Two Weeks Into Quarantine (Cafeteria)

[Henry Gondorf]

Henry wave to Vanessa in greeting. "Good Morning, there." He said with a smile.

Henry looked at the board in thought as he planned his next move. He took his Kings Knight and hooked it to the front to mirror Billy's move. He was curious to see now who would draw first blood.

Henry found he enjoyed listening to Billy as revealed another means to view the events around them. There was never a dull moment it seemed with him. Listening to his tale of a manhunt into the realm of the strange, however, brought with it memories he thought he left buried long ago.

"I think I heard about that kind of creature," Henry offered as he tried to push the memories back down. "It sounds like a creature form a old folk tale called a Windigo. I can only assume that there was much lost in the translation between your peoples Keewokw and what was made popular by the media." Henry said. He hesitated for a moment. The strange happenings Billy encountered brought with it too many voices asking for recognition.

"I have never been to those places in Maine or Vermont," Henry began "But I have been in a few places that were just as wrong. Houses that could kill sound and devour all the light within it. Those places made it hard to tell if I wasn't somehow entombed beneath a lonely mountain. Those places were wrong in a way I doubt I will ever understand."

Henry's face grew more grim as he continued. "I don't hold to any one idea of how things work. If you stick to one idea too long you try to make it fit everything. There are some idea though that refuse to allow for such nice concepts. The best I can offer in this is these places are like stars collapsing on themselves. They draw things in as the do until they become heavier than we can understand. They can take rules we live by like time and space and make them into cruel jokes. Science can only offer a possible reason behind why places are so wrong. When those fail the lab coats just say we are letting our imaginations get the better of us."

"The punchline is one their heads though. It seems to me the ones trying to prove we are all acting like kids are the ones helping to cause the next Roanoke to come about." The cheer from before made a striking return as Henry leaned back in his seat with a smile.

[sndwurks]

"We have those too," says Billy with a chuckle. "Wendigo is just the Ojibwe name for them. The Aquinaki call them widgik. Wind demon. Gets inside your skin, and makes you hungry for human flesh, even when there's other food to be had. Real nasty bugger."

Billy picks up the pawn in front of his queen, advancing it two spaces to rest next to the King's pawn. It is a challenge of a move, placing the pawn where it can strike into the other pawn. It places it in jeopardy just the same.

"I don't try to explain things," he comments after a moment. "It's not usually good in our line of work to get too caught up on any theory. I just keep my mind open, and listen to my instincts. Of course, my instincts got me stuck here, so they're sleeping on the couch for the moment."

[Henry Gondorf]

"Don't forsake them for their efforts. Though misguided they at least got you here in one piece." Henry said as he advanced his pawn over the mid-line of the board. "Some people back there can't boast as much."

[sndwurks]

Billy stares at the makeshift chess board for a long moment in silence. He tilts his head slowly to the left, the hand not holding the coffee reaching up to rub the line of scar tissue that traces the edges of his face, right along his temple. Finally, he pulls himself from the reverie of the chess board, and moves his king's knight forward out of the threat from Henry's pawn. He hooks it towards the center of the board, taking Henry's pawn and leaving his three pieces in the center of the board.

"That is true," says Billy with a shrug. "Did anyone else die before you guys hit the blockade?"

After a moment, Billy seems to think of something more.

"And did the Lady in White show up again?"

[Henry Gondorf]

"I can't say I had the chance to converse with The Lady. Not sure if it was a good or bad thing. I can say though she was right though about the carnage party. Though I am starting to think she meant Carrion Party instead." Henry said as he returned the favor by taking one of Billy's pawns. The image of the two opposing knights in the middle of the board being so close yet without a means to strike at each other struck him as poetic somehow.

"There were a few. The tourists lead by the DJ had a nasty run in with those Death's Head Moths from before. A few managed to escape but I doubt they will be doing much without some Thorazine to even them out. Cosgrove also met his end. He broke loose of his contracts with whom ever set up the prisons on the island. He convinced a large number of the Blackstone force already on the island to back him up when he tried to spread the napalm from here to Canada. The ones we had in town though stuck by us, for now at least." Henry looked around for something to drink realizing he may not have thought about the long haul. He got up slow to not disturb the board as he fetched some water.

Upon his return he continued. "Cosgrove had us in a bad way until he was accosted by one of the weirdos in sunglasses. Honest, these guys looked like belonged out an 80's movie about college brain trusts. Still, those guys walked right past all the Guns Cosgrove had and took him out screaming. I get the feeling his higher ups were not happy he did not give his proper two week notice." Henry's eyes gleamed with a cold satisfaction.

[sndwurks]

By the time Henry returns, Billy has figured out his move. He advances his black bishop along the diagonal, until it rests behind the pawn in the middle of the board. Conveniently, it is diagonal to the knight as well.

"Also means that who ever has been paying off the tribe can place the blame for the napalm strike firmly on him," says Billy quietly. "And sweep it quietly under the rug. As they always do."

The private investigator takes a sip of his coffee and shakes his head.

"Notice anything else weird?"

[Henry Gondorf]

"That maybe we need to sit down as a group and redefine the meaning of weird?" Henry joked as he pushed his knight forward into Billy's line of pawns. It was a high risk for him so soon in the game.

" There might be a bigger problem with the lunatic moths than we first thought. A kind of queen or king is rolling them out at us. The Tourists got a look at it and have not been the same since. Whatever that rela...relaquery? Those holy bones Gus found out on the island stirred up some trouble with that weirdo, Redgrave. More to the point if Redgrave come back looking for it we got problems. Someone made off with them and I am not the surest we got them back. Aside from that we have to worry about what else got off that island with us. I swear if we run into that butcher wacko again and he brings two friends dressed like a baker and candlestick maker, I am starting the first road race for Whisper Hills. The finish line is somewhere south of Miami." Henry took a moment to breath as he let it all sink in. It was hard to say what bothered him more. The fact all these dangers were set to follow after them or he was at home with the idea this was how life was to be from now on.

[sndwurks]

"I think that the entire spectrum of weird is no longer relevant while within the borders of Whisper Hill," says Billy with a faint chuckle.

He stares at the board a moment, and pushes his king into the position to take the knight. The king is left exposed, but Billy seems to be a bit distracted more than anything else. He takes a sip from his coffee, and then notices its empty. He stands up.

"Be right back," he offers before heading over to pour himself a refill.

[Samantha]

Vanessa slides to the side to let Billy get some coffee she looks at her own cup and realizes that her own is almost empty, "I apologize for my silence, I'm useless before my coffee." She finishes her cup. "The amount of weirdness has exploded since I left California and hearing all these stories makes me not want to go to Whisper Hill at all."

"The Lady was around again the next day, I did go and help her with something but I think the professor is better qualified for that explanation. She also likes ravens, so if you see a rather strange looking raven they might be able to get in contact with her for you."

Vanessa goes over to that table and sits next to Henry. "The only thing I've noticed about the moths is that they come out around dusk... I haven't seen them at any other time."

[Henry Gondorf]

"Well, if we're lucky we can maybe count on that habit for a while." Henry said. It was nice to see Vanessa at least wide eyed now. Bushy tailed however may be a long way off for anyone here at the moment.

Henry turned in his seat toward Vanessa. "How you like things at Casa de Hazmat?"