2019.11.13 Bump in the Night

Bump in the Night
IC Date	11/13/2019
IC Time	Evening
Players	SerenaC, Cole, Emma, Hannelore, Verlaine (ST)
Location	Maple Park, Prospect
Prp/Tp	Continues in Bump in the Night II
Spheres	Mortal+, Sorcerer, Psychic

This evening Maple Park is rather quiet. It's been quiet with the murders that have happened recently. The police have increased their presence some but it hasn't stopped the killing, at least not yet. Four young men have died in the last two weeks, killed in the middle of the night and their bodies discovered in the morning with no witnesses to the attack. Some think it's animal attacks as two of the men were found with bite marks on them but the other two appeared to have been pummeled to death. As of yet nothing conclusive has been discovered.

There's a light layer of mist in the air as the warmer temperature of the day gives way to the chill of the evening, Maple Park as well lit as always with the various walking paths lacing through the park. Whether through happenstance, a lack of caution, or simple curiosity here you find yourself.

xxxxxLack of caution is Cole's (rather verbose) middle name. Cautious enough that he is wearing comfortable dark clothing - he's aware that he fits the demographic of those who have ended up dead. But, he's not in the business of ending up dead himself and would like to figure out why people are ending up dead. He's no police investigator, but, they were busy and he was here. "We'll just take a walk around and see what we see. I'm not promising excitement. But, a bit of a rush knowing we may get attacked at any moment?" Cole says this to Serena who has joined him on this adventure.

xxxxx*click* *click* *click* Hannelore power stalks through the park on her heels, determinedly walking...SOMEWHERE...while on the phone with someone. She's isn't stealthy. In fact, she kind of loud at the moment as she is arguing with whoever it is she is talking to in a tone that says 'if I could put my hand through this phone I would strangle you'. In her other hand she hold a large temperature controlled caffeine goodness. "I don't care that there were delays, you promised me those designs today!"

xxxxxBeing in Maple Park at night has been a rare occurance for Emma of late and yet here she is, dressed in her typical black attire, strolling through with a small black bag slung over one shoulder and cell phone in hand, a thin white cord attached to it disappearing beneath that blonde hair of hers. Sure, she's heard the news about the murders that have been happening here and perhaps that's why her attention isn't focused on the phone but rather on the surroundings, her gaze shifting from one area to the next as she walks.

xxxxxSerena walks with Cole, also dressed in her idea of urban stealth chic. She keeps her voice soft as she says, "I'll follow your lead. But if you're attacked, I'm not sure I'll be able to do much to help you in the fight. Maybe..." she takes out her camera and starts recording video. "...I'll just pretend to be a documentarian. And try not to get killed. That'd really suck." She's a thrill-seeker, for sure, but her pep-talks suck.

Hannelore and Emma notice that the park seems rather devoid of people this evening, except for each other of course. Hannelore sadly isn't able to reach through that phone and strangle the person on the other end as that technology hasn't been invented yet. But where there aren't people there are sounds of dogs, a bit of barking and some yipping. Dogs get into the park sometimes so perhaps that doesn't stand out too much. Emma however hears a distinctly human sound off of the beaten path of the park, a quiet sobbing that transitions into angry muttering and then returns to sobbing once more.

Cole of course is probably too busy thinking about how he in fact /does/ rather match the demographic of the killed men, down to race and hair color. Serena is walking along when she hears a low growling behind her, a doberman having walked onto the path and now looking rather upset for some reason.

xxxxx"I'm not sure if someone is really killing people out here that they're going to pretend you're the Swiss because you're holding a camera, Serena. I might see how fast you can run and hide if it comes right down to it." Cole doesn't sound all that worried. Maybe that's foolish. His steps come up short when the dog steps out behind where he and Serena are walking. He keeps walking, but more slowly. "Hey, pup. Don't eat me. Or her." People he understands. Dogs? They're somehow more scary.

xxxxxHannelore begins to be aware that, in her anger, she has wondered into the park. She wonders to herself . o O Is this that park where those people got killed? And then decides, of course it is, every park is where something bad happened to someone. She abruptly hangs up on the person she is yelling at and switches on the flashlight on her phone, flashing it around to check for dogs. She quickly makes a text on a group chat of where she is in case she should go missing and then makes sure she has her finger near the emergency call button.

xxxxxEmma pauses to look briefly at her phone, swiping a finger quickly across the screen before tugging gently on the cord to remove the earbud that was embedded in her ear. As she begins to loosely coil the cord, her attention is drawn towards an area off the path. Brow furrowing, she actually begins to walk towards it before stopping herself and once again looks around, eyes falling on first Hannelore and then Cole and Serena.

xxxxx"Well, I can be helpful by documenting the... assault or whatever," Serena suggests. Then her breath catches and she turns to face the dog. She tries to move a little behind Cole, keeping her phone camera trained on the dog as she says in a whisper, "I didn't bring any milk bones..."

The dog doesn't look particularly vicious but it's large enough to do some harm and something is clearly bothering it. But Cole's decision to walk away and not bother it more seems to pay off as the growling stops and it sniffs at the air before wandering back off of the path, starting to run through a few bushes as it likely chases something small and exciting. Now the four of you all see each other, rather aware of each other's presence and the strangely high population of dogs in the area. Only Emma hears that low sobbing, though it seems to be growing more quiet as the source either moves away or simply grows more quiet itself.

xxxxx"What's with the dogs." Cole mutters, watching the animal dash off and seem to leave the pair of them alone. He'll take it. He brings his eyes up and spots other people in the park, moving his eyes from face to face. "People get killed here and everyone comes out for a walk. Makes you wonder." He'll happily share a smile with anyone who makes eye contact with him, moving forward and closer to everyone else. Having Serena beside him likely makes him seem less threatening. Hopefully?

xxxxxHannelore flashes her light around, sees the shadow of the dog running off and then hears a familiar voice come to her on the air. She flashes the flashlight in the direction it came from and then squints, "Serena? Is that you?"

xxxxxSeeing the dog run off, Emma begins moving again, her steps bringing her closer to the others and just in time to catch Cole's last comment. Giving him a casual onceover, she smiles a bit. "And you're certainly a brave man to be out and about at this time." she looks over her shoulder and then back. "That dog...I thought I heard someone sobbing. Perhaps it's that dog's owner?"

xxxxxSerena relaxes as the dog chases off after some other smaller and more appropriate quarry (i.e. not Serena). "Didn't someone say some of the killings may have been by animals? Bite marks or something?" She looks at the other two women in the park and offers them a wave. "Hi. We're not murderers or anything, in case you were wondering," Serena says in a reassuring voice. And then she has the mind to ask, "Are either of you?" Because murderers are probably forthright and honest people, right? She then recognizes Hannelore when the other woman speaks up. Serena smiles and says, "Hey you! What are you doing out here?" She gives Emma another looking over and decides someone that pretty probably isn't a murderer. Serena logic. She looks off in the direction the dog ran, curious about the sobbing Emma mentioned. "I can't hear anything...." She pans her camera across the darkness that surrounds them, curious what secrets that inky blackness conceals.

As the four of you come together and begin talking a heavy fog begins to roll through the park, moving in with surprising speed. Perhaps more disconcerting is that the lights in the area begin to flicker on and off erratically, even the flashlight from Hannelore's phone. While all of you recognize that this is an odd occurrence, Emma can feel the ghostly influence at play in the area. The sobbing stops and then all of you hear a low laughter, a hateful sound that echoes through the fog.

xxxxx"Brave and good looking. That's all I put on my resume and - well, I'm unemployed. But, thinking I'm going to have more luck any day now." Cole replies to Emma with a comfortable smile, considering the woman briefly before shifting his eyes toward Hannelore and the brief exchange between her and Serena. He feels pretty good that no one in the present company is the stabby sort. "Crying?" He says, coming back to the topic at hand about the time things start to get weird. He turns in place, looking in all directions - lights flickering, thick fog. He doesn't like it. "We should stay close together. Don't get split in the fog." Harder to kill four people together. He doesn't say that out loud.

xxxxx"Merde." Hannelore curses under her breath in an indistinct euro accent. "It's always something in this town. Haunted houses, tentacle masks trying to lay eggs, fog murderers. I swear is someone kills me, they better be wearing designer or I will haunt them forever."

xxxxxEmma tucks her phone into the bag she carries, giving Serena a small smile at the question of being a murderer. She's about to answer when Hannelore's flashlight flickers and her gaze moves towards the unexpected fog rolling in. "How odd..." she begins, but any further words are choked as she falls silent, her expression changing as she inhales deeply. "You could be onto something with fog murderers," she mutters, looking to Hannelore.

xxxxx"Hey, you're self employed, remember? Our security escort business?" Serena says to Cole, not wanting her investment to understate his talents or intentions. She listens to Hanners and Emma words before her attention turns back to her surroundings, noting the rolling fog and, more disturbingly, the menacing laughter. "Maybe we should keep moving? Together - as a group?" She keeps her phone recording, but is watching the world around her more than the screen of her phone.

The fog is surprisingly dense but the four of you begin to huddle together for security, seeking safety in numbers as most people do. The lamps in your section of the park grow more erratic and start winking out one by one, slowly leaving all of you in darkness. There's more growling, two large dogs padding forward out of the darkness and in the fog, though Hannelore can only hear them. There's a voice, low and angry, a woman's voice as it cuts through the fog. "Give me Jacob. I don't care about you women. I just want Jacob." The name is said with a distinct snarl but Emma can see the source even through the fog and darkness, a woman creeping nearby and staring with hateful intent directly at Cole. There's a slight smell in the air, is that decomp?

Serena sees the woman clearly, the mist no longer obscuring her vision at all. This woman is not alive, she is consumed by anger and hatred and there are gruesome bruises around her neck. A voice comes to Serena, as clear and as loud as anything she has ever heard in her life. "THEY KNOW NOT!"

xxxxx"I don't like this." Cole says into the thick fog that swirls around them and then the heavy darkness that comes without the lights that lined the path. Cole enjoys the darkness most of the time, but right now it felt threatening. His eyes are constantly on the move, his body tense - until the voice snarls toward them. "I'm Cole." He says, though only at a volume that the women around him would likely hear. He squints to try to make out where the voice is coming from.

xxxxxHannelore crouches down slowly and sits her mug of caffeine goodness down on the ground. It has a nospill lid, so it should be safe there. Holding her phone in one hand, she begins digging in her purse for her keys and the emergency portable mace spray that it attached to it. She should save it for rapists, but man murdering park psycho is probably a viable use for it. "What will you give us for him?" She quips, stalling for time, "Hot young men are a commodity anywhere but in LA, especially if they are single and not gay."

xxxxxEmma blinks several times as they're soon left in darkness, sticking close to these strangers she finds herself with and trying to adjust her eyes to see through the fog. Her head turns at the sound of the woman's voice and, though the others can't see it, she looks surprised and a bit fearful by what she now sees of the woman. "Who is this...Jacob?" she asks, raising her voice slightly. "An old boyfriend of yours? Cheating husband? Pimp?"

Emma realizes that this woman is speaking but it's not clear if she's engaging in any sort of dialogue. She has a single minded focus and is trying to achieve a goal. That goal appears to be murdering Cole. But she doesn't attack immediately nor do the dogs, instead the dogs hunch low and begin growling with their ire focused directly at Cole. "Give him to me! GIVE HIM TO ME!" She's screaming now, stalking directly towards the four of you becoming visible to everyone now as she starts to reach out with her right hand towards Jacob though still a few feet away. Her clothes are ragged and her skin pale, she looks decidedly unhealthy.

xxxxxSo much for chatter. "Stay close to the others." Cole says to Serena and then slips away from her as the murderous woman closes toward the group. He doesn't let his eyes leave the creature while he moves himself out of the group, crouching down slightly and balancing on the balls of his feet. Is he going to fight this thing? He's certainly not going to let it just eat him. And trying to deal with it while huddled in the group seemed to be a bad idea. He curls his fingers and brings them together like a steeple in front of him, his focus on the woman. He can't worry about the dogs right now. (Maybe a bad idea.)

xxxxxHannelore has had to deal with a lot of crazy things coming at her lately. She has no patience for strange women who can't get over an old flame. Still, there are some weird things stalking the streets of Prospect, as she has had to learn, so instead of wasting her mace on the pale woman of murderous rage, she turns it on the dogs, figuring they are more likely to listen to their instincts. She pulls her hand from her purse, flips the cap back from the mace and shoves her hand out in the direction of the dogs before slammer her thumb on the trigger.

xxxxx"Yeah, a fine night for a walk," Emma murmurs, a distinct catch in her voice as she stares at the crazy woman coming towards them. Obviously the woman has no intention of telling them just who this Jacob is that she's mistaking Cole for, so no need to ask anymore questions. All Emma does is take a few small steps back, trying hard not to bump Serena or Hannelore.

xxxxx"Stop!" Serena calls out, in part to Cole, because what the hell is he even thinking about? But mostly at the woman and her crazed dogs. She grabs Cole's shoulder and tries to pull him back. "You can't do anything to them," she says frantically, the words all mushed together. "She's already dead!" She may have taken something before they came out tonight. Acid? Shrooms? Because she is obviously seeing something different than what the rest are seeing.

Mace and dogs do not mix well, the doggos instantly recoiling and yelping out in pain as the mace hits their snouts. They start to scatter and run, their paws skittering against the ground for a moment as they try to get purchase before they bolt off into the night howling in pain and fear. That act seems to trigger the woman, causing her to lunge forward towards Cole in anger. "You bastard!" She screams in a high pitched voice.

xxxxxAlready dead? Emma shakes her head at that notion as, clearly, this crazed woman is as solid as a being can be. And for someone so smart, what she does next probably isn't smart at all but she can't very well let the woman have an easy path to Cole. Taking a few quick steps towards the woman, she extends a leg out low in an attempt to trip her up a bit.

She is made of flesh and bone it seems and that leg trips her up a bit on her way towards Cole, slowing her progress. (It will increase the difficulty of her attack)

xxxxx"Take care of yourself!" Cole says, perhaps a bit too sharply to Serena and spins away from her to get into that space. His fingers work themselves together in something of a pattern, nails dragging over his palms. He watches Emma make the creature stumble, buying him a moment to finish his short ritual and then the darkness bursts into light when flame shoots from his hands. It's likely pretty impressive to watch. However, the blast misses the mark - which leaves Cole standing there and his attacker still very much not on fire.

Hannelore touches the necklace around the woman's neck, easy enough as she stumbles after being tripped. She receives an impression of pain and fear. Worst of all, betrayal. She was attacked by someone she trusted, hands around her throat. There's a mental image of a man, attractive, tall, caucasian with short black hair. You haven't seen him before but he does have a passing similarity to Cole.

xxxxxHannelore's eyes go a little distant as she touches the necklace around the woman's throat. Her hand rises up to her own throat as if she is being choked. She pulls her hand back to break the connection and takes a moment to clear her head and process what she has seen.

The woman lunges towards Cole angrily, thrashing out for him and stumbling after being tripped. There's rage in her eyes as she screams, "Jacob!" Her fingers claw for him, far less worried by a sudden gout of flame from the man's hands than she probably should be.

xxxxxThere is undead insanity lunging towards Cole even as he seems to throw some sort of flaming blast a the decaying woman. "No!" Serena shouts, thrusting out her arms as if to stop the woman with a force of conviction alone.

With a rather surprising burst of speed the woman is back on Cole again, quickly getting her feet underneath her and lunging for him. But she falters at the last moment, her hands coming up short from Cole's neck as she hisses loudly. This close to her Cole can see that she has ugly purple marks around her throat and her sunken, sallow skin doesn't quite belong on a living person. It's unclear what stopped her.

xxxxxSerena is overcome with adrenaline charge fear, and wants this foul creature as far away from her as possible. But instead of doing the logical thing and running, she steps forward and physically pushes the living corpse as hard as she can.

The woman staggers to the side briefly when Serena shoves her, her eyes snapping over towards Serena angrily but she's still focused on Cole. She lunges forward, unable to choke him like she really wants but instead a fist lands cleanly against his cheek, the skin of the woman disturbingly cold!

A lot happens really quickly. The fire misses and the woman is upon Cole before he can really react. Somehow the first blow misses and the second is stopped short - he's given a chance to scurry away and regroup. Despite Serena's weight coming in against the creature to help him he doesn't clear nearly enough space to get away from the angry creature. It's damn fast. His arm comes up too late to deflect the wild and powerful blow for the woman, his head twisting to the side when it connects with his cheek, sending him stumbling backwards and hardly keeping his footing. He brings his hand to his mouth, red blood coming away at the touch.

xxxxxEmma smiles just a bit as she manages to trip the woman up just enough but then, as the darkness is dispelled by the flame shooting from Cole's hands, she can't help but stare a bit incredulously. "What the fuck?!" is all she really says, watching then as the woman regains her footing and quickly lunges towards him, the action quickly taking what seems to be a turn for the worse as Cole eventually gets punched in the cheek. For the moment, at least, she seems frozen or perhaps just unsure as to what to do next.

xxxxxHannelore calls out as the melee grows more intense, blood being drawn. She asks the woman to wait, saying that they can help her find Jacob. The /real/ Jacob rather than the fake Jacob that she's currently trying to pummel. The words seem to sink in, the woman had raised her fist for another heavy blow against Cole but instead she turns to look towards Hannelore. She blinks and then her gaze drifts to Cole, staring at him and seeing him as if for the first time. "Oh god.." She whispers, her personality seeming to shift on a dime as she stumbles back and stares down at her hand, the blood on it from where she had punched Cole. "Wh.. I'm sorry."

xxxxxSerena stumbles back after her heroic but mostly ineffectual shove to keep the crazed thing away. She looks on the verge of fleeingthe scene altogether, but the dead woman's change in demeanor gives Serena pause. She doesn't do or say anything just yet, other than to move over towards Cole and placing a hand on his shoulder to make sure he's ok (ish).

xxxxxEmma is hesitant to get closer to the woman and Cole but she does by taking a few slow steps. Hearing the sudden apology uttered, she looks to the woman. "You're...sorry?"

xxxxx"Did you kill the others?" Cole says, the words not coming out as crisp as usually with his mouth full of blood and his jaw swelling from the powerful strike he'd taken. His eyes are bright and wild, the adrenaline alive in his body and his hands were already coming up to strike out toward the woman again when Hannelore's words seemed to bring the creature into a peaceful space. He shifts his gaze toward Hannelore and Serena and Emma. "Four men and with her eyes on more and we should *help* her?" His tone is incredulous. He'd gathered enough to know that perhaps Jacob deserved a proper punishment, but could they trust this creature not to deal more death?

xxxxxHannelore shoots Cole a look, trying to communicate that her intent, which is to distract, for now. To the woman she says, "I saw what he did to you. How he choked you. How he hurt you. Every woman knows a man who has hurt them, or another woman they know. Look at us, we KNOW your pain." How would her grandmother have handled this? "We can help you get the peace you need, if you will let us."

The woman looks between the four of you, confusion in her eyes though that anger is bubbling under the surface. The fog begins to dissipate and the lights that had flickered out begin to come back on one by one as the fog recedes. Once the lamp overhead illuminates the woman it's clear that she shouldn't be walking and talking. She's mostly in one piece but it looks like she's been dead for a couple of days, her skin sunken in ugly bruises around her throat. She only breathes to speak. "Yes.." She says to Emma. "I'm sorry. I thought he was.." And then there's anger in her eyes again, practically spitting out the words, "my ex. I know he's here somewhere." She seems confused. She doesn't answer Cole's question. She looks over to Hannelore, nodding her head. Those words make sense to her. "Yes! Help me find him! Punish him!"

xxxxxSerena steps quietly away from Cole, near a young sappling. She pulls the long wooden stake used to support the tree upright, and takes a moment to quietly detangle it from the arborist string while Hannelore has the dead woman's attention.

xxxxxEmma inhales sharply as she finally gets a good view of the woman, any steps she was still taking coming to an abrupt halt as her own face pales considerably. She can't seem to tear her gaze away from that rotting visage but neither can she now bring herself to say...anything!

xxxxx"Oh, yeah. The fucker should pay. Not going to argue with that." Cole says, turning his head and spitting a mouthful of blood down onto the ground. He'd likely be a bit more on board with what Hannelore was trying to accomplish if he hadn't just been mauled by the creature - and that's just what it is. He can see that it's not alive and that doesn't seem to surprise him all that much. This is the world we live in. "What's his full name? I'll look him up. We can have a chat." His eyes follow Serena for a moment but then he brings them back toward the undead woman, not wanting to draw attention to whatever she's up to. His own fingers come together casually, slowly drawing shapes on his palms. Good to be ready if things go south again.

xxxxxHannelore continues talking. It's all she's got really. "Tell us his name. Names have power. If we have it, we can find him, and bring him to justice for what he has done to you. We can prevent him from doing it again, to others." She holds out her hand, "If you give me your necklace, I may even be to use your pain against him, to give him what he gave you."

The woman seems rather unaware or unconcerned with Serena's actions. Her gaze is instead fixated on Cole and Hannelore as they're the two she's interacting with. She glares angrily at Cole everytime he speaks but she seems to be keeping it under control. "Jacob. Townshead. Fucker. I throw the ring back in his face and he tried to choke me!" She bristles with anger, shaking her head a bit as she looks back to Hannelore. "I've been looking for him all night. But I can't seem to find him. Maybe he went back to the office?" Her face softens then, her mood seemingly shifting rapidly from one extreme to another as her voice grows rather gentle. "I miss him though. M.. maybe if I found the ring.. I could make it up to him?" She then places her hand against her chest, fingers running along that necklace. "He gave this to me.. I wouldn't want to hurt him.. I know he loves me."

xxxxxSerena gets the improvised spear in hand and tries to sneak up behind the undead freak. If that all works, she'll thrust it through the freakishly dead woman's chest in an attempt to kill her even more than she's been killed already. Serena will likely make a very squeamish yelp as she attacks, because, even though she feels compelled to destroy this monstrosity, it's not something she's ever done before!

The woman's eyes go wide as that spear is driven through her chest, her eyes drifting town to the spike that's not sticking out through the front side of her as well. She stumbles forward a bit and blinks in surprise. She doesn't react in pain, though a sneer starts to appear back on her lips as she looks back up at the group of you. "Liars!"

xxxxxEmma's head turns slowly in order to look at Hannelore as she speaks to this...thing...like it was an every day occurance for her to do so. Sure, it was easy enough when the lights were off but now?? The crazed woman's voice draws Emma's attention once again, her gaze settling back just in time to see Serena drive the improvised spear through her chest. That fact, coupled with the woman not even going down, is enough to elicit a small scream.

xxxxxWell, shit just got real. The woman doesn't seem to drop after having a stake driven through her and Cole isn't about to wait around for more idle conversation. His fingers finish the pattern on his hands and another blast of blame comes out of his hands, this time striking the creature square with the fire, his eyes dark and bright in the reflection of the flames.

The woman begins to scream as the fire consumes her. It turns out that dead flesh and fire do not mix well. She falls to her knees and begins thrashing about wildly as she screams. "Jacob! I'll kill you! Kill you! KIIIiiii" And her voice trails off as she crumples to the ground the body stops moving. It's not a pleasant smell though, the smell of a partially decomposed body burning on the gravel path.

xxxxxHannelore jumps back as spikes are driven in to bodies and hellfire is let lose. Ok. THAT surprises her. As the body burns and decays, she takes the time afforded to her to pull a pair of white gloved out of her purse - the kind you might use to handle jewels. She pulls them on, and with an expression that telegraphs the true meaning of the word 'EW' she reaches down and tries to snag the necklace from the corpse's neck.

xxxxxThe yelp Serena makes was supposed to be a battle cry, but it sounded more like the pathetic yelp of a puppy that's been scared half to death. Shocked by her own actions, Serena releases the spear and retreats a few steps back, shaking her hands as if her grotesque actions have somehow soiled her palms where she'd held on to the spear. "Ewe, ewe, ewe!" she says repetitiously, doing a little 'grossed out' dance at the indelible memory of impaling a talking corpse. The something else happens, and the corpse is on fire! How did she do that!? (She didn't see Cole do his thing this time around, but it will come to her soon enough) She takes another few steps back, a sever frown on her face as she covers her nose to ward off the rancid stench of burning flesh. "Ewe..." she says once more, gagging on the smell wafting through the park. "Ohmygod, that smell..." She gags and wretches more.

The woman has stopped moving, whatever animating force that was in her either having fled or simply unable to keep the body working. The two dogs from earlier come slowly loping over and whimper, hiding nearby from the fire and the group of people. The necklace is silver and doesn't burn immediately, Hannelore is able to snatch it away from the body. The body isn't suddenly decomposing more than it already was, though the fire would make that hard to tell.

xxxxxCole is breathing hard, watching the creature fall and burn and then stop. The scent hits him and he brings a arm up against his nose to try to ward it off. The adrenaline is still heavy in his body, but the ache in his jaw is starting to increase into a pounding headache. He takes a step forward to get a closer look and make sure that the creature is really down. He looks toward Serena first, not quite sure what to say. "Thanks." Is what he manages. It had needed to be done. Then he looks between Emma and Hannelore, setting on the latter. "You can do something with that?" He points toward the necklace. "Could let her keep killing people, but this ex of hers needs to pay."

xxxxxEmma can only stare at the flames that seem to shoot out from Cole's hands and engulf the woman, a hand quickly moving to cover both mouth and nose in an effort to keep that stench at bay. Seeing Hannelore pluck that necklace off the burned corpse? That seems to be icing on the cake for this night. "Really?" comes the mumbled question, her hand pulling away just a bit then so her words will be more audible. "We...you...we just /killed/ someone."

xxxxx"You're wel-yeach! You're welco-yaurgh!" Serena tries to say you're welcome, but the smells keep threatening to make her vomit. "I need to get away from here..." She starts to stumble a little further away to escape the stink. She spots her phone and kneels down to pick it up. She stays on her knees for now, to queezy to climb to her feet. She points in the general direction of the smoldering corpse and says, "That thing has been dead for a couple of days," in response to Emma's comment. "We just... made things... right." Another gagging wretch makes her body heave, but she doesn't loose her lunch. Yet.

xxxxxHannelore examines the necklace, running in through her gloved fingers. To Emma she responds, firmly "We killed some THING. It wasn't a person anymore. It was the twisted remains of one. The person is dead already. Jacob killed her." Then she looks up at Cole and then at his hands and then back at the necklace. "Objects carry resonance. Strong emotions and memories leave behind stories and images. This necklace was around her neck the night this Jacob person strangled her. She said he gave it to her. I might be able to use it to learn more about him, or work with someone else who can use it to track him. Not right now though. Right now it is still raw and stained by..." she looks over at the remains, "recent events."

xxxxx"Yeah. Was already dead. Shouldn't be like that - and whatever it was killed four men who were very much alive. Couldn't let her keep going. Not her fault, but that's how it is." Cole says, his words a bit garbled with how swollen his jaw is. At least no one is talking about the fire that was used to destroy the creature. He nods to Hannelore's words. "That's good. I've heard of that. We should all exchange information and make a date with this Jacob." He looks over where Serena is trying to recover and steps toward her with concern in his expression, still talking to everyone. "We need to do something with her ... remains." They can't just leave the burned out body in the park. Right?

xxxxxDead a couple of days? A 'thing' that was no longer a person? Emma's gaze slowly moves from Serena to Hannelore and then to Cole before she just shakes her head, a look of utter disbelief in her eyes at what she's hearing. "I, uh...what?" she places the hand back over her nose and mouth as she takes a few deep breaths, removing it fully as she exhales. "You really think it's wise to go meet this Jacob...assuming he can be found?"

xxxxxSerena is in shock, her hands shaking as she tries to fumble her phone back into her pocket. She eventually succeeds. The voices around her warble in and out of coherence, and she's having a hard time finding her breath - mostly because of the smell.

xxxxx"Serena and I have each other's numbers. The two of you know each other." Hannelore looks to Emma and reaches in her purse, fishing out several business cards, handing them to Emma to pass around for her. Meanwhile she fishes around and finds a small plastic bag like you would seal up earrings or another piece of jewelry for display or sale. She dumps the current contents out and places the necklace inside before resealing it. "I have friends who can help clean up this mess. I can call them and get it taken care of. I'll give you all some time to leave before they get here if you want. So you don't have to answer uncomfortable questions."

xxxxx"Those are good friends to have. I feel like you and I should get together to talk sometime. With more daylight and less undead." The attempt at light words feels a bit flat given everything that has happened. No more men would die in this park, but this wasn't over. "Yeah. We can't just leave this. We need to get to the bottom of it and find Jacob. I only know a bit about these things, but just destroying that - " He points toward the body " - doesn't mean she's at rest. This needs to be finished."

xxxxxCole walks over toward Serena, squatting down and setting a hand on her back. He looks to the others. "I need to get her out of here. Let's talk soon."

xxxxxEmma takes the cards quickly from Hannelore, seeming to hold her breath as she does so. A brief glance is given to what's printed on them before she takes a step towards Cole and holds one out to him. "I work at the public library a few nights a week," she offers, "so if you need to find me, just go there and ask for Emma." She looks to Serena then and nods once in agreement with Cole. Getting out of here certainly sounds good! "Time to go get a drink...or ten."

The card reads, "Enchanted" in swirly purple script on one side. The other has Hannelore's information.

xxxxxHannelore takes out her phone and begins to text. "I'll let at least one of you know when things here are cleaned up. Text or email me and I'll send you a message back."

xxxxxSerena looks up when Cole approaches, and her eyes go a little wide. She waves him off, struggling with some internal conflict. She finds the strength and sobriety to get back to her feet. "I'm ok," she mutters. She looks over at Hannelore, looking at her anew - perhaps it's all this talk of mystical things? Or the fact that Cole shot fire from his fingers? She says to Cole without looking at him, "You and Hannelore clean this up? I need to get out of here. I'll get... Emma?" She looks at the platinum blonde - suddenly the only other normal thing, it seems. Another person that doesn't read auras or shoot fire from their fingers. "I'll see her safely home."

xxxxxWell, Cole was going to help Serena get home - but she seemed to have other ideas. Was she spooked by what she'd seen? Likely. And rightfully so. He does linger, not certain that the danger is entirely gone and leaving Hannelore by herself until her friends arrive seems rude. "I don't know what I was expecting to find here tonight, but this wasn't it. Honestly didn't think I'd find anything. Not usually so lucky when I'm looking for trouble."

xxxxxHannelore sighs and sucks her teeth, "Not me, I seem to run across trouble all the time and I do my best to avoid it. This is the third time this month I've been minding my own business and walked up on something crazy like this. Maybe my grandmother was for real, and someone has put the evil eye on me."

xxxxx"Like crazy crazy like this? Magic crazy? Or whatever you want to call the walking dead." Cole asks, looking toward the remains. "I'm pretty new here. I'd heard stories that this city was - a hub? Hot spot? But, it's not like it's so much that you can't avoid it. I'll buy you a drink sometime and you can tell me about the other crazy you've seen. Maybe I should know what I'm getting myself into." He rubs his palms together. Tossing Hellfire in the streets will likely draw all the wrong kind of attention.

xxxxxYou say, "Yes, and you can tell me about..." She points to him and waves her finger around in a circle, "What you did. I've never seen anything like it. I tend to keep my talents to myself."

xxxxx"It's a hard one to be subtle with." Cole admits, shrugging. "But, seems a waste to be able to do things and not actually make a difference with them. Doesn't always go smoothly, but - it works. Seems like it will be a good talk."