Carlotta follows Kenny mutely as he gets in the truck and stares out of the window as he drives around. After a few minutes she shakes her head and seems to come back ot her senses somewhat, coming out of a daze from her experiences. Eventually she looks at Kenny "Holy s*!% man. I mean HOLY S~!$. I...." She trails off in silence, unable to find a way to express it all.
Kenny spots a man near the door of the restaurant. Kenny thinks its the manager.
Meanwhile the radio, initially silent after the truck starts, springs to life..., "I shot the sheriff! but I did not shoot the deputy..."
Kenny spots a man near the door of the restaurant. Kenny thinks its the manager.
Meanwhile the radio, initially silent after the truck starts, springs to life..., "I shot the sheriff! but I did not shoot the deputy..."
Kenny gives hits send on his phone to dial 911 and hands it to Carlotta.
He tries to keep the manager in his sight at all times.
The manager, that is who Kenny is sure it is, stands near the front door of the restaurant. Quite alone. He seems to be glaring at Kenny and Carlotta though he makes no immediate move.
"911 can I help you," says the woman on the other end of the line as Carlotta takes the phone.
Carlotta looks confused when Kenny hands her the phone. "What? What do you want me to ask for?"
Carlotta looks confused when Kenny hands her the phone. "What? What do you want me to ask for?"
"Tell them where we are and that the suspect is sneaking out the back of the hotel."
Kenny keeps the brutal gourmet in sight at all times but does not advance right now.
The man, after a few more seconds, slips back into the restaurant.
"911, can I help you?" repeats the woman on the other end of the line.
The classic ballad of shooting the lawman comes to an end, to be replaced by Hall and Oates, "I see you, you see me... watch you blowin' the lines when you're making a scene... Oh girl, you've got to know...,"
Carlotta relays Kenny's message to the woman on the other end of the phone.
The man, after a few more seconds, slips back into the restaurant.
"911, can I help you?" repeats the woman on the other end of the line.
The classic ballad of shooting the lawman comes to an end, to be replaced by Hall and Oates, "I see you, you see me... watch you blowin' the lines when you're making a scene... Oh girl, you've got to know...,"
Kenny drives thr truck up to the door and pins it shut with the bumper. He then tries to look in through the windows. If he cannot see anything he will run around the building and yell for the police that a suspect is inside still.
As Carlotta explains the situation to the operator, Kenny begins moving the truck forward.
The woman says, "All our officers are engaged at the moment, five of them already at that location. I will file your information and try to contact our officers there."
[i]"...my private eyes are watching you, watching your every move...," continues the radio.
The trucks antique fender bumps against the front door of the hotel and Kenny jumps out of the truck yelling.
He realizes that there are no police officers in front of the hotel anymore, they have all gone inside. Meanwhile the hotel guests and the firemen all turn to look at Kenny as he yells.
Kenny makes a bee-line for the firemen and bids Carlotta to follow.
"The guy who runs this place just came out the back and went inside again. Can you radio the police on your CBs and tell them he is back in the building? I don't want him to be able to ambush them."
He also asks what the state of the woman with the amputated leg is and how the others fared.
As Kenny and Carlotta move towards the firemen, several of them move towards the two reporters.
They listen to what Kenny says, many of them confused as to what he is talking about,...
"All the police went into the hotel, after the gunshots," says one of the firemen, "According to the radio, most of the rest of the available state troopers are in some sort of shooting in Santa Darla. Some man there claims to have escaped from the sheriff... Don't know what thats all about."
He is interupted by a monkey who, tired of playing on a fire truck, chooses that moment to run across the parking lot and leap at Carlotta and up onto her shoulder.
Meanwhile there is no sign of Mr. Sing, the owner and manager of these establishments, leaving his restaurant.
Carlotta listens to what the firemen have to say about the shooting in Santa Darla with slight anxiety. Oh god, more murderous complication...thats the last thing we need.
Not having seen the monkey on the firetruck, she steps back in surprise but then smiles widely for the first time in hours. "Holy hell!! He made it! Look Kenny, the monkey survived!"
After petting the monkey and smiling at it for several minutes, Carlotta remembers that she actually has a job here other then merely surviving. She pulls out her camera, and begins taking pictures, hoping the fireman won't object and try to stop her.
Muttering among the firemen makes it clear they are not sure what they should do.
Carlotta ignores their muttering and takes her pictures. When she is done she nonchalantly puts her camera away, discreetly slipping the memory card out of the camera and into her pocket.
"Holy hell!! He made it! Look Kenny, the monkey survived!"
"We should name him. How does Lucky sound to you?"
Kenny starts to interview the firemen for his day job.
"Did any of you treat the women? What kind of knife do you think the kidnappers used? Did you ever see something like this before? Did you guys ever eat here? What can you tell me about this place? Did any of you respond to the crime scenes at the other murders? Do you know any of the cops or EMT guys who did?"
He does not expect them to say much but it can't hurt.
Can they listen in to the police radio from their truck?
Carlotta twists her face slightly at the suggestion of Lucky "Oh come on, everybody names their monkey Lucky. I think we should name him something....different." She pauses to think "Ooh...how about Dextre?"
Carlotta is clearly avoiding thinking too much about her day, and when Kenny starts talking to the firemen she lapses into thought, being careful to ponder only more suggestions for the monkey's name.
A few of the firemen are thankful for the distraction and answer Kenny's questions.
Meanwhile a few more head over to the other guests to try and gather information about how many are from the hotel.
Carlotta gets the feeling of being watched but she doesn't see anyone outside in particular looking at her.
Carlotta shivers slightly,and tries to nonchalantly glance around her, feigning boredom with Kenny's questions, and reaching up to pet the monkey as she does so.
Carlotta shivers slightly,and tries to nonchalantly glance around her, feigning boredom with Kenny's questions, and reaching up to pet the monkey as she does so.
"Hey, how about 'Charlie' for the monkey? You know, after Charles Darwin."
"I think we should go check around for other doors. If we can get good pictures and a good story Rogers might pay us bonuses."
"If the cops take out the manager and won't talk then we should head over to Santa Darla."
"Hmmm, a possibility. But what did you think of Dextre?"
"He damn well better! After everything..."
"Okay sounds good but I think we should definitely try to talk to the manager if we can."
"Yeah, Dextre is good. Let's go with that. I doubt the cops will let us get near the manager if they take him alive but we can try."
Kenny walks Carlotta out of hearing range of anyone nearby. "Carlotta, what are we going to say about the old woman? The one with the key and..."Kenny looks down at his hand silently for a moment.
"We can't just say I cut her open for the key. There is probably DNA evidence from me on her. No one will believe what happened down there. My only hope is that they eat her. Or maybe we can say her stomach was already cut open and she was not dead yet. If these freaks cooked people then anything is believable."
Carlotta grins "Alright! Dextre it is." When Kenny talks about the old woman Carlotta sobers quickly. She shudders and then speaks "Look, I don't know how much they are going to investigate her, I mean come on, as bad as it is, there are a lot of people down there that are cut up..." Carlotta pales and seems almost on the verge of tears. "She's just one of...many. I don't think they will really be looking all that close at her in particular. I doubt they will go as far as running a DNA test. If they do we can...well we'll have to lie. I don't think we really have the choice of telling the truth." She seems barely controlling herself, being pragmatic is obviously a struggle right now.
Time slowly passes. The sun moves through the sky and a hot wind blows.
Eventually it becomes clear that the police, having gone into the hotel, are not coming out. Something has clearly happened to them.
The firemen begin to look increasingly worried. They spend time on the radio with the dispatcher but apparently things are not going well in Santa Darla either. Kenny gathers from what he can overhear that the Sheriff in Santa Darla is in a standoff with a host of State Policemen.
Meanwhile, other troopers are on the way but they are over a hundred miles away and will take over an hour to arrive. There might be a helicopter coming.
Several of the guest grumble. A few start wondering if they couldn't head over to the buffet for food. But of course Kenny's rental truck is in the way, (the motor still running?) which causes many of them to start to ask Kenny and Carlotta if they know what is going on.
"Look, folks, the people who ran the buffet are being chased by the police because of what went on in there. You do not want to go in there or in the hotel."
"Have any of you spoken with the buffet staff? Do you know their first names? The manager said they were all family but think there might be more to it."
"I think the manager was named Mr. Sing," says one of the men.
"My waitress said her name was Kim."
"What happened down there?"
"What has happened with the police? I would leave but my luggage is still up there? I don't want to spend the night waiting out here."
Meanwhile, it looks like clouds are moving in on the horizon from the southwest.
Carlotta chews on her bottom lip nervously. "I wonder whats happening with the sherriff...I mean he seemed sort of strange..."
When people come over and start asking questions, Carlotta says "You don't want to know about what happened. Soon enough you can check the press for full reports. Try the Sunlight Scoop, for full details and a firsthand account."
She turns to the man who spoke. "Unless there is anything vital in your luggage that you can't live without I would suggest going and staying some where else, and hoping you can recover your luggage later."
"Something tells me that we have to go back in there. Call it Fate or Karma (or Wicht) but I don't think we can just stay out here."
"We can try using the computers inside to send out stuff to Rogers before we go in very far. There might also be stuff of interest on the computers inside."
"We also have to move the truck. I want it accessible in case we need to get the hell out of here quickly."
"One more thing, if they killed the police then they have their guns and bullet proof vests also."
"What do you say?"
As Kenny talks he remembers the strange sounds that started after he killed the woman. There is something (or things) filling the basement of the complex, something dangerous that doesn't like the light. And the policemen, with their guns, have not been heard from since they went down there.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sing is in the restaurant, probably watching outside, or else doing something unpleasant. There is the possibility he might know something, if he can be made to talk.
The afternoon is getting on and there are thick, heavy clouds approaching from the southwest. Lightning can be seen under them, flickering over the desert floor.
A few of the hotel guests begin talking of finding someplace else to spend the night. One or two approach the firemen about going in and getting luggage.
"There's more help on the way," says the oldest of the firemen, trying to establish himself as the voice of authority.
"Kenny...think about what you're saying! If they killed the police and now have their bulletproof vests and guns, then what are we going to do. We don't even have guns! We don't even have cleavers! How much more good are we going to be able to do in there then the police did?
I think we should go into the main part of the restaurant and try to find Sing."
"Kenny...think about what you're saying! If they killed the police and now have their bulletproof vests and guns, then what are we going to do. We don't even have guns! We don't even have cleavers! How much more good are we going to be able to do in there then the police did?
I think we should go into the main part of the restaurant and try to find Sing."
"You think Sing does not have a gun too?"
"Although, I really can't think of anything else to do. And we have to move the truck away."
"Okay, then."
"Sing might have a gun, but I prefer that to whatever it is down there!"
Kenny feels an sense of fatalism overcome him.
"Yeah, let's see what we can find out."
He backs the truck away from the door and parks it close enough to get to it with a quick sprint. Then he opens the door that he had blocked with the truck and walks in.
Carlotta takes a deep breath and follows inside.
Kenny searches for the 'record' button on his phone and puts it in his pocket. He will want to capture anything Sing says. Also, it helps him to keep his mind off of the fact that he is probably going to die.
The lights are off in the restaurant, and it appears deserted but there is the flicker of candles coming from the kitchen area.
Carlotta takes a few cautious steps toward the light, being careful to look around her for anything suspicious as she goes.
Carlotta doesn't see anything suspicious, but as she moves towards the kitchen door she hears a chanting voice.
"Oh s***! That's the sound the old woman made, the one we...."
"We need to get him before those things get outside and attack all the people."
Kenny creeps toward the sound of the chanting.
Carlotta nods in fearful agreement with Kenny. She looks around her for anything she might pick up and use as a weapon, either pointy or blunt impact.
Carlotta nods in fearful agreement with Kenny. She looks around her for anything she might pick up and use as a weapon, either pointy or blunt impact.
At the door of the kitchen, Kenny looks through the window set into the door. He sees Mr. Sing, sitting on the floor, surrounded by candles, chanting to himself. There appears to be markings on the floor below the candles and Mr. Sing himself.
Strangely the man does not seem to be wearing a stitch of clothing. Kenny cannot make out nor understand the words being spoken.
In desperation Carlotta grabs a couple of plates of the buffet table. She follows Kenny and peeks over his shoulder. "Kenny! We have to stop him...I mean I don't know what he's doing, but it looks like some kind of spell or something. Maybe if we just disturb him it will stop it?"
You can't tell what they are made with - though they look black, not white.
Kenny is initially stunned by the scene and fails to act. He recalls accounts of murderers who stripped off their clothes shortly after killing victims. No matter how he considers what he is seeing it still makes no sense. In frustration as much as in a sense of self-preservation he decides to attack while the man is unaware of him. His attempt is awkward though and he is off balance and nearly falls over his own feet.
[/ooc]strike with a stack of plates to the back of Sing's head. I am not sure what bonuses apply for a surprise attack from behind. what damage do plates cause?[/ooc]
Carlotta jumps into the fray, trying to knock over the candles and scuff away at the markings, hoping to break whatever spell Sing is trying to perform.
Kenny picks up a pile of plates and rushes in to the kitchen, with Carlotta right behind.
Mr Sing looks up as they enter and,... growls, literally. Kenny lets the plates go too early and they crash to the ground, inches away from the other man. Carlotta meanwhile scuffs at the marks and kicks over the candles.
"Ugh, WTF! WTF!"