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A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 24 Mar 2017, 00:47
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
--Five years ago--

The water clattered upon the pavement, a car occasionally zooming by the four figures muttering and laughing as they are huddled together beneath a black umbrella that was barely coping with the weather. Two men and two women, all about the same age in their early twenties, hurried along through the rain through the streets of Chicago, one of the boys leading them along. Athletic, with short light-brown hair in a mohawk, wearing torn jeans and a rugged-looking denim jacket with plenty of pins near his shoulders. A lopsided smile curls on his face as he proclaims: "C'mon, we're almost there! Unless you've all become too scared, of course?" One of the girls responds with a light frown on her face, nearly covered by the now soaked, halflong blonde hair across her face and the look on her eyes emboldened by slightly run-out eyeliner: "You mean like that time Anders put a live bat in your locker and you nearly shat yourself? Just hurry up Daniel, I'm freezing!" Undeterred, Daniel maintains the smirk on his face: "It's just by the trainyard up ahead. Been abandoned for about fifty-some years now, and people say strange stuff happens there all the time..." The other young man, a bit slender and slightly tall with jet black, short and ruffled hair and a pair of thick glasses on his nose, wearing a Misfits shirt pipes up: "You're full of ****, Daniel." That finally decreases the smirk on Daniel's face a bit, as he says: "Always such a downer, Mitch..."

Finally, the four pass over many old rails in between broken down wagons covered in graffiti, until they reach what looks to be a very old and large abandoned rail station. Many of it's large windows are broken and busted, some doors hang off their frames and the walls are covered in either graffiti art or some of the many vague signatures and symbols that litter this landscape. The entrance hall is large, but with much rubble against the sides, broken down waiting seats, boarded off rooms and the occasional leak from the roof that forms a puddle on the ground, where a fair amount of plantlife has begun to grow through the cracked floor tiles. They pass through a door around which someone has painted a creepy clown, making the door it's head. Meryl's eyes dart to some police tape that looks like it's been on the floor for ages, covered in grime and muck. The four look around the place after sighing in relief from having cover from the weather, glancing at the large hall with it's upper level where seemingly used to be shops, and a large walkway that spans over what used to be about a dozen rails. "I have to admit." says Maryl with a soft smirk, as she wrings out her long, purple dyed hair and pulls it backwards to make a ponytail. "Not a terrible find, for once." She wears a pair of black, baggy jeans and a black leather jacket, beneath which is an Arch Enemy band shirt with the words "Wages of Sin" on it. "This way, I know of an old stove that still works." says Daniel, to which Mitch immediately responds: "That sounds promising." in his usual tone that you can barely tell is sarcastic.

As the four of them huddle around the old stove, trying to get dry with Mitch and Daniel finding stuff to burn in it, the blonde woman turns to Maryl: "So do you believe in ghosts? That's what we're trying to find here, right?" she asks, as she gives a brief glance to Daniel, whom just gives an enthusiastic nod. "Well... I believe that there are definetly things which we don't, or can't, perceive. Maybe because we're not capable of doing so, or maybe because we don't open ourselves up to it, ya know? Like a suit that doesn't bother to spend one minute of their life listening to a street musician. What about you, Lisa?" the blonde is using a small mirror to try and adjust the run-out eyeliner as best she can, wiping some of it away as she responds: "Ohh, I uhh... never gave it too much thought..." she leans in a little closer "I'm just here to hang out with Daniel, really..." The both of them chuckle and begin murmuring under their breath, until Daniel pipes up once again: "Right then! Everyone all nice and dry and ready to explore? You did bring the camera right, Mitch?" He looks over to the slender, blonde guy adding more wood to the old stove, before closing it's hatch and turning: "Yeah yeah. I get to watch you stumble around in search of nothing and wish you brought booze in about an hour." , to which Lisa goes: "Ohh, come on! It'll be fun..." while Daniel smirks, pulling out a bottle of what looks like whiskey from his jacket. "Oh no buddy, I got -that- covered." He grins widely, while Mitch smirks and shakes his head.

Wandering about the place, exploring room by room and occasionally toying around with the things they find, the four gradually make their way through the abandoned station, seeming at least somewhat entertained as the darkness of the night creeps in, and flashlights are turned on. Daniel comes to a bunch of heavy panels on the ground that look like they can be moved, beneath which looks to be a crawlspace that leads to a nearby, sealed off room. Lisa stands near the doorway watching Daniel, holding the bottle while Daniel murmurs to Mitch: "Hey, help me with this, will ya?" Mitch hands the recording camera to Meryl, seeming a bit reluctant to let go of it, before turning to help Daniel move the panels aside. After a lot of effort, the panels shift and they both look into the crawlspace. But everyone's attention shifts to the doorway at the sound of shattering glass, finding it empty. Daniel immediately shouts out: "Lisa? Lisa!?" and the three rush over to try and determine what happened, only finding the remains of the now broken bottle, and a lit flashlight rolling across the floor. What was light amusement turns into a steadily increasing dread as they search the place again, calling out for Lisa, but not finding a single trace. A mixture of panic and sadness comes over the trio, and after tirelessly searching the place for a fair while in the dark of night, finally they call the police. Over the next few days, a massive search is conducted, but the police can find nothing conclusive... upon reviewing the footage, all they could see... was a vague shadow and a blur.

The three argued about what happened, and in the coming years they would only barely keep in touch with eachother. Daniel would drop out of school in the last years and gets kicked out of his home, becoming a squatter, junkie and petty criminal. Mitch ended his studies with a knack for biological science, but spends too much time on ghost-hunting to get anywhere with his career. And Maryl... Maryl would be lost. She finished her educations in Social Sciences, History and Business, and had some low-paid jobs as saleswoman or secretary before becoming a Professor of History and Anthropology at the University of Chicago. But in truth, she was still tirelessly looking for answers. When she wasn't looking for anything strange, odd or occult on the internet with a particular talent for finding private information, she'd be looking into books on the subject, and attempting occult practices of Voodoo, Wicca and even attempting things of her own making, trying to gain answers wherever she could...


--Not too long ago...--

Maryl comes home to her cramped Chicago apartment, taking off a long dark blue coat and loosening her hair with a sigh. She presses a few buttons on her house phone and rubs her forehead as she looks at the latest paperwork from being fired. She then puts something from the phone on speaker before going to make herself a drink in the nearby kitchen. Throughout the house, the raspy, familiar voice of Mitch is heard:

"Hey Maryl, it's me uhh... Mitch. I know... I know we haven't spoken much after last time. Before you end this message, just listen, please! ... I found her! I found... Lisa... well, almost. I -know- she's here! After all these years... I... I'd understand if you want nothing to do with this. But if you change your mind, I'm staying at a place called Motel Luna, in Harper Rock, Canada. I uhh... I also got a hold of Daniel. He's... somewhat clean, and we're both here, searching for Lisa, and we could really use your help..."

A brief pause is had, as Meryl sets down the glass of wine she poured herself.

"... I really hope you'll be here, soon..." says Mitch's voice coming from the phone, and a beep is heard as that's the end of the message.


--Some time later...--

It's a moody, rainy evening much like that night, five years ago... the wind wipers of the dark blue car go back and forth, their squeaking accompanied by the trickling of rain are almost the only noises as Meryl tries to focus on the road. An old, worn sign is briefly lit up by the lights of the car, stating 'Welcome to Harper Rock', she presses some buttons on the car stereo to put on some music, but just as her eyes dart to the road once again, something passes by the front of the car at great speed, and she pumps her foot on the breaks. With the slippery road, the car loses control despite her efforts and begins to roll, tumbling into woods behind a bend... and all turns to black, as she loses conciousness...

Pain. Anywhere and everywhere. First, there's warmth, an intense heat that makes her skin feel like it's melting away... but then everything goes cold... the sensation is strange, and her mind barely registers it all. Her last thoughts were the simple, and inevitable acceptance of death. And then... she wakes.

She blinks, looking up at a grey ceiling, staring at it motionlessly for a certain amount of time. Slowly, she realises she can move, though it's painful, like a cramp that hasn't been tended to for quite a while. Everything feels weird. Colours, tastes, sounds, ... sometimes she thinks she senses something, but the moment she tries to focus on it, it fades away. Only a small trickle of light pours in from the nearby windows of what's now visible as the garage she finds herself in. She heavily leans against the wall, and opens the curtain to look outside...

... a wave of excruciating pain comes over her, and she falls to the ground, the curtain falling in place once again. Smoke rises from her very skin, and she smells what is unmistakenly fire. She grasps her head as her nose bleeds, a flashback appearing in her mind... the crashing of metal, and that same smell. Fire. Something grabs a hold of her, pulls her away... as her vision returns to her, tools and nearby rubble from shelves fall to the ground, as if an unseen force rummaged around there, violently, and the windows shake briefly, before coming to a halt. She curls into a ball and sleep tries to set in, again. But there is the creaking sound of a door opening. A middle-aged, black man with a short, grey beard and a blue cap enters, saying something as he sees her. But the words don't reach her ears, instead all she hears is... a rhytmic thud, enchanting and alluring. It only becomes worse when the man kneels over her to check for wounds, asking for a name. She mutters, quietly and barely audible. Instinctively, the man brings his head closer, trying to hear the whispers... her eyes dart to a visible, throbbing vein in the man's neck.

Then, she learned about the thirst, the undescribeable life-changing sensation... and her new life began, at the expense of someone else's...


(( What happened next: "Wendigo-go dancers"))

Re: A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 25 Mar 2017, 04:24
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
Skittering noises in the dark tunnels, echoing uncertain distances, indiscriminately going nearer and further. Her eyes dart around wildly, like a cornered animal as she huddles against the sewer grating. A ceaseless metallic ringing in her head that just. Won't. Stop. She pulls her ragged, torn and bloody clothes closer to her in an effort to not feel... so... damned cold, as her gaze shifts to her battered and beaten fingers, covered in black-brown muck and crusted blood. Vampires were so prevalent in modern culture, beautiful, powerful, elegant and sophisticated. Romanticized to the point the captive audience would love them, adore them. Nothing but actors and lies, fancy words to help dream away the day, thinking about a different world...

... Maryl knew the meaning of the word 'monster', now. There would be no captive audience, no brave companions to save the day, for her. The thirst had driven her this far, with no mysterious figure to guide her... driven her to the edge of madness with no going back. She didn't -feel- like the hunter in a place that knew what she was. A place that seemed prepared for monsters. A lock of her now filthy, diluted purple hair softly waved over one of the open holes in her skin as she shifted in her spot, her hand tracing across the side of her head, nursing another bullet wound. All she could feed on now were rats, if she were lucky, though her slit throat made every drop of blood feel like someone was strangling her with barbed wire.

Sleep. That's all she wanted now. To sleep and never wake up. Into the distant tunnels she stared with amber eyes, waiting as waves of incredible emotion overcame her, adding to the many strange and eerie noises in the sewer tunnels. Sadness. Defeat. Guilt. And hatred... so much hatred. Swallowing her hatred and tears through a barbwire throat, she waited. With time, her only ally...

Re: A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 28 Mar 2017, 05:29
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
A soft rain was barely present in the shadowy alleyway behind shops and apartments, a cloud of smoke erupting from a nearby ventilation system, likely from a kitchen, now dancing across the poorly paved stones. A light shuffle of feet is heard as two figures, mostly hidden behind a large, rusted blue container for cardboard and paper, seem to be enjoying eachother's company at first sight...

... the thirst never seemed to be able to be satisfied, though definetly controlled, now. As a purple-haired Maryl with a black cap dressed in a black leather jacket with black and purple plaid pants and long combat boots was draining some punk with green spiked hair and torn denims, she finally felt like she had things under control. The man with the crazed hair slumped against the wall in a daze, and Maryl completed the picture by placing a nearby empty vodka bottle in his hand, before cleaning herself up a bit as she walked away, holding what little cash the man had. Finally, she seemed to be thinking clearly, no longer with a mentality of desperate hunting to survive. A twisted part of her had begun to thoroughly enjoy this newfound life, the thrill of the blood and the excitement of the unknown. Though her human side still remained, appaled with the way she'd been living up to this point, yearning for order and calmness, for sophistication. A divide was beginning to grow within her, two sides of the same coin that would begin to strongly disagree with eachother, yet still feel the same. It did not feel like madness for her to begin conversations with herself in the dark places of the world, muttering incoherent words to no one in particular. Though it seemed 'they' got along decently well, for now...

It was clear she had to hide among people, once again. A daunting task for how low she'd fallen compared to her days as respectable professor, with friendly coworkers and a home of her own. A home of her own... her thoughts strayed to her apartment in Chicago, which was still paid for, for the next two months. There were still clothes and possessions there, but it all seemed to matter so little, now. Useless fragments of a lesser creature, of a lesser life. Though she would have to go back there, and clean up one day, before people started asking questions. Another thing to add to the list, though first was blending back in with society, before she could even think of going to Motel Luna. She didn't even yet know what to say to Mitch and Daniel, if they were still there. But all in due time.

She had been pondering on how to hide herself well, for people not to think twice about her slightly pale skin or odd habits, and finding excuses to talk away the strange things that had been happening around her. And it came to her, eventually, when she passed by a shop that one of her 'new friends' had spoken of: 'Goth Garb'. It was perfect, she could earn some money on the side, and blend in using whatever make-up she wanted, and she even knew a fair bit about the subculture. No one would think twice about her slightly pale complexion, and perhaps not even the strange hours she was awake. Both 'sides of the coin' seemed to approve of the idea, and after cleaning herself up at a shabby motel, dyeing her hair black and making herself look presentable and professionally 'Goth', she'd begun to write up the application.

It was a small step, but her mind was working like never before, pondering, plotting, planning... this was just the beginning. The start of something... -exciting-.

Re: A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 10 May 2017, 18:26
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
What happened before, story-wise:
- Goth Garb (up to May 10) -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=28924
- La Dracu -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=29045
- One for the Money, Two for the Show -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=28401
A little over a month of stability had helped her a great deal. She was saving money for future plans and life, though she lived cheap, was going good once more. Even in a terrible motel room, it seemed like luxury compared to her fledgeling days of sleeping in the old sewer tunnels. She lay awake in the room's large bed as it was nearing dusk, the thick curtains that she'd duct-taped to the wall keeping away the sun, and she pondered her recent days as a vampire: the strange creatures she saw in the woods that she now knows were Wendigos, her new job at a Goth clothing store that seemed like blast from the past, her encounters with vampire hunters, and the many strange things reported in Harper Rock. Though there were gaps in her memory as well, which worried her greatly.
Brief visions of what looked to be a concert, or a flash that showed a dead person's face that she couldn't fully recall. She frowned, and turned over in the bed, pulling the covers over her face in frustration. She knew this 'other her' existed, the psychopathic maniac that indulged in the monster she'd become. Ever since she felt this other side of her, she's been trying to fight it, trying to retain control, but it seems to have only made things worse. For at first, she could recall everything she did with clarity, but now? Gaps in one's mind are never a good sign.

She had delved into strange things before, attempting things like lucid dreaming or attempting to speak or influence one's subconcious, and she hadn't done the latter in quite a while. But Maryl felt the situation called for it. There was this old trick she used to use, which was usually meant for simple things like 'wake up at seven 'o clock' or 'don't forget about this appointment', which she would write down on a piece of paper, focus on it for a few minutes, then burn it and forget it ever happened. This was a simplistic way of communicating with one's own subconcious, and it had always worked for her, but she needed it to be a bit more complex, this time. She lazily grabbed a small piece of paper from the nightstand next to her and a pen, and wrote down: 'Remember everything, and I will give you space.' It felt silly to do so, it always has. It was clearly an insane idea, but there was too much going on for her to feel like she's fighting with herself all the time. If this 'other side' was listening, she hoped that they could perhaps live in reluctant acceptance of eachother. She stared at the piece of paper for a while, pondering on the sheer strangeness of being aware of your own insanity. Because that's the only thing this could be described as, some manner of dissociative identity disorder, but somehow warped by this... vampiric state. She placed the piece of paper onto an ashtray on the nightstand, and lit a match to set it aflame. Would it work this time? With such a complex thought? It didn't matter, she had to forget about it, push it away in her thoughts. And there was no better way to do that, than to finally go and do what she came to Harper Rock to do: To go to Motel Luna and help Mitch and Daniel in their search of Lisa. It'd been two months now, since she got Mitch's message, but she could never have thought this much insanity would occur in such a short amount of time. Everything felt different now, almost as if she was solving something from someone else's life. But this was from her life, at least, the life she knew. Perhaps if she closed this chapter, she could go on, she could learn to accept this monstrous side of her as a start of something new? It was a selfish thought, and she shook her head, rubbing her brow. Secretly, she feared what had happened to Lisa was something all too familiar, something that would make her truly hate what she had become, now. But there was only one way to find out, and that was to brave this storm face-first.

She stood up from the bed to get dressed as the sunlight had faded, and rummaged through her light brown longcoat to find a small card for 'Motel Luna' with a phone number on it. She called, trying to see if Mitch and Daniel were still staying there, but was confronted with no connection, but instead an auto-responding female voice stating 'This number is no longer available. We apologize for any inconvenience.' , accompanied by a beep that meant there was nothing more to be said. Clearly, this was not a good sign for the start of her investigation. Looks like this was going to go the hard way.

Re: A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 15 Jul 2017, 10:20
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
What happened before, story-wise:
- Fire Begets Fire -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=29002
- Chasing Omens -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=29065
- A History of Obscurity (Arun and Maryl continuation of La Dracu) -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... 14&t=29168
- Corner Café Hacker -- http://www.mooncalfstudios.com/pathofth ... =6&t=29201
Two long months had passed. In a yet unused room of her museum, Maryl was cleaning herself up after her make-up became messy due to unexpected tears. How did she lose control so swiftly? Everything would've just been fine if she'd stayed calm in front of Arun, but now? She'd nearly burst out the truth due to the growing guilt inside of her. This was... unacceptable. The uncompleted bathroom she was standing in was quiet, the white walls were somehow... sickening. And though no stalls were in place yet, the mirrors were. Small windows into another world, a world without her. Perhaps it was the world that ought to be. As she stared into the mirrors, her thoughts began to spin, and in her mind alone, a figure appeared within the mirror. It was her.

"So, you've finally gone off the deep end, hm? Can't say I'm surprised." she says into the mirror with a hearty, mocking chuckle.

"Shut up! Just -shut up-! Nobody wants to hear what you f***ing have to say!" she shouts back, in fury.

"Sure, darling. They want to hear the lies that you spew to them, of course. Got things 'handled', do you? And how's the search going, not doing too much effort, are you?" she speaks, in a sarcastic, degrading tone.

"Don't you dare take the high ground on this! I'm not the one ripping out people's throats for fun! Not the one who spreads misery and enjoys it on a daily basis!", is said in response with certain conviction and anger.

"No, you're just the one stealing footage and files from powerful people and vampires to get rid of -me-, all in the name of 'research'. I'm flattered, really~, but you're going to get us both killed. Or is that... what you want, hm?" she frowns deeply into the mirror, with her hands in her sides.

"No no no, you are NOT the one speaking 'reason', here. You ruined everything! You're the reason there are hunters after us, you and your recklessness, your deviousness! Don't think I don't remember the fire and the blood! You and the rest of your kind deserve what's coming to you!", she shouts with a finger pointed threateningly at the mirror.

"I'm the reason we're still alive! I'm the reason you didn't turn yourself in and ended everything right then and there! Or did you honestly think -that- would have had a happy ending? You're naïve! And the more you fight me, the stronger I'll get~.", is responded with a hint of both malice and glee.

"You're wrong, you twisted... freak! I would've been -fine- without you, and now I have NOTHING! But the joke's on you, the less I have to lose, the less I have to worry about the damage when I finally get rid of YOU!", she says through gritted teeth towards the mirror.

"Oh please little clown, you're doing well enough on your own to put a stop to your pathetic schemes. That's why you didn't go to the meeting isn't it? You're afraid, because everyone's been on to you since the beginning. The fact that they're calling you a psychopath is just the... delicious tip of the iceberg.", she says with a long grin and a soft, amused cackling, until...

"YOU SHUT UP! YOU'RE THE PSYCHOPATH, B****!

She punches the mirror, the world behind which once again becomes white and bland with the unfinished white walls as background, as it shatters into pieces and falls to the floor. Maryl lets herself slump against the wall to the side, holding her bleeding hand, both her hands trembling and her eyes twitching uncontrollably, muttering "You're the psychopath... you're the psychopath..." over and over, as she stares furiously towards the broken shards while rocking her body back and forward with her arms clasped around herself. For hours, she remains within the same room, enthralled and lost within her own mind. When finally, exhaustedly, she wordlessly begins to head home, there is only one certainty in her mind: She needs to die.

Re: A moonlit mystery. (Story - Maryl DiVosari)

Posted: 19 Jul 2017, 03:35
by Mardvosa (DELETED 9357)
The lightless room is silent. Eeriely silent, but for the tapping of heavy rain against a window, like a violent torrent relentlessly trying to reach it's way into her small, personal void. Lightning strikes in the distance, briefly illuminating a messy room, scattered bits of thrown-up blood sprayed across the floor along with a broken bottle of whiskey that had been catapulted against the deep blue wall with a certain fury. A small pile of mail lies at the front door, seemingly untouched for many days. Furniture lies strewn about the place, a toppled fridge in the middle of the kitchen, broken pieces of chairs here and there. Some pieces of the walls have black, burnt claw-like marks or handprints on them, the wallpaper peeling away around them. In the same way, in ashen black, the word 'psychopath' is written on one of the walls. The rumble of thunder is heard, deeply crackling through the neighbourhood as the downpour continues. A lingering aura of wild and raw emotion remains, as if peering into the room of an asylum patient, though there were no restraints here. No barred windows or locked doors. No barriers which kept her in this place that only fed her insanity... or were there?

She was lying on the floor, a soft dark blue carpet with what seemed to be a mixture of claw marks and burn marks that, in unison, formed a circle? No... a vortex, swirling outwards with her lying in it's centre. There was no rythmic breathing, no occasional scratching or shuffling to indicate a sign of life. There was no need for such. Instead, she lay motionless, watching the night sky behind a window, it's spectacle obscured by the pouring rain, like little rivers flowing down the building's side. Another lightning strike illuminates the interior, briefly revealing a veritable volume written upon the pale white walls, all words that seem to hold an incoherent conversation with themselves; the hurried, angry scribbles in multiple manners of writing, as if done by another hand entirely, each time. Accusations, apologies, words of hatred and regret, all forming a new whole, a new scenery to peer at endlessly, formed around a single, central image: the sun.

Image
There was no telling what was on her mind as she continued to stare coldly out the window, at the concealed night's sky of Harper Rock, motionlessly, like a corpse. She was getting signs of blood-starvation, but she had clearly stopped caring, or was at least trying very hard not to. Was this struggle futile? Would she have to spend however long she would now live, together with this -thing- within her? Perhaps she was dead already, and she just didn't know it yet. And what was the point of finding her old friends? They would likely end up dead, anyway... everything felt like it died around her, like the flowers and leaves that withered in her wake. Her gaze slowly shifted from the window, to the maniacally created depiction of a rising sun on a horizon. Perhaps, if there was no way of winning against her, she could always take her down with her. Maybe it was time to let go. Or maybe, she could just lie still here for a while longer. Nothing was waiting for her, on the other side of these walls. The barriers that she had made for herself...