.

"Nearly died chokin' on my own blood. Some sort of magic or somethin' is at work here."

He says, approaching the broom closet. He then notices Zoe.

"Zoe? We can't hear you, just come down here. This place is haunted or somethin'."

Freada appears to be somewhat relieved by this news, but the concern she felt near tripled at this. The implication that what she had just seen was real, and not a hallucination, was possibly thousands of times worse than her own insanity. She readies her shotgun, extremely worried at the thought of the re-appearance of the nurse, and then notices Zoe.

"Why... Why can't we hear her? She's so close, and she seems to be yelling."

"If it's not the storm, it's got to be magic." Henri says, looking a little bit frightened by the use of magic.

"Magic...?" Freada seems confused, and mentally worries for a few seconds about Henri's mental health. Then she remembers what the nurse had just done to her and the others. 

Maybe...

Zoe gives up on the shouting and is about to run for the stairs. She has just fully realized that she cant hear ANYTHING and that people only a few feet away can't hear her. Now she just desperately wants to get down to the others regardless of what's going on down there. Sadly the people below can't hear har and the entire area is covered with blood, which is a very off-putting situations to run into.

She starts for the stairs and gives one last look back at the psycho twins in the nursery when she sees Lucy acting a lot more normal and waving at her somewhat frantically with Arnold very close to her.

"Darn girl, now she wants to talk to me!" Zoe runs back towards to Nursery (carefully avoiding the holes in the floor.)

Arnold Sees her coming and waves his hand at her beckoning her to join them in the room. The loud room He has dubbed it being the only room he can hear in, plus well the presence of babies would make it loud too.

"CRAP I was going to knock that nutter out" she says to herself still freaked out by the fact no sound comes out but knowing theres no way he can hear her. She waves reassuringly at him before slowing and approaching cautiously, just in case.

Arnold waits with Lucy to discuss the plan with Zoe then he plans to go to that closet by the elevator to take care of his hand and get patched up.

 

As Freada, Henri, and Earl are distracted by Zoe – who abruptly pulls away from the hole and disappears – something creeps up behind Freada and tries to bite her. Fortunately, Freada hears its doleful moan and bolts away from it before it is close enough.

“Another one,” Earl says a little too casually – and sticks the barrel of his 10 gauge in its opened mouth. Good thing Freada isn’t looking, because the wet-sounding blast is bad enough – as the head explodes and splatters gruesomely all over the hallway. A second headless corpse then drops to the floor. The place is really starting to look quite messy…

---

Upstairs meanwhile, Lucy, Arnold, and Zoe all finally manage to come together in a place where they can all communicate out loud again. From here, they can even hear the heavy thump of Earl’s gun going off downstairs…

Zoe doesn't go too close yet but enters the room with Lucy and Arnold, who's hand is trailing blood. "What on Earth is going on here?! I went out to find Freada and got grabbed by some monster!" she says shuddering a little at the memory. "Then the first thing I see on getting back inside is both of you acting like crazies and I can't even scream cos I couldn't hear anything!" SHe starts taking a few breaths to calm herself down again.

"It's crazy Zoe, but their are demonic forces at work here." Arnold then explains the whole thing that he is aware of so far to her. (please read the posts im on my kindle lol) And explains the plan for the moment to her. Arnold asks if she would stay here till he gets his hand taken care of, or if she'd like to go with him and then join the others.

Lucy remains silent..

Waiting for Zoe's answer before reminding Zoe about the nurse and the 2 babies.

Zoe considers for a moment looking back and forth between Arnold and Lucy.

"Fine I'll stay and help find Lucy's sister but first I'm going to search the Nurse and her work station for information and see if shes asleep or dead."

''Right.. Then Arnold let's grab those medical supplies and patch ourselves up here in the Nursery.'' Lucy suggested.

"If you find something for my ankle give me a shout" Zoe says limping over to the desk, having aggravated it by running before.

''I can't shout, the silence thing remember?'' Lucy stated coldly.

''Look I'll check, but won't promise you that I'll find something.'' Lucy said hesitantly.

Lucy brandishes her shotgun before readying it. She checks whether there are any bullets in it and sees it has 2 shots. She makes a mental note before making her way to the Medical supply room. She intends to check the Maternity ward too along the way. It doesn't hurt to be careful after all.

"Will Do!" Arnold hollers back just before they leave room. "You ready for some quiet time my dear?" He asks Lucy smiling.

"Looks like the woman can zombiefy people..." Henri mutters. "Let's check up on those upstairs. It's worrisome that they aren't down here yet." Henri says to Freada and Earl, as he heads up the stairs, slowly. 

"Earl, watch our back. Don't want the witch to get the drop on us again."

"What about that witch?"

Earl asks.

"Shouldn't we go stop her before she can attack us again?"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about Zoe, Arnold, and Lucy. They can't defend themselves against the witch."

"Then we should get on huntin' her in the basement before she get's a chance to get em'."

Earl replies.

"And before she can make more zombies."

Henri looks up the stairs, and then nods. 

"You're right Earl. If she can raise all those in the morgue, it'll be impossible to take her out. Best bet is to take her out as soon as possible. You got anything we can use to make the job easier?" Henri asks.

Earl thinks for a moment.

"Well, I got some dynamite. I reckon that'll cause all sort of havoc if we toss em' into the morgue while she's raisin' the dead."

He replies.

Henri chuckles. 

"Good to see that you took your dynamite. Lets go." Henri says, heading down to the basement.  

"I never go no where without my boom sticks."

Earl replies with a smile.

Henri chuckles. 

"I suppose you could use a lighter for that." Henri says, handing his gold cigarette lighter to Earl. 

"Thank you kindly Henri."

Earl says, taking the lighter.

"It should do just fine."

"I'll go get the others" Freada says, assuming the others were with Zoe.

She heads upstairs, abandonning the two to their inevitable doom.

 

Upstairs, Zoe checks out the young orderly girl slumped over the desk. She’s still alive but is unconscious and appears drugged – Zoe notes the spilled cup of tea on the floor nearby.

The area itself contains a small workspace with a large desk and wooden chair. Records of any current patients and babies are stored on a shelf above the desk.  A small wheeled-cart near the desk holds a fancy silver tea and coffee set – where a fresh pot of tea sits.

Checking the files, Zoe sees that there are currently seven female patients in the hospital, including Lucy’s sister Laura Kennedy. Laura hasn’t had her baby yet, but a note in her file shows that the doctors expect her to deliver in the morning – and instructions are to call her husband when she goes into labor.

Then checking the logbook, Zoe sees that times are already filled in and rounds checked off for the entire night, by the orderly ‘Cindy Simpson’ – but something is off about the signatures and obviously Cindy couldn’t have signed them being KO’d across the desk.

Before heading for medical supplies meanwhile, Lucy and Arnold look into the mother’s ward. Inside, they note that they can hear the storm going on outside the building (the room is not silenced) and see fourteen beds with small side dressers and draw curtains for privacy. There are currently seven patients asleep in the room, including Laura Kennedy (Luci McKinley’s sister) – but they are all sleeping very heavily – and judging by all the drool, they may have been drugged. Laura Kennedy and two other women are still pregnant, while the other four have already delivered.

It suddenly hits Lucy that two of these mothers are going to wake up and find their new babies gone forever…

---

As this goes on, Freada hurries up to the second floor to find the others and suddenly notices that she can no longer hear anything. Arriving in the main hall, she sees Zoe in the nurses’ station and the holes melted through the floor – though she has no idea what would have done that. She also notes someone – perhaps Arnold and Lucy just inside the mother’s ward at the north end of the hallway.

---

In the basement, Henri and Earl carefully stalk the evil nurse that ran down in here somewhere. As they make their way up the main hall – fully expecting the woman to have an army of undead corpses waiting for them in the morgue – Nurse Vance pops her head out from behind one of the heavy slate lab tables.

She doesn’t say anything, but instead spews a rolling red fog out of her mouth that almost immediately sweeps over everything, to fill the entire basement. Henri and Earl’s eyes begin to sting and tears start streaming down their now blistering faces. Their lungs burn and their skin prickles at the caustic mists…

Not just standing there however, Henri fires at the witch with his rifle the moment he sees her – actually blowing the top of her scalp right off her head with his shot! Blood sprays everywhere and Nurse Vance screams – but not in pain – in anger at Henri mussing up her beauteous hair!

“I will see you die and steal your souls! There will be no salvation for you in the afterlife! I will torment you for eternity!”

“Here catch!” Earl’s shouts back – throwing a couple of lit sticks of dynamite behind Nurse Vance’s cover. Henri and Earl both duck – as a tremendous blast blows the laboratory all to hell and shatters all of the strange fish tanks against the far wall.

“Fucking bastards!” Nurse Vance groans after the wreckage – and she ducks down out of sight.

Then Henri and Earl hear her muttering dark words that seem to penetrate their minds with a brutal coarseness – and suddenly the medical skeleton – mostly blown to bits – reassembles itself before their very eyes! Then, wreathed in a sickly green aura, it grins wickedly at Henri and Earl, as it flies through the air at them like some kind of deranged missile!

Seeing the human skeleton rocketing toward them and not yet feeling any relief from the burning mists that surround them – Henri and Earl both slip a little closer to the edges of insanity – and while Henri doesn’t feel it yet, Earl suddenly begins ripping his clothes off! Knowing for certain that that is what is going to save him!

"Lucy Dear, are one of these women your sister? Look a couple of them appear to be pregnant still, but, they have ALL been drugged. See how they are drooling like that? Hmmm, this gets weirder and weirder." Arnold says waiting for Lucy to tell him who her sister is.

Lucy rests her hands against her mouth as the following thoughts go through her..

I.. I killed them.. I killed those 2 babies.. Oh.. God.. Forgive me.. Forgive me..

Lucy couldn't control her tears, she looked at Arnold with sorrowful eyes.

''Arnold.. I killed their children.. I.. I..'' Lucy reluctantly composes herself. As she slowly rose her finger to point to Laura's location.

''She's right there.'' She points to the girl to the right of her.

What have they done to you.. WHY! WHY! Why did this happen.

Lucy felt her anger welling up inside her, a primal rage that all of man's children carry but withhold from using ever in their lives. She just wanted to kill the person who was behind all of this. She focuses her attention on getting Laura out of this place for now. 

''Let's search for something we can use to carry Laura with, she's way to heavy to carry on our own. Besides she won't wake up anytime soon.''

Lucy dries her tears and looks in the room with shotgun held high, avoiding her gaze from the slumbering mothers.

I need to get them all out of here.. Kennedy, when I see you again, I'll punch you in the face..

"She is due anytime moving her in her state is not the most advisable thing I could recommend doing. Besides we don't know what else is out there. She maybe safer right here till we figure out what is going on Lucy." Arnold ponders for a moment. He then puts his hands on Lucys shoulders, rubbing them, hoping to calm/relax her a little.

"Trust me dear, we'll figure this out and we'll make her safe. I promise."

''Maybe.. That would be better.. *sigh* My head is a mess. Let's get those supplies and patch ourselves up, okay.'' Lucy said with reluctance. She appreciates Arnolds gesture though.

Finally making it to the medical supplies room, Arnold and Lucy are able to properly treat their injuries and wrap the ugly hole in Arnold’s hand. Also in the room is a bunch of equipment for sterilizing surgical implements, a medicine vault, and a door to the “Blood Room” that contains a number of small electric metal iceboxes, used to store large glass bottles of blood and plasma.

Then suddenly, all normal sound returns. The spell must have ended...

"Hmm listen *he rubs his hand on the door* Looks like we can hear again. The caster must be incapacitated, or better yet, dead. Let's stock up on all these medical supplies in case anyone else is injured. Didn't Zoe say she hurt her ankle? Look for anything we can use to splint it. Any Antibiotics or painkillers grab those too."

Arnold has to sate his curiosity, he explores the blood room. He is looking around for anything he thinks maybe linked with the occult scene of this hospital, anything worthwhile in here?

Continued below.

Freada heads towards Zoe and then quickly scribbles down a note onto her notepad.

"Henri and Earl are downstairs in the basement, they need help. Where are the others?"

As Freada is handing the note to Zoe, all normal sound inexplicably returns...

Continue below.

Earl coughs while inhaling the mist.

"Damn witch!"

He says, making his way towards her while heroically ripping his shirt off of his chest.

"We'll send you back to hell before you can do that!"

He yells, continuing his walk. Once he sees her, he takes aim at her head and tries to blast it with his shotgun, like he had done twice before to her zombie minions.

Quickly moving to the west of the morgue, Henri raises his rifle, and shoots the witch.

"Damn..*cough* witch"

OOC: If Earl gets there first, Henri shoots the skeleton.

Zoe decides that the tea must be drugged and she wants someone with more drugs experience to take a look so she grabs the teapot. She looks around trying to locate Lucy and Arnold but instead she sees Freda. "Well she will know about drugs." she says to herself and starts waving at her to come over since she knows she wont be heard if she shouts.

Continued below...

As Henri and Earl maneuver around the lab to get a bead on Nurse Vance, the oppressive mist continues to burn at their flesh and make breathing difficult. Great blisters are forming all over Earl’s exposed skin, as he inexplicably sheds his clothing on the way over – though he seems madly oblivious to them.

The flying skeleton meanwhile, slams into Henri and slashes open his face with its unnaturally sharp finger bones. Worse, it then wraps its legs around Henri’s waist and whips him back and forth – upending him and causing him to topple to the floor. Without a shot at the witch controlling the skeleton now, Henri is forced to bash the thing off him with the rifle barrel – but the skeleton is unnaturally strong and maintains a vice-like lock around his waist – ever threatening to claw his eyes out with its flailing hands!

Earl meanwhile, comes around Nurse Vance’s cover and finds her slumped behind the heavy slate lab table. She looks pretty worse for wear after the dynamite blast and her outfit is totally shredded. Earl sees that Nurse Vance is covered in horrible burn scars – old ones – all over her body, except for her face and hands. When she sees Earl she laughs at him and commands him to eat his shotgun and pull the trigger, “to save the world from his sorry ass”.

Something about the way she says it makes it seem a very compelling suggestion and Earl is about to comply when he abruptly realizes how ridiculous that would be. She must have tried casting a spell on him and he somehow (miraculously) resisted.

Slowly, Earl takes the barrel of his shotgun out of his mouth and then turns it back on Nurse Vance. She manages a disappointed frown – before Earl then pulls the trigger and blows her face off. Two more blasts follow into her chest; and Earl is confident that she isn’t going to be getting up again – ever…

The moment Nurse Vance expires, all of her maintained spells immediately fizzle. The skeleton collapses into shattered bones once again, the burning red mists start to clear, and the silence of the grave on the second floor lifts.

Henri coughs, but begins laughing. 

"Good job Earl, I thought we didn't have a chance! Ha Ha! Wait.... Why did you strip?" He says. 

Earl looks down at his naked body and shrugs.

"It just felt like the right thing to do I suppose. Seems like it worked..."

He says, trailing off. He then get's dressed again, but still remains shirtless because he ripped his shirt beyond repair.

"Least that damn witch is dead. What do we do now Henri?"

"We need to head up the stairs. Hopefully that'll be all we encounter in this hell hole." Henri says, walking to the stairs..... 

"Sure thing."

Earl says, quickly heading to the fuse box and repairing the elevator first. Now that the cop is no longer trying to escape, Earl doesn't want to cause trouble for the owners by disabling their elevator. Even in these situations, his common courtesy is commendable. Once finished, he heads over to Henri and the stairs.

Zoe Takes the note when her hearing returns. "Oh thank goodness for that! Its the weirdest feeling in the world when you cant hear yourself shouting. Arnold seem a little more, well, normal so he and Lucy have gone to find medical supplies to treat some wounds. I was checking out his young lady and found she has been drugged, I believe by this tea- can you find out anything from it?" She holds the teapot out to freda.

Lucy heeds Arnolds suggestion and searches for Antibiotics, something they could use as a splint, Painkillers, Bandages and Rubbing Alcohol and a bag to carry it with.

I guess the Beacon-Team showed that Demon spawn who's boss.

Arnold doesn't find anything unusual in the blood room, and while Lucy finds lots of helpful supplies in the medical supply room, it would appear that all the pain killers and other powerful drugs are securely stored in the currently locked medicine vault.

"Hmm nothing in there, what have you got? Any painkillers my hand is killing me, I would love for it to feel better." He says to lucy as he helps her carry enough supplies for the entire group and then some.

''Sorry, no painkillers. I assume they are in the vault.. And last time I checked, I'm not a thief. So you can either try to pick the lock yourself with my equipment, or go to another hospital tomorrow.'' Lucy said stubbornly.

''Let's get back to Zoe, I wonder what she found.'' Lucy readied her shotgun while waiting for Arnold to make his decision.

I wanna wash my hands..

Freada tells Zoe

"Dear, it's impossible for me to tell whether or not there's anything in this tea unless I feed it to something or I test it in a lab. Now, Earl and Henri need your help down in the basement!"

She then heads into the nursery, where I assume she can hear the low murmur of Arnold and Lucy's conversation.

"We could give a cup to Arnold and watch what happens... ah well." Zoe also heads to the nursery with the teapot still in her hand.

Lucy and Arnold are not in the Nursery, but currently on their way over from the medical supply room.

Once everyone is together however - the discussion turns to heading down into the basement to help Henri and Earl...

Freada sees Arnold's hand and lets out a slight gasp

"Arnold your hand! What happened?"

Lucy glances at Arnold before looking Freada, with an rather agitated expression, and sarcastic thoughts going through her mind.

Oh hi Lucy, are you still alive? Yes, Freada I still am A-okay.. Thanks for asking..

''Arnie here.. Shot himself in the hand.. For no reason.. And was acting very creepily until a while ago.'' Lucy said bluntly, not trying to cover up Arnold's behavior.

OOC: Thanks for waiting till we were done with the painkillers thing, you dont think those are gonna be a huge boost for our group????? Not to mention EVERYONE in the hospital has tried to kill us so far? Whats it matter if you're a thief or not?

 

BIC: Arnold just sighs and says: "Yes I shot myself in the hand, it had to be done NOW, can someone get over here and help me get this open? Zoe's ankle is sprained and my hand is going numb, we need to get these pain killers out quickly and administer them to the group." He shakes his head walking back to the vault waiting for someone to either help or give him supplies....

Freada shows something akin to disapointment at Arnold's news.

"That's... unfortunate. Arnold, I'll need you to accompany me back home, I'll want to get a look at your hand.

But for now, Henri and Earl require our help downstairs, it is vital we reach them without delay"

OOC: Seriously, use in-character knowledge here, don;t try to delay on the second floor despite Freada saying the others need help...

''Right, lead us there Freada.'' Lucy said.

''Oh and.. Seeing that you got that shotgun.. Can you hand me some spare ammo. I just got 2 shots left in this thing. Knowing the danger we might face, it's best if we split the ammo.'' Lucy suggested.

Freada pulls out the box of deer slugs, and then remembers that Lucy doesn't know that Smith and Cray had gone bad...

She puts her hand into her pocket and grabs her sleeping syringe, then tells Lucy

"Dear, I have to tell you some bad news, officer Smith and Cray attacked me and Arnold. Officer Smith is dead, Earl killed him after he tried to kill us, and Cray was captured. I'm telling you this so that there are no nasty surprises. Now, here, take half of the bullets here..."

She's ready to syringe Lucy should she make anything close a hostile move on her or Arnold.

"And don't forget the monsters, there are monsters here, thats why I have gouges taken out of me, it ruined my dress outfit too. Anyway lets all go see whats going on in the base meant then." Zoe starts heading for the stairs...

''He.. They.. Wait? WHAT?!'' Lucy shouted shocked, dropping some of the ammo she was about to pocket away.

Lucy looked at Freada as if she was crazy, her look could obviously tell her straight on that Lucy doesn't believe a word she says.

She calmly grabs the spilled ammo from the ground and continues being baffled.

"Officer Cray is in my car trunk, I incapacitated him after he and officer smith tried to manhandle us into the basement at gunpoint for being near the hospital at night. The night caretaker was there too. Zoe or Arnold killed him, I believe. They came back though... I... I think that there might be some truth to Henri's thoughts that magic is at work here..."

She says, as she leads the group to the basement.

Lucy cautiously pokes Arnold and whispers.

''Is Freada for real? Did she really put Cray in her trunk?!''

 

Arnold ignores everyone (including Lucy’s direct question) and silently draws away from the conversation and heads back over to the medicine vault in the medical supply room’ grumbling to himself about the impetuous nature of the youth these days – always in a hurry – never taking time to do it right the first time – amateurs!

The medicine vault may be locked, but it’s only secured with a wooden door; and is nothing like its name would suggest. Arnold is determined (and stands a decent chance) to get in there to find something for his damnable hand and all the pain it is causing – and then maybe he’ll head down to see what the fuss in the basement is all about…

---

With time potentially running out for Henri and Earl down in the basement meanwhile, Freada, Lucy, and Zoe are forced to let Arnold be and hurry down the steps to join them – hoping they are still alive and well.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs into the basement itself, Zoe halts abruptly! Spiders! The place is crawling with them! Off to the sides in huge webs and among the ceiling beams!

It takes some doing, but Zoe manages to choke down her phobia and convincer herself that it’s going to be all right down here, as long as she stays next to the others and well away from any walls…

Freada, Lucy, and Zoe then continue up the main corridor in the basement until they see the laboratory – apparently blow to bits by some kind of explosion – and Henri standing nearby, waiting for Earl to reset power to the elevator.

Henri sees the trio of women coming up the corridor and gives them a signal that Nurse Vance has been dealt with.

Just then, Earl finishes his work at the electrical panel and the elevator hums back to life.

When Earl comes around the corner to rejoin Henri – Freada, Lucy, and Zoe see that he is without a shirt and that his body looks horribly burned. Come to mention it, Henri looks a little beat up too – and his face is practically clawed open…

Before anyone can say anything to each other however – there is a sudden static-like noise that abruptly builds up loudly to one side of the room. A moment later, there is a vibrant electrical snap and a visible ripple in reality.

Then standing there, is a strange being – A large barrel-shaped creature perhaps eight feet tall, supported on five flat tentacle-like feet at its base. Five longer round tentacles sprout from the top of the creature, as well as what appear to be five short eyestalks and a pair of undersized bat-like wings folder against its purple body. It wears a prismatic colored utility belt of some kind, and grasps a small, unknown buzzing device in one tentacle. With an eerie piping sound it communicates, the shrill haunting tones apparently being translated by the buzzing device that it holds.

“Petition: negative emotion, human plural negative harm. Self travel chronos. Facilitate future human plural destroy Shoggoth.”

For some inexplicable reason, the bizarre creature seems oddly familiar to everyone, except Freada who screams aloud upon seeing it and almost loses control of her bladder. The others however, stand completely stunned at the sight and suddenly recall bits of memory lost to their blackouts – and know that they have at least seen this thing before. Earl meanwhile, is absolutely positive that this is one of the aliens that abducted him – though he somehow knows that it currently means him no harm…

Freada, in her panic immediately dashes into the empty room to her right. She holds up her shotgun and peeks over from around the corner, ready to fire if the thing attacked. She stays behind the wall though, using it as cover.

Lucy stands frozen with a shocked expression, quivering arms and her shotgun risen while trying to make sense of it all.

What! Wha-- WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!?

Time moves as she is still halted in this process of thinking till..

T.. That thing.. It.. feels familiar, yet.. I've never seen it before.. How?! Wait a fucking second! Did it mention the Shoggoth! So Arnold was right, whatever caused this was the Shoggoth..

What did it say again? Negative emotion, Human plural negative harm? Self Travel Chronos? Destroy Shoggoth?

Could it.. Could.. Could it be on our side?!

Lucy tries her best to try and sense what thing wants from them.

Earl stares at what he believes to be the alien and lowers his shotgun.

"I....I don't think it's gonna attack us ya'll."

Earl says almost in disbelief, twitching slightly.

"It's the alien Henri. I was....telling the truth.....see. I ain't crazy..."

He continues, still stunned.

Zoe just stares for a while before abruptly coming out with "See I said there were monsters!" She looks behind her but knowing the spider corridor is there she stays put instead.

"I always believed you Earl... I think I've seen it before as well...." Henri mutters, shocked at its appearance... 

ignore

With no one actively making a move to stop the extraordinary creature in the basement from speaking on, it does so – trying to communicate in its weird broken grammar through the buzzing translator –

“Self Sose; scientist; environmentalist,” the thing pipes, “Self facilitate preserve human plural; contrary history Self Race – destroy past-tense through Shoggoth plural. Self negative facilitate human extinct future – Self opinion: flora, fauna, planet, preserve future facilitate positive emotion generation plural. Petition: Sose help human plural.”

“Doctor Phillips: Shoggoth. Human plural pursue. Human plural negative destroy single – Shoggoth plural, positive power – Exception: through Self technology, small probability. Receive…”

At his point, the odd alien creature holds out a strange device in one of its tentacles for anyone to take. Whatever it is, it looks like a fist-sized white crystal dodecahedron that has been cut into four interlocking pieces and then reassembled again – “Affix x-ray. Mi-go x-ray harmonic amplify future radiation. Attune genetic harmonic plural Shoggoth. Lure Shoggoth enter field generate through Mi-go x-ray harmonic, destroy Shoggoth. Receive addition – probability facilitate…”

Another tentacle then holds out another strange device – this time a two and a half inch transparent crystal sphere with a slightly greenish hue.

“During sight Shoggoth format crystal sphere, Shoggoth form confined. Probability: confine Shoggoth form Doctor Phillips, facilitate additional simple control.”

It then motions to the northeast wall of the laboratory – “Shoggoth sanctum beyond wall.”

Then motioning at the space behind the elevator it adds – “Entrance. Shoggoth negative within. Self opinion: Shoggoth future return through human plural sanctuary breach. Probability: human advantage lure, after future prepare human x-ray device.”

Then the piping stops and the thing stands there, apparently waiting for someone to come take the two devices it is currently offering…

---

Up in the medical supply room meanwhile, Arnold has managed to break open the medicine vault. Inside he finds all sorts of pain killers including heroin, morphine, bottles of ether, and some other interesting things like the hypnotic barbital.

Taking a dose of the pain killers and then gathering what he thinks might be useful later, Arnold heads out to go downstairs and see if everyone is still down in the basement…

Arnold approaches the basement and yells down: "Anyone there? What's going on?"

"Ah, Arnold, glad to see you could make it. This creature has been telling us very odd things." 

"So Dr,  Phillips is this... Shoggoth? Does anyone know what a Shoggoth is?" Henri asks. 

"Unfortunately I am somewhat of an expert on the Shoggoth, they are not to be fucked with. We've encountered a couple so far in our time here. On a different note I have tons of medical supplies and some tranquilizers if anyone is in need of them. He makes his way down to the basement with the supplies in hand and stops in sight of the portal entity thing.

"What is this?"

Freada, who was beginning to understand that the creature wasn't going to kill them all, steps out from the side of the wall, and tentatively asks the alien

"Why do we have to do this now? And why us, why can you not contact more trained or powerful people?"

 

What is going on here? what is this thing? Is anyone hurt I have lots of medical supplies here, including some painkillers.

"I think it is trying to help us, although I'm not sure what "IT" is"

Earl stares at the creature in wonder and slowly moves closer, attempting to take the 'Affix x-ray' device from it's tentacle.

Earl gets the device without 'incident'...

Arnold is taken aback (a little) by the sight of the Elder Thing in the basement – but the heroin has dulled his sense of concern over it greatly.

He knows, from his vast knowledge of the Mythos, that the Elder Things were an ancient race thought to have originally colonized the planet epochs ago and are even believed to have spawned earth life as some sort of experiment.

Given that Shoggoths are already in the mix, it’s both surprising and not really surprising (all at the same time) to suddenly see one. From what Arnold knows, the Shoggoth were also an experiment of the Elder Things and ended up utterly destroying them in the end.

This Elder Thing then, must be some sort of time traveler and perhaps the last vestige of his own race.

---

Meanwhile, the Elder Thing tries to answer Freada’s question – “This knowledge, it is through standing in place with time precisely. Three quarters eight human plural, you inclusive location now; temporal now; act now. You inclusive preserve human plural race. Self minor facilitator. Self negative desire human plural future extinction. This knowledge is right to Self that revenge it would be, through inferior plural to diverge machinations the of Outer Gods.”

"Sooooo" Zoe replies "Basically we're in the right place at the right time, so its just us?"

"Seems like it." Henri says. "Arnold, mind passing some of those pain killers to Earl and I?while we killed that witch, she did a lot of harm." 

"let me have a look at you all..." Freada uses her healing skill on the two, as well as arnold and lucy. While she has the time.

She also bandages her own leg.

Yeah take what i have, that's why I brough them. Thanks Freada!. Now what the hell happened down here?"

*And zoe, can't forget Zoe.

Earl turns to Henri.

"Henri, I think we got to hook this up to an X-Ray machine. This thing here probably.....amplifies it....or something like that."

He says, quizzically looking at the device.

"Hmm, let's go on and do that then. Someone grab the crystal thing." 

"Oh, before Earl and I set up that thingamabob, mind telling me what this is? I picked it up during my first trip to the basement." Henri says, showing the elixir he grabbed to the Elder Being. 

"Umm, everyone, I have something to share with you all..." She says, as she heals everyone.

She takes out her anti-anxiety syringe"

"This is an anti-anxiety drug. It will stop us from over-worrying and going insane from what we see out there, but it's very addictive, and will make you feel drowsy. I'm offering it to you all because I have the feeling we'll need it. I have four doses here, and I believe Arnold has a few with him as well. And arnold, I believe I will be forced to apply this on you, if what the others say is true, you've come very close to complete insanity..."

 

" i will be ....fine Dear/" Arnold leaves her at that moment and walks over to the Elder.

"It was you! Wasn't it! Answer you fucking monster!" Arnold stands there fists clinched at the Elder.

"Conditional to concerning dementia: Afirmative."

Arnold look angry as ever... "But why?"

"Experience; Potency; Synergy: Collective positive power facilitate probability success."

Zoe thanks Freda for the healing then steps forward to take the other device from the Elder being (OOC: I think there is one more to take?)

"Thanks Freda. Well I'll hold on to this for now, until someone works out what I should do with it."

Zoe notes that she can look at something through the transparent sphere and suddenly thinks that if she views Doctor Phillips through the sphere, it will somehow prevent him from forming into the Shoggoth...

"Well thats... odd" zoe says after staring at the sphere for a few moments. "I get the impression that I can prevent  Dr phillips from doing somthing very bad so long as I watch him through this thing"