"Huh, what?" Patrick asked as he stopped what he was doing and walked to the corner of the house to look at what John was pointing to.
Nodin and John puzzled at the curious figures behavior for a moment, the flashlights effect was somewhat muted due to the rain, but even so the two of them could see the figure was male now. Middle aged, wearing a striped dark blue and white robe, that appeared to have some dark splotches covering it here and there.
"Oh, that's my neighbor, weird guy, opens his door and steps outside whenever he hears any commotion going on, no matter what time it is. I swear he never sleeps."
The man seemed to recoil slightly from the prolonged exposure of the light, his head jerked to the right and he nearly stumbled as he fell back at his door but he caught himself. From their point of view Nodin and John could now see the light from inside casting shadows upon the wall, it was as though it was coming from the floor.
Then the man started to come forward. Making his way down the stairs.
"Oh, that's my neighbor, weird guy, opens his door and steps outside whenever he hears any commotion going on, no matter what time it is. I swear he never sleeps."
John pauses and looks at Patrick - "What's his name?" he asks Patrick, then turns back to the man.
"He doesn't have dementia or something, does he?" he continues softly as he watches the man advancing.
"Hey, pop - you alright?" he calls out to the man.
Then the man started to come forward. Making his way down the stairs.
Until he gets a solid answer he continues to watch the man, but he speaks to Patrick and Nodin.
"Look; we're here for a reason, specifically to check out what might have happened to the lights and then it's back to the party," he says slowly.
"If the guy needs proper medical care we can call 9-1-1 and have a professional check things out," he adds, very aware of what Nodin suggested about a possible narcotic issue.
John glances between Patrick and Nodin, then he looks back at the man.
There’s a frown on his face as he studies the man, as if trying to decide what to do.
He glances at the dim lighting and cocks his head as if straining to hear the sounds of more sirens in the distance.
He ponders everything he knows about this part of California; and other than Patrick’s invitation and brief description he regrets that his own knowledge is minimal at best.
He turns to look at Patrick, his eyes flicking from Nodin to the strange old man.
”So Patrick; here’s the thing… You invited a lot of people to your place for a good time, and I’m grateful to be included,” he says slowly as he watches the strange figure in front of him.
”Thing is – we got Thomas tracking down a buddy alone… Meantime we got you, me and Nodin tinkering around with a fuse box… Finally we got the rest of the gang up in your apartment waiting for all of us...”
He watches the strange guy in front of them carefully, but continues to speak to Patrick.
”It’s your party; I’m just visiting after all, but if it were me, I think we should all head back up to your place and then either call up the Super, or whoever handles the electrical issues with this place… or the non-emergency line if it’s more than a busted fuse…”
”Just saying… we all came out here to have a good time and socialize; maybe getting everyone back together might be a good plan for whatever else you have planned for this evening; that way – whatever happens – we’re all doing it together, capisce?”
”Besides; no offense to ya’ll; but there were some pretty nice looking ladies upstairs. If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d rather be chatting with them,” he adds with a friendly glance to Patrick and Nodin; however his entire attention seems largely rooted on the figure in front of them.
Thomas stepped on the gas a little more and entered the lot. Thomas searches for his friend.
Thomas reversed his car and headed for the parking lot of Safeway. The amount of foot traffic was surprising, a lot of college kids ran from one side of the street to the other. Some seemed to be heading back to the dorms at this point while others seemed to be waiting to find out what was happening.
Thomas got to the paking lot of Safeway, he noticed a fair sized congregation of people toward the center of the parking lot. The lights of an ambulance as well as a police car flared here as well.
Then he saw Jeremiah who came waving his arms near the currently closed Papa Murpheys.
"Thomas! Hey Thomas!"
The man said nothing in response to John's call. He continued to amble his way down the stairs until he hit the bottom and kept walking forward.
Patrick stopped what he was doing and looked over at the man. He shook his head and looking more than a little bit nervous, he said "Yeah, you know what that's a great idea. Lets get back inside right now!"
Patrick threw the fuse box latch closed and didn't bother to lock it as he hurriedly moved up the stairs to get back inside.
"I don't remember his name, but I can never ever remember seeing him leave his house unless it was day time. He's never come out at night from what I know. Maybe we should call 911 for emergency services."
"Yeah, you know what that's a great idea. Lets get back inside right now!"
John looked at Patrick with some surprise and gives the old man one more glance before turning and following Patrick back inside.
As he walks he pulls out his cell phone and dials 911.
When the dispatcher picks up John will inform the dispatcher that the nature of their emergency involves an old man wandering the apartment complex who seemed confused and somewhat disorientated - possibly under the influence of alcohol or narcotics - provides the address of the Patrick's home, a general description of the old man and his last known location.
Leo heads into the garage and says hey guys how's it going with the fuse box? Seeing the look on John's face he says Is everything alright John?
|
As the group makes their way back up, Nodin looks the man over again Yeaaah I don't know guys... He might need our help- what if he's asthmatic or something? As soon as 911 is mentioned, Nodin nods True, probably better to let the professionals take care of it then.
Nodin grins Speaking of ladies, Patrick, I'm kinda lazy when it comes to the whole women department. Mind if I order a lady in, instead? Ha ha ha ha!
Inside the house, Patrick seemed a little more relaxed now. He shivered a little from the cold and rubbed his hands through his hair.
"Sorry about that. I'm not the greatest about dealing with people who are clearly on some sort of drug or treatment plan."
"We'll send an officer over right away sir." John heard from the dispatch officer as the phone call ended.
The commotion of everyone coming back inside and then calling the police had drawn the attention of the gamers.
"Is everything alright, Patrick?" Danny asked, pausing the game and turning to look at the group.
Alyssa stood up, a serious expression on her face. "You said there might be narcotics involved, John? Well don't worry too much, I've dealt with people like this before. I'm actually a parole officer, so I'm used to handling people like that."
At Nodin's commentary there was a brief break in the tension as everyone in the room laughed along with him.
"Well if you're resorting to that, I may be able to help you out." Laura said, continuing the joke.
"Heh, not at my party, you can do that on your own time." Patrick said following along.
It was clear to John and Leo that Laura seemed uncomfortable now and seemed to be steering the conversation away from the more serious problem at hand. Danny and Alyssa however, remained focused on the pressing issue.
Danny turned to pull back a curtain and glance out the window looking into the street.
|
|
Nodin grinned Does my car count? Ha ha ha ha ha! So- what's next? How'd that last bout of mario kart go?
Seeing Danny peel back the curtain, Nodin laughed Oooh just let the tweaker tweak. Cops'll deal with them soon enough. Hopefully it doesn't end up in them being shot, ha ha ha!
Nodin then began to absent-mindedly ponder what kind of things he could do to better Old Town Eureka as the others conversed. He shut off his iPhone and tucked it away. Nodin then realized he was smoking in Patrick's house F$+%! F@+! it, I'm gonna be right outside guys- holy s#~!. Completely forgot I even had this in my mouth!
As the gang moves through the space in the garage, Leo appears.
hey guys how's it going with the fuse box?
As John is currently on the phone with the dispatcher, he quickly flashes Leo the “Thumbs Up” sign and continues the conversation and then hangs up and heads back to the apartment with everyone else.
Seeing the look on John's face he says Is everything alright John?
John turns a glance to Leo.
”Yeah… well, I think so,” he says slowly.
”We got to the fuse box and there was this old guy nearby; he seemed kind of out of it and a little disheveled,” he says as he enters the apartment, the people by the gaming system glancing over at them.
”All things considered; he’s old, somewhat out of it, moving slowly and behaving in a somewhat confused and disconnected way… If I had to guess, I’d gamble he’s probably hitting his medicinal marijuana a little too hard,” he says with a small smile.
”But there shouldn’t be any problem; they’ve dispatched someone to check him out,” he adds as he reaches for a glass and pours himself a coke.
Alyssa stood up, a serious expression on her face. "You said there might be narcotics involved, John? Well don't worry too much, I've dealt with people like this before. I'm actually a parole officer, so I'm used to handling people like that."
John takes a look at Alyssa over the rim of his glass as he sips the coke and then puts the drink down.
”Really?” he asks, genuinely curious.
”I have family back east who are in law enforcement,” he adds by way of explanation.
”As for me; I don’t really know much about narcotics… only what I’ve seen in the movies,” he says with a casual tone.
”The guy in question was moving kind of slow, though, and seemed like he was in a fog. I’m willing to bet if he’s on anything at all that it’s nothing like PCP, cocaine or meth; probably just some heavy-duty painkillers or something like that,” he says with a matter-of-fact voice.
He turns and glances toward Laura and notes that the girl seems to be somewhat uncomfortable about the talk about narcotics and seems eager to talk about something more relaxed.
John takes another drink of the coke and moves over to sit down near Laura and Alyssa.
”So you’re a parole officer,” he says pointing to Alyssa and then turns to Laura ”and how’d you meet Patrick?” he asks her, suspecting that she’d rather be talking about anything other than Meth Heads and Gangbangers on their doorstep…
As he waits for an answer he glances over at Nodin and Leo.
”Say; that reminds me – I don’t really know much about any of you guys; including how any of you met Patrick. You guys care to share?” he asks them, too, trying to include everyone into the conversation.
It seems that John is less interested in playing the video games than he is in getting to know who everyone is and a little bit about them.
F$~#! F!#! it, I'm gonna be right outside guys- holy s%++. Completely forgot I even had this in my mouth!
John’s eyes widen at Nodin’s words and he steps aside to let the big man rush out onto the patio.
Glancing over his shoulder at Nodin’s exit, he picks up his drink and takes another sip and then glances at the Leo and the ladies.
Leo nods and says Gotcha. Hope he gets home alright.
As the conversation steers towards the narcotics and such Leo just nods at John's assessment. No stranger to narcotics and the like from his college days a few years ago, Leo can fully understand the strange behavior. Looking over at Patrick, Leo says Hey Patrick! You heard from Thomas yet?
”Say; that reminds me – I don’t really know much about any of you guys; including how any of you met Patrick. You guys care to share?”
John takes another sip from his coke and glances around the room, curious to know what they may have to say.
Looking over at Patrick, Leo says Hey Patrick! You heard from Thomas yet?
John cocks his head and stares at Leo for a moment and quietly sips his drink.
"A mystery, then..." he says slowly as he studies Leo thoughtfully then turns back to the others.
"So, you're a Parole Officer?" he says, glancing back at Alyssa.
Thomas reversed his car and headed for the parking lot of Safeway. The amount of foot traffic was surprising, a lot of college kids ran from one side of the street to the other. Some seemed to be heading back to the dorms at this point while others seemed to be waiting to find out what was happening.
Thomas got to the paking lot of Safeway, he noticed a fair sized congregation of people toward the center of the parking lot. The lights of an ambulance as well as a police car flared here as well.
Then he saw Jeremiah who came waving his arms near the currently closed Papa Murpheys.
"Thomas! Hey Thomas!"
|
|
Nodin slowly made his way back in with a grin Forgot I had this bad boy- an E-Pipe mod, ha ha! Alllright. Besides, that man gives me the creeps now, the bastard.
By the way John, I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves to one another. I met the others a bit ago while playing CAH, but uh, I'm Nodin, Nodin McKinney! Met Patrick online, believe it or not, but there's a nice little area nearby just begging to be developed, so when he invited me out here for the party, well, couldn't resist haha. How about you?
As a note, sorry for the lack mid-afternoon/ reasonable night time responses. My work schedule did a 180 on me and has me working from 5-1 a.m. now.
Location: Arcata
Thomas unlocked the car door and let Jeremiah into the car.
"Thomas, man I am so glad you're here. Let's get out of here! Arcata's gone completely nuts tonight!"
As Thomas reversed his car and started to exit the Safeway parking lot, Jeremiah kept talking.
"I mean, I was just waiting for my ride and they never showed up. I tried calling and texting but there was no answer. While I waited people started to come by and there was some guy saying something about the police trying to take in a bunch of people or something. Then I thought of you so I called and as I was waiting, some guy came running, yelling something about a bunch of people getting shot at by the police. He seemed kinda crazy the way he was talking but then like a minute later half a dozen police cars came tearing there way in to the plaza with their lights flashing and on loud speakers saying everyone needed to evacuate the area. A lot of people just started running every direction and I decided that Safeway was the best place to be." He finished and seemed to be out of breath for a few seconds.
Patrick looked like he'd been reminded of something really important.
"Oh shoot, no I completely forgot to check. I'll give him a call now."
Following along. Laura nods, seeming grateful for the change in conversation. "Well I met Patrick through my sister actually. Normally she would have been here too, but she had work this evening."
Alyssa nods to John. "Yeah, I wanted to get into it back in college after I learned that my one of my uncles was having problems with drugs. I started studying psychology, which eventually led me to focus more on sociology and criminal justice. I got into the job about 3 years ago while I was trying to find a government job. I ended up interning doing some paperwork and ride-along's for a few months as a corrections officer before I was offered a real position."
"I met Patrick in a fairly long running Gurps campaign, that a friend of ours was running."
Seeing how if the lights went out once they might again, Leo begins to do a quick mental inventory of the contents of the kitchen and garage, mostly looking for things that will be handy in the event of an emergency or the like. Basically the boy scout in me is coming out.
As John relaxes he notices Leo puttering around the room looking for things in case the lights go out again.
Thinking about that, he goes to his backpack and takes a cursory glance through it to reassure himself that his overnight gear was inside and not back in the car. As he glances through it, he hears Nodin speaking.
By the way John, I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves to one another. I met the others a bit ago while playing CAH, but uh, I'm Nodin, Nodin McKinney! Met Patrick online, believe it or not, but there's a nice little area nearby just begging to be developed, so when he invited me out here for the party, well, couldn't resist haha. How about you?
John looks up from his backpack and puts his drink aside and stands up and walks over to Nodin and offers his hand.
”Hey, Nodin. It’s nice to meet you,” he says with a wide smile, his hand ready to shake.
”Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve spent most of my life out on the east coast. I’m in town because there’s a convention coming up this weekend in San Diego – I do freelance writing for a video game magazine – so I’ll be heading out there and doing some interviews with creative design teams and a few game reviews on some upcoming games.”
”I met Patrick online, too. We got to chatting and when I found out that he lived close to San Diego – or at least close enough to get a Rent-a-Car and visit, I told him I’d like to stop by and hang out. He was agreeable and so… here we are!” he says, giving Patrick a somewhat sheepish grin.
At that moment Patrick suddenly turns from the conversation to take a phone call. As he does, Laura offers her thoughts, too.
Following along. Laura nods, seeming grateful for the change in conversation. "Well I met Patrick through my sister actually. Normally she would have been here too, but she had work this evening."
John nods at Laura sympathetically, understanding completely the frustrations of having to blow off hanging out with friends for work. Alyssa turns to John, too, and he glances at her as he takes another sip of his coke.
Alyssa nods to John. "Yeah, I wanted to get into it back in college after I learned that my one of my uncles was having problems with drugs. I started studying psychology, which eventually led me to focus more on sociology and criminal justice. I got into the job about 3 years ago while I was trying to find a government job. I ended up interning doing some paperwork and ride-along's for a few months as a corrections officer before I was offered a real position."
John’s eyes widen as he nods at her, clearly impressed with her background.
"I met Patrick in a fairly long running Gurps campaign, that a friend of ours was running."
He places his cup down and nods.
”Really? It’s been a long time since I did a GURPS game,” he says with a small smile, as if recalling old times.
”Most of the stuff I do nowadays is Pathfinder; though I’ve been fishing lately to find people who might be interested in doing a Star Wars game – you know, since the movie and all…” he says thoughtfully.
”Thing is; Star Wars was a lot better with the d6 system then the d20 system – at least, I thought it was – but it’s hard finding younger players who know the d6 system,” he adds with a grin.
John turns a glance to Leo and he studies the young man thoughtfully.
”Hey Leo; would you like to tell people how you and I met, or would you prefer I tell that little story myself?” he says an elaborately casual voice; as if he is attempting to encourage Leo to join the conversation as Leo continues to silently look around the room.
John turns back to Nodin, his eyes flicking briefly over to Laura and Alyssa for a moment as he addresses Nodin directly.
”You said something about ‘developed’… what do you mean? I mean; are you into real estate, or construction or something?” he asks politely as he takes another drink, trying to learn about the people he’s spending time with.
Leo exits the living room and starts wandering his way through the house, looking for useful things.
There is no door separating the kitchen from either the living room or the sink area, though there may have once been. There is a door off to one side of the kitchen that is currently closed. A computer with a printer attachment sits on a desk in one corner underneath the stairs leading up to the second floor. On the desk there is a wooden cube holding a bunch of pens and pencils next to a notepad and sticky note stack. Near the keyboard are a bunch of sticky notes with random notes.
Cracking a door off of the kitchen he finds a small bedroom. Inside there are two dressers, a vanity mirror, a closet door that is ajar with lots of thick clothing hanging inside, a t.v. sits off to one side. There is a coat rack holding several thick women's coats. Leo sees a flashlight sitting next to the t.v. Across the room is another closed door with an old looking key sitting in the lock. A large window with the blinds closed, faces west.
Walking into the sink area Leo sees what was there before. It's covered with drinks for the party. A stack of red cups. A knife block sits against the wall next to several cutting boards. Cupboards above and below reveal large and small plates, bowls, many different kinds of glasses. There is also one containing things like crackers, chips, bread, hot chocolate, marshmallows, various teas, and apple cider. A fruit basket currently holds half a dozen bananas and several apples.
A hallway leads past the door to the backyard, through a laundry room, and into the bathroom which was currently unoccupied. Leo could see the other side of the door that led to the room off of the kitchen.
Making his way outside to the garage, Leo now heard the cheers and groans of the majority of the party goers. "RAGE CAGE!!!
Ha ha ha!!
Oh man is that his third one in a row?!
Come on man you can do it! Sink that ball!
+2 man, +2!!"
Leo walked into a scene of intense merriment as the rest of the group were focused on the game at hand. They were all standing around a table they had set up with a large pile of red cups in the middle. Lexus was downing a cup of alcohol at a furious pace while holding a ping pong ball in his off hand.
Looking around the garage, a multitude of things were strewn about. Several ladders of varying heights were in one corner. Old bikes hung on rafter hooks. Looking up Leo saw that a large pile of containers and the like had been set up into the rafters which were about 10 feet off the ground. A large pile of work tools were piled right beside the entrance. Shovels, axes, a mattock, 2 pile drivers, and several hedge clippers all lay together. Two coolers were stacked on top of each other and a couple of fold out chairs were laying next to them. A large freezer sat off in the far corner next to some tool chests. A couple of hammers hung on a rack nearby. An old set of gym weights and home workout devices lay among several tarps, and old bed frames, and a large pile of boxes held unknown objects.
Thomas reversed his car and headed for the parking lot of Safeway. The amount of foot traffic was surprising, a lot of college kids ran from one side of the street to the other. Some seemed to be heading back to the dorms at this point while others seemed to be waiting to find out what was happening.
Thomas got to the paking lot of Safeway, he noticed a fair sized congregation of people toward the center of the parking lot. The lights of an ambulance as well as a police car flared here as well.
Then he saw Jeremiah who came waving his arms near the currently closed Papa Murpheys.
"Thomas! Hey Thomas!"
Thomas pulls in as close as he can to his friend, unlocks the door, opens it and calls out, "Get in, quick!" After Jeremiha hops in, Thomas begins to move through the crowd best he can, without running into anybody or anything. "What the hell is going on tonight? He ask aloud as people ran around in multiple directions. He then turned his attention to his friend. "How about you? Are you alright?" As after Jeremiah tells what happened, Thomas begins to put things together in his head. I wonder if...No. this isn't a movie. Though the way things seem right know it feels like one. The beginning of one of those movies... Thomas feels feels a wave of both fear and excitement. Though, one could hope...
Jeremiah was clearly shaking with anxiety and a little fear, but he seemed okay now that he and Thomas were making their way out of the danger zone.
"Yeah, I'm fine... I guess. It's just things have been crazy, but it's okay now."
Driving through the back streets of Arcata, Thomas made his way past the apparently closed off plaza and headed for main street. Deciding that Samoa Drive would probably be the best.
Apparently word of what was happening had spread quickly for now Thomas found himself in a quickly rising tide of people driving through Arcata. Some seemed panicked as they barely even slowed for stop signs to beat traffic. He turned onto a street that was just 2 blocks away from the main drag, then Thomas's phone started to ring at that moment.
Glancing down he saw that it was Patrick calling him.
"Whoah! Watch out!" he heard Jeremiah cry out in alarm.
As he shifted his gaze back to the road he took everything in, he saw a car swerving at him attempting to avoid a pedestrian who had decided to walk into the middle of the street.
I grab the flashlight, just so it is easy at hand and make a mental note of the rest of the stuff. All potentially useful in an emergency...I'm sure it won't come to that however.
Leo smirks and winks at John when he comes back and says Oh you go ahead. You're a much better storyteller.
"F$@&!" Thomas exclaims, as he quickly turns the wheel and manages to avoid the oncoming car thanks to Jeremiah's warning. "Thanks for the warning." He says to his friend with a sigh of relife . He then hand Jeremiah his phone and syas , " See what Patrick wants, please. I hope their ok over there. Though the way things are going, anything could happen... Thomas is now feeling a strong sense of anticipation.
After narrowly avoiding an oncoming collision, Thomas takes a hard right turn onto Arcata's main street heading toward Samoa Drive.
"Yeah... yeah I'll do that." Jeremiah said, almost numbly opening the phone.
"He.. hello?"
"Uh, hi...is this"
"Patrick right? Umm, this is Jeremiah. Thomas is driving right now."
"Oh okay, uh, are you guys on your way back here yet?"
"Yeah, we're on our way back right now."
As the conversation took place, Thomas saw whatever was happening in Arcata, news was starting to spread fast. Already two dozen cars were heading to the highway, and a small handful were ahead and turning into the street behind Thomas taking the same route he was. People were taking to the streets here and there, and... Thomas could've sworn he saw a flash of light spark against the rainy night sky, momentarily illuminating a man who appeared to have a rifle in hand.
"Was that what I think it was? Was that guy shooting a gun?!" Jeremiah exclaimed
........................................................................... .............................................................
"Wait what?! A guy firing a gun? Are the police there?"
People who were nearby could only hear Patrick's side of the conversation, which had been fairly normal until now.
"Okay guys just get back here as soon as you can!"
Patrick hung up the phone after that. He looked bewildered
"Oh man... it sounds like Arcata's having some major crisis over there or something. Thomas and Jeremiah, say they're on their way back now though."
........................................................................... .............................................................
Thomas and Jeremiah made it to the edge of town and put the city behind them as they drove into the night.
They drove past the dunes, and Samoa itself until they were coming upon the bridges that would let them into Eureka. Up ahead, Thomas could see several more sets of police lights.
It's all so bizarre, its just gotta be that. Right? Is something of that nature actually happening? I hope everyone will be okay... Yet some sick part of me does want it to be THAT... Thomas made his way for Patricks house.
I pull out my phone and start scrolling through news sites and messageboards looking for what's going on. If it's this big there will be news cameras there. At the same time, I open my police scanner app and jump on the local feed to listen in.
Leo pulls open his phone and starts to scroll through news sites and messages.
He manages to go through several news feeds before coming up with an up to date feed, the time stamp was from 9:25 p.m.
Reports of a sudden shocking wave of "gang" activity are being reported in Arcata, California. Residents are being warned to stay in their homes and lock the doors. Visitors and tourists are encouraged to seek safety indoors and await official and police response. More news as it comes in.
As he goes through the message boards he comes up with more recent time stamps. But all the messages were grayed out.
9:27 p.m. Hey did you guys hear about what's going on in Arcata?
9:27 p.m. No.
9:28 p.m. What's going on?
9:28 p.m. Apparently there's a gang war.
9:28 p.m. What?! That's crazy! Are the police there?
9:28 p.m. Yeah, they're having a shoot out and everything!
9:29 p.m. Yeah right, it's probably just the cops going nuts again killing people.
9:30 p.m. No it's true, I've got a friend who's there at a bar right now.
9:30 p.m. Well there goes the neighborhood.
9:31 p.m. Oh my god! Is everyone alright?
9:31 p.m. Hold on, I'm texting now.
9:32 p.m. Getting a picture going to post it up.
9:33 p.m. --- This image has been removed.
9:35 p.m. What happened? The image didn't go through.
9:35 p.m. Woah, that's weird.
9:35 p.m. Yep, got nothing.
9:36 p.m. I don't know, it went up when I posted it. I'm going to try and upload it again.
9:37 p.m. --- This image has been removed.
9:38 p.m. It happened again.
9:38 p.m. Maybe it was too violent and the system won't let it through?
9:38 p.m. Or maybe the government doesn't want us to see it. Ha ha.
9:39 p.m. Try uploading a different photo and see if it'll stay upl
9:39 p.m. Okay.
9:40 p.m. --- This image has been removed.
9:41 p.m. Oh come on! Don't leave us in suspense!
-- System is undergoing maintenance. Please check in again later. --
Nodin's boisterous laugh was met by stony silence, before Patrick began shaking his head. "No, I didn't do anything to the water, Nodin. I've never heard of anything like this happening before up here. I mean this sort of thing happens with the drug cartels down near the Mexican border, or maybe LA, but the worst I've ever heard of was a giant brawl with 30 to 40 guys that spanned over 2 city blocks. That was like 15 or 16 years ago and nothing even close has happened since."
As Leo turns on his police scanner for the EPD, he does manage to catch:
"All off duty law enforcement personnel are required to report for assignments immediately."
"Well yeah, a few. But I mean come on. The police should be able to handle this."
Thomas drove his car following the small caravan coming from Arcata, the singular suspended yellow blinking street light warning them and oncoming traffic to slow if they wanted to turn. They arrived at the head of the first bridge and saw that there were 4 squad cars parked along side the entrance.
They'd arrived soon enough that it wasn't completely clear what the police from the squad cars were doing here. But one of the cars ahead had been forced to stop which caused a small line up to form.
A man who looked like he was in his forties, got out of his truck and hurriedly walked forward to talk to the police men. A brief conversation ensued and then the man was hurrying back to his truck. Two of the police men then began waving the line of cars through one at a time. One of the officers had the car stop for anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute seeming to ask questions, while the other glanced into the back of the car or truck with his flashlight, before the car was waved on through. In short order Thomas and Jeremiah were brought to the head of the line.
"Evening sir, where are you heading to this evening? Just trying to get out of Arcata, I hear things are pretty bad over there."
The cop seemed pleasant enough to Thomas, and he got the feeling that the officer was a little out of his element asking this line of questioning but had fallen into a rhythm as he'd probably just asked the last 4 cars of people roughly the same question with about the same responses.
Jeremiah pointedly tried to not look as though he was about to pee his pants, when the other officer shined his light through the car window.
Thomas grimaced as the copper shone the light in his face. "Evening officer. Uhhh.... crazy night, eh?" Thomas asked nervously. After the officer posed his questions Thomas answered simply, "Yeah." Have some family and friends to check up on. Not to mention I live in Eureka."
The officer, his badge read Brenton, looked at Thomas with understanding and then glanced at his partner. With a slight nod to each other, he looked back at Thomas and gestured for him to go ahead.
"Alright, you're good to go.
As Thomas drove on past the makeshift checkpoint and cleared the first bridge, Jeremiah looked over. "What was that all about? I've never heard of anything like that being set up before."
By the time they'd hit the high point of the second bridge they could see the city lights of Eureka. Deceptively calm on the outside but both could feel a strange static in the air. It was almost palpable. Then they saw the lights of another train of vehicles coming off of the first bridge heading toward them.
As they got closer, they realized that the vehicles were in fact, military vehicles. Two transport jeeps, and two larger vehicles that neither of them recognized on sight. They passed each other and kept on going.
After that Thomas passed over the first bridge and then hit 4th street.
The street was pretty dead, but something felt off about it. Rather than take a right, Thomas continued going straight. Passing by the ominous horse constructed out of twisted metal, he turned off onto 6th street, which he rode all the way until they hit C and he made a left.
Then he continued straight on until he finally reached Huntoon Street, which after everything else finally felt like the stressful night had come to an end.
Then he saw the flashing police lights from up the street.
"I don't know." Thomas replied to his friends question. as he drove along, his thoughts began to wander back to his friends and family. Should I check on my family or friends first? Well Patrick's house is closest, so it makes sense that I go there first. After deciding his destination he thought, I wonder if their all still there? Or were they evacuated or something? Thomas saw the military vehicles and felt more fearful now. Things seem more serious than I thought... When he arrived at Patrick's house he saw the police lights, but rather than investigate he headed into the house Jeremiah close behind him. He could see lights inside and folks talking, which made him feel slightly better. He opened the door and let himself and his friend in...
When Nodin asks about weapons Leo begins listing off the things he found in the garage and kitchen from memory. There are various tools in the garage that would make good weapons, such as shovels, axes, a mattock, a couple of pile drivers and some hedge clippers along with a weight set that could be used as weapons. In addition there are various knives in the kitchen that could be utilized as well.
Looking at Patrick he says Patrick, you might want to announce to the party what is going on...allow those that wish to leave to do so...otherwise they might be stuck here depending upon how bad this gets. I don't really have anywhere to go besides my hotel and I'd rather not deal with that right now so if it's good with you I'll stay here. I imagine John might feel the same way.
When Leo hears about all off duty officers being required to report in he says That's really serious guys. They usually only do that if there is a large riot in the hundreds of people or in the event of a terrorist attack or something like that. Alyssa? Is that right or am I talking out of my ass? A strained smile spreads across his face before returning serious. There seems to be some sort of coordinated blackout going on as well. People have been trying to upload images to the web about what is going on and have been actively blocked it seems like.
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Nodin grinned Yeah, I don't know about here in California, but out in Metro Detroit the cops really aren't what you want to call your "first line" of defense, ha ha!
Wait, people have been blocked? Yeah, we should probably get prepped before national guard rolls in. Next thing you know they are ordering you to keep your windows closed and doing town wide sweeps like in Boston- no thanks, ha ha!
John listens to Leo rattle off the gear in the garage and gives a quick glance to the ladies near him then he turns back and gives Leo an almost condescending smile.
”Shovels; mattocks; axes… you sure there aren’t any cricket bats, chainsaws or samurai swords?” he says with a small roll of his eyes and a playful punch on Leo's arm.
He turns to the others and takes another casual sip of his soda.
”Look; the first thing to remember in a crisis situation is not to panic. If we start waving some pickaxes around like they’re some crazy weapon it’s probably just going to make other people flip out, too. Then we could get into some real issues and nobody wants that.”
He glances around the room casually and puts the cup down on the coaster on the counter.
”Now I didn’t plan on staying at a hotel – like I said, I’m crashing at Patrick’s. That’s why I brought my overnight gear and some extra luggage in the car; I can go get that now, though. And maybe a beer run, too?” he adds casually.
He beckons Leo and Patrick over with a wide grin on his face – ”Hey, Nodin,” he says, waving the large man over to them, too.
Then he speaks in a quiet voice to them.
”Look; I don’t really know what’s going on, but I can say with a hundred percent certainty that if there really is some kind of riot then that means we’re likely going to lose power and probably have our infrastructure damaged for the next couple days at least.”
”That being the case, I think the best option might be to do a quick ‘supply run’ to pick up some non-perishables. I don’t know about you guys, but after Hurricane Sandy back in 2012 we lost power for nearly a week; we had to throw everything in the fridge out after about a day and it took us nearly a week before we could get things out the grocery store… we ended up having to drive about twenty miles or so toward DC just to find places to shop; and most of those places were picked over,” he adds.
”There’s a WineCo Foods about a mile and a half from here… That place is 24/7 and it’s filled with plenty of great, cheap sales,” he continues.
”I say we do a quick “beer run”. Patrick, if you could hold down the fort while we’re gone – you don’t need to tell the others what we’re up to; no reason to stress them out if we don’t need to…. Nodin, if you’re willing to drive me and Leo there and maybe keep the car running in front of the place – all we need is to have someone try to steal the car while we’re inside – and then me and Leo can go inside and grab as much non-perishable stuff as possible. You know; granola bars, jerky, dried fruit and nuts… and also some toilet paper, batteries, bottled water or anything else we might need if we’re without power – a few cheap first aid kits, or whatever… then we take the stuff back here as quick as possible.”
”Sound good?” he asks them.
John notes Patrick is a bit distracted by the party so he turns to both Nodin and Leo; curious to know what they might have to say about his plan.
"Okay; well, the point is - I think it's a good plan. I'm not staying in a hotel; I'm staying with Patrick, and if things get closed down, or if we lose power, or stuff happens because of riots... Well, logic suggests that there will only be a certain amount of food and toilet paper available for guests and I don't feel like being the guy who has neither in an emergency," he says with a dry smile.
"That said; I'm going to go get what supplies that I think will be useful. The more people who help the better, at least, as far as I can see it... are you guys going to give me a hand or what?" he asks with a polite yet somewhat impatient voice as he hears the sounds of sirens in the distance.
John notes Patrick is a bit distracted by the party so he turns to both Nodin and Leo; curious to know what they might have to say about his plan.
"Okay; well, the point is - I think it's a good plan. I'm not staying in a hotel; I'm staying with Patrick, and if things get closed down, or if we lose power, or stuff happens because of riots... Well, logic suggests that there will only be a certain amount of food and toilet paper available for guests and I don't feel like being the guy who has neither in an emergency," he says with a dry smile.
"That said; I'm going to go get what supplies that I think will be useful. The more people who help the better, at least, as far as I can see it... are you guys going to give me a hand or what?" he asks with a polite yet somewhat impatient voice as he hears the sounds of sirens in the distance.
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Thomas enters Patrick's house. Ok, be cool man. Don't want people to panick....but folks should know what's going on...hmmm... I should talk to Patrick first, then move on to the others. Thomas, tells Jeremiah to hang out in the front room for the moment and keep what we saw to himself for the time being. He then asked the crowd in a calm manner, "Hey, has anyone seen Patrick?" keeping cool head and, especially around others was something Thomas excelled at in a crisis. After he was told Pat's location he went to speak with him. After he found the small group making plans he chimed in, "Hey guys....And Nodin...Sooooo...Uhhh... yeah things are...well, pretty nuts out there. Military and the like are getting involved. I don't know if it's terroists or what, but something big is going down. We should prepare to bunker down for a bit. I think hitting up a smaller store. One that isn't real known. Like that Asian food store, or something. Then big stores, which are problems flooded with panicked people, and a hot zone for trouble. I think there is a small survival store in Old Town as well we could check out...Of course we should also tell the others what's going on, but keep it cool." Thomas looks at the group before him and sighs slightly, Though part of me wonders if it's what I partially hope it is...But probably not.
Leo nods at John and Thomas and says Good to see you back. Patrick should really be the one to say something, this is his party after all. That said, I'm good to go for a run for supplies. I suggest we do a two pronged attack. One car goes to the 24 hour grocery store and the other hits the asian market and any other shops along that strip that are open. How does that sound?
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With my cigs I'm more than willing to keep the car running, but uh, I'm a cautious type- I'll need a little bit of a heavier hardware if I'm staying in the car while crazy people and crazy cops do their thing, if you know what I mean. Anybody got anything? A good sized knife or pistol will do, if no one minds losing it for the amount of time their in the store?
And, we really should stick together... I don't normally like heavy handing things, but we should be able to get everything we want from one store, and based on Mr. Tweaker outside and the radio bands, four, or five, is a lot better than two and two, don't ya' think?
"Hey, has anyone seen Patrick?" keeping cool head and, especially around others was something Thomas excelled at in a crisis. After he was told Pat's location he went to speak with him.
John steps from Patrick and moves over to Thomas.
"Patrick is standing there; he's not saying much, though."
He cocks his head and looks at him.
"Good to see you made it back," he says with a smile.
"Hey guys....And Nodin...Sooooo...Uhhh... yeah things are...well, pretty nuts out there. Military and the like are getting involved. I don't know if it's terroists or what, but something big is going down. We should prepare to bunker down for a bit. I think hitting up a smaller store. One that isn't real known. Like that Asian food store, or something. Then big stores, which are problems flooded with panicked people, and a hot zone for trouble. I think there is a small survival store in Old Town as well we could check out...Of course we should also tell the others what's going on, but keep it cool."
He looks at Thomas for a moment.
"I agree."
"I think that preparing for the worst is a good plan."
"I advised the group that we should go on a supply run to the WineCo Foods; it's 24/7 and it's only a mile or so from here."
"I don't think it is good to go alone; I'd rather have someone in the car with the motor running while the rest of us go inside and get what supplies we may need if the town is out of power and suffers damaged infrastructure."
He looks at Patrick, Leo and Nodin.
Then he turns back to Thomas.
"If you know a good place to hit, I'll defer to your knowledge of the location."
"From what you're saying it seems pretty rough out there; I'd feel guilty asking you to go back out," he says slowly.
He looks at Leo and Nodin and stares at them for a long moment, then he shrugs.
He turns back to Thomas.
"If you are willing; I will go with you to this place you recommended now and I'll do what I can to help you."
"Just let me know what you want to do and I'll do what I can to help."
With my cigs I'm more than willing to keep the car running, but uh, I'm a cautious type- I'll need a little bit of a heavier hardware if I'm staying in the car while crazy people and crazy cops do their thing, if you know what I mean. Anybody got anything? A good sized knife or pistol will do, if no one minds losing it for the amount of time their in the store?
And, we really should stick together... I don't normally like heavy handing things, but we should be able to get everything we want from one store, and based on Mr. Tweaker outside and the radio bands, four, or five, is a lot better than two and two, don't ya' think?
John turns a glance at Nodin.
"I have no problem with traveling in a group. But as for weapons?" he says slowly.
"There are a lot of reasons to kill, I guess, but I'd rather not have to do so over some dry goods and toilet paper."
He looks at Leo.
"If you're going to come with us; well, I'd welcome your help," he says with a nod.
He turns to Patrick.
"We're all ready to go... at this point we're just waiting on you to make sure things go smoothly on your end," he says to him.
Thomas looked at the group a moment, with a serious look on his face. "I know I said this before, but I highly suggest you stay away from large stores like Winco. Loonies head there at night on a normal night. I can only imagine what it would look like now. As for the two places I recommended, they are about as close as Winco just to the west of us instead of East. I say we stick together. Pat has a decent amount of food here usually...Though the party may have diminished a fair bit... And there's prolly a fair bit of house hold needs to get us through at least a few days. So I say we hit the army surplus store first. Then the Asian market. Three of us will enter one will stay with the car. As a couple of you suggested, Pat should stay here get the others ready for what may come. I know there are some smart, tough folks here so they should be ok." Thomas then remembered he needed to check on his family. But also remembered them saying they would be in Washington for a couple weeks visiting Aunts and uncles, he had been working long hours in his Nursing job, that info he was told through out the week had slipped his mind. But he was focused now. And he decided to focus on the people around him and the task at hand first, then he would call his family when that was taken care of.