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Post by 0 on Aug 19, 2017 20:05:05 GMT
That was it?
The man blinked, his eyes skimming the dark alleyway as the stranger backed away.
Was this one of them weird pranks he'd heard about?
Was he bein' "punk'd"?
He stayed against the wall for a moment longer in confusion, before he straightened his spine (not even having realized that he'd been leaning into the bricks before then) and slowly began to sidle towards the alley's exit, keeping his eyes on the woman and the knife close in hand, just in case she thought to attack him while his back was turned.
He paused at her question, ready to tell her no and book it; unfortunately, something did cross his mind.
It was a long shot, but perhaps he would try it anyways.
Trying to be subtle about it, lest she get any ideas, he slipped his phone partway out of the pocket, eyes flicking between her and it as he stared at the screen on its closed lid, reading the missed call number.
Whatever he saw solidified his decision to pursue the line of thought, and he silently slid the phone back in.
"Do you happen to be any good at tracking folks down?"
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Post by kleiva on Aug 20, 2017 19:13:24 GMT
The Ghost
It seemed like the man had trouble believing his own eyes when she did what she had said. Like she had any reason to lie to him. If she wanted to hurt him what you wouldn't have wasted time playing with him first. It just didn't make any sense. She was not a psycho. He didn't run right away like she had expected him to do, and when he did he moved slowly.
she shook her head and smiled at him. "If you plan on going then just run." Her smile and bright tone hid a drop of sadness. She really had to get better at not frightening humans off. She wouldn't intimidate everyone to give her information. Besides, it was lonely being all on her own all the time.
Then he stopped, so there was hope after all. She didn't think he would ever be her friend, but perhaps he could stop being afraid of her at least. She could see he was doing something but she had no idea what. Whatever it was it seemed to do some impact on him, for what he asked her what not a common question.
Tracking people down? To be honest, she hadn't tried it much, but it seemed fun. Besides she loved a challenge. Her eyes sparkled with joy. She shrugged lightly before speaking. Can't say have done it much, but I'm an expert at staying hidden. So I know a trick or two. Besides, I'm a quick learner. Anyone specific you want to find?"
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Post by 0 on Aug 20, 2017 21:13:07 GMT
Nervously, he kneaded the pocketed phone between his fingers, and slowly lowered the knife a little--just a little--as he listened to the woman, watching close the excitement that seemed to cross her face.
He nodded dumbly at her question, mildly wondering to himself if he really was that good at not making things so obvious.
"Yes...," he murmured, and he seemed to hesitate for a few more moments, clearly struggling with asking the stranger for help.
The stranger who'd cornered and intimidated him, but what other choice did he have?
He couldn't, or at least didn't want to, contact the authorities, and a possible street thug (he honestly didn't know what else to label her as) might know more about finding missing persons than he.
As she said, she was an expert at staying hidden, which could give her an advantage on knowing what to look out for, even if she didn't know all the best hideaways in the city.
Finally, he said, "It's my nephew.
He's been missing for...a while."
He didn't want to mention exactly how long.
The worried crease returned to his forehead as he spoke aloud his misgivings.
It wasn't like the child to be missing for longer than a day at most; he usually returned by sun's rise or sunset.
Sure, he'd let him wander around after the disaster that wrecked the capital city, but that was only because the authorities were so tight on everyone's ass!
He had to lay low, then he would have retrieved the kid from their clutches.
At least the boy had somehow managed to find his way home on his own anyways.
But this wasn't like the last time: there was no big disaster, no reason for his nephew to be missing for so long.
The man bit his lip as the possibilities of what could have happened to the child whirled through his mind.
It could be gangs.
It was possible that some unmentionables had been left behind after the unspoken invasion.
Perhaps even the boy's own interests had finally gotten him into serious trouble with the authorities --but shouldn't he have received a call or a visit from them by now, if that were the case?
The subdued reports of vagrants going missing, bodies later turning up dead without any apparent cause, or alive with their minds burned to a crisp...they echoed through his memories.
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Post by kleiva on Aug 22, 2017 22:11:53 GMT
The Ghost
She almost felt bad for how excited she was by the idea of looking for someone. If someone was missing this man must be really worried to ask her for anything. She couldn't imagine what she would do if anyone hurt her family or friends. Sure she had run away from home, but she still cared deeply. She wouldn't put it past her to burn down cities if that was what needed to be done, but then again she was a bit unique. Right now she just wanted something to do, a mission. Sure she had a bigger one planned, but she needed to wait. Figure out who this planet worked from the inside out before she got her self into something that big.
She got confirmation that there was indeed someone for her to find. She did her best not to smile t0o brightly as she fished her sonic screwdriver out of her pocket. The strange metal thing laid nicely in her hand. She watched the man carefully to make sure he meant what he said. The worry was impossible to miss and then he said it was family. Shit just got real. There was no way she was going to back away from this now.
A short nod was given and her smile was as good as done. She needed to stop playing around. She needed to focus and think. Who to find a kid on a brand new planet? That was the question she wanted answered, but first she needed information. "I will help you. Just tell me what you know. The more I know the more likely it's I'm going to be able to help. Name, age, appearance, reasons he might be missing, places he likes, people that might want to hurt him. All that." It was simple, the more she knew the better. Nothing was unimportant or too small. She had the skills and technology to put it all to good use. There was not a door on this planet she couldn't open if she really wanted to. There was no technology she couldn't use to her advantage. At least that was her own moto and she had to reason to think she was wrong.
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Post by 0 on Aug 22, 2017 23:53:48 GMT
He nodded, a brief wave of relief washing over him, and all the dangers and doubts at hand vanished momentarily.
She was willing to help him.
"Doppler Fizeau," he told the stranger.
"He is nine, but very tall.
Hair and skin like mine."
He gestured to himself, his light brownish skin, his dark brownish hair.
"Had biker gloves and a shirt with a ghost on it when he left."
He shook his head as he tried to think of answers to the last set of questions.
"When he left, he had a few bits of his ghost hunting equipment on him...he probably went to search some abandoned places in town.
He could be lost, or...," he let the sentence trail, again biting his lip as the possibilities whirled through his mind.
The man seriously doubted his nephew was simply lost; he was good at finding his way back.
The fact that he had managed through the unfortunate disaster was proof of that.
"I don't know who he knows," he finished.
He had no idea if the child had any foes or friends.
The man started, pulling out the phone from his pocket.
"I've been trying to reach his phone.
I finally got a call back, but...."
He paused, hesitating, as he flipped the phone open.
The screen on the inside displayed more information when he brought up the number; he hadn't seen these additional details yet, but it certainly ruffled his brow.
He didn't make mention of what he saw, instead closing the phone to put it back.
It wasn't going to help them find the boy.
"There's a detector built into it," he explained.
It wasn't a typical feature of the phone that his nephew had, and it didn't lock someone out like a pass code might.
But he had put it there for just such a reason as this.
"The fingerprints it read weren't his."
His eyes returned to the woman now that he was waiting for a response.
One eyebrow raised when he noticed that she had pulled out a screwdriver.
Uh...did he just make a grave error?
Was she going to stab him with that?
His arms and legs tensed as he prepared to fight or run for it, although he would wonder why she wouldn't have stabbed him while he was distracted.
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Post by kleiva on Aug 23, 2017 22:11:42 GMT
The Ghost
Her pale blue eyes looked up and down the man carefully. She could see relief wash over his face. This was what she lived for. It may not always seem like it when she looked into her past, but she was just a traveler helping out where it was needed. She really had no idea what the man meant with the first thing he said. She knew what it was, a scientific principle. She learned about it when she was young, but what did it have to do with a missing kid? Perhaps she would find out later, if not she would just ask later. She had a more important mystery to solve first.
Then he mentioned the age of the child and it felt like her hearts stopped for a second. She knew human age was different from what she was used to but nine! His life had just begun. There was So much left to see, even on this primitive planet. Also what nine year old goes missing without a million wanted posters? She didn't know this place very well, but some things were clear. When children that young went missing there was no need to ask a stranger like her. Everyone living close by would be looking. What was unless you were hiding something. What it was didn't matter to her, for her instincts had said he was a good man. She always trusted her gut.
She kept listening to everything he and to say but nothing was really useful to her. When he said ghost hunting she assumed he meant the fun kid way of doing it. With toys and close to useless equipment. Just a child looking for an adventure. She would see on the man that he believed something was wrong. So it made her think about it more than she usually would. She looked at towards the sky, towards where the stars would be. She knew lots of things that could be called ghosts if they came to this planet. Ghosts was usually not what the humans believed they were.
She had zoned out a bit, but snapped back a phone was mentioned. Was that what they were calling their communication devices? She watched as the man took that little thing from his pocket. Yes, that had be the Phone. Finally, something she could use. She froze and looked at him like he was an idiot. Placing her face in her hands before shaking her head and letting them fall down."Realy?" That was all she said. She only half paid attention to what he was saying now.
For a moment she just stood there looking at him. You tell me about the phone last? For what you say someone was his phone. It a lead and a useful one at that. 1. Someone has him and his phone. B... No 2. Someone found it, but if they did they might know something. What's his number? She spoke quickly before realizing the man seemed to be afraid of her again.
She rolled her eyes before fliping her sonic screwdriver in the air. "Forget it." She said quickly after before pointing her device at the phone. She hoped it would pick up on the signal from the missing phone. It was the last incoming one so it wouldn't be hard to find. If she got a signal she could follow it.
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Post by 0 on Aug 23, 2017 22:48:37 GMT
The man started when the woman finally spoke up, chiding him on mentioning the phone last.
Hey, you had been the one asking the questions..., he thought, while wondering what use the phone was.
The information he had on it was nothing worthwhile.
He watched as she flipped the strange glowing tool in the air.
Wait-- glowing...?
He blinked, muscles relaxing a little despite her pointing the object at the phone as he put it away, as he realized that it didn't have any pointy-bit on it at all.
Curious, he stared at the bright tip for a minute, before abruptly hopping back --what the hell was he thinking...it could shoot lasers for all he knew!
The phone had no securities against the woman's tool, and picking up the last incoming call would be a breeze.
The location of the cell tower that the incoming number was using would not only be very far away, but it wasn't even in the city itself.
The closest buildings would be a few lone houses scattered in all directions miles away from the tower.
Quietly, the man was mumbling in reply to the stranger, "I don't think you understand."
He wriggled uncomfortably in the alleyway, knowing that he could call the number back with a simple button press, but was unwilling to.
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Post by kleiva on Aug 24, 2017 20:31:15 GMT
The Ghost
She was too busy with everything racing in her head to pay any attention to the man. The Psychic interface worked both ways so all the information was put right into her head ones she stopped scaning First of all it just traced back the earth technology. Numbers, cell towers, and that boring stuff. She didn't need her sonic for that. That was so not the point, no she could find the exact location. She could find it on a map and all that, but she didn't want to draw extra attention to her self. She had the general area, after that she could just use the sonic as a compass of sorts. A bright smile spread across her lips. Her eyes were practically sparkling with joy. This all pointed to trouble and that was the one thing she couldn't keep away from.
The words on the man felt almost like an insult. She didn't understand? She understood it perfectly. She just held up her screwdriver and tilted her head. Was he really that slow? "I think you are the one not getting it. He is too far away to have gotten there on his own, or someone just stole his phone. Still, I like the first option better. You wouldn't believe half the things I have stood face to face with. Surely there is a way to figure it out. First, we just need to get there. Do you have a car or something? I'm really not interested in moving my TARDIS."
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Post by 0 on Aug 25, 2017 3:40:46 GMT
The man blinked, struggling to catch up with her words, and his face glazed over for a few moments.
What in the hell was she talking about?
His eyes gazed back at the weird tool in her hands.
She spoke as though she knew where the child was-- or, rather, where his phone was...was it some sort of data extractor thingamajiggy?
And "TARDIS"?
Was that some fancy new model of automobile?
What was wrong with taking that...why did she want his car--
His head buzzed, feeling a bit dizzy in the whirl of the stranger's apparent excitement.
"Uh...yeah," he said dimly, and thumbed in the general direction of where it was, or at least where he thought it was.
"It's a few hours' walk away though."
Couldn't well properly search a neighborhood if you're tooling around in a car.
Although...he was so turned around out here, there was the chance it wasn't as far as he figured it was.
One hand went into a separate pocket on his person, where he proceeded to dig out his car keys.
He hit the car alarm button and the night air split in two with the noise that erupted from a few blocks...that-a-way.
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Post by kleiva on Aug 26, 2017 13:58:13 GMT
The Ghost
It did even accrue to her that the strangers wouldn't understand anything that was going it. She probably just sounded insane, but it all made sense to her. With a grin on her face she looked at the man. Only then did she realize who confused he was. She tapped her fingers against her leg as she waited for him to catch up. She didn't mind explaining things, but they really didn't have the time. He needed to learn to just go with it and ask question later.
The second he gave an indication of where his car was she started to walk out of the alleyway. Only to stop when he said how far away it was. She turned to look at him and shook her head. "No wonder you haven't found your nephew yet." She didn't mean to be rude, she really didn't. It was just frustrating knowing a kid was out there, properly terrified and alone. Who was it possible to waist that much time
Seconds later the car alarm called out to them. She could her it clearly, that was just minutes away not hours. Who did the man cope like this? Needing up use an alarm to find his care. She wanted to give another comment but stopped her self. If he didn't trust her then she wouldn't be able to help
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Post by 0 on Aug 27, 2017 19:13:32 GMT
The man squinted as she walked past him with an insult.
Hey...he hadn't said anything about her terrible people skills!
You want directions?
Go see the tourist agency!
--Or something along those lines is what he might have said, but for some reason he didn't; probably still too dumbstruck or nervous about the whole situation, or perhaps he was just far too kind and polite compared to the insane street thug.
As the car alarm went off, surprisingly close, the man swung about on his heels and started to jog off in that direction, not much bothering to look behind him to see if the woman was coming or not.
If she wasn't, well, it saved him the trouble of having to worry whether or not she was really trying very hard to fool him this time (or again, who knows); far as he could tell, the woman had some sort of a lead, but how or what boggled him to no end at that moment.
At least he had his breath back, and the automobile wasn't too far away.
The keys jangled in his hand, thumb hovering over the alarm button, but he wouldn't turn it off until the automobile was in sight, and it wasn't in sight until he turned a corner and crashed into it.
The man huffed, keys flying across the hood of the car as he slammed into it.
He barely managed to keep himself from tasting the rusted metal as his legs shot out from under him, arms scrambling for a hold on the hood.
He popped himself up soon enough, but not without taking a moment to hold his now-aching abdomen.
The car's headlights flashed across him, and his fingers reached for the keys so that he could turn off the alarm and unlock the doors.
The car was nothing special, and in fact was a bit of an oldie, with perhaps some new features built in (such as the distant car alarm).
It was a little green Buick station wagon with a double-barred white stripe across its sides; it was dusty and muddy with rust covering it in patches all over the place.
If anyone wanted to break into it, they wouldn't have to try very hard; besides the back window being busted out, the rear passenger door would never lock right, and it only ever took a little jiggling of the handle and shaking of the frame to pull it open.
Voice halfway caught in his throat not only from his misstep there, but also from the jog across several blocks, the man asked the stranger, "Where is it we need to go?"
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Post by kleiva on Aug 31, 2017 21:48:54 GMT
The Ghost
She was quick to follow the man ones he ran of towards the car. Finally he seemed to be able not do everything at a snails pace. She wanted some more action. Nothing every got done by standing still. She jogged after the man fighting the impulse smile in the face of the unknown. She loved danger, but when children where part of it she needed to stop looking at everything like a game.
She tried not to laugh when the man ran in to the car, but she just couldn't help her self. With her hand in front of her mouth she giggled lightly. She wondered what it was like in that silly little human head. They where just so slow, but in a way it was inspiring. They kept fighting and trying even if they where like ants in the universe.
"Oh God, sorry. I know it's doesn't look like it but I do have some manners. She said as the man got back on his feet. She must have left any trace of politeness and manners on some far of planet somewhere. She had never been the nicest girl out there, but it was impossible to be a time-lord without at least knowing how to fake it.
She took a second to look at the car. In human terms it was like looking at a horse and wagon. She had the tools and knowledge to fix the most complicated spaceship out there, well almost fix. There would always be some problems along the way. Not the point. NOT THE POINT!
The question came a took her by surprise. She knew he was going to ask, but she thought he would wait until they where in the car. For a second she starred at him blankly, only to realize he actually had no idea."Oh.. um..."She quickly held up her sonic and turned it on. She knew where the boy was, but what did that help when she didn't have a clue where she was?
She look up as if she was looking for the stars, but they where still not there. Moments later she looked back down. She knew where they where going, but she had no clue who to get there. There was limits to what the sonic could tell her. She pointed in the direction they where going."That way. Out of the city." She chose not to tell him about the flaws in what she knew. What good did it do him to know what she didn't know? It wasn't like he was going to have the answer.
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Post by 0 on Aug 31, 2017 22:48:49 GMT
The alarm was turned off while the woman seemed to fumble with what she knew, or rather said she knew.
The man quirked a brow as he slotted the key in and unlocked the driver's door; he paused for a moment to watch as she lifted that odd glowing device into the air and started to search the sky.
He sighed.
He didn't have a clue what she was doing.
What HE was doing.
Following some random stranger who more likely than not was at least halfway delusional.
Opening his door and stepping in, he leaned over to unlock the passenger's from the inside, shoving his hand against the door so that it would open a crack.
Then he strapped himself in, nodding as she finally seemed to determine where they needed to head, and shut his door.
Turning the key in the ignition, the car sputtered to life with a wheezy growl.
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