Baley Warsaw "Sorry, dude, can't let you up til I know it's safe", Liriope said as he somehow pinned the man down. "Ya sure that's a good idea?" Baley said as she rubbed her gloved hands together subconsciously. "Maybe we should just leave him be." Even with these words, she watched him--all of them, carefully. Having conversation with three town-folk in such close proximity was rare, all of them having abilities was rarer than her Pa's steak. She seemed to have struck luck once again. "So, ya'll said you were 'exceptionals' too. When did ya find out? About your ability I mean," Baley asked. Maybe she'd know if they were trustworthy if they talked about themselves...then she'd share about herself. As she thought about her own ability, she shuddered at the past; the thought of being in that shelter with her family. Her last few minutes before everything changed. She could still hear the shrill of the wind, her sisters crying, her parents comforting them all. She could still see the horrific image of the land stripped bare after the tornado had passed. And everyday she could still feel the subtle pain in her hands as she did the first time she walked over the storm debris. With a sigh she looked down at her gloves, clenching her hands into fists.
Gabreil Reeve "I kinew about my power since i was little, and my twin-" his words cut off and he swallowed before his eyes flared gold, "Look, just let me out of here already will ya?" he said as he glanced at Liriope and locked eyes with the man. Let me go. The shield dropped and Gabriel stood up, glancing nervously at the other man who was blinking in confusion. They would all have that feeling -that they had done something but couldn't remember it when he used his power. "My name's Gabriel." he said carefully, deciding against shaking hands with the woman across from him.
Liriope Liriope gaped in surprise. Gabriel was suddenly standing and Liriope distinctly remembered having the inclination to hold him down with a shield. Did I let him up? Did he somehow get out? Liriope shook his head and scratched his chin. "Well, uh, Gabriel...if you're so good then why were you worried about someone being dead? Are you a psycho killer, or do you have an alter ego or something?" Liriope looked over at Baley and saw the sad look that had come over her face. Maybe if he answered her question she would feel better. "Hey, Baley, wanna know 'bout my power? Well, I was a junior in highschool when I discovered mine. I was pretty popular back then, all the ladies were after me--but I was really interested in the guys. One guy in particular, Don Cortez, head of the soccer team. Somehow we ended up in a room alone during a party and he made a move on me." Liriope gave Baley a smarmy grin and waggled his eyebrows. "It was a dream come true, honestly, but I was so nervous and then--bam! A surge of energy whooshed out of me and Don was laying bloodied on the floor. It was really freaky...but I can laugh about it now." Liriope chuckled. "Luckily, my aunt Nixes was Exceptional, too, and her power was like mine, so she taught me to control it." Now that he was finished, Liriope cleared his throat and turned to Gabriel. "So, you gonna answer my question, dude?", he said brusquely. If he doesn't explain himself, I'm gonna kick him out of my room...
Gabreil Reeve "I . . . My power lets me into people's minds to control them . . . and the reason i was worried about killing someone was this -" he pulled the newspaper out of his pocket and tossed it over to Liriope, the header clearly stating: Man Commits Suicide in National Bank. Gabe swallowed, "I had a twin brother who was just like me . . . but an accident happened . . ." he looked down at his feet, trembling slightly, "If some people believed twins could read each other's minds, that was true for us. The article in the newspaper was another incident when a man started shooting in a bank. He just looked at me and . . . I lost it." He sighed wearily and sat down, holding his head in his hands with his elbows on his knees, "I didn't mean to kill him . . . but if you can see someone's past and know what they've done . . ." he swallowed, not daring to look at either one of them.
Baley Warsaw A man who liked men and another man who killed men. Baley sat down on the couch next to Gabriel, choosing to ignore the awkwardness. If she thought too hard about it, she'd just give herself the willies. "I could kill people too, with just a touch," Baley finally admitted. "Not that I want to, because that's my worry, makin' folks crumble into dirt." She held up her gloved hands. "Thank the Lord for airtight gloves or I wouldn't step foot out of my own home. My Ma would appreciate if I did that though..." She drummed her fingertips on the couch as she thought about her mother when she got angry. "I probably should be goin' here soon," Baley said. "Don't want my family to come lookin' for me. I kinda snuck out...it was a bad emergency."
Liriope "I probably should be goin' here soon," Baley said. "Don't want my family to come lookin' for me. I kinda snuck out...it was a bad emergency." "Oh, but wait--what about the mysteirous letter you guys got?" Liriope turned to Gabriel. "Did you get one, too? The girls told me they got a letter from some creepy person that's been communicating with them and watching them. Maybe we should call the pigs--I mean, the cops? Or do any of you know of another Exceptional who can help us track the sender of the letter...?" What would Auntie Nixes do? She would round up all the gifted people and get to the bottom of this. "We have to find all the Exceptionals in Grygla", Liriope said aloud, his chameleon eyes true black. "And get to the bottom of this. You guys with me?"
Gabreil Reeve Gabe shrugged, nodding slightly but he had a worried look on his face, "Sure, i got one. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. But mine was hand-delivered by whoever sent it, and when i asked the lobby manager who he couldn't say. I'd say we should be careful -we don't know what this fellow means by giving us these letters."
Ina Holt Ina had been standing in the entryway while the rest were conversing, struggling to gain control over her ability. She didn't feel like joining in their life-story swapping session. She wasn't going to be telling anyone about her drunkard parents. "We have to find all the Exceptionals in Grygla," Liriope said, "And get to the bottom of this. You guys with me?" How many more "Exceptional" people could there be? Ina wondered. Just this morning, she had thought herself to be the only one, and now she was sitting in a room with three others, each with a very unique ability. Why had all of them received letters? Was it a joke? A threat? Or maybe someone was trying to warn them of something. If it was either of the latter, all the more reason to find more people like them. The more there were, the more chance they would stand. Ina chuckled to herself. She was being over-dramatic. "I want to find more people like us," Ina said, finally stepping forward to join the others. Her eye had finally stopped leaking its green tears, but it still was rolling about in its socket, making it look like she was having a seizure. She stuffed her hands into her front pocket, and felt something cold grip her as her hands felt the bills her father had given her. "A-actually, you know, I should probably get going soon as well." She sputtered. She needed to get those groceries and get home quickly. She stepped back and pulled open the door to the apartment, still looking at the others. "I hope we can-" She froze. Something didn't feel right. "Why's it so quiet?" She walked over to the window, and peered out onto the street. "U-uh, guys? Come here. Where did all the tourists go?" The streets lay completely empty. The streets, the sidewalks, even the shops were void of people. Empty cars sat scattered across the parking areas, but their owners were nowhere in sight. There was a menacing silence filling the room, with the absence of sound from the outside.
Shyla Shyla had excused herself to the bathroom as her parents droned on about different baby names, the color of the baby's room, theme or no theme, home birth or hospital birth. She groaned in annoyance and washed her face in the sink. Shyla had a short black dress on with a sash around her waist. She hated wearing dresses. They were uncomfortable and you couldnt' do a darn thing in them. Not to mention the shoes one had to wear to make the dress look nice. Completly impractical flats. A pin could go through them. Shyla felt the sudden urge to look at the letter she had stuffed in her purse. Maybe it had another strange message written on it. Only one unusal word had appeared. "Hide." Hide. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Hide where? From what? Whoever is writting these messages is a creep. Probably another exceptional trying to pull everyone's strings. Whatever.
Camille: About Face Ben's phone suddenly began to trill. 911...911...911...911. flashing repeatedly across the screen. He muttered an oath that was lost to history as he slammed the car into reverse and pulled a highly illegal turn. Camille bounce in her seat and caught the door handle in a death grip as Ben floored the accelerator. The little car purred and leapt forward. Her blue eyes were huge in her small face as she looked down at the phone. "What's going on, Ben?" "I don't know, Cam." He said, his face tight with tension. "But something's wrong. Very wrong. We'll meet up with the Doc in a bit, but for now, I need to get back to town." He caught her thin hand in his and squeezed. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Camille squeezed back with a surprising amount of strength. "I know..." The rest of her words trailed off as she glanced down at the notes in her lap. A word, scripted by an unseen hand flowed across the page just as Ben pulled in behind the Grammar Hammer. Hide. "Shit..." The word was out before Camille knew what she was about. She scrambled free of her seat belt as Ben unlocked the doors. Radish bound out, happy to be free. "What now, Camille?" Ben demanded, totally at sea. Camille held up the sheet. Ben's response was an even more colorful explicative than her own. "What should we do?" She hissed, panic leaking into her voice. Hastily she shoved the notes into the pocket of her gold and green patterned sundress. "Exactly what the note said to do. Hide." He said, glancing up at the huge tree that stood guard beside the bookstore. Camille followed his gaze. "You're kidding, right?" "Hey, you did it the last time I turned you over my knee." He replied, desperately trying to lighten the mood. "I was nine..." She began, only to swallow a squeak as he hoisted her up to the lower branches. "Go, Camille." Stricken, she climbed passing from branch to branch with shocking ease. Ben ducked between the dense shrubs flanking the side of the building. Radish followed. Once out of sight, he pulled out his pistol.
Baley Warsaw "U-uh, guys? Come here. Where did all the tourists go?" Ina called from the window. Baley got up from her seat and walked to the window, peering over Ina's shoulder. At the sight, her brow quirked under her bangs. No folks were to be seen on the streets and no noise filtered through the thin glass. The silence sent chills up her spine. It was like a ghost town out there. "So what are we gonna do?" Baley said softly. "Find out where the heck they went?" Deep down she knew she needed to get home. Every second, every minute longer she stayed she could hear her ma's shouts that could scare a grown man. But as she looked again at the scene below, curiosity easily tuned out her conscious. She'd deal with the consequences later. Flicking her bangs out of her eyes, Baley turned to stare at Ina and the two men. "Shall we?" she said, pointing a gloved finger at Liriope's door.
Liriope "Shall we?" Baley said, pointing a gloved finger at Liriope's door. "Well, heck, since no one's outside, why not use the window?" Liriope grinned mischieviously and advanced toward the window Ina had previously been peering through. "'Scuse me, darlin'", Liriope said, mimicking Baley's cowgirl accent playfully. He cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles, then thrust out his hands at the glass. It shattered to tiny shards as a long blue-violet rectangle extended from Liriope's outstretched palms to the street below. "It's a slide", Liriope said with an impish grin, although his lips were pale again. "Let's go, dudes! Raaaaaahhhh...!" Liriope hopped onto the slide he had created and slid straight down... ...And landed in a hedgebush across the street that nicely cushioned his landing. He stood, patted his pants, and cried, "Whatcha waiting for?" His voice echoed eerily through the empty streets.
Camille: Trick He stood, patted his pants, and cried, "Whatcha waiting for?" His voice echoed eerily through the empty streets. The voice drifted up to Camille's vantage point with startling clarity. A sudden wave of utter dread nearly swallowed her whole as she watched the young man's actions. "The fool..." She muttered and then realized she and Ben might be the only ones aware of the change in the note. Of one thing she was certain. This new guy was an Exceptional and seemed to have found a couple others. She really didn't have any choice but to trust them. She pulled the notes from her pocket. Both identical in every way except for the crease in Baley's where Ben had folded it. Tucking her own back into her pocket, she carefully folded Baley's into a small paper bird and tossed it down. Radish saw it and went racing to catch it. The note snagged on a bush, within easy reach of the husky. Pressing his nose tight against he, Radish sniffed the note from stem to stern before glancing up to Camille for the command. "Find." She whispered. The dog plucked up the note and took off at a run, beelining for the only person in plain sight. The guy who had made the slide. "Don't blow it, Radish." She murmured under her breath. "Please, don't blow it."
Eva, taking charge “I sent Bert home early,” Eva explained. “It’s just the two of us here. After what happened earlier, I knew I owed you an explanation, but I wanted absolute privacy.” Mr. Herrings took a deep breath and sank a little lower into his chair, trying to relax. How was he supposed to react to her confession? How was he supposed to feel? Eva was so calm and collected. She had the coldness of a practiced killer and there was no doubt in his mind that that’s exactly what she was. “I have to tell Ben…” Herrings said quietly. “I won’t stop you,” Eva sighed. “But if he tries to arrest me, there will be trouble. I have no intention of going peacefully.” “You’re a murderer,” the old man said. “If that’s what you want to call me, so be it,” Eva shrugged. “But I find it silly how easily people are offended by this word. A doctor’s job is to eliminate harmful elements within a body, so the body can begin to heal. But there are a lot of sicknesses outside of the body. Sometimes, one body wants to harm another. In that case, isn’t it my duty to eliminate the hostile body?” “You’re insane,” Herrings snarled. “Doctors don’t kill people. What gives you the right!? You’re playing God.” “I have the right to save a life, but not the right to take one, even when taking a life might save two or three or more?” She laughed. “You’re not making any sense, sir. And I have no delusions of being God. I’m not Him. I don’t send people to heaven or hell, I just get them out of here. God can sort out the rest on His end.” “Dozens of people have gone missing in that forest,” the old man declared, pointing to the line of trees at the edge of her property. “You killed them and you’ll have to answer for it someday.” “When that day comes, my answer will be ‘yes,’ followed by, ‘you’re welcome,’” Eva said before abruptly standing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Gehenna has something to say.” Mr. Herrings was too preoccupied to notice the shadowy figure watching them from the window. When he finally saw it, it nearly gave him another heart attack. The phantom lion had its snout pressed to the glass and was staring at him with beady red eyes. When their eyes locked, the creature grinned, baring its inky black fangs. It sent a chill down the old man’s spine; he quickly gulped the last of his iced tea and stared off into the distance, trying to forget. Eva stepped inside and Gehenna immediately came to her. He was so large, his head was level with her shoulder. The beast nuzzled at her side, nearly knocking her over. He pawed at her coat until she realized he was trying to draw her attention to the letter in her pocket. “Did something happen in town?” she asked as she drew it out and opened the envelope. Gehenna liked to wander; he often came to her with news of things going on in town, or sometimes even farther. He could go anywhere the darkness fell. When she finally unfurled the page, Eva found it filled with many more words than it had before, and they were written in different handwriting. By her estimate, at least two people had written on the page. The first had written a short message, and then someone else had written a long depressing note, and then the first had written one final word: Hide. With a frown, she charged out the back door. “I have to go,” she said to Mr. Herrings, who promptly asked if she was fleeing town. “No, I’m going into town on business,” Eva explained, “possibly to save a life. Lock the doors and stay inside. If I don’t come back, the keys to the ambulance are near the front door; you can get yourself home.” Less than a minute later, she was speeding away with the note on her dashboard. Oe hand gripped the steering wheel while the other rummaged through the glove box, past the loaded .38 pistol, until she found a fat black marker and wrote on the mystical page: No more games. Town Center. Sundown. I’ll be waiting.
Gabriel Reeve Gabe felt a prickle run up his spine. He didn't like this -not one bit! But if anyone tries to attack us, i can handle them easilly enough. he thought grimly, looking at his hands. He clenched his jaw and leapt after Liriope, skimming the slide the man had made before launching himself off at the last minute and landing neatly on the sidewalk.
Camille: Radish's Mission Radish skittered slightly as another man landed on the sidewalk beside the first. The scent on the note lingered around these two. He was close, but not close enough. He yipped. High pitched and impatient. He continued to approach, but much more cautiously. Ears flattened, tail out straight he came within touching range and shook the paper bird.
Baley Warsaw "Whatever happened to ladies first?" Baley muttered to Ina. She slowly peered over the edge of the slide, a knot forming in her stomach. She wasn't a fan of heights, not after breaking her arm when she fell from a tree at five, when she fell out of her tire swing at seven, and when she fell from her barn loft while making repairs at thirteen. Heights were not in her favor. Baley gave a weak smile at Ina as she surveyed the ground again. She was about to ask Ina to go first, but then her eyes caught sight of an animal making its way over to the men. Was that a dog? "Well, here goes nothin'...I guess." Baley gulped and lightly walked onto the glass, careful to hold her arms close to her body. Her scream echoed off in the distance as she soon gained speed with her small size. "Watch...out!" Baley shouted. She soared through the air, limbs flailing as she missed the landing, falling right on top of Gabe.
Ina Holt "Whatever happened to ladies first?" Baley said to Ina, as she prepped to go down the make-shift slide. She went down with a scream, crashing into Gabe at the bottom. Ina glared out the window, at the fools below. Apparently, being inconspicuous didn't matter to these people. She refused to take such a crude and risky method of transport. "Wait up, I'm going around." She called down to the others. She turned about to face the room. If Liriope had any valuables, now'd be a good time to take them. She narrowed her eyes. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to betray his trust. She needed allies, not enemies. She did spot one thing that she would take, though. She pulled off her shirt, throwing the sopping green garment to the floor, and grabbed one of Liriope's shirt. Sleeveless... She didn't like sleeveless shirts, but she couldn't go out topless, so she pulled it on. It fit her rather well, considering it was man-clothing. Maybe because he buys his shirts two sizes too small. She thought. She marched to the door, and flung it open, descending until she was in the apartment lobby. She pushed through the doors, and turned the corner to meet with her group. "Oi." She called, as she walked to where they stood.
Camille: Here's Hoping Radish dropped the note beside the pile of limbs that were Baley and Gabe. Pawing the folded paper once, he barked and took off running. Within a moment he was lost to sight, tucked safely back in behind the bushes next to Ben. Way to go, Radish...Camille silently cheered from her vantage point in the tree. Now if only these others were as quick on the uptake as her dog, things just might go well. "Come on..." She murmured. "Pick it up...pick it up." Camille was over the denial, something was seriously wrong in Grygla and she wasn't the only freak being watched. She didn't know who had sent the note, but for whatever the reason, she trusted it. She stuck her hand back into the pocket of her sundress and pulled out her own note, again. No more games. Town Center. Sundown. I’ll be waiting. "Well, that's new..." Another Exceptional or someone else? Either way they were due for more company soon. Dinner was done and the summer sunshine was dying quickly. Tucking the note back in her pocket, she reached for the second item she always carried, just in case of an emergency. A small, ornately wrought silver lighter.
Liriope "Here comes Ina...", Liriope said as the small girl came bursting out of the hotel. Then he noticed the dog with the folded-up paper in it's mouth. "What th...?" Liriope snapped his fingers at the dog. "Hey, doggie? Lemme see that note in your mouth, 'kay?" Liriope had a dreadful sinking feeling that the note was the one that all the Exceptionals were getting. Then he perchanced to look pass the dog and he glimpsed a child's flaming red hair in the canopy of a tree. To Gabriel, he said in a whisper, "Someone's hiding over there--can you check it out?"
Eva, plotting and scheming The streets were unnaturally quiet as Doctor Albrite's silver Audi prowled the blocks. She lowered the window, to hear whatever there was to be heard, but only the dull roar of her car's engine split the silence. Unsettled by this, she took the gun from the glove box and tucked it into the deep pockets of her labcoat, as a precaution. She folded the letter and tucked it into her opposite pocket. No one had written her back. Maybe they were too afraid. Maybe they were still obeying the previous message: hide. Or maybe there was no one left to respond. Maybe they're all dead. The thought of strangers dying didn't bother her. The thought of Camille or Shyla dying did, but only a little. The thought of being able to do nothing about it is what really troubled her and forced her to drive on. As she turned onto the street by Martha's Inn, the doctor found a translucent blue ramp slung across the road, leading from a high window to the opposite side of the street. She stopped the car. Children were coming from the hotel, using the ramp as a slide. You've got to be kidding me, Eva thought as she pulled over and shut off her car, to watch from a distance. These are the people I'm supposed to work with? Is this some kind of cruel joke? The first one out was a lanky layabout, sloppily dressed, and followed by a slightly more capable, but equally-unkempt young man. A small girl tumbled down the slide after them and crashed into the first boy. It's the milk girl, Eva noticed. She didn't know the girl's name, but had seen her around, usually bumbling along in a tractor with her brother. The other two seemed to be out-of-towners. They turned, as if trying to coax one more person down the slide, but the fourth member of their party came strolling out the front door instead. It was the daughter of Mr. Holt, the town drunk, a man Eva despised even though she hardly knew him. Eva watched from the safety of her car, parked almost half a block away. Where were they going? What abilities did they have? She already knew one of them had made the blue slide and another had somehow quieted the town. How else could all of this go completely unnoticed? If her guess was true, these people were dangerous. She needed to kow more before approaching them. Let's see what they do next, she thought, knowing Gehenna would be lurking in the shadows beneath her car and nightfall wasn't far off.
Gabriel Reeve "D-don't move!" Gabe grunted, freezing when Baley had landed on him. Pinned to the sidewalk, he felt his heart hammering wildly in his chest. He rarely came in contact with people, let alone girls. "Someone's hiding over htere -can you check it out?" Liriope said, and Gabriel turned his head to glare at the ex-rocker, "I'm a bit tied up at the moment." he said, but finally got the nerve to push himself up in an odd kind of push-up to lift Baley off of him. Rolling his shoulders, he strode quietly over in the direction Liriope had pointed. "Hello?" he called, glancing around cautiously as his eyes turned gold. If anyone tried to pounce on him they would have another thing coming.
Baley Warsaw "Oh lord..." Baley muttered as she brushed herself off. Underneath her tangled hair, her cheeks had turned as red as a tomato. Thankfully, she and Gabe both hadn't been hurt, but it still had been awkward. Just like everything else so far. She took a deep breath to calm her speeding heart as Gabe walked over to a nearby tree. Guilt mixed with her embarrassment and for a second she wondered if she owed him an apology for being herself. Baley went to follow him, but slipped, skidding onto the hard concrete. What the heck? Her eyes widened as she sat dumbfounded on the ground. She'd tripped on her own two feet! But when she turned her head, she found what she had really tripped on, a small piece of notebook paper. Go figure. Ignoring whatever the guys were doing, she crawled over to the note and picked it up in her gloved hand. As she smoothed the folded crease, her heart resumed its previous speed. Thoughts flashed to the forefront of her mind, back to when she'd gotten a letter in the mail earlier; the letter she'd given to the police officer. Quickly she opened it to find several lines written on the paper. No, this couldn't be her note...hers had been blank earlier. Baley's eyes widened as she scanned the first words written, the same that Ina had shown on hers. The second line was in a different handwriting with depressing words of a broken heart. The third had only one word, hide. And, finally the last line topped it all. No more games. Town Center. Sundown. I’ll be waiting. What was that supposed to mean? She guessed it meant they were being commanded to meet someone. The knot in her stomach reappeared, this time larger. If she was going to head home, now would be the time to do so...unless it was already too late. Swallowing hard, she folded the note up again, holding it tight. "Ya'll might wanna see this." Baley said, waving the paper in the air.
Eva, playing chess The doctor watched as the clumsy little milkmaid picked up a piece of paper, folded in an identical manner to the letter she had. Just as I thought, they have one too, the doctor mused as she watched the girl take the letter to her two friends. They seemed more alert now and, based on their movements, seemed to suspect someone or something was in the bushes. Whatever it was, it was drawing their attention away from Eva. She’d seen a suspicious dog a moment ago, but it headed the other way, not toward the bushes. Did that mean someone else was around? There are too may people here, Eva thought. At least six or seven, by her count. Four in the street, possibly another hiding in the bushes, herself, and then the dog’s owner… if it had an owner. Eva didn’t get a good look at it, but the canine was too well-behaved to be a stray. It didn’t bark, beg, or bite like the wild dogs often did. The situation was more complex than she’d anticipated. How many Exceptionals are in this town? Will more come? What will happen if they do? Eva continued watching, making mental notes of everything, and weighing her options.
Shyla Shyla sighed in relief as she pulled on a pair of loose jeans. She had never been so happy to leave a resturant before. Her parents were still down stairs talking about the prospect of a new kid in the house. At least they'd finally remembered about her race and congratulated her when Shyla told them she won. But it wasn't the same. I'm being a selfish brat. The baby probably isn't even the size of a bean and I'm already jealous. She tied her tennis shoes and opened her window before shimming down the pipe and dropping quietly onto the lawn. Shyla didn't walk in any particular direction. She just walked, enjoying the silence. A cool evening wind was blowing as night rapidly approached. The sky was beautiful this time of day. She felt the note in her jacket pocket. Pulling it out she saw that another sentance had been added. This one in a different handwriting. "No more games. Town Center. Sundown. I’ll be waiting." Who wrote this...and why? Well, I don't really have anything else better to do. Might as well check it out. I can always teleport out of there if things get dangerous. And with that, Shyla turned on her heel and headed towards the Town Center.
