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Post by Tori on Jul 14, 2007 20:04:44 GMT -6
Ruana stared at the spot where Katharine had just been thrashing around like a madwoman, fright evident in her eyes. Yes, this was definitely only the start of things. With that, Ruana took in a deep breath, as she'd neglected to do so in the past few minutes. Her head felt suddenly like it was back in place and she could concentrate on the problem at hand.
Dane Tigerthon was dead.
One moment, Ruana was inncoently calling the nurse over, and the next, she was watching her stab Dane to death. Having never witnessed a murder, this was definitely going to leave a large emotional scar.
"Ruana... look. Is this really Dane? It looks like him, but..."
Ruana blinked over at her professor then looked down at the body she thought to be Dane's and examined it more closely. It did indeed look like Dane Tigerthon, but now that she really paid attention, it dort of didn't. It was though Dane had aged some ten, fifteen years. His face had lost its boyish quality, and he now looked like a young man. A terrified young man at that. He looked as though there had been a war going on for years, and he'd had no choice but to fight in it.
Then a terrifying thought hit Ruana. She rememberd how aged Katharine had looked, and now how much older Dane looked. And thought about the portal. "Michael," she started, falling back on her behind. "Do you suppose we've....I mean....is this....are we...is it possible.....can portals take you forward in time?"
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Post by purrfection on Jul 20, 2007 9:54:17 GMT -6
"Michael, do you suppose we've....I mean....is this....are we...is it possible.....can portals take you forward in time?"
"I'm not sure..." Michael's eyes wandered over the various lines in Dane's still face thoughtfully. He didn't feel nearly as upset about the boy's death as he had a minute ago. Maybe it was because Dane just wasn't Dane to Michael if he wasn't a young, energetic teenager, and this version of him just seemed... fake. Also, it occured to Michael that Ruana might be on to something. He didn't know much of anything about portals, but if the one they had stepped into in the West Wing had, in fact, taken them into the future, a lot of things would be explained. Like, for instance, that this Dane was a future Dane, so if he was dead, that didn't mean the real Dane was.
That idea alone was enough to convince Michael. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I think it's possible."
Then he remembered Katharine. Katharine, who had just murdered someone. Katharine, who had just murdered someone but was in no way a murderer. What did this mean? If he and Ruana were in the future, did that mean that in however-many-years-into-the-future-they-were, Katharine was going to turn into a killer?
It wasn't possible.
Was it?
No, no. No. No way. Michael searched his mind for some bit of evidence that might prove that Katharine could never go bad. For one thing, she had cried over Dane; would a killer do that? Michael didn't think so. But then again, he had seen her commit murder right in front of them.
It didn't make any sense. Katharine took her job as nurse so seriously; she wanted to help people. Was it possible for someone to go against everything they believed in and commit a horrible deed like murder?
It must have taken her years to get up the courage...
Michael's back straightened and he looked in the direction of the rock that he'd pulled Dane from. Years! If it had taken future Katharine years to be able to do... this... well, maybe she'd been planning it. Maybe she was planning it, right at this moment, in present day.
It was the only reasoning that worked.
"If we are in the future..." he said slowly, trying not to think about Katharine, "then we need to find out when we are. And where." He turned his head behind him as best he could, to look in the direction from which they'd come. "Maybe we should go back to that village. There might be people there that we could ask. And if there's not... well, I'm starting not to like this forest anyway." He turned back to Ruana and suddenly realized that she might not have gotten over future Dane's murder as quickly as he had. "Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.
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Post by Tori on Jul 26, 2007 14:10:22 GMT -6
"If we are in the future... then we need to find out when we are. And where. Maybe we should go back to that village. There might be people there that we could ask. And if there's not... well, I'm starting not to like this forest anyway."
Ruana stared at the blood on Dane's shirt and blinked back more tears. "I vote we take his body with us," she said hoarsely. "In case Katharine...or the man who took her...come back for it. We should bury it properly..." It seemed so surreal; an aged Katharine killing an aged Dane. It didn't seem possible that someone who'd devoted their entire career to healing and helping people and saving their lives could be the one to end it; particularly the life of a boy that she'd once saved.
"Are you alright?"
Ruana heard Michael's voice as though it were distanced. As if it were coming from the back of her mind. Everything in the world was telling her to ignore it, to stay with Dane. But she knew she had to respond. Tears in her eyes, Ruana turned to Michael. "Yeah," she croaked and sniffled, looking back down at the stabbed torso of Dane Tigerthon. Then she shifted her gaze to his eyes. They looked so turtured and tired. "It's just weird, you know? I don't understand what's going on." Ruana smiled weakly at her professor. "At least I'm not alone, I guess." With that, Ruana gingerly closed the eyes of Dane and stood up.
"Let's get out of here," she said. The village was sounding very cheerful compared to this place.
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Post by pride on Jul 27, 2007 20:22:29 GMT -6
Muraki was a reanimated dead body. It was an unusual life, but then again, he never had lead a normal life. First he had been a human doll, then he had been the bitch of a psychotic half-brother, then he had been in medical school - a whole new plane of trauma - and then he had been working for the Red Moon. And now, he was a reanimated dead body.
Sadly, there was only one word Muraki-the-Reanimated-Dead-Body could say.
"Brains?"
Because, you see, Inferi are practically zombies. And zombies eat brains. Muraki ate brains before becoming a zombie,m but it was nice anyway.
So, whilst constantly inquiring about brains, Muraki-the-Reanimated-Dead-Body moved closer to people. People he recognised. One of them he had raped. The other was someone he had considered raping. Ah, who better to devour the brains of?
Muraki-the-Reanimated-Dead-Body charged at Michael, leaving a scream of "BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!" hanging in the air.
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Post by purrfection on Jul 27, 2007 22:14:29 GMT -6
"I vote we take his body with us. In case Katharine...or the man who took her...come back for it. We should bury it properly..."
Michael nodded solemly. Looking more closely at Ruana's face, he saw that her eyes were filled with tears. While future-Katharine killing future-Dane upset him profusely, Michael knew that, this being the future, they could easily stop the murder from happening again... in fact, it wouldn't have even technically happened in their time, and probably wouldn't (judging from the boy's aged features) for another ten years. They still had time.
What bothered Michael the most was the possibly of Katharine not being trustworthy and lacking the good intentions he was so sure she had been in possession of. If Katharine was out to kill them all, who could be trusted?
Michael shivered involuntarily at the thought of Cypress, Bradly, or even Brigitta being capable of murder.
"Yeah. It's just weird, you know? I don't understand what's going on. At least I'm not alone, I guess."
Michael stood in tandum with Ruana and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, about to say something, when he heard a distant echoing voice that made him stop dead. It sounded a lot like a snacks vendor at a Quidditch tournament, but instead of looking to sell licorice or chocolate frogs, it seemed to be advertising... brains.
"Let's get out of here."
"No, wait." His gentle grip on Ruana's shoulder turned into a firm one, holding her still. Michael looked around, not sure where the voice was coming from. He looked to his left. Nothing. He turned to his right. Nothing still.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
Every cell in Michael's body jumped in surprise. Out of the far edge of the clearing where he had neglected to look came running a pale figure that looked hauntingly familiar but not totally recognizable. He looked angry, but Michael could not imagine what he or Ruana had done. Was this person in the same league as Katharine? Not stopping to consider it further, Michael shoved Ruana away from him stumbled backward in the other direction, almost falling, but managing to move out of the attacker's way.
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Post by Tori on Jul 28, 2007 11:42:13 GMT -6
"No, wait."
Ruana had heard it, too. The voice, calling out, as though it were someone calling for their lost puppy. Only, they'd named it "Brains". Poor puppy. Must have been teased all gorwing up....It's a dog... Then it became louder. This person obviously missed their puppy very much.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
Ruana barely had time to react before she was shoved into a tree by Michael, who also dodged their attacker, disappearing into the underbrush. What a weird person! Who actually yells "Braaaiinsss"? Besides zombies, no one...
"Michael?"
Ruana looked around, but the only thing she could see was a ghostly silhouette. Although he was clearly a bit more...erm...dead looking than the last time she saw him, Ruana recognized the figure immediately. How could she not? She'd once assisted in the murder of this man; that was before he came back to life, however he did that... But after he did, he sought revenge, and raped her.
The painful memories filled Ruana's brain then, and she felt as though her skull might explode. Her hand immediately flew to the scars on her stomach; the scars that, if carved correctly, would slowly kill her over time. Luckily, however, he'd messed up, and now, she only experienced excruciating pain from time to time. It wasn't so bad. Well, yeah, it was.
Muraki. But why was he here? And why was he dead? Ruana blinked. This couldn't be happening. Maybe he wasn't dead; maybe he'd come back for more, but the lighting made him look awkward. He was always a bright dresser; white. Always wore white, with his silver hair and funky eyes. A new terror awoke in Ruana.
"Michael!" She cried, terror now evident in her voice.
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Post by pride on Jul 28, 2007 22:04:43 GMT -6
"Brains?"
Muraki started throwing rocks at their head in hope of bursting skulls and revealing the delicious brains within.
Sadly, Muraki's brain demands failed, as did his aim. He was a doctor turned zombie, not an athlete. What did these people expect from him?
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
Muraki leapt at Michael, rock in hand.
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Post by purrfection on Jul 28, 2007 23:00:48 GMT -6
"Michael!"
"Brains?"
Michael had just caught his balance when a small rock swished past his left ear. Then a larger one landed at his feet, obviously too heavy to reach its target at the force it had been thrown. He looked up from the ground to find another decent-sized stone flying right for his face. He smartly ducked, and was showered with a lot of smaller pebbles.
He looked up to find the rock-thrower running straight for him. Almost everything about him was ghastly white: the clothes, the skin, even the hair was silver-y. Michael knew in the back of his mind who it was almost immediately. Even though the eyes looked dead and his skin appeared to be, if it was even possible, paler, this person was still--
"Muraki?!"
In the moment it had taken Michael to identify him, his attacker had gained considerable ground. Trying to think quickly, Michael pointed his wand straight at the sharp-looking rock in Muraki's hand and yelled, "Expelliarmus!", to which the object flew in an arc to the ground a few yards away.
((Pride: I do want Muraki to get to Michael and cause injury, and we need to discuss how it's going to occur and to what extent.))
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Post by Tori on Jul 29, 2007 21:40:05 GMT -6
"Brains?"
"Muraki?!"
Everything was happening very fast. Rocks were flying by in every imaginable direction, all of them missing both Ruana and Michael by inches. Except the last bit of gravel, some of which got in Ruana's eyes. In her attempt to reach up and wipe them, she realized that Muraki was preparing for attack again, and for Michael, again.
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The large rock in Muraki's hand plopped to the ground, but still he advanced. Ruana pulled out her own wand again and pointed it, shouting every curse and jinx she could think of, some of which would do no good.
"Expulso!" Was one of the last ones she shouted, which resulted in one of the rocks he'd thrown blowing up. Cringing, she shouted her apology and continued firing jinxes. Streams of magical light shot through the air until Ruana decided to stop. When darknedd resettled, Ruana peered over to where Muraki and Michael were. Not a single of her spells had hit them. Then she had an epiphany. Maybe she could blow up Muraki...
"Expulso!" She shouted, aiming her wand directly where Muraki stood.
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Post by pride on Jul 29, 2007 22:55:22 GMT -6
Muraki lurched toward Michael, completely unconcerned but Ruana's futile spell attempts. One came extremely close to hitting him, but he was too concerned with brains to worry.
His fingers scrapped along the ground as he hunched, tracing the dirt until a rock came into his hands. His fingers curled around it, his arm slowly drawing back. With a forward force, it flew from his hand. For once, Muraki's aim was good, his force better. It struck Michael's hands. Muraki sang and danced clumsily his victory.
"BRRRAAAAIN BRAINS BRAINS BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
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Post by purrfection on Jul 29, 2007 23:50:15 GMT -6
Michael's disarming spell had worked. He took this as a victory as well as a small shred of proof that he could get himself and Ruana out of this with no trouble.
About two and half seconds later, Michael decided that Ruana's safety was hardly turning into a pressing issue, for Muraki was still charging full-force in his direction, seemingly unphased by the fact that it was two against one, both Michael and Ruana had wands, and all Muraki had said so far to acknowledge the purpose of his efforts was 'brains'.
As Muraki lumbered toward him, he was throwing more and more rocks of varying shapes and sizes, most of them missing Michael completely, a few of them hitting him with no force that could really do damage.
"Expulso!"
A rather large stone--one that would have undoubtedly hit Michael had Ruana not caught it--burst appart in mid-air and smaller bits of it rained down on Michael, a few of them hitting his face and causing pin-pricks of pain where they struck. He shut his eyes for a second so that nothing got in them.
When he blinked his eyes open he barely had time to think before more rocks were being thrown and Muraki was drawing ever closer, only a few yards away. Michael aimed his wand again at him. "Stupe--AOW!"
Michael had not, through the blanket of darkness, caught sight of the pointed, fist-sized stone flying straight for him, for it had been out of his direct line of vision. The object hit is right hand with accuracy he hardly thought Muraki capable of, taking into consideration his previous shots and misses. A sharp pain shot through Michael's hand and up his arm; his wand flew out of his hand and into the air.
Michael knew when his wand hit the ground, out of his reach, that he was screwed. Perhaps literally, if Muraki's violent tendencies had not changed; and, judging from the 'brains', they just might have--Michael wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.
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Post by Tori on Aug 5, 2007 20:04:17 GMT -6
Ruana watched as a rock she'd destroyed fell to the ground as dust. That rock would have hit Michael had she not stopped it. Feeling proud of herself yet sfraid still the same, Ruana pushed off of the ground and stood up. She almost fell backwards again at he yell of:
"BRRRAAAAIN BRAINS BRAINS BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!"
Picking up whatever was next to her (which felt wiggly, furry, and squishy), Ruana used it as a projectile, aimed for the dark silhouette of Muraki. She hoped that it was rabid, whatever it was.
"Stupe--"Crack."--AOW!"
Screaming, Ruana made a run for where Michael was. She hoped what she'd thrown did not hit Michael. As she got closer, she sat what what lie on the ground by Michael was not moving. It looked denser than whatever she threw. When she poked it, it was definitely not furry. "Michael!" She whispered breathlessly. "Are you hurt?" The silhouette of Michael's hand looked limp. Ruana reached into her robes for her wand, murder in her eyes, only to find that her breast pocket was empty. She must've left her wand over by the other tree, and to go back for it would mean crossing Muraki again.
"Michael," she whispered, frightened. "I dropped my wand somewhere..."
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Post by pride on Aug 7, 2007 0:33:25 GMT -6
Muraki drooled. A stick! He had always had an unusual attraction to long, hard and round things. He picked the stick up, shoving it into his mouth. It didn't taste good. Muraki growled around it. "BRAINS!" he demanded, his teeth denting the smooth stick.
It tasted different. And it was smaller, painful to the touch. His tongue was bleeding, staining the wood with a metallic taste. Metallic wood... interesting. Muraki was going to advise this to zombie weekly.
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Post by purrfection on Aug 7, 2007 23:07:54 GMT -6
Michael massaged his injured wrist with his opposite hand, wincing at the slowly dulling pain there. He couldn't believe that out of all those rocks, one of them had actually disarmed him. He couldn't see very well anymore, for his wand was lying some feet in front of him and the clearing was very dark with just the dim light from the moon. He froze when the sillhouette of something round a fuzzy flew past a few yards ahead of him, squealing horribly.
Then there was a scream, to which Michael nearly had a heart attack. At first he thought Muraki had ditched him to go after Ruana, but when quick footsteps came toward him from her direction and her voice sounded beside him, he calmed down slightly.
"Are you hurt?"
"No," he said automatically, not really considering the question. It was just his wand that he was worried about, for it was closer to Muraki now than to him. It was a good thing Ruana still had hers.
"Michael. I dropped my wand somewhere..."
"Me too..." Really, this was unbelievable. It had been two against one, and Muraki had gotten the upper hand in less than five minutes. Neither Ruana nor Michael had a wand, and they were facing a rapist who had spoken multiple times but had said nothing but--
"BRAINS!"
With this declaration, Michael quickly spotted Muraki's shadowed figure nearby. He squinted at it, trying to identify the long pointy thing sticking out of where his face was. Everything about Muraki was dark, so Michael could not make out individual features easily. He did manage to deduce, judging from what both Ruana and Michael were lacking, that the object the attacker had gotten ahold of was a wand. Whose wand, Michael was not sure of.
And what was Muraki doing with the wand? It appeared that he was eating it. A midnight snack, if you will, but Michael did not imagine it was very tasy, and this sudden turn of events disturbed him to no end. His first instinct was to run, but they couldn't just leave their wands behind, could they?
"He's got one of the wands, we need to find the other one," he said to Ruana urgently. It was the only a matter of time before Muraki lost interest in the stick-like object and turned on live prey in front of him.
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Post by Tori on Aug 10, 2007 9:58:22 GMT -6
Ruana sat where she was, considering their situation. On the plus side, Michael wasn't hurt, and neither was she. But on the down side, neither of them had their wand, and they were being attack with a brains-obsessed rapist. It seemed that the negative things outweighed the positive things, because while they weren't injured, it was only a matter of time, without their wands. Ruana bit her lip and stared at the figure of Muraki, wondering why he was just standing there.
"He's got one of the wands."
Ruana stared at Michael. "What?" She said in disbelief. Squinting, Ruana saw that he did, in fact, have one of said wands. Not only did he have it, he was attempting to eat it. Perhaps he'd take a weird bite and AK himself.
"We need to find the other one."
"Right," she whispered, not wanting to move. "But what's wrong with him? Why isn't he ra--...wouldn't he be raping--...is he high?" Shaking her head, she slowly stood up. "I'm going to go check over there," she whispered, nodding towards the tree by which she had been sitting before. "If my wand's not there, it's probably mine that he's got. You look around here--or wherever you dropped it."
With that, Ruana edged to her right about five feet into the darkness before tiptoing across to the tree she'd been sitting at, hoping with all her heart that Muraki saw neither ner nor Michael.
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