Rapture

[Mistress of Whispers]

Wisperlee listened to the others discuss, then weighed in. "I'm not sure a fortress will be any more effective than a farm, and we need the land to live off. I don't think animals will be that much of a problem to be honest - we can set up defense and Britain hasn't had any large predators for... well, a long time. But I'll come along if you all want to move and hole up somewhere. Anyways, the emergency broadcast is still playing so any survivors in this area should hear it. Assuming they have enough power or batteries left to pick up a signal."

 

She then looked at Micah and Petra. "I'm also happy to come with and look for survivors with you." Wisperlee was still looking for a niche in this brave new world, and she kinda felt like she was adrift - scavenge for supplies, set up radio signals, till the earth (though no one had asked her yet) was all fine by her.

[Quhanta]

(I posted a reply more than a week ago, but I guess it didn't go through.)

 

Arwen held tight as she was slightly shaken. When Erin called to her, she looked her in the eyes, lower lip quivering, and let go of James' leg. She crawled over to Erin and sat next to her legs, holding the woman's knee in the crook of one of her elbows.

 

Ez was getting tired of going back and fourth. The fortresses in the area were not complete, got it. Farms are not super safe from wild animals and the alien things, but they could grow food to not starve to death.

 

"I still think moving to a farmhouse and building up on the already existing fence would be our best plan for now. Like Whisperlee said, we can grow food, and we can explore the towns slowly to build up our supplies to last through the not-so-great winters that are here. Though not as bad as Canada, England still does get plenty of snow, and we have to have enough food to last us through it."

[Fangirl05]

"I agree with the women" Erin raised her finger at Ez's idea, "Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure the land around a farmhouse will already be arable, so we won't have to waste time treating it."

 

She stroked Arwen's hair and smiled at her to try to make her feel better.

[Kestra15]

"I'd prefer a move to a farmhouse myself," Mak put his vote in. "There are plenty nearby so we won't have to risk travelling far, can easily be turned into defensible locations, will give us the arable land we need, and would be large enough to support all of us here. And if we don't travel far from here, if we do Step over to find the others than we shouldn't be too far from Hannah's camp."

 

Mak paused, weighing up his next contribution. With everything that happened over the last week, Hannah's revelation did neatly tie up almost all of the oddities with the exception of the original mass disappearance. And her mentioning of the girl who knew the Loper was coming had resounded a little too closely with what he had seen with Jaune's disappearance. That strange sensation coupled by what he had passed off as a shock-induced hallucination may have actually been something more tangible. Had he actually sensed that Jaune was going to Step - or Slip, given that it had been accidental - before Jaune himself knew? Was that how the girl had sensed the Loper coming?

 

"I think...I think I may be able to help you Step over to that camp," he finally said, voice quieter and more hesitant.

[Fangirl05]

"You think what now?" Erin gawped at Mak's offer to help with Stepping, "How do you plan to pull that off?"

 

What next, was he gonna bend spoons in half with his mind?

[Kestra15]

Erin's response was exactly the reason why Mak had said nothing before about what he saw during Juan's disappearance, but with what they now knew it may just be that Mak wasn't going mad after all. After all, if they can now Step between worlds and fight aliens, why not make it that little bit crazier?

 

"I think..." Mak paused, unsure how to explain it. When he spoke it was slow and deliberate, trying to get his message across without sounding like he needed sedation and a strait-jacket. "Just before Juan disappeared - Slipped - I saw something on the ground in front of him. It was only for a second, but I saw...no, not saw. It was beyond vision. I mean, I saw a disturbance like the ground beneath his feet was twisting in a whirlpool, but it was a much deeper sensation as well. Like instinct. That I knew that it wasn't just a tired, delusional or hungover sight but an honest truth. More real than myself.

 

"It happened all too quickly and before I had a chance to call out to Juan he had already Slipped, but I think I saw the...crack, or portal, or whatever it is that allows us to move from one planet to another." Mak couldn't imagine he'd ever utter a sentence such as that in a serious tone before this morning, and even after Hannah's story a strong part of him still couldn't quite believe it. That perhaps there was another explanation as to why everyone had disappeared and weird spiny monkeys had broken into the house, and the marks on the man who had appeared out of nowhere could be handwaved another way.

 

"It was the same when Hannah and her husband arrived - I was asleep. I know I was asleep. But the moment before they arrived the same feeling woke me up. And maybe...maybe that's what woke me the other night when those monkey-things arrived." Mak finally smiled, a strained expression to say the least. "And we seriously need a name for them other than monkey-things."

[Fangirl05]

"I thought we were calling them Gremlins" Erin raised her eyebrow, "And it sounds like you can only sense when someone's about to Step or Slip or whatever. What if you can't actually do it yourself?"

[Kestra15]

Mak shrugged. "I must have missed the memo on Gremlin," he chuckled lightly. "And as for being able to Slip or Step...until I try it I don't know. Perhaps none of us can Slip or Step, given we're all still here? Or perhaps we can only Step on purpose, hence why we've not yet been yanked away? Until we try..."

[Fangirl05]

"Yes, but how?" Erin insisted, frowning thoughtfully, "Coming back I can understand, you'd at least have an idea where you're going, something to focus on. How can you Step somewhere you haven't seen before?"

 

She didn't want them to, but her hopes were starting to rise about her family. Maybe if they figured out how to Step, she could find them wherever they were, maybe even bring them home with her.

 

Dammit, this was only gonna end in pain.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Fangirl05

[Avialae]

When Mak mentioned that he thought he could get the group over to the otherworldly camp, Micah's face whitened and his mouth twisted involuntarily into a rictus of disapproval. He had no intention of doing anything like that voluntarily, whether or not it was led by someone else. It was the sort of occult thing that God wouldn't want people doing on purpose, at least if they were on their world of origin. Maybe it could be forgiven if the user had slipped accidentally and was just trying to get home, but to leave of their own free will . . . ?

 

Mak certainly had an odd idea of acceptable risks if he didn't want them going to other towns in this world, but was perfectly fine with trying to find relocated ones in another, though. Ones that they weren't even sure were still there, or that they could even get to. "No. No. I'm not doing anything like that, no matter what the reasons are. You all can do what you want, but I'm staying right here. Besides, there's no guarantee that you'll end up where you want to go, right? What if you end up on that ice world, like Hannah and Eugene?" Micah was desperate to justify his choice with a way that didn't involve religion, since he knew what the rest of the the group thought about his views on that matter.

[Kestra15]

"I think 'dangerous' is an understatement," Mak agreed. "But if we do try to Step - or if I really can sense these...soft spots, we take a risk of Slipping somewhere - we can be prepared. Consider this; all those who disappeared nearly a week ago didn't know what was coming. All in pyjamas and nightrobes, nothing else. We, on the other hand, would be ready. As suggested if we have a backpack or some kit with us, with food and water and clothing, then if we did work out how to move between the worlds and wanted to then we'd be ready. Sort of."

 

"In honesty I don't know how to Step any more than you do," he addressed Erin. "All I know is that on more than one occasion I have felt or seen something that I cannot understand, followed immediately by an event that is also beyond our knowledge. Once was a hallucination or wishful thinking, twice is coincidence, but three times? That's enough to scientifically say a pattern is forming. Much as it sounds like something out of 'Quantum Leap,' I can't help but feel just maybe it is more than fanciful thinking."

 

He looked at the assembled group. "If you think I'm crazy that's fine. It's been a crazy week. I could just be tired or going mad. But if anyone is going to try anything, then there is a chance that I can help you. Small chance, but it's there."

[Fangirl05]

Erin swallowed the urge to nitpick the difference between Quantum Leap and the situation at hand. She decided to focus on a couple of other questions Mak had raised instead:

 

"Can you tell if these, eh, 'soft spots' harden again once somebody goes through them?" she asked, "Or what kind of world they're falling into?"

[Quhanta]

(I'm supposed to get an e-mail when there's a reply to this story, but it hasn't been working. That's why I haven't responded yet, sorry.)

 

Ez was glad when Erin agreed with her, but fell into the background when Mak stole the show with his Sixth Sense styled reveal. Although it had shocked her, she couldn't let herself become too shaken. She sat quietly, listening, until she came to a thought.

 

"Wait." She sighed and rubbed her face before continuing. "What if the other world's geography isn't the same as here? What if China's underwater, half the U.S. is in a giant volcano, and Canada's a fiery, dead, ashen wasteland that is impossible to survive on?" Ez sat down in her chair again, not remembering quite when she stood up.

 

"Sure, we could try stepping, but what happens when there's a blazing world of hell that we end up in by accident because we're basing all of our knowledge on the single experience of a dying woman. Yes, it's helpful, but it is not complete."

 

Arwen huddled in closer to Erin, crying silently. Although she appreciated the hair petting, it made her miss her mother. What everyone was talking about was confusing her, but it was scaring her more. She didn't want to make anyone worry more than she already had, so she tried her best to stay quiet.

[Fangirl05]

Erin munched on her lower lip in a mix of thought and nerves. Oh, man, she was probably going to regret this...

 

"Mak," she said decisively, "if you insist on trying to Step, I think you should bring Arwen with you first. She's got her parents to focus on, so she's probably got the best chance of getting where she wants to go. Besides, she's been away from them long enough."

[Kestra15]

"It's not as if I'm itching to Step; I just think that if we're going to go out there, I might be able to help," Mak clarified. "And going out as just Arwen and I may be dangerous; I'm not a fighter, I don't know if I could protect her but I would give it my best effort. It depends entirely on what everyone else thinks though; whether we go out looking for people, or stay here and wait for them to return."

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily looked at Mak baffled as he spoke. She could understand what he was saying but at the same time it was almost hard to believe. But with everything that has happened it felt like the only possible explanation.

“You guys are talking about stepping and hoping to end up at certain places. But don’t we need to make first sure that we are safe were we are now? What’s the point if we go somewhere and only return with those gremlins taking over the place or even those other Loper things? And we need to prepare with an emergency bag.”

 

The only thing that was going through Emily’s mind was creating a strong, safe haven for everyone. Sure she wanted to find her family as well but to be prepared was a lot more important for her.

 

[Fortune86]

"I'll go with you" said James quietly. "There are people I want to find too. I can fight, and it'd make more sense to send another adult rather than a child."

 

He glanced over at Emily. He could understand where she was coming from too. Securing a proper base should still be their first priority.

 

"But first, we find a good place to settle down. A farm, ruin, whatever, as long as we can defend it. We'll need to make sure we have plenty of supplies too, because if we do this...stepping thing...we may end up bringing people back. People who need food or medical attention. If we are going to do this, we need to be prepared."

 

[Fangirl05]

"Didn't you and Emily scope out a farm or something a little while back?" Erin raised her eyebrow, "Why not head back there?"

 

She didn't say it out loud, but she was pretty surprised James cared whether Arwen lived or died. She was pretty sure her face said it, though.

[Quhanta]

Arwin hid behind Erin's knee when Mak started talking about her. She kept her face hidden and thought about her parents. She missed them so much.

 

Ez listened from the background, not getting pulled into the group of people who though that stepping was a good idea. She had no one that she wanted to see in Britain, and it's not like it would be easier to get to Canada in the other dimension. She grabbed two cans of baked beans from the cabinet and put them in her backpack. Ez kept her things with her anyway, so she may as well add food to the list of supplies in her bag.

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily looked a James when Erin mentioned the farm. She wasn’t all too excited to go back to tell the truth. Besides other carnivorous animals might be lurking in that area now. Seeing that there might still be carcasses in the trees and a now dead leopard who knows what animal are hanging around there.

 

“That farm could work but it needs a lot of fencing.” Emily stated. “There is a farm a bit closer which I’ve checked out a couple days ago. I think it would be much better. It’s by the river. There is a decent water system and vegetables are well on their way. There is also fencing around the house and fields. We can just strengthen them. There is also tractors and a small digger which we can use to upgrade the defences.”

 

[Kestra15]

"Then I would propose this; we get our stuff together, load it up into the vehicles and get to the farm as soon as we can. It might take a while to load and then unload, but we could probably be done by midday," Mak suggested. "After that we can strengthen the fences where required, and set out plans for any further fortifications once we see what the place looks like. And if we're happy after that...then perhaps we can try Stepping."

[Fangirl05]

"I'm on board" Erin agreed with Mak's plan. Again, she wondered if there were any animals already at said farm and shuddered at the thought of the state they would be in.

[Quhanta]

Ez threw her backpack on and nodded as the group finally came to a decision. She mumbled an affirmation and then went upstairs to the room she had been sleeping in. She grabbed her still packed duffel bag and held it over her shoulder, freeing her hands up to take all of the blankets and pillows from the room as well, folding them quickly and piling them into her arms. Arwen had been following Erin, so she moved directly to her car to pack in her things before returning to the house to see where everyone else was at and how she could help move things along quickly.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Wisperlee listened to the conversation with rising incredulity. They wanted to step?? Although, the more she thought about it the more appealing it became. She wasn't particularly close to her family, nor did she have many friends (in fact, Mak and Emily were the closest she'd been to anyone in year) but the idea of stepping into a different universe...

 

"I'll step too," she offered. "I'm no fighter, but I'm nimble, quick and very perceptive." Not to mention that she'd dreamt about the other realm, so that might indicate some connection. She'd also bring Cujo, and she suspected the massive hound would be formidable if it ever came to a fight.

 

((Unless anyone wants to respond to Wisperlee specifically, she goes to grab her stuff and travels to the new place on her motorcycle. She leaves the ferret to Arwen.))

[Kestra15]

With the group having finally reached a conclusion Mak nodded and made a start preparing to move house. It was unsurprisingly several hours of hard work, given the supplies they had managed to gather over the last week and stored away. From the medical supplies at the hospital and the spare clothing from their accommodations, to the generator in the garden and the dried food they had gathered up from every outlet they'd plundered, they easily filled every one of their vehicles.

 

It was at some point during the preparations that Hannah passed away, presumably peacefully given that it wasn't until someone had leaned in to check on her to find that trademark yellow, waxy complexion and eerie, sightless gaze staring out at nothing. It was only a dull surprise to Mak when he found out. She had been tired, underfed, cold, injured and on her last legs when she had arrived, and despite their best efforts she had succumbed to the same fate as her husband. Once the house had been cleared they had buried her alongside her husband, a short and somber experience for the group that had now seen so many deaths and disappearances.

 

Only a week ago Mak's biggest concern had been trying not to drink more than a bottle of wine every few days; now he was worried that he may not make it through to sunset. His backpack had been reloaded with food, spare clothing, basic first aid supplies and his large knife was now firmly strapped to his side at all times. Now they knew just what happened when someone disappeared it made the fear all the more real and immediate. This wasn't the total mystery of before, and that small subconscious part of Mak's mind that had been hoping people merely were being moved on to a better place was now gone, and it was only now they knew the truth that Mak even realised he'd been hoping for something like that to be the case. Now they knew it was to be dropped in a strange world only to be threatened from denizens from an even more alien planet, and suddenly Mak felt like there were eyes on him from every angle.

 

* * * * *

 

It took only a short time to make the trip to the farmhouse, and a sweep by Mak, Ez and James confirmed that the wayward leopard from the other day was a novelty and not the norm. A few of the chickens were still in their coops having had just enough feed to last that long - clearly the automate feeder had failed not a moment too late - but otherwise the large stone building was unoccupied. Like most British farmhouses it was easily large enough to accommodate the group, although there would be a bit more room-sharing to be done until they cleared out the place to their delight. Supplies were probably the easiest to store as the large, attached wooden barn had enough room to squeeze in their vehicles and simply shut the double swing doors behind them; unpacking and sorting could wait until they were certain they liked the place.

 

It was therefore close to mid-afternoon when the dwindling group reconvened in the main living room, a much larger affair with sufficient sofas and comfy chairs that everyone could find a seat without having to squat on the floor, perch on the arms or sit in someone else's lap. But despite this Mak couldn't sit down, couldn't relax. Hannah's story had once again wound up the tension in the young man's body and he couldn't quite find it in himself to relax just yet.

 

"So..." he trailed off. "While I'm happy to admit I'm not overjoyed about the idea of Stepping, I'll give it a try. If anyone has any ideas how to that would be brilliant though." He looked over to Wisperlee, grateful that she had volunteered to try Stepping and hoped that the hours between saying it and this point here hadn't changed her mind.