The River (02/01, 9:15 pm)

[Hollis Brown]

The River (02/01, 9:15 pm)

Hollis Brown is sitting on a foldable lawn chair by the river. The water reflects the moonlight. Hollis is sitting inside a small circle formed by bright lanterns placed on the ground. The moonlight, snow, and lanterns give off enough light to make him visible.

He smokes a cigarette and waits.

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[Jackson_Lee]

On his way home from a meeting in the next town over, Jackson found himself driving along the road that meandered alongside the river. In the passenger seat laid his neon green high visibility coat, the Star of Life was emblazoned on the back in a reflective blue with the words "Stakeford Fire and Rescue" underneath. His last name, Lee, was in large letters a couple inches above the Star of Life in silver reflective lettering. Jackson, his left hand on the wheel of his truck, idly stroked the soft inner shell of his coat with his fingers.

He had not slept since the night before. He and his team of EMS personnel spent the night responding to various and panicked situations that did not let up until daybreak when the day crew took over. Exhaustion weighed heavily on him. He was half tempted to pull off and take a catnap down by the river like he did a couple months prior. A couple minutes later, he pulled into a parking lot that overlooked the river. Jackson saw the lanterns down by the river, as well as someone sitting in the middle of them. His exhaustion was replaced by curiosity. Stepping out of his truck, Jackson slipped his keys into his right pocket , his hand gently brushing along his custom Kydex holster which held his Sig Sauer P226. He always carried when off duty. Jackson's boots crunched loudly in the snow as he approached Hollis from the left side. "Mr. Brown," Jackson said aloud, announcing his presence.

[Cliff Alset]

After getting off work at 8:30, Cliff drives homeward to his place by the river. His hands are gripping the steering wheel of his Beetle. He is in tears. He pulls in and stops abruptly in front of his trailer. Shutting the engine off, he sits for a moment with his head sunk towards his lap. His eyes are shut now. The crying intensifies as he buries his face in his hands. "Jesus!" He takes a deep breath. "Why? Why fucking why?"
Then he quickly exits his car, shutting the door firmly. He just stands close to his Beetle for awhile, staring into the trees to the river beyond. "I need to go for a walk."

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff gazes at the shining moon. Like a lamp in the night it illuminates the snow all around. He decides to slip on his water-tight boots and thermal jacket. So he reaches into the backseat of his Bug and removes what he needs to head out for a long walk. "It doesn't seem all that cold tonight.", Cliff tells himself. He walks up to the road where tire tracks allowed for an easier trail. As he heads along on this moody and mystical journey, he whispers, "I ain't afraid of no wolf. No sir, I ain't frightened of no big, black wolf." He reaches into his left coat pocket and brings out his little cell phone just to check the time. "Almost 9:30." He flips the thing shut and continues on his way. Up above on the road to his left, back in the forest where a gravel road leads to the river, lights were glowing. Cliff makes a left turn with his boots crunching in the snow. He sees two vehicles in the parking lot. With a slow approach towards the lanterns, Cliff sees two figures within the flickering lights. He glances back at the parking lot. He thinks he recognizes the vehicles of Hollis Brown and Jackson Lee. "Of course." Cliff then approaches the two men.

[Hollis Brown]

Hollis smokes his cigarette as the crunching in the snow gets louder and closer from two different directions.

"Jackson, Cliff," Hollis says, nodding in each of their directions. He crosses his right leg across his left and looks toward the dark sky. "Cameron should be here soon. Probably late, knowing him." He exhales a puff of smoke. "Cliff." He looks at him, silently for a moment. "After your dream last night... Did you receive a die?"

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff stands in a daze for a brief moment. Then he steps toward Hollis Brown and announces, "Yes. How did you know?" He continues in a hurried pace and stops a few feet from Hollis. "I was given a red die. It had... had four...NO... five dots on each side. How the hell did you.."

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson stood quietly, his arms folded and resting against his chest as he glanced between Hollis and Cliff. His gaze then drifted across the river, but he kept his focus on the discussion between Cliff and Hollis.

[Hollis Brown]

NEW EVENT REACHED: 1 (5 posts)

Hollis smokes his cigarette. "We've all received a red die," he says. "I was the first. Two dots. Then Cameron. Three dots. Then Jackson. Four dots. Now yours. They've each contained a message. Our killer is toying with us." He takes another puff. "Can I see it?"

Hollis reaches his hand out toward Cliff.

The sound of crunching snow approaches.

Hollis is still. He listens.

The sound of crunching snow gets louder.

Hollis retracts his hand and turns his attention away from Cliff and toward the approaching sound. He reaches into his coat, toward his waist, where a knife is in a holster.

A man comes into the light of the lanterns, into view. He is wearing a brown tailcoat, dark brown pants, tall black leather boots, and a black beret. He takes off his hat, makes a slight bow, and then puts his hat back on.

"'Evening, gentlemen," he says. His voice has a distinctive British quality to it. "By the looks on your face, it looks as though you were expecting someone else. Am I interrupting anything?"

He looks at Hollis, Jackson, and Cliff and smiles.

"I just found myself dreadfully bored this evening, so I thought I would pay you all a visit. I hope you do not mind an additional party."

[Jackson_Lee]

"Who are you?" Jackson asked the newcomer, eying him with suspicion. Jackson had seen Hollis turn and reach into his coat. Jackson likewise rested on his hip, right next to his holstered pistol.

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff has his hands in each pocket of his jacket. He gazes at the stranger and blinks. Cliff begins to shuffle around in his coat pockets, one hand grabbing his cell phone, and his left hand feeling a small cube. "Yeah. Who are you?"

[Hollis Brown]

The man wearing the brown tailcoat looks first at Jackson, then kindly at Cliff. He coughs into his hand and says, "You can call me Gardenback, or, if you choose, I am the Rock with Seven Eyes. You have been looking for me." He looks around at their faces and then continues, "Quite honestly, I thought you would have saved at least one of them. You have made this a rather dull time. But, no matter. That's why I'm here."

Gardenback raises his right index finger and declares, "I am not the killer." He glances at each face, to make sure the point has sunk in. "I am not the killer," he resumes, "But, I can help you win. I am an impartial contractor. I do not care if you succeed or not, at least not for the sake of this sport. However, I do care about dullness, and as things stand, this is looking to be a very unfair fight. And an unfair fight is a boring fight to watch."

He smiles kindly again. "So, I can make a contract with the three of you. I will even make it a three for one special. Your killer haunts the field of dreams. You would scarcely believe me, had you yourselves not each experienced my meaning. To the Dream Walker-- that is, Mister Redman and the like-- the dream is real. You were only able to enter into that realm for a moment, but I can let you in for as long as you need. You can enter freely and leave freely, from one dream to the next, until you find the killer. Time is different in the dreams. If you are going to stop someone who operates in the realm of dreams, your current methods are not going to suffice."

"So, I am offering to give you that ability," he continues, "So that on the last day of this month, you can enter in through the town well and pass freely through the dreams the Dream Walker stalks. In return, I require a humble payment, my typical fair. Again, I will even make this a three for one deal, because I am so awfully weary of this charade. I will only ask for 12 years of one of your lives, and in return, you can have your victory."

[Jackson_Lee]

Jackson's hand did not move from his hip as he listened to Gardenback's proposal. He glanced between Hollis and Cliff, before looking back at Gardenbeck, "I think you might know we have to discuss it first. Also, why 12 years? Seems an awfully specific number, mate."

[Hollis Brown]

Gardenback frowns slightly. "If you don't like 12," he says, "How about I make it 15? Yes. 12 is standard, but for you, I will make it 15 and throw in a bonus. I will extend this offer to your tardy compatriot." He nods a couple of times. "When you decide to take the offer, meet me at 11:00pm at the well on the 29th," he continues. "Until then, discuss it amongst yourselves. I'll be off."

Gardenback is now gone.

[Cliff Alset]

"Die.", Cliff quietly acknowledges. "I got a die in my pocket.'

[Cliff Alset]

Cliff looks back and forth at the men in his company. "Why the hell is it all dependent on our dreams?" Cliff is now holding the red die in his left hand. He looks at it with frustration. "I don't know who that Gardenback dude is or what he really wants. I don't know who Mr. Redman is or what he wants... I just want to help find that killer! That illusive, fucking Monster in the Midnight!"

[Hollis Brown]

NEW EVENT REACHED: 2 (12 posts)

Hollis Brown turns suddenly to Cliff, reaches into his pocket, and plucks out the red die. "This is the first way you help," he says. "We need to cut open this die. Let's see what the killer has left us this time." Hollis takes out the small knife in his pocket and slices across the die. He pops open the die and lets the two halves fall to the cold ground. He bends over one of the lamps, so the light shines under the message. The text is now discernable.

"It says 'Follow the Rock with Seven Eyes to the place of still bodies,'" Hollis reads. He looks up at the others. "'The Rock with Seven Eyes'... That man we just spoke with, Gardenback... He said he is also called 'The Rock with Seven Eyes.' This is likely a set-up, but even if it is, I do not know if we have much of a choice other than to take it."

He folds up the message and passes it back to Cliff. "This is the only lead we have," he continues. "What concerns me is that 'the place of still bodies' could be interpreted two ways. It could mean the land of dreams, because when people sleep, their bodies are still. But there is another implication, a graver one. Those words were specifically chosen."

Hollis scratches his chin. "I knew I had heard that 'Rock with Seven Eyes' thing before, but I couldn't place where. Then I remembered: I heard about it in my dream. As I've told you before, in my dream, I had to watch as a lookalike of me killed my entire family before my eyes. What I had forgotten about were my wife's words in the dream, right before she was shot. She told me that the Rock with Seven Eyes is not my friend, but that he will help. She looked like she was going to say more, but then he pulled the trigger."

Hollis paces slightly and then suddenly stops. "At one point in the dream, I looked out the window and saw black grass. I heard the sound of a coyote calling somewhere, beyond my vision. Until now, I thought we were being hunted. Now I am starting to wonder if we were actually being helped." He nods a couple of times. "We each have been given a clue with the dream, and in the dream we were given a chance to save the next victim. Even though our dreams were horrific, they are what led us to pursue the killer. We have been following breadcrumbs-- for better, or for worse."

Hollis crosses his arms. "I am prepared to make the deal with Gardenback."

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron is out for his nightly jog and he sees Hollis, Jackson and Cliff huddled together. Figuring he should probably join them he walks over toward the group. As he is going so, he notices that Hollis is looking a something very intently. He walks up slowly to the group as to not bother them. Cameron reaches the group as soon as Hollis finishes talking. "What did I miss?"

[Cliff Alset]

"That Life is but a Dream, Cameron." Cliff holds his arms up wide as he announces this.

[Hollis Brown]

THE RIVER IS NOW CLOSED

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