Serious: The Squall Pirates Chapter 3: Town of Shadows (Open to the Squall Pirates)

Jimi listened to the man's story with pure interest, it reminded him of a twisted version of his own relationship with his father. It's true, Jimi's father wasn't an example for a good parent, but Jimi was all he had and that didn't stop him form leaving him for a better life. Jimi was never sorry about his decision to leave, except for now. "It's not a foolish hope at all Moss" Jimi said, smiling. "The fools would be the ones who underestimate your hope. As a man of the sea I've seen my share of miracles, and I beg you not to lose your hope" Jimi said. He then stretched up, letting his afro brush against the low ceiling.

"Let me tell you this Moss" He continued. "I left my father when I became a pirate. I always thought it was the best choice, but I never realized how badly I might have hurt him by leaving. He treated me like a pet but I was all he had" Jimi admitted. "So I here by vow to you Moss, I will go back home and visit my father, and I'm sure your son will do the same once he'll be lucky enough to be a guest of someone like you" he said. "But I have something to do first" He added, pressing his sunglasses back up his nose to get his cool look back. "I'm going to find my captain!" He shouted with a voice full of passion. "Thank you for everything Moss, I will never forget you" He said and bowed, before opening the door and rushing out to the rain. He closed the door and quickly reached into his pockets, emptying the small amount of belli he had on Moss' doormat and left.

The air was even colder than before, or maybe it was just the transition from the house that made it seem like it. In reaction, Jimi's afro expanded a little out of a reflex, to shield him form the rain and warm him up a bit. Even though he only knew Moss for a short time Jii managed to learn a lot form the man. He was a symbol for hope, and allowed Jimi to see his past in a different light, a lesson that he probably will never forget. He still had a lot to go through in his pirate life, but after it's all done, he'll do his best to help Moss find his lost son. He noticed that most of the town was connected by canals that extended to the ocean, so if Daniel would get washed to the island, he'll be in one of the canals. He got to the closest canal and started running along side it, trying to spot his lost captain.

Jimi had no way of knowing that his father died a short time after he left.

(OOC: Hey, guys. I would like to add something to this thread. Please do not mention crowds of people walking around the city. I know Karasu has his character treating a bunch of people, but for what I have planned, that situation makes sense so it's fine. However, most of the city has an abandoned feel and it's a pretty depressing place.)

Daniel

Daniel was walking along behind Jack. The pirate captain was whistling a happy tune while his unwilling companion was trying his best to ignore him. Slowly the tune got higher pitched and went completely off key. Jack clapped his hands over his ears and gritted his teeth as he tried desperately not to pay any attention. Finally, it got too much for him to handle.

"Don't you ever shut up?" Jack screeched. "And stop following me!"

"I'm not following you," Daniel replied. "We just happen to be going in the same direction."

Jack picked up his pace and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. Daniel continued to follow along behind him, but he kept quiet this time.

Daniel cast a glance up and down the narrow streets. It was odd, there was no one in sight. Sure, it was raining right now and most people didn't like to get wet, but surely someone would be outside. Not even the shops were open. It was like the entire town was empty or something.

Daniel was about to ask Jack about this, but when he looked up, Jack was gone.

Laik

The girl and boy were knocked aside when Laik came running through. The boy started to protest, but it came out as a squeak since he was off balance and almost fell on his back. The girl made no sound, but slipped back into position without any trouble.

The boy started to move after Laik when he dropped into his sub, but the girl held out a hand to stop him. She did not say a word, but the boy fell back into place. Together, they stood and waited until Laik returned.

The girl moved forward just as Laik was saying "Shame".

"Yes, it is a shame," she commented. "I'm certain the ship could have been saved." She stared at the sub as it sank. "And perhaps if its creator had made it better, it wouldn't have had to be fixed in the first place." The girl said this with no emotion, as if she had no clue that she has just insulted Laik to his face. "In any case," she continued. "It is gone now, so there is nothing to worry about." She turned her back on Laik and walked away from him, beckoning to the young boy who had come with her. "Enjoy your stay," she said, in a way that almost made it sound like this wasn't possible.

Jimi

Moss didn't turn around as Jimi closed the door behind him and, a moment later, he could hear the young man running away. Moss closed his eyes and sighed.

"What use have I for hope?" Moss whispered. "That's all I've ever had. I should have left this place and searched for my son upon the oceans...I am such a coward."

Moss's woe begotten dog came over and sat next to him. The small puppy reached up and licked his fingers. Absentmindedly, Moss stroked the dog's fur.

"There was a time that I thought that hope was a good thing," Moss continued, half speaking to his pet and half to himself. "I thought what I was doing was right, but before I knew it, all of my years had slipped away. And now I'm trapped on this cursed island. An island that exists for the sole purpose of crushing people's dreams. Jimi, you poor, foolish boy. You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into."

Jimi traveled along the canal for several minutes without results until he realized this method wasn't as productive. If Daniel did end up in a canal he would have choked to death by now, or lucky enough to get someone to pull him out. If the sooner happened, than any searching method would be useless, but if the later was correct, than the only way to find Daniel would be asking around!

Realizing that, Jimi froze in place. He needed some place to start asking, but the streets were as empty as a barrel of beer after a crew of sailors got their hands on it. He needed some sort of public place, a local business of some sort. He looked around, seeing nothing but mushed up houses that looked as empty as the last example, but then he spotted something, a restaurant.

The sign on the place read "Bluegill", probably a seafood buffet of some sort. 'Maybe they caught Daniel in their fishing nets!' Jimi hoped as he started running towards the place. "Eureka! I can practically smell you already captain!" Jimi shouted to himself. In actuality, he smelled nothing but fish, but after a soak in the ocean Daniel was bound to stink at least a little! With these hopeful thoughts in mind, Jimi reached for the door and walked into the restaurant.

Laik heard a voice agree it was a shame as his ship sank, he looked to see the voice coming from the girl. He heard her mention how the ships creator could've saved it and felt a little ashamed of himself. he wasn't about to go off the handle into a rage about it though. he pulled his coat round himself more to warm up.

The girl who spoke spoke in a monotone voice which sent shivers down his spine. As she left and said enjoy your stay he felt there was something eerie about this town. Thinking about it he did feel a certain strangeness about this town. On his way to the shop he hadn't seen any one else anywhere. Usually towns had more than 3 people in them and so far he had only met 3 this boy & girl and the man in the store.

Laik looked at the boy & girl leaving and felt his curiosity getting the better of him. He had to ask, "The way you said enjoy your stay, it sounded like...something which can't be done. Is there something I should know about this place?" Laik clutched his bag on his back and stepped closer to the boy & girl hoping for some answers about this place. It was unusual and something just seemed wrong about the people here.

Daniel

Daniel was hopelessly lost. Without Jack to lead him, he didn't have a clue as to which way he was supposed to go. Then again, he had no ultimate destination either, so it really didn't matter in the first place.

"How could he have gotten away so quickly?" Daniel whispered. He was still shocked that Jack had escaped him while he wasn't looking. True, it wasn't like he needed to follow Jack around, but he still wasn't used to people vanishing like that. "I should have heard something," Daniel muttered.

Daniel turned down another street and looked around. It looked much like every other street in the whole blasted town: Empty.

Daniel glanced down and noticed that a canal ran up this street. Actually, now that he thought about it, he had seen several canals like this one. They were all over the city and even some of the main roads had them running right down the center.

Daniel smiled and crouched down by the water. Even though he couldn't survive in water, he still thought it was pretty cool. Then he saw something that made his blood run cold. There was a severed human hand in the water floating downriver. Daniel looked back up the canal and he spotted a leg coming along after the hand.

The pirate captain shuddered and withdrew from the water's edge. This was disgusting, not to mention just a little bit creepy.

He glanced upstream again, this time not looking in the water, but instead checking the direction it was coming from. With a focused expression, Daniel set off in that direction. He was going to find out what was going on here.

Jimi

The restaurant was empty, just like the streets. It was very dark, the only source of light in the place came from a single candle that was placed on the front counter. Jimi had been correct in guessing that this was a seafood restaurant. Fishy smells pervaded every corner of the building.

As Jimi was coming inside, a bell jangled from over the door. From the back of the restaurant came a man. He was middle-aged, his hair showing the first signs of going gray. He was of about average height and had thick, powerful-looking arms. Currently he was wiping his hands on a towel, a small frown on his face. When he saw Jimi, his expression shifted to one of surprise and then he smiled slightly.

"Welcome to the Bluegill," he said. "My apologies, I am not prepared to serve food right this instant, but I can get something prepared if you are hungry."

Laik

The boy glanced back at Laik, looking nervous. He turned his gaze up to the girl beside him. She had merely stopped and did not turn to face Laik.

"Yes, I suppose there is," she told him. "Get used to being here. This is a cursed island. No one ever leaves this place alive or dead."

With that she moved on. The boy cast one last fearful look in Laik's direction, then he jogged after her. A mist suddenly rolled out from behind a corner in front of the girl and boy. Together, they stepped into the mist. When the mist cleared, they were gone.

Jimi was disappointed to find the place empty, for a second he hoped he had a break through. "Thanks but no thanks, I'm actually here to ask for some help" Jimi said in response to the owner's words. He approached the counter and tilted his head to get some of the water off his hair. "I'm looking for someone, about 6 feet, slightly tanned, brown hair and several scars along his forearms, answers to Daniel D. Haught, probably wet to the bone" Jimi said, giving the best description he could find. "Did you see him by any chance?" Jimi asked hoping to finally get some answers.

Jimi didn't like this island, it was too depressing and quite for his taste, not enough people. He hoped that he'll either find Daniel, or at least a proof of his death so he could leave this island as soon as possible.

Hearing the girl's words leave her mouth Laik tilted his head and looked at the ground trying to understand what she was getting at. When he finally figured it out he replied, "So you mean no one ever leaves this........island." as he looked up mid sentence he noticed they were gone.
No evidence of their existence left behind. He felt a breeze blow into him and pull his coat open.

Looking around he felt a little spooked, this town was practically empty and now he was stranded here. Looking from left to right Laik still couldn't see anyone he wanted to get off of this island but with no ship he couldn't do so. The one ship he saw he wasn't about to steal even if he was considered a criminal.

Laik gripped the strap of his bag over his shoulder and walked up the street back into the town looking for somewhere to stay, it was cold. As he walked up the street he thought back into his past. He remembered sneaking into that kitchen, the smell of all that lovely food. He had just been a young boy back then a poor boy.

He began trying to justify himself and his actions from his youth, he had been mistaken for a noble. At that age Laik would never have turned away the chance to live the good life and even now he wouldn't turn away the offer. Laik missed that life but when it had been noticed that he wasn't who he was claiming to be he had no other option than to run. What he did was a death sentence, or so he'd heard.

Because of that one criminal act of taking the offer of a good life over a terrible one, he was marked as a criminal. He may be seen or known as one by Marines but he wasn't one at heart. It would take something serious for him to resort to being a criminal. He saw few houses on either side of the street, they all looked empty or deserted but that didn't mean he was about to break into one. Everywhere looked deserted.
He wanted to knock on a door and ask if he could rest up but didn't think he'd get an answer and continued walking through the town hoping to run into someone.

Maybe he'd run into that guy he met out at sea again, he doubted it, looking ahead of him he saw no girl or boy, turning around looking at the route he'd walked, still no one was in sight.

This place was turning out to be pretty creepy.

(OOC: I'm really getting into a bad habit here of not posting sooner. My only excuses are that school and writing have been beating me down. Still, I should have gotten this up earlier. I do have one good piece of news. Lore has informed me that she will be returning on Friday and she has finished her character for this crew.)

Daniel

Daniel had reached a destination, but he wasn't sure what to make of it. The canal had led him back to the Mayflower Waterworks. Had something happened here? Perhaps someone had fallen into the water and been crushed by some kind of large machinery. Maybe...

Daniel walked up to the building and located a door. He knocked firmly on the door and there was an echo. Daniel waited a minute...then two. No one came. He tried the door's handle. It was locked. He tried kicking the door down with his wind powers giving him an extra boost. The door opened very quickly.

Daniel entered the building at a fast walk. After having knocked down the door, he saw no need in stealth. There was no one anyone inside the building could not have heard that.

Jimi

"Hmmm..." the owner thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Nope. I know some guys who fit the description, but no one I know has noticeable scars on their arms. Not that it matters. The name doesn't ring a bell either." The owner pulled a glass out from under the counter and set it on top of the counter. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked Jimi. "We don't get a lot of strangers around here, so I'll make the first one on the house."

Outside

Far off in the distance, a bell began to ring. It was difficult to hear the bell over the storm, but even so, doors began to open along the empty streets and people exited their homes. They stared off in the direction of the sound, looking resigned, before walking towards it.

Jimi lowered his face in disappointment, he really thought he'll find Daniel if he asked around. The idea of soaking his problems with alcohol was delightful, but then he remembered that he left his money to Moss. "I wish I could, but that first one will have to be the last one too, I'm afraid I'm out of cash" Jimi said, pulling the inside of his pockets out to show the bartender. "Plus, I should probably stay sober if I wanna find my captain any time soon" Jimi said and flashed a bright smile.

Then, Jimi started hearing sounds from the street outside. He turned around and noticed a crowed of people walking along the street and staring into the distance. They almost seemed like they were mesmerized by something, and the fact that they all suddenly left their homes and started marching together was a weird sight. "What's with the sudden zombie parade?" Jimi asked as he lowered his sunglasses to get a better look outside.

Hearing a bell in the distance Laik smiled realising there was some life in this town somewhere as he looked around for the bell he noticed people leaving their homes. As people began walking towards the sound and past him he felt this was the perfect time to ask just what was going on here.

"Excuse me but could you tell me what's going on here? Why is there a bell ringing and where are you all headed?"

He was curious and since he was also feeling incredibly cold he gripped his coat tighter for warmth. Following the zombie looking people towards the bell the sound got louder but the people seemed unresponsive. He wanted to know what was up with this town after what he'd been told by the girl.

Daniel

Daniel dashed through the waterworks, bursting through door after door. He half-expected to see workers come running out at any moment, but it seemed that no one was even here. In fact, he hadn't found any signs that anyone had even been here at any time. It wasn't like Daniel had ever been here before, but even so, nothing seemed out of place and there wasn't any junk just laying around. He was starting to wonder if this place didn't just run automatically.

Daniel slowed down to a walk as he entered a new room. This room was larger than the others. In the center of the room was a canal that had water rushing through it. Just like every other canal in the place. Just like a canal should work.

Daniel walked over to the edge of the canal. He bent down and looked down into the water. This time there were no body parts floating downstream. In fact, the water looked almost clean enough to drink.

Daniel sighed and started to stand, but then he froze. There, on the edge of the canal wall, was a speck of red. Daniel touched the speck, it was wet, and he raised it up to his nose and sniffed. He wrinkled his nose and quickly washed his hand off. He knew that smell. It was blood.

What Daniel didn't know was that a pair of eyes were watching him from beneath the water's surface. And the owner of those eyes was getting closer.

Jimi

"Zombie parade?" asked the man behind the counter. He had had to duck down back there to get Jimi's drink from a keg. A moment later, he popped back up and set the drink down. His smile vanished when he saw what Jimi was looking at. "Oh no...not again," the man whispered. He sighed. "That 'zombie parade', as you called it, is everyone in this town. We've been called and we cannot refuse. Otherwise they will single us out and then..." He broke off, looking miserable. "In any case, you should not need to come this time, if you don't want to. Since you are a newcomer, they'll come and tell you the rules of this place before requiring you to follow those rules. After that, though, you'll have to come when you're called, just like we are."

Laik

For the most part, the people around Laik ignored him. However, one older woman sidled over to him. She was hunched over, her hair having long since turned white. She moved with the help of a cane, but despite this she managed to keep pace with Laik.

"A new arrival, eh?" the woman cackled. "You'll see soon enough!"

Ahead of them was a tower, taller the rest of the surrounding buildings. From this tower came the sound of the bell. At the base of the tower was a stand, atop which stood a man wrapped in a dark cloak, all of his features hidden from view. He did not speak, but waited silently as the crowd gathered around him.

Hearing the old woman's voice among the many other people who simply just walked past him ignoring him, Laik turned to see the woman and nodded. When she told him he'd see soon enough Laik looked ahead still following the group towards the large bell tower. Seeing the tower ahead he wasn't sure whether or not he should take his chances following these people towards the tower and ringing bell of if he should take his chances stealing a ship.

This whole place was seeming rather scary and even a little bit creepy, he wasn't too sure he liked this place and really wanted to get out of here. But he wasn't too sure he could ever escape if he headed to sea.

Looking at the group of zombified people then at the old woman Laik opened his mouth to ask Whats going on at the bell tower. As he sat his bag down removed his coat and threw on a white tank top then threw his coat back. It was only a little thin piece of clothing but it helped.

Looking at the people still heading towards it and at the old woman Laik gulped as each passing sound echoed from the bell it was rather loud and gave him a slight head ache. Laik thought back to all the information he'd heard about this place whilst he'd been here. He had heard stories when he was younger about places like this which sacrificed new comers and since he was the one among this group of people felt a little worried himself.

Laik gripped his bag tightly and began running back towards the docks he wasn't too sure how he was going to get away but right now he didn't really care too much though. As he rushed through the town he'd just walked through looking for somewhere safe to cuddle up warm he felt the powerful wind blowing towards him and trying to stop him from leaving.

Laik didn't like what was going on here and began pushing against the wind as hard as he could manage. When he got within view of the docks the wind seemed to die down a little and due to how much Laik had been pushing against it he found himself tripping up and falling head first into the water. As he landed in the water his bag slipped from his grip and began sinking.

Jimi raised an eyebrow over the edge of his sunglasses. If expressions could talk, Jimi's expression would have asked if the bartender was kidding him. "You wanna tell me, that someone is holding this entire town hostage, and the only reason I'm not a hostage is because I'm new? Who's holding you? Marines? I bet it's the marines! I'll pound every single one of them until their heads pop!" Jimi claimed. "Take me with you, I'll teach whoever idiot you're listening to a piece of my mind" He added.

Jimi was a complete patron of freedom and fun, and watching an entire town being leaded like a pack of sheep twisted his nerves to no end. He raised the drink the bartender made for him and gulped it down in one swig. "Here, now I owe you one for the drink" Jimi said, "Now let's go".