The Park

[Icelus]

Located on a stretch of land just off of Main Street, the park stretches between the street and the shoreline. Trees grow thicker against a raised rock surface to one side of the park, while a stature of a man with a wide-brimmed hat on a rearing horse takes precedence on the flatter, trimmed areas. A parking lot allows people to park and enjoy the park and the beach on summery days.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Buster noticed he was falling behind Cara a bit himself, so he jogged his step forward a bit without looking back, not knowing that Leianna was no longer with them. "I'd kinda like to stay behind you. I know you're not from around here but I'm as dumb as guessing when it comes to directions. Plus it would be easier for me to keep my eyes on ya if you're in front. We'll get out of this together, ok?"

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

"Sounds good to me," Cara agreed. She'd slowed down when she heard Buster's voice fading a little, not wanting to lose him when she couldn't see too far in front of her. "I'm gonna take it slow, anyways... maybe once we're further off the water the fog'll be a little less dense." She moved slowly through the parking lot, looking for her own vehicle, glancing behind her to make sure that Buster hadn't strayed too far.

"Where's the blue-haired crazy chick?" she asked eventually, not too worried, but curious all the same.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Once again starting to trail, Buster was scanning for his motorcycle, while trying to keep in distance with Cara. His face almost took on a blank sense of absent-mindedness following behind but looking across the parking lot, not responding until the girl was mentioned.

His eyes lit up in surprise when he looked back and noticed they were once again just two. "Oh god no, not her too." He started darting his vision back and forth, almost like an insane parent. "She couldn't have just disappeared like everyone else. We have to go back." Buster took a second to think about the situation, taking a breath to plan things out. "Find your car first, we'll be faster and safer if we're not on foot. I hope she's still safe when we get there."

(*edit* Busters still looking for his bike too)

 

[Icelus]

Re: The Park

The parking lot is relatively full of vehicles, but after some searching, they both find their own without apparent problems... at least so far...

Awareness Check
Buster
9+4 vs 15, failure
Cara
11+5+2 (Awareness) vs 15, Success

...though as Cara reaches her car, she hears what sounds like several voices joined in subdued chanting, the noise of which is muffled through the fog. They might be anywhere from a few yards a way to a few dozen, though she can still hear them over the gentle noise of small waves breaking on the beach...

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

Nearly ready to unlock her door and get into the old hunk of junk car, Cara frowned as she heard the chanting. Setting her guitar case against the back door, she listened for a moment, getting the creeps as she tried to determine whether she was just imagining things again or if this was real.

Finally, deciding that she probably wasn't, she hissed, "Buster, come over here." She had no idea if their voices had carried or if they were noticed, but she didn't really want to go and investigate what could be something that she couldn't deal with on her own.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Buster, desperately trying to look for his car, in a hurry to get any form of transportation failed to see it, maybe the combination of the fog and his haste.

His head shot sideways when he heard Cara speak, obviously flustered by something. Hurriedly and quietly, he made his way in the direction her voice had come from. Hopefully she had found her car without any trouble.

 

[Icelus]

Re: The Park

As Buster approaches Cara, he too can begin to hear the chanting, which seems to rise and fall in waves. For a few moments, it seems to fade away to nothing, as if the chanters have moved far enough away that they've passed out of hearing. It's difficult to tell for sure, but it sounds as though the group may have passed straight across the open grounds of the park...

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

((Damnit, people keep sniping me. 'Preview' saved my ass this time I guess. XD *rewrites*))

She strained to hear the noises continue, but found herself unable to. Looking at Buster, both eyebrows raised, Cara asked, "you did hear that, right?" She felt the need to keep her own voice low, despite the fact that the chanting had died away. She was hopeful that it was others who seemed to be crazy, and that the dementia wasn't happening in her own skull; if Buster had heard the same thing, she'd feel at least temporarily spared.

"Did you find your bike?" she finally asked, not really sure that she wanted to investigate the park-side chanting on her own, not really thinking that Buster would go with her if she tried.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Buster's pace slowed and his face morphed into one of shock and confusion as the sound of chanting came over him and passed by, and his head followed the sound away. When Cara spoke up, he turned his head to her, still stuck with his mouth slightly open and a single eyebrow raised, and nodded. Shaking his face out of it when she asked about his bike, he put his hand up to his head, as if trying to suppress a small migraine.

"I heard it too, I don't know what it was, but I know what you're talking about" Freezing for a second, something flashed back into his memory and he spoke softly. "I didn't get to tell you before, I must have dozed before I could, but the howl... I heard that too. I don't know what's going on but we.. I don't know." Trailing off at the last bit, he gave one final hard wipe of his palm across his forehead and brought his attention back up to her. "No I didn't find my bike, but honestly, I'm thinking of just saying 'fuck it' and getting out of here.. that is, if you didn't mind giving me a ride." Buster has little difficulty changing his mood from almost depressive desperation to his foolish happy-go-lucky self, flashing his usual smile.

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

"Uh... yeah, sure," she replied, taking a moment too long to worry about what their shared experiences might mean for them. "I'll take it slow and keep my eyes peeled until we leave the lot," she tried, frowning that he'd leave something so expensive behind.

Rattling her keys and unlocking the door, opening the back door from the inside, she shoved her guitar into the back seat... slammed the door shut, and leaned across the driver's seat to unlock the passenger-side door. "Sorry for the mess," she apologized, beginning to shove bottles and empty Tim Horton's cups from the shotgun seat into the back, along with some piles of paper and spare clothes. She had to try to force the glove box door closed, for it held most of her toiletries as well as some poorly folded maps. "Alright, get in, let's scramble."

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

He gave off a small laugh moving to the other side of the car, despite nothing funny being said, trying to sound full behind it. "I guess we got a small carpool going then." He smiled and waited for her to unlock his side.

"Hey don't worry about it. Considering my personality, I had to get a motorcycle or else it would become a driving trash bin. Hell, if anything, the mess makes me feel more at home." Despite not having been in a car for a while now, instinct forced him to turn and put the seat belt on as he sat down in her car.

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

"No kidding, huh?" Cara slammed the door on her side shut, slipping the key into the ignition and waiting for a moment in the car. Her hands gripped the wheel a little too tightly for a moment, then she forced herself to lean back against the brown-upholstered seat, fishing her own seatbelt into place more because Buster had than out of habit. "I once had a friend that had a chopper. He managed to fit so much shit into that little compartment in front of the seat I figured all he needed was a kitchen sink. Heh, maybe he had one in there under everything else."

In here, she felt almost safe. No chanting, no howling, no sounds of the ocean. To make things even better, Cara slapped on the radio. The tape player (it was an old car) looked like it probably wasn't working, though not for lack of fiddling around. "Find us a station," she suggested, putting the car into reverse as she looked over her shoulder and, backing out slowly, began searching for Buster's motorcycle on their way out.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

He chuckled at Cara's description of her friend, as his eyes and attention diverted to the belt across his chest. His hand came up to it and he started picking along the edge and playing with it. He only stopped for a second when she turned the radio on. Not looking for anything in particular, he scanned the stations until he got the first thing that sounded like music. He didn't really pay attention to it as it was mainly a distraction and a way around awkward silence. Instead, he came back to the seat belt, almost spacing out as he would run his finger along the side of it, every once in a while, pulling it away from his chest by an inch and letting it cinch back.

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

Inching through the lot, Cara found that she was nearly back to the entrance that led to the street again. Glancing Buster's way, she noted that he seemed to spacing out instead of looking for his bike. Frowning, she asked, "hey, you're gonna be okay? We'll get out of here," she assured. "Might have to push the schedule back with your buddies though, if we can't find your bike."

(Search for Buster's motorcycle in the lot, if not, head out to main street again)

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Popping his head up, Buster turned towards Cara as if he were unsure where the sound came from. "Hmm? Oh no, I'm always like this, sorry. I'm not worried about getting out of here." He was lying through his teeth, but he figured it was best to stay positive anyway. Realizing that his idea of 'ditch the bike and let's get the fuck out of here' kinda contradicts the optimism of his previous statement, he decided he should keep an eye out for his bike, at least for her sake. (gotta keep things happy right?) "You know, I left early in case I ran into any trouble along the way. The irony huh? If you could please take it around the lot once, I'll look for it, but it's not really important to me." Still somewhat lying; the bike was important, but so was their lives.

 

[Icelus]

Re: The Park

((Sorry for the wait.))

Cara and Buster search for the motorcycle
Cara
6+5+2 (Awareness) vs 14, Failure
12!+4 vs 14, Success (Critical Success, +2 to all rolls/defense next time Buster gets a roll)

Inching through the lot, Cara takes her car almost to the sidewalk that marks the edge of the parking lot before Buster spots his bike. Parked in a corner, no wonder it had been hard to miss before... though now it makes perfect sense, considering the stalls here are marked for motorcycles only...

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

((XD Augh, good roll.))

Cara did as she was bid, for once in a long time, swing one more time around. "Bet you were hoping to do a little more sight-seeing and a little less, well, this." Sighing as they finished their tour, she squinted through the fog and began towards the street. "Well, no luck..."

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: The Park

Staring blankly out the window, eyes fixated in a single direction towards the park grounds as the car moved, Buster responded in a somewhat dull tone, seemingly not all there. "I've had more sight-seeing than I can handle at this point."

Then his head popped up and his eyes glinted at the sight of his bike. "Wait stop the car, I see it!" He pointed out the window in the direction of his bike in the corner of the lot. He didn't move to open the door and rush out like a madman, but obviously excited, he removed his seatbelt.

 

[wallpaper]

Re: The Park

Cara brought the car up sharply, jolting a little forward as the brake engaged. The way he snapped in and out of it like that had scared her a little, though she wouldn't admit it. "Alright, but hurry, okay?"

((XD Sorry for the lack of depth in posts... I can't really think of a way to draw it out more just now!))