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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:02 pm
"I haven't seen anyone besides you," Siddie said. "I found the tent on the beach, but nobody was there. Just the fog and the voices. ... I don't know what happened to the others on my boat. Even the Professor, crazy as he was ... " She shook her head hard, trying to shake off some of the haze and the jitters.
"Maybe they did. It'd make as much sense as anything else," Siddie said. "But why would there be a map then? Unless the kidnappers were trying to get us to come to them. But I don't know where else we could go." She followed Carry, whacking absentmindedly at whatever objects loomed out of the fog along the path as they walked.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:13 pm
Carthusia turned around again when Siddie admitted to not seeing another soul besides herself. Now that was disturbing. "There isn't anyone on the beach anymore? But so many people stayed behind, I thought..." The demon turned away and thought for a moment. What could have happened to the people staying behind? She didn't know what was going on since she got kidnapped. She didn't see anyone else until after she was released from the cloak's grasp, and even then she had no idea where she had ended up. Now she didn't know where anyone else was, save for Siddie.
The monster did have a point though - why would the captors, if there were any, have a map of their location? It was like Obsidian said, it was probably a trap. "Well, even if they want us to come to them, I might argue that it's better than being out here... where the voices won't even shut up." One kept whispering in her ear, mocking her about the 'hole in her head' that would never be filled because they wouldn't allow it. All this was slowly driving Carry crazy, but she was desperately trying to hold it together to get the answers she wanted. That's what kept her going.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:30 pm
"I didn't see anyone," Siddie nodded. "When I came to, I was on the beach, and I couldn't see anything. The fog was just too thick. I just wandered right into the tent, like, literally. Whack." She grimaced. "If there was anyone still there, I never found them. I just followed the footprints on the beach up to the path."
ha ha so lost so stupid, said the voices in the fog.
"I agree," she said, faster and louder than she'd quite meant to, trying to drown out the voices and their tittering mockery. "I - I'm so tired of this stupid town, and the fog, and the whole place, and ... I don't know!" She turned and lashed out at the side of a building; the sound of breaking glass in the window she was aiming for would be some kind of satisfying, at least.
Her crowbar swung through empty air, and Siddie, bracing for impact, stumbled, lost her balance, and fell among rustling stalks. Stalks that hadn't been there a moment ago. Where had the town gone? Where were they? "Carry?" she called, suddenly panicked. "Are you - are you still there?"
now you lost another friend, said a gleeful voice.
you're never going to make it, another one chimed in.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:36 pm
If this was a skellevision show meant for a public audience, Carthusia's response would sound something like this:
"WHAT THE $%*^@#$ @#&% IS THIS @#&$?!"
Or it would include an elaborate series of beeps. Either way, Pride came tumbling out of cornstalks that weren't there moments before, her hair more of a mess (or was still a mess, since she hadn't actually gone anywhere) and her face covered in corn cob. She landed with an unceremonious thud on the ground next to Siddie, her shrieking echoing in her own ears. Seriously? Seriously, Island of Horrible Badness?! When she thought she'd ran herself clear of the blasted corn, she found out she hadn't actually gone anywhere what is wrong with this place. The demoness flailed about before her hand landed on Siddie's shoulder to make sure she wasn't a hallucination, but considering the extent of things...
"It's the corn. I swear, the corn is like a mother and we're her children and she doesn't want to let us go. We're... children of the corn, Siddie." Her eyes went wide at the realization and she lay there, flat on a bed of cornstalks, staring up at the sky. It all made sense now, or she'd completely lost her mind for a moment.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:43 pm
At least Carry was solid and appeared to be real. Siddie flopped back onto her back and put her arm across her face, blocking out the world for a moment. Either the island had gone crazy, or she had. Amendment: they both had, considering that Carry was with her and just as confused as she was. Both possibilities seemed equally likely at this point, really. "Corn," she said plaintively. "I don't even like corn. Except popcorn. Brain-flavored is pretty good."
you can't even tell what's real, stupid ghoul, a voice laughed.
"Maybe ... maybe if we keep going?" Siddie made herself sit up and ignore the voice. "I hope we're not just going around in crop circles. I can't really tell which way we're facing or anything. I'm so lost," she admitted.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:51 pm
After a few moments of silence and deliberation, Carthusia brought herself to a standing position with a grunt and some crunching. The thought of popcorn was a nice distraction and she certainly craved some, with some brimstone dust over it. Mmm. But her monstrous companion had a point - perhaps if they kept moving, they could make some progress. Carry tried the 'lick your finger and hold it in the air to see what direction the wind was coming from' trick (as if that would really get them anywhere), but she found there was no wind at all. Their packs were intact, thankfully, but other than that, the girls were at a loss.
Pride turned in a few circles, studying the surroundings. Everything was an even shade of corn, and she frowned. Nothing stood out until she noticed... what was that? Standing right in front of one particular stalk, the demon tilted her head and spoke in a low whisper. "Siddie, I... I think this means something." Stepping back, Carry was about to point out what she had found when... "Wait, never mind. It's just a fly. Wanna stand on my shoulders? Maybe you can see above all of it?"
Worth a short, right?
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:02 pm
Siddie got up with some reluctance. She was tired, after all, and the cornstalks weren't as uncomfortable as bare ground. But she suspected that it would be a very, very bad idea to sleep out here. What would they do when they were too tired to continue?
just die, something snickered, right behind her.
She turned quickly. Nothing. Okay, well, then. She wasn't going to think about it. "What - a fly? I haven't seen any insects either," she mused, then felt stupid. "But it's kind of cold for bugs, I guess."
"I could try," she said doubtfully. "Um - let me take off my boots, it'd probably help." She bent and unlaced the boots, kicking them off, and placed them beside her knapsack and crowbar. She wasn't thrilled about the idea of putting her stuff down, but she couldn't exactly climb onto Carry's shoulders with all that in her hands.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:15 pm
You know you're going to break your back like that, Traitor!
You'll just lead us to them~
The plan, the plan, the plan, the plan!
Carthusia shook her head again and again to try and focus on something other than the voices, which were getting louder and louder as time went on. But no, she had to focus. They were on a mission! She bent down to help Obsidian onto her shoulders, hoping the combined height of the two girls would help them spot some landmarks, or maybe other people. Both would be ideal, but with the luck they were having? Seeing anything aside from fog, fog, corn and more fog seemed unlikely. Still, they couldn't say they attempted progress unless they tried, right?
The voices were relentless, but Carry mentally spat at them to be quiet. She was busy here, dammit! "Here's to hoping you can see something other than cloaked weirdos and corn. On second thought, cloaked weirdos might be a good thing!" She was ready whenever the monster was, and Pride secretly thanked her lucky stars that Obsidian wasn't large looking at all.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:29 pm
you're going to fa-all, you're going to fa-all, a voice sang behind Siddie as she climbed up onto Carry's shoulders, balancing carefully. It was logical that Siddie should be the one to climb up; she was smaller and lighter, and she wasn't going to fall, she wasn't! "At least if we see someone - oof - we have a direction to move in," she said, and straightened slowly, looking around to see if anything was visible from her new vantage point.
The fog was too thick to see much, and she sighed with frustration, straining her eyes.
go this way, a voice suggested to the left.
this way! from the opposite direction.
no, over here, another one giggled. Soon, there was a cacophony of voices, all laughing horribly and calling out directions. Siddie gritted her teeth and tried to ignore them. "I think - I think the fog is thinner that way," she said finally. "Let's try there. At least we might be able to see better."
She climbed carefully down. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked anxiously.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:38 pm
As soon as Siddie said she thought the fog looked thinner, that was enough for Carry. That was a step in the right direction. The monster climbed down and Pride bent to assist. Once everything was said and down, Carry stretched out again and sighed. "Nah, I'm just fine. If you grew, say, two hundred pounds and spikes on your legs, then we may have had a problem." she explained with a chuckle. They needed all the humor they could get to survive out here. No doubt the voices were driving people to the brink of madness and back by now, but Jack dammit, Carthusia was too angry to fall yet.
Remember the plan! The plan, the plan, the plan!
We're watching, remember? That hole isn't going to fill itself!
Like we'd help you, traitor!
Carry scratched at her ears to drown the sound out. The whisperings were on the edges of her perception, but were loud enough to hear the exact words now. Bah. She waited patiently as Siddie grabbed her things, counting and triple-checking to make sure she had all her own things too. Map pieces, medical kit (what use it was)... it was all there, thank Jack. She pointed off in the same direction Siddie had pointed earlier. "That way, you said? Alright, let's check it out!"
Shepard to the sheep~ Shepard to the sheep~
You won't find what you're looking for!
"Yes I will, dammit." she growled in response to a voice only she could hear, stomping louder on the cornstalks to blunt the voices.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:03 pm
"Good thing I'm not G, then," Siddie giggled. The laugh had an edge of hysteria in it, but it was laughing, not crying. "My dad can grow spikes," she mused thoughtfully. "I saw him do it once. There was a duel or something." She tied her bootlaces and slung her knapsack over her shoulders again, and took a nice firm hold on her crowbar. The solid weight of the metal was comforting in her hand. She could probably kill a turkey with this thing.
lolwut, you can't do anything right, and the laughter redoubled.
you're going the wrong waaaa~ay
come with us, come with us
you can't do it alone
"I'm not alone," she mumbled under her breath.
how do you know?
you really think she's real? you're so stupid
ha ha~ ha ha~
She jumped as she heard Carry speak again. "Did you - were you talking to me?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:28 pm
Carthusia nodded enthusiastically. She was relieved that Siddie didn't possess the power to increase her weight just to break a demon's back. Or, if she did, she chose not to use it. "My spine appreciates your small frame!" Pride probably said that a little louder than she should have, but it was all to drown out the voices that kept haunting her. They were horrible, unrelenting, annoying and... Jacking hell, she hated to admit they were getting to her after a while. Even Siddie sounded unnerved, which made Carry nervous too. Dammit, they had to make it to... somewhere.
Anywhere was better than here.
The demoness pushed over stalk after stalk, hoping and praying she'd see something other than more stalks. This kept up for a very long time, almost eternity for the girls. Turning her head at Siddie's question, she shook her head. "No, sorry I um... was yelling at them again." She hooked a thumb at nothing in particular, indicating the voices. "They're getting louder." Sighing, Carry pushed over another set of stalks. Were they getting thinner, or was it just her? Pushing over more and more of the forest of corn, they soon found themselves... on a road.
Carthusia ran out into the middle of it and jumped a bit in the air. "Finally! Something that isn't jacking corn!"
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