Domicile: Balmont Estate (Slow Awakening)
Click to viewRalph sat down in the chair that only minutes before had held Jackie captive and, leaning forward, rested his arms on his thighs and looked down at his shoes. The whole world seemed to weigh heavily on him. His posture sagged. He could feel buried memories welling up in him, beginning to spill over into images that- as the flood increased, began to form scenes in his past. The first image was of Tobey, his pet terrier. Just the image was enough to bring the tears... for she was dead.
Outside, Jackie ran blindly in the darkness, the full moon being her only light.
Ralph's parted lips quivered as he recalled how smart and attentive a dog Tobey was. He remembered how much time they had spent in the woods outside this very property when he was little, playing together. She always loved to run after him and try to snatch whatever he held out of reach, often jumping very high for a terrier her size. He was still trying to fight back he tears as he thought of how full of life she'd been...
Jackie's eyes too were watering as she ran, desperation lending urgency to her blind flight. She could sense she was being pursued.
Ralph's mouth hung open as he sobbed, remembering how he'd found Tobey when she died. Her body looked shrivelled as she whined- no, it was more like a moaning- in pain. The tears poured forth, blurring Ralph's vision as he tried to look at his empty hands and connect them to the sensation he'd felt when he'd picked up Tobey and her body seemed stiff, struggling just to breathe. As he'd tried to lift her up to his kneeling position, she suddenly lurched and vomited noxious-smelling green fluid on him. He could remember her entire body quivering as she spasmed, he could remember her tail flicking against his ankle. Her eyes stared up at him in confusion and pain.
Jackie felt the dart hit her right shoulder, stinging as it did. She half-spun to try to get a look at the shooter, and a second dart struck her left arm. Confused, she groped at it, managed to dislodge it... then stared down at it in disbelief. The realization her body was beginning to turn numb crept over her with agonizing slowness. As she looked up, Jackie could make out the shape of a person walking towards her. When the shape of the rifle being reloaded was within her scope of recognition, she spun and ran- sobbing as she went. One more dart struck the back her right thigh. Her gait became sloppy and off-kilter as her leg went numb. She became unbalanced, and let out a small confused cry as she fell forward.
It was at that exact moment Ralph knew Tobey was dead. Her blank eyes stared up at him, blind terror permanently frozen on a face that had always seemed so happy in life. Now only dried saliva remained as a sign of life passed. Her blank expression had seemed as unreal as Ralph's numb state of shock at the time. To Ralph, the world was so alien, indifferent to what transpires with inexact cruelty.
Jackie made one last effort to roll over and get a look at her assailant, only to gaze up at the face of Sheryl, who stood over her. She stared in disbelief at the discovery another woman had inflicted this cruetly upon her.
"Why do you want to kill us? What have we done to you?!?"
Sheryl's posture stiffened. "It's not personal." She said no more as Jackie lost consciousness.
Ralph shut his eyes. He could feel blackness swirl around him from all sides. Not far away, Talbot felt a shiver run down his spine as he and Charles walked, for the atmosphere seemed very oppressive to him. To make matters worse, there seeme to be an ache developing in his head since Jackie had hit him. It throbbed lightly but continuously, and the pressure down in this dank underground wasn't making it any better.
Ralph could also remember the sickening sensation he'd felt when he tried to move the dead animal's body- which had rapidly stiffened- a sloshing sensation when he carried it, like a bag of water. It gave him a cold, clammy sensation on his arms and back remembering it.
Just about the same time, Talbot's flashlight illuminated a strange carving on the rock wall of the passageway, and the realization of the scene being depicted gave him a similar sensation...