[log] the monster bait squad [closed]

[devoutish]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Claire Temple, Emily Kaldwin, Peter, Royce Melborn, Tifa Lockhart
Location building 162
Date: evening of 179 to morning of 181
Summary: LET'S SEE IF ANYONE DIES
Warnings: n/a; will edit if anything comes up

A hotel--the Norfinbury Inn. By hotel standards, it's not especially large, but it's the largest building in the downtown area. The lobby is mostly empty and seems a bit old-fashioned in design, with what appear to be wooden floors and fairly plain walls. There are a few cozy areas where people can sit, and a fireplace in the center that, while it has no wood, is in perfect working order. The front desk has nothing of note except for all the keycards to the various rooms of the hotel. It looks like there are a total of twenty rooms. There is no elevator--looks like you'll have to use the stairs the old-fashioned way.

There is a small dining room area, although there are no tables or chairs to be found. The room echoes uncomfortably due to its emptiness. It connects to a small industrial kitchen, although there is no longer any food or appliances to be found. It seems like the ovens and stoves were cut out of their places. The sinks still work, at least. There is also a door that unlocks with a management keycard that can be found in the lobby that leads downstairs.

The basement is very simple. It's colder down here than in the rest of the building, and utilitarian in style. There's a small break room, a laundry room that no longer has any of its machinery but does have large rolling baskets for moving clothes in bulk (that refuse to leave the hotel, unfortunately) and some cleaning carts devoid of cleaning supplies (that are just as stubborn as the clothes baskets). There's a small room with space for what must have once been a furnace--and an actual very old-fashioned incinerator. It's not on, of course, but if a fire were started manually, it would still function. There's nothing inside it.

The first floor of the hotel contains rooms 101 to 110. There are five single rooms and five double rooms. All of the plumbing works, though the water runs cold. The second floor, containing rooms 201 to 210, is identical to the first floor, except for one door that has no key. It's unlocked--going inside reveals an empty room covered in pictures of an eye, drawn in black paint. All of the eyes have been scribbled out with black pen.

Comments

Morning 181

[devoutish]

[By the time morning and revival roll around, Alfie is exhausted. He hadn't slept, and death hadn't felt like rest - he moves around in a daze, shuffle-walking everywhere. Checking on Royce is his first priority, and he'll be relieved to discover that he'd also come back as good as new. He'll also try to track down Claire, who'd seemed to disappear during the night. And he'll touch base with Tifa and Emily, if he can. Considering the very, very weird way that things had gone, he doesn't want to let too much time pass without there being words between him.

But even with all that to do, it won't be long before he needs to lie down. Whether or not he finds everyone first, he'll soon drag himself to one of the rooms and collapse onto the bed, where he can be found sleeping most of the day away.]

late morning

[nursetemple]

[For a long time after she wakes up, Claire doesn't move. She's in one of the hotel rooms, and she sits on the floor by the bed, clinging to the bedframe as she curls up into herself as much as possible.

But it's gone. All the voices, the questions, the desires - gone. It's quiet in her head again, calm. She's been running from it all night, terrified, but her head feels like hers once more.

Still, she stays in the room, taking stock of herself, hoping no one will come in, until, that is, someone does. It's Alfie, looking completely exhausted, swaying on his feet. Claire surges towards him, but then falls back, pushes herself back against the wall like she wants it to swallow her whole.]

D-don't. I don't know if it's safe. If I'm safe.

[devoutish]

The others are safe.

[His voice sounds as weary as his body looks.]

If you're upset, you're safe, for now.

[He keeps moving to the bed, genuinely unsure how much longer he'll be able to stand.]

[nursetemple]

I was upset all night, but I knew it wasn't safe to be around you.

[She looks up at him as he determinedly walks closer, and closer. If she doesn't move, right now, she's still far away from him, she can still run away.]

I just - there was so many voices, in my head. [Taking a deep, slow breath, she tries to calm herself down. She prides herself in being a composed person, mentally stable, able to make decisions in a rational manner.]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I ran as far as I could, because I - a part of me wanted to hurt you. I couldn't let it happen.

[devoutish]

[He collapses on the bed heavily, onto his stomach, and doesn't move.]

Did you hear?

[It's a big place - it's possible that she didn't. But if she'd been close enough, she might have overheard the arguing with Emily and Tifa. The bargaining, the pleading, the yelling, and then the screaming. His screaming, as Emily had stabbed him over and over until blood and worse had spilled onto the floor.]

[nursetemple]

[Carefully, she rolls over to her knees, looking at him with her hands on the mattress.]

Hear what?

[When she ran away, she ran away from the hotel, left it entirely, and spent most of her night running from place to place whenever she heard any kind of noise. As the night went on, it got harder and harder, and she ended up rocking in a corner of some house somewhere, before waking up back in the hotel.

She starts to reach out to touch his hair, then stops herself, swallowing hard.]

Are you okay?

[bywolves]

[ Royce is - frazzled. To say the least. When he wakes up, he bolts. Finds the highest place he can, and stays there. That's where Alfie's going to find him - up high, curled up in the lobby. He's got his cloak pulled close and there's no fucking way he's coming down any time soon. Nobody can kill him from down below.

Alfie might not see him, but he's definitely watching - so at the very least, he'll feel eyes on him. ]

[devoutish]

[That sure is a hidden presence that he feels. Who could that be? No one but Royce.

He looks up, tiredly.]

No death price for you?

[bywolves]

No. [ Royce says hoarsely, quiet. ] You?

[devoutish]

No.

Emily and Tifa--?

[He hasn't seen them yet.]

[bywolves]

Haven't seen them. [ He drags in a shaky breath. This wasn't easier the second time. ] Don't want to. They need to stay away.

[empireofrats]

[Emily wakes up in the keyless room covered in crossed out eyes. Fitting. She doesn't feel like she had the day before, and she's not sure if she should find that strange or a relief. A dusting of heavy weight has settled on her shoulders.

Slowly, she picks her way out and around the hotel, feeling numb. She ends up inside the rolling basket in the laundry with her pack between her ankles and the notebook for doodling on her raised knees. The basket is just low enough that the top of her head can be seen over the edge, but the scratching of the pens on the paper echoes more than anything.]

[devoutish]

[After a nap, Alfie looks for Emily and Tifa in earnest - and luckily, Emily isn't hard to find. He stops in the doorway first, not approaching just yet.]

Emily.

[empireofrats]

[At first, she won't look back at Alfie. When she does, it's slow, and only her dark eyes peer over the edge of the basket at him. Then she looks away again without responding. The pen seems to be idly scribbling rather than drawing.]

[devoutish]

[He shuffles over to the laundry basket and, with a wince, kneels.]

Emily. Will you come out?

[nursetemple]

[Claire finds Emily late in the afternoon, after having spent some time just watching Alfie sleep, and getting herself back together once Alfie had disappeared, probably to catch up with his companions himself.

She walks into the laundry, making enough noise so as to not startle Emily, and crouches a few feet away from the basket, getting herself to a eye-level position with Emily. She just wants to see if the kid is okay in any way, and help if she can.]

Hi, Emily. We've been traveling together for a few days now, but I still haven't had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Claire. How are you doing?

[Her voice is gentle, and there's a soft smile on her face.]

[empireofrats]

[At first, Emily doesn't acknowledge Claire's presence, though not because Claire is new, or she's being purposefully mean. It takes some time, and then she peeps over the edge of the basket at Claire after the pen has stopped scribbling.

It's the lady that Alfie talks to a lot.] Hi.

I don't feel so good on the inside.

[nursetemple]

No? You want to tell me more about it?

[Claire shifts, just enough to sit down on the floor instead of just crouching. Dust kicks up into the air between them.]

I don't know if you know, but I'm a nurse. In my world, it means I assist doctors in helping and curing people, so maybe I can help you.

[powersouls]

[Tifa parks herself as far away from the room where she killed Royce as she can, curls up on one of the beds with her back against the headboard, and just sits. She knows Alfie and Royce are back, but she can't even look at them. She can't look at Emily, either. They must all hate her, and she doesn't blame them. Every once in a while, she checks her gloves instinctively. She remembers them being soaked through with blood. She remembers her coat being soaked through with it, remembers the sharp smell of copper clinging to her, but it's all gone, like nothing ever happened. Like it was a bad dream, but she's certain it wasn't.]

[devoutish]

[By now, Alfie has talked to Royce, Claire, and Emily. Tifa is last on the list. He doesn't know she's there when he goes into the room - but when he sees her curled up on the bed, he exhales. It's part relief, and part apprehension.]

Tifa. Can we speak?

[powersouls]

[Tifa tenses up, wrapping her arms around her knees as she peeks up at him through her bangs. Her eyes are back to normal, at the very least. She has no idea why he'd want to talk to her at this point, but she gives him the barest of nods.]

[devoutish]

[There's a chair a few feet away from the bed; that's where he sits. He's not actually sure what he wants to say, but he knows he doesn't want to leave things where they are now.

He sighs.]

Tifa. This wasn't you.

[nursetemple]

[Claire finds Tifa later in the day, when she's able to move around without feeling too queasy and feels calmer, worrying about others more than about herself at this point. She - she's okay, she managed to fight the voices off, but she knows that not everyone could. She knows what Tifa did, and it must be - a living nightmare.

She careful when she walks into the room, announcing herself with a light knock on the door.]

Hey. Can I come in?

[She leans against the doorframe, biting the inside of her lower lip for a moment.]

I know we haven't really had a chance to talk before, but...I wanted to check on you.

[powersouls]

[Tifa is torn between desperately wanting company and hoping everyone leaves her alone, so when Claire knocks, she tenses, glancing up. It isn't that she doesn't want to talk to Claire necessarily, it's just that she doesn't know how to talk about what happened, and she doesn't think she deserves to be comforted. After a slightly awkward, unintentional pause, Tifa nods, speaking up in a small voice.]

Sure. Um... Thanks.

[nursetemple]

[Claire nods, coming into the room and pulling the door almost closed - not completely, giving Tifa an out if she needs one. She walks closer, and sits on the edge of the bed opposite from Tifa, sitting cross-legged.

Usually, when faced with trauma victims of any kind, Claire likes to relax them by opening up, giving them reasons to trust her. She's not too sure where to start, here. Maybe at the beginning.]

I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to chat under better circumstances. But just so you know, you can come to me anytime, whenever you feel like. And we can talk about whatever. Like, let me break the ice, yeah? As you know, my name's Claire Temple, I'm 34, and I'm a healthcare professional. I'm a nurse, I work in the emergency department in a New York City hospital. And...I don't really know why I ended up in Norfinbury, since I'm no one special, I don't have any powers and I'm not really important, but here I am.

[She opens up her hands in a uncertain gesture and shrugs, giving Tifa a small smile. Inviting questions if she has any, or for her to speak if she wants to. Anything at all that can bring her back to her normal self, to an extent.]