Shawn walked down the dark, expansive hallway with Eric behind him. The whole interior of the warehouse appeared to be monstrously massive. Even though they were away from the Clown, the hallway looked as big as ever before, and neither boy could see the  floor  or ceiling in the darkness. Four endless walls and a staircase in the distance leading to a cold foggy sky with moonlight barely providing light.

The dust, cobwebs, and graffitis on the walls and corners brought Shawn back to reality. A task of something that had to be done. Or way to avoid it.

Looking around, it was clear that Shawn was not the first to experience this unwelcoming, macabre pile of bricks. But yet the remains of furniture that lay disorderdly cluttered on the floor seemed to speak of death. The warehouse may have once been the place of many happy workers and therefore full of life itself. And it was all gone. Replaced by rats, spiders, and their cobwebs, dirt, dust, fleece and trash. And trash. For it was ripped, dismantled, and stained. Abandoned...

Newspapers that gave the date of a fifty years ago - barely, for they were covered in dust. Boxes that read "FRAGILE" where one could identify broken pieces of jars, plates, and glass. There were no answers in there, simply the smell of rot, the sound of creaking, the touch of a rough surface, the sight of a horror scene, and the taste of acrid air.

"I...I can't go on." Eric said from behind Shawn after about two minutes of walking. "We can't...keep walking. We have to....fight." The words came out strange, choking. Like Eric had been crying.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:10, Mon 04 Sept 2017.

Shawn tried to seem confident, like he had a plan and knew what was going on. He had to seem strong, seem tough, like in the movies. He was a pretty good actor, and all he had to do was fool himself. "I've got a plan, Eric, but we have to work together. We can all walk out of here, okay? Do you still have that rabbit's foot?"

Eric reached into his pocket, pulling out the Rabbit's foot. Then he looked at Shawn with a serious glare.

"I'm not going to die Shawn." He said, apologetically. "I'm sorry. I...I can't." He warned, as if any second he might jump Shawn and start the attack that would be necessary to ensure his survival.

"Look, we can't escape from Mr. Cherrywinks with that - it'd just take us to where he lives. But I know people on the other side, people that oppose him. If there's a way out of this, they'll know how. But we need the rabbit's foot to get there." Shawn was making things seem a little bit more cut and dried than they were; the Fortune Teller wasn't really any nicer than Mr. Cherrywinks, and even if she (or Griffix or Bradford) did help them, it probably wouldn't be out of concern so much as a desire to deny Mr. Cherrywinks at least two souls. But it was still a hope, and Shawn tried to convey that to Eric so he'd trust him.

Eric shook his head slowly as if he was in disbelief. His free hand came up to touch the battered side of his face, all bruised and puffy. "I..I can't go back there." Eric said, voice distant. "I..I can't." He repeated, voice softer this time.

"I..I" He didn't say anything. He just looked at Shawn before finishing "I don't want to see anyone there...I don't want to see anyone or anything about the Circus ever again.."


OOC: Shawn Rolls Manipulation + Socialize + Striking looks Vs. Eric's Composure + Subterfuge

Shawn tried to seem reassuring, even as he was aware of the absurdity in him trying to comfort a boy who'd done nothing but terrorise him. "You don't have to, just let me have the tail and I can do it. You can wait here, and I'll only be gone a couple minutes."

OOC: 20:51, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,5,1,9,7,7,5. Manipulation + Socialize + Striking looks.

21:23, Today: Eric 'Trenk' Trenkenschue failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1,1,1,3)).


Eric handed over the tail reluctantly, passing it to Shawn, that still look of shock still on Eric's face.

Then, as if recognizing what he had done, or the words that Shawn had spoken, he said

"Wait! I can't let you leave me here!" As if the notion was one of complete surprise. "With the clown!" a bit of indignation creeping into his voice.

"The clown lives where I'm going. And I know there's at least three other clowns who could also be on the other side. At least the one here promised not to hurt you for another 20 minutes. But if you really want to come along..." Shawn held out his hand to Eric, even as he did his best with his words and tone to convey that it was a terrible idea.

Eric took a step forward and offered Shawn a grimy hand, smeared with grease. The forearm was scraped. The T-shirt ripped on one side, logo of Thundercats sporting a tear in the chest that Shawn could tell probably was the result of some kind of gouge or slice.

"I'm coming with you." Eric said in a decided voice that resonated with deeper certainty, a trace of confidence that sounded like the Bully Eric, if only for a moment.

Shawn wordlessly concentrated on the rabbit's foot, attempting to cross into the Circus once more.

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: A Race Against Time