Author Topic: Matters of Grave Importance - Chapter Three (Read 103269 times)

Darkflame · « **Reply #101 on:** »

Sorry, life attacked me viciously. I have since managed to beat it back somewhat... so I am here

Darkflame · « **Reply #102 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:04 pm - Alice

Alice looked somewhat confused, brushing absently at nothing at all in the air next to her ear. "What? I already told you. I killed it. " She pulled up the edge of her skirt and inspected the nasty rip in it. "Those claws are quite dangerous. Well, were, at least. And I will most absolutely positively enjoy disecting them."

Maxx · « **Reply #103 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:05 pm - Talbot

Isn't that just eighteen shades of creepy.

"I'm sure that will be one of the first things on the table for discussion,' Talbot answered. "Alright people, you know the drill. Bag and tag the piece of meat, cuff and stuff the babbler after you dig him out. You might want to consider gagging him as well."

He made a deliberate showing of shrinking back to human size. "Bring in the cleaners. They'll want the scene cleaned up."

He paused as Samuel asked how things were going on his side of the cemetery. "We're good," he replied. "Meet us back at base and we'll see what we can figure out about what the hell is going on."

The clean-up crew were fast and efficient. Alice's buried lunatic was quickly whisked away. The body of the carbuncle was equally quickly bags and any evidence of its blood was also made to disappear. Talbot himself held the door open for Alice.

"Hop in. I'm sure you're just as interested in talking to the boss as he is in talking to you."

Trellin · « **Reply #104 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:06 pm - Samuel

Samuel looked over at Vesper, "Well, you heard the man. We're wrapped up here, I suppose. Let's head back to our ride."
He keyed the comms, "Dundee, the rest have wrapped up and we're heading back to camp. You want us to pick you guys up on the way?"

Darkflame · « **Reply #105 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:05 pm - Alice
"Oh, that does sound rather exciting. Is this boss of yours as interesting as you are? Perhaps tonight has turned out some rather exceptional luck after all." She replied, now more than happy to comply. "and after a wonderful talk, I can begin my disection of that fabulously rare creature!" She practically giggled, climbing into the vehicle and settling down to inspect the tear in her dress closer.

Maxx · « **Reply #106 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:06 pm - Nicky

"I'll find my own way back," Nicky replied. "I want to see where Buddy goes to ground so we can pick him up later if we need to. After he settles in, I'll swing back and keep watch, to make sure he doesn't try and finish digging his hole."

What Nicky didn't mention was that he intended to return and finish the digging himself, just to see if he could figure out what Orlando had been looking for.

Maxx · « **Reply #107 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:06 pm - Talbot

"Matter of opinion, I suppose," Talbot answered. "I'll make sure they don't start any dissection without you."

He reached down and pulled the blubbering idiot out of the ground and was quite pleased when the man squeaked once and went limp. Thankfully he had fainted rather than died of heart failure. Talbot really hadn't been worried. He was fairly certain they'd get the truth, or at least some reasonable variation on the truth, from Alice.

"Mount up, people. Cinderella turns into a pumpkin at midnight."

Trellin · « **Reply #108 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:07 pm - Samuel

"You keeping Skater Boy with you or sending him back with us?", Samuel asked as he made his way back to the car.

He didn't worry about Dundee trying to follow Orlando. He had kept his word about letting him go and warned him that the rest probably wouldn't be inclined to just let him walk. He also knew that if needed, the Warden would probably do exactly as Samuel had described and tear apart the cemetery to find whatever Orlando had been looking for and securing it. He expected some bitching from the AIC, the Asshole In Charge, but he wasn't really worried about it. Something told him that he would be seeing Orlando again in the not to distant future.

Maxx · « **Reply #109 on:** »

The Cemetery - 10:07 pm - Nicky

"He'd only slow me down," Nicky replied without a trace of malice in his voice. "Take them both back."

Samuel's superior hearing allowed him to hear Paul's muttered. 'I would not'. The young man didn't argue further, however. He simply turned and, with his fingers lightly touching Vesper's fur, headed back towards the van.

Maxx · « **Reply #110 on:** »

Back at Headquarters 11:00 pm - Heinrich Faust

The director was on hand to greet both teams when they returned to the facility that housed Department 7. He nodded to Talbot, didn't seem surprised that it was Samuel herding the second team instead of Nicky and greeted Alice with a warm smile.

"Hello and welcome," he said. "I want to assure you that you're just here for questioning. I can tell that you are obviously not entirely human and, based on information I've received, I'm guessing that is a relatively recent change. My name is Heinrich Faust and I'm not entirely human either. Neither is the majority of my field crew. We work for a branch of the government that concerns itself with, shall we say, unnatural circumstances?"

Darkflame · « **Reply #111 on:** »

Back at Headquarters 11:00 pm - Alice

Alice's pale blue eyes lit up. "Oh, excellent! First a fantastic example of insanity, then the close contact with a rare creature, and now the opportunity to speak at length with non-humanity!" Her breathy voice was filled with obvious joy. "What luck!"

She brushed at nothing near her ear. "You may call me Alice. It's as good a name as any, and just happens to be the one I was given."

Maxx · « **Reply #112 on:** »

Back at Headquarters 11:00 pm - Heinrich Faust

A smile tugged at the corners of Heinrich's mouth. "I'll refrain from making the obvious Wonderland comments," he said. "Give me a few minutes of your time to explain to me what exactly was going on in the cemetery and then we'll get to taking a look at your little beastie. We'll also have a private chat with the gentleman you buried and compare your stories."

Alice's energy looked, to Heinrich, to be similar to Eve's but different in some way. There was something dark about her aura, not indicting that Alice was sinister in any way but it was certainly worth looking deeper into. "Shall we?"

Trellin · « **Reply #113 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:08 pm - Samuel

On the way back to the car, Samuel shifted to homid form and once everyone had gotten into the car, he drove back to headquarters and parked the car in the garage.

He followed the crowd back upstairs studying the little girl. She made him twitchy for some reason, similar to the way Eve made him feel but not as strongly.

Darkflame · « **Reply #114 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:02 pm - Alice

"Actually, it certainly would not surprise me in the least if you made such comments. My.. mother.. I think is the term that most accurately describes her.." She started, her breathy voice darkening somewhat at the mention of her mother, the emotion gone just as quickly as it came, "was somewhat obsessed with the imagery of that work of literature. It was by no coincidence she chose such a name. At any rate, I am more than happy to speak with you, and to asnwer any questions you have, provided of course you are willing to reciprocate. The course of action you have outlined promises so much. That being said, by all means, we shall." She smiled.

Maxx · « **Reply #115 on:** »

Back at Headquarters 11:03 pm - Heinrich Faust

"You'll have to tell me about her when you have time," Heinrich said. "Now, would you prefer to do this in a formal or informal setting? Formally it will be just the two of us, with everyone else on the other side of a mirror. Informally, we'll remove the mirror so that we can all talk together."

Darkflame · « **Reply #116 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:04 pm - Alice

She eyed him with a sly smile. "Ah, so I get to decide whether I sit and converse with the denizens from the other side of the looking glass, hmm? By all means, and perhaps later we can dabble with a game of chess as well."

Maxx · « **Reply #117 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:04 pm - Michael Redding

"Did someone say chess?" The voice sounded pleasant but it bore no resemblance to the appearance of the speaker, who had just come around a corner. He was virtually hairless and his eye sockets were two dark sunken holes. His lips were non-existent, making it look like he was constantly baring his teeth. As if to make up for his hideous appearance, he was well dressed in an expensive three piece suit and the subtle scent of a expensive cologne accompanied him. He was limping slightly and used a cane to steady himself.

He stopped when he saw Alice. "I wasn't aware we had guests," he said. "I apologize if my appearance startles you. I'm not so bad once you get to know me."

Darkflame · « **Reply #118 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:05 pm - Alice

Alice's pale blue eyes widened as her gaze turned to the newly arrived man. "Curiouser and curiouser." she murmerred, her hand brushing absently at the air next to her ear. The energy she was exuding only a moment ago seemed stilled suddenly.

Maxx · « **Reply #119 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:06 pm - Heinrich

"This is Michael Redding, our archivist," Heinrich said, giving no obvious response to the sudden stilling of Alice's energy. "He will be assisting in the examination of the carbuncle. He is also an excellent chess player."

The Nosferatu vampire inclined his head to accept the compliment. "I'm told I have an excellent poker face as well," he said. "The gentleman Major Talbot brought in is in the infirmary. It seems he was hysterical and they were forced to sedate him. He was babbling quite incoherently. Perhaps we'll get more sense out of him in a few hours."

"Thank you. Keep me up to date on his condition. Mr Kerne? Would you care to sit in on my interview with Alice? You might find it fascinating." Heinrich was well aware of Samuel's police training, as well as his innate curiosity. It also never hurt to have a shapeshifter on hand when dealing with an unknown quantity.

Trellin · « **Reply #120 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:06 pm - Samuel

Samuel was mildly surprised and definitely pleased when the Warden extended the invitation to join them.

He inclined his head congenially to both the Warden and the strange child-thing, smiled and replied pleasantly, "You bet. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Maxx · « **Reply #121 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:06 pm - Heinrich

"Excellent," the director said. "Shall we convene in the common room? If Alice is going to be joining our happy little band, as I suspect she will, there is no point in sequestering her at this point."

Heinrich lead the way to what could best be described as a lounge. There were comfortable chairs, as well as a couch or two and a large plasma screen television which was hooked up to a variety of gaming consoles. An elaborate stereo system occupied one corner. Beside it was a neatly organized book shelf.

Just inside the door was a small faded patch in the carpet. There was even the faintest hint of bleach in the air.

"Please, sit down," Heinrich said, selecting a seat for himself. "Perhaps we can start with you telling us your side of the story. We'll interrupt if clarification is needed."

Darkflame · « **Reply #122 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:07 pm - Alice

Alice looked around curiously as she was led to the common room, occasionally brushing her hand past her ear, a motion that was obviously some kind of habit, with how often she did it. Her eyes were drawn to the bookshelf as she entered the room, a brief smile gracing her lips before she climbed into a chair and tucked her feet under her.

"My side of the story?" She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, this is a treat, I don't often get to tell stories. I don't often get to hear them either, for that matter. But that's neither here nor there, really, now is it?" Her hand swept past her ear again as she pursed her lips. "Well, from what I've gathered from conversations up to this point, you would like to know why I was in the cemetery in the first place. That's an easy enough answer. I make it a point to frequent such places wherever I happen to go. It's a bit hard to explain all of the reasons why. I like the stonework in the more elaborate ones, the stories they could hold. Of course there's also the completely facinating subject of death itself, and what occurs afterwards to the remains. But what fascinates me most is how it affects those around it." There was a sparkle in her pale blue eyes that showed just how excited she was by the thought of what she was talking about. "The emotions involved with mourning. The rage, the despair... One event can turn an otherwise stable human being into an utter blubbering mess. It's very much like insanity. In fact I'm not completely sure it isn't a form of insanity, which just makes it all the more interesting of a subject. I've been studying both for some time now. The act of mourning, and the utter depravity of true madness, at least when I can. Which leads me to tonights events. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular tonight, just enoying the quiet. It's not a good thing for me to be around people for too long, after all, but the dead don't complain. Well, not too much at least. At any rate, I happened across this man, mumbling something... well, I'm not exactly too sure what he was mumbling about, but it was rather obvious that he didn't belong there, and most certainly at least a little bit insane. So I naturally decided to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, I didn't realize quickly enough that he was apparently talking to something else until it popped up on a stone and made a horrendous noise. Of course I thought it was a stroke of fantastic luck. Here was what appeared to be a shining example of human insanity, and now, here before me, was a creature that I had only read about." Her voice was full of joyful excitement." I was thrilled! That is... until it tried to eat me. Then I'm sure you understand that my good mood was immediately spoiled. Having to defend yourself tends to do that it seems. That's something that I will take some time to reflect upon later, mind you. But yes, I was forced to unfortunately kill the Carbuncle- that's what I beleive the creature is- which only made me more annoyed. I was hoping to study it while it still lived.. at first at least. But of course that was ruined. So I took the shovel that I used to bludgeon the creature with, and I used it to bury the things apparent master up to his chest in the hole he and it had been digging. It was only appropriate to do so, after all. It wasn't very long after that when I found myself being threatened by your utterly fabulous.. is he an underling, a helper.. I'm afraid I don't know the proper terminology... anyways, he said I could keep the Carbuncle, so I decided to not make a scene. Is that what you wanted to know?"

Maxx · « **Reply #123 on:** »

Department 7 HQ - 11:10 pm - Heinrich

"It's a good start," Heinrich replied. "I'm curious as to why you say it's not a good thing for you to be around people. I'd also like to know where your interest in insanity comes from. It is professional interest or personal curiosity?"

He'd noticed her interest in the book shelf. Michael had added it only a few days earlier. He'd stocked it with a wide range of classics. Few of the books were less than twenty years old. There were exceptions of course. The Nosferatu had included several of the more current vampire fictions. When someone had pointed out he'd forgotten to include the Twilight books, he'd made a noise of utter contempt and stalked off muttering about how there were still situations that merited the death penalty.

Trellin · « **Reply #124 on:** »

Department 7 HQ, Common Room - 11:10 pm - Samuel

Samuel quietly made himself comfortable on the couch in a partially reclined position and listened to the child-thing as it told it's story. She was obviously intelligent and probably not too sane herself, by human standards at least.

Based on her behavior he thought the straightforward approach the Warden was currently using a good one. He was curious when, or if, that approach would fail. In his experience, most people in her situation that used that presented her attitude were putting up a front as opposed to actually expressing themselves in a way they felt comfortable and it tended to break down over the long run. Then again, she was clearly not human, at least not at this point, so it might actually be her way.