# [M&M 3E] October 1962



## Mark Chance (Sep 30, 2019)

*Tuesday, October 23*
The sun rises late over New Falls owing to the town being nestled in a wooded valley. Dawn slides over the forested hills to the east, casting long shadows that slide slowly away from the west as the sun climbs higher. Right now, it's still early, not much after 7:00 a.m. A damp fog clings to the streets and yards, promising a chilly morning....


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## tglassy (Oct 1, 2019)

Gabriel snoozed in bed as his alarm blared. 

“Turn that thing off and get up!” His mother yelled for the third time. “You’re going to be late for school, and breakfast is ready!”

That got his attention. He groggily slammed the alarm button and sat up. He hat there for a while, letting the sleep drain from his head before rolling out of bed. 

First thing’s first. He had his own bathroom, a blessing in a house with three sisters, so he did his morning business and stepped on the scale. He’d gone up since yesterday. He was starting to get closer to three . 

He sagged a bit. His friend had told him about a diet where he didn’t eat anything with grains or sugar. He couldn’t imagine not eating bread. Or pizza. Or Cheetos. 

He stepped off the scale and shrugged, looking himself over. He was big. Not just wide, but big. He was over six feet tall, and his weight sat mostly on his gut. It wasn’t horribly big. Daryl from school was almost as big around as he was y’all. But he definitely had a belly, and he wouldn’t be winning any awards with washboard abs. 

His beard wasn’t coming in all that well. He probably should shave today. Nah. No time. He had to get breakfast. 

He dressed quickly and headed down stairs. His plate of bacon, scrambled eggs and toast greeted him. 

He ate breakfast quickly and managed to dodge any questions about the big dance coming up. He hadn’t found a date and his mom pestered him every morning. He’d never gone to any the previous years, and this was his last chance. He just...he wasn’t the type to get a date for these things. 

At grabbed his bag and headed for school.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 1, 2019)

"Good morning, Em, I made eggs," Jennifer said, bustling about the kitchen like she owned it. She did. A hundred things were going through her mind. "Don't forget you have ballet class after school. Dad should be able to take you."

"I know," Emily said. She was starting to notice all the stuff Jennifer did and was trying to be more grown up. But that was hard. She ate her breakfast in silence. The front door opened and Emily ran from the table. "Daddy!"

"Hey pumpkin," Greg said as he was nearly tackled by a hug. "You be good at school today."

"You always say that."

"You need to clean up your plate and grab your lunch, Em. Bus'll be here in 10 minutes," Jennifer said coming into the living room. "I have practice this afternoon, so make sure Emily makes it to ballet, Dad."

"Yes, sir," Greg said with a salute. He limped over to a chair and sat down.

"I'm leaving," she said picking up her school bag sitting waiting at the door. She went out to the garage, door still open from her father coming home. She grabbed her bicycle and secured her bag before riding off to school.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 2, 2019)

*Tuesday, October 23*
Gabriel is no more than ten yards from his front door when Bill slouched down his driveway and fell in beside Gabriel.

Gabriel and Bill have several of the same classes together. In class, Bill seldom says much of anything. Keeps his head down, doodles in his notebooks, does just enough work to not fail. Gabriel is a senior, but he looks more like a freshman: short, slim, skinny arms, acne-marked cheeks and forehead, seemingly lost in clothes that look a size or two too big. Bill shifts the grip on his briefcase, an accessory his mother insists he use because "it makes him look more mature."

"Morning," Bill says to Gabriel as he brushes his bangs away from his eyes.

Farther down the street at the T-intersection, the two young men see Jennifer pedaling into view on her bicycle. She cannot help but notice the pair shuffling down the street.


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Oct 2, 2019)

Charlie had been up since dawn.  Out in the woods like he was most mornings.  It got him away from the house and his parents.  He relished the peace and quite.  He took a deep breath and raised the rifle to his shoulder pointing it towards the buck he had been tracking for the past half hour.  He holds the breath just about to take the shot when the animal looks up and then bolts into the trees.

Charlie curses, lowering the rifle.  He sighs and then glances at his watch and curses again.  He was going to be late.  The boy turns, shoulders the weapon, and jogs towards home.  He didn't even know why he bothered attending New Falls High anymore.  He had turned 18 last month and wasn't required to go anymore.  He knew he wasn't going to go to college.  Not that he couldn't get in he just couldn't leave his family.  But he still went, not wanting to admit that to himself just yet.

Charlie broke out of the woods and jogged past his Pa's workshop.  He could see the soft glow of a light on through the slightly ajar doors but didn't hear anything coming from inside.  That meant his Pa was either still asleep or down in the bunker.  Charlie walked into the main house and hung the rifle on a rack with several other guns in the mud room.  He pushed his way into the kitchen and smiled.  His mom was actually in there making some food.

"Hey Ma, sleep well?"

Dorothy looked at her son as if just noticing him.

"Yes, Balthazar sang to me all night."

"That's nice, Ma."  Charlie smiled weakly to his mom.  "I almost had dinner, but it got away.  I'll pick something up from the store on my way home from school."

Charlie grabbed some toast threw some eggs and bacon on it, wrapped it in a napkin and shoved it in his bag.

"I gotta run going to be late for school.  Try to remind Pa he's supposed to patch the Johnson's roof this afternoon.  He forgot last week and they're getting really mad.  If he forgets again they're probably going to find someone else."

Charlie sighed knowing that his Mom would forget and his Dad would lose another job.  Charlie was going to have to find time to do it himself on top of his real job.   He ran out the door knowing he was going to miss his first class but had to many other things to worry about to care.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 7, 2019)

*Nota Bene:* We're a little out sync time-wise between the characters. Charlie is about one class period into the future. 

Charlie's prediction about when he'd make it to school proves accurate. The bells ending first period starts to ring as Charlie makes it through the door. Miss Balametov, the front desk secretary, looks up and Charlie and frowns. Classroom doors open, and students spill into the hallways, which go from peaceful to full of chatter and clatter in almost an instant.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 7, 2019)

Jennifer arrives at school thirty minutes early. She locks up her bike and heads to the front office. She is there before many of the office staff except Ms Brubank, the vice principle. "Morning Jenn."

"Morning, Ms B."

Jennifer starts doing the office tasks she is paid to due in the morning, including putting the office announcements in an order she thinks makes sense. As the secretary and other staff arrive she engages them with small talk. When the homeroom bell rings, she sits down at the office microphone and begins to lead the school in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then she reads the announcements. She's handed a final announcement. "Tennis practice is canceled today. Mr Stone is not here today." She pauses awkwardly as she realizes she might have some free time later. "Enjoy your day," she concludes the announcements as she always does.

The bell ending homeroom rings and she leaves the office with a wave and few good byes to go to first period. Calculus. She never complains but math that early is only tenable because Mrs. Grass makes it fun.


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## KahlessNestor (Oct 8, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/Home and school
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/7-8 AM

The alarm went off and Sofia sighed. She always woke up before the alarm and stared at the ceiling, dreading starting the day. She slapped the alarm off and tossed aside her blankets, heading for the bathroom.

After morning business, Sofia went across the hall and banged on the next door. “ALEJANDRA! Get up! Right now! Or I’m eating your cereal!” She didn’t wait for a response, but opened the door and tugged the sheets off her ten-year-old sister and gave her a swat on the butt. “Up!”

There was mumbled protesting, but Sofia finally dragged her little sister out to the bathroom and went down to the kitchen. She put out two bowls and a box of cereal -- that was the last of it; she would have to pick up more on the way home from school --, then made some toast, putting down a jar of honey.

“Alice’s mom makes her eggs and bacon for breakfast,” Alejandra said as she entered, her hair not even combed as she plopped down in the seat.

Sofia finished filling glasses of orange juice. “Well, when you get a mother that doesn’t have to be at work before you get up, Mama will make you _huevos rancheros y chorizo_,” she said, grabbing a brush and starting to work at Alejandra’s hair.

“Ouch! Don’t pull so hard, _puta_!”

Sofia gave her a thwack on the head with the brush. “You want some soap with that orange juice, _hermanita_?” she warned.

Once the hair was brushed, Sofia finally sat down to scarf down her own cereal. “Go get dressed,” she told her sister when she was done eating. “Clothes are on the chair. Get your stuff ready. And brush your teeth!” she called after the girl.

Sofia rested her head on her hand and sipped some coffee left in the pot from her mother’s breakfast. She cleared the table into the sink then hurried into the bathroom once her sister had cleared out. She brushed her hair and put on some light makeup, then went to her room to dress for school. She rolled the skirt up so that it was two inches higher than regulation length and slipped on her blazer. Most importantly, she slipped her cigarettes into her purse.

“C’mon! Bus will be here soon!” Sofia banged on Alejandra’s door, and she came out. “Grab your bag. Go! _Andale!_”

With Alejandra safely on time for the bus, Sofia headed on foot for the high school. She arrived with a bit of time, and moved behind the field house to have a morning smoke. She blew into the air as she leaned against the wall. She heard some passing students talking about the big upcoming dance. Well, it wasn’t something Sofia needed to worry about. None of the white boys were going to ask her to the dance, and she wasn’t going to go and hold up a wall. _Dios!_ She missed Miami and her friends.

Crushing out her cigarette, Sofia nodded to the others that had congregated out of sight beneath the bleachers for a cigarette. She popped in a mint and headed inside.

“Miss Ibarra!” came the strict voice. “Your skirt!”

Sofia sighed. She did a little wriggle as she pulled it down and headed for homeroom.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 8, 2019)

Sofia walks down the hall on her way to homeroom. The school is small, but it seems crowded. Students move about, talking at lockers, entering and exiting the bathrooms, many walking briskly but slowing down as they closer to their respective homerooms and the time when they won't see their friends again for any length of time until lunch.

Most of her classmates are seated by the time Sofia makes it through the classroom door. Her homeroom teacher is writing a few agenda items on the board. The first of which, repeated in every homeroom throughout the school, is another "Duck and Cover Drill".

Each homeroom teacher goes through the procedure by rote. "In the event of" and "readiness" are among the buzzwords. The drill begins with a blast from the alarm, ends with the all clear. Then, before each teacher moves onto the next agenda item, there's something new. A handout. A map of New Falls with more than a dozen locations marked with red exclamation points.

"Please keep this map with you," the teachers say. "Each exclamation point is a small bunker, and, as you can see, there are several located throughout town, including one on our campus. These bunkers are reserved for students. In the event of an actual emergency, if you're not at home, find your way to the closest bunker and seal yourselves in until you receive the all-clear. Titan has installed the bunkers, and plans for larger bunkers are currently in the works. Our goal -- Titan's goal -- is maximum readiness."


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## Mark Chance (Oct 10, 2019)

*Meanwhile...*
As life in New Falls continues very much like it did the previous day, five Titan Defense executives meet in a dark paneled conference room. They're all older, not a one without at least some gray in their hair. Four of them are men, and they wear dark suits, white shirts, and black neck ties. The fifth, the only woman in the room, wears a crisp white lab coat over a burgundy dress.

"The teachers are making the announcement this morning?" one of the men says.

The woman nods. "Most likely, as we speak."

Heads nod.

"And the threat level?" another man says.

A third man answers. "Elevated and increasing. It is unlikely New Falls will survive past sundown today."

"Readiness?" the first man says.

"Minimal," the third man replies. "Casualties will be high."

"But," the woman says, "the shelters are ready and operational. It is likely some of the children will progress to the next stage."

The fourth man, who up until had remained silent, leaned forward at the head of the table. "Then it sounds like there's nothing else we can do here. Initiate transfer."

The five executives exchanged glances, eyes hard, faces grim. As one, they inhaled deeply. As they exhaled, they slumped in their chairs, motionless, unbreathing....


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## jmucchiello (Oct 10, 2019)

*OOC:*


Can I assume Jennifer hears this from someone in the office since, working in the front office, she does not have a homeroom?


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## Mark Chance (Oct 10, 2019)

jmucchiello said:


> *OOC:*
> 
> 
> Can I assume Jennifer hears this from someone in the office since, working in the front office, she does not have a homeroom?




OOC: Nay, nay. The dark paneled conference room is not on school grounds.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 10, 2019)

Mark Chance said:


> OOC: Nay, nay. The dark paneled conference room is not on school grounds.











*OOC:*


I meant the bunkers. Jennifer is in the office when the teachers are giving out the maps.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 10, 2019)

jmucchiello said:


> *OOC:*
> 
> 
> I meant the bunkers. Jennifer is in the office when the teachers are giving out the maps.




OOC: Oh. Right. Yeah, that makes sense.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 11, 2019)

The morning at New Falls High passes, the minutes ticking by, the homeroom announcement about shelters casting a surreal shadow across class activities and in-between class conversations. The bell rings announcing the start of the lunch period, that time of the day when among all of the students the seniors alone have the privilege of leaving campus for a precious hour.

Most students drift toward the cafeteria. Others head to the parking lot or out the front door. Across the street from the school, the staff of the New Falls Diner prepares for the lunch rush.


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Oct 11, 2019)

Charlie walks towards the front door pausing as something catches his eye.  He moves over to the bulletin board and pulls the shelter map from its pin.  He scans over the red marks and laughs to himself.  It looks like the town is going as crazy as his old man.  He stuffs the map into the pocket of the surplus army jacket he wears.  The boy shakes his head and pushes through the front doors of the school and into the crisp autumn air.

He looks through his bag before realizing that he left his lunch in the fridge at home in his rush to get to school.  Charlie sighs and checks his wallet.  It looks like he has just enough to get a sandwich from the diner and still pickup something for diner tonight.  He shakes his head at his forgetfulness and walks across the street.

Charlie walks into the diner and the smell of hamburgers hit him and his stomach grumbles.  He walks around the counter and takes a seat at the far end near the emergency exit.  The waitress Patty hustles over to him and gives him a tired smile.

"What can I get for you dear?"

Charlie scans the menu briefly.

"I'll take a cheeseburger and coke, please and thank you."  

Charlie pushes hair out of his eyes and looks up at the server.   Patty is already rushing to place the order at the window and help some other students who just entered.  As he waits for his meal he watches everyone who enters the diner.  A couple other kids form school enter sitting in groups chatting about their day.  None seem to notice Charlie sitting by himself at the counter.  He gets lost in his own thoughts when Patty brings him his coke.

"Order will be out in a couple minutes."

Charlie smiles.

"Thanks mam."

Charlie goes back to his thoughts as he waits for his lunch to arrive.









*OOC:*


I took some liberties so I would get the bunker map.  Now lets see if Charlie ends up in one of the public bunkers or his old mans.


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## KahlessNestor (Oct 12, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/8 AM

Sofia sat in the back of homeroom, bored, as the teacher went through the readiness and preparedness routine. She smacked on her gum. This speech was the same as every other. Even back in Miami, she’d heard it.

And then there were the handouts. Well, this was new. Sofia looked at the map. New FAlls wasn’t that big, and most of it was Titan. Why did it need so many bunkers?

When the bell rang, Sofia grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Miss Ibarra,” said the teacher, holding out her hand.

Sofia sighed and spit out her gum.

Sofia was a bit surprised that the bunkers were all the talk of the school. Sure, it seemed a bit excessive, but they seemed to be the new rage in homeownership. Two bedrooms, two baths, and a bunker. Sofia was glad when lunch came around.

*“So what is the government approved slop today?”* Sofia asked, looking jealously at the seniors as they exited the school under the watchful eye of the hall monitors. One of these days Sofia was going to sneak out for lunch. Granted, she had to admit that the food at New Falls High School was much better than the naughty word they got served in the barrio schools in Miami. But then she could always look forward to the tacos and enchiladas at her father’s restaurant, before he died. Even the leftovers she brought to school were amazing. They weren’t Grade F mystery meat.

*“naughty word this,”* Sofia said. Several of the white girls around looked at her, appalled. But then the only Latina in the school often got such looks.

Sofia didn’t really have the money, but she’d saved up some from her part time job at the diner, plus she got an employee discount. She went to the girls’ room and shimmied out of the window, dropping into the alley behind the school. From there it was a short walk to the diner, which was now packed with seniors.

Sofia plopped down on one of the stools at the counter. *“Hey,”* she said to the boy next to her. *“Charlie, right? We have American history together?”* She thought he looked familiar. *“Coke and cheeseburger, please,”* she told the counter attendant. *“So much better than government meat.”*

tags Charlie?


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## tglassy (Oct 12, 2019)

Gabriel fell asleep in his first class. Then he fell asleep in his second class. In fact, he had a hard time not falling asleep in every class these days. He already knew most of the material. He sometimes read through his textbooks when he got bored and he had a photographic memory, so he typically didn’t forget what he’d read, so he always got good grades.

Still got in trouble for sleeping in class, though. Thankfully, Bill would nudge him when he started snoring. That helped.

Finally, lunch came. His favorite time of day, especially now that he could go off campus to eat. Visions of burgers and milkshakes went through his head as he headed across the street. 

Which is exactly what he orders once he gets there. Two burgers, fries and a milkshake. The burgers weren’t the smallest in the world, but one just never seemed like enough. 

Once he’d ordered, he looked around for Bill, but didn’t see him. There wasn’t a lot of room to sit, so he grabbed a seat at the counter, next to the Latina girl. He pulled his shirt down, making sure it didn’t ride up, and tried to act casual. He never knew how to act casual. How does someone act like they aren’t acting? 

He’d better just not say anything. Better not to make a fool of himself. He was already uncomfortable enough having to sit next to someone, especially a girl, and if he talked, he would just say something stupid. And besides, she was talking to Charlie on the other side of her. No reason for her to look his way.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 12, 2019)

Jennifer sat down at her usual table in the cafeteria. Kelly and Becky arrived shortly with school lunches and sat with her. They chatted about the upcoming fall dance. Kelly could not stop talking about how Eric, her boyfriend, she was wearing his letterman sweater, was going to drive his father's car to the dance that night. 

Becky says, "You should go with Gerald, Jen. He's so cute and I heard from Sara that he likes you."

"Gerald Banks?" Jennifer says. "He's been following me around since we were six. He's still pining for me?"

"Oh, yeah, he's turned down a few girls for dates." Kelly says. "The other guys make fun of him for never going on dates."

"It's not like you're seeing anyone at the moment." Becky says.

Another girl joined them, "Stop badgering her about Gerry," Camilla said. She promptly changed the subject and lunch continued. Jennifer was glad for the save but was wondering why she never dated Gerald.


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## KahlessNestor (Oct 15, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:05

Sofia sensed something on the other side of her and glanced over. Some fat kid was sitting next to her. Her food came and she sipped her Coke, then turned to the fat kid. “Ketchup?” she asked, indicating the bottle by his elbow. She would get it, but then she’d be leaning over and pressing into him. Hell, he might like it. What she really wanted was some salsa, but no one around here seemed to have even heard of it. “Wait, didn’t I see you in gym class struggling on the rope climb?”

tags Charlie, Gabriel


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## tglassy (Oct 15, 2019)

Gabriel’s heart seized. The pretty Latina girl was talking to him. He’d grown up in Texas before moving here four years ago, so he’d known a lot of girls like her. 

His eyes went wide at her question. Ketchup? What did she mean? Oh god, did he wear one of his stained shirts without realizing it?

He looked down at his chest, searching for the stain. No, this was a clean one. He remembered his mom had just done all his laundry. No stains in sight. Then what was she...

Oh. Ketchup. Right. They were in a restaurant. 

“Sorry,” he said, passing the bottle. “My mom hates ketchup. She says it’s a poor imitation if salsa. But she has to make the salsa herself, cause she can’t find anything here that doesn’t taste like ketchup and pepper.” Why was he talking about food? Why did he always wind up talking about food?

He flushed upon her revelation of where she’d seen him before. Wonderful. 

“Yeah, I, um, had a cramp. In my leg. You know. Hard to do that stuff with a cramp...”

A cramp? Geez. How exactly was that somehow better than not being physically strong enough to lift your bulk off the ground? 

“I’m Gabriel,” he said, alternately hoping she would keep talking to him and that he could crawl in a hole and die. It’d have to be a big hole, though. Maybe more of a ditch.


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Oct 15, 2019)

Charlie watches as Sofia enters and chooses the stool next to him to have a seat.  The diner was getting packed and figured someone would eventually sit there but was surprised it was one of the kids from school.  He was even more surprised when she spoke to him.  He glances over and nods at her question.

"Doc Wexler's class?  Yeah, Sofia, you sit in the back row three seats over from me."

Charlie is about to continue the conversation when his food arrives.  He uses it as a distraction and Sofia turns her attention to another classmate who just sat down.  He waits for a brief pause in their conversation then clears his throat.

"Sofia could you pass the ketchup, please and thank you."

He puts some on his burger and takes a bit.  As he chews he pulls the map from his pocket and flattens it out on the counter.  He begins to look over it noting the locations of the public bunkers and then at where his house is in relationship.  His family had owned the 200 odd acres since before Washington was a state or at least that's what his Pa always said.  Though it usually ended with a rant about the Reds never takin' it.  Though with this Cuba thing his Pa seemed a little more sane.


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## KahlessNestor (Oct 18, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:05

*“Gracias,” *Sofia said when Gabriel handed her the ketchup. *“You eat salsa? No one up here even knows what it is! You should taste mine,”* she said, dumping the ketchup bottle over her plate. It was her mother’s recipe, but her mother rarely had time to make it anymore. *“Unfortunately, it doesn’t go on fries. Well, people look at me funny when I do. I’d have to carry around my own. What I wouldn’t give for some good tortilla chips up here,”* she said with a sigh. *“Now that poutine stuff that those Canandians bring down, that is good with salsa.”*

She listened to Gabriel’s story about the rope and gave him a sympathetic smile. *“Si. Cramps are the worst,”* she double-entendred. *“I’m Sofia. Nice to meet you, Gabriel.”* Of course, he wasn’t one of the cool kids, but then neither was she. Not up here. Not like when she ran with Tres Reyes in Miami.

Sofia turned her attention to Charlie when he spoke to her. *“Si. That’s me. Always in the back,”* she said. *“Un momento.”* Sophia shook the ketchup bottle, soon uttering a string of cursing in Spanish that would make a sailor blush if anyone in this damn place knew Spanish. Finally the ketchup blorted out all over her plate and onto her shirt and she sighed. *“Carajo!”

“Here you go,”* she told Charlie, handing him the ketchup. Then she leaned against Gabriel to get some napkins. *“Escuse,”* she apologized as she pressed into him, then started to dab at her shirt to get the ketchup off. *“Can I get some water, por favor? Agua?I”

“We speak American here, girl,”* someone behind her spoke up. *“Take yer forren north o’ the border.”

“Pendejo,”* Sofia muttered. *“They don’t speak Spanish in Canada.”*

tags Charlie, Gabriel


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## tglassy (Oct 18, 2019)

“I usually have salsa on my eggs, these days,” Gabriel said. He was amazed that he was actually having a coherent conversation. 

Then she splatted the ketchup and some a few drops splashed on his shirt. He just looked at it. Why couldn’t he keep a clean shirt? At least it wasn’t his fault, this time. 

But then he got distracted when Sophia reached across him, pressing in to him. His mind went mostly blank. That was likely the first time a girl had touched him on purpose. 

His eyebrows raised when he heard her talking in Spanish. He didn’t speak it, but he understood a few words. Especially those. 

He shook it off. No reason to be weird. He took a napkin and wiped his shirt. All he managed to do was smear the ketchup around, but that was par for the course. 

His food came, and he decided not to use the ketchup. He dug into his first burger, and most of his problems went away. Food always did that to him. Meal time was His time. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a book to read while he ate. Fellowship of the Ring. He’d read The Lord of the Rings twice already, and never could get enough.


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## KahlessNestor (Oct 21, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:05

Sofia cleaned herself off as best she could with the ice water brought for her. She sighed. Maybe if she finished early enough, she could run home and change. She’d probably be late for class and get detention, though, and that would mean not being home when her sister got home. Damn it!

*“What’s that?”* Sofia asked, looking at the book Gabriel was reading. Tolkien. Never heard of the guy. Not that she was up on her American literature, outside of what they had to read in school.


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## Mark Chance (Oct 30, 2019)

The blare of the air raid siren interrupts any answer to Sofia's question. A sort of stunned silence falls over those in the diner. A sitting in booths near the windows lean to look out the windows. Cars stop in the streets. A woman gets out of her car, jaw slack, and points toward the sky.

Flashes of light burst high above New Falls. From each flash of light races a contrail. Whatever is at the head of each contrail is too small to see, but whatever they are, they are moving fast and descending. The siren continues to scream. The panic starts to spread. Silverware on tables vibrates. Drinks ripple.

Something deadly is coming to New Falls.


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## tglassy (Oct 30, 2019)

Gabriel blushes as Sophia asks about his book. “It’s...um...just a book about another world, one with...”

When the siren went off, Gabriel’s first reaction was relief that something had cut him off from having to explain. How did one just explain Tolkien? That was like trying to explain the Odyssey. 

But then he realized what was going on. A Siren. Something bad was happening. 

He grabbed his second burger and stood up. Hey, he’d paid for that, he wasn’t about to leave it. 

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said, his stomach tying in knots. 

But he didn’t know what to do. He remembered something about shelters, but he had no idea where they were.

Gabriel looked to the other two sitting at the table, taking his cue from them.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 30, 2019)

As the other girls talk, Jennifer suddenly remembers something and gets up. *"I've got to run, girls. I forgot I needed to stop at the post office and I won't have time after school." *She rushes out to her bike and heads downtime to the post office. She's about to enter when she hears a wailing siren. Everyone on the street pauses a moment before pandemonium breaks out. *"Stay calm,"* she shouts to no avail.  

_Shelters,_ she thinks. But the pamphlet with the shelter locations in buried in her book bag. She sees a few of her fellow students running out of the diner. She rushes over to them. *"Do you know where to go?"* She asks. *"There's a shelter on Elm St, I think. But I don't remember where."*

When one of them suggests a way to go, she follows after them.


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## jmucchiello (Oct 30, 2019)

Okay, I've brought the four of us together (for the first time) on the sidewalk outside the diner. Someone else will have to bring us to the shelter.


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 1, 2019)

Charlie's head shoots up from the map at the sound of the air raid sirens.  His father had been drilling him since he was eight at what to do, get to the bunker.  He stands leaving the map on the table.  He turns to the two class mates sitting next to him.

*"We should get moving keep your head down and if you notice a flash for god sake don't look at it."* 

Charlie leads the two outside and curses when he sees the contrails.  He'd never make it back home in time.  He'd need to go to one of the public shelters.  He visualizes the map trying to guess which shelters would get over crowded.  He begins to make a decision when Jenny runs over.

*"No Elm St is to central.  It will get swamped.  We'll run out of supplies if we are lucky enough to get in.  The one on Stockten Ave is more out of the way and it's only a couple blocks farther than Elm in the other direction."*

Charlie says all of this while running towards the shelter on Stockten.  He curses that he didn't have his survival bag.  Pa always said to carry it everywhere but it didn't fit in his locker at school so he had left it by the front door.  His Pa was going to yell at him if they both survived this.

He took a quick glance at the incoming doom and increased his speed.  He watched as other residents began to run past them towards the center of town.  He shook his head knowing there were going to be to many people at the Elm, Main and Oak St shelters.


----------



## tglassy (Nov 1, 2019)

Gabriel followed Charlie. He seemed to know what he was doing. 

“My family...” his dad would be at his practice downtown. His sisters were in school. His mom was at home. Would they see? He didn’t have time to find them. 

No time to think about that now. He hiked up his pants and tried to keep up with Charlie. It wasn’t long before he was huffing and puffing with the exertion. He really needed to lose a few pounds. He held on to his burger, anyway. No idea when he’d get to eat again.


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## jmucchiello (Nov 1, 2019)

_*I should go get Emily. No, that's silly, she at the middle school. They would not let me leave with her. I'd have to stay there. I hope Daddy hears the sirens. He sometimes slept like the... like someone who sleeps really deeply*_, she thought. _*What am I going to do?* _The thought scared her as she always knew what to do. 

*"You're right,"* Jennifer says, relieved that Charlie has a plan. *"Stockten will be less crowded."* She joins them in their run to the shelter on Stockten. Thoughts of her sister and father running through her mind the whole time.


----------



## KahlessNestor (Nov 4, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:010

Sofia looked up with surprise as the alert sirens went off. *“Que pasa?”* she asked, looked at the contrails in the sky. And then everyone around started to panic.

*“My sister!”* Sofia exclaimed as they piled out of the diner. She looked in the direction of the elementary school. Her mother was at Titan. She would probably be safe. But Alejandra…

But there wasn’t time. Something in Sofia knew that. So when someone grabbed her hand and dragged her along to Stockton Ave, she didn’t protest too much.

Sofia piled into the shelter with the others, falling against Gabriel as they tripped over each other. She stared at his burger in surprise.


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## Mark Chance (Nov 11, 2019)

After the fourth student rushes through the shelter door, the doorway itself swirls shut, metal pieces sliding together to clang shut the way the iris lens of a camera shuts. In the next instant, the lights shut off, plunging the room into utter darkness.

"Please remain calm, children," a female voice says.

The darkness vibrates, grows still, vibrates again, as if something enormous is hammering on the building above the shelter. Then, the floor drops away, and everyone falls while horizontal bands of light race from floor to ceiling, one after the other, creating a strobe light effect.

OOC: Everyone please make an Acrobatics or Dexterity check versus DC 10. Failure means you fall as the room begins to descend rapidly.


----------



## jmucchiello (Nov 11, 2019)

*OOC:*


Not that it really matter but Agility is usually used for balance. Dexterity for hand-eye coordination.

Dex check DC 10: 1d20 *6*







Before she can react, Jennifer finds herself on the floor as the room rapidly descends. *"What's going on?"*


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## tglassy (Nov 11, 2019)

_: 1D20 = [8] = 8


Gabriel fell to the ground, not being the most agile of teenagers.  He hit hard, his eyes wide, trying to hold on to his burger.


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## Mark Chance (Nov 12, 2019)

> Before she can react, Jennifer finds herself on the floor as the room rapidly descends. *"What's going on?"*





"Please remain calm, children," says the female voice. "Relocation to safe zone is in progress. Telluric immanation imminent. Walls to reach minimum opacity in 10, 9...."

OOC: Forgot which game this is. Agility does make much more sense.


----------



## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 12, 2019)

Charlie drops into a crouch at the floors sudden drop from beneath his feet.  He is surprised at this fact as the disorientating strobe of the descent wash over the room.  Charlie moves to help Jennifer stand, this is not out of chivalry but more an automated response as his brain processes the situation.

*"What did that woman say?  Something about telluric emanations, what are those?"*

He knew from his Pa that rads would be almost completely blocked by 3 feet of dirt.  They must be that far underground now and there was concrete and steel as well which was even better than dirt.  So what the hell was this woman talking about.  









*OOC:*


DC 10 Dex Roll: 1d20+1 *20* I marked it as Dex in the roller since that is what you asked to roll.   However Charlie's Dex and Agi are the same so roll would be identical.


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## jmucchiello (Nov 12, 2019)

"Thank you, Charlie," Jennifer says. She looks around wildly for something that might make sense. She calls out, "Maximum wall opacity? These words make no sense. What's going on?"


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## Mark Chance (Nov 12, 2019)

The walls of the room fade, becoming nearly transparent, and the rapid descent continues. Outside the room, the students see rock ripple by, as if liquid for an instant before returning to solid form above the room, the ceiling of which is now also nearly transparent.

"Telluric immanations are chthonic radiations trapped in subsurface rock structures," the voice says. "Through these immanations, you shall be prepared."

The rock outside the room gives way to magma, glowing and rolling as the shelter continues its descent. The students feel their skin start to tingle. Hairs on arms and the backs of necks stand on end. The sensation increases, progressing from tingle to itch to burning.


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 12, 2019)

*"Prepared?..."*

Charlie is dumbfounded by this voice.  He scratches his arm as the tingling begins.  He takes a step towards the middle of the room when he sees the magma.

*"Prepared for what you crazy bi....."*

His words are cut off by a scream as the burning starts and Charlie collapses to the floor.  His last thoughts before he passes out from the pain is his Pa was right.


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## tglassy (Nov 12, 2019)

Gabriel sits up, embarrassed once more. But that was a way of life for him. 

He wasn’t paying attention to the voice, so he didn’t understand when his skin started burning. He fell to the floor, screaming.


----------



## jmucchiello (Nov 12, 2019)

*"I don't have time for this!"* Jennifer screams as feel herself starting to burn. *"What is going on?"*


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## KahlessNestor (Nov 13, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:15

Sofia took a moment to catch her breath after rushing into the shelter. She looked back at the iris door as it closed. And then the lights shut off.

*“Um...is that supposed to happen?”* Sofia asked, reaching out and feeling around the room in the dark. Someone told them to remain calm. *“That would be easier if you turned the fu--flippin’ lights on!”* Sofia snapped at the voice.

And then a series of vibrations and pauses ran through the room. Sofia wasn’t much for church, but right about now she wished for her rosary beads, and maybe a priest for confession. *“Madre de Dios,”* she murmured.

And then the floor dropped away. Sofia screamed as she fell to the ground, lights strobing along the walls as she struggled to right herself.

And then that annoying female voice again. Relocation? Safe zone? She thought the bunker _was_ the safe zone! Where was it going now?

And then she could see through the walls! How the hell was that possible? They were traveling through rock like it was...pudding, and then it wasn’t even rock, but...lava?

*“What the hell is going on? Tell-what? Prepared for what?”* She tried to find the others in the dark. Her skin was beginning to itch, and then to burn, and all that was left was the screaming and the pain.

Dexterity: 1D20 = [8] = 8


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## tglassy (Nov 13, 2019)

Fire. The world was fire. First, it seemed in from his skin, igniting his nerves, charring him to the bone. 

Then a furnace erupted in his core. He tried to scream, but couldn’t catch his breath. He managed to hold his hand up, and saw his fingers charring, burning, disintegrating. His last thought was of his mother. 

Gabriel’s body crumbled into burning embers and ashes. 

The ashes slowly cooled, as as the last one did, they began to swirl and drift into the air. They coalesced in the air, swirling I to one spot. 

Then they ignited. 

Light. The fire inside had been replaced with light. 

In a burst of light, A Gabriel appeared in the air.

He took a breath. He was alive. He was perfectly whole. 

And he was perfectly naked. 

The fat teenager hovered for a moment more as the light faded, before crashing to the floor in a heap.

He rolled over, feeling his consciousness slip in and out as his body settled. His wings formed a nice cushion for him, insulating his naked body from the cold ground. He absently moved one to cover himself, shy even as he was only semiconscious. 

Wait. Wings?

As Gabriel slipped in and out of consciousness, he realized that having wings with bright red and orange feathers was NOT normal.


----------



## jmucchiello (Nov 14, 2019)

When the "dust" settles, in the place where Jennifer Arden, scholar, athlete, driven student stood, is a pure, clear, crystal statue of a teenage girl standing erect, her face looking up making a silent cry of anger and pain. Her arms stiff and straight, close to but not touching her sides, fists clenched. Her clothes and bookbag are part of the statue. If she didn't warp the light that passed through her, she would be next to impossible to see.


----------



## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 14, 2019)

Charlie is in darkness, complete and utter black.  He is unaware where he ends and the dark begins.  He remembers the burning and the bunker but it is distant in his memory like a bad dream.  All he knows is the darkness.  The burning in his chest brings the realization that he had been holding his breath.  Fear spikes as he is unsure if there is anything to breath in this void.  He takes an involuntary breath and feels a cold slithering pour down his throat and into his lungs.

Inside the bunker Charlie lays on the floor of the room not breathing.  Seconds later he gasps once for breath and begins to convulse.  His back arching impossibly high and flailing around.  Within seconds he collapses back to the floor breathing shallowly.  With each exhalation inky black smoke pours out of his mouth and begins to pool on the floor.  His eyes which flutter open have turned entirely black.  As he stands more black inky smoke pours from his body pooling like a fog around his feet.  In the back of Charlie's mind he can feel the connection to the void. It is now part of him and he can see it pouring out through him into this world.


----------



## KahlessNestor (Nov 18, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/12:20

Sofia stared in horror as Gabriel flared into fire and turned to dust. Jennifer froze into a crystal statue. Charlie collapsed into smoky blackness.

*“O Dios! O Dios!”* Sofia cried out. She screamed in terror. Her entire body itched. She backed away as Gabriel’s ashes swirled up and ignited again, and then Gabriel was back, naked, and with wings. Charlie was standing up, breathing black smoke. Jennifer was still crystalized.

*“Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!”* Sofie  screamed at the female voice that had been speaking earlier.

And then Sofia vanished.


----------



## Mark Chance (Nov 25, 2019)

Time passes. The students fade in and out of consciousness. The room continues to move, continues to be bathed in heat and light as it slides effortlessly through molten rock.

"Stress levels unacceptable," the female voice says. "Initiating frequency shift. Decrease alpha and beta. Emphasize delta."

Pain and fear decrease and then vanish, along with conscious thought. The students dream of pleasant memories and heartfelt wishes. Time loses its meaning.

"Children," an intruding voice says. "This is Mom. Time to wake up."

As if rousing from a restful slumber, the students do wake up. They're in the shelter. Gone are the flashing lights, the sensation of movement. The aromas of fresh-baked bread and bacon waft in the warm air. Soft light emanates from three covered light bulbs affixed to the ceiling.

In the corner farthest from the entrance stands a wooden table, covered with a white tablecloth. Four chairs are set near the table, one at each end, two facing the wall against which the table presses. Covered dishes wait on the table along with two pitchers of orange juice.

"Please eat. You need to replenish nutrients."


----------



## tglassy (Nov 26, 2019)

Mark Chance said:


> "Children," an intruding voice says. "This is Mom. Time to wake up."





Gabriel rolled over, shoving his head in the pillow.  "I don't wanna get up, yet," he said.  He accidentally rolled awkwardly on his wing, and had to lift himself up to readjust.  That was better.  



Mark Chance said:


> "Please eat. You need to replenish nutrients."




Oh, food.  That would be nice.  He was starving.  He scratched an itch on the tip of his wing and rolled back over.  

Wait...

He shot up and looked at his shoulder.  There was a wing.  A literal wing.  It had red and orange feathers.  Literal feathers were growing out of his back.  Feathers were not supposed to be growing out of his back.  

A quick glance told him he wasn't home anymore.  He was in a bomb shelter, on a cot.  He seemed to remember...

Pain.  Lots of pain.  He'd...he'd died.  He's burned up.  

He'd also been naked.  He lifted the thin blanket he had and found someone had put soft white pants on him.  That was nice of them. He tried not to think about the fact that someone had had to dress him.  

He wore no shirt, though.  Of course.  That would be hard with WINGS poking out of your back.  But...maybe it was his imagination, but his stomach didn't stick out quite as far as it usually did.  Considering he looked at himself every single morning while getting ready for school, to see how much he had gained/lost, he'd become fairly well aquatinted with his appearance.  He was still a fatty, just...not quite as much.

That's when the smell of the food hit him, and all thoughts of his appearance flew from his mind.  He was STARVING.  And not the usual "I-feel-sick-so-I-need-to-eat" feeling, either.  He was actually hungry.  His stomach gave a literal growl when he spotted the food on the table.

He made a bee line for it, sitting at one of the chairs and lifting the lid.


----------



## jmucchiello (Nov 26, 2019)

Things moved all around Jennifer. She wasn't able to focus on them. Thoughts existed but did not travel where they were supposed to go. She saw the others placed in beds but it didn't mean anything to her. She was picked up and moved, rigid the whole time. She was tipped over and placed onto something. Eventually thoughts flowed a bit and she realized she could not move.

*"Children,"* an intruding voice says. *"This is Mom. Time to wake up."*

_Mom? Mom's dead. That's not Mom. Where's Dad? Where's Em?_

*"Please eat. You need to replenish nutrients." *

_Eat? I'm not hungry. I'm supposed to move. _A few moments passed as the others awoke. She heard them awaken but she was staring at the ceiling. She guessed she was in a bed. She needed to move. At first nothing happened. Then there was, to her, a loud crack. (Others probably did not hear it unless they were standing next to her.) And another. She felt spidery lines crawling under her skin. Then she could move and arm. Then the other. The cracks became quieter but more frequent as her joints regained their freedom of motion. Her solid crystal form not looked smooth at the surface but had millions of shatter lines inside. As she regained mobility, her body settled on the bed. The soft sheets and blankets registered felt foreign against her crystal body.

She held her hand in front of her and turned it this way and that, marveling at how it caught the light, but also wondering why it felt sluggish. She sat up on the bed. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She did not panic. Crystal does not usually speak.

She looked at her companions and took in their changes.


----------



## KahlessNestor (Nov 27, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/2:20

Sofia stirred at the voices. She groaned, her head pounding. Why did it feel like she’d run a marathon? The light from above stabbed into her eyes when she opened them, and she threw an arm over her face.

But the smell of the food told her it wasn’t a hangover or migraine. Her stomach rumbled. She pushed herself up, pushing aside a white sheet. She was still in the clothes she’d worn to school. What time was it? She looked around at the others.

*“The naughty word…”* Sofia muttered, staring at Gabriel. He had...wings now? And Jennifer… *“Oh my God! What happened to you two?”* she gasped, carefully making her way to the table, trying to keep clear of Gabriel and not get a face full of feathers.


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## Mark Chance (Nov 27, 2019)

Gabriel lifts the lids on one of the dishes as he sits at the table. Beneath wait a steaming heap of pancakes. Warm maple syrup in a glass container. Other plates hold scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, sliced tomatoes, and fresh fruit. "Stranger on the Shore" starts to play softly, the music seemingly to flow from the corners of the ceiling.

"I hope the music is acceptable," says the female voice. "After breakfast, please move to the circle, and I'll reconfigure the living environment."

A faint glow appears on the floor near the center of the shelter, outlining a circle about 10 feet in diameter.


----------



## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 27, 2019)

Charlie's eyes flutter open at the insistent voice telling him to get up.  For a second he is not sure where he is but then the memories flash back.  The void, the black, the strange presence that was all around, and the feeling it is still with him in the back of his mind.  Charlie shivers slightly even though the room is warm for his liking.  He sits up and rubs his hands through his hair, the bed creaking as he moves.  Charlie sighs and stands stretching slightly and looks around for the first time noticing the others.

The others in the room see none of this.  The corner of the shelter where Charlie was sleeping is shrouded in an inky black fog.  No light can penetrate the blackness.  The only indication that Charlie was even in there was the creaking of the bed as he sat up.  The black fog constantly rolls and moves as if alive.

Charlie takes in the others appearance.  Gabriel's winged form drew his attention first.  His mind had problems processing this change when he noticed Jenny.  Her crystalline form hard to notice as it is practically see through.  The only one who seemed normal was Sofia who was having a similar reaction as him.

*"What the hell is going on?*  Charlie says as he steps out of the darkness.  The fog clings to his arms and legs as if trying to draw him back into it's protective embrace.  Charlie holds his hands up to shield his eyes, which are just pools of black, from the now over bright lights.  This is the first time he notices the black fog drifting from his arms.

*"Holy naughty word, what did they do to us?*

Charlie's face had gone pale.  He looks at Gabriel eating then to the now moving statue that is Jenny and shakes his head.

*"This isn't happening.  It's a dream.  It's gotta be a dream."*


----------



## jmucchiello (Nov 27, 2019)

Jennifer tried to stretch but she almost tipped over doing so. She felt so awkward.

*“Oh my God! What happened to you two?”* Sofia gasped.

Jennifer managed a shrug. She opened her mouth again but no sound issued from it.

 She stood up. Charlie was just getting up and his reactions were as to be expected.

Jennifer sat down at the table and looked at the food. She still was not hungry. She wondered why she was a crystal freak when it occurred to her that maybe this wasn't permanent. Maybe she could change back. Several minutes pass as the other talk. She was concentrating on figuring out if she could change back when she felt herself freeze in place for a second.

The air around her was suddenly very warm. The others could see her skin and clothing starting to become opaque. Over the course of a few seconds she went from translucent to solid. Abruptly, she felt the need to inhale and did so with an audible gasp.

*"Oh god, what happened to us? Where's everyone else?"* Jennifer said. *"Do I look normal?"* Before anyone could answer she grabbed a pile of food and put it on a plate and tried to eat it using human bites but she was ravenous and needed to get food into her body.









*OOC:*


Jennifer is a few minutes ahead of the conversation if you guys want to chat. Just react to her fade in to bring the timelines back together.


----------



## tglassy (Nov 27, 2019)

Gabriel grabbed a pancake, laid some bacon on it, poured the maple syrup on them both and dug in. They were good. Not as good as mom’s flapjacks. She fried them in butter, crisping the sides. But he was STARVING. 

Then a crystalline statue started moving towards him, and he dropped his fork. Then a shadow started moving, and Charlie came out of it. 

He bristled his feathers with nervous energy. That was so weird. He felt as if he’d always had these wings. He KNEW it was strange, but he didn’t FEEL like it was strange. 

“Oh my God! What happened to you two?” Sophia gasped. 

“What the hell is going on?” Charlie said. 

Gabriel shrugged. “Too much fried chicken?” He said, picking up his fork again. His hunger would not be ignored.


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## Mark Chance (Nov 27, 2019)

"Negative, Gabriel. Fried chicken is not a factor in your transformations. Clandestine genetic modifications combined with telluric immanations have resulted in metamorphoses, which, along with temporal displacement, were necessitated by Amtorian manipulation of international tensions."


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Nov 28, 2019)

Charlie closes his eyes and squeezed them shut tight.  He took a deep breath, held it briefly, then let it out slowly.  He did this several more times.  He used to do this while hunting to calm himself.  He opens his eyes and looks at the table.  He tentatively takes a seat and picks up a piece of bacon.  He takes a bite, waits a second to make sure nothing more strange happens then eats the whole piece.  He fills a plate with food and digs in ignoring everything in his hunger.  He is brought back by the voice.

*”Anyone understand any of that?”*

Before anyone answered he sees Jenny begin to transform.  He watches her return to normal and take a seat.

*”You’re back to normal how?”* The question was more rhetorical.  *”I think we’re the only ones here.  Probably by design if I would hazard to guess.”*


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## tglassy (Nov 28, 2019)

Gabriel stopped eating, a monumental thing for him at the moment. Gabriel read a lot of science fiction. He recognized many of these terms, and they didn’t sit well with him. 

“Genetic modifications. They messed with our genes. I don’t know what telluric immanations are, but that could be something to do with the radiation that hit us when we were in the lift. I don’t know what Amtorian is, but it sounds like a people, so Amtorian manipulations of international tension would be...that someone is manipulating the Cold War? But...temporal displacement? Temporal is time. Temporal displacement is time travel.”

He looked up to where the voice was coming from. “When exactly are we?”


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## jmucchiello (Nov 28, 2019)

Without missing a bite, Jennifer shrugs when Charlie asks how she changed back. *"I kinda just tried to be human and it happened."*

She listens to the voice and is totally confused. *"Where's Amtor? Amtoria?"

"Time Travel?"* Jennifer says. *"I was about to say that's crazy. Probably be a long time before I say that again."*


----------



## KahlessNestor (Dec 2, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Tuesday, October 23, 1962/2:25

With the revelation of the food, Sofia felt her stomach rumble audibly. She was so hungry! She warily approached the table where the others sat, pausing to watch Jennifer...fade back to human?

Sofia filled her plate and dug in. The eggs would have been better with some chorizo and hot sauce, but she couldn’t care much right now.

*“It wasn’t the Russians?”* she asked with surprise *“I mean, nuclear radiation can do this kind of thing to people, they say. Time travel is just...silly. That’s geeky comic book stuff. No one believes that!”*


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## jmucchiello (Dec 3, 2019)

*"It's odd that we were obviously modified by radiation inside the shelter, isn't it?"* Jennifer says.* "We were supposed to be shielded by the radiation in the shelter. So we should not have been changed, right?"*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 3, 2019)

The now-familiar woman's voice speaks.

"You have asked many questions. Permit me to answer them. The shelters installed around New Falls all have the same functions, but only those that ended up with no one in them except young humans between the ages of thirteen and nineteen activated in the manner this shelter did. Telluric immanation effects would be too unstable in younger or older subjects. For the moment, I am not in contact with the other shelters. Communications have been disrupted, presumably by the Amtorians."

The voice pauses for a few seconds.

"We have not traveled into the future. That is impossible. Instead, this shelter entered into a slow-stasis mode. Three thousand, seven hundred four and seventy-five hundredths days have elapsed. This is likely distressing news, but do not lose hope."

Another pause.

"Amtor -- or as it is commonly known on your world, Venus -- has long planned the invasion and conquest of Earth. We lacked the military resources to stop this invasion before it happened. Alerting terrestrial authorities was deemed too risky. Instead, we instituted plans involving modification of humans while we completed work on the time tunnel. Our objective now is to re-establish communications and locate the time tunnel so that you can travel back to before the Amtorian's initial attacks."

Then, silence.


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## jmucchiello (Dec 3, 2019)

*"Over ten years? Are our families alive? How can time travel forward be impossible but backwards to before we left be a piece of cake?"* Jennifer said her fists strike the table. *"And on top of that we're supposed to believe we've been invaded by Venus? And we're expected to fight against an entire planetary invasion? One of us has gone mad."*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 3, 2019)

The voice replies, "I cannot go mad. My program parameters preclude such activity. Time travel forward at a speed greater than one second per one second is impossible. Slow-stasis mode inhibited the aging process within this shelter. Outside the shelter, time passed as normal.

"As for time travel to the past, think of time as a road continuously constructed toward a single destination. One cannot travel farther down the road than its most recent extent permits, but travel back down the road which has already been constructed is possible. The analogy fails in that time travel back down the metaphorical road is both difficult and risky.

"At this time, I cannot verify the locations or conditions of your family members due to communication disruptions."


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## jmucchiello (Dec 3, 2019)

*"You're not a person? What are you?"* Jennifer said warily. *"When are we going back?"*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 3, 2019)

"I am the program that operates this shelter. I cannot answer your other question, Jennifer. There are too many variables to formulate a projection."


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## KahlessNestor (Dec 4, 2019)

New Falls, Washington/New Falls High School
Wednesday, October 24, 1962/8:30

*“Time travel?”* Sofia exclaimed. *“This is naughty word ridiculous. Like something out of that Star Trek on TV. And aliens? Can anything even live on Venus? Why would they attack us anyway? We haven’t even gotten to the moon yet! Ten years? Dios! My little sister!”*

Sofia went to the door and banged on it. *“How do we get out of here?”* she demanded. *“Who did this to us? What gave them the right!”*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 4, 2019)

"Amtorians can live on Venus," the program says, "but their sky cities' fuel supply was running low, and they had no way to resupply; therefore, the Amtorians required a new world, and Earth is the closest habitable planet. As for exiting the shelter, you get out the same way you entered: through the door."

The program pauses.

"If, Sofia, by 'this' you mean your current situation and transformation, the answer is the Titans. I have no data on what gave the Titans the authority to implement the plan."


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Dec 4, 2019)

*"And why would the Titans do this?  What do they gain by stopping this invasion?"*

Charlie looks at the others.

*"Do you know how many of the other bunkers had survivors?"*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 4, 2019)

"The Titans have lost their original homeworld to the Amtorians," the program says. "Once we surface, I can attempt to re-establish communications."


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## jmucchiello (Dec 4, 2019)

*"How long until we resurface?"* Jennifer asks.


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## Mark Chance (Dec 4, 2019)

"Immediately, if you wish," the program says. "Please stand within the circle while I reconfigure the shelter."

A glowing circle about 10 feet across near the center of the floor starts to pulse.


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## tglassy (Dec 4, 2019)

Gabriel finished off his food. To everyone else, he seemed indifferent to the news that they’d spent 10 years asleep. He just kept eating. 

But eating helped him think. It gave him something to control. It kept him from freaking out on the surface. 

He had wings. And he felt good. Better than he ever had before. As he moved his fork to his mouth, he noticed his bicep. It was solid. Much more than it had been the (relative) day before. 

And that wasn’t all. His stomach was smaller, he could tell. He had this fire inside him, a burning he couldn’t explain. Not a painful one, but a powerful one. 

“There’s not much we can learn sitting down here,” he said as he finished his food. He stood and headed for the circle, slightly surprised at his confidence. He felt...in control, for the first time in his life. Like he WAS strong enough to handle things. It felt...it felt good. Even if he was shirtless. 

He entered the circle and looked at the others. “You coming?”


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## jmucchiello (Dec 4, 2019)

Jennifer gets up and stands in the circle, *"C'mon, let's get this over with."*


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Dec 5, 2019)

*"Well then let's get going and see how screwed we are.*

Charlie walks into the circle. As he does the black fog begins to pool around him and lick up his legs.


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## Mark Chance (Dec 5, 2019)

The program says, "But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we'll not fail. Macbeth, Act One, scene seven."


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## KahlessNestor (Dec 6, 2019)

New Falls, Washington
1972/Morning

Sofia eyed the glowing circle warily. But if they’d been down here ten years...her little sister would be around...her age now! Now she was getting a headache.

*“What are we going to find up there?”* Sofia asked, stepping into the circle and joining the others. *“Are our families still there?”*


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## jmucchiello (Dec 6, 2019)

*"I doubt she knows,"* Jennifer says to Sofia. *"Okay, we're in the circle. Now what?"*


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## Mark Chance (Dec 6, 2019)

"Now," says the program, "we save your world."

The light from the circle flares, turning into translucent cylinder surrounding the students.

"Initiate nano-reconstruction."

The shelter shimmers, briefly appearing to be thousands of cubes which fragment into thousands of cubes. The table, chairs, and food vanish. The walls disassemble and reassemble farther away, more than doubling the size of the shelter. Other walls appear along with doors and furniture. The space around the column becomes a circular room. The ceiling rises, and stairs spiral around the central room, leading up to a second floor.

"Nano-reconstruction complete. Time to surface."

The floor vibrates as the column of light and the glowing circle disappear. The students can feel the movement upward. After a bit more than a minute, sensation of movement stops. One wall of the circular room seems made of smoky glass, smooth and dark, about four feet high and six feet wide.

"Display exterior view."

The smoky glass flickers and an impossible scene appears on it.


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## jmucchiello (Dec 6, 2019)

After a moment. Jennnifer says, *"How? Why?"* Then she cries, silently, unable to look away from the destruction. She does not really hear the others' reactions for a time.









*OOC:*


I assume the statue of liberty isn't actually out there as we started in Washington state, right?

Is anything moving out there? The image has sea gulls.


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## Mark Chance (Dec 6, 2019)

_*OOC:* The Statue of Liberty is there. That is what's left of New York City. Yes, things move: the waves, the seagulls, et cetera._


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## jmucchiello (Dec 6, 2019)

After a while, Jennifer adds flatly, *"How'd we end up in New York?"*


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## tglassy (Dec 6, 2019)

“You just hurled down to the center of the earth, turned into a crystal statue, turned back to human, was frozen in time for ten years, and woke up next to a shadowman and a bird man, and your question is “How’d we end up in New York?””


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## jmucchiello (Dec 6, 2019)

Jennifer laughed. *"I never said I'm thinking clearly."*


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Dec 6, 2019)

As Charlie first sees the scene he begins to laugh.  The laugh is on the hysterical side, as if his brain can't fully comprehend everything that has just happened.  As he laughs the dark fog billows more and engulfs his lower body.

*"I was right, we're screwed.  To top it off we might be the last people on earth."*  Charlie glances at Gabriel.  *"Or whatever we are now."*


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## tglassy (Dec 6, 2019)

Gabriel looks at his wings, then back at Charlie, and shrugs.  "When you're right, you're right."


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## jmucchiello (Dec 6, 2019)

*"Okay, um, computer -- can computers talk? -- we're on the surface. How long until we go back?"* Jennifer asks.


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## KahlessNestor (Dec 9, 2019)

New York
Friday, January 12, 1973/1130

Sofia stared. *“New York…”* She pressed against the glass, staring at the flooded city. *“How? What happened?”* she asked. Her sister… Her mother...


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## Mark Chance (Jan 3, 2020)

_OOC: Sorry for the long delay. Mea culpa maxima._

"Initial attempts to reestablish communications with other modules are unsuccessful," the computer says, "but I am picking up low-level electrical activity to the north abo


ut three miles away. We can be there in less than --"

The computer stops talking. The distressing view of what was New York City shifts, looking up into the sky full of dark, roiling clouds. More than a dozen indistinct shapes grow larger and come into focus. Monstrous bird creatures dive to the attack!

"We have hostiles incoming. Contact imminent," the computer says. "What action should we take?"

Nota Bene: Picture by Vinny Crow via DeviantArt.


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## jmucchiello (Jan 3, 2020)

"You're asking us?" Jennifer says. "We don't know your capabilities. We don't know the capabilities of this base. We don't know what it looks like from the outside. You didn't say how many hostiles there are. What kind of actions are available to make? Is evasion possible? Or maybe out running them? Try that."


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## Mark Chance (Jan 3, 2020)

"Evasive maneuvers initiated."

The floor jerks, rocking the students on their feet, and they feel the effects of rapid acceleration. The view on the monitor shifts as the creatures merge into a flock and begin pursuit.

"Hostiles are gaining," the computer says. "Displaying schematics."

Another screen appears on a wall, showing a large cube divided into several interior levels.

"Exterior dimensions are 5 yards width, height, and depth. I have minimal offensive capabilities in the form of exterior laser turrets. These draw on system power, which will soon reach critical levels at this speed. Solar batteries can recharge given sufficient down-time."


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## jmucchiello (Jan 4, 2020)

"Do we know if these bird creatures can harm the base?" Jennifer asks. "Anybody have any ideas?"


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## KahlessNestor (Jan 7, 2020)

New York
Friday, January 12, 1973/1135

*“What the hell are those things?”* Sofia exclaimed. *“Those aren’t...normal… If we have...lasers…?”* she queried, *“then hell yes, let’s shoot at them!”* She held onto the wall to avoid getting thrown to the floor as their...cube started moving rapidly. She looked at the schematics. *“Are we like some UFO?”*


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## Mark Chance (Jan 10, 2020)

"Hostiles incoming from other directions."

The display quarters itself, showing four different views of the exterior. 



> "Do we know if these bird creatures can harm the base?" Jennifer asks. "Anybody have any ideas?"




The students hear one dull _thud!_ after another. The bird-things diving, strike, and then retreat, looping around for another attack.



> *“What the hell are those things?”* Sofia exclaimed. *“Those aren’t...normal… If we have...lasers…?”* she queried, *“then hell yes, let’s shoot at them!”* She held onto the wall to avoid getting thrown to the floor as their...cube started moving rapidly. She looked at the schematics. *“Are we like some UFO?”*




"They are mutates," the computer says.

In two of the four exterior views, staccato bursts of light race toward the bird-things, one of which is hit. It flares and spirals, dropping out of view.

"This is a Mobile Operations Module," the computer says. "Main functions are life support and transportation." _Thud! Thud! _"Hull integrity is at 98%. Nanotech repair systems can compensate, but a more aggressive solution may be necessary. I can open egress so that you can engage the hostiles directly."


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## jmucchiello (Jan 11, 2020)

"Oh, right, we can put all of that training we've received to practical use," Jennifer says. "Anyone here know how to fight mutate bird-creatures?"


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## KahlessNestor (Jan 11, 2020)

New York
Friday, January 12, 1973/1140

*“Um...I fought off a goose once at the petting zoo,”* Sofia said. *“Do you have weapons? Like a shotgun or something? Hell, even a baseball bat? And maybe something so we don’t fall off. I can get us out there,”* she told the others. *“Wait, how did I know that…”* She looked up at the ceiling.


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## Mark Chance (Feb 3, 2020)

"Opening egress point," the computer says.

Part of the ceiling disappears, turning into a square opening about six feet across. A ramp forms from the opening to the floor.

"Quickly," says the computer. "Before the creatures find their way inside."

_OOC: Ye gods! It's been way too long since I posted. Mea culpa maxima.

Initiative along with actions please. If you move outside, you'll discover the top of the cube is a 15-foot square. The inside is much larger. There are many flying Bird Things at a variety of ranges from Really Close to Far Away._

Bird Thing Initiative = 14


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## jmucchiello (Feb 3, 2020)

Jennifer steps out the door and tries to imagine herself as the moving statue she was before. She manages to turn into a solid crystal statue, and once again cannot move.









*OOC:*


She always loses the first round (or longer) of a combat just trying to figure out how to move as a crystalline creature.
Initiative: 1D20-3 = [6]-3 = 3  (And she's slow, too.)


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## KahlessNestor (Feb 4, 2020)

New York
Friday, January 12, 1973/1140
Round 1

*“How are we supposed to fight these things without weapons?”* Sofia asked. She looked around the room for anything she could grab, and then headed up to the flat top of the ship. There wasn’t a lot of space. Hopefully they wouldn’t fall off!

Initiative: 1D20+1 = [18]+1 = 19


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## VLAD the Destroyer (Feb 11, 2020)

Charlie just reacts.  Inky blackness boils out of his skin covering him from head to toe and spilling out around him like mist.  As the darkness envelopes his body he steps outside.  He scans the sky preparing for the winged creatures attack.


Initiative: 1d20+3 *6*


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