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apocalypsehowcomm2022-05-16 08:09 am
- !event,
- !finale,
- !npc,
- bucky barnes (mcu),
- cornelius hickey (the terror),
- cortana (halo),
- edalyn clawthorne (owl house),
- hunter (owl house),
- kate cordello (original),
- katrina (siren),
- manji (blade of the immortal),
- zz_addison montgomery (grey's anatomy),
- zz_ade bennett (the wess'har wars),
- zz_ainsley whitly (prodigal son),
- zz_andrew jaeger (original),
- zz_beauregard lionett (critical role),
- zz_bruno madrigal (encanto),
- zz_callisto (xena: warrior princess),
- zz_donna noble (doctor who),
- zz_garner cinderbrooke (original),
- zz_george milton (of mice and men),
- zz_jeff calhoun (original),
- zz_john carter (er),
- zz_jonathan sims (tma),
- zz_luka kovač (er),
- zz_malcolm bright (prodigal son),
- zz_misty quigley (yellowjackets),
- zz_neal caffrey (white collar),
- zz_nick valentine (fallout),
- zz_orpheus (hadestown),
- zz_rye kalibash (original),
- zz_tim drake (dc comics)
Event - Appalachia: Into the Pines
Footage plays on the television as a new story comes on, showing a series of sweeping vistas, intercut with clips of wolves that have clearly been filmed at some local wildlife sanctuary. "As far as anyone knows it, the last wolf to ever freely roam the Allegheny Mountains was slain in West Virginia in 1897. Daniel Stoffer Hamrick saw to the beast's passing, and the woods in our part of the world have gone quieter ever since. Appalachia does not forget its history, though. It buries it beneath coal and flyash, debts and white powder and pills. And the blood of people taken before their time, by the mines, by the mountain, by things we don't have names for, just hurt. But Appalachia does not forget.
"This is Cindy Parsons with Channel 5, Wolf News." Footage cuts to a newscaster standing outside a gated apartment complex with FYRE's logo emblazoned on it. "As we know, our beloved Wolf Pen is home to one of the biggest FYRE worker housing complexes in Wyoming County. It is a monument to the history of our town, and this week, we'll be on the lookout for visitors from all over the country, coming to see the grand re-opening of the historic Bluestone Mine as a museum."
Footage cuts to a nondescript businessman, identified by the news footage as Carl Watts, CEO of FYRE. He's smiling blandly as he stands at a podium and gestures to the entrance of the mining tunnel behind him. "The Wolf Pen community has been a partner to us for decades now, and we knew it was finally time to give something back to all y’all. We'll have our soft opening on Monday with a full Rumble Down Under party in the old mines scheduled for June 15th. We'll have a live bluegrass concert and anticipate a huge influx of tourists to the area to help out our neighbors itching for a few more pocketbooks to tend to." A wink.
The footage returns to Cindy. "FYRE has stated that this new museum will provide an educational tool and tourist attraction for those wanting to learn about West Virginia, Wolf Pen, and the hard-working men and women who have made this beautiful part of our nation their home. Time will tell. Time is always telling when it comes to the promises of people who have used our land and our bodies to line their pocketbooks. They fill our blood and our lungs with black tar and-"
Cindy cuts out and is replaced by in-studio anchors. "Thank you, Cindy!" a blonde woman says, smile just a little strained. "I think we're all looking forward to seeing the big opening by FYRE on Sunday and that rocking good party next month. It should be a gneiss one! Now to Tim with the weather. Tim?"
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Maybe he can say he's from a retirement home. Then again, this face looks a lot younger than Nick is himself, doesn't it...]
That was my thought too. That many folks in an enclosed spot... [Nightmares ahoy. But a great way to have an "accident" claim a bunch of people at once.] I'd like to volunteer for some recon. Well before the crowds end up down there.
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You might even be able to just ask to see it on the public tour. If you end up needing to go into places they don't want you and you get caught, play dumb...or better yet just don't get caught.
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[A beat.]
Furthermore, I can getcha an accurate map of the place after I go poking around. Perfect short-term recall has its advantages.
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That would be really helpful. You'll be able to draw it all out?
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[Might mean overwriting some memory space, but he can spare some 70+ year old ruin-diving or another for something this important.]
I'll take pictures, too, if anything comes up... think I've got the hang of that "smart" phone by now.
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[The quirk of the corner of her mouth suggests that was a joke.]
Sounds good. I take it you're from somewhere without them? If you want to go over the camera app and how to use the flash to be sure you've got it, I can go through that with you now.
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[He'll sit patiently through any sort of phone tutoring that Ms. Hargrave provides, then demonstrates he can use the phone properly once she's through.]
Right, thanks Ms. Hargrave. Anything else I need to know before I go?
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Be careful how much you share and be on the lookout for anything that doesn't look, feel, or sound right. That goes for people you run into as well as the mine itself; a ritual attempt doesn't happen without a lot of setup and I'd bet they're still around putting in the work ahead of their party.
To Bluestone Mine - George tags next
[Nick is an old pro at snooping around places he isn't supposed to. But paradoxically, it's actually easier to do so with two people. Two sets of eyes can take in more than one. Not to mention, if anything goes haywire, it'll be good to have someone he can trust at his back. So Nick recruits George to come with him, and the two roomies head in for the mine tour that afternoon.
He tones down the fashion a bit, going for a more... old-fashioned sharply-dressed tourist than his usual full-on detective garb. There's the affable midwestern cheerfulness to match, and he's greatly friendly with all the staff members as they descend down into the open part of the tunnels.]
Pretty amazing that all this is manmade, isn't it? Like the inside of a giant anthill...
[All the while, Nick is carefully noting the layouts of the tunnels, recording them to memory. He's on the lookout for any printed maps as well, whether in a brochure or pasted on a wall somewhere.</small.]
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For his part, he believes he can feel the weight of all that rock above his head. He's thinking about what Hickey said about how something like this being underground means something bad is going to happen and hoping it's hogwash.
Just in case it isn't, he fully intends to have Nick's back. The knife tucked into his slacks pocket is a switchblade instead of a pocket knife. As out of his element as he is, this is still preferable to letting him go it alone.]
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No one seems to question the two of them as a pair of tourists, nor is there any security screening that might have caught George's switchblade.]
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[He figures they should stay on foot, so he can better mentally map out the tunnels in comparison to the map. Now, to find a worthy off-limits tunnel to explore first...
Keeping an eye out for any staff members, he wanders vaguely off course and towards one of the roped-off tunnels nearby the central line. As good a place to start as any. He'll make sure there's nobody watching before stepping over the rope and beckoning George to come with.]
D'oh. Can't track threads on this account.
[It's a low grumble. He's feeling claustrophobic enough as it is, and they're still in the more open areas.
He's just as cautious as Nick, double checking to be sure they're not watched or followed on their way in.]
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Keeping his eyes out for their surroundings, including any lines of sight from the distance, they continue down the straightaway.]
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When it gets dimmer, he just latches his fingers to the back of Nick's shirt in a tight enough hold he won't get too far ahead or lose him. He doesn't want to risk a light until they're further in.
They'd planned enough ahead of time about staying quiet, giving each other a nudge if there's anything of note or a harder squeeze if it looks dangerous.]
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Come to think of it, more and more of the beams they've passed are cracked as they get further in, and the old wood is scarred with notches.]
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[When the pattern becomes apparent, Nick pauses for a moment to examine one of the support beams. He studies the notches themselves, looking for some indication of what made them-- a bladed tool, like an axe or knife? Something that required carving, like teeth or even claws? Or are the notches from natural wear and tear?]
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[He's looking, as well. Something Robin said niggles at the back of his mind.]
Hey, Nick...you ever heard a' tommyknockers?
[He keeps his voice as low as he can, both to avoid attracting attention from the front staff but also...well...anything potentially down in this shaft with them. Hell of a time to think of it now.]
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[Nick photographs the hatchet marks with his phone, and makes sure to remember this spot on his mental map.]
Something tells me they weren't the ones who hacked up these posts.
[On they go, though he's paying close attention to the stability of the tunnels, now.]
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[He takes a few pictures, too. It doesn't help to have two sets just in case.]
I ain't...completely sure about that. I talked to a woman whose husband used to work these mines. She told a story he told her one night...after his cousin died in a cave in. He saw these...rock demon things. They hacked at the supports right before the whole thing fell in.
Now, afore I came here, I'd a' said that's a load a' hogwash. A man saw something awful, maybe got some bad air. Mind'll play all kinds a' tricks on you. Now I ain't so sure. Her grandson had some weird drawin's. Said something about some lady controlling rock monsters.
They dumped a lot a' shit in the creek up that way with no sign a' the big kind a' machinery you'd need to do it. Bunch of dead fish and plants. Reeked like you wouldn't believe.
If we hear singin', we need to turn around right then. Awwright?
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It's after the damaged section that the tunnel begins to branch.]
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And here they'll have to make a decision about which way to go.]
Either way looking better than the other to you?
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Dunno why, but whenever I don't know what way to go, I usually head right.
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