001-003 » a chilling mathias welcome

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: The east end of Mathias, along the waterfront.
WHEN: Days 001-003
WHAT: The newest residents of Mathias Township are welcomed with a storm.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: A small love letter from your mod. This spot can be used for plotting.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Mara"

DAY 001
THE ARRIVAL BEGINS

Is it the whooshing crash of waves on dark jagged rocks that wakes you? Perhaps. It might also be the near-continuous rumble of thunder growing closer every second, the vibrations almost seeming to come from the wet sand beneath your hands. Or maybe it’s the shivering of your own body as water recedes from the pebble-covered shore, the cold sinking into your very bones as a chilled wind picks up. It could be any of these things that rouse you from a deep slumber that leaves you feeling groggy and out of sorts--

But it’s the fear that gets you moving. A deep, intense terror grips your chest and squeezes the breath right out of you, and you know without a shred of doubt that you have mere minutes before whatever it is you’re so afraid of arrives on that stretch of rocky beach to greet you. Even if you want to stay rooted to that spot and faced it head-on, your body betrays you, a survival instinct etched into your genetic code forcing you to seek shelter.

Welcome to Mathias. You should probably run now.



THE STORM ARRIVES

When the storm crashes into the small township, it's hard to remember what life was like before it. The ocean becomes a raging thing, waves rising and falling as if trying to attack whatever they can reach along the coast. Any foolish enough to venture along the beach have no hope of surviving the encounter; their bodies will be swept out with the current, gone in the blink of an eye.

The wind is a howling beast, screaming between buildings and driving spikes of cold into any crevice it can reach. The rain is just shy of freezing, every drop like a shard of icicle trying to itself into your skin. It will bite at your nerves and leave you shaking if you stay out in it too long, so you had best get inside if you haven't already. You certainly don't want to attract the attention of the lightning that arcs in the sky like a vengeful god ready to unleash its wrath.

The Grey Gull restaurant sits at the edge of the town along the beach, and just a few yards away are two parallel rows of houses lining what might be a picturesque street if the world weren't beginning to resemble an apocalyptic landscape.

Move quickly, and choose wisely.

DAY 002
THE STORM RAGES ON

The storm has somehow become even more violent overnight. The world outside your shelter might be trapped in an endless night, for all you can see through the thick covering of storm clouds. Lightning continues to streak across the sky, thunder following almost immediately in its wake, threatening just how near those spikes of electricity truly are. You can see them touch the shore at times, even the street between the homes, but never the buildings themselves. A blessing, perhaps, or an oddity to take note of?

Some may be foolish enough to try venturing outside. They are welcome to, of course, that is their right, but the rain is still like ice and that lightning is so very near. You may try heading further into town, and you can certainly see buildings beyond this row of houses, but should you walk toward them...

Well. It is far from a pleasant experience. Exhaustion sinks into your bones so quickly that it leaves you reeling, and every second you push through it makes you physically ill with a feeling that you might collapse at any moment. The second you turn away from that path, however, you feel infinitely, and even more so each step back the way you came.

Something wants you to stay where you are. Perhaps you should.

DAY 003
THE CALM DESCENDS

The third day begins much as the second, with waves crashing upon the shore and thunder booming with such force that the ground seems to shake. It feels very much like the world might end right there, torn apart by a force of nature unlike any seen before. Any who venture outside at this time are almost immediately afflicted with a terror so intense that they can make it no more than a few yards or the short distance to cross a street before they become incapacitated by the fear that sets their heart beating dangerously fast. The term scared to death may very well become literal this day.

And then, suddenly it stops. The rain, thunder, lighting— all if it just stops and the silence that fills the night is deafening. There are no sounds of life within the town, no car motors or dogs barking or the voices of anyone beside those new arrivals in the immediate vicinity. In fact, none of those things even exist in Mathias. There are no cars, no animals or insects, no other people. There is just... emptiness and silence.

It may be best to wait until daylight to move further inland.



THE NIGHT DARKENS

For those who are foolish enough to leave the relative safety of the cluster of houses near the Grey Gull, they will find their journey quite chilling, in a very literal sense. There is another row of houses beyond where they had been, branching off on either side into a neighborhood. There are no lights on in any of these homes, though there are occasional streetlights illuminating their way. But as they continue further, reaching a third block of houses, those lights begin to dim, until they have gone out completely, and what had previously been a simple fall chill becomes biting cold as the temperature sharply drops.

In all of this, there is silence. No sounds travel through that night air to comfort them, and even looking up to the sky stretched out above them offers little reassurance. That sky is black, without a single star and not even the faintest outline of the moon to guide them. All that reaches them here is the barest hint of light traveling from the way they've come. The longer they linger outside in this place, the colder it will become, and any light they carry with them will slowly begin to dim as well.

Truly, they should have waited until the sun rose once more.

---

LOCATIONS

THE GREY GULL is what one might expect of the most frequented restaurant in a small coastal town. The wrap-around porch is lined with white chairs characterized by peeling paint. Exposed wooden walls and worn seating speak to its many years of existence, and the mishmash of décor confirms that the owner never much cared for how the place looked. What mattered here was the food, and faded chalk menus advertise soup specials and a daily pie. The bar appears to have once been well-stocked, but all the bottles remaining are unfortunately empty. There is, however, quite a bit of food in the kitchen that is somehow as fresh as if it were purchased that day.

The second floor of the restaurant is a sparsely furnished apartment. There are no personal items to be found; perhaps it was waiting to be rented out to someone.

THE HOUSES are well-kept, middle-class homes, four lining either side of the street. Their doors are unlocked, windows unshuttered, and everything within feels like the owners might return at any second. There is running water and electricity, fresh food in the fridge, photographs on the wall... but also dust everywhere. If you didn't know better, you'd say the place had been abandoned for years, and yet nothing has aged. It is both strange and unsettling, and yet no matter how hard you search, no answers may be found within these homes.

What can be found within them, however, is a phone. One single black phone within a main room of the house, and beside it, a list of handwritten numbers and names that have been crossed out.

1302 8-5491 Thomasen
1304 8-9256 Lyrie
1306 8-4712 Anders
1308 8-3201 Mulcalley

1301 8-0415 Sanderson
1303 8-6762 Reese
1305 8-9132 Evers
1307 8-9025 Hirano

Should your character choose to shelter in one of the houses, you are welcome to choose the features of that particular unit. Please reply to the comment thread below with the details you decide upon, specifying the house number in the subject line.

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Comments

[hellblaze]

She doesn't look like the waves spat her out on the beach then pounded her with waves till she woke up. That's better in his book!

"That makes two of us." He sighs and walks over to the counter. He stops a few steps short before running his hand through his hair again. At this rate it's annoyed nervous tick. "Seems like the beach is a popular place. Without any of the fun attire you normally find on it."

[revvedup]

Interesting, because that is exactly how she also woke up. Apparently she's just been awake a bit longer than he has.

"Or the weather you hear so much about," she agrees before taking a sip from her coffee, grimacing a little as it refuses to go down and settle easily. "And I hear the ocean doesn't usually have to abduct you to get you to visit it."

[hellblaze]

Well, at least the ocean beat up two people then. They've got that to bond over.

"Ah, could go for some sun right now. Without the humidity." John sighs wistfully. Ah, that would be nice. "Suppose it depends on the ocean. This one seems a bit rude."

[revvedup]

From the sound of things, the lot of them have been waking up in that condition. At least Daisy had managed to get them out of the rain. Max has never really been one for the beach anyway and so far, this place isn't doing itself any favors.

"I'd settle for knowing who the hell brought us wherever we are," she responds, setting her mug back down. "Not to mention what they might have done to us." She's not about to elaborate on that to a total stranger, but it's vague enough for her to make the complaint without too much fear.

[hellblaze]

"Presuming it's a who." John sighs and leans against the counter, stretching one arm out as he gives it a good shake. Water hits the floor and counter, going in almost every direction. Not that he really cares though. "Not sure they've done anything... yet. Other than make us soaking wet and bloody irritable."

[revvedup]

She's not so sure about that, but she's not sure she wants to reveal that to him yet. Telling Daisy had been one thing; the woman had helped her get to shelter without collapsing and that had been enough for her to trust, at least a little. They may be in the same situation, but Ma isn't sure she can grant this man the same courtesy yet.

"There's coffee, at least, as far as the irritability and cold goes," she says, holding her mug up with a wan smile. Although it certainly doesn't seem to be doing her any good, her face pale and drawn and her eyes tired.

[hellblaze]

"I could go for gin, preferably whiskey." John said, turning to look at the wall of bottles behind them with a raised eyebrow. He slipped over the counter and went about looking at each bottle. All nice and colored on display. "Maybe a good fire and a good shag. Fairly sure one of those four won't be happening."

Namely the last one.

[revvedup]

Definitely not with her, though Max does snort with mild, halfhearted laughter before she takes another long sip from her coffee. It's one of the few times in her life where she's felt like she genuinely needs the caffeine, if only to help beat the headache into submission. Sleep would probably help more with that, but she doesn't even like doing that in the best of situations.

"Good luck with any of the above. Maybe you can get a fire started."

[hellblaze]

At least he can get a laugh. He picks a bottle off the shelf, looks it over, then realizes its empty. He sets it back on the shelf. Another one, same result.

"Lighter's flooded." He gestured to himself at that. "Bit of a smoker, me. Cigarettes are probably soaked too."

John reached into his trenchcoat. He pulled out another string of seaweed and gave an annoyed sigh. Then, he flicked it across the room. Or tried... it really just landed on the counter.

"Oh, come on."

[revvedup]

Her eyebrow raises at the seaweed he's just pulled out of his coat - how long was he out there, anyway? - then stands to make her way over to check out the supplies with him. He's checking the shelves, maybe there are matches or something in the drawer.

"This place was a restaurant, wasn't it?" Maybe still is, though it looks long abandoned except for the food in the kitchen. And the coffee. There's gotta be something we can start a fire with around here somewhere."

[hellblaze]

John had no idea, really. He just knew he woke up with the ocean beating him down like the rest of everything in existence did. He was wondering how deep in the ocean he had been for the bloody seaweed to show up in his pockets.

"Looks like it." He tried yet another bottle. "Might be some sort of matches or lighter in the kitchen. Doubt they'd keep that in the bar. With the ah - flammable content that's all bloody gone."

not me forgetting the opening quotation marks 🤦

[revvedup]

"Let's take a look." She should probably eat something in addition to the coffee, too, if only to avoid passing out later on. "Maybe there'll be cooking wine, too."

[hellblaze]

A sigh escaped him as he set a bottle down. Then, he turned to follow after Max. "I'd prefer whiskey in all forms."

Even the cooking form.