The Coming Storm [Still Accepting, and OPEN] [Sparky Co-owns]

Blair raised his hand in greeting as he saw Rhian walk into the graveyard. The boy sighed in relief as he realized that Alice was right about how it most likely wasn't going to rain. But his mind then turned to the time and he realized that their deadline was almost here. Blair knew that Nate probably wouldn't skip something this serious, especially when all the boy's friends were going as well. But there was still a nagging thought in the back of the boy's head. What if he had been kidnapped? What if he forgot and went straight to bed, what would Bali-Lali do with him then? He wondered.

But in an attempt to remove those dark thoughts from his head Blair simply decided to say something positive. "He probably didn't forget, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't arrive until the last second and he's out of breath and without any necessary items. It's why I brought extras in case they require a bit of gold from all of us." He explained before lifting up his left hand. There were two golden rings on the hand, a small one on his index finger and a larger one on his ring finger. "I also brought some silver just in case there is some sort of trick or something." He added with a bit of cheer in his voice as he showed everyone the silver necklace he had also worn around his neck.

{I would just like to point out that me and my character do not have any usual tendencies on ignoring their responsibilities. It's just that some responsibilities are a really big pain, and shouldn't have to be bothered with.}

Hahah! Take that You pirates! You'll never get me to walk the plank!

Argh, but You already are walking the plank.

Huh? WAAAH!

"Oof!" Nate uttered as he hit the floor from falling out of his bed. "Ah, weird dream. That's what I get for falling asleep while listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song while reading Nightcrawler com--wait! What time is it?!" Nate checked his clock near his bed to see that it was 9:15. "Ah man, I'm late!" Nate then froze. He listened for a few seconds making sure that no one heard him. He creeped over to his door slowly and quietly, and pushed it open by a few inches. It seemed like his sister was still asleep, and that his parents were watching TV in their room. The teen sighed in relief and carefully shut his door.

"Okay, gotta move!" Nate swiftly got his shoes on and slipped on his hoodie. Luckily, he had prepared himself ahead of time and packed some supplies in a bag. He opened up the sac and sifted through the contents double checking everything. Flashlights; bottles of water; some snacks; my DS; some underwear just incase somebody needs it; swiss army knife; a few cans of bug spray, although I doubt that those will really work; I've got my cell phone in my pocket, along with my crazy uncle's gold tooth which I'm really glad he gave me now. Looks like I got everything.

Nate slung the bag over his shoulder, and carefully opened up his window. He stepped on out onto the roof, and carefully closed his window, leaving it open by a few inches so he could slip his fingers through it. "And, now for the hard part," the teen commented, then walked towards the edge of the roof. "Have I really done this twice before?" he asked himself as he looked down towards the ground.

Nate very cautiously crouched down near the edge and hung himself from the roof. He inched his hands over to the thick support beam connecting the house to the porch, and wrapped his legs around it. He then shimmied down the pillar until he reached the porch railing with his feet, and kicked off it, jumping to the ground.

"Well that wasn't as hard as I thought. Guess I have done it before." the teen sighed in relief. Most of the bright full moon was covered by dark and ominous clouds, as he headed out into the similar eerie forest. He took out a flashlight as he reached the outer layer of the woods, and flipped the switch, piercing a small strip of the darkness with a beam of light before journeying in. "I hope I make it in time."

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Collin said, stepping a little ways away from the others to look through the graves. He brushed his fingers lightly over one, shining his flashlight over it before moving on to another one. He pushed his glasses up a bit on his nose, tilting his head back to look at one of the taller headstones. He looked back down, moving on to another headstone.

Rhian went and stood next to Alice. "I agree with Collin," Rhian said," Who wouldn't want to come if there life was threatened. Besides, if you think about it, this is quite interesting because it's not common to come across a haunted mausoleum." Rhian thought that sounded dumb. She tried to hide how scared she felt inside, and try to encourage her friends to pack up enough courage to stay at the mausoleum. Maybe it was just the adventurous spirit inside her.

"I hope you're right, Collin." Alice said, biting her lower lip nervously for a moment before turning to Blair, and nodding at what he'd brought, "I brought an old gold bracelet of mine." She said, fishing in the pocket of the jacket for a moment before providing the golden chain. "Maybe I should break it in half...You know, in case we need it," the teen lowered her voice, "Next time." Her eyes darkened for a moment with something like silent fear, or perhaps dread.

"If there's anyone, it's Nate," Alice joked, lighting up at Rhian's optimistic behaviour. "Yea, maybe this won't be too bad." the blonde agreed, though she wasn't nearly as convinced as she sounded, and probably wouldn't be until she knew what exactly was going on.

{Tch! I put "old tooth" instead of "gold" tooth. D}

"Man, it sure is dark. What a pain! I can't see a thing. Maybe I shouldn't've come?" Nate complained, as he made his way through the dark forest. Yeah, right. I know for sure that everyone else came, and I can't just leave'em hangin'...that, and I don't wanna die yet.

Nate made his way through thick bushes, dead tree branches, and rotting logs, but he didn't see any tombstones showing that he was near the graveyard and the mausoleum. How big is this forest anyways? It didn't seem that big when we went through it last night." He suddenly heard a something cry out. Something not human. "Or creepy!"

Nate quickly shone his flashlight around the area, searching for the source of the strange noise. He stopped the bright beam on a high up branch, causing the owl to 'Hoo' in shock, and fly away. "Tch! It was just an owl. There's no need to get so high--wah!" The teen tripped on something, and dropped the flashlight. "Oww! Stupid branch." The teen picked up the stick, and got up to retrieve his flashlight. "Huh. This looks pretty sturdy, and it's a good shape and length. If my bugspray doesn't work, then maybe I can use this to fend off that Bali--spider lady whatever?"

Using the stick as a cane to help his footing, the teen continued on, and he soon saw a tombstone. Finally! Hey, there's another light up ahead!" Nate switched of the light, and as he made his way to the gate, he made out the four shapes of his friends. "Yo guys! What, I'm the last one here? Sorry, I kinda fell asleep."

[[I was wondering about that...xD]]

Alice looked up as Nate arrived with them, sighing with relief as she realized everyone had shown up. She couldn't even, didn't want to even, imagine doing this alone. She pulled out the bracelet once again, pulling at it until it snapped in half in her hands, feeling a pang of guilt as it had supposedly originally belonged to her great aunt. But the blonde brushed it off, warily approached the hooded angel statue. Staring at the cold stone hands that held out the plate. She looked back at all the others, before placing one half of the bracelet on the plate, and stepping back.

She watched as the old stone doors opened with a stomach wrenching sound. "This is it..." She breathed, looking down the dank stone stairway that led down to the mausoleum. She swallowed thickly, summoning up any courage she had, and taking one step down.

Blair chuckled and shook his head in amusement after hearing Nate's explanation. "Of course." He replied before turning to see that the Stone doors were starting to open. Blair stood still for a second as he inhaled the musty air, or, at least he felt like pretending to himself that the air was old and musty.

The paranoid boy nodded his head in agreement and exhaled as he saw Alice take a step into the Mausoleum. After that Blair quickly aimed his flashlight to illuminate the staircase before he took a step in, lightly putting his hand onto her shoulder as he used Alice to keep himself still and balanced. "No worries then...After all, it's the same walk we took yesterday." Blair said as though he were just informing everyone this, even though he was only reminding himself as he tried to not be too scared.

Nate flinched when the massive, thick stone doors started moving. He just stood there, his body frozen in awe, watching as the large stone passageway opened up to reveal a long staircase leading down into the depths of the mausoleum. It didn't take him to long to resume movement as soon as the scent of the dank and stale air that was wafting from the staircase entered his nose.

Aww, that smells nasty!" the teen complained covering his mouth and nose with his hand. He then saw Alice and Blair already heading down the creepy archaic stairway " Uh,Right. Let's go...!" Nate responded to Blair's comments as he followed his two friends into the mausoleum.

Rhian watched in awe as the stone door to the mausoleum opened. "We might just want to be careful down the stairs,"Rhian stated in reply to Balir's comment, "That Bali-Lali-or whatever that is-might try to play a few tricks on us on our way down." Rhian followed after Nate, the moist smell of dampness filling her nose. Rhian returned her golden chains into her pocket.

"What do you suppose will be waiting for us at the bottom?"

"The gross spider creature again I'm guessing, though it could be someone else. Maybe a note as well?" Blair wondered aloud after hearing Rhian's question. The boy was feeling nervous as he followed Alice down the stairs. He continued to shine his flashlight directly past Alice so she would be able to see eveyrthing ahead of them. "Either way, I'm sure that we'll hate it." He contiued on as he said the last thing as though it were a good thing.

Alice nearly jumped out of her skin at the feel of a hand on her shoulder, but calmed seeing it was only Blair. But yesterday we didn't know what resided here...No! She thought, mentally shaking her head clear of any negative thoughts, There's no other option, I might as well do this with an open mind. The teen continued down the twisting staircase, trying to pay no mind to what the others were saying of Bali-Lali--God! She could just feel that...awful thing watching them descend into the sunken Mausoleum. She moved down the steps, which reeked a horrid smell, grateful of the light that flooded before her-courtesy of Blair's flashlight.

Finally reaching the end, Alice stepped into the incredibly spacious room. Yesterday it had been full of various doors, statues, paintings, and other such dusty furnishings. Today she felt slightly disoriented at first, upon entering the completely empty room. The only thing it contained was an exceptionally large, decorative door. Right in the center of the rounded room.

Collin followed the others down and looked around curiously. He arched an eyebrow when they arrived in the empty room. "Is it just me, or does this place seem a little different?" He joked half-heartedly. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, blowing a lock of blue-dyed hair out of his face so he could look around better. I wonder if I could make a map of this place...

Blair jerked his head around as he mentally noted every difference that the room had with the one they had been in the night before. He simply nodded in agreement with Collin's words as he forgot his fear and foolishly walked past everyone towards the large door in the middle of the room, completely ignoring everyone and everything else around him.

The boy set his flashlight on the ground just in front of the door so the beam shined onto it. He carefully traced one of the images on the door, making sure not to touch it so the door wouldn't open. "Fascinating, I wonder if they actually moved everything themselves or if this is just a trick of some sorts?" He asked rhetorically as he finally acknowledged the others presence again.

"I want to know how they got rid of all the doors in here." Collin said, walking over to a section of the wall where a door had been and brushing his fingers over it lightly. He scratched at it for a few moments with his thumb. The wall was solid. "There isn't a trace of them."

"Actually, it does look a bit different now." Rhian walked over where Blair stood. "Eonder where this door goes to." She raised her hand, as if wanting to trace the engraved design. She stopped herself abruptly and started walking around the room.

"Maybe it's just an illusion, trying to get us confused or something."

Alice looked around, before hesitantly walking forward. She moved across the room to the door cautiously, stopping in front of it. She let her eyes wander down the door, stopping a small, bronze-coloured sqaure on the knob. Her hand seemed to move on its own, brushing it across the square to reveal writing, and she proceeded to brush away the remaining dust. Alice eyed it with a confused expression, reading over the fancy script engraved into it.

"Hey guys," She said, her tone still holding her wonder and curiousity, "It says something."

"Really?" Collin lifted his head and looked over at the others. He moved so that he stood next to Alice. "What's it say?" He looked down at the door knob, squinting slightly as he examined the object.

Blair quickly looked away from the images that he had been tracing on the door and crouched down to see what Alice was talking about. Swallowing deeply as he tried to read the text.

"She's right. The door does have some text." Blair declared as he began to read the text. A few seconds later the boy swallowed deeply and nervously for a second before standing up and taking a step back from the door. "Well that's just...brilliant." He said in a tone that implied he was being sarcastic.

Alice looked up at Collin, her gaze traveling from him to Blair, to Rhian, and back to the knob. She hesitated for a moment, her dark eyes scanning over it before reading it aloud. When she spoke the words it felt as though it weren't really hers. They filled her voice with an ancient and slightly unsettling air,

"Many lost souls need salvation's light,
Many do not deserve it.
Some cannot find a path through the night,
Some must find a way to earn it.

Twenty black windows look into the cold,
Behind which no remains are interred.
Twenty blue glass-panes hold evil untold,
A careful, wary hand is preferred.

Twenty white portals show the blessed undone,
Who lack courage a pathway to find.
Blessed are they who uncover each one,
Free each spirit, each soul and each mind."

She paused to take a shaky breath, not liking what it had said so far, before continuing on,

"But for those who are few, against ours so many,
A guide can be given to aid these
A light in the tomb when there might not be any,
And a friend to help others to find peace.

Seek to give hope where there was none before,
Free up the souls of imprisoned two-score.
To summon Edaniel at the door,
Knock once, then twice, then twice once more."

She let her hand slip from the cool of the metal, to hang at her side, thinking about what it had said. Knocking? On this door? The blonde looked up, nervousness in her eyes as she examined the door, What would happen? At the thoughts of all the possibilities Alice moved a little bit back from the large door, meeting the eyes of all the others to see their reaction to what was engraved on the plaque.

Collin stared at the doorknob for a few moments after Alice had finished reading. ".... Wh-What are we waiting for? If we don't kn-knock, that Bali-Lali lady might show up again..." The thought of the spider woman sent shivers down Collin's spine. Collin could still clearly see the creatures every feature in his head with an almost disturbing clearity.

Blair stood still and tapped his hands together as he tried to figure out what the door was telling them, only to be brought back to the moment as Collin talked. "Well how do we know if Bali-Lali is even a woman? I bet you it doesn't even have a gender." Blair said rhetorically with a smirk on his face, knowing that he was just trying to distract everyone from the current subject of opening the door. But as the boy began to ponder the question himself he sat down on the steps and looked at the door, now trying to solve the riddle again.

"So....do you think this door is one of those white portals, or is it just the entrance to a hall full of them?" Blair asked as he rambled on a bit, knowing that doing so kept him calm.

Rhian felt chills go down her spine. She turned and faced Blair. "Well, we'll find out if we knock...I think..." Rhian had no idea what would happen if they knocked the door. Rhian scanned the engraving on the door, looking for key terms.

And a friend to help others to find peace.

To summon Edaniel at the door,
Knock once, then twice, then twice once more." An idea entered Rhian's head.

"Maybe we have to knock on the door so that this Edaniel kid could help us or something close to that."

Collin nodded in agreement. "...According to the thing on the doorknob, we have to knock five times. There are five of us. Maybe we could do this so that if one of us doesn't want to go on, they just don't knock on the door?" Collin suggested, looking at the other four in turn.

"Maybe..." Nate replied, yet in deep thought. What's with the number twenty being used so many times...and why does this feel kind of like a video game I've played before?

The teen looked up at the giant door, he slowly scrolled down the door taking in the intricate markings and patterns for a few seconds, until he reached the bronze square with the ominous text on it. "I don't think this is one of those evil portals. It's not black, white, or blue. I think we should try knocking on it. It's not like we have any options that are much better." Nate told the others, stating his opinion.