74 replies to this topic

[Epic Kirby]

Bentham blinked when the girl gave him such a hard stare. He hadn't even spoken to her yet but already she didn't seem to like him. He wasn't getting the best of vibes from Jon Steele either.
"Lets just get going ok?" The girl said fiercely.
Who was she to order Lucas about? She was just a kid.
Bentham turned his attentions to Lucas to see his response but he had glazed over once again and if the wind bothered him. Bentham narrowed his eyes suspiciously and wondered if it was just curiosity that had him searching for Zombie Road. He was just about ask why Lucas was so interested in Zombie road when he finally spoke.
"Here. Take one of these," Bentham stared in puzzlement at the stones laying in Lucas' thin hands. "They will protect you if you keep it in your pocket when your guard is off"
Bentham tried hard not to laugh but he couldn't help letting out a little giggle, he was trying so hard to hold it in that it came out like a strangled cat's meow.

"How will these stones help us?" Bentham said regaining himself. "They are just made out of granite compounds if my eyes do not deceive me. If real danger lurks where we are headed then we need proper weapons. It remains to be seen that rocks are good for anything but skipping across lakes!"

[Elric]

"Your holding it upside down. The important part is on the other side," lucas said. There was a bizarre engraving on the back of the stone. He tipped his hat to a way that the shadows were hiding everything but his mouth. Lucas was a mysterious man indeed, faintly smirking.

"I have this feeling.. Doctor, that you don't believe anything that has to do with paranormal. Now, do you truly believe?"
Lucas asked ignoring his other questions and still faintly smirking.

[Bartman2]

"Hey, what's that rock for?" Jon had zoned out and just realized people were talking. He sat up in the chair and saw the guy, Lucas, giving the newer guy a small stone. He had also heard something about weapons in his dazed state. "I can use a lot of weapons. Seriously, I'll take care of those. I know a guy."

[Epic Kirby]

Bentham frowned wondering what Lucas was smirking at.

"I'm a scientist, it is all good and well to believe in something but where is the proof. I believe in the empirical, the stuff that can be proven by experience. A posteriori knowledge, do you lot know what that is?" He stared at Lucas' smirking face, then Kira's frown and finally to Jon Steele who had interrupted to talk about weapons. He hated interruptions.

"I don't suppose you lot do know what it is," Bentham said trying to gage how much education each of his new companions had.
Bentham always usually assumed he was the cleverest person wherever he went which usually meant people didn't like him very much.

That was fine by him, his books were all the companions he needed.

"What I'm trying to say is, I will believe anything you want Mr Sleith, if you can show me proof of it."

Bentham then turned back to Jon, he looked like a brave chap even if he didn't have any knowledge of how to compose himself in conversation and secretly Bentham was glad that the boy could fight. A small part of him buried deep beneath his reasoned mind was worried that paranormal beings did exist and that they might encounter some sort of danger. He just hoped the boy had enough weapons skills to protect all of them.

[Elric]

"oh you'll see proof doctor, do not worry about that.... However I am not the devil so I can't tell you when. Tonight we will go out to a haunted whereabout to see how each of you handle the paranormal..."

Lucas was interrupted by his phone ringing. He looked at it for a moment and answered

"hello?"

[Wertville]

Nick heard the phone ring for a few seconds, then he finally got a response.

"Hello?" He heard from the other end.

"Hi, I'm calling about information for the Zombie road expedition. If you could just answer a few questions..."
Nick asked "Can you give me some details about yourself", "What can you tell me about Zombie Road" and "When are you leaving?"

Oh, and "Do you need me to bring weapons? I have skills with knives, so..."

[Bartman2]

Jon looked up from his lap. He could tell that Bentham hadn't liked it when he interrupted.
"Sorry. Who's on the phone?" He stole a glance at Kira. She still was giving a hard stare to Bentham.

[Elric]

"ah, yes. I'll give you more info when you get here. Go to the old store in the oldest part of town, me and a few more volunteers will be there waiting for you. And you should bring one pistol if you have one, for wild animals. You are going to have your first paranormal experience." said Lucas talking to his phone. He then hung up with a click of his cellphone.

"oh, just another person interested In the expedition..."

[Bartman2]

Jon told them he was going to leave and talk to his "guy" about weapons. As he stepped out the door, he wondered about this paranormal stuff, and about this Kira girl. He had never believed in ghosts, but this was the kind of thing that Jon was awesome at. Proving that they don't exist. Then he thought about Kira. Not that she was pretty, or anything, but why she was there. She looked so sullen and sad. He could not understand this kind of thing. He had always been good at ignoring the bad things in the world and enjoying the good ones. He would give her predicament a later thought, and maybe talk to her.
Jon stepped at a brisk pace toward where he knew his guy lived, or at least the place he had lived for the last three months. As he stepped in the door, a small ding sounded to let the owner know he was there. As his friend opened the door to see who it was, Jon stepped out of his sight, so he came out and Jon could see him.
"Jonny! Hola mi amigo! I thought you'd never come!"
"Listen, Tomi, I need guns. Now."
"Well, bien, no hacen demasiado rápido!"
"Will you speak English!"
"Okay, what kind of guns are you looking for?"
"Ahhh, pistols, maybe one or two machine guns, and a shotgun."
"I'll see what I can do, amigo."

[Epic Kirby]

Someone else interested in the expedition, Bentham pondered. He wondered what the person would be like. He hoped it would be another female, not for his sake but for the poor Kira girl. Someone she could talk to. She looked so solemn and sad. He could tell that life had not been easy on her as if loosing her parents at thirteen wasn't enough. Poor girl. The boy said he needed to go see someone about weapons. It had come as a bit of a shock to Bentham, he was still going through a culture shock. If the heat and winds weren't enough he also had to get used to the legality of firearms that he was unused to. What if someone asked him to use one? How could he explain to them that he'd never even seen a real gun let alone fire one. The embarrassment would be too much and Bentham hated it when people knew more than him.

He turned his attentions back to Kira.

"So, um Kira," he said slightly uncomfortably.
He was about to say something more but changed his mind. He would leave the girl to Jon. They were about the same age. Maybe he could see to it that she was alright.

[Bobby]

Kira rolled her eyes when she heard Lucas say there was someone else coming with them. Another person to look at her blue hair and leather jacket and judge her. She watched Jon walk away. In some ways she was glad of his presence. It was obvious he was a drop out like her. Maybe they had even common with him, she mad a mental note to get to know him when he got back.
"So, um Kira." Kira turned her head to Bentham but he looked away and she wondered what he was going to say to her.
Did she really seem that intimidating and unapproachable?

She turned her attentions to the adventure ahead of them. She looked at the stone that Lucas had given each of them and cluthed it close to her as one would do a teddy bear. She would finally find out what happened to her parents and she wouldn't let the others know it yet but she had more on her mind that just finding out the truth. Revenge... someone had to pay for her parents disappearance even if it killed her.

[Bartman2]

Tomi turned around, holding a Colt .45 pistol.
"It's old, but it'll do," he said.
"You got something stronger? Maybe a Desert Eagle or something?"
"Whoa, amigo! Not that kind of firepower!" Tomi turned around again. "Here's an AK-47."
"Um, okay,"

Jon walked quickly away from Tomi's place. It's hard to be inconspicuous when you've got five guns stashed in your duffel bag. as he stepped through the door of Lucas' shop, he saw everyone's heads turn and stare at him.
"What?"

[Wertville]

Nick hung up the phone. He sighed. He didn't have a pistol, nor could he afford one...
"Thank you." He said to the person working at the inn. He went up to his room. He opened his bag, and inside were two knives. He would take them just in case, but he wasn't even sure if he needed them. Next, off to the old place.

~ Few Minutes Later ~

Nick finally arrived at the place. He had to walk quickly, he didn't want to keep other volunteers waiting for information. He knew that that would kill him.

What he saw when he got there was a guy standing in the doorway. What caught Nick's attention was the bag he had in his hand. It was stuffed full of guns!

He chuckled at himself for a second. The guts he had doing this to someone with that had to be pretty high. But, hey, he had to make an entrance!

He pushed the boy into the doorway, and stepped into the building.

"And Nick is here!" He exclaimed loudly, with a fist pumped up in the air.

He used the opportunity or shocking everyone to get a glimpse around at people. First he saw the face of the kid he just pushed out of the way. The hood he was wearing made him look younger than he was, the boy couldn't be more than two years younger than himself.

Next he looked at the man he assumed to be the one he talked to on the phone. He looked a bit absent minded, but overall reliable. He also looked to be a good analyzer. That quenched any doubts Nick had.

After that, he saw an older man who looked to be a teacher. He looked as if he were doubting not only what was going on now, but the whole paranormal thing. 'Well,' He thought to himself, 'I'm going to have to change that guys mind a...'

But before he finished his thought, he focused on the final person in the room. It was a girl. The cheerful face he had come entering with faded for a few moments. The girl reminded him of his sister that he had left 2 years ago. The only real similarities of this girl and his sister were the odd hair color and the age. Well, assumed age, anyway. He couldn't help but stare sadly for a few moments, before shaking his head and returning to his cheerful outlook.

"So, what can you tell me?" He said to the man he called on the phone.

[Bartman2]

as the newcomer pushed him aside Jon yelled, "Hey! What the hell do you think you're--"
The newcomer stared at Kira with a strange look on his face. Almost...sadness. Strange, thought Jon. The newcomer turned to Lucas an asked, "So, what can you tell me?"

[Epic Kirby]

Bentham stared at the overly enthusiastic young person who had just bounded in pushing Jon out of the way in the process. Who did this happy chappy think he was? A light just flickered in Bentham's head and he slapped his hand to his face in shock. It was the same cheery guy he had seen being served in the shop. It was almost like fate had drawn them to meet and take part in this investigation. He gave a little chuckle and shook his head.
"Fate doesn't exist, Bentham old boy," he muttered to himself.
He watched as the boy cast a glance at Kira and his smile dropped immediately. Poor girl. What must she be thinking, when she brought a man from happy to sad in an instant. Bentham frowned at the new guy and as the oldest he felt the need to lay down some authority.
"So, what can you tell me?" The newcomer asked Lucas.

"I know what you can tell me," Bentham said stepping forward with gritted teeth. "You can tell me why you burst in here like we're going on some merry picnic! This girl parents went missing here three years ago! Show some respect!"

[Elric]

"Relax, doctor, like the poor fellow knew the girl had such a tragic past. I am Lucas sleith, the leader of this expedition and I welcome you into our team. Did you happen to bring that one pistol I asked for? Although we won't need it anymore, we have plenty of weapons (that we might not bring all of them, I might add). Tonight we will go to a place that has paranormal activity before we go out to the road, because I need to see all of your reactions to these bizarre encounters first. We leave as soon as it gets dark, don't worry I have a car. So, while we wait, I want to hear any one of us tell of any paranormal experience you guys have had..." explained lucas looking at everyone he gathered. Right now the sun was almost setting, so it wouldn't be long until it would be completely black. His grey eyes were full of interest as he looked around the room.

[Wertville]

"Ah!" Nick said to the girl. "Sorry if I offended you, it was my own past that I was recollecting..."
Next, he focused his attention on Sleith. "Sorry, I couldn't get a pistol, I'm completely out of money. But... Never mind. As for the paranormal thing, can we also use this as an opportunity to formally introduce ourselves? I'd like to know who I'm expeditioning with."
Nick took another look at the people in the room while waiting for a response, this time with an unwavering smile.

[Elric]

"that's fine.."
Said Lucas politely.

Lucas managed to get a smile on face, showing his fake and stale happiness. Memories were painful things that scarred him for half of his life. He sits remembering his unknown, and mysterious tragedy.

[Epic Kirby]

"I suppose I should go first," Bentham said nodding at Nick, acknowledging his apology. "I'm afraid I will only be able to introduce myself as I have never experienced anything that couldn't be explained."
He looked round at each of his companions in turn.
"My name is Bentham Gray, Doctor Bentham Gray actually. I think you can tell from my accent that I'm far from local. I was born and raised in England and after getting my PhD I became a professor at Oxford University. A professor of science. I believe science is the most useful subject in the world and I am not afraid to say that I have little respect for the Humanities subjects such as psychology, English or Sociology."
Bentham paused to take a breath.
"Trouble at the University..." he said looking down. "Scandal... I was forced to leave... leave my home and everything I know... this investigation will be a nice distraction for me."

[Wertville]

"I'll go next then." Nick said with a nod.

"My name is Nick. I no longer have a last name, I gave it up quite a while ago. If you have to call me anything, Anon would be fitting." Nick looked upwards towards the corner of of the store, his face in a thinking stare.

"I don't have a profession, I'm currently busy looking for someone, though I've taken residence in a town nearby here in order to earn a bit of money before I set off again. I heard about this place, and thought the person I was looking for might be here."
Nick's face changed to one of remembrance, trying to recall his past.

"I've had three paranormal experiences in the past, the most recent one happening 2 years ago. That third one is also the reason I'm out hunting for someone. I would rather not talk about that event..."