Teams 1, 2, 3: From the Hook in the Egalgina

[_monsters_]

You find yourselves in a strange, impossible dome. Enormous, with red ribbed peeling walls and a harsh red light streaming down from a hole at the very top of the thing. Your voices echo, though your footsteps do not, and there is the loud and distracting sound of a heartbeat coming from what seems to be all sides of you. On the wall ahead of

Comments

[derek_bliss]

This is what it would be like if the vampirism had sent me mad, is Derek's thought as he emerges into the dome. The heartbeat echoes loudly in his ears without the plugs to counter-act the sound. The smell of blood and meat alternately makes him ill and want to drool. His stomach growls loudly as the rest of him cries for fuel he can't have in this place.

He shakes as he makes his way into the center of the room, looking to see who else has emerged into this odd hell.

[htownshend]

He takes in the environment, but doesn't really process the differences. His immediate concern is Eileen. If she didn't end up going through with him, he'll never forgive himself...but his hand is still closed around hers. He breathes a sigh of relief.

It's not till then that he sees that someone else is here. "...Derek?" He stands up, helping Eileen up as well.

[thefireofasaint]

John's eyes are wide and he looks more on edge, compensating for his weariness with a skittishness bordering on paranoid. He clenches the remaining lighter tightly, reading the message on the doors, and then glances behind to him make sure Henry, Liz, and Roger have come through as well.

[derek_bliss]

Derek looks over, able to hear Henry despite the loud incessant heart-beat.

"Henry. Eileen," he greets them, making his way over. The left arm of his jacket is ragged woth tears and burns; the rest is not much better off, little more than shreds in some places. The t-shirt underneath is likewise mangled and blood stains most of it's surface. Derek's skin beneath os smooth and unmarred, but painted lavishly in gore.

He looks about thirty pounds lighter than he had when they'd started this.

"You guys all right?"

[eileen303]

At least it's not Room 302.

Crawling into that hole while keeping a hold of Henry Townshend's hand was a bit of a maneuver, but God only knows Walter probably would've loved to collapse that tunnel behind her given a sliver of a chance. Damaged skin beneath the bandage on her arm is soundly protesting this treatment, but she's more preoccupied with the chilling feeling of having one's grave walked over as she looks out into the strange dome, and with the rediscovery of lost members of the band.

Her face is bruised, her ribs are killing her, there's blood soaked into her clothes, and this room scares her for reasons she can't place, but the addition of new members to this little party warrants a smile nevertheless. "All right, considering. Christ, it's good to see you. What happened? You okay? Are the others...?"

[htownshend]

He's got several scratches and burns on his arms, as well as what looks like a bleeding bullet wound on his right shoulder. He feels like he's actually been pretty lucky through most of this. He's carrying Mr. Sherman-Townshend's multitool. "We're okay, yeah...." Eileen asked the questions he would've eventually got to. He squeezes her hand.

[derek_bliss]

"I'm okay. Just got into a few scrapes," Derek shrugged that off, then looked around, "The others were fine when we went through the hole. Lina and Abe should have been here already, and Lobster was behind me..."

A brief look of worry crosses his face. Hopefully, the others are here. His gaze falls on Liz, her Henry and their sons. Good. That's some of them, anyway.

"Where are we?" he asks, to keep the panic at not seeing everyone just yet at bay.

[htownshend]

He frowns, finally looking at everything here. "We're...we're at the center of his world. Or...it was. There weren't doors last time." He actually looks a little relieved, but it would be hard to explain that this place is less horrible than it was the last time he was here.

"I'm not sure what the words mean...he's probably talking about the ghosts...?" He stares at them a little longer.

[eileen303]

Never mind that this is a wide open space and it would be extremely impressive if Walter managed to shut doors on her in here to cut her off from the others again, she has no plans of letting go of that hand unless a battle for their lives breaks out. And possibly not even then, really. She has no idea where they are, but for some reason, this place is already her absolute least favorite wide open space in the entire world. Thinking about it makes her head hurt. Or maybe that's just the candle starting to wear off.

Then Henry explains their location, and it's easy enough to deduce from there why she should so dislike the situation. Her eyes widen, but she says nothing.

Well... shit.

Eileen zones out a bit from the conversation, instead just looking around and taking this place in. She wants to remember this.

[derek_bliss]

"Ghosts? As in there's more of them?" Derek remembers the one from the Wish House. He had a feeling he wouldn't forget it. Ever.

[htownshend]

"Yeah...there's fifteen of them." That's right, isn't it? Nineteen, take out Walter and Joseph, and the kids.... He looks very apologetic. "It's just the last ones that are the most powerful, though...I guess you came across one."

[derek_bliss]

"One that was on fire, yeah," Derek says quietly, "Came out of nowhere."

[eileen303]

"Number 17," she darkly mutters under her breath, staring intently at those stone slabs.

[derek_bliss]

Derek nods at that, studying Eileen. She seems so intent and yet detached at the same time.

"So other than shooting them and running like hell, how do we deal with them?"

[htownshend]

He looks worriedly at Eileen and squeezes her hand, wondering how long they have until the candle wears off. "There were these swords...the hilts were these triangle things...and weird writing on them. But we didn't see any..." He looks hopefully at Derek.

[derek_bliss]

Derek shakes his head, "Didn't see anything like that. A few stray bullet clips, and things like, well, you know, rocks and pipes. But no swords."

There's a pause before Derek asks the next question, "We're gonna have to find a way to take care of them. Aren't we."

Okay--not so much a question as a statement.