Scene: Espresso Train 96 4/01/10

The train left at 9:06am on a Thursay morning. The company, Espresso. While it was mocked for a while, the service was always found impeccable and perfect. Earning the company the highest transportation scores in the U.S. and Mexico. Train #96 was no different.

While it may be that you sit in a coach class, it feels like a business class on any other train. And the tickets were priced appropriately for coach. Splendor. The car, number three behind the engine was clean as clean can be. You'd surmise they even cleaned the clean.

While the station was busy as morning commuters made thier way to and fro, and other cars seem to be stacking people in; most of them seem to skip car number three. They ignored you as they either went from two to four, or vise versa. But who cares. More air for you. Less crying kids. And believe me, some of them were packed with families choc full of kids.

The only other residents in your car seem to be yourselves isa man in a beige jacket, slacks and a white fisherman's hat. Since he has sat down, he has been flipping a quarter over and over between his thumb. When passed by other passengers, he makes no acknowledgement that they exist. Makes no movements to comfort himself further. His eyes are obscured by mirrored shades, and his mouth bears no expression. He niether sighs or breathes loudly.

Across from the potential hit-man/drug dealer looking fellow is another wonder of natural mien. He sports a red scruffy beard, a balding head full of wisps of left over red hair and sheavy ide burns long enough to get lost in. He wears a denim vest over a beat up leather jacket. His belly hangs out over his faded jeans, complete with leather chaps. You'd put him in his fifties if you really cared to do so. He has his tray open and a new Dell laptop opened up. He seems to be watching a DVD with Golden Girls of all things. He gives out a loud bellowing gaffaw at anything Betty White seems to do.

Finally there is what you can only describe as a young girl here. While not prestine, she is well kept (Refer to picture of Sarah Darling in the NPC section). She is quiet and demur, and seemingly nervous about where she is. In her light brown hair she wears a bow. Her clothes seem old style, but very fancy. She glances around from time to time as if expecting the train to leave at just that instant.

(Wits+ Composure to notice any other odd details of the scene).

The train rolls out of the station at 9:06am and begins a non-stop from Columbia to Amherst, a city on the western edge of South Carolina bordering Georgia. The train is quiet, and calm...

(Roll to "notice something weird":
Time of roll: 2010-04-01 23:28:47
Dice Pool: 5
Results: 8,3,6,4,3
Successes: 1)
Used this (click) to roll these dice.

Karl got on the train, and looked around somewhat suspiciously. It's odd that people are avoiding this train, he thought. He took a seat despite this, near the middle. Keeping his distance from the other two passengers while not holing himself up in a corner, either. It was probably just the train operators arranging passengers based on destination, and Amherst being a small city, also has few people arriving at it, or so he concluded.

He tried not to look at the other two passengers. They both drew attention to themselves, though both for polarized reasons. One for his inclination to laugh at everything Betty White says or does, and the other for staying too still for it to take no effort to do so. He would have to work for the government for that kind of discipline.

Ayla sits in a booth near the door she enters by, taking a few minutes to get her bag situated in the overhead, though not of course before retrieving a bottle of water and a half eaten bag of Doritos of the nacho cheese variety. The girl seems quite pleased that the train car is something less than full, even if it appears to have its share of strange folks. She kicks up her feet on the opposite seat, bag of chips on her lap and pulls out her iPhone and gets ready to spend several hours on face book. If the girl notices anything out of the ordinary, she doesn’t give any sign of it.

(2010-04-02 01:50:36 Ayla rolls 6 dice to Wits + Comp 3,7,9,2,9, 7)(2 successes)

Lucas walks in, dressed in a tight pair of jeans, and a vivid red button down, looking appropriate for casual day at work, or a good night out at a bar.
Stowing his larger bag in the overhead, he tosses a backpack onto the seat next to him as he sits down. Half to himself, "God, I hope this place has a decent night life."

Celina walks onto the train, eyes covered by dark sunglasses. Dark jeans end in high-heeled leather boots, and a well loved leather jacket covers an un-tucked hunter green button down shirt. The green contrasts her tangle of red hair. She moves the glasses to the top of her head, and her green eyes casually scan her surroundings. In her right hand is a large black duffel bag, and slung across her right shoulder is a black backpack.

She moves to an open seat, and places her bags in the empty seat between her and the window. She slips a paperback out of the smaller bag, and begins to read.

The member 'Charlie R' has done the following action : Dices roll

'd10' : 7, 6, 2, 5, 3, 2

People who got successes on thier rolls (or reported rolls) have seen what they have seen through PM.

The train rolls on. This trip is expected to take three hours. Arriving at Amherst at 11:55am. People are still shifting cars, but no one else settles into car number three still. The air is calm and comfortable. You know. Perhaps a little too comfortable in here.

The 'biker guy' switches out the DVD for another ten minutes into the trip. This time you can faintly hear the sounds of some music playing. Those who have seen it know the theme to Michael Landons "Highway to Heaven". After searching through his pockets, the man puts on some head phones and plugs them into the Dell laptop and all sound is muted from his section.

Thirty minutes into the trip, the tan wearing man gets up and puts the quarter into his pocket and goes into the bathroom.

The little girl has gone to sleep.

After about half an hour of staring mindlessly into space, Lucas refocuses on the people in the train car, giving them each the once over. That done, he announces, "So...anyone in here actually from Amherst?"

Ayla finish’s her chips, and goes off to find the bathroom and a trash can. She would only be gone a few minutes. Upon her return, she sit’s a little bit closer to the window, and settles in to people watch the other folks on the train. Its pretty obvious she is starring at some of them, the girl makes no attempt to hide it.. Occasionally, she will look back at her phone for a minute or two.

Timothy walks into the train car. Dressed in Army ACU, duffel slung over his shoulder, his eyes quickly look everyone over in the car, seeming to size everyone up before taking the first seat available. Stowing his bag in the overhead compartment, he sits down, pops ear buds into his ears and looks out the window at the world moving by.

Times rolls on by. Forever it seems. Outside, daylight shadows grow long and point the way to dusk. Lazily dusk turns to a night. The train's lights come on along the center row. The speakers, which have not sounded once since the start of the trip crackle a bit and go silent again.

The biker dude looks up from his laptop and closes the lid. His face expresses confusion. Even the little girl stirs from her nap. The man wearing tan clothes and fisherman's cap never comes out of the bathroom. The air seems to have dropped in quality, bordering on stale.

Ayla puts her tee-shirt over her nose, stuffing the Iphone into a pocket in her jacket. She sits with her back towards the window, watching towards the bathroom with a rather disgusted look on her face, at least what of it you can see over the tee-shirt. She also glances back to the other passengers from time to time, looking to see if they are as disgusted.

2010-04-02 20:43:49 Timothy Hallenbeck rolls 5 dice to Intelligence + Resolve 6,9,3,3,9 (2 successes)

Ayla looks from the window to the little clock on her iPhone and back again. Outside night had fallen, even though the girl had boarded the train this morning, just an hour or so ago.
‘Man I must be tripping balls’ Ayla mumbles to herself, looking around in a slightly paranoid manner. That guy really needed to get the fuck out of the bathroom so she could go straiten herself out.

Clearing her throat to perhaps get someone’s attention, Ayla say to no one in particular, “Hey, that fellow with the hat’s been in the shitter a while now hasn’t he? Someone should go make sure he didn’t blow a gasket or something maybe?”

Lucas gets up, and moves over to the bathroom door.Maybe if he's dead, he'll have something interesting to liven this up a little.

The member 'Ben R' has done the following action : Dices roll

'd10' : 9, 2, 6, 2

Not really sure what to expect yet feeling a strange sense of dread as the rather handsome man approaches the door, Ayla moves towards the opposite end of the door, waiting with strangely morbid apprehension at the outcome.

After hearing the rumors about Amherst, and not knowing what to expect Tim tenses up as the gentleman approaches the bathroom.

Stands up, walks across the aisle looking out the widows opposite his own seat.
"Something is very wrong here. It should not be anywhere near this dark this early in the morning. It's not even noon."
Looks around the car to gauge the reactions of everyone else.

Maybe she isn’t tripping quite as hard as she thought, Ayla realizes. Still making no attempt to get closer to the bathroom, the girl offers,

“Maybe its like a solar eclipse or something? Like why else would it be dark during the day.”

Moves into a position to be able to back up the gentleman approaching the bathroom door, looking at him he quietly says "Be careful"

Looking at the yuong woman he replies
"I don't believe there is a solar eclipse today, but anything is possible. Before I was transfered here I heard strange things about Amherst"

If anyone is opening the door to the bathroom let me know.


The door to the bathroom indicates that it is -pied (the lock is not fully turned. Slider would read Occupied if fully locked.).

Upon reaching the door, Lucas knocks a couple of times. If no one answers, the door is opened.

It really doesn't take much to wrench the door open, the catch was barely holding the flimsy door closed. However, it looks like Espresso will be fixing the door frame and the bathroom will be a little harder to lock in the future.

Inside. No one. Written on the mirror, in black neat ledgible handwriting are the words "Thank You". A quarter lies on the edge of the sink.

[1 success on Wits + Resolve]

The redhead looks up from her book, then looks around. A quick check at the watch on her wrist makes a slight frown wrinkle her forehead.

A perfect eyebrow arches at the man opening the bathroom door, and her face remains calm. She puts her book away and divides her attention between the bathroom drama and being generally aware of what's going on in the rest of the train.

It's gonna be a long fucking day...

Grabbing the quarter, Lucas slips it into his pocket. Shrugging his shoulders, he turns around and heads back to his seat.

Walks into the bathroom and looks around quickly, before walking back out,
"Are we sure there was actually someone in here?"

The redhead gets up after the man has left the bathroom, and gives the bathroom a scan [looking for any possible way for someone to get out without coming out of the door- vent, etc.]

"Unless we all hallucinated the same thing, which is doubtful." She replies to the man. Her voice has a slight Boston accent to it.

“The man with the straw hat, skin looked all…I don’t know, plastic-y. Like he had too much botox or something. Is there a hatch or something in there he could have left by?” Ayla offers, not getting closer to the bathroom then she needs to.

"No there is no other way he could have gotten out of here other then the door. Did anyone feel drowsy or sleepy? Maybe they used a chemical agent?"

"I dont feel tired, I dont think I feel asleep either." Ayla responds

She quirks an eyebrow at the 'chemical agent' remark.

"And what would the purpose be to drug a train full of passengers?"

"Test run for a more lethal attack on a larger, more main line train such as Metro North line into NYC. Of course, what would be the point of a mystery man walking into the bathroom on a train, disappearing, and then leaving a bunch of strangers a note on a mirror?"

The biker looking guy gets up and tucks his laptop under his arm. He walks down the aisle. He walks past the little girl who looks up at him in awe, perhaps ready to leap away if the man lurches at her or some such. Biker man just walks by. He stops at the rear of the car and tilts his head.

"I think some one is pulling some sort of gag on us. This car back here looks normal. Still daylight". He attempts to pull open the door but struggles to keep the laptop tucked in his other arm. "Damn thing is stuck. I'm going to fucking sue someone if this shit continues". He puts the laptop down on the ground and pulls the door release handle with both hands which finally ends in a frustrated grunt.

The little girl picks herself up and shuffles down the aisle away from the rear of the car and to the front door. She looks through the window. "Sunlight", she says softly but audible enough to hear. "Sunlight!"

She too tries to open her door and fails.

In the rear the biker fellow gives one more loud heave and yells when he fails. He pulls out a cell phone and bangs on the window in what looks like an attempt to catch someone's attention on the otherside. Instead he breaks his cell phone and causes a spiderweb crack in the safety glass.

The girl in the front screams as the next event unfolds. Every single window in the train seems to fog up or get dirty. Its as if a frost of grayish filth coats the windows. The air seems to be bogged down, tasting unfiltered and heavy. The upholstery on the seats of car number three seem to fade and look worn, starting from the front to the back like a wave of time crashing down. Even the aluminum and wood panelling once so perfectly clean has become dingy and impure. The whole picture of the car is one of age and neglect. The car rocks as it hits uneven tracks, but it appears as if the train is slowing down.

A couple of things of note at this point:
1) It is very hard to see out any of the windows. It is still dark outside.
2) It is impossible to see clearly into other cars. All you can see looking into them is silhouettes and basic dark shapes.
3) I will wait a little longer for more responses, particularly from Karl before continuing. Interact between yourselves as you will.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.” Ayla says, again to no one in particular. “I aint the only one seeing this shit am I?” She brushes back her hair with her left hand, blinking as if everything will go back to normal. The girl doesn’t even mess with acid or shrooms, there must have been something in that ganja she enjoyed on the ride over. She moves towards the little girl, to try her own luck at opening the door.

Runs back to his bag and pulls out two items. The first is a white T-shirt, which he ties around his mouth and nose, the second is his M9 pistol and holster, which he clips to his belt. Moving over toward the little girl he gently, but firmly moves her away from the door and positions himself between her and the door way, kneeling down, he pulls his pistol, and aiming his pistol upwards.

"Ok, anyone have any idea what is going on here? I heard that this place is supposed to be as strange as Area-51. Anyone else know anything about the area? Or have any idea why we are already slowing down?"

Maybe there wasn’t something in her weed, maybe it was something in the air. Ayla grabs a spare tee-shit out of her backpack in the overhead and wraps it around her face, sort of like the man is doing. Strange though, Ayla didn’t know of any drugs that would make them all trip the same thing. Still the man had a gun and seemed to know what he was doing. Looking at the fellow she asks, “Do you really think there might be something in the air, or that something might attack us?” Her voice is somewhat muffled behind the tee-shirt.

"It's possible. I don't know anything for sure other then the air 'tastes' different then it did when we first boarded, and terrorists have been trying to get their hands on chemical weapons for years. As to something attacking us. I don't know what is going on right now, but SOMETHING is, and I would rather be prepared and have nothing happen, than not be prepared and have something happen. "

"Either we're being fucked with, or we're not. Maybe there is a secret door."
Lucas turns back to the bathroom and begins poking and prodding.

“Could you shoot the glass our, and we could get into another train car?” The girl asks. She wasn’t sure how thick the glass was, or if the pistol round might go through it and into the next train car and wound someone there.

Celina remains alert, keeping her eyes and ears open. She keeps checking each exit, and the windows.

"Yes I likely could considering that gentleman" his eyes flicker briefly to the biker "Cracked the glass on the other window with just a cell phone. However we don't know what is going on right now so the best thing to do is to sit tight. If it is a chemical attack, breaking the window would only allow the gas to come in quicker. We don't know enough just yet to make a move"

“Is there some sort of emergency button or something? Maybe some way to talk to the conductor? Did it look like the train just aged to anyone else? Like the seats and stuff?” Ayla asks, her voice risking panic.

A couple of notes about the car:

1) There are four emergency exits. These are push/pull windows with a handle to do so.

2) There are two fire extinguishers on either side of the car, and a small fire hatchet in a glass case.

3) There is an emergency cord. Usually pulling this will send a signal to the conductor compartments and the engine. These days they will not stop the train. Like the electorial college, people cannot be trusted.

4) There are four doors on either end that lead outside. These are controlled by the main control at the engine (to open all doors attached to the train), and secondaries are at the small conductor compartment (which control the car's specific doors).

5) There are two doors at either end which open by a pop lever (easy access lever) to open them and move to other cars. The windows to both of these cars are 'foggy' right now. The one that the biker tried to open is no longer cracked. The cracks have seemed to fade away after the train 'got older'.

The girl runs away from anyone who approaches her. "I'm not supposed to talk to or go near anyone! Where is the sunshine?!". She is on the edge of hysterics.

The Biker looks like he is headed for the fire hatchet. "I'm gonna either get to another car or I'm stopping this train. I don't know about all you assholes, but this is not a place I want to be in."

His gun never moving, and making a pointed effort to keep his finger on the trigger guard, and not the trigger, his eyes move over towards the biker.
"If you go for that axe, and try to break the window, you may end up killing as all. Most of us are adults here and have lived life, that poor little girl over there however will die never having lived her life. Can you live with that? Yea things are strange right now, it's dark out, our train car appears to have aged, but we aren't yet in any immediate danger, so we can take a breath and figure out what is going on without making things worse. Your call."

“Look Mister,” Ayla says to the man with the gun. “I don’t know what’s going on, but something is happening in here. Maybe its gas, I don’t know, but if it is then it’s already in here and it doesn’t look like it’s in the other train cars. I think we need to alert the conductor, and if that fails we need to get out of here, one way or another. What ever is causing this is in here with us, and just sitting here waiting for it to get better isn’t going to help us.”

"I am no one's parent, nor am I a cop. I have no authority over anyone here. I am just giving my opinion here. If we are being affected by gas then yes we are already under it's influence, but opening a door or breaking a window may speed up any effect already upon us. Now maybe you can see better then me, and you can see through this fogging on the window, I can't, so I can't say for sure if the other cars are affected or not. I am used to others making decisions and then having to deal with the aftermath of those decisions, so by all means, if you all want to do something, feel free "
Having said that he lowers his gun but does not holster it.

Ayla shrugs, and walks over to the emergency cord, giving it a firm tug. Someone had to do something.

It let out a groan, an almost a sub-tonal bass noise. From front to back the drone of the moaning train could be heard. It was if pulling the cord tugged on the very spine of some beast and caused it pain. Some sort of spur had been dug into its side, the train slowed again down to a crawl.

The air in the car hung desperate and full of doom, all warmth in the car had gone away. The apparent age of the car had gone from old to ancient. Only the rusting metal springs and torns bits of mildew covered cloth remained of the seats. They were still arranged, but like a mortuary for such seats. The floor was red with rust and age. Flakes of metal strewn through the interior. Plastic wood panelling was faded and cracked, in some places just completely missing.

The lights had gone from slighly dim to just an erie blue-ish cold glow. This was no longer a recognizable place. It was somewhere else.

After only a few moments, the train shuddered like a dying beast and came to a stop.

Outside was a cool dim light interrupted only by wisps of fog. In the fog, shadowed shapes darted and jumped. Some of them howled. Some of them crawled on mishapen limbs as they suctioned to the outside of the train. Thump. Thump. Everywhere around the passengers of Espresso Train 96, car three.

The biker looked up as something walked on the roof. He back against the wall and pissed himself. The girl tucked into a corner.