Cthulhu Chronicles: Tidings of madness and woe (IC)

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age"
- Francis Wayland Thurston

Zoe bit her lower lip while sitting by the kitchen table, going through since long outdated documents and cut out news articles from the probably at that time young local magazine. She wiped her forehead with the outside of her hand as she stressed through the various texts she had come across during her adventure to her fathers basement this morning. There were notes attached to each one, but the most disturbing of things was how each clip and note spoke of death, conspiracy and each linked to an old mythos, somewhat forgotten.

She clutched her own leg with one hand while the other one went through the old clips from newspapers. It took only a few minutes of reading before she placed her hand at the edge of the table and brushed it across it, pushing all the papers on the floor and turned to exit her house. She had gone into the basement with hope to get an idea of where her father had gone, since he had no family or friends in the city beyond those that came to listen to him during church. No one spent time with him outside church, for he was a man that minded his own at the December of his life.

Closing the front door behind her, her hand quivered as she after a few attempts ran the key into the lock, twisted it and locked the door. In a fierce manner she ran the key into her jeans pocket and dashed through the yard of her fathers detached house near the center of the town. Like every day before today, for the past week and a half had Zoe gone to the police station and questioned them closely about news revolving her father, each day also leaving emptyhanded.

First of course, she felt the need to visit the nearby Café for a soothing cup of tea to calm her nerves and mind. Her blue jeans jacket she had pulled over her white and orange striped shirt as she made her way down the calm street. Despite her condition, Zoe had been able to tell herself everything would be fine. Her father was fine and would turn out any day, but at the back of her head the thoughts of the worst possible scenario creeped.

The afternoon sun brought warmth to her face as she walked and with a forced smile she waved at some of the neighbors who, as always, sat reserved in their own yards by their outdoor furnitures, reading the newspaper or gossiping about various rumors as always. If you wanted peace and quiet, there was no question about it. Arkham was one of the best choices you could make on where to live. The elders of the city as always met in the park and discussed all things from weather, to newly arrived people and with their discussions, rumors easily formed and spread like an airborne plague across town. What a peculiar city this was, but Zoe had come to love it.

Near St. Mary's Hospital, the Café of her preference could be found. It was a small building with the most modest of menu you could come across in a modern society. A few variations of coffe, some tea types and a few delicious types of pastry was pretty much the extent of it, but Zoe did not mind. She would often just order a sandwich and a cup of hot apple tea, sit by the window and observe the ever so rare cars drive by, locals meeting and having a brief chat, or perhaps the even rarer case of an ambulance passing by. Despite the Café being so near the city hospital, it was as calm as anywhere else in the city. Even though Miskatonic University was not far from here, it did not even resemble the shadow of the same activity a major city would have. Oh how she loved rural Arkham. Sitting by the window, playing with her headband and watching the inactivity reminded her time and time again of it.

Simon had his hands behind the back his head, his eyes closed, as he whistled a tune while he walked towards work from his nearby cheap studio apartment. The way he walked it was like he didn't have a care in the world. He of coarse opened his eyes every time he had to crossed a street, but it didn't matter to much since not many cars drive around this city. Out of all the city's Simon has been in, this is probably the quietest and least populated one. This of coarse did not make Simon to happy.

He thought about it last night, but the probability of him finding his big break, find the pot of god, or eternal happiness of any kind. Seems very slim in such a quiet town. He thought maybe it'll be easier with less people, but the more people there are, the more people he can talk to. The more people he talks to, the higher chance he has of talking to that one person that might help him find what he needs.

Simon stops whistling and sighs. Maybe This isn't the way. Maybe he should try doing the path of education, go finish high school, get in to college, and get some kind of degree. Be someone important, make a big difference in life and be the kind of role model kids need now a days to inspire them to finish education themselves. ...NAA. That's boring nothing at all like Simon.

Simon finally had finally reached to his job at Mcdonalds, saying quick greetings to his fellow employees and manager. Not wasting to much time as he quickly got in to his work uniform. He gets in to the ordering cashier with a big grin in his face, his teeth and glasses shines against the restaurants bright lights. The manager of the Mcdonalds is to layed back, like most of this city, to care much for his glasses. Simon stares at a customer walking up to him, first customer of the day.Welcome to Mcdonalds!! May I take your order?!

Al woke slowly, from a state of sleep which could only be described as thick, and which did not seem to wish to let go. Fatique clung to his brain and his eye lids, he was heavy, and the bed would not let go easily. Ignoring a heaviness in his chest, he stumbled about his bedroom, selecting clothes from the flloor surrounding his bed. Within moments, he'd brushed his teeth, laced his boots, and stepped outside his modest apartment. His apartment sat atop a small shop in town, and he let the door close behind him with a sigh. No sooner had fresh air filled his lungs than the heavy feeling left him, and he attributed it to age, as well as an old smoking habit. 'S'pose this means quittin'., he thought to himself, flicking his lighter and igniting a fresh coffin nail. '...Eventually.'
He set off down the street, with no particular goal in mind. He was a bit hungry, and a bit bored. He also had time off of work, and wasn't sure how he'd spend it. First, a late breakfast, he decided. He'd slept in, a result of his late night job. He stepped into the local cafe, a humble affair without the extravagancies of a Starbucks, or Timmy Ho's, but it was good enough for him. The coffee was hot, and the food was good. He quietly ordered a sandwich and a coffee, careful to avoid eye contact with the only other customer in the shop while he waited. He'd always been a bit nervous of other people, and kept to himself.

Isa started running. He looked at his hands "13 agian ?!?! how ! " He turned to see his brothers corpse on front of a church. He turned to Isa " YOU BASTARD !!" The church and the world around him set fire as he saw his skin melt of him till he was a skelinton. Isa awoke from his dream with a jolt. "o my God another bad dream.....why is it always about HIM ?" He layed in bed another 10 minutes, then he slowly got up and looked outside. "dull......" He got dressed and texted his gf. 'Becca where have yo been latley ? did i do somthing wrong ?' Isa knew his gf hated when people invited themselves over her house but he needed to make sure things were ok. He put his shoes on and started out onto the streets...

He was not a local, of that she had no doubt. What in the world would pull someone from the 'outer world' into Arkham, she wondered but rapidly recalled that she herself were not from here and he could be here for the same reason. To relax.
Arkham was not necessarily a small city, but if you stayed there for three years and you were active outdoors, you learnt to recognize local faces and distinquish them from new ones. This man certainly had not been here for long, or he had but had not showed his face in public much. She would know, as she spent most of her day wandering the city or sitting by this Café.

She however felt obliged to interact, since if he was an escaped criminal and she did, there was a reduced chance she would end up a random victim "What brings you to Arkham?" She questioned and clutched her cup well as she did, where she sat by herself by the window and looked over at the lean, yet somewhat tall figure. As she paid more attention to his appearance, she noted a scar past his mouth and merely sighting it chilled her to the bones, although she kept a neutral face.

@ Isa

As Isa had began his walk down the street, an elder man within short was immediately behind the young man. This figure was slim, wore a brown tall robe and what resembled a fishermans hat. He held a cane, but he did not use it as it rested in his hand at his side. Where this fisherman came from was hard to tell, almost as if he had stepped out of hiding and now walked near Isa, at an equal pace. The man had short but worn grey beard, and equally grey short hair revealed itself at the edges of his hat. He had two bright blue eyes and his hands were gloved with rough leather. For a man in his december, he kept the young pace of Isa well "Where are you heading, boy?" He asked then, not too concerned with minding his own.
That of course was no surprise to any local. He was the crazy old fisherman to those who had lived here long enough to learn the tales. With all his ramblings and theories, most of the other elders in the city was shocked he had not ended up in the Asylum.

Isa sighed to himself 'o great' Isa stoped and turned around. Isa smiled politly and said " im just head over to a .. friends house" Isa figured he'd better make nice. " and how about yourself sir ? any specific destination ?" Isa figured he could shoot the breeze for it bit. The man seemed harmless to Isa's point of veiw.

He'd just recieved his change when the woman he'd noticed spoke to him. It surprised him a bit, and that may have shown for a moment on his face, though he surpressed it quickly. Straightening up a bit, and reflexively putting on a slight smile, he stuttered for a moment. He hadn't expected her to talk to him, and he wasn't sure she would actually be interested in his answer. He gave it anyway though, she seemed nice enough;
"Uh.. Books.", he told her after a moment, and shrugged with a slight laugh at himself. He realised that sounded dumb, and flushed slightly. "Miskatonic Library, more specificly.", he added, finally pushing his nervousness back inside the box he kept it in when he was around people. "How about you?", he asked in an attempt to get her to pay attention to herself rather than him. He realised it was possible she was a local, and that then he'd look pretty dumb, but she didn't seem to dress the way most of the locals did, he guessed that she liked orange.
Unsure what to do now, he stood around awkwardly for a moment before asking. "Mind if I sit you you?", he hadn't intended to stay, but it seemed rude to leave now.

James found himself nearly tearing his hair out. This town was a living nightmare. He didn’t understand why but apparently the locals took a serious disliking to him. Was it that he was English? Maybe the town held some weird form of patriotism against him? He wasn’t sure. All that would have been fine were it not for one thing. What they called police, men and women supposed to protect and serve held the same attitude. Not taking any responsibly for their duties. He had called them up to inquire about missing persons, convinced that two missing people in their town had to be something they were at least investigating. But apparently he was mistaken. They didn’t even check to see if they had unknown missing persons. When he described his father or sister they denied any such person had come in a disinterested manner. It was something beyond infuriating. When he insisted they had, they continued to brush it off, claiming people pass through all the time, no reason they would be a ‘missing person’ just because they didn’t hang around.

So here he sat, in his shoddy hotel room, hands on his head, trying to work something out. There had to be someone in this town that would be friendly to him. Would at least listen to him, perhaps shed any degree of light on his problem. He snatched his coat up off the hanger as he hastily made to leave. He wouldn’t be cause standing around doing nothing. Not at a time like this. If there was someone out there who might help him, he’d better start looking for them. Because it seemed pretty damn unlikely they would find him whilst he was sitting on his backside here.

He locked his room with the key before walking swiftly through and out of the hotel. In the back of his mind he was thankful he hadn’t unpacked and that all of his possessions were locked in his suitcase, he really didn’t trust the people running the hotel. As he walked through the town, keeping an eye open for anything that might be of notice he couldn’t help but feel the dull and even dark aura the town had. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt very genuinely as though something terrible had happened here, perhaps long ago or maybe recently. It wasn’t like he was sensing it, it was just a feeling in the back of his mind. Perhaps his way of explaining why or how a town could feel so… well grim.

(OOC: Apologies for the intro and where it went (didn’t even know where I was going ^^”)…I’ve never been good at being concise but I’ll work on that…)

“Annnna..!” The burly Hispanic college student pressed down on Anna’s shoulders, not bothering to keep his voice low in the reading section of Miskatonic University’s library. Resting his chin on Anna’s head, he continued whining. “…it’s lunchtime. I paid etc dollars to visit you…where’s my food?” He drummed his fingers impatiently on her shoulders.

Rolling her eyes, she blew a stray strand of raven hair from her vision as she shoved “The Book of the Dead and Other Charming Thoughts” into its proper position on the shelf. She tilted her head, sparkling green eyes analyzing the mystical selection. I have been in this section far more times than I’d like in this past month alone! Wonder whose all about the cray cray creeper reads? Feeling the grip on her shoulders tighten somewhat, she exhaled loudly. “Voice, Richard! And okay, alright…Golden Arches?”

“Classic Anna Molly!” whispered Richard. He quietly clapped his hands together. “Enough money to buy McDonalds twice but too cheap to eat anything that costs more than five dollars. How’s that even work?”

Growing serious for the first time in months, Anna stood up slowly and stared down Richard’s back. “Well Richard, shit changed.” She cracked her neck; more tired from remembering the story versus repeating it. “You know I’m not in Miskatonic ‘cause I like the cold…” Tensing up from the unfortunate memory, she forced a smile and hooked an arm through Richard’s.

“Right,” Noting the tension in the air and the deceptively realistic grin plastered on Anna’s face, Richard wisely chose to drop the subject. “Want me to drive?”

Dropping the keys into his hand, Anna skipped ahead of him with a smile in her voice. “Smartest thing you’ve said all day…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two college students stared at each other heatedly in the parking lot of the greasy fast food restaurant. They both had their fists clenched outwards, the squawking of a beast of a woman the only background noise. Anna bit her lower lip. Come on… The two friends silently shook their fists three times. On the 3rd round, Anna flattened out her hand completely. Paper.

Richard turned his hand into sideways bunny ears. Scissors. A nasty smiled crossed his face.

F***. Refraining from cursing aloud, she closed her eyes tightly and leaned her head back against the seat. “Ugh…but I live here. You NEVER have to come back to this McDonalds again--”

“But I won the round so get to it,” cockily finished Richard. Relaxing in his victory, at hearing the door open he snapped his fingers. “Oh wait, chotto matte-”

“Don’t speak Asian,” Anna slammed the car door, giggling slightly from her awful sense of humor.

Richard rolled down the window of the black sedan and made a wry face. “But you understand Japanese…b****.” Seeing Anna laugh at his name calling, he smiled. He knew it had been awhile since she’d sincerely laughed at most things. Tilting his head, he said. “Make sure you order tomatoes with it?”

“What do you think ketchup is?” Anna waved off his request, fully aware regardless of her negative attitude; she’d fulfill the order in its entirety. Even if it makes me one of THOSE kind of customers. She sighed, bracing herself outside the clear glass doors. Stepping inside the traditional red and yellow McDonalds, she scanned the menu for old favorites and new additions. I don’t need it though.

Just then, Anna noticed what she’d mistaken to be Ronald McDonald’s purple friend waddle into view. She widened her eyes at the large woman dressed in purple with the matching fedora to match. Corrected, SHE doesn’t need it…that was mean. Mentally chastising herself, Anna smiled and motioned the woman to go ahead of her. The woman gave her a “not worth of my toilet” glance before raising her gaze back to the menu.

Okay… Aware the woman was far too rude to be a native of Arkham, she tepidly stepped ahead of her and to the waiting cashier. Smiling after the customary greeting, she tapped the counter nervously. “Uh…yeah, so, can I get two double quarter pounders…without cheese. And the bread. And really just tomatoes and onions on it?” Receiving the expected strange look from her order, she scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, my friend is kinda weird. Oh! And two side salads? Thanks..!”

After paying the gentleman behind the counter, Anna stepped aside and waited for her meal. I forgot how strange it is having someone around who’s aware of my…dark passenger. She almost laughed out loud from the phrasing, a snappish voice cutting into her thoughts of rue.

“Give me your salad.” Ordered the large woman.

Anna blinked once, twice, not quite sure how to respond. She settled with a safe response. “Uhm, excuse me?”

“They ran out of side salads. I want one. GIVE me one of yours!” she slapped her hand against the table, porky high heeled foot tapping the floor as if she meant business.

Maintaining her composure, Anna said. “I’m sorry I took the last two, I really am, but this is the only thing I want and can afford right now. But if you’d like, I can point you in the direction of a REALLY good salad bar by the Univ-”

“I want THAT salad!” snapped the woman.

The restaurant becoming unnaturally quiet with each childish outburst from the spoiled woman, Anna felt her rationale began to fail her. The librarian tried but couldn’t hold back the impulsive retort. “Miss, I really don’t think it’s going to help you at this point.” Watching the woman turn a violent shade of red and her bulbous arms begin to shake from the insinuation, Anna attempted to play damage control.

Before Anna could open her mouth, the woman pulled back her hand and slapped the college student loudly in the crowded restaurant. There was immediate silence, the echo of the slap still ringing in the air. Anna’s head was still turned from the blow, stunned more so by the fact the woman had actually struck her than the sting of the uncalled for attack. Cheeks heating up in her sudden rise of emotion, she forced her wild gaze onto the lady, Anna trembling.

Realizing McDonalds (and its inhabitants) may not be on her side, the lady pointed a stubby finger at the motionless Anna. “She called me FAT and I STAND by my action!” Marching away in outrage, she grabbed a very mortified gentleman standing in the doorway. “I HATE when you drive us through this backwards town to get to your parents, we’re USING the drive-thru!” The unfortunately whipped husband said nothing, shaking his head as his wife dragged him to the car.

Anna slowly stopped trembling, her head still spinning from the obese lady’s assault. She was recovering well until she saw it out of the corner of her eye. The first good citizen of Arkham attempting the role of the comforting voice. Oh please no… Rushing to the counter, she asked in a steadily breaking voice. “Uhm…yeah, ha, can you add a McFlurry and an Apple Pie to my order? I’ll be…right back.” Without another word, the startled librarian flew to the McDonald’s bathroom….

"Walter, I have to lock up now, you got to leave." The college professor said to Walter."Wait, its almost done!" Walter exclaimed back."Walter... your equations make no sense, even if you were some genius, you don't have to be doing your equations on MY board!"The professor said with irritation."Well hold on, let me just-"The professor grabbed Walter's wrist and dragged him out of the classroom."HEY- I- AND- AGH!!"Walter yelled in annoyance as the professor locked the door."good bye now, Walter..." The professor said tiredly, then walked off to his car.Great.... now, i wont get to become famous... Walter thought to himself. Walter was 21 and in college looking for a degree in Theoretical Physics, and he didn't need an irritating and ignorant Professor.Walter decided it would be best just to go home by now, and to copy his equations down in the morning before any of his other classmates gets here. He started down the staircase and out the side doors, he's used to this path because its the fastest way to get to the local Mc'Donalds where he would occasionally eat a fattening lunch just to get his mind off things.

oops sorry i never saw the char. thread, just ignore my post.