2021-06-16 - Wave Over Wave

It's not safe to walk the boardwalk or the beach proper, but the local authorities are smart enough to know if they barricaded the area off entirely, people would find a way to get close to the heavy swells anyway. It's a curious human impulse to get close to the impressive and the dangerous. There's a barricade set a few feet back from the boardwalk. The ferris wheel is still except for the occasional push of wind, the seaside shacks are boarded up and sandbagged for the most part, except one industrious hut outside the cordon that is serving drinks and snacks to the storm watchers. There's about two dozen people clustered around, some sitting in their cars to avoid the salty spray that makes it onshore or the spitting rain.

Ellery, the impressively tall newcomer is holding a compact, but clearly professional camcorder with a shotgun mic. A tripod leans against a concrete barrier. There are a few impressive bags of camera gear nearby. He's currently poking at the screen on the camcorder, checking recently acquired footage.

Devlin walks over to one the benches near the boardwalk, still in uniform and fairly soaked. He is just shaking his head as he comes from the direction where an EMS truck is stuck in a ditch but out of the danger of the surf for now. As there is an ambulance further past that is heading towards the hospital, good guess it was involved with a surfer rescue. Anyone looking towards Devlin would easily catch that look of just pure wtf with a strong dose of annoyance and disgust in his expression. From an an inside pocket of his turn out coat, he pulls out a bottle of water that he opens to take a long swig from before he sits.

People are stupid

It's not a sentiment that Fern feels often, or that she vocalizes. But she just can't help it in this situation. Why are these people standing here, gawking at the oncoming storm? Why aren't they going to safety or something? If the Storm decided to hit unexpectedly, well then what? All these people are screwed.

Then again...she is one of those people too. Fern's not here to gawk though. She's here for H.O.P.E primarily. Making sure there's no homeless stragglers and that the couple posters put up are still hanging on, directing people the the high school gym if they need it.

She's wearing a hooded windbreaker to shield against some of the rain, a pair of jeans, and a long-sleeved black shirt. Devlin was spied nearby and she lifts her hand in a wave to the paramedic, though her path has taken her closer towards Ellery first and she peers around his arm at his camera. "Get anything good?"

Jeans, old hiking boots, a shirt that proclaims 'CEREAL KILLER' in bold script, and a green-and-black flannel under an olive green anorak with the hood drawn up makes up most of Ashley Jones' attire for this outing. A black beanie finishes it off, plastering blonde hair just above the thick black 'hipster' glasses. He's got himself a corndog and is munching away, a big, obnoxiously rainbow-paneled umbrella looped under one arm (so his hand is free) as he watches the waves. In that hand is a digital voice recorder and every so often he clicks it on to say something, pacing just by one section of the cordon.

Ellery's jacket doesn't have any TV station's logo plastered on it, but it's the type of windbreaker you'd expect to see Channel 6 Action News or the like wearing. He's not wearing a hat or anything against the spray, so his light brown hair is sort of matted down and sticking up at odd angles. He glances over at Fern and tilts the screen to show her a small but rather impressive shot of a rogue swell hitting the rocks and momentarily swamping part of the boardwalk. "A couple good shots like that. I expect they'll probably push the cordon back soon enough, so I'm taking advantage of this vantage point while I can. Also, it's not pissing down rain yet."

Out near the EMS truck, the crew is waiting to be towed. every so often looking to where Devlin is. Easy to see by their body language even this far out, someone screwed up.

Devlin notices what Ellery is pointing his camera at and takes a long deep breath as he sits. He finally speaks up, "Anyone spot any more stupid surfers out there?" his voice tinged with both irritation and exasperation. Devlin seeing Fern adds, "Any homeless about that need help?"

"Yet being the key word. Looks like all hell could break loose any minute." Fern mused, looking at the shot before shifting and taking a step to the side so she wasn't in Ellery's personal bubble anymore. "Still it is pretty amazing to look at. Based off that short clip, you'll probably have tons of cool footage to work with." A beat of pause and a glance around. "Where's your partner in crime?"

"Haven't seen any of either myself." Fern offers to Devlin. "But I'm making sure to direct as many people as I can to the Gym if they need a safer place to hunker down. I still don't understand why people would try and surf this.."

Those wide blue eyes skim the gathering and she motions towards Ashley, "How 'bout you , glasses? See anyone from your vantage point?" It's not intended to be derogatory of course, calling him glasses. And Fern is wearing a pair of glasses herself that actually look similar to his. But instead of a hipster vibe they just give her more of a bookish look.

Ash practically screams hipster. All he's missing is the facial hair and suspenders. Those are still the 'it' thing for that crowd, right? But then, this is the PNW. Flannel and boots are a given. Beanies are pretty much a necessity on days like this. It's really just the combination of 'all of the above' with the glasses he wears. The man is muttering something something "boardwalk troll" into his recorder before he realizes that Fern is talking to him. He clicks it off and leans back on his heel, shoving the recorder into his pocket. He takes a big bite of his corndog and shakes his head as he chews and swallows. "Haven't seen anyone out there, not since they pulled that last surfer out." Probably the one that ambulance that last drove off was carrying.

"He's not my videography partner in crime so he opted not to get covered in salt spray and freeze his ass off. Plus, we're hunkering down in the...murder motel?" Ellery quirks a grin, "...and we're still chasing down supplies to try and make that at least semi-comfortable. He squints out at the waves and looks back to Fern. "People're risking it because they might catch a once-in-a-lifetime wave. The problem is, the pro surfers know what they're doing and the hobbyists think they do."

He looks over to Devlin, noting the paramedic uniform. "Nosir. No smart ones either. Only folks I've caught over the barrier have been wearing reflective vests which I assume means they're first responders."

Taking a swig from his bottle, Devlin nods and then speaks, "I work for a living.." the phrase said half-heartedly. "Teach me to jump in and help when I'm supposed to be off duty. Heckle and Jeckle," he hooks his finger towards the stuck truck, "Got their rig stuck in the ditch and that was supposed to be my ride back to my jeep. But as I live close by.." he shrugs. He then hmms, "If anyone else is out there trying to surf.. they belong to Darwin now. Last I heard, the rescue swimmers at the coast guard station are busy pulling some fishermen out of a bad spot about a hundred miles out."

"If you guys need any help rounding stuff up let me know. We've got supplies stocked up at the gym and I'm sure I know a person or two for anything else you might be needing." Heck, maybe Fern even has it squirreled away somewhere. Her parents always did like to be prepared. "And I don't know how safe the murder motel is gonna be against this mess...so be careful."

Fern gives Devlin a sympathetic smile. "It was good of you to at least want to try and help when you're not working. Means you chose the right profession I'd say! And if you need a lift back to your place I don't mind taking you. Better than trying to walk home or something."

She shifts a little more, peering at Ashley. "Wait. Back up. I want to hear about this Boardwalk Troll." Eagle ears this one. She's heard a lot of things in her time living in this town but that? Hadn't been one of them yet. Though Fern does not for a minute doubt that there might actually be a Troll down there Veil-side.

"You stay at the murder motel?" Fern may be snapping onto something Ash said, but he's latching onto something others have said. Finishing off his corndog, he lobs the stick into a trash bin and ambles his way nearer to the guy with the camera. The rainbow umbrella is juggled to his other hand. "Would you be willing to come on my show and be interviewed about it sometime?" He digs into a pocket and fishes out a card -- rumpled, like he just keeps a few in there at all times -- to shove at Ellery. 'Ashley Jones' 'DJ, part-owner' 'WKRW' and it has the 800 number, website, and his email address.

"Boardwalk Troll?" As if he'd forgotten. He blinks a few times and looks over to Fern, then goes 'oh.' "Someone emailed me about it. Looking into it. I don't know much yet. I don't want to ruin the story though."

"Humans are stupidly curious. And thrillseekers. I mean, I'm just kinda glad I have a professional reason to wave-watch." Ellery pats his camera. "Not that I'll make much money sending a few b-rolls to weather stations. I mostly just post stuff on YouTube and hope something goes viral to the point where I can license the footage. But also, old habits die hard. Once you start thinking like a journalist, there's no thinking any other way."

Speaking of. He hefts up the camera and points it at a swell that curls in, waiting for it to break on a rock. The wave hits with enough force and the wind is strong enough to send the spray in their direction. Ellery has to leap back a bit to keep his camera from getting splattered. "Whoah-ho-ho!" he chuckles. "Gettin' slapped by the ocean. Stay back, she says. Stay back." He eyes the waves. "K. This thing's worth too much cash to risk a couple bucks in licensing rights. Time to put her to bed." He unzips the camcorder's bag and nestles it in place, opting instead for a smaller, more rugged and possibly waterproof camera. He says to Fern, "Problem is, sorta hard to plan for food when you've only got a toaster and a mini fridge. Man cannot live on jerky alone. Or so I've been told."

He looks over at Mr. Corndog, Ashley, then takes the card curiously. "It'd be a real boring interview, man. All I'm doing is sleeping there. No ghosts or anything. Not yet anyway, though everyone says they're there. Maybe all the ghosts went for higher ground? Anyway, I'm more of a creature chaser than a ghost hunter."

Devlin shrugs a bit to Fern, "I'd appreciate it, though for now.. it is something to marvel at, the power of nature unleashed." He finishes off his water bottle and slips it back into his turn out coat. Reaper is going to claim a few souls in this, battles that I can't fight him in. Darwin is definitely lending a hand through mother nature's fury. Boardwalk troll sounds like just another of the local color stories for this town. Gray Harbor should have been Rod Serling's birthplace when you think on it." He hmms, "Don't envy the guys having to move the barriers back, assuming their boss decides to give it a go." He nods to what Ellery says, "Yeah, certified thrill seeker and very curious."

"Well I'll have to tune in then because I've heard and seen some wild things in this town. But that ain't one of them." Fern grinned though the grin turned in her yelping in surprise as they're sprayed with some water. She frowned and took off her glasses to wipe the water off and pointed at the water. "You stay back." As if that would have any kind of effect. One day perhaps.

Looking to Ellery a bit more seriously. "I'm sure I've got one of those little portable stovetop things or something I can lend you. Or there's still plenty of room at the gym. Standing offer." She looks to Devil and Ashley as well. "To all of you. " She nods matter-of-factly. "We want everyone as safe as possible while we're riding this out." She finally moves to sit by Devlin. Perhaps to avoid too much more spray.

She chuckles, "Gray Harbor is definitely a unique place. I don't think I'll be able to really leave again to be honest. Always something to bring me back."

"I've got a place on Spruce. Pretty sure it'll be fine. Worse comes to worse I'll just sleep on the couch at the station for a few days. Won't be the first time." And since the radio station is in the outskirts of town, it's likely going to be one of the more well-off places when the storm rolls through. Got to protect them radio dishes. Ash's umbrella catches most of the spray, but a good bit splatters his lower half. He just steps a few paces further inward. "Well, if you happen to run into anyone who has had encounters or knows more of the history of the murder motel-" he upnods at the card he handed over. "Tell them to reach out. I'd love to have them on air."

"I'm not sure how keen Murder Motel management would be with us having a hot plate in our room. That, and well, don't help us much if the power goes off." Ellery says to Fern as he fiddles with the smaller, rugged camera, adjusting the settings and taking a moment to point it at the waves. He has something of an accent that's hard to place. It has a rural tinge to it, but hard to say what region.

"Will do," he says to Ashley. "Shoulda figured the radio station in this town'd be in to ghost stories. My friend Caed is more on the ghost side of things. Me, I'm an amateur sasquatch hunter. And all manner of related cryptids. Something I actually have a chance in hell of catching on camera."

Joe really doesn't have much of an excuse to be out on the boardwalk these days. His boat is safely out of the water and drydocked. He's staying with friend and lover some miles inland, ahead of the storm. And yet the sailor's there, restless and antsy, like he doesn't intend to leave the water's side until he absolutely must. He's in jeans and t-shirt under his open peacoat, cup of something from one of the boardwalk stands in hand, strolling along like he's at least trying to feign calm.

Devlin chuckles a bit, "Stayed there for a week till I got my apartment. The key is whom is cleaning your room, you can get a way with a bit, like hot plates, if you tip a bit on the generous side for housekeeping. I currently live on the fifth floor, so not to worried about things unless we lose power. Mind you the kids next door will just loose their shit. No power.. means no video games for them or internet." He smirks a bit, "The word book for them seems to be a very foul things." Seeing Joe is out and about, he gives the man a nod.

Fern shrugged. "Well offer stands all around still. I'll peek around what I have and deliver it to ya." She smiled and looked towards the water again, thinking something over. Then she looks to Devlin. "I'm going to do another walk around and make sure people are doing alright and keep an eye out for more stragglers but just nab me when you're ready to go home and we'll head out and I'll drop ya off." Then she rose to her feet. "It was good seeing you all!"

"Well, it's really just my show," Ash admits with a shrug. "And I don't get into the ghost shit much, but I've heard of the place and I figure, y'know. Might be something to it. My interest is more-" he gestures with his umbrella upward. "But I also think a lot of this stuff might be Them messing with us. What's to say ghosts isn't just the right buttons in our brain being pushed by someone taking notes behind the proverbial two-way mirror?" This is exactly the kind of shit AJ rambles off on at two, four in the morning.

Ellery snap-points at Devlin. "Good tip, the tip. Though I'm not exactly rolling in cash right now, so I'm not sure how generous I can be, realistically." He raises a hand to Fern. "Appreciate it! And uh, maybe a can opener? Grocery store was cleaned out." He lifts the camera and sweeps it across the scene, momentarily catching Joe in frame. While he makes adjustments, he says to Ashley, "That's some Twilight Zone shit, right there."

Just in time to catch Devlin's comment, Joe snorts. "Right?" he says, ambling up. "My nieces and nephews don't know what in hell to do when the wifi goes out. Well," he pauses a beat, backtracks. "Not entirely true. Some of 'em are readers, and I try to feed that habit. I think I've succeeded..." The departing Fern gets a little wave.

To Ashley, he says, "In some cases it's Them. In some others, it really does seem to be at least the impression of human spirits." He's utterly matter of fact about the discussion. "But Gray Harbor really is kind of at least partially the Twilight Zone...."

Devlin chuckles and nods to Joe. "Yeah.. more fun than watching a cherry El Te trying to land nav with just a map and compass." He comments, you would be surprised that sometimes it doesn't take a lot to get the regular housekeeper on your side. Can be a simple as just bringing them a good sandwich. You never know, but you need to chat up the housekeeper to get a clue for alternative ideas."

It does seem to have Ashley lost in thought for the moment. He's pulled the voice recorder out of his pocket again and he's talking to it once more. Just some comments under his breath about spirits, trapped, recordings. It's almost a verbal short-hand; likely stuff that'll make sense to him later. He doe slook up and to the others, frowning briefly. "Any of you had a dream recently about ships burning?"

Ellery seems about to quip about something, but Ashley's comment stops him short. He stops fiddling with the camera and gives him a more considering look. "Why do you ask?"

That image is funny enough to conjure up that low, wheezing laugh of Joe's. "I've been that cherry L T," he admits, without hesitation. "Leadin' a whole fucking squad way the fuck off course. Learned better in time...."

The smile fades at Ashley's question, though. "Yes," he says, without hesitation. "More'n once. It's a warning of what's coming." He nods at the horizon. "The storm'll be more than physical. The other world changes - sometimes on its own, sometimes because of what humans do - and the changes echo over here."

Devlin grins for a moment with Joe's reply and then he sighs, "Yeah.. not about a boat though, something is coming. No idea what"

There's a scratch at his cheek and Ash pushes at his glasses to set them right. "Hmph. I had a dream of ships burning and an old woman said something's come. Pretty sure I know who she is, but... I had another dream a few days ago and the same woman was there. She said he's almos there. Been trying to figure that one out." He looks at the other men, shrugs. "Definitely sounds like something's up. But the curious part is the last bit of the dream: 'All your eyes shall open.' I keep thinking it's from a book or poem or somethin' but I can't peg what."

"Thought it was just chocolate too close to bed," murmurs Ellery, clearly a bit thrown by this shared dreaming thing. But real life intervenes in the form of his phone making a noise. He looks down at it. "Hot damn. Got a gig that pays real money, but I gotta go further up the coast." He starts to pack up his gear. "Stay safe, everyone. Though as the guy staying at the Murder Hotel, you probably should be the ones saying that to me." There's the sense that he's sort of happy to be evading the question of burning ships and drowning.

That evasion doesn't go unnoticed, but Joe doesn't press it. He takes a sip of whatever it is he's drinking, before he answers. "There's something on the other side that's out to devour the Shine, glimmer, whatever you want to call it. A force....and there are humans that have been working for it, as well as against it. I think it's going to get free, soon. I don't know what that phrase means, though. I mean, in this context. That we'll see what's really going on?"

Devlin stands up from the bench, "It is getting to the point that I need to get rolling. Besides, I see Fern heading for her car. Better get my rest before my turn at the 24 hour shift. Been good.. have fun"

"Like the men in black. Might explain why I got the warning." Ashley gives a tug to his beanie, looking thoughtful. "Might mean I'm getting close. They tend to show up to threaten people who get too close to the truth. Though some think they're aliens themselves..." He's practically mumbling at this point, digging into his pocket to pull out the voice recorder again as he starts meandering off. His own vehicle is a beat up little SUV that's seen better days.