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Post by Norah Byron on Oct 29, 2012 9:19:41 GMT -5
[norah]Norah winked at Charlie, but then turned a brilliant smile on Wyatt. "I'm satisfied. And to prove it, I won't even try to get you laid at the party tonight. No matter how cute the fangirls' boobies are." She leaned over dangerously far in her folding director's chair to kiss Wyatt's cheek, but then straightened up and took pity on him by moving the attention off him for a while. And directly onto Charlie. "You see? It's not just you I do that to. Don't you feel less persecuted now?" "Norah," Alec had a beer in hand and his arm around a bottle redhead with a sort of nervy, omg look to her, "are you picking on your pet menfolk again?" She gave her brother a withering look. "No. I'm pointing out how I could be picking on them, but am not." He nodded. "Right. That makes a world of difference." "Who's your friend?" All bright and chipper. He gave her a smug look. "This is Amanda. Amanda, this is Norah, Wyatt, Dani, Charlie." He looked a little proud of himself for getting all the names, though mostly the redhead's. Whatever Amanda had to say was sort of lost when the bonfire behind them erupted into a forty-foot column of fire.[/norah] |
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 29, 2012 9:48:48 GMT -5
[wyatt]Just that quickly Wyatt was out of his chair, had Dani tossed between those two coolers and was on High Alert. He faced the fire but started walking slowly backward, pushing Dani back as he did.
"Any idea?" he asked her, or maybe Miguel, as he tried to stay the hell back and out of the way. He didn't like it, but Wyatt knew he wasn't the best hunter. Usually, his successes were more about luck than talent.
Charlie was frozen, figuring someone'd put a keg of beer in the fire or something. Or maybe it was pyro. It was a dumb idea, yeah, but no reason to freak out.[/wyatt]
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Post by Norah Byron on Oct 29, 2012 10:00:36 GMT -5
[norah]Miguel was on his feet, shoving Alec and Norah back toward those same coolers and shouting something in quick Spanish. Either it was a pre-arranged signal or the others just had the right instincts, because Luke, Doro and Peter all came sprinting over to the VIP area and clumped up with Norah, Alec, and Charlie--whose arm Norah had a death grip on, though more for his safety than her panic at this point.
"Don' know." Miguel's accent always thickened when he was stressed. "Here." He pulled a second pistol out from under his jacket, tossed it up in the air so he was holding the barrel, and held it out butt-first to Wyatt. "Nothin' comes in past the ropes." It wasn't a command so much as a proposed agreement, the security chief had a healthy respect for Wyatt's judgment that was based mostly on how much more the hunter knew about the monsters than he did rather than his particular success in killing said monsters.
The fire kept roaring up into the night. It seemed as though it had to die down at some point but it never did, just kept up that unending, illogical column of flame. And then a trio of disturbingly identical naked black men stepped out of it onto the sand.[/norah]
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 29, 2012 10:44:36 GMT -5
[wyatt]"Don't shoot," Wyatt said urgently, though his hand was already tightening on his gun and he wanted to. God did he want to. But it wouldn't do any good. What was so incredibly disturbing about them was that, "They're already dead."
With the figures backlit by the very bright and large fire, it would be hard for most people to see the carving if they weren't looking for it, but it jumped out at Wyatt fairly quickly. Above their eyes, around their mouths and, he knew though he couldn't see it, around their ears.
"Don't let 'em bite anyone," he said, very clearly, as he as calmly as he could tried to remember how to take down a set of reanimated corpses.
He ran out of time though, as the three men snarled and with speed that shouldn't have been possible they tore off in several directions. Two after the coeds and party goers, one toward them.
Without knowing why, he started shouting the only bit of the only Psalm he knew. "For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning."
The thing faltered as long as Wyatt was talking, but as soon as he stopped (he'd run out of Psalm), it was rushing toward them again.
"Anyone know any other Psalms?" he asked, again sounding calm, "Now'd be a real good time to start reciting 'em."[/wyatt]
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Post by Norah Byron on Oct 29, 2012 10:55:32 GMT -5
[norah]Norah was first, hopping in with the 23rd. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake." She got all the way through it, to dwelling in the house of the Lord forever, but after that she was lost.
Unsurprising, at least to the ones who knew him, that it was Alec who managed the next. "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass."
He went on, on, the words rolling off his tongue like he was a scholar, keeping the dark figure at bay while Luke plopped down on his ass in the sand and tried to reach out to the figures, ending up with a nosebleed and a blinding headache for his troubles, Doro producted a gun of his own but ended up just standing there kind of useless, and Peter tried to drag Charlie along with him to the shelter of the coolers.
Norah called out, "Dani? You got any clever tricks for this?"[/norah]
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 29, 2012 16:10:05 GMT -5
[wyatt]"They're empty," Dani said with a helpless shake of her head, "Whatever soul they had is long gone. I can't even feel them." "Just keep praying," Wyatt told Alec, "Psalms only, repeat if you have to, and be as loud as you can." The other two were as dead in their tracks as the one near them, but if they got out of earshot it was all over. Speaking of, "And will you please stop screaming?" he shouted over Alec, to several girls that were losing their heads. If someone had asked Charlie what was going on, he would definitively say that someone had put E or something in the beer. It was the only explanation he could think of. Or, no, maybe they were partiers who got too messed up themselves. Nevermind how they looked exactly the same, nevermind how they were walking and dead. It had to be drugs. Which didn't explain why Wyatt rushed one, calling, "Dani, soap!" "Oh, right, okay," she breathed behind Charlie and pulled a small box from her bag, tossing it to Wyatt. "Here goes nothing," the rancher said under his breath and, since the thing was still stock still due to Alec's recitations, was able to easily rub the soap over it, once he'd taken it from the box, murmuring in Spanish as he did so. Inspired at the last minute, he shoved the bar in its mouth and it crumpled to the ground as though the puppet strings holding it had been cut. Cautiously, he pulled the bar from its mouth but it didn't reanimate. "One down, two to go," he said, striding off to deal with the other two.[/wyatt] |
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Post by Briar on Oct 29, 2012 16:23:33 GMT -5
[norah]"I have got to learn that trick," Norah murmured as she planted Charlie firmly beside Luke and ordered him to, "Take care of him," then went up and stood next to Alec, pulling up Bible Gateway on her phone and loading up Psalm 1 so that as soon as Alec finished that verse and had to hesitate to try and think of another, she was speaking into the gap. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." She had a strong voice, trained, with plenty of projection and she could be heard all the way along the stretch of beach. She was a little surprised when a few people started reciting along with her, more surprised when some of the partygoers started clapping and cheering, clearly thinking this was a stunt or part of the show.[/norah] |
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 29, 2012 16:38:43 GMT -5
[wyatt]"Oh," Dani said as she noticed those crowded around start clapping, "Keep doing that."
Charlie, sucked in by that explanation, visibly relaxed as Wyatt went around 'taking care of' the other two weird things, though at a pause between Psalms one of them tussled with him, it looked like. It made for a better show.
Done, not sure what to do with the crumpled bodies, Wyatt came over holding the bit of neck where it curved to meet the shoulder. "The good news is they're taken care of," he said, then added around an annoyed sigh, "Bad news is it bit me."
Dani swore under her breath. That meant Wyatt had about two hours before his spirit corrupted and he was malleable by whoever was holding the strings.
"How do we clean this up?" Wy asked Miguel. Best way was to burn the shells, but he wasn't so sure that'd go with the 'show'.[/wyatt]
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Post by Briar on Oct 29, 2012 17:06:49 GMT -5
[norah]Miguel was looking seriously nonplussed, but his brother had a better sense of the dramatic than he. He stepped up onto one of the tables (which wobbled dangerously but Alec and Norah grabbed it to stabilize) and threw his arms up in the air. "Esta noche honramos el Día de los Muertos! Fuck yeah for the Day of the Dead! Toss those bitches on the fire and let's dance!" He jumped down off the table and to the sand, a gesture from Norah sent Alec and Peter out after them to join the now-raucous party.
As soon as that was underway Norah kicked everybody who wasn't one of hers out of the VIP area and headed for Wyatt and Dani. "Okay, what do we do about it? I have no idea what those were." She had a good layman's understanding of the monster world, and getting better all the time, but it wasn't as extensive as it could be. She'd only been at it nine months.[/norah]
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 29, 2012 17:15:01 GMT -5
[wyatt]Wyatt sighed. "I need a black chicken's egg. Two would be better."
"Three, then," Dani said resolutely, moving his bloodied hand to look at the wound on his throat. "Soap won't do it?"
"Not concentrated enough for a bite," he said. "Could try melting it down, pouring it over - "
"I'd rather be sure, thanks," Dani muttered, digging in her bag for a cloth and using it to wipe at the wound. The whole bad was a mini Hunting kit, with objects, like the soap, that were good for several baddies. "And you laugh at me for bringing this everywhere,"she tsked.
"This is the first time in over a decade we've used it."
"And it saved our asses. You're welcome."
"I'm sorry," Chalie said, looking at all of them like they'd grown extra heads, "But - that was all a showy thing, wasn't it?" A nagging feeling in his gut was starting to have him worried.
Dani and Wyatt exchanged a look and then looked to Norah. "Up to you," Wyatt said, wincing as Dani poured a shot over his wound, like that was going to help. Norah could tell him the truth or not, he was her friend and Wyatt had other shit to worry about.[/wyatt]
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Post by Briar on Oct 29, 2012 17:40:24 GMT -5
[norah]Norah got an arm around Charlie's waist and drew him a little away from the siblings. "Not so much, babe. The world's...a little more complicated than you probably thought. Those were, I'm pretty sure, zombis. Right proper Santeria types, or Haitian maybe. This...I gotta make some phone calls, but can you stick with me and when we've done what needs doing we'll talk it all through? For the mean time, just act like you believe us, save up a mental list of questions, and follow my lead?"
She was over at the bin that should hold the band's personals and dug out a pair of tablets. She handed Charlie the iPad, kept the Nexus for herself, and asked him, "Okay, so what breeds of chickens are black?" There had to be some advantages to him being a farm boy, and she was almost positive that there were certain breeds that ran exclusively to certain plumage colors.[/norah]
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Post by Charlie Davis on Oct 29, 2012 17:55:39 GMT -5
[charlie]"Um," Charlie said, still stuck on zombies in his brain. It was sort of hard to get off of that. But at a nudge from Norah he said, "Um, Shumen, Cochin - those look sort of like feather dusters"
"Those are the ones we want," Dani chimed in, as far away as she was. Dog ears, they came in handy. "Eggs from them. At least a half dozen."
"A half dozen?" Wyatt argued and they faded off until Dani called, "Make it a full twelve."
"So I'm looking for those?" Charlie asked, holding up the iPad, though with something to focus on he was already bringing up Safari.
"Nearby," he figured. "There're coupla hatcheries. Do they need to be, um, viable eggs?"
"What?" Dani called, still listening in.
"Chicks in them?"
"No, edible ones, you know, yolks and stuff."
"There're coupla places we can try," Charlie said, showing Norah the screen with local farms listed.[/charlie]
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Post by Norah Byron on Oct 30, 2012 19:02:24 GMT -5
[norah]Dragging Charlie along with her more out of habit than anything else, Norah called the second name on his list purely because it looked Scandanavian and her experience had been that Scandinavian Lutherans were incredibly nice people and that their minds probably wouldn't hop to hoodoo immediately.
As soon as they were far enough from the party that the background noise wouldn't give them away, she called the number, waiting patiently while it routed through call forwarding and then was picked up by somebody who was clearly at home with their family. There was a slightly disturbing amount of skill as she wove together truth and lie to tell the nice farmer's wife the story of how she was a road assistant for a touring band and that the lead singer had declared that she must have Cochin eggs for breakfast the next morning. A new fad diet from France, she explained with a certain laughing self-deprecation, something about the eggs having the perfect balance of fats, protein and amino acids to promote Total Health of Body and Mind. Would they please, please sell her a dozen eggs at this ridiculous, ungodly hour? She would send a runner over and pay forty dollars cash for one dozen if the Skarsgerds would be willing, and it would save her job besides.
There was a profuse round of thanks at the end, and a promise that the runner would be there in half an hour at most. Then Norah turned to Charlie and offered him the keys to the cargo van. "Will you get them? Please? I really don't want to bring anybody else into this if I don't have to, and if I send a roadie or something they might blow it. Be rude to the folks at the hatchery, or decide to stop and smoke out along the way, any of that stupidity. Please, honey?"[/norah]
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Post by Wyatt Moran on Oct 30, 2012 20:00:47 GMT -5
[wyatt]Charlie hesitated, but it wasn't in him to say no to a friend, especially when, while he didn't begin to understand what was going on, it was clearly important. He transferred the address into his phone, took the keys and said, "I'll be back as soon as possible." And with that he strode off with new purpose.
When Norah came back to them, Wyatt, sitting now because he felt decidedly...weird, nodding in the direction Charlie had gone. "You really gonna tell him everything?"
In his experience, people really did not want to know the truth of things.[/wyatt]
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Post by Norah Byron on Oct 30, 2012 20:08:56 GMT -5
[norah]"I haven't decided yet," Norah admitted, blunt with it. "But I need him tonight, he's reliable and calm and good-hearted and I don't have any hunters with us tonight except you. The boys are keeping the party a party instead of a panicky riot, I don't want to pull them out from that if I don't absolutely have to."
She squatted down in front of Wyatt and ran her hand back through his hair, checking his eyes. "The religious stuff going to be any help right now? More psalms? I've got some pretty hefty blessed rosaries and the like." She didn't have anything like the collection of magical knick-knacks that most hunters did, but she was working on it.[/norah]
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