Encounterlogs
Caseys Odd Encounter Sr Jack
Casey's routine walk through Elm Street becomes a venture into a disturbing mystery when two of her acquaintances, Jessa and Tad, emerge with news about their friend Beth's strange and sudden illness. Despite the initial awkwardness of their adult-themed misadventure gone wrong, Casey senses the urgency of the situation and begins to investigate. As they retrace their steps towards where Beth was last seen, eerie black smoke tendrils along the ground captures Casey's attention, hinting that the situation might be supernatural.
As Casey, Jessa, and Tad press through the dark and unsettling ambiance of Warden's Wood, they are joined by Julia, who's been drawn into the woods by a mysterious lure. They finally encounter Beth, whose behavior is alarmingly odd and displays a chilling pair of glowing orange eyes. The encounter turns more bizarre and threatening as Beth's voice no longer seems to be her own. Savannah, a deputy who has been tracking them, arrives on the scene. With calm professionalism and quick thinking, Casey, Julia, and Savannah manage to lead Beth out of the woods. Their exit is accompanied by the inky mist, which seems almost alive and aware of the unfolding events. Once they are out in the open, orderlies take over, and it becomes abundantly clear that Beth is possessed as she exhibits inhuman strength and is only subdued after a struggle and sedation. As Beth is taken to the clinic, the dark smoke eventually vanishes, indicating a temporary end to the immediate threat, leaving the unsettling mystery of the demon's influence on Haven unresolved.
(Casey's odd encounter(SRJack):SRJack)
[Sat Dec 2 2023]
On Elm Street
It is afternoon, about 31F(0C) degrees, and the sky is covered by wispy white clouds.
Hood up, breath misting in the air, Casey had her phone out, texting away as she walks from one place to another, the looming form of the White Oak Institute to her right - but she was heading south, into town, her ankle boots crunching against the pavement as she goes.
(A rogue demon has been causing havoc in the town of Haven, and the characters have been appointed to deal with this menace. This demon is powerful and has been manipulating the townsfolk, turning them against each other. The characters have to find a way to banish the demon without causing a panic among the citizens. The demon is cunning and has set several traps around town to protect itself. The characters must navigate these traps and outwit the demon to save Haven.)
As Casey walks, two students that she knows burst from the trees that line the Institute. "Help!" the first asks, a girl named Jessa. With her is a lacrosse player, Tad. "Something: something is going really wrong," Jessa says. "Something is wrong with Beth." There's some mixture of fear and shame coloring Jessa's voice.
For her part, Jessa is in a pair of leggings and a pullover, her hair mussed and her makeup a little askew. Tad is in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt, and a perceptive person might notice that the buttons are done up askew.
Casey glances up from her phone, her eyes looking towards the students as she jerks to one side. But in a moment, the tension fades from her shoulders - she knows these people, after all. "Jessa, Tad... what's up?" she asks at first, her brow knitting as her dark hair falls from beneath the hood of her jacket.
Casey seemed perceptive enough to catch the buttons, but she frowns a bit more. "... what's wrong with Beth? Do we need to get one of the Sisters or Fathers?" she says. "Or a doctor?" she adds.
Jessa replies, her voice low. "I don't know. It's like she's convulsing," she says, and then there's a look at Tad. The young woman bites her lip before she talks back to Casey. "I don't want to have to call them," she admits. "But we can, if you say we need to. I -- we -- were..." A guilty look between Jessa and Tad.
Tad outs with it: "We were all three of us fooling around," he says, his voice very bro-ish. "Nothing like serious, you know? But like. Maybe Beth was getting a little into it. She started to get sleepy, and then..."
Casey clicks her tongue, wiggling her fingers as she waves that away. "Okay, I get it," Casey says. "If we need to get a doctor, I'll go, right?" she says, glancing between the other two. There was a light play to her tone. "People are gonna fool around, but... Beth is more important than that right now," Casey says.
"C'mon, let's go see her?" she says, sending off a quick text before she tries to encourage the other two to lead the way to their friend.
"All three of us," Jessa explains, her voice quiet. "We were all three of us, you know." A blush, guilty, but then she leads Tad and Casey back deeper into the woods.
The Institute's woods have a sort of dark cast to them, as shadows make a chiaroscuro pattern of light and dark in the fallen leaves. With some rain and snow passed since autumn, the leaves have less crunch, now: instead, they seem to muffle footsteps as Jessa takes the trio deeper into Warden's Wood.
As Casey walks, she might notice some black smoke coiling at ground level like mist.
Casey glances back over her shoulder to Jessa as the other woman explains, the lift of the smile on her lips kind. "Don't worry," she says. "Promise I won't tell," she says, turning her eyes forward again. The ankle boots weren't the best for a woodland adventure, but slowing her steps down a bit was enough.
She didn't like the cold, so she was in for a bad time already, drawing the coat even tighter around herself as she lets her eyes track along the smoky ground. "Hmn," she says. "Did you guys set a bonfire or something?" Casey asks, looking mostly to Jessa.
"That wasn't how we were planning on keeping warm," Tad jokes to Casey, though there's a kind of scared hollow-ness to it.
As Jessa turns the corner, there's a clearing in the woods, a blanket spread out... and no Beth. Immediately, the girl worries. "Where is she?" she asks, some panic entering her frame. She shoots a look at Tad, concerned, who in turn looks back at Casey.
"She was right here," the lacrosse player promises Casey. Raising his voice, he calls out, "Beth! Beth! Where are you!?"
The dark smoke seems coiling right along the ground, here. If it is deeper somewhere, it is just to the south.
Casey decides to go along with the bravado that Tad had in his voice rather than the fear. She snerks, once, keeping her hands in her pockets as she tracks her eyes over the field, but the snerking bravado was slowly being replaced with concern.
"Like... what was actually happening with her? I need details now..." Casey says, swallowing some as the concern was threatening to fester into fear in her heart. Tracking after the smoke, Casey starts heading towards the south, her head tilted forward, eyes searching the woods.
"Like she was --" Tad's voice is low. "We were fooling around, and I had my hand, you know, while Jessa kissed her, and..." There's a pause. "She started to get sleepy. That shit happens, sometimes," he says. "You know what I mean?" he says. "Except instead of just kind of passing out into a pile..."
Jessa continues, taking up the story. "She went sleepy, but then she went real stiff, and she started to shake, and she made this -noise-," the young woman explains. "Like a wailing. Like a low, crazy wailing."
Casey nods her head at that, letting her attention flicker from person to person as they take charge of the situation.
The wailing seems to leave her concerned. "Well," Casey says. "Like a seizure or something, or...?" Casey starts to head towards the south, chasing after the smoke as she goes.
As Casey walks, she can hear something: it sounds like a low, keening wailing. Far from seeming to take charge, Jessa and Tad seem in somewhat of a panic, calling out for Beth. "Where are you going?" Tad asks breathlessly as he sees Casey step away. "Do you see her?"
Concerningly, perhaps, neither Jessa or Tad are hearing the sound that Casey seems to hear.
"Nope," Casey says, her tongue sliding over her lips. "But I hear... something," Casey says. Unlucky for her, she had lost her duffel with her important ghostbusting gear somewhere. But hey. Maybe she could do something on her own.
"You guys don't hear that?" Casey says, creeping through the woods as she nears the body.
The south end of the athletic field, where Warden's Wood creeps close to Elm Street and the school. Casey, a lacrosse player named Tad, and a sorority girl named Jessa are combing the woods, calling out for a missing student. Tad's voice carries the farthest: "Beth!" he cries. "Beth! Where are you!?"
Meanwhile, Casey is following some black smoke southward into the woods. A few steps deeper into the twisted forest, as Jessa tells her, "Hear what?"
There is something to hear, though: a low wailing. Casey can hear it clearly, almost like someone is babbling in tongues, and not far away Julia can hear it too: her sorority is just north of the field and the woods in question, and something in the forest is calling to her.
Maybe someone couldn't sleep, or maybe Julia was just sleeping-walking, but Casey can see the visual outline of Julia shivering in the dark. The cries of the similarly young woman startle her awake with bright, midnight blue eyes that scan across the shadowscape of the forest. "What, what's wrong?" She calls out, likely confusing poor Casey further -- for she does not have Beth's voice.
Casey tilts her head a bit. "Great," Casey murmurs. "Nevermind, ah... you might need to go get a sister or something after all," Casey says. "I know I said I would, but would one of you just... get that whole process started?" Casey says.
Although Julia's calls draw her attention. "... is that Beth?" Casey asks of Tad and Jessa. "If not, well... be careful. There's something in these woods, okay?" she says, stepping forward as she continues to try to push towards Beth.
"No, sorry," Julia trots forward, with a brief stumble of her pale form; appearing very ghostly in her camisole and shorts. Her flesh is all goose-pimples. "I don't know why I'm out here, but, is there something I can do to help?" The auburn-haired woman tries to shake the weight of sleep from herself, crossing her arms about herself as she eyes Tad and Jessa, equally strangers to her as Casey.
It's not Beth. But now both Julia and Casey can see something wrong, hear something wrong. Tad and Jessa's cries are in the distance, crying plaintively out for their missing student.
Around Casey and Julia, black smoke swirls, and they can both see it. It has an inky character, almost greasy in the air, and then the sound of a young woman wailing cuts through the blackness under the trees. Is that a figure, glimpsed dimly through the branches?
It's not Beth. But now both Julia and Casey can see something wrong, hear something wrong. Tad and Jessa's cries are in the distance, crying plaintively out for their missing student.
Around Casey and Julia, black smoke swirls, and they can both see it. It has an inky character, almost greasy in the air, and then the sound of a young woman wailing cuts through the blackness under the trees. Is that a figure, glimpsed dimly through the branches?
OOC: I will write Savannah in in a second for the climax, but I wanted her to have some context before I introduce her.
"It's okay," Casey says. "I... uh... am not sure," Casey says, waggling her fingers in a so-so fashion. "One of the other students is acting oddly, but... erm..." Casey begins. "I'm Casey, by the way. Nice to meet you," Casey says to Julia.
There might be a little suspicion in her gaze at Julia's explanation of being out here, but she lets it go for now.
"Come on, let's find her, and..." Casey runs her tongue over her lips. "... yeah, this isn't going to go well," Casey says to Julia. "How familiar are you with spirits and things?" she asks, her brow furrowed, her hand dipping into her pocket. She carried a pocket Bible around with her, even if her ghostbusting bag had been left behind.
"You know, if you even believe in ghosts and stuff," she says, standing up straight as she tries to stay oriented towards the flashes of movement in the trees.
Instinctual, but wavering for a moment with eye contact to Casey, Julia bravely turns in her indecent state and tries to determine what stands in the distance. "I'm Julia," she intones quickly, low, against the whistling wind streaming through the forest. "I have some familiarity. Some," she tells Casey as she gives a short shiver. When the wail pierces the air, she jerks about, as if considering darting off to find the source -- but she sticks nearby.
The smoke curls, and then there is definitely a shape: a young woman, stepping out of the mists.
It's Beth: "Oh, hey," she says, and her eyes flash with some kind of pulsing orange glow, clearly unnatural. Brunette, she's dressed in a skirt and top, her skirt obviously covered with branches and bunched up. "How are you guys doing?" she says. "Out for a little canoodling?" There's pealing laughter at the word 'canoodling', rich and amused. Both Casey and Julia have encountered Beth before, and while these are her vocal cords this is not her voice.
Somewhere nearby, Savannah is pulling up in response to a text message. The words are blank slate: she'll need to head inside the forest to find Casey.
"Oh, yeah," Casey says to Beth. "Definitely a canoodler," Casey says, glancing to Julia, before she draws her attention to Beth. Casey might not realize it yet, but there would definitely be some calm in her heart knowing that the text messages found a home.
"I think..." she says, thoughtfully. "It'd be sexy to canoodle in the infirmary, myself," Casey says, her brows waggling. "Right under the noses of the staff here, right?" she says.
"Wouldn't that be... you know... blasphemous or something?" she says to Beth, her smile wicked.
Savannah had already been dressed for the potential problems this town has from time to time, and so the Deputy headed into her vehicle once she received that text message and started on her way towards the location. She pulls up towards where the forest meets road, parking her vehicle and stepping out of it. She checks her phone again and then starts on her journey to locate Casey, and likely Julia, eventually. She checks for anything that might give her signs of their entry into the forest, or seeing evidence of their passing in certain directions.
With a sleepless roll of her dark-circled eyes, Julia takes this in good humor but her posture adapts a sidelined nature as she spots someone suddenly. Her shoulders relax just enough to give an impression of something casual. "I think it would," she agrees in concord with the other athletic woman. Savannah may find a few tears of the auburn-haired woman's camisole on the way on branches if she looked closely in the moonlight.
"It absolutely would, and drinks afterwards? Take-out?" She suggests, adding to the illusion of building a good time for this poor sorority girl wailing in the woods.
With a sleepless roll of her dark-circled eyes, Julia takes this in good humor but her posture adapts a sidelined nature as she spots Beth suddenly. Her shoulders relax just enough to give an impression of something casual. "I think it would," she agrees in concord with the other athletic woman. Savannah may find a few tears of the auburn-haired woman's camisole on the way on branches if she looked closely in the moonlight.
"It absolutely would, and drinks afterwards? Take-out?" She suggests, adding to the illusion of building a good time for this poor sorority girl wailing in the woods.
Indeed, Savannah can track the girls: first two, then three, then four, as she finds footsteps, scraps of cloth, all of it, leading her deeper into the woods. Savannah can see the real mist swirling around her ankles, but for her, it doesn't have the inky black character that Julia and Casey see.
As Casey confronts Beth, there's a low look, eyeballing between Casey and Julia. "Yeah?" she says, her voice a little breathy. "Are you... interested...?" she asks, her voice low. A step towards Casey. "Are you both... interested?" Those orange eyes burn, like embers in the darkness. "We could do that." It's at that statement that Savannah reaches the scene, tracking the path through the woods.
"I *am*," Casey says. "Tell you what..." Casey adds. "I'm going to go ahead to the school and lead the way," Casey says, glancing to Julia. "Make sure no one is there to interrupt us," she says. Casey's eyes brighten as she sees Savannah enter the scene, Casey brings her hand up to touch the woman's forearm.
"I'm gonna go get help," she says.
"You're Beth, right? You look like you're freezing in that," Julia says, equally in a poor state as she drops her arms; animated to a louder voice so that Savannah makes her approach. "Let's come inside and get warm, alright? Casey is going to get things ready for us," she intones, looking to those emberglow eyes in the dark.
There is a questioning look when Savannah arrives and spots Julia and someone, speaking to potentially something. When the athletic woman makes her way towards her and she begins to head off she looks over a shoulder, then back to Julia, "What is it that is going on here? I received a worrying text."
There is a questioning look when Savannah arrives and spots Julia and the athletic woman speaking to potentially something. When the athletic woman makes her way towards her and she begins to head off she looks over a shoulder, then back to Julia, "What is it that is going on here? I received a worrying text."
"Ah, ma'am. We heard Beth here crying out in the dark. Casey is just making sure we can party on our way to the hospital," Julia says, looking somewhat suspicious in just her night clothes. Had she been sleepwalking? Had something drawn her to this particular spot? She's staring forward, smiling, and offering a friendly nod to something in the beyond copse of mists. "I'm Julia Nolan. You must be a deputy?"
Beth steps towards Savannah and Julia, then. Savannah can see clearly those burning orange eyes, clearly unnatural. "Oh, hello Deputy," the girl says. "I'm just out for a stroll with..." She looks at Julia, and it's clear despite having met the girl before she is just finding her name. "...Julia. We were all going to have a good time. Want to join us?" she says. Her voice has a low, drugged quality, something unsettled.
Savannah looks towards Julia now, examining her briefly and noting those night clothes she wore, and perhaps their state given there might be pieces of cloth along the way towards the road behind her. She looks towards Beth now, lips thinning as she beckons Julia closer and says, "My name is Savannah Bailey, yes, I'm a deputy with the Sheriff's department, and I don't mind having fun every so often, mm?" She nods her head over a shoulder, indicating back behind herself, "The road is just right up this direction, probably best if we just head that way since it is difficult to have a real part in the forest, isn't it?"
Beth asks Savannah, now direct, with a step towards her: "Are you going to party with me?" she says, her voice full of some rich, alien timber. There's a hand that reaches out towards Savannah, trying to touch her, trying to run long fingers down the woman's uniform arm. "We can go party wherever."
"That's right, best to have a party closer to the light," Julia nods gently to Savannah with some tender notes in her fluid, raspy soprano. "Miss Bailey, thanks for coming out tonight. I think it was Casey that sent that text, but I can't be too sure. It's not as if I have my phone on me," she sounds tired then, embarrassed perhaps she is in this state where she appears to be straight out of a B-rated slasher. Bare feet, scraped, and dirt-stained hoof it toward Savannah where she stands near. She offers a mild smile in the shadow, beckoning Beth forward and away from molesting the other woman. "C'mon Beth, she's probably saving it for when we get there!" The auburn beauty attempts to tug Beth away playfully, as young girls are wont to do, when they are much sweeter children. "Let's go, Miss Bailey? You have a flashlight?"
Dark mist floats around the ankles of all three women, now. It seems to rise, slowly pulsing, as if responding to the ticking of some unseen clock or the beating of some awful, unseen heart.
Savannah takes one step back, as if to gesture towards the road as she begins to step that way some, "Partying is not as fun without all of the things you need to party. Sticks and stones are not going to be the most fun way, believe me, let's head this direction?" She nods towards Julia now and tries to not show she notices the woman's state of dress, and B-rated slasher look she's rocking right now. She pulls out her flashlight and clicks it on, nodding her head, "I think it was Casey, we'll check on her once we're all out and get her to the party as well." It seems the woman might know something is definitely amiss, but plays it cool for now, beginning to try and lead Julia, and perhaps Beth, back where she came.
Beth seems willing to be led: willing to step off the path with Julia, with Savannah. She falls in with them, heading towards the bulk part of campus. Both women would recognize the issue for their own reasons: something is -inside- the sorority girl, and it will need to be gotten out, but perhaps that is a problem for the clinic, not for Savannah and Julia.
(OOC) We're more or less over here. Give me one more pose about what your plans are and then I'll do one last summary so you can get to Abigail's event?
"I owe you a drink," Julia affirms to Savannah with a plaintive nod. Midnight blue eyes glimmer, glint against the light as she quickly looks up to Beth, smiling still as she says to Beth, "Come on babe. Let's get you home, okay?" She entwines her fingers with this sorority girl, Beth may not be her own sister, but the younger woman keeps a gentle hold on her.
"Perhaps we can exchange numbers sometime and do just that," Savannah says to Julia as she begins to lead them all back towards the street, near her vehicle, outside of the forest if able, "No, I think we'll be fine unless you want me to do a follow-up, I can reach out?"
At a certain point, Beth, Savannah and Julia are free of the woods. There, orderlies come to meet them, warned perhaps by someone, and their arms are a little less gentle than the women's more careful coaxing. As soon as an orderly's hand closes on Beth, her soft tone changes it: it becomes yelling, in vulgar Latin, screaming curses and obscenities at both Savannah and Julia.
As Beth begins to fight, it's clear her strength is prodigious, throwing orderlies off of her with bruises. It takes several to subdue her, a piled-on mess before at last a needle is jammed into her neck to have her hauled off into the clinic.
Meanwhile... the inky smoke seems to linger, having flowed and followed Savannah and Julia onto the Institute grounds. Only when Beth is hauled off does it finally dissipate.
At a certain point, Beth, Savannah and Julia are free of the woods. There, orderlies come to meet them, warned perhaps by Casey, and their arms are a little less gentle than the women's more careful coaxing. As soon as an orderly's hand closes on Beth, her soft tone changes it: it becomes yelling, in vulgar Latin, screaming curses and obscenities at both Savannah and Julia.
As Beth begins to fight, it's clear her strength is prodigious, throwing orderlies off of her with bruises. It takes several to subdue her, a piled-on mess before at last a needle is jammed into her neck to have her hauled off into the clinic.
Meanwhile... the inky smoke seems to linger, having flowed and followed Savannah and Julia onto the Institute grounds. Only when Beth is hauled off does it finally dissipate.
(OOC) If you want to exchange numbers, feel free! Otherwise you're good to go down. I can summon you somewhere as needed, also.
"My number is 7107191 if you want to chat when you get your phone," Savannah says to Julia, watching poor Beth get taken away with a shake of her head, "I am sure she will be alright..." She then nods to Julia, "I have somewhere to be, Julia, but glad you're alright."
As Casey, Jessa, and Tad press through the dark and unsettling ambiance of Warden's Wood, they are joined by Julia, who's been drawn into the woods by a mysterious lure. They finally encounter Beth, whose behavior is alarmingly odd and displays a chilling pair of glowing orange eyes. The encounter turns more bizarre and threatening as Beth's voice no longer seems to be her own. Savannah, a deputy who has been tracking them, arrives on the scene. With calm professionalism and quick thinking, Casey, Julia, and Savannah manage to lead Beth out of the woods. Their exit is accompanied by the inky mist, which seems almost alive and aware of the unfolding events. Once they are out in the open, orderlies take over, and it becomes abundantly clear that Beth is possessed as she exhibits inhuman strength and is only subdued after a struggle and sedation. As Beth is taken to the clinic, the dark smoke eventually vanishes, indicating a temporary end to the immediate threat, leaving the unsettling mystery of the demon's influence on Haven unresolved.
(Casey's odd encounter(SRJack):SRJack)
[Sat Dec 2 2023]
On Elm Street
It is afternoon, about 31F(0C) degrees, and the sky is covered by wispy white clouds.
Hood up, breath misting in the air, Casey had her phone out, texting away as she walks from one place to another, the looming form of the White Oak Institute to her right - but she was heading south, into town, her ankle boots crunching against the pavement as she goes.
(A rogue demon has been causing havoc in the town of Haven, and the characters have been appointed to deal with this menace. This demon is powerful and has been manipulating the townsfolk, turning them against each other. The characters have to find a way to banish the demon without causing a panic among the citizens. The demon is cunning and has set several traps around town to protect itself. The characters must navigate these traps and outwit the demon to save Haven.)
As Casey walks, two students that she knows burst from the trees that line the Institute. "Help!" the first asks, a girl named Jessa. With her is a lacrosse player, Tad. "Something: something is going really wrong," Jessa says. "Something is wrong with Beth." There's some mixture of fear and shame coloring Jessa's voice.
For her part, Jessa is in a pair of leggings and a pullover, her hair mussed and her makeup a little askew. Tad is in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt, and a perceptive person might notice that the buttons are done up askew.
Casey glances up from her phone, her eyes looking towards the students as she jerks to one side. But in a moment, the tension fades from her shoulders - she knows these people, after all. "Jessa, Tad... what's up?" she asks at first, her brow knitting as her dark hair falls from beneath the hood of her jacket.
Casey seemed perceptive enough to catch the buttons, but she frowns a bit more. "... what's wrong with Beth? Do we need to get one of the Sisters or Fathers?" she says. "Or a doctor?" she adds.
Jessa replies, her voice low. "I don't know. It's like she's convulsing," she says, and then there's a look at Tad. The young woman bites her lip before she talks back to Casey. "I don't want to have to call them," she admits. "But we can, if you say we need to. I -- we -- were..." A guilty look between Jessa and Tad.
Tad outs with it: "We were all three of us fooling around," he says, his voice very bro-ish. "Nothing like serious, you know? But like. Maybe Beth was getting a little into it. She started to get sleepy, and then..."
Casey clicks her tongue, wiggling her fingers as she waves that away. "Okay, I get it," Casey says. "If we need to get a doctor, I'll go, right?" she says, glancing between the other two. There was a light play to her tone. "People are gonna fool around, but... Beth is more important than that right now," Casey says.
"C'mon, let's go see her?" she says, sending off a quick text before she tries to encourage the other two to lead the way to their friend.
"All three of us," Jessa explains, her voice quiet. "We were all three of us, you know." A blush, guilty, but then she leads Tad and Casey back deeper into the woods.
The Institute's woods have a sort of dark cast to them, as shadows make a chiaroscuro pattern of light and dark in the fallen leaves. With some rain and snow passed since autumn, the leaves have less crunch, now: instead, they seem to muffle footsteps as Jessa takes the trio deeper into Warden's Wood.
As Casey walks, she might notice some black smoke coiling at ground level like mist.
Casey glances back over her shoulder to Jessa as the other woman explains, the lift of the smile on her lips kind. "Don't worry," she says. "Promise I won't tell," she says, turning her eyes forward again. The ankle boots weren't the best for a woodland adventure, but slowing her steps down a bit was enough.
She didn't like the cold, so she was in for a bad time already, drawing the coat even tighter around herself as she lets her eyes track along the smoky ground. "Hmn," she says. "Did you guys set a bonfire or something?" Casey asks, looking mostly to Jessa.
"That wasn't how we were planning on keeping warm," Tad jokes to Casey, though there's a kind of scared hollow-ness to it.
As Jessa turns the corner, there's a clearing in the woods, a blanket spread out... and no Beth. Immediately, the girl worries. "Where is she?" she asks, some panic entering her frame. She shoots a look at Tad, concerned, who in turn looks back at Casey.
"She was right here," the lacrosse player promises Casey. Raising his voice, he calls out, "Beth! Beth! Where are you!?"
The dark smoke seems coiling right along the ground, here. If it is deeper somewhere, it is just to the south.
Casey decides to go along with the bravado that Tad had in his voice rather than the fear. She snerks, once, keeping her hands in her pockets as she tracks her eyes over the field, but the snerking bravado was slowly being replaced with concern.
"Like... what was actually happening with her? I need details now..." Casey says, swallowing some as the concern was threatening to fester into fear in her heart. Tracking after the smoke, Casey starts heading towards the south, her head tilted forward, eyes searching the woods.
"Like she was --" Tad's voice is low. "We were fooling around, and I had my hand, you know, while Jessa kissed her, and..." There's a pause. "She started to get sleepy. That shit happens, sometimes," he says. "You know what I mean?" he says. "Except instead of just kind of passing out into a pile..."
Jessa continues, taking up the story. "She went sleepy, but then she went real stiff, and she started to shake, and she made this -noise-," the young woman explains. "Like a wailing. Like a low, crazy wailing."
Casey nods her head at that, letting her attention flicker from person to person as they take charge of the situation.
The wailing seems to leave her concerned. "Well," Casey says. "Like a seizure or something, or...?" Casey starts to head towards the south, chasing after the smoke as she goes.
As Casey walks, she can hear something: it sounds like a low, keening wailing. Far from seeming to take charge, Jessa and Tad seem in somewhat of a panic, calling out for Beth. "Where are you going?" Tad asks breathlessly as he sees Casey step away. "Do you see her?"
Concerningly, perhaps, neither Jessa or Tad are hearing the sound that Casey seems to hear.
"Nope," Casey says, her tongue sliding over her lips. "But I hear... something," Casey says. Unlucky for her, she had lost her duffel with her important ghostbusting gear somewhere. But hey. Maybe she could do something on her own.
"You guys don't hear that?" Casey says, creeping through the woods as she nears the body.
The south end of the athletic field, where Warden's Wood creeps close to Elm Street and the school. Casey, a lacrosse player named Tad, and a sorority girl named Jessa are combing the woods, calling out for a missing student. Tad's voice carries the farthest: "Beth!" he cries. "Beth! Where are you!?"
Meanwhile, Casey is following some black smoke southward into the woods. A few steps deeper into the twisted forest, as Jessa tells her, "Hear what?"
There is something to hear, though: a low wailing. Casey can hear it clearly, almost like someone is babbling in tongues, and not far away Julia can hear it too: her sorority is just north of the field and the woods in question, and something in the forest is calling to her.
Maybe someone couldn't sleep, or maybe Julia was just sleeping-walking, but Casey can see the visual outline of Julia shivering in the dark. The cries of the similarly young woman startle her awake with bright, midnight blue eyes that scan across the shadowscape of the forest. "What, what's wrong?" She calls out, likely confusing poor Casey further -- for she does not have Beth's voice.
Casey tilts her head a bit. "Great," Casey murmurs. "Nevermind, ah... you might need to go get a sister or something after all," Casey says. "I know I said I would, but would one of you just... get that whole process started?" Casey says.
Although Julia's calls draw her attention. "... is that Beth?" Casey asks of Tad and Jessa. "If not, well... be careful. There's something in these woods, okay?" she says, stepping forward as she continues to try to push towards Beth.
"No, sorry," Julia trots forward, with a brief stumble of her pale form; appearing very ghostly in her camisole and shorts. Her flesh is all goose-pimples. "I don't know why I'm out here, but, is there something I can do to help?" The auburn-haired woman tries to shake the weight of sleep from herself, crossing her arms about herself as she eyes Tad and Jessa, equally strangers to her as Casey.
It's not Beth. But now both Julia and Casey can see something wrong, hear something wrong. Tad and Jessa's cries are in the distance, crying plaintively out for their missing student.
Around Casey and Julia, black smoke swirls, and they can both see it. It has an inky character, almost greasy in the air, and then the sound of a young woman wailing cuts through the blackness under the trees. Is that a figure, glimpsed dimly through the branches?
It's not Beth. But now both Julia and Casey can see something wrong, hear something wrong. Tad and Jessa's cries are in the distance, crying plaintively out for their missing student.
Around Casey and Julia, black smoke swirls, and they can both see it. It has an inky character, almost greasy in the air, and then the sound of a young woman wailing cuts through the blackness under the trees. Is that a figure, glimpsed dimly through the branches?
OOC: I will write Savannah in in a second for the climax, but I wanted her to have some context before I introduce her.
"It's okay," Casey says. "I... uh... am not sure," Casey says, waggling her fingers in a so-so fashion. "One of the other students is acting oddly, but... erm..." Casey begins. "I'm Casey, by the way. Nice to meet you," Casey says to Julia.
There might be a little suspicion in her gaze at Julia's explanation of being out here, but she lets it go for now.
"Come on, let's find her, and..." Casey runs her tongue over her lips. "... yeah, this isn't going to go well," Casey says to Julia. "How familiar are you with spirits and things?" she asks, her brow furrowed, her hand dipping into her pocket. She carried a pocket Bible around with her, even if her ghostbusting bag had been left behind.
"You know, if you even believe in ghosts and stuff," she says, standing up straight as she tries to stay oriented towards the flashes of movement in the trees.
Instinctual, but wavering for a moment with eye contact to Casey, Julia bravely turns in her indecent state and tries to determine what stands in the distance. "I'm Julia," she intones quickly, low, against the whistling wind streaming through the forest. "I have some familiarity. Some," she tells Casey as she gives a short shiver. When the wail pierces the air, she jerks about, as if considering darting off to find the source -- but she sticks nearby.
The smoke curls, and then there is definitely a shape: a young woman, stepping out of the mists.
It's Beth: "Oh, hey," she says, and her eyes flash with some kind of pulsing orange glow, clearly unnatural. Brunette, she's dressed in a skirt and top, her skirt obviously covered with branches and bunched up. "How are you guys doing?" she says. "Out for a little canoodling?" There's pealing laughter at the word 'canoodling', rich and amused. Both Casey and Julia have encountered Beth before, and while these are her vocal cords this is not her voice.
Somewhere nearby, Savannah is pulling up in response to a text message. The words are blank slate: she'll need to head inside the forest to find Casey.
"Oh, yeah," Casey says to Beth. "Definitely a canoodler," Casey says, glancing to Julia, before she draws her attention to Beth. Casey might not realize it yet, but there would definitely be some calm in her heart knowing that the text messages found a home.
"I think..." she says, thoughtfully. "It'd be sexy to canoodle in the infirmary, myself," Casey says, her brows waggling. "Right under the noses of the staff here, right?" she says.
"Wouldn't that be... you know... blasphemous or something?" she says to Beth, her smile wicked.
Savannah had already been dressed for the potential problems this town has from time to time, and so the Deputy headed into her vehicle once she received that text message and started on her way towards the location. She pulls up towards where the forest meets road, parking her vehicle and stepping out of it. She checks her phone again and then starts on her journey to locate Casey, and likely Julia, eventually. She checks for anything that might give her signs of their entry into the forest, or seeing evidence of their passing in certain directions.
With a sleepless roll of her dark-circled eyes, Julia takes this in good humor but her posture adapts a sidelined nature as she spots someone suddenly. Her shoulders relax just enough to give an impression of something casual. "I think it would," she agrees in concord with the other athletic woman. Savannah may find a few tears of the auburn-haired woman's camisole on the way on branches if she looked closely in the moonlight.
"It absolutely would, and drinks afterwards? Take-out?" She suggests, adding to the illusion of building a good time for this poor sorority girl wailing in the woods.
With a sleepless roll of her dark-circled eyes, Julia takes this in good humor but her posture adapts a sidelined nature as she spots Beth suddenly. Her shoulders relax just enough to give an impression of something casual. "I think it would," she agrees in concord with the other athletic woman. Savannah may find a few tears of the auburn-haired woman's camisole on the way on branches if she looked closely in the moonlight.
"It absolutely would, and drinks afterwards? Take-out?" She suggests, adding to the illusion of building a good time for this poor sorority girl wailing in the woods.
Indeed, Savannah can track the girls: first two, then three, then four, as she finds footsteps, scraps of cloth, all of it, leading her deeper into the woods. Savannah can see the real mist swirling around her ankles, but for her, it doesn't have the inky black character that Julia and Casey see.
As Casey confronts Beth, there's a low look, eyeballing between Casey and Julia. "Yeah?" she says, her voice a little breathy. "Are you... interested...?" she asks, her voice low. A step towards Casey. "Are you both... interested?" Those orange eyes burn, like embers in the darkness. "We could do that." It's at that statement that Savannah reaches the scene, tracking the path through the woods.
"I *am*," Casey says. "Tell you what..." Casey adds. "I'm going to go ahead to the school and lead the way," Casey says, glancing to Julia. "Make sure no one is there to interrupt us," she says. Casey's eyes brighten as she sees Savannah enter the scene, Casey brings her hand up to touch the woman's forearm.
"I'm gonna go get help," she says.
"You're Beth, right? You look like you're freezing in that," Julia says, equally in a poor state as she drops her arms; animated to a louder voice so that Savannah makes her approach. "Let's come inside and get warm, alright? Casey is going to get things ready for us," she intones, looking to those emberglow eyes in the dark.
There is a questioning look when Savannah arrives and spots Julia and someone, speaking to potentially something. When the athletic woman makes her way towards her and she begins to head off she looks over a shoulder, then back to Julia, "What is it that is going on here? I received a worrying text."
There is a questioning look when Savannah arrives and spots Julia and the athletic woman speaking to potentially something. When the athletic woman makes her way towards her and she begins to head off she looks over a shoulder, then back to Julia, "What is it that is going on here? I received a worrying text."
"Ah, ma'am. We heard Beth here crying out in the dark. Casey is just making sure we can party on our way to the hospital," Julia says, looking somewhat suspicious in just her night clothes. Had she been sleepwalking? Had something drawn her to this particular spot? She's staring forward, smiling, and offering a friendly nod to something in the beyond copse of mists. "I'm Julia Nolan. You must be a deputy?"
Beth steps towards Savannah and Julia, then. Savannah can see clearly those burning orange eyes, clearly unnatural. "Oh, hello Deputy," the girl says. "I'm just out for a stroll with..." She looks at Julia, and it's clear despite having met the girl before she is just finding her name. "...Julia. We were all going to have a good time. Want to join us?" she says. Her voice has a low, drugged quality, something unsettled.
Savannah looks towards Julia now, examining her briefly and noting those night clothes she wore, and perhaps their state given there might be pieces of cloth along the way towards the road behind her. She looks towards Beth now, lips thinning as she beckons Julia closer and says, "My name is Savannah Bailey, yes, I'm a deputy with the Sheriff's department, and I don't mind having fun every so often, mm?" She nods her head over a shoulder, indicating back behind herself, "The road is just right up this direction, probably best if we just head that way since it is difficult to have a real part in the forest, isn't it?"
Beth asks Savannah, now direct, with a step towards her: "Are you going to party with me?" she says, her voice full of some rich, alien timber. There's a hand that reaches out towards Savannah, trying to touch her, trying to run long fingers down the woman's uniform arm. "We can go party wherever."
"That's right, best to have a party closer to the light," Julia nods gently to Savannah with some tender notes in her fluid, raspy soprano. "Miss Bailey, thanks for coming out tonight. I think it was Casey that sent that text, but I can't be too sure. It's not as if I have my phone on me," she sounds tired then, embarrassed perhaps she is in this state where she appears to be straight out of a B-rated slasher. Bare feet, scraped, and dirt-stained hoof it toward Savannah where she stands near. She offers a mild smile in the shadow, beckoning Beth forward and away from molesting the other woman. "C'mon Beth, she's probably saving it for when we get there!" The auburn beauty attempts to tug Beth away playfully, as young girls are wont to do, when they are much sweeter children. "Let's go, Miss Bailey? You have a flashlight?"
Dark mist floats around the ankles of all three women, now. It seems to rise, slowly pulsing, as if responding to the ticking of some unseen clock or the beating of some awful, unseen heart.
Savannah takes one step back, as if to gesture towards the road as she begins to step that way some, "Partying is not as fun without all of the things you need to party. Sticks and stones are not going to be the most fun way, believe me, let's head this direction?" She nods towards Julia now and tries to not show she notices the woman's state of dress, and B-rated slasher look she's rocking right now. She pulls out her flashlight and clicks it on, nodding her head, "I think it was Casey, we'll check on her once we're all out and get her to the party as well." It seems the woman might know something is definitely amiss, but plays it cool for now, beginning to try and lead Julia, and perhaps Beth, back where she came.
Beth seems willing to be led: willing to step off the path with Julia, with Savannah. She falls in with them, heading towards the bulk part of campus. Both women would recognize the issue for their own reasons: something is -inside- the sorority girl, and it will need to be gotten out, but perhaps that is a problem for the clinic, not for Savannah and Julia.
(OOC) We're more or less over here. Give me one more pose about what your plans are and then I'll do one last summary so you can get to Abigail's event?
"I owe you a drink," Julia affirms to Savannah with a plaintive nod. Midnight blue eyes glimmer, glint against the light as she quickly looks up to Beth, smiling still as she says to Beth, "Come on babe. Let's get you home, okay?" She entwines her fingers with this sorority girl, Beth may not be her own sister, but the younger woman keeps a gentle hold on her.
"Perhaps we can exchange numbers sometime and do just that," Savannah says to Julia as she begins to lead them all back towards the street, near her vehicle, outside of the forest if able, "No, I think we'll be fine unless you want me to do a follow-up, I can reach out?"
At a certain point, Beth, Savannah and Julia are free of the woods. There, orderlies come to meet them, warned perhaps by someone, and their arms are a little less gentle than the women's more careful coaxing. As soon as an orderly's hand closes on Beth, her soft tone changes it: it becomes yelling, in vulgar Latin, screaming curses and obscenities at both Savannah and Julia.
As Beth begins to fight, it's clear her strength is prodigious, throwing orderlies off of her with bruises. It takes several to subdue her, a piled-on mess before at last a needle is jammed into her neck to have her hauled off into the clinic.
Meanwhile... the inky smoke seems to linger, having flowed and followed Savannah and Julia onto the Institute grounds. Only when Beth is hauled off does it finally dissipate.
At a certain point, Beth, Savannah and Julia are free of the woods. There, orderlies come to meet them, warned perhaps by Casey, and their arms are a little less gentle than the women's more careful coaxing. As soon as an orderly's hand closes on Beth, her soft tone changes it: it becomes yelling, in vulgar Latin, screaming curses and obscenities at both Savannah and Julia.
As Beth begins to fight, it's clear her strength is prodigious, throwing orderlies off of her with bruises. It takes several to subdue her, a piled-on mess before at last a needle is jammed into her neck to have her hauled off into the clinic.
Meanwhile... the inky smoke seems to linger, having flowed and followed Savannah and Julia onto the Institute grounds. Only when Beth is hauled off does it finally dissipate.
(OOC) If you want to exchange numbers, feel free! Otherwise you're good to go down. I can summon you somewhere as needed, also.
"My number is 7107191 if you want to chat when you get your phone," Savannah says to Julia, watching poor Beth get taken away with a shake of her head, "I am sure she will be alright..." She then nods to Julia, "I have somewhere to be, Julia, but glad you're alright."