{Hector}

_Salem_Messenger

Hector pulled over his motorcycle. Through his goggles, he watched Marshall step out of his vehicle, cursing and shouting him. A smile formed and chuckle was heard as Hector unclipped the straps on his helmet. "Is that, anyway to talk to a drinking buddy, Marshall?" Hector remarked as he removed his helmet, let it hang on one of the handles. He then slid up the goggles to reveal who he actually was. "Course, it has been a couple of months, but still " He mentioned as he got his motorcycle and set foot on the road.

" I really hope, you haven't forgotten your old pal, Hector." Hector said as he mentioned his name to Marshall. " We have much to talk about. Some good things and Some bad things, unfortunately." He mentioned to his old pal from red stone. Hector didn't want to play the messenger of bad news especially to a friend, but he figured it would be better from friend than a stranger. Hector turned away for a moment and looked around the area. From what he could tell, there was a bar nearby, the perfect place to hear some awful news.

With his left hand, Hector gestured over to the bar nearby. " Let's head over there for a drink, you need to be drunk for this. Don't worry, about the bill its on me this time. " Hector said as he strolled over to yonder bar.

{ Rick}

_NYC_ Grasping for Straws_

Rick's face was pressed down on a book. 45 minutes has passed and the only thing Rick realized, was that he was getting nowhere. " Argghh!" He groaned as he picked up the notebook and tossed it in the air. The notebook fell with a loud thud that echoed in the room. Rick stood up from his chair and dragged his fingers on the desk. He felt like ripping apart everything that wasn't bolted together like the walls. " It hasn't been an hour, and yet I feel like screaming." He said as he walked over to the notebook. " There is a solution, but I don't have a clear mind for it. I've let my emotions get the best of me. " He said as he reasoned with himself as he picked up the notebook and rested it on the desk.

" I need some air." He thought as he grabbed his hat, but before he made his way for the door, his ipod made a noise. Apparently Rick has set up his ipod to intercept any emails Claire receive. He takes a grander, names, like Bobby, Sandra, Slender Man, Mister Skinny, were highlighted, as well as locations, like Lafayette Av, Bedford and Fulton. " Mister Skinny, Slender Man, what the fuck is this, Claire?" He said, out loud. He look over to the note book and then back at the I pod email.

" I might as well as stake this Bobby Peterson, to see who comes for him. " Rick said as he grabbed his coat. He reached a wall with the note book, and this email could possibly give him some sort of lead. He felt like he was grasping for straws, however with no clear way of decoding the notebook, this was better than nothing, Rick figured as he went out the door.

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

William Trevors, New York's Finest ...?
||[ Lower Manhattan, New York City ]||

"Morning, Detective," the voice of a woman called out from behind a counter as William walked through the blue colored double doors of the First Precinct Police Station. "Morning, Nance," he said hastily while taking off his gloves and stuffed them into his pockets. "Am I late?" he asked without bothering to look at the large clock that was already hung above her on the wall. "Of course not," the woman took off her glasses and smiled a little before making a tired yawn. Will sighed a little out of relief. "But Rook and Cocker aren't either," she said at the end of her yawn. The detective blinked a few times as if he didn't hear what she had just said. Nance was a woman of average height and average looks but her brutal honesty was what made her unique.

The policewoman put her glasses back on and returned her attention to a computer behind the counter, typing in something of importance. Suddenly, Will snapped out of his thoughts and made a run for the nearest stairs in hopes of making up for lost time. Nance made a chuckle and continued to work. He could've used the elevator.

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William exhaled a deep breath of air. He was standing in front of the door that led to the Criminal Investigation Department and most importantly, his office and even more importantly, the office of his two tutoring Detectives. Will closed his eyes, turned the doorknob and went in without hesitation. He paused when he thought he had made it through the doorway and opened his eyes, expecting the Detectives' absences. What he didn't expect however, was the inhuman accuracy Andrew Cocker had with throwing donuts.

"Oh for f-," he exclaimed when the semi-glazed made a lethal impact against his forehead and caused him to stumble a bit from the surprise attack. He rubbed his forehead with a hand and had a stunned yet angry look on his face. "And the Knicks win!" Andrew Cocker stood up with arms raised and cheered from behind his desk. He was a man who stood a little shorter than William himself, had a wiry build, tanned skin, dirty brown hair which looked slight unkempt and a thin mustache. "I've seen better at the shooting range," the voice spoke with a snide tone and interrupted Andrew's celebrations. Will simply picked up the donut and dusted it clean before taking a bite. "Hey, what are y- THAT'S NOT YOURS!" for a moment, both of them stared at each other, one out of anger and the other out of coldness. He took another bite.

"GODDAMIT!"

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The day went on uneventfully. Paperwork was done, coffee was drank and a few books were read. At half past eleven, Will simply sat at his little desk in one of the corners and looked through the recent crimes that had been reported around the area. With nothing new to see however, he decided to visit one of the many blogs that told stories about the Slenderman. He came upon no updates from most of the blogs he knew but was hopeful when he opened a blog called The Mystic. So, Zeke was here a few days ago..., he felt slightly disappointed that he had missed his chance of meeting the Mystic himself and was interested in this Wren person, whoever he was.

Suddenly, he sat up with an idea in his head. Meeting Runners! Of course, he should have thought of it a long time ago and maybe if he did, he wouldn't had been attacked so easily this morning. But no, he didn't know many reliable Runners personally nor whether they were real. He sighed and laid himself on the table out of boredom. A small square folded piece of paper soar through the air and landed on his head without any apparent danger. Will looked up and saw a grinning Andrew Cocker. He sighed and laid back down again.

A clock that hung above the door aligned its hands to twelve and a voice spoke up among them. "Wanna go for lunch, guys?" Andrew Rook asked while arranging some papers into a pile and put them aside. He was the complete opposite of Cocker despite having the same first name and almost same height but taller, with a slightly lighter skin color, gelled back hair completely black in color, no thin mustache and a slightly thinner body. Rook's face however was a lot more appreciated than Cocker's and he was the oldest and most experienced in his work among them. Will stood up and gave a nod. Cocker simply stretched himself and stopped throwing the projectiles, a sign of agreement. Putting on their jackets, they filed out of their office.

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Cocker looked at his watch eagerly and very hungrily, it had already been an hour since they left the Precinct for lunch and he was still foodless in the stomach. "Rook, why the hell are we still hungry?" The three detectives were in a cab and Rook sat in front while Cocker and Will were sharing the back seat, much to their displeasure. "Can't you be a little more patient? We're almost there," he said with a smile. "Pateint? I'll give you you damn patience, we've been in this damned taxi for a whole damned hour!" Will could see that the driver looked worried and couldn't decide whether it was about an angry Cocker or the heavy traffic. Rook simply smiled at his reaction. "Rook," the detective sounded more serious this time. "WHERE THE HELL'S MY FOOD." The taxi suddenly stopped, sending the detectives almost flying off their seats except for Rook. "We're here" Rook said before getting out and so did the two in the back.

Cocker looked around and realized where they were.

"Why the hell are we in Broadway?!" Rook simply pointed a finger to a small building in front of them colored in red and green, a pizzeria. "It looks nice," Will commented. "Nice? NICE?! WE WAITED AN HOUR IN TRAFFIC FOR PIZZA!" Rook smiled and walked towards the doors with Will. "I'm paying by the way," Cocker's eyes widened at what he heard and walked in with them without a word of protest. The group were greeted by the smell of garlic as they entered and were quickly greeted by one of the cashiers who noticed them enter. "Out of my way," Cocker immediately went to the counter, intending to order the largest pizza he could find. Will found a table close to the counter to sit down with Rook and talked about whatever that came into their minds.

In a few minutes, Cocker came back and sat down with them. Instead of joining the conversation however, he simply chewed on a plastic straw he had gotten from the counter. Intelligent conversations didn't suit him. While talking about a recent robbery being handled by the Fifth Precinct, a young girl came in asked the cashier about a Bobby Peterson. She seemed nervous and overall suspicious in Will's perspective. Cocker and Rook however, didn't really notice his change of attention until the conversation stopped. "Hey Will, someone you know?" Rook asked curiously and Cocker just looked while chewing his straw fiercely. Will realized his staring and looked back at his tutors, giving a shake of the head before replying, "No, I don't think so."

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

Devon stopped in front of the library doors and reached into his pocket for his keys. 'It'd be a shame to find out that I didn't have my keys after such a long walk.' he chuckled to himself. Luckily for him, he head remembered his keys. He put the key in the keyhole, unlocked the door, and walked in. He threw his keys and jacket on the desk and wandered over to the Mythology section.

'Let's see...' he thought to himself. 'What haven't I read already.' Pretty tough question for someone who's hung around the library for seven years.

Devon turned around and noticed a light on in one of the back rooms. He sighed. 'Eva always forgets to turn that light off.' He walked over to the room and noticed a thick book, laying open on a table. He glanced at one of the pages and read "Der GroBmann" on it. 'I'd... Better take this.'

_________________
Soulchild: u thnk evry thng stupid.
DaCrum: Warbear, why did you suddenly become pretty cool? Stop it.

~~~{Quin, I'm On A Boat, too}~~~

"Fufufufufufu~"

The sounds of the rocking ship and the various loose cargo couldn't drown out the odd, high voice and its peculiar laugh. The rats began swarming closer to Michael and his heat. Their instincts told them that it was easily the safer location than out amidst the blanket of darkness that surrounded them all. But one lone rat took its time, apparently, and was last to scamper from the dark to cower in the horde that was all around Michael.

Then the sharp high of the voice came back. "Poor child... So lost and alone... Nothing but the vile filth to keep you company." For the briefest instant, the shadows danced as the lighting shifted above, casting out a bright shine upon two circular, glass surfaces in the distance.

"And I bet you're hungry, too..." As the light danced over the same location, nothing was there. "Here!" A quick movement of cloth was barely audible. Then the light from the fire gave sight to something flying through the air. A robust ballon was sailing for the area immediately around Michael. The size as it flew would show it was filled until ready to burst on its own. The rough impact of the floor could cause the fluid contents to splatter. If not, there was a scent to the ballon that the rats began to notice. They would want the contents and the thin material holding it would pop easily. And a lot of it was likely to splatter over the boy's clothes and skin.

_________________

-County Road Massachusetts, Local Bar “Answers”-

Marshal glared at the man on the motorcycle as he pulled off to the side of the road. He was a tall son of a bitch, standing over six feet, wearing a gray jumpsuit the name ‘Hector’ patched on to the front. Marshal knew a Hector once, but that was four months and three thousand miles away. Still, there was an eerie sense of familiarity surrounding this guy. Then he took off his helmet. “Wait, wait, wait. Hector!?” Marshal stared at his old friend in disbelief. It quickly turned to one of suspicion. “What the hell are you doing here? Shit, how did you even know where to find me?” Marshal was flooded with questions, none of which he had the answers to. “You know what, you’re right. Screw the questions for now.” Marshal cracked a smile. “We can talk over drinks. Whatever you have to say will go down easier over beer.” Marshal doubted that Hector has anything to say worth being drunk over, but he couldn’t pass up a chance for free beer.

About ten minutes later and a mile down the road Marshal pulled up to the local bar and strolled on inside. Hector wouldn’t be far behind. It was strangely empty at this time of day but there were still a few characters lounging about and watching some football game. Marshal ordered himself a drink from the fat bartender and took a seat at a table. “So Hector, start talking. First tell me what you’ve been up to since I left Redstone. Then I wanna know what in the nine circles of hell are you doing all the way out here looking for me. What could possibly be so important that you came all this way, just to hunt me down?” Marshal seemed happy to see his old buddy from back in Pariso but that look of suspicion started to creep back onto his face. "I thought I put all that crazy bull from Redstone behind me. Mafia, mad scientists, killer robots, consumed freaks... I caused some trouble down there but I didn't think anything would come back to bite me in the ass. Something big must be going down for Hector to have come all this way."

Luna Divine says:
You received what?
Gabriel grinned widely, he'd kill to see Natasha's face right now, but alas such things were not meant to be. The last time he had tried running the his webcam, the damn thing froze to a crawl; it amazed him how a motel these days could have wireless this crappy, but he wouldn't complain. He had tv, a working AC, a comfy bed next to a conveniently placed outlet, a decent price and best of all a clean bathroom; which was a definite step up from his last accommodations when he stayed in Spain a few weeks back. Though things were a bit cramped with his new guest.

Lapis 7 says:
Yeah, an invite from Thage for a meeting at her place. Seems something big's going down and they want me in on it. So I was wondering if you could get things ready.
LD:...
L7:What?
LD:Are you sure you want to go?
L7: Of course I'm sure, hence why I'm asking you to get things ready.
LD: I'm just saying, it's been tough flying below radar as it is. Not to say that running to the rescue whenever you hear someone being stalked by him isn't admirable, but you know how risky this already is.
L7: Tashy you're over reacting this won't be anymore dangerous than my usual schtick. So relax.
LD: Are you listening to yourself?! You're going to what may be the largest runner gathering since the solstice event. I just have this feeling somethings going to happen and your going to do something stupid and reckless as usual.
L7: Me?! Reckless?! Never.
LD: Bull. We both know you're just lucky. I swear have the crap you do you pull out of your ass on the spot!
L7:I don't pull stuff out of my bum. I take carefully selected tactical decisions in order to develop highly dynamic and fluid procedures to neutralize problematic incidents while adapting to unexpected factors.
LD:(-_-) Look. We don't need any proxies catching wind of you or where your going. I mean, he already turns up practically wherever you go!
L7:In case you haven't noticed this is a runner's gathering. As in other people who are also being followed by Slendy. I don't think I'll noticeably increase the chances of him popping up by going. Besides whether I go or not, we both now there's already an incredibly high chance of turning up; might as well go and try to lend a hand.
LD: *sigh* Just promise me you won't do anything stupider than usual, alright? I don't want to hear from the rest of the gang that you got... you know
L7: No worries mom. I promise not to do anything extra special retarded this time...if I can help it
LD:

Gabriel pushed the laptop of his lap for a bit and sat on his bed, turning so that the AC could blow right on his face. He liked Natasha, but she could be such worry wart at times. Or was he really that reckless? He couldn't be sure. Brave or stupid, fearless or retarded; it made little difference to him once it came down to it. He's life would be in no more danger than it already was, or so he thought.

His attention turned to his laptop again, upon hearing a familiar chime. It would seem that Natasha still had a few things to add.
LD: So, what are you going to do about them?

Gabriel turned towards the bathroom door and sighed as a short wave of melancholy passed over him for a fleeting moment; he tried to find the best way to word his response.
L7: You mean what am I going to do with him.
There was a short silence that followed his message, no doubt as it's meaning thank into the young lady. She knew he wouldn't want to go into details; it was never a pleasant topic for them to touch even when it was necessary.

LD: So, how's Joshua doing?
L7: As well can be expected, considering his sister was killed in front of him. He's been in a pretty crappy mood since yesterday; all things considered he needs me right now. Don't think he'll make it without someone by him and I'm worried he might do something desperate; that's not even counting the fact that I'm no where near done with his training. So yeah, I'm going to have to drag him along for the ride.
LD: *sigh* I'll see what I can do.
L7:Thanks, a million Tashy. What would I ever do without you? I owe you one
LD:You bet your sweet ass you do.

Gabriel turned upon hearing the bath go quite,
L7: Gotta go girl, my ward awaits. ttyl
LD:Good night and good luck; I'll text you when I got everything ready.

With that Gabriel closed his laptop for the night and tucked it away in his backpack, pulling out his own journal to update while the boy finished his bath. He had a feeling it was going to be a very long week.

{Hector}

_ Local Bar_ Answers

As soon as he was inside, Hector signaled to the bartender for a cold one. " The How, wasn't easy or legal, at least I don't think it was. " He said as he vaguely answered Marshall's question of how he found him. " Well since you left Redstone, it shut down shortly after. We tried our best to keep it in business, but it was futile." Hector mentioned, telling his old friend about his life. " I was out of a job, and basically screwed over. No driver licence, no social security, any chances of getting another job, was next to zero." He went on to say and then grabbed his cold beer. He liked how the bubbles tickled his nose as he drunk his brew.

He set down his drink back on the table and then continued his story. "For some reason, Dexter offered me a job at Cainam Industries, and it wasn't like I was going to get another job so I took him up on that offer. " Hector said to Marshall. " So far, the only thing they asked of me, the only assignment to track down you and relay a message from another old friend of yours, Marshall, the CEO David Derriere. " He added, and then proceed to take another sip of his beer, finishing it. " I'm surprised that you're that well connected with such people."

" Anyways, he told me via a recorded message on my cellphone, that he wants to offer you a job. Somewhere in Nevada for Dexter's latest project. Something called Neutron City, but it won't be finished until next year." Hector told Marshall " So until then and since I am still on the Cainam Ind. payroll, I figured, I'll stick with you until its complete." Hector then began to chuckle as he then mentioned " Maybe by then, I could convince you to take the offer."

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

-County Road Massachusetts, Local Bar: “Past Echoes”-

“I’m not even going to ask you how or why it is you don’t have either a driver’s license or social security. I should, but I won’t, not that I’d expect ya to answer me anyway.” Marshal took another swig from his drink. “A shame about Redstone though. It was a nice enough place once you get past all the bullshit that was going on.” The man shrugged. It kind of figured that Conroy wouldn’t be able to keep the place running without him. “Shit Hector, Cainam? Fuck.” Hector didn’t like what he was hearing but it explained a lot. “It’s good you found a job but why did you have to go work for them. They kidnapped some girl right outta Redstone. Corporate America is bullshit enough already, but Cainam has to be the worst of ‘em. My advice to you, get the hell out while you still can.” Marshal took another sip of beer band shook his head.

Marshal almost spit up his beer when he heard what Hector had to say next. “Derrier wants to, what now? Hire me!?” Marshal burst out into raucous laughter. “What, does he need some patsy security guard that badly, or maybe someone to keep the central air running in the middle of that desert?” He laughed some more. “I could get a job anywhere in the country doing that shit or a dozen other things. What the hell do I need Cainam for?” Marshall rolled his eyes. “Even I’m surprised I’m so well connected to the man, because I’m not. I only ever met him once, and it wasn’t for very long either.”

“Let me lay it straight for you Hector.” He said, regaining his composure and taking on a serious tone. “You can go back to your boss and tell him that I don’t fucking give a damn about what he or his piece of shit company does. Obviously Derrier thinks I’m going to be a thorn in his side at some point or else he wouldn’t have sent you after me. Bastard’s robot screwed with us at Redstone so we went after him, simple as that. If he doesn’t screw with me, I don’t screw with him. He can take his offer and shove it.” Marshal downed the last of his beer. “That’s exactly why I don’t want you around Hector. I do things my way, in my time, and on my own as long as I can help it. I don’t need people poking into my business normally. As long as you’re around I have to assume that Cainam is spying on me. I don’t put up with that kind of shit. The answer to both those things is no.” He said with finality. “Bartender, yeah, one more over here. Thanks.” He called out for another drink. “You can forget about it.”

{Hector}

_Bar_Too Bad_

" I thought you knew." Hector simply said to Marshall before taking another sip of his drink. " I've lost a good chuck of my memory and if I had those forms of identification, I wouldn't just be called Hector." He explained and then defended in Cainam in his own way "And I hate to break it to you, Marshall, Janus couldn't have been kidnapped, she would have told me. Apparently, I paid her visit when she was working there." Hector, then made direct eye contact with Marshall " I don't remember, how I got there, but she didn't look like she was a captive, plus she had a working phone. I don't think kidnappers, let their captives uses actual phones. Not in this country, at least."

" Don't get me wrong, something about them is off. " Hector replied " Even I find it strange that they hired a janitor and gave me a 100,000 dollar salary." He said as he could understand why, Marshall was making jokes about it. A lot that involved about the situation was Bizarre, Hector thought as he stared at his beer. Since day one, he wondered why he was hired, and why he was told to seek out his old pal, Marshall. And for what Marshall told him, it seemed like David was trying to cover something, however was telling him it might have to do with something else. " Wait a minute, you went after a robot?" Hector questioned " I thought, you had a problem with some young punk."

"Well whatever, like I said earlier, it will probably take a year to convince you." Hector went on to say as he finished his first beer. Hector faced Marshall and said "And regardless of what you say, you probably might need my help like I will need yours in Neutron City." Hector said, making his stand.

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

-County Road Massachusetts, Local Bar: “Roaring Echoes”-

“Excuse me if I don’t remember everything. It’s been a while and I’ve been dealing with a lot of shit.” Marshal said, making a snide remark. “That’s bullshit Hector. Bull. Shit. I saw it all with my own two eyes; the explosion in her room, Devider dragging her off, the van they all hauled off in. I had to have told you about it over beer after things settled down.” Marshal huffed. “Why would she have told you anything? You weren’t even…” Marshal was stunned to silence for a moment. It didn’t last long.

“YOU WHAT!” Marshal shouted as alcohol fueled anger started to take him. He drew several odd looks from the crowd. Marshal ignored them. “You mean you were at Cainam at the same time as Janus and you didn’t even tell me!” He continued in hushed tones, still angry as ever. “That would have saved us a whole fucking lot of trouble when we went to pull her out of there. Hell, what were you even doing there anyway? Did they pick you up to when I wasn’t looking? Why would they even bother though, Janus was at least an inventor. No offense, but you were just the janitor.” Suddenly a grave looked passed over Marshal’s face. It seemed he came to a realization he didn’t like. Not one bit.

“No that’s not it at all is it? You’ve been working for them the whole time, haven’t you? It explains everything; why you why you were at Cainam, why you weren’t around to help take Janus back, shit, why you were never around when Devider was. No, no. Not everything.” Marshal looked away for a moment his mind racing. He then looked Hector directly in the eye and slammed his fist on the table. “Hector, tell me it’s not true. Tell me you haven’t really been working for Cainam this whole damn time and stood by while Devider kidnapped Janus, while we were attacked and toyed with.” Marshal clenched his fist, bristling with anger. “Cainam has just been screwing with you, right? Messing with your memories, forcing you to work for them? That would explain the memory loss along with everything else. It’s the only thing that makes sense aside from you betraying everyone.” Marshal’s glare was intense. He didn’t want to believe that about his friend. “God help you if you lie to me Hector. I will never forgive you. I have half a mind to beat the shit out of you as it is.”

Any faint hope that Marshal might have accepted a job at Cainam or even set foot in the alleged Neuron City had been summarily extinguished. Whether Hector admitted it or not, Marshal had more reason now to hate Cainam than ever. One way or another they had to have been manipulating him. It didn’t matter whether it was blackmail like he suspected with Janus, or memory erasing super science bullshit. They built Devider. Who besides Derrier knew what in the hell they were capable of anyway. Now they coming for him, and Marshal wanted no part of it. The only way he was going back to Cainam was to shut it the fuck down. “You’re the one who needs help Hector. You need to get away from Cainam and disappear somewhere.”

Chicago, Illinois
~Gordon~

Remarkably enough their were no visible evidence of a trap. Or any means of defense at all. The site was covered with heaps of blankets, and leftovers of all sorts of food that can be found at any corner store...wrappings, cans. bottles. Some water bottles seemed to still be filled with liquid, but upon closer inspection it would turn out that the liquid was a strong yellow coloring to it, and had the most horrendous odor. On the wall where these disgusting beverages were staked up against, was the same symbol that was on the ground, this one etched with white chalk. A circle, with an "x" inside it. Who knew the meaning of the circle, or whether or not it had meaning at all. Underneath, also in chalk, was a message: "Don't try and find me". It seemed to be a universal message, but perhaps Gordon knew it was intended for a certain group of people. Perhaps he felt it was meant for himself. Such a thing could in fact be the truth. But If one were to investigate the heaps of garbage that littered the ground, maybe they would take a look at the expiration dates. Or the logos that were on the goods.





Such were some of the dates listed on the products as dates when they would expire. And judging from the logos, and some plastic bags that were not yet victims of the wind, these were all products of a very local grocery store. Dominicks.

There was also a receipt, dated 4/2/11.

Yes it was very recent...

Wayside Campsite, England
~Hannah Rosalind Granger~

Oh, the thrill of the hunt. So many bunnies running around aimlessly in a large and dangerous labyrinth, ignorant of the very being who took great pleasure in such pursuit. Such speed, such despair. Run little rabbits. Run away from Death. Rest assured everyone will die in the end. And then it's the Devil who will have your souls for the taking.

And the woods, they were the devils playground.

It almost seemed like the trees were shifting on that clear English night. It was almost like each of them were responding according to the game. According to it's wishes. Completely and utterly becoming a labyrinth of bark and leaf. Sure enough Hannah might soon feel as if she wasn't getting closer and closer to her destination. As if she was...growing more distant, away from her friends. At first she would notice that the screams and little voices were becoming fainter. But then, some of them would stop completely. In the wake of silence, a new sound would emerge from the shadows. Footsteps. And they were right behind Hannah. Edging so closely. She could almost hear feel the creature's hot breath.

So close...

Oh...

So...

Close...

New York City, New York
~Echo~

Echo's initially disappointed face brightened up to a big grin upon hearing the news that this Bobby character was just across the street from here. 'Perfect' she thought with glee. 'Now I just got to find this guy. Hope he's not in too deep. Even if he is I could always offer him a safe place in my room. I'm sure Stormy won't mind...Oh who am I kidding, of course she'll mind. Stupid, stupid.' She quickly thanked the clerk, and began heading towards the door. The idea of dropping him off at Thage's popped into her head but then she remembered one of her more recent posts. 'No I can't do that. She was already attacked by that Eulogy guy once, what if this guy turns out to be Proxy?' Echo shook her head, trying hard to get rid of the thought. Stormy's thought process was starting to rub off on her. Being paranoid was one thing, but falsely accusing people of being evil was another thing altogether, especially when she hadn't met this guy before. Speaking of Stormy and Proxies, she hoped she was okay. Usually that girl would've called her right now.

As if on cue her cell phone began to ring. "Yes, Stormy?"

"Where are you?! I've been trying to call you for fifteen minutes now!"

"You were? I swear my phone didn't ring until just now."

"Echo, I swear! You better not-"

"Relax! I'm fine! I'm just at the Famiglia Pizzeria. Just missed Bobby I'm afraid, but there's still a chance I might catch him. If you want, I can order us some pizza on the way back! Lot's of mushrooms right?"

"You're at a Pizzeria?"

"Well, I never did say I worked well on an empty stomach. Honestly, you worry too much."

"Don't you think I have a right to worry? Whatever, come back soon okay? I don't feel safe sitting here by myself."

"Do what I always do. Look up random videos on Youtube. Might I suggest the 'Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute' song? Those little critters are so adorable. Oh, and Surprised Kitty is pretty cute too!"

"Goodbye Echo."

"B-!" The line went dead before Echo even got a chance to say goodbye. Subtly, she frowned. 'How rude.' Putting her phone away out of the corner of her eye she spotted something strange, and particularly out of place on one of the customer's jackets. That symbol was that what she thought it was. Was he-

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2F4EFYM_MA"]♫Fuzzy fuzzy, cute cute♫
♫Fuzzy fuzzy, cute cute♫[/url]

'Ooooh noooo'

"What is it this time?" groaned Echo's voice into the cellphone's reciever.

"Can you please get a pizza with no pepperoni this time? You know how queasy my stomach gets when I eat spicy stuff."

"Fine. Anything else?"

"Just get back soon. And if you have to bring that kid along, at least make him sleep on the floor or something, because there is no way I'm sharing a bed with him."

"Goodbye Stormy." said Echo, repeating Stormy's same words that Stormy said not too long ago. 'I really have to get her to leave soon' she thought, finally going out the door and heading towards the grocery store. It has been over a month since she moved in with her, and over two months since they started commenting on eachother's blogs. In such a short time she felt like she found the best friend of her life, someone she could spend forever with. But now, it was getting to that point where no longer could they stay in New York. They had to get on the move, or else Stormy's own paranoia might get the best of her. She supposed that's why she was looking forward to Thage's meeting so much. It provided a chance for them to get out of the hotel, get some fresh air. Massachusetts was only one state away, they can easily take the expressway up north. Maybe she could even bring this Bobby guy along. He'll be like her own little secret apprentice. She'll teach him all the tricks of running, and who knows, he might even turn out to be more badass than Zeke Fucking Strahm. Echo couldn't help but snicker at this. More badass than Zeke? What was she thinking? Nobody could possibly be more badass than Zeke Fucking Strahm.

Her smile faded when she spotted a guy complaining about some poor guy who was at the front of the rather long store line. She frowned, 'Asshole!' A part of her reeeaaally wanted to beat the living daylights out of him, but as Stormy told her time and time again, she couldn't draw attention to herself. Especially since anyone could be a Proxy these days. It doesn't help that their were some agents of the feds lurking about searching for anyone who knows anything about "Mr. Skinny". She shuddered at the thought. But still the temptation to engage him in pleasant conversation was just too good to pass, "Hey impatient guy! Why don't you leave him alone huh? Some of us aren't as sharp witted as you. Or maybe you are just insecure because you've never got an A." She couldn't help but smirk at the guy. She may be borderlining insanity but at least she knew she had more sense than this asshole.

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

- Mellissa Marmillot: Montreal, Canada -

The concert was raging on into the night. The joint wasn't an upscale place by any stretch. It was dingy, had a low ceiling, large bulbs spotted the ceiling giving off the dimmest amount of light, and it was small. There was a second floor, where the bar and a few tables were, which was held up by a few massive wood beams in the middle of the dance floor. By now the venue was wreathed in smoke, a mixture of weed and sweat and beer pervaded. Mellissa stood front and center, looking at the writhing mass of humanity as the stage lights beat down. Her fingers ground, hammered and slid on the strings of her guitar, finishing the song with a face melting guitar solo. She stood there, chest heaving, adrenaline coursing through her, Mellissa's skin gleamed, her hair was damp, and her eyes glinted with ecstasy. She stooped to grab a couple water bottles, opening both of them she sprayed the contents on the crowd before opening another and dumping it over her head and shaking her hair.

"A friend of mine told me about this guy she met, dreamy and pretty as shit. She said he sparkled, so I said 'IF IT SPARKLES, STAKE IT!' " she screamed into the mic.

The crowd erupted and she launched into the opening riff before Gabe came crashing in on the drums. The centre of the crowd exploded into a maelstrom. Bodies flew and whirled crashing into each other, rolling off and careening into the next person. She loved watching mosh pits.

_________________

Hannah Rosalind Granger – Wayland Campsite, England – Look behind you


Something’s really not right about this. Hannah was confused. The route she had taken through the woods should have taken her closer to the shouts of her other teammates...yet somehow they sounded even further away than when she had started. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t hear them at all. Which unnerved her. If there was one thing Hannah was good at, it was navigation. And she’d been inside these woods countless times before. How was it even possible for her to go the wrong way?

And then she heard another sound coming from behind her. One of the black rabbits?
But no...no it didn’t sound like them. Hannah knew how the explorers liked to play: either they would give chase as soon as they spotted her, or hide and try to ambush her. Why walk up from behind her when they knew she would hear them coming?

And there was something else too. It just didn’t sound...quite right...call it intuition, but Hannah just had a feeling that whoever was behind her, wasn’t another rabbit...

Hannah could feel her heart thudding as she walked a little faster. She knew she was supposed to be playing the game properly, but she was a person who trusted her instincts, and they told her something was very wrong. Whoever, or whatever it was following her, was right behind her now.

“LOUISA?!” she called loudly.

Quickly, she pulled out her torch, turning it on as she spun around to look, shining the torch on whatever was behind her.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

{Rick Upbeat}

_Pizza Place to Grocery Store_

With his trusty knife and fork Rick sliced and forked a piece of pizza. Extra cheese, extra pepperoni, the pizza pie of Rick's dreams, unfortunately, he had to settle for Famiglia Pizzeria, for it, not one of usually choices. However, this pizzeria, did have its perks as it was close by to this Bobby Peterson's location as mentioned on Claire's email. He cut and forked yet another piece, as he stared outside of the window of the place, looking for this Peterson, since it also mentioned his description.

Questions had to be asked, what was connect between him, those others, and Claire, The Slender Man, who or what it is, and the strange reason why its called that strange nickname, Rick thought as he continued to eat. Through as he chewed a piece of pizza, he couldn't help, but over hear a loud particular discussion about a Bobby and about missing him. Could be it, a connect, He wondered to himself as he made smaller pieces of his pizza.

The odds were quite low, as she could be talking about a different person with the same first name. Still, from the sounds of it, she had a another chance to catch up to this fellow, and that's more than what Rick has at the moment. The only thing, Rick figured he needed to do was just ask. If the other person wasn't this Bobby Peterson, then he would move on and patrol those areas again. If he was, which Rick, would hope, even if it was a million to one chance, it would be fantastic, and a step in the right direction.

Rick grabs his drink and takes one last sip out of the straw. He then stepped out of the pizzeria, right after the strange girl, making sure he kept a safe distance between her and himself. She stopped at a grocery store, which is where Rick found her now, arguing with someone. That someone didn't fit the descriptions of Bobby, however, it was still too early to quit now. To look causal, he picked up a newspaper, and headed over to a cashier.

{Hector]

_Bar_

" Well Dexter and Janus, apparently brought me over in the morning when I was asleep to show me her work. They even fixed up my arm. " Hector said as held up said arm and wiggled his fingers. "And I didn't tell you, because Marshall, you're a stubborn person. For what I could tell she wasn't in any danger, and for you to acknowledge that, you needed to see that yourself." He went on to say and then added " I clean up that explosion, so I know it happened, but I don't think, that punk wanted it to happen, at least not like that. "

Hector rolled his eyes when Marshall started to make accusations about himself. He then, moved Marshall's drink away from him. "And now your talking about some crazy stuff." Hector said " Like I said, earlier, I only started to work for them after Redstone closed for good and I only got in, because of Dexter." He then, stopped for a moment as he thought about Marshall's words especially about the messing with yours memories part. " Hmmm, but that would explain a few things, wouldn't it? Like why I knew Dexter's full name, when I never met him, why I knew, where everything was in Cainam Industries, and why Dexter offered to restore my memories."

Hector had a very serious face, something he never expressed before at least as far Marshall knew him. " They would find me like they found you. However, I don't want to run. I want to know, why and who I am, even if its an ugly truth." Hector said and then added " But right now, I need to wait and find all the friends, I can get to help me find that truth. "

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

_Grocery Store (Bobby)_

The ’special’ guy collected his stuff into a bag, and started to shuffle out of the store. He moved quite slowly, and a with a sleepy unsteadiness, like someone who would hit a bed or couch as soon as possible. His slowly blinking eyes were fixed on the floor in front of him, making him walk in kind a crooked way. He staggered back a little, as he bumped into Rick. “Sorry…” He muttered under his breath as he attempted to outmaneuver the obstacle.
“What the f@ck? Why don’t you mind your own business biatch?” The black guy frowned at Echo, and flipped her off. “Why don’t you people get OFF MY BACK, and let me pay for my shit, and get the f@ck out of here?” He looked around at the other people in the store, as it seemed like everyone else is against him.
“Sorry…” The slow guy muttered again, as he moved around Echo, managing not to bump into her as he left the store.

At this point a middle aged man emerged from the back of the shop, holding a box. He moved up to the counter, and started to fill up the candy rack with yellow packages.
“The lemon candy finally came. Just in time, it’s his candy day, and you took cherry last week, right?” The man said to the woman behind the counter.
“To late Larry, you just missed Bobby.” The woman replied and showed at the long queue of costumers in front of her.
The man gave out a heavy sigh, and put the box down and got behind the counter as well, to serve people as well, speeding up the queue.
“Poor boy, he is completely lost, when things don’t happen according to his schedule… that will be eight-sixty.” She said while taking the money from the next person.
“Indeed…” Larry said and turned to Rick. “Will there be anything else than the newspaper?”

If someone steps out of the door, Bobby can be seen moving down the stairs to the nearby subway station.

(OOC remark: I thought, that Bobby can be followed if someone does try to, but due to rush of people, getting close to him to talk would be difficult. So he could be engaged after leaving the subway. This is only of Sam approves it.)

Michael jerked his head up and looked around wildly as the shrill laughter echoed round him, instinct took over and he quickly stuffed his contents into the bag. Erratic eyes darted up and down, to the darkness and the sudden collective of vermin around him. DamndamndamndamndamnDAMN! He noticed the glasses and grabbed the axe, pulled a strap over his shoulder and tensed up against the wall. Hungry? Technically yes but what does- He twitched, blinked and swung at the appearence of the balloon, slicing it clean in half, and unfortunately, getting it all over his arm and leg. Ohh...this is probably not good. He said as his sinuses twitched. His eyes twitched towards the now frozen rats, and he sensed the sudden mood shift in them, they weren't gonna respond to any barrier of their departed friends now....Eh, I can outrun them. His leg lashed out, kicking the gas light into a part of the circle, causing them to scatter and form a breach which he promptly lunged through. Two hands hit the previously occupied the ground, took what grip they could as his legs tensed and he was off and up.

His right hand trailed along the wall, the other out in front of him as he ran through the descending darkness, he winced each time his right hit a support bean jutting out, he could already feel some blood from some broken skin. Run, run, door will come. Run, run door will come. Run, run- the mantra repeating through his skull, powerless to stop thinking it. His left hit a container, cushioned him, gave him something to push off and he was moving again. His right hand now skimming the container. Run, run, why's there no Damn DOOR ALREADY?

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

-County Road Massachusetts, Local Bar: “Tempted By the Truth of Another”-

Marshal’s expression softened if only a little bit as he sat back in his chair. It seemed the man wasn’t going to slug Hector after all. Still, there remained a look of deep suspicion across his face. “They what?” Marshal asked flatly? The first words out of his friend’s mouth went halfway towards confirming everything he suspected. “Are you fucking dense Hector? They take you in your sleep and you don’t think they’re anything wrong with that!?” Marshal looked down and shook his head, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers. His friend was in so damn deep he couldn’t see the light of day any more much less the light of truth. “Screw Janus, she was blackmailed into working for Cainam. Of course she wasn’t in any danger, except from Devider. Little fucker tried to kill us all after we were led right into his trap.”

Marshal was almost smiling. It wasn’t the first time he had walked right into an obvious trap, and it probably would be the last. “With you it’s completely different. You are fucked Hector. ” He looked Hector right in the eye. “I may be crazy but I know what the hell I’m talking about don’t I?” He trumpeted with more than an ounce of pride. “I don’t even have the words to tell you how fucked you are.” His voice was hushed again so no one would overhear his crazy talk. “Dexter didn’t restore your memories, did he? They’ve been screwing with you just like I said. Manipulating you. Tell me about all those black outs and missing time you can’t account for, eh Hector? Fuck I don’t even know but I can guess. If I’m right, and I am, who know what you’ve been doing during that time. Even if you don’t having any missing time, there’s no way to tell if your memory is accurate anyway. They’ve taken you and fucking programmed your mind to think how they want and do what they want. That shit scares me Hector.” It might have been the alcohol talking but it wasn’t often Marshal admit to being scared.

“If they can do it to Hector they can do it to me. Fuck that shit I ain’t letting it happen to me. If Hector can’t see it than screw him. I have enough to worry about without Cainam breathing down my neck. I don't need this from those sick fucks” Marshal took his beer back from Hector and took a nice long swig. “The thing about truth Hector it that there is a shit ton of it out there. What’s true for you may not be for some one else. It’s very easy to get blinded, and Cainam controls the horizontal the vertical for ya if ya catch my drift. Until you cut them off the only truth you’re going to see is theirs.” Marshal finished up his drink. “I can help, you son of a bitch, but there ain’t nothing I can do until cut Cainam’s puppet strings. You need to be the one calling the shots, not them. If you can’t see that truth, you’re on your own.”

{Chicago}

Gordon slowly looked around, being careful to take in as much information as he could. Where did you go... You've obviously been visiting the same store. Which means you had some routine to your days. He then picked up the receipt, deciding it best to have the paper trail to himself. After all, it wouldn't be too hard for a proxy to investigate if they had proper intel such as this. He then began balling up the plastic bags together into one wadded ball, then threw it over the side of the parking lot. The mild wind carried it a slight bit, but the balled mass helped it sink more than float. The various wrappers for the foodstuffs wouldn't give anything away except what the guy liked.

Should help give us time... I don't want to be paranoid, but going after M would be a big step for the Slim side.

Gordon began his way out. He needed to head to this store, Dominick's. He then looked at the time stamp on the receipt. He thought heading there at around the same time the purchase was made would make it easier to find information. After all, if he went there more than once, it was possible someone would remember him.

{Anchors Away}

The rats began swarming over Michael's limbs, trying to crowd his arms and legs exclusively. Nibbling and biting, tearing into his clothes. the scent made them wild and hungry. The scent was rather thick and musky. And it was lightly burning where it made contact with Michael's skin. And the rats were exposing more skin as the odd fluids were taking time drying. The heavy scent was even beginning to make things feel...different. Where everything in the room was just dark before, now the shadows and darkness began blurring. his brathing was growing heavier with every twenty seconds or so.

Then there was the door. It was shut and judging from the weight, it seemed something was on the other side keeping it tightly closed. And soon after finding the door, Michael would start hearing that voice.

"The rats will keep biting... And that compound can be very harmful when it makes contact with the blood stream. Not to mention the little gift I left inside one of those rats." Suddenly, Michael's memories would bring up what the man meant. Earlier, he had seen the rats scamper near him. But after they had done so, there had been one rat that had run in after the others.

This bit of news would make the idea of killing or harming the rats seem like less of a good idea. and opening the door wasn't impossible. But the time it'd take to focus on it would give the rats time to start breaking skin deep enough for the compound to become a true worry.

_________________

Luce Vargas – Milan Italy – Flights and Texts

Luce looked around, her brown eyes wide, she was finally in Italy, on her way to find her brother. Brothers she corrected herself, looking at the small piece of paper her dear mother gave her, her other slender hand touching the bright red tomato over her heart.
In Milan safe and sound, close to PLBs. she started a quick text on her phone. Tell Mama I'm okay. Thanks Jules She sent it to Julchen, then stuck the clunky phone in her abundant bust.
Just as she reached the address on the paper Jules sent a text back Aye aye gnädige Frau! Also: What the fick is PLB you muschi lecker? Luce smiled at the familiar text, Can't stop swearing for a minute can ya Jules? I don't know why Dan puts up with you. she murmured before replying
Possible Little Brothers brown eyes watched as two boys came out of the house, one, then the other, bending down to hug a much smaller boy. Her hair fluttered in the wind as a wistful look appeared over her face.

_________________
You... you really don't get it... do you? I... I love him... I'd die with him. Or for him. That's what you do... how you feel when you love someone. - Impulse

{Hector}

_The Thinker_

" Well I just didn't think, causing a fuss, would solve anything. " Hector replied as his defense. " If someone, bothered to capture me, why not find out why with a smile and a relax demeanor." He added as a contrast to Marshall's hard boiled to "too hot" to handle methods. He raised up his glass and then mentioned old saying to his pal "Like they say, you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. It has also helped, they weren't complete strangers."

Speaking of a trap, Hector remembered the last time, Marshall mentioned Devider's trap. " Marshall, are you completely sure, it was a trap?" Hector questioned, out of the blue. He rubbed the rim of his glass as he discussed his thoughts on the subject " He completely had the advantage, even with the upgrades, you mentioned about, but all of you managed to survive? If you were a team, sure, I would believe it, but you guys weren't, and then there is the fact, he knew you were coming. " Hector suddenly picked up his drink and pointed with it as he asked again " Are you sure, it was in fact a trap?"

" Probably." Hector said as his response to Marshall's how screwed you are speech. " Well, I'll admit some of my memories are shaky at best, but my choices are my own." He went on to say " And no, Dexter didn't, because I told him, not too. I wasn't ready yet." Hector said as he scratched the back of his head. " That is something to learn slowly. Through, now, you make me wish, I did." Hector said with a chuckle and a sip of his beer. " Anyways, if you're so sure, their evil, then I believe it. However, if this is what they do to people like you and me, then they should be stopped, no matter the cost. "

"Thus, I must remain in their in employment and find a way to stop them." He said. Suddenly, Hector realized something as they were chatting away about the past and his situation, they hardly talked about Marshall's life. " Hey, what did you stop at Salem? Or head to it in the first place?" Hector questioned as he was curious why Marshall picked here of all places. " And what the hell, are you up to anyways, is it something dangerous?" He continued to question.

_________________
"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Michael slammed into the door, shoulder first and then bounced off and back again until he'd hit all four sides of himself against it, making sure to jump back and forth against it, keeping his feet off the ground as much as he could. OpenOPENOPEN! He slammed a fist into it and cursed internally at what he'd just done, he'd probably broken the skin and breaking his hand wouldn't help right now. The rats he'd managed to knock off were already crawling back onto him and the fear was escalating, multiplying itself every second, he felt like it was going 300 beats a minute. The colours in the black were blurring, the headaches was spiking into his head, disrupting his thoughts into chaos and the shaking was racing through his whole body now. He had to focus just to stand up, the only good thing was it was making it tricky for the rats to move up him. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO? GOD IT HURTS.Even if I get these thingsAHHHoff of me, there's stillJESUSHELPME that guy out there whoHELPME god knows if up to.GOD, IT HURTS SO MUCH! He slammed his forehead into the door, dashing everything from his brain in one lucid moment of pure pain. Time seemed to slow, he felt like the pain had been moved away from him, the fear and terror and betrayal of his own body became a small insignificant detail, silly even. His mind relaxed as the darkness flickered in front of his eyes and everything seemed to fade away. Calm down Michael. Think with that big brain of yours. A voice whispered, cool and seductive, cold but alive. It didn't seem to be coming from a particular point, it just came from everywhere. Below and above him, close and far away, from his own head. The ambiguous voice brough up a warm feeling which grew inside him, forming a wall between his mind and the terrors, making sure they'd be kept away as it worked. Well done, you've bought yourself some time, now use it. I don't want anything happening to you. Yet. As the voice echoed away, all the fear and feelings of pain and shaking began to return to him, but the mental wall held. The pain and paranoia and shaking was all still there but it didn't seem to be effecting him now, but it would come back later, with a vengence in it's heart but that was later, the present had it's own problems to be dealt with.

Wordlessly, Michael swung his backpack off and slammed it into the wall, holding it there with his left arm as he unzipped and rooted through it with the other. His fingers brushed it, found it again and gripped it. His left moved back and let the bag fall, it and it's contents falling to the ground, one case of tablets falling out and breaking with it's contact against the ground. He shrugged the left shoulder forward out of his suit, the arm slipped out afterwards, he jerked his other arm forward, flicking the coat with it's rats round in an anti-clockwise motion behind him and flicked his hand and the item into the air. As the right sleeve turned inside out from the momentum, his fingers gripped the end of it as the left hand caught the blowtorch out of the air. The switch was flicked and the blue flame burned through the shadows, illuminating the squalid and infested surroundings, the cold and wet wall, the floor full of vermin and a tired looking boy in an old dirty shirt, almost a man, staring down at them with cold, dead eyes before the fire was forced along the suit, lighting it up and the rats along it which fell squealing in fiercy pain amongst their comrades. As the yellow and orange fire was swept just above them, the rodents shrunk back from it, shrieking in terror as they climbed over each other to get away from it, their instincts and racial memories telling them to run from the burning light.

I have time. Michael thought as his knees bent slightly, flicking the torch and dropping it into his bag. He pulled it back on, not bothering to sip it fully shut and then shoved into the door, making sure to keep the burning coat away from himself. Come on, come on, Come on, COME ON! He yelled, pushing into the door for a moment, pulling back and pushing again over and over. He felt the flames flicker too close to his hand and his grip died, he took a moment to make sure it fell behind him, the fire still burning brightly as it consumed the suit, it's terrible horror reflected in the rats' beady eyes as they watched from a distance, scurrying around, below and over each other in agitation, waiting for the great devourer to die away so that their own feast could begin. The mental wall had left soon after the voice and the pain and fear was advancing into Michael's mind, leaving destruction and madness in it's wake and he could only fight desperately against it as the tears started to fall again. Let me OUT, DAMN YOU. He turned sideways slightly, crouched down low, faced his right shoulder towards the door and slammed into it, his back foot turned sideways to stop him falling back and his front foot turned forward to give his knee something to push off. He pushed his other hand into the door and forced his head into it, groaning with effort which rose into a shriek as he felt the door give slightly. OUT! The door gave and he fell through, rolling as he hit the floor. His back hit the opposite wall and he squickly scrambled upwards, sliding against it, his foot lashed out, kicking the door shut and trapping the rats with the remains of a dying fire. He panted desperately as he started to slide slowly back down the wall, as his heart began to slow, the danger was past, at least the immediate one.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Scrolling through the vast text that filled the screen of the laptop in front of him, Karthik couldn't help but be amazed at how vast and thorough the information on all the various Myth and Legends. While the actual graphical interface was nothing special, the amount of detail and attention to each myth was very well done. He had just killed about 10 minutes reading up purely on the Carbuncles.

He had been initially wary about this particular website, he wasn't too found of ghost stories and the like, but after looking into the website, I had seen that it was more than just your typical horror site. Legends and theories of all kinds filed the poorly designed if not somewhat functional site. He had already begun redesigning and re-organizing the site to be more user friendly.

Scrolling down further down the he began reading a new myth. Slenderman. What kinda of name was that? It was probably one of those humorous myths.

'Not much is known about The Slender Man's mythic roots. Theories include alien, ghost, demonic, or interdimensional origins.

One popular theory is that he is an unknown fairy folk from German folklore. This theory originated when a user posted a picture known as the "Der Ritter" (German for "the night") on his original creation thread on Something Awful. Der Ritter is a supposed medieval German woodcarving of the Slender Man. This led to the theory that Slender Man is an ancient bogeyman that abducted children from the Black Forest of Germany when they got lost. It also gave Slender Man the alternate names of "Der Ritter" or "Der Großmann".

But whats separates your Slenderman from your average myth is the number of sightings and the range of the sightings. A good portion of those that have claimed to have seen him simply vanish some time latter. As of right now there are no known weaknesses or ways to harm him. Though loud sounds have been known to temporarily drive him away they also been proven ineffective at times.

Closing the laptop. Karthik decided that he had his fill of disturbing myths for the night. I wouldn't do him much good tomorrow, if he hardly slept due to imaginary monsters would it. Glancing at his watch he realized that his plane would begin boarding calls relatively soon. Shutting down his computer he began walking towards his gate trying to shove all thoughts of the Slenderman from his mindscape.

_________________
The Dinobots can combine! What they combine to is death!

http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/d/d2/The_B ... 2_full.jpg

-County Road Massachusetts, Local Bar: “Rambling Man”-

Marshal looked like he could spit as he rolled things around in his mind. He gave Hector a quizzical stare. He was all over the place “First of all all, yes. I am one hundred percent absolutely sure we were led into a trap. They let us walk right in, lead us around then bam, the guide was gone. We ended up stuck between a wall and fucking Devider himself.” He huffed. “You weren’t even there. What the hell gives you the idea it was anything but. We fought our asses off down there. I say we would have trounced him if Derrier didn’t step in but it didn’t happen like that. I’m not saying even half the shit that day made any sense. That goes double for anything that came out of Derrier’s mouth. I thought I was through with the bastard but here we are aren’t we.” The man rolled his eyes.

“If even a fraction of what I think is going on with Hector is true… I can’t trust a single word coming out of his mouth can I? Everything I say, everything I do is fucking suspect. Is he testing me or something? Trying to see how much a threat to Cainam I am? Does any of it matter even? I don’t give half a damn aside from what they’re doing to Hector and I ain’t know shit. Why all the interest all the sudden? Why the questions about the battle. Why pick Hector up out of nowhere and give him a method of tracking him down. Why him? Why the hell anything?” There were a lot of questions to sift through and precious little information to go on. Marshal groaned. It was way too easy to over think things.

“Second of all you never gave me an answer about blackouts and missing time. I’m taking that as an admission.” He stared at Hector, dissatisfied. “I’m not even going to try arguing with you any more. I figure Derrier has you so deep in his pocked the light is nothing more than a dream to you anyway.” He sighed. “I’ll say one thing though, if you want to stick around and play the part of corporate spy or saboteur or what ever it is the hell you think you’re doing, be my guest.” Marshal threw his hands up in the air washing himself of the matter. “If you go back though without some assurance that they can’t work their voodoo any more you’ll never get anywhere. Take back what’s yours before you take theirs from the. Your own mind is the only thing you can trust in life. When you lose that, the hell, it’s over man.” Marshal leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head and relaxed a bit. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want nothing to do with Cainam. You, I’d help. I just don’t feel the need to bust down Derrier’s doors to do it.” Marshal left it there. There was no point in pursuing things any further.

“Ha!” He laughed at the dangerous bit. He wondered idly what it was exactly Hector uncovered in the midst of tracking him down. It didn’t much matter. It was more or less public knowledge. “Dangerous? Me? Not a chance.” Marshal said with a great deal of jest. Marshal never seemed to be the type to go out looking for danger. For what it was worth it landed in his lap frequently enough, just never the type he wanted. “I was just in town visiting an old friend of mine. Coot was long over due. I won’t be staying for long though.” He shrugged. “You may have noticed but I don’t stay anyplace very long. Not too much to say really. I like to keep moving.”

{Hector}

_Bar_

" Well my thoughts, have become much clearer since Dexter smashed my watch." Hector replied as he tapped his empty beer glass, indicating he wants another glass. He pulled out his rolex watch from his breast pocket and place it on the table. "Shame to see it go through. It was a good watch." Hector remarked as he slid the broken watch on the table over to Marshall. " You have to wonder, what Dexter is up to." He shook his head.

Hector grabbed the new chilled beer and sipped it immediately. " You're right, I wasn't there, but its the home turf, he staged it. Also they had a day and are known for there robotics, whose to say that Devider wasn't a cheap knock off. " He went on to explain some of his thoughts on the subject. " Also David Derrière, if you mix it up a bit is Devider Raider, an anagram name."

Hector set down the glass on the table and sat up on the bar stool. "Based on the discussions, we have been having." He said out loud as he voiced his analysis. " You're on a case of some kind, right now." Hector pointed out. " And from what I know about you, since you move around a lot, you're looking for something." He added " Something similar or completely different, is the real question." Hector then, raises up his glass and takes another swig of beverage. " And your right, about danger. You never seek it, but it often finds you."

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

Aneillo Manfredo & Tomeo Matteo Cecillo

Aneillo smiled as he watched his brothers interact, Tomeo’s madness had not spread to Ambrosi. He was a good brother, and he would let them have their moment. He looked and saw a woman across the street, and he watched her curiously, his orange eyes barely open, gently rubbing his scar. He wiggled his fingers at the woman, smiling friendly.

Tomeo stroked Ambrosi’s hair gently, kissing the small cheek as the small boy put something in his hand. “What’s this, piccolo?” he asked in his gruff voice, his frown not leaving but his hand gently. He opened the note reading the shakily written words. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU. He nodded and kissed the child’s forehead and placed the steel cross around his older brother’s neck as the boy ran inside and then his own.

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