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Exit 23 Dark•Matter Story Hour (NOW COMPLETE!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 1230141" data-attributes="member: 2205"><p style="text-align: center">"Exit 23"</p> <p style="text-align: center">II.</p><p></p><p>Jane McDermott stood up after a second, flashing her Mag-Lite towards the doorway of the restaurant. There was a glittering flash on the ground in the light; it looked like the glass door was completely blown out. She looked behind her; Mabel was cowering under a table.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I suppose I should go investigate. Anyone with me?"</p><p></p><p>The dark-haired man with the laptop let out a slightly high-pitched, nervous chuckle. "Isn't that your job? To serve and protect and all that?"</p><p></p><p>Another man stood up from his papers. "I'm a doctor. I better go with you to see if anyone got hurt."</p><p></p><p>The tall black man and the photographer looked at each other and nodded slightly, then stood up as well. "We'll be a few steps behind you."</p><p></p><p>Jane switched her Mag-Lite to her left hand and drew her pistol. Sweeping her light in front of her to make sure she saw the entire scene before she came to it, she advanced one slow agonized step after another. After a minute or so the other three men came behind her.</p><p></p><p>The entryway to the truck stop was a disaster. Glass was strewn throughout the lobby, and far into the coffee shop beyond; more than fifty feet, in a spray pattern originating at the doorway. The metal frame of the doorway was twisted, broken and bent in hideous shapes. Snow covered the floor, even though the opening had only existed for a few minutes, and the walls were lined with frost. "What the heck could have caused this?" muttered Nichols, the photographer, to himself. His camera went crazy; he snapped at least a dozen pictures of the entryway on the 35mm roll. Akens, the tall black man, shivered and pulled his coat tighter about him, but started talking into his digital hand held recorder, describing what they saw.</p><p></p><p>Dr. Neary's face was whiter than normal, but in even, controlled tones he asked, "Shouldn't we move on, then?" McDermott nodded, pulled her gun up and started inching her way through the passageway on the other side of the lobby. The door to the men's room seemed to have been ripped to shreds like an old rag. McDermott shined her Mag-Lite into the room, then turned away, repressing a shudder. Nichols camera ran out of film. "$#!+!" he cried, swapping to his digital camera, which clicked like mad.</p><p></p><p>Inside the bathroom the destruction was total. Snow and frost was piled high around the walls, which were scratched and scarred and sprayed with blood. The sink was broken off the wall, and lay in pieces on the floor, and the stall walls were knocked over. Most of the ceiling tiles had collapsed as well, exposing the superstructure under the roof and littering the floor. The college kid artist lay on the floor, impaled in many places with two-foot long icicles, and slashed open at the throat and chest as well. Many of his wounds had black edges, as if the flesh had been abruptly and severely frostbitten. Dr. Neary rushed forward to check out the young man. "Stone dead," he pronounced after a relatively quick look.</p><p></p><p>Nichols camera stopped after a moment. "That was some &@#*ing storm!"</p><p></p><p>McDermott nodded. "What could have caused all these icicles to have blown in like this? That was some freak wind alright."</p><p></p><p>Akens grimaced. "Give me a break! There weren't any icicles like this on the doorway. No freak wind could have done this. No, something else is going on."</p><p></p><p>McDermott pulled up right into his face. "Clearly a tornado hit the truckstop. The icicles could have been picked up from anywhere, and carried for miles. This was a really freak occurance, but nothing else is going on than that."</p><p></p><p>"I can't believe this!" Akens said, throwing his hands in the air. "You're so blind! You only see what you want to s..."</p><p></p><p>He stopped mid-sentence, as did everyone else. They had all heard a bump and a clatter from the room next door. McDermott gave Akens a wry look and gently pushed past him, her gun raised again, and her Mag-Lite up and ready. She stepped out of the bathroom and turned to her right.</p><p></p><p>There, in a small alcove were three our four video games, silent and dark now with the power out. And crouched behind the last game was a young boy in a McDonald's uniform. McDermott let down the light and relaxed visibly. "Are you OK, son?" she asked coming up near him.</p><p></p><p>He didn't appear to be hurt, but was still in a state of panic. His eyes were wide, and darted backwards and forwards. A wet spot spread from his pants down his leg. "What happened here?" the state trooper asked him.</p><p></p><p>"Is it gone yet?" he asked, his voice cracking and pitched unnaturally high. "Sweet mother of God, please tell me it's gone!" </p><p></p><p>McDermott turned to look at the doctor, who merely shrugged. "Look, kid," she said, "what did you see? What happened here?"</p><p></p><p>"You don't understand!" the boy said, sobbing, and grabbing her by the shoulders. "You can't understand! Please just tell me that thing isn't here anymore!"</p><p></p><p>McDermott shook him off. "Listen up, kid," she said. "I don't know what you're talking about but I need to hear what you saw and what happened here."</p><p></p><p>The frightened boy pushed past her, eluding her grasping hands and ran for the door. "I can't stay here; this place is seriously %*&@ed up!" He stumbed on the broken glass, cutting his hands, but scrambled quickly to his feet and ran out into the snow. </p><p></p><p>"Hey!" McDermott shouted. "Come back here, ya punk!" But he had already clambered inside his battered Honda Civic and turned on the engine. In minutes, he pulled out of the parking spot, leaving a markedly bare spot where the snow had not covered the lot. "Darn kid probably won't even make it past the on-ramp in this weather," she mumbled to herself. She walked back inside. The doctor was standing there watching her.</p><p></p><p>"You handled that real well," he said caustically. "A real model of diplomacy."</p><p></p><p>"Cut it!" came a cry from inside the men's room. Dr. Akens voice. "There's someone else in here, buried under the rubble."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Desdichado, post: 1230141, member: 2205"] [center]"Exit 23" II.[/center] Jane McDermott stood up after a second, flashing her Mag-Lite towards the doorway of the restaurant. There was a glittering flash on the ground in the light; it looked like the glass door was completely blown out. She looked behind her; Mabel was cowering under a table. "Well, I suppose I should go investigate. Anyone with me?" The dark-haired man with the laptop let out a slightly high-pitched, nervous chuckle. "Isn't that your job? To serve and protect and all that?" Another man stood up from his papers. "I'm a doctor. I better go with you to see if anyone got hurt." The tall black man and the photographer looked at each other and nodded slightly, then stood up as well. "We'll be a few steps behind you." Jane switched her Mag-Lite to her left hand and drew her pistol. Sweeping her light in front of her to make sure she saw the entire scene before she came to it, she advanced one slow agonized step after another. After a minute or so the other three men came behind her. The entryway to the truck stop was a disaster. Glass was strewn throughout the lobby, and far into the coffee shop beyond; more than fifty feet, in a spray pattern originating at the doorway. The metal frame of the doorway was twisted, broken and bent in hideous shapes. Snow covered the floor, even though the opening had only existed for a few minutes, and the walls were lined with frost. "What the heck could have caused this?" muttered Nichols, the photographer, to himself. His camera went crazy; he snapped at least a dozen pictures of the entryway on the 35mm roll. Akens, the tall black man, shivered and pulled his coat tighter about him, but started talking into his digital hand held recorder, describing what they saw. Dr. Neary's face was whiter than normal, but in even, controlled tones he asked, "Shouldn't we move on, then?" McDermott nodded, pulled her gun up and started inching her way through the passageway on the other side of the lobby. The door to the men's room seemed to have been ripped to shreds like an old rag. McDermott shined her Mag-Lite into the room, then turned away, repressing a shudder. Nichols camera ran out of film. "$#!+!" he cried, swapping to his digital camera, which clicked like mad. Inside the bathroom the destruction was total. Snow and frost was piled high around the walls, which were scratched and scarred and sprayed with blood. The sink was broken off the wall, and lay in pieces on the floor, and the stall walls were knocked over. Most of the ceiling tiles had collapsed as well, exposing the superstructure under the roof and littering the floor. The college kid artist lay on the floor, impaled in many places with two-foot long icicles, and slashed open at the throat and chest as well. Many of his wounds had black edges, as if the flesh had been abruptly and severely frostbitten. Dr. Neary rushed forward to check out the young man. "Stone dead," he pronounced after a relatively quick look. Nichols camera stopped after a moment. "That was some &@#*ing storm!" McDermott nodded. "What could have caused all these icicles to have blown in like this? That was some freak wind alright." Akens grimaced. "Give me a break! There weren't any icicles like this on the doorway. No freak wind could have done this. No, something else is going on." McDermott pulled up right into his face. "Clearly a tornado hit the truckstop. The icicles could have been picked up from anywhere, and carried for miles. This was a really freak occurance, but nothing else is going on than that." "I can't believe this!" Akens said, throwing his hands in the air. "You're so blind! You only see what you want to s..." He stopped mid-sentence, as did everyone else. They had all heard a bump and a clatter from the room next door. McDermott gave Akens a wry look and gently pushed past him, her gun raised again, and her Mag-Lite up and ready. She stepped out of the bathroom and turned to her right. There, in a small alcove were three our four video games, silent and dark now with the power out. And crouched behind the last game was a young boy in a McDonald's uniform. McDermott let down the light and relaxed visibly. "Are you OK, son?" she asked coming up near him. He didn't appear to be hurt, but was still in a state of panic. His eyes were wide, and darted backwards and forwards. A wet spot spread from his pants down his leg. "What happened here?" the state trooper asked him. "Is it gone yet?" he asked, his voice cracking and pitched unnaturally high. "Sweet mother of God, please tell me it's gone!" McDermott turned to look at the doctor, who merely shrugged. "Look, kid," she said, "what did you see? What happened here?" "You don't understand!" the boy said, sobbing, and grabbing her by the shoulders. "You can't understand! Please just tell me that thing isn't here anymore!" McDermott shook him off. "Listen up, kid," she said. "I don't know what you're talking about but I need to hear what you saw and what happened here." The frightened boy pushed past her, eluding her grasping hands and ran for the door. "I can't stay here; this place is seriously %*&@ed up!" He stumbed on the broken glass, cutting his hands, but scrambled quickly to his feet and ran out into the snow. "Hey!" McDermott shouted. "Come back here, ya punk!" But he had already clambered inside his battered Honda Civic and turned on the engine. In minutes, he pulled out of the parking spot, leaving a markedly bare spot where the snow had not covered the lot. "Darn kid probably won't even make it past the on-ramp in this weather," she mumbled to herself. She walked back inside. The doctor was standing there watching her. "You handled that real well," he said caustically. "A real model of diplomacy." "Cut it!" came a cry from inside the men's room. Dr. Akens voice. "There's someone else in here, buried under the rubble." [/QUOTE]
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