In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 14):

The hall leads to a kitchen/dining room looking area.  Instead of a dining table, old padded chairs and end tables stacked with magazines line the walls.  Another hallway is at one end, with a sign saying SHOWERS/BATHROOMS.

You find the men's showers.  There are coin lockers for your stuff.  You have to slide a card to get 10 minutes of hot water.  Small bars of hotel soap and mini bottles of shampoo are heaped up in a basket.  The towels are free though.

You shower off the grime and grunge.  There's a frosted window set in one wall of the shower.  Through it you can hear the crack of the thunder and the rain.  The storm sounds like it's smacking the crap out of everything.  You probably made a good choice not driving in it.

As you rinse the last of the shampoo from your hair, you hear something different.

Thud

You wipe water out of your eyes and glance around, expecting maybe you knocked something over.  What you could have knocked over you aren't sure.  But...

It sounded like something thumped against something.

Thud

There it is again.  It's coming from the window.

It's hard to see out of the window, because of it being frosted.  But...it looks like there's something moving around outside?  Something largish?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:49, Wed 10 Aug 2022.

The shower feels refreshing, though Graham wishes he was about to head for bed. He wonders what magic might linger here. Where even is here? He reminds himself to check his location on Google Maps when he finishes.

And then he hears a sound. What was that? Graham suddenly regrets leaving his haversack out in the Civic.

He moves to the window and peers out, trying to get a better glimpse of whatever's out there.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 16):

You press your face to the frosted glass, trying to puzzle out what's out there.

It's tough to see exactly.  It's both dark, and the glass is so frosted, it's like looking through the bottom of a plastic green tinted soda bottle.

But you can see something long and kind of large sort of...floating around out there.  It's moving in an odd pattern.  Like a cat circling a ball of yarn.  Except this thing is probably bigger than you.  Maybe as big as your civic.

Half-expecting to see a Sasquatch, or more likely, a grizzly, Graham is taken aback by what he does see. "What the hell is that?" he murmurs. He watches for a bit longer, and then hurriedly throws on his clothes and goes back to talk to Bill.

"Bill, do you folks have any weird creatures out here? Like, uh, dragon-shaped?"

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 18):

You step out into the store and notice several things.

First, Bill isn't there.

Second, outside, there's a shark swimming through the air around your car.

The wind must have picked up and the rain is blowing almost sideways, making it under the rain cover over the pumps.  How the shark got there you don't know.  Also, why it's not dead since...you know...it's floating through the air.

But it is definitely a shark.  No questions about that.  You've seen too many episodes of Shark Week specials not to be able to tell.

Of course the shark is between the front door and your car.

Weirdness has a way of showing up around Graham. He never quite knows what to expect when he wakes up each morning. Still, he’s never experienced a flying shark before. For a moment, he wonders if he has slipped into a sequel to Sharknado, maybe Sharktsunami.

Graham closes the door and considers his options. He wonders where Bill might be. A wild thought comes to him - Smiley, Bill’s absence, his time on the coast - maybe Bill’s some kind of wereshark! A wereshark that can swim through the air during torrential downpours.

He walks back down to the lounge area to get a few hours’ rest before he heads back out on the road.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 20):

Like that optimisim

As you turn, you notice a movement behind you.  A quick glance over your shoulder verifies the shark is gone.  Whether it's hiding or it vanished, you don't know.  That is without stepping outside.

As you head back to the lounge, you notice two doors you didn't pay much attention to before.  They are both right outside the archway that leads down the hallway to the lounge.  The one on the left has a sign that reads PRIVATE.  The one on the right has a sign that reads EMPLOYEES ONLY

You settle down on one of the two sofas.  It's lumpy.  The other one is also, but not as bad.  You listen to the rain.  It's still coming down like a dam break.  Your eyelids start to droop.  Sleep washes over you.

HONK

HONK HONK

HONK HONK HONK HOOOOOONK

It takes a second to place the noise.  A truck horn.  It sounds sort of far away.  Hard to hear it well over the rain.  Which is still coming down.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:28, Tue 16 Aug 2022.

Private and Employees Only. Employees only? Graham has only seen Bill so far, and he figures Bill's home is behind the Private sign.

Though not about poking around where he doesn't belong, Graham leaves the two doors alone for the present. Still, if there's a shark swimming around outside, Bill ought to be told about it.

He wakes up a little groggy and checks the time. Graham needs to be back on the road, but it sounds like it's still pouring down outside. Sitting up, he grabs his now-cold coffee and takes a sip. Wondering what might be happening now, he makes his way back toward the store area of the station.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 22):

You make your way down the hallway.  You can still hear the HOOOOOONK.  It sounds like it's coming from back of the store.  Dimly, you remember there were some 18 wheelers parked back there, presumably so the truckers could get some shut eye.

As you make your way out of the hallway and into the store, the lights flicker.  They comes back on, then shut off, then come back on again.  You make your way to the windows.

The rain is still coming down, almost in sheets.  The water is pooling around about ankle deep at the moment.

Your Civic sits by the pump.  Most of your Civic sits by the pump that is.

It's hard to tell because the rain is still coming in sideways, but it looks like there's a section of your car that's missing.  You could swear the passenger side rear tire is...gone.  Whatever it is, that end of your car is sitting on the ground.

You'll need to step outside to see for certain though.  Or wait out the rain.

What . . . what happened to Graham's car? From inside the store, it looks like the back part is missing. What in the world? What started out as a quick pitstop to refuel has turned into something far stranger.

And who was honking back there? Shouldn't all the truck drivers be asleep?

Graham pushes open the door and wades out into the rain to get a better look at what's left of his car.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 24):

The rain feels like a strong ocean wave crashing against you.  Your clothes are instantly soaked to your skin.

You stumble forward and reach your car.  Sure enough, the back passenger side wheel has been...it looks sort of like it's been chewed off.  The metal of the car's body is twisted into teeth marks and the tire is just gone.

The rain pools around your ankles now.  The wind is strong enough that if you fell, it might push you along the ground.

HOOOOOONK

HONK HONK HONK

You can hear the truck horn much better now.  It's on the opposite side of the store and to the back.  You could go around the corner and look.  There's some kind of light back there.  Maybe the street lamps set around the back lot are still on.  Or maybe one of the rigs turned on their headlights.

The rain doesn't seem natural to Graham. He feels like he's in the middle of a hurricane on the Gulf, not a rainstorm up in Tennessee. What the hell had happened to his car? Had that shark eaten part of it? It sounded absurd in his brain.

And what the hell was that honking sound? Bracing himself against the wind and the rain, Graham tries to make his way around to the back of the store.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 26):

The wind pushes at your back.  As if the storm is urging you to hurry.  Or forcing you towards something.

You get to the edge of the store.  There's an ice machine quietly humming as it makes ice no one currently needs.  Peeking around it, you can see out to the truck lot.

The rain cooperates for once.  It lets up for a moment, giving you a better view.  One of the trucks has it's cab lights on.  You think the trucker is sitting behind the wheel.  Someone is.  Whoever it is apparently is leaning on their horn.  The source of the HONK HOOOOONK

Something is moving around outside the truck.  Or somethings.  You can see at least two of them.  They are kind of a dark greenish brown.  Almost like someone's wearing an ivy bush.  One of the shapes is grabbing on to the driver's side door.  The other is crawling up the hood.  As you watch, that second one seems to clamber up on the windshield and starts to hammer at it.  You can hear a sound like glass cracking over the horn blaring.

The rain picks that moment to pick back up.  It starts to drive down now and your view is obscured.

But you think you hear glass breaking.

And the honking stops.

Whoa. What are those things? Graham squints through the rain, trying to make out what's crawling all over the truck. His imagination jumps to the idea of living plant creatures.

He looks around for some kind of weapon he can use. With this torrential rain coming down, he isn't likely to find very much. And if these things are living plants, he's not sure a baseball bat or a rock will do much against them.

Cupping his hands together, he hollers, "HEY! HEY, YOU! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

OOC: Yell to try to attract the things attacking the truck. Look for a weapon. If the creatures turn towards Graham, run back to the store.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 28):

Your voice cuts through the rain.  As you peer, you think you can see the green...whatevers...start to peel themselves away from the truck.  They're definitely moving towards you.

You peer around for a weapon.  Nothing screams out at you.  Maybe a bag of ice from the ice machine?

As you glance around, you notice the door to the storefront shake.  You scramble back there and see Bill, locking the door and you outside.

He stares at you in the eyes, then turns, and runs into the store.  He starts to disappear down the hallway, reaching out to cut off light switches as he does so.  The inside of the store goes dark except for the lights of the coolers, advertising Mr. Pibb.

You hear a sloshing sound coming from back of the store.  The green...whatevers must be getting closer.

Your Civic beckons.  Even if it can't move, you have the key to it.  You can lock yourself inside.  Maybe you have something you can use to fight in there.

Vaguely, you recall there was what looked like an entrance on the other side of the store.  You think there was a door that lead into the bathroom and showers from outside.  Bill may not have locked that one.

Or you can try something else.  But at the moment, you are locked outside with the green...whatevers.

Graham is a magician. Well, a shaman/witch, to be more precise. But his brand of magic takes time and preparation, much like how Batman can defeat any opponent given enough time.

But Graham has no time right now.

He registers Bill locking him outside. Either the man is fearful or malevolent. Perhaps a little of Column A, a little of Column B.

Good grief. He has to stop this internal Peter Quill monologuing.

Thinking fast, he runs for the ice machine. Maybe he can - beat these plant monsters to death with bags of ice?

It’s worth a try!

OOC: Graham will run towards the ice machine. If there are bags of ice inside, he’ll grab one and start pummeling the dudes in green.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 30):

As the green...whatevers...come closer, you can see they are...well.  Kelp?

They look like big mounds of seaweed, each about the size of a big dog.  But you could swear that instead of legs you can see human hands reaching out from under the mounds, pulling them forward as they race towards you at a surprising clip.

We are in combat then.

I would think you are going first.  These things are not the most dexterous of beings.

You have your bag of ice.  Have at

The absurdity of the situation would almost make Graham smile, if these beings did not seem to have an air of malice to them. Kelp, a shark, a former diver and his diving suit - they all seem to be connected somehow. Has Graham been transported to the bottom of an ocean somewhere? And why had Bill shut up the store?

Graham hopes he is able to find some answers. But for now, he intends to teach these assholes some manners.

Swing the bag of ice like Graham’s in a pillow fight.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 32):

You can roll your own attack and skill rolls in this game.  I am going to pause us there.  When I get back, we will handle the bag of ice/kelp fight.

Thanks

Graham swings with the weight of glaciers behind him. Oddly, he finds himself hungry for a nice watercress salad.

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 34):

You would think GURPs would have a "flail with a sack of ice" skill.  They have so many others.  But Brawl works.

Okay.  I will use the rolls you have here and then roll for you going forward.

Thanks!

You manage to slam the ice bag on top of one of the piles of hands/algae.  The thick sack squashes the pile flat.  It rips open and ice erupts out into the water that is pooling around your ankles.

The other pile of algae seems to hesitate.  You have apparently spooked it.  Unfortunately, it's between you and the ice machine.  So your weapon is less a club and more a pixie stick.

Sorry. Bag of ice broke.  But you seem to have downed one of them.

Your move

Graham wishes he had some spooky voodou to use. He should really have a charm or two on him. Unfortunately, his kitbag is in his car. At least, he hopes it still is. The Civic did get bitten in half, after all.

He does his best Bruce Lee impression, taking a stance and readying himself for the soppy algae.

OOC: Elbows up, hands in front in a kung-fu pose. Get ready to punch and kick!

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 36):

The algae apparently didn't see that movie.  It launches itself at you...

...and misses.  Widely.  It sails past you wiiiiiddde on the right.

You catch a brief glimpse of it as it sails by.  It's like some algae rug, and hiding underneath it are some hands and maybe a glaring, dead looking eye.  But then it's gone and splashing into the pool of ankle deep rain water that's filling up the drive.

Your go

What is this thing? The creature looks like something in some weird monster movie from the 60s. Where did it come from, and how had it gotten here? Well, when in doubt, stomp the crap out of it!

Graham raises a foot and tries to stomp on the thing.

OOC: Stomping time!

In reply to Graham Snow (msg # 38):

You bring that foot. Down. Smack. Dab. In the middle of the...whatever it is.

There are bubbles rising to the surface of the pooling water.  You feel something grab at you ankle.  Mostely because something did.  A human hand with grayish blue looking skin is reaching out from under the algae and grabbing at your ankle.  It's trying to pull you off balance, though it's not doing a good job of it.

Your go