Zombiedude101

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

I'm down with that, as always.

Pine Hollow: Nightcall

Bishop/Ward

Name: Nathan Bishop
AKA: (Former) Detective Bishop, Nate, The Phantom PI
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Race: Human - Spirit Host
Position: Investigator
Appearance: An african-american of relatively average physical build and only just evening out at 5’10, Nate was probably the less imposing one of the two when he and Gabe were partners in the LAPD. In line with his cop days, he’s kept his hair fairly short whilst doing the same for any facial hair that dares crop up without his consent, leaving his face nicely smooth and clean-shaven and going well with his calm, hazel eyes.

As a throwback to his detective days (and as a partial consequence of picking up some of Gabe’s mannerisms) he usually wears a shirt with matching pants and work shoes, often wearing a tie and occasionally even a coat in the process, depending on the circumstances. When he carries his S&W .38 special, he usually keeps it in a shoulder holster which, conveniently enough, also tucks neatly under his coat when it needs to.
Abilities: Nate's connection to a spirit allows him to immediately distinguish whether or not an individual or object is mundane or supernatural in nature. It’s akin to being able to see in colour in a colourblind environment, so to speak. This also gives Nate, to a certain degree, a sixth sense - allowing him to sense anything out of the ordinary in his environment.

Finally, this connection serves as a two-way street; basically, if he were to suffer a life threatening injury, whilst this won't heal him or give him a get-out-of-jail free ticket it'll certainly give his body a jumpstart and slightly tip the odds in his favour, as Gabe’s spirit helps anchor his own in this world.

Of course, there’s a certain side-effect to this connection; Nate’s occasionally picked up one or two mannerisms and ‘aspects’ off of Gabe due to their spiritual bond, to the point he’s gained fondness for things he once had nothing to do with (a newly acquired taste for scotch and tequila are examples) or, more noticeably and alarmingly, the colour of his eyes briefly changing to match Nate’s.

Backstory:

Nathan 'Nate' Bishop was once an up-and-coming detective among many working for Los Angeles' finest with a career path that seemed to be headed to the top. Partnered with and mentored by one Gabriel Ward, a senior detective who saw something in the kid, the two made a fine duo, cracking cases left and right together. Yet there was one case that had for many months proved impossible to crack, despite a wealth of information - a series of ritual murders that seemed to be linked to something far more sinister in the City of Angels' seedy underbelly. Whoever, or whatever was behind it seemed.... unearthly. Something beyond the mundane world.

Gabe took a particular interest in the case due to its similarity to a similar cold case from the earliest days of his career, even going so far as to chase up his own leads outside of work in an attempt to find out what the hell was going on. It proved to be his undoing - a few days later, Nate received a phone call in the early hours of the morning - one that he promptly hung up on and took off in his car to disprove. Arriving at the scene, he found his partner dead - killed via the same disturbing, ritualistic method as all the others. Another good man dead because of this monster.

Despite being told by his superiors to let it go, Nate refused to allow the trail to go cold and spent months sifting through case files and evidence lockers, desperate for any lead even if it meant he hardly ate or slept because of it. Eventually Nate's superior ordered him on a paid suspension for several weeks to stop him from working himself to death, yet even that didn't deter him - instead he went and chased up his own leads as Gabe had, ignoring the immense risk he was taking.

Out of options, he tried visiting where they'd found Gabe's body - the scene of the last murder. It occurred to Nate that there had to be some kind of connection that he could grab onto here, if only small, yet instead of a lead he found something better. For a moment, he'd have sworn he heard a familiar voice - was he losing it? He thought so, yet the voice spoke again and he recognised who it was. He turned around to face the voice and found a familiar, albeit ethereal face. Gabe.

For a moment Nate thought he'd finally lost it, or that his lack of sleep had took a toll. He panicked and made a sharp entry yet on the way out he forgot to look before he crossed the road and wound up having a disagreement with a station wagon as it turned around the corner. Blacking out for a few minutes, when he woke up he found two people standing over him - one was obviously the driver of the station wagon, the other was Gabe. Seemingly unharmed by the encounter, he quickly dismissed the driver of the station wagon and went for a long walk - hoping to shake whatever it was off. It was only when Gabe finally spoke again and this time explained his predicament:

The grisly method of execution the killer had enacted upon him was a ritual which left his spirit bound to the crime scene. Since Nate was the only one who had such a close connection with him, Gabe was able to appear - if only for a brief moment - and would've tried to explain the circumstances had it not been for the former running off. That knock on the head he'd took from the car had almost killed him, enough to briefly separate his spirit from his body if only for a few seconds. With that window of opportunity, Gabe had jumped onboard Nate's body like a passenger in a car, jumpstarting his body up in the process and pulling the two of them into a new world.

Aside from teaching Nate that the world was nowhere near as mundane as it seemed - their ritualistic killer was just an example of what the supernatural world has to offer - Gabe’s presence had bestowed him with a number of tricks, one of which was the ability to immediately distinguish between the mundane and supernatural.

Under (literal) spiritual guidance, Nate used his newly-found perspective to track down his old partner’s killer - a vampire who restrained his victims and then used precise incisions with a ritual knife to drain their blood into a container below, using it to mark a series of symbols as some kind of tribute to an ancient deity, trapping the spirits of the dead at their respective murder scenes as a side effect of this tribute. Forced to act in urgence, Nate was forced to stake the killer in the heart with their own ritual knife.

Case cracked, Nate assumed that this meant Gabe would join the rest of the killer’s victims in finding a peace in the afterlife - yet it seems the senior of the two had other plans. Being an honest-to-god cop through and through, Gabe had left this earthly plain with plenty of unfinished business - thinking of all the unsolved cases still out there. Instead he told the kid he planned on sticking around.

From there, the two continued their partnership - albeit differently. Leaving LA and the department behind, they found themselves drawn to Pine Hollow and wound up joining the Supernatural Investigation Agency.

Other notes:

• Nate drives a '72 Imperial LeBaron, again as a throwback to his LAPD days as it was the car he bought shortly after his promotion to detective.
• In addition to his S&W Model 15 he owns the snubnose variant as well for concealment and an Ithaca 37 "Stakeout" shotgun which he keeps in the trunk of his car, more out of habit than necessity.
• His exposures to the supernatural world have left him making several 'preparations' to handle certain situations. For instance, holy water and crucifixes for dealing with troublesome vampires (Even if they're just placebos, it works wonders on scaring the dumber ones into co-operating with him), a silver knife and a couple of silver .38 bullets after a particularly troublesome run-in with an angry werewolf and so on.
• He's quite the scifi fan and among other things he keeps a number of films among his video tape collection, including Terminator and Predator among others. And yes, he's a Schwarzenegger fan too.

Name: Gabriel Ward
AKA: Gabe
Gender: Male
Age: 49 (At the time of his death)
Race: Ghost
Occupation: LAPD Detective (At the time of his death)
Appearance: Whilst alive, Gabe stood at a height of 5’10 and with his stocky build he looked like he could hold his own in the rougher parts of town. His hair had prematurely started graying as a consequence of his long career, though he kept it fairly short-and-simple on his head whilst across his weathered face was a neatly trimmed beard that went well with his sharp, blue eyes. As a detective, he was seldom seen without his pale-blue shirt with the matching tie and pants, and sometimes he was even known to wear a coat when it suited him.

Now, as a ghost - he hasn’t changed that much. Rather, he’s just gained an ethereal quality to his overall appearance, coming across as somewhat translucent with a vague unearthly outline. His eyes stand out more than anything now - having taken on an even sharper quality than they had in life.

Abilities: Being a ghost with a non-corporeal form, Gabriel is capable of passing through any solid matter that doesn’t have some form of supernatural protection on it, allowing him to survey his surroundings without too much trouble - the only problem is that he’s limited in how far he can actually travel. Whilst Nate’s keeping him anchored in this world, it also means he can only move so far away from him before he’s unable to move any further - akin to trying to pass through a steel wall.

Also, being a ghost - he doesn’t particularly have the ability to exert any physical influence on individuals or objects in the real world, the only exception being those whom he has/had a strong connection with or those of a supernatural nature. Whilst we’re on this subject, it’s also worth mentioning that Gabe is only visible to Nate and those who have the ability to see ghosts, such as members of the supernatural world.
Backstory: Refer to the above.
Other notes:

• Has an ex-wife and a daughter who moved to Pine Hollow shortly after he died. He still keeps tabs on them by using Nate as a proxy.
• Shares Nate's love for scifi and other cult classics. As it happens, being able to watch VHS tapes in the office is a great way of relieving the eternal boredom that can come with being dead.

Pine Hollow: Nightcall

Here's what I had, in case you're interested:

Bishop/Ward

Name: Nathan Bishop
AKA: (Former) Detective Bishop, Nate, The Phantom PI
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Race: Human - Spirit Host
Position: Investigator
Appearance: An african-american of relatively average physical build and only just evening out at 5’10, Nate was probably the less imposing one of the two when he and Gabe were partners in the LAPD. In line with his cop days, he’s kept his hair fairly short whilst doing the same for any facial hair that dares crop up without his consent, leaving his face nicely smooth and clean-shaven and going well with his calm, hazel eyes.

As a throwback to his detective days (and as a partial consequence of picking up some of Gabe’s mannerisms) he usually wears a shirt with matching pants and work shoes, often wearing a tie and occasionally even a coat in the process, depending on the circumstances. When he carries his S&W .38 special, he usually keeps it in a shoulder holster which, conveniently enough, also tucks neatly under his coat when it needs to.
Abilities: Nate's connection to a spirit allows him to immediately distinguish whether or not an individual or object is mundane or supernatural in nature. It’s akin to being able to see in colour in a colourblind environment, so to speak. This also gives Nate, to a certain degree, a sixth sense - allowing him to sense anything out of the ordinary in his environment.

Finally, this connection serves as a two-way street; basically, if he were to suffer a life threatening injury, whilst this won't heal him or give him a get-out-of-jail free ticket it'll certainly give his body a jumpstart and slightly tip the odds in his favour, as Gabe’s spirit helps anchor his own in this world.

Of course, there’s a certain side-effect to this connection; Nate’s occasionally picked up one or two mannerisms and ‘aspects’ off of Gabe due to their spiritual bond, to the point he’s gained fondness for things he once had nothing to do with (a newly acquired taste for scotch and tequila are examples) or, more noticeably and alarmingly, the colour of his eyes briefly changing to match Nate’s.

Backstory:

Nathan 'Nate' Bishop was once an up-and-coming detective among many working for Los Angeles' finest with a career path that seemed to be headed to the top. Partnered with and mentored by one Gabriel Ward, a senior detective who saw something in the kid, the two made a fine duo, cracking cases left and right together. Yet there was one case that had for many months proved impossible to crack, despite a wealth of information - a series of ritual murders that seemed to be linked to something far more sinister in the City of Angels' seedy underbelly. Whoever, or whatever was behind it seemed.... unearthly. Something beyond the mundane world.

Gabe took a particular interest in the case due to its similarity to a similar cold case from the earliest days of his career, even going so far as to chase up his own leads outside of work in an attempt to find out what the hell was going on. It proved to be his undoing - a few days later, Nate received a phone call in the early hours of the morning - one that he promptly hung up on and took off in his car to disprove. Arriving at the scene, he found his partner dead - killed via the same disturbing, ritualistic method as all the others. Another good man dead because of this monster.

Despite being told by his superiors to let it go, Nate refused to allow the trail to go cold and spent months sifting through case files and evidence lockers, desperate for any lead even if it meant he hardly ate or slept because of it. Eventually Nate's superior ordered him on a paid suspension for several weeks to stop him from working himself to death, yet even that didn't deter him - instead he went and chased up his own leads as Gabe had, ignoring the immense risk he was taking.

Out of options, he tried visiting where they'd found Gabe's body - the scene of the last murder. It occurred to Nate that there had to be some kind of connection that he could grab onto here, if only small, yet instead of a lead he found something better. For a moment, he'd have sworn he heard a familiar voice - was he losing it? He thought so, yet the voice spoke again and he recognised who it was. He turned around to face the voice and found a familiar, albeit ethereal face. Gabe.

For a moment Nate thought he'd finally lost it, or that his lack of sleep had took a toll. He panicked and made a sharp entry yet on the way out he forgot to look before he crossed the road and wound up having a disagreement with a station wagon as it turned around the corner. Blacking out for a few minutes, when he woke up he found two people standing over him - one was obviously the driver of the station wagon, the other was Gabe. Seemingly unharmed by the encounter, he quickly dismissed the driver of the station wagon and went for a long walk - hoping to shake whatever it was off. It was only when Gabe finally spoke again and this time explained his predicament:

The grisly method of execution the killer had enacted upon him was a ritual which left his spirit bound to the crime scene. Since Nate was the only one who had such a close connection with him, Gabe was able to appear - if only for a brief moment - and would've tried to explain the circumstances had it not been for the former running off. That knock on the head he'd took from the car had almost killed him, enough to briefly separate his spirit from his body if only for a few seconds. With that window of opportunity, Gabe had jumped onboard Nate's body like a passenger in a car, jumpstarting his body up in the process and pulling the two of them into a new world.

Aside from teaching Nate that the world was nowhere near as mundane as it seemed - their ritualistic killer was just an example of what the supernatural world has to offer - Gabe’s presence had bestowed him with a number of tricks, one of which was the ability to immediately distinguish between the mundane and supernatural.

Under (literal) spiritual guidance, Nate used his newly-found perspective to track down his old partner’s killer - a vampire who restrained his victims and then used precise incisions with a ritual knife to drain their blood into a container below, using it to mark a series of symbols as some kind of tribute to an ancient deity, trapping the spirits of the dead at their respective murder scenes as a side effect of this tribute. Forced to act in urgence, Nate was forced to stake the killer in the heart with their own ritual knife.

Case cracked, Nate assumed that this meant Gabe would join the rest of the killer’s victims in finding a peace in the afterlife - yet it seems the senior of the two had other plans. Being an honest-to-god cop through and through, Gabe had left this earthly plain with plenty of unfinished business - thinking of all the unsolved cases still out there. Instead he told the kid he planned on sticking around.

From there, the two continued their partnership - albeit differently. Leaving LA and the department behind, they found themselves drawn to Pine Hollow and wound up joining the Supernatural Investigation Agency.

Other notes:

• Nate drives a '72 Imperial LeBaron, again as a throwback to his LAPD days as it was the car he bought shortly after his promotion to detective.
• In addition to his S&W Model 15 he owns the snubnose variant as well for concealment and an Ithaca 37 "Stakeout" shotgun which he keeps in the trunk of his car, more out of habit than necessity.
• His exposures to the supernatural world have left him making several 'preparations' to handle certain situations. For instance, holy water and crucifixes for dealing with troublesome vampires (Even if they're just placebos, it works wonders on scaring the dumber ones into co-operating with him), a silver knife and a couple of silver .38 bullets after a particularly troublesome run-in with an angry werewolf and so on.
• He's quite the scifi fan and among other things he keeps a number of films among his video tape collection, including Terminator and Predator among others. And yes, he's a Schwarzenegger fan too.

Name: Gabriel Ward
AKA: Gabe
Gender: Male
Age: 49 (At the time of his death)
Race: Ghost
Occupation: LAPD Detective (At the time of his death)
Appearance: Whilst alive, Gabe stood at a height of 5’10 and with his stocky build he looked like he could hold his own in the rougher parts of town. His hair had prematurely started graying as a consequence of his long career, though he kept it fairly short-and-simple on his head whilst across his weathered face was a neatly trimmed beard that went well with his sharp, blue eyes. As a detective, he was seldom seen without his pale-blue shirt with the matching tie and pants, and sometimes he was even known to wear a coat when it suited him.

Now, as a ghost - he hasn’t changed that much. Rather, he’s just gained an ethereal quality to his overall appearance, coming across as somewhat translucent with a vague unearthly outline. His eyes stand out more than anything now - having taken on an even sharper quality than they had in life.

Abilities: Being a ghost with a non-corporeal form, Gabriel is capable of passing through any solid matter that doesn’t have some form of supernatural protection on it, allowing him to survey his surroundings without too much trouble - the only problem is that he’s limited in how far he can actually travel. Whilst Nate’s keeping him anchored in this world, it also means he can only move so far away from him before he’s unable to move any further - akin to trying to pass through a steel wall.

Also, being a ghost - he doesn’t particularly have the ability to exert any physical influence on individuals or objects in the real world, the only exception being those whom he has/had a strong connection with or those of a supernatural nature. Whilst we’re on this subject, it’s also worth mentioning that Gabe is only visible to Nate and those who have the ability to see ghosts, such as members of the supernatural world.
Backstory: Refer to the above.
Other notes:

• Has an ex-wife and a daughter who moved to Pine Hollow shortly after he died. He still keeps tabs on them by using Nate as a proxy.
• Shares Nate's love for scifi and other cult classics. As it happens, being able to watch VHS tapes in the office is a great way of relieving the eternal boredom that can come with being dead.

Pine Hollow: Nightcall

Eyy, gotta say I'm i terested. Will see about tossing up something I had from Nightcall when I get a chance.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Cassius and Reed Taylor, Jennifer Marissa Caspin, Meifeng Vuhong, & Mika Baozai.

@Mr Allen J

---

Curled up in the backseat of some detective's car, Jen especially felt bad that she cut herself off from the friends she made. She tghtened up her little curl as she aimlessly stared into the empty back seat. Every time Jennifer looked up, she would only see destruction - then she would feel bad that she didn't get the opportunity to help them. She wondered how the others - Alice, Meifeng, Trevor, Cindy, and the others - were holding up in this disaster. They probably hated her for everything that happened.

She wondered how the cops were doing in this whole disaster. She raised her head. "Do you know where we are now?"

Cass glanced at the rear view mirror and answered, "Almost out of the Row, then we'll have to cross the river to cut through to Union-Point Hills." He wasn't blind to the damage done to the city either, yet he knew they had to push on. With any luck, they'd get there safe, find Quentin unharmed and get his nephew patched up ASAP. Was all that kept him going.

Usually, Jen would do anything to avoid going into Union-Point Hills.

Well, not wasn't the time to be picky. She nodded her head, and put her head down. Hoping that they would get there safely, and everything would work out. Yeah, all she has to do is enjoy this car ride, and once she gets to safety, she'll find her family, her friends, and everyone else, safe and sound. Then they'll all leave, and go somewhere else - Anywhere else - and have hot tea and coco.

At least, that's what she was hoping.

"How're you holding up, kid?" He asked Reed, arching an eyebrow as he briefly took his eyes off the road.

If all the other injuries he'd taken during his career were put together, the pain wouldn't amount to half as much as Reed's arm hurt right now. He counted himself lucky that thing had missed any major arteries, but he could barely flex it without feeling like those teeth were digging in all over again.

But he didn't want Cass to worry - they had bigger things to worry about and he didn't need to be one of them, so he affirmed his uncle with a nod. "Yeah, I'm holding up. I'll feel a lot better when we're there."

Cass' attention shifted back to the girl in the rear. "Jen? How're you holding up?"

City was just hit with the most random apocalypse of all time. People are dying. And she feels like she's about to get murdered at any given moment. Everything was falling apart, and she was probably on the verge of a mental breakdown herself.

Though, they don't need to know that.

Jen raised her head, and looked up at Cass. Awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. "... Yeah, I'm fine - Oh my God, look out!"

Jen's finger immediately pointed forward towards the front - they barely had time to react to the purple-eyed beast with a glowing eye that had the body the size of a minivan, and long legs that made it look like a elephant. It jumped in the middle of the road, and swiped one of it's long legs at the car.

"Shit, hold on!" Cass clamped both hands around the wheel as tight as he could in a fleeting effort to maintain control of the car, yet just as he thought he'd got it under wraps the mammoth-sized monster struck again with another heavy swipe, smacking his head against the wheel and pushing them back against the barrier that stood between them and the river, trunk first.

When they hit the railing, the beast slowly lurched forward. It's heavy footsteps being a grim sound to Jen and the others. Jen had hit her head on the door, and was immediately stunned. Everything was blurry, and all she saw was her world spinning. She grabbed her head, groaning. She was almost shot back into reality when the beast put it's foot on the side of the car. It began pushing the car past the railing into the river, and all Jen could do was hopelessly scream.

It wasn't long until the barrier gave out - the car was falling into the river. With the beast standing there as the car plunged into the water.

Oh God! Jenn's heart was about to explode in panic. She had no idea what was happening, but all she saw around her was water. Water falling into the car. She was in a daze right now, but she realized that the bastard pushed them into one of the many rivers in Verthaven. She panicked, looking around - Cass was unconscious, Reed was no in better shape, and she had a concussion. This looked like the end alright... she wasn't sure if she could regenerate from drowning.

"Oh, no... Jen, Cass - just stay with me," Reed was still conscious, if somewhat harrowed by the experience and was trying to keep as level a head as he could in this situation. His arm was throbbing from where the car had been slammed around, but he knew that if he didn't act soon this car was going to become a coffin with windows.

Unbuckling himself with the one good arm he had, he didn't bother with the door - pressure would've locked it - instead, he twisted around and realised only Jen was still conscious.

"Jen, are you still with me? Listen carefully," he began, reaching over as far as he could to unbuckle her, then Cass - fighting through the pain as his arm throbbed even more, "You're my priority, I need to get you out of here before we run out of air, but I.."

Reed's voice sounded warped in the stunned girl's ears, but she can definitely make out what he was saying. "Yeah...." She trailed off, trying to regain some of her consciousness. She could only nod. Everything was getting wet.

His heart was racing as he realised that one of them might not make it, yet he tried to keep as cool and collected as possible, "I need to break out the windscreen. Can you swim?"

"K-kinda." Jen answered, she knew that she wouldn't be able to do shit stunned like this. The car was starting to fill up, she wondered what she could do to help Cass, but there was only so much she was able to do. She looked forward. "Oh no..."

One of the beasts, humanoid with long arms, swimming towards them like a bullet. It crashed through the windshield and let a rush of water in. Jen could only let out a half-scream that was almost instantly muffled by the water filling her mouth. This is it. The Purple-eyed beast was clawing for Reed, and she was running out of air.

Heh, this was a longtime coming.

---

"Shit." Meifeng said as she knelt down over the sludge of the recently slain beast that tormented the Caspin household. This thing was in her house, and there were no signs of a fight, or even if Jen or any of her family were killed. Door was closed and locked. Not a spec of blood. Only sign of a fight that she noticed was the broken glass. From what she could deduce... either Jen (or anyone else for that matter) wasn't here in the first, or they left.

"We have to go." Mika said, nodding her head as she looked at Meifeng. "I have checked, and there's no one here." She noted, just to prove her point, she did another telepathic scan and revealed that there wasn't anything here... except for the beasts in the distance that haven't noticed them.

"Well," Meifeng put her hands on her hips, and looked at Mika. "I have no idea what we should do next.... I want to look for Jen, but... but...." She looked off to the side, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck.

"We should wait for Auntie. She'll know what to do." Mika said. She did another telepathic scan, and vaguely sensed the creatures with her telepathic abilities. What she found odd was the fact that she could vaguely sense them. Being coupled with the off feeling that she was going somewhere else. She could vaguely sense thoughts, too. Most she was able to glean had to do with revenge. The woman started rubbing her hands together, nervous about what's to come.

"Looks like we...." Meifeng was about to barricade the house with ice when Mika cut her off.

"... They're coming." Mika looked behind her as she sensed them getting closer. She quickly grabbed Meifeng and started heading out through the window.

"Wait, what?" Meifeng knew better than to ask such questions... but, if the cousin says trouble is heading their way, then maybe it's best to shut up and just run.

Mika telekinetically swatted aside the glass that was still on the windowsill, and struggled to lift herself up over the thing. Once she did, she fell and landed on her back. While Meifeng just walked up and hopped up over it. The two started running, and left the Caspin household behind.

"Any other bright ideas, oh cousin?" Meifeng asked, turning her head back to look towards her older cousin... who was lagging behind significantly. Meifeng had to slow down specifically so she wouldn't lose her.

"Just run." Mika said, she quickly looked at her phone in between pants, and noticed that NEST was establishing a safe zone (Thanks to Dana aggressively spreading it). "... We... should... go to... NEST... Headquarters!" She said in between pants, before she put the phone in her pocket.

Deciding not to ask questions, Meifeng kept running with Mika behind her.

After a bit of running... if memory serves her right, then they're going across the bridge to Union Point Hills. She knew that it was probably not the safest route to go through - but it was either Union Point, or use up more time heading north and cutting through Turtle Creek or Down Town. Actually, this was probably the safest route. If she kept on Bazaar, then both of them will get a clear route straight to the NEST Headquarters.

Only problem is that they're doing this on foot.

Meifeng wondered where Anna was in all of this. Her face took a more somber look. Even if they're not talking, she hopes that Anna's okay. She kept running - a moment of extreme reflex stopped her from taking a step forward, and Mika almost ran into her. A car was speeding by, and she didn't want to get run over. Looks like they're going the same way. Meifeng wondered if she could hitch a ride of some sort.

When she was about to hail down the car, a elephant like beast came out of nowhere and bitchslapped the car into the river. With the thing just standing over them.

"Oh shit!" Meifeng said, covering her mouth in the sheer shock of what's going on. They're... still alive. Meifeng knows it. "We have to help them."

"They're gone, Meifeng." Mika said. "We have to keep moving or we'll be next." The last thing that Mika wanted to do was risk her neck for someone that she was certain were dead.

"Come on, I can easily help them." Meifeng said. She knew that her hydrokinetic abilities would allow her to simply manipulate the water around them so they don't drown. "You just need to keep that thing busy for a few seconds. is that too much to ask?"

"What I'm saying is that you shouldn't put yourself, and me, at risk so you can play hero." Mika said, sternly. "You can't help everyone, Meifeng."

"Know what? Screw you and your every man's an island bullshit. I'm going to help them!" Meifeng shouted, before she gathered as much water as she could, and formed a orb of aqua the size of a yoga ball. She hopped on it, and zipped on by, as Mika raised her hand to stop Meifeng, she realized her power was practically useless against her. Meifeng charged the beast, which raised a foot and brought it down like an anvil to crush her. Meifeng dashed under it like it was nothing as it's foot crushed the street underneath it. She gathered the water, and shot it out like a splurt which launched the beast upwards, and it hit the ground, landing on it's side.

Meifeng let out a sigh as she stood in the pierced railing. She only has a small window to succeed. Well, better stake it all on the win.

She nodded her head as she quickly sprinted - taking two choppy steps forward - before taking a larger, glorious, leap, seemingly into the water. However, the moment she hit water, the water opened up. Pushing the water out of the way and forming a clearing within the river. When she landed, she landed right on the top of the car. The beast that was going for the vehicle's inhabitants turned it's eyes onto her, and Meifeng quickly swiped her hand and hit it right back into the river with a jet of water... this was a momumental effort on her part... she would have to be quick or everyone's dead.

She hopped onto the roof of the car, and knelt down. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time, we gotta go!"

That brief jolt of water rushing into the car was enough to rouse Cass, who woke with a splutter to the sound of his nephew retching up the river water and gasping for air. Running a palm over where his eye had been blackened from the impact, he spoke with a hoarse, disoriented voice, "Ugh, shit.. is everyone alright?"

Jen, was honestly, no better than Cass. She was coughing up disgusting river water. She hunched forward a bit, and vomitted up a wave of river water - mixed with her dinner - which turned out to be a disgusting red paste that landed on her pants. Not something she was proud of. She wiped her face off with the sleeve of her shirt, before looking up, oh God it was Meifeng! Almost like a guardian angel, she was there. She was still too dazed to pay attention.

His eyes soon darted around the car and the wall of water surrounding it, before he realised that this girl leaning over was all that stood between them and a watery grave and sluggishly climbed out of the car, shotgun in hand, using the frame to stop himself from taking a tumble as he moved around to Jen's side of the car to help get her out.

Jen had trouble opening the door, but she managed to stand up on her feet with the help of Cass. She held onto her head, groaning in pain. She was wondering when her regeneration would kick in and save her from the monster headache she's going to be experiencing later. However, Reed wasn't doing too good.

Reed on the other hand - still recovering from that surge of water - stumbled in his hasty exit and hit the floor, landing on his injured arm with an agonised yelp.

"Hey, easy." Meifeng said as she hopped off the roof of the car and knelt down to grab Reed, and help him to his feet. Putting herself underneath his shoulder, and using all of her strength to keep him up on his feet. "C'mon, I got you...." She trailed off, nearly falling over herself. She was getting dehydrated very quickly, and she was starting to get very dizzy. Nearly falling over, it was Reed who pulled her to her feet this t. "Alright, we need to go now!" She shouted - but she saw a massive shadow looming over them.

"Aw shit." Meifeng said as she looked up. The Elephant sized beast was looking into the divide that she had created. Looking like it's about ready to jump on them. She had to think quickly, or else they're doomed. Before anyone could act, a spinning manhole cover wrapped in a white aura flew through the air and hit the beast in the side of the head. Drawing it's attention from them, to... yeah, it looks like Mika has a heart after all.

"Follow me!" Meifeng said as she started walking back up the river bank. Using her water manipulation to make a bubble around them, and stepping up on land.

With no time to waste, Cass hastily followed after them and kept a tight hold on his shotgun. When they hit dry land again he shot a glance towards Meifeng before speaking up, "Thanks, but we need to move now. I'm with VPD, and-"

"So am I." Reed butted in, finally recovered.

"We're VPD, and we're trying to get to NEST HQ."

"Yeah, we're trying to get to headquarters, too." Meifeng pointed at Mika... who was still fighting the monster. She had produced her transparent white shield that absorbed a direct hit from the beast. "Hold on for a moment." She was already dehydrated as is, but Mika needs help. She raised her hands up into the air, and gathered water in the shape of arrowheads. They started flying through the air and pierced the beast's thick skin. Which gave Mika the perfect opportunity to drop her shield and launch that manhole cover into it's skull. Crushing it, and making the beast fall over before Cass even had a chance to unload on it. With that out of the way, Mika walked over to the group.

"Hello." Mika said. "I am... Mika... Shen." She didn't want to give out her Baozai last name willy nilly. "I am her cousin, yes."

"Yup." Meifeng said. "It's great to see you again, Reed... you, too, Jen."

"Thank you..." Jen said, holding onto her stomach. "Thank you so much, Meifeng."

"Wait, it's you?" Reed finally clicked, "From the beach?" Out of nowhere, he let off a hoarse chuckle and shook his head, muttering "Small fucking world. Damn, Quent - you were right."

"Yeah." Meifeng shrugged, hands on her sides. Yeah, Quentin... wait, was this guy associated with Quentin? They did look kinda. "I was just... in the neighborhood, I guess."

"We have to be quick... everyone is injured." Mika said. "We'll have to go on foot from here on in."

"Alright," Cass nodded, "I'm Cass. Reed over there's injured, but I can keep you covered. Let's go."

Academy 218: Why

---

Rowan Campbell

_@Chicogal

---

“Wouldn't put it past ‘em, this place is like a maze.” Rowan answered with a somewhat dismissive tone, dropping back against the metal frame of the bed with a firm thud. It took him a few seconds to notice that the aryan (the kind his old man’s crew loved to pretend they were) with the german accent was offering to shake hands and after a moment's hesitation he figured he may as well get it over with. Idly leaning forward, he sluggishly returned the gesture and shook Copen’s hand. “I'm not Victor. No idea where he is, probably eaten by a kid who looked like godzilla or something.”

He snorted half-heartedly at that last one, before leaning over to unzip his bag and retrieved a short pile of spare clothes which he quickly popped in a drawer adjacent to his bed. It was clear he had a few other things, but he didn't feel like getting them out right now; not until he had a feel for the place. Instead, he glanced towards his german roommate with a bored, inquisitive expression and asked, “So, what's your story?”

Academy 218: Why

@ZombieDude101 Are you still involved in this?

@Chicogal

Shit, I missed your notification. I'll get to work on a response bow. I think it's because of the capital D in my name.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

Happy New Year folks.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Cassius and Reed Taylor, & Jennifer Marissa Caspin.

@Mr Allen J

---

"Move it!" A voice called in the rain.

Subsequent gunshots rang out as several more of the creatures set their sights on the Taylors, forcing Cass to alternate between holding them off and loading in more shells from his pocket as he made a retreat.

Snapping a glance over his shoulder as he heard other shots cracking off, he spotted Reed taking a stance beside the car and pitching in with covering fire - reducing one of the creatures to a mass of grey sludge which quickly dissolved in the rainfall, yet there were more where they'd come from and the two would only have so much ammo. Knowing full-well these things would close in too soon if they didn't get a move on, he quickly stuck a hand in his pocket and withdrew his keys, urging him "Quick, take 'em and get it started."

Reed snatched them out of Cass' hand and frantically climbed into the driver's seat, gunning to start the engine with a firm twist. Shifting it into gear, he glanced over the windscreen only to spot Cass pulling back towards the car after firing off one last shell, practically jumping into the passenger seat. The door was barely closed before Reed hit the gas, hoping to place some distance between them and those things as they grew larger and larger in the rear-view mirror.

Cass popped opened the glove compartment and yanked out a navy-shaded box of shells that'd already been torn open in a hurry and started pushing more of them into the shotgun's magazine tube whilst pocketing the excess shells for later use.

"What the hell were those things, Cass?"

"You tell me. I don't have a clue, just... shit. Just drive, we'll loop around and figure things out once I check the radio out."

Cass inclined forward and reached out with a free hand, fiddling with the various dials and switches on the scanner he kept on the dash. It was always handy, especially in times like this and gave him more information than the regular broadcasts ever would.

The signal was a little hazy due to the intense storm and the aging hardware that was receiving it, but it was coming through from all over Verthaven - none of it good.

Urgent calls for assistance, reports of multiple casualties as more of those creatures showed up, panicked riots and stampedes - even NEST chatter was spilling into the mix, turning his mind towards Quentin as he wondered where his eldest nephew was in all of this mess and hoped to hell that he was unharmed.

He had to be, for both their sakes.

"What's happening?" Reed finally asked, trying to navigate his way through the quieter streets towards as misshapen silhouettes scrambled amidst the rainfall. He'd been loosely paying attention but refused to believe all of it - not until he heard it from Cass' mouth.

"It's worse than anything I've seen or heard of, kid. Won't lie. Shit, I'm not sure what to do - you saw how bad the traffic was on our way out of downtown, it'll be gridlocked. We don't have any real way of getting in touch with the department, but-"

He stopped mid-sentence as he spotted something just about to run across the road. "Shit, slow down!" he shouted, prompting Reed to hit the brakes.

Someone in the road, it turned out.

---

Everything was going to shit. Jen long realized that this city is one thing after the other - but this was a whole different situation all together. Adrenaline and her healing factor were the two things keeping her running like a rabbit. Every footstep splashed a puddle of water underneath her feet. She had no idea where she was going, but her plan was "anywhere but here".

She kept running alongside the sidewalk - but one of the creatures, crawling on all fours, with a alien-body and large claws, landed in front of her. It looked up at her, and Jen instinctively took a few steps back, putting her hand up in some attempt to get back. However, the thing lunged at her, and she screamed, jumping to the side. She got some scraps on her arms as as she the ground, but she kept running.

That wound she recieved earlier was all but healed. Only a little bit more to go - but the process of forcing her body at this rate was always painful. She had little idea if the creature was still behind her, but she had little defense against them. She wasn't Meifeng or the others - she had no offensive superpower or training - she was basically your average sixteen year old girl.

Not percisely thinking too much, Jen ran across the street, hoping to get away from it.

Not too far away, a set of dimmed headlights died down and a silhouette climbed out with something heavy in its hand, before suddenly moving forwards.

"Keep your head down!" A heavy voice shouted as the silhouette closed in.

Jen briefly wondered what the hell was going on, but it felt great knowing that someone was coming to her aid. She knew that she couldn't keep running forever. Almost immediately, she dove downwards. The Purple Eyed beast was distracted by the newcomer and went for them at high speeds.

Cass stood his ground and shouldered his Ithaca 37, firing off an aimed spread of buckshot at the beast before firmly pumping the handle for another go.

The Purple eyed beast charged into the shot head on. Causing a chunk of it's flesh to immediately turn to liquid. It stopped, shaking. It quickly lunged at the man and forced him to take a dive to avoid getting pounced on, yet it quickly turned on its feet for another strike.

"Don't touch either of them!" Another voice shouted from behind the creature. Reed readied his glock and opened fire, gunning for the bright purple eye which painted a target on its form.

Attention went from Cass to Reed the second the bullet knocked off another chunk of flesh. The beast turned towards Reed. There was a clicking sound coming from it. It quickly lunged through the air at breakneck speeds, and landed on Reed before he could react. It's flesh split, and revealed a mouth of vicious-looking teeth - giving no indication that it had these before - and brought them down on Reed's arm as he scrambled to get a last minute shot.

"Raargh, fuck!" He let out an agonised scream as the teeth punctured through muscle tissue and bone alike, like an industrial vice.

"NO! Get away from him!" Like that, Cass sprung to his feet faster than anyone had ever seen the old man move before and pointed it downrange towards the creature's central mass, but knowing that there was a chance he could harm his nephew made him hesitate.

All Jen could do was hopelessly stand by as the fight went on. Her breath rate accelerated, and she started biting her fingernails - more of her fingers - until she drew blood. She was frozen. Unsure of what to do. Everything was just so damn crazy. And she was just one girl thrown into the thick of it. But she had to do something. Anything. She didn't want to see this man eaten alive in front of her.

Next to her was a pistol - Reed's pistol, pushed away in the confusion.

Should she even touch it? Jen was so terrified right now that she was worried that she might make the situation worse. But she had to try her best. She grabbed her guns, and immediately realized that this was much different than the games she played. She didn't even hold it the right way. She aimed it at the beast, and grit her teeth as she thought about pulling the trigger. This was dumb, and impulsive - but she was too rattled right now to realize it. So, she just pulled the trigger, and the tiny explosion propelled the bullet out of the gun. The bullet didn't even come close to the beast - it merely hit a car down the street. And the recoil hurt the hell out of Jen's wrist.

But, the Purple-Eyed monster was distracted, and this was enough for Reed to frantically slide out from under its mas and drag himself out of Cass' field of fire - allowing the old man to take aim and fire.

It was the final shot that put an end to the beast. When the last shot hit, it hit one of it's vital organs, and caused it to dissolve into a grey sludge. Dead.

Cass quickly ran over to Reed and took a knee beside him, fear washing over his face as he saw the scope of the injury, "Reed?! C'mon kid, lemme check you out," His eyes darted to the puncture marks in his sleeve, "Dammit, you're... bleeding. I'll get the kit from the car, patch you up."

Through bated breath and gritted teeth, Reed shrugged off Cass' reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Mmph, don't.. you should know better than that, old man," he muttered, "Shh.. this hurts, it fucking hurts, but I'll live. Ch.." He nodded towards Jen as he drove his good palm into a knee to stand up, hissing "Check on her. Then we'll fix this."

Secretly, that made Cass proud of the man that his nephew had become.

Jen sighed. "I.... didn't think that'd work out." She spoke to herself as she watched. Jesus, that guy was messed up. She wished that she could have helped him here.

"Ma'am, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Cass finally approached, still carrying the shotgun in one hand whilst the other reached into a pocket to produce his badge. "We're off-duties."

"I... can't say that I am alright - but I haven't been hurt." Jen shrugged. She wondered if they would realize the torn clothes, and blood stains when she was slashed by that beastie. She could shrug it off by saying that it only caught her clothes... oh yeah, the blood. Jen sighed. She looked at the badge, and realized that they were VPD. "That's..." Jen said, trailing off when she tried to think about what to say next. Honestly, in all of this chaos, she's better off sticking with the cops. "Great?" She mentally slapped herself. "Look, is he okay?" She asked, before getting a closer look at him.

He was that cop that helped against REAPER at the party.

Small world, huh?

"Don't-" Cass glanced back towards his nephew for a moment, before realising his own hesitation, "Don't worry, I'll make sure he's checked out. But.." He wasn't blind to the blood stains on her clothes or where they'd been torn. "Are you sure you're not hurt? Adrenaline doesn't always let you notice it - let's get you checked out just in case. I've got a first aid kit in my car."

"I'm... fine." Jen said, admantantly. This man is most likely the opposite of stupid, if he sees that there's signs that she was injured, but no injury - he could easily put two and two together.

The senior detective arched an eyebrow. "Alright, can't make you get checked out. Though, I know this might be a difficult question, but.. there wasn't anyone else with you?"

"No... I was alone the whole night." Jennifier answered. "My family went out to dinner somewhere in the Priscilla Isle - I forgot...." Then she wondered where the hell they were. She hoped that they were okay. "I don't know what the hell is going on..." She said, grabbing onto her forehead and shaking her whole head.

"Don't worry too much about your family, just focus on staying safe. You can tag along with us if you like, we'll keep you safe." Cass gestured to the car, where Reed seemed to be fiddling with something.

Jen didn't even waste a solid second before she scrambled towards the car, quickly saying, "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Glad to hear it." Even if it was just one person, Cass knew they were doing something right. Heading back with the girl, he found Reed seated in the passenger seat with the open first aid kit in his lap, having alreadyworked on some self-treatment, although now he seemed more interested in the police scanner at the moment.

"By the way, I'm Detective Cassius Taylor. My co-worker over there's Detective Reed... Taylor."

"Jennifer." Jen said, "Jennifer Caspin. It's nice to meet you...."

"Call me Cass." Cass had almost forgot to mention. Reed acknowledged the two of them with a brief nod, before adding "And yeah, we're rel- hssh" he wound up cutting himself off as he caught his arm on something.

"Hang on," Cass opted to intervene and figured now was a good a time as any to administer first aid. At this stage in his career, he'd done it a dozen times over - yet somehow it was like dealing with an injured child all over again, even if he wasn't supposed to let it get in the way of his duties.

After a few minutes of careful, almost coddling treatment, Cass was ready to put the kit away when something cught their earshot on the scanner.

"...Repeat, all units, we are establishing a relief center at the NEST HQ site on Crystal Shores, all evacuees and injured personell are to be redirected to this location - avoid contact with the creatures if possible..."

Okay. Seems like the smartest place to be when monsters invade the city. Though, Jen wondered how well NEST was handling the situation themselves. But, it's a plan. Better than running around aimlessly. She knew that her family could be there, giving that it's the Priscilla isle. All Jen did was nod, and await the ride there.

"Looks like we've got a plan," Reed finally remarked.