Closed / To be Deleted

[Iilyda]

{^_^ Lol, yes indeed. Actually... *laughs evily* That just gave me a horribly wonderful idea.}

Off to the other side of the stream, a strident crack of twig could be heard. Mortimer's head whipped up, listening for the sound, and it came again, closer now, and then another time. Footsteps. Mortimer looked to Joke fearfully, gesturing with his head to follow him as he ducked behind a large outcropping of rock in the cliffside. Mortimer pressed himself against the slick crags, listening as the footsteps grew nearer to the stream.

[Dradogo]

((Oooohh.... XD))

Joke glanced at Mortimer with a look of shock, following after him quickly. He held his breath as he listened to the footsteps too, his hands with a firm grip on the gun. Joke was terrified of the thought of being taken back there. He didn't want to face that horrid woman again.

[Iilyda]

{Well, perhaps not wonderful, but it shall get the story moving. }

Mortimer pressed his body so close to the rocks that the skin of his back was pierced in places, though he paid no mind. It was nearly impossible for him to conceal himself with Biddy still in his arms, seeing as the dog was so large. If this weren't enough, Biddy had chosen now to begin wriggling in Mortimer's arms, as if attempting to break free. Mortimer held Biddy tighter, trying to still her motions. She would be attracting attention to them, and just when Mortimer squeezed her close, Biddy gave a small yip in pain. Mortimer froze.

A man was staggering towards Dead Man's Creek, a shooting rifle straped across his back. He had the faltering step of a drunkard, though he didn't sway, and he seemed to be walking with a limp. A large golden retriever trotted at his side, much bigger than a sheep, and together the two were quite the mangy pair. The man wore torn jeans, a plaid hunting shirt, and a baseball cap over his brown and thinning hair. His eyes were shrewd as he neared the rocks on the opposite bank, narrowed and squinting. His boots squelched as he came to the brink of Dead Man's, and he came to a halt, casting his gaze about the dark scene. The golden dog by his side barked, stridently, its ears laid flat against its skull. The dog continued to growl, low and deep towards the back of its throat, and with a grumble, the man slipped what looked to be a flashlight out of his back pocket, flicking it on and throwing its beam around the falls. From where Mortimer stood, it seemed to be a spotlight, intent on burning him to the spot. The flashlight's beam settled far above their heads, catching a fine mist of water as it churned over the rocks.

"I see you there," the man called out. His voice was wheezy and thickly accented with a sleezy drawl. "Come out. Now. Or I'll get Bruiser here on both of ya's." The golden retriever barked again as if to agree.

[Dradogo]

Joke was frozen in place as the man approached. His eyes were locked on the huge retriever; he didn't want to deal with more dogs. Not sure what to do, Joke looked to Mortimer, hoping he had an idea. He was terrified to move and didn't want to hurt the man trying to escape.

[Iilyda]

Instead of coming out, Mortimer shrunk further into the side of the rocks, practically burying himself against them. But at the sound of the man's voice, Biddy squirmed all the more vigorously, and Mortimer's hold on her was broken. He gave a short gasp, reaching out to catch the Doberman again, but Biddy had already fallen onto the ground and rolled onto her side, well in sight of the hunter and his flashlight. The man narrowed his eyes as the dog was dropped, barking and whining fiercely, and his golden retriever - Bruiser - galloped into the creek, standing calf-deep and barking at the two boys and the Doberman.

"Whacha got there?" the man wheezed, taking a few steps towards the creek as well. "It hurt, or summit?" Mortimer stayed frozen against the rocks, his chest heaving drastically with panic, though he could not feel his own breaths. Tentatively, he edged a little further away from the cliffside. The light of the man's flashlight caught the paleness of Mortimer's bare shoulder in its beam.

[Dradogo]

Joke backed away as much as possible, whimpering as the dog got closer. He had no idea what to do, so he stayed silent, ignoring the man's question. Just to make himself feel safer, Joke tilted the gun a little, pointing it towards the man. He was afraid of what could happen, and he just wished Mortimer had an idea to get out of it.

[Iilyda]

Bruiser the golden retriever growled again, low and deep, making as if to charge at the two boys, but was quickly halted by a command from his master. "Heel, Bruiser," he grumbled, and with a disappointed whine the dog did as he was said. Mortimer had absolutely no thoughts on how to escape this. Even if they could scale the waterfall, Biddy was now lying out in the open, and he refused to leave her with this strange man. Mortimer edged closer to Biddy, exposing himself a little further.

"C'mon there, I don't bite," the hunter was saying to them now. Mortimer wasn't listening. "I ain't gonna shoot you or summit. Neither will Bruiser here bite you, you see?" The man was doing his best to coax them out of hiding, though he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He narrowed his eyes towards their hiding place and to the injured Doberman, who was attempting to wriggle her way towards the creek. "You just kids, ain't cha?" the man said next, softly, as if to himself. From what he could see in the dark, they had to be adolescents - either that, or very small men. It wouldn't have been the first time the man caught teenagers near this waterfall or around the woods, drinking or smoking their lives away. It was quite a nuisance to him - they chased away all the game.

[*-Insano-*]

"I have always been afraid of the dark. I still am. THe things that live in the dark scare me." Alex said. She looked around the room and sighed. She looked at Ezra again and laid back on her pillow. "I'm so tired."

[Dradogo]

Joke gulped, terrified of replying. But they had to do something, so Joke hesitantly took a small step forward, hiding the gun behind his back and shivering with fear as he did so. "Um... D-do you know where... where the, um, nearest vet is?" He mumbled, looking down as he spoke. He just wanted to get away, but talking to the man seemed to be their only option.

[Iilyda]

Ezra looked to be lost in contemplating for a moment, and then nodded, getting up from the bed and crossing over to the door to flick on the light switch. "Well, let's do a little experiment. Let's see how sleeping works out for you with the lights on. Are you game?" he asked, looking across the room at Alex considerately. The way Ezra figured it, if it was Alex's fear of the dark that triggered her nightmares, than sleeping with the light on would help that. If not, then some other fear had to be considered.

Seeing Joke move out into the open gave Mortimer just enough courage to duck out as well, kneeling beside Biddy immediately. The dog cringed away from his touch, making a wobbly attempt to stand on its legs. As Mortimer watched, trying to soothe Biddy back into letting him carry her, he realized it wasn't that she was struggling away from him - but towards the man with the rifle. Mortimer sat down on the craggy rocks near the creek's bed, his legs falling into the moving water as he wrapped his arms around Biddy's body protectively. Mortimer didn't want that flashlight to fall on him - didn't want to have to see the glistening wetness of blood that stuck to the gore of his body. It wouldn't be good for the man to see, if this was the living world and Mortimer one of the undead. Mortimer cowered into Biddy's fur as if to hide himself, waiting for the man's answer.

"Vet?" the hunter echoed, scratching his head in perplexity. What a strange pair of kids. The blonde one wasn't even wearing a shirt. Perhaps he had meant to go swimming, or such. "There be no vets 'round this side of the Greenbush. I take Bruiser here for his check-up all the way down in Northsbury, outta town." The man's eyes narrowed, focusing in on Biddy where she sat squirming with Mortimer clutching her tightly. "So I take it your pooch's hurt, then? Mind if I take a look?" he offered, stepping into Dead Man's Creek and taking a few steps towards the pair.