The Apparition (IC): It Begins

Mayor Leeth stood outside town hall with his arms folded. He watched as two policemen approached him, they both had dry and disapproving faces. "Sir, we've gotten another report" one said. "So I've heard" Leeth said. "Another ghost sighting?" The officer tried to look Leeth in the eyes. "Well, yes--"
"Are you kidding me?" Leeth groaned. "Take them down to the asylum" he added. The second officer looked at the Mayor. "Well sir, one of them is missing"

"What? Back up" the Mayor said. "We got a call from a woman downtown. She said someone was trying to break in her house. When we arrived at the scene she kept screaming that the ghost had taken her son into the woods. We can't find the kid anywhere..."

"The woman is crazy. Lock her up. Keep searching for the boy. Ghosts, these people are ridiculous" the Mayor said. At this point the officer noticed that the Mayor was wearing a strange necklace with a triangular emblem on it. A tiny circle was shaped inside of the triangle, and attached by a thin silver string. He looked back up at the mayor's face. "Is that understood?" Leeth asked. The officers both nodded. "Yes sir" the both said and walked away. Leeth stood looking out at the town, which was growing foggy.

Alan Lee was naturally skeptical of everything, especially when it came to the paranormal. Nonetheless, he was concerned about these people. What was happening? Was a new disease flowing around? If there was, it was obvious that it was effecting people's minds.

Alan walked around the city's streets, evidently returning home from yet another hike. Satisfied with his exclamation, he began to wonder about the disease's victims. Something needs to be done about this, he thought. We could potentially have a very big problem on our hands. Alan did not know about how Mayor Leeth was taking care of the victims. If he did, he would be quick to criticize. He did not believe that things had to be handled that way, especially if there was a disease running around. These people needed care, not jail time!

Alan noticed a fog blowing in. Deciding to go inside, Alan sighed. "The town's going to talk about ghosts all morning tomorrow. Why don't they think realistically? There are no ghosts, it simply doesn't make sense!" Rolling his eyes, he looked out the window. "Well, it's not that foggy. May as well see what's going on." He went outsde once more, this time welcoming the cool fog.

Leeth noticed the fog and slowly turned, stepping through the doors of town hall and slowly closing them behind him, with a slow creek. He turned, facing one of the town officials and a doctor.

"We can't just keep sending them to the asylum. It's getting very crowded down there" said the official who was wearing a black suit and tie. Leeth rolled his eyes. "We'll make room" the mayor said. He walked past the two, rolling the necklace around in his fingertips.

"Sir!" the doctor yelled. Leeth stopped and turned, facing the doctor with an angered face. "You have something to say doctor?" Leeth asked giving a 'don't try it' face. The official noticed that this was odd, Leeth did not normally act like this. He was usually a fun, enjoyable character to be around. It was probably all of this stress from the rumors, all of these reports were getting to him.
"Um, I just think if these people are just seeing things, perhaps we could try to find a cure? There could be some new sickness going around infecting these people and giving them these visions" said the doctor.

"Yeah, it's called insanity" Leeth said, turning and walking through the doors on the opposite side of the room. The doctor sighed and stepped through a side hallway.

Sage exited her father's house, delighted at the foggy landscape that awaited her. She had left her brother with some toy trains, which would keep him occupied for several hours at the least. With her father away for the rest of the day, Sage figured she had this mysterious day all to herself.

She walked down the quiet road, heading for the town. Birch trees lined the path, and their still branches looked like frozen claws. Sage shivered, trying not to imagine that they were reaching for her from behind.

Something flickered off to her left; a brief disturbance in the white landscape. Sage involuntarily turned her head to look in that direction.

Nothing.

She sighed, and contined walking down the path. She drew the hood of her black cloak up, as she was chilled slightly. Buildings eventually seemed to appear out in the fog, and Sage knew she had arrived in town. The dirt path turned to cobbled walk as she entered.

Something passed by from behind Sage and then a mysterious shape moved across one side of the path to the other, moving to the right and disappearing with the fog. A dog from up the hill began to bark insanely and uncontrollably until finally a twig snapped up the hill and dog squealed and finally stopped barking... it sounded like something had killed it, greatly harmed it at most as a faint whimpering sound came from the hill and eventually died out.

A whisper rose into the air, part of it English, part of it something else. It sounded like a ramble and finally died out.

Alan walked along the major streets of the small city, almost unconsciously. It simply felt nice to be in the fog, after a long day. He stopped and examined a sleeping bird, perched high in a dormant maple tree. When there wasn't any annoying ghost talk around, the city of Welton was very peaceful.

For some reason, Alan found the bird's breathing pattern fascinating. With nothing else to do, it was actually amazing to be this close to a tiny wren, at least for Alan. His eyes flickered to the right, bringing the rest of the trees and houses to his attention. It was still, except for the occasional civillian, which walked along the sidewalk, seemingly oblivious to the fog.

Alan felt a swift breeze, travelling in the opposite direction of the wind. He couldn't help flinching; this certainly was odd. But after a few seconds, Alan ignored it. It was nothing. However, Alan couldn't help watching the fog shift until it seeped over a neighbor's fence. A dog started barking viciously. It was obviously panicked, for the dog's tone became louder and louder. Suddenly, with a sickening squeal, it stopped with a thud.

A couple nervously walked away. To Alan, it seemed obvious that a burglar was attacking. Perhaps, with that new disease around, people thought that this burglar was a sort of ghost?

Alan walked around the house, investigating the sounds.

As Alan was walking around the house, something was walking behind him, however he had not seen it and if he turned around it would be gone... It suddenly vanished. A strange whisper floated into the air, half English, half some other language that no mere human could make out. It was menacing and sounded dark. A quick shadow went over the ground in front of Alan and vanished. "Alan..." a voice called, it seemed to be coming from no direction at all, just was there. "Alan..."

Alan stopped in his tracks. He could head his name, though distorted somehow.

Before his mind could say ghost, however, Alan decided that someone was calling his name from far away, although he had no exclamation why. After thinking hard on the subject, Alan continued his walk, completely ignoring the faint flickering shadow. Finally, he reached a crack in the wall, and against his better judgement, peeked through. a dog, barely breathing, lied on the ground, with its head twisted.

Alan jumped back in horror. Something had nearly killed the dog! His mind fought for an exclamation, and it got one, involving the burglar he thought about earlier.
But if a burglar was here, he surely wasn't interested with what was inside the house. Maybe what he wanted was in the yard? Alan picked himself up, still spooked by the dying animal. Surely this was a job for city officials...

He walked quickly away from the scene, simply not noticing all hints of a haunting.

"Alan!" the voice shouted and something caught Alan's feet and tripped him. However when Alan would have looked back, he would have found nothing... Nothing was there to trip him and the name just kept getting louder. "Get away" the voice finally said.

A breeze began to blow from the woods, a few leaves scatted across the ground. Something snapped in the woods next to Alan... It was loud and something was moving from tree to tree.

Sage wandered through the town, looking around in a dreamlike state. The fog made everything quieter; softer. Perhaps even a bit more peaceful. The barking of the dog had barely registered in her mind, and when it ceased, it was nothing more than a memory.

Her attention caught on a man she recognized as Alan Lee, walking swiftly away from a fence. He looked a bit spooked to her. Being inquisitive, she momentarily considered following him.

The rumors of the resident ghost were fresh in her mind. Maybe he had seen something worthwhile. Her curiosity was strong, but her shyness prevented her from just walking up and asking him what the issue was.

Sage shook her head. She decided she was being too assuming. Perhaps Mr. Lee was simply late for something; she didn't know anything about his daily life.

Sighing, she continued walking.

The voice shouted, and Alan tripped on a twig. At the same time, a twig snapped in the woods, hinting that something was there. Alan grunted as he hauled himself to his feet, bruised on his stomach by landing on a large stone. Alan clutched his stomach, annoyed, curious, and surprised all at the same time. He looked around until he laid eyes on the broken stick. His eyes then followed the thin trail of dead leaves, heading from tree to tree.

"Go away," the voice said once more, making Alan jump again. He looked around once more, now breathing heavily. "So stupid..." He muttered, limping down the road.

No matter what, this was not a ghost. Even with all the evidence, his mind will not believe it. He needed much more to see, especially with his belief that a disease is spreading.

Paranoid, he looked back at the house as he walked. Further away was a woman he couldn't recognize from this distance, but looked familiar. He stopped to catch his breath. "What is even happening? Am I hallucinating, too? Ugh, the town's going to be blaming this on ghosts. Can't wait to hear the accusations," Alan muttered to himself.

(Dark, Alan will not believe in ghosts for a while yet. He'll just keep on coming up with exclamations until he just can't, simply because his mind is build that way)

A feeling in the air left as Alan parted and the dead body of the dog suddenly began to twitch unnaturally, suddenly its skin ripped and began to peel from its bones, blood spilling everywhere. There seemed to have been no meaning to it whatsoever... absentmindedly the body was mangled.

Alan however... was still being watched...

"Sage..." the voice called as the strange aura began to move towards the girl. "Sage!"

-------------------------

Mayor Leeth was in his office. He looked out of the window at the town below him. He opened a bottle of whiskey and poured some into a glass, then taking a sip as he still watched. He eyed the symbol which he had carved into the side of the frame of the window... A triangle with a circle in the middle of it. He turned back to the window and took another sip.

The doors of his office opened, one of the officials stepped into the room. "Mayor Leeth" he said. "There's been another one..."

Leeth sighed, closing his eyes and opening them then turning around. "Get the police to deal with it. Gather the entire town in Town Square, I want to talk to them" the mayor said. The official nodded and ran back out of the room. Eventually he came outside with many other workers that quickly took large paper signs and nailed then to poles and trees in the town, these papers told of meeting in Town Square in exactly one hour...

Sage froze, hearing her name. Her eyes darted around the streets, searching for the source. She turned around, examining the streets. Alan was no longer in sight, but the scent of blood was in the air. It was a thick, heavy scent. There was a lot of blood, wherever it was.

"Hello?" Sage called out quietly, sensing that something was near... Something that wanted her attention. She had an idea of what it was.

"Sage..." the voice called again. It seemed to be coming from behind a tree that now had a paper on it announcing something as a man was walking away from it. When he went into the fog, a faint shout was heard and then silenced.

The paper fell from the tree and blew onto Sage's shoes revealing that carved on the tree was a triangle with a circle in the middle.

(Ghost might not be appropriate at the moment. The fog's already enough)

Edmund Stowe paced back and forth in a particular spot in front of various storefronts, where the fog had not spread as thickly as everywhere else. He was nervous, but then again, whenever there was fog, it scared him. It actually had little to do with the fact that Edmund was not a man at all, but a girl who had disguised herself in order to do things, unhindered by the rules of the male population. Her real name was Emily Douglass, but she would never tell anyone that unless she was dressed in her usual attire. Her disguise and false name were never to be associated with her true identity, should she risk discovery. However, at the present time, she was too frightened to worry about clothing. Something was wrong. She had heard mention of people going insane throughout the town, saying they had seen a ghost, although whether it was real or not, Emily didn't know.

She didn't really just assume there was something going awry on a whim. She truly felt, deep down, that something terrible was about to happen, although whether or not it was a ghost, she was not sure. She didn't associate the fog with it, because the fog itself was her main issue. She had come to the point that she had self-diagnosed herself with Homichlophobia, along with a large list of other phobias that was humiliatingly long, and it was just plain ill luck that she had been out walking when fog decided to roll in. She was deathly afraid of thick, heavy mist. She couldn't see, and the fog was smothering her, making it hard to breathe. Her breath came out in short, ragged gasps, and she could not stop herself from trembling. Her heart pounded heavily, and she fought down a wave of nausea. She hated this, being defeated by a cloud of fog, but she couldn't overcome her fear. The fog was malignant, it made it hard to get air.

Emily knew that she was prone to having panic attacks because of having so many irrational fears, and she could feel the fog bringing one on. It was like a nightmare coming to life, and she thought she was going insane, like all the people in the hospital. She knew she should try to get away, but where? The shop owners would never let her in, and if she went anywhere else, the fog would be worse. Eventually, she leaned against a wall, and sank down, wrapping her arms around her knees and continuing to shudder. Although she didn't hardly make any sound other than her own stifled breath, tears trailed down her face. Why her? Why now?

Sage gazed at the tree for a long moment, contemplating why it would be there. She walked closer to get a better look.

It was a smoothly cut shape, done quickly without any hesitation or care. Each side was one strike of a knife, not multiple, small strokes that would have been found on a patient woodcarver's sculpture.

A voice sounded loudly behind her- a man's voice. She glanced around quickly, noting that men were walking about placing the signs. She picked up the one that had come unattatched from the tree, and read it.

A town meeting, she thought. That would exlain the sudden activity in the plaza. She turned back to the tree.

The triangle was shining faintly orange. Sage stepped back in surprise. A supernatural sign on a tree! This did not bode well! Sage acted quickly, figuring that any moment she would be spotted and asked to come over to the meeting. She felt she had to take care of this first.

She drew a knife from her right boot, and slashed through the triangle, severing it in half. The orange glow faded, and Sage quickly put the sign back up to cover it. With all the rumors about, Sage felt that the sight of it would spook the townspeople.

"Perhaps that is what all the fuss was about," Sage said aloud.

"Mr. Lee?" a voice asked, making Alan look up. "Sir, are you okay?" Alan noted that the man was carrying a bundle of papers.

Alan put his arms at his side and answered, "Yes, I am. I just tripped, sir." The man replied hesitantly, "Well, if you think you can make it, we'd like you at our town meeting," He said, holding out a flyer. Alan nodded, taking the paper.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure I'll make it." The man nodded in response, and walked off into the fog. Alan started, with a slight limp, towards the city hall. He was fine, and tried to forget about the incident. Although, he did have to report the dead dog to officials; until then he would be sure that a criminal was on the loose.

"Town meeting! Town meeting in five minutes!" one man shouted as he walked along the sidewalks towards the Town Square. The fog was becoming thick, however it wasn't as dense near Town Hall and the Mayor stood on a small wooden platform built for announcements. People began to gather in front of him, however more were coming so he didn't rush to speak.

He looked around in the fog, eyeing it very carefully. He knew something was out there. He was a believer...

Sage walked towards the gathering of people, hearing the outcry for the town meeting. Having already replaced the knife back in her right boot, she slipped between people in the hope of getting a front row seat so she could hear clearly. During the last meeting, she had been in the back and had not gathered a word that had been said. She was not going to allow that to happen again.

She waited patiently for a gap to arrive in the throng, sliding through as easily as a greased snake. At last, she stood nearest to the front. She pulled her hood up further, not wanting to be noticed due to her shyness.

She was afraid that someone would call her out, and then everyone would look at her with their staring eyes...
If anything, Sage hated attention.

"Attention!" the mayor said as more people began to gather. One of the town doctors and a banker stood on both of his sides, however on the ground and not on his stand. "When everyone else arrives I have important news for everyone and I need everyone to pay close attention to what I'm about to say..."
It was only becoming more apparent that something terrible was about to happen. Leeth looked out, he could have sworn he saw something eerie standing between two trees, it looked like someone wearing a black dress. He looked away for a moment and it was gone... gone without a trace.

Sage gazed up at the mayor, taking in every word. Whatever he had to say, it sounded grim. She winced, hoping nothing terrible had happened. As Leeth paused, something caught Sage's eyes.

On a thin silver chain was the same symbol she had seen on the tree. The triangle with a small circle in the center. Again, it glowed faintly orange. Sage glanced around, realizing no one else could see it.

This was curious. Why did he have that about his neck? What did it mean?

Alan half-walked, half-limped into the crowed. He had arrived in time to hear what Leeth had said, but didn't catch a glimpse of the ghost. He was suspicious, however, that something was happening.

Perhaps the mayor was addressing the town about the criminal. Mayor Leeth is smart enough to ignore this talk of ghosts, Alan had figured. He once again clutched his stomach, bruise swelling.

The fog became slightly thicker from where Leeth was seeing the ghost, but was easily ignored by Alan. Even if he looked where Perth was looking, he wouldn't see the ghost at a glance. There were plenty of exclamations out there; a "ghost" was most likely something else.

At least, according to Alan.

"I'm sure all of you are aware that there's been massive rumors of some ghost nonsense and the hospitals are getting crowded from all of these people" Leeth started. He pointed an outstretched finger at the crowd. "If you call and report some sort of ghost, you might as well walk strait into that asylum" he said pointing his finger to his right, down the road. "I am fed up with all of the nonsense this town has been spewing. There's no such things as ghosts or any of this supernatural stupidity!" he said lowering his finger. He scanned the crowd, hoping so desperately not to see anything that would spook him, pleading in his heart that he wouldn't regret looking back over. His plea was granted and he didn't see anything other than people.

Sage gazed up at the mayor with interest. She found it odd that he was standing there, claiming all supernatural activity was a lie, and yet wearing an obviously supernatural charm around his neck. What this charm meant, she did not know, but it could not be coincidence that he wore it.

Sage turned her head to look over her shoulder, looking at the foreboding asylum. She winced, hoping to never have to walk between those doors.

The mayor looked at the people in silence for a moment. He scanned everyone, in a deep pause. His palms shook as he spotted someone wearing all black walking through the crowd, moving through the gaps between people as if they were made of smoke. He looked back at the people.

"We are still investigating several strange events relating to the rumors, such as a boy gone missing and an officer coming back with a broken leg, reporting he had seen some strange apparition. There's so many different cases happening I can't even name them all. I don't want to hear anymore about it. If you're really seeing things, go talk to the people down at the asylum, I'm sure they'd like to hear your fantasies and exactly how you project your vivid imagination into what you see in the environment!" Cedric said. Leeth paused again, letting this sink in.