Players: David, Hosea, Kisha, Robyn, and Mother Pumpkin (emitted by Set)
Summary: David and some students are by the Moors when evil Mother Pumpkin attacks and eats Kisha….Scene provided by Set
Date: October 7, 2010
Log Title: The Great Pumpkin Caper
Rating: PG-13
Tegu-Haaz - The Moors
The road cuts through the moors and ends abruptly a few feet into the grassy hills. Low flora in reds, browns and greens cling to the ground. There are not real paths or trails through the moors just a vast area of ground. Rocks jut out of the ground as the hills drop down. During the day time it seems peaceful and relaxing as a light breeze flows through sometimes carrying the scent of fresh water from the cliffs on the other side. There is a perfect view of the flawless sky. During the night when the moon shines down, every star can be seen in the sky but the shadows seem to appear out of things that might not be there. Occasionally the howl of a wolf can be heard along with the sounds of a four legged beast chasing it's prey.
Sure there is safty in numbers but more than a dozen people cramed inside one small farm house will cause anyone to want their space after a few days and that's what Robyn's doing out in The Moors. He's gotten some of his feeding under control with the help of Emma and is doing better so he's actually focused and not 'hungry'. Carefully making his way down the rocks, Robyn's set to explore this place a little bit, trying to see what's out here and if there is something that's might be useful. As he walks he munches on an apple he found on a tree at one of the abanonded farms.
Hosea grew up hunting with primitive instruments, this atmosphere is very comfortable for him to operate in, more than probably most of his colleagues. Right now he's setting up snares. Carefully he treads across the moors, looking for the right place in the rabbit trail. Small game is easy to transport, but difficult to track. He quietly kneels next to a spot in the moor where he's found a track that he likes. "Aha, you do like to jump over this brush, don't you?" he says aloud. He pulls the line off of his shoulder, and begins tying it to various parts of the low-level brush.
For some the strange place they've ended up in is a source of fear, but for Kisha it's one of slow burning anger and a slightly unhinged obsession. More so than her normal levels of unhinged obsession! "So to forge the metal I need supplies of fuel. Oil is out and that means charcoal…" She declares to no-one in particular. "They haven't made words for how much I loathe this place." The relative peace of the moor is soon disturbed by the sound of enthusiastic cursing and the scrape of a shovel, as Kisha begins trying to dig herself a burning pit.
Even staffer can get tired and could use a break, so David opted to take a small break and do some more exploring. Choosing the moors in place of the insane asylum, he walks about until he feels a tug on his abilities. Sighing to himself, he feels his skills adapting and adjusting as he feels familiar students in the area. "I thought they were supposed to stay at the far," he thinks to himself as he remains in his little hidden area of the moors and looks out to spy on the kids to be sure no trouble follows them or they cause no trouble.
It starts simply as a flock of crows that becomes displaced from a nearby tree line, the sound they make loud enough to wake the dead. Soon following is a deep bass *boom*, scraping, then another *boom*. As the booms get louder and closer, one could almost feel a gentle shake of earth as something big nears. Then it happens: The trees the crows just left become covered in thick, green vines. There's a roar and suddenly everything touched by the sudden plant growth is uprooted and thrown towards the students and staff. Then the exploding earth clears from the air, a pumpkin almost the size of a 2-story house pulls itself out of the forest on thick rope-like vines. A carved mouth opens only to release another angered roar. Yes, the Mother Pumpkin is on the prowl.
At the first boom, Robyn freezes and looks around, maining in the direction the crows are flying away from. At the second boom, he pulls out the axe that he's been carrying and holds it in front of him defensively. At the spray of earth and the incoming Vines, he follows the lead of the crows and starts to run away from the giant scary angry pumpkin. If he didn't think that it might eat him, Robyn might actually find the Mother Pumpkin to be quite awesome. He can't stop himself from letting out a bit of a scream as he runs…with an axe.
Hosea was just finishing setting his snare when the crows took off. He's familiar with the sound of panicking birds, and he stands back to his feet, a studious eye toward the forest. As the booms shake the earth, it's clear that something unnatural is happening.
"Everyone!" he calls out. "Run back to da farm house!" Hosea, however, does not run back. He stays as the trees and ground come barrelling forth toward him A trunk that should make him a smear on the ground passes harmlessly through him, and he takes a few steps forward. He looks around to see if his schoolmates have taken his heed, and doesn't seem to have noticed David behind him. He then looks back at the pumpkin, trying to gauge exactly what that is, and whether it can actually see anyone. He doesn't want it following them back to the farmhouse.
Kisha glances up from her attempt at digging a hole. "Well… At least they can see it too," she decides, tilting her head with stunned bemusement. The reality of the situation soon kicks in and she yells "Are you sure leading it to your home is wise? It seems quite upset!" She begins scrambling back away from the monster, shovel held high and ready to stab down at any advancing vines.
First the birds, then the boom, and another boom, and that is enough, David synching his skills to Hosea's carefully dodges and avoids the tree and vines. Looking about to see which of the students can handle themselves and which cannot. Assessing and trying to form the best strategy, David looks towards the tree and wonders, if it is indeed living, and if it is, what his powers will tell him about it, if anything.
Two carved eyes catch the sudden sign of movement. And with that, the giant gourd raises up on its vines and runs towards the group with the grace of a spider. Letting out a squeal that sounds like a cross between a stuck pig and a beached whale, it targets the nearest body to it: Kisha. The house-sized plant launches itself towards her, sending all its vines in effort to capture and contain. As with most tech in this strange land, Davids scan returns nothing.
Hearing Hosea's voice, Robyn turns to see him standing there despite his cries for them to run. Where has Hosea isn't a friend of his, he is a classmate and he turns to go to stand beside him. "Sorry Hosea, I'm not leaving you alone to get eaten.." And as soon as he says eaten that's when he sees Kisha get snapped up. "Karbon!" He yells since she is his teammate after all and the codename in combat situations is just automatich with her. He rushes forward with the axe in hopes to help cut her free.
Hosea snaps a look back to Robyn, but doesn't argue as he goes to try to rescue Kisha. With all of the courage he can muster, he sprints forward toward the beast, stooping to pick up a large branch which broke off of one of the trees which had been thrown at them. Once in his hands, he teleports.
In the same instant he appears in the air, in front of the eye of the pumpkin He thrusts the branch forward, aiming to stab the 'beast' in the eye before he starts falling back toward the ground again.
Kisha manages to stab down at some of the vines, chopping the ends off with her shovel, but the early stages of starvation and repeated bouts of sleep deprivation don't make for a very nimble young woman. Even as it scoops her off the ground she repeatedly swings the shovel, spitting curses in Russian with an all consuming fury. For good measure she slips into English adding "And then when I'm done ripping your reality to bits I'll burn your /entire/ forest down and turn this godforsaken place into one giant parking lot!"
"Ok, so whatever it is. It's not alive." David shakes his head, "Which means squat!" He finally makes his presence known, oddly by running towards the creature and not away. Yelling out in an African language for Hosea to hear, «How far can you teleport and how much can you take with you?» after he yells it, he sees that Hosea is thinking like him and he grins, «It's not alive. Teleport inside it.» David pictures smashing pumpkins and makes his way towards Robyn and Kisha with a fallen branch to help cut off any vines ensnaring Kisha and offering in Russian, «We'll get you out!»
With Kisha standing her ground, she becomes bound in thick, ropey vines. What happens next is unfortunately quick: Kisha is eaten. Or rather she is dropped into the waiting mouth. There's a quick snap of jaws, then nothing. One student gone. A few more to go, it's cut vines already y re-growing. It spies the axe-welding teen and smiles. That is, at least until it catches a scent with it's carved now. "YOOOOOOOOOOOOU!" it growls at Robyn, eyes suddenly a fire as if they were backlit by a burning candle. With a quick snap of a vine, it sends car-sized, razor sharp leaves at the teen, "Yooooouuuuuu! Youuuuuuuuuu! Diiiiiiiiiie!" It's obvious it has a bone to pick—probably all 206." As Hosea attacks, the branch does little more then fall into an empty void inside. It's almost as if this thing were carved like a Halloween pumpkin.
"Kisha!!!!" Robyn yells as she gets eaten, trying to reach out a hand to grab onto her but it's too late. He barely has time to recover from the shock of his fellow Alpha Squadron mate getting eaten when he realizes he's about to be it's next snacky cake. He drops the axe out of fear and starts to run away from the leaves. This is one of those survival things where you run for your life. Though one of the leaves catches the teen, knocking him over and leaving a nasty looking gash on his leg.
Hosea lands in a crouching position just as Kisha is eaten. "No!!!" He pulls out a small pocketknife at David's advice, along with picking up another branch from the ground. He expects nothing more than an empty shell that he threw the branch into a moment ago. He takes a moment to take a slice at one of the supporting vines that the pumpkin stands on to give himself more time. After that, he teleports inside of the pumpkin. Not to destroy it as much as to search for Kisha. Destroying the monster is secondary. The blade is small, but it's better than nothing.
Kisha tastes a little gamey but is very low in saturated fat!
Suddenly as Kisha is eaten, David would scream out her name, but when Robyn does it, he snaps back to reality and follows after the boy. When he is downed by the leaves, David rushes to his side, "Robyn, we'll get out of this somehow….." he whispers as he picks up the axe Robyn was holding and stands over the boy. Unfortunately, no one with great axe wielding skills is near by, but he is ready to swing block anything that comes his way. "The thing is not alive, but with all this other crazy stuff going on… Robyn, I know you are in pain, but see if you can possess the damn thing!"
There's an evil laugh from the pumpkin as if converges on Robyn, Hosea's knife amounting to little more than a papercut to such large vines. "Desssssssssert….YummmmTummmm YuuuummmmTummmm." It goes to gulp down Robyn, but shrieks next, and starts bucking around as it feels somehting inside and much, much to close to its giant tomato-shaped heart that lies in the void inside. Along with several partially digested deer, cows…small dogs…a carriage.
Robyn tries to posses the giant pumpkin at David's suggestion and his eyes flash purple as his mind leaves his body for a split second. In that split second his mind hits the Mother Pumpkin and it cannot connect, it can't push the pumpkin mind out. It's like there's a key hole and he's not the right fit. It all takes less than a second before he's back in his body and shakes his head. "I can't, not right." He goes to stand up, putting most his weight on his good leg as he bends down to hurl a rock at the face of the giant pumpkin since David has his axe.
Hosea glances around as he sees the carnage. "Ag, dat is disgusting," he says to himself." He sees no sign of Kisha, but he does see the heart of the monster. The buck knocks him backward, but he quickly recovers to his feet, becoming covered in the gross digested pieces inside of the pumpkin. Before the next buck, he rears back with his right arm, and takes a powerful swing with his branch at the heart. It's followed by a thrust of the knife, and pull to the side to tear it open. "Kisha!" he calls out during the attack. "Are you undah dis mess?"
Cursing in random languages, David continues to swing the axe towards the thing, "Ok, Prophet's inside! So let's help him get out." He rushes the pumpkin beast swing the axe into it, "Too bad, it's not Thanksgiving! I'd love me some pie about now!" He attempts to take a chunk out of it with the axe.
Continuing to buck and thrash, its vines nearly trampling Robyn and David in the process, the giant pumpkin eventually starts to weaken as thick pie-filling like blood flows from its collapsed heart. David gets several good swings in, helping to further damage the dying monster. There's a few final horrible cries as the thing collapses onto the ground near the pair, It's mouth slack and allowing it's previous meals, pie-blood, and Hosea to flow onto the moors. After a moment the candle light fades.
Getting knocked over a gain by the vines as the Giant Pumpkin trashes about about, Robyn is left tangled in the mess as the pumpkin falls over. The smell of the pumpkin innards isn't something that he thinks is very pleasing and he struggles to get up and rush over to the previous meals it spit out over the moors. Getting himself covered in pumpkin pie-blood he digs around for Kisha. "Kisha? Kisha!" He keeps yelling as he sifts through the slop.
As Hosea starts to spill out, he fails to take pleasure in his victory. Instead, he folds his knife and begins to frantically search through the mess that flows out. "Kisha!" he calls out in his deep voice. "Make a sound, let us know where you ah!" His branch is tossed out to the side, and he begins pulling his way through the dead carcasses and wooden pieces within. He's now most decidedly drenched in the horrible mess. "I don't see her, where did she go?"
The trenchcoat, David had been wearing is all but rended apart from the vines trampling him, but he continues to swing as best as he can with the axe. He continues to chop away as it dies as he is covered in pumpkin-pie blood. After a moment of losing it, he drops the axe and exhales a bit, tasting a bit of the pumpkin, and then he turns to see if the students are ok. He sighs as the guys search for Kisha,"Good job, Hosea." He then says, "Kisha, are you alright?" He blinks as he was planning on that coming out in Russian. He turns, "She's not here?" He begins to look around more alert now, "I don't feel her."
The dead creature begins to rot within minutes of death; It's orange flesh turning black, and then transparent as the left behind goo seems to evaporate. After a moment, the only thing left on the moors is David, Robyn, Hosea, and a few half-digested, rooting animals. Kisha? Gone.
The goo is gone from the ground and Robyn's clothes as he looks around. "No..nononono…" He says as if it wasn't possible. He sits down on the ground and takes a few deep breaths. "The pumpkins are evil." He says as if making a connection with something. "Don't touch any pumpkins from here going forward." He says as he finally takes the time to look at the bleeding gash on his leg.
Hosea ignores David's claim, and continues to sift until he's overturned every piece of digested goop. He flops down, exhausted at the end of his search. "No. She went into da pumpkin's mouth. She has to be heah somewhere!"He starts to climb back into the pumpkin, which evaporates as he enters. He's left standing in the cool air of the moors, dripping with the mess. He takes a few nervous breaths, and then drops to one knee where he stands. He doesn't even leave the mess. He begins to pray, his voice low enough that the exact words cannot be made out.
Feeling almost as insane as these students, David takes a moment and composes himself as much as one covered in pumpkin pie blood can be. "She's gone, Hosea. I would have been able to sense her. What needs to be done is take care of what we can. Robyn is hurt. Either teleport him back to the farm and cover his bandages or port to the farm and bring the bandages here." He moves to Robyn to look at the gash, "Take a moment…and then answer me…how much pain are you in?"
Robyn looks down at the cut and and takes off his jacket, then shirt, and then starts to wrap his shirt around his leg, pulling his pant leg up, using some of the first aid he learned at Xavier's. "It burns a bit and maybe hurts five..six out of ten?" Compared to his last injury this isn't much. "I can walk and once it stops bleeding it'll probably be okay I just don't know if this is gonna need to be stitched up or not." Which it probably isn't but then he's not a doctor.
Hosea doesn't answer David, he continues to pray for some time moor. He drops to both knees, his hands raising in the air. Apparently he thinks that Robyn can wait a moment. After he has prayed for a few minutes, he opens his eyes again. "I will get da bandages and bring dem heah," he says, much more composed himself. "I have faith dat God can still act. Though we do not know how it is possible, da Lord does. If it is his will, she will return to us."
He vanishes, and soon after, he returns. His hands are wiped clean, though the rest of him is still a mess. He carries the bandages and places them next to David. "I will go draw a bath for him. I do not feel comfortable teleporting people," he explains. "If you bring him back, I will make certain everything is ready back at da farm."
David attempts to hold Robyn up. When Hosea vanishes, he whispers, "God, huh. We wouldn't be here if God…" Hosea returns. "Thanks, Hosea." He looks to Robyn, "Well, even if you can walk. I'll carry you as far as I can to the farmhouse." He notes the tattoo and just shakes his head, "You might want to get that removed when we return home." He points to the tattoo, "And once at the farm, Hosea will give you a bath and take care of you."
"Huh?" Robyn asks looking at the Jack Skellington tattoo on his back and then shaking head. "Sorry, even after that, Jack stays there." He leans on David so that he can walk him back and then find some new fashionable early 1900's clothing. "If I walk slow I'm okay, is there somewhere in town we can stop at and get it cleaned out. The farmhouse isn't that close." After all it's a few miles from the center of town and there is a well in town."
"Actually there is." David remembers, "Kenta cleaned out the tavern. We can use the alcohol to clean it out the gash and then bandage there. I know basic first aid to cover you until you get to the farm house." He thinks to himself how he may have a drink to deal with losing Kisha on his watch and ponders how Emma and Scott will react. "Once there we can rest a bit."
"Okay good, I'd rather get this patched up then head back there." Robyn admits also he just doesn't want to go back to that house right now either. "Do you think…she's gone, dead or sorry, I just don't know what to think of it. She was on Alpha Squadron with me." Robyn says hobbling along. "If you die here do you just disappear?"
Carrying Robyn on one side, David frowns at the suggestion that Kisha is dead, but answers in a similar fashion to how he spoke with Cloud the previous night, "It's possible that she is dead. But ultimately, right now, she is just missing. Until we see some evidence to the contrary, we work as if she is alive." He pauses and the smiles slightly, "It's like I was telling Cloud last night, I believe there is a little phoenix in all of us. So even if we die here, I hope and feel that we will make it back home. Though it's just a feeling."
Missing, Robyn can focus on that so that doesn't have to worry about her being dead right now. "Yeah well, I think I used mine up when I got hit by that car a while back." He says giving a slight smile. "Yeah, I just don't wanna lose anyone else now, and do you think all staying in one place like that is a good idea. We're just one giant target."
Listening to Robyn as he leads him along the path to the Slaughtered Lamb, "I think it is best for now. Notice we haven't been attacked when we are in one large group. It was when we were split. With the staff and the students together now, I think we stand the best chance for protection and survival." He grins, "And the staff has been talking and planning things too. We're not sitting idly by and watching things happen….though with Kisha now…." He sighs.
"This is the first attack I've heard about so I can't really notice much." In regards to groups and such fourth. Robyn did notice something but he's trying to think about it before speaking up. "At least the pain in my leg is starting to die down a bit." He says hopefully as it still hurts and throbs but it's dulling and he's getting used to it. "So far all we know is that we're not in Kansas and that the pumpkins are evil."
David nods, "Well I've been doing some exploring and seen somethings that ….well…Cyclops' putting together a group to do some more investigating and if there is a need to split up the groups, we still have the tavern, train station, and blacksmith shop that have members of our group stationed at. So, despite evil pumpkins, we will get out of this and we will get Kisha and anyone else back who may go missing." He speaks in a hopeful positive almost confident tone.
Robyn hobbles along as the Slaughtered Lamb is now coming in sight. "I've been up to the Aslyum but haven't gotten much of a chance to wander around." Since that's where he woke up here. "Though I'm serious, you should tell people to not touch pumpkins. It makes me wonder what else here might be dangerous that's seemingly mundane where we live. Like..I don't know, ears of corn or something."
David nods, "Well, Robyn, I'll be sure to tell people that. You just worry about recuperating. I'll fix up your wound at the tavern and then Hosea will bathe you and take care of you at the farmhouse." He then stops for a second, "Wait…you've been to the Asylum. Students aren't supposed to go there." He exhales almost disappointedly and yet had he been a student he would have gone there too, "What did you see? Who was with you?"
"I woke up there." Robyn says as he leaves it at that. "On the first day and then came down here to see the smoke from the farm house. "I saw the Asylum, it's kinda like Xavier's but smaller but still a huge house. I wasn't up there long but I think someone should check it out. There might be stuff we need up there, like..answers."
David listens carefully and then offers, "But do you remember seeing anything specific?" David appears to be fishing for information and hopes that Robyn hadn't seen the graves.
"That's where I found the first pumpkin." Robyn says as he walks slowly even though he's able to put a bit more weight on his leg. "James told me the pumpkin was evil so I put it down, I was really confused at the time but now it makes sense. That's why the pumpkin attacked, cause we touched the other pumpkins." Or cause he touched the pumpkin. "I just remember seeing that there was a graveyard and the woods seemed…to quiet."
David sighs a bit of relief that Robyn hadn't ventured into the graveyard, "Well Cyclops is getting a group together to investigate the asylum. I already checked it out on my own…well parts of it, but he is lead a larger group to pick up on things better." He hmmmmns, "So you saw James there. I haven't seen him here yet. Admittedly, James is one of the students, I haven't met yet. He's a lycanthorp, right? Who else was with you?"
Robyn nods. "He's staying up there with Jinx. Connor tried to get them to come to the farmhouse but James is a loner. He does better on his own." At least that's what Robyn thinks. "No, not lycanthrop. Lycanthrop indicates were- like werewolf, he doesn't shift." Not normally but it's weird that he does here. "Connor followed me but when I woke up there, I was alone. I honestly don't get why people are so afraid of that place. It's not scarier than the moors or anywhere else here."
David looks out and can see The Slaughtered Lamb, "We are almost there, unfortunately no one is picking me up telepathically. Ms. Frost must be asleep….wait you said Connor and Jinx were there too. I wonder if we should go up there tonight. I may go up on my own once I get you back to the farmhouse….and scary is determined by the beholder. There are some things up there I would prefer you don't see and I think Ms. Frost of the same mindset."
"Just Jinx, Connor is at the farmhouse. I went wandering up there and Connor followed me like I was some lost sheep or something." Robyn says making a bit of a face. "Even though we're just kids and you're worried about us and don't want us ending up like Kisha, we're gonna go stir crazy in that farm house. Things will explode with all of us shoved in that tiny house." Robyn just doesn't really want to go back there.
David hmmmns, "Well, I can understand that too, but look what wandering got us. Kisha is gone and you're hurt." Upon reaching the steps of the lamb, David slips Robyn onto a stair step and runs and back out with a bottle of beer and some of the bandages that Hosea had ported over. Cracking open the bottle of beer, David lifts it up, "Cheers….and this might burn a bit." He unwraps Robyn's shirt and hands it back to him and pours the alcohol to clean out the gash. "Think good thoughts…tell me your favorite story from the Institute."
Robyn takes his bloodied shirt and is about to protest in regards to his wandering when David tries to distract him and the alcohol is poured on his wound. There's a hiss from Robyn as he tries to answer. "Favorite story? I don't know, all I can think of are horror stories. But friends..that's what's been good." Robyn says griping his tshirt hard as he tries to fight the pain. The cut is deep and long, but doesn't need stitches. There's dried blood all down his leg but at least the gash is already starting to clot a bit. It's just gonna take a while to heal. "You sound like Peter Pan with your think happy thoughts."
David smirks, "Well, you have to be and should be in a place like this. I've heard some students call it hell. While it might not be, it's still pretty close. But one part of making it out of here alive is to have high hopes." He cleans off any access blood and starts to wrap the gash, "But enough of this, let's talk about home. Any secret crushes? Any girls out there for you?" He thinks back to when he was a student, "I actually met my first girlfriend at the school."
"This isn't hell. When Limbo was taking over, that was hell." Robyn says as he remembers certain students and teachers becoming demonish. Then David's words cause Robyn to laugh. "Okay, you are new here. There are no girls, and no secret crushes. I met my first boyfriend at Xavier's and we're still together even if he's left the school. So, there aren't really any girls out there for me."
David blinks and then takes a swig of the beer, "Um…sorry. I'm so used to being connected with the cybershades. It's hard keeping track of all of you…you meaning students, not homosexuals." He finishes wrapping up the gash and then wipes any excess dirt or blood. "There weren't alot of gay students when I was at the school. Actually only one, Anole, I wonder how he is." He shrugs, "Well, tell me about this wonderful boyfriend of yours and I'll tell you about my girlfriend."
Robyn raises his eyebrows at David and shakes his head. "Yeah I really bet my profile says 'Gay Vampire' in it. Even with your cybershades it probably won't say that. And I know what you meant, you don't have to be overly cautious about what you say." He just doesn't want David to feel like he's walking on eggshells over the subject. "Wonderful boyfriend…well his name is Jordan and he left Xavier's cause he hated it there. So…we don't see eachother much anymore and I dunno, we've been through a lot together since we started at Xavier's."
David grins, "You'd be surprised what the files say." He laughs wickedly in a joking manner, "Well that's nice about Jordan. So you're doing the whole long distance thing then. Nori and I are trying that too, but we are also open and realistic." He pauses to think what that means exactly. "Nori was my girlfriend that I met at the institute. She was on my squad when I was team leader." He hmphs and thinks about all the couples that have formed at Xavier's throughout the years.
Robyn nods and once his leg is bandaged tries to stand up and put some weight on it. He can but it's a bit sore. "Yeah, Jordan and I were both Alpha Squadron until he left. Anyway, I guess we can head back to the farm. I kinda need to find Ms. Frost before I start getting headaches again."
David nods and hoists Robyn up and takes him to the farmhouse, "Hosea will be there with his big bath ready to bathe and make you a new man."
