WW XXXVII: Toys R Wolves

[Mithrandin]

After seeing the horror in the first scene, David just stumbled back into his wrapping counter not able to think reasonably. He didn't even heard the screams from Brian as he folded the giftwrapping pieces of paper that were scatered around the counter. he trembled and all he could babble was "What is going on?" and then he sit.

 

vote for Guinea Pig => Pig

[Lord Panther]

Thomas really wished he had been better with his money saving. If he had, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have been here to witness all this tragedy. He knew that was very selfish of him, but he hadn't signed up for this! Really, he hadn't signed up for being yelled at on the phone or in person all day either, but at very least, he was getting paid for it.

 

Thomas thought to himself who might have caused all this tragedy. In his little mind, he figured that it would have to be someone who is never happy with what they have, much like the spoiled customers he deals with on a daily basis. Now that he thought of it, he had seen one of those spoiled customers tracking through the aisles, with the "I'm better than you" look that Thomas hated so much...

 

OOC: Vote for Vene/Mattie

[Blby]

Death? eepeep! Not much of a party this. Fine holiday Christmas ... murder!

"!EEEPEPEPEPEPEPEeE!"

 

Hide! Table! "Umm, oops, sorry, if that was your foot I crawled on"

 

Fortunately, guinea pigs have never had great eye sight, so Bartleby was not particularly inconvenienced by the dark---if only the humans would stop bumbling everywhere.

 

Seems like a bad time to be a ten year old boy! Poor kids. Some of them are very nice to guinea pigs too and feed us treats. I wonder if this Brian would have. Why on earth do humans do such things to each other? I've never in my life seen a guinea pig kill or a rat or a mouse...or anything I know. Well, cats and owls and things do, but they eat their kills at least *shudder!*. Only humans kill and then walk away. Bloody nasty. Who is it they're all critical of now? Mattie? I'm not presuming he did it, but maybe avoid him just in case!

 

OOC: Voting for Vene/Mattie

[Venefyxatu]

Mattie the Third had been so absorbed by the electrical trains display that he'd hardly even noticed that something was wrong ... except for the lights being out. When he saw the lights on the trains, though, he was actually delighted about the dark.

 

And then, suddenly, he came out of his fascination when he heard his name being used in a way he hadn't heard before ... this didn't sound like some nanny scolding him, or someone about to give him presents ... it sounded like trouble, lots of trouble.

 

"What? What'd I do?"

 

In the buzz of voices, there was one word that was clearly audible, time and time again : "killed."

 

Even Mattie grew silent when he realized what they were accusing him of, staring at the crowd. Even if he'd known how to react, he would have been too stupefied to say anything ...

 

 

OOC : Not voting for anyone. I'm a decent kid, I don't go flinging around vile and baseless accusations

[Guinea Pig]

Pig ran along a top shelf, dodging toys until he got to where all the commotion was happening. It appeared that quite a few humans and even Bartleby was were accusing a young boy of having committed all the killing. Pig wasn't sure. He idled up next to Bartleby and nudged the other guinea pig.

 

"Why does everyone think he is guilty?"

 

OOC: voting for Patrick in order to stay coherent. Santa still stinks of smoke...

[Tanuchan]

Mattie looked at the crowd, still petrified by the accusing glares. He tried to say something, but all he could do was swallow and wet his lips. His mind was a perfect blank, and he wished some of his nannies were around to break the silence. They could talk him to death, always complaining about something he had done, or usually had not done.

 

Death wasn't the best word to remember right then, and Mattie finally had a reaction. He looked at the lovely trains that had got his attention earlier, took the engine car and caressed it. He murmured something about Blaine being a pain but knowing how to die, then turned around and, choosing an alley, trotted away with closed eyes.

 

Mattie had always loved to rush into the unknown when on his parent's farm, though usually that unknown ended up being one of the grooms assigned to keep him safe and away from trouble. But he still remembered the day he had managed to enter the Bird's Cage at the mini-zoo by the lake, and how fun it was to scare them away by laughing out loud and peeking into their hideouts, or stealing the eggs. He managed a smile remembering the caretaker being scolded by his father, who saw no reason at all to drag a kid out of the Cage by the ear just because of excess energy.

 

He still had his eyes closed, even after bumping on several shelves and displays, and scattering toys all around him. He could hear some shouting behind him, but all of a sudden there was an eerily human squawk that seemed to call him.

 

"Come here! Come here!"

 

So he followed that new voice, this time with open eyes to avoid wasting time. Above him, the banner of the Bark & Co. section hung limply from the ceiling.

 

"Come here! Hello!"

 

Mattie stopped. The second calling had come in a slightly different pitch. He looked around, and walking around the shelves he finally found two parrots in thei cage, staring at him and repeating their calling. He grinned, forgetting the angry human calls behind him but remembering very well his adventure in the Bird Cage. He opened the parrot's cage, enticing them out with sweet whispers.

 

He screamed as one of the parrots dug its beak on his hand, drawing blood. Instinctively shaking his hand to get rid of the bird, Mattie knocked off another two cages. The parrot, upset by all the shaking, dug his talons on Mattie's wrist while its panicked mate flapped wings wildly and landed on Mattie's head, using talons to get a hold on it.

 

Blood from Mattie's scalp wounds dripped on his face and eyes, blinding him. He crashed on the floor, screaming loud enough to guide his pursuers to him.

 

 

A cawing, almost like a laugh, welcomed the first to find Mattie. Perched on his head, a white crow tilted its head, cawing again a greeting. An almost white raven hopped along his body, repeating in a rough voice a word some employee with a wry sense of humor had taught.

 

 

Nevermore.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~

OOC: Mattie/Vene was a villager. Specials, you have roughly 24 hours from this time stamp to send me your targets.

List of players at OOC thread

[Blby]

*whisker wiggle*

 

"Hello!" A fellow pig!

 

"We don't. But we really don't have a clue. Humans always do what the crowd does. If the crowd is angry at that boy, either they're right or they're dangerous. I'm far too small to fight angry humans."

 

Then they heard signs of grief and Blby wondered if tragedy had struck again. Sheer panic struck and he fled to the security of a Christmas tree."

[Tanuchan]

There was no one at the little department right besides the Almost Perfect Toys section but one fidgety person, who looked around nervously and wondered why he had decided he preferred the safety of his usual workroom. Sighing, he shook his head and sat down, trying to put aside the events of the evening and recall his plans for Christmas.

 

A soft clinking sound called his attention. He turned, not too fast, shivering as a draft came. Didn't I close the door? He focused his flashlight on the floor, where there was a small golden ring. Blinking, he picked it carefully; it fit his pinkie. There was an inscription inside, flowing smoothly around the whole circumference of the ring.

 

While he tried to decipher what was written on the ring, another metallic sound came. Jumping in surprise, he looked around frantically trying to locate the source of the sound. A glint under the desk of a workmate called his attention, and on crawling under the desk he found another, bigger golden ring. It fit his medium finger, and had also an inscription -- it read: "Throw me in the fire to find what I say".

 

A third jangling was heard, and he turned to the door. Two big rings lay there, golden as the smaller ones, and interlocked. Puzzled, he got up and walked to the door. Wasn't this open? He spent a moment staring at the rings on the floor, then picked them. It was actually a golden bracelet made of interlocking rings, and it glimmered in the soft light of his flashlight.

 

A soft laugh reached his ears.

 

As he turned, something caught him by the throat. He screamed, but the band constricted him quickly, cutting his scream and his breath in a few seconds.

 

 

Minutes later, two security men opened the door to the Customer Relations department, having heard the scream. Thomas' glazed eyes stared at them, a golden ring circling his neck so tightly that it had dug into his flesh and almost cut his throat open.

 

~~~~~~~~

OOC: Thomas/Panther was a villager. It's now Day Phase, and you have until Monday by this same time to place your votes. Due to weekend + Christmas, if there are not enough votes by Monday I might extend this phase until Wednesday!

List of players at the OOC thread.

[Gryphon]

Jamie watched as security ran towards another scream then watched with further dismay as they emerged from the customer services department and started directing people away from the door.

 

As people started muttering about another death Jamie sat very still and thought.

 

He was so sure that he'd seen Mattie cause the earlier death... so very very sure, but maybe Mattie wasn't the only one.

 

Thinking back Jamie remembered one of the guinea pigs squeaking something about Santa not smelling right.

 

"Maybe there's something to that."

 

~~~

 

OOC: Voting for Patrick/Santa with a whole lot less certainty this time.

[Mithrandin]

David stood up from the wrapping gifts counter pushing to the floor the papers he had just folded. A resolve was forming in his mind, he knew he could not do much but still he picked the scissors from the drawer under the counter and placed it on his pocket. He made is way through the mess it was the store to the nearest emergency exit. If only I can get some help, I may be able to bring the nonsense to an end. He pulled the scissor from his pocket and started to use it on the emergency door lock mechanism.

 

Vote for: Gryphon/Jamie Baron

[Mynx]

Sally hid in a corner and cradled her head, unable to believe the madness that was going on around her. How could so many people be dead? Who would want to hurt innocent kids like her brother?

...there seemed to be an awful lot of voices drifting around that were accusing the store's Santa...and his helper had been one of the first to be killed...could it be?

 

OOC: Santa/Patrick

[Patrick]

Michael shuddered upon hearing all of the voices accusing him. When had a nice opportunity for a little bit of cash turned into a mob of people wanting to lynch him? He suddenly wished that he was back with the other homeless guys, eating scraps from dustbins and drinking dirt cheap vodka, the stuff that smelled and tasted more like paint solvent than the real stuff, but kicked pretty strongly...

 

But still...the cash was welcome and it would be nice to stay around to enjoy it...

 

OOC: voting for Gryphon/Jamie Baron

[Blby]

*Scamper scamper, run in circle*

Who would have done this?

*Scamper scamper, hop*

It just doesn't make any sense. Did he do it? Maybe, but why? Maybe if I keep running, it'll make sense eventually

*scamper in circle, scamper in circle*

 

OOC:Jamie/Gryphon

[Tanuchan]

Jamie had been desperately trying to convince people that Santa wasn't such a good guy after all, but the glares he got had not been promising. Still repeating to anyone in hearing distance that Santa's goodness was just a façade for naive believers, he left the main hall towards the corridors at the back.

 

He looked corridor after corridor, scanning the shelves from bottom to top. He was sure he had seen geese around... maybe at the Baby Toys section. Though he also seemed to remember a videogame where there had been a couple geese on the cover. While he peeked into the displays around him, he hummed the song.

 

On the sixth day of Christmas,

my true love sent to me

Six geese a-laying,

Five golden rings,

Four calling birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree.

 

He actually hated the song. His mom truly loved him, he knew that. He wasn't so sure about dad, but he knew that the song was ridiculous. Why would a person want a partridge in a pear tree?

 

Of course, rich people were weird... they might really have some kind of private zoo in their houses to keep all those freaking gifts. Like in the films.

 

Jamie finally found what he was looking for. With a smile, he climbed on a ladder and started picking the boxes.

 

One... two... three... hey, this pack has three! Less work for us... He dropped the last box to the floor and started climbing down.

 

Unfortunately, the miniature farm on display to the left of the ladder where Jamie was had several toys triggered by motion sensors. And a box falling from the sky seemed to fit what they understood as 'motion', since several of them started working at the same time. A racket of animal sounds startled Jamie, and he almost slipped from the ladder. He looked down, and smiled seeing the farm come to life. He took a step away from the ladder and crouched by the barn -- which reached his knees -- intent on finding out how many animals were coming out from its doors. He could also guess from the wires hidden around it that the barn seemed to act as a power house for the rest of the farm.

 

He didn't see the harverster coming by the hand he had on the floor. Jamie cried in pain as it chewed into his hand, and stood up in a fluid motion, hitting the ladder with his shoulder.

 

The ladder tottered, and knocked down several boxes in the upper shelf. One of them fell heavily on the barn, destroying the roof and exposing its circuitry -- that immediately shorted and set other wires alive. Jamie gasped, tripped on a plow gone haywire, and crashed full-length on the farm where small lightnings involved him.

 

 

The smell of burnt flesh called the attention of a few clients, and soon there were horrified screams. Around Jamie, oblivious to the twitching body, a small pack of six geese twirled out of control.

 

~~~~~~

OOC: Good job -- Jamie/Gryphon was a Wolf. It's now Night Phase; specials, please PM me your targets in the next 24 hours.

Scorecard at the OOC thread

[Tanuchan]

A small shadow scurried between the feet of the scared customers and employees, careful to avoid being trampled.

 

Careful careful... nonono.... don't panic, they are clumsy... EEEEPSQUeak... but they could look where they go... EEPEepEpeepSQUEAKEEP... there, under the shelf... phew...

 

A rodent's nose peeked out from its hiding place, twitching and identifying the few people he was interested on. The scents had small differences, but enough for him to know who he wanted to follow... he knew so far that he had always been in the wrong place at the right time... or the right place at the wrong time... or some combination of places and times that did not allow him to actually see or smell any of the kills. But he knew he could!

 

Small... small and fast and calm... yes, calm... nono... do not sQUEAK!... they will hear you... EEEP... hush!

 

Someone looked around, trying to locate the small squeaking sound coming from under the shelves and tables.

 

"Need to call an exterminator... rats in the store!!" Shaking his head, the security man went ahead.

 

Rat! How do you dare to mistake me for a rat!

 

The indignant squeaking was interrrupted by a smell wafting from a portal to the right. Stopping short, the small guinea pig sniffed a couple times more, and then dashed through the portal, into the Water Park section.

 

He didn't quite notice where he was, so intent in the strange smell that was leading him onwards. It was a mix of citrus with wood, and maybe a bit of musk and kerosene...

 

Ooh... a ramp... where does this... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP

 

Something hit him from behind as he reached the top of the ramp, unceremoniously ditching him into the pool where toy swans were swimming.

 

ACKackackeepSQUEAKbblbbbb.... pppptfffft....

 

Bartleby knew how to swim... but not when he was being sucked by some contraption hidden at the bottom of the pool. And certainly not while a ribbon of plastic was being woven around him as he swirled in the small whirlpool being formed by the suction. He gasped frantically, and only managed to knock two swans out of balance.

 

The water stilled all of a sudden, and after a few seconds a rather big geyser erupted in the center of the pool.

 

The waves came back to the Experimental Special Effects Pool by APT Toys Development Team (as it could be read in the banner above it), and soon someone shrieked about dead rats floating on the water. Seven swans swam placidly around.

 

=========

OOC: Lucky wolf... Bartleby/Blby was the Baner. It is now day phase, and you have around 48 hours to catch the remaining wolf, or else they'll win come next night phase! Good luck!

Scorecard at OOC thread.

[Guinea Pig]

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

 

Pig rushed to the side of the pool as he heard Bartleby struggle with the water and then slowly die. He got there too late. The other guinea pig was dead. Pig couldn't bear looking, he couldn't bear looking upon the sight of a dead guinea pig.

 

He forced himself to turn away, and to walk away. But he could not leave before he heard someone mutter something about dead rats. What an insult! Pig whirled and turned towards the one he thought had muttered the words and shrieked furious curses in the guinea pig language towards him.

 

Ooc: voting for Mithrandin -> David Reyes, because a random choice is as good as anything at this stage.

[Patrick]

"Santa is in no bloody mood to play games, get the hell away from me!" Michael shouted as he tore off the beard. That bastard had been giving him such an itch for the last hour. The children were already too shocked from all the violence that they had seen in the toy store to be surprised at seeing Santa unmasked. Bringing his flask openly to his lips he took a nice long sip and to his horror found that the flask was already empty. Damn! And of course not another drop of alcohol was to be found in this-

 

He almost burst out in despair, but managed to hold back the outburst. A madman was killing in here and among all things he was throwing everyone else into terror, fear and despair. Michael lit a cigarette and glanced around at his fellow sufferers. At least one of them was a murderer, a wolf disguised in a sheep's skin. It could have been anyone. Whirling around at a shadow behind him, he was relieved to see that it was just an ugly looking doll casting its shadow eerily over the aisle under the lights.

 

Damnit! He had to get out of here! Away from this madness! He lit another cigarette from his last one and nervously puffed on it.

 

OOC: voting for Mynx/Sally Kellerman.

[Mynx]

Sally trembled with shock at the continuing turn of events. They'd found one of the killers and it had been a kid...a kid about the same age as Brian...But there was still someone else killing people...that poor guinea pig...This was insane.

Everything was insane.

And to think, Sally had believed that kid when he'd tried to accuse the store Santa.

Stifling a whimper, Sally hugged her knees to herself and began to rock gently back and forth, eyes glazed.

 

OOC: Siding with the random choice of a guinea pig...Vote for David/Mith

[Mithrandin]

David returned to the expositors sections, a frustrated look on his face as he sucked the blood of his finger. The bended scissors were still on his other hand as he stumbled his way to a bathroom.

 

So much for emergency exits, and this was an emergency...

As the blood flowed and mixedd with the cold water running in the dark, David was staring into the mirror he knew was in front of him trying to see his face. His frightned face marked with scars of such a insane night, such a bloody night. The though of blood brought him back to his finger, he took it from under the water stream and rolled it up on the drying towels.

 

It is not as bad as it looks

It hurt and indeed was worst then he though but that was the least of his concerns for the night

 

OOC: voting for Mynx/Sally Kellerman.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Mithrandin

[Mynx]

OOC: Posted on behalf of Tanny via her directions while she deals with RL.

 

A giggle behind David stole his attention away from his finger. Spinning around, David's unwounded hand searched blindly for the scissors even as he sought out the owner of the voice. At first, he couldn't see anyone, before a figure rushed by, giggling childishly.

Frowning, David looked around to see if there was anyone else who had seen the figure. Finding himself alone in that part of the store, David steeled himself and followed after the figure.

Guided only by flashes of a figure ahead of him, dressed in something pale and giggling like a small child, David followed until he came into a clearing in the middle of the aisles, almost a crossroads. Seven manniquins, dressed up as...milkmaids?...stood, one at each aisle, blocking David.

Frowning in confusion as he tried to process this, David heard the giggle behind him. He turned, just in time to see a figure dressed as a milkmaid, something held above their heads.

Grinning darkly, the figure brought the metal milk pail down over David's head. The first blow knocked him unconscious.

He was dead by the fifth, but the figure stopped only when his face was no longer recognisable, a shapeless mess on the floor...

 

OOC: by the decree of the dice, David/Mith, a hapless villager, was lynched. It is now Night Phase. Either Tanny or I will make the next post, depending on her availability and any instructions she PMs.

[Mynx]

OOC: Posting on behalf of Tanny...

 

Sally hummed happily to herself as she skipped away from David's body, acting like a child in...well...a toy store.

All sanity had left the girl's mind now, whatever dormant shadow that had lurked in the pack of Sally's mind had finally broken free this night when the power went down.

At first, even Sally hadn't been aware that she was (partly) to blame. She had vague memories of seeking out Jamie, thinking him to be her brother whenever she tried to recall the memory. But after Brian had died, the wall that had divided her mind began to crumble. By the time Jamie died, it was completely gone.

"On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to meee," Sally sung to herself as she pranced through the store. Something shiny distracted her from her song, as Sally came to a halt in front of a shelf full of mirrors. Eight stood on display, showing Sally in her bloodstained dress, an eery grin on her face.

Eight reflections, plus Sally herself...

"Nine ladies dancing" Sally giggled again, and did a twirl for the mirror. When she'd stopped spinning, she noticed Michael, the store's Santa watching her with a horrified expression as he took in her bloodstained clothes.

"You!" He spluttered, advancing on her slowly.

Sally's smile became a pout.

"You're a bad Santa," she whispered in a childlike voice, before her fist lashed out and broke the mirror behind her. Picking up one of the shards that fell to the floor, Sally grinned slowly as she advanced on Michael. Stumbling backwards, he tripped, hitting his head as he fell back. Blinking away stars, he barely had time to register Sally before she leapt upon him and began to stab...

When she was finished, Sally laughed delightedly to herself and began to sing again.

"On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to meee"

Picking up another shard of glass, Sally went in search of a certain guinea pig.

"Heeeeere Pig Pig Pig..."

 

OOC: Game over. Wolves win by the sheer luck of the dice.

[Guinea Pig]

Pig scurried under rows of shelves, avoiding broken shards of glass, rounded corners with a skid, ducked under falling toys and did everything he guinea pigly could in order to survive. He wondered whether he would make it until the emergency services arrived? Only time would tell...