Thriller The Sins of the Sons

IC: Vashti Schick

"I am sorry."

This is what Vashti heard right as The Man vanished mid rant. That was all he could say? He had promised her. Then again, the devil would lie.

"I am truly sorry. I didn´t know he would be able to get to you. But he won´t. Not anymore. He is dead. And this time he will stay dead." "Prepare the car, that man up there watched us since our arrival, but we don´t need to take chances he decides to attack after all."

A man was standing a ways away just staring at the three of them. How long had he been there? Who did he serve? Maybe God had sent him to kill Sharon and the man and free her? She knew that was a silly notion. No one was going to rescue her.

"Vashti, you serve God. Every human does in every action he takes. Good and evil, right and wrong, it all serves a greater plan. Don´t let ideas of a devil cloud your judgment. There is no devil. But I am not only here to serve God, Vashti. I am here because he is in need of help. And I want to help him. and for that, I need you. So will you help me? Will you help God? Think about it and don´t let faith make the decision for you. Tell me if you want to repair this world. And if you truly want, forget all he said to you."

He continued to talk as she continued to work. What he was saying made a little sense. Yes, she knew that everything that happens is all apart of God's plan and yes she knew that even though God didn't make it happen, He allowed it to happen. But did that make it easier to understand, easier to handle.

Her brown eyes looked to him who was talking to her and then over at the one watching. What was her answer? Did she want to help God? Of course, that was what she had always striven for. Did she want to repair this world? Yes, otherwise she wouldn't have fought so hard to survive. Could she forget everything that the ghost of the Man had said to her, the words that would forever be ingrained into her mind? Never. But she didn't have to tell him that.

As her body bent forward to pick up the fuel can containing the gas from the truck, the girls mind was racing. He had tried to reassure her with a smile and it had helped slightly but how many smiles had she seen today.

Walking over to the car Sharon had pointed out earlier and beginning to pour the fuel into it, Vashti's mind went back and forth from her current task to the man who was watching them. She could feel the eyes of the two men on her, one wondering whether she would follow him, and the other, well she didn't know what he was thinking but her guess was he was contemplating his next move to kill them. None of this was helping settle her nerves and it was beginning to shake her resolve.

"Yes, I will help you. Tell me what to do next."

Mentally she was berating herself. How many times had she started to follow today? God, her parents, the Priest, The Man, Sharon, now this man. How helpless could one woman be that she always had to be following someone else's ideas and orders?

Tag: Lord T, Fins, Xany

 

IC: Sumiko Nakamura
Desert


"Sorry. Sorry I was so aggressive. All of this is not exactly, what I expected. You know? I didn´t believe any of this for month. You know I fell like I am enjoying Lord of the Rings and suddenly Ian McKellen gives me the ring and say run and I realize I watched a documentary." She shook her head. "Surreal doesn´t even begin to explain it?Ration it, we only got three of them. For each of us."

She noticed Sarah was looking at her face. Sumiko brought a hand up to her forehead and a sheen of sweat had started to form. Sumiko nodded her head in understanding, accepting the bottle and taking the smallest of sips out of it before replacing the cap. She could forgive Sarah her outburst, she was just like her after all, drawn into a situation that was alien and strange and surreal. A task with no clear path, yet came with it huge consequences. She watched as Sarah continued to input data into her navigation computer. As she typed she spoke up, not looking up from the screen as she worked

"Do you actually know . . . who, I mean . . . what Tony is?" She looked up. "I mean he can enter dreams and travel time and all that. Is he some kind of religious entity?"

Sumiko pondered the other woman?s words for a moment. Did she mean like an angel? A messenger? A spirit? Truth be told she had no idea what Tony was, only that he was not a normal human. She remembered the confrontation she had had with him minutes before the plane crash, in the heat and stress of the situation she had asked him who he was, who he really was?but he avoided answering and countered with a question of his own "Well who are you really?" He asked her and looked at her. His eyes seemed to show his suffering soul. "Who are you, Sumiko?" A small shiver ran up her spine at the memory. She shook her head forlornly

?I?m afraid I know as much about Tony as you do, which is very little, Gomen? (Sorry) But given all that has happened, I suppose it?s a possibility??

She trailed off as Sarah looked up from her navigation equipment. Maybe they would find out eventually??Looks can be deceiving, remember that Sumiko, see you soon? Sumiko bent down a little to have a look at the device. Sarah had succeeded in finding the location of Vegas. She knew of Vegas, had seen the famous city on TV and seen photographs of its iconic buildings and never-ending neon lights. The question was, what would they find when they got there? Would Vegas now be just another Giant sand dune in this vast future desert? Sarah had mentioned a man. Would he be the only man there or would there be others?

?I should be able to make it?

She said to the blonde woman, a hint of determination in her voice

TAG: Sirak, Fins

 

Desert ? Suburbs of Las Vegas

[image=http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/home/twamoran/urbanghostsmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/abandoned-miniature-city-2.jpg]

The streets had seen no living thing for centuries. At least that was what they looked like when the two woman finally reached the suburbs. Las Vegas had been surprisingly nearby, half a days walk. But who trusted laws of physics anymore?

The ground rumbled a bit as they made their way through the blocks where once thousands had lived. And Sarah saw a group of strange dogs that were tailing them, never appearing in their streets, but again and again on parallel streets.

[image=http://blog.nothingbutsoftware.com/wp-content/Images/RE5_2.jpg]

But there was no sign of any human being. Only the dreadful feeling of being watched.

As Sumiko stepped a little aside into a half collapsed building she finally sa a sign of a human. A body. It wasn´t rotten, so it might not be dead for long. But it was blue and lying there with dead eyes. And the man seemed to have no mouth.

[image=http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5052/5508739505_34c10e839f.jpg]

Tag: Leigh, Sirak



City Ruins and Corben´s Inn or what remains of it

The girl . . . Caleb . . . looked at her, gave it some thought then it nodded.

?Now.? And she turned around and started walking. ?She will need water.? Liam reminded Caleb and outside another Caleb was already waiting, handing her a backpack. Liam followed a few steps outside. ?Once he is dead, you just need to find Caleb. Any one of them. And he will bring you to me and Vincent.? Liam smiled and nodded. But the girl was already marching away and towards the desert.

For hours every attempt to make conversation was stoically ignored by Caleb. First another three escorted them, but finally they were alone. Only Andy and the girl. When they came near the gas-station the black cloud could already be seen. It burned. Or it had burned. When they arrived there, it seems as if it had burned out. Nothing was left there, except a huge truck that stood a little distant from the rest. Car tracks were on the ground.

?He is below the rubble in the cellar.? Caleb said and sat down in the hot sand. Obviously it was expected of Andy to move the rubble aside.

Tag: Spy

 

IC: Sharon Cosner
Corben's Inn

Sharon had looked up, startled, at Vashti's outburst - be quiet? It was quiet, unnaturally so - but in an instant Karl was there, reassuring the girl in his own inimitable fashion. With an internal shrug, Sharon turned back to her work. From what she knew of Vashti, it would help her to think about this in religious terms; so why not?

She noticed the man just about the same time Karl pointed him out. Well-armed, unkempt ... he had the look of a man who had been living alone in Nevada's desert for quite some time. A survivor, left behind by The Change? Sharon didn't care to stick around and find out, and evidently Karl thought similarly.

The siphon ran dry. As Vashti and Karl talked, Sharon wordlessly picked up another can and packed it in the trunk. Judging by the size of the car, there ought to be one or two left over - yes - two. In short order, all the fuel was either in the tank or in cans in the trunk.

"That's all of it," Sharon said finally. She looked at Karl, a dozen questions surfacing in her mind once again ... her longtime employer had always played his cards close to the chest, and yet ... all she said, finally, was, "We should go."

TAG: Fins, LordT, starwarsbeauty

 

Andrea "Andy" Rebecca Baker
Corben's Inn, Middle of the Desert


?Now.?

Andy found herself slightly surprised. Caleb agreed with her. It had been a long time since someone had agreed with Andy. The Caleb thing began to walk away. Andy almost shouted, but Mr. Abec took the words from her mouth.

?She will need water.?

?And I need to put my clothes on.?

Andy noticed another Caleb was standing outside with a backpack. Andy hurried and put on the overalls. She almost made a comment about them, but decided it was best not to say anything. She walked out of the small house and took the backpack from the Caleb, offering a brief ?thank you?. Mr. Abec seemed to follow her as she followed the Caleb girl.

?Once he is dead, you just need to find Caleb. Any one of them. And he will bring you to me and Vincent.?

?Thank you, Mr. Abec.? Andy smiled at him. Hers was actually genuine. ?I?ll try. I?ll try my hardest.? Then she turned away and began to follow the Caleb girl into the endless desert. Occasionally Andy had attempted to speak to the girl, but she never got a response. Eventually she just shut up. She sipped on water. Her thoughts continued to annoy her, begging for a chance to think about Vincent. But if Andy wanted a level head, she would have to keep her mind on what she was doing now.

They walked for hours. Eventually, a building with black puffs of smoke rising above it could be seen in the distance. Well damn. Karl did see an Inn. Guess he did tell the truth about something. But it was obvious that Karl was no longer around. As they grew closer, the black smoke still rose, but it was obvious the fire that had demolished the gas station had ended. Now all that remained was rubble. Nothing else remained. Except for a truck that rested a little farther away from the others. And once they had gotten close enough, Andy noticed tire tracks. Pretty fresh, actually. Oh Karl. She smiled. I?m coming.

?He is below the rubble in the cellar.?

Then Andy watched in disbelief as Caleb sat down in the sand.

?I see how it is. You want me to pick through all of this. Well, be prepared to wait for awhile.? But Andy knew that Caleb probably didn?t care. It had all the time in the world. So Andy dug. And she dug. Wounds from the plane crash reopened on her hands. Blood oozed down her hand, but she still continued to dig. Once she had dug for what felt like hours, she found something that resembled a cellar. Perhaps it was. Andy cleared off all of the debris around the cellar door and opened it wide.

?Um. . .you want me to go in here? Alone??


TAG: Fin

 

Karl Weber
Corben´s Inn

Karl sighed and looked straight up into the sun.

He had come here against many obstacles, the space-time continuum among them. Even for him this had been an incredible step and no small effort.

Once had possessed a thousand immortal bodies. And now? now he was growing more human any second. Or had he been human all the years and now he just lost his illusion power made him something more? had his choice back then done this to him and it had just needed milenia for the consequences to arrive? It had to be this way. Action and reaction.

He looked back to Vashti, satisfied noting that he had not been blinded by the sun. For now his body stayed fueled by his power.

"No. No this is wrong." He closed his eyes and wondered if it had always meant to be like this. Humans. Maybe some things were their privilege.

"No, I can´t do anything. I am powerless in this. Vashti, I will help you." He opened his eyes again. "I will help you."

Sharon reported the cars were ready. "Excellent. Good job. I think we should try to use the sunlight to get as far south as possible and when we camp for the night I am sure you two got many questions. And I will answer all of them." He looked to both woman. "All of them. So you know what you need to know, when the time comes."

Because he wouldn´t be around anymore. He realized that now. The one he seeked would not let him approach him. Karl had to die for his mission to succeed. And it would be a final death. Something unthinkable a few month ago. The one who could not die would perish. He forced a smile upon his face.

"Let´s go." He said and walked over to the car.

Looking back a final time, he nodded ot the house. Milton had played a good game. A worthy opponent. Maybe he had played his game only because Karl had underestimated him, but that had been a weakness his appretnice had masterfully exploited.

Milton had lost, anyway. Vashti had made sure of that. But then again, Karl had understood a long time ago, that whatever their father had thought of when he created Milton, it was his nature to loose.

He took the backseat and looked into the desert, silently contemplating his fate and the world he had come to.

Tag: swbeauty, Xany, Fin

 

IC: Sharon Cosner
Corben's Inn

Sharon frowned as she got into the driver's seat and started the engine. Powerless was not a word she had ever heard Karl use to describe himself - not with the tone of utter seriousness he used now. Oh, he threw it around sometimes in corporate board offices when he didn't want to do something and needed a plausible reason, but not like this. Never like this.

"What happened, Karl?" she asked, finally, unable to help herself. What did you do?

What did I do?

TAG: LordT, swbeauty, Fins

 

Karl Weber
Desert of Nevada

"What happened, Karl?"

What did you do?

What did I do?

Karl looked at his loyal servant. She had once promised her service for her life and he had given her life and she had indeed never doubted him. Not more than any sane intelligent person would. But here she wasn´t his servant anymore. She was an ally. Someone he had to trust in. Someone he had to invest in. Invest in the only currency the Apocalypse knew: Hope.

?To the world in general or to us in specific?? He asked, sitting on the backseat of the car as the woman were sitting in front of him. He looked out of the window and stared into the desert. Far away there were ruins of what had probably been a pretty tall building once. A warehouse or a school perhaps. ?The world just grew a little older, had a few changes. One of those was getting rid of humanity. The other was the slow and steady erosion of every sign we ever existed.? He looked at the ruin as long as he could. ?If you define the world as a state of existence we know, you could say it simply ended.?
He waited a second then, but his silence probably told the woman he wasn´t done yet answering. ?As to what happened to you, it is pretty simple. You travelled into the future. Something between forty and a hundred years, I´d say. So did I.? He stared into the sun for a second, then closed his eyes. They hurt. They felt blinded. Like a simple mortals eyes.

?If you wanna know what happened to me, I have missed a detail and that is why a plan so perfect the human mind can hardly even acknowledge it became a terribly spoiled and desperate attempt to save what there is left to safe. And what can be saved will be anything, but me. But the answer to your question is, I was looking for answers. I resurrected a dead friend of mine to get them from him. And when I found them, I realized the mission I have taken upon me and in which I involved you two, will be yours to complete. Because I will soon be dead.?

He sighed. Looking over to the driver seat he looked at Sharon. Then he looked to Vashti.

?Vashti, I understand you tears now and your despair. Not only the intellectual understanding of the factors that lead you to cry, but the truth behind it. I understand, because now I am afraid, too.?


He looked back to the outside and there was a short desperate laughter. "I don´t belong here. I never did."


Tag: swbeauty, Xany

 

Corben´s Inn Ruins

As she looked up and asked if she should go in there alone the girl was gone. Caleb had just stayed to make sure she found it, obviously. But he had no intention to be around when she went in.

Andy was alone in the ruins of this diner. She had found bodies in it. Not few, actually. And they had not been burned to death, but many showed wounds of gunshots. And from below she heard a mourn, as if someone was in pain down there. The sun was setting and as the shadow grew longer, it was somehow a frightening scene. Something had happened here. Something bloody, violent and meaningful. One could smell it with every breath.

Tag: Spy, TSG

 

Andrea "Andy" Rebecca Baker
Corben's Inn


Andy found herself dumbstruck at the disappearance of Caleb. Not only had he led her on a mission that could very well end her life and leave Vincent?s husk of a body, but now he had abandoned her in the smoking remains of some diner. Taking this as a sign that she had found the place she needed to find, Andy climbed down inside the mess. After sifting through everything, she found several bodies. Nasty, bloody, soot covered bodies.

She recognized one of them. Her father had been the biggest John Henley fan, and he had a copy of all of his CD?s in his living room. He even had one signed. Andy had no idea how the country music singer had found himself in the same ruins, but she went on. She passed by bodies with blown in heads. An older woman and man. A young man. Another man. An older man that resembled the young man. So many of them. Andy wiped a tear from her eye, leaving an Indian like mark from the soot on her hands.

To add to the creepiness itself, a low moan rose from the depths of the place. With her hand placed on her pounding chest, she gripped the gun tightly with the other. The moan was filled with a horrible pain. The sun happened to be setting in the far distance. That strange sun. Her shadow resembled that of a creature attempting to creep up to her. Goosebumps spread up and down her arms.

She finally discovered a cellar door, burnt to a crisp. She opened it a little, but it crumbled in her hands. She head into the dark cellar, where the moaning was coming from. She pointed the gun in the darkness with a shaky hand.

?Hello? Hello? Are-? Andy?s voice stopped for a few seconds. She feared she might not be able to continue.

?Are you the Priest??


TAG: TSG, Fin

 

IC: Vashti Schick

As she sat in the passenger seat of the car, Vashti noticed how hot it was in the vehicle. The air was dry and stifling. It was the first thing that was able to take her mind off of his earlier words.

"No, I can´t do anything. I am powerless in this. Vashti, I will help you.""I will help you."

How would he help her? He had failed to protect her from The Man. They were now driving away from the man who had been watching them. What was he going to do?

Sharon seemed to be in more control then her two companions. Maybe Vashti should be asking her for orders instead of the man in the backseat.

"What happened, Karl?"

Karl. That was his name. It just didn't seem to fit him. But nonetheless, Vashti listened to his reply. Not that it made any sense to her. It left her wondering even more than before. Before it was just confusion as to what had happened and now it was...well, she had no idea what she was feeling now.

I realized the mission I have taken upon me and in which I involved you two, will be yours to complete. Because I will soon be dead.?

Vashti looked at her hands fidgeting in her lap. How was he going to die? She had killed The Man, would she be the one to kill him as well? Or were they driving toward more danger.

He looked to her. She looked up at him through her long lashes until she noticed the sincerity in his. Something was different.

?Vashti, I understand you tears now and your despair. Not only the intellectual understanding of the factors that lead you to cry, but the truth behind it. I understand, because now I am afraid, too.? "I don´t belong here. I never did."

Knowing he was afraid didn't help her nerves at all. He had been the one she looked to because she thought he knew what was going on, what to do next. But he was afraid for another reason, he was going to die soon. She didn't know when she or Sharon would die.

"Do you know where we are going? How do you know your death is soon?"

She stopped herself at the two questions. Those were the two that she needed answered first and then she would ask the less important ones. She wanted to prepare herself for what was coming in the near future.

Tag: Lord T, Xany, Fins

 

IC: Sharon Cosner
Desert, Nevada

Sharon was silent. She glanced at Karl through the rearview mirror, but otherwise did not react.

Truth be told, she didn't know how to react to his cryptic and oddly fatalistic pronouncements. She had never known him to be so ... so out of control. It shook her more than she liked. Karl Weber had never been infallible, exactly, but he never ran out of options. He could always fix things, somehow. This was a Karl who was afraid, who saw no other option but his own death, and Sharon was not quite sure she liked the idea.

It was not because she had any personal attachment to Karl, precisely. He had given her life, purpose, and the means with which to live that life and accomplish that purpose; and in return she served him wholeheartedly. No, it was because Karl was the most powerful person she knew and if he had already failed, her own chances of success were slim to none.

Which he undoubtedly also knew, which meant it was landing on her and Vashti because there really was no other option. Fantastic.

(There were plenty more problematic statements buried there in Karl's answer, but Sharon carefully shunted them aside for now. All of Karl Weber's agents eventually came to the unspoken, unacknowledged, unproven and yet still unshakeable conclusion that their employer was not quite human; well, it seemed she now had confirmation. She wanted to ask, but did not. Later. There would be time, later. They had more immediate problems than taxonomy...)

Vashti, obviously bewildered, asked Karl more questions.

"Because he's planning it," Sharon answered, with another glance through the mirror. "But what exactly is your plan, Karl? What are we facing?"

TAG: LordT, swbeauty, Fins

 

Jackson Clay
Cellar

When he woke up he wasn´t surprised his flesh still ached. It hadn´t been the first time they had burned him. Hell, to be precise burning had been the first death he ever experienced. The pain was still making him ache with every step, yet he felt better. Much better than the comfortable shell his body had been before. He felt like he deserved this. Like the pain helped him purify the body of these evil thoughts unworthy of one chosen to serve the will of God.

John Henley. He had seen him in some sort of hospital. The strangest thing he could ever imagine to dream. And this waitress, she was there, too. All the death and killing had distracted him from her too long. Screaming as he felt flesh grow over his body again, like a spore that infected bread, he felt the collapse coming and was surprised how long it needed to finally get him to the ground. Laughing out he tried to stay on his knees. A prayer. Before he collapsed. A prayer.

God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren?t hidden from you.

---

?God knows your sins, they aren´t hidden from him.? The priest said and looked down to Jackson. Who wasn´t called Jackson in this time, but in 76 he was called Brewster. ?Psalms, something in the sixties, is it??

The priest sighed. ?Your mockery can´t give you peace, Brewster. It can give you nothing else, but the fleeting feeling of triumph. A triumph I will have forgotten when I have tea and then you will already be dead. These are your last moments. Do not waste them by being smug.? The elder man sat next to him.
?Do you think I regret? I did already while doing it. But I cannot help it. I could not leave them alone and I could not . . . do you believe in the devil? Or in forgiveness?? Brewster was shaking. He was afraid. The called it the Mercy Seat. The electric chair was relative new, but the rumor it was merciful had already vanished from the halls of the prisons.

?I got one for you, father. Ephisians. You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins.? The priest smiled. Then he got up. ?Where you´re going?? The priest turned around. ?Jackson Clay, you shall not be allowed the forgiveness of the last day, but you shall serve your God. There is someone who would like to meet you.? And the priest went out.

The man who entered instead had an unsettling calmness in his eyes. He slowly sat down next to Jackson and smiled at him. ?Hello, Brewster.? He looked at him and then took out some cigarettes from a box with Asian writing on it. The man was Asian. His shoes and suit was Italian, though.

?I have been watching you.? He said. ?And I see something very, very rare in you, Brewster. The potential for true unlimited forgiveness of your sins.?

?Who the heck are you?? Brewster just spitted out.

?I am part of the heavenly host, so to say. A creature beyond your imagination.? The man said it, as if he was reading a card in the diner.

?An angel?? Brewster asked and somehow he wasn´t sure the man was insane, but considered it for a moment at least.

?Well, this isn´t about me. I will ask you a question now, a single simple question. I want you not to think of the twelve girls you raped and killed or what you did with their bodies afterwards. Not of guilt, pain or anything. Because it won´t matter. I will purify you, if you are chosen. But I want you to answer honestly and directly. I will know any lie. You hear me??

?Wait.?

?Do you wish to serve God??

[image=http://twitchfilm.com/galleries/uploads/TonyLeung1.jpg]

?Yes.?

It just happened to come out of his mouth. The man smiled and lit his cigarette. ?Good. You will see me again after your execution. Just to make things easy, you can call me Tony.? He stood up. ?I actually start to like being called that.?

Brewster still looked at him, when he went out. He didn´t die that day. He never died in all these years afterwards.

But Tony had lied in a way. He had not lost these . . . feelings.

[hr]

The pain was gone, once he opened his eyes. How long had

 

Sarah Brandt
Las Vegas

She had dreamt of these streets and it had been bad dreams. They looked even worst in reality. If she wanted to call this world a reality. Something inside of her still denied it that honor. Then again if the world you perceived was without any alternative in your perception, wasn´t it what you called reality`weren´t even dreams a reality, especially while dreaming?

The dogs. They were stalking them, obviously. She raised the smg and looked through the scope again. They came no closer, perhaps because they knew the gun. That would be rather smart for dogs though, right? Looking around in the dark, rotting skeletons that were the suburbs and housing blocks once, she sighed. Only then she realized Sumiko wasn´t at her side anymore. "Sumiko?" She looked around and saw her in one of the ruins. "Have you found something?" She asked and stepped over to her partner. And there it was, a body without a mouth. "It isn´t a girl." She said cooly.

Tag: Leigh

 

IC: Sumiko Nakamura
Vegas


The walking had been a little harder than Sumiko had thought, but when she spotted shapes of what looked like buildings eventually appearing on the horizon line, she pushed herself harder, her resolve strengthened that their destination was in sight. They found themselves in a suburb. The buildings looked like they had been standing here for centuries, well what was left of them. Concrete, steel, glass, wood, all of it had decayed with the passage of time. Buildings had crumbled, cars long abandoned were now just delicate shells of rust, the metal disintegrating and crumbling away at the smallest knock or touch. The roads were cracked; deep fissures ran through the asphalt, any vegetation that could survive grew unhindered through cracks and crevices. And everything had a film of sand over it, as the desert worked to cover up everything and make it just another dune. The place was empty, not a soul in sight. Sumiko felt an uneasy feeling crawl up her spine as she and Sarah walked the deserted street. They were supposed to find a man, here? There was no one here. A growling sound caught her ears and she warily glanced about. There were dogs in the side streets. Wild. Hungry looking. Menacing. Sarah readied her gun, which seemed to deter the animals but it still didn't make Sumiko feel any less uneasy.

The ground suddenly rumbled and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. Then a noise came from one of the nearby houses, cutting thought the eerie silence and she whirred around. She eyed the building. Was there someone there? Was it the man Sarah said would be here? She knew she shouldn?t wander off but she found herself slowly walking towards the building. she peered through the doorway, cautious at first to make sure the building wouldn?t suddenly drop on her head before stepping inside. The floorboards creaked under her sneakers as she walked; the air was thick with dust. She jumped at what she saw next. There, slumped against a decaying wall, lay a body. A human body. He looked male, his skin a cold blue colour, his eyes open yet lifeless, pitch black. No pupils, no iris, just cold dead eyes. Sumiko tried to suppress a shiver but failed miserably as Sarah joined her at her side.

"It isn´t a girl."

Sarah said coolly. Sumiko took an unsure step towards him and went down on her haunches to get a closer look. He had no mouth, like the girl in her dreams. Like the girl she had been tasked to find?Until now, the mouth-less had only appeared in dreams or hallucinations, so it was unsettling to see this mouth-less man in the flesh.

?Who are you? What did this to you??

She whispered as she stared at him. She obviously wasn?t going to get any answers from the dead man. Even if he was alive he had no mouth to speak through. She sighed softly as she remembered her encounter with the mouth-less girl in her dreams. The emotions she had felt from her in the dreams were so potent and overwhelming. Her dark eyes seemed to show this as she stared

Sad. So sad and alone?

Had he been the same? Consumed by fear, lost in loneliness? Afraid? A cold feeling settled in her stomach as she looked at him. She addressed Sarah, but did not look away from the body. There was pity in her voice, but also a hint of anger

?Like the girl in my dreams?How did they end up like this? What must they have gone through??


TAG: Sirak, Fins

 

Andrea "Andy" Rebecca Baker
Ruins of Corben's Inn


?Why, do you have sinned, Misses??

That confirmed it. The Priest was real. Just like a hive mind was real. Just like the end of the world was real. And even though he tried to be witty, his voice was chilling. Andy clutched the gun. How was it even possible? A man buried beneath all of this rubble was still alive. How?

?I am a priest, but the question is, what does a girl with a gun do looking for a priest??

Andy stuttered for a second.

?Um. . .I?m Andy. I. . .was in a plane crash. . .sometime ago. Out in the desert. I was rescued by an old man. . .I think his name was Liam Abec. . .do you know him? Well, he introduced me to Caleb. A hive mind thing, you know. Or maybe you don?t.?

Andy smirked. Showed some of her perfect teeth. Might as well lay on a little charm if it would help convey her needs.

?Anyway, they told me to kill Karl Weber. You know him too, I presume? Well, they said you would help me. They said that if I killed him. . .?

She didn?t want to continue.

?If I kill him, the man I love would be released from Caleb.?

Andy lowered her gun, but couldn?t bring herself to relax.

?So, is everything I said true, Priest??


TAG: TSG

 

Karl Weber
Desert of Nevada

?I am going to die, because it is indeed part of my plan. And I assume my son will find a way to kill me. I am certain he will. Now that I am vulnerable.? He sighed again. ?You will see son. He is an extraordinary boy.?

He looked out and the sun was almost setting now. Nearby was a house that looked like it was safe enough and not in danger to collapse. He wondered what fine architect had build it so it resisted time, when all other buildings they had encountered were ruins by now.

?My plan. Well, not everything went according to my plan. You two should never have been here, but yet you are. Yes, it is probably time I talk about my plan with the two of you. But we should do so in a shelter. The night will b
e here soon and we can´t lose our advantage of sight. Sharon, why don´t you get us to that old house over there? We can make a fire and I will answer all your questions.?

It was about time, he knew.

[image=http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_447/1256455030976Yxp.jpg]

Tag: Xany, swbeauty

 

Jackson Clay
Corben´s Inn or what remains of it


The girl started to talk. Jackson looked at him and even his stony features could probably not perfectly hide his surpise about the words she spitted out.

"I got no idea what you are talking about." He said truthfully and slowly pushed the knive into his belt behind his back. She had most likely not seen it. Coughing and hiding his still burned hand in his pocket he climbed out of the cellar.

"Could it be you are kind of a crazy person?" He asked directly into the face of her. For a moment he wondered if she could be a danger. Being killed again would certainly make him regenerate even longer, but except time hse posed no threat. Did something inside of him wanted to kill her? To feel her soft skin under his storng fingers? The thought frightened him and his hand look for his rosary in his pocket. But he didn´t find it, obviously. It had burned with his bible and most other things. The only thing he still had was a knife. Ignoring the girl for a moment he stepped to what had once been the street leading to Corben´s Inn. Looking east first and then west and to the north he wondered which direction the waitress and her companions had taken?

"Damned." He spitted into the sand, surprised his body still held enough fluid for that. God´s miracles knew no bounds, certainly. He was as new now. After being shot and then burned alive. He looked back to the girl and at her gun. Everybody was hunting someone these days. But while he did Gods work for the sake of humanity nad his Lord, she only acted out of selfish reasons. He somehow doubted she would succeed. In these days faith was a power above anything. "You don´t know by accident the number of the taxi service around here, do you?"

Tag: Spy

 

Andrea "Andy" Rebecca Baker
Remains of Corben's Inn


"I got no idea what you are talking about."

Frustrated beyond belief, Andy watched as the man came from the shadows. Wrinkled, old. Dirty. She was frightened of him. And that usually didn?t happen with a Priest. Also, Andy noticed one of his hands were in his pocket. He most likely had a weapon. Everyone in this old world needed a weapon to survive. She had her gun, which she now held as her most treasured weapon. She would need it. When she murdered Karl Weber. Whether this man helped her or not.

"Could it be you are kind of a crazy person?"

?Wha-Wha-Wha. . .? Andy was at a lack of words as the man passed by her and made his way to the outside. How dare he call her crazy! Crazy!

"Damned." "You don´t know by accident the number of the taxi service around here, do you?"

Andy didn?t know whether to take him seriously or not. This man was the crazy one. Not her. How could he accuse her of being crazy.

?Listen, sir. I?m trying not to push too hard. But I must say, you have to have some idea of what I am talking about. They sent me to find you specifically, and even led me to this place. They said you?d help me.? She came to stand in front of him.


TAG: TSG (Fin)

 

IC: Sharon Cosner
Desert, Nevada

Sharon passed a hand over her face. Karl's son? She hadn't known Karl had any family at all, let alone a son.

Then again, after everything that had happened she found she could not muster any surprise that Karl had a son, and that his son wanted to kill him. Hell, they had travelled several decades into the future. Anything was possible.

She pulled up beside the dilapidated house. Its roof was sagging, but it would serve - she hoped. It wasn't like they had a choice.

TAG: LordT, swbeauty, Fins

 

Jackson Clay
The Corben´s Inn

He went to his knees. traces which were only a few hours old. A car and it was a small car.

His mind gave a minimum of attention to what the girl had said. Hive minds, Germans. All incarnations of the Devil, he was sure. Of the one and only devil that was the burden of all men. And souls he devoured and hungered for the very essence of good given to mankind by the Father and his Son.

"They went that way." Jackson said to himself. He had no proof, but he had faith that god had led him the way.

We walk by faith, not by sight.

He turned around to the girl and looked down at her gun. "Whoever it is who told you I knew any about this, he had insight beyond mine or he had a strange sense of humor. I never heard of any of those things you mentioned. But be assured you will fail in your quest, for you do not act for God but only for yourself and this is not a world where greed and selfishness will be rewarded. I have my own hunt to begin now and I hunt nobody less then the adversary himself. The man you might hunt might be one of his many names. But whoever was here he took this route. And I will follow it now. I thank you for letting me out." With a nod he turned and began to walk down the long lonely highway. He knew that this world was a barren and empty place. He had heard while he was dead. The future. Hadn´t Mark 13 announced this would happen?

If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ?Look, here is the Messiah!? or, ?Look, there he is!? do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

What the girl did was up to her. He wasn´t here to help anybody. He was here to kill what could no be killed. As he walked on he began to speak out loud, praising the Lord and closing his eyes.

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him."

He smiled and then finally kept on walking. Turning a last time towards the girl he extended his hand. "The only answer and redmeption ofr you or the man you love lies in God now, my daughter. Do not damn yourself by denying him your service."

With that he turned and began to walk again. He had to catch up with them. Jackson Clay could not fail again.

Tag: Spy

 

ooc: Sorry for being pushy here, swbeauty, but I think nothing "spectecular" to be written with settling for the night, so I wanted to get to the dialogue people are waiting for.

Karl Weber
Abandoned House


He picked up wood and made a fireplace. When he tried to remember where he had learned to do one, he could not remember. He could not remember! Shaking his head, Karl felt headache. This was not the Change affecting him. This was someone stripping him of his powers. Caleb? No, his son had not that kind of understanding. Looking around in the old ruin of a house he wondered how many more years it would take to get rid of all signs of humanity. The thought made him sad. All that they had been gone.

The question who did this to him came up anew.

Stop kidding yourself, you know who it is.

The list of suspects was down to one name. Well, if you were a jew you didn´t evne have that one. Karl smiled about this and was satisfied that despite the loss of the memory when he learned it, he still remembered how to make a fire. He made sure Vashti had a place close to it, as hse seemed to be the most fragile of the three. Then he sat down and took a bar of twix from the bag with rations. He gave it to sharon and allowed her to pick whatever she wanted to.

"So, I said I´d answer your questions, and I will. Go ahead."

He almost laughed out loud how easy that came over his lips. Outside the three he had never spoken of the things he was about to reveal. "Ask and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."


Tag: Xany, swbeauty

 

Andrea ?Andy? Rebecca Baker
Ruins of Corben?s Inn, Desert, The Future


"Whoever it is who told you I knew any about this, he had insight beyond mine or he had a strange sense of humor. I never heard of any of those things you mentioned. But be assured you will fail in your quest, for you do not act for God but only for yourself and this is not a world where greed and selfishness will be rewarded. I have my own hunt to begin now and I hunt nobody less then the adversary himself. The man you might hunt might be one of his many names. But whoever was here he took this route. And I will follow it now. I thank you for letting me out."

?But. . .? Andy watched the Priest begin to make his away along the horizon. She stared with a vacant look in her eyes. She couldn?t let him leave so easily. He couldn?t leave her alone her, left to die in this desert. She had not survived a plane crash and a gunshot wound to die from starvation.

The Priest turned around one last time.

"The only answer and redmeption ofr you or the man you love lies in God now, my daughter. Do not damn yourself by denying him your service."

?Please don?t. . .? But she knew it was futile. If she let the man leave, she would die. And that couldn?t happen. She could just pray (yes, she had said pray. The second time since the crash. Maybe something was leading her back to God.) that this Priest was heading towards the same man she was heading towards.

[image=http://www.wallpaper-for-desktop.net/walls/23/hd_wall_379.jpg]

She glanced back at the burned remains of this Inn. At one time, people had been in there. The famous John Henley had been there. People had drank coffee, enjoyed a nice stay before they moved on. They had been at peace with their lives. Andy remembered the city where she had awoken in. All of this was a sign of deterioration of society. The Change hadn?t been stopped. Everyone had died. And the Priest was right. If God had caused this Change in order to teach Man a lesson (and Andy put this theory at the top of her list), then she would have to pray to him. Maybe she would pray for selfish reasons, but Man was selfish. Sinful. She had been at the peak of sin on that plane ride back to San Francisco. Andy whispered a prayer for all of the people who had perished, including those she had discovered inside the Inn. She had ended it with a final whisper for Vincent.

Then she turned away and headed off into the setting sun.

Following a Priest.

Following God.

Following her destiny.


TAG: TSG, Fin

 

OOC: So sorry about taking so long to respond. We have been having issues with power outages.


IC: Vashti Schick[/i]
Desert in Nevada

Vashti knew that it was when you went into the strange abandoned house that the real trouble starts. It was here that, in the movies, the main characters were killed or terrorized by the killer. Then again, she also knew she had no choice but to enter it. Sharon parked the car and the other two passengers exited. She would follow.

Karl's answers to the women's questions had done nothing but bring more questions to mind. It was these questions that filled Vashti's mind as she walked into the house. Who was Karl's son? Was Karl's son here? That would make sense. She stopped in the doorway waiting to here a strange voice or footsteps that didn't belong. Maybe Karl had known this house was here and had told his son to come. But no other voices or steps were heard. Vashti's nerves were momentarily settled until she remembered who she was here with, in this deserted and rundown house.

Karl set about building a fire. It would have been polite if Vashti had helped in some way to make the trio comfortable but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could only watch, watch Karl's every move and pray that she made it through the night. That they all would make it through even with Karl's prediction of his death.

The crackling of the fire soon filled the small room and the three gathered there. Karl showed Vashti to a spot close to the hearth. She hadn't realized that she was cold until the warmth began to spread through her small frame. The warmth brought back memories of her childhood.


Young Vashti sat in her mother's lap, listening to the fire blaze and the rocking chair creak. The woman's arms wrapped around her little girl with such love. Her father sat across the room on their couch, his old worn out Bible cradled in his lap. Reading the words aloud, his deep and commanding voice drowned out the other noises.

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

His voice stopped and he cleared his throat. "See Vashti, just like your mother and I will never leave you, God will always be with you to protect and keep you."


Vashti knew it was a strange memory to remember at this moment but it brought her a small amount of comfort.

"So, I said I´d answer your questions, and I will. Go ahead.""Ask and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

She had meant to let Sharon speak, considering she would probably ask the questions that would bring them the most informative answers but the girl's mouth betrayed her.

"Who are you? Who is your son? How will die? When?"

Looking at Sharon and then to Karl, she felt silly for just blurting it all out in a rush but she would have asked them at some point. Better now then never.

Tag: Lord T, Xany

 

Karl Weber
House in Nevada

She had the right questions. but did he have the right answers? He looked at Sharon and wondered if she would hat him for what was now to come. Maybe. the truth hurt. It always had. that was why he had avoided him lately. Another sign of becoming human, he assumed.

"I´ll begin with who I am, and then go into these other questions, yes? I think my nature is most obviously not human and it is probably what will be the most disturbing about me."

?Considering your Judeo-Christian background, I think the name most common used for something like me is an angel. A fallen angel, perhaps? A demon? Only words. I am neither good nor evil, quite the contrary, I was the one having the idea giving you the idea of duality, which is really a simplification at best and actually quite modern. I insist it helped you developing civilization, still, although one of my brothers would actually not agree. But I am getting to far ahead, I believe.?
?I was part of him, when matter and light were created. And I was present when he did his masterpiece and invented time, which allowed progress, which ended the monotony of the eternal darkness. I was there when the cells and atoms were created and the universe ordered to serve their system. We were a part of it, it is hard to describe, as you cannot understand how it felt to be conscious before the idea of individuality and separation of life into units was even perceived. Eventually we came to this point, though.?

He shook his head. Any explanation would always feel incomplete.

?I am not a human. I was once a part of the force of creation itself. I was an aspect of The Demiurge. The Creator. God. Call it whatever you want. The Jews were actually right about that one, he is hard to name. And now I am not anymore. I haven´t been part of him for 25.000 years. Me and two similar entities like me decided a long time ago to surrender to the limits and potential of human existence. We gave ourselves physical bodies to experience the things we could not. Myth usually says we have fallen, but in truth we departed and we did peacefully. It didn´t stay peaceful, but that was probably part of our partial human nature we accepted. Humans and war come together. No other creature can organize the death of others except you. We came here, when humanity was only beginning to develop and since then I always lived with you here, on earth. We have been with you, giving you many gifts. We did great things for you and we made terrible mistakes. But we always left you room for growth. Any attempt to assume direct control of you became a terrible disaster, so we decided at some point, you should be free of guidance. Of any kind. Just as the creator decided you should. And there is no alien life. Sorry to say that. There wasn´t any at least when I could still perceive such things. Humanity is unique in it´s abilities. A conscience. Will. Decisions. A growing understanding of the universe. Many of your conceptions are flawed, but it is only a matter of time until these flaws would have vanished. Sooner or later, I realized that a long time ago, you would be like us, if not even more than us. You would be able to see creation as the plan it is and use the space it leaves for development into whatever you like. That was the Creator´s plan, I believed. I might have been wrong about that one, though. I most likely was. Hard to give up the conceptions you carry around for 25 millenia.?

He allowed it to sink in for a minute, but cut hsort any questions iwht a raise of his hand. He wasn´t ready to answer anything yet. It was hard enough for him to reveal himself. For the first time in his existence he felt some sort of shame for what he had done.

?The insane man you met at the Corben´s Vashti? He was one of us three. another Angel, if you will. One who gave humanity the idea of evil, probably. He is selfish, but also the least powerful and most hateful of us. I had him under my leash for centuries, but he betrayed me and I think he became an advocate of destruct