Stories in the Forest (IC)

[New Tussia]

Alban

He knew it wasn't his Schizophrenia. But, he saw it anyways. An Indian. The truck was parked and they were looking at each other. Alban didn't know who he was but he felt like he did. The Indian mouthed something but he couldn't hear it. Without knowing it; Alban was suddenly face to face from him. They were surrounded by dark clouds. The Indian started to say something; but, before he could, the truck honked.
"Wake up! He's gone, get in!"

Mikhail

They were near the town after about 15 minutes. They said their goodbyes, he got a room, paid for a night, and slept. He had nightmares about the monster that had killed Boris.

[Danceria]

-Aint that a kick in the head-

Donny, the impeccably stubborn, woefully dense, and horrendously naive and optimistic Irishman did the most despicable thing possible. He noticed Marco's episode mid-snark. Almost bursting from the couch from where he sat, he dove to catch Marco as he fell down. "Easy there, easy..." he murmured as Marco would murmur in a half understood manner. The Irishman would turn to the nearest available Denson lackey. "We need a doctor, ASAP! F*cking panther must've gotten to 'im..."

Impulsive, arrogant, and narrow-viewed, he ripped off a portion of his shirt and made an impromptu bandage, and applying pressure to the bleeding wound. It wasn't the blood that bothered him, hell, the encounter with that beast that shook him to the core in that instance. It was the dammed mutt, lapping up the blood on Marco's hand like it was water. For whatever reason it made him feel...cold. Like a blanket of black ice was pressing down on him, and wrapped itself around his very being.

Marco was gradually pulled away from man's best friend, and Donablain forgot to speak for a while...mercifully so.

[Harbertia]

Monty dealt with keeping Marvel away from Marco- having moved around the time Donny had due to their close proximity. She recalled how Marvel liked her at the camp, and seeing how no one else was comforting the poor thing she felt it fell on her to do so. Holding Marvel close to her, his warmth adding to her own, she spoke allowing the canine to lick her; "Don- I don't think the Panther got him- it's too small a wound-" she turned to Mr. Denson, "-and I'm sure it would have been noticed as such a wound if it where." She said though as she said such she felt a flush of blood out of her arms, as she wondered what happened; "Marc- what happened?"

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

-Aint that a kick in the head-

Donny, the impeccably stubborn, woefully dense, and horrendously naive and optimistic Irishman did the most despicable thing possible. He noticed Marco's episode mid-snark. Almost bursting from the couch from where he sat, he dove to catch Marco as he fell down. "Easy there, easy..." he murmured as Marco would murmur in a half understood manner. The Irishman would turn to the nearest available Denson lackey. "We need a doctor, ASAP! F*cking panther must've gotten to 'im..."

Impulsive, arrogant, and narrow-viewed, he ripped off a portion of his shirt and made an impromptu bandage, and applying pressure to the bleeding wound. It wasn't the blood that bothered him, hell, the encounter with that beast that shook him to the core in that instance. It was the dammed mutt, lapping up the blood on Marco's hand like it was water. For whatever reason it made him feel...cold. Like a blanket of black ice was pressing down on him, and wrapped itself around his very being.

Marco was gradually pulled away from man's best friend, and Donablain forgot to speak for a while...mercifully so.

How utterly humiliating, to be cradled in the arms of the man who had everything he wanted. How could his legs suddenly give out like that, forcing him to accept Donny's self-satisfying act of charity. He felt his head tilted upwards as his hero wasted no time wrapping a piece of his own cloth around Marco's forehead and saw those dreaded yet mesmerising eyes shining over him benevolently.

''Panther...'' he murmured weakly in response to Donny's suspicion, recalling the brief breakdown he had suffered in Carl's truck.

Monty dealt with keeping Marvel away from Marco- having moved around the time Donny had due to their close proximity. She recalled how Marvel liked her at the camp, and seeing how no one else was comforting the poor thing she felt it fell on her to do so. Holding Marvel close to her, his warmth adding to her own, she spoke allowing the canine to lick her; "Don- I don't think the Panther got him- it's too small a wound-" she turned to Mr. Denson, "-and I'm sure it would have been noticed as such a wound if it where." She said though as she said such she felt a flush of blood out of her arms, as she wondered what happened; "Marc- what happened?"

Mommy...

Sometimes he heard the wrong voice through Monty.

He let Donny help him stand up again and pressed against the makeshift bandanna numbing the onset of migraine.

''I'm.. okay... I just... didn't quite get the shock outta my system ya know?'' he said turning to Carl with a nervous smile.

''Really I'm fine, I...'' he saw that look of pity from Monty, the same one she gave him in that red dress at the bar in his weed dream or whatever it was. Did she really think he deserved the same level of coddling she gave Lucas back in school? Wasn't he better than that? She'd never look down on Donny in such a way but as for himself... she deemed he wasn't good enough?

What was he supposed to say? That he just felt compelled to scratch into his own face when he saw those eyes? Or that he heard to discord between Robert Sr and her playmate Lucas when dazed out on weed and not actually in their vicinity?

''Look, I'm fine, seriously,'' he asserted raising his arms to nudge Donny back and let him stand unsupported.

''Got roughed up is all... we ran like a bunch'a loons out there, pay'n no heed to em thorns and branches, just got a little unlucky is all,'' he said reassuringly.

Yet he was still cold, perhaps a little petrified but the warmth was returning and he found himself thirsting for some more of than potent Dorian liquor.

[Danceria]

-this is fine-

"It's all right...yer a lot tougher than me, ya know?" Donny chuckled. "Ya ran on foot all th' way here, while we hightailed it ta' the Police Station. Yer either tougher than nails or the luckiest man on earth ta' have gotten away with from tha' thing with only a couple of scratches...an'..." he bashfully admitted. "An'...ya only freaked about this whole thing now? Yer somethin' else Marco, somethin' else..." he reassured him. "We all 'ere? Or are we missin' somebody?"

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

"Damn man, I think that weed is wearing off, I do need me some coffee." Carl said, heading into the kitchen. "Coffee maker. Coffee maker. Where do they have the coffee maker?" Carl said, all alone in the kitchen. "Ah, there we go. Blends in the room." Carl gets the typical small cup-shaped containers you put inside to pick your flavor and starts the coffee maker. Carl leaned against the counter and yawned. Tonight was going to be a long night for sure. From possibly true ghost stories to partners in the woods, Carl thought he had seen it all. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew must have been dragged to Blackroof, because when Carl walked out of the kitchen, wondering about what was all the commotion about, he ended up near Marco with a cup of coffee in his hand.

''I'm.. okay... I just... didn't quite get the shock outta my system ya know?'' he said turning to Carl with a nervous smile.

"Marco? Why is everyone here? Did that partner get you messed up in the head? What the fuck?" Carl said, visibly confused, yet he attempted to take a sip from his coffee.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan
Just great. Things were getting better and better. Donny was bleeding everywhere. Evan had hoped nothing would go wrong. Evan dug into his jacket pocket, thinking he might have a couple of band-aids. His fingers grasped around a pair of band-aids. Evan pulled them out and held them up. He said,"I carry these with me fer cuts 'n scrapes. Will they help?"

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Marco

Carl

"Damn man, I think that weed is wearing off, I do need me some coffee." Carl said, heading into the kitchen. "Coffee maker. Coffee maker. Where do they have the coffee maker?" Carl said, all alone in the kitchen. "Ah, there we go. Blends in the room." Carl gets the typical small cup-shaped containers you put inside to pick your flavor and starts the coffee maker. Carl leaned against the counter and yawned. Tonight was going to be a long night for sure. From possibly true ghost stories to partners in the woods, Carl thought he had seen it all. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew must have been dragged to Blackroof, because when Carl walked out of the kitchen, wondering about what was all the commotion about, he ended up near Marco with a cup of coffee in his hand.

''I'm.. okay... I just... didn't quite get the shock outta my system ya know?'' he said turning to Carl with a nervous smile.

"Marco? Why is everyone here? Did that partner get you messed up in the head? What the fuck?" Carl said, visibly confused, yet he attempted to take a sip from his coffee.

''Donny boy detoured to the police with Monty, hillbilly here (Evan) followed suit. They got detained for sort'a trespassing until some Denson lackey picked em up. There was some pretty police girl giving Don the looks and apparently that thing might'a followed em cos the Chief sniped its ass but it ran off.''

''Oh these...'' it seemed Carl really had been to busy to notice back then when Marco clawed into his own skin. Presumably so was Will.

''Didn't realize I wounded myself, running through em woods and all... Donny messed up his own shirt just to stop the bleeding. Its fine now,' he changed the subject: ''Hey you remember Mikhail Yuriov from the middle school? The one that got taken away? Apparently he's back cos his mom's dead or something. They saw him over at the station.''

Another dead mother. As if that sicko Lucas's story wasn't bad enough.

Evan
Just great. Things were getting better and better. Donny was bleeding everywhere. Evan had hoped nothing would go wrong. Evan dug into his jacket pocket, thinking he might have a couple of band-aids. His fingers grasped around a pair of band-aids. Evan pulled them out and held them up. He said,"I carry these with me fer cuts 'n scrapes. Will they help?"

''Maybe you're more'n a hillbilly after all,'' said Marco obliging himself to them.

Pressing tightly against Donny's cloth for the last time he removed it and started to clumsily apply the bandages. He wouldn't have guessed Evan of all people would actually be helpful in anyway. Maybe he owed him an apology for... something but decided against it, bandages were convenient but no big deal now thank's to Donny, who of course wasted no time coming to someone's rescue.

Seemed everyone from the campfire was gathered into the manor to face the Mayor's judgement. He wondered if Donny, beneath that brave face was actually scared. The head of the town intended to deal with them personally, if he was angry then maybe not even Will could help them out. Armed guards meant escape was a bad idea, should anything happen to them no doubt it would get swept under the rug.

Then there was Lucas whose presence continued to leave him in unease. The suspicion, resentment and strange desire to see him squirm for the worm he was, he felt it all gnawing at his bones. He decided to copy Carl and make himself a cup of coffee to drown out this feeling after he was done with the bandages.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Marco

Carl

"Damn man, I think that weed is wearing off, I do need me some coffee." Carl said, heading into the kitchen. "Coffee maker. Coffee maker. Where do they have the coffee maker?" Carl said, all alone in the kitchen. "Ah, there we go. Blends in the room." Carl gets the typical small cup-shaped containers you put inside to pick your flavor and starts the coffee maker. Carl leaned against the counter and yawned. Tonight was going to be a long night for sure. From possibly true ghost stories to partners in the woods, Carl thought he had seen it all. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew must have been dragged to Blackroof, because when Carl walked out of the kitchen, wondering about what was all the commotion about, he ended up near Marco with a cup of coffee in his hand.



"Marco? Why is everyone here? Did that partner get you messed up in the head? What the fuck?" Carl said, visibly confused, yet he attempted to take a sip from his coffee.

''Donny boy detoured to the police with Monty, hillbilly here (Evan) followed suit. They got detained for sort'a trespassing until some Denson lackey picked em up. There was some pretty police girl giving Don the looks and apparently that thing might'a followed em cos the Chief sniped its ass but it ran off.''

''Oh these...'' it seemed Carl really had been to busy to notice back then when Marco clawed into his own skin. Presumably so was Will.

''Didn't realize I wounded myself, running through em woods and all... Donny messed up his own shirt just to stop the bleeding. Its fine now,' he changed the subject: ''Hey you remember Mikhail Yuriov from the middle school? The one that got taken away? Apparently he's back cos his mom's dead or something. They saw him over at the station.''

Another dead mother. As if that sicko Lucas's story wasn't bad enough.

Evan
Just great. Things were getting better and better. Donny was bleeding everywhere. Evan had hoped nothing would go wrong. Evan dug into his jacket pocket, thinking he might have a couple of band-aids. His fingers grasped around a pair of band-aids. Evan pulled them out and held them up. He said,"I carry these with me fer cuts 'n scrapes. Will they help?"

''Maybe you're more'n a hillbilly after all,'' said Marco obliging himself to them.

Pressing tightly against Donny's cloth for the last time he removed it and started to clumsily apply the bandages. He wouldn't have guessed Evan of all people would actually be helpful in anyway. Maybe he owed him an apology for... something but decided against it, bandages were convenient but no big deal now thank's to Donny, who of course wasted no time coming to someone's rescue.

Seemed everyone from the campfire was gathered into the manor to face the Mayor's judgement. He wondered if Donny, beneath that brave face was actually scared. The head of the town intended to deal with them personally, if he was angry then maybe not even Will could help them out. Armed guards meant escape was a bad idea, should anything happen to them no doubt it would get swept under the rug.

Then there was Lucas whose presence continued to leave him in unease. The suspicion, resentment and strange desire to see him squirm for the worm he was, he felt it all gnawing at his bones. He decided to copy Carl and make himself a cup of coffee to drown out this feeling after he was done with the bandages.

Evan
Evan nodded in response, and said,"My dad taught me an' my brothers to be prepared fer such things when we were little." Evan began getting that same feeling he had when he had seen the ghost, or whatever it had been, in the graveyard. He began glancing around nervously. Something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't figure out what it was that seemed off.

[Harbertia]

Mr. Denson looked around, watched as the scene of brief drama unfolded, picking up on information as the group bantered about how they split up but he was not a patient man; "Now that you have all began to speak among your selves, and have been gathered here I shall relay to our most recent guests what I have to those who have been present awaiting your arrival. What you have seen this night is only a fraction of what lurks in this town- I invest greatly in protecting the good folk of Woodview from such. One such investment has been the security around Ghostwood of which it would seem was not enough to dissuade the bunch of you from entering. Let alone the stories- the point is- I believe everyone appreciates those evenings singing on the porch or trick'r'treating and I simply can not allow this burden of knowing to befall the general public. It's something I have carried for many years, far more then I care to admit. Yet here you all are, a failure on my part- and thus I have an offer- I can send you away to a place where that which stalks this town will never find you, or you can work for me in confidence- lending me word of potential threats to be dealt with, and in turn I'll provide leads for you to investigate- casual and nosy youths such as yourself- hardly anyone would feel intimidated but such innocent questions from the likes of your self." he said sitting in a large red leather chair before them.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan
Evan said,"I always knew there was somethin' goin' on here. There were too many weird coincidences an' sightin's. I'd be interested in helpin' investigate an' protect my home town." Evan was a little nervous, being in this big house owned by the wealthiest family in the area. He would like to investigate though. That would be interesting.

[Harbertia]

Mr. Denson smiled and nodded approvingly towards Evan as he turned to another, "And what of you?"

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Mr. Denson smiled and nodded approvingly towards Evan as he turned to another, "And what of you?"

Marco couldn't help but chuckle out loud. ''Let me get this straight, we trespass into your monster ghost zoo, we run for our lives coming to you for answers and you offer us, a bunch'a meddle'n hooligans the chance to solve some Scooby Doo mystery?''

''There comes a time... when a man must take charge of his fate and not get one-upped in the guts department by a hillbilly. I'm dancing to my own beat and ain't gonna back out now. I can't even if I wanted to, not after tonight. Them eyes ain't gonna leave me if I try'n forget em. So yeah, I'm on board.''

The journal. He had to find it. Before anyone else. Especially Lucas.

Go on Notebook, I dare you.

An uncanny but subtle smile curled up from Captain Marvel.

[Danceria]

Donny was torqued, but he held a majority of his ire in check. "You've got a helluva lot of explaining to Mayor, so that way we know the right questions to ask. Such as what exactly did we run into, and how come it wasn't killed long ago?!"

[Harbertia]

Donny was torqued, but he held a majority of his ire in check. "You've got a helluva lot of explaining to Mayor, so that way we know the right questions to ask. Such as what exactly did we run into, and how come it wasn't killed long ago?!"

Mr. Denson had been pleased, keeping his smile upon Marco's response and still seemed a tad smug though his words would trail into the defensive as they went on; "What you and your associates encountered has been called a many things but for a common term it's a Water Panther, an elusive beast. We've managed to keep them contained as efforts to destroy them have proved fruitless- decades past we tried but as we let our guard down they surfaced. The network of trail cams that now permeate that region, having been installed at great risk, are our most recent effort. While we've narrowed them down to such a small plot of land we have yet to determine when and where they spawn- let alone nest. Until that is determined our resources would be spent hunting that which we do not fully understand. It's like burning ants with a magnifier and not destroying the queen."

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan
Evan said,"Water painters'd explain some things, but not everythin' that's happened 'round here. Is there anythin' else in th' area?"

[Harbertia]

Evan
Evan said,"Water painters'd explain some things, but not everythin' that's happened 'round here. Is there anythin' else in th' area?"

"There are indeed, and you and those who accept this offer will learn in time what else lurks in the shadows. You could learn right now, another example, but such will come in time." said Mr. Denson resting his pipe upon an end table next to his chair, "I have no intention to send you nor your companions into danger without some knowledge of what may be in store." he looked upon his son, William, "Let alone encourage such recklessness."

Monty raised her hand with the index finger up, the others curved, to get his attention. Mr. Denson nodded and spoke; "You may speak freely."

Monty cleared her throat, "Would we have to work, everyday of the week or - do we have time off?"

Mr. Denson frowned, "Evil does not rest, dear lady. Though I do not expect you nor your compatriots to drop everything in life. You will go to those functions that do not impede your efforts, and those that benefit your mission- I have no desire of having your activities appear abnormal- on the contrary- I desire you and your friends to appear as I have described- casual yet inquisitive youths doing what they enjoy. I trust your generation is resourceful enough to blend work and play. I'll be sure to compensate your time financially and with assets- which you and others will likely find uses for." he said his eyes grazing over the group as a whole, ponderously.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Evan
Evan said,"Water painters'd explain some things, but not everythin' that's happened 'round here. Is there anythin' else in th' area?"

"There are indeed, and you and those who accept this offer will learn in time what else lurks in the shadows. You could learn right now, another example, but such will come in time." said Mr. Denson resting his pipe upon an end table next to his chair, "I have no intention to send you nor your companions into danger without some knowledge of what may be in store." he looked upon his son, William, "Let alone encourage such recklessness."

Monty raised her hand with the index finger up, the others curved, to get his attention. Mr. Denson nodded and spoke; "You may speak freely."

Monty cleared her throat, "Would we have to work, everyday of the week or - do we have time off?"

Mr. Denson frowned, "Evil does not rest, dear lady. Though I do not expect you nor your compatriots to drop everything in life. You will go to those functions that do not impede your efforts, and those that benefit your mission- I have no desire of having your activities appear abnormal- on the contrary- I desire you and your friends to appear as I have described- casual yet inquisitive youths doing what they enjoy. I trust your generation is resourceful enough to blend work and play. I'll be sure to compensate your time financially and with assets- which you and others will likely find uses for." he said his eyes grazing over the group as a whole, ponderously.

Marco

That slimy bastard was enticing them with promise of adventure and fancy toys to become his lackeys, trying to frame it like some righteous crusade. Woodview was essentially a fiefdom for these Densons, everyone else a commoner who existed to serve them either directly or through a chain of others.

That smug self-satisfied high class look on the Mayor's face sicked him, it was like what he saw with Donny only fatter and uglier. More than that unlike Donny the Mayor actually knew how powerful he was and purposefully flaunted it - like he was just daring someone to try and take him down a peg.

What a disgusting creature.

Yet he agreed to play along anyway. An impulse to act had stirred within him, no longer could he just walk away and forget. He had to see this through to the end. Still there were somethings he had to say.

''Evil you say? The kind that don't rest, the kind your folks been goin against generations, where the best you can do is keeping it around under your thump. So what are we to you, Mr Mayor, fodder to satiate the wrath of whatever lies out there? I saw a goddamn water panther with my own two eyes and your son here told us all a story about it. Now before we all jump into bed together maybe ya ought'a give us an explanation.''

He turned to Monty: ''We ain't roasting marshmallows no more. I think your old man is in cahoots with Mayor Denson here, ain't you gonna ask?''

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan
Evan said,"Water painters'd explain some things, but not everythin' that's happened 'round here. Is there anythin' else in th' area?"

"There are indeed, and you and those who accept this offer will learn in time what else lurks in the shadows. You could learn right now, another example, but such will come in time." said Mr. Denson resting his pipe upon an end table next to his chair, "I have no intention to send you nor your companions into danger without some knowledge of what may be in store." he looked upon his son, William, "Let alone encourage such recklessness."

Monty raised her hand with the index finger up, the others curved, to get his attention. Mr. Denson nodded and spoke; "You may speak freely."

Monty cleared her throat, "Would we have to work, everyday of the week or - do we have time off?"

Mr. Denson frowned, "Evil does not rest, dear lady. Though I do not expect you nor your compatriots to drop everything in life. You will go to those functions that do not impede your efforts, and those that benefit your mission- I have no desire of having your activities appear abnormal- on the contrary- I desire you and your friends to appear as I have described- casual yet inquisitive youths doing what they enjoy. I trust your generation is resourceful enough to blend work and play. I'll be sure to compensate your time financially and with assets- which you and others will likely find uses for." he said his eyes grazing over the group as a whole, ponderously.

Evan
Evan said,"Ok, but farm work takes up most of muh time. Our campin' trip was delayed several times 'cause things popped up on my farm, an' I wasn't available."

[Harbertia]

"There are indeed, and you and those who accept this offer will learn in time what else lurks in the shadows. You could learn right now, another example, but such will come in time." said Mr. Denson resting his pipe upon an end table next to his chair, "I have no intention to send you nor your companions into danger without some knowledge of what may be in store." he looked upon his son, William, "Let alone encourage such recklessness."

Monty raised her hand with the index finger up, the others curved, to get his attention. Mr. Denson nodded and spoke; "You may speak freely."

Monty cleared her throat, "Would we have to work, everyday of the week or - do we have time off?"

Mr. Denson frowned, "Evil does not rest, dear lady. Though I do not expect you nor your compatriots to drop everything in life. You will go to those functions that do not impede your efforts, and those that benefit your mission- I have no desire of having your activities appear abnormal- on the contrary- I desire you and your friends to appear as I have described- casual yet inquisitive youths doing what they enjoy. I trust your generation is resourceful enough to blend work and play. I'll be sure to compensate your time financially and with assets- which you and others will likely find uses for." he said his eyes grazing over the group as a whole, ponderously.

Evan
Evan said,"Ok, but farm work takes up most of muh time. Our campin' trip was delayed several times 'cause things popped up on my farm, an' I wasn't available."

Marco

That slimy bastard was enticing them with promise of adventure and fancy toys to become his lackeys, trying to frame it like some righteous crusade. Woodview was essentially a fiefdom for these Densons, everyone else a commoner who existed to serve them either directly or through a chain of others.

That smug self-satisfied high class look on the Mayor's face sicked him, it was like what he saw with Donny only fatter and uglier. More than that unlike Donny the Mayor actually knew how powerful he was and purposefully flaunted it - like he was just daring someone to try and take him down a peg.

What a disgusting creature.

Yet he agreed to play along anyway. An impulse to act had stirred within him, no longer could he just walk away and forget. He had to see this through to the end. Still there were somethings he had to say.

''Evil you say? The kind that don't rest, the kind your folks been goin against generations, where the best you can do is keeping it around under your thump. So what are we to you, Mr Mayor, fodder to satiate the wrath of whatever lies out there? I saw a goddamn water panther with my own two eyes and your son here told us all a story about it. Now before we all jump into bed together maybe ya ought'a give us an explanation.''

He turned to Monty: ''We ain't roasting marshmallows no more. I think your old man is in cahoots with Mayor Denson here, ain't you gonna ask?''

Monty's eyes narrowed, her hands on her knees where she sat, her brow lowered- "I already know that!" the shouted, obviously ticked off. "I've know that for a while," she was still shouting a bit, "why do you think I hanged out with Will so much?" she asked her palm open flailed in the direction of William, "I figured I'd be working for him someday, before Don came back into town I hanged out with him while our dads talked, it's not something my pa kept secret."

Monty
"Shut up!" she said taking hold of the man's arm and forcefully guiding him towards the camp, and saying to Marco, "Grab his other arm and let's go! Damn fool-" her cool having faded, "Evan- your truck- get the door open!" She shot a glance towards Will, in it her frustration like his own was evident- but also that she didn't care what they did with this stranger but only Will would have seen that as she turned to Don hoping he'd understand in her expression something.

Will grabbed the mans other arm and began force marching him with Monty, turning to the rest and saying "Move now. The thing that made that noise is very strong, very angry, and very likely to kill you if we don't start moving now. Just walk like you don't know it exists and keep moving towards the camp, and whatever you do do not stop moving until we are off my family's land. And if I say run... run like your life depends on it, because it definintly will. Now go!"

Will watched as Donny burst ahead in speed "Wait Donny DON'T-" he was cut off by a strange combo of a mountain lion scream and a crocodile hiss. Turning around he caught a glimpse of bright red eyeshine bursting through the woods towards the group "FUCK RUN NOW! DON'T FUCKING STOP!" Will let go of the professor and turned around, firing the flare gun at the creature. A loud bang came out of the device and instead of a flare, a shot blasted out of it towards the creature. A weird hissing noise came from the woods as Will reached into his pocket for another cartridge and said "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE" before backpeddeling as fast as he could, never letting his eyes break line of sight with the beasts eyeshine.

Not caring about the strange man Monty let go herself. She had looked on with terror as Donny had rushed- Will's instructions still fresh on her mind- Just walk like you don't know it exists and keep moving towards the camp she didn't bother to look back, no use seeing what it was- no use fusing- no use making noise- oh yes Donny had understood what she meant by her look- get the car door open she meant- oh yes he got that message. Anger and desperation upon her face as she rushed to meet him along the way- she was running faster now- faster then even he had- she'd catch up.

Will put another slug into the beast, resulting in more crackling and hissing from it as steam poured from the wound. That would hopefully stun it. Taking off after the rest of them with surprising speed he ran towards the truck while yelling "MONTY, SPRAY BEHIND YOU AS YOU RUN!!!" before grabbing the side of Carl's truck and heaving himself into the flatbed, loading up the flare gun with another shell and keeping it trained on the creature as the rest of them ran towards the vehicle.

She took a breath, and said angerly yet calmly, "Sorry but this isn't that new to me." she leaned back, "I just thought it'd be a lot longer." she said, arms crossed, leg shaking.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Evan
Evan said,"Ok, but farm work takes up most of muh time. Our campin' trip was delayed several times 'cause things popped up on my farm, an' I wasn't available."

Marco

That slimy bastard was enticing them with promise of adventure and fancy toys to become his lackeys, trying to frame it like some righteous crusade. Woodview was essentially a fiefdom for these Densons, everyone else a commoner who existed to serve them either directly or through a chain of others.

That smug self-satisfied high class look on the Mayor's face sicked him, it was like what he saw with Donny only fatter and uglier. More than that unlike Donny the Mayor actually knew how powerful he was and purposefully flaunted it - like he was just daring someone to try and take him down a peg.

What a disgusting creature.

Yet he agreed to play along anyway. An impulse to act had stirred within him, no longer could he just walk away and forget. He had to see this through to the end. Still there were somethings he had to say.

''Evil you say? The kind that don't rest, the kind your folks been goin against generations, where the best you can do is keeping it around under your thump. So what are we to you, Mr Mayor, fodder to satiate the wrath of whatever lies out there? I saw a goddamn water panther with my own two eyes and your son here told us all a story about it. Now before we all jump into bed together maybe ya ought'a give us an explanation.''

He turned to Monty: ''We ain't roasting marshmallows no more. I think your old man is in cahoots with Mayor Denson here, ain't you gonna ask?''

Monty's eyes narrowed, her hands on her knees where she sat, her brow lowered- "I already know that!" the shouted, obviously ticked off. "I've know that for a while," she was still shouting a bit, "why do you think I hanged out with Will so much?" she asked her palm open flailed in the direction of William, "I figured I'd be working for him someday, before Don came back into town I hanged out with him while our dads talked, it's not something my pa kept secret."

Monty
"Shut up!" she said taking hold of the man's arm and forcefully guiding him towards the camp, and saying to Marco, "Grab his other arm and let's go! Damn fool-" her cool having faded, "Evan- your truck- get the door open!" She shot a glance towards Will, in it her frustration like his own was evident- but also that she didn't care what they did with this stranger but only Will would have seen that as she turned to Don hoping he'd understand in her expression something.

Will grabbed the mans other arm and began force marching him with Monty, turning to the rest and saying "Move now. The thing that made that noise is very strong, very angry, and very likely to kill you if we don't start moving now. Just walk like you don't know it exists and keep moving towards the camp, and whatever you do do not stop moving until we are off my family's land. And if I say run... run like your life depends on it, because it definintly will. Now go!"

Will watched as Donny burst ahead in speed "Wait Donny DON'T-" he was cut off by a strange combo of a mountain lion scream and a crocodile hiss. Turning around he caught a glimpse of bright red eyeshine bursting through the woods towards the group "FUCK RUN NOW! DON'T FUCKING STOP!" Will let go of the professor and turned around, firing the flare gun at the creature. A loud bang came out of the device and instead of a flare, a shot blasted out of it towards the creature. A weird hissing noise came from the woods as Will reached into his pocket for another cartridge and said "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE" before backpeddeling as fast as he could, never letting his eyes break line of sight with the beasts eyeshine.

Not caring about the strange man Monty let go herself. She had looked on with terror as Donny had rushed- Will's instructions still fresh on her mind- Just walk like you don't know it exists and keep moving towards the camp she didn't bother to look back, no use seeing what it was- no use fusing- no use making noise- oh yes Donny had understood what she meant by her look- get the car door open she meant- oh yes he got that message. Anger and desperation upon her face as she rushed to meet him along the way- she was running faster now- faster then even he had- she'd catch up.

Will put another slug into the beast, resulting in more crackling and hissing from it as steam poured from the wound. That would hopefully stun it. Taking off after the rest of them with surprising speed he ran towards the truck while yelling "MONTY, SPRAY BEHIND YOU AS YOU RUN!!!" before grabbing the side of Carl's truck and heaving himself into the flatbed, loading up the flare gun with another shell and keeping it trained on the creature as the rest of them ran towards the vehicle.

She took a breath, and said angerly yet calmly, "Sorry but this isn't that new to me." she leaned back, "I just thought it'd be a lot longer." she said, arms crossed, leg shaking.

'''Monty... was tonight just meant to be a final get together before we all moved on for good or did you count on something happening?''

Monty looked upon Evan as he stared into the night sky, and took a breath, "I've-" she gulped slightly, and cleared her throat, "My place isn't far from here. Pa made it very clear that we should never go into it-" she glanced at Will, and back to the fire; "it's not our land to harvest but it's still close.

Close enough for us to know it's reputation." she looked as if gazing a far distance in fire, "When I was- it was shortly after- when I was in the eight grade I remember waking up in the night. I had fallen asleep in the living room, bundled up near the fire place- and the fire was out. It was cold. I wasn't up for lighting the fire again and started to close my eyes when I- saw a light. At the window.

Then two lights, and there it was- in the window gazing in breathing upon the glass. It had antlers like a deer, glowing eyes- yellow- like candle light with faint blue. It's face- it's face was like that of a dog but it had no cheeks- just teeth- and the torso of a man.

I - I was silent just looking at it looking at me- unable to scream, so I started to whisper 'dad' 'dad' 'dad' - and I stopped just looking at this thing. It began to raise it's hand- it's hand- was like a man's but with fingers like a bear. It put it upon the window, I thought I heard dad for a moment. But I guess I didn't, and I don't remember anything else- I guess just."

She sat back straightening herself though nerves still shown, "fell back asleep." I didn't mention it the next day, and wanted to see if it left any prints but I was late for school- I had overslept and all was a rush. I figured I just- had a bad dream- until I finally did ask my dad."

She turned to Marco, "He got agitated and clammed after that- I haven't asked him since so- when- when Will mentioned that thing I thought about it and even if that army was made up- I know as sure as the sky what I saw."

What she saw.

What spurred her to spend time with that worm Lucas before moving on to Will.

Whatever she saw that night had been driving her actions since then. She didn't bring them all together for some regular camp out, she knew about the Ghostwoods when she chose the location and had everyone share stories. It all culminated in her entering the Mayor's service, was this what she wanted? He was shocked and baffled at such a possibility - did she gamble on something happening and invited the Black Sheep of the Denson clan to guide her back to the Mayor, the man her father probably worked for?

[Harbertia]

Monty's eyes narrowed, her hands on her knees where she sat, her brow lowered- "I already know that!" the shouted, obviously ticked off. "I've know that for a while," she was still shouting a bit, "why do you think I hanged out with Will so much?" she asked her palm open flailed in the direction of William, "I figured I'd be working for him someday, before Don came back into town I hanged out with him while our dads talked, it's not something my pa kept secret."

She took a breath, and said angerly yet calmly, "Sorry but this isn't that new to me." she leaned back, "I just thought it'd be a lot longer." she said, arms crossed, leg shaking.

'''Monty... was tonight just meant to be a final get together before we all moved on for good or did you count on something happening?''

Monty looked upon Evan as he stared into the night sky, and took a breath, "I've-" she gulped slightly, and cleared her throat, "My place isn't far from here. Pa made it very clear that we should never go into it-" she glanced at Will, and back to the fire; "it's not our land to harvest but it's still close.

Close enough for us to know it's reputation." she looked as if gazing a far distance in fire, "When I was- it was shortly after- when I was in the eight grade I remember waking up in the night. I had fallen asleep in the living room, bundled up near the fire place- and the fire was out. It was cold. I wasn't up for lighting the fire again and started to close my eyes when I- saw a light. At the window.

Then two lights, and there it was- in the window gazing in breathing upon the glass. It had antlers like a deer, glowing eyes- yellow- like candle light with faint blue. It's face- it's face was like that of a dog but it had no cheeks- just teeth- and the torso of a man.

I - I was silent just looking at it looking at me- unable to scream, so I started to whisper 'dad' 'dad' 'dad' - and I stopped just looking at this thing. It began to raise it's hand- it's hand- was like a man's but with fingers like a bear. It put it upon the window, I thought I heard dad for a moment. But I guess I didn't, and I don't remember anything else- I guess just."

She sat back straightening herself though nerves still shown, "fell back asleep." I didn't mention it the next day, and wanted to see if it left any prints but I was late for school- I had overslept and all was a rush. I figured I just- had a bad dream- until I finally did ask my dad."

She turned to Marco, "He got agitated and clammed after that- I haven't asked him since so- when- when Will mentioned that thing I thought about it and even if that army was made up- I know as sure as the sky what I saw."

What she saw.

What spurred her to spend time with that worm Lucas before moving on to Will.

Whatever she saw that night had been driving her actions since then. She didn't bring them all together for some regular camp out, she knew about the Ghostwoods when she chose the location and had everyone share stories. It all culminated in her entering the Mayor's service, was this what she wanted? He was shocked and baffled at such a possibility - did she gamble on something happening and invited the Black Sheep of the Denson clan to guide her back to the Mayor, the man her father probably worked for?

Monty flashed her frustrated anger in her expression upon Marco, "Don't blame me for this fucking thing!" Mr. Densons can tapped the floor as he uttered, "Civil, this is my house." Monty gave him the look of 'oh fucking la they can swear but I can't" though she didn't say it- it was just in the look. She turned back to Marco, "I had plans, but not this-" she looked sheepishly at Mr. Denson, then down to her shoes and around at the group, "I-," her look paused at Lucas, and then turned to Don, "just-" Mr. Denson leaned forward in his seat, taking his pipe in hand to relight it, anticipating. Monty paused her eyes upon him, he lit the pipe "Speak freely." he said their eyes meeting briefly as he took a puff.

Monty closed her eyes, when they opened they where angry, her body language frustrated as she looked at Lucas; "I needed to know if I had told you, back when we camped out- after you told me about your mother- if I told you what I haven't told Don. That's why I invited you, why I insisted on you coming out there to the far woods." She closed her eyes briefly, clenching her fist. "Dammit..." she said opening her eyes again folding her arms together for comfort and leaning upon Don,

Mr. Denson leaned back in his chair, a disappointed look upon his face. He glanced over at Marco, some eagerness in his eyes- hoping he'd continue to press Monica Strumvitner.

Then William spoke; "Monty didn't tell me of any plan, nor did she know anything about the Panther."

Monty looked up at him, "Yeah," she said agitated, "nor the cameras prick- why'd you let us go for it?"

William wasn't saying anything in response to that.

[Pax Nerdvana]

'''Monty... was tonight just meant to be a final get together before we all moved on for good or did you count on something happening?''



What she saw.

What spurred her to spend time with that worm Lucas before moving on to Will.

Whatever she saw that night had been driving her actions since then. She didn't bring them all together for some regular camp out, she knew about the Ghostwoods when she chose the location and had everyone share stories. It all culminated in her entering the Mayor's service, was this what she wanted? He was shocked and baffled at such a possibility - did she gamble on something happening and invited the Black Sheep of the Denson clan to guide her back to the Mayor, the man her father probably worked for?

Monty flashed her frustrated anger in her expression upon Marco, "Don't blame me for this fucking thing!" Mr. Densons can tapped the floor as he uttered, "Civil, this is my house." Monty gave him the look of 'oh fucking la they can swear but I can't" though she didn't say it- it was just in the look. She turned back to Marco, "I had plans, but not this-" she looked sheepishly at Mr. Denson, then down to her shoes and around at the group, "I-," her look paused at Lucas, and then turned to Don, "just-" Mr. Denson leaned forward in his seat, taking his pipe in hand to relight it, anticipating. Monty paused her eyes upon him, he lit the pipe "Speak freely." he said their eyes meeting briefly as he took a puff.

Monty closed her eyes, when they opened they where angry, her body language frustrated as she looked at Lucas; "I needed to know if I had told you, back when we camped out- after you told me about your mother- if I told you what I haven't told Don. That's why I invited you, why I insisted on you coming out there to the far woods." She closed her eyes briefly, clenching her fist. "Dammit..." she said opening her eyes again folding her arms together for comfort and leaning upon Don,

Mr. Denson leaned back in his chair, a disappointed look upon his face. He glanced over at Marco, some eagerness in his eyes- hoping he'd continue to press Monica Strumvitner.

Then William spoke; "Monty didn't tell me of any plan, nor did she know anything about the Panther."

Monty looked up at him, "Yeah," she said agitated, "nor the cameras prick- why'd you let us go for it?"

William wasn't saying anything in response to that.

Evan
Evan said,"Yeah, if ya knew about th' cameras, why didn't ya tell us?"

[Harbertia]

Monty flashed her frustrated anger in her expression upon Marco, "Don't blame me for this fucking thing!" Mr. Densons can tapped the floor as he uttered, "Civil, this is my house." Monty gave him the look of 'oh fucking la they can swear but I can't" though she didn't say it- it was just in the look. She turned back to Marco, "I had plans, but not this-" she looked sheepishly at Mr. Denson, then down to her shoes and around at the group, "I-," her look paused at Lucas, and then turned to Don, "just-" Mr. Denson leaned forward in his seat, taking his pipe in hand to relight it, anticipating. Monty paused her eyes upon him, he lit the pipe "Speak freely." he said their eyes meeting briefly as he took a puff.

Monty closed her eyes, when they opened they where angry, her body language frustrated as she looked at Lucas; "I needed to know if I had told you, back when we camped out- after you told me about your mother- if I told you what I haven't told Don. That's why I invited you, why I insisted on you coming out there to the far woods." She closed her eyes briefly, clenching her fist. "Dammit..." she said opening her eyes again folding her arms together for comfort and leaning upon Don,

Mr. Denson leaned back in his chair, a disappointed look upon his face. He glanced over at Marco, some eagerness in his eyes- hoping he'd continue to press Monica Strumvitner.

Then William spoke; "Monty didn't tell me of any plan, nor did she know anything about the Panther."

Monty looked up at him, "Yeah," she said agitated, "nor the cameras prick- why'd you let us go for it?"

William wasn't saying anything in response to that.

Evan
Evan said,"Yeah, if ya knew about th' cameras, why didn't ya tell us?"

William, who had been cool and largely silent, rolled his head a bit; "I fuck'n did!"

Will

He looked at Evan and laughed a little before saying "All right there, first of all, nothing in these woods is going to fuck with a group of seven loud humans at night, second of all, if it is going to mess with us, unless you've got slugs that's just gonna make it angry, and third of all, you know a real good way to get your ass shot? Getting caught on my families trail cams with a gun, especially in the ghostwood. So why don'tcha put that away, and we'll have a grand ole time."

Will tossed the Bear Spray to Marco saying "Careful with that, home made stuff. Way worse than pepper spray. Ole Dicky down in the garage used to be a chemistry professor, makes all kinds of weird shit like that."

Monty

Monty stepped away from examining Evan's gun and turned to Will; "Wait, your family has trail cams in the Ghostwoods?" she asked with fearful concern, "Well shoot," she said looking at William about to say something before saying nothing with her arms held like one resisting the cold; a hand on each of her upper arms. She turned to Don then, well aware that it was too late to withdraw now.

"Unless they've added some, those camera's aren't everywhere." Lucas interjected, flipping in his notebook, "That is, of course, they just hid them VERY well, and haven't got me for trespassing."

Lucas ran a hand through his dark hair, smiling as he found the page he was looking for. It was a detailed drawing of one of the symbols, as well as a map detailing the location of all the trail cams that he had found in his explorations. Lucas turned to the group, suspicion crossing his eyes for a brief moment as he made eye contact with Monty, but a glint of happiness as he looked at the others, glad to be a part of the group for once. He hadn't realized just how much it had actually bothered him, being alone all the time.

"So," Lucas began, "Shall we?"

Will

Will walked over to Lucas, and had a look at the map he had pulled out. Briefly gazing over it he gave a bit of a chuckle and said "You're lucky my dad is one of the more merciful folks to have owned our land, you're missing about half of the ones I know about. Only my brother really knows where all of them are. But I agree, we should get moving."

Will began to walk off towards Grey's Peak, gesturing for the others to follow. It should be only a mile to the stream, and then into his familie's land.

"Evan, Marco, Lucas you remember? Then that strange guy showed up and Mr. Densehead here, ran off- if you had all just walked to the cars-" William put his hand to the bridge of his nose and leaned against the door frame.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

Carl heard what Marco had to say, though the state of him made Carl thought he was becoming a zombie. Carl immediately stepped to the side when Marco walked at his direction to get some coffee, also. "Someone needs to send him to a hospital. Or maybe his parents. The stress is already getting to people." Carl remarked, as he let Mr. Denson explain in his comfy red chair. When Carl heard about the Water Partner, he didn't know what Denson was talking about. He never heard of the things, but when he mentioned the zoo, Carl was still having the puzzle pieces in a different position. "IS that why no one outside of this town knows about the shit that's happening here? The forest holds a literal monster zoo and it still doesn't add up to something that I'm still wondering. Look, you better have a good excuse to what I'm about to ask next, because I get out of the state to call the FBI, if I need to!" Carl threatened, sipping his coffee, before gripping the cup handle. The tiredness in his eyes was visible.