2019-09-24 - No Rest for the Weary

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: ((Phone call from Isabella's number.))

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: ((Alexander's voice comes on, low and hesitant.)) Isabella?

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: ((Before Isabella can even say anything, she suddenly sounds distant, but he can hear her coughing raspily in the background.)) "I thought I'd preempt the evening text today. Are you alright, I haven't heard from you all day."

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: "You sound sick. I'm coming down with it, too." ((There's a pause, and to someone else, Alexander says,)) "Why don't you sit down for a moment, Javier? You look tired." ((Then his voice refocuses on Isabella.)) "Sorry. I've been a little--" ((There's a very long pause.)) "Under the weather. Are you okay?"

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: ((There's the sound of ceramic set down on granite.)) "I think so. I could barely get out of bed this morning, and I really must be in a mood because..." ((She stops to sneeze, and sniffle.)) "A couple of kids came by for a bottle drive and and they were making such a ruckus that I really wanted to hold their heads in the water until the bubbles stopped." ((And she says this like it's the most normal thing to want in the entire world.)) "But yes, I felt like death. I definitely have a temperature-- is the Captain visiting you? What's he doing there?" ((The sound of running water.)) "If you're coming down with something, did you want company? Self-imposed quarantine, movies and the like? I mean, we're both already sick."

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: ((Alexander's voice sounds indignant - he's talking to someone else)) "I don't even know where August lives. I've never been there. This is my home." ((And then his voice changes. It becomes a little dreamy.)) "Holding their heads underwater and drowning them? That sounds like fun. I don't think it'll work here, though. I'd have to fill the bathtub. I'll just have to make do. I'll call you back when I'm finished." ((Alexander hangs up.))

---

Isabella is left staring at her phone for a few moments. "What just happened?" she wonders out loud, perplexed. Turning on her phone's mic. "Call Ale-- " Her voice cuts off abruptly as she starts coughing, her hand coming up to brace against her kitchen counter and keep her feverish body upright.

Her phone goes active again, the digital woman notifying her, helpfully:

You have received a text message from: Byron Thorne.

Her fingers splay on the side of her face in an attempt to hold a throbbing headache at bay. Glancing at the screen, she lets out another sigh, and switches tracks. "Call Byron."

---

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: Bella, I tried getting ahold of Clayton. No answer. I was told to be careful around him, because he might be on something. But I just have this feeling that he's the one possessed by Gohl. Being connected to Gohl's bones and all.

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((Phone call from Isabella.))

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: "Bella, did you get my message? Where's Clayton now?"

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "He's at home. I just talked to him, but he hung up on me. Something about filling a bathtub..." ((Isabella sounds a little fuzzy.)) "The Captain's with him. What message?"

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Byron sounds just as tired, but agitated as well) I'm not sure, I just got this sneaking suspicion. Wait. text message. Shit. Clayton set Kelly's Gym on fire. Kelly warned me to keep an eye on him, said he might be on something. I don't know for sure, but what if Clayton is being controlled by Gohl?

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "Wait, what? He...he didn't say anything about that, he said that he was feeling under the weather. Are you sure it was him? I mean, he's Joey Kelly and Alexander's been investigating..." ((Isabella coughs, deeply and raspily, she sounds far away for a few minutes, as if she had kept the phone away from her.)) "....some aspect of Felix Monaghan's operations. What if Monaghan put him up to it? Are you sure it was Alexander?"

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Byron states flatly) "Joey Kelly wouldn't lie to me about this. Even said he didn't give up Clayton's name to the cops when they came snooping, because fuck the Police. But he said it was Clayton, so I'm sure it was Clayton.

[FS3] Isabella rolls Feverish Intelligence (6 6 4 4 1) vs Isabella's Feverish Denial (8 7 5 4 1)
[FS3] DRAW!
[FS3] Isabella rolls Composure-2: Success (8 3 3 2)
[FS3] Isabella rolls Wits: Good Success (7 6 6 6 2)

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((The sound of springs creaking and a body dropping heavily on it.)) "Alright. Alright. Let me think." ((She falls silent for a long moment.)) "I picked the wrong time to get really sick." ((More coughing.)) But if that's true, that'd explain why the Captain's in Alexander's house, so chances are he's taking care of it already. As for being possessed by Gohl...how can that be? They said they have him in Itzhak Rosencrantz's violin case." ((Pause.)) "Has anyone heard from him?"

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Byron doesn't sound so hot either. There's weary harshness in his voice) "You're not the only one. Lilith and I seemed to have come down with something. Want me to call Captain de la Vega? Tried reaching out to Clayton already. Well, with one text message. I thought maybe you'd want your hand at trying. (It's near silent in Byron's room. Probably his office) I don't even know who that other guy is. Rosencrantz. So I've no idea.

[FS3] Isabella rolls Wits: Success (7 4 3 2 1)

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "Are the two of you doing alright? Itzhak is...he's a..." ((Isabella clears her throat.)) "He's a friend of Alexander's. I've heard of him before I met him, he's a mechanic, and a violinist. He was the one who took a look at the tire tracks in front of my mother's house." ((She falls quiet as she thinks, and she is coughing again.)) "Alexander cut the call I had with him rather abruptly and he seemed preoccupied with whatever he seems to be discussing with the Captain. I'll call him in a bit. But if you're in any way right, I should...I'll call you back, Ronnie. I need to call August. I'll call you if I reach him."

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: "Lilith went to pick up meds. She might be on her way here to drop some off with the guard at the gate" (There's some confusion at first, perhaps due to fever, but after some time, he seems to realize why a particular name was brought up) "Because Roen is Rosencrantz' friend? Sure. Keep me updated."

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "Yes. And because he said in our last meeting he'll keep tabs on Itzhak and the case. But alright, keep me posted on the two of you too. I'll call back soon." ((And with that, Isabella hangs up.))

---

She thumbs the red button that denotes the 'End Call' function, though all she sees are the names of the dead. She closes her eyes and takes a breath.

"Jesus Christ." Isabella swallows a few aspirin, and drains half her tumbler of water before turning to her phone again, putting a boot into the growing well of worry gradually poisoning her stomach. "Call August."

---

(TXT to August) Isabella: ((Phone call from Isabella's number.))

(TXT to Isabella) August: "This is August." He sounds a little tired, a little groggy, and like he's having trouble clearing his throat.

(TXT to August) Isabella: "Aug-- " ((And Isabella starts coughing vociferously, sounding a little distant when she holds the phone away from her.)) "August, sorry...I think I caught something, apparently it's going around. Have you...I wanted to ask if you heard from Itzhak today. Is he alright?"

(TXT to Isabella) August: :sighs, heavily. Which has him clearing his throat. "He's okay. Ish. I'm in contact with him, he hasn't disappeared."

(TXT to August) Isabella: ((There's a long pause.)) "Alright." ((Another long pause.)) "August I'm...not exactly thinking straight, okay? I've been feeling like death all day. So I'm going to try and parse what I just heard the best I can. Byron called me, said that Joey Kelly texted him and said that Alexander burned down his gym and tried to kill him. He thinks Gohl escaped somehow and possessed him. And this was after I tried calling Alexander, I heard him talking to the Captain in the background, mentioning something about your house. Or going to your house. It sounded like Alexander didn't want to go. I called you because if the Captain is successful in convincing Alexander, you might have people at your door. Or get another text, or call. But I also wanted to ask if anything happened to Itzhak and the case, in case Byron's right."

(TXT to Isabella) August: "Yeah," August says on a heavy sigh. "de la Vega already talked to me about that. Far as I know, Gohl's still locked up nice and tight." He's quiet a second. "Do we have a way to check? I mean...without opening the case."

[FS3] Isabella rolls Glimmer Lore: Good Success (8 7 7 6 5 4 3 1)
[FS3] Isabella rolls Wits: Good Success (8 8 7 5 1)

(TXT to August) Isabella: ((More coughing, and sniffling, but Isabella's not a monster and is keeping the phone away whenever this happens.)) "When we did the seance, Alexander managed to sense his mind, and if you were..." ((She coughs again.)) "...part of the exorcism team, you can probably use...your memories of him as a reference, verify the identity. You said you could do a little bit of everything, so I think...you probably can. You or the Captain, since he was there also. But if Alexander's unstable, don't make him do it and if you're going to attempt to detect, make sure you're not alone when you do it. And don't linger. In and out." ((She pauses.)) "Before you do anything that risky, though, I think maybe check the case first."

(TXT to Isabella) August: ((August makes a low sound, like he's thinking that over.)) "So I should try that...on the case? Or try to...feel around for him in Alexander, you mean." He coughs a laugh. "No way I'm asking de la Vega to do that, he's a powder keg all on his own. I'll take my own chances."

(TXT to August) Isabella: ((There's a long pause as Isabella adjusts her assessment.)) "It...might be safer if you try Alexander first." ((Her voice sounds faint and distant.)) "You're his friend. He might let you in on his free will. If he's coming there with the Captain, there's a willingness not to do harm. But don't linger, August. In and out...just a peek. And not alone." ((She takes a deeper breath.)) "Never alone...for things like that. Okay?"

(TXT to August) Isabella: "The Captain doesn't have to dive in with you, but...you know. A spotter."

(TXT to Isabella) August: "Got it." August sighs. "For what it's worth, I don't think Alexander's the only one having trouble. So, maybe it's just something that happened because we were...there. In that place." A brief cough. "I'll check, though."

(TXT to August) Isabella: "...what do you mean Alexander's not the only one having trouble?" ((Isabella asks this in a low murmur. But at least she still sounds alert.)) "Did something else happen?"

(TXT to Isabella) August: August makes another of those low sounds of annoyance of his. "Let's just say I don't think Lilith's smashing of that rock last night was an...isolated incident. And I know at least one other person went off the handle." A muffled cough, then, "Alright, I'll check, send you a text once I know, yeah?"

(TXT to August) Isabella: "Call." ((Isabella pauses.)) "...it's a long story that I'll have to tell you once I'm feeling better. I found something, but I'm paying for it. I haven't even told Alexander yet. Just...if he's going to be staying with you, could you let me know how he is now and then? He said he'd call me back but I don't think...he'd want me to worry. Can I count on you to tell me the truth?"

(TXT to August) Isabella: "He's unfailingly honest with me but if everyone else is correct, he isn't well at the moment."

(TXT to Isabella) August: "Call," August echoes, sounding curious but not bothering to ask. "Understood. And yeah, I'll keep you updated." He clears his throat. "Okay, I'm gonna get the place tidied up, since I have no idea how long he'll be stuck here."

(TXT to August) Isabella: "Okay." ((There's a pause, and when she speaks, it's soft and low, but the attempt to smother an aching sort of sadness is there.)) "Thank you, August. Look out for one another. Please call me, no matter what the hour."

(TXT to Isabella) August: "I wil. And, we will." A brief pause, then, "Don't worry about him, he'll be fine."

(TXT to August) Isabella: "I'll try. I trust you. Goodnight, August."

(TXT to Isabella) August: "Night." [click]

---

She does nothing for a minute or two, staring at the device in her hand until frustrated moisture starts to blur the already fuzzy images within; vile, unwanted and downright traitorous.

Isabella tilts her head back and shuts her eyes, willing impotent fury and frustration to go away, drawing a deep inhale that only serves to have her coughing again. Gripping her phone tightly, she turns back to it.

"Call Byron."

But the digital woman interjects, though the sender is different and that is enough to draw her out of her malaise.

You have received a text message from Erin Addington.

"What the..."

Isabella shakes her head in an attempt to clear it. "Call Erin Addington-- " Only to realize, belatedly, that it's already calling someone else, and automatically switches her to another line. "Wait-- shit-- !"

---

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((Phone call from Isabella.))

(TXT to Byron Lilith Isabella Alexander) Erin: I don't know who to text but you may already know. Sometime during the middle of the night on the 22nd, my Uncle Thomas collapsed and is currently at Addington Memorial Hospital, comatose. That's where I am now.

(TXT to Erin) Isabella: ((Phone call from Isabella.))

(TXT to Isabella) Erin: :answers quietly, just sounding generally upset. "Hello?"

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Byron doesn't pick up on the first call. But if Isabella calls back, he does answer) "Hey, Bella. What did you find out?"

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((Isabella sounds like death on the other line, coughing repeateedly.)) "Erin? I'm sorry about your uncle, what was his prognosis?"

(TXT to Erin) Isabella: "Hangon, let me conference Byron, he's on my other line."

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "Ronnie, I'm on the other line with Erin. Let me conference you in."

(TXT to Erin Byron) Isabella: "Alright I think this wo-- " ((Isabella starts coughing again.)) "Ronnie, Erin was just telling me Thomas Addington collapsed midnight of the twenty-second. He's in Addington Memorial. I just asked Erin what his prognosis was."

(TXT to Byron Isabella) Erin: "When did you ask me that?" Erin sounds a little agitated. "He's comatose, there's been no changes at all. I fucked things up."

(TXT to Erin Isabella) Byron: (Byron sounds a tad better than Isabella, though he's throat sounds scratchy and he clears his throat often enough)Yeah, I just received the text. And don't say that, Erin. We didn't know what the exorcism was going to do. How it would end. Let's just hope that he starts getting better.

(TXT to Byron Isabella) Erin: Erin only has the sniffles, but again that could be from crying. "My Grandmother won't even see me. I've been alone all day just thinking about it. About everything I just want PEACE from it all." ~ Sounds of hospital staff in the background asking her to settle down.

(TXT to Erin Isabella) Byron: (After taking in a much needed sip of water, Byron sighs) "I don't know what to say, Erin. But you did the right thing. What would she have preferred, your grandmother? That we commit your uncle?

(TXT to Byron Isabella) Erin: When she talks again her voice is quieter. Almost chilling. "I don't know. She. Won't. Talk. To. Me. I have to get out of here, I feel boxed in, in this waiting room. Just going for a drive or something. Look, I'll call back later when I'm in a better mood."

(TXT to Byron Erin) Isabella: "Erin, is there someone you could be with? I'm very sick, or I would offer. Hyacinth, maybe?"

(TXT to Erin Isabella) Byron: (Byron breathes out a heavy sigh) Go and take a breather. But I don't want you to be anywhere alone.

(TXT to Byron Isabella) Erin: "I don't have anyone." Erin drawls out before hanging up.

[FS3 Rolls] [FS3] Isabella rolls Composure-2: Success (8 2 2 2)

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Byron rolls Composure-2: Success (7 5 4 4 3)

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((After a long pause when Erin disconnects, Isabella speaks up, softly.)) "I didn't want to bring it up when she's already going through a lot today, do you think you can get Hyacinth on the line and tell her to keep tabs on her? There might be a problem. I talked to August."

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Byron calls out) "Eri-- Damnit it. I'll call Hyacinth. I'm also going to try and see if I can find Erin. This town isn't huge."

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: "Okay. I'm no help there, I'm..." ((Isabella starts coughing violently, and drops her phone. He'd hear it clatter on the floor, and the fumbling to pick it back up.)) "Ronnie listen to me. I told August what you said, about what you suspect. He's going to make sure, I gave him some guidance. He told me Itzhak and the case haven't disappeared, but he's going to check anyway to see if you're right. He also said that he suspects Alexander's not the only one acting strange. He thought Lil was acting strange last night also. He's going to-- " ((More coughing.)) "Keep me posted. But Alexander's staying with him after the Captain's asked him to. To keep an eye on him. If he's right that means we have to keep an eye on one another."

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (There's some annoyance in his tone now) "That's not Lilith acting strange. She wanted to tear your throat out once you brought up erasing memories the first time. That's just our tensions running high."

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: "Not that Roen was there for that."

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Byron rolls Composure-2: Success (7 3 3 2 2)

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Isabella rolls Composure-2: Success (6 4 3 2)

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((He sounds annoyed, so now she does, too.)) "You asked me what I knew, Byron, so I'm telling you. You're as always free to form your own opinion, I'm just passing on what I have like you asked."

(TXT to Byron) Isabella: ((She takes a deep, audible breath.)) "That's all I have. I'll let you know if I find anything else out from August."

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Byron rolls Composure-2: Success (7 7 5 3 3)

(TXT to Isabella) Byron: (Says in a stern tone) I'll call Captain de la Vega to help locate Erin. (hangs up)

---

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Isabella rolls Composure-2: Success (8 6 5 1)

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Isabella rolls Physical: Great Success (8 7 6 6 6 4 4 4)

"INGRATE!" The shriek cuts through the still and humid air of her houseboat's living quarters and the corporeal world reacts to her agitation. Glasses and plates shatter across her open shelving, the sturdy granite counter cracks in the middle. The next-door houseboat shoves violently sideways, buoyed by the water and making it less cumbersome, knocking into the one docked after that.

Adrenaline pours hot through her veins, raging with the high temperatures presently ravaging her body, scorching away her present physical weakness, if not just for a moment. The urge rises, coaxed further by the shard of a murderous spirit that has made a temporary home within the seat of her soul, stirring her up - making her remember that she is more than this, so much more than her physical shell, so much more than the scholastic pursuits in which she has dedicated herself, and that there was a time in her life that she embraced it. The taste of it, the power that she had been so desperate to leave behind, coats the back of her throat and tingles like something living in her tongue.

And it rises, still. The urge to send the doors flying and step out into the light, and embark on her own rampage. And would that be so bad? It's been eleven years. She's been good, so good, for over a decade...

But it is the cries, in the end, that draws her out of it. Unbeknownst to her, the burning, fiery amber her eyes have become recedes back into their cooler greens, and when she blinks, she is herself again, hearing her neighbors panic at the sudden listing of their boat. Her heart pounds wildly within her ribcage and she lets out a quiet gasp. Nausea, dizzying, intense and real, rises from the back of her throat.

Broken glass skitters away from her as if by magic, her steps taking her hurriedly to the bathroom, the door flying open and slamming shut. She doesn't bother throwing her clothes off when she engages the shower head in full blast and stands within the crisp, cold cascade. Fabric wicks close against her skin.

She doesn't leave it for a long while, but she does, eventually. As if sensing her presence, her phone's audio notification chimes out:

You have a phone call from: Alexander Clayton.

---

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: ((Phone call from Alexander.))

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: ((Isabella picks up, her voice hoarse and somewhat shaky.)) "Alexander?"

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: "Yes. It's me." ((A long pause.)) "Cliff Notes: I adore you. I'm also...infected, August says, with something from Gohl. Not like possession, but. Something. Others might be, too. I'm going to stay with him for a few days so he can knock me out when I try to murder people. But I have to ask you to do two things: One, the funeral - we need to put that in motion as quickly as possible. Two, I need you to stick close to Javier. Try to make sure he gets some rest, and don't let him be alone too much. Will you?"

[FS3 Rolls] <FS3> Isabella rolls Wits: Good Success (8 7 7 4 2)

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: ((A long silence. But he'd hear Isabella take a deep breath.)) "Okay. Okay. Give me a moment to think." ((More coughing, before the creak of springs.)) "I'm glad he was able to do it, that he found that out. I'll...check with Hyacinth tomorrow about the casket. If we get that finished, everything else should fall into place provided that we've thought of the sacrifices already. Take this time with August to write a fitting eulogy. That should be good, I think, from your perspective. This means there won't be any time to go back to the Archivist for any more ill-advised transactions. As for the Captain, I'll do my best...I think we're all coming down with something anyway."

(TXT to Alexander) Isabella: "Thomas Addington was admitted to the hospital midnight on the twenty-second. He's comatose. Erin left in a huff, Byron's trying to find her. I already told him about August's suspicions, that we might all be affected, but I don't think he believes me. We'll take care of it though, just worry about yourself. How are you feeling?"

(TXT to Isabella) Alexander: "Thank you, Isabella." ((A couple of coughs in his background, as well.)) "I've already written the eulogy. I'm going to try to stay out of contact for a while. I feel...sick, guilty, and with occasional bursts of homicide. I've already tried to kill Joe Kelly, and almost the Captain. I don't want to be in anyone's way. Isabella? Please be careful. But for now, good night." ((He hangs up.))