Just Another Horror Film

DeletedUser28032

The light of a torch played across the dark, dank tunnel walls causing Sammy to wonder why every hunt she went on wind up being in somewhere dark and uninviting. Just once she’d like to track down some horrific monster on a tropical beach; it didn’t even have to be during the daytime! She just wanted to go someplace that didn’t look like the set from some cheap B-movie horror flick. She’d been in these tunnels for what seemed like hours now; she just hoped that whatever was at the end of them was worth the effort.

Finally reaching a door she would carefully tuck the torch under her armpit so as to free up her hand so she could open the door in front of her without plunging herself into darkness. Her other hand meanwhile held a large .45 revolver loaded with silver bullets which regardless of the lore would put most things down…or at least slow it down long enough for her to try something else such as getting the hell out of dodge.

Slowly turning the handle Sammy would take several deep steadying breaths before throwing open the door and levelling the gun ready to shoot; her eyes going wide with shock as she beheld what was occupying the room “oh…well that’s unexpected”

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The stories are real. Monsters, magic, ghosts, all that stuff you heard about as child in fairy tales and horror movies and were told didn’t exist…well guess what chuckles it’s all real and it’s hungry!

It was words to that effect that greeted every hunter before they set off down the dark path that they had found themselves upon, or at least those lucky enough not to see their friends and family torn apart in front of them by something that shouldn’t exist. Of course most of those poor unfortunate souls wind up being locked away either in prison, accused of being a deranged killer, or in an asylum because they were dumb enough to talk about it! Either way saying “a monster did it” isn’t the best of defence’s. And of course there are those who simply can’t cope with the knowledge that such things exist and either go mad, kill themselves, or both.

And then there are those brave or perhaps foolish souls that seek out the monsters that lurk within the dark corners of the world and destroy them to save others from having to walk such a dark and dangerous path…you are one such person

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Ok I’ll keep this nice and straight forward, simply create a hunter using the below character sheet (Don’t bother with any background story we’ll RP that out as we play) and start writing. Feel free to import characters from previous rp’s through preferably not from a sci-fi setting. A quick note on magic, yes it exists and it falls broadly under two categories; Innate magic i.e you are naturally magical though this is more for supernatural races (although some humans also possess such “natural” abilities). And Ritualistic magic which is the most common form and involves large dusty tomes, incense and pentagrams. Both have their pro’s and con’s, Innate magic is generally quicker to cast and more powerful but draining for its user where as Ritualistic although very user friendly requires a fair amount of pre-planning. I’m not looking for anything overly deep and complicated here, nor am I after huge posts; I’m just looking at this being a bit of fun. Feel free to ask questions and other than that enjoy!

Name:
Age:
Physical Description:


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Name: Jack Connor
Age: 31
Physical Description: 6’ 1” with short dark hair and brown eyes, Jack could be considered good looking in a rugged kind of way with him usually dressed in faded jeans, an old pair of boots and a black leather jacket that has seen better days. Tattooed on the underside of each of his forearms he has ancient “runes of protection” though whether they actually work is another matter entirely.

Name: Cassiopeia (Cassie) Connor
Age: 25
Physical Description: 5’5” with dark brown shoulder length hair and amber coloured eyes, although the most noticeable thing about Cassie is her abnormally pale skin. Almost as if to highlight the fact she often dresses in dark clothing including black lipstick, a pair of sunglasses, black leather gloves and a black Stetson hat creating a look that all but screams “Goth” which may just be her intention…
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"Ok I’m not sure if anyone’s hearing this but…I’m in trouble, serious trouble and….I…I don’t know who else to call….I’m in Saltmarsh, Louisiana, there’s this old house and…oh god….I think they’re breaking in!"

The message ended with what sounded like a pair of gunshots before it cut out entirely. Truth be told Jack was kind of surprised that Sammy had tried contacting him considering how things between the two of them had gone down last time they’d met…then again he wasn’t the only one to have received her message so perhaps she’d simply hit Send All without realising he was included? Either way he was here now so like it or lump it she was getting his help.

Sitting in a truck stop diner on the outskirts of the small coastal town of Saltmarsh Jack would take a large bite out of his burger with obvious relish. Having spent much of his life on the road travelling from one place to another in order to kill something or other, he’d become quite the connoisseur of fast food and was ranking the current establishment pretty highly “I can’t believe you’re actually eating that thing? I can hear your arteries clogging from here!” the pale skinned girl spoke from the seat opposite him in obvious disgust prompting Jack to pause in the act of eating his lunch to offer her a withering look “Cassie…remind me why I didn’t gank you when I had the chance?” he asked in a dry humourless voice “because I’m your baby sister and you love me” she cheerfully replied, flashing him gleaming smile that simply caused him to roll his eyes and continue eating his burger “one you’re my step-sister and two…no” he gruffly replied in between bites. The pair would return to sitting in silence; Jack eating his burger and fries and Cassie absently staring out of the window through a pair of sunglasses. Eventually however Cassie would break and begin speaking again “Ok, so other than to experience this gastronomic marvel first hand why exactly are we here?” she asked with a sigh. Jack would take a moment to wipe around his mouth with a brightly coloured napkin before patiently answering her question “this joint is on the only road into town, so if anyone else shows up in response to Sammy’s hour of need they have to come through here first, now I don’t know what Sammy found out here but I’m guessing it’s big, meaning we’re going to need all the help we can get”
 

Deleted User - 819397

Name: Arda Cas
Age: 23
Physical Description: Arda stands at 5'7", with shoulder length red hair and a medium build, though without a lot of muscle mass. She tends to dress fairly casually, most often donning a zip up hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. In general she doesn't care much about her appearance. Her face is prematurely lined, though the lines don't always match up to the folds her facial expressions make.

"Top me off, please?" Arda inquired of the waitress, gesturing to her empty coffee mug. "I'm probably going to be pulling an all nighter for this assignment," she added testily to combat the look she was given. "College students need their caffeine, yeah?" Once the cup had been topped off to her liking, she watched the woman go, scowling after her. "You aren't going to get a good tip you keep this up..." she muttered, turning her attention back to the notebook she was poring over. Fairly standard notes, she knew, for someone studying Criminology. The perfect excuse. Not like I'm going to be making the test at this rate, she sighed to herself, turning the page. Her pen was more out of place than the book it was attached to, full of intricate designs here and there and a good bit thicker than most pens would be. An elective class had actually paid off in its design, and she was proud of her handiwork. She didn't know a whole lot about the situation other than what the higher ups had said, but it couldn't be too bad, if they were sending her over someone else. She barely had the basics down, really. A training mission for a training member, that's all this was. They'd only ever gotten it wrong once before, and that was decades ago. No need to be nervous at all. All the same, more coffee couldn't hurt...where was that waitress...
 

DeletedUser28032

From where Arda was sat she couldn't help but notice the young woman sitting by the window, watching as a tall man ate his meal through a pair of dark sunglasses. as unusual as it was for someone to be wearing sunglasses indoors, and lets face it the weather outside wasn't exactly glorious sunshine, it was the paleness of her skin that caught her eye it was almost as if it had been bleached. When coupled with the dark clothes, the sunglasses, the black leather gloves and black lipstick it would be all too easy to simply assume it was makeup and that she was going for some kind of emo goth look which considering the guy in front of her had the old school rocker look down to a tee was no real stretch of the imagination. But the longer she looked the more she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't makeup she was looking at.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Scowling as she looked for the waitress, Arda's eyes fell upon a pair of other diners. The male was more or less unassuming, but the woman...something was decidedly off about her. It wasn't her clothes, as standout as they were...no, that was the style for some, she knew. Nor was it the sunglasses, though it took a bit of effort to not roll her eyes at that one...no, it was the fact her skin was pale, beyond that of even those who rarely left Point Zero. No, she was an anomaly, and not one Arda had made...she'd been good. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment. No, that would lead to a bar brawl, messy and inconvenient. No, a shouting match would be a poor choice as well. Which left round 3...

Rising to her feet, the young woman walked over to the pair, smiling in what she hoped was a nonthreatening manner. "Good evening, you two. Sorry to intrude, but neither of you would happen to be or know a Sammy, would you? My mentor told me I should be finding someone by that name, said I'd know when I found them, but the jerk couldn't give anyone a straight answer to save his life, didn't even give me a last name or gender, so I'm at a bit of a loss, really." The errant waitress caught her eye, and she turned towards her, scowling. "Coffee, please. Remember? I'm over there." She pointed with her pen at her booth, the empty coffee cup bemoaning its lack of black gold...or at least, it was in her mind, anyway. "Going to fall asleep at this rate...anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your answer earlier...anything you can give me would be greatly appreciated." No harm this way, and it'd give her a chance to assess the situation before she acted, always a plus. If they were locals, they'd know. If not, they could mock her mentor together, everyone knew he deserved it sometimes...
 

DeletedUser13682


Name: Mika Janssen
Age: 29
Appearance: 5'8", slim build, gray eyes and sandy hair worn down to the shoulder. Has trimmed beard covering most of his lower face. Wars dark green work pants and pull up boots. Chooses to wear flannel jackets over graphic tees of old concerts. Wears a replica G-1 flight jacket
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The diner was nothing special. Just another greasy spoon on the side of a highway, catering to long haul truckers and any traveller too tired to continue down the straight, black lines of the interestate. He had been called here by a snippet of message, faintly heard over an old AN/VRC-12. His hails were met with silence. Perhaps they were out of transmitter range. A quick call to his contact didn't tell Mika much more but to be at this lonesome diner and wait. He didn't know how long, he didn't know what he was waiting for, and any attempts at calling the number again were met with a steady dial tone. All he could do was wait.

The old C-10 Custom rumbled into an open parking spot, a distance away from the restaurant and any other vehicle. Mika walked over to the restaurant, head buried deep in the fur lined collar. The interior was sparsely populated and Mika was easily able to find an open booth away from any other patrons. A long few minutes passed by before the shift waitress walked over and asked his order. "Please, coffee," Mika responded, in a soft, heavy accent. "Also steak and eggs. He took off his jacket while he waited, reveaing a loose fitting flannel jacket on top of a shirt featuring a smiling sausage and giant bean coming out of a can. Most of the patrons were background truckers, wearily picking at their meals. A group of 3 at the far end of the aisle stood right out, however. One woman was standing, chatting merrily with the two sitting down. The man seemed normal enough, but the sitting woman seemed to have come straight from WGT Leipzig. He doubted they were on the long haul. But he would watch and wait and verify that they were here for the same reason he was before doing anything. Until then, he would slowly dig into his steak and eggs and put as much coffee in him as possible.
 

DeletedUser28032

There was something odd about the young woman, which true was a touch hypocritical coming from Cassie but all the same there was something about her that wasn't quite right. It was as she was thinking this that she would gently kick jack's foot beneath the table so as to gain his attention before the woman arrived at their table. At the mention of Sammy's name and that she was looking for her at her "mentors" behest Jack would momentarily glance in Cassie's direction before cautiously speaking "sure...we know Sammy, she's and old friend of ours" or at least she had been before we'd started shooting at one another Jack mentally added, that had not been a good day "...so how exactly does your mentor know Sammy? Because I con't recall her having ever mentioned you" and you sure as hell don't look like a hunter he silently added. Under his jacket he could feel the reassuring weight of the pearl handled automatic he carried, the weapon was useless here with so many witnesses and he didn't think she was anything supernatural...or at least not the predatory kind. All the same with their car and all of their gear parked out front he was glad to have some small measure of protection with him.
 
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Deleted User - 819397

Arda suppressed the urge to sigh as the pair were less than warm to her presence. It wasn't like she'd come up demanding to face the girl in combat...still, they knew Sammy, so she had to play nice, even if she doubted they'd like her answers. "I don't think he does know her, not really. He, uh. He's just really good at knowing things. As in, he's only been wrong once, ever. Not that anyone ever let him forget the one time he was wrong. So he, um, decided that something was wrong and that one of us should help, and he sent me. And here I am." It was a lame explanation, she knew it was. But she couldn't give the whole story, how she was almost certain her mentor knew about this woman. People didn't tend to take that kind of news well. "Look, I get you don't want your friend to wind up in more trouble, but if I was going to cause problems I wouldn't be approaching you in the middle of a diner. I'd wait until you left and ambush you five miles down the road. Or something like that. Instead I'm here in a public place talking politely with you. And I can help with whatever's going on, my mentor wouldn't have sent me if I couldn't. So can I please get just a little trust so we can work together for a couple hours, yeah? We can take care of whatever's going on, get you your friend back, and I can go back home, report in with my mentor, and maybe even make it to my test. Sound tolerable, if not preferable?" She glanced back at her own booth, still bemoaning its lack of coffee. It was so tempting to just...get it herself...but no, no sense in making the threads tighter over something that small...she'd rather give herself as much breathing room as possible...
 

DeletedUser28032

Jack would give the young woman a calculating look akin to someone trying to decide whether or not that old piece of rope would snap if he tried to swing across the creek with it before then shrugging his broad leather clad shoulders "alright...take a seat" he said, using a casual hand gesture to indicate that she was to sit next to the pale girl on the opposite side of the table to him. Some of what she'd said had made sense, other bits… not so much, but it wouldn't hurt to find out what little she knew about the situation and this mysterious mentor of hers "I'm Jack, and this is my step-sister Cassie" Jack said, once the woman had sat down with her receiving a slight motion of her fingers in way of a greeting from Cassie. The look on the young woman's face reminding Arda of a cat trying to decide whether or not it could be bothered to eviscerate the small furry creature that had just crossed it’s path “So…what exactly did your mentor tell you?” Jack asked, deciding that that was as good a starting point as any. With any luck they might just be able to figure out what exactly they were dealing with here.
 
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Deleted User - 819397

It seemed that Arda had crossed the barrier into just enough trust for them to bring her in, which she was grateful for...she didn't have a whole lot of other options to work with. She nodded at the invitation to join the pair, hesitating just long enough to go get her notebook and (still empty) coffee cup, before sliding in. She took in their names easily enough, nodding in understanding as the explanation came out that they were step-siblings...that explained a bit. "Arda," she offered in return, smiling slightly. Her body language was relaxed, despite the almost predatory gaze the woman to her side was giving her. "As for what my mentor told me...all he said was there was something he thought someone with our talents could and should help with that had come up, that it involved a person named Sammy, and that he was choosing me to go. We can always say no if we want to, of course, but the chance to get out of studying and to see a different place for once, I wanted that. So I was dropped off here, and was trying to come up with what I could when I noticed you two. And that's pretty much all I've got...yeah." She nodded, grimacing. "I know it's not much, but my mentor...has a lot on his mind. We all kind of just have to get used to his eccentricities. He's absolutely brilliant though, no one thinks they even come close to his level of leadership and organization." She shrugged. "Anyway, that's what I know, care to fill me in on any of the gaps I'm dealing with?" Here was where she'd love to take a sip of her coffee...but she continued to not have any. Listening with a polite expression then, she could do that.
 

DeletedUser28032

It appeared that Arda knew even less about the situation than they did having seemingly been selected by her mentor to go and investigate the matter without actually giving her any information as to what it was she was doing. It also sounded as if was a member of some kind of school or religious order by what she was saying, with her mentioning tests and lessons and inferring that there were others. As much as all this piqued Jack's curiosity he decided to let it all slide for the moment and bring her up to speed "we don't know a lot more than you to be honest, we received a message from Sammy about a day ago saying that she'd been working a job down in Saltmarsh and that she was in trouble, needless to say we got in the car and made our way straight here" he said before producing a phone from out of his pocket and placing it on the table in front of her and hitting play on Sammy's voice message so she could hear it for herself.

Once the message had finished playing he would retrieve the phone and return it to his jacket pocket "Sammy's been a hunter since she was sixteen when her parents were took out by a Wendigo whilst on a camping trip so when she say's she's in trouble then she's in serious trouble...as in we could be looking for a body here"

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The waitress smiled wearily at Mika as she placed his order upon the clean but worn table in front of him, politely asking if her wanted anything else before then departing. Meanwhile over on the other table he would see that the young woman had now joined the other two and were talking to one another and making no attempt to lower their voices as they spoke, after all the place was pretty empty and the truckers had better things to do than listen in on a conversation that didn't concern them. Although he couldn't hear what was being played on the phone, the man having kept the sound suitably low, it was clear that the first young woman was listening to some kind of a message. All the while this was happening the pale girl would watch the woman beside her with a lazy predatory look, like she knew that she could rip the girls head off with her bare hands but simply couldn't be bothered to do so with that same look falling upon Mika as she turned to look at him. A knowing smile would briefly touch her lips before once again returning her gaze upon the woman beside her as the man once again started to speak.
 

DeletedUser13682

The group was talking much too loud for a place as public as a truck stop diner. They were openly discussing things that could lead to unwanted investigation. Mika was nearly across the diner and he could clearly hear them talking about there being a body around. That would get any local police involved and Sammy would definitely be dead instead of probably dead. And then what would be the point of having come here to the bayous of Louisiana in the first place? Still, their loud mouths were giving Mika pretty good information. They didn't know anything more about the situation than Mika did. The normal looking woman had some kind of mentor that she kept bringing up. Wonder what his deal was. He pulled out a pocket noteook and began writing his observations of the situation.

Mika was interrupted from his writing by the waitress delivering his breakfast and coffee. "I al all ok now, Mika would respond with a slight smile before devoting his forces at the food in front of him. It wasn't really very good; the eggs were overcooked and the bacon was under. But it was what one would expect from a roadside diner catering mostly to people coming down from long drives across featureless roads that were straighter than an arrow. It gave a person enough joules to continue on their lonesome journey. Mika looked up at the group again. Goth girl had noticed Mika observing them and had given him a look that screamed 'do ya feel lucky?'. Mika did feel lucky, if it came down to a fight. But he hoped it wouldn't have to end that way. They were all probably fighting against a common enemy. It'd make no sense to kill each other. But Mika wasn't like that extrovert woman; he would stay and drink his coffee and watch until he got his phone call or the group decided to leave.
 

Deleted User - 819397

The siblings didn't have a lot more than Arda did, which was a little disappointing, if understandable. Though she had to wonder what her mentor was thinking if there was something bad enough that an experienced hunter was sending a distress call. Granted, it's possible that her specific talents would be beneficial to handling it, but she couldn't do anything anyone else in their group couldn't...and seeing as her specialties were predominately based around non-offensive tactics...she really wasn't sure what the plan was going to be. However, telling them that would not exactly be ideal, so she left it for the time being, instead frowning over at Cassie. "What're you looking at?" She turned around, following the pale girl's gaze, to see a man looking back, eyes narrowing briefly. No one else was paying them the slightest attention, but this man was...and too much of it, at that. Though that wasn't the real crime here...he had coffee, and it looked fresh! And yet she had...oh, no, she did have it. When had the waitress stopped by? Oh well, it didn't matter, she had what she wanted. She took a sip, smiling contentedly despite the cheap, roadside diner quality, before asking. "What do we want to do about our eavesdropper over there?"
 

DeletedUser28032

Upon hearing Arda's question there would be a brief quirking of the woman's lips as if she wanted to make some kind of snarky reply, possibly lunch all things considered, before she realised that she was talking about the man she'd seen watching them "well...he's making notes so he's either a journalist or another hunter" Cassie quietly replied making it clear that she felt the latter of the two options was the most likely. At the mention of there being another hunter watching them a concerned look would briefly flash across Jack's face as he glanced between the man in question and Cassie before quietly replying "nothing yet" followed by a brief pause in which he seemingly reached a decision as to their next move "drink up it's time to go, I want to get into town before it gets dark" he announced before downing the remains of his own coffee and beginning to rise. Likewise Cassie would also get up out of her sear and place a black stetson hat with a silver skull on the hat band upon her head which when coupled with the long black coat she was wearing gave her the appearance of having stepped straight out of a Fields of the Nephilim video "if you want a ride into town we'll be out front" Jack said to Arda as he stepped out of the booth, making it clear that she shouldn't take to long about joining them if she did.

Assuming that Arda chose to take them up on the offer of a ride into Saltmarsh, with the town being a good ten miles away, she would find the siblings out front standing by a black 67 Chevy Impala which as well as appearing to have seen better days had obviously been well cared for by it's owner. It was as Jack was checking up on something in the trunk that Cassie would climb into the back seat and stretch out; pulling the brim of her stetson down over her eyes looking as if she fully intended to sleep the entire way into Saltmarsh. Seemingly satisfied that everything was as it should be Jack would then close the trunk with a heavy thunk before moving round to get into the drivers seat casting a look over his shoulder at the diner as he went. Almost as if he was making sure that he wasn't being followed.
 

Deleted User - 819397

It was time to move, and that meant no time to savor her coffee. Ah well, it would do the job, even if Arda couldn't give it the attention it deserved. "I'll be right out, yeah. Like I said, I got dropped off, I don't have a ride." She drank her coffee as quickly as she could manage without scalding her mouth, then hoofed it out to the siblings' car. "Nice car," she quipped without a hint of sarcasm. "One of these days I'll get my license...haven't had the time." She climbed into the passenger seat since Cassie had taken the entirety of the back, buckling up as soon as she was in. "Modern convenience always comes with a price, doesn't it? So much faster than any other individual transportation, but you wouldn't see people pitched across a field if a horse and carriage hit another..." So saying, she settled back in her seat before opening her notebook again, pen twirling around her fingers as she added a few idle thoughts here and there, flipping through the pages. She'd respond to anything asked, but otherwise, she had some catching up to do.
 

DeletedUser28032

Hearing Arda's compliment about his car, Jack would flash the girl one of his winning smiles making it clear as to who the car belonged to "yeah she's a beaut ain't she" he said bringing the engine to life with a roar closely followed by the radio which was tuned into a local rock station "Ah tune!" he said with a smile as the opening notes of a classic rock song started to play with him cranking up the volume as he quickly left the diner's car park with a spray of gravel and rejoined the road leading to Saltmarsh.

For the most part Jack would pay little attention to Arda as he drove down the narrow twisting road, singing along with the songs on the radio and drumming his hands in time with the beat, upon the Impala's steering wheel. Cassie meanwhile, despite the volume of the radio and her brothers singing, appeared to be completely dead to the world as she slept in the back seat with her arms crossed and her hat pulled down low over her eyes "So what kind of a name is Arda? Sounds Middle Eastern?" Jack suddenly asked, having gone the last twenty minutes or so without having said a word. There was no mockery or sarcasm in the question only simple curiosity as to who was sitting within his passenger seat "also you mentioned having a mentor...Is that at some kind of school or religious thing?" he continued as they passed an old signpost that said they would shortly be arriving at the town of Saltmarsh.
 

Deleted User - 819397

The drive was well underway when Jack asked Arda the origin of her name. "Yeah, Akkadian, specifically. My parents are big history buffs, love everything about ancient societies. At the very least it's an unusual name that teachers could pronounce growing up, I felt so bad for the kids who had oddly pronounced names..." The topic then got turned to her mentor, and that it sounded like she was a part of a group of some sort. "Definitely not a religious thing, no. Scholarly, I guess there's a case to be made for that, but that's really a minor part of it. People don't find them unless they already can do the type of thing we can, we just help refine it. I'm still working on the refining bit, myself, but..." she shrugged. "I'm sorry for not being more specific, but we're really not supposed to be explicit about who we are...because there's always the same questions, and it ends up in at best an argument. Yes we could, no we won't, because the stories where bad things happen tend to be correct, do you think we didn't try...it comes out almost as if we're reading from a script, really. For now, suffice it to say we're people who do our best to help when we can." Another sigh. "Sorry, I realize how infuriatingly mysterious I'm being...look, when we get there I'll show you something that should make things a little less 'I cannot tell you for your own good,' if that sounds like an ok compromise?"
 

DeletedUser13682


Mika looked up every once in a while from his notes to study the group a bit more. They all seemed to be getting along well enough. Even with the newcomer that just threw herself into the group. Only in America could such boldness work like that. It appeared that he was noticed at about the same time his meal was gone, along with his third coffee. Mika prepared himself for the worst. He'd prefer not to get into a shootout in a highway diner, and he hoped they felt the same way. But he still steeled himself for the eventuality, just in case they were a bit too squirrelly. Fortunately, the man decided that they shouldn't do anything about Mika at a moment, despite him thinking that Mika might be a reporter if he wasn't a Hunter. Mika appreciated that. He hated making scenes and was glad that someone else shared that sentiment. His original companion seemed more the type to start a fight at the drop of a hat. Good thing the guy seemed to have a calming influence. The newcomer, Mika wasn't so sure about. She did just walk up to the two. But she didn't seem so violent. Well, as nonviolent as a Hunter could be.

Suddenly, the trio decided that they were done eating, and got up to leave. Poor third wheel didn't even have a license and had to be dropped off. Seemed they were headed to the nearby town of Saltmarsh; it was the only town near enough to make before the night. Either the pair were overly nice or the third wheel had some kind of supernatural persuasion, for they offered her a ride. Mika watched the group walk out to an old Impala. His truck was probably about a decade younger than the muscle car, but didn't have the power to keep up with them on the mostly straight highways of America. He watched them drive off in the direction of Saltmarsh. It'd probably be easy enough to find them again in the town, even without a license plate. There couldn't be many old Impalas with presumably out of state plates around here. Mika finished his coffee, paid his bill, and walked back to his truck. Before he left, he placed one last phone call, still no answer. He figured he ought to head into the town and find that group again. If anything went down, he wanted to be there to at least see what all the fuss was about that dragged him down to Louisiana.
 

DeletedUser28032

Continuing down the narrow twisting road that led to Saltmarsh, with them now able to catch glimpses of the town in between the trees, Jack would listen to Arda's explanation as to the origins of her name along with the fact that despite it's unusual nature it was still easy to pronounce and so hadn't cause her any problems at school "Yeah I can get that...I know a certain somebody whose named after a constellation and it's caused them no end problems" Jack said with mischievous grin spreading across his face prompting the irate response of "Get stuffed Jack!" from the girl lying across the back seat.

As to her mentor however Jack got no closer to learning what exactly Arda's group were, only that it wasn't some kind of religious cult and that his original guess that it was a school of some kind may have been a little closer to the mark. With her promising to show him something that would answer some if not all of his questions he had to wonder whether that was wise considering his trade, then again it couldn't be that shocking if she was willing to reveal that much to him.

Upon entering Saltmarsh Jack had to wonder how the town still existed as the place looked as if it was trapped in the 1980’s. Most of the buildings looked to be run down with several of the stores boarded up as a result of their owners having left town to find a more lucrative site from which to sell their wares, and docks seemed to be home for only a handful small fishing boats with the large cranes and warehouses looking like they had been long abandoned. With the light fading fast they would pull into a motel that had obviously been built for a tourist trade that had never arrived, the U shaped timber structure painted a fading shade of pastel pink with a neon sign complete with a flamingo that much to Jack’s surprise still worked.

After finding a place to park, Jack would shut off the engine before speaking “alright let’s check in and see if the owner remembers Sammy, I doubt this place is big enough to warrant another motel, if we can find out where she was staying then perhaps we can figure out what the hell she was hunting” he suggested to the pair of women sitting within his car with him wanting to get the done with as quickly as possible. For despite his desire to help Sammy a part of him wanted nothing more that to simply up sticks and head straight for the highway. There was something about this town that just wasn’t quite right.
 

Deleted User - 819397

Saltmarsh certainly looked gloomy. Something right out of a story, really. Arda couldn't help but frown at the dreariness of the scenery. "The supernatural sure love their melodrama, don't they?" she groused to no one in particular. The motel they'd pulled into was more of the same, and she resolved she wasn't staying there herself. She had options, and she'd be damned if she was going to stay in a place that was just off enough to be eerie. Jack suggested they check in with the owner to see if they remembered Sammy, which was as good of a place to start as any. "Sure, I could use the chance to stretch my legs anyway," came the agreement, before stepping out of the car, leaving her notebook in the seat, but taking her pen with her. She gave a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, then deftly moved so that the head office's windows couldn't see her. She proceeded to twirl her pen a couple times a fair ways away from her body, and when she was done it was a full-sized staff, made from the same material and etched in the same patterns as the pen had been, but impossibly large for what the prior object had been. "I don't like the feel of this place, not about to take chances. I'll fold it back up if we need to drive anywhere else. And before you say we're going to be conspicuous, I'm hardly the only one standing out here," Arda sent a good-natured, but meaningful glance Cassie's way. "This way we have an excuse that we're heading home from a convention or something, those are popular enough they're held all the time now, right?" She shrugged, then looked over at Jack. "Your friend, your show, I guess. I'm a little too blunt for effective information gathering, yeah?"
 

DeletedUser28032

Arda would be able to feel the glare being directed at her despite the dark sunglasses being worn by the other woman, the subtle signs of tensing muscles betraying the fact that she was less than impressed by the comment. Jack on the other hand didn't seem overly bothered, running an appraising eye along the staff in her hand before speaking "that's a neat trick you've got there...should I be checking my car for Hex bags?" he asked in a calm voice, the guy was a hunter after all and had seen more than his fair share of strange over the years, he simply wanted to know in which camp Arda resided and whether he needed to watch his back "Cassie, grab the bags, it's time we got this job underway" he spoke to the girl with his eyes never leaving Arda as he waited for a response. Cassie for her part would rather sullenly open the Impala's trunk and retrieve a pair of old rucksacks out of the back, one of which she would hand to Jack before slinging the other over her shoulder.

The inside of the motel would prove to be every bit as impressive as the exterior, with faded paint on the walls, potted plants that were in serious need of watering and a notice board covered in flyers and notices that were no doubt woefully out of date. Behind the desk a desiccated middle aged man with a fringe of greying hair and a moustache would look up from his paper to watch as the trio entered "evening, I take it you'd like a room?" the man asked in a French sounding accent "yeah, a room with two beds, we'll start with one night for now" Jack said, hoping that the job would only require them to stay the one night. The owner would nod his head in acceptance before asking for a reasonable fee for the rooms that Jack paid without comment. Leaning back in his chair the owner would then call through the doorway behind him "Maria! Show these people to their room" he said as a young Hispanic girl in a maid's uniform appeared. It was just as the girl would nervously ask them to follow her that Jack would speak to the owner “I wonder if you could help me? I’m looking for a friend of ours, a girl by the name of Samantha, or Sammy for short I heard she was staying in town” he said before giving him a quick description. The owner would pause in thought for several moments before shaking his head “no one like that staying here” he said though Jack suspected it would have been accurate if he’d said no one but you are staying here.

Regardless of whether or not Arda chose to get a room of her own Jack would signal for her to follow them up to their room. It would appear that tracking down Sammy wouldn’t be as easy as they’d first thought.

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Just as he’d suspected, tracking down the Impala hadn’t proved difficult seeing as the town of Saltmarsh had a general lack of muscle cars. As well as the motel in front of which the Black Impala was parked, with it’s occupants presumably inside, there was also a handful of small stores, bars and even a museum hidden in amongst the sea of foreclosure signs and plywood coverings for Mika to explore should he desire to do so, although due to the lateness of the hour his choices would be rapidly diminishing as they closed up for the night.

However it was as he was driving into town that a sense of unease would settle upon him. There was nothing he could put his finger on exactly as to why only that there was something not quite right about this place.
 
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