Jack Parkhurst's Story

A small crow was perched on a nearby fence just outside a nearby building, it seemed to be watching with great interest a group of four people who were conversing. The crow's head leaned forward as it heard one speak shakily; the one who was speaking was a male about mid-height and he looked old, not in the sense of age but experience, "C'mon, if you do this life will be a lot better!" this seemed to be directed at the girl in the group she looked young, a flush of red lit up her face briefly before dying down "No. I'm not doing it. I don't want this." she argued, the crow lurched back as if it was hit with the obvious realization of what the group the two were talking about: the realization was that the man wanted the girl to become a maker. The other two were beginning to show impatience they turned around avoiding the girl's gaze, before walking off. The man pleaded with them to stay and that his "daughter" would be a very good maker. The crow's head turned and it focused on the building, its head drifted upwards to a small open window, without hesitation the crow took off.

The crow flew swiftly and directly through the window and into a small almost empty room, the door was barricaded with a plank firmly nailed by its side. The crow crashed on the floor, before jumping back up, and flapping its wings casually. It walked towards a heap of clothes piled on top of each other in the corner of the room. The crow looked down, a impending fear in its eyes, they slowly and reluctantly closed. A slow minute passed, before a gargled screech of a noise entered the crow's throat, its feathers slowly began falling to the floor and the skin underneath began rippling, its body also began to slowly change shape, its neck thickened and its body lengthened. All noise was drowned out by a scream which had become more human. As a couple of minutes passed, a man lay in the crows place on the floor breathing slowly and raggedly, his chest rapidly falling and rising. Jack groaned before pushing himself up against the nearby wall, his skin still ached and he felt like he dying, but he knew it would pass.

Jack's hand slowly extended towards the clothes in the corner, he used the wall to push himself up; he still felt the effects of his recent change. Jack's arms went through his purple shirt and he slid it down his body, before quickly and somewhat lazily putting his legs through his jeans, he rolled them up and then fastened them around his waist, satisfied with his appearance Jack's back slid down and he assumed a sitting position, trying to regain his wits and assess his situation. Those people weren't of interest, but he thought they might be trouble so he checked up on them, better safe than sorry Jack guessed. He dragged his shoulder forward before laying down against the floor, he felt absolutely exhausted and although he didn't need sleep his body yearned for it, his eyes slowly closed and he drifted off into a light sleep.

Ike walked through the decaying building slowly. Careful to avoid the dangerous areas where the floor looked unstable. He moved towards a set of stairs and tested each one before climbing. The stench in the stairwell was horrible; he had to but one arm over his mouth to stop from gagging. The stairs opened up into a dark, damp hallway. The floor hardly looked like it would support Ike’s weight, so he kept up against the wall where it would be most sturdy. The first room he reached was caved in, rotted boards were propped up against the walls and debris was scattered across the ground.

Ike was about to move to the next one when he heard a sound, he couldn’t tell what exactly the sound was but it had come from the room next to this one. So keeping the fire low he peeked around the room’s doorway and saw a bird of sometime going through some kind of grisly transformation. It appeared to be turning into some man, Ike quickly put out the torch he worked so hard to light and receded back into the darkness of the first room. It was going well until he slammed his food on a piece of wood causing him to trip, and drop the former torch and make quite a ruckus. “Shit!”

Jack turned on his side staring blankly at the wall, no matter how tired he was he couldn't will himself to sleep. He let out an infuriated sigh and buried his head deeper into the floor trying to force himself asleep but with no avail. Jack then heard something or was his mind playing tricks on him? He wasn't sure, the sound sounded like scattering among the floorboards. Jack sat up quickly immediately alert, his eyes began searching for something, he blinked for a moment before muttering "Nothing..." he was just being paranoid he guessed: Jack realized that he had developed quite the paranoid streak lately, but he guessed it was justified considering the circumstances of his situation and all.

Jack's head lolled back against the wall and he let out a dry chuckle, before rubbing his temples softly trying to soften his ear-splitting headache. A large bang and something clattering onto the floor spread through the building alerting Jack, then he heard something else but he couldn't make it out. Jack's went from being sluggish to alert quickly and he then stumbled to his feet, his head searched left and then right for the plank that was blocking his door, he walked over to it and wrapped both his hands around its edge then prying it from the door and examining it with interest: it had a nail at the end, and was ragged, it was better than no weapon he supposed.

Jack's head turned towards the door, he gulped instinctively; fear of the unknown was the worst type of fear to him. He took a step being unnaturally quiet, he quickly realized that he hadn't changed properly and his bones were hollow and had no marrow so right now he was unnaturally light a advantage he supposed but it'd be best to avoid getting hit as his bones would definitely break easier, he'd fix this after he had dealt with the situation at hand he summarized.

Jack quietly made his way across the floor and then he peered out of the door, he squinted in the darkness but he could make out vaguely smoke, as well as its distinctive smell coming from the first room. He took one step forward before stopping, he looked forward before taking another step without any hesitation. Jack crept towards the first room which was in complete darkness, "Hello..?" Jack asked not expecting an answer, he gazed in there but he couldn't see anything, he felt fear creep up his chest.

Ike cupped one hand over his mouth as someone walked into the room, it was to dark to make out the figures features but his voice identified him as male. Hello...? It was no use staying quiet, the man already knew he was here. Ike had two options, attack or surrender. Neither were options he preferred. Especally since his ankle had twisted during the fall. Slowly, and quietly he stood up, careful not to hit anything else. Then fumbling around quietly Ike used his sensitivity to heat to find the torch, still warm and smoking slightly. At least he was armed now.

What's the worst that could happen? Ending back in that cell? He thought to himself, knowing he would rather die. Besides, if this man was hiding out here he was most likely not working for the government. Further more, being a mutant he might sympathize with Ike's situation, and if worse did come to worse Ike had a scolding hot piece of wood to defend himself with. He held the wood low and limped forward a step. "You armed Mate?"

Jack peered into the darkness of the room, he didn't like this; a significant part of him was screaming at him to just run, but another as equally significant part of him told him to stay and hold his ground and not give into fear, he clutched the plank he was holding harder ready for whatever could lurk within the room. A few silent moments passed before Jack's eyes focused on a figure emerging from the darkness with a slight limp and something in his hand, Jack squinted as it was hard to see in this light but he immediately identified the thing the guy was holding as a weapon and he took a step back instinctively, Jack raised his plank by his side.

"You armed Mate?" the person asked, Jack's face contorted into a low frown, and he paused before contemplating his response. "Yeah. I've got a plank." Jack said in a matter-of-factly tone, Jack raised his plank before quickly putting it back by his side in a non-threatening manner. "What're you doing here anyway? This place is a hellhole." Jack paused before adding "It's also probably haunted..." Jack couldn't make out much in the dark but he managed to see white clothing, he had seen that type of clothing before, his brow wrinkled in thought as he tried to remember where he saw it. Jack's mind clicked into place, he had seen it on a girl who had been running from a couple of guys, Jack was watching from a distance in a animal form. Jack wasn't really sure what happened next: he couldn't remember anything, only that it didn't end well for the girl. Jack wondered if the clothing meant something or if it was just a coincidence, he shrugged it off it meant nothing probably.

"Haunted? Sounds about right." Ike held the torch by his hand, since it was still hot all he had to do was blow on it lightly to cause a tiny flame to appear. With a bit of focus Ike managed to make the flame a little bigger, until it acquired a mind of its own and took over the top of the torch. Lightning up the room around them. Capable of seeing his potential ally now Ike felt a little more at ease. the man appeared non threatening, but a little worried. Not that Ike could blame him.

"I had no choice, Mutants like us can't decide where to hide. We just have to go wherever we think is safe." He said in a low tone, then leaned against the wall to take some of the weight off his leg. Ike was careful to keep his eyes on the man, trust was not something he was prone to. "I'll be honest, I'm starved, wounded, and tired as hell. So you are most likely at a physical advantage. However, I've seen your mutation and i can tell you with some surety: Mine is more dangerous. So" He turned a little to get a better view. The faint sound of dripping started up, giving the indication that it was raining outside.

"How about we parley?"

"Haunted? Sounds about right." The man said, he then held out his torch and blew on it lightly causing a small flame to spark into life. The room was now illuminated and Jack could see the man clearly, he noticed him focus on the flame but Jack thought nothing of it: instead he awaited the man's response. "I had no choice, Mutants like us can't decide where to hide. We just have to go wherever we think is safe." The man's tone was low, he leaned on a nearby wall taking pressure off his leg. Jack's face portrayed genuine shock for a brief moment before quickly regaining its calm composure, the man knew he was a mutant. How? Jack wasn't sure but it was irrelevant at the moment, he'd focus on that later, but what was even more unnerving was that apparently he also was a mutant, Jack wasn't sure what he could do, it could be minor but then again it could be major.

"I'll be honest, I'm starved, wounded, and tired as hell. So you are most likely at a physical advantage. However, I've seen your mutation and i can tell you with some surety: Mine is more dangerous." Jack's eyebrows furrowed for a second and a bemused smile sat upon his face, still Jack felt a certain apprehensiveness regarding the man's mutation. "So... how about we parley?" The man suggested, Jack was nothing but cautious, he lowered the plank but kept his grip firm in case he needed it later. "No fighting sounds good." Jack arched himself forward before stating casually "It was never my intention to hurt you anyway..." He paused before continuing "So you know about my mutation, right? How did you find that out?" Jack himself knew the answer but wanted to hear it nevertheless, "Also fair is fair, you know my mutation. What's yours?"

Lily nodded, she needed to sleep or something. Or eat something. Backing up from the fence, she looked around for a place for rest, as it was starting to rain. In front of her was Building P, long destroyed. It was still standing though, almost ready to crumble. "In here," said, walking over. She picked her way through the doorway, stepping over several large pieces of rubble. She made her way through the main room, looking for a better place. The main room was mainly destroyed and even had a gaping hole in the wall, rain streaming in. She moved on down a hallway and found a set of stairs.

She carefully climbed the stairs, feeling each step before she stepped on it, so she wouldn't fall through. At the top of the stairwell, there was a fairly large room, but the floor looked unstable. There were gaping holes in the floor, and every floorboard looked like it was about to snap. Suddenly she froze. There were people in this building! She could barely hear their thoughts, coming from the next room over. Stepping lightly, she creeped over, moving along the edge of the wall, clutching her hurting head. Finally, she peeked her head around the corner. It was two guys, and from the thoughts buzzing around, they weren't to trustful of each other, but not ready to kill each other, though.

She tried to make quick note of each one. One was named Jack, and from thoughts lingering in the back of his mind, he could...shape-shift? Cool. The other one, Isaac, had some sort of mutation that dealt with fire. The room seemed like it could be used to rest in until Zach got back, so she stepped in further. "Hello?" she asked.