A Door Within A Door

H

Hearthridge

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OOC: http://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/a-door-within-a-door-discussion-ooc-and-recruitment.29212/


Prologue: Entering Madness​

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This world is on the brink of a cataclysmic change and everyone is acting as if all is well. Parties, cruise lines, extravagant dinners...no one pays attention to the finer things of the world. No one pays attention to the hostilities that play their hands behind the backs of the general public. However, the stage is set for a grand play...but who will be watching it?

Our story starts in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where our rag-tag group of individuals will find their fates and souls intertwined with the fate of the world. They are ordinary people leading ordinary lives, thinking that their monotony will save their futures. The truth to the fact is that this monotony will bring about the end of their lives in a faster manner than one might expect. Life catches up to them. There is a solution, however. Madness. That is what Cthulhu plans to do...inspire madness.

That madness must be stopped else their lives are forfeit. Ironic, isnt it? Die by life or die by madness...you choose the lesser of two evils.


Chapter One: Don't Rock the Boat​
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Setting: Portsmouth, Hew Hampshire​
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Ah, life...so arduous and demanding. Everyone doing their best to make it but only find that they are just prolonging their own demise. Still, they make a valiant effort. Sometimes they even win things that makes them happy about their life. Like our actors, for example. They have just won an all expense paid trip to the Carnival Cruises. They even got plane tickets to Portsmouth where their ship is awaiting them. Hey, who doesnt like a free cruise trip every now and again?​
 
Anke was happy to be here. The ship was anchored ready to take her away from all that noisy people, stages of her cheap movies with mentally unstable directors and other actors and actresses like her, being not so lucky, or lacking the real talent to make it to the higher ranks of movie-world.

She got back from the famous music hall, one of the few historical sites of the city and sat at the open cafe in the harbor, ordering Irish Coffee to the handsome waiter who wasn't able to get her attention no matter how wide was his smile or how cheerfully he pointed out "what a beautiful weather it was today"

Anke just sat there, looking at the beautiful cruise ship, would not believing that it would soon take her away from here.
 
His weight crept from one leg to the other, in an attempt to keep his blood flowing as he idled at the Craps table. Large worn fingers held tightly to his stein of Guinness. Several rows of chips lay neatly in front of him, twenty seven and sixty ten quid by his count. An odd method of counting it was, but it was never off. Betwixt the fingers of his left hand, a bronze Icelandic ten cent piece, danced in and out of sight, a memento from an era passed. Occasionally he'd set a small stack of chips on the board, usually fives or sevens. He lucked out with snake eyes, doubling the seventy quid he'd offhandedly chucked at the spot. But this game was not the one that held his interest. Near 10 o'clock was the Blackjack table, he had ideal view of four of the six players, (not counting the dealer) at the table. He divided his attentions between the two tables, and (with the intent of keeping up appearances) the pretty red-head at 1 o'clock. He gathered his chips up in one broad hand, and left the half empty Guinness on the rim of the table; someone would pick it up.

After the better part of two hours hovering by the Craps table, it was time to encroach on one of the leather bar-stools. A welcome rest for both his remaining knee. His chips neatly piled in pylons, two rounds passed before he opted in.
The deck was black backed Bicycle, fresh out of the box. The dealer, a tall surly gentleman laid the cards out for the five players and himself. His face up card; three of spades. Lloyd had five of spades up up, and checked the black, diamond eight, for a total of thirteen.
"Hit me."
He said firmly when his turn came. Seven of diamonds, you can't get much better than twenty. Once everyone else had called, the dealer hit himself, a three of hearts, the corner of his mouth twinged faintly. He flipped another card off the top of the deck, six of diamonds.
"Show your hands." They did, four stacks of chip made their way to the suit. Lloyd's stack stayed put, he made a slight nod towards the dealer. And a new round began. Four down, queen face-up for Lloyd, five of diamonds and black for the dealer. Lloyd tapped his cards twice, and another flipped next to them, six. Twenty again. The dealer hit his pile again, a two. He made a face and then slid chips to Lloyd and a tipsy blonde in her late fifties, collecting from the other three players. The next round Lloyd and the dealer went bust. The round after that Lloyd made blackjack with a ballsy four-card call, he tended to bet much higher stakes when he knew he had a winning chance. With a 1:1 payout he made 150 quid and set it right back down, with 50 more for the next round. It paid off, the dealer bust (which seemed now to be a recurring habit) and he hit 21 with three cards, a 2:1 payout.
A thirty minute intermission was taken, Lloyd took the opportunity to go relieve himself and grab a snack. He sat down to a few more rounds, throwing out a few large bets here and there without any real payout. He decided to call it quits, tipped his dealer as he learned to from his grandfather. He took his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket, donned them, and strolled out to the back deck near the pool and found a spot to lay down in the sun. Within a few minutes of the heat beating down on him, he was fast asleep in anticipation for the nights adventures.
 
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Anya was nervous. Being trapped on a large ship, in the middle of the ocean, with a bunch of people she didn't know, was not her idea of a good time. The only reason she had decided to go was that her publisher had basically forced her to.
"It'll be good for you to take a break. When's the last time you went on vacation? Besides, I bet your writing will be ten times better by the time you get back!"
Anya did not like her publisher, but she knew he had her best interests at heart. She just wished she could have taken Jake with her. She hated to leave him in a kennel. She planned on using the cruise as an excuse to stay in her room and get to reading some of the books she had picked up recently. If nothing else, some peace and quiet could hopefully be gained from this whole ordeal.
Anya sat on a bench across from the ship, apprehensive but resigned to her fate. She pulled at the neck of her black turtleneck. She knew she appeared a bit ridiculous, but she hated her scar to show.
It is damn hot though. I hate the heat. I hope the cruise ship has adequate air conditioning.
 
Katerina was so excited. What luck to have stumbled into a taxi cab who's driver wasn't able to take the time off for this cruise. He was nice enough to give her his ticket. After only a week in America, she didn't think it could get any better. Well, it could, she supposed, if she had someone to spend the time with. Coming to America alone seemed like the best plan for the years she considered it but despite the wonderful time she's had, she's been a little lonely with no one to share the experience with.

She smiled at the sour looking woman who took her ticket as she boarded the ship and stared at the interior with awe while she slowly walked in. Being raised in such a small town, she'd never experienced such grandeur. Even if this was a "cheap" cruise, it was a cruise and she was going to make every moment count. She hurried to her small room on the lower level before going up to the deck with her camera, staring happily out over the horizon and taking pictures with her shutter happy fingers.
 
A handful of hours before the sun had started setting, the ship took off from its mooring point. The loud horn yelling a goodbye to its homeport for a couple weeks. Dinner was the be served at 7pm and the time of departure was 5pm. The ship does have a full scale gym and pool. There are many all you can eat buffets and several casino areas in the ship.

[Players can now take this chance to meet other players through interaction on the ship or they can RP what they are doing until the next post that I make. The choice is yours.]
 
Anya decided to head directly to her room. She would explore a bit once she had gotten settled in. She found her room, number 314. She looked around. It was quaint, but not overly so. Like a mediocre hotel room. Anya wasn't terribly picky, so she shrugged and set down her two suitcases. It was not as cool on the boat as she had hoped. She sighed, and headed for the door.
Might as well get some food.
 
Katerina looked at her phone, a cheap little flip phone, to check the time. It was far too early to go to the dinning hall, so she decided to linger on the deck, taking photos of the sun as it set on the city as they both slowly sank behind the horizon.
 
Anya noticed that the buffets were in transition from lunch to dinner, so she decided to wait until the fresh food was ready. She headed for the deck, watching as the shore slowly faded from view. She sighed.
I hope this doesn't turn out to be a disappointment.
 
"So, I'm just suppose to one of these doors, and I'll get my job back?" she asked as she walked down the corridor.

"Quite so," the hooded man replied, nodding silently, "But only if your will is strong,"

Gwynn laughed, understanding nothing of the man and what he meant. But well, one does meet strange people in her field, if they are no stranger than she is. "Well, I'm glad it's you and not your brother. I mean, I'd rather the other Death. I was his namesake, after all,"

Under the hood, she caught a glimpse of a grin that formed across his lips; "Even my brother would stay clear of your destiny, mortal,"

She stood in front of a wooden door, "And, like you gods would normally say, it's not for me to know, eh?" as her hand reached for the doorknob, she paused. There were doubts forming in her mind; "What if this isn't the right one?"

"Then you return to your normal life," he spoke, taking a few steps away from her, "And none of this ever happened,"

"How about I just go back the way I came from?" she grinned at him as she slowly moved her hand from the doorknob, "And we arrange a meeting another time? I'll be back in the museum in a few days, so we can do just that,"

"You would look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"I've done that plenty times, mister," Gwynn sighed, turning to look at other doors around her, "But if I could just--"

HORNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN​

"Jesus H. Christ on a hockey stick!"​

She got up rather abruptly from her chair, took a few awkward (maybe sleepy too) steps back, and fell right on her bum. Groaning, she glared at the window of her cabin, instantly regretting she chose this cabin; the ship's horn was right next to her window. How long had she been out? Five? Ten? Maybe a whole hour?

Eventually she did get back on her feet again, with much protests from her aching muscles. They did have the right to complain at every stretch though; she had been up the whole time, maintaining the same posture the whole way as she read her book.

"Fine, fine," Gwynn muttered, stumbling back to her chair, "Complain all you want, you know how I do my work,"

The book, Sons of Somnus, laid open on the small table of her cabin. Upon closer inspection, she realised that she had stopped at a chapter on Morpheus, the god of dreams. For a moment, Gwynn thought back about the hooded man she saw not too long ago. Dream or not, she found it amusing that she dreamed Dream himself.

The museum's next exhibition will be on the Greek pantheons, hence the book she was reading. But Greek mythology has always been the one research she loathed; they can be found just about anywhere you look. Gwynn often compared said mythology to porn. While it does have a great deal of nudity and debauchery in its tales, the fact that it is available in just about everywhere made it feel like a cheap piece of information.

Cheap sluts, she thought as she closed the book, there's no fun in hunting for information that's already there.

She turned to the window and saw the sky turning yellow, the colour of dusk.

"Welp, dinner time, I guess,"

This cruise, she thought, might just be what she needed. As odd as the situation was when she first received the tickets she had apparently won, she was somewhat glad that she was away from that pathetic excuse of a museum.

Gwynn fetched her jacket and made her way to the door.
 
- No Mark, I'm on a cruise and nothing will change this fact. - Anke had almost shouted this last sentence into her phone after some minutes of talking while entering the cafeteria of a ship to get her share of snacks.

- action movie my ass Mark... I know what this sick son of a b*tch is after. And I don't do nude scenes. So you'd better find another actress for him. I told you thousands of times that I won't work with him. - Mark was the only agent left still capable of working with Anke. Finding the right kind of job was becoming harder and harder. Old-style action movies aren't so popular nowadays and when all the special effects are done by CGI, Anke's skills and physicality as well as ability to really climb, jump and kick some asses were not as important anymore.

Maybe in times when Arnold and Silvester were iconic heroes on screen - she would become one of such great ones, but not now, in the modern era of computers. That's why more and more offers were coming from cheap horror makers or erotic film directors. Anke wasn't going to do anything with later though, and faced the threat to become unemployed soon.

Cruise was a good chance for her to re-evaluate her life, resting from everyday routine, and think about her future. Maybe she would even need to change her profession once more.

She grabbed some light snacks and put them on her plate after turning off her phone and looked around the room, seeing bunch of people around. some of them looking bored, some anxious to start theis sea adventure .
 
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With a content sigh, Katerina sat at one of the small patio tables that dotted the deck, her eyes surveying the whole scene. People milled about, oohing and ahhing at the lovely sunset. Many, like her, carried their trusty cameras, not allowing a single moment to slip past without being etched into an SD card. Waiters walked among them, passing out drinks with fun tiny umbrellas in them. She smiled a little at the scene as she wondered what brought all of them to this same ship. As her thoughts wandered so did her eyes, drifting from person to person, only lingering for a moment or two. She noticed a young woman moving about who seemed just as alone as she was herself.

Maybe I should... Oh, no. She's probably looking for her friends. Wouldn't want to be the crazy foreign girl.

She chuckled a little at the thought and resumed her people watching.
 
Elijah laid down on his bed in his decent sized room on the ship. His head had been throbbing slightly and after taking something for it he was waiting for the medicine to kick in. The room was just like every other on the ship except for the few changes that he made since he hated the plain look. It was a white room with a single or double bed, depending. He had a double bed since he had a tendency to move around during his sleep and always wound up on the floor. he was sure that everyone else was wandering around the ship and marveling at his beauty. The ship was indeed nice and that was the reason he was on the cruise in the first place. As for the people on the ship, he knew nothing about them but he planned to be friendly because it would be a boring trip if he had no one to chat and talk to.

In a few moments his stomach growled, protesting in him wanted to stay where he was and continue to be still until he was positive that the medicine kicked in. When Elijah sat up he ran his hand through his hair before throwing on a pair of sneakers and then walking out of his room and closing the door behind him. He wasn't truly in the mood for a big meal for something huge to eat and would rather just settle on finding the nearest vending machine and grabbing a bag of chips and some water. He knew that in few hours or maybe les the hunger would start up again but by that time he'd definitely be in the mood to eat.

It didn't take him long to find a vending machine and a soda machine next to it. After taking a bad of chips and then a water he didn't hesitate to open the bag and toss a few chips into his mouth. No matter how much junk food he ate, his body was still in shape. Elijah continued to explore the ship and hopefully run into some interesting people.
 
Robes...who wears robes in public these days? Those were the common thoughts and looks this man brought as he wandered through the ship. This man wore black robes with a hood masking the majority of his face but what could be seen was his lower jaw...and it was gaunt, the skin taut and grey. Upon hearing his voice, rasping and gasping for breath, one could assume that he is quite old. He rarely speaks when spoken to, simply choosing to continue on his walk about the ship.

He brushed by a woman on the upper deck of the ship, wandering past her as she stared over the sea, and slipping something into her pocket. As he walked past, he whispered, "Blackest Waters."

He walked inside and headed for the eating areas, brushing past a male by a vending machine and putting something into his pocket. When he walked past, he whispered, "Hungry waves."

He continued through this level of the ship, passing other people and ignoring most. One woman was putting foodstuffs on her plate as a snack and he put something into her pocket, whispering, "Consuming anger."

He walked past a woman that looked concerned about the quality of the food and who was walking outside, putting something into her pocket and whispering, "Bleak worries."

He left the eatery and continued down a corridor, heading for the casino, blind inhibition driving his motives. He passed a woman just leaving her room, donning a jacket and slipped something into her jacket pocket as she was closing the door, whispering, "Dreams awaken."

Soon, he was in the casino and walked past a man who was heading towards the back deck of the ship, and slipped something into his pocket. Upon walking past, he whispered, "Consuming greed."

He felt there was one more and continued to search the ship.
 
Gwynn paused for a moment as she was about to close the door, sensing something amiss. She felt a presence behind her, but when she quickly turned around, there was no one there. Yet, that feeling lingered.

"What was it that I just..." she murmured, her thoughts wandering elsewhere.

Her hand released the doorknob, and she watched it swing open on its own. From where she stood, she could still see that damn book on the table. For some strange reason, she felt the compulsion to take the book with her, as much as she hated it.

"But if I see him again when I fall asleep, maybe then I can decide which door to open," she was deep in thought for a moment, and chuckled, "Bloody Greek gods. Making me believe in shit and all that,"

Gwynn marched back into her room and opened her suitcase, browsing through the books she brought with her. After much searching, she finally closed the suitcase, with a book in her hands. The words 'The Wild Hunt' were printed in gold across the front cover of the book. The feeling she felt previously had disappeared; Gwynn sighed in relief, thinking she found the cure to that uneasy feeling.

She turned back to the book on the table, flipping back to Morpheus's chapter to look at his illustration.

Shaking her head, she tossed the book to her bed and walked out of the room, "Just a silly dream."

She closed the door behind her and proceeded to walk down the corridor. Her eyes were looking about as she strolled, realising the size of this ship. It was certainly big, probably bigger than any ship or float-on-water objects and vehicles she had ever been on.

"Let's see, food should normally be served at the eatings areas that is..."

There was a familiar sound around the corner, something that sounded like plastic bottles falling into something hollow and metal. Well, it sounded heavier than your usual empty bottles. But that sound was an indication to food. Or, to be more precise, instant food. Gwynn turned the corner and found a couple of vending machines and a man standing there. He was just about to leave.

"Oh, uh, excuse me!" she called out to him, but it seemed as though he did not hear her. Sighing, she turned to the vending machines, studying the things on display; "Oh well, I guess I'll just see what we have here,"
 
Anya snapped back to reality. She felt as if someone had just touched her, but when she looked around she only saw a few people milling around, headed towards the many buffets. She shivered.
Weird. I need to stop spacing out like this.
She noticed a girl sitting across the deck, who for some reason seemed a bit lost, just like her. As she stared at her, she noticed the girl look up. Anya quickly looked away. Prolonged eye contact with strangers was always unsettling to her. Made her feel even more uncomfortable. She decided to finally appease her stomach, which had been growling for her attention for the past half an hour. As she passed the girl lounging on the deck, she did something she would normally never do. She flashed her a smile. Not a huge, beaming one. Just a simple upward movement of her lips. It felt....strange. But not in a bad way.
Anya continued on to the buffet.
Bleak worries.
Wait, why is that in my head? I've been looking at the sea for too long. Watch out Anya, you might start going crazy.
 
The water looks really dark now that the sun has gone down. Looks almost... black. Black water, now that sounds like a scary thing.

With a sigh Katerina stood up from her table, her stomach growling for food, not noticing that something was in her pocket. Tucking her camera into her bag she walked inside and headed for the buffet.
 
It was a weird feeling, as if someone had just touched her with ice-cold hand... or better to say, was close to touch... so much as to feel him sending goosebumps on her skin without touching. It lasted the part of the second, but was enough to make Anke feel uncomfortable. She turned around but no one was there... at least not at the distance to touch her.

Room was filled with people who were seemingly all on their own agendas. No one seemed to show any interest in her, but it the feeling that someone just touched her was still there.

Anke shrugged and got to the empty table. Least of all she would want any attention now. She basically threw her plate on the table and with a rough movement of foot fixed the chair under her butt. Chewing on a juicy stake and taking few gulps of Irish Guinness, Anke cheered up little bit. She even started to observe people around with more interest now. Fat rich old man with a cigar and a trophy wife, blond chick trying to hook some big fish, couple of shy girls, sitting all alone, military man drinking whiskey at the bar... Anke began to like being here until she noticed some shady figure leaving the room.

Not even understanding why, she felt the urge to follow him, her, or whatever it was and rushed through the people, leaving her steak behind, knocking one of the waiters off on her way. She kicked the door of cafeteria and ran out but looking around, noticed no one... suddenly, she felt unexplained anger and cursed.
 
Bells throughout the entirety of the ship started chiming seven, indicating that the buffets were now officially open. People started crowding the corridors as they made their way towards the sources of food, making a constant murmur that rose over the bells chiming. The ship was suitably out in the ocean at this point, heading towards the mid-Atlantic.

GRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

The ship rocked hard to the side and started groaning, as if something hit the ship. People on deck started sliding towards the edge, screaming but none fell over as the ship returned to its upright position. A large wave can be seen rolling past on both ends of the ship.

The captain called out on the overcom.

"We are sorry for that, a rogue wave took us by surprise. Again, we are sorry."
 
"Okay, I got the coins in. Now which one?"

"Doritos would taste better,"

"No, get the potato ones,"

"But aren't biscuits healthier?"

"How about we just get soda and be done with this?"

"But I want snacks!"

"Doritos. I rest my case,"

"But potatoes?"

"And then there's biscui--"

"SODA!"

"Goddamnit, Gwynn, just pick one!"

Altogether: "DORITOS."

She punched the vending machine in a flurry of both excitement and anxiety. The machine groaned as she watched it release the bag of Doritos from its clasp. But just as the bag drops to the bottom well of the vending machine, she heard the bells chiming throughout the entire ship. Seven, she counted; that means the buffet is ready.

"Oh, jolly! Then I'll just--"

GRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!​
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In that brief moment in time, Gwynn felt a gentle tug to her side, trying to pull her towards something of interest. She turned, as though in a daze, and followed the direction of that soft pull. Her eyes felt somewhat blurry, and she could not really tell where that tug was leading her. But then it got faster, turning from a gentle tug to a forceful drag; she still was being dragged in the same direction. That peaceful feeling she felt briefly turned into panic, and it dragged her closer and closer towards the--​
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BAM!​
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--wall.​
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She fell face-first against the wall of the ship, and was stuck in that position for less than a second before falling down. If she was auditioning for Looney Tunes, then she would probably have made it for the callbacks with what just happened.​
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-We are sorry for that, a rogue wave took us by surprise. Again, we are sorry.-​
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"God...damn...it," Gwynn quickly got up and dusted herself off from that embarrassing moment.​
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As she turned to walk away from the scene, she felt something amiss. There used to be something in her hand, and she had stuck it between her armpits and...​
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A sudden realisation: "My book is gone." Her stomach grumbled briefly, but she had to ignore it. Her pack of Doritos lay scattered all over the floor, but there's no time to fetch the pieces off the floor. "Dinner can wait; my book can't,"​
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Gwynn turned back and started searching down the corridors, past her cabin.​
 
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