Own Your Sins - The Main Thread

It is late night in Castor Hill, several of the townsfolk are deep in sleep, ever ignorant to the evils that surround them. These people have tried long and hard to ignore the deaths, the suicides, and to go about their peaceful lives. This shall soon change.

"Tonight is the night. Tonight we begin the trial".

Three lone figures, obscured by blinding light, stand together in an endless void. One of the figures, the one in the center, raises a hand in the darkness, and with a snap brings forth several figures. Each one a teen, and each one a Sinner.

"Young Sinners, it is a pleasure to see each of you yet again. We three, your only hopes at salvation, have called upon you now to assign you your task." The figure at the far right said, in a far more feminine voice.

"You Sinners have been given the highest of honors, the greatest of chances! Prove yourself worthy of forgiveness! Prove your self worthy of salvation!" Barked the figure on the far left, in a deep masculine voice.

"Sinners, we are the Judges. Your Judges. We have decided that you shall be relieved of your guilt, of your damnation, so long as you accomplish our task". As the central figure spoke, in a noticeably androgynous voice, it raised its arm yet again, and with a snap brought the likeness of a creature before it. The creature seemed to be built of a swirling darkness, but in the shape of a man. The creature turned to the assembled youth and let out a powerful screech. It began to charge the Sinners, before disappearing at the sound of yet another snap. "These are Banshees, born only to destroy humanity, and you all shall destroy them. Each of you here has been gifted with a power that will only ever be of use against the Banshees. From this point on, there is no going back. To flee, will be to die. Do not speak, for we shall not listen. Do not weep, for we shall not care. Do not pray, because for you, there will be no salvation. Now go, and meet the Caretaker".

The now unconscious forms of several teens appear in a large room with cement floor and walls. There is a wooden door on the wall in front of the teens, and from the other side, all that could be heard is the sound of an acoustic guitar being strummed.

edited 22nd Aug '14 9:21:42 PM by DontLookBack

Damian slowly blinked awake before shifting uncomfortably, finding himself underneath several other teens. Narrowing his eyes, he began sharply elbowing the people on top of him, "Wake up idiots, I'm not built to handle all your weights!"

"Because you're a lanky ass bitch, Dame," a dark skinned woman by the name of Samantha Ito complained. She put herself against the wall and pulled her hoodie down to better orientate herself, though her vision still blurry. "Told ya to go to the gym with me so many times, yet you're still do not want to, maybe if you have six pack abs and huge pecs, you wouldn't be bitching... and where the fuck are we? I don't remember getting wasted last night."

Usually, when one does not remember what happened last night, it's usually an indicator that it is a very successful party but seeing that she and the group is in a what seems to be a large shed worries her.

"And the guy who playing that guitar, stop it, we're having a hangover here, plus you ain't that good."

Laoch stumbled over to the wall, leaning against it. He ran a hand through his green mohawk, blinking and looking around desperately for the sound of the guitar. "Are we dead?" He all but shouted, clearly trying to get his bearings, and for the most part failing...The judges...It was nothing, this was just one of his nightmares....Salvation..? It was trick. A trick!-it had to be a trick! What else could it be?! He looked at the pile of bodies which he had just extricated himself. "...Sinners?" He asked, slightly calmer then before.

edited 23rd Aug '14 12:09:41 AM by TroyandHawk

Jared, now conscious, but still sleepy, rubbed his eyes and stumbled around the room. "Great," he muttered. "We're all stuck and asking the same question; where the hell are we?" He started banging on the walls, trying to get the guitarist's attention. "Whoever it is playing that tune," he yelled through the wall. "Can you hear us?" No answer. He repeated that question, as his voice became more helpless and the bangs became more violent, before sliding onto the ground. It was no hope.

"Ugh, my head..." muttered a blonde-haired girl among the rest of the group's age as she attempted to sit up. All she remembered was walking back from school, and now she ended up with this—

She froze up as she realized that there were other people here. Classmates from the high school, who she saw, but never talked to, because talking to anyone meant that her sin was likely to come out. And no one would want her around again—

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone yelling to get up.

"Sure, fine," she muttered again as she got up.

Contrary to the others, the bespectacled teen with short, brown hair was more annoyed than anything else. He had been pulled from the lecture right in the middle of something... peculiar.

He wasn't inclined to believe what the mysterious three figures said. Salvation? For him? Such a good laugh he'd had if not for the fact that this apparently wasn't a joke. The three took themselves as seriously as they get. As such, Alexander's initial amusement was replaced with a frown.

Swiftly moving out of the pile of bodies he folded the glasses and hid them in the pocket of his jacket, looking at the people that were involved in this masquerade. Apparently they were as clueless as he was. A few of them he recognized. A few of them he'd rather deal with post-haste. They made him sick. They were the reason she was in a coma. Monsters in human skin.

Still, apparently they had to make a team. A thought Payne didn't think too highly of, but the one that couldn't be ignored.

"I suppose it's safe to assume that the guitarist in question is The Caretaker the three mentioned." He spoke, resting his back against the wall. Glancing at his watch a brief irritation crossed his face. "The question is, when will they bother to show themselves?"

Sam kept her head low to minimise this nauseating pain in her head, she's content to wait for a proper answer for all of this later, the rest of the talks she could not bother to pick up on, and yet there were keywords she managed to hear: 'salvation', 'sinners', 'caretakers'.

The moment she heard them, she slowly lift her head up, lazily scanning the room and asked "Okay...I'm pretty sure I'm tripping here but...do you guys have this dream? 3 guys, all ominous and shits, saying something along the lines of "Hey, you, kill these gangbangers named...what they called it, sheebang or some shits? Anyway, they said that and then they also said that I, or we, should meet someone. Do you guys have this same sort of dreams?"

"You mean Banshees?" Alice said, glancing over to the door where the so-called Caretaker probably was. "Yes, I had that same dream."

"Yes, that would be the case." Payne merely nodded in response. "Though this might have been more than a mere dream and Banshees might be more than your average thugs."

"Assuming it's all real and not an elaborate joke that I personally don't find funny in the slightest we're going to have our hands full soon."

As the students woke, the guitar playing slowly got quieter and quieter. Then with an abrupt twang, it died out. Heavy footsteps filled its place, and the wooden door slowly opened revealing a large, elderly looking man whose face was covered in a bushy white beard. He had a guitar strapped to his back, and was dressed in what seemed to be a grey jumpsuit. He let out an aggravated sigh as he eyed his new wards.

"Damn, they get younger each damn time. Well come on in kids, we are apparently gonna need to have a talk." He muttered in a friendly, but grizzled manner.

"Y-yes sir," Alice said quietly as she headed towards the door.

'They get younger every time?' How many other people have been pulled into this task?

"Yeah, banshees, that sounds right,"Sam said, gathering enough strength to get off the floor and stood up, albeit still a bit tipsy. After stretching out a bit and her visions cleared, she took one look at the blonde girl who corrected her and barely recognised her. She asked in calmer tone "Hey, aren't you the girl I'm trying to hit on and being hard to get? What are you doing here?"

She heard about what Alex said about the banshees, she replied "And if the way the 3 dudes talked about them were any indication, the banshees are just a bunch of thugs, throwing up gang signs to each other, slinging dope and diving in a pool full of liquor, and we are the crooked cops balling on those ass."

Then suddenly the guitar stopped for a while, which is a nice relief in itself for Sam, then an old man came out, perhaps he can provide the answer to Sam. "Heyo, old man, you're the caretaker the three dudes talking about? You heard what I said, right? About banshees being just thugs to us, right?"

Alexander didn't bother to respond to Sam's thinking. The analogy perhaps was correct, but the enemy they were about to face would likely be much more dangerous - and likely intelligent - than a bunch of overdosing scum.

The man that appeared in the doorway was likely the Caretaker the three mentioned. Without further ado Payne followed after Alice, not uttering a word.

"I don't want to talk about it," Alice said tensing up. She quickly added as an afterthought, "And for the hundredth time, I'm not interested in any romantic relationships at the moment."

Should've recognized her, she's been trying to get me for who knows how long...

"Well, shit, girl,"Sam criticised. "We didn't even get to talk much, let alone going out on dates on my bike. Hell, I didn't even know your name! And besides, I ain't gonna rail and bail like some dudes I know from South Central LA, I'm ready for a commitment. I'm like investment banking."

"Can you drop this ridiculously mistimed attempt at scoring?" Yes, he was already beginning to doubt they would form an effective team - let alone a team at all. He knew the type that girl represented. To think that she and his friend shared a name baffled him even more. "This is not a time to be frisky." He added, an irritation slipping through the cracks on his supposedly cold, neutral persona.

"Sam, just shut your mouth. There's more important things right now than your libido." Damian stated, "I want to know just what mess we've found ourselves in." Finally standing up, he stretched before walking to the door.

"Man, chill the fuck out, brah," Sam told off Alex. "I barely even ask this girl out, it's called having a fucking friendly conversation, lighten the mood. I'm not exactly expecting some good press but goddamn, are you always this unfunny?"

She ignored Dame, because, in her mind, he can take his bitching to the old man if he wants answers.

edited 23rd Aug '14 8:51:34 AM by sgtpendulum

"...Alice," she finally said. "My name is Alice Underwood. Now can we please get going, so we can figure out what the hell is going on?"

"Yes, quite. Particularly so when the other part of this "friendly conversation" isn't interested and stated so quite clearly." Payne didn't even bother to glance at the girl behind him.

"I have no objections, Miss Underwood." He spoke to Alice. He was already after her when she was making her way to the other room after the old man anyway.

edited 23rd Aug '14 9:14:38 AM by FergardStratoavis

Weird looked at the old man, "Hang on. Would you care to explain what the hell Is going on? I was being yelled at by hooded figures and suddenly I'm in some Fucker's basement!" He spread his arms. "Am I dreaming? Is this a bad trip? What?"

"Just go with it," Jared muttered. "If we don't shut our mouths, we could be murdered." The paranoia was already creeping in. He wondered why he was following the group. Probably to see where he was leading them.

Good God in Heaven above these are some of the worst ones yet The old man though as he rolled his eyes at the antics of the irate teens. He raised both hands in a sign of good will and spoke. "My name is Solomon Smith, I am the Care Taker. My job is to guide you kids as you try and accomplish your tasks."

The room that the teens entered was practically the same, save for the lone wooden chair, and yet another locked wooden door. Solomon returned to his seat, carefully moving his guitar into his lap.

"First, I must tell you that you did not just have a bad dream or drug fueled trip. You are not sleeping, and this is all real. Despite your youth, you each carry a horrible guilt inside of you, that is threatening to eat you up. I am not going to make you share either. Now, step forward, and I shall tell you what power the Judges have assigned you." With that last bit, Solomon strummed his guitar.

Guilt? How does he know? I never told this guy what had happened—

Alice froze for a second as the fear set in. Oh god, this is real. Of course she knew it was real when she woke up, but there was a part of her that hoped that no one knew what she had done. That hope was now in shattered pieces on the floor for everyone to see.

Might as well get it over with.

"I'll go first," she muttered, stepping forward to the old man.