[IC] Abandoned Hope - Concluded

[Morose]

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The entire world -- those with electricity -- glued themselves to the television set. Amelia Pilkvist, anchor for World News Now, forced a grim smile. Live footage from around the world came streaming in, and as the red light flickered on the camera, she began to summarize the daily casualties:

"Good morning, I'm Amelia Pilkvist, and here's the news. Today around 3 A.M. in California, three successive earthquakes have left millions without shelter, food, or water. Emergency personnel are still attempting to search for survivors, and the estimated death toll stands at 2,147. At least 8,486 people are injured, and another 3,691 have been reported missing."

The background behind her displayed footage of the deadly quake, skyscrapers seemingly swallowed up by the ground, tossed around, and thrown aside. Screams and fire and chaos were commonplace.

"Some are beginning to question the notion that the center of this bizarre string of tragedies is in Altsoba, Washington," Pilkvist continued. "At the moment, our live feed shows no signs of tragedy in the town--though, the scent of cow manure drifting off from the highway may certainly count as one. We'll be back with an update at noon, with live coverage of the Altsoba Town Meeting."

Pilkvist smiled. "And now, it's time for sports."

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Sutton Smith

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Location: Jake's
Interacting With: Jake Anderson

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Sutton sighed, switching the television off. Her hair cascaded to her shoulder, never ceasing to curl--and more irritatingly, to tangle. Wiping down the table, she heard the door jingle as someone walked in.

"We're not open yet!" Sutton shouted, folding up the rag neatly and setting it down on the table. Turning around, she rolled her eyes a bit. It was Jake Anderson himself. Sutton couldn't help but note the bags underneath his eyes, the five o'clock shadow that must have felt like sandpaper. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothing was covered with stains and crinkled, as if he had been chased by the devil himself.

"Listen, Susan," Jake began, throwing his keys at her.

"It's Sutton" she interjected, catching them deftly. It was heavier than the normal set that she used--much heavier. A few of the keys on the ring looked foreign, hardly anything she had been allowed to use before. Some of them she hadn't the faintest idea what they want to.

Jake shrugged. "Whatever. Point is, I'm out of here. Going to be with my sister, away from all of this...this shit!" Pressing his hair upwards, Jake laughed a bit. "Congratulations-the place is yours."

Sutton blinked. Instantly, her neck began to itch, and an urge to run out of the place screaming filled her. The keys felt like an anchor, weighing her down, and confining her to the shabby little bar. She hated being tied down--there was a reason that she hadn't looked into buying a house, and that the rent on her apartment was a month by month basis. This wasn't where she wanted to die.

"Is this about the apocalypse bullshit?" Sutton asked bluntly. "You know none of that's real, right?"

Jake laughed a bit, grabbing the door and rushing out of it. Before he left, however, he added, "The Lord comes for us all in the end, sweetheart! Get your ass out of town if you're smart, you'll regret it!"

The door shut with a slam behind him, and Sutton let out a sigh. She had seen all of the news reports- and still, she wasn't convinced. The world had always been an awful place, but that didn't mean it was going to end.

"More tips for me, then," Sutton shrugged, and resumed her work preparing the restaurant for the lunch rush that day. Half of the town, she expected, would come after the town meeting at noon. They'd be hungry for answers--and starving for Jake's famous bacon-burgers. Fortunately, it was a moderately warm day, with only a few clouds concealing the blue sky. Nothing was too terribly amiss.

It'd be business as usual.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Danica Graves

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Location: #8 Aunt Sues Inn -> Outside Her Room
Interacting With: No One

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End Of The World Travels By Danica Graves
Day 1

Well here I am, in the middle of what people are calling the Epicenter of the End Of the World. I just settled in fully to this room in this inn at the end of the Universe. I hope that The Heart Of Gold Shows up, cause that would really be a cool way to get off the planet right now. You know, whisked away with a space man by holding my thumb out. Maybe I could write the next edition. Give them a Humans point of view instead of that idiot Arthur Dent. I know to have a towel at all times and I know what the fuck a Babblefish is. I am so more qualified than he is at giving our world's point of view. Granted, there hasn't been a mass vanishing of Dolphins so I wonder if this really is IT ya know?

The town seems pleasant enough but it reminds me of a lot of other towns this size in Washington and even back in Oregon. So not exactly sure what I will be able to tell you people about this place other than everyone is either running for their lives out of town or running into town going ooooh and aaaahhh. It is what I feel Roswell New Mexico must have been like back in the 1950's. A bunch of crazies.

Speaking of Crazies, had one hand me a pamphlet when I came into town. God he was weird. Reminded me of that guy in Contact. You know, Busey's son. That guy with the big teeth and white hair spouting out about god and religion and such? Yeah, one of them. I swear, it took everything in me not to order a bowl of pea soup from the diner I was in and gulp it down only to spit it on him and yell some really bad things about his mother.

Well on that note. I'm hungry. Might as well step out now. Maybe I will find something interesting. Maybe not. Anyways. See you all tomorrow if there is a tomorrow for Day 2!

Toodles Bitches!
Dani~

Hitting post on her blog she closed her lap top and smirked to herself, that one came out a lot faster than she had thought it would. Grabbing her bag and keys she stepped outside her room and locked up. Stepping over to the sidewalk she looked around. Now, where to go for some fun times in the End Times?

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Amy Chang

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Location: Altsoba Methodist Hospital ER
Interacting With: Idiots (I mean Patients and The ER Staff)

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"Wait, so you are telling me because Dr Asswipe decided to run away with his tail tucked between his legs I have to be the one to man up and head up the ER tonight?" Dr Chang growled from behind her clenched teeth as she stood behind her desk and shoved her hands into her lab coat pockets. This was just what she needed right now. Yeah, needed it like she needed a hemorrhagic yeast infection.

"Hey, I'm only passing along the memo. Don't shoot the messenger," Nurse Able said before spinning around and flipping her blonde pony tail at the doctor and walking out. Amy picked up her bog and pulled out her soft ball, squeezing it a few times and figuring if she really wanted to she could knock the bimbo out with one fast pitch to the back of the skull. Sighing as she pushed the thought of justified rage out of her mind she dropped the ball back into her bag and shouldered it before she headed down to the ER.

She hated working in the Er, there you actually had to deal with people who were awake and could talk. She liked her patients like she liked her men. Unconscious and letting her do what she wanted without complaint only to thank her when they finally woke up. Looking around the place was in chaos and from what she could see on the board most of it was stupid stuff that happened when people went into a panic. The staff wasn't doing much better than the patients were it seemed. All eyes glued to the TV watching the latest announcement.

Stepping over to the TV she reached up and pulled the power cord from the wall and then ripped out the cable for the cable as well and pocketed it. Turning she shoved it into her bag and glared at the staff that she was in charge of for the evening. The staff looked about as happy to have her there as she was to be there. "As long as the world hasn't ended yet, why don't do you and get back to work before I make you wish it had!" she snapped.

The staff jumped and went back to work. Sighing she pinched the bridge of her nose and counted to ten. She knew this was going to be a long night, the staff did as well. Dr. Chang had a bit of a reputation for being hard to work for. She was great in the OR, got the job done, worked harder than most anyone there, was a perfectionist but her ability to get along with her co-workers was her downside. She had been referred to as the Heartless Heart Surgeon more than once and it was a running joke that she had chosen the specialty because she was looking for a heart to replace the one she had. Some said it was two sizes too small. It didn't help that for the last Halloween Party she showed up as the Grinch.

Hearing a Code Black get put into play over the intercom system she groaned. Dropping her bag in the break room before heading off to Trauma Bay 1. It was going to be a long night.

[Pirouette]

Elisse Mariselle

Cambridge House, Number 1 Sealth Road

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There was excitement in the air as Elisse hurried to the window of the Cambridge House and ever so slightly pulled the curtain back to look out into the street. It was busier than expected at this hour, which meant the tourists were already beginning to flock in from all over. All those new people would need something to do and seeing as Altsoba didn't have much, the prospect of visitors to the historic Cambridge House was almost a certainty.

Oooh! Imagine the look on their faces when they meet the famous Cambridge Ghost! Elisse couldn't help but squeak in her delight as she spun around the living room! The sound of the front door's locking mechanism clacking into place did nothing but fuel the ghost's spirit. Ecstatic, Elisse rushed over to the door and stood before it as the door opened up and an older woman stepped into the house. Her plump form passed through Elisse causing the older woman to shiver. "Good morning, Elisse!" Ann, the plump woman, called out to the seemingly empty house as she continued down the hall turning on the lights to the house one by one.

"GoOoD..mOoOrning!" Elisse hallowed back, drawing out her O's to make her sound more ghostly. Elisse's ghostly wail was barely heard above the background noise but Ann acknowledged the reply turning her head and smiling at the general direction where she thought her friendly phantasm was. Pleased, Elisse scurried back to the window and continued with peaking out of the curtain hoping to catch the first glimpse of possible visitors. Ann in the meantime finished her work starting up the place for the day, which involved turning on the lights and starting up the old radio, which was just an iPod placed inside with a radio program looped.

Once Ann had finished her routine, she found took up her position in the hallway by the front door and cracked open her book. She was ready to stand to attention the moment someone walked through that door but she expected a slow day, just like any day. But to Elisse, today was more than just any other day, there was an actual chance to 'meet' new people. Those that were keenly aware to things, they might notice the curtain being pulled slightly open and if they looked just at the right time, they could see the shimmer of her face but it would be gone by the second glance.

[Pundii]

Liam Matthews

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Location: #10 Aunt Sue's Inn --> Jake's
Interacting With: Sutton Smith @Morose

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Liam paced back and forth as he listened, he'd been on the phone for the past hour with a spokesperson from FEMA regarding the earthquake that morning in California. On one hand, he hated fieldwork, he'd much rather be sitting in the newsroom in New York having this conversation than in his hotel room in a smalltown Inn in the place where the end of the world was meant to be happening. On the other hand, he loved being out, seeing a story develop first-hand, and being the first person to compile it for CNN to put together into a report that evening.

"Yes, everyone's thoughts and prayers are with the dead and missing, and i'd be happy to help you put that statement to air, but to do that I need a statement from you saying that you don't know how to conduct the search and rescue operation! You've got the next hour until they air, so figure out what you're going to say, and say it." Hanging up the phone, Liam lowered his phone from his ear and brought his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. The small desk in his room was a mess, covered in reports, statistics, both his laptops, and a small printer he'd managed to convince the owners into letting him borrow, it was almost as messy as his desk back in New York, almost.

Things had been a lot easier back in New York, at least before everything started going to shit. Nowadays Liam longed for the time when the most exciting stories they had were oil rigs exploding and leaking millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, or an election, or even a fucking tornado. Alas, it seemed those days were well behind them now, he was almost on a first-name basis with the people at FEMA by now.

Moving to stand, Liam tucked his phone into his pocket and grabbed his notebook. It was still a little while until the town meeting, and he planned to be there, but first Liam planned to get some coffee. Certainly not any of the coffee at the inn, he'd had it the night before and honestly would have rather just poured boiling water down his throat, no he'd find somewhere that could make a decent cup. He didn't bother to change before he moved out, looking exactly like he did during a normal day at work, blue work shirt, black trousers, nice shoes, and a press badge. Heading out onto the street, he didn't stop for a moment as he continued down the way and toward town hall.

As he reached town hall he kept going for now, looking for somewhere the next block down which might've had the capacity of sating his caffeine needs. He decided on Jake's, figuring anywhere with a name as unassuming as that had to be at least semi-decent. Wandering past a bearded man who had just left and seemed in quite a hurry, he pushed open the door and moved inside, glancing about before looking toward the woman who he assumed worked there, considering the fact she was, in fact, working. "Do you do coffee? Good coffee?" He offered a half-smile and moved over to the small bar, grabbing out his wallet as he did so.

[Witch Cat]

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Daniyal Lohi

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Location: At his own Home (Number 7 Grant Road)
Interacting With: Noone

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"Three successive earthquakes have left millions without shelter, food, or water. Emergency personnel are still attempting to search for survivors," The TV hummed in the background, the words now meaningless to Daniyal. He’d heard stories upon stories from every news station covering more and more seemingly random natural disasters, to the point where he was wondering if they were even natural in the first place. His mind raced as he stared blankly at the ceiling, laying on his back as the TV droned on.

The power-guzzling TV spouted out more numbers, death tolls, cost of repairs, they all turned into nonsensical beeps and groans, Daniyal just couldn’t find it in him to care. The hours of footage of Christian channels (sometimes even Muslim if he was lucky) spouting out more and more end-time prophecies made the end of the world seem very “eh.” So what if it happens? He knew no one would be able to do anything about it. He could even now faintly hear someone spouting verses from the Bible right outside, doing their best to help the sinners of the world.

Today was supposed to be Doomsday. The second coming of Christ, the day when a meteor crashes into Earth and destroys everything, or another myriad of different fears and possibilities. He could only sigh as he guessed that this’ll be another one of those worldwide (maybe just city wide) scares. Everyone will be in hysterics, only to feel silly when nothing happens. Yes, weird things were happening here and there right now. No denying that, but the next logical step isn’t to assume the world will end. However, he still couldn’t get that sick feeling out of him. That overhanging dread you felt when you just knew something bad was going to happen.

”I’m just being paranoid,” he reassured himself, his high voice carrying throughout the empty home. He was home alone listening to a bunch of mad-ramblings by scared people, of course he was going to feel a little fear. He knew he was better than that. He was logical, and practical, and smart. But the question “what if?” buzzed around in his head like a bothersome bee, begging to be squashed but never being able to do so.

He knew he had to clear his head. Take a stroll, maybe, take in some fresh air. The air was warm, and the wind cool, with no chance of falling meteors. Even if it really was his final day, why waste it? Springing back up to his feet, he made his way down to the front door. Nicking his keys, slinging the familiar weight of his bag over his shoulder, and wincing as the way-too-loose front door banged open due to the wind.

He welcomed in the blast of cool air, taking wide strides towards whatever direction. The streets were clear, and quite. Everything was in place, and peaceful, making the thought of a disaster happening seem even more ridiculous.

”What if this is just the calm before the storm?’

He hurried his steps and tried forcing the thought out.

[Morose]

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Sutton Smith

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Location: Jake's
Interacting With: Liam Matthews @Pundii

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Sutton glanced up, wiping the counter as another man sped into the establishment. At least this one couldn't quit on her, and leave her to run the place by herself. Plastering on a smile, Vivian set the rag aside, ready to start the day. The man was from out of town--definitely not a local. Maybe he'll tip better than 15%... she hoped.

"Do you do coffee? Good coffee?"

Sutton nodded, chuckling a bit. "This is Washington--it'd be illegal if we didn't," she said, walking over towards the coffee maker. Grabbing a mug, she poured some of the fresh coffee out of it, walking back over to the stranger. "Do you want cream, sugar, anything? We've got the works."

She smiled, glancing briefly up at the clock. Still a few hours until the meeting, and none of the cooks had shown up to work. No matter. She could sell booze as well as she could sell coffee and scrambled eggs. And if the people were hungry, she'd make the food herself. It didn't matter.

After all, with the keys jingling around in her pocket, she was the new owner of this restaurant--until Jake got the balls to come back to town. Everything was perfectly normal. No signs of the apocalypse anywhere.

"So, stranger, where you from?" she asked, eyeing his press badge. "Here to get live, exclusive coverage on the so-called end of the world?" She couldn't help but like the guy. He had to have been one of the most attractive people in Altsoba County--though, that wasn't saying much. Most of the people in Altsoba tended to be perfect small town types, more ready to wrestle a cow than put on anything without overalls.

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Vivian & the Reverend

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Location: Number 5 Maple Road
Interacting With: Each Other

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The Reverend sighed, his hands in his pocket as he knocked twice on his daughter's room. In his attempt to be more father-like, he had decorated it before she moved in. Little purple and pink stickers spelled out her name, surrounded with fairies and princesses and unicorns.

"Vivvie, sweetheart?" the Reverend called out. The door slowly swung open, and he groaned, averting his eyes. Vivian was sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by empty beer bottles and only half clothed. To the right of her, there were broken pieces of glass, and he sadly suspected heroin to be the culprit.

"Not guilty," Vivian muttered, her eyes hardly open.

"Vivvie, it's me," the Reverend said again, taking a delicate step into the room, pulling his trousers up slightly, as if the moral stench could stain the fine fabric. "It's Dad."

Vivian groaned, rolling over. "Changed m' mind. Guilty. I'm guilty as fuck." The Reverend shook his head, averting his gaze, while gesturing at his daughter to make some attempt at decency.

Vivian rolled her eyes, getting up and grabbing a pair of jeans that had only been worn three times since her laundry was last done. By the time she was fully paved, Vivian sniffed at her shirt. Smelled like beer--just the way she liked it.

"There's a leaf in your hair, dear," the Reverend added politely.

"And there's a stick up your ass," Vivian grumbled, her eyes flashing darkly. Pulling the leaf out of her hair, she would have loved to strangle her dear old dad, right then and there. They didn't have exactly the best relationship, to put it lightly. And if Vivian had her way, the relationship would have ended.

But for now, her work was in Altsoba -- and so, staying with the Reverend was needed.

"Vivvie, dear, could you just try a little bit?" the Reverend asked, his tone steadily rising. He clenched his fist, punching the wall in anger, before taking a few calming breaths. Brushing his hand free of the dry wall, he chuckled a bit to himself, mumbling an apology to his daughter.

"S'alright," Vivian said, shrugging her shoulders. "Today is judgement day, Dad! Are you excited? Your one way, express ticket to hell... All expenses free!"

The Reverend smiled softly. "Today is the day... our last day on Earth. Let us give thanks, and make love, not war," he said, clapping his daughter a bit roughly on the back. "Vivian, please, remember to come back to Christ. For the Lord is good."

Vivian flinched a bit, her eyes darkening, yet the Reverend had already turned his back. Spitting on the ground, she shoved past him roughly, and ran down the stairs, heading for the center of town. Hopefully, her fugitive would be there--and then she could get the payment she deserved.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Danica Graves

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Location: #8 Aunt Sues Inn -> Southeastern Wilderness Area
Interacting With: No One

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Danica looked up at the sky, seeing the few clouds rolling through and decided it was time to get out of small town for a bit. She hated being in cities and anything with a population over twenty was a city as far as she was concerned. Might as well go for a run. Changing her clothing real fast into her black spandex pants, running shoes, and a tank top she was treat to go. She tied her hoodie around her waist and grabbed her phone and climbing gear. Finding a good song to start off with; 1,000,000 by Amaranthe was perfect. It was fast paced and gave a good series of highs and lows for her to be able to run to. With that she locked the door to her room, dropping the keys in her pack before darting off from the Inn towards the closest wilderness area.

The travel writer was glad for the ear buds shoved into her head; not having to listen to various groups she ran passed and through. She didn't need to hear what they said to know what it was about. People on actual soap boxes with megaphones at their lips. People making the sign of the cross over their chest. Yeah, more religious nuts had showed up, wasn't that just spectacular? Oh well, more fodder for her blog should tomorrow come. Making her way south she was glad when she finally reached the edge of town and into the woods.

Up the rocks she went, down them, leaping over this and that as she pushed herself. Her runs were something she enjoyed nearly as much as climbing; it let her set herself free. There was nothing tying her down right then. What ever path she took, it didn't matter. There was no one to impress, the ground didn't care if she had make up on. It didn't care if she was wearing the newest designer clothing. It wasn't concerned who she was dating right then, which was no one. It didn't matter if she hadn't been there in days or if it had just been minutes since her last visit. It didn't judge. If only the rest of the world could be like that.

Coming around the bend she came to a slow walk, something off in the distance catching her attention. Walking over to a tree she reached up into a branch and pulled down a piece of bright blue colored fabric. taking it in her fingers it reminded her of the same material used for her tent. A brow rose as she looked around and saw another piece and then again. Slowly following the trail of shredded canvas deeper and deeper into the wilderness area. What was going on? She had heard there were a lot of homeless taking up the wilderness areas as of late but why all the pieces? this type of fabric wasn't exactly the easiest to cut, let alone rip to shreds like this as if it was tissue paper.

Coming to a clearing she stopped as her hand came over her mouth, cupping it to quiet the gasp that left her lips. The place was a wreck. Tents torn apart were strone this way and that. There wasn't many but there was more than a couple. Stepping around slowly she looked at the remains of the tents, noting a little bit of blood dotting the surface. Pulling out her phone she snapped a few pictures before looking at the ground for anything else.

There were tracks but she wasn't sure just what they were. They could have been bear, could have been something else. Maybe bigger? She had dealt with bears in the past but not enough to know one type of bears tracks from another or to have a clue how big they should be. Taking a few more pictures, some with her foot next to the track so she could reference the size.

Tucking her phone back in her pack she shook her head and began to head back out of the wilderness. No bodies, shredded tents, tracks, and blood. Who the hell should she go to first? The cops or the forestry commission? Did this town even have a forestry commission? She had no idea. She'd google it once she was out of the woods. Right now, it was time to get out of there before whatever happened here, happened to her. Taking a breath she turned, carefully making her way out of the scene before starting her run up again and heading back towards town.

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Amy Chang

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Location: Altsoba Methodist Hospital ER
Interacting With: Idiots (I mean Patients and The ER Staff)

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The sound of gloves snapping out rung through the Trauma Bay as Dr. Chang pulled them off and dropped the blood covered latex into the biohazard bin before ripping off her paper face mask and heading off for the next emergency. Well, so called emergency as she looked at the file that was handed her. Opening up the metal clipboard she went through it for a moment before eying the nurse.

"Seriously? There isn't someone else that could handle this?" she asked as she slammed the thing shut and gripped it as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"The mother is really upset, we've tried to calm her down but she thinks that demons have possessed her children. She won't listen," Nurse Kelly explained.

"Demons?"

Kelly nodded in reply and Amy rolled her eyes before storming off towards curtain 12. She could hear the mother saying a rather loud prayer and as she pushed the divider back she had to clear her face of all expression as she looked at the woman thumbing her rosary.

"Mrs.... Johnson," she said looking back at the file before glancing up at the woman. "What happened?"

"I put holy water on my children, to protect them from the demons of hell and this happened! They must be possessed!" the woman exclaimed. Dr. Chang had to bit her tongue as she found herself about to ask, well if that is the fucking case why didn't you take them to a priest?

"O..kay," she said as she stepped over to each child in turn. Checking the raised areas on their skin. "How do you feel?" she asked them.

"They are hurting! Demons hurt my children to hurt me!" the mother yelled. Amy paid her no mind and nodded towards the eldest child, waiting for the boy to speak.

"It itches and it hurts to breath. It's hard," he said as he scratched at the spots on his arms and the cross looking mark on his forehead.

"See! The demon is killing my child! Do something!" the woman bellowed, nearly in hysterics at this point.

"Sit down and shut the hell up before I have you sedated," Amy said coldly before looking over at Nurse Kelly. "Do your children have any allergies?"

The woman looked at Amy dumbfounded that she had been reprimanded but shook her head slowly to the question. "Not that I know of," she admitted. Sighing Amy stepped back and looking at the next child and then the next. "See, this is what I put on them. It's just Holy Water. I got it online to protect them," she said as she handed the bottle over to the doctor.

"What, was the church out?" Amy asked as she took the bottle and opened it. The woman actually looked confused for a moment, like she had never considered going down to an actual church to get holy water. Opening up the bottle Amy took a sniff, a perplexed look coming over her features. Placing the tip of her finger over the top of it and tipping it to wet it. Feeling it between her thumb and index finger, it was slick. Not like water. Finally she placed a bit to the tip of her tongue and her eyes could no longer hold back the roll. "This isn't for demons."

"What? How would you know! You aren't a priest!" The woman was offended that Amy would dare tell her what it was or was not for. She was their mother, she knew best. The internet would never lie to a mom!

"No, but I grew up in a Chinese Restaurant. This is for cooking, it's peanut oil. My parents used this stuff by the gallon each day," she said handing it over to Nurse Kelly. "I want a scratch test done for peanuts, and anything else while you are at it. Get the RT down here for a breathing treatment for each of the kids to help. As well as a 1mg/kg of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride injection for each child."

"What is that?" the mother asked quickly.

"Benadryl! They're having an allergic reaction to peanuts. Next time, get the holy water from the actual source. A church," she said before stepping out of the room. This day was just getting better and better.

[Sohtem]

Elizabeth Hawthorne

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Location: Alistair Apartment 1C -> Southeast Wilderness Area
Interacting With: Danica Graves

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Ellie turned around, sticking her key into the door of the apartment she lived in, a clicking sound being heard by her indicating that the door was locked, trying to turn it to be sure and was satisified when she was met with resistance and it wouldn't go any further. She then started to stretch out her arms and legs before she started her jog.

She had been hearing all these events going on in the world, some people were talking about doomsday, but she thought it was rather silly, it just felt like the world being the world, well a little more than usual anyways, however there was a scare that did get her when some sort of epidemic had been spreading across her homeland that she had been visiting, that cut her visit there short and was lucky to make it on the last plane out before they closed the airport, preventing anyone from entering and landing.

Ellie noticed the woods and figured that could help her with her jog, she always liked to stay in shape a little, not fully work out her muscles, but stay as fit as possible. She began to bob and weave through the trees, finding it a good way to keep up her reflexes and dexterity, it certainly was challenging, but then it wouldn't be much of exercise if it wasn't.

She happened to come across some tattered tents and a bit of blood, it shocking her and making her a bit nervous; she wasn't really interested in getting a closer look, she knew there were homeless people living in these woods and just figured that they had gotten attacked by a wolf or two, though she would be sure to tell someone when she got out of there, which seemed to be like a good time to do so.

She began to run towards the direction of town, when she was suddenly tackled by something though she couldn't really make out what it was, the shadowed part of the woods made it difficult to make out what appeared to be a man hovering over her. “L-Look, I don't have any money.” She said to him, thinking that's what he wanted, the man turning his head in a curious manner before it swiped at her, Elizabeth just managing to block with her to keep her head protected.

Ellie winced when her arm got cut pretty bad, continuing to cover her head as the man started to claw her up more, eventually she saw a small opening and kicked him off her before making a run for it, Jeez, what because it's the end of the world everyone's going to act like lunatics? She thought to herself as she darted through some bushes.

She pressed herself up against a tree, panting heavily, as she peered from both sides of the tree, she didn't know who was chasing her, all that she knew was it looked like some crazy homeless man wearing a weird costume. She let out a shaky breath when the man went off in a different direction, thinking she was safe, only to feel some teeth puncture the skin between her neck and her shoulder, she let out a small wail of pain, looking to who bit her, wondering why now this guy was attacking her. She winced as she began to slam her back into him and into a tree, eventually getting free with a combination of her slamming the crazed man into a tree and her biting him.

She gripped at the wound as blood ran from it and her cut up arms, continuing to run until she saw a brown haired woman in a tanktop, black spandex pants and running shoes, she had to get her attention, she didn't know if she'd be attacked again and she needed help, “Please help, some men just attacked me.” She shouted to the woman, waving her arms before her tired legs gave out from her a few feet away from the woman.

[Pundii]

Liam Matthews

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Location: Jake's
Interacting With: Sutton Smith @Morose

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Smiling as he listened to the woman, he settled where he sat, leaning against the counter and watching her as she poured him a cup. "Just milk, not cream." He smiled as he sat there, if there was one thing that hadn't changed since he moved from Australia, it was how he made coffee. Liam couldn't stand cream, and even though he got a few odd looks from time to time, he was very picky about his coffee, and refused to have it another way.

Grabbing his phone out of his pocket as it buzzed, he looked over the text he'd received and began to work on typing out a reply, eyes fixated on the phone as he did so. When finished, he'd let out somewhat of an irritated sigh before smiling back up at her as he took the coffee. "Thanks." He gave her a nod as he took a sip, letting the hot drink run down his throat, he'd burnt his tongue just a little, but he didn't particularly care at this point, Liam needed this coffee badly. He'd barely slept the past few days, between working and who-knows what else, he was lucky to get about an hours sleep every night.

As he heard her speak up again, he gave a polite smile, watching her and noticing her glance toward his badge, chuckling. "That's the plan, though, i'll be honest I didn't expect the apocalypse to be so filled with small-town values and friendly smiles." He grinned, taking another long sip of his coffee. "I'm an associate producer with CNN in New York, they decided they wanted someone here 'just in case' - like i'll be able to get much film if the world /does/ end here."

Shrugging his shoulders, he glanced up to the clock to confirm that it was still a few hours until the meeting before he looked back over at her, a half-smile still on his face. "And hey, if it's all just a hoax, then I just got a few days of paid holiday, so why am I complaining?"

[BlueSky44]

Zachary Carpenter

Location: Number 3 Sealth Road
Interacting With: No one


When Zach woke up, once again to his empty house, he got up and went to the kitchen to make his breakfast. He had everything setup, and turned on the small TV sitting on the counter. He flipped it to the news, and stopped moving when he heard about the rest of the world.
Well, everything is going to hell, he thought to himself, at least they didn't have to see that.

He finished up what he was doing, and went outside and grabbed the newspaper, which was reading the same headline as the news on TV. Zach walked back inside the house, and into his living room. Once in the room, he went over to his bulletin board, and reached for a pair of scissors. He carefully cut out the news story and pinned it to the board. Grabbing some string and more pins, he connected the story to every bit of paper that was up on that board. Standing back, Zachary looked at his board, thinking.

Everything seems to be coming together. The world is ending, and more of these things are popping up everywhere. There are several things that are strange about all of this. Why is the world ending now? How could everything possibly end like this. He looked over at the clock and realized that he had been standing there for 10 minutes. I'm running late, can't stand around here all day. I need to head into the station.

With that last thought, he grabbed his keys, and everything else he needed, and headed out the door. Zachary drove off in his police vehicle, and looked at everyone, the people running around at the same time as him. He waved out the window to everyone he saw, Altsoba being a small town, most people knew each other. He thought about going to the inn, since that was where most of the tourists were, but decided against it. He would probably scare people if they had heard about California. He reached the station, signed in, and waited for the emergency calls to come in.

Mitsukuri Katsumi

Location: Alistair Apartment 2A
Interacting With: No one


Katsumi left her apartment early that morning. She wanted to get a head start on the day. Since she didn't have a TV, she hadn't heard about California, until she reached the first floor of the apartment complex. A few people were standing there, looking at the newspaper. Walking over, she read the headline, and her mind started racing. Nearby, there was a stack of papers, and she quickly grabbed one. Reading it over, she thought that this couldn't be happening. The world couldn't end like this, maybe the supernaturals are the ones causing it? she thought as she folded up the paper and put it in her jacket pocket.

She walked outside and saw that the street was deserted, except for one or two people who were walking quickly down the street. She started wandering around, hoping to see if anyone else would join her on the street, but no one did. Katsumi started thinking about how these events were effecting the rest of the world. Her mind wandered to her family, people she hadn't spoken to in almost two years. She shook her head, and started walking down the street towards the main part of town. She passed by several buildings, and then her eyes rested on Jake's, the small little café in town.

People there might know what is going on.

After a few minutes, she was standing outside of the café, and waited for it to open up. She stood there, lost in her own thoughts, and hadn't realized that it had opened up and that people were already in the building. Once she got out of her own head, she hesitated on going inside. To her, Americans were still strange to her, she didn't fully understand them yet, and was weirded out by them. Katsumi hated being in a crowded building with people who were strange. She may have been in America for around2 years, but it was still a weird environment for her. Very different from the place she grew up in. After another few minutes, she took a deep breath and walked inside.

[Morose]

---

---

---

---

Amelia Pilkvist smiled, as the camera returned to her. Just an hour before the famed Altsoba town meeting, and already, there was another disaster for her to report.

"Just in--a woman in Finland is claiming that she is carrying the next Jesus Christ," Amanda paused, a seriously? expression coming up on her face. Taking a moment to recollect herself, Pilkvist returned to her practiced, neutral expression. "The woman, serving a life sentence for triple homicide, was in solitary confinement. Guards are puzzled as to the sudden pregnancy, with the Westboro Baptist Church campaigning for her immediate release to... to deliver the baby of the lord."

An image of a particularly deranged woman came onto the screen, but there was no denying it. She was at least nine months pregnant. Quickly, the backdrop switched to a bizarre woman with white hair.

"In other news, famed singer Kerli is now urging the Estonian public to accept her, and her... moon children... as the one true savior," Pilkvist continued. "We'll be back later for live coverage of the Altsoba town meeting, where some people may be saying... Altso-bye to their lives. I'm Amanda Pilkvist, and that's the news."

---

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---

---

The clock has struck eleven, with just an hour to go until the fated Town Meeting. Some of you may have noticed the last group of people attempt to skip town, the mayor alongside them. Will you attempt to flee the sinking ship? Or perhaps, the notion of the apocalypse doesn't bother you? At any rate, the day is remarkably pleasant for Altsoba, with only a few clouds in the sky, and no signs of rain. The temperature is a rather comfortable 70 degrees, and summer has officially arrived.

Some of you may notice the power flickering. Sometimes it comes back only for a moment, only to vanish once more. Cell phones and radios are proving ineffective, and perhaps, this is the sign everyone was looking for. A panicked hush falls over the town as the power dies, yet this time, it does not come back.

But this is Altsoba! Whether or not you believe in the apocalypse, a power outage is normal. Trees fall all of the time, hitting lines and tearing up electrical equipment. Can it really be a coincidence, though? Or is this only the beginning of something more sinister? Better go use the hospital's back up generators if you want to use anything electric. The power won't be coming back.

@Lady Amalthea and @Sohtem: Luckily, you two were near the edge of the woods. Danica may find herself having some steadily increasing cramps, and Elizabeth's hunger is being to increase substantially.

@Pundii@Witch Cat@Pirouette@BlueSky44: Reverend Adder, Sutton, Vivian, Liam, Daniyal, Elisse, and Katsumi safe, but who knows for how long? They're most likely feeling restless, peeking out of windows and making plans as to whether or not to attend the Town Meeting. Everyone will be there, so it would be strange for anyone to not arrive, no?

@BlueSky44: Zachary gets a frantic report that there's something off in the woods. The caller explains seeing blood, blood, and blood. Could be a grizzly attack, could be something more...

@Lady Amalthea: Amy has been doing a fantastic job running the ER. The only issue? Some of her employees aren't exactly the best. An intern walks by, carrying a tray filled with various acids and bases, only to trip. The tray soars, with the majority of a 4.9 M HCl solution hitting Amy directly in the eyes.

@Pundii: Liam is well, but while paying for his coffee, a flashing image appears within his mind: Amy Chang, the local doctor, with gleaming black eyes. Unless he's been doing his homework on everyone in town, he likely doesn't know who the woman is.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Danica Graves

---

Location: Southeastern Wilderness Area
Interacting With: @Sohtem

---

---

Danica decided to walk out of the forest, pulling her ear buds out and tucking them into the sports bra strap beneath her tank top as she headed back towards town. Whatever had done this, she didn't want to be caught unaware. She was glad she had after moving a bit when she heard someone calling out and turned in the direction of the voice. Seeing the red head her eyes widened a bit. She didn't run straight over to her, mostly stopping in her tracks and not knowing what to think of the situation. Was she hurt or was it something more? Watching her carefully for a moment, she opted to be the good Samaritan and start to walk over to her, cautiously, because you know nothing ever bad happened when you tried to help a perfect stranger did it? Yeah, NEVER!

Hearing her words she looked around to see if anyone was coming towards them but it seemed clear, for now. Stepping over to her as her legs gave out Danica tilted her head to the side. "What the hell? Were you part of that camp site that was torn up I came across earlier?" she asked as she took a look at the woman and saw her gripping her arm and the blood. Untying her hoodie from around her waste she wrapped it tightly around the woman's arm and tied it down tightly as she could. Once that was done she moved to stand and suddenly doubled over a bit as she pressed against her lower abdomen. "Ugh, I still got two weeks before..." she began before cutting herself off and looking back at the woman, taking her arm and wrapping it over her shoulder.

"We gotta move," she said quickly, trying to help her get back up to her feet. Looking around she took stock of their surroundings, getting a feel for the woods and what direction town was. Too many years up on the mountains looked like it may pay off, at least for now. She knew which way they needed to go, she just hoped that the quick first aide she had done would slowly the bleeding down enough so she wouldn't have to fireman's carry the girl out of the woods. Sure, she liked to work out but seriously? Hefting a red head down the trail was not her idea of a good time.

Then another wave of cramps hit, this time a little bit worse than the ones before. "Fuck me... Okay red, let's move," she said, getting her free hand around the woman's waist and trying to help lead her down a more direct route than what the path provided. As far as she was concerned, they couldn't get out of the woods fast enough; which was a first for Danica. She usually preferred the wilderness to the urban sprawl but right then, the last thing she wanted to see was another tree something could be hiding behind. Her eyes darting back and forth with each step they took.

---

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Amy Chang

---

Location: Altsoba Methodist Hospital ER
Interacting With: Idiots (I mean The ER Staff, seriously - I D I O T S!!!!)

---

---

Things in the ER were running smoothly thanks to Dr. Chang staying on the staff's butt and not putting up with anything from the patients. People had a tendency to be idiots in general, during a crisis they turned into fucking morons. It seemed that the moron flu was going around as Nurse Gretchen, actually an intern but the woman had been a nurse for all of five minutes before going right back to med school since she didn't want to deal with bed pans, came waltzing through the crowded ER with a tray of open container Acids and Bases. She should have closed the container before leaving the lab, she should have taken the less crowded route through the north halls. But did she? Nooooooooooo!

The blonde bimbo, how fitting was that, decided it would be quicker to just make the hop, skip, and a jump route right through the middle of Amy's ER as the doctor was finishing up signing some discharge papers. That was when Lady Luck (Better known as Lady Lick Ass by some) decided to go into full PMS mode (it must be something in the water) and roll all the dice against the nurse and make her fail not only her intelligence check, but her dex check as well. Mrs. Johnson from earlier, you know the Holy Peanut Oil Idiot, came out to thank Dr. Chang for purging the demons from her children and instead ran smack dab into the back of Dr. Gretchen. Sending the Future Darwin Award Winner spilling out as the tray flung from her hands.

Amy turned to see what the yelps and screaming where about only to be met in the face by a liquid that was anything but a water balloon of fun. Suddenly Dr. Chang felt like the Wicked Witch Of The West and screamed out in pain. "I'm melting!!!" as her hands came up to her face. The pain was searing, clouding her mind for a moment before she grabbed the nearest thing in scrubs and yelling at them. "Eye Wash Station!!!" The orderly wrapped an arm around Amy's waist and quickly pushed her through the confusion and the commotion deeper into the ER until they reached the sink and turned it on.

Lowering her head down as quickly as she could until she felt actual water touching her face and then stood there, gripping on to the edge of the sink as her joints went white and she gasped for breath. The orderly standing next to her looking at the doctor and then over at the crowd as other nurses jumped in to get people back from the spill and check to make sure no one else was hit when everything happened. Amy just standing there, face in the sink as the water kept jetting up gently into her eyes. "Ten little idiots jumping on the bed, one fell off and is gonna be dead because Dr. Chang is about to slaughter someone's ass," she muttered under her breath over and over again. Each time she went through the verse she subtracted one until she finally hit zero. "Zero little idiots jumping on the bed, time to get a drink because they all be dead."

She wanted to move and look around, find the person that had done this and ream them a new one but she waited until the required flush time had passed and then went for another good ten minutes. Blindness was a pain, a blind surgeon was pointless, a blind surgeon during the end of the world was nothing but a damn meat shield. She wasn't about to be a meat shield for anyone, no matter if it was the end time or the beginning times. Taking a breath she held her hand out for a towel, waiting until she felt it against her finger tips before righting herself and pressing it gently against her face.

Slowly her eyes opened one at a time, carefully looking around and for a moment thought she actually was blind because of the darkness in the ER then she saw the flashlights in the blur and sighed at the blurriness. Thankfully though after a few minutes of blinking her vision cleared up and she was able to see the ER fully once again. Taking an offered flashlight from the orderly she started shining it around. Things seemed calm now but it didn't take Dr. Chang long to figure out who exactly had caused the issue, Dr. Gretchen was sitting there on a stool getting checked out by another nurse and looking like she was scared for her life; her eyes widening even more when she saw Dr. Chang staring right at her.

"Dr. Chang, I am so sorry!" she scrambled to say.

"Ta ma de, bizui!" she snapped, not even realizing she had gone full Firefly.

Warning, warning, target acquired, target acquired. All hell about to break loose. Evacuate, evacuate. Bitch move your ass!

If there had been a warning system for Dr Chang right then, that was what would have flashed along the bottom of the TV screen for the world to see. A beeline was made as Amy stormed over to the woman and let the insults and the berating fly. Some more of it coming out in Chinese as she stood there bellowing at the nurse at the top of her lungs. "Are you retarded? Seriously, carrying that stuff through here without even a lid on it? Wuh de ma! Jen dao mei they would hire a blond that lives up to the stereotypes! Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze! Jing-tzahng mei yong-duh! Go, get out of my sight before I decide to do a live autopsy on you!"

The girl sat there paralyzed before finally running off as Amy took a step closer. Shaking her head she looked around a bit, most of the staff just staring at her slack jawed. "Nee mun doh shr sagwa." Turning she walked off down the hall as she flipped the towel to rest on her shoulder and went to find a new pair of scrubs to change into. This night was just getting better and better. "And get the back up generators turned on for the love of god before we lose someone on life support!!!" she screamed as she rounded the corner.

[Witch Cat]

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Daniyal Lohi

---

Location: At his own Home (Number 7 Grant Road)
Interacting With: No one

---

”I wouldn’t be a coward,” he promised to himself,

”I won’t just run away and hide,” he swore to himself,

”I’m brave and rationale,” he bragged to himself, and yet he was cowering in his own home begging for the lights to turn back on.

The stroll did nothing to calm his nerves. All he saw were either empty streets or people running, and street preachers but that’s a given. Desolate streets, inking skies, dark corners. He felt as if any moment someone might jump him. However, he didn’t feel as if someone might, just feared someone might. Even he couldn’t tell the difference, but a reassuring thought told him he was safe. Which did absolutely nothing.

He was skirting the edges of a near-by untamed land, where hobos frequented. He liked the dirty rats, even though he called them dirty rats. Maybe they could calm him a bit. They had sob stories galore, and were a lively bunch. He even made friends with a few after showing them some tricks. Little hocus-pocus, make a coin appear and then you’re loved. It seemed a bit pathetic to him at times, finding friends in a group of unwashed drunkards, especially when some of them wouldn’t hesitate to shank you, but Daniyal was odd, he found pride in that. He was going to march in there with open arms and-

CRASH

A murder of crows levitated above the trees and sped away, a low cry was heard when another crash echoed out of the thicket of trees and shrubs. Daniyal immediately turned heel, speed-walking away from the noise. Maybe it was best to not visit a place after the worst of bad omens took place in front of you.

After placing as much distance as he could, he slowed down a little. His eyes darting from dark window to dark window, before sighing with relief. It was only a power outage, perfectly normal and common! A tree fell over and snapped a wire or two.

”A power outage the day the world is supposed to end?”, he thought.

It wasn’t precognition, nor divination that poisoned and worried his thoughts. It was fear. Pure, primal fear. Daniyal didn’t consider himself someone who believed in superstition, but fear had already grappled his mind.

Reaching his home in a cold sweat, Daniyal swung open his front door after fumbling with his keys, and wincing when the door banged against the wall. He flipped the light switch, nothing. He went to the fuse box and toyed with the knobs, which only caused a flare of sparks that terrified him more.

So there he was, laying down on the living room couch, without the comfort of light or the TV, waiting for the moment a voice will just ring out nonchalantly announcing the end of the world. He almost chuckled at that. He was acting stupid, and he knew it.

He scolded himself for that, ”Get up!” his mind yelled. What was he worried about anyway? Meteors? A killer bursting in? He didn’t know what was going to happen, so why worry about it? Right?

All he knew was that he didn’t want to be alone. Technically he wasn’t alone at that moment, but he would rather not acknowledge that thing’s existence right now. He knew of a town meeting taking place soon, he could go. Safety in numbers, right? Get the voice of the future generation heard, right? It was a great idea, right?

He still hadn’t shed off his clothes nor bag yet, but by his standards he was all ready to go, messy hair and all. And now to watch the slow ticking of the second-hand as the silence pounded his ears.

[Sohtem]

Elizabeth Hawthorne

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Location: Southeast Wilderness Area
Interacting With: Danica Graves @Lady Amalthea

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Ellie looked over to the woman weakly as she approached, panting as she tried to respond, “If you mean the one with shredded tents, no I wasn't, I was...getting ready to head back into town when...some guy in a horned costume or something attacked me,” She spoke in shallow breaths, trying to explain the situation fully, “I managed to lose him, then...some other psycho bit me.” She finished, wincing and grunting as the hoodie was tied around arm.

She noticed the woman being interrupted by something ailing her and couldn't help but be concerned, though she was the injured one, "Hey, you alright?” Ellie inquired, wincing once more when she was helped up. She was grateful for the help, Ellie knew with all this chaos going on, some people weren't likely to help those that were injured, just human nature to preserve one's self.

“Yeah, I agree, the sooner we get out of these damn woods, the better, not that being attacked isn't just so enjoyable, but it's not what I had planned for a workout.” Ellie responded in a sarcastic and weak chuckle, not that she found the situation particularly funny, just her natural sarcasm loved to rear it's head even in the most dire situation, also it helped distract her slightly from the pain.

Ellie continued to notice the woman keel over slightly once more, not sure what was impeding her, though not that she could exactly try and help, besides the fact that she was injured, medicine was her area of expertise or she probably would've done something for her own injuries. “The name's Elizabeth, Ellie if you prefer.” She responded back, not bothered with being called red, but she figured it'd be best that the woman helping her at least knew what to properly call her.

[Morose]

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Sutton Smith

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Location: Jake's
Interacting With: Liam Matthews @Pundii, Mitsukuri Katsumi @BlueSky44

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Sutton nodded, pouring milk into the cup. "Not the weirdest thing we've ever made...Some kids like to put Red Bull in it," Sutton chuckled, passing the drink and the bill across the counter. His phone buzzed, and Sutton quickly began tidying things up in the kitchen, letting the meat for lunch thaw.

"That's the plan, though, i'll be honest I didn't expect the apocalypse to be so filled with small-town values and friendly smiles. I'm an associate producer with CNN in New York, they decided they wanted someone here 'just in case' - like i'll be able to get much film if the world /does/ end here."

Sutton grinned. "You must get to travel a lot, then?" She paused, chuckling a bit about his comments about values. The only values she had really seen in Altsoba revolved around the price of milk, and how it somehow justified the gigantic lagoon of manure out by the Jefferson farm.

"And hey, if it's all just a hoax, then I just got a few days of paid holiday, so why am I complaining?"

Chuckling a bit, Sutton shook her head. "I could think of better places to vacation than Altsoba. Whatever floats your boat, though."

She glanced up, hearing the door open. A young Japanese woman, nervous and confident at the same time, made her way inside. Sutton smiled at her, though truthfully, she was wishing that someone else came in. Jake himself would have been decent, or any of the other staff members.

"Welcome to Jake's, I can help you over here!" Sutton called out, putting on her winning smile. "Can I get some coffee started for you, miss?"

[Pundii]

Liam Matthews

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Location: Jake's
Interacting With: Sutton Smith @Morose, Mitsukuri Katsumi @BlueSky44

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Smiling toward Sutton as she spoke, Liam took another longer drink, already almost finished with it as he sat there. "Not as often as i'd like, I only got sent out here because I figured it'd get me some brownie points." He chuckled. As he heard the door open, he turned over his shoulder, giving the woman a slight smile and a nod before he turned back to the counter. Glancing to the clock again, he took a long drink of his coffee to finish it off. "I ought to get to the meeting and set up my camera, good coffee." He gave Sutton a nod, smiling as he reached down to his wallet.

The very moment he set down the cash on the counter, that image flashed in front of his eyes, a woman he'd never seen before. He assumed she was a doctor from the scrubs, but there was just something about her, what was it? Oh yes, the black-as-the-fucking-void eyes staring right at him. Liam had never seen such a thing, he'd never had such a sudden, random and unpleasant image broadcast directly into his brain before, and keeping that fact in mind it would probably be pretty safe to say that he took it well.

Letting out a sudden yelp, Liam staggered backward, getting his leg caught on the stool he'd just been sitting in as he tripped, falling back down onto his ass as the stool clattered to the floor loudly. Within moments of it appearing, the image was gone, with no indication of what had possibly brought it on as he glanced around frantically, his breathing much faster now as he brought a pair of fingers up to his forehead, rubbing his temple gently as a slight pain ran through it. "What in the name of christ..." He muttered to himself, letting out a slight sigh as he took another moment before slowly moving to stand. Peering between Sutton and the Japanese woman.

"I uh, i'm sorry, just thought I saw something and got a fright." He tried to play it off in a spectacularly awkward fashion, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned down, carefully picking up and righting the stool he'd knocked over.

[Lady Absinthia]

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Danica Graves

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Location: Southeastern Wilderness Area
Interacting With: @Sohtem

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"Oh great, we have fuckers running around in Halloween costumes now? Aren't the bible beaters bad enough?" Danica quipped as she started to help the woman out of the woods. Each flood of cramps were a little worse than the one before and she had to stop to take a deep breath and breath through it before taking another step and then another.

"Yeah, just my spidey senses tingling is all," she said trying to lighten the mood a bit. She didn't know this woman and the last thing she wanted to say was...Oh, that's just mother natures way of letting me know there is some blood sucking creep on our tail, so we might want to run. Yeah, that always got the best reactions. She had tried that once after she figured out what it meant, never again. Not till she knew the person and Danica wasn't exactly someone to get close enough to anyone to be able to trust them enough to think that they wouldn't toss her into a mental ward if she did say anything. Playing it off was the best way to go.

"Yeah, I can think of a few better ways to get my daily burn in than that. Names Danica. Now, let's get to you to the hospital to check out that arm. At least make sure you don't need a rabies shot or anything," she said as she moved further along the path and eventually coming out into the town proper. Perking a brow as she noticed none of the street likes were working, that really nothing that needed electricity was she slowly looked over to Elizabeth as her lips thinned.

"Well, this is going to make crossing the street more like a game of frogger than a walk in the park," she said before rolling her eyes at herself. "Actually, after all that back there, Frogger might be easier." Sighing she pushed ahead, the hospital wasn't too far off at this point, she just hoped that the place was actually functioning without power. There were generators for that sort of thing right?

---

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Amy Chang

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Location: Altsoba Methodist Hospital ER
Interacting With: Idiots (Did I mention Idiots?)

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---

"What do you mean the generators were stolen??" Amy spat as she held the flash light in the face of the the Director of Plant Operations. She was livid, they had people on life support, people coming into the ER left and right and they were trying to function as if it was the middle ages. This would not do.

"Last night, someone broke in. We can't get another one in, not with everything going on," James, the DoPO, said rubbing his face in frustration.

"Then I suggest you start pulling car batteries out of vehicles in the parking lot and hot wiring them to the life support units! And use the rest to set me up an OR in the middle of the parking lot," she bellowed. The man looked at her like she was nuts, then his eyes widened a bit.

"That might work! I mean the car batteries, what on earth do you mean an OR in the parking lot?" he asked, still confused about that half of the conversation.

"You've never watched an episode of MASH have you?"

"MASH?"

"Nevermind, just get to work on the life support units, I'll see what I can do about the rest," she said before turning and wandering off through the basement of the hospital and up the stairs to get back to the ER. "God, what I could give for Klinger right now," she muttered under her breath as she made the top of the stairs and end up face planting right into the back side of someone as she tripped over a wheel chair that had been left right in the middle of the dark hallway.

[Sohtem]

Elizabeth Hawthorne

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Location: Southeast Wilderness Area
Interacting With: Danica Graves @Lady Amalthea

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---

“I'm going to have to guess no, guess if the end of the world is supposedly happening, all the psychos that were too scared to show themselves want to be remembered, lucky us.” She quipped, a small chuckle escaping her. well at least she still had her sarcasm, so perhaps she wasn't in terrible shape or simply her injuries were making her a bit delirious.

“Oh, lucky you, wish I had those, maybe then I wouldn't look like someone who's ready for a body bag.” Ellie remarked with sarcasm once more, not intentionally of course, it was just one of her ways to be a little less focused on her injuries.

Ellie was partially revealed when the finally exited the woods and were in the town once more, noticing however much like Danica that none of the street lights were working, well that was just great, she wondered if the rest of the town was like this or if it was just the section they were in. She glanced over at Danica when the woman explained that they would have go across the road like frogger, “Oh yeah, should be a piece of cake, though I got squashed more times than I made it across when I played.” A small smirk on her pained face as she spoke.

Ellie prepared herself for them to cross, her legs shaking as she tried taking a step only for her body to collapse slightly, though thanks to the woman holding her up, she didn't completely fall down, “I can...probably make it on my own to the hospital, last thing I want to do is burden a stranger who probably has their own things to prepare for before the supposed apocalypse comes.” Ellie spoke up, most likely she wouldn't reach the hospital on her own, but she already burdened this woman enough with getting help out of the woods and getting blood all over her and didn't wish to do so further.

[Morose]

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Vivian Adder

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Location: Town Center ---> Police Station
Interacting With: Passerby, Fugitive (NPC), Police

---

---

Vivian leaned against the base of the statue, looking over the information in front of her one last time. Brian Lenox, age 34, had received bail and then skipped his court date. The man was wanted for armed robbery, and with his friends and family living in Altsoba, Vivian expected she'd find him easily today. She glanced up at the statue behind her, and smirked a bit. It was a memorial to Isaac Stevens, territorial governor of Washington who died in the Civil War. Of course, hardly anyone knew that about him.

To them, he was just the random statue in the middle of town.

"Sucks, don't it?" Vivian laughed, patting the statue.

A few people had begun to trickle in, most of them meandering around the shopping district to kill time. The tiny podium had already been set up, and for some reason, a camera crew with a generator had already gotten into position. Glancing over at it, Vivian couldn't help but wonder where they had gotten it from.

A boy with shaggy hair caught her attention, and she walked as he wandered inside of Death Till We Part, one of the antique stores in town. Smirking a bit, Vivian folded up the piece of paper and slipped it in her pocket, slowly making her way towards the store. Already prepared to jump into action, she placed her hand on her concealed pistol.

The bell tinkled softly as Vivian walked inside, spotting Lenox in the back of the shop. For some bizarre reason, he was examining the tea cups. Rolling her eyes, Vivian slowly made her way back there, nodding at the shopkeeper. Most people in town knew what the reverend's daughter did--and so, she wasn't surprised when the shopkeeper's face turned white.

"Don't worry," Vivian smirked. "We won't make a mess. I'm a professional, see."

The shopkeeper seemed hardly reassured. Continuing on, Vivian pulled out her pistol discretely, and tapped the fugitive on the back.

"Boo!" Vivian joked, as he turned around, only to find a pistol firmly against his chest. Vivian broke into a grin, as he broke into despair.

"Please don't shoot..." Lenox whimpered. Vivian only rolled her eyes. She hated it when people begged, turning into sniveling little kids. For once in her life, she wished someone wouldn't crap their pants when she pointed a gun at them and handed them over to the cops.

"I don't get paid if you're dead," Vivian answered, rolling her eyes. Grabbing onto Lenox's shoulder, she marched him out of the shop, keeping the pistol nuzzled right up against his heart. She could feel his fear and terror, yet it bored her. It wasn't anything new--there wasn't any excitement. The walk to the police station was the same as collecting on any other bounty.

She craved something different.

"Brian Lennox," Vivian said harshly, shoving the fugitive at the cops on duty. "I'm here to collect."

---

---

Reverend Adder

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Location: Number 5 Maple Road
Interacting With: His thoughts

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---

The Reverend sighed as his daughter left, and sat down at the empty table. A lifetime ago, he would have been on the phone, discussing options with clients, and ignoring his wife's pleas for attention. A private chef would prepare his meals, a limo would provide his transportation. He had been a member of the one percent.

Of course, all of that ended what felt not too long ago. He traded in his armani suits for the cloth, and sold his mansion for a tiny house in a small town where no one had heard of Adder Industries. It was a fresh start for him, a way for him to start over. Glancing at a photograph of Vivian when she was small, the Reverend smiled sadly. Try as he did, he only seemed to enrage his daughter. Every word he said to her, she reacted to it like a vicious attack.

Holding his head in his hands, the Reverend quietly began to pray. "Oh Heavenly Father, bless this town and keep us from harm. I know that you have great plans for us, and let those plans be fulfilled...But please, please Father, spare the soul of my dear daughter. I fear there is something wicked at work inside of her."

The Reverend wept, muttering an amen. Vivian hadn't been the same in years. Yet he could never be sure if the memory of his sweet, good natured daughter was just an illusion, an image he had painted for himself and passed off as reality. As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew his daughter was no different than the fugitives she brought to the police station. The only thing that had kept her out of jail was his wealth.

Shuddering, the Reverend prayed again, hoping to find some morsel of comfort. However, the more he prayed, the more he began to fear for Vivian. A darkness seemed to be within her, becoming more and more clear to his memory with each passing moment.

"It's just the way kids are," the Reverend said, attempting to reassure himself.

It hardly worked.

[Pirouette]

Elisse Mariselle

Town Meeting

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Some time passed before Elisse gave up her vigil of outside. It hadn't occurred to her that there was an impending Apocalypse, which took precedence over a visit to some crappy "tourist" spot. If people weren't really visiting before all this, they certainly weren't going to bother now. Elisse realized this and sat bored on against the wall, sulking away.

It wasn't until a strange flicker and eventual loss of the power that caused Elisse to snap out of her brooding to watch the old woman, Ann, mutter a curse as she stumbled upright. Elisse watched her waddle up to the door and glance outside with her hands on her hips. "Huh. I wonder if..." Her voice trailed off as she furrowed her brow thinking about what just happened. It wasn't apparent to Elisse but Ann was a bit senile to not even consider that a power outage in an Apocalypse usually meant bad things. In fact, Ann hardly displayed any concern for the End of the World and instead carried on with her mundane life, but Elisse wasn't a good judge of that fact. She, too, was guilty of being unconcerned for the End of the World as she was blissfully unaware of it. After all, it wasn't her world in a sense.

Elisse continued to watch Ann's reaction to everything but only saw her confused stare through the glass door. After a moment, the older woman made a decision and decided to waddle away to investigate what the town was doing. Elisse didn't budge from her spot until she heard the sound of metal lock clicking into place. It seemed like there were going to be no visitors to Number 1 Sealth Road today...

Elisse sat for a few minutes alone as she tried comprehending everything happening in a short period of time, but being on the duller side of herself, she didn't know what to think. However, she knew what she wanted to do. She had to leave her little sanctuary and see what was going with the outside world. So she did.

----

Elisse had apparently enjoyed the feeling of the sun in a previous lifetime but not anymore. There was no feeling of anything in her spectral body as she walked along the pavement of town. Hell, she didn't really feel her feet compress as she walked and the whole thing felt like she was just floating in a way. It made Elisse feel as if she weren't around anymore and that was a scary reality that she had never really accepted since her passing and resurrection. In other words, she was dead but refused to believe it. She was just different, she'd say to herself and carry on like passing through walls was nothing. She was just a little bit different then all those gathering in the town square...

Once Elisse reached the town square, she wandered amongst the people. Deep down, she was envious of how most were interacting with each other in a way she couldn't but stubbornly, she told herself that she just wasn't in the talking mood. Instead, she decided having a quiet vantage point to people watch was best and chose a central tree to hop onto. She blissfully kicked her feet as she watched everyone in the town scurry about, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.