Rapture

[Fangirl05]

Wait, was she saying they could've come back to Earth whenever but didn't until their fingers had turned black? Meh, she could question her stupidity later.

 

"All of you could come and go from there to here whenever you wanted?"

[Avialae]

Erin answered the old woman's question about the smaller creatures before Micah could, so he remained silent. He didn't know to be relieved or disappointed that the smaller animals had showed up there, too. He didn't know what it meant that their radius of appearance was apparently so large.

 

When the woman - Hannah, as she'd finally said her name was - mentioned the man wearing the vest with the pistol and knife showing up Micah couldn't help feeling his heart lift crazily in his chest. It probably wasn't him; the chances were infinitestimately small, but he still had to ask, if only to make sure. An irrational hope surged within him nevertheless. He would feel so much better if they had definite news about one of their own group that had disappeared. "That man you met, did he say what his name was?" he asked Hannah. "We lost one of our own group a couple days ago; he just vanished into thin air. He was dressed similarly to the man you describe. His name was Alistair . . ."

Edited April 23, 2016 by Avialae

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily’s body turned cold as she listened to the woman’s story. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that something like this is really happening. Another world, which you can accidently fall into? That’s just insane.

 

When the woman spoke about a giant creature they called a Loper Emily’s eyes grew wide. Emily slowly raised her hand and touched her head where her scar was healing. The day of the explosion, she saw something in the tree line but she was knocked out before she could tell anyone where to look.

 

“I… I think Loper’s have made their why here as well.” Emily spoke while she played the incident in her mind.

 

[Quhanta]

Emily mentioning that she saw a Loper made Ez tense and put more focus onto her surroundings, becoming more on edge than she had been. 'Boarding up the windows may not be as useful as they's thought, especially if they get bigger than what they's already seen.' Ez's thoughts were interrupted when something dripped onto the side of her forehead. Arwen couldn't contain it any longer. The thought of having huge monsters so close, hurting people, and killing the man became too much for her. Tears started pouring and then the crying began. She tried to choke it down, but that was making it worse. She climbed down from Ez's back and curled up on the floor with her back to the wall. Not knowing exactly what to do, Ez squatted down and pet the top of her head silently. Although she was annoyed that this would pause the stream of information, she could understand the stress that would cause her reaction. Petting her head wasn't the best thing to do, but that's all she knew to do.

[Kestra15]

Hannah was visibly drained from telling her story, so Mak decided to give her a moment to gather her reserves before she finished.

 

"You think you saw a Loper?" he asked, looking over at Emily. "I'm starting to think that what had us cornered in the hospital might have been a pair of them, but when did you see one?" It was a non-confrontational tone he took with their colleague, not wanting to make her feel like he was angry with her for not saying earlier.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Wisperlee was about to ask another question of Hannah, when Arwen started crying. Ez awkwardly patted the girl's head, which didn't seem to register through the grief at all. Still Arwen trusted Ez more than anyone so it was probably best to let her handle it. Dammit, they needed a psych counsellor. The strain was most obvious in the little girl, but Wisperlee figured Arwen couldn't be the only one close to a break down.

 

She caught Mak's question to Emily and glanced up at the pair. Wisperlee was faintly aware of something slipping down from her neck and onto the floor. Leaving the impromptu nest of Wisperlee's hair, Jaune's ferret padded over to Arwen. It stopped briefly to sniff the girl's hand, little nose and whiskers moving, and then curled up against her. Having belonged to Jaune, the ferret was used to the job of comfort animal. Seeing a little two-leg cry was oddly familiar to the animal, dulling to loss of its previous owner and sparking routines in its little brain.

[Fangirl05]

Erin looked over at Arwen sadly. It kind of amazed her that the poor thing was only freaking out now. Ez and the ferret apparently had the comforting bit covered, albeit awkwardly on Ez's part, so she stayed where she was.

 

 

"Don't worry, Arwen" she tried to reassure her, "These things may be dangerous, but we've got two trained fighters and a thug on our side. If they come around looking for trouble, we'll be ready for them."

[DragonSpirit009]

“The day of the explosion.” Emily spoke as she recalled what happened. “I saw something in the distance move and it looked a bit abnormal. I wanted to tell you to stop the taxi but…” She looked at Mak. “But we were then hit by that shockwave of the explosion. I thought it was just part of the head injury I got but the way Hannah described them… It couldn’t be a coincidence.”

[Fortune86]

Horrific as Hannah's story was, James couldn't help but feel a twinge of hope. If the people who were being taken were simply being dropped off in another world rather than killed outright, it meant his brothers could still be alive. If anyone could survive that nightmare, Theodore and Edward would.

 

He had so many questions, mostly, 'how' and 'why', but James knew Hannah wouldn't know the answers. It was fortunate that she was able to give them what information she had.

 

"Okay" he said with a small shake of his head. "So it's official, we're under some kind of attack from creatures that come from another place. Could be faeries, could be aliens, could be demons, we don't know and it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we shore up some defenses. Traps maybe. Anything to lessen the chances of a sneak attack. We know they can be hurt and killed, lets work with that for now."

 

He turned to Hannah, hoping she would be able to answer at least one question.

 

"I know you probably want to rest, but can you tell us how intelligent these things are? Do you know if they are capable of thinking on our level?"

 

James knew a couple of things about building traps. Making some up to fool creatures of animal level intelligence would be simple enough, but if they could think like humans he'd have to try some different methods, and that could raise questions.

[Kestra15]

Hannah seemed to have recovered her strength to continue her story, and Mak declined from pressing Emily further about the issue. He was under no illusion what Hannah's chances of survival was without proper medical help, and given the damage to her fingers and toes even if she did last the new few days she would be permanently crippled. Harsh though it was to think it, Emily had longer to tell her story than Hannah did.

 

"To answer your questions; we couldn't go whenever we wanted, not yet," she started by pointing to Erin weakly. "Stepping isn't an easy task, and not everyone could do it at first, and it's easy to get lost when you Step or Slip. And his name was Rich, not Alistair - I'm sorry you lost your friend." It was clear Hannah had said those words time and again over the last week, but she still managed to inject some sincerity.

 

"I have no doubt that you saw somewhere in your dreams, young lady," she continued, looking over at Wisperlee. "Some people knew when the Lopers were coming. Some knew where to Step to. Some, like Rich, could sense where the 'soft spots' were. I always knew, beyond doubt, where Eugene was even after he Stepped. Once the sheer craziness of the situation came to light those who had though they were simply going mad spoke up - although some of them actually were mad," she chuckled.

 

"And intelligent? No. Lopers, the little spiky ones, they were animals. They never showed anything more intelligent than a trapped badger or pack of ferrets. They seem to be instinctive creatures that were at times as lost and scared as we are. But while the smaller ones as often as not tried to avoid us the Lopers were always, always vicious. Eugene knows that better than anyone," she ended sadly.

[Fangirl05]

Erin frowned guiltily at the mention of Eugene; she still felt like there was more she could've done.

 

Wait, did she bring him up on purpose? Really bad time to be passive aggressive, lady. Meh, she could bring that up later if she felt particularly jerk-ish. Right now there was a more pressing issue to bring up:

 

"Are they more active at night?"

[Quhanta]

Arwen cuddled the ferret close to her cheek, her loud cries fading into ragged breaths and a few hiccups. Ez continued to pet her head awkwardly as she listened.

 

"If Lopers are the smartest, and they're that dim, I can offer to surround whatever perimeter you'd like with traps. James looks like a hunter to me, so I'm sure he can make traps too, right?" Ez spoke at an efficient pace, nodding to James when his name came up.

[Fortune86]

"I'm pretty sure I can throw a few things together" replied James as he started to construct some plans mentally. But we better set up the perimiter first. I don't want anyone blundering into one of our traps by mistake."

 

He looked over at Arwen, who was holding onto the ferret for dear life.

 

"Someone better keep a close eye on the Peanut too."

[Mistress of Whispers]

"I'll come with," Wisperlee said to James. "I have a nagging suspicion that my days as internet entrepreneur are over, so I need to learn something new." The group had been solid so far, but Wisperlee was still wary of losing her usefulness.

 

She half-turned her attention to Hannah again. She wondered how stepping worked, and who some people - according to Hannah's tale - were better at it than others. Was it psychological? Genetic? Chemical? She tried to recall her dream; the strange blue-green light, waving grass, the odd scents on the air. Maybe if she recalled it vividly enough...

 

((Wisperlee is trying to figure out how stepping works, even if she - obviously - doesn't expect it to work on the spot.))

 

[Kestra15]

"I don't think Lopers are more active during our night, but where they come from..." Hannah sighed, and as she closed her eyes once more Mak feared they had pushed her too far that morning. He looked around the room as the rest started talking about the next step of their plan, some chatting animatedly while others looked deep in though, but as Hannah stirred to launch into the final part of her story all attention focused on her.

 

* * * *

 

Rich's news of being able to move between worlds was met with the full gamut of human emotions, from despair to rage to disbelief to hope. Eugene and Hannah fell firmly into the latter category - the idea that they could escape this nightmare and return home appealed to them strongly. The last few days had already done enough to turn their world upside-down, and thoughts on theology, of God and the Devil or Gaia or Nirvana, were now superseded by the frailty of the physical body. They were cold and hungry despite their best efforts, and disease was already starting to spread as bodies began to pile up. They knew that the basics of modern medicine would take it all away if only they could access it.

 

Rich warned them of the Step-sickness, the feeling of weakness immediately after Stepping or Slipping. Vomiting, weakness, dizziness, sometimes passing out...a doctor in the crowd suggested it was some form of shock, and a student of physics concurred once the doctor explained how shock could come about. They were moving their bodies between places in space (and perhaps time?), so of course it would take a moment for the body to catch up. In that moment the body was potentially missing a few heartbeats, or waiting for the whole of it's circulatory volume to start up - and starved momentarily of oxygen or depleted of circulating volume, the body reacted just like a major bleed or a sudden drop in blood pressure. Rich warned that for some people it was a passing sensation while others it could down them for a long time, which was exactly what happened the first time they had all Slipped.

 

It was relatively simple once someone knew how to Step, and Rich did his best to explain what it was like. It was an ability that - as far as he was aware - was accessible by all, but like all abilities it would come naturally to some and be a struggle for others. He had noticed that he could Step what he was carrying, but the heavier it was the worse he felt after a Step, and while he could Step another living person he couldn't take anything physically bigger. Electrical systems didn't seem to like the move much, but small simple clockwork devices stayed intact. He was sure that, in time, he could be more precise with his Stepping, but he was as much a novice as anyone else.

 

* * * * *

 

"I wish I'd asked him what he meant by precise," Hannah lamented. "Eugene would probably still be alive if I had. We thought maybe he meant that he could chose where he would reappear - in his own home, at work, at a hospital - but when we finally made out first Step we realised that it wasn't so simple."

 

* * * * *

 

Stepping was difficult. The best way Hannah and Rich could describe it was like trying to take a step sidewise through a shadow while spinning the opposite direction without ever moving. It sounded utterly outlandish to the group the first time Rich said it, and some of the sceptics had openly scoffed and walked on by that point. Hannah and Eugene had exchanged a glance themselves, but given all they had seen it was probably the least outlandish thing of the whole week. With demonstrable difficulty Rich spent half an hour trying to describe in minute detail how he felt, how the whole process looked, but no luck. Finally, exasperated, he offered to take someone for a Step himself and then hopefully return. He warned that he may not be able to come back, that it would tire him and his passenger, but he didn't know how else to explain it.

 

A long, uncomfortable pause followed until finally the young lass who had explained how she felt the Loper was coming offered. With fear in her eyes she had taken the strange man's hand, took a deep breath, and with only a faint sound like a breeze the two disappeared.

 

A tense half-hour later they reappeared, the girl collapsing to her knees and vomiting copiously, but despite her clear illness there was a look of peace and bliss on her face as she whispered she had seen home. As she slipped into unconsciousness for a few minutes the equally-shaken Rich shakily handed over proof of his return journey; a map of the village just a few miles south of where Hannah and Eugene lived. They really had gone home.

 

When the girl came round she gave her own explanation of Stepping - that she felt like she was able to visualise the clearing they were in, that she could almost feel the others there, and as Rich took her hand she could almost feel him reaching out and grabbing that world and diving in even as he stood still. She had been home, and she knew how to return - and she wouldn't stop until she was safe in her own bed.

 

What followed for the rest of that day was a sporadic exodus as people stood, sat, meditated, napped, ran, jumped, pirouetted and every other weird and wonderful way of focusing oneself until finally someone would simply disappear. One particular instance a young man who had simply been leaning by a tree looking out into the sky had stood upright, pointed at the ground just before him, snatched the hand of the doctor who had been relaxing nearby and pulled him forwards to the seemingly empty patch of land. The young man had disappeared; the doctor remained, complaining of feeling like he'd suffered whiplash.

 

And then, finally, Eugene had gently took Hannah's hand with a soft smile. No words were needed. Eugene had somehow figured it out, come to the edge of Stepping himself away, and stopped just long enough to find his beloved wife and take her with him. Leaning in for a tender kiss and embrace, Hannah rested her head on his shoulders and took it on faith and love that he would find their way home.

 

* * * *

 

"It was so, so bitterly cold," Hannah shivered, drawing the blankets around her as the memory of what happened next came to her. Eyes looking at the wall opposite, just over the head of her audience, tears welled up. "I found myself on the floor, retching at what little I had managed to eat as Eugene did the same. Where we were...it was not home. It was the darkness of a stormy evening, the air sharp and as thin as it was in the Alps, making it hard and painful to breath. The ground was like ice beneath our bared feet, and while I could feel some sort of large, leafy foliage it was hard to make it out under the tiny blue orb that I presume was the sun.

 

"The world we were in - I thought we were in Purgatory at first, that in our blind attempt to transcend God's power He had punished us. But wasn't that where we had already been? Were we instead now in Hell? Eugene took longer to recover than I did, and when he finally sat up he was so pale, so clammy, that I laid him down again to rest. I don't know how much time passed, but I do know that what sleep we both got was fitful. I wish...I wish I had been strong enough for us both, that I had encouraged him to try again, for us to leave. But we were so drained by then...

 

"The cold, the fear, the lack of food and drink, had sapped us. When we finally managed to stand we were in pain, barely able to do so leaning against one another. And that's when I finally heard it; the faintest of footfalls. You see, the Loper was awkward and ungainly in that forest and I foolishly thought that was what they were. An abomination, a demon or an evolutionary dead-end I couldn't be sure. But what I never thought was they were only so malcoordinated because they were out of their habitat.

 

"We felt light, like we were in the shallow end of the swimming pool, bouncing on our feet. But the Loper that ran at us was pure grace and menace - it knew how to move here. Before we knew it the beast had rammed us both, sending me tumbling away and pinning Eugene to the ground. I got to my feet and made to run back but Eugene was screaming at me to run, already had his hands on the vicious maw of the creature and trying to hold it off. I knew...I wanted to help, but how could I? I had nothing. I yelled at Eugene, reminded him we could Step, to try and escape that way. And he did, but not before..."

 

Hannah's voice caught. "You...you saw what happened," she finished lamely. "He Stepped, I ran as the Loper looked up, focused on where Eugene was, and I arrived here. Too late."

Edited May 16, 2016 by Kestra15

[Avialae]

Even though Micah had already known that the man Hannah had spoken of probably wouldn't have been Alistair, he couldn't help but feel disappointment surge through him when the old woman told him his name. "I - I see. Thank you anyway," he told her shakily. Still. At least he now knew that there was a good chance that Alistair was still alive, out there somewhere. As well as his sister and the rest of his original traveling group, the rest of his family, Nay, the girl that had disappeared the morning after he had joined this group, he couldn't remember her name, the several people the other members of this group had mentioned disappearing before he'd joined up, and even Jaune. He couldn't help but shudder at thinking about the fall his sister must have taken Slipping from the third floor of that pub they'd been staying at in that tiny village that he'd joined up in; but there was nothing he could do about it now. He had a sudden urge to make a trip back there, to see if she'd returned. If she had, she wouldn't even have any clothes to wear, since Micah had taken their only suitcase. Realizing that Hannah was speaking again, Micah turned his attention back to her.

 

He went cold as he realized that an entire field of people had disappeared along with the two people that they'd found last night. Granted, they hadn't really been looking, but they hadn't seen any sign of anyone - not even the sound of footsteps. Surely Stepping, at least on purpose, must be a transgression against God, like Hannah had said. But wait - hadn't Hannah and Eugene said that they'd gone exploring, and come across people from nearby towns? Maybe these people were from a different place, and that was why no one had found them. "The people you were with that learned to Step along with you," Micah asked Hannah slowly, trying to think of the best way to put it, not wanting to alarm the injured woman and further damage her health, "were they from this town or a different one? And if they weren't from this town, do you know the name of the one they were from?" If any of the people Hannah and Eugene were with had managed to make it back home, maybe their group could find them, give them help if they needed it - or if they didn't, at least let them know they weren't alone.

[Fangirl05]

Erin frowned thoughtfully; if these things were in their element in temperatures cold enough to cause frostbite, maybe the landscape itself would've enough to take them out. It may have been England, but it was still May. They wouldn't be able to survive the heat until winter.

 

Would they?

 

Her expression softened sympathetically at Hannah's grief. "You were out of your element and that thing was in its" she tried to convince her, "If you'd run at it any sooner, the last thing Eugene would've ever seen was you getting torn in half."

 

An idea suddenly occurred to her and she turned toward Arwen with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. "You paying attention, Arwen?" she asked her, nodding at Hannah, "Everybody in her group figured out how to get back from wherever they were. Your parents will find their way back to you."

Edited May 17, 2016 by Fangirl05

[DragonSpirit009]

They did this stepping thing and yet they landed in even more danger Emily thought to herself. What if one of them were to accidentally slip into this stepping and land in a frozen waste land, like these people. Another question, where was this frozen place was? Our world or theirs? How can the prevent this but at the same time help those who gone missing.

 

Emily felt sick. All of this news wasn’t working so well with her stomach. She needed fresh air but at the same time she was to even afraid to move.

 

“I think you should rest a bit Hannah. Reliving all of this might cause more harm than good. Unless there is something more you need to tell us?”

 

[Mistress of Whispers]

"So there's three planets?" Wisperlee mused aloud. "Ours, the Loper planet, and one that's foreign to both of us. And the latter is where everyone was relocated to?" She continued without confirmation. "What if the Lopers are victims of displacement too, and showing up here is their version of stepping mishaps?" Not that it mattered much - even as victims, they were still violent killers.

 

 

[Fangirl05]

"Then they die in the same kind of terror that all of ours did" Erin answered, cracking her knuckles, "And if they haven't yet, then they damn well will."

[Kestra15]

It was clear to Mak and the others that Hannah was well and truly drained by the time she had finished telling her tale, and other than sadly informing Micah that she had forgotten which of the little villages near Cambridge that the others were from - though the impression was that it was only those within walking distance - there was little else they were going to get from the woman that morning. As she closed her eyes Mak's own heart skipped a beat and he held his breath in anticipation, but it was soon evident that she was simply sleeping. Mak got to his feet softly and beckoned for the others to leave, indicating they could reconvene in the living room.

 

As the last of the group left Hannah's room Mak pulled the door shut and came to join them in the living room, where the forgotten remnents of breakfast sat on the arms of chairs and edges of tables. Pulling their door closed as well so that they could give Hannah some peace and quiet Mak turned to the group and blew out a long-held breath.

 

"So...what now?" he asked, knowing full well the question was anything but simple.

[Fangirl05]

"Now we break out the aerosol and cigarette lighters and kill those loping ess-oh-bees with fire" Erin suggested, "And maybe dip those arrows of yours in gas and light 'em up, Mak."

[Avialae]

Micah let out a long sigh. He'd been very disappointed that Hannah couldn't remember the name of the village that the people she'd been with when she'd found her way back to their world were from. "Well, I'd been hoping to take a trip to the village that the rest of the people that Rich guy taught to Step were from - some of them must have made it back in one piece. Maybe find a doctor for Hannah, if one is available. But I guess that's out the window since she doesn't remember the name of the village where they were from. Unless any of you think it would be worthwhile to check everyplace within walking distance," he said, brightening momentarily. Granted, Micah had no idea of the surrounding geography, but he could get a map, and using Alistair's car would make things go much faster. It just depended on how many places there were to check.

[Quhanta]

Hearing about how everyone could disappear into another world at any moment made the hair on the back of Ez's neck stand on end. Arwen, on the other hand, stared blankly at her own shoes, shaking and whimpering. Erin's observations about her parents made her look up for a moment, but she returned her gaze to her shoes slowly after. All she could think about were the monsters and how her mummy and papa were out there somewhere. When they were to leave the room, Ez carried Arwen and her new pet to the living room and then didn't object to her hiding in a corner, half behind half beside a large armchair, which Ez sat in. Ez kept herself calm by going over traps in her head. She had several ideas.

 

"Hey? You guys think we can risk making some noise?" She asked, looking into the group, but at no one in particular.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Wisperlee shrugged at Ez. "They probably know we're here already. What kind of noise did you have in mind?"

 

Despite answering she seemed to be preoccupied, and barely even noticed when Cujo pressed a wet nose against her hand.

"You know," she said to no one in particular "if the lopers are also lost, and they can step, we might need them at some point. I think we should absolutely defend ourselves, but maybe we should draw the line at being the aggressor. Keep the door open for negotiations until we know more."

 

She looked up now, trying to gauge where the others stood on playing defense. She already knew what Erin thought, but maybe she could sway Mak, Ez and James to her side. If she had those three, she suspected the rest would follow.