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The Naked City Chronicles: The Haunted Mansion IC

The sun was setting on the early autumn day as the Newkirk sibling arrived at the meeting spot where their college art club was organizing a break in of the Hopkin's mansion, the fabled "Old House on the Hill." The property had a dark history and been sealed off from everyone, public or private for decades, despite the rumor that outside of the University Museum it was the largest repository of artwork for 300 miles in any direction. Over the years, the estate which had once been in the country, had developed a shady slum around it and security had ostensibly become more lax.

The idea of observing artwork that hadn't been shown to the public for years had proved too much for the club's president and he had organized a break in attempt by the club to see the depraved works of Bryce Fletcher-O'Brien. However the siblings were the only one's to have show up so far, even the club president was running late it seemed. The two middle class students were not used to being in the slums, especially this late, and the autumn sun cast a bloody red light as it settled lower and lower, taking the day's warmth with it.

Mira shivered and leaned against her brother, both for warmth and anxiety about their surroundings. She had been hesitant to take part in the break in, but she would have preffered that to staying even later in this part of town. "Where is everyone?" she asked worriedly, her brother just shrugging and glancing around for anyone else he recognized.
 
Jamie & Gilly

Jamie had been a bit surprised when Gilly called her up out of nowhere and invited her to join him for a dare to break into the old mansion. It had been a while since the two had met, or even talked but she was certainly up for it. Things had been slow and lately she had begun to feel the effects of going to The Zone with a bit more severity than before. It was time to take a break which meant that much of her income would dwindle and she'd be stuck scavenging garbage containers and shop-lifting for the foreseeable future.

They had met up near O'Malley's, the bar where Jamie usually hung out to get drunk and score drugs, about a block and a half from her so-called home at the Tabula Rasa. She was in skin tight black jeans with a few tears down the front and one just below her ass on the left leg, a dark grey t-shirt under her signature leather jacket that read, on the back, We Are The Daughters of the Witches You Could Not Burn. On her feet we're a pair of sturdy, slightly too big, black combat boots. She had her butterfly knife in her back and her brass knuckles in the right pocket of her jacket. She never left home without either of them. She was almost sober as well, having decided to only have the one whisky at O'Malley's.

"So you guys just decided to what? Break into a haunted house to see some fabled old art of a clearly deranged psych doc?" she said as she and Gilly approached the mansion.
"Yea. I mean it's just been hanging there on the walls forever and there's some weird clause in the old man's will that they must never be removed and well it seems the current owner, whoever that might be, probably that weird doctor at Wonderland, feels the same way."
Jamie nodded as they came up to the front of the mansion, which even in it's dilapidated state signalled that it had once been grand.
"And you want me along as what, burglar, to get you inside?"
She stuck her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.
"Or to draw away the attention of whatever lurks in there from yourselves?
Gilly shrugged and gave her a playfully light punch on the shoulder as they came up behind the Newkirk siblings.
"Hey," he said.
"This is Jamie. You might know her from some of my work."
Jamie shrugged but did smile at the two.
 
Mira Newkirk

Mira was glad to see Gilbert approaching. The elfin painter was a well known member of the art club, and from reputation was probably more comfortable being in this part of town that she and her brother were. Having someone with that sort of easy confidence was a relief to her and she waved with a smile on her face. His companion however made her worry again. She looked tough, not at all the kind of girl Mira would have approached easily, and she didn't recognize her from the club. However when Gilbert mentioned that she had been the model in several of his paintings things clicked for Mira. "So this was THAT Jamie." she thought to herself. Giving the dark haired girl a small wave, she said, "I'm Mira." in a quiet voice


Baxter Newkirk

Baxter was more welcoming. He was a fairly laid back individual and wasn't usually off put by other people appearances, considering his own. abnormal height and build. He held out one bear like hand to Jamie. "I'm Baxter, good to meet you." he said, returning the smile. Checking his watch, he said, "Well if anyone else is going to be be even more fashionably late than you two, I haven't heard from them. Seems like it might just be the four of us. Should we still try? If anyone IS running late, Jack sent the directions on how to get in to everyone." he said, referring to the art club president.
 
Jamie & Gilly

"I am indeed that Jamie, Mira" Jamie said and gave the clearly nervous girl a nod, a nod she then extended to the bulky man next to her as he held out his huge hand in a greeting gesture.
She didn't take it though. Such formalities were not really her style and besides, she didn't really like touching people or having people touch her. It would have to be rather specific circumstances for that to happen, like with Gilly when they were lovers, or when she needed to use her body to earn money. She did look up at the big man's face though and raised an eyebrow though.
"You'll have to excuse her Baxter," Gilly stepped in and then explained that Jamie was not fond of being touched.
"She has her reasons."
Those reasons were the nightmares she always hoped would remain nightmares but rarely did. Baxter didn't add this to his apology on her behalf nor did she offer it herself.
"Lead the way," he then said.
"I'm assuming we'll be entering through the garden and the back door," he added.
 
Baxter Newkirk

Baxter wasn't perturbed by Jamie declining to shake his hand, he wasn't one to sweat the small things. If she had her reasons, she had her reasons. "That's the plan as far as I'm aware." he said and began to walk towards the mansion, angling towards a section of the chain link fence they had scouted out in the daytime, where the was some space to crawl under. Going over the top was not plausible as it was covered in razor wire, but some animal seemed to have cleared out some of the earth beneath the fence.

Bending down, Baxter took the bottom of the fence in is hands and pulled it out at an angle to let the other crawl under without too much difficulty. However his own massive frame was not conducive to getting under himself and he cursed quietly as sharp edge caught his hand, drawing blood from the palm, though he did finally manged to make his way under, smearking his cloths with dirt far more than the others had.


Mira Newkirk

Mira moved and did her best to wipe some of the dirt off her brother as he stood up, knowing he wouldn't mind the dirt so much himself. It wasn't much use, but she slapped his injured hand away from his face when he went to lick his palm. "Baxter that's disgusting!" she said. When she was confident he had been suitably chastised she pointed up the hill. "I think the gardens are that way." she said, following after Gilbert, huffing and struggling with the incline due to her short legs, while Baxter cleared some distance to the group.
 
Jamie & Gilly

Jamie moved under the fence with perhaps unexpected grace and ease and stood up on the other side to help Gilly through, then came Mira and lastly, and not without some effort, Baxter, who for all Jamie could see should have been strong enough to simply rip a hole in the fence rather than trying to squeeze his massive body through such a small opening. Then again in his case most openings would be considered small. It was almost endearing to see the way his sister fuzzed about brushing the dirt of him and when she stopped him from actually licking himself clean like an animal Jamie almost laughed. It was quite a sight the way she chastised him considering the difference in size between the two. Strong, humble and perhaps a bit dumb, was Jamie's first assessment of him but those were not the worst of qualities a man could have.

Hands in her pocket Jamie looked around the overgrown garden they found themselves in and then with a nod at Gilly began to walk along the side of the house towards the back. Even just being on the actual grounds of the mansion was enough to sense the malice and the horrors that would await them inside and for a moment she questioned her decision to join the art club on their quest.

She took out her phone and with a sigh showed Gilly the lack of signal.
"Probably the house," she said and Gilly nodded.
It was a highly plausible theory. With all the stories, all of which were unconfirmed of course, about the haunted mansion, the articles in various paranormal online magazines and blogs about it, it wasn't much of a surprise that it would reject such modernities as smart phones.
 
Mira Newkirk

To Mira, the garden itself was ominous, the once well tended flowers and plants now overgrown, a whorl of bright blooming flowers, green vines, and brown dead stalk that had been strangled by their neighbors in the competition for water, nutrients and light, a neverending cycle of lives competing with one another resulting in death. She pulled out her notebook to write that though down, feeling it had some artistic value. Something rustled in the undergrowth that caused her let out a muted "EEEP" of surprise and fear. She wasn't sure what it had been, but considering how long the building had been abandoned she could imagine the place was crawling with rats. She HATED rats. She reached out to grab Baxter's arm but didn't realize that her brother was already fiddling with the back door, seemingly determined to see the artwork inside and not at all interested in the garden. Instead she realized the had hugged Gilly from the side, and quickly backed up, clearly embarrassed, staring at her shoes. "Sorry... there was...Sorry." she managed, her face flushed.



Baxter Newkirk

Baxter was uninterested in the garden. There were times he could appreciate a well tended garden or park, but this wasn't a well tended garden and he was more interested in what was inside. Moving to the door he gave it a glance over. Touching the cold brass handle and giving it a twist it was clear that the door wasn't locked, but the door still open. Looking at the frame it seemed as though the wood of the door itself had swollen from water getting through from years of disrepair.

CLosing his eyes he twisted the knob and began to push, a vein stood out on his neck and he gritted his teeth until with a *CRACK* part of the door splintered off the top against the frame and a dark hallway was revealed as the door swung open.
 
Bob Hayes

Bob was finally back to work after being in the hospital and home for 5 weeks nursing a broken arm. He completed his paperwork and showed the sergeant the memo from the doctor that he was cleared for duty. It was a bittersweet moment as he went to the computer to complete the rest of the paperwork for the arrest of the serial killers, however, he also received news that 2 officers did not survive the injuries sustained.

Bob put on his vest and started his patrol and responded to the shots fired call. When Bob arrived at the scene, he saw a few cops firing at 2 elves who were running away. Bob sped up with his cruiser and slide into their path, knocking the elves to the ground. The officers then proceeded to try to subdue the elves and surprisingly, the elves seemed very agile and strong for their build and shoved aside 2 fat cops and continued to run.

Bob circled around them and as one of the elves dodged a cop's grab attempt, Bob pounced on the elf and grabbed onto the elf. "Fucking pig..." The elf shouted and elbowed Bob in the head and punched his throat. Bob could not breathe but continued to hold on to the elf and luckily, the other cops arrived and tazered the elf. Bob coughed and laid on his back as he tried to breathe and after a long rest, he could swallow again. He checked his elbows and hands and he received some new bruises and abrasions again and smirked as the elf was being arrested and brought to the police station.

An older cop came and shook his head. "The other one got away."

The police were on high alert to look for the escaped elf and Bob returned to the station and filled the incident report.

"Not bad for an old guy..." One of the younger cops complimented. "The diving tackle was nicely done."

Bob nodded at the cop and said. "At least we got him."

Bob cleaned his wounds and it does not look so bad, probably will get more bruises the next day, but otherwise nothing serious. After a short break, Bob returned to his patrol car and responded to another call for a breaking and entering. Looking at the address, it seemed to be just outside town. "Seemed like a busy night," Bob muttered and proceeded to the address.
 
Jo Henderson

Jo packed up stuff and needed a new base of operations. She got on her motorcycle and started riding away from the city and felt a supernatural draw towards a direction. She decided to follow her feeling and she arrived at Hopkin's mansion. "Hmmm, looks interesting." Jo decided to stop and do some research and suddenly spotted a police car approaching and she quickly found a place to park her motorcycle and hide from view.

After searching the internet for more information, Jo found out about some valuable artwork inside, and there was not much security from the looks of the building. There was even a convenient tree outside for easy access over the wall. "This place looks kinda abandoned..." Jo muttered as she climbed the tree to enter the garden.

The plants were overgrown and the place looks abandoned. "Are there still valuables inside?" Jo muttered and her feels of the strong supernatural feel was still present and it seemed to be coming from inside the building. "Now, where is the cop?"

Jo looked around and searched for the police car and the cop, just in case the cop was here.
 
Jamie & Gilly

"No need to be sorry," Gilly said as Mira detached herself from him.
"Given the history of this place I think we're all a bit on edge here," he added with a smile that was meant to be comforting but perhaps didn't quite come off as such.
He glanced over at Jamie to see if she was on edge as well. He knew very little about her life beyond what she had told him about the abuse she had been put through growing up in the foster care system, and veiled hints that she had seen things that would make most people's hair grow white in a flash, things most people couldn't imagine even in their worst nightmares. Jamie seemed to be on some sort of cautious alert, subtly scanning the undergrowth and the fruit trees of the garden while at the same time playing it cool, but she did not seem to be on edge. If anything she seemed calm and collected.

Once the door was cracked open the hallway was indeed dark. It was the kind of darkness that even the dark itself might be afraid of. Jamie took her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight. It made little difference and she couldn't help but wonder just how Gilly and Baxter intended to look at art in this absence of light. Gilly often talked endlessly of the importance of light in art, how the representation of light could often be considered more important than the actual subject of a painting.
"Anyone bring actual flashlights?" she asked and threw a small pebble into the dark, listening as it bounced and came to a halt before sh took a step inside, carefully feeling her way with the tips of her toes.
"I seriously doubt any electricity that may have been installed is working anymore."
 
Baxter Newkirk

Baxter was like a man possessed once the door was opened and he stepped through leaving the rest of the group behind in his haste as if he were being drawn deeper and deeper into the house by an unknown force. In a moment he was out of sight, obscured by the gloom, or gone around a corner, leaving nothing but the scent of the blood still dripping from his hand. A scent that was perhaps more noticable if one one wasn't human. Or humanoid.

Mira Newkirk

However his sister was left behind with Gilly and Jamie. "Baxter come back!" she called down the hallway to no avail after her wayward brother before standing on the porch nervously as her usually reliable brother had dissapeared. Without him she struggled to to decide on whether to stick with the others in their group, try to follow him, or perhaps to even outright run for home.

She glanced at Jamie when she brought up the idea of "actual" flashlights. She and Baxter hadn't though of that. She had the light function on her phone, but there was no real way of knowing how long her battery would last. Reaching out to a light switch by the door she hopefully flicked it on, and was surprised when the lights in the hallway seemed to remember what they were for and came to life with a sickly yellow light, though someone who was paying attention would notice that there wasn't the humm of elctricity flowing into the decrepit light fixtures.


@mappy and @mainman

Jo managed to clamber to the top of the tree in time to see 4 individuals force the back porch door open, with one almost rushing inside while the other three seemed to linger on the back step before slowly filing inside.

While sitting in his car on the street in front of the house Bob catches the distinct cracking noise that years on the force have told him that someone, somewhere has just forced a door open.
 
Bob arrived at the house, it looked pretty abandoned, and initially, Bob looked around and it looked like a prank call. Bob parked on the street in front of the house and saw another police car arriving and parking further down as the cops circled around the back. Suddenly, Bob heard a cracking noise and shook his head. "Idiots..." Bob cursed and called to report in.

[Officer Hayes at the old house on the hill, heard something inside, checking it out... over.]

Bob walked to the trunk of his patrol car and took out his large flashlight. The streets looked empty and Bob proceeded to the fence and saw barbed wires on top. There was an unkept garden and an old creepy-looking house that looked much worse at night. "Damn it..." Bob cursed and looked at the door which seemed to be moving as the wind blew. "How the fuck did they get in?"

Bob looked around, for an entrance and went to the main gate and tested the gate. It seemed to be locked. Shining his flashlight around, he did not see anyone in the garden and he started to walk around the fence to see if there are any openings. "This is bullshit..." Bob muttered and went back to the gate again. Looking up, the gate was sharp and spiky on top. "I don't think I can climb that... Maybe I'll wait for them to come out to get them."

Looking at the door again, it looked like it was open. "Maybe someone went in or it is just like that..." Bob said and proceeded to walk around the fence again to see if anyone cut the fence to get in.
 
Jo narrowed her eyes when she saw people force open the back door. "That's a good way to alert security..." She sniggered. "Total amateurs..."

Then she spotted a police car stopping and a plump cop exiting the car. The cop did not seem to be very alert and Jo looked around to spot other cops. There was another one in the police car. "Looks like 2 for now..." She muttered and saw the cop looking around and walking towards the tree.

The plump cop spotted the motorcycle under the tree and approached. "hmmm... still warm." The cop muttered and Jo wrapped her legs around his neck and lifted the cop off the ground. The cop kicked and flailed as he could not breathe, she tightened her muscles and feel his struggles weakened till he stopped moving. "Ok, one down..." She dragged him to the shadows, cuffed him and approached the police car.

The bald cop saw the car door opened and as he looked up, a baton smashed into his face and he went limp. "That can buy me an hour..." She said and dragged the body to the trunk of the police car and cuffed him. Jo quickly climbed up the tree, entered the garden and ran to the building, peeping into the open door. "Let's see what they are up to..." Jo said and she quietly entered the building.
 
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Jamie & Gilly

"Would you look at that?" Jamie said with a hint of surprise when the lights actually came to life.
"Indeed, " Gilly echoed her surprise and took a few steps towards the corner where Baxter had vanished.
He looked around it and expected to see Baxter at the end of a corridor but there was nothing but dim lights and a staircase at the end, no sign of Baxter.
"That's odd," he said and looked back at the other two.
"I guess that means you're with us then, Mira," he said and smiled at the girl who looked like she had lost her favourite plushy.
Jamie nodded and jerked her head towards Gilly as a sign for them to get moving.
"Your lead Gilly," she said and turned off the light on her phone and put it back in her jacket.
She then followed Gilly as he took the same corridor where Baxter had disappeared and they headed upstairs where most of the artwork was supposed to be displayed. It was where Gilly assumed Baxter would have gone as well.

@mappy By the time Jo enters the house Jamie, Gilly and Mira would be upstairs and fully visible through the once white painted railings.
 
Bob noticed something moving in the garden and shined his flashlight to look around. He spotted the door slightly ajar. "Damn it, definitely someone inside."

Bob looked up and down the fence and finally spotted a hole under the fence. "Some skinny ass kid can probably go through the hole," Bob said. "But how am I getting in?"

Bob walked around the fence and saw the other police car but the officers were missing. "Where did they go?" Bob muttered and searched around the area. "Did they find a way in?"

// Bob did not find a way in, unless the gate unlocks itself, but otherwise Bob will probably not want to enter. Feel free to knock him out.
 
Jo could hear the people going upstairs and suddenly noticed flashlight shining through the door. "Who's outside?" Jo muttered and saw another cop looking around. "How did I miss that one?"

When the flashlight moved away, Jo quickly grabbed a vine and pulled the branch down and carefully climbed up the tree and out towards the police car. "Another nosy old cop..." Jo muttered and sneaked behind the cop. She took out the bottle of chloroform and soaked her handkerchief and covered his mouth. The cop tried pulling her hands away and she kicked the back of his knees and he fumbled a little and slowly, his struggles died down and he went limp. "Fuck, this guy is heavy..." Jo complained and opened the police car door and tossed him in the rear seat and cuffed him. "That will buy some time..."

"Officer Bob..." Jo muttered as she looked at his nametag and took his cuff keys and returned to the house again. She climbed up the stairs and placed her head near the ground to listen to the footsteps to try to find out where the others went and what they were doing in this house.
 
Mira Newkirk

Mira looked to Gilly, a look of confusion and genuine concern plainly apparent on her face. Without her brother it seemed her own sense of agency was taken away. She sincerely did NOT want to enter the house now, and only the fear of begin left alone in the creepy garden with night falling, and her worry for her brother who was acting strangely coerced her into following the duo deeper into the house.

The hallway they were in seemed to have been a servants hallway from the kitchens, and they passed a pair of doors leading to the kitchen and what had probably been a pantry when the house was occupied. The end of the hallway came to a door that was ajar, suggesting Baxter had already gone through. Mira jumped and squeaked at every creak of the old wood under their feet and only just managed to keep grabbing at Jamie and Gilly as surrogates for her brother.

The door at the far end of the hall opened into a grand ball room with a series of decrpeit railings overlooking the dance floor from the second story, that could be reach via a pair of of curving staircases that framed the large double front doors. "Baxter?" she called out hopefully, but no response was forthcoming.

She was about to call again, when a creak louder than any of the others, came from behind them. She nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to reveal a full blooded elf, with scars visible in on several points of bare skin starring at the trio.
 
Jamie & Gilly

It was rare for anything to be able to sneak up on Jamie, even from behind. Years of going into The Zone to retrieve less and less valuable artefacts had sharpened her senses and then there were of course her generally heightened sense of perception but this Elf took her by surprise and she reacted instinctively rather than consciously by camouflaging herself against the wall seemingly disappearing into thin air, unless of course you knew exactly what to look for and where.

Gilly pushed Mira behind himself and looked at the tall Elf with most of his upper body bared and the skin covered in scars of varying degree of healing. He looked like he had been through a war. His hair was a mess and his stare was enough to send most people into a fright.
"Where the bloody did you come from," Gilly said and stood as bravely as he could between Mira and this Elf.
"And more importantly who are you and what do you want?" Jamie asked having used her cover to move behind the Elf and now held her butterfly knife at the base of his neck.
 
Jo entered the garden and looked around at the twisted plants. Approaching the back of the house, Jo felt some chills as she walked over and she can feel something unnatural with malice in front of her. "Something does not feel right here, sure feels like a bad idea."

"I remember 4 of them, where are they now?" Jo muttered as she peeped inside and entered carefully, trying to be as silent as possible. Looking up the stairs, Jo gave a sigh as it looks like it would be impossible not to make any sounds going up. "Will those people be friendly? Are they here to loot the place as well?"

Jo tried to go up the stairs silently, but the stairs does make creaking noises. "Damn it..." Then as she walked down the hallway, the floors creaked as well. Jo tried to avoid walking in the center of the walkway and be as silent as possible to find the others. As she heard some creaking sounds ahead, he thinks the others are in front and does not want to surprise anyone as she was a little jumpy as well in this creepy place, she decided to make her presence known by whispering loudly. "Hey guys! I felt something in the area and found this building. I think I heard you too, and I'm here to explore as well, so don't be alarmed!"
 
Mira was more than happy to let Gilly and Jamie take the lead on confronting the strange elf, though she was alarmed when Jamie produced a knife from what seemed like thin air and held it to the other intruders neck. "We're just here to look at the paintings..." she began in quiet voice, trying to give the student group a little bit of legitimacy. She would have continued if a gutteral scream hadn't sounded from the upstairs of the house, echoing through the ballroom, amplified by it's acoustics.

Mira was not a bold creature, but glancing to where the scream seemed to have come from, she cried out "Baxter!?!?" and started up the broken stairs as quickly as her petite frame could manage the gaps and missing planks. "Baxter, are you ok? I'm coming!" she huffed, he face flushed with worry and exertion.
 
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