Dawn And Dusk

[Iliana]

[DASH=white]

"We're here live on Channel 9, WDEN, North Detroit, Detroit's Station for the Nation. I'm Kathy MacAllure and, here with me, is co-anchor Brent Warden. Afternoon, Brent."

"Afternoon, Kathy. This afternoon we learn that the band named 'Cloud And Out' have not been seen since their concert 2 days ago. Approximately 210 people attended the concert expecting to hear their most highly praised single 'Dawn And Dusk'. The gross estimated amount they made that night was $3,932, including concessions. A good amount, but not good enough for the real cost of the concert."

"Yes, Brent. Word went out the next morning that 168 teens perished in their sleep, all of them having went to the concert the night before. Girls and boys of every age were found by parents, friends, and lovers, lying in their beds and not moving. Most still remained in the same attire as the night before, others managed to change. The ultimate suspect in the deaths of all of these teens has been the band themselves, yet, word has spread that the band members have not been seen once exiting the stage."

"Correct. Makeup artists, lights and sounds techs, and managers have said that they have not heard of the 4 band members: Jason Shaw, the vocalist. Brandon Toris, the Guitarist. Tucker Burnett, the Bassist. Gene Helms, the Drummer. The authorities have been to each of their houses with warrants, but none of them have been home or seen by their families. Suspicions have risen that the band may have slipped something in the drinks of the teens while they were enjoying the festivities of Cloud And Out's music."

"However, that does not speak for the 42 teens that remained untouched by whatever the 168 victims perished from. Autopsies were given but nothing out of the ordinary was found. Only alcohol, nicotine, and other food items, which would not cause death at all. Its the mystery massacre of the nation. We implore that all who may know anything about the concert should contact your local police station. Until then, we are keeping a close watch out for the generation of teens in Detroit."

"In other breaking news, Kathy, Senator Riley Gorks is resigning his position. Sources say that financial and economic degrading..."​

[/DASH]

​

[GLOW=green]

6:04PM, TUESDAY, JULY 21st, 2009​

[/GLOW]


"Turn that mess off. That's why we have newspapers. Besides, Cooking with Rachel Ray is on."

Megan didn't know if she should have taken the manager seriously or continue to stare at the woman as if she were speaking some foreign language. The large woman huffed her red-painted lips, swinging her large and grotesque face towards Megan in a scowl which did nothing for her crow's feet. By 'grotesque', Megan meant the makeup that she had forced to look at the entire day. Manager Marne was looking less like a woman and more like an abstract painting everyday, and not a good one either.

"What channel?"

"12, girl. You should know this by now. You've been here how long?" Rhetorical questions were Marne's specialty. Megan had a strategy for the questions. She would wait exactly 3 seconds before Marne said something else. The woman apparently liked answering her own rhetorical questions, the first step to a mental breakdown. "2 years and you don't even know what station Rachel Ray plays on?"

"Harper, did you get that Machiatto order or did you want me to grab it?"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"No, mam. I just assumed you already answered your question for me." Before she could get in any trouble or be forced to pick Marne's jaw off of the floor, she slid between a table where two women were sitting with their Macs on, not saying a word to one another. Megan promised herself that she would never get that desperate for company. What was the point of going out with your friend if you were going to be staring at a screen the entire time? This was why she was happy she and Harper worked together. That way, she would have company and be making money.

"Was that a yay or a nay, Harper?"she called again, walking behind the counter to peer in the back room, the Break Room. A gust of wind from a high powered fan hit her face and her messy ponytail held tight to it's name, strands poking out of by the nape of her neck. There was no point fighting with it. The shop would be closed in 3 hours anyway, but she planned on leaving early. Hopefully Marne would have been calmed down by then after watching a show that taught her absolutely nothing but how to smile in front of a camera. Still, even Megan didn't want to hear about the news about Cloud And Out. That was a boat that she would sail in the next hours, as if she hadn't been mulling over it all day.

"Harrrrrper."she chimed again.

 

[Tenchi-Roku]

6:12 PM, Tuesday, July 21st , 2009


​

"Yeah, you've been alone. I've been gone for far too long."


Nagito laid back in his shadowed apartment bedroom, eyes shut tight as he listened to one of his "comfort" songs. He knew how to play guitar, but his favorite was the saxophone. Although it wasn't really gonna help his mood like a good dose of Avenged Sevenfold did. Gunslinger. He sat up, knocking the covers from over his naked chest, raising his right hand to rub his black bangs to the back of his head. With hos he acted he was assumed emo, and that was fine with him. It just made things easier to keep from most people getting hurt.


"But with all that we've been through, after all this time I'm comin' home to you."

Nagito got up from his all black bed--he is obsessed with black-- and walked over to his bathroom mirror, staring into it to look for something. "Never let it show..". he began to sing along in his head. "The pain I've grown to know...." now out loud. He switched on the cold water from his bathroom sink and splashed his face three times, then took a deep breath in worry. He breathed out then looked up at the mirror, as soon as he looked upon the glass he was spooked by a monstrous face of red eyes, fangs, and blood dripping from it's lips. He screamed in terror and fell back against his bathroom door.

Rising back to his feet he ran to the remote for his stereo and clicked off his music. Nagito was afraid of what he had seen, because he didn't know what it was, or who. He just knew it was there and it plagued his mind like a virus. Like the blacken venom of a poisonous snake slowly terrorizing his blood, torturing him as long as it can. And sometimes he could feel it.... Lightly grazing the back of his neck as if waiting for the right moment to snap it.

He sat back down on his bed and grabbed a shirt of his dresser. He pulled it over his torso, then went to the closet for a black jacket, black jeans, and a grey beanie. Once he got dressed he took on the idea that he needed to take a walk outside, but to be careful of where he walked. He was suppose to be on school campus at the moment. Screw that..

 

[Layne]

"Tell Marne that I've died from being overworked. Better yet, tell her that I threw the fresh stock out in the river."


Harper was perched on the laminate counter of the break room, a large iced coffee in her hands. Blueberry and vanilla with a healthy dose of cream and sugar. Bliss. If there was ever a time that she didn't have some sort of caffeine in her hands, she tended to get grouchy. Of course, working with Marne would make anybody grouchy at all times. It wasn't that she minded the woman since she had long since gotten used to her.. rough behavior, but she would rather be out. The days that she got to just work with Megan and Marne had a day off were the best.


"Sorry. I had to bail while you were watching that story. I just can't stop thinking about Anna," she added quietly, slipping down off the counter and brushing a stray curl of her messy blonde hair out of her face and back toward the bun that held it all in place.


Anna had been one of her best friends in the world. Big blue eyes and long black hair that had neon streaks in it more often than not. When they went to the concert, her friend had been sporting bright pink streaks in her hair and had dressed like some sort of punk rocker. It was adorable, especially since Anna tended to be more of the stay-home-and-study type. The only reason they went out at all was because Anna couldn't resist - it was her favorite band in the universe! Her biggest crush at the time had been Jason, the singer. Personally Harper thought that Tucker, the bass player, was a lot cuter. They had been arguing about it between every song.


Harper had been the one to find Anna. Never would she forget that.


"I'll grab the Machi. I was planning on getting it anyway," she said, walking out of the break room and looking around. Marne was thankfully occupied, and a few guys from campus had drifted in. "If you want to take their orders I'll get the other one and start in on those as you bring them in," she offered, smiling at Megan and setting her drink aside to start in on the Machiatto.

 

[Eolande]

Brian now wore the clothes of his dead friends.

When he woke up, after the first night of his change, he had been naked. He now wore the grey stretch banded pants James had slept in, and died in. When night came and he... changed, the clothes didn't exactly stretch to fit him. He didn't learn that until the second night. Now two of his friends were buried naked. He had buried them this morning. Sometimes he thought he still saw their bodies laying there. He needed to take a walk.

Brian stood and walked through the shade of the trees for a length. Not really thinking, just walking. He stopped in surprise when he heard the rumble of a large truck passing on the highway below. If he dared to go any further, he knew he would be greeted by the edge of the forest, than a long green slope of earth that stopped at the raised highway. If he continued he would find houses, in a few blocks he would be at his own home. He wanted to see his family again. He wanted to see SOMEONE, other than the dead. He sat on the forest floor. His pants were filthy. His chest was bare, he slept that way at home, on his soft mattress under covers, only two doors down from his loving parents. Out here, it was miserable. the cold sank it's teeth into him mercilessly without the barrier of cotton to keep the heat trapped in.

His hands covered his face. He didn't weep, he just despaired, overcome with longing, and guilt, and fear for what to come next. Over the last few days he had gone from feeling numb to despair and back again. Sometimes he contemplated suicide, but he didn't know how. He had practically nothing out here. He just sat, listening to the distant rumble of traffic, wondering what to do next.

 

[Cosmic Orion]

The smell of fried food invaded every millimeter of his nose, only out done by the scent of fresh patties on the grill. Although calling it a grill gave the shameful device far too much credit. Microwaves heated up older food just so it would not go to waste. Lord forbid anything happen to the sacred artery clogging food so many around the world loved. Who could not be lovin' it with a calorie chart staring them right in the face? Just the best feeling ever of sticking to that diet by ordering apple slices along with the greasy yet still somehow flavorless burger. But hey at least he had an employee discount, right? Like that made him feel any better about eating from here when he knew all the little quirks and habits of every single one of his fellow coworkers down to the textbook definition of why they even did it in the first place.

Each of them disgusted him in their own special way.

Depressing more than anything else though, was watching the toys become gradually lamer with less effort put into them every year. Smiles were hard to fake when he handed the bag to a parent through the drive-thru window and saw that hopeful kid in the backseat all hyped up for nothing but inevitable disappointment. Before he even worked here it depressed him once he started to notice the quality drop. What kid could find happiness in these uninspired chunks of plastic? Redemption for them left impossible by the seemingly limitless resource known as a child's imagination. It just hurt and cut deep to see them getting less than what he had in his own childhood.

A glance over at the clock let him know only three more miserable hours of his shift remained.

 

[Ridralee]

Overly powered perfume.

The stench in the air lingered from the middle aged obese woman. Cosette felt sorry for the woman at times. She was all alone after all. Yet the woman, Jaclyn Remot, seemed to not be that keen on hygeine. Everyday it was the same. Greased over hair, foul stentch mixed with an over powered splash of not so great perfume, and the ragged clothes that hung loosely on her body. It had been bad enough the stench caused the college student to feel ill at all times. The old bat's attitude wasn't any better. The student often thought about one day helping the woman out and showing her that even middle aged obese women could look beautiful. In contrast times like this were the reasons to not help. Her wrinkled palm slammed against the front desk seeing a slushy mess caused by little kids. It happened, right? Not in the campus book store. Everything had to be nice and neat. Everything needed to be in it's place. It had to be right or it meant losing the job. The perfume hovered the air reaching the range of the young college student who had worked there only for the money. Her body cringed. "What is this Miss Levielle?"

"It's a blue raspberry slushy, Ms. Jaclyn." There had been the food court right across from the store after all. It was normal for people to bring their drinks in.

"Why is it there?"

"The custodial haven't answered my calls yet."

"Then take initiative and clean it your self."

"But Miss Jac-"

"Do it! Now!" The perfume lingered away as the woman stormed off her her back office.

The girl sighed and hastened to the supply closet pulling out a bucket and mop. "...Word went out the next morning that 168 teens perished in their sleep, all of them having went to the concert the night before. Girls and boys of every age were found by parents, friends, and lovers, lying in their beds and not moving. Most still remained in the same attire as the night before, others managed to change..." The woman had blared the television on the news. In some cruel way the woman found an interest in such things. It saddened Cosette very much of the recent report though. It wasn't long ago that her own best friend had died. As a matter of fact, the first night after the concert was the night Sven had been found dead. The way the police had thought he passed was murderous and just disgusting. It haunted her. How could someone do such a thing?

Tear flowed from her eyes while cleaning up the slushed mess. Her sobs came to a halt after her head shook sending her purple and bright pink locks whipping around her. Student walked in after putting away the mop and bucket. They scattered into two groups. One went to the books as the others went to the craft isles. A loud crashing sound echoed form the book section sending the groups flying out dropping what they were looking at. Cosette sighed. Another mess, really? She walked back picking up the art supplies first then the books. It confused her in why they were looking at they things they did. She shrugged it off and went back to the front desk. She wanted work to be over or at least an attractive person to walk through the door. Yeah right. Like that'd happen. People walked in an out. "Hello. Welcome to the campus bookstore. If you need anything or have any questions feel free to ask." To those who left, she changed it up to the typical. "Have a nice day."​

 

[XC]

"Where were you the other day? You were late for school," Amanda, your standard blonde bombshell, the cheerleader, said as she pointed her finger accusingly at Lauren, wanting to know more details.

"I went to see a doctor. I wasn't feeling to-"

Before Lauren could even finish explaining herself - well, not exactly explaining, but more like lying to cover up what she had been doing, she was cut off by a barrage of words from Amanda again.

"And what's up with you these days? You never, ever show up for our parties any more."

"I know, I know," Lauren smiled patronizingly, squeezing Amanda's hand. "I've just been trying to focus on my studies. You know how my parents are like. They freak out and go all out with curfews whenever my grades slip. Oh! Look at the time - I gotta go, have to pick up more medicine from the clinic. Doctor's orders."

Leaning in and pecking Amanda on the cheek, Lauren half-ran away from her friend and down the street, still clad in her school uniform and some frozen yoghurt in one hand. She quickly finished the rest of the dairy goodness and tossed it into a rubbish can that conveniently appeared on the corner of the street where she turned, letting out a breather. Amanda was a great friend and someone really fun to hang out with, despite her snobbish attitude but Lauren really didn't need the Spanish Inquisition at her door right now. The girls at the school didn't need to know that Lauren had been called in to check for any substance abuse.

The news she had heard the morning after the concert startled her quite a little - all of them, dead? Yet, she was unaffected by whatever happened - well, she was. The past few days, when the night came ... She changed. Into a more extreme version of how she looked when she went out for her nightly activities and she could also do ... Things. Stopping fights, stopping people from coming onto her when she didn't want them to. She didn't know the full extent of what she could do yet, but she was quite unsure of these powers too - did they have a price? If they did, Lauren definitely did not want to pay it, and would gladly give them up.

Spotting a coffee shop down the street, Lauren clasped her hands together and praised the Lord and walked towards it. Caffeine had become a staple once she started going to clubs at night and all that. With the sun about to set in a few hours and the transformations begin ... Lauren wanted to be in a club when she changed, where people wouldn't notice too much of a change. Where she would be, in a way, safe.

Lauren's eyes were fixated on her phone as she checked through all of her social networks, leeching off free Wi-Fi that came every few shop. She walked into the coffee shop and immediately went to a small seat in the corner, a distance away from the bunch of college guys that were bound to make some noise - she would appreciate her peace and quiet now before the ruckus of the night, which she welcomed, began.

"I'll have a large iced latte, lots of sugar and cream and," Lauren paused, her voice trailing off with her eyes exploring the short menu of snacks that they had. "A white chip macadamia cookie. Thanks!"

 

[Iliana]

[GLOW=green]

6:41PM, TUESDAY, JULY 21st, 2009​

[/GLOW]

"An eggplant casserole, oh puh-LEASE, Ray!"Marne mimicked with the crowd of the television show. She even went as far as to clap along with the crowd simultaneously, green eyes bugging out from their sockets in exasperation on how the food was going to turn out. Megan managed to tune out the woman and the tv, focusing straight ahead of her at the empty space in the Break Room.

"Yeah, and I'll tell her you left your two week's notice under her bunyan cream. Come on, Harper, seriously. We need that Machiatto." Her voice was hushed and harsh, just in case Marne decided not to care about the eggplant casserole, listening in on the two of them instead. Megan finally saw Harper emerge from the invisible fortress she built for herself in her mind, giving Megan the reason she didn't want to be out there. It was a good reason, but that didn't mean Megan was ecstatic to hear about it. The sound of Anna's name made her cringe. She barely knew the girl, but Harper...well, they were best friends.

"Where is that Caramel Machiatto Booth 4 ordered 2 minutes ago, Megan?!"

"A whole two minutes, huh?"she whispered, sending a wink to Harper that may or may not have made her feel better. Megan wasn't just going to shove away the deaths of the 168 teens that went to the Cloud And Out concert 2 days ago; mainly because she was one of them. Megan passed over Harper, leaning to grab the steaming cup of coffee wafting from a tiny tray in Harper's hands, giving her no more looks of reassurance. Two days wasn't enough time to recover over a loss of a friend in an untimely death. Megan was, for the first time in her life, happy that she went to the concert alone. Of course, she saw Harper and Anna there and waved to them, but the music had gotten into her by then. The vocalists incoherent screams followed by the softening of his lungs soothed her, lamenting the song into the mic for all the world to hear. To think that such a beautiful display of life through music could massacre...

"MEGAN. THAT MACHI!?"

"It's right here, Marne."Megan forced through gritted teeth. Oh, how she wanted to claw the woman's eyes out with her bare nails. It would certainly paint them a beautiful shade of red. A dark auburn. Yes. They'd certainly look good in a dark auburn. The sweet aroma of caramel creamer brought Megan out of the vivid mental scene of Marne's eyes rolling out of her head. Her face paled up, nearly tripping over thin air as she slammed the tray on Booth 4, the drink swaying side to side before being settled by a very disappointed woman in a tight, gray vest.

"Your coffee, mam,"she squeezed out with an apologetic yet plastic smile. The woman turned her nose up and said nothing, dipping the minuscule black stirrer into the tiny mug, looking towards the TV. Enjoy, you bitch. She flinched at her own voice in the back of her head. It dripped a dark liquid in her throat, stinging her lungs like a hard liquor going down the wrong pipe. She was never like that. She was never that...dark. The melodious diiiing from the front door sounded, signifying the entrance of yet another impatient customer that couldn't wait longer than 2 minutes to get coffee.

Only 2 and a half more hours until closing time.

"Harper? Booth 1, please!"she called out, waving to the blonde to tell her another attendant would be there in a second. Megan had been on the balls of her feet for the past hour. Death or not, Harper had to suck it up for work. Megan was glad she didn't know pain anymore. Pain was a myth.

 

[Church]

Her blond hair tied in a bun, Annie quickly gathered half-filled drinks, used cutlery, and food-splattered plates onto a large tray set on the edge of the table. She frowned in disgust when she picked up a plate, noting that the cheesy bottom had some snot mixed into it. Probably some little kid. Very careful not to get the goop on her fingers, she dropped the plate on the stack. Once everything was cleared, she quickly set to wiping the table clean, for the next customers. A sudden voice caused her to jump a slight bit.</SPAN>

"Annie, I'm taking my break, can you check on my tables?" Annie's eyes turned from the table to the brunette beside her, standing there with a bright smile on her face. Tiny Minnie, they tended to call Melinda, as she was the shortest of them all. Five foot two, and that was stretching it a bit. She stood there smiling, waiting for Annie to answer.</SPAN>

Such a question would have been met with a grudgingly forced answer, with a contradictory smile to show she didn't really mind. It was the whole 'I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine' rule, and she knew she could ask Melinda and receive an easily acquired 'yes'. But today was different, she merely smiled and nodded as Melinda's short frame sauntered away, headed towards the back entrance to go take a smoke. </SPAN>

Watching her go for a moment, before turning her eyes back to the table, she sighed. She was jumpy because she was freaked out. She was tired because she was freaked out. She was downright terrified on the inside, acting different than her usual self (albeit that may come as a relief to those who were sickened by her constantly sarcastic tongue) simply because she was freaked out. But this was all good reason, of course! Since that night, at the concert, Annie has been horrified. Something was profoundly wrong with the world, and with herself.</SPAN>

Still wiping at the already clean table, she blinked before remembering that she was working. She retracted her arm, knocking her elbow against something and hearing the crash of glass. She noticed the broken glass on the ground, and felt the liquid of lukewarm pop on her front. She swore, before setting herself to clean it up.</SPAN>

 

[Layne]

Harper nodded a little as Megan took the Machiatto and delivered it. She needed to get her head back in the game. Marne loved to remind her that she had been here longer than anybody other than Marne herself - it was the older woman's way of saying that she should be the best worker and quit slacking off. To Harper, it was more of a reminder that she was going nowhere fast in life. It just felt so temporary. She was only on her second year of college and had two more after this - and that was only for a bachelor's. After that came getting the experience necessary for jobs that weren't complete shit. She was probably going to be fifty before she even got into something to label a career. The thought made her groan softly - but that was cut off as Megan called to her.


Wow, she really was dropping the ball beyond belief today. 'Stop thinking of Anna and your own misery, Harper..' she chided herself. Not long til closing time now. Just push through.


She took a deep breath and made her way over to booth one, giving a cheerful smile to the blonde that sat there. Uniform. Must be from the Academy or something, which made her younger than the usual customers. Not that it mattered. Just another detail to note and then forget about two seconds later. She didn't bother pulling out her order pad, she just listened and nodded as the girl rattled off her order.


"I'll be right back with that," she said with a smile, wandering back over behind the counter. Small tray, cookie on a napkin, large iced latte.


She was adding the cream and sugar as some of the idiot guys from college upturned an entire tray of drinks that they had ordered on the floor. Oh, lovely.. She finished with the latte, put it on the tray, and delivered it to booth one. That done, she picked up the cups and such from the floor and whipped out a 'wet floor' sign so that she could run back to the break room and grab a mop. The joys of working to get paid.

 

[Eolande]

Brian finally stood. He stared out toward the highway. Though he could see nothing besides a small stand of trees, he knew exactly what he was looking at, and fancied he could even see past the trees. He had made up his mind. He could not go back. He would only put more lives in danger, and for what? So he could see his family again? It would only bring more pain. Perhaps they thought him dead. It was for the best.

Brian did not have the information the others did. He would not even know that what happened to him had anything to do with the concert if it wasn't for the inexplicable notion that it just was. That those words, that chorus haunted him more and more every day. He didn't even know that others were affected similarly. He didn't know how many died. Brian feared that perhaps if he went into town, the change would come on when he didn't expect it. He didn't believe this thing followed rules. just because it happened at a certain time before didn't mean it would every time. This is what he came to fear. The beast wasn't just a form. It was another "person" altogether. Every night, Brian battled to stay in charge.

A nearby fir creaked in protest of a sudden gust of wind. It was enough to distract Brian from his thoughts. Brian turned away with enough conviction to stay in this place. It would hold for the night. The broken boy, once a football star, an A student, receded into the small wilderness that hardly survived on the edge of this suburban town, to drink and hopefully sleep.

It wasn't easy for Brian to make the decision to drink from the creek. The night of the concert, he had had a beer. Since then, he hadn't drunken anything, and the day after was hot. The burbling creek seemed to taunt him though. It was agonizing. The whole notion of it was filthy. Brian didn't even like the taste of tap water. Yet, he plunged his hand into the creek and drank greedily. It was disgusting, yet it sated his need. Then the hunger set in. Brian was unable to obtain his own food. His new other half had to do that. Brian watched helplessly as the scene took place. He crawled into the dark recesses of his own mind. he could not prevent himself from seeing what the beast saw. Brian didn't cook for himself, he hardly ever even saw raw meat at the supermarket. Seeing the beast tear into that dog... Well, he was surprised he wasn't sick the next morning.

How long could he survive like this? Brian lay back against the trunk of a tree. He felt a centipede squirm out from under him. It repulsed him, though not as much as it used to. Soon, he would become an animal too

What are we to believe is real? The song came and taunted him again. "Go away!" Brian yelled without thinking. it was the first voice he heard in the two days he'd been here. It spooked him.

 

[Cosmic Orion]

"Fries are up!"

Fred was the guy in charge of the fries most days of the week. Every so often someone else filled in for him but it hardly compared to the work that Fred did on the job. Somehow he kept his station clean despite all the frying medium. 'Putting in the elbow grease' was a phrase that fewer people understood these days given how people loathed putting in extra effort. Yet Fed never fell prey to getting lazy. Custodians were left in confusion that the fryer stayed so clean without them even touching it. Truth was that Fred cleaned it himself without any sort of prodding to do it. He just did it.

On the way to the drive-thru window, Jack caught sight of Fred pulling out a washcloth between each order of fries. Not once did the manager say anything about how odd this model employee was and even encouraged it to some degree. But that did not sit well with Jack at all. So he decided to take a friendly jab at Fred just to see if he could break that intense look on the guy's face.

"Have you seen Mc C yet Fred?"

Jack knew the truth though. . . that Fred had a compulsion for things to stay far beyond regular hygienic expectations. No one could try to help him either without getting an odd glare complete with an imposing silence. One day if someone did not take the hint who knew what might happen. Potential psychopaths were all over the great United States of America just waiting for their chance to shine. And the guy who handled the fries of unsuspecting customers was just one of them.

Either way, it was still more sane than the custodial training video.

 

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

Cole entered as soon as the coffee was spilled, a closer look told them what fraternity they belonged to. Figures it'd be those asshats, he thought to himself, Stupid fratboys.

Cole walked to the counter, waited for the person ordering before him to finish, and stepped up to the counter. "I'll take a quadruple espresso please, got a long night ahead of me." He waited patiently, his mind was torn between memories of the concert that still haunted his mind, and his upcoming mid-terms.

As he tried to separate the two, he found himself completely zoned out of where he was. Images, sounds, and scents of the concert intermingled with the equations of engineering, and more than once he could have sworn he saw the girl at the counter somewhere else, but where specifically he wasn't sure. The image of her face drifted around in the jumbled mess of sensory information and engineering principle that already fogged his mind.

 

[XC]

"Dicks," muttered Lauren darkly under her breath when she saw the college boys not only make a hell out of noise in the previously silent, tranquil coffeeshop but also spill their tray of drinks on the floor. The poor girl had hastily delivered her her drink and cookie, to which Lauren chirped a quick "Thanks!" with a bright smile. Once her server had walked away to clean up the mess left behind by the boys, Lauren's smile immediately vanished and was replaced with a glower that was sent in the direction of the boys, staring daggers into them.

If only looks could kill.

Then Lauren grimaced, thinking back to what had happened the night before; she had been cornered in the alley by some dude who was grinding against her in the club even after she had told to fuck off. He was going to force himself on her and ... She just snapped. She felt her rage boil through as he glared at him and the man's eyes had widened and he had begun to bleed from them a few long seconds later. Lauren had panicked for a moment there and ran.

No. She didn't wish for looks to kill. Definitely not.

But they were huge dicks any way.

When Harper went to the back to get a mop, Lauren snapped at the boys, who had returned to their noise-making ways after seeing that the mess was going to be taken care of. "Gosh, just shut up, will you people? This shop was perfectly quiet until your bunch came in. And now that poor girl has to clean up the mess that you guys made. Decent thing you could do was help her!" snapped Lauren as she sipped at her latte.

She turned her nose up at them and then proceeded to turn in the other direction to eat her cookie, leaving the boys dumbfounded at the brazen but gorgeous blonde that had just spat verbal fire right in their faces and then turned away even before they could reply.

 

[Ridralee]

[Dash=#9933cc]

Her eyes watched the clock. Hours had already passed while she worked. Working in the shop was no fun when all she wanted to do was escape. Do something else. Be with friends. Friends? That was a laugh. What friends? The one friend she trusted with her life was now dead. Sven. His dark brunet hair that was almost black and his blue eyes that were like water. She sighed knowing his death was the death of herself too. Cosette didn't trust people that much. She even only thought she only needed Sven. Their time passed and his death was what happened. She was alone with the elephant. Her eyes rolled and focused back on the clock. A few minutes were left. Her back hopped in excitement. The long minute hand finally dinged over the 12. A new hour for a new life. Cosette's body even danced a bit. She was free from the elephant lady.

Her body jumped over the counter and pulled off the store uniform. A black beater was under it and hugged her torso. Cosette tossed the work shirt over the counter where sh would just get it the next day. Her voice yelled to the back of the store as she was about to walk out the door. "Don't forget to lock up!" She should have just kept quiet.

"Damn it, Cosette. You're locking up the shop." There her round body was. The witch that held that dreadful stench and horse voice. The lady's body waddled through the clothing aisles with her purse in hand. "You know you lock up!" Jaclyn walked out with out saying another word. She disappeared in the crowd that walked through the halls.

Cosette looked around. The only one in the shop. She hated it, especially now that it had the boss woman's horrible stench lingering in it. The girl sighed and walked to the back of to turn off the lights. Reaching back to the front, she saw a figure. "I'm sorry sir, we're closed. Come back tomorrow." The figure just stood there. "Sir? Please leave."This time it inched forward towards her. The lights above her flickered which caused Cosette to jump back a little, startled. Light hovered over the man's face revealing the dark hair and hazed over blue eyes. "Sven???" His body lunged forward with his arms wide open to wrap around her. The woman screeched and fell to the ground as she tried to move away. Her eyes pursed shut and cold chills washed over her. "You're DEAD!" She screamed in fear.

"Miss?" A voice rang out letting her eyes to flutter open. She saw a blonde male with worry in his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Cosette stood to her feet and looked around the store. All the lights were on like she never had touched them along with the figure being nowhere to be found. Her focus went back to the complete stranger. "Yes, I'm fine..." He smiled and walked out. Her body shook as hurried to close the shop up properly. Her body fled the entire building and soaked up the fresh air. It had been nice for it to be just her imagination. A nightmare. Yet, it had felt so real... Cosette walked to the coffee shop away from the building. Maybe some coffee would help her relax.
[/Dash]

 

[Tenchi-Roku]

8:42 PM, Tuesday, July 21st , 2009


​

It was hard to walk the city streets without having a glare given every ten seconds. But then again it was to be expected; wouldn't you be suspicious about someone walking around with their hood on? His town wasn't exactly Vegas, but it wasn't Louisiana either. It had it's moments and then it didn't, either way he was there and felt like he was in some sort of nightmare! With people looking from his every direction, it wasn't helping his sense of terror and loss. He came over to a corner and saw people heading home; people were afraid to be out at night recently. All over the news he's heard them talk about people being cut apart and bled dry.

He rested himself on a bench, across the street from there was a coffee shop and a bar. To his right eye view was a violet haired women going for coffee, possibly fresh from work at closing time. Nagito needed something to shake this feeling of blood and destruction, it seemed as time grew closer to ten he'd desire it more and more. His body even felt like it was feeling changes as time flew by. Just as his thoughts jumbled together, he closed his eyes and could hear the dim sound of a hiss in the back of his mind. In that instant, he needed music...

Nagito jumped to his feet and quickly crossed the street, regardless of cars. His reflexes have been a bit faster nowadays, in fact just yesterday he slap a fly from the air. After making it across he pushed through the doors to the Coffee Shop, he didn't see the girl however. His eyes locked on to the manager, he tapped his shoulder and asked for a moment to play an instrument, the trumpet. He nodded and gave him the go, they dimmed down the lights, the area went quiet. And then Nagito played.

(Note this was the only thing I could find)
[SPOILI]

[/SPOILI]

 

[Church]

Annie got down to her knees instantly going to go clean it up. She could feel several pairs of eyes boring into her back, and she turned her head to see a family sitting at a nearby table, watching her. The two children were snickering at her blunder, covering their mouths with their hands. The two parents were hushing them, occasionally casting awkward glances at Annie. She sighed, grumbling to herself as she turned her attention back to the mess on the ground, resisting the urge to snap 'So what if I made a mistake, I am human! Get over it!' </SPAN>

Saying such things could easily get her fired, for being rude to customers or something stupid like that. So she pursed her lips, trying to ignore them as she picked up glass shards and placed them on her tray. She cut her finger and hissed in pain, sticking the bleeding index into her mouth and sucking on the injury lightly, automatically. Standing up, she left the mess and ran off to get a broom and dustpan, hurrying back and sweeping the rest up. After disposing off it, she went back to work. Only eighteen more minutes before her shift ended, and she feared she would be cutting it close. Hopefully the sun hadn't set by then, as she could only imagine what would happen if she was still in here.</SPAN>

Well, she couldn't imagine what would happen anyways, as she had absolutely no idea. But she had pieced together one thing: it was bad. Very bad. It was completely unnatural, and she figured it would be intelligent to get away from people. Maybe tonight, instead of going to bed, she would stay outside. She didn't want to hurt her family, after all. She didn't want to hurt all the people in this restaurant either. So with every passing minute, she kept glancing outside. As she bussed tables, dished out menus, took orders, served food, and did all those other things required of a waitress she remained barely there. Very absentminded, sucked into the vortex of her own worried thoughts. She barely noticed when Minnie returned, but at least it lightened her load a little bit.</SPAN>

Eventually her oddly quiet behavior was noticed by her manager, asking if she was alright. She tried to push it off, but only managed in being sent home early. It was like a blessing in disguise. Still, her worry did not ease with every slow movement of the sun, as it dipped closer to the horizon. She hastened her pace, walking home with quite fast strides.

</SPAN>

 

[Iliana]

[GLOW=GREEN]

8:56PM, TUESDAY, JULY 21st, 2009​

[/GLOW]

There was nothing funny about what those boys were doing at that table. Megan paid little to no mind to them when they first walked in, their packs swinging over a broad shoulder like some never ending pendulum of college courses. Half of them may have not even given the slightest damn about the college and the courses they took. They were frats, the typical ass holes of North Detroit, Michigan, even more so when they were flaunting the NDU's attire. These particular group of boys were the worse mix to have 4 minutes before closing time. They were the type to get loud and rowdy after having pleasantly gotten what they asked for, which wasn't much. Typically, they never ordered to enjoy the food or coffee. They only wanted an excuse to stay in the store and screw around. They were also the type to not listen to the waitress when she gave 4 minutes.

"Guys, you have about 4 minutes until we close, kay?" Megan squeezed out in the sweetest voice she could muster. The statement slipped through her gritted teeth when she watched a boy with messy, curly blonde hair knock over the salt shaker beside him. Crystallized salt dashed under the metal rim and onto the mahogany and beige table, causing an eruption around the table.

"Wooooaaah! That's bad luck, man! Clean that shit up before a piano drops on our dicks!"

"It falls on your head, you dumb ass fuck!" The blonde guy shot back. The table hooted and roared with laughter; a large, knee-slapping party parading. Megan blinked back a look of annoyance and turned away back towards the counter, just in time to miss Lauren tear them a new one, verbally.

"Oooo~ Mama maaaad~" The laughter didn't die. It rose up to the ceiling and around the store completely. If Megan's 4 minute warning didn't get people to exit the shop, the boys did.

"Yo Brent, Igottapisslikecrazy," a boy with a large gauge earring slurred, leaning over his redhead and most likely red neck friend. Drunk. Typical frat boys.

"The fuck I look like? A fuckin' port-a-potty?"

"I'm notgonnamakeit alone!"he laughed, yanking at the red head's ear. The table roared at the bromance and the underlying 'no homo' plastered across all of there faces. Brent and Gauge walked up and jogged to the men's restroom at the right of the room, Brent holding up Gauge who was guffawing at nothing. A lazy drawl on the trumpet sounded and Megan screamed inside her head. Why did people insist on doing all of these stupid things at the dawn of night was beyond her! She didn't bother to look over to Harper as she cleaned up the mess the boys made, catching a boy with a short crop of dark brown hair walking up to the counter. 2 minutes before closing time. Megan glared at his back, hoping that in just a tiny 10 seconds, he would burst into flames and crumble into dust. However, she just slid behind the counter and gave him a placid, brown eyed stare.

"I'll take a quadruple espresso please, got a long night ahead of me."

"One quadruple espresso. What size and what flavor?"she said automatically, not bothering to look down at the touch screen register that her fingers were busy pushing at.

"Megan! Give 2 minutes!"Marne shouted from behind her office. As if she cared about what time they were closing. Every single time a time was given, the customers still remained inside until they were ready to leave. What could they do? Lock them in?

"I have an order." Megan called back, still waiting for the specifics from Cole. Harper, meanwhile, studded her toe across a table and yelled/growled her curses, bun flopping around as she whipped her head to one of the boys who had taken a great shot at laying a light spank on her butt.

"Then give one minute!"

"What size and what flavor?" Megan spat through gritted teeth at Cole. He was taking forever in a half to make the simplest of orders. 6 hours and 59 minutes of working behind that damned counter with a bitch of a manager, a depressed employee, news and cooking nasty ass eggplants. The weight of world crashed down on her and that guy still didn't figure out what he wanted. It got dark. Everything suddenly got dark to her. The store, the sound of the trumpet, Harper's cursing, her breathing. She flicked her eyes down to the clock on the touch screen.

[GLOW=RED]

9:01PM, TUESDAY, JULY 21ST, 2009​

[/GLOW]

"HAHAHAHA! He told me not to touch his ear! What kind of gay shit is that!?" Megan's eyes shifted over to Gauge, a red liquid flowing from between his unnaturally white teeth. A piece of something hung on his bottom lip, and even at that angle, Megan knew it was human flesh. Someone screamed. The entire table of frat boys joined in on the chaotic yelling, two of them literately falling from their seats and the floor, jittering in sharp spasms. Gauge laughed and pointed at the two of them on the floor.

"Dudes, what the fuck! He tastes good, no homo! No homo, man!" He said again, the slur of drunkenness now completely gone from his voice. The blood dripped down onto his fingers when Marne stepped out of her office, peeking at the scene. Her face turned as white as her hair, her chin shuttering like a gizzard on some old chicken. Cosette stepped through the door and the melodious ding! it made snapped Megan back to attention. Easily, she looked away and stared at Cole. The brown in her hair lightened to a dull orange, hazel eyes going to a light tan.

"See, now we're closed. You shouldn't have been a slow fuck and ordered sooner." Gauge laughed some more at the boys on the floor, one of them lying motionless while the other gripped and grabbed at Lauren's foot, reaching for something. Assistance, help, life, something.

 

[Tenchi-Roku]

8:56PM, TUESDAY, JULY 21st, 2009
​

As he finished his solo to calm his nerves, he noticed how the time was flying by. Only four minutes until nine, his usual time for a midnight walk. But instead Nagito took a bow, smiled, and grabbed a seat. The gatitude and love of the crowd convinced him to stay, just a bit longer at least. Just as he passed by the clock, trying to get up and make a quick order, he felt his heart start slowing down. Then it sped up and slowed down again just to pick up pace and keep increasing! His back start filling with aches and pain worsening by the minute.

9:02, Tuesday, July 21st, 2009


​

He sat at a small round table, gripping both sides for support of the pain, the burning sensation spreading all over! His hands started showing marks that lead up his sleeve, him being so afraid he tore open his jacket. People started staring, some standing up in case they had to run away, leaving frightened glares at his eyes. One of the people in the shop tried to talk to him, saying "Sir, put your hands on the ground!" "Get the fuck away from me!" he replied back, the threw the table as if it was a baseball, sending the cop flying through the window.

Nagito felll to the ground screaming in agony as his skin blackened, his gums bleeding as his teeth became razor sharp, and wings developed out of his back starting from bone. The felsh and black feathers soon covered his wings, claws scratching the floor under him. He opened his scarlet eyes and sniffed the air around him. As he lifted his head, he didn't seem human anymore. He soon appeared beside an elderly women and slashed the top of her head from existance, blood covering his face.
View attachment 14353

"Hahaha......" a dim laugh he echoed. Nagito punched the wall and people ran for the doors, but they didn't budge. The doors were jammed by one punch! Now.. They were locked in with a monster... Happy Hunting..

 

[Ridralee]

[Dash=#cc3300]

She remembered seeing a figure look her way then cross the street. Cosette wandered the campus trail after several minutes just gathering the fresh air. A flashy techno song broke her daze. Her hands glazed all over her body as the melody continued to play. Blue eyes looked over the black device seeing who was calling her. "Ma? Hello, Mrs Matthews?" She answered the phone.​

"Cosette? Where are you? Are you in your dorm?" The female voice quivered in fear.

"Not at this moment. I just got off work. Why do you ask?" After her answer, the call dropped. Out of worry for the reason Sven's mother would call her, she dialed the house phone. No answer. Her head just shook. It was weird. The ol' lady normally picked up on the first ring. His mother was overly worried ever since her son had died. Especially for Cosette. In process of putting her phone back in her pocket she looked at the time. Some how within the time of having the nightmare and dazing off in the street lights forty minutes had passed. A sigh escaped her lips. The coffee shop still wasn't far off. No car coming, she dashed across the road and into the cafe. It was nice especially the music that was playing. Her eyes gazed over him. She saw him minutes ago. A smile cracked along her face. It was nice to see nice talent in the city. She found jazz soothing. She sat down and listened to the rest of his trumpet playing. It was minutes towards nine. Watching him sit only a few tables away she gave another smile and went and ordered a cup of coffee.


​

[glow=#993300]9:03 pm, July 21st, 2009[/glow]​

Her light blue eyes watched the man's transformation. Here she was just smiling at his performance and now he was screaming in pain. Her trembled in fear when the guy just threw the cop out of the cafe through the window. Shattered glass was everywhere. A ringing sound echoed getting louder and louder by the second. The palms of her hand gripped the side of her head and pushed with force. Of course, it'd do no help. As her put the fear of god... more like fear of death... in the people, she was the only one that hadn't moved towards the door. Her eyes strained shut. The pain ached more as blood began to trinkle down her face. She ignored it trying to drown out all the screaming and laughter from her head.

An out burst of laughter came from not only the black skinned individual but herself. Her eyes turned a dark hue then to black. Cosette's hands ran through her dyed violet mess of hair. Her fingers pulled down on the locks as they lightened into a platinum blonde. Red and black streaks ran through her hair that once marked the spots of pink and blue. A middle aged male ran right into her. "Hey are you alright? Come on we have to get out of here..." He looked around for an exit. So far the only thing in sight was the crashed window but the winged monstrosity stood in the way. The young woman stood to her feet and swayed side to side in front of him, letting her head clock twitch to the side. He took a few steps back and became wide eyed. His sight went blurry then to a black surrounding. Her body brightened in front of him. Her mouth opened wide which let what waited inside loose. Brown and black eight legged crawlers crawled out. The creature seeped from every orifice on her body including from her eye sockets. They scattered away from her body towards him as they just kept coming. Thousands maybe millions of spiders from all types of species rushed his way. A shriek escaped him while his body ran the opposite way. He hated spiders to the core. You could tell. Maybe even his worst fear. The corners of her lips curved as the man fell to his knees then against the cold floor. His eyes were stuck wide open as his body was now just a corpse.

"Who's next?" Cosette's hysterical laugh echoed again. The party of the monsters... demons, even had just began.
​

[/Dash]