#stranded event 2

[leon-cresswell]

Date: December 10th, 2020 Time: Dusk Location: The jungle

open starter: (3/3)

Something in the atmosphere began to shift. He couldn’t quite tell what it was but the wariness from the others became almost palpable with every step they took. Even Seamus, for all his fiery bravado, seemed hesitant. Leon glanced at those around him every now and then, seeing their discomfort, seeing unexpected fear. It didn’t take long for Matthew’s organized excursion to succumb to terror, and in paying close attention to some of their panicked shouts, he could read the answer on the lips. Ghosts.

In his silent world, Leon was immune to the eerie whispers of the phantom voices terrorizing the others. His worries didn’t lie with that choir of the undead that he others head, they lied in the fact that the group had scattered in the jungle. The light had already begun to dim and it was more than likely they could come face to face with the natural dangers of the wilderness if they were swallowed by night while still in the middle of the jungle.

When Leon ran into a one of his fellow islanders he approached slowly and rose both hands, a sign of peace and surrender, hoping to ease some of the worry written over their face after the unsettling experience of those ghostly voices.

[lucas-lowe]

DATE: December 10th, 2020 TIME: Unknown LOCATION: somewhere in the Jungle

Luke makes his way through the dark under the thick canopy. His ears are ringing like he was hit over the head with a bat, and he can only hear his own raspy breath. He doesn’t recall being separated from the search party. One moment, he was fighting off the shadows clinging to him, and then when he looked around, he was alone. 

He stops by a tree and crouches down to recuperate. His mind is still struggling to process what just happened. Hallucination? Some kind of a trick? But the shadows looked and sounded real-- ‘I don’t wanna die,’ it said as it sank its claws onto his arm marking him with jagged red lines. He stares at the scratch for a moment before realizing that his old wound has also opened up and started bleeding again.

But something inside him is disjointed, like one of the cogwheels is dislodged and spinning aimlessly, and his thoughts are fragmented. The sharp pain doesn’t bother him, not in the way it should. The ringing in his ears has passed at least, and all the sounds and noises return. Just in time for him to hear a branch breaking close by. He draws his axe, ready to defend himself, and shoots back up to his feet. His alertness is wasted on Mallory Castle, however. “Oh. Hey.” He lets out a stupid, almost disappointed sound. He lowers his axe, but keeps a safe distance. He stares at her quietly, too long even for him and his antics of scanning people up and down, before finally it occurs to him, “where’s Blondie? Thought he was with you.” 

@mallorycastle​ / @finnkepner​

[phoebedarlings]

Is there anyone's ghost you'd be *pleased* to see?

Baby blues go wide with wonder. Shock. A revelation. A trauma. Petal pink lips part softly. ❛ Is that - possible? ❜ Her heart thumps into her throat, soft, and raw, and she tries to swallow it, but it goes down the wrong way. An avalanch of grief and hope tumble through her nerves, causing a new bout of anxiety that comes out os a nervous laugh,  ❛ Have people been seeing someone they know? ❜ 

When it comes down to it, Phoebe doesn't know her own mother. She can't remember what her middle name is. She doesn't know what her favourite holiday was. She doesn't know her mother's favourite colour. ❛ I think I’d really like to see my mom. ❜  Phoebe says with a nod, - as if it would come true, just like that ... but it is too good to be true. Phoebe knows that, and that's why this makes her sad. Eyes are now rimmed with agony and redness.

❛ I’d wanna ask her --- ask her how she makes her famous tomato soup, so that I can share it ... I just can’t seem to get it right, ❜ 

[rosehauptman]

Time: December 10, morning. Location: Unintentionally off the beaten path. Status: Closed with @frank-hauptman​

“Wait.” They’ve been talking, holding up the back end of this group expedition. Maybe not being the best searchers – after all, their chatter about memories of past Hanukkahs at the Wasser household doesn’t exactly lend itself to that – but still, they’re here, aren’t they? Despite the fact that a little girl is waiting for them back on the beach, despite Rose’s lack of desire to leave her, they’re here. They’re trying to help. They’re...

Where are they, exactly?

Rose halts suddenly, looking down at their path and then forward. What should be open space is not. Instead, they’re met by a wall of greenery, and the rustling she hears off to the left offers little in the way of reassurance. “How did we wander like this?” She asks Frank, but it’s mainly rhetorical – after all, how would he know? It’s almost as if the jungle has closed in around them, severing their path to the group.

Almost. After all, that’s impossible.

“Do you hear anyone?” Rose drops her voice as she asks Frank another question, listening all the while. But there is something – whispers that aren’t hers. Immediately, Rose heads in that direction, but the greenery is too thick to push her way through. She tries with her voice instead: “Hello? Matthew? Esther?”

[lucas-lowe]

DATE: December 10th, 2020 TIME: Unknown LOCATION: somewhere in the Jungle

Luke clicks his tongue as his heightened hearing picks up another series of dissonant whispers. He stops on his track and slips into shadow under a tree. He peeks out from his cover to notice another mob of shadows. These assholes don’t give up, do they? He can’t find his way out with the ghosts haunting every corner of this darkened path. 

Controlling his breath to remain as silent as possible, he observes the shadows moving about moaning and whimpering. He wonders if they perceive their surroundings through sounds or visuals, if there is a pattern to their behaviors, or if there is a way to destroy them. He doesn’t know what they are, but figuring that out is not his priority-- he just needs to find Finn and Mallory, and get the hell out. These shadows, whatever they are, are nothing but obstacles.

Just when he is ready to move, his ear catches the sound of a rustle and Luke raises his axe to defend himself. Instead of the obscure image of the ghost, he sees a man. He waves his arm to gesture the man to get down, and then points toward the flock of ghosts... or at least where they were a moment ago. “Shit.” He gets up from his hiding spot and scans the area. “That’s probably not a good sign.” He mutters before turning to the other. “You look alive enough, at least.” He studies the guy up and down, before gesturing to follow him. It’s probably not a good idea to linger here.

@leon-cresswell​