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 Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 9:06 am
Though he recently acquired the cell phone and read through the majority of its manual, Shale still found great difficulty in operating the device. The text message alone took him a full minute to open, and another two in order to determine how to reply (all with liberal consultation of the manual he binge read on a stormy afternoon). However, once he got the message that Jack intended to go city diving above ground this time, Shale wanted to express his interest.
The message indicated that they meet near one of the old theaters in the historical district - one currently closed for renovations. He knew the area somewhat from when he met with Babylon, so discerning the location did not require the use of the 'Maps' app hidden somewhere in the phone (that he had yet to find). It only required that he take the bus to that area and follow the telltale signs of street construction paralleling renovations until he discovered the right boarded up locale. And since the text message indicated that she, too, was on her way, all he needed to do was sit back and wait.
This time Shale wore a long sleeved dark grey shirt that sported bright acid green designs on both sleeves and trunk. The sleeveless hoodie over the top was the same as he always wore - false leather with a light grey cloth hood. Following those were the typical used secondhand jeans, with none of these items what he would typically wear if he had access to his normal clothing. However, with the amount of nicks and snags he received in poking about the subway, Shale wasn't interested in taking chances that he might not accidentally graze himself, and require a tetanus shot.
On a whim, he circled around the building, checking the old and cracked windows for some looseness for entry. The brick wound on toward the rear of the building, crusted brown with so many years of oxidation and dirt to obscure its original color. Then came a try at the back door, knob worn and slightly rusted from use, but he only managed a full inch of give before tight chains on the outside prevented entry. Their rattle sounded through the alley. In finishing the remainder of his circle, Umber spotted the lifted fire escape that promised salvation for the second floor of the theater, and he hesitated a moment to look up through its grating.
That must be how we get in, he considered thoughtfully. Unless she has a better idea. It's been a while since I've done this, and I haven't had much practice at it since we last met. At least the stitches are gone.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:09 am
There was definitive excitement in getting a message from somone else on the point of urban exploration. Since coming to Destiny City, Jack hadn't hunted up any of the usual venues of hushed clubs of enthusiasts on campus or off. There hadn't been anyone while out and about, either, all through first semester and now well into second. Nearly a year in the place without making friends in the hobby was pretty grim, not that it had lessened the enthusiasm and impetus for still going and exploring. It was just fun to share the experience, or any experience, with other people. Is Shale going to buy in, maybe? I wonder if he's gone out on his own in between, or if this is his second go. Twice is a coincidence, thrice a habit and all. Or Hobby. It didn't take long to make it to the appointed building, long-legged and used to wayfaring through urban sprawl. When he wasn't immediately noticeable, Jack bounced for a moment in place and listened. There were faint scuffings further on, precisely like footsteps. A quick check, trotting to find the source revealed it was the wanted party. "Haaaayyyyyy!" "Lookit you, all dudded up and ready to go. Look's good, man, legit UrbEx Extrodinaire!" While jocular, the tone lacked any and all sarcasm. Jack's own outfit was much the same as before, the sweater beneath hoodie a thinner sort but still high-necked and unfolded up over the lower half of face. "Haven't been waiting too long, that you're hedging the pool already?" "How do you want to dive in? I was thinking if you're knit up, you could boost me on your shoulders to the fire escape, I can grab it and trapeze my hands down to you and you can climb up me. I'd do a upside sit up and pull you up, but I don't know how much you weigh and that's a lot on the stomach without warm ups. " The human ladder thing was better without the human having block and tackle that might get grabbed or mushed painfully, otherwise Shale looked like he could probably handle body teamwork with aplomb. He had a boldness and easy carriage to his walk and stance that was pleasant, even if it got a little hunted last time with the trains.
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:37 am
The greeting drew his attention, and Shale cast a glance toward the street side to find Jack fast approaching. It was hard not to smile (which wasn't an intentional avoidance - the corners of his lips moved just as well with that display). Enthusiasm hid from his presence, and those around the city often lacked it in beleaguered times. Maybe she teased about the clothes, he wasn't sure. Certainly he was better dressed than their previous run-in. "It is good to see you again." Polite, perhaps, but well-meant.
Already she was down to business. His gaze crawled up to the out-of-reach fire escape while he considered her initial estimations. Interesting that you would pick the more body kinetic means of reaching it. There are easily metal trash cans around that we can turn upside-down and stand on. Saves the back and any muscles you might strain in getting me up there. Is that considered too easy? Would it ruin the fun? Or is there some rule that you must use only what you bring? While hands dove into back pockets, Shale's attention lingered on the bottom few rungs where Jack's knees might hook and searched them for stability. Rusted, yes, but intact they were - they looked capable of holding the 250lb standard. Satisfied, his gaze shot to Jack, always in motion, and her body size beneath the hoodie.
He couldn't make an estimation.
"One sixty-two," he stated at last. "Or somewhere in there." Climbing up sounded harmful - bones were made for pressure and torque, with joints enacted to cushion between and articulate. Neither were meant to be pulled apart as a human extension ladder. "I would think it hard on the arms to help someone get up there like that, but it's faster than trying to figure the mechanism to drop the ladder. It looks pretty rusted. Otherwise there's a trash can further down the alley that looks sturdy. Inverting it for the ascent would work fine, if that isn't cheating." How many times have you stood on a bush to get to a tree, Shale? Zero. This isn't the woods, but it's your urban equivalent. If she is giving me the reins then I will address the climb in a way that suits my needs.
Another shift and hands slipped out of pockets while weight changed legs, and Shale glanced down the alley one last time. "Actually, I've decided it's cheating." With the stitches gone and no physical restrictions placed on his form, Shale found no reservations toward playing Jack's springboard. Fingers knit together for a faux step and his figure hunched just enough to allow the climb without placing too much stress on the joints. "When you're ready."
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:51 pm
"I don't think there's such a things as 'cheating'. I doubt we'd damaged the trashcans if we wanted to use those. Moving things out of their place isn't my usual go to since the credo is all about observation and leaving no trace but footprints. Moving things can fall under that. It's all breaking and entering, though, ya know? " Jack laughed. "I like circus, too. Getting better with it, and I'm all limbered up. Good to do stretching and stuff before going out on an adventure and all. Did you ever have a climbing frame at a playground you visited? Those things were the best. Used to have contests of hanging upside-down the longest, walking the bars on top, hanging and using hands on bottom, Spidermonkey it, all good stuff. Some of the newer stage stuff is all these huge ribbons from the ceiling, and going up and down them all dramatic. I'm new to it all, but it's good practice. I don't think I'll ever be on stage for that kinda act. Not a headliner. Super fun, though, and you should try it sometime. " It didn't take more than a breath- Jack put foot to the waiting boost and hand to one of Shale's shoulders as a point of reference and balance. Can feel for if its groaning or anything, if its' going to be able to take both our weight. Or if there's going to be a collapse. After that it was a moment for him to stand and then the short reach to grab the rungs and haul up to hook in knees. The whole frame shivered a bit, the way such things did on their anchors into stone or brick. Jack waited a moment, flatting hand against the metal to feel, then hitting it a few times. This is good. We're cool. "I've got my rope, too, that we can use for climbing options, but I don't usually assume people know how to climb ropes that aren't those big ones to the gym ceiling for the President's Physical Fitness Exams." Jack slowly unraveled down, holding hands out to him once at extension. Having done this enough to know, the sweater under the hoodie was tucked into pants and belt to avoid midrift and gravity trouble. The verbal invitation was enthusiastic as ever, "Alley-oop!"
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 5:28 am
Shale had forgotten exactly how much Jack could talk. All good information, important to their current activities, but Shale almost lost track of everything in the stream of verbiage and forgotten to stand up. Luckily the foot was a good reminder. Shale straightened to hoist his companion toward the rungs, and luckily that distance was enough for her to latch on without incident. Afterward he considered whether he should contribute to the few questions asked during her speech but thought better of it. Excitedly providing similar information about his childhood seemed unnecessary.
Luckily for both parties, Jack didn't come crashing down with a broken rung in her hand. The metal held, allowed her up, and no further signs of movement indicated that it could not hold two people. Shale watched her continue to speak, this time of ropes, before she shifted to circus mode by hanging upside-down with knees hooked to rungs.
"I don't know how to climb rope, either," he admitted. While he could scale trees marvelously, he never found much opportunity to use rope. A certain lack of gorges or cliffs prevented that.
"Most of my time was spent climbing trees, not people or rope." Her wrists were enough in reach to catch without making a jump for it. His use of her limbs placed a lot of stressed on the joints, but none should pull out of socket if she's attempted this before. At least, he hoped as much. Finally he reached for bone just above her wrist and caught hold, then hauled himself up by arms alone until he could grab one of the rungs quickly. Afterward he hung with his legs decently far from being able to pick up rungs themselves. It didn't matter much; he possessed enough upper body strength to climb a decent ways before his arms threatened to fail him. "Go ahead," he encouraged with a nod upward.
Wasn't there a door up there somewhere? "Maybe you can check if the second floor exit is still locked. Or if someone else punched out a window." Jack already stated that she found no reason to disturb the environment, but if the environment was already disturbed, there's no reason they couldn't use it.Ivynian oh my god i'm finally playing someone with upper body strength
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 9:08 pm
"Don't sweat it man, we'll have you Tarzan in no time, " Not that he sounded worried about the prospect of lacking rope experience. Jack wasn't worried, per say, either, as there was plenty of times and places to practice and learn new things for those who were willing. The climbing thing as it was worked out pretty well- he was heavier than some Jack had boosted here or there for some of the acts and stuff. After a well earned groan, and a hanging sit up, it was a quick scuttle up the rest of the way to the second floor to try the door. It was locked. A quick fish into a pocket produced the set of tension wrenchs and picks always kept along for such occasions. "Gimme like....three minutes. It's good practice and stuff. Really I should be faster at it, but that's for thirty somethings been doin' this ten years and more. I got this set for the B-day a bit back, along with some sleuth books. So, you know, workin' on up. " It was closer to four minutes, but the tumblers DID get tripped correctly and the door opened without damage. The window near WAS broken out in a few lights, but the glass was still present and very jagged in the rest of the frame. "You got other hobbies like this? Books, or locks or stuff?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:24 am
Once Jack was topside, Shale climbed with arms alone until his feet could find holds on the rungs. Climbing the remainder was no feat, and afterward he wiped the layers of rust off onto the sides of his pants. His hands still stained familiar orange-red, but it was an ignorable offense.
Little time was spent recovering the oxygen debt, thankfully, and in the process he moved to the window near the door. Not much was visible through the darkness. If he was careful about it, though, he could angle his head in through the hole while only risking that a shard of glass might part his hair. He thought it worth a look while he waited - Jack cited three minutes, which stretched at length with little to do.
In the process, he responded to Jack's query. "Nothing like locks, no." His voice echoed into the open, empty chamber. "I like to read, but it's mostly process manuals. I've wanted to read novels but haven't found the time for it yet - or recommendations. Mostly it's hunting and archery. If I tan the skin, I can work the leather, and my family used to sell some of what I made at market." Only months passed since, yet it felt like eternity. "I haven't read a process book on lockpicking, though - it wasn't a good idea to practice it where I lived. Small community, not a lot of abandoned areas like this. There wasn't much market for locksmiths to let someone back into their home, either." His explanation never rendered the skill any less interesting. "Do you have other hobbies, beyond this?"
Once the door opened, Shale withdrew his head carefully. Some of his hair caught and knotted against the glass, but he pulled it away easily enough. Afterward he followed Jack inside, and into the darkness.
Immediately he closed the door behind them. Blotting out the sun from their angle afforded the ability to peer into that darkness, with the window's long beams stretched like fingers toward the floor. A couch sat partially illuminated in the squares of light, its figure old and damaged with deep claw marks rounded over one arm. Most of the stage below looked littered with trash, likely abandoned by vagrants or trespassers, and the seating surrounding the stage housed chunks from the slowly deteriorating roof. And from where he stood, atop a second floor catwalk that connected the two balcony seating areas, he could make out a shadow below that was slightly darker than the rest.
"There's something down there," he offered, gesturing into the darkness between center and left seating arrangements. "In the walkway. Might be worth looking at when we make our way down?" Exploring the entire building begged no liberal energy expenditures, not when it housed stairs for an intentionally accessible second floor.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 1:50 am
"Tanning and making stuff like...belts and bags and stuff? I don't know man, that's a lot of hobby to be able to hunt, read some books, William Tell and make yourself a pair of pants or something. Saddlery in that? Leatherworking...I haven't heard of someone doing that outside of historic reenactment stuff like at Colonial Williamsburg. Wait, are you a reenacter? " Some people were shy about admitting to that sort of hobby straight out of the gate. It had a stigma of 'complete weirdo' the same way as trekkies and people who collected decorative plates had to deal with. Or Breyer Horse resculptors. Niche stuff. "I read, do a little dance and stage, " this point was emphasized with some actual butt shimmy of the burlesque variety for humor, "Read some more. Try to pick up stuff that helps with this like free climbing, rappelling, lock picking, and some parkour...but all that stuff you can do as their own hobbies if you want to get actually good at them-" YES. Door open. Totally gonna walk through it. "You could say I'm a bit of a Jack of all trades." Accompanied with eyebrow lift and I'm-so-punny grin. Rather than wait to be punched in the shoulder (the usual treatement), Jack crept to get a better look at what might have caught Shale's attention. "You want to carry the light? Did you bring one yourself?" The handy-dandy lantern was on Jack's utility belt as usual. "We need to be extra careful on the stairs. Stairs always ditch out first. Near the wallsides tends to be safest, since sometimes when they come down there's still bits all brokenly connected like teeth. Do you want to tie off to each other with the rope? Belt to belt?"
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 5:30 pm
"Hunting was my job, actually. Leatherworking came as a constituent part when the demands were that all of the animal be used. Once it's processed, it's easy enough to set up the hide for tanning and sit back to read. It fit together when I budgeted my time well." And now, he found that he hardly fostered any time to himself - most hours were spent on working, patrolling, or traveling between destinations. Only a few hours remained for working out, meals, and even less left over to pursue any form of reading or research. Most of it was relegated to 'days off', whenever they occurred. "I'm really not a reenacter. I'm just - I was - a hunter who specialized in using all parts of an animal." Did people really do that? Shale figured them a legend.
Jack's small demonstration received a glance askance but Shale offered no comment on it. Most hobbies cited seemed to fit in well with urban exploration. Stage helped with lying one's way out of receiving a ticket, dance likely benefitted with flexibility, and all the rest naturally applied as he'd already witnessed.
The accompanying pun earned a huff that entailed an attempt to laugh, before Shale decided he couldn't be arsed. Her personality surrounding the pun earned more reaction than the pun itself - which he baseline acknowledged as witty. I didn't think people actually made those jokes. They're still not funny, even when I recognize them. Why would you say these things.
"I brought a light, but it's more useful for pinpoint examinations." To prove his point, he withdrew a small, anodized blue mag light from a front pocket and twisted it on, revealing a concentrated beam with a narrow diameter. He swept the ray across the catwalk, over some of the seats, and finally down into the darkness. The rows housed great chunks of ceiling that came down, with some of the carpeting evenly dusted with grey and insulation. But further down, between the rows, he attempted to discern the nature of the dark form. Shining the light offered little help, as it caught the lip of the nearby chair more than illuminate the figure itself. He abandoned his efforts and elected to walk their way down instead.
The word about stairs sounded like solid advice; sticking to the sides sounded safest, or even attempting to shimmy down the guardrail assuming that the walls still held them firmly. Shale started toward one of the balconies at a careful clip, stepping over trash as he went. Some looked new, and of illegal origins. "I don't know if it's safe to tie onto each other. If one goes, the other is sure to follow. It might be better to stay separate - avoid tying our fates together." A few pendulum swings of the light in his hand illuminated the obstacles to avoid.
"Do you know anything about this building? It looks pretty old, and mostly falling apart on the inside."
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 6:38 pm
In the game of the stage, an indifferent audience was worse than a incensed one. Indifference meant boredom and forgetting. Anger and polar disappointment could provide a few hours of complaining and analyzation with friends over coffee- it was still engaging. It was a little sad not to get much reaction. He doesn't seem to react to much, come to think of it. Sad that, goin' around with a perpetual 'why bother' on face. Unless he just genuinely doesn't find anything fun. Or anything I do fun. Well, at least he's along and exploring. That's a something, right? Maybe he'll keep with it, maybe not. No use being all angsty myself about it- smiles and fun times are contagious. Jack considered the maglight and fired up the tiny lantern personally carried to give them a 20-foot halo. At the least, it showed the horizontal length of the stairs and kept the obstacles Shale pointed out illuminated as they went down. There were some places where the treads and nosing had rotted away to leave tattered eyes down to the floor. "As a matter of fact, I checked it out, yeah. There were some 2,700-seats, and the theatre was designed by V.J. Waier & Company. It opened back in 1926 for stage, switched gears in the 1940s with the great war to operate as a cinema. It stayed with the motion pics until the early 1970s. After that they renovated and started doing the concert venue thing once a month. Got some good acts in - Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Journey..." "That lasted to the late 80s, but the move of all the shopping stuff to suburbia and out of the downtowns killed it. All the pay parking, too, makes it hard for much of a 'downtown' the way the 1950s nightlife makes out. So its been shutters for 25ish years. 20,000 square feet just peeling and collapsing. Pretty cool, huh? You can see the decades in the peeling paint- the olive, burgundy and gold from the 20s at the bottom, the mint from the 50s, the mustard from the 70s, the aqua and pink from the 80s." At least the staircase didn't crumble out from under them- Jack hopped triumphantly from the final stair onto the base floor. The excitement was briefly paused to hold the lantern around in renewed caution and consideration of Youma-things that may or may not consider some empty derelict building a good place to hole up until hunting. Like hibernating bears, or something. At least there's two of us to beat it with old theater chairs. Or poke it with pig-stickers. Or run like our butts are on fire back up the stairs.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 7:02 pm
"Sounds like you did your research." Shale was impressed - he hadn't considered looking up information about the building beforehand, which in hindsight seemed like an obvious endeavor, but such efforts included a compulsory trip to the library to look through old newspaper articles. And pending that came the hope that he might actually find something on the building; otherwise that venture entailed a dig through old municipal or real estate files, and he could't even begin to guess where to start there. Slate would've quipped that the internet was a far more useful tool, but... When did Shale have any sort of skill with a computer?
His own light fled to the walls, where he peered at some of the bubbling in the paint from where a radiator once sat to help heat the very edges of the theater. Some of the bubbles popped from the heat, revealing the several layers of paint that Jack pointed out earlier. As his mag light traveled across the wall, he noted the ancient frames depicting grand openings for different movies, with some still listing their release season and year. Some titles looked particularly unimpressive, such as Star Wars, while others bordered on nonsensical - A Clockwork Orange. The light continued to move across the wall until its circle of luminance cut into a corner. Afterward it dropped to the ground until he found reason to examine farther portions of the area.
"Twenty-five years and it's already this far gone. It looks like it's been abandoned for a lot longer." Again the light swept to the ceiling, where he spied long tendrils of insulation rolling out from the gaping holes. "I guess the modern construction didn't age well."
When they encountered the stairs, Shale took to the outermost side to clasp guardrail and walk himself down with little weight resting on his heels. He made it down a handful of steps before Jack herself reached the bottom, broadcasting the achievement in exaggerated triumph. Shale only smirked and shook his head. Afterward he descended the stairs more naturally, and his hand slipped off from the rail. Her enthusiasm is admirable. I can see why she's interested in stage. Rhys didn't exhibit these kinds of grandiose displays when I met him; I wonder if that's a product of having performed for years?
"I would clap, but I'm concerned that this place will just collapse on us if I did." Or something more sinister might wake to our trespassing. His mag light lit on her chest momentarily to illuminate her face more brightly without fully blinding her. "Have you been here before? It's not as threatening as the subway, which might make it less attractive. Some people like having their lives threatened - I don't know if you're one of them. And if it's been abandoned some twenty-five years, that would've given you plenty of time to crawl it for fresh signs of graffiti, or to watch how it ages-"
Shale paused when he rounded the corner, and the flashlight found the curious lump that he spied from their earlier vantage point. Solid white extended out from a mound of clothing, crumpled and tattered with burgundy melting into robin's egg blue. The burgundy threatened to take over, leaving only trace splotches on the fabric. The way it had ruffled and pooled around the stretch of white looked an approximation of dress, or maybe skirt. A prop? No -
"That's a body." The statement came declarative, absent the shock of someone new to such a discovery. His chest tightened nonetheless - especially when he came in range of the suffocating stench wafting out from decomposition.Ivynian it's so hard to write and not have it suck when you're right there
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 7:57 pm
"I haven't been in this one before, but I've only been in Destiny City since the whole college thing. My fam's out of state. Buildings decay pretty fast without temperature regulation and regular habitation. Completely new constructions...go south...in like ten...years..." Jack slowly broken off after his declaration, physically hedging the rim of where the stink started in a slow walk. Eyes went quickly to everything around the area for clues- blood trailed from a drag, plain and near evidence of struggle or drug use gone wrong, anything and everything that would paint a more complete picture from the scene. There were chairs akimbo from the passage of something that didn't care and was large. There wasn't blood streak in the path, but some drops here and there going into the dark from a carry. Like being carried in a mouth. Or on back or in trunk or arms or something. Carried to a den. More peering around and into the dark, and listening. Heart beat flooded ears with growing drums and adrenaline, but the senses peaked just the same. Every sense except for smell, at least, which was working onwards towards a taxic response to the deadthing spice. It was a body without a doubt. Nothing else ever smelled like that, not even skunk. Watching CSI had imparted the theory that even mock smiling suppressed the gag reflex, so Jack pulled lips wide into a grimace behind the upturned sweaterneck and breathed through the filtration of the polyblend. Speech was hissed through teeth just above a whisper. "Doesn't look like a trespasser. Brought here, looks like, but I couldn't say alive or dead or on the way at the time. I don't think a person brought them here. One of those things. What do you think? " A hunter would probably have more of an eye for signs of this or that on a body, even if it was a human and not an animal. Even if it was an urban jungle. " Careful not to touchy much- should call this in once we're clear and the cops will probably crime-homicide the place. Nardwaffles, what a damper on the party. " More than a damper, and tone curled sardonic from what vocabulary would have otherwise made casual. The memory of the thing in the dorm, the creatures on the strange island with all the others, and all the ashes and blood and pain everywhere came flooding to gut with bile and all the rest of the signs for flight or fight. I don't think its here. But if it shows up, then what? I gotta protect him. I'm not gonna let some thing eat him or me. What about later? If I know some youma is keeping this as a snackfridge, I should come back and bust its day, right? In uniform and all that? Yeah, I think that's what I'm supposed to be doing. Everyone else does that all the time. Ida and them. They all just doof around a bit, call stitches a scratch, and save the day. I'm supposed to be all up on this. No try, Do.
Baaaalllllllllls.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 6:41 am
Shale buried his nose into the crook of his elbow to ward the stench - it didn't help much, as the putrid, sickly-sweet stench penetrated all clothing and clung for days, but it helped to acclimate himself to the pungent corpse. He took a few careful steps to bring himself closer to the mess, mag light swinging between the forcibly parted chairs and the drippings marking the floor in order to take in the whole of the path. He halted, half turned, and back traced the light blood trail to a shattered window beyond Jack's shoulder. Droplets on the glass suggested a gash on the body, but not enough blood to constitute antemortem acquisition. Shale's gaze grew half-lidded while he studied the remainder of the scene.
A long pause left Shale listening for any disturbance - any movement, anything more than the groan of the aching floorboards beneath their feet. Nothing came, and their earlier disturbances would've clued in any lurker from the depths. Creeping closer, the body itself showed no disturbances suggesting human involvement - or what he would expect from human involvement - but it showed no typical markings suggesting animal, either. Definitely a youma. But what was it doing dragging a body in here? Unless a captain panicked and ordered it. And how do I explain this to Jack. Another sweep of light about the place confirmed no signs that the theater looked 'lived in'. While the scent of urine or feces would pale in comparison to decomposition, Shale found no suggestions of nests, especially for something large enough to carve the way through the aisles of chairs. No further bloodstains lingered on the floor, and no evidence of other bodies - no human rot sunk into the floorboards or carpeting.
Don't puke just yet. Persevere. "I can tell you it isn't an animal. There's no den, no suggestion of consumption. This body was carried, not dragged - which suggests either a man or a creature many times the size of a man." The light wagged between two shifted chairs that suggested the size of the beast. "Whatever it is, it doesn't live here. There aren't tracks in the trash except for the ones here. This set from entrance, this set from leaving. Both of them, looks like, lead straight out that window there." The light followed the trail as he saw it - coming in from the glass, lighting on the body momentarily, before trailing back out in a similar fashion.
"Using this place as a dumping ground suggests a higher level of thinking. But even a clever man isn't going to leave footprints like this without a lot of extra work." Shale crouched where he stood, near a small pool of building material that had soaked wet at some time. Portions of the ceiling wore away and collapsed, leaving a small hole for drainage into the puddle. By luck or purpose, the creature walked through the mess, leaving a somewhat clear footprint. "It looks like it walks on all fours... No." Shale squinted at the spacing and frequency of tracks. "This looks like more than four. No, this doesn't look like someone's elaborate hoax to disguise a kill. This is real." He stood afterward, distrusting of the legs that threatened to collapse upon use. I've seen dead bodies before. A huntsman, shot by mistake. His cheek shattered, and sprays of bone were on the forest floor. That was a well-ventilated area. The stench is so concentrated here that both of us might pass out if we keep breathing it. That might make us next - if this youma returns.
The thought was enough to spur movement out of the area, but not before he cast a last glimpse toward the body. "It's starting to produce sludge. I guess it's been here for a while. We need to go." His eyes started to burn from smell alone - Shale departed with an urgency to his gait, barely clearing the shattered glass where the creature entered before cough-gagging into the alley. One hand braced against the wall while he leaned over, hoping he might not vomit onto the sidewalk and contribute to the scene.
I should find out who that was just to report them to the Negaverse. Whether youma or officer, they're causing more trouble than needed.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 12:06 am
Is it good or bad that he's all creeped out and poufy about it too? Probably good. Four eyes and ears is better for watching that no one gets jumped by Mr. Death. 'More than four'...I can't believe either of us can take that seriously. But we totally can. Do. Jack followed his remove without protest or comment. Outside, with a capital O that might as well stand for Oxygen, was welcome. Jack didn't have the gagging thing going on, thanks to mouth contortions, but it came with its own host of issues like rampant salivation. Considering scent was particles of the thing lodging in the nose, Jack had no good humor about flavor. With some flailing about, Jack ditched down the minibag, hoodie and sweater to the ground in a tiny heap, leaving only the Trans-vormer Band from Danaë to keep their company old-school 'decent.' Then there was a few moments of letting the flood of drool just pool out of mouth onto the pave facing another direction. Gonna have to go over everything with some enzyme cleaner just like if it were a skunk. That stink's gonna be in, on, and through everything for a week otherwise. Might even with. Kitty crystal in a suitcase after? Yeah, probably. I guess the tops could fit in the minibag, but it'll be tight. And tomato juice in the stupid shower. I don't really want to shave my head. Once the air started tasting half-clean to mouth Jack ventured a word, "It all over both of us. We should source some grocery bags to hazmat the clothes. " No longer plastering a grimace, Jack dry heaved once then a relieved laugh broke through, "Gross! Shale you have balls of steel. You didn't even hesitate approaching that mess. Good on you, man. We better move though, or we're gonna keep on huffing it. Or maybe join it. There's a McD's three blocks on where we can public Loo and wash up in their sinks. It's a start with soap and water that isn't going to dead thing up our own pads. Game?"
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:59 am
There's the benefit to extra layers, he thought while he caught Jack stripping form his peripherals. She doesn't have to carry the stench around like a trophy.
Once the heaving died down, he cast a glance backward to the now blackened hole behind the glass. Luckily his pupils wouldn't allow for a peek inside while in daylight. Still, I wonder what happened back there. Surely a youma, but anything more than that is just conjecture. if anyone, even an agent, participated to setting her back there... Hanging around during the night hours might have the guilt-ridden crawl back into that hole. But that involves coming back to the stench... No use thinking about it now. Better considered when the smell leaves my memory.
"That won't be hard," he replied in comment on bags. "The garbage cans probably have some. There's a grocery store about a block away." Speaking urged him toward vomiting, so he spoke in short bursts. The rest of the time he spent recuperating in cleaner airflow.
Finally he straightened up and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. The mag light was turned off afterward, now useless in the daylight. He found no interest in poking the light back into that cave. "You get used to it. i've seen enough carcasses between hunting and hunting accidents." The latter provided more insights into the human body and how it explodes in places with the pressure of buckshot. Seeing the mangled remnants of the woman didn't differ much - it amounted to injury in separate places, different organs strewn outside their cavities. Animal victories, rifle misfire, even accidental falls down cliffside ended in more of the same. The body mangled grew less perverse and mystifying over time.
The offer about washing up, or even just changing out of current clothes, brought relief. Let's go. better to not hang around. Might as well run to keep the smell behind us." jack seemed plenty energetic; Shale wouldn't be surprised if their explorations hadn't bothered her in the slightest. A run might clear their noses, too - catch some alternative whiffs of something better on the air. Maybe roses, maybe barbecue. On second thought, he hoped they didn't encounter barbecue. That might provoke more than dry heaves.
Shale's shirt came off because he could afford it, and the weather permitted for shirtlessness without too many odd glances. Last time he stripped near to naked, he received enough attention that clued him against it, so pants remained while he started toward the street. Adrenaline needed burning off, too; encountering death always roused a fair portion of fight-or-flight. With the shirt twisted around one fist, he called back toward Jack. "If you tell me where it's at, I'll race you there."
It didn't matter where, as long as it was away from here.
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