Aberrant: Children of Heaven - Chapter One: All Together Now

[Zoey Black]

Zoey's mouth quirked in an expression that was not amusement. "You know I never put two and two together that Sebastian was Skins. It just didn't occur to me that one of the school jocks would like anime." She looked to Eddie, "You know me too, I post as Goth Girl on your forums. Real name is Zoey, nice to meet you in person." She looked at Valentine waiting to see if he too was on the website. With as many freaky coincidences as they had witnessed today she thought she'd be more surprised if he wasn't posting on the site than if he was.

[Valentine Cormack]

"My name's Valentine.", the young teenager taking his position next to Zoey. It was half a gesture of showing allegiance with her and maybe even more. He felt better around her - less outsiderish.

The talk about that Forum was new to Valentine. He had no clue what the others were talking about but Eddie seemed to be a nice guy. Valentine waited trying to not think of any catastrophe that could happen - he almost believed he was causing all this without knowing it. The rain unsettled him and he looked nervously to Sebastian and then out of the window.

"I have no idea what is going on here... I'm just scared. Really scared."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie was floored. Two of his fans were involved in this? He simply dipped his head in acknowledgment, unable to even say anything else. It was suddenly much more awkward than it had been. Thankfully, the other young man spoke suddenly, and took attention from him.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira waited as John introduced himself in his slow but understandable way, and made no hurry to rush him. Then she picked up the book from where she was sitting on the bed.

"Well, I think Xavier here is th' only one who didn't know, but m'name is Moira - Moira Fitzgerald. An', well.. as fer the book, it was delivered ta' me this - or, yesterday, I suppose - mornin'. An' it's old, or th' best forgery the gods have ever laid eyes on. At least, that would be my professional opinion, as an archeologist.. except is has our pictures in it. An' that.. I don' understand at all."

She opened the book to the image of them - it almost seemed to fall open to it - and held it out for them to look at it. The teens hadn't gotten much of a chance earlier, and neither Eddie or Xavier had really paid much attention to it until she picked it up.

[Adrian Moss]

Were they all moaning and complaining about this sudden windfall from the Powers that Be? It seemed incredible to Xavier that this could be the case. They had suddenly been gifted with real power. Why not take advantage of it?

What did suck was being pushed around. Xavier had to do something about that.

"Hey. My name is Xavier, also," looking at Wakiki, "Fireburns."

To Moira,

"Can I see that book?"

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira hesitated, wondering briefly if the visions or delusions were linked to the book, or something that would only affect her. It seemed likely to be something exclusive to her, since all these other people seemed to have their own unique.. abilities. She tentatively handed it over to him, with a little sigh that she didn't have any of her cotton gloves with her.

"Be careful with it - try not ta' touch it more than possible, alright?"

Originally Posted By: Description of Book/Outside

She unknotted the twine and pulled the crisp brown paper away to reveal an ancient leather-bound book.

There was no fancy embossing or gold calligraphy like was usually found on the 'vintage' books she was brought by con artists and hopeful antiquers. This was actually old, the brown leather faded and cracked from time. The pages inside were thick, thicker than paper and when she pealed back the cover to look at them she could smell the musty, acrid stench of decay. They were yellowed and frayed at the edges and some even had moth holes eaten through the center of of the pages. The faded yellow ink scribed out line after line of some language Moira had never encountered before, interspersed with hand-drawn star charts, pictures, and other drawings that she couldn't decipher.

It was beautiful and it was utterly mystifying. She traced her finger over the design drawn on the first page, a sort of stylized dragon that didn't seem Eastern or Western...

Originally Posted By: Description of Book/Inside

The sketch reminded her of a family portrait, although she certainly never belonged to such a family. But there she was, slightly to the right of center, wearing her usual corset and skirt. On either side of her were two men, one Asian and dressed in the classic samurai outfit she remembered from a trip to Japan during Golden Week. The other was dressed in denim overalls and looked like someone lost a greek god in a field in Iowa. Behind her and leaning down as if he was whispering into her ear was the most beautiful (sketch of a) man Moira had ever seen. Her heart fluttered when she glanced at him and she tried to memorize every detail from way his eyes seemed to gaze past her in sketch to the hand on her shoulder and the cuff of an expensive suit that could be seen beyond that hand. In front of the four of them were three teenagers, posing like the picture was some yearbook spoof. Two of them looked like the goths she had in and out of her store every day, and the other was wearing a football jersey. He looked lost.

There was a caption penned on the page opposite the picture, but again it was in the strange markings that permeated her odd bequethal.

[Adrian Moss]

He handled the pages like the dryest autumn leaves and the cover as if it was ancient bones grinding together.

"Any clue on how old this is?," he murmured, "Or, hasn't there been time to figure it out?"

"There hasnt' been the time," he said answering himself. Then he came to the portrait. He whistled softly and looked up to Moirra,

"How can this be real? This has to be a trick of some kind. What else can it be?"

Offering the book gingerly to its possessor,

"You had better take this back. My hands are starting to shake."

A terrible fear that his actions were not his own came over him, that he was being controlled by events beyong his control, caused his hands to shake. He hated this. It had to be a lie.

"What do you plan to do with this?" he choked out in a cough. "How soon can we prove this is a forgery because I don't like what this says?"

His smile was there, but it was weak.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira studied him, and some little part of her was relieved that he wasn't flippant about everything. At least he seemed to be taking this somewhat seriously. In return, she gave him a serious answer, though it didn't serve to ease his fears any.

"Even the head o' th' Archeology an' Anthropology department at U of P couldn't believe it when he saw the pictures. He wanted me ta' bring it in right away, but then all this happened..."

She took the book back carefully, and looked down at it for a long moment before holding it in Eddie's direction so he could take a look at it as well.

"The only indicators that th' book is a forgery is the picture.. the text indicates it's Sumarian in origin, or some semblance thereof, which would make it - if it's legitimate - one of the most important archeological finds of our generation, for sure. But the Sumarians, to our knowledge, hadn't developed book bindin' yet, so it's possible it's a later reproduction for some sort o' religious purpose, or mystery cult. Even so.. all evidence thus far supports it bein' older than any of our grandparents, at the very least. In either case, our pictures damned well should'na be in it. The only other option is that it's one o' th' best forgeries ever known to man. An' if that were the case.. what on earth would someone like that be doin' forgin' somethin' like this? Why include our pictures at all, if yer goin' ta put this much effort into fakin' somethin' this well, you don't add somethin' that will cast doubt on it's authenticity."

She drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"Of course, that's just my professional opinion.. with the help of some input from the Head of Archeology and Anthropology at University o' Portland, that is. Now.. can ye' see why I'm so bothered by all o'this, Xavier?"

[Valentine Cormack]

Valentine's voice sounded very sober and absent minded, almost as if he wasn't in the room when he spoke, "It doesn't have to be forgery. What if this all happened before? Maybe we're all reincarnation of some kind and one of the Prophets could see the future? The book is a warning - a reminder and if we fail this time it starts all over again - until one day we manage to break free. By the looks of it we haven't been much successful over the last 2000 years or so... but I could wrong of course. I'm just a freak they say."

He shrugged and suddenly snapped out of his daydream like state. His eyes focused with much more precision now and he looked dead serious, almost haunted all of a sudden.

[Adrian Moss]

Valentine responds before he can, but Xavier nods to what he says.

"Oh, I can see why you are so bothered by all this Moira. I'm bothered by the idea that all of this is predestined. I'm really opposed by having my actions dictated to me, if you know what I mean. It makes me want to walk out the damn door - present company excluded such action."

[Moira Fitzgerald]

She studied him for a minute, then shook her head slightly, and let out a little sigh.

"Well, I suppose ye'd want better think of it this way, Xavier - current situation aside, there's nothin' ye' can do about it either way, now is there? Ye're not a teenager rebellin' against yer parents. Either all our actions are the result of free will - in which case it's our decision what to do about the situation we find ourselves in right now.. or they're not. An' if they're not, and our lives are predestined in one way or another, then there's nothin' ye can do about it anyway. No way o' gettin' out of it. If ye' were mad enough to stand up and walk out the door right now.. well, if yer life is set fer ye, then that's what ye were predestined to do all along anyway, now isn't it? There's no halfway, really."

She took a deep breath, closing the book and setting it down on the bed again.

"So.. I'd stop worryin' about predestined or not fer now.. an' worry about common sense instead. We just got attacked from outta nowhere. I was shot at fer the first time in m'life not less than what seemed like an hour ago ta' me. D'ye want to brave that on yer own? Cause if so.. like I said ta' Sebastian.. I can't stop ye. I just wouldn't recommend it, if ye know what I mean."

With that, she seemed to dismiss further discussion on the conversation with mannerism alone. If he was going to stay, so be it. If not.. well, that was fine too. She was having a hard time caring about trying to force all these people together who wanted to run away, even though her gut told her that together was where they were supposed to be. She turned to Zoey, and motioned to the door of her room.

"It's about six or so in the mornin', lass. Are yer parents home, do ye think? Do we need ta' get outta here so they don't find us, or so that nothin' comes lookin' fer us here while they're about? Perhaps we should look aroun' the house to make sure everythin' here is okay. An' if ye' have internet access, perhaps one of us can try an' find somethin' in the mornin' paper or on local news fer Portland ta' see if anythin's been made public about a murder, or John bein' missing, or anythin' like that?

[Zoey Black]

Zoey motioned toward the computer on her desk in the corner. "You can use that, but if you are going to go searching please don't search on something that might looking incriminating to investigators. Just check out the morning papers or the news for Portland, don't go searching on 'dead guys found in shop' or something like that please."

She started toward the door then stopped. "Uh, I want someone with me please, with all the noise we've made there is no way my parents wouldn't have been bitching if they were home." She waited for someone to volunteer before going to search the house for who knew what...

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie popped to his feet in an easy motion. He simply bowed to Zoey, not quite sure what instinct had moved him to protect the girl. It was like with Moira; he'd felt compelled by something to leap to her defense. He hoped he wasn't developing a hero complex. That seemed fatal and foolish.

Moving to the door, he listened carefully, then stepped into the hall. He looked back to Zoey, his face asking which way to go.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier got up to go with Zeoy, but Wakiki beat him to the intro. He shrugged and sat back down giving Zoey a pleasent grin at their near rendevous. Funny, but the rushed artist was going to be the one helping Zoey create a viable story as to what he was doing in this house. He, the man made to lie, was going to be left behind. This was choice.

[Wa'ne]

With all the men jumping at Zoey's request for a bodyguard, Sebastian stayed where he was. That train had left the station anyway...she had that thing for Val now.

Call, I should at least call...how come they didn't call me? If it really is 12 hours later?

Sebastian lifted his head suddenly and pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly checking and confirming neither messages or texts. Pulling 'home' out of his phonebook, he dialed, not really caring if anyone else listened at this point.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira stood up and stepped over to the computer. She sat down at Zoey's desk and flipped it on, waiting for it to power up. As soon as she had power and internet access, she began to research public websites - doing as Zoey requested and trying to keep her avenues of approach pretty generic. She searched the local news, the Portland news, and hit the major news websites, as well as anything else she could think of.

Click to reveal..

Rolling Int + Acad for research about current event stuff: (12:22:35) ChatBot: (Moira) rolls 6d10 and gets 5,8,3,8,2,1 = 2 suxx

(Edited to include roll for research.)

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier knows he's nearly helpless with computers, barely able to access his own text messages and e-mails. Since there is no helping Moira there and since everyone has been up since yesterday morning ...

"Valentine, since this is your home, why don't you show me around. Let's go out and get everyone a bite to eat. I'm sure there has to be something like a Denny's or McFoodworld around here close by. What say you and me head out and get some much needed vittels," he grins. "After all, when was the last time any of you ate?"

[Valentine Cormack]

Valentine gasped at Xavier unable to say anything at first. He stammered something unintelligible before he made a double take.

“It’s not my home – it’s hers.”, he pointed at Zoey hoping Xavier wouldn’t swallow him since he mentioned something about having breakfast. Right now he had no appetite at all – he was too scared to think anything that was not directly connected to the current situation. He wished he was more the levelheaded type who could keep his cool in such a situation but he wasn’t.

“I have no idea about anything – honestly.”, he apologized.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier nods with some understanding the socially awkward teenager. 'It's okay' he mouths then turns to Sebastian.

"Sebastian, is this your hometown? If you are hungry, because I know I am, could you guide me to some place were we can get some food and take the pressuer off of Zoey's family to provide for us. Does that sound cool?"

[The Story Guide]

Downstairs the house still had that hushed morning feel, despite the glimpses of soccer mom's and reluctant children making their way to morning Starbuck's pick-me-ups or school bus stops. A quick walkthrough of the living room revealed no morning paper or even the briefcase Zoey's mom always set by the front door first thing when she got up; a similar jaunt through the kitchen showed a distinct lack of breakfast bowls or dirty pans waiting in the sink. The timers on the microwave and stove blinked a steady and unhelpful 12:00.

Zoey made her way to the master suite with Wakiki padding silently behind her. The door was open a few inches, letting light from the bedroom windows into the dim hallway. At first it looked as though they'd just overslept: her mother was still curled up in bed and that Zoey could see was also blinking it's insistence on being noon or midnight, but when she pushed the door open enough to walk through she caught sight of her father. He was crumpled on the floor, still in the boxers and grey Tee that acted as his pajama's, with some sort of dart sticking up out of his neck.

Moira sifted through the usual stories of petty political corruption, the newest ecological catastrophe waiting just a generation down the line, and new beauty products guaranteed to solve all your inadequacies (and with all natural ingredients!) until she found an article that caught her eye. No sensational splash of half a murder victim found or the dissapearance of three teens from Vancouver. Instead, Portland had issued an Amber alert for one John Steyos. The article provided a picture, a brief summary of the meteor incident, and a plea from his guardian that he be returned quickly and safely. The article also gave a history of the orphanage that John lived at, but mentioned nothing of an attack on either the mother or the police officer she had been with. It also didn't mention Moira or her shop.

Click to reveal.. (For Moira)

As she closed out the web browser after reading the article, her eye caught on the trashcan icon at the top of the screen. She blinked, wondering why she should care about that, and suddenly she wasn't herself any more. It was dark and the hands that moved in front of her, the hands that were connected to the body she was looking out from, were covered in black gloves and quickly rifling through the contents of the computer.

The stranger picked through stored photos, old homework assignments, saved chat logs, and anything that looked remotely personal. All were copied onto a jump file drive and then something was loaded off the drive onto the computer. It was all so fast, so predatory and quick, and then someone was calling up from downstairs on a walkie-talkie. Moira was being dragged along as the stranger made their way to the window and effortlessly jumped down the two story drop. They hit the ground lightly and the stranger glanced up to the sky, then down to their watch. It was midnight.

To the others in the room, Moira has been staring at the desktop of Zoey's computer for about two full minutes now.

[Zoey Black]

Zoey rushed to her father and checked his pulse and listened to see if he was breathing. Was he drugged or dead? She held her own breath as she waited in horrible suspense for the few seconds it took to make a determination.

[The Story Guide]

His skin was cool to the touch, but not cold; after few heartstopping moments she could feel the air stir around his mouth in a shallow breath. His pulse was similarly weak but steady, a lethargic staccato against her fingertips.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Wakiki moved quietly into the room, his eyes searching for the danger that Zoey didn't have the state of mind to spot. He let her tend to the two older people as he watched for the danger that he believed was there.

[Adrian Moss]

After about a minute and a half of doing nothing, and no response to going out and getting some food, Xavier went to Moira to get some direction - and found her staring at the screen, no fingers typing away and no eye movement going over the scream.

"Oh Crap!," he whispered. "We've lost her too."

Gently, he shook her shoulder,

"Moira? Moira, snap out of it."

[Zoey Black]

Zoey felt unexpected tears of relief flow from here eyes. She didn't much like her parents, but they were still her parents. She stood up aburptly, "Damnit, the ninjas have been here too. We need to call 911 and then get the hell out of here. Those guys had to be here looking for us, my parents wouldn't be hurt right now if not for us." She knew she was starting to babble the words even as the thoughts came to her so she closed her mouth and pulled Eddie back out and to her room. She was pulling her cellphone out as she walked back into where the others were. As she did she stopped for a moment wondering why the pretty man was shaking Moira.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

After a moment of being gently shaken by Xavier, she gasped a little and blinked, seeming to come out of her haze.

"Oh, shyte. They've been here - they were on the computer. Zoey."

She jumped up and out of her chair, hurrying out of the room, praying they hadn't hurt the girl's parents.

"Zoey?! Eddie! Where are ye?"

[Zoey Black]

"We're right here and yeah, they've been here. My parents are drugged in their bedroom. They are barely breathing. I'm going to call 911 then we need to get out of here fast. They might be waiting down the street or something in case we came here. Either way, my parents were attacked because of us." She paled as she realized that if they came here then they probably went to Sebastian and Valentines houses as well. She stopped mid stride half in the doorway her mind racing. If they called the cops or 911 then the bad guys would know they'd been there and come immediately, and might get here before her parents were safe, plus the cops would ask lots of questions about where Zoey had been. That wouldn't work.

"Wait, plan B. Getting the cops involved is a bad idea. We take my parents and dump them in a hotel room somewhere safe. They will wake up confused, but safe, or even dump them at an emergency room, but we should do it fast, and then get to Sebastian and Valentines houses and check on their families. Follow me everyone!" She rushed back down the hall to her parent's room. "Someone grab my parents and I'll make us a doorway to someplace safe and random."

She tried to think of places she had been before that would be unoccupied where her parents could sleep off the drugs. Her considerable time discussing with her ex-boyfriend what to do if they ever had to go on the run was coming in handy... "Check them for tracking devices too. Be a bitch if they were lojacked by the bad guys." She looked to see if everyone was there and ready to go. She knew just the spot. Her parents often stayed in high end hotels when they were on business and she remembered a few of those places. They were rarely ever fully booked because of the prices so hopefully they wouldn't appear in a room that was occupied. When every seemed ready she concentrated as best she could this time taking a few seconds to get focused. She didn't want another 12 hour time glitch, she wanted to be there now.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier moved alongside Moira. Zoey was going nuts, but it was a coordinate nuts that had some bits of sense in it. There was some things he could do to help.

"Zoey, tracking devices are mostly television. Unless you have a GPS tracker and access to that kind of hardware, plus GPS trackers have some size to them.

Cellphone style trackers on the other hand ..."

He searched the father for any strange wounds or obvious devices. He directed Moira to do the mother.

"Zoey, do you think they can track you buy what you do? Whatever we do uses some kind of energy ... or they know about the book too. Maybe they have a dark version of what we possess and the superior resources to find out who we are. Has anyone used their gifts at their homes? If so, we should go there first."

[Moira Fitzgerald]

"Alrigh', let's think about this."

Moira began to do as Xavier suggested, looking Zoey's mother over for any type of tracking device. She was distracted though, her mind going over and over what she had seen from the computer.

Click to reveal..

(14:37:09)Rolling Perception to spot hidden devices or anything unusual: ChatBot: (Moira) rolls 3d10 and gets 5,1,5 = Blech.

"Zoey, lass, they were on yer computer - they copied yer personal things, yer assignments, yer documents, photos, chat logs - everythin'. I saw it when I was on yer computer.. it was late, dark. An' we have ta' check on the others, but I'd be willin' ta' bet.." She glanced briefly at Eddie, motioning to the two on the bed. "..that the two people ye' were worried abou' had this happen to 'em too."

She sat back, glancing at the two prone figures thoughtfully, and held out a hand for Zoey to stop.

"I dunno.. maybe it might be best if we leave them here. They'll have questions when they wake up, an' they seem ta' be fine, just sedated. John's ma' - or at least, his guardian - apparently he's an orphan - has reported him missin'. I found a notice about an Amber Alert out fer him in Portland. It'll be spreadin' nationwide if he isn't home soon.. and he's a hard man ta' miss. We can't just go runnin' around with him now. Christsakes."

[The Story Guide]

The phone had rung and rung and rung, finally switching over to Sebastian's father's voice asking for a name, number, and brief message. Sebastian hung up with a worried sigh and a frown, then nearly jumped off the bed when the phone buzzed a moment later in his hands and blinked a message of: "One new text message. Open?"

Click to reveal.. (Text Message for Sebastian)

Don't call again. Leave where you are. Get to a public computer and text me back fron your Yahoo IM. Be careful. If you're outside of Vancouver, don't come back.

His mother loved her cell phone and texted like a teenager, so from all the spelled out words this was either his father or someone else with his parents phone.

[Adrian Moss]

"Can Zoey just take him home, with us of course? There seems a good reason to avoid anyplace we normally went to, like family and friends. It wouldn make sense that they have been to all of our places. We have to move to some place new. Any suggestions?"

He looked to Sebastian,

"We can't go home anymore unless they track us down and do ... I don't know. Have you encountred them yet? I haven't."

[Zoey Black]

Frowning, "Ok Moira, if you think they'll be safe here then lets go. I'll take us some place random so they can't follow or be there waiting for us. But if we're going let's go now before they do show up and we have a fight over the top of my sleeping parents, that wouldn't be healthy for anyone."

With an amber alert out for one of their party that would seriously limit the places they could safely go. It would need to be some place in Oregan otherwise they would be guilty of taking John across state lines and that was illegal, either that or go some where far enough away that no one would think anything of them. Where had she been before that would be far enough away to be safe? Then she had it. When she was younger her father had taken her on a business trip with him because the CEO of the other company had made a passing comment about how it would be nice if their daughters could meet and play together. She had been to young at the time to understand that she was being used as a ploy to seal a corporate deal. At the time she had been estatic that her father was paying so much attention to her and taking her on an adventure. The reality had been disappointing to say the least. He had been just as distant and uncaring as ever, but when they had arrived at the park next to one of Houston's tallest buildings she and another child were dumped into the care of a nanny to play while the grownups talked business. She had been given a stern lecture before hand about how it was important to play nice with the other little girl and to not make her angry or cry or she would be punished and immediately sent home. At the time it had seemed like her father cared more about the other little girl than he had about his own daughter. As she grew older she came to realize the truth of it was that he didn't care for either of them other than how it could benefit his career. She had learned a valuable lesson from that trip even though it had taken her years to really comprehend.

On the other hand, it gave her a place to go. She had only been to that park one time in her life but it had made a big impression on her young mind and she remembered it in strong detail. At one corner of the block there was a semi-circular wall two and a half stories tall that was a fountain. Her father had called it a water wall. That was where she concentrated on. The outer surface of the half circle was shaded by trees an there was a spot she remembered where she had hid playing hide and seek that they wouldn't be spotted on arrival. It wasn't very large, but would fit them all if they didn't mind being cozy and would give them a chance to talk.

This time around she concentrate on arriving not only in the right location but also in having time not pass during the transfer.

Click to reveal..

Warp:

(18:57:07) ChatBot: (Zoey) rolls 6d10 and gets 7,3,4,3,2,3.

1 success

[Wa'ne]

It was starting to sink in that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't going to get to walk across the stage and accept his diploma. Nor was he likely to attend Oregon next year. All of his previous existence was starting to seem a lifetime away. A life that ended with the backstabbing by his two best friends.

"No...I haven't." Sebastian said, glancing up from his phone. "But apparently they've been to my place and I've been warned to stay out of Vancouver. Gotta get to the library to message them."

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira glanced at Sebastian, her expression growing even more serious if that were possible, and she nodded slightly. Her eyes flickered over to the portal, and her lips pressed together with determination.

"Stay out of Vancouver - alright. Zoey, lass, where's this portal takin' us?"

"Nowhere in Vancouver."

Moira looked at the girl in confusion, then her eyes flickered around the room. The lass was right, there might be electronic devices, bugs, anything.

"Well.. good. And it's no where they could track us easy, right darlin'? No friends or relatives, nothin' they coulda gotten from yer computer or anythin'? I don' really know what they took from it fer sure, or why."

"No.. no, just a place I went to.. once."

"Alright, then. Let's get goin'."

Without any further hesitation beyond grabbing the books again, Moira drew in a determined breath, and stepped through the portal after taking John's hand in hers and making sure he came with her. He was her responsibility now, and she needed to make sure he got home safely to his guardian, if possible. So were these other kids too, but.. John was more like a child than any of them. The rest were nearly adults grown, at least she could treat them like it, or close enough.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier followed Moira and John through the portal. He had his mission. He was to stick close to her and that meant ... sticking close to her. With any luck, in this new place, he would have a chance to have a private talk with her. A very private talk.

[Valentine Cormack]

Valentine watched the others unsure what to do. He didn't want to be left behind, though. Sighing he looked back as if he could see his former life somewhere on the wall which he actually did. At least it felt to him like that.

He saw Moira step through the portal and gave Sebastian a sideways glance before he followed her. What choices did he have anyway?

[Wa'ne]

Sebastian saw the glance, and felt like returning one of his own, but as he reread the text one last time, he knew that he was bound to this group somehow whether he wanted to be or not.

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Stuffing his phone in his back pocket and lamenting the loss of his nearly new truck, he walked through the gateway to Houston. His previous thoughts of 'portals to Hell' becoming fresh in his mind.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie sighed nervously as he was left alone in the house. He didn't want to follow - how much time would he lose this time? Still, he had few options at the moment, and he walked further down the rabbit hole, following the raven-haired Alice on her trek.

On the other side, he looked around immediately, wary about being attacked again.

[The Story Guide]

The park was painted in morning pastels and empty save for a group of overacheiving 30-something women in the midst of yoga contortions on the green. Luckily most of them had their heads planted in mats or tucked under various body parts and hadn't seemed to notice the unusual additions to their park.

The portal closed silently behind them and Big John put a hand on Zoey's shoulder to get her attention. It took several minutes, but he managed to convey in his slow and methodical way the desire to see his mother again. With everything else going on and the Amber alert Moira had seen for him, sending him home was something of a relief. He was in the book, which meant....something....but for now, he wanted to go home and that made many things easier for this odd assortment of would-be adventurerers. They made their way to a secluded stand of trees and Zoey once again broke most of the known laws of physics to send him back to Portland. A wave of a large, gentle hand and John was gone.

The morning was starting to pick up, with joggers make their way along the park paths and the traffic picking up on the nearby roads. A check of cellphones confirmed that it was still today and that this portal had indeed been nearly instantaneous transportation. The question was, what now?

[Wa'ne]

"Soooo, now what?" Sebastian said, voicing the unspoken thought. "Anyone know where the library is...Where are we anyway?"