Nocturnum - Chapter I

[Majin]

Monday, May 15 2006 - 6:15 PM

Those that decide to go see Mary leave Gabriel and any others that stay with him in the waiting room as they follow Sara down the hall to Mary's room.

Upon entering the room, you see Mary lying in bed, watching television, her body connected to a traction apparatus to help her pelvic bone set properly. Her arm and leg are in casts, and there are bandages on her head. Her eyes are bruised. She's in a room with another patient, an emaciated old man whose eyes are closed and whose breathing is raspy. He's attached to a pulse monitor and other medical instruments that constantly beep and whir. He appears to be either asleep or unconscious.

Sara has tears in her eyes as she approaches Mary's bedside. She quietly makes introductions to all present and hands Mary a box of chocolates she'd brought along as a present, which she places on a side table. Small talk is made between Mary and Sara for awhile, though it's clear that Mary is more interested in staring at you than her talk with Sara.

"You're from the Paradise, aren't you?" she asks eventually, prompting Sara to nervously explain further your reasons for being here.

 

[Velmont]

Not sure himself what he is doing here (after all, he wanted to do his Art History project, not on health and security at work), Steven decide to stay silent. He just node at the girl and let the other talks.

 

[ae1vart0n]

Taking a seat, he spoke in a relaxed voice, "I guess you must have found that door too."

No need to ask her about details, or talk about theories. Give someone like this an explanation and they'd cling to it. Better to just give her something to start with and see what she says.

 

[Watus]

Pete sidles into the room and leans against the wall in the back, looking friendly and concerned. I can do the interview later, he thinks. When we won't have an audience.

In the meantime, he figures he'll just see how she reacts to the others.

 

[Majin]

Mary's eyes widen at Roger's mention of the door. She nods her head nervously. "The doctor's keep telling me that my injuries were a result of falling. That I agree with, but I did not fall down from the scaffolding..." she pauses for a moment before continuing, "I fell up," she swallows.

 

[Velmont]

"Up? How can you fall up?" whisperss Steven to Dunstand. "If it is true, do you think it means that theatre is hunted... not sure it would be a good thing to mention that in our work."

 

[Watus]

Pete narrows his eyes and wonders what kind of pain meds this poor woman is on. Probably something pretty strong, he figures. She's obviously pretty out of it.

It will probably be weeks before he can get a reliable statement out of her about what happened.

 

[ae1vart0n]

Pulled upwards. A gas would probably make you lose your balance, but two people being "pulled" in the same direction was odd. Still, it could be coincidence. He needed more information.

"I'm sure you didn't fall upwards any more than my friend did, though that's also how it felt to me when I was standing up there." Roger began to explain. Explaining away hallicinations was commonplace for Roger, and if he wanted to do anything to help the theater's reputation, it was important to convince this girl. Don't contradict anything, just add explanation to experience.

"You didn't see what was behind that door by chance? Or smell anything odd? I was a few feet away this time so I didn't get a good look."

He was hoping she could help identify the gas, or at least substantiate the theory a bit.

 

[Majin]

"I blacked out and don't remember anything that specific," Mary answers with a frown.

Suddenly, the beeping from the machines increases and a buzzer sounds. The man in the other bed cries out briefly and then his face goes slack. Sara yelps and runs out of the room to get a nurse; The noise from the machines is terrible, a cacophony of electronic sounds that make no sense. Two nurses and a doctor rush in, followed by Sara. The staff begins emergency procedures and goes straight to defibrillation. As they use the paddles to jolt electricity into the old man's body, the lights in the room go out with each burst. Sara watches the scene, aghast. Mary continues staring at you. Then she nods at the television on the wall behind you.

As the lights go up and down and the man's body spasms, the television is shorting out. Images of a ballet dissolve into static, and the sound of a film projector comes through. Then the screen shows the hospital room, as if a camera were mounted inside the television. You see yourselves around the bed, and the pulsing lights, and Mary staring. A blurry figure stands next to Mary, with indistinct hands stroking her face. Then the screen explodes in a burst of electricity, sending fragments of glass blowing into the room. A nurse screams.

The old man is dead. The doctor calls the time of death. He gestures at the television and tells a nurse, "Get Robert to fix that damned thing," he says, frustrated.

[sblock]Sorry for the delay all, I haven't been feeling that well lately.[/sblock]

 

[Insight]

OOC: I have returned from my vacation!