Thomas continued to sleep as the others began to stir in the other rooms. However thirty minutes later he was too restless, he was itching to explore now. Theodore would give them a safe little tour right? To past the time? Maybe? He sat and rubbed his eyes before placing his glasses correctly on his face, it wouldn't hurt to ask the heir to Antilum. Maybe Mr. Weldon wanted a new photographer for a project...maybe he could even be sent out of state or country even, photographing things for the lab. Thomas was grinning as he slipped into his shoes, first thing's first though, time to check on Maddy, and maybe have that talk with her. He went back to the place with food immediately. Quietly he checked Madeline's sleeping form before moving on to the fixing of his breakfast plate. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ John woke up and simply layed in bed, staring up at the ceiling even though his stomach asked him to take care of himself. He sighed and tied his beads around his wrist so that they fit securely, then he stood up and went through the motions of finding a rest room and using it. He didn't bother eating though, he wasn't very hungry, he had some new thinking to do. And some new plans to make, this winning was starting to look a little easier. But still, he sat down and began to review all that he knew and remembered and had heard. There were still gaps in his memory banks, mostly the things that happened after his death. He would need to find some prey and squeeze the information out of them if need be. He held his back straight and etched his face back into cool indifference as he entered the most populated room. So many new faces and so many old. He wondered who he'd have to kill to get another pack of cigarettes around here. He laughed at the morbid joke and began to use his his head to focus on a filling breakfast. He would have to speak with Cherno. Soon.
He hadn't spoken to Quintus Lein since she spread the word about her violin concert thing. Thomas wanted to smile at her, but she seemed to be feeling hostile. Suddenly she shifted to Madeline's side and he felt strangely hurt by Madeline's recent distant behavior, he would get to the bottom of it later. His mind flashed back to seeing her disheveled face as she stumbled out of a ****** apartment room. He politely asked Theodore for directions to the floor with the beds and found it after leaving the loft. His head hit the pillow and he counted himself to sleep. John flicked the finished cigarette out the window, ignoring all as his mind digested recent events. He followed after lumbering smitten Thomas and sent a knowing grin Madeline's way. He wanted to laugh, the poor boy. He didn't know when the Quin and Madeline bond formed but it seemed to be flourishing while another wilted. Ha. He placed his cherished red beads in his pockets for safety and found a room hopefully far enough from these embicels and went to sleep.
A big part of him was telling him to get the hell out of there. They were idiots. As much as he hated to agree with nice boy Thomas, his wench was right. The demoness had always used some sort of catalyst when she didn't just take over someone's body. But the woman with the dark eyes just sat her dumb @ss down, and invited the demoness in, without even trying or waiting on the others to come up with a better rule then the no romance rule. John sighed, he was so glad he had at least one cigarette and it was light without a second thought about anyone else's consideration. His eyes flickered over to Cherno, who had spoken, before he was burned a live. John didn't move a muscle. After all, he wasn't even acknowledge, no was he? As his face scanned the room after their failed summoning, he noted that the little hero he assigned to guard Eleanora was missing, along with his sister. No matter though, they were both irrelevant, and it appeared that him storming out and staying to take a smoke break and concentrate had payed off, this bag bitch wanted them on a silver platter. He didn't agree with Marina's plan, after all, she seemed to have botched the summoning, after all. But he did concur with her saying that they should fight this mysterious woman head on. It was the best way to him, to keep his mother out of this, after all, she was all he had left to protect, aside from his own skin. Returning to the school was a bad idea, everyone there knew of or had heard of the flood of Bell's that had come through and who knew how popular the Brookridge kids were. So, John deduced that for now, it was safest to let his mother know that he was safe, and he'd contact her soon, and aside from that, he should reside in Antilum for a bit, after all, unless one of these idiots made it known to someone with loose lips that they were here. They should all be remotely safe for the moment. His multicolored eyes narrowed at Theodore's form as it scurried away, Theo would have to put up with the Emailed Kids for now. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ What to do, who to save, and how to do it without getting killed. Who just summons a demon without having anything to give it when it already had the upper hand! He swore under his breath and dove for Madeline, her protection far outweighing his as he knocked her to the floor and dragged her under the safety of the conference table. Oh, hi Theodore. Thomas couldn't be mad at him, after all, it's not the gatherer's fault that the gatheree's messed up. He simply hovered above Madeline's body until the fire died out until it was replaced by a tremoring of the Earth. When the last rumbles faded away, he flushed and cleared his throat before standing up and brushing himself off, proffering his hand to a fallen blond girl. However he kept his ear cocked to the side, to get and retain as much of that extra special news bulletin into his memory banks as possible. Who was this woman? How did she hack into a broadcast like that? After all, the anchorwoman didn't say they had a special video to show. It meant she literally had the tools to cut into the system, and then drop bombs...from space along with knowing their names. It made no sense...unless she was otherworldly, then it made perfect sense to make no sense.
"I put my vote with the dark haired guy. Scrap the no romance as a test and since no blood is a valid reason. We should listen to Maddy and put up something like John's rosary. And since he clearly won't let that go, and I don't have my first camera or any pictures with me...who has something of sentimental value on them? Or at least something that's hard to part with. " Thomas stared at Theodore when he finished, this was his home, he would be most likely to be able to produce nearly everything needed.
John rolled his eyes and honestly wondered why he bothered. He loosened his grip on the red beads on his wrist and watched the two volunteers. Normally he would have analyzed both girls but he could see that now was not the time for that, his voice was frosty and his eyes harsh when Anthony and Eleanora were mentioned at the same time. "Her name is Eleanora. And she is dead."
"Whore. I suggest you watch what you say. And that's all I even have to say to you. Besides, when the Huntress killed that girl, did the demoness not come out? I don't remember you giving her a damn candle and seeing her accept it now did I?" He clutched his rosary possessively and glared at Thomas until the boy sat back down. He smoothed his hair back into place and took quiet but deep breaths to relax again. She'd gotten him riled up. And it would not happen again.
John didn't like the way this was going, and when he thought of the most spiritual person he knew, he saw sparkling blue eyes and cherubic face. "Basically, we should kill a cat. Because times wasting enough as it is. I would like to be alive in the next fifty-five days, after all. Antilum boy, you have extra things we can 'sacrifice' right?" He had caught Madeline's gaze and met it head on. He would always keep that dark night in the hot springs a sworn secret, but it would be a positive one. Otherwise, he'd let her keep being conceited and only let her remember that he let her off.
John frowned and finally decided to take a seat. Pompous boy was huffing and puffing and being pompous. He didn't see him summoning anyone so what right did he have to even talk about the Bellhurst troop like this? But John did listen though, and he had a voice of reason, John also didn't have a bone to pick with anyone here, so he was able to listen and absorb this information logically before he spoke his mind, "Even if we do make the plan and all that crap. Who or what will we give her to make her even consider the deal? We make it, then what? We have nothing to bind her to her word. We say it wrong, and she makes frogs rain from the sky because that's the context we took it in. If we do anything with her then we need to make sure she'll do what we say. And that what she takes is so minimal that it won't even matter that it's gone." He brought his gaze down to his rosary then back up to the dark eyed youth. "Does anyone even know how to bring her out?"
Whoa. Thomas did not expect that little outburst from little old Theo. But the kid had something to say and he said it. He watched Madeline come in but took the silent cue she gave when she didn't even bother to look at him. That hurt a bit, but something more important was going on than their...relationship, especially if they didn't exist. Thomas decided it was time he interjected. "She's right, we need to have some kind of plan. Having no plan always ends up making a bigger mess then the one started by one single person. We don't want Brookridge to be covered in a avalanche of snow or something like that. So before we summon an nearly unpredictable entity, we should be smart about this."
Thomas didn't know a thing about this Theodore kid, and he only knew the name 'Antilum'. Never in his wildest dreams would he think that he'd be someday invited to the place, so with awe he glanced about, left then right then left again. Absorbing everything he could see, but despite the lovely decor, the place felt a little off putting, and Thomas already felt naked because he didn't bring one of his treasured cameras. Just remembering how naked he felt made him not focus on the building and made him instead wistfully focus on his tiny Philips Keychain Camera, the thing looked harmless, but it was really decent for covert picture taking. And covert picture taking would be great for this conference room that they were walking into. He was trying to wait patiently for the others to arrive, he wanted to know and see if his old friends were still around. He hoped they were, all he knew was that Maddy was alive, and that was the greatest news. He had never seen such ergonomically designed chairs, it was really fascinating, he resisted the urge to spin around in it, but he did wheel it to the right so that he spun slowly towards the table. Once he was able to place his elbows on his table he began to take the time to sneak peeks at this Theodore character, wondering what it would be like to grow up with this place as your home. +++++++ John stood in the corner, he didn't want to be sitting down for this. The time had come and he clutched the eight beaded rosary that hung around his wrist. The time had come for him to come face to face with these other people, the others who were emailed, just like him. He didn't even want to think, his fury was alternating between the circumstances and the reason why he even came to this text invited thing. He watched the dark boy closely as he entered this room, there were some many things going on in this building. Too many things, too many changes. Who needed a sideways elevator? Why not beam them all up like Scotty, if your technology is sooooo advanced? He snorted, and put his mind back on the right track. Madeline didn't remember their sexual encounter nor did remember dying, but he did. However, he couldn't be the only one who retained knowledge of the...past? Present? Whatever, the point was that Eleanora...knew, she knew and remembered him. He felt the urge to sob well up in his chest and his gaze sharpened because of it. He would not lose focus, he would get what he came here to get, and that was answers. Answers for him, and answers for Nora.
John smiled greatly at her, it was amazing to watch her with relief and joy and see that she was reawaking herself to the world. He squeezed her hand gently as he shook the tiredness from his body and watched her come to life. She said his name! Did that mean she kept her memories? He didn't know, after all Eleanora housed a real Witch, making her a witch in turn, so he wasn't sure. He faultered, how can you tell a child like girl that you saved her from herself? And why didn't she know it herself? John took a deep breath and smiled down at her, "You had a accident in the bathroom at the hot springs. I called the police and came with them." Because I know we're all alone.
He gazed at her solemnly, listened to her quietly and then let out a small breath he'd been holding, he didn't know exactly what to think. She wouldn't look at him, was that a sign of guilt? Or something else. His fingers reached out for a cracker and he chewed it quietly while mulling over what she said. It was a reason, but was it valid? He'd would have gone to see her, for months, possibly a year before he went off and gave up. But was it giving up? After all, she probably thought he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life. He hoped she would forgive him for going quiet, and to make things less awkward he focused his gaze somewhere else. He was beginning to understand, once again he had to take in all the factors that eventually combined and fused to make this girl before him. Madeline Moore. If he were her, would he just leave the person who was vying for her affection day after day. Yes. After all, he and she were only human, and you finally let someone in and as if it were a cruel joke, the very next morning..that chance and that person were literally crushed. Thinking harder on it, if he were her, he wouldn't believe that he was talking to her right now. Slowly he nodded and this time he took her hand in his, the one holding the tea cup's handle still. "I understand." he said, and he truly did.
"Well, what about you? How are you? And you had to be in school during that flood? Are you alright? I haven't really found out anything since I was hospitalized. " He hadn't eaten breakfast and he took considerate but hungry bites out of his currently evaporating cookie, he was still recovering after all. He finished the cookie off and this time he seemed to be trying to bore deeper into her eyes then ever before, this time he didn't care about her comfort, he was too sad to. " Why didn't you come see me, Maddy?"
He blinked calmly and considered her questions, all of them fair enough, he noted as he mulled over what to say. When he had selected the choice words he wanted to say, he spoke. "Just a few days, three at the most I woke up a week or two ago, I was bedridden for a while. I don't know what email you're even- oh! You mean the spam? Other then it still be undeletable and a sign falling on me...I have experienced anything weird. Well...I did stumble on you in a old building. " He watched her face at that before moving on and continuing, patience was a virtue and he would have his turn soon, he spoke again to answer the rest of her questions. "Um, I've been safe. I just can't wind myself, it takes longer then normal to catch my breath. It's why I couldn't catch you in that hallway. A lot of things were damaged. And I mean damaged real bad, Maddy. Truthfully, I don't know how I got better, especially so quick! Doctor's called it a miracle. I might have even been on the news after waking up, if not for the weather being weird and messing up the school." He pushed his glasses back onto the ridge of his nose, after taking care of that annoyance, he paused to wait for more, or start up his round.
Thomas was glad she agreed, he bet she probably didn't even eat yesterday. So he nodded an affirmative to her acceptance and lead the way to a tea shop. He truthfully wanted something bigger and better, but a cafe was out of the question at this point in his life. He kept silent as he walked with her down the streets, his body walking on the side nearest the curb until they finally came upon a quaint and small tea shop. It was the perfect replacement for this talk, instead of some busy cafe. He selected a booth for them and hopefully without her knowledge he checked under the table between the both with his eyes before waiting a split second to allow her to sit first. He rested his arms on on the table and laced his fingers together,playfulness still in his eyes but not in his voice as he stared into her emerald gaze. "Where do you want to start? I think there's a lot to be said but, we should both pick a similar spot and then talk it out without interruption. Then we can ask question." Thomas figured it was as good a plan as any, and it would last until someone came to take their orders.
She finally opened up! The door. A quiet sigh escaped him as relief flooded him seeing that she had't left in the night or something. He listened to her, catching the obvious croak to her morning voice. His lips curled up into a characteristic smile, pearly whites gently showing after he was invited. Upon receiving the invite, he walked in and spun on his heels in the center of the room, right in front of the bed. "No camera, see?" he said playfully as he lowered his arms and took her in. His heart fluttered as he took in her state, what could he do to make it better? Food. Everyone liked to eat. "Let me buy you breakfast, and we can talk, about everything." Oh he wanted to touch her, hold her hand, hold her, something, anything to let her know that it would get better. Somehow.
His alarm rang out once, twice, then three times before he finally couldn't take anymore. With a loud and childish groan he slammed his alarm clock until it shut off then blearily sat up and rubbed his eyes. Why did he feel so tired? He sat in bed, just rubbing his eyes. A near minute past until the tidal wave of memory crashed against his cranium. He jumped out of bed, and bolted straight to the shower, cranking it on and humming happily. Well, he shouldn't be happy, after all, he was getting to see Maddy due to chance and a horrible life that seemed to be dealt to the delicate, blond haired girl. He ceased his humming but still happily scrubbed himself clean. He then meticulously groomed his hair and even his teeth and nails before wrapping a towel around himself and power walking into his closet. Selecting a new outfit for the day and a pair of converses he bang on his mother's door. Oh she would take him, she would take him or he'd walk there himself! His heart thudded heavily in his chest, well, he certainly felt more motivated to be more fit, now more then ever. His grin was huge as his mother grumpily began to crank up the car, and drive silently to the parking lot of the motel. He stared at his mother, she still had on her bathroom, and her hair was a mess. He patted her shoulder before getting out of the car and rushing to her room door, his fist pounding it twice. "Maaaadddeeee!" He glanced around after he screamed her name, blushing slightly as he realized how loud he was public. He calmed himself down before quietly knocking on her door and patiently waited. While rocking on the heels of his feet.
Thomas couldn't believe it, she actually hugged him...was he dreaming? Who knew that this run down place would allow them to meet up again, and give him a hug to let him know he was actually thought about while he could have slept forever. His smile was wide and bright till his dimples showed as he held her like she was delicate before he went a head and applied more pressure. She was alive and seemingly well. This was one of the best things about living. His reverie and sweet moment was ruin by his mother's call. His cheeks aflame as he dug into his pocket and noting it's caller he apologetically smiled and winced at the distraught voice on the other line. He pulled back from Madeline slowly and clearly regretfully as he mouthed a 'Sorry' to her before he calmed his mother down. Once her voice wasn't drilling into his ear he told her that he met a friend here by surprise and that they needed a ride. It took a bit of guilting but she agreed to be their ferryman. Thomas began to usher M towards the door whether she wanted to or not. Once outside in the crisp evening air, he asked if she even wanted that free ride home. He wouldn't take a no, but it felt rude to not ask. His gaze was every intently staring at her face and he clearly saw the quick frown that said home was a no go. "Let me get you a motel room for a few days. Till we find you a safe place to be." That she nodded to and with that, they were off. He payed for it all and explained bits and pieces on the way, appealing to his mother's empathetic side and winning. She even gave him a twenty to give her. "Just take it, even if you don't need it. You're set up for two days here. But you can leave at any time. Maddy, call me for anything. Anything, and I will answer or appear like a genie. I'll be back tomorrow morning..." He took a deep breath and enveloped her in a warm embrace, he didn't know what else to do, but all other actions seemed to be too close. Or not close enough. But this close hug seemed just right. He cleared his throat and listened to what she had to say before taking off his jacket and giving it to her. He then adjusted his camera nervously, tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear and hurried home. When he arrived home he tuned everyone out and feigned weakness and exhaustion, when they heard about how tired he was, they kept quiet about the strange blond he spent random money on. But for now, they simply let him sleep, which he did, as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Thomas sat there. Stunned as the girl of his dreams talked to him as if he was going to teleport away or something. He glanced up and down the hall as she talked. It felt amazing to hear her. And despite her ragged appearance she still looked lovely to him. He would never say it, but he was sad when his mother said that no one visited him. He couldn't believe his little Maddy was so...cold. In fact he didn't believe it, he thought about it from multiple angles. She thought he was dead. His coma could have taken years. She was heavily troubled and who knew what effort it took for her to agree to his date. So when he was allowed to go home. He let her be, he was one less thing to worry about and she would have probably killed him with worry every time she came around. Thomas's mouth was an open 'o'shape because he was about to speak before she sped off in a hurry off in a hurry. Quickly he gauges that he had rested enough for a small chase, hopefully she would slow down and stop before he became winded. He took off after her, wondering briefly why no one ever seemed to chase after the upset friend who runs away despite only having a second head start. "Maddy! What are you even talking about! Just wait up a second, please! This camera is really heavy and..." Shít. End of the line. He was gasping softly already, they had only reached the end of the second hall while he pursued her. His feet thudded to a close, his heart beating rapidly at the thought of losing her, not at the fact that he needed to work out more. His mind raced at it's highest speed. His arm leaned against the wall for balance and his thumb flickered over the camera as his zoom increased and his phone switched into rapid fire mode. He aimed at his unwilling blonde model and with the press of a button., the once quiet hall now filled with a steady staccato of audible clicks from his shutters. ""Finally got a picture of you to keep for myself. A whole batch of them that can be uploaded in minutes unless you… he paused to wheeze and lean more heavily on the plaster wall for support. Taking a big gulp of air, he could breath and talk again. "Unless you stop, and talk to me damnit.[/b]"
Click. Snap. Click. Snap. A click for the his finger mashing the button. A snap for his new camera snapping the picture. His photography friends agreed when they showed it too him. He twisted as he walked past something he didn't notice before on the ceiling. He didn't feel like walking back, so he stretched his back and held the camera to his eye until his view was perfect. Then, click, snap and the picture was stored on his SD card. There was a flash too. After all, this building was pretty old and run down. But it embodied so much life and history! That's why he was so glad to come down here when one of his photography buds announced a little photography contest. The one to take the best picture that embodied history would win prize? What was the prize? Thomas didn't know, he just knew that this was his chance to win something and do something that he loved at the same time! It was like when people hired him to take photos. He would do it for free, but he had to pay for his software and new memory cards some how. The light was flickering in this hallway, and Thomas frowned at it. It was like some floors made him think Wow..look at the history in this crack here. Then there were the other floors with a gigantic dark stain that made him think Did someone do crack here? He sighed, after all, there was nothing he would or could do about it. His mind churned as he snapped pictures here and there. No weird emails to think about. No school until they fixed the place up. This was the life. He thought back to that horrifying time though, he had finally gotten a date, he had arrived there way before her, suddenly...WHAM! He's crushed. But through some miracle and some complex things he didn't want to think about anymore, he was back. Weaker then he was due to the coma and bed rest, but he was back. In fact, he was supposed to be resting today, but he coaxed and guilted his mother into this little trip. Begging and pleading until she saw his way. He felt caged, as life moved on and his crawled by. He was not allowed to take a picture unless it was from his window! Come on! This is the guy who climbed trees to take pictures of birds that were higher up on the branches. Was that muffled talking? It was, it wasn't any of his business but he was much too tired to keep going onward. He sighed, he missed his old strength, and that made him think of the bright side, if he continued his muscle therapy, he'd be back to normal in not time. He wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned his back against the wall. The sound and appearance of the doorknob right in front of him jiggle and turn slightly, made his head lift itself up as he rested, he was glad his peripherals had caught the event. It was the room that had the people speaking in muffled tones.[DOUBLEPOST=1363203367][/DOUBLEPOST]John went to sleep, his head resting on the edge of Eleanora's bed. Right by their connected hands.
