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Post by Atlas on Dec 19, 2010 10:14:44 GMT -8
Atlas watched Michael go around to deliver the breakfast. "Thank you, Michael." he said to the handsome servant as he placed the tray meant for Atlas down. His consisted of a cheese blintz with strawberries on top and a cup of coffee. "I take it Michael might be added to the list of culinary experts in Greenvale. At the very least, he is the most artistic." he thought. Tamika's dish was similar, though it didn't seem to have as much care put into it. In fact, when he hastily chopped up strawberries for her, he could have sworn he saw him subtlety threatening Tamika with the knife. "Mental note: No more mentioning of relatives of Michael. Tends to lead to knife injuries." he thought.
"Thank you for the generous hospitality, Mr. Stewart. The breakfast looks delicious." he said. He took the fork on the plate and took a bite. "I guess in this case, looks aren't deceiving. This is some good stuff. Mr. Stewart never spares any expenses." he said.
"With that said, let's get down to brass tacks. A little bird had informed us that you as well are aware of the Shadows that plague this town" Atlas said to the gas masked man. He calmly took a sip of coffee and allowed the taste and aroma into his system, then continued. "I myself was not aware until I was ambushed last night. Perhaps you can shed some light on what you know about them."
"Let's see how this plays out, shall we?"
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Post by Tamika Weir on Dec 19, 2010 10:49:34 GMT -8
Tamika shrank back into her chair as Micheal brought the knife right in front of her face. She gripped the chair with one hand and her switchblade in her other. "Don't run. Calm down. He most likely won't kill you. There are witnesses." Looking up at the tall man who was threatening her, she mouthed "I'm sorry," hoping that this may convince him to at least not slit her throat right then and there.
She then bowed her head down and began staring at the plate of food in front of her. "Should I eat any of it? He wants to kill me. This is obvious. But would he have done something to the food? And if he hasn't he might get even angrier by having made a meal and me not even trying it. What the hell should I do?" As Atlas began to speak with Mr. Stewart, Tamika continued to stare at her food, like as if it may jump up and devour her any second. She felt she had done enough damage and just prayed that Atlas may be able to salvage something. "I've screwed up royal. I'm sorry. Please don't kill me."
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Post by Mister Stewart on Dec 19, 2010 15:48:17 GMT -8
The young man stood over Tamika for a moment, eyes sliding towards her when he had finished putting the strawberries on her plate. He caught what she was mouthing, but if he reacted to it whatsoever, he didn't show it...his face remained stern, serious, his back ramrod straight as he looked down at the girl. Thankfully, the moment didn't last...he set the knife down among the other serving utensils, walking around to take his seat beside Mister Stewart.
Honestly, the older man was a touch disconcerted by Michael's little display of temper - he knew what was said, of course, but it was unlike the boy to be so...violent. Trying to shake off the awkward moment, he bent over, whispering into Michael's waiting ear. Michael straightened, eyes straight ahead as he spoke in his clear, enunciated tone.
"Mister Atticus Lasseter. This town has many secrets, it is true - a number of things buried in our pasts. My question is, who is it that told you that I was the person that you should ask. So says Mister Stewart." This dispensed with, he opened his own tray - which only contained a croissant, some jam, and the same coffee and hot water combo everyone else had. Was Mister Stewart not eating? It appeared that way.
It also appeared that Michael was still rather irritated, his glance occasionally flicking over towards Tamika in a calculating fashion.
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Post by Atlas on Dec 19, 2010 19:16:48 GMT -8
Atlas couldn't help but feel awkward by the gunslinger moment between Tamika and Michael. He felt that any minute, Michael would take the knife he had and started gutting her. However, to his surprise, he didn't. "It must be hard for the man to have a job where you can't show any emotion." he thought. "I hope he'll be alright."
He listened to what Mister Stewart had to say, or rather, what Michael had to say for Mister Stewart. Although it did seem odd, Atlas figured that the man must had had speech difficulties and it is hard for him to speak up for some reason. "The only question I have: does Mister Stewart rhyme as well, or is Michael just converting his language from English to Seuss." he wondered.
"Well, to be honest, my friend Tamika here was the one who was told. He's a gravekeeper named Brian. Or rather, was a gravekeeper. From what I could gather, he was a wandering spirit similar to the shadows, though seemed benign and even helpful. Have you ever met this man?" Atlas asked.
He also kept his eye on Michael. He could bite at any moment...
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Post by Tamika Weir on Dec 20, 2010 6:03:17 GMT -8
Tamika's short apology appeared to have no effect on Micheal. She hadn't expected it to do much. If she had to rate him on a scale of 1 to 10 as to how pissed he probably was, she would give him about a 9.
"Well, fuck it then. You can just stay pissed then. I'll give you an explanation if you want it, but until then fuck you and your threatening." Deciding that apologetic was getting her nowhere, she leaned back in her chair and faced the crazy old man and the pissed off servant. Tamika tried to appear as calm as possible, though Micheal's insistent scowls did make her wary of the servant.
As Atlas mentioned her and Brian, Tamika leaned forward slightly. She knew it was completely pointless, but she stared at the man in the gas mask, like as if she was reading something from his face. "Just pretend they're your old bosses from Chicago. Then you don't have to worry about minor details like whether they plan to kill you or not. You already know."
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Post by Mister Stewart on Dec 20, 2010 16:25:13 GMT -8
Again the older man gestured for the younger one to listen - this seemed to be on ongoing routine with them. Michael straightened up again, poker face still in place as he spoke in his clear tone. He could see the way that Tamika seemed to be trying to move on from her nervousness - he could also see the way that she wouldn't touch her food. For now, he would try to set his own thoughts on the matter aside....
He could pull her aside on the way out if he needed to, after all.
"Mister Atticus Lasseter. The Gravekeeper Brian that you know...was the Gravekeeper here fifty years ago. For you to have spoken with him tells me - that is to say, Mister Stewart - that I might put some stock into what you see. Describe your encounters as best as you can...then perhaps I can give you something around which to plan. So says Mister Stewart."
The older man nodded his approval of this statement - it was true, bringing up Brian was a vote of confidence in the validity of their statements. Still, he was fishing - he wanted to see what they knew already, to see what he should give them. Perhaps they could be made to help. On the other hand, Tamika seemed rather disagreeable thus far, and Atlas he simply wasn't sure of.
People always had a way of surprising you, and he liked to be certain before he placed stock in anyone.
Michael sipped his coffee, expression just a little resigned for now.
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Post by Atlas on Dec 20, 2010 16:43:28 GMT -8
Once again, Michael had continued speaking for Mister Stewart. Although Atlas had accepted that this was necessary for the two, he still didn't understand why Michael spoke so strangely. It was obvious that Michael did speak like that independently, but did Mister Stewart do the same? "Somehow, I feel like I'm speaking to people from a different planet." he thought.
It turns out mentioning Brian was a step in the right direction for Atlas. "Good, they are starting to believe me. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Brian that Tamika didn't already tell me. Perhaps she'll have to speak this time." he thought. He took a bite of his breakfast and turned to the gas mask man.
"So I take it you've met this Brian. Most likely while he was still alive. I can't take the credit for meeting him though. Most of my information on the man comes from my friend Tamika here. She was the one who first encountered Brian. She'll be able to tell about the encounter." he said to the man, and then nodded over to Tamika.
"I know you are nervous, but I need you to speak right now. You know more about Brian than I do." he thought, hoping Tamika would pull through.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Dec 20, 2010 17:16:20 GMT -8
Tamika crossed her arms and looked straight at Mr. Stewart, ignoring Micheal entirely. "I met him in the graveyard a couple days ago. I was there by chance after having gotten a bit lost. Noticing his shack I got a bit curious, so I knocked on the door. No one answered, but as I was leaving Brian approached me. He seemed to be an alright guy. Just a bit shy, and had a rather stilted way of talking. Nothing too abnormal. Then I started seeing the shadows a few hours latter. I didn't make the connection between Brian and them at first, but after a...rather strange daydream or something at breakfast the next day and Polly Oxford mentioning that Brian was dead I figured it out."
Leaning back she continued, "So I went back to the graveyard. He was there, of course. He explained to me the nature of the shadows. That they're all victims of a massacre fifty years ago that was caused by one guy. He also told me that you are one of the few people to have survived the massacre, the others being Polly and someone named Sigourney. After that I left, seeing that remembering didn't seem to be good for him."
Finished, Tamika paused for a second before asking, "So, do you have anything to tell us, Mr. Stewart?"
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Post by Mister Stewart on Dec 21, 2010 12:38:24 GMT -8
Mister Stewart listened to the story Tamika had to tell, nodding quietly along with what she had to say. So Brian showed himself, did he? That was unusual. Generally, the Shadows showed themselves at less...friendly or convenient moments, if they ever did. And Brian was particularly, painfully shy. Was he getting restless? That was a worrisome thought. He leaned on the arm of his wheelchair, passing another message on to Michael. The young man straightened, looking directly at her, face blank.
"Miss Tamika Weir. The information you were told is true...interesting that Brian would show himself to you. So says Mister Stewart." How could the young man be so dispassionate, talking about such eerie things? Did he...believe any of this? He also seemed to completely ignore Tamika's question - as he continued speaking, addressing Atlas this time, the older man shot his aide a look.
"Mister Atticus Lasseter. If you could, I - that is to say, Mister Stewart - would like to know...where and how did you first see the Shadows? So says Mister Stewart."
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Post by Atlas on Dec 22, 2010 11:10:04 GMT -8
Just like that, Michael went from addressing Tamika to addressing Atlas. He tried his hardest to focus on the meeting, but the sheer awkwardness of the situation made it difficult. He had completely ignore his breakfast. Still, when Michael addressed him, he did his best to recall what had happened to him.
"Well, it was in Greenvale Forest Park. It was yesterday, during the rain. I was looking for ideas on what kind of greenery I could use to decorate the office when I came across a dog. It looked rather vicious and had an otherworldly quality to it. Before I knew it, it was the size of the trees surrounding it. I ran of course, using the forest as cover. I was able to lose the dog, but that's when I ran into the shadows. All over the forest, out for my blood. I didn't quite know what to make of them, so I tried my best to avoid them. One was able to shoot me though..."
As soon as he mention the gunshot, his shoulder acted up. He tried to ignore it, but ended up subconsciously putting his hand on his shoulder.
"...though I was able to survive long enough to escape. I don't know if they are still there or not or why they even came out."
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Post by Tamika Weir on Dec 22, 2010 11:34:39 GMT -8
Tamika saw the look Mr. Stewart shot Micheal and raised an eyebrow. "Somebody's not doing his job properly." While looking quizzically at Micheal, she listened to Atlas tell his story.
"Oh, they're still there," she said nonchalantly. "I ran into a bunch of them in the forest last night. There had to be at least thirty of them I guess. The strange thing is that they all came out to attack one guy. That FBI Agent Francis York Morgan to be exact. Any idea why he would attract so much attention?"
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Post by Mister Stewart on Dec 23, 2010 1:45:32 GMT -8
Michael didn't much care for the quizzical look he was being given - he pointedly stopped looking at Tamika, sipping his coffee as Atlas related his story. Mister Stewart's fingers moved to the small console mounted on the arm of his wheelchair, fingers surprisingly nimble for an elderly man tapping at the keys. So then...Atlas went out into the forest, saw a dog, said dog went giant, and then he saw the Shadows. Tamika saw Brian first, then the Shadows.
There was...not much of a connection. He wasn't certain what to think - but before he could think about it much more, Tamika cut in. Agent Francis York Morgan? So he had finally made it into town...he whispered to Michael again, seemingly ready to answer her question.
Michael looked straight ahead, not at either of them as he spoke.
"Miss Tamika Weir. If you can see the Shadows, they can see you...of the Agent the same is true. If he has come to the town already with Sight, perhaps they are anxious to pull him into the fight. So says Mister Stewart." Now they were getting somewhere, at least. The Sight? Was he referring to the ability to see the Shadows?
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Post by Atlas on Dec 23, 2010 12:46:09 GMT -8
Atlas listened to Tamika tell about her encounter with the Shadows the previous night. Much of it was the same information that he gathered the previous night.
However, one thing stood out as odd to him, especially after Michael mentioned it: the fact that Agent York could see the Shadows. Both Atlas and Tamika had spent some time in Greenvale before seeing the Shadows, yet as soon as York sets foot in the town, he gets ambushed. Atlas wondered how could that be: could York have been to Greenvale before? Could he have lived there before joining the FBI? Could the Shadows have possibly existed elsewhere?
"One thing doesn't add up though. Assuming that Agent York has never been to Greenvale, how could he see the Shadows the moment he entered? Both of us didn't see them after quite awhile. Could York have encountered the Shadows elsewhere?" he asked.
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Post by Tamika Weir on Dec 23, 2010 18:48:39 GMT -8
Tamika had to admit, she had never thought about how York was able to see shadows before. She had always just assumed some people were naturally sensitive. Yet, now that he mentioned it, something had triggered both her and Atlas to see them. So what would have triggered York?
Curious, she leaned forward slightly. Stewart's answer may be able to shed some light on the strange FBI agent. "And it may tell us how far this shadow thing has spread," she thought, remembering Atlas's words from earlier:
"What if they end up spreading to other parts of the United States. Heck, even the world. Well, in any case, we won't let it happen."
"Well what do we do if they've already spread Atlas?"
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Post by Mister Stewart on Dec 24, 2010 17:09:58 GMT -8
More whispering. More of Michael straightening and relaying the words, eyes deadpan and voice still unwavering save for the tired rasp. No, it seemed he didn't fully believe what he was saying...after all...how could he? How could he believe in something so mad-sounding as a horde of broken-bodied corpses, shambling out in the rain and the dark on the very streets of Greenvale? The streets we walked every day?
He trusted Mister Stewart with all his heart, and he would do anything the older man said...but that didn't mean that he really understood.
"Mister Atticus Lasseter. If he's seen the Shadows, that well may be - there must be a reason that he can See. The reasons for that are still unclear...but all have reasons for coming here. So says Mister Stewart."
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