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Infinity A8

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Nobody was permitted to be outdoors when the sun went down. Although no one had ever been attacked whilst disobeying this strict rule, it was almost common sense to remain within the sanctity of one's abode while a monster stalked the streets.
Tristan and Edward bounded down the ancient wood, almost squashing Jaden in the process but fortunately landing on either side of him.
"We should go home then," declared Robert, taking his eyes off Natalie's artworks to address the clique. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
With that Robert stepped away, heading towards his home in the west. Natalie was next to rise and leave, doing so without a sound and heading off in the same direction as Robert.
Edward and Tristan bade their remaining friends a cheerful farewell, exiting the area in a northerly direction towards their house away from the others. Georgia had finished tending to her wound and even managed to pluck a nettle from the earth without further injuring herself. She cradled it in her arms as she skipped away from the spot.
Veronica stood and prepared to leave, never going before all the younger members did. Jaden still lay at the base of the tree, staring into space. He usually did that, departing the area not long after Veronica did. But as Veronica reached the crumbling wall that served as an exit, he spoke.
"Are you afraid?"
"Of what?" Veronica asked him confused.
"Falling asleep one night and not waking up the next morning."
Veronica fell silent, unsure of how to react.
He continued. "I'm terrified. I want this to end, don't you?"
"You mean...how we're living at the moment? Not being able to sleep at night because of that 'thing'?" Veronica turned to face him, solemn in expression. "What are you thinking?"
Jaden said nothing. Veronica wisely decided to drop the subject.
"Come on, let's get home before it gets dark."
Jaden quietly remained where he was, leaving Veronica to venture home by herself.

29-Nov-2008 08:43:26 - Last edited on 04-Apr-2010 06:20:43 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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~Chapter II~
The town of Edgeville is comprised of only twenty-five houses along with a general store and bank. The bank and general store and at the east and north end of the town respectively, with five houses surrounding the both of them with the Tele brothers' house south of the bank. The other homes in the west, make up four rows of five. The houses were rather dull and all the same, white with brown roofs.
Georgia's house is the third in the front row from south to north. Robert's is directly behind hers. Natalie lives two doors down from him. Veronica and Jaden both live in the last row next door to each other, Jaden in the first home and Veronica in the second.
Veronica trod the same route as she always did, venturing through the alleyways between the first and second homes of each row until she arrived at the final row; her house and Jaden's. She was just about to enter her household when Jaden's mother popped her head out her window and called out to Veronica.
"Oh, good evening Mrs Cole." she greeted politely.
"Hi Veronica. Is Jaden far behind you?"
"He didn't follow me when I left," Veronica spoke pleasantly as to not to worry her friend's mother "But he'll be here soon."
Mrs Cole thanked the dainty girl and bid her a good eve. Veronica entered her homestead after responding with equal courtesy and made for her bedroom.
She needed to do some thinking and lying on her bed was by her own judgment the optimum place to do so. She needed to ponder over Jaden's comments in peace and solitude, for every moment she would not think on a dilemma such as this she would fret and worry at inconvenient times and places.
Thus, after she'd been welcomed inside by her parents she stepped into her confined yet cozy space, neatly did away with her footwear, leaped upon her bed and gazed at the ceiling. There was nothing else in the room to distract her from thought, minus her scarcely occupied desk. As she shut her eyes, Jaden's words replayed through her mind.

29-Nov-2008 08:43:28 - Last edited on 22-Apr-2009 02:51:20 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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As Veronica brooded the circumstance, it dawned on her that Jaden was most likely up to something. Though quiet and somewhat lazy, Jaden was impulsive and determined when he desired it. He'd lost his favourite ball in the River Lum once when he was young. He dived after the ball in order retrieve it without a second thought, much to the onlooking Veronica's disapproval. Once Jaden had resurfaced he explained that it might have drifted away had he not rescued it so promptly.
Jaden also had an extremely strong hatred of the thing haunting their town. He'd lie awake most nights, too distressed and afraid that he would be devoured in his sleep, as he'd confessed to Veronica after a sleepless night. That was why he'd nap during most of the day.
So as she considered these facts, along with what Jaden had said Veronica concluded that he had to be plotting something and if it regarded the phenomenon besieging Edgeville then it meant Jaden could get hurt.
"I'd better go find him then..." Veronica muttered to herself. She jumped out of her bed and glanced out the window. The sky was pink as a blooming rose, signaling the oncoming dusk and eventual nightfall. She wouldn't be allowed out for very long.
"Mum! Dad!" she called as she slipped her shoes back on and made for the door. "I'm just going out for a minute or two, back soon!"
Her parents told her to be careful and said nothing more.
Veronica stepped into the twilight and was about to make a mad dash around the town in a frantic search for Jaden but wisely decided instead to be calm and ask his mother for him first.
When Veronica asked, Jaden's mother informed her that Jaden had still not returned, heightening her fears. She began a sort of hastened walk around the network of houses, trying to find him in one of the alleyways. When that was unsuccessful, she searched the yew tree, the town centre and the few other places there were to look in Edgeville.
To no avail.

29-Nov-2008 08:46:07 - Last edited on 07-Mar-2009 11:40:13 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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"Jaden where are you?!" she finally yelled as loudly as she could to the sky, though because Veronica had a soft voice that wasn't very loud at all. She sighed with discontent and decided she would retreat home and hope that Jaden hadn't gotten into too much strife. Though as Veronica turned to leave, staring intently into Veronica's eyes through her blue rimmed glasses and startling her quite a bit was Natalie.
"Geez Natalie don't do that," Veronica muttered. "What are you doing out here?"
"I heard you calling for Jaden," she said simply with an underlying hint of concern. "Why?"
"Um..." Veronica contemplated how to put it. "He hasn't come home yet and I came to look for him."
Natalie pointed to the rosy sky.
"It is getting dark, Jaden will be fine. He's smart enough to look after himself."
Quasi-silent and always straight to the point, Natalie spoke the least in the group and on the rare moments when she did speak it was usually with monotony and a deadpan expression. The only time she showed some sort of flexibility in her tone and emotion was when she was speaking alone with Veronica.
"I still want to look for him." Veronica proclaimed.
Natalie nodded and smiled slightly. "Then we'll have to find him quickly."
But before either of them could even move, a banker in the process of shutting down the facility he worked for noticed the pair and urged them off.
"The night is upon us little ones, please return to your homes," he said pleasantly. "I don't want to see two small girls running around the streets in the dark and getting themselves hurt."
With an upward look at the sky which had now turned an unearthly maroon, Veronica gave one last disappointed sigh and trotted back home with Natalie in tow.
"Goodnight Veronica. I'll see you and Jaden in the morning." she confidently said as a farewell as they arrived at her house.

29-Nov-2008 08:46:09 - Last edited on 14-Aug-2009 11:55:45 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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Veronica merely nodded as a farewell and paced back to her place. She arrived at her doorstep to find her parents along with Jaden's parents discussing something fervently. She didn't need to be told what it was about.
"Veronica! Jaden's missing, do you know where he is?" Veronica's father asked as she reached the doorstep. Veronica shook her head.
"Where could he be...?" Jaden's distressed mother repined. "Oh my poor, poor Jaden, I hope so dearly he isn't hurt..."
When no further questions were asked and her presence was unnecessary, Veronica resigned to her den and once again flopped onto her bed after removing her shoes.
She spent the rest of night silent, remaining on her bed in the same position she always did, facing the ceiling, hands behind her head with her legs uncrossed. The only time she came out was when she went to eat her evening meal and even then she was soundless.
It was only a few hours before dawn that Veronica finally went to sleep. But even her dreams seemed to worry for her friends and visions of Jaden in pain haunted her thoughts. One moment she would see Natalie screaming, then Edward and Tristan crying, Georgia sobbing or Robert howling.
When the first light of morning pierced her window and Veronica woke, she did so with a scream.

29-Nov-2008 08:46:15 - Last edited on 22-Apr-2009 02:52:12 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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~Chapter III~
"He didn't come back."
Natalie was standing with Robert outside of Veronica's house. The house adjacent to them was filled with concerned and compassionate members of the community leaving the three to speak without interruption.
It was Robert who had delivered the dreadful news to the two of them. Being an early riser he'd noted the alarming lack of adults around as he awoke that morning and chose to investigate. Natalie was on her way to Veronica and Jaden's house when she bumped into Robert and the two had journeyed together.
Veronica's face had been plastered with worry since then.
"Do you know anything about where he may have gone?" Robert inquired.
"He just said that he hated living the way we were and didn't come home with me." she said whilst shaking her head furiously. Robert then seemed to stare off into space, which was what he did when he was thinking deeply.
"Knowing him, he's probably gone off to find a way to end our predicament. But why the sudden determination? I know he's always hated living here but he's never gone as far as to leave the town in the night."
Natalie had been staring at the ground for the whole time she was silent, as if she was a disabled golem. Though when she heard Robert speak she suddenly raised her head and spoke.
"Neither of you noticed?" the answer from the other two was a 'no' and Natalie continued. "He had his hat covering it. A long, fresh, jagged cut on his forehead. Another at the base of his neck covered by his shirt."
Robert and Veronica just looked at each other.
"He'd been attacked?" said Veronica
"Recently, it would seem. How did you notice, Natalie?" Robert asked.
"Yesterday morning. When I was walking to the tree I saw him. His cap seemed to have put on in a rush and he took it off to adjust it. Sometimes when he was sleeping he moved and his shirt with him and I glimpsed the second cut."

29-Nov-2008 08:46:15 - Last edited on 04-Apr-2010 06:26:54 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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"Hmm..." Robert hummed. "I suppose it'd be best if we gathered everyone and shared our ideas and thoughts. If the adults are preoccupied, let's go get Georgia, Tristan and Edward."
The three of them glanced over at the fervent adults next door. When it seemed like they had no intention of leaving to do anything else, the children slipped out of sight and earshot. Natalie said she would fetch Georgia, and Robert offered to recruit the Tele brothers. Veronica would wait at the yew tree for their arrival.
Veronica and Robert would have to traverse the same path before separating to complete their objectives and conversed in the time they had together.
"I think you're right," the girl in the red dress said. "Jaden would have run off if he'd been attacked as Natalie thought. But where, oh where could he have gone...?"
Robert, in his standard attire, though today with a black tie replied. "There aren't many places he could have gone to. Maybe he went down into the Edgeville Dungeon and explored down there, maybe he went to the Wilderness."
"Wha-The Wilderness!?" Veronica stuttered fearfully, clearly not liking the sound of that.
"OR, perhaps he went to Falador," Robert came back quickly to calm the terror-stricken young lady. "He could have gone there or some other city to gather support towards solving our problem."
That seemed to work and Veronica relaxed. The two of them reached the tree and Robert dashed off to locate Tristan and Edward. Veronica sat herself under the imposing, old yew and gazed around her personal domain. There used to be two trees, another at the south end of the ruins. One day, a careless adventurer had hacked one of them for firewood. She could also see the trapdoor through the decrepit structure that lead down into Edgeville'* dungeon.
Initially it had been what had drawn the group into making their 'home away from home' here.

29-Nov-2008 08:46:17 - Last edited on 26-Oct-2009 06:04:18 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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Curious, as children naturally were, the dungeon intrigued them. Georgia, Tristan and Edward in particular they'd go and peer down into the darkness when they could just to see if anything would jump out. Nothing ever did, but it kept the three of them occupied for some time.
But, despite this, none of them had ever mustered the courage to set one foot into the grievous dungeon.
"Hii Veronica!" drawled the girl in variegated clothing, who was approaching Veronica at a swift pace. Georgia practically flew into the area, tripping over a loose stone and landing on her face as majestically as a human could manage.
"Ah! Georgia! Are you alright?!" Veronica immediately called, disturbed by the girl's hazardous though routine behaviour.
Georgia responded with a thumbs up and mumbled a 'yes' into the dirt before rising. By then Natalie had caught up.
"Please don't do that." Veronica murmured.
"Y'know, if I were you, I'd have stopped bothering to ask me after the first three months of knowing me." Georgia beamed, her large eyes shining with pride. "I am who I am and nothing will change me!"
"Your face is bleeding." Natalie stated flatly.
Sure enough, Georgia had a slim, deep slash running from the far left of her forehead down to her jawline. As she raised a hand to touch the wound, it squirted a little, causing Georgia to wince in response. Her curiosity and hyperactive nature always got her cut or wounded in some way. But she was a brave girl and had never shed a tear in all her time in Edgeville. No matter how much it hurt.
Veronica, on the other hand, fainted.
"Poor girl, it's not that bad." Georgia sighed as the red liquid dripped off her jaw. "It only stings a little."
"You should be more careful though, it's not nice to worry a friend like that." came a concerned voice from the east.
Entering the area was Robert, accompanied by Tristan and Edward.

29-Nov-2008 08:46:23 - Last edited on 24-Apr-2009 13:48:47 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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"Oh my gosh! What's wrong with Veronica!?" cried Edward. "Is she hurt?! Is that why you needed us Robert!?"
The two started towards the passed out girl when she stirred.
"Has Georgia stopped bleeding yet?" she asked drowsily. Cheeky Georgia responded by squeezing the cut, causing Veronica to almost lose it a second time.
"Hey, that's enough." Robert commanded lightly, then addressed the Teles and Georgia. "I'm afraid the problem isn't as minor as Veronica fainting. Jaden has disappeared and we're not sure where he's gone."
"So do you want us to help look for him?" Tristan asked, eyes wide with delight. Tristan had a passion for adventures, with a penchant for reading adventure novels. He'd ask any traveller who would journey through Edgeville about their adventures and yearned for one of his own.
"We haven't quite decided upon a plan as of yet..." was Robert's response. "But that does sound like a good idea."
He turned to Veronica for support. As the current oldest member of the group, she was naturally the one to make all the decisions.
She replied curtly and with no visible expression at all. "So long as I don't have to go with Georgia."
The still bleeding girl just smiled and agreed.

29-Nov-2008 08:47:49 - Last edited on 24-Apr-2009 13:50:58 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

Posts: 10,192 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

~Chapter IV~
"So Veronica, where are we gonna look first?" Tristan asked energetically, breaking the silence that fell shortly after the group had split in two. Robert and his group of Edward and Georgia had been assigned the south of Edgeville whereas Veronica, Tristan and Natalie were to search the north. Since parting with the other three, Veronica had been quiet.
As Natalie was somewhat mute around anyone but Veronica, Tristan grew irritated with the silence, prompting him to speak.
"Oh, um," was Veronica's response, before falling back into brief silence. Tristan came close to tapping her on the shoulder to vivify her before she finally replied.
"We could try the river."
"To the river!" Tristan exclaimed, running off without heed of the two girls. Normally, Tristan's spontaneous actions incited anyone nearby to race after him, as he was prone to accidents, much like Georgia. But Veronica didn't move.
"We should go after him." Natalie said in her usual undertone.
Veronica snapped to attention and nodded, starting after Tristan hastily.
Natalie spoke again. "You're worried. Don't be, we'll find him."
"W-what makes you think I'm worried?" Veronica asked, turning to face her friend.
Natalie's response was simply a stare. Though shy and only taller than Veronica by a slight degree, Natalie's stares made even the bravest members of Edgeville'* society shrink away.
"I'm afraid that..." Veronica gulped. "That we'll find him, just, not...um..."
"In one piece?"
Veronica gazed at the ground and sniffed, holding back her emotions as best she could. The amount of concern she held for her friends was great, the very thought that one of them was hurt in the slightest was enough to make her cry. In the mornings after an attack on her friends or family, Veronica would weep at their wounds or tears.
She hated seeing people in pain.
"Veronica!" Tristan called, alerting Veronica and snapping her out of her depressed state. "Come here!"

29-Nov-2008 08:47:51 - Last edited on 26-Oct-2009 06:17:43 by Infinity A8

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