Devils of Mortechaîne: A Mystery

"Oh, that's nice, but will all nine of us fit into this place?" Alex asked. He did not know how big this man's place was. He didn't think that a house would be big enough to house all nine of them. He thought that staying in small quarters with people was awkward enough, let alone nine people in a small house.

Eric thought for a moment before responding, "Well, there was also that older farmhouse on the land he bought a year ago that hadn't been demolished... He probably wants to get some use out of it seeing as it's a hassle to get demolition crews out here."

"I... I think he mentioned wanting to rent out the rooms there at some point..." Claudia continued.

"Well, there are four bedrooms in his main home, though two are in use, and four in the older one." the mayor clarified. "You could easily double up!"

edited 8th May '11 6:59:12 PM by Motree

"That is wonderful, although it begs the question, who will be staying with who?" Alex said, half wondering who he would have to stay with and half scared of who he would have to stay with.

Herbert listened to everything that was said until he spoke up. "Thanks for the hospitality!" He exclaimed. "My name's Herbert by the way." He said.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Herbert. My name is Sebastian Clearwater.", he replied, tunring and bowing to the man. "And yes indeed, who will be staying with who? A dire situation indeed."

"... I think I've got a solution." He glanced at Sebastian again. "That is, if no-one objects." He took off his brown Bowler hat, held it upside down. "See this? Now, I have a journal; we can use that to write our names down on scraps on paper. Then, we can draw for who gets what. The first four or five people drawn can get the house, and everyone else gets the farm. Fair and easy-peasy. Anyone object?"

edited 8th May '11 7:10:08 PM by kkhohoho

"Might i inquire as to why you always glance at me before adding something like 'That is, if no-one objects.'?" Sebastian asked him, eyebrow raised.

Hmm. So they just so happened to be trapped in a small town that was isolated from the rest of the world. That didn't bode well.

And that boy had mentioned something about people seeing a ghost in the forest…

I'll definitely have to hear these ghost stories… but I supposed finding out about our living accommodations comes first.

Daisy felt that the time to speak up had come. "Well, it sounds good to me, anyway!" Her tone was cheerful and friendly.

And it did. Leaving it to chance meant nobody could set up anything dangerous.

edited 8th May '11 7:12:25 PM by Gilphon

"It's cool by me." Alex said before leaning against a wall. "I don't really care who I end up with."

"I have no problem with it either. I'm just curious as to why you act like it requires my approval." Sebastian added, folding his arms.

Ryan looked around a bit, and then went close to Sebastian, whispering to him so no-one else could hear. "Well," he said, with a devious smile, "you see, my good Sebastian..." and then his face returned to normal. "...I'm afraid you'll 'correct' me again if I don't use 'proper manners', like the first time with the nurse." And then he backed away...

edited 8th May '11 7:18:38 PM by kkhohoho

The girl glanced at the cheerful one. No one is that happy by default.

"Right then." He took out his journal, and ripped out two good pages, and promptly tore the pages apart, and then he took out a pencil. "'O-K, everyone, just write your names on these and put them in the hat."

edited 8th May '11 7:20:01 PM by kkhohoho

"It was common sense, really. You thank the people that helped you after finding you in the woods and taking you to a hospital, not act rudely towards them. Although it can be attributed to him being on edge, the point still stands." Sebastian told him.

"Now, may we start the raffle, so to speak?" Sebastian was quite curious where he would be staying and who he would be staying with. Writing his name on the paper, he submitted his name into the hat.

edited 8th May '11 7:20:27 PM by InfiniteParagon

Claudia interjected, "Um... I- I apologize f I'm out of place answering for them, but... Um... I think the ladies should probably room up... After all, there's no guarantee some of you men aren't... Well... um... Gentlemen like Mr. Clearwater here..."

Zaine looked at his father, "Should I go get Uncle Engel?" he asked.

"Sure, go right ahead. Just be careful," he responded.

The boy darted out the door.

edited 8th May '11 7:22:27 PM by Motree

Alex checked his pockets and found he had nothing to write with. "Do you have something to write with?" he asked.

"Excuse me miss but I think it will be okay, I'm fourteen and everyone here is at least four or five years older than me, the reporter guy's doesn't seem like he would try anything, the big guy seems alright as well. I see your concern but I think the last things on any of our minds is...you know...that kind of stuff." Alex said to the nurse.

edited 8th May '11 7:24:01 PM by Duckymanfair

"Sounds good to me." Herbert said about the drawing. Herbert took out a pencil and wrote his name on a piece of paper. He took the piece and put it in the hat.

"Here you go, sir. And thank you for the compliment, Miss Reynolds. I apologize for the mistake there." He handed Alex his pencil.

"Thanks, Seb, can I call you Seb?" Alex said. He wrote his name on the paper in cursive, it was nearly unreadable. He then handed the pencil back to Sebastian.

The boy has to be careful when he's popping out to get his uncle? What?

Daisy slapped her head and laughed. "You're right, Claudia- Ahh- I hope you don't mind if I call you Claudia- I hadn't even thought of that, but that would be best, just to cut down on awkwardness. Maybe the silent one over there and I should sit this out, and then just take some leftover room together?"

"I can room with anyone. Doesn't matter to me."

"... Well, there is that other girl... Who's still unconscious..." She replied.

Eric glanced at the twins, "Oh, yes... they'll have to be filled in."

edited 8th May '11 7:29:10 PM by Motree

Taking the pencil back, Sebastian sighed. "I would prefer either Mr. Clearwater or Sebastian, Mr. Brenen."

"Simple enough." Ryan wrote 'Boy Twin' on one piece of paper, and 'Girl Twin' on another, threw them into the hat, and gave off a smile. "There, problem solved."

Voices.

Ro was hearing voices, and not all of them quiet.

He mumbled slightly, as if trying to respond to them, as he drifted towards consciousness. It took a while for it to dawn on him—there was light in the room he was in, and he was on a slightly uncomfortable bed that was a bit narrower than that which he was used to.

Something was wrong.

He opened his eyes, and grimaced as light filled his windows to the soul—this was not normal. He always awoke at three AM, before the sun had risen, to the sound of his alarm radio in the dark. He groggily sat up, and began to look around, confusion riddled upon his face.

Finally, it dawned on him that he was in a hospital.

That all said, it wasn’t a usual hospital. He wasn’t dressed in a hospital gown, and a half dozen people in strange clothing were talking to someone dressed as a nurse animatedly—too loudly, given the circumstances. What’s more, it was a hospital that was built for about a dozen people, rather than the standard one or two. He would later admit to himself that not all hospitals were like the ones he was used to, but it was irritating to him at the time. What’s more, he didn’t recognize the hospital—any of it. He’d spent quite a bit of time in his local hospital, and this looked nothing like it.

“What…?” he asked to the world in general, still half asleep. Suddenly, alertness crept across his face.

Remy.

He panicked, and began looking around, only to find her groggily waking up in the hospital bed next to him, a coincidence that he’d later find a bit odd. He stared at her, horrified.

What if something’s happened to her? To us?

Suddenly, the, “truth,” dawned on him.

“This is a dream, isn’t it?” He asked himself quietly, and felt a wave of relief. It all made sense—the clothing, the unfamiliar room, the odd bed placement—he was in a dream.

He was instantly flooded with desires and urges, as one who lucid dreams often is. He wanted to fly, he wanted to be surrounded by hot girls, he wanted to—

Wait.

This was too…realistic to be a dream.

Something was wrong.

“Um…excuse me,” he asked to the people talking. “What’s…what’s going on?”