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Kestra15

Rapture

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Arwen huddled with the cats while there was a loud commotion going on downstairs. People were running and talking loudly. She couldn't forget about the bleeding man. Arwen was afraid. With a couple kittens on her back, and the mother by her side, she lay on her stomach under the bed. Someone had said her name. It was Erin's voice, so she peeked at the shoes to find that she did recognize them. Arwen felt a bit better that she had an adult with her, so she scooted so her head just poked out from under the side of the bed.

 

"What's going on?" She asked quietly, a heavy shake in her voice and tears welling up in her eyes.

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Oh, she was under the bed. Erin let out a relieved breath and knelt down next to her.

 

"The house is all locked up," she explained, "so I think we're safe for the night. The man that found us had somebody with him, she's sleeping downstairs right now."

 

She chewed on her bottom lip in uncertainty. "We weren't able to fix his injuries" she finally admitted, "We couldn't save him."

 

She hung her head guiltily.

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Arwen crawled out from under the bed when Erin told her that the house was locked up. She was internally happy that there was another lady downstairs. They had two new people! Then Erin got sad. Arwen pet the kitten that had made a bed out of her lap and tilted her head to the side. The man didn’t make it and she could see how bad Erin felt about it. She picked up the kitten, shuffled over to Erin, and then placed it into her lap.

 

“It’s okay. You’re not a doctor, are you? Not doctors can’t make people stay awake forever.” Arwen’s slight idea of death was going to sleep forever. She hugged Erin as best she could and petted her back.

 

“You trying to save him makes you a rescuer. My mummy says that, as long as we try, we never really fail.” Arwen was scared. A stranger fell from the sky and died in their new house. What if she died too? Erin was strong, though, so she thought she would protect her. If Erin was going to protect her, she wanted to make it up to her by making her not sad anymore.

 

------------------------------

 

With a warm, wet cloth, Ez cleaned the blood and dirt off of the unconscious woman. She tried to be gentle, going slowly. The cloth was among the things brought down from the bathroom that wasn’t bloodied, the water from the tap, it was warmed by her hands.

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Jeanie rubbed all over Erin when Arwen placed her in her lap. She had been neglecting her ever since they'd been found. She smiled when Arwen hugged her and tried to reassure her.

 

"Thanks, Arwen" she said, returning the hug, "And thanks for keeping an eye on everyone up here-" she nodded at the animals, "It helps to know someone's keeping track of them."

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Arwen smiled as best she could.

 

"I like taking care of them. They're my friends." She looked at her lap for a moment and mumbled, "Are you my friend?"

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Erin tilted Arwen's chin up a bit and smiled. "I like to think so" she answered and got back on her feet, "I'm gonna go back and see if they need any more help downstairs. You wanna come with, or would you rather stay here?"

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May 6th, 0700hrs

 

The night was an edgy one to say the least. First there was disposing of the body, which caused a debate as to whether to do a full ceremony or just simply get the body out before sunset. The pit that had originally been for rubbish became a shallow grave, with Micah officiating a short ceremony for those who wished for closure. Then cam cleaning the front room as best possible, and by the time the blood stains had been scrubbed away the house smelled as antiseptic as any hospital environment. Moving the woman to the downstairs bedroom was an easier task, and shifts were once again arranged so someone would be awake at all times to both ensure the protection of the house and keep a close eye on the stranger. The mobile observation unit Mak had scavenged the previous day from the hospital was put to use, and it was quick to show just how unwell their patient was - hypothermic, blood pressure of only seventy-over-forty, pulse well over a hundred beats a minute.

 

Through the night there was only the slightest of improvements. The frostbitten fingers and toes were mostly a lost cause and it came to a point where keeping them in water was starting to damage the healthy tissue more than regenerate the already-dead skin. The cannula Mak managed to site gave out early hours, but two bags of fluid had managed to go through and recover the blood pressure into the nineties. The only real victory was a gradual rise of body temperature back to a more normal thirty-six Celcius, but even then that took all twelve hours to get there.

 

Sunrise, and there was a subdued atmosphere in the house. The ghost of the previous two days haunted the place, lending an air of fragility and paranoia to the distinct coldness of a death having occurred - and, if they were honest with themselves, the good chance of another occurring soon. The medical training of Ez, Mak's general biological knowledge, and the combined experiences and knowledge-through-cultural-osmosis of the rest was enough to confirm that their newest arrival was not likely to last long.

 

Breakfast was laid out - simple, nearly-stale bread with spreads, and cereals with all the milk they could dream of. Mak had already eaten breakfast and was taking his shift to keep an eye on the woman when she finally stirred. Few words were exchanged between the pair at first; it was clear she was exhausted, in pain both physical and psychological, and while starving she could barely manage half a cup of warm sweet tea before feeling nauseous. Propped into a half-sitting position, plumped up with plenty of pillows, she simply stared at the wall opposite. Eyelids drooping Mak watched, unsure whether this was sleep or death stealing up over her, but when she next spoke it was with strength.

 

"How did you find your way home?"

 

"Home?" Mak replied, startled out of his own reverie. Death was not unknown to the young man, who had lost both parents by the time he had finished his first year of university and had known a few friends to pass away over the years. He'd never physically been near someone as they died though, never held a dead body, so the experiences of the previous night had already left him in a somber mood.

 

"Home. Earth. How did you managed to get back?" The woman opened her eyes and looked over at Mak, fixing him with an intense stare. Her eyes were still somehow a brilliant blue, almost unnaturally bright as she thirsted for knowledge he couldn't give her.

 

"We...never left," Mak replied cautiously. He'd heard of hallucinations near death and how real they could be to the sufferer, and he wondered if she was entering that state. Something to do with a lack of oxygen to the brain? What he didn't know is if he was supposed to buy into the fantasy or challenge it.

 

"Everyone left," she replied simply. "My husband and I...we woke up lying on the grass. It was still three in the morning by his watch. Everyone else was there - the Smiths at number five, Richard and his daughter from next door...just dumped. Abducted. We'd just had our first Slide and nobody knew - but it wasn't long before we took our first Step."

 

Yes, maybe she was hallucinating. But there was something about that description that made Mak truly, honestly believe that in fact this woman was not only telling the truth but may in fact hold the secret to the Rapture. "Just...hold that thought," he begged of her as he got up out of his chair and shuffled to the doorway, never once taking his eyes of the woman as for the first time in days something sparked inside of him.

 

"Guys. GUYS! Get in here!"

 

It wasn't the panicked call of the previous night when they were attacked. It wasn't the concerned call of someone seeing death unfold before them. There was a very particular edge of hope in Mak's voice as he called for the whole house to crowd into the bedroom.

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After he had helped carry the body of the dead man outside and bury them, James had mostly kept to himself. He didn't really feel like getting into a conversation with anyone, so he had retired back to his room and spent his time checking, cleaning and maintaining his weapons. He sat with his back to the door, so if anyone burst in without warning he'd be able to hide the pistol before it was spotted. He still had no intention of letting the others know he had it.

 

When everything was to his satisfaction, and the pistol hidden away again, James checked on Mr Durham's little package. He really needed a more secure place to hide it than in his backpack, but he didn't think anyone would go rummaging through his stuff. Still, best to be careful.

 

It wasn't until the next morning when James heard from any of the others. Waking up from where he had fallen asleep next to the window he realised that Mak was calling with some urgency. Grumbling to himself James grabbed the shotgun and headed downstairs.

 

"What's up?" he asked Mak, trying to supress a yawn. "We have another visitor?"

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Erin outright growled when someone - Mak, she realized a second later - started screaming; it had been a very long night and she was tired, damn it! Losing a pseudo-patient and then burying him was both exhausting and haunting enough that it wouldn't let you fall asleep afterword.

 

Still, this sounded important. At least enough so that it probably shouldn't be missed. Damn it.

 

She dragged herself downstairs, ignoring James to frown at Mak. "What?"

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Emily watched silently as the day came to an end. She was worried and for some reason felt unsafe. She had an urge to find something that might protect her but finding a weapon she needed was going to be a challenge. So in the end Emily got hold of a pole. It was strong and she could make it work for her in due time. For now she needed rest.

 

The young woman made herself comfortable in the living room. Nougat was sleeping on the floor next to her. Emily had clipped on her leash so that the dog won’t wander off towards their injured guest or cause a fright when someone’s not looking.

 

The night felt long and it caused Emily to feel even more tired. Sitting on the cough she listened to the noises of the outside world and the creeks of the house. When morning came she saw Mak heading toward the kitchen, most likely to fix up some breakfast. They young woman stayed where she was now and then patting her dogs who was now sitting next to her on the couch. Emily heard Mak once again move back to the bedroom to check up on their visitor but the silence didn’t last long.

He called everyone down and all Emily could do was fear for the worst.

“What’s happening?” she asked standing by the door frame.

 

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Ez helped carry out the man, bury him, and then stood over his grave until the rest had all gone. She was so confused. Everything in life was complicated, but now it was so much worse. When things cot too confusing, she'd think back to the simple things. Her job, her lack of social life, and the orders she was used to getting. Sure, losing a man was bound to happen, but this felt more like a civilian casualty than a man down. He looked like he had fought, but just couldn't make it. Ez heard soft knocks from behind her. She turned, but saw nothing. Looking up, Arwen had been knocking on the upstairs window, beckoning her up.

 

When Erin had offered Arwen the option of leaving the room, she hadn't taken it. Instead, she crawled back under the bed until the man's funeral was over. When Ez came up, it was late, so she crawled under the bed with Arwen, the cats and a couple of pillows and slept.

 

The pair were up early enough to have eaten a small, stale breakfast before Mak called frantically. Everyone was crowding, so Arwen jumped up onto Ez's back. She stiffened in discomfort and mild surprise, but she accepted the goings on and hiked her up into a proper piggyback. At the doorway to the downstairs bedroom, everyone seemed to be gathering and questioning. Ez held back a bit, but was forward enough that Arwen stopped asking her to get closer because she couldn't see.

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With the group gathered in the room Mak sat down in the seat closest to the woman, making sure there was space for everyone to fit in so they could hear. It took several moments for the woman to gather up the strength to speak, but once she started her story it flowed out uninterrupted.

 

* * * * * *

 

Her husband had never been an easy sleeper, suffering from restless leg, and so would often walk around the house late at night and be found dozing off in his dressing gown and slippers on the sofa, in the spare bedroom, even on the toilet once - a particularly embarrassing story that still brought a smile to her eyes whenever she thought about it. There was no doubt that Eugene was the love of her life, from their time in high school through the swinging Seventies, their marriage, raising three children and two grand-children at last count...to think that he was now gone...

 

That evening he had been up again. She knew this as he was in bed with her come eleven, but by two-thirty he was gone again. Rolling over she had dozed off once more, not concerned that he had disappeared for another nighttime wander. He would find a chance to rest and if she was lucky he would come to bed and hold her once more. The next thing she knew, however, was the sensation of free-fall followed by the harsh reality of hitting solid ground, sending a shock through her body and knocking the wind clean out of her.

 

Her eyes flew open, wondering for a moment if she had simply fallen out of bed - but even as she blinked sleep from her eyes she knew that wasn't the case. The carpet was instead a layer of brilliant green moss and twigs, and air as fresh as any she'd ever known was flowing over her bared skin. Sitting upright and feeling sore for her efforts she found that she was blinking back against sunlight, and that instead of being in the comfort of her bedroom she really was outside of a forest floor somewhere.

 

All around her she could hear familiar, panicked voices and cries of pain, but overriding that was the sound of retching. To her left not a few feet away was Eugene, kneeling on the grassy floor with a fresh pile of vomit before him, his face a ghastly pale colour and sweating profusely, arms trembling to keep him from keeling over. As she tenderly got up and made her way over to him she realised that it wasn't just Eugene who was in such a terrible state; she could see the Daniels from next door in a similar state, however poor Nicola's arm was bent at an unnatural angle and she didn't seem to know whether to vomit or cry in pain. But right now, Eugene was her priority.

 

* * * * * *

 

She and Eugene had got off lightly; despite the drop she was simply bruised, while Eugene had simply felt ill, like the time his gall bladder had burst and left him in shock afterwards, but within ten minutes he was right as rain again. Most of their neighbours were also in this unusual forest in their night attire - unfortunate for the young couple who had apparently been post-coitus and had only a lacy bra between them - and suffering from a range of injuries from being dropped from height. One poor old boy had crack his head on a tree on the way down and while the bleeding had stopped they couldn't wake him up. She feared that it was brain damage.

 

Doing what they could to help the less able to gather together, the question of how they had gotten here was left aside in favour of exactly where they were. While it was clearly some form of forest, with trees and shrubs and a mossy surface underfoot, not one of them could actually recognise a single species of plant-life. And there was something about the air that held an odd tang that they couldn't quite place a finger on. As for how it was suddenly daytime when those with watches could confirm it was half three in the morning was another matter altogether.

 

Withdrawing from the group, Eugene confided in her that he was worried about the group in general; they were the only two who hadn't sustained injuries from whatever had happened, and given that there was certainly a few fractures and head injuries meant that they needed help fast. No-one had a phone on them, and he doubted shouting into the forest would do anyone any favours if they couldn't actually tell someone where precisely they were. He had first suggested striking out alone to look for help while she looked after the others but she wasn't having any of that; like hell would she let Eugene go anywhere alone and besides not everyone in the neighbourhood had been incapacitated. No, they would walk together.

 

* * * * * *

 

It was, they decided, another world they had landed in. It was outlandish at best, but after a couple of hours she and Eugene couldn't come up with a better answer. Everything was just wrong, just a little off. Plants seemed so close but not the same, the trees had a much softer bark than at home, and the wild birds they had seen overheard were a more brilliant kaleidoscope of colours than anything England had to offer. The sun was just a bit more orange and a bit less bright, but after a while they accepted it as normal it was so close to their own. And how did they get there? It seemed like everyone had been in their own bed at home and dropped from a height, with the exception of Eugene who had dozed off in the comfy chair and so when he appeared he had simply landed heavily on his backside.

 

* * * * * *

 

"We searched for a few hours, but the forest simply carried on for miles without end, and we were worried we were already lost," the narrator said to the group. "But it wasn't long before we met a few others from the village over, and they had experienced nearly the same as we had - and by my reckoning we had even walked the same distance it took when we were back here, at home. So it was at that point that the suggestion was raised that we had been taken en mass. Ludicrous of course, and I think we spent a good day or two arguing about it with the new group. We weren't sure we could find our way back, and the silence of that forest was so oppressive that we just felt alone.

 

"One kid coined the phrase 'Slipped,' like we'd accidentally fallen out of our world and into another, and it stuck. Between foraging for something that looked vaguely edible and tracking down a meager stream, debating and arguing what had happened was all we could do - until the Lopers arrived."

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Erin felt an icy-hot flash of dread and got progressively more nauseous as the woman told her story. Her mother. Her sister...

 

What the hell was a 'Loper'?

 

"Is that anything like a Rake?" she asked. It would've made sense, what with the gashes th- Eugene had had.

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Micah had not slept well that night. Laying to rest the old man that they had failed to save was one thing, it was a wretched, miserable experience but at least it was over with. The one with the old woman currently fighting for her life in the living room downstairs, however, was ongoing, and wondering if she was going to be all right and knowing there wasn't much more any of them could do for her, as well as knowing that even if she pulled through this her husband would still be dead, had kept Micah tossing and turning throughout much of the night.

 

When he finally dragged his bleary-eyed self out of bed and down the stairs Micah realized that not only did everyone else seem to be already up - not so much a surprise in itself, as the last couple nights of poor sleep had kept him in bed relatively late that morning - but that they were all gathered around where they'd made the old woman comfortable last night. Approaching the group, Micah could hear the old woman speak in a quiet tone, and tried not to make too much noise as he settled in to hear her story.

 

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"I'm not sure what you mean by a rake dear, but I can tell you it was nothing like any Earth-bound animal I know." Pausing to take a sip of water, the woman continued her story.

 

* * * * * *

 

The problems were mounting on the group, some minor while others were much more intimidating to deal with. For a start most people were in the barest of outfits, nightdresses and pyjamas and underwear, so the majority of them were having difficulties keeping warm. For those who had succumbed quickly to their wounds there was no dignity in death as their often-bloodstained clothing was taken from their bodies and draped over those still living. Food and drink as they knew it was non-existent, and more than one person was left with crippling food poisoning as they attempted the local plant-life, although one particular fruit-bearing tree seemed safe to eat. A small stream was used as a source of drink but again the unknown pathogens of this planet did not agree with everyone. Shelter at least could be fashioned from the tress and branches, but no matter how one looked at it Maslow's basic needs were only just being met.

 

There was the issue with time as well; for those who still had watches to hand they quickly worked out that this was indeed another planet, with the days shorter by several hours and thus leaving the natural circadian rhythms of the group off by a large margin. Fear bred anxiety and hostility, the overwhelming truth bringing religious and atheistic persons to crises of faith that saw many switch camps with their theological opposites. Some simply could not cope and swiftly withdrew into a catatonic state. And it turned out not everyone was present; some families were split and separated, unable to find where husbands or daughters or lovers had gone. Whatever had caused this mass Slip seemed to be indiscriminate as to who had been taken.

 

Their only saving grace for the last couple of days (Earth-time) was the lack of wildlife; all they had come across so far were analogues of lower forest wildlife. Whether it was due to animals Slipping over to this planet or a happy case of convergent evolution, they could readily identify analogies to bird, rabbits and even deer, giving rise to the serious conversation about expanding their food sources as well as providing warmth and clothing. Sadly no-one appeared to be an expert on Neanderthalic hunting methods and so the group really were on the road to reinventing the wheel as they tried first of all to find rocks and stones that they could fashion crude knives from, after which shaping rudimentary spears, bows and arrows would be their next choice. So far no larger predator had been spotted.

 

* * * * * *

 

The first time a Loper was seen it was during broad daylight. The creature was spotted at a distance stumbling through the trees, at first a ridiculous-looking affair that was all long limbs and ungainly gait that seemed utterly out of place in the environment they found themselves. It seemed entirely unnatural for a forest which was full of greens and browns to see something that was a pale grey in colour and apparently half again the height of a man at the shoulder. The legs seemed too long and weak, the body far too lean, and so grossly uncoordinated that it was more akin to an albino, short-necked giraffe. The creature stumbled away long before anyone decided to get closer.

 

* * * * * *

 

The second time it was at dusk, and when the Loper appeared in the middle of the group all thoughts of comedic giraffes was swiftly replaced by pure terror. Up close it became utterly menacing; the gaunt head held three milky-white eyes on either side, and unnaturally sharp teeth that filled the over-sized jaw. The spindly legs were covered in taut muscles and ended with four sharp claws, and while it was skinny enough to recognise basic skeletal structure it was clearly designed by nature to be an apex predator of some sort.

 

Whether or not Slipping was something that came as second nature to the beast was a debate left for the following morning as they counted the dead. All that could be agreed upon was that it did indeed seem disorientated, perhaps even scared; that it took perhaps a minute to stop weaving around on its legs; and when it finally got moving it was an unstoppable force of nature that tore through their group furiously.

 

* * * * * *

 

"Five people were killed outright. Seven more died from blood loss by morning, although using strange leaves to pack the wounds may have also poisoned their bodies anyway." The woman drew her thin arms around her. "One creature was bad enough, but knowing it could just appear like that and wreak havoc? We thought that the worst had happened when we were Slipped from our homes, but it turned out our nightmare was just beginning."

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Arwen clutched Ez tightly as the woman told her story. She was so scared and wanted to leave, but thought that it would be important for her to stay. Tears were slowly finding their way down her cheeks, but she remained silent.

 

------------------------------

 

Ez could almost feel Arwen's fear, but she remained silent. She would ask for help if she wanted it, Ez assumed. What the woman was describing was similar to what they had seen in the hospital before their - erm - tactical retreat. Before all of this, Ez wouldn't have believed most of what the woman was saying. She could have been kidnapped and drugged, but that way of thinking wasn't going to fly anymore. Not when everyone has seen a monster of some kind and a few of them saw someone disappear right in front of them. Ez would have dismissed this woman as a drug addict, but that was before all of the craziness had begun. So she listened and prepared herself the best she could to adapt to whatever was coming for them next.

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Erin had meant to explain the Rake creepypasta, but dismissed it in favor of swallowing a dry lump in her throat. Those things in the hospital had to have been Lopers. She glanced over at Arwen quickly, wondering again how she had managed to avoid them all those days.

 

She wondered how badly everyone they'd lost was holding up... Wherever they were. If nothing else, she hoped they'd all died quickly.

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Micah felt his head clearing as he listened to the woman's story. He hadn't been there for the beginning of it but he could guess how it had started well enough; it seemed they now knew where all the missing people had disappeared to. Hope mixed with fear as he looked at the woman as she rested on the recliner; if she'd gotten back, did that mean more people could come back home? Although, if they were in the shape she was in, or worse, her husband . . . was it really best if they came back just to die?

 

When the woman described the Lopers Micah's eyes widened and he turned his head around looking for Wisperlee; he hadn't seen anything like what the woman had described in real life, but the girl in question had shown him a picture of a creature that looked very much like it. However Micah didn't have the picture on him now and he didn't know if Wisperlee did at the moment either. He didn't want get anyone worried for nothing so he didn't say anything at the moment. Besides, according to Wisperlee, that picture had been taken a long ways away, so hopefully they had nothing to worry about.

 

"You said the Lopers were really big - did you happen to see any smaller otherworldly creatures, maybe looking kind of like monkeys or gremlins, with spines on their backs?" Micah asked the woman, remembering their encounter the night before last. He was interested to learn that the world that most everyone had been Raptured to seemed to have wildlife that was mostly similar to that on this earth, with the Lopers being an apparent outlier, but he was much more curious about exactly how she'd gotten back here. If a few people were starting to return, so could others, and Micah wanted to be as prepared as possible if that was the case.

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Wisperlee hadn't slept much - if at all - that night. She'd been outside when the man collapsed, but the commotion had drawn her in just in time to witness his death. The closest she'd ever been to people dying was in World of Warcraft raids and that was definitely not the same thing. At all.

 

"Guys. GUYS! Get in here!"

 

She shot up, nearly tripping over Cujo and already halfway downstairs when she realized that Mak's call had been urgent, but not urgent-urgent. She stopped in her tracks - causing Cujo to bump into her - and glanced down at herself. Boxers and a t-shirt. Was that decent enough for a group meeting? Oh what the heck. Yeah, it was decent enough given the circumstances. She continued down the stairs.

 

"What up?" She headed straight for the coffeepot as she walked in. Cujo continued on to Emily and Nougat, happily greeting his fellow canine.

 

She was already on her second cup by the time the woman's story ended. Well now I'm awake. She wasn't sure if it was the coffee or the tale though.

 

Wisperlee caught Micah looking at her and nodded. Gotcha. She knew what he meant. At least, she thought she did - given his upbringing, he might be trying to communicate "go put more clothes on" instead. "I have a pic of a Loper, I think. I'll show it to you later." she said to the woman.

 

She was silent for a moment, considering her options and how crazy she'd sound, before she decided to plough on. "I think I've been to the place you describe. Not physically though - mentally. In my dreams."

 

Before anyone could comment on that, she continued. "The odds of an alien planet resembling ours so much that we can survive there and it has similar fauna, are pretty small. Either these creatures can fold space, allowing them to be everywhere at once and cherry picking where they go, or we're talking *the same planet* in a different continuum. Like earth in a parallel universe or - based on the sun your described - aeons in the future." She turned her attention to woman. "Did you see any star patterns at night? Even in an alternate universe or time, star patterns would be best to see if you were here-not-here or really-not-here." Her demeanour was calm and focused - alternate earths and space bending aliens weren't that strange to her after a lifetime of devouring sci-fi.

 

 

((Sorry for my absence!

@ Kestra, I missed most of the autopsy. Anything interesting about the creature's physiology? Also, what is the woman's name again?

@ Quhanta, did I remember to have Wisperlee give Jaune's ferret to Arwen yet?

@ All, did the team manage to get a generator up and running?))

Edited by Mistress of Whispers

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Erin noticed a potential flaw in Wisperlee's "star patterns" plan and raised a questioning finger.

 

"Wait, if they somehow went bajillions of years into the future, wouldn't the stars have burnt out or changed position so much it would look like a whole different sky?

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((OOC: No worries Whisper, these things happen! They do have a working generator that is generally on in the evenings for a few hours, but can be fired up as required. You can take it as a given that mobile devices are fully charged in the evenings as needed. And the autopsy report is on the top of pg 82, and was filmed for anyone to view. - KM))

 

The woman looked blankly at Wisperlee for a moment, then gave a thin smile.

 

"There was a small, red moon in the sky at night, and a smaller grey lump that seemed to move quickly," she said succinctly. "The stars were stars - no constellations any of us could recognise. And as for you being there in your dreams..." The woman sighed, glancing around at the group.

 

"Some of us found that we could...sense that there was something more. Not me, but a couple mentioned that they could almost see or feel their way back here. They disappeared the day after the Loper attacked, and we could never be sure if they found their way back here or Slipped somewhere else. But another - a young girl, like yourself - said that she thought she knew the Loper was coming, but didn't say anything because she thought she was being paranoid. After the attack we listened to her paranoia the next time - and yes, young man, something else came through. Small, ape-like things with spikes on their backs, claws, tough hides...they've made their way to Earth then?"

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"True to an extent," Wisperlee replied to Erin. "Precession would have shifted the stars, plus a bunch of them would burn out quicker than life on earth. But we know what the stars on the other side of the world look like, and science has documented the stars we currently can't see because the others shine too bright. I bet I could write a program to account for both, if someone hasn't already and-" she stopped when the other woman spoke up again, and blushed slightly as she realized she'd gotten carried away.

 

She mentally filed the discussion about stars and moons away for later, and nodded as the woman described the hooked monkey. "I think we've seen one of them too."

 

"I didn't catch your name yesterday. I'm Wisperlee." It felt a little awkward talking to someone without even knowing their name. "I'm sorry about Eugene."

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"Yup" Erin nodded at the woman's question about the Gremlins, "A couple of them snuck into the house last night."

 

She nodded at each man respectively. "Mak chased one off, Micah put a bullet in the other's head."

 

She shuddered a little. "Judging by its innards alone, it definitely wasn't from Earth."

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(No, Arwen doesn't have the ferret yet.)

 

Ez listened on quietly and took into account all of the new information that she could. When a quiet moment appeared, she took advantage of it and asked a question that had been in the back of her mind for a while.

 

"Do these things have heightened senses compered to humans? Better hearing, sense of smell, or eyesight?" The woman may not know, but it was worth asking. She sandwiched her real question, the smell, in the middle, so as not to be so straightforward with her suspicion. How little Arwen survived in that hospital on her own for so long was making her curious.

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"My name is Hannah," the woman replied, smiling at Wisperlee. "And as for their senses we couldn't be sure. We just knew that our little corner of Paradise was swiftly turning to Hell."

 

* * * * * *

 

What could be salvaged from the dead was taken by the survivors and shared around. Clothing that was bloodied and torn was turned to bandages and torniques, and the more intact items were given to the weaker members that had somehow held on. Needless to say the group moved from the spot of the bloodbath, but not so far as to loose their bearings on where the food and water had gone. So far the core of the group had remained the same, although others had come and gone as they wandered looking for others - or just in shock. Hannah and Eugene stuck close together at all times, just as scared as the next person, wondering just when the next disaster would strike.

 

What came next was the slightest stroke of hope; midway through the day the young girl who had retrospectively warned them of the Loper perked up, looking towards the centre of the group with a look of concern and concentration on her face, and whispered to the others that she could sense someone. Naturally there was a scramble and a rush to escape the spot she was looking at even as she clarified she felt it was another person and not a monster, but it wasn't until said person appeared that the group relaxed.

 

The man who appeared and dropped to all fours to vomit was in a much better state than anyone else they'd seen; fully clothed for a start, wearing a small backpack and the kind of multi-pocketed vest that hunters or soldiers wore, a pistol and knife strapped to his belt. Even as he vomited he was looking around cautiously at the group, and did his best to sit back on his heels as soon as dignity allowed.

 

"Hello," he said weakly."

 

* * * * * *

 

"We had called it Slipping; accidentally moving from our world to this one. He, in turn, described what he had done as Stepping - being able to intentionally move between one world and the next. He didn't stay long, but he stuck around just long enough to give us one last burst of hope." Hannah leaned forward in the bed, a smile playing on her lips. "What happened that first night was indeed an accident. Quite how it happened I don't know. But it turns out that while it may have been an accident the first time, from then on we could control it ourselves."

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