Time:8:25 p.m.
It was not Patrick that Nodin found immediately upon entering the house but a tall, dark skinned, big guy with curly black hair. He had a red party cup in his hand and was standing next to the counter connected to the kitchen sink.
"Oh, hey man." he started off casually. "Haven't seen you here before. What's your name?"
Patrick didn't seem to mind when the two told him about their plan of leaving the party to go see if there was anything interesting happening on Buhne.
"Sure, I don't mind. Though if you want cake try to be back by 10:45. I'll probably be making my wish by then."
The front door opened to permit them outside, which was now completely dark. Rain and wind beckoned them and the only notable sources of light were from the steeet lights and small specks of light from other houses. As Leo and Thomas stepped outside and started to leave the house, they heard Patrick call out to them. "Wait, before you go, you should probably take this with you. In his hand he held a large red and white striped umbrella."Just so you know, I do want this back at some point."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thomas made note to accidentally "Lose" Patrick's umbrella.
Leo says Thanks man! before heading out. He moves at a brisk walk down the street, keeping an eye out as he doesn't know Eureka all that well.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thomas remembers Leo is not local and leads the way to Buhne.
Location: 232 Huntoon Street
"No worries man, smoke doesn't really bother me too much. Name's Lexus." he said with a nod of respect. "And you can find some of this magical liquor on the counter right behind me." He turns to grab Nodin a cup. "What'll you have?"
Location: Buhne Street
The walk was short. Just a block really, but the wind and the rain seemed to make it longer than it should have been. The two of them got to the street and looked up to where the emergency vehicles had gone. One block to their left there was an upward sloping hill that blocked their line of sight. To their right they could see street lights every few blocks that cut through the darkness for quite a distance. Straight ahead there was another alleyway that cut through to another street. A church with its doors closed sat across the street. Currently there was no sign of any cars on the road or anything wrong at all.
Deciding that they hadn't traveled far enough to be worth going back, the two braved the storm a little longer and went to the left. Heading up the slope they came to where the street leveled out again. They were now at the corner of Buhne and E street.
From there they caught sight of flashing emergency vehicles. 6 blocks ahead of them they noted the flash of blue and red lights. Thomas recognized the area as Carson Park. But between the distance, the rainy weather, and nightfall, they couldn't make out any more of what was going on than that.
At that moment, Thomas's cell phone started to ring.
Thomas answered, "Hello?"
|
Nodin grinned You wouldn't happen to have some Bacardi 151, or Crown Royal, would you? Mixed drinks wise I always love an Irish Car Bomb or the classic Rum and Coke but, you know- hahaha, liquor is almost always liquor, right?
As Lexus passed Nodin the cup he grinned and nodded in approval So, how do you know Patrick, Lexus? Bad ass name, by the way- that's right up there with Axel! And of course, what do you do, what are you studying?
A man with a shaved head and a goatee glances toward the company and he nods toward them and ambles over.
He’s wearing combat boots and faded jeans. Over his shoulders is which does a modest job covering a worn, brown T-Shirt with the words: “I Aim To Misbehave!” printed on it.
”Hey there,” he says to with a friendly voice.
”Name's John Marcheskey," he adds as he waves a hand casually in greeting.
As he glances around he takes a slow sip from his drink and watches them thoughtfully over the rim of the cup.
Putting the cup on an empty paper plate on the counter near them, he leans back on the counter, propping himself against it and cocks his head, his eyes moving from person to person.
"So; how do you all know Pat?" he asks them.
”Well, I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I didn’t come all the way out to California to sit around doing nothing.”
He glances at the window, his eyes searching through the dark night as if looking for something.
John then turns back to his host and looks at him for a moment.
”That said; you got anything fun planned for this party, or are we just going to just sit back and sip drinks all night?” he says with a small smile.
Not seeing anything interesting down towards the emergency lights, Leo says Nothing to see here I guess. Let's head back to the party.
Turning around Leo jogs back to the party and places the umbrella by the door as he goes in with Thomas chatting on his cell.
Looking around the room he moves over to Patrick and spots the newcomer there. Leo says to Patrick Couldn't get close enough to see much and the storms getting worse so we figured we'd come back.
Smiling at the bald guy he says Hey man, I'm Leo. Nice to meet you. Looks like you got here in the nick of time, it's really opening up out there.
Smiling at the bald guy he says Hey man, I'm Leo. Nice to meet you. Looks like you got here in the nick of time, it's really opening up out there.
John turns a glance from Pat and looks at the newcomer.
”Hey! Name’s John Marcheskey,” he says with a grin, reaching out a hand and shaking Leo’s warmly.
He glances around the room of guests for a moment and then turns back to Leo.
”So what brings you all the way out here?” he asks Leo, genuinely curious to know more about the people he’s with.
Leo looks around as well and says Just here for the party. Patrick invited me and I was going to be in California for a conference and it seemed a good opportunity to have a little fun.
Leo looks around as well and says Just here for the party. Patrick invited me and I was going to be in California for a conference and it seemed a good opportunity to have a little fun.
John grinned at the response.
”Yeah; I’m kind of here for a conference, too.”
”I’m doing some work up at the San Diego ComicCon; I do freelance writing for some video game magazines and they want me to cover some of the new projects that they’re previewing next event; looks like a lot of great stuff to see, if you’re in to the video game scene, that is. Anyhow, I got the invite to come out there and I figured I’d stop by and see Patrick as I don’t get out to the West Coast very often,” he adds, taking another sip from his drink.
”The conference is set from the 8th to the 10th, but that leaves me the next few days to just sort of kick back and relax.”
”I kind of figured on heading up to the National Redwood Forest tomorrow. You know they filmed Return of the Jedi there and the Planet of the Apes reboots?” he says with real enthusiasm.
He seems a bit embarrassed, but continues to chat.
”I dig camping, plus, I figure that getting out to see that place would be pretty cool.”
He glances around at the party and turns back to Leo.
”It’s only about two hours from here, but with all the rain I figure there probably won’t be many tourists around.”
”You got any interest in going? Like I said, I’m kind of new here and wouldn’t mind some company. Figure I’d hit it tomorrow after breakfast; that is, unless something else a little more interesting comes up, I guess,” he says with another glance around the room.
Location E street.
A nervous but familiar voice answers Thomas.
"Uh hello, Thomas? Hey its me, Jeremiah. Um hey so I know it's kind of late and everything but um, I'm stuck in Arcata right now. My ride didn't show up and things are kind of getting crazy around here tonight."
Other voices cut in from the background. Someone is half talking half shouting from a distance.
"Did you hear the cops are out in force tonight they're trying to round up a bunch of people or something..."
"I'm at the plaza, near the Mckenly statue. Can you please find a ride to come pick me up? Tell them I've got money for gas if that will help."
Location: 232 Huntoon Street.
"Whoo yeah! Who's up for some beer pong or Rage cage?!" called Michael. "Come on folks, hands up who's in?" A fair number of people raised their hands in response. "Alright that's enough people, Rage Cage in five. Lexus grab the beers, Claire grab the cups. I'll start setting up the table."
"Alright, I got the keys to the garage. Let's get that going." Patrick said, heading towards the back door.
"I think I'm just going to sit this one out and play some more Halo. Or we could play Star wars battlefront!" Danny cut in.
"Hey what about Mario Kart?!" Said a short blonde haired girl.
"Ooh yeah that sounds like fun, I'm in." responded a curly black haired girl with glasses.
"Sure we can do that too. I'll start getting it set up."
"Uh, I think I'll just play some magic. Anyone else?" A tall muscular man with a shaved head asked.
"Yeah, I'll play a round or two with you." a shorter figure said.
The party was breaking down into several sets of activities, though a small group hadn't decided and seemed to still congregate around the dining table covered with food.
Thomas hung up the phone, after assuring his friend he would soon be there. He then walked over to Patrick to let him know what was going on. Thomas then went out to his Toyota Altima and headed for Arcata.
As John waits for Leo to answer he glances at the ladies in the corner sitting next to a guy named Danny.
"I think I'm just going to sit this one out and play some more Halo. Or we could play Star wars battlefront!" Danny cut in.
"Hey what about Mario Kart?!" Said a short blonde haired girl.
"Ooh yeah that sounds like fun, I'm in." responded a curly black haired girl with glasses.
"Sure we can do that too. I'll start getting it set up."
John perks up at the conversation and he turns back to Leo.
”Dude, rumor has it that there’s already an expansion patch for Battlefront in the works that’s going to be released on the 4th of May… You know – “May the Fourth be with you!”,” he says with a small smile and roll of his eyes.
”Supposedly it will let you run missions from “The Force Awakens”; you know, you'll get to play on some of the new worlds from the new movie and it allows you new “hero/villain” upgrades like playing Kylo Ren or that New Resistance pilot Po,” he says.
”But it’s not going to be cheap; the add-on is supposed to cost about fifty to sixty dollars for what looks like only a few new options and some slightly different worlds. But hell, that’s EU and Disney for you, right?” he says with a grin.
He moves over to a corner and brings out a beat-up red backpack which he drops in front of Leo who seems content to simply listen.
Opening it up he pushes aside some toiletries and a change of clothes he brought to Patrick’s party for when he sleeps over. Then he pulls out a very expensive digital camera and some folders that have pictures of speakers and design staff who will be speaking at the event.
”Anyhow, I’m pretty eager to see check out the event,” he says with a friendly voice.
Leo smiles and says Yeah maybe. I'm not really big on camping in the rain however. I like my creature comforts. He chuckles a bit before seeing Thomas and Patrick heading toward the garage. Hey Thomas, Patrick, you guys heading out? Mind if we tag along?
Patrick and a guy who was apparently wearing exactly what Thomas had been turn back.
"What? Oh Thomas left already. Had to go get a friend from Arcata or something. Any other night I'd have gone with him but I'm hosting a party. You might be able to catch him if you go now."
Location: 232 Huntoon street
Patrick and a guy who was apparently wearing exactly what Thomas had been turn back.
"What? Oh Thomas left already. Had to go get a friend from Arcata or something. Any other night I'd have gone with him but I'm hosting a party. You might be able to catch him if you go now."
|
|
Nodin, seeing the short blonde haired girl, said a polite remark to Lexus before making his way to start playing Mario Kart.
Well, this should be fun to do while intoxicated, eh? Ha ha!
Nodin chose Bowser per the usual and raced to his hearts content, sometimes even driving backwards after keeping first just to screw around with everyone else and have a good time.
So, Patrick, How would you say your party is going??? He called out as he got blue shelled into oblivion by the blonde, causing him to laugh hysterically at his own demise.
"What? Oh Thomas left already. Had to go get a friend from Arcata or something. Any other night I'd have gone with him but I'm hosting a party. You might be able to catch him if you go now."
John glances at Patrick and then the corner where the video games are being played; then he glances to the people having drinks and snacks.
He turns back to Patrick.
”I’ve never really been to California before; I do most of my work out on the east coast in DC and New York.”
”I’m a big fan of the Film Noir genre and I really enjoy a lot of that kind of stuff, you know; action, excitement, wild tales… Just curious, but is any of that stuff legit, or is all that just the kind of thing you’d see in the movies?”
He takes a long sip from the drink.
”I mean; I'm enjoying the party and I like to hang as much as everyone else, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I didn’t come all the way out to the west coast just to play games and have drinks, you know?” he says with a small smile.
Patrick looks at John with new sense of curiosity. Then glances back to the rest of the group heading off toward the garage. "Hey guys, get started without me for a little bit." he turns his attention back.
"Hmm, Film Noir huh? As it happens I'm a bit of a Noir connoisseur myself. Tell you what, hang out enjoy the party for now, and I'll show you my collection later. Then tomorrow, if you've got time, I'll see about introducing you to some of my film buff friends. Also, if you have any good ideas to add to make this party more lively, I'm all ears."
At Nodin's question, he tilted his head side to side "As for party right now, it's not too bad. Better than a few I can think of off the bat anyway."
Thomas had driven through the strangely busy streets of Eureka. A lot of people were on the road right now, and he had spotted three more police vehicles responding to some sort of disturbance at Saint Bernard's church along I street.
As he waited for the light to turn green, he thought he saw something off to the right.
"Hmm, Film Noir huh? As it happens I'm a bit of a Noir connoisseur myself. Tell you what, hang out enjoy the party for now, and I'll show you my collection later. Then tomorrow, if you've got time, I'll see about introducing you to some of my film buff friends. Also, if you have any good ideas to add to make this party more lively, I'm all ears."
John nods.
”I’m eager to see what you got but tomorrow I'm heading out the National Redwood Park. I checked it out and it's only about two hours from here. I figure if I leave around nine then I can get there by lunch and then be back here by eight... If you're okay with that maybe we could watch some of them after dinner?" he asks with a friendly smile.
”As for how to make the party more lively? Well, I’m not sure…”
He looks back at Patrick.
”I mean; it’s your party and I don’t really want to say what to do, but as you’re the host I wouldn’t mind getting to know everyone,” he says glancing around.
He sips his drink for a moment and glances around the room.
”Now, if I’m not mistaken, the large guy over there with the girls is named McKinney,” he says pointing to Nodin.
”The dark-haired guy, the one who looks kind of like he’s got some Italian in him? I think he said his name’s Leo… it sounded like he wanted to go hang out with that guy named… Thomas? I think it was Thomas… anyhow, Leo was interested in heading out with Thomas to pick up his friend Jeremiah at Arcata, I’m guessing at the airport, though I’m not sure… Anyhow, Thomas left so fast that Leo wasn't able to tag along,” he adds thoughtfully.
He then looks back to the gang by the video games.
”I don’t know the girls, though I wouldn’t mind getting the chance to talk to them… I think I heard someone say that the blonde one is named Laura and the dark-haired one is... Alyssa? They seem a little shy so I guess I can wait a bit. Besides,” he says glancing back at Patrick ”I don’t want to interrupt their game until they had a chance to tap out.”
He finishes the drink and places the empty glass on an empty paper plate sitting on the counter.
”Was there anyone else who's coming out tonight, I mean, other than that guy Jeremiah? If there is, I’d love to meet them. Like I said, I don't really know anyone out here... except you, of course,” he says with a small smile.
As he waits for an answer he heads over to the patio and glances out into the streets thoughtfully.
”New Year’s was a few days ago so I don’t get why there’s all the heat out there on a Wednesday evening,” he says as he peers into the rainy night.
”I mean, I’ve heard a couple of police cars go by in the past twenty minutes and I think a few ambulances, too… is that common for Eureka?” he says turning back to Patrick.
Thomas glances quickly to the side, Hmmmm... The he'll was that? When the light changed, Thomas took off. Slightly nervous. As Eureka seemed a little more chaotic than usual.
Time: Roughly 9:15 PM
Address:232 Huntoon Street; Eureka CA 95501
Location: At the house of Patrick.
The front of the house was fairly cleared out since a good number of people had moved to the garage.
"Huh? Umm, well a lot of police cars is rare, the last time I remember that happening it was when there was a bomb threat at the end of the alley. It was intense, there was like 7 or 8 police cars and some special tac unit called in. The whole thing happened at the end of the alley way. Pretty crazy right?"
He chuckles a bit, and then looks thoughtful.
"A lot of ambulances though, that... is something I'm not sure I can remember happening up here... ever. I wonder what's going on."
It was at that moment the lights dimmed for several seconds as the power fluctuated.
"What the... huh? Man it's like the start to a horror movie or something." Patrick said, chuckling again. "We've probably got too many lights on right now. I'm going to go turn off a few and grab some flashlights, just in case."
"What the... huh? Man it's like the start to a horror movie or something." Patrick said, chuckling again. "We've probably got too many lights on right now. I'm going to go turn off a few and grab some flashlights, just in case."
John looks over at Patrick.
'Hang on, I have a flashlight in my backpack," he says.
Flashlight
Box of Granola bars
Change of underwear/socks
Rain Poncho
Sketchbook
Digital Camera
Benadryl
Tylenol
Neosporin
Bandages
Pack of Batteries
32 Ounce Water Battle with Screw Cap
Swiss Army Knife
John moves to the gear he brought in for sleeping over and fishes out the flashlight.
As the lights flicker he glances around...
Time: Roughly 9:18 p.m.
Location: Traveling between Eureka-Arcata, Highway 101.
Thomas drove along the highway, there were a lot of cars as he drove along through traffic. The rain, darkness, and lights of cars behind him made it quite a bit harder to see anything around him but he took it nice and easy in the slow lane to avoid any untoward events.
He was making his way past the bay-side cutoff when he saw there were a number of cars parked off the right side of the highway. Five of them in a row and all five had their head lights on lighting the cars in front of them.
Strangely, he couldn't make out any of the people in their cars. Usually with that many cars piled up it would have to be an accident and a recent one too since there was no police here yet. Stranger still was the fact that of the five cars lined up, he didn't see anyone inside any of the cars or standing next to them.
But before he had any time to really process the information he was past it and going on. The row of stationary lights quickly fading to smaller and smaller pinpricks against the darkness before being overtaken by those that still followed.
He sped up with the rest of traffic as he hit the 65 mph zone. He stayed in the right lane until he could see the overpass bridges coming into view that separated Arcata from Sunnybrae. He took the second right that would let him circle up from the highway off ramp to get onto the overpass. As he started to speed up again, on the opposite side of the bridge he saw the headlights of another car swerve suddenly to their right and careen with the cement wall normally meant to keep pedestrians from falling off the overpass to the road below.
John leans back and studies Patrick as the man brings out the extra flashlights.
"If your place is running into power issues wouldn't that be related to the fuse box?" he queries.
"Is the fuse box to your place in your apartment, down the hall, or is in some kind of basement; like where you keep the laundry?" he persists, not trusting the conditions.
Time: 9:20
Patrick set several flashlight of differing variety on the table and grabbed one to test it.
"It could be, I suppose. As it happens, the fuse box is actually outside in the front of the basement. Don't know who's bright idea it was to put it out there. Anyone could come by at any time and just mess with the power whenever. I'm gonna go check it out just to be sure." He seemed satisfied with a small twist nob light with grip handles.
In the living room, Nodin was just finishing his 3rd match with Mario Kart. So far he was winning, but not by much. Between him and Laura it could still be anyone's game. "I'm going to win the next race, Rainbow Road is my favorite track." Laura boasted. Alyssa and Danny were not doing so well being in 5th and 7th place.
Patrick then walked into the living room and said to the remaining party goers. "Hey, I'm going to check fuse box, so don't freak out if the lights and t.v. suddenly stop working for a minute. Just let me know what turns off."
"Feel like coming? I could actually use someone to hear what I'm trying to ask people instead of me yelling at them from down below." he asked John.
"Feel like coming? I could actually use someone to hear what I'm trying to ask people instead of me yelling at them from down below." he asked John.
"Sure," he says with a grin and a nod.
Taking a second flashlight from the table, he heads out to follow Patrick down to the fuse box, or wherever he's needed for this project.
"S%*#!" Thomas said in surprise, as he drove on. Normally he would stop to help but he had a really bad feeling. And wanted to get to his friend to make sure he was ok. Guilt started to pick at Thomas as he drove on... Someone will help them. He thought to himself. Though he still felt like an a&@$~!&. Thomas continued on.
Thomas drove past the accident, clearing the overpass he stayed in the right lane and turned down the street that would take him past the Safeway parking lot and then should lead him to the Plaza.
But that's when he saw the police lights. Not just one set but multiple. Three squad cars, one marked as highway patrol had set up a blockade up the road clearly stopping traffic from moving in.
A lot more people than there ought to have been on a cold, rainy night however were crowding around the blockade. Some seemed to be leaving in a hurry.
Thomas's phone started to ring again. Somehow in all the confusion and suddenly crazy situation he'd missed 2 texts from Jeremiah.
9:13 p.m.
Hey things are getting crazy here! Can you hurry?!!
9:17 p.m.
Somebody just ran by and said the cops were gunning someone down. Getting to Safeway!
Even though there were police nearby they seemed to be very distracted talking to the crowd. Thomas risked answering his phone.
Jeremiah's voice sounded like he was out of breath and starting to panic a little bit as he talked. "Thomas? Hey... Thomas where are you? Listen I... I'm in the Safeway parking lot near the edge that's... right near the police station. Come get me now!"
Thomas stepped on the gas a little more and entered the lot. Thomas searches for his friend.
|
|
Nodin gave a wink to the girls he was playing with before dramatically rolling off the couch, ninja style though nowhere near as elegant, jumping to his feet, and saluting to Patrick and the newcomer Oi! I'll be coming as well! Absolutely love home tours!
Nodin for some reason appeared to have extremely good vision right now- expecially given that he had had enough alcohol to justify a ninja roll off a guest's couch.
Nodin grinned at the flashlights No problem, I got an LED app on my iPhone I'll use instead- might as well save the batteries in those flashlights, right? Nodin clicked open the app and turned it on, his iPhone making a star wars esque laser noise as he did so.
Oi! I'll be coming as well! Absolutely love home tours!
John paused at the door as he watched McKinney rush over to them as well.
Glancing at Patrick, he merely shrugs, then waits until Patrick leads them down to the fusebox below.
As he waits, he turns to see if McKinney had picked up a flashlight for the "home tour" that they were now taking.
No problem, I got an LED app on my iPhone I'll use instead- might as well save the batteries in those flashlights, right?
John tucked his flashlight in his belt as he watched the LED on McKinney's phone flicker on.
"That's pretty bright," he says politely as they wait for Patrick to lead the way.
"So... do you know anything about electronics?" he adds, talking to McKinney, curious to know more about the guests as he hasn't really had the chance to learn anything about them yet.
As he waits for an answer from either Patrick or Nodin, John moves forward to study the streets from the balcony thoughtfully, curious to know what may have prompted the sirens so recently.
Perhaps it was because Nodin was sitting next to the window, or maybe just had particularly keen hearing after all. But for just a second, he thought he had perhaps heard the sound of not so distant thunder... or was it a gunshot from a rifle?
Either way he'd been quickly distracted by the Mario Kart games next race.
Nodin and John followed Patrick down until they stood at the foot of the stairs as they rounded the corner and Patrick began fiddling with keys to open up a lock to the fuse box.
While making idle chit chat, both Nodin and John felt the hairs stand up on the back of their necks. Looking around they noticed that across the street 2 houses to the left, a shadowy figure dimly illuminated by light from an open front door stood apparently looking at them.
From what they could see the figure had shoulder length curly hair, a medium build and wasn't doing anything except just... watching them.
The figure continues to stand there watching.
John slips the flashlight from his belt and flicks it on, swinging the beam to face the solitary figure.
"Hey, who's there?" he calls out, motioning at the figure with his free hand.
”Yo, Patrick; do you know this guy?” John says to Patrick.
At this point John’s eyes turn from Patrick and study the person in front of them somewhat suspiciously.
Then he turns back to Patrick and Nodin for a moment.
”You guys going to do anything at all, or are you just planning on standing around all night?” he says to them with flat eyes over a crooked smile.
Letting out a sigh he turns back to the strange, shadowed individual and then points the beam of light directly at the stranger, hoping to discover more about who this might be.
”Alright; let’s do this…” he mutters to himself, then squares his shoulders and advances toward the strange figure.
|
|
Nodin put his iPhone back into his pocket, taking out a pack of cigs and lighting one in his mouth I don't know a lot about electronics, to be honest, I really suck at them- that LED light is about the coolest thing I have aside from my browser dimming app I use to protect my eyes, but uh-
Wait John! Jesus what are you crazy? They could just be coked out ha ha ha.
Nodin bit his cigarette as he smoked it down, handless, studying the creature to see if there was anything odd about them.
He could have been the one who shot that gun earlier. No way it thunders this far after a storm.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wait John! Jesus what are you crazy? They could just be coked out ha ha ha.
John's eyes flick behind him to Nodin, but he pauses in his advance.
"The movements are slow, almost leisurely... that suggests it's more likely to be an opiate..." he says quietly to Nodin.
"Still, I get your point," he adds with a wry grin, and agrees not to advance further until after he sees more of the figure.
Also I got a bit distracted from it being the new years eve. Went to a party earlier and am quite tired now, post is coming in the morning. I will try to let people know when I am busy for the day in the future.