12/8/01, Entrance hall.
Jill put her handgun on her palm and smacked the bottom, shaking it to check if the magazine had loaded properly. Deftly, she flicked her second weapon open and set the blaster to three. She wasn't taking any chances in the mansion. Over breakfast with the other STARS recruits, she had heard some suspicious, some joking people discussing the woodland areas around the desolate mansion, and how there were zombie dogs and mutated families in the dank graveyard outside. Her booted feet echoed off the walls and she looked at the large grandfather clock, its loud ticking mingling with the rumbling thunder and the great staircase was illuminated by the lightning. Even in the daytime the mansion was dark, and the candles were still lit. Rebecca and 7 other STARS members had gone in the pickup truck to explore the surrounding areas. Sirius, her and two others, including Iorek Byrinson, the huge bear warrior here to protect the 10 examiners. Sirius appeared a few moments later, running over to her with two large packages in his hand.
"Honey dukes Chocolatl!" he exclaimed, grinning. Jill laughed and jammed the bar inside her gun holster, then strapped the handgun to its clip. Sirius tugged at his trousers slightly and clipped his gun in place, checking if there were enough bullets left. Then he brushed his black hair from his eyes and looked at Jill, who was feeling a little nervous. brHe nodded and put his hand on the door knob that lead to the dining room that the owner had been so careful to avoid at last nights supper. Saratham's deep ermine claws dug into Jill's shoulders with fright and nervous excitement as she followed, and Sirius opened the door.
Hardly a word had been said between the two members of STARS when they reached the large double doors that lead to a corridor with many rooms. So far, they had only been upstairs and so were keen to explore. Jill kicked the two doors open and hid around the corner, then pointed her gun out before she swung to the left into the dank hallway. She noticed more clear eggs and a few larvae roosting in the corners and on the walls, and frowned.
"Sirius," she yelled, beckoning for him to come over, "What is this stuff?" she knelt to examine it and Sirius followed, his pale brow creased in wonder. Sirius tore back a floorboard, quickly releasing the rotted wood as it splintered and fell to the battered carpet with a dull thud. Suddenly, a mass of clear, jelly like substance poured out and they both jumped back. Then, to their horror, a huge, black, sliming slug wriggled out of its blind home. Jill cried and stood up, and Sirius hurriedly took out a phial and scooped it in. It rattled the glass prison and squelched, emitting a dark red liquid.
"It's like.blood!" exclaimed Jill, being careful to tread on the larvae as they carried on.
"Well, whatever it is, we'll have to examine it tonight." Sirius muttered, standing up again. "Let's carry on."
Jill nodded and Saratham formed into a mouse and crawled into her uniform pocket.
"I really don't think this is good.we should go back now, Jill" Saratham whispered, his whiskers twitching nervously.
"Don't be stupid. It's probably empty." She retorted, and then she turned to Sirius. He nodded again, and they held their guns out. The corridor split into two ways, and so they both decided to take one.
"Any zombies at all and we report back here, ok?" Mumbled Jill, and she stole a quick glance at Sirius' chest, noticing the small lump of his chameleon daemon quivering slightly. Jill pulled out her Neutrino Blaster and walked slowly down the dark corridor. Her boots thudded on the worn carpet and she heard a strange noise- like moaning and this time, crunching. Her heart skipped a beat and she upped the setting to four. Saratham was shaking now, uttering little noises of fright. Jill closed her eyes, and then ran around the corner. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at the bone white, deteriorated face. It seemed to be crunching down on some kind of quivering carcass, and Jill clutched her stomach, horrified and enchanted at the same time. It turned its rotting neck and stared at her. Jill shook with fright and walked backwards as it stumbled to its feet and walked near her. She looked a little closer at its battered clothes and noticed a Nintendo logo hanging off. She shot its head and it fell back, then got up again. Jill moaned. These were hardly the friendly zombies she saw in Scooby Doo cartoons, she thought. Shooting it again, she recognized the face.
"Mr.Mr. Yamauchi?"*
Sirius frowned. His chameleon daemon quivered again, and crawled onto his shoulder, changing into a black dragonfly. He was looking at the ground again, seeing black lumps crawling around his feet.
"Is it just me or are they getting closer?" Sirius said, and Blancha fluttered her wings again.
"Oh, Sirius.this isn't safe at all!"
"Sure it is, we just tread on them." He stamped on a mound and they quickly died, but then the daemon uttered a cry of fright and he looked around. There was a black shape looming in the darkness, moaning, shuffling closer. Sirius unhitched his handgun and smacked it, then pointed it at the figure. Hearing the bullets, the zombie turned its rotting head and looked at him. *there's something familiar about that face* he thought, frowning. *oh well, familiar, unfamiliar, they all look the same with the skin removed from their skulls*. Sirius pumped lead into the zombie, not noticing the black leech that was crawling up his trouser leg, slowly clamping into his flesh.
Jill ran from the zombie as fast as she could, panicking, since after 10 head shots clearly wouldn't work on the zombie. She slammed into a figure when she had entered the dining room and she screamed in fright. Then she realized it was Sirius and calmed down, slowly regaining her breath. Sirius was grimacing, though, and was holding up a dead slug.
"It's a leech, Jill." he muttered, going pale. He showed her two small pricks on his leg and she gasped, kneeling to put ointment on the puffy wounds. As she tenderly applied the bloodmoss, he grimaced.
"I saw a zombie, Sirius" she said, breaking the silence. He frowned.
"Me too. I think we should tell someone."
"Is that safe? I nearly got eaten." Jill stood up again, wiping her hands on her pants.
"They need to examine the area, sweep it, you know the deal." Sirius winced and looked at the huge ticking clock on the wall above the door. "6:30. They should be back by now." He stood and walked to the magnificent mahogany double doors and opened then.
"Hey, you need this fellow?" asked Jill, holding up the container that had a fat leech squirming inside. Sirius nodded.
"It could be poisonous, I'm not taking any chances." he said, and Jill followed him to where the 8 STARS officers were standing, out of breath and covered in mud.
"Jill.there were ZOMBIE DOGS!" Rebecca stumbled over to her, gasping. The perspiration from the dank forest trickled and shone on her pale skin. Hey black hair was caked in mud and her uniform was spotted with blood. Jill looked behind her hyperventilating colleague and noticed that out of the seven that had left, only 5 had come back.
Sirius walked up the stairs with an injured STARS minor, who had simply gone in the van to examine specimens. His white coat was now a rusty red, spotted with mud, and he had bruises on his arms.
"Ugh. Why did I even bother going?" Asked the man, rubbing his bushy head.
"What did you find?" Sirius asked, sitting the man on his bed and snapping of a large piece of Honey Dukes Best Chocolatl. The man took it gratefully and frowned.
"The same thing, over and over.larvae, leeches, and we managed to collect some skin from the dogs that were around the van." He looked up at Sirius, his eyebrows bunching. "Your boss says you were bitten by a leech? Where was it?" "On my leg. I took it off with salt and Jill put bloodmoss on it, but I don't know what the antidote is and its starting to swell up." Sirius sat on a chair and noticed the pile of papers in neat, small handwriting scattered next to a mug of black coffee. "Can I look?"
"Yeah..sure.." the man lay on his bed and groaned. Sirius stood up and rummaged in his uniform and produced a phial of sleeping drought mixed with no-pain potion and handed it to the man, who took it gratefully. Sirius turned on his heel and entered the hallway, his now ferret daemon winding her way around his arm.
Jill settled uneasily into her bed and drew up the covers, looking at Rebecca, whom she had put the mesmer on to let her sleep better. Not many people knew she had fairy blood in her. Saratham nestled into her chest, his favorite ermine form snuggled against her skin. She opened the small red book and began to write.
I'm worried. Sirius has been bitten by a leech and he seems to be drowsy. Two people are now officially missing, and there are zombies prowling around as I write this, and Rebecca is out like a log. I can tell Saratham is scared (at which point the little soul creature gave a whimper) and so am I. Tomorrow, I need to attend a meeting to see what we should do. My handgun is strapped to my waist and though it is uncomfortable it is comforting to know that I will have at least some protection.
Jill put her handgun on her palm and smacked the bottom, shaking it to check if the magazine had loaded properly. Deftly, she flicked her second weapon open and set the blaster to three. She wasn't taking any chances in the mansion. Over breakfast with the other STARS recruits, she had heard some suspicious, some joking people discussing the woodland areas around the desolate mansion, and how there were zombie dogs and mutated families in the dank graveyard outside. Her booted feet echoed off the walls and she looked at the large grandfather clock, its loud ticking mingling with the rumbling thunder and the great staircase was illuminated by the lightning. Even in the daytime the mansion was dark, and the candles were still lit. Rebecca and 7 other STARS members had gone in the pickup truck to explore the surrounding areas. Sirius, her and two others, including Iorek Byrinson, the huge bear warrior here to protect the 10 examiners. Sirius appeared a few moments later, running over to her with two large packages in his hand.
"Honey dukes Chocolatl!" he exclaimed, grinning. Jill laughed and jammed the bar inside her gun holster, then strapped the handgun to its clip. Sirius tugged at his trousers slightly and clipped his gun in place, checking if there were enough bullets left. Then he brushed his black hair from his eyes and looked at Jill, who was feeling a little nervous. brHe nodded and put his hand on the door knob that lead to the dining room that the owner had been so careful to avoid at last nights supper. Saratham's deep ermine claws dug into Jill's shoulders with fright and nervous excitement as she followed, and Sirius opened the door.
Hardly a word had been said between the two members of STARS when they reached the large double doors that lead to a corridor with many rooms. So far, they had only been upstairs and so were keen to explore. Jill kicked the two doors open and hid around the corner, then pointed her gun out before she swung to the left into the dank hallway. She noticed more clear eggs and a few larvae roosting in the corners and on the walls, and frowned.
"Sirius," she yelled, beckoning for him to come over, "What is this stuff?" she knelt to examine it and Sirius followed, his pale brow creased in wonder. Sirius tore back a floorboard, quickly releasing the rotted wood as it splintered and fell to the battered carpet with a dull thud. Suddenly, a mass of clear, jelly like substance poured out and they both jumped back. Then, to their horror, a huge, black, sliming slug wriggled out of its blind home. Jill cried and stood up, and Sirius hurriedly took out a phial and scooped it in. It rattled the glass prison and squelched, emitting a dark red liquid.
"It's like.blood!" exclaimed Jill, being careful to tread on the larvae as they carried on.
"Well, whatever it is, we'll have to examine it tonight." Sirius muttered, standing up again. "Let's carry on."
Jill nodded and Saratham formed into a mouse and crawled into her uniform pocket.
"I really don't think this is good.we should go back now, Jill" Saratham whispered, his whiskers twitching nervously.
"Don't be stupid. It's probably empty." She retorted, and then she turned to Sirius. He nodded again, and they held their guns out. The corridor split into two ways, and so they both decided to take one.
"Any zombies at all and we report back here, ok?" Mumbled Jill, and she stole a quick glance at Sirius' chest, noticing the small lump of his chameleon daemon quivering slightly. Jill pulled out her Neutrino Blaster and walked slowly down the dark corridor. Her boots thudded on the worn carpet and she heard a strange noise- like moaning and this time, crunching. Her heart skipped a beat and she upped the setting to four. Saratham was shaking now, uttering little noises of fright. Jill closed her eyes, and then ran around the corner. Her eyes widened in horror as she stared at the bone white, deteriorated face. It seemed to be crunching down on some kind of quivering carcass, and Jill clutched her stomach, horrified and enchanted at the same time. It turned its rotting neck and stared at her. Jill shook with fright and walked backwards as it stumbled to its feet and walked near her. She looked a little closer at its battered clothes and noticed a Nintendo logo hanging off. She shot its head and it fell back, then got up again. Jill moaned. These were hardly the friendly zombies she saw in Scooby Doo cartoons, she thought. Shooting it again, she recognized the face.
"Mr.Mr. Yamauchi?"*
Sirius frowned. His chameleon daemon quivered again, and crawled onto his shoulder, changing into a black dragonfly. He was looking at the ground again, seeing black lumps crawling around his feet.
"Is it just me or are they getting closer?" Sirius said, and Blancha fluttered her wings again.
"Oh, Sirius.this isn't safe at all!"
"Sure it is, we just tread on them." He stamped on a mound and they quickly died, but then the daemon uttered a cry of fright and he looked around. There was a black shape looming in the darkness, moaning, shuffling closer. Sirius unhitched his handgun and smacked it, then pointed it at the figure. Hearing the bullets, the zombie turned its rotting head and looked at him. *there's something familiar about that face* he thought, frowning. *oh well, familiar, unfamiliar, they all look the same with the skin removed from their skulls*. Sirius pumped lead into the zombie, not noticing the black leech that was crawling up his trouser leg, slowly clamping into his flesh.
Jill ran from the zombie as fast as she could, panicking, since after 10 head shots clearly wouldn't work on the zombie. She slammed into a figure when she had entered the dining room and she screamed in fright. Then she realized it was Sirius and calmed down, slowly regaining her breath. Sirius was grimacing, though, and was holding up a dead slug.
"It's a leech, Jill." he muttered, going pale. He showed her two small pricks on his leg and she gasped, kneeling to put ointment on the puffy wounds. As she tenderly applied the bloodmoss, he grimaced.
"I saw a zombie, Sirius" she said, breaking the silence. He frowned.
"Me too. I think we should tell someone."
"Is that safe? I nearly got eaten." Jill stood up again, wiping her hands on her pants.
"They need to examine the area, sweep it, you know the deal." Sirius winced and looked at the huge ticking clock on the wall above the door. "6:30. They should be back by now." He stood and walked to the magnificent mahogany double doors and opened then.
"Hey, you need this fellow?" asked Jill, holding up the container that had a fat leech squirming inside. Sirius nodded.
"It could be poisonous, I'm not taking any chances." he said, and Jill followed him to where the 8 STARS officers were standing, out of breath and covered in mud.
"Jill.there were ZOMBIE DOGS!" Rebecca stumbled over to her, gasping. The perspiration from the dank forest trickled and shone on her pale skin. Hey black hair was caked in mud and her uniform was spotted with blood. Jill looked behind her hyperventilating colleague and noticed that out of the seven that had left, only 5 had come back.
Sirius walked up the stairs with an injured STARS minor, who had simply gone in the van to examine specimens. His white coat was now a rusty red, spotted with mud, and he had bruises on his arms.
"Ugh. Why did I even bother going?" Asked the man, rubbing his bushy head.
"What did you find?" Sirius asked, sitting the man on his bed and snapping of a large piece of Honey Dukes Best Chocolatl. The man took it gratefully and frowned.
"The same thing, over and over.larvae, leeches, and we managed to collect some skin from the dogs that were around the van." He looked up at Sirius, his eyebrows bunching. "Your boss says you were bitten by a leech? Where was it?" "On my leg. I took it off with salt and Jill put bloodmoss on it, but I don't know what the antidote is and its starting to swell up." Sirius sat on a chair and noticed the pile of papers in neat, small handwriting scattered next to a mug of black coffee. "Can I look?"
"Yeah..sure.." the man lay on his bed and groaned. Sirius stood up and rummaged in his uniform and produced a phial of sleeping drought mixed with no-pain potion and handed it to the man, who took it gratefully. Sirius turned on his heel and entered the hallway, his now ferret daemon winding her way around his arm.
Jill settled uneasily into her bed and drew up the covers, looking at Rebecca, whom she had put the mesmer on to let her sleep better. Not many people knew she had fairy blood in her. Saratham nestled into her chest, his favorite ermine form snuggled against her skin. She opened the small red book and began to write.
I'm worried. Sirius has been bitten by a leech and he seems to be drowsy. Two people are now officially missing, and there are zombies prowling around as I write this, and Rebecca is out like a log. I can tell Saratham is scared (at which point the little soul creature gave a whimper) and so am I. Tomorrow, I need to attend a meeting to see what we should do. My handgun is strapped to my waist and though it is uncomfortable it is comforting to know that I will have at least some protection.