ph_logs | [OPEN] Summer 2023 Catch-all!

Lucas is so nose deep in his notebook that he doesn't hear anyone approach. Pouring over what little information he's gleaned, he curses the lack of proper equipment and the resources IOPSA provided back home. This kind of investigation shouldn't be taken alone, so it's a good thing that someone took interest in his flyer, even if they managed to sneak up on him.

"GAH!" The Medium startles and splashes a blob of ink across a thankfully empty page of his notebook. just as quickly he clutches his chest and sighs, "Shit! Sorry, I didn't hear you. Uh...Andy, right? I'm Lucas."

He offers out an ink-stained hand to shake, with a sheepish grin to go along with it. "And a research buddy is exactly what I need right now. You do this kind of thing back...uh. Well. Back home, I guess? Sounds weird to say that."

Andy laughs warmly as she shakes his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lucas."

She takes a deep breath as she leans casually against a nearby tree, hands tucked into the warmth of her tufted flannel. The same flannel she was wearing when she arrived. Back home. Lucas was right--it did sound weird.

"Yeah, I did something sort of like this. It was more...theoretical?" Andy laughed again. Even on a normal day, explaining her blog to someone new always felt like crossing the Rubicon--either they shared an interest in the unknown, or they labeled Andy a conspiracy theorist and quickly disengaged. Luckily, saying she writes about "cryptozoology" in her spare time was usually just smart-sounding enough that people didn't press further.

"I'm actually a bartender, but I run a website. A blog. I write about mysterious sightings, local legends, creatures that most people don't believe exist." Andy stands up straight and pushes a loose chunk of hair behind her ear. "You know, I've interviewed 100 people claiming to see stuff like this, hiked the entirety of the state forest, but I've never come across something as tangible as whatever this is. And I've definitely never seen it publicized this way!"

It's striking the way Andy speaks around the subject and Lucas feels like calling himself out on it, too. Even with IOPSA operating out in the open he skirts the issue of investigating the paranormal, downplaying as hard as he can. He can recognize that in the way she speaks.

"Oh yeah?" For a moment, Lucas wonders. Her enthusiasm is infectious. "Okay, so...like, it sounds like this isn't really something a lot of people back home do, but. Have you ever heard of IOPSA?"

Still sounds weird. Back home. He can hope that she comes from the same place that he does - how cool would that be?

"And honestly, if the villagers are right, five years being stuck here there's probably not a lot going on aside from all this weird shit. Right? Something's gotta keep Yorick employed, I guess." He snickers quietly.

Andy crosses her arms instinctually as she thinks for a moment. "IOPSA...that an acronym for something?" Context clues would indicate that whatever IOPSA was, it was likely relevant to the oddities at hand, but Andy couldn't think of a time she'd heard of it before. "It doesn't sound immediately familiar."

Andy mindlessly digs the toe of her dull white sneaker into the soil. "You're onto something with that, I bet. Even just being here right now proves that things I thought--things I knew--to be impossible are actually very much possible. So, frankly, the whole townspeople-can't-die-or-leave scenario feels like it's probably just the beginning. You put up the flyer, right? So you must think this is important to figure out, too."

"Aw man," Lucas can't help but pout, briefly. It would have been wild if they had come from the same place, but Lucas had held out a little hope it would be true. "Yeah, it stands for International office of Paranormal and Supernatural Affairs. If you haven't heard of it then...we're not from the same place."

He nods at her next question, gesturing to his scribbled in notebook. "This kind of thing is important! Investigating, researching, eventually educating. The supernatural doesn't have to be scary." He pauses, face scrunching up slightly. "Even if the whole idea of not being able to stay dead thing is kinda nuts."

After another beat of silence Lucas flicks his gaze back up, "So, if this isn't really common back home for you, like. What's the angle? I mean, pretend you aren't stuck here. What made you grab my flyer?"

Andy considers Lucas' comment: we're not from the same place. Place could mean a lot of different things, but considering the larger situation, the implication of that statement sends Andy's thoughts swirling. "If you don't mind me asking...where are you from?"

"I completely agree," Andy responds empathically. Lucas seemed like the kind of person she would have loved to work with back home. Over the years, Andy met a lot of people who considered themselves to be paranormal experts of some kind or another. Occasionally she'd meet someone who would tag along on an investigation for her blog, bringing various tools and tech that Andy often felt was overkill. Lucas seemed more genuine and rational than any of them.

But what was her angle? To begin with Andy found this kind of thing interesting. That's why she spent so much of her time writing about it. Even so, Andy was still a bit of a skeptic. Out of the hundreds of articles she wrote, strange encounters she followed up on, leads she followed...half the time, she didn't expect to actually find anything. And more than half the time she didn't, which then confirmed her initial skepticism. It was a cycle of cynicism she had come to accept. But here, the cycle was breaking.

"I've spent a lot of time trying to find evidence that things like this are real. People tell stories, lots of them, and hardly ever have proof to back it up. Then I showed up here, and it's like I can hardly believe any of this is happening, even though it's literally what I've been wishing would happen for years!" Andy laughs, half embarrassed and half exhilarated. "I guess, when I saw your flyer, I thought that learning more, getting some answers, with someone else...maybe I could start making some actual sense of all this."

"Virginia. Uh...Earth? Some people here aren't from Earth. Or, like. A different one." Milo was definitely from a different version of the same place and that was a trippy realization to come to earlier. "IOPSA isn't some big secret so if you haven't heard of it then it's probably a different place."

Lucas smiles at Andy's answer, bolstered by it. Landing here would be any IOPSA officer's dream. Some strange island trapped by paranormal forces as of yet unknown? They'd be clamoring to be here and Lucas wishes it was any one of them. A more experienced officer would get to the bottom of the brutoks in no time at all. But they aren't here and he is, so he's glad to have run into Andy. She seems to have a level head a good bit of common sense.

He can't help but smile at her answer, either. Relief plain as day. "Yeah, pretty crazy stuff, huh? But that's what I want to do too, and having someone to work with will definitely help! I've already got a few notes on the brutoks, but trying to make sense of this whole place is gonna take a long time. Think you're up for it?"

Even after coming to terms with the situation as a whole, it seemed like there was always more to learn about this place, one thing after another that absolutely astounded her. Aren't from Earth? It was hard even to imagine, but at this point lingering on each new insight would have her curled up in a ball on her bed at the Oak and Iron, just waiting for the shock to wear off. "Virginia? No way. I'm from Colorado." She shakes her head, realizing she's probably staring at Lucas with her jaw half past her knees. "Earth, but a different Earth. There are so many people I wish I could call right now."

It's a breath of fresh air to hear that Lucas is on the same page as her, and that she's found someone to tag along with on this investigation. She'd figure out everything else later--a job, for one--but right now, this was at the forefront of her thoughts. She leans in slightly, glancing towards his notebook. "One hundred percent. What've you got so far?"

“Colorado? Dude, awesome! Like whereabouts? I’ve never been myself.” It’s easier to talk about home. Somehow that makes the whole idea of different versions of it easier to swallow in Lucas’s mind. “But trust me, I wish I could make a few phone calls myself. Like…anyone with more of a brain cell than me.”

If only Miles were here, or even the Chief! The thought brings a pang of homesickness, but the thought of investigation with a new friend eases much of that. He scoots the notebook over, most of it random scrawls in order of his scattered thoughts, then paragraphs of more meticulously laid out information. Mostly buildings and points of interests in town, he’s even begun a rudimentary map sketched out over several pages. Lastly there’s a few pages of unorganized notes on the brutoks from what he’s gleaned from conversations.

“Okay so…I haven’t figured out all the kinds of puzzles these little twiggy bastards leave but that seems to be their main calling cards?” He looks up to see if she’s following along so far.

"Really small town with more trees than people. About 10 oddballs actually live there--me included--and the rest are tourists." Andy chuckles, but she feels the bite of nostalgia in her chest. She can't be sure how long she's been away from her Earth's point-of-view, but for Andy, it already feels like years have passed. She feels the conflict rising inside her: desperate to be home, but so not ready to leave. "I can empathize with that. But, if it's any consolation, I'd say you have plenty of brain cells."

Andy scans over Lucas' notes, picking out words here and there, and quickly eyeing the map that's been sketched across the pages. "These are thorough," Andy winks. "You've definitely done your homework."

"I haven't been, uh, lucky enough to come across any of these things yet, but I've picked up on some of the conversation around town. Sounds like these puzzles precede their attacks? What's their motivation? Do they want people to solve them? Honestly, a strange M.O. for a cryptid. If you can even call them that, I guess."

"Holy smokes, I thought Farmville was tiny." Only ten people on the regular really puts a sleepy little town like his into perspective. Lucas is just trying not to swell on it too much, since all of his favorite people are there too...and not here with him.

"Yeah, well. I'll remind you that you said that later," He chuckles, gesturing at the last page of messy scrawled notes. "It's not too hard to write shit down, but the figurin' out part is more of a challenge. Especially since cryptids aren't my forte."

Although Andy's comment does get the wheel turning. "It does seem like that sends the little guys packing but I only have a sample size of one, so I'm not sure we can say for sure. Want to go find one?"

"Well, to be fair, there's definitely more than ten people there, but it feels like ten people after multiple decades of the same faces." Andy smiles softly, remembering how just a few weeks ago she'd been considering a move, finally finding a new place to start fresh. It was just an idea--she hadn't even mentioned it to her father--but, now that she was forced to start over somewhere new, she realized how much she'd miss those same ten faces greeting her at the bar each evening.

Andy stood up straight at Lucas' proposal, brushing a smudge of dirt off her jeans. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Heh, I bet that's true. Farmville sometimes feels like I run into the same people all the time. I bet Pumpkin Hollow is gonna feel the same way...At least we're used to it?" Small town represent.

Lucas grins, closing the notebook and tucking it under his arm as he stands. "Alrighty then, I say pick and a direction and let's go! We just need to keep an eye on the sun, I definitely don't want to be out here after dark. Not without more of an idea of what's out here."

"Sounds like a plan." Andy looks around, taking in the scene. Back home, she was more familiar with the wide expanse of trails and trees that surrounded her town, always feeling confident about venturing into the wilderness. Here, however...well, not only were these woods completely new to her, but knowing literally anything could be out there made them feel just a little more threatening. With that, she starts moving towards a path in the trees before her nerves can catch up. "I guess this direction's as good as any."

She remains quiet at first, listening to the environment and scanning her surroundings for a brutok, hoping to avoid the accidental eye contact the newspaper warned against. "So, what's the move if we actually find one?"

Lucas falls easily in step with Andy, not quite as familiar in a forest as she might be, but he's definitely spent his fair share of hiking and the like. He keeps his gaze up off the ground for the most part, figuring the little buggers might be laying in wait there.

"That's...a really good question actually." He's so good at thinking ahead. "How good are you at kicking things? That seemed to work just fine the last time I was out here. Throw 'em hard enough and they splinter."

But if they run into a bunch of brutok then they might have a bad time.

Growing up in a small town surrounded by miles of state forests and idealistic hiking trails with a father enthusiastic about dispersed camping, Andy had a lot of experience to draw from when she began galivanting around the woods hoping for a glimpse of Bigfoot or a chance encounter with the elusive stairs in the forest. Even so, her camping trips were generally more relaxed--no hushed surveillance or risky confrontations, instead a six-pack in the cooler and a fishing rod bobbing in the high lake waters.

"Well, once I had a squirrel try to steal a full bag of dried apricots from my camp. But that time I just tossed a piece of crumpled tin foil at it and the crisis was averted. Should I be expecting a physical showdown?" Andy couldn't help but gaze into the woods as she spoke. "Oh shit, is that one? Or maybe it's just an odd-shaped branch."

Lucas can't help but to snicker at the mental image of Andy taking on a ferocious squirrel like that. "I hate to say it but maybe?"

Lucas turns to take a peek. At first he doesn't see anything but then - yeap, that's a weird shadow moving. And there's the weird chittering to go along with it. Sounds like that brutok isn't alone...

"Well, we got two options. Run back to town or scare 'em off! I'm down to punt some brutoks if you are," But honestly he couldn't blame her if she wanted to head back either.

"Okay. Okay." Andy's heart began to race, not out of fear but excitement. She wished more than anything that she could've arrived here with her camera. After hearing about these brutoks time and time again, there was finally one--or more than one, she couldn't tell--just in front of her. Whether or not that was a good thing...well, that was yet to be determined.

"We didn't come all the way out here for nothing, right?" Andy whispered, unsure if their voices would scare off the brutok or, more likely, draw them closer before they were ready to defend themselves. "Just...if at all possible, I'd like to not be turned into a tree."

"Don't worry, dude. I got your back." Lucas cracks his knuckles, keen for some pay back from the first go around with these little bastards. They made him look dumb in front of Erik, his honor will be avenged!

Their voices do draw in the brutoks and in the span of a few second a half dozen shuffle out of the foliage and into view. "Okay, um...something to hit them with might be better actually."

Without thinking to warn Andy first, Lucas flicks his hand out and a nearby branch launches itself into his grasp. He'll toss it normally in her direction before fetching one for himself. "Okay, let's play ball!"

Andy is momentarily stunned as a multitude of brutoks erupt from the trees. Obviously this is what she came out here expecting, but she's been following leads like this for years and to actually find something...

Her heart racing, she quickly turns towards Lucas, just in time to see him somehow tractor beam a branch into his hand. As he tosses it her way, she reflexively catches it, but now she's distracted. "Wait, how did you do that--"

"Oh, shit," now remembering the brutoks, she quickly spins in their direction, branch held out like a makeshift sword. She swipes firmly toward a brutok that's wandering closer, but it's still too far to hit. "I can't believe I'm about to play Whac-A-Mole with magic tree creatures!"

"I'll explain later, promise!" Lucas feels momentarily bad that he sprung that on her without warning but they're in the thick of it now.

"Whack-a-Mole sounds about right," Lucas agrees, brandishing his stick at a pair of hissing tree fiends. He puts both hands to the stick and twists at his hips. "But you know what I'm thinking? A little golf would be a fun!"

Channeling his inner Tiger Woods, Lucas unleashes a golf swing that would never strike a ball at the tee but does send one brutok off into the brush again. "Four!"

Andy fails to stifle a laugh as Lucas forcibly propels a brutok back into the trees. "Well then, here goes nothing," she says to herself as she steps forward, swinging her branch wildly in the direction of a group of the creatures. Her eyes reflexively snap shut as she swings, but they jerk open as Andy feels the branch make contact. One brutok flies backward, but several more advance forward in its place.

Andy points her stick at them defensively. "One down, a hell of a lot more to go!"

"She shoots, she scores, and the crowd goes wiiiiild!" Lucas whoops, adding in a fake crowd noise afterwards for the full effect. Too bad more of the brutok are here to ruin the party.

"You'll be alright," He flashes a reassuring smile and takes a few steps backwards so they're standing back to back. "Just keep swinging and don't stop!"

He'll take his own advice, too. As more brutoks join the fray Lucas swings again and sends two of them back into the woods, but he's mostly trying to keep an eye out for Andy...just in case.

[OPEN] Summer 2023 Catch-all!

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