There was nothing on the road that evening. There was no sound, and everything lay still. The moonless night held only a few faint stars, making it difficult to see through the darkness. The bit of light that was available gave the large birch trees that crowded together on each side of the road an eerie feel. Suddenly, the road began to shake ever so slightly. The smallest pebbles began to bounce up and down excitedly, and soon the roar of a vehicle could be heard. It took less than thirty seconds for the car to reach the top of the hill, and suddenly the area was bathed in the light of the high-beams. It soon became apparent that this was not the work of some small compact car, but rather, a good-sized bus. It tore down the road, disappearing as quickly as it had come, and leaving that small part of Northern Michigan undisturbed once more.
“So tell me one more time,” One piped up from the seat opposite the driver. “What is is that we are doing up here in the middle of no where?”
Seba, who sat at the wheel, glanced over her shoulder to answer the question. She was interrupted by Kanga, who sat behind her. “Forest fires, you idjit.”
“What about them?” Nargle, who had been eavesdropping, called out.
“They are a sign of the apocalypse.” This time, it was Awson who answered. “Really the only way we can track the people who are trying to make the whole thing happen.”
“That means we drive until we see something,” Seba concluded, this time not looking away from the road. “Which isn’t real reassuring, considering I can hardly see anything.”
“Don’t worry,” Holmes reassured him, still looking out the window herself. “When we have reached the right place, we’ll know.”
The bus continued its journey down the dark road. A few seats behind the discussion taking place up front, Jster and Dragon sat side-by-side, the former with a hand on the knee of the latter.
“You don’t have to do this,” Jster said softly.
Dragon’s response came quickly. “Of course I do.”
“I am just worried about you, I guess,” the older of the two men confessed with a shrug.
“I know.”
Jster sighed. “I can’t change your mind, can I?”
“I wish you could change his mind,” Nat added. She and Squee sat together in the seat across the aisle. Though she spoke excitedly, she held Squee’s hand as tenderly as possible. “I have seen some bad stuff out there. Almost died a few times. But I know what I’m doing, so I was okay.”
“I know what I’m doing too,” Dragon shot back.
“No,” Zed said firmly from a seat away. “No, you don’t. It takes years to become an expert hunter.”
“You better listen to them, sweetcheeks,” Shy said. “It is a dangerous world out there. You better be careful. You wouldn’t want to run into anything that rifle of yours can’t kill.”
“You’re talking about demons, aren’t you?” K-97 laughed. “Why would demons be wasting their time in this god-forsaken state?”
“It’s the apocalypse.” Drakel replied with a shrug. “Who knows anymore. Everything has gone to shit.”
“It is a scary time,” Squee agreed softly. “So much bloodshed.”
“This is it!” Holmes called out suddenly. Seba slowed the bus, and moved it off to the side of the road. She killed the engine, and they sat there for a few seconds in silence.
Finally, Jorick asked, “does everyone have a flashlight?” There came a chorus of yeses, and he nodded. “Good.” He glanced toward Seba, and when she nodded, he continued. “We’ll all get off the bus then. Just stay close while we look around. Don’t wander off. We don’t know what it is that we’re dealing with here.”
“So it could be a demon?” Nargle asked, her voice shaking.
“It could be, yes.” Cordi’s eyes were cold, and her lips were drawn in a tight line. “But if it is, none of the guns we brought are going to work.”
“Oh enough about demons!” Foxxie groaned, waving a hand in the air. “There are worse things than demons, you know.”
“No,” Cordi replied, her voice bereft of emotion. “There aren’t.”
“Enough,” One called out. “Let’s go.” She slipped out into the aisle, jogged down the steps, and emerged into the darkness. Though it was only late September, the northern wind had a bite to it. One shivered against the breeze, but moved expertly to the underside of the bus. She opened the hatch to the seemingly empty luggage storage compartment, and thumbed the hidden latch which opened the false bottom. It was there that their weapons were stored.
Ten minutes later, the hunters were armed and making their way into the forest.
“This doesn’t look like the scene of a forest fire,” Shy called out. “I don’t think we have the right place.”
“We do,” Holmes said firmly. “There’s something here.I can sense it.”
“A demon?” Jorick asked, clutching his weapon a bit tighter.
“I don’t know.”
“So what are we looking for?” TP asked.
As if to answer his question, the silence was shattered by an ear-piercing howl. It sounded close, but it was difficult to tell exactly which direction it came from, as the sound seemed to bounce of the trees around them.
“Oh my god,” Nargle cried out, grabbing onto One’s arm.
One shrugged the girl off, and moved up alongside Cordi. “What do you think that was?”
“Black dog? Skin-walker?” He cast a glance toward Zed and Kanga, who stood together a few paces off. They looked at each other for a moment, then both shrugged. “Well, we need to keep moving.”
“We could split up,” Foxxie offered. “Cover more ground that way.”
“That might be a good idea,” Cordi agreed with a nod. “Just stay with one or two other people. Do not go off alone. We’ll send off a flare when it is time to return to the bus.” With that, they group dispersed.
An hour later, Shy and K-97 were walking together through the darkness. The wind rustled the leaves around them, and some that had begun to change color early were plucked from their trees and strewn about. The men had their collars turned up against the cold.
Finally, Shy broke the silence. “What are we doing out here, man?”
“We’re hunting demons, obviously.”
Shy cocked an eyebrow. Slowing to a halt, he put his hands on his hips and regarded K-97 with a quizzical expression. “Since when did you want to help anyone?”
K-97 pressed a hand to his heart, a hurt expression on his face. “Why Shy, I am insulted.”
“Whatever.” Shy rolled his eyes. “I just don’t understand why-”
“HELP ME. OH MY GOD HELP ME. ITS GOT ME. HELP!”
Both men whipped around. “That sounded like Kanga,” Shy cried. “Which way did it come from?”
“Come on,” K-97 barked, motioning for Shy to follow him. They took off into the night.
A few minutes later, they slowed to a halt beside the fallen body of their comrade. They arrived just as the others did as well.
“We heard screaming.” One jogged up seconds later, Holmes and Seba on his heels. Seba fell to her knees beside the body and brushed the leaves away to reveal scratches all up and down the man’s back. “Well, something got him, that’s for sure.” She checked his pulse. “He’s gone.”
“Wait.” One held up a hand. “Were those leaves on him when you got here, K-97?”
“Obviously, I didn’t put them there.”
“We just heard the screaming a minute ago, but his body is already covered in leaves. Unless the thing that killed him tried to cover him up, I think he died a while ago.”
Seba’s eyes widened. “So that wasn’t him screaming after all.”
“It was him, I know it,” Shy insisted. “It sounded just like him.”
Seba climbed to her feet, her movements more rushed now that she had an idea of what was going on. “It did sound like him. But it wasn’t him. It was something mimicking his voice.”
Cordi suddenly understood. “Wendigo,” she breathed. Then, louder, “we have to go, now.”
“Come on!” Holmes grabbed the arm of the closest individual and began to make her way back to the bus.
Nat did the same, holding onto Drakel with one hand, and Squee with the other.
Everyone disappeared into the trees. Everyone except for Zed and Cordi, who lingered over Kanga’s body for a minute longer.
“I’m going to miss him so much,” Zed whispered, shaking his head.
Cordi put a hand on his back reassuringly. Then, something caught her eye. She stooped down next to the body, brushed back a few more leaves, and studied the marks. “Wait a second. These aren’t scratch marks.” She paused. “They look more like stab wounds.”
“What?” Zed asked through sniffles.
“I don’t think he was killed by a wendigo. I think he was killed by someone with a knife.” Cordi looked up at Zed.
And froze.
Behind the man stood a fifteen-foot figure. He was hunched over, and his hairless skin was yellowed and pulled taut over his bones. Yellow fangs hid an abnormally long tongue, and his eyes glowed against the darkness that surrounded them. The wendigo threw back its head and emitted a tremendous roar.
Then it burst into flames.
Cordi had plucked the flare gun from her pocket and fired directly into the thing’s stomach, knowing that fire was the only way to kill it. It writhed in agony as Cordi and Zed took off in the direction of the bus. They ran, unsure of whether or not anything else was in those woods, including more wendigos. The last thing that they wanted to do was hang around to find out.
Suddenly, Zed fell to the ground. Rolling over with a groan, and favoring his right knee, he turned to look at what it was he had tripped over. Horrified, he realized it was a body.
“Oh god, no,” he groaned.
Holmes lay lifeless on the ground, a knife still sticking out of her back.
“What happened?” Zed cried out.
“I don’t know,” Cordi replied, helping Zed to his feet. “But we have to leave her. We have to go.”
Still whimpering, clearly shaken by the two deaths, Zed nodded. Together, the man and woman ran the final seventy five yards to the bus, leaving the bloodied body of Holmes behind in the middle of the Michigan wilderness.
Night Phase One Has Ended
Kanga has been killed. His role was Bobby.
Without a doubt, you were just as helpful your boys in death as you were while you were still alive. In the event that you are killed, you may go on casting lynch votes. However, you will not be deemed a “winner” should the hunters end the apocalypse.
Holmes has been killed. Her role was Castiel.
You are Castiel, angel of the Lord. You have many abilities, but you spend much of your time protecting those you love. Mary Winchester used to tell her young son that he had angels watching over him, and you, Castiel, are that angel. Every night, you may protect one of your flock. Be advised, however, that should you protect a killer, you will die instead. You are the night protector.
Day Phase One Begins
All players may cast one lynch vote. Players may determine who the killer is using clues in the storypost, as well as in each player’s response(s) to this thread. The player with the most lynch votes cast against them will be killed. Please send all lynch votes to me via PM.
Please send all day phase role actions to me via PM.
