Afterthought (Silas, Tiffany, & Ionone)
Quote from Mae on April 30, 2020, 9:09 pmDouglas was silent a good moment, almost long enough for the slow creaking of the mine hoist to be heard echoing down the shaft...
"Well," he said at length. "This game doesn't seem likely to end ideally for either one of us, so I'll split it with you fifty-fifty. You take the little man, if he'll go with you, and I'll hold on to Tiffany. When you find Mercy, you bring her back to that garage you were at earlier today. If she's alive, you get Tiffany back, no harm done. But if you make a run for it neither one of us are at a loss. I'll give ya a week. By then I better have heard something from you or I move on with my business."
Douglas walked back to the little shelf in the wall and gave it a tap. The hoist engine at the upper level suddenly groaned and spurned to life! The elevator began rising back up the shaft.
"Oh, and one more thing." The hunter called up the shaft. "You'll know the fella who took Mercy by a good look at his fingers. There'll be one missing; the smallest one on the left hand."
*****
Meanwhile, down below...John had just turned begun musing at the depth of the shaft, pointing his flashlight into the clear waters below when he suddenly felt his hair stand on end. No sooner, he also found a knife at his throat. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his Adam's apple from being bitten in the process, and shined his light on the knife. Then, he slowly pointed the light to the hand that held the knife. He felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the hand covered in thick wiry fur and followed by large round claws. Beads of sweat appeared rather suddenly on his brow as he answered, "F-f-friends?"
Douglas was silent a good moment, almost long enough for the slow creaking of the mine hoist to be heard echoing down the shaft...
"Well," he said at length. "This game doesn't seem likely to end ideally for either one of us, so I'll split it with you fifty-fifty. You take the little man, if he'll go with you, and I'll hold on to Tiffany. When you find Mercy, you bring her back to that garage you were at earlier today. If she's alive, you get Tiffany back, no harm done. But if you make a run for it neither one of us are at a loss. I'll give ya a week. By then I better have heard something from you or I move on with my business."
Douglas walked back to the little shelf in the wall and gave it a tap. The hoist engine at the upper level suddenly groaned and spurned to life! The elevator began rising back up the shaft.
"Oh, and one more thing." The hunter called up the shaft. "You'll know the fella who took Mercy by a good look at his fingers. There'll be one missing; the smallest one on the left hand."
*****
Meanwhile, down below...
John had just turned begun musing at the depth of the shaft, pointing his flashlight into the clear waters below when he suddenly felt his hair stand on end. No sooner, he also found a knife at his throat. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his Adam's apple from being bitten in the process, and shined his light on the knife. Then, he slowly pointed the light to the hand that held the knife. He felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the hand covered in thick wiry fur and followed by large round claws. Beads of sweat appeared rather suddenly on his brow as he answered, "F-f-friends?"
Quote from Adriana on May 4, 2020, 7:37 pmSilas rested his forehead against the lift door. There was little he could say and less he could do to change Douglas’ mind, which seemed made up from the start of the game. Unless the ninja creeping around the halls came up with some kind of plan, Tiffany was trapped. His only bargaining chip was not one, but two (at least comparatively) innocent lives.
It made the informant physically ill to consider what lay in store for either party, no matter what path they take. He could try and barter with Diane for aid but, should they devise a plan and it fail, Tiffany could still be compromised as a result of that. Diane would probably instruct him to give the hunter what he wanted, and put the life of a pack member above the lives of the woman and her child.
For now all he could do is put faith in Ionone.
Silas rested his forehead against the lift door. There was little he could say and less he could do to change Douglas’ mind, which seemed made up from the start of the game. Unless the ninja creeping around the halls came up with some kind of plan, Tiffany was trapped. His only bargaining chip was not one, but two (at least comparatively) innocent lives.
It made the informant physically ill to consider what lay in store for either party, no matter what path they take. He could try and barter with Diane for aid but, should they devise a plan and it fail, Tiffany could still be compromised as a result of that. Diane would probably instruct him to give the hunter what he wanted, and put the life of a pack member above the lives of the woman and her child.
For now all he could do is put faith in Ionone.
Quote from Indy on May 5, 2020, 10:10 pmThe kitsune considered the man with a snaky inhale of her breath. The kunai blade withdrew a fraction so it hovered mere centimetres from his throat, not touching but the closeness of it enough to disturb the air around him. Should John get any bold ideas, he would have little doubt as far as the motion of the blade.
She let the silence stretch out like a lazy cat on a garden post, taking note of her surroundings from what meager light John's flashlight provided. Her eyes could see beyond what John's eyes only perceived as ink. In dark, dark places only the demons prevailed. That made figures such as John all the more tragic when circumstances led them to the inky shadows. She considered her options, the life of the young man tallied and weighed as easily as an isolated protein sample on her lab bench. She had a hypothesis, but the data wasn't yet in - like a good scientist she would wait until she made her conclusion.
"Tell me about the layout of this mine and how many others are here with you," her voice danced like a thousand snakes in the air, every note fluid and terrifying all the same.
A kitsune ordinarily let silence do her talking. But in this case, she thought John could use the extra assistance.
"Answer well, and this will all be a story to you someday".
The kitsune considered the man with a snaky inhale of her breath. The kunai blade withdrew a fraction so it hovered mere centimetres from his throat, not touching but the closeness of it enough to disturb the air around him. Should John get any bold ideas, he would have little doubt as far as the motion of the blade.
She let the silence stretch out like a lazy cat on a garden post, taking note of her surroundings from what meager light John's flashlight provided. Her eyes could see beyond what John's eyes only perceived as ink. In dark, dark places only the demons prevailed. That made figures such as John all the more tragic when circumstances led them to the inky shadows. She considered her options, the life of the young man tallied and weighed as easily as an isolated protein sample on her lab bench. She had a hypothesis, but the data wasn't yet in - like a good scientist she would wait until she made her conclusion.
"Tell me about the layout of this mine and how many others are here with you," her voice danced like a thousand snakes in the air, every note fluid and terrifying all the same.
A kitsune ordinarily let silence do her talking. But in this case, she thought John could use the extra assistance.
"Answer well, and this will all be a story to you someday".
Quote from Mae on May 9, 2020, 6:11 amThat was encouragement! John took the leeway like a donkey given an inch of rope. He swallowed hard, possibly to make his throat as thin as he could manage, and pivoted like a top. When he faced Ionone, he swallowed even harder, and had to keep from falling backwards onto her knife and very possibly down the shaft behind him!
"Yike!" He declared right into the werewolf's face, and his hands performed a minor flail.
"D-d--d-on't hurt me! I din't - I didn't - didn't I do anything!"
Thus, the water spout began spewing words. "There's a ladder right behind you - just look over there! See?! The tunnel's behind you and there ain't no one in the mine that shouldn't be - well all except you, and a insane fellow, and a werewolf or two like you - Are you thirsty? There's a canteen of water by the wall over there, and a book and a pencil - oh, and my lunch - don't eat my lunch. I haven't eaten anything all day --- actually. you should eat my lunch. Do you like sandwiches? Peanut butter? Bananas and cantaloupe? You can just turn around and take a look in there - help yourself! Just don't hurt me!"The man's voice squeaked and broke in several places throughout his tirade, ringing in tunnels and sensitive ears. He was shaking like a leaf, and looking like a scarecrow losing all its straw on the ground. From his soiled attire to his sweaty palms and forehead, John smelled like fear, and whether that smell was repugnant or enticing depended entirely in the perspective of man or beast.
*****
The elevator reached the top of the shaft with a loud grinding noise, and there came to rest...
That was encouragement! John took the leeway like a donkey given an inch of rope. He swallowed hard, possibly to make his throat as thin as he could manage, and pivoted like a top. When he faced Ionone, he swallowed even harder, and had to keep from falling backwards onto her knife and very possibly down the shaft behind him!
"Yike!" He declared right into the werewolf's face, and his hands performed a minor flail.
"D-d--d-on't hurt me! I din't - I didn't - didn't I do anything!"
Thus, the water spout began spewing words. "There's a ladder right behind you - just look over there! See?! The tunnel's behind you and there ain't no one in the mine that shouldn't be - well all except you, and a insane fellow, and a werewolf or two like you - Are you thirsty? There's a canteen of water by the wall over there, and a book and a pencil - oh, and my lunch - don't eat my lunch. I haven't eaten anything all day --- actually. you should eat my lunch. Do you like sandwiches? Peanut butter? Bananas and cantaloupe? You can just turn around and take a look in there - help yourself! Just don't hurt me!"
The man's voice squeaked and broke in several places throughout his tirade, ringing in tunnels and sensitive ears. He was shaking like a leaf, and looking like a scarecrow losing all its straw on the ground. From his soiled attire to his sweaty palms and forehead, John smelled like fear, and whether that smell was repugnant or enticing depended entirely in the perspective of man or beast.
*****
The elevator reached the top of the shaft with a loud grinding noise, and there came to rest...
Quote from Adriana on May 10, 2020, 7:20 pmSilas didn't wait to act. He could find the way out from here, with or without Arthurs help. Upon reaching the top of the elevator shaft, before leaving the lift, he turned abruptly and struck the man just once, with the side of his hand, hitting a nerve to render him unconscious. Then he caught the bony figure and picked him up. He couldn't risk anymore suddenly bolting, and the mam would undoubtedly be over stimulated as soon as they left the familiarity of the cave.
It wasn't long. There were enough lights now, and Silas had mapped a lot of the cave out by now... he'd find the entrance, then have to make the hike back to his vehicle.
When he got to the entrance, he found that the sun had come up. It was brisk now, with every intention of warming up. Silas squinted his bloodshot eyes against the brightness, re-positioned his load and began down the mountain.
Silas didn't wait to act. He could find the way out from here, with or without Arthurs help. Upon reaching the top of the elevator shaft, before leaving the lift, he turned abruptly and struck the man just once, with the side of his hand, hitting a nerve to render him unconscious. Then he caught the bony figure and picked him up. He couldn't risk anymore suddenly bolting, and the mam would undoubtedly be over stimulated as soon as they left the familiarity of the cave.
It wasn't long. There were enough lights now, and Silas had mapped a lot of the cave out by now... he'd find the entrance, then have to make the hike back to his vehicle.
When he got to the entrance, he found that the sun had come up. It was brisk now, with every intention of warming up. Silas squinted his bloodshot eyes against the brightness, re-positioned his load and began down the mountain.
Quote from Indy on May 10, 2020, 8:12 pmIonone watched the man move across the room, like a cat watching a mouse scurry helplessly around its paws. She found no immediate need to subdue him at present. Her nostrils flared at his many interesting scents, but she resisted the urge to lick her maw. A kitsune would never be taken by such crass, instinctual urges unless it served their purposes.
She took a step towards John, disregarding the lunch entirely. In a single step, her demeanor changed - although John may have noted a shift in the atmosphere, the techique of it were likely to elude him. Her height rose a few inches, the fur along the nape of her neck projected outwards, and her jaws parted enough so a hint of her silver teeth might be seen. The great tail swished besides her. By all accounts, she appeared like a beast of legend more than a thing met in the flesh. With her gaze alone she trapped John, for if he ran she would chase and have him in her clutches with moments.
"Give me the number... how many other hunters besides yourself are here?" her voice rose, "and where is the control room for the lift?"
She took a pause as her nostrils flared to the earthy, metal scents of the cave and the contrasting strangeness of the cantaloupe, peanut butter, and bananas, "Why are you in this place?"
Ionone watched the man move across the room, like a cat watching a mouse scurry helplessly around its paws. She found no immediate need to subdue him at present. Her nostrils flared at his many interesting scents, but she resisted the urge to lick her maw. A kitsune would never be taken by such crass, instinctual urges unless it served their purposes.
She took a step towards John, disregarding the lunch entirely. In a single step, her demeanor changed - although John may have noted a shift in the atmosphere, the techique of it were likely to elude him. Her height rose a few inches, the fur along the nape of her neck projected outwards, and her jaws parted enough so a hint of her silver teeth might be seen. The great tail swished besides her. By all accounts, she appeared like a beast of legend more than a thing met in the flesh. With her gaze alone she trapped John, for if he ran she would chase and have him in her clutches with moments.
"Give me the number... how many other hunters besides yourself are here?" her voice rose, "and where is the control room for the lift?"
She took a pause as her nostrils flared to the earthy, metal scents of the cave and the contrasting strangeness of the cantaloupe, peanut butter, and bananas, "Why are you in this place?"
Quote from Mae on May 12, 2020, 1:22 amThe more room Ionone gave the man, the more he exploited, until John managed to get around the werewolf and away from the fifty foot plummet into water. But when Ionone trapped him with her gaze, John could do nothing but stammer and shake. Every step he took seemed to put him further up against a wall - and it didn't really matter which one, as long as it was solid. As a crude piece of broken stone came under his heel, John tripped backward and landed on his bum.
"I don't know how many!" John cried then, pointing up at the ladder with a shaking finger. "This is my uncle George's mine - that's why I'm here. Oh, please, please don't hurt me! I've got seventy years left to live and a cute dog named Oodles at home."
In the pressure of the moment John couldn't think of any better reasons to ask the werewolf to let him live. So, he curled into a ball and added for good measure, "You don't want to do it, do you? - You don't want to leave man's best friend all alone, on the couch, waiting to watch the game and enjoy his night-y night treat. Do you?"
The more room Ionone gave the man, the more he exploited, until John managed to get around the werewolf and away from the fifty foot plummet into water. But when Ionone trapped him with her gaze, John could do nothing but stammer and shake. Every step he took seemed to put him further up against a wall - and it didn't really matter which one, as long as it was solid. As a crude piece of broken stone came under his heel, John tripped backward and landed on his bum.
"I don't know how many!" John cried then, pointing up at the ladder with a shaking finger. "This is my uncle George's mine - that's why I'm here. Oh, please, please don't hurt me! I've got seventy years left to live and a cute dog named Oodles at home."
In the pressure of the moment John couldn't think of any better reasons to ask the werewolf to let him live. So, he curled into a ball and added for good measure, "You don't want to do it, do you? - You don't want to leave man's best friend all alone, on the couch, waiting to watch the game and enjoy his night-y night treat. Do you?"
Quote from Indy on May 12, 2020, 10:06 pmIonone watched the boy with a squint of her eyes. From violet to purple they seemed to shift, and in that single breadth the fate of young John's life was decided. She had only one mercy left that evening, one that could not be so idly wasted. The hand of fate channeled into its tool, she made swift work of the kunai blade on John's behalf...
Ionone watched the boy with a squint of her eyes. From violet to purple they seemed to shift, and in that single breadth the fate of young John's life was decided. She had only one mercy left that evening, one that could not be so idly wasted. The hand of fate channeled into its tool, she made swift work of the kunai blade on John's behalf...
Quote from Indy on May 12, 2020, 10:08 pmHow the little man sank blissfully into Silas’ grip as he was immobilized, the first sign of peace upon his skeletal expression in months. For what Silas had freed him from would go unsaid, the dark thoughts of creature and man battling their perpetual cycle.
He’d heard Douglas’ voice from the other side of the wall. And like an omniscient moth that both knew what lay after the flame but could not deny its own urges, he felt himself drawn to the voice though he knew only pain and revulsion lay on the other side. He trembled against the lift door that wouldn’t open, his ear pressed against the surface so as to better hear the horrid allure. How small a gap there was between him and his captor, his master...
There was always worst, the man had once said, but the man had crumbled when he learned there wasn’t. It was only the creature that could nourish upon such things, but the creature had left him with the soft sigh of the mountain’s voice - when he had denied simple survival, in the hopes of saving a young woman. And the man had crumbled again when he’d heard his captor's voice, and thought to betray the kindness given to him if only to be dealt less pain by the hunter’s hand.
It was the thoughts of a broken, conflicted thing that lay in that mineshaft, wishing only one thing: Just let it end.
How dangerously his fingers had considered the thing Silas had passed to him, the nervous skeletal fingers twitching to make his heart’s desire come through. It was a selfish thing, to doom them all to the cave - or was it a gift to all, to find peace at last within the mountain’s bones? Still, his heart trembled to think of the pretty woman’s dark eyes and her wild curls lost forever, or even the tired man’s unyielding hope to be forever buried within darkness.
Wrought with indecision, he would never know what he’d chose. For at that moment came blissful darkness as Silas struck. The detonator slipped from his fingertips and clattered soundlessly onto the soft earth just at the threshold of the lift as they passed, no more than an afterthought.
How the little man sank blissfully into Silas’ grip as he was immobilized, the first sign of peace upon his skeletal expression in months. For what Silas had freed him from would go unsaid, the dark thoughts of creature and man battling their perpetual cycle.
He’d heard Douglas’ voice from the other side of the wall. And like an omniscient moth that both knew what lay after the flame but could not deny its own urges, he felt himself drawn to the voice though he knew only pain and revulsion lay on the other side. He trembled against the lift door that wouldn’t open, his ear pressed against the surface so as to better hear the horrid allure. How small a gap there was between him and his captor, his master...
There was always worst, the man had once said, but the man had crumbled when he learned there wasn’t. It was only the creature that could nourish upon such things, but the creature had left him with the soft sigh of the mountain’s voice - when he had denied simple survival, in the hopes of saving a young woman. And the man had crumbled again when he’d heard his captor's voice, and thought to betray the kindness given to him if only to be dealt less pain by the hunter’s hand.
It was the thoughts of a broken, conflicted thing that lay in that mineshaft, wishing only one thing: Just let it end.
How dangerously his fingers had considered the thing Silas had passed to him, the nervous skeletal fingers twitching to make his heart’s desire come through. It was a selfish thing, to doom them all to the cave - or was it a gift to all, to find peace at last within the mountain’s bones? Still, his heart trembled to think of the pretty woman’s dark eyes and her wild curls lost forever, or even the tired man’s unyielding hope to be forever buried within darkness.
Wrought with indecision, he would never know what he’d chose. For at that moment came blissful darkness as Silas struck. The detonator slipped from his fingertips and clattered soundlessly onto the soft earth just at the threshold of the lift as they passed, no more than an afterthought.
Quote from Adriana on May 13, 2020, 12:06 pmConcluding Post
For now, the informant would not look back. He'd return home with the captive man-freer now than in his previous days and yet perhaps forever cursed to be a prisoner in his mind from the abuses endured within the caves.
Tiffany's fate rested delicately suspended between Ionone's abilities and Silas' decisions, which would weigh on him over the following days.
To be continued...
Follow Silas' side of the story in "Lily of the Valley"
Tiffany & Ionone in "Dividing Lines"
Or, the 'Willow-man' in "Ode to a Willow"
Concluding Post
For now, the informant would not look back. He'd return home with the captive man-freer now than in his previous days and yet perhaps forever cursed to be a prisoner in his mind from the abuses endured within the caves.
Tiffany's fate rested delicately suspended between Ionone's abilities and Silas' decisions, which would weigh on him over the following days.
To be continued...
Follow Silas' side of the story in "Lily of the Valley"
Tiffany & Ionone in "Dividing Lines"
Or, the 'Willow-man' in "Ode to a Willow"
