A Night To Remember

Though we may travel forward, let us return to the moon that hung overhead, the cold winds, and the hidey holes. Let us return, even more, to the humans. The constants may change slightly, but they always stay the same. Yet this time their names are important, yet this time, their descriptions are too - but we shall come to them in a moment. First we must define, once again, their plan. It seems simple, yes? - to define one’s plans. Or perhaps not. Unlike the other constants, time is always changing, waxing and waning, ebbing and flowing. It is not lit by a moon, or inhabited by any manner of things. We are merely dragged along with it. As such, we must define the time before we define the plan, which we must define before we define the people. The time then was February 2nd, 1959, the time now is February 2nd, 2017. The plan then was to go on a ski trek across the Urals, the plan now is to find out what happened to the first group. The former people will be come to later, the latter people must be talked about now.

Michael is the one organizing this trip. Fair haired, American, pragmatist - what else is there to say really? He loves a good mystery, and is quite the debaucher. The thrill of being in control of these people’s lives, it excites him, makes him hard. What else should a man feel in these circumstances? A power over life and death would corrupt anyone, especially a man who hasn’t felt in control of himself for a long, long time. Michael is manipulative, but Michael is predictable. Dina is here to clear her head. Nothing else to do, and she wishes to be out of town for a while. She has come to the realization that she is in love with her best friend. Michael knew before she did, and thus invited her on the trip. She accepted hesitantly at first but then grew enthusiastic once she discovered the fault in her own feelings, the crack in her facade - that was before she arrived and discovered Michael there with a grin on his face, and her love there with one that matched. Zoya has run out of time. She is out of time - or, well, he. Michael has brought her along on this trip as a favor to her older brother, who needs her out of his hair while he deals with the loan sharks. She knows this, he knows this. They are usually inseparable but if worst comes to worst he will be gone by the time they arrive back in town. And no. She did not get to say goodbye. Finally, there is Borislav. Borislav is not a man’s man - in fact, the only reason he is coming is to get away from the bullying for just a moment. Perhaps in his heart he thought he could even gain some credit if he did well this evening with the women. Unfortunately, Michael already controls his persecutors - there is little chance of the bullying stopping yet. But, there is a yet.

Who are you?
>Michael, A Twisted Temper
>Dina, Judged
>Zoya, Dead to the World
>Borislav, Slowly Falling

>>1606997
>Zoya, Dead to the World

>>1606997
>>Dina, Judged
>>Zoya, Dead to the World

>>1607010
(I am fine with up to two narrators, yes.)

>>1606997
>>Zoya, Dead to the World

>>1607016
>>1607009
Also Dina as a second narrator

>>1606997
>Zoya, Dead to the World

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>>1606997
Zoya, Dead to the World

>>1606997
Borislav

>>1606997
>>Zoya, Dead to the World

Calling for

>Zoya, Dead to the World

and writing.

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Take a moment to live. Breathe in the cold air underneath the pale moonlight, be in the moment (or, well, not in the moment), see with your own eyes. Feel these things, and know that you are Zoya, just as much as she is you. Know this as you head to the car, and a darkness falls over you.
~~~
“Zoya?”

“...”

“Zoya~?”

“...”

A finger raps your back, clear as the car’s windshield - well perhaps that isn’t exactly apt. You definitely felt someone tap you, but the windshield is frosted over with the remains of stars and other cosmic things. At least, that’s how your brother always put it. Uh, but now’s not the time to dwell on that. You twist around in your seat, parka restricting your movement just as much as the seat belt that holds its ground with a firm hand.

“What?”, you ask, as much questioning your own voice, thin as it is right now. A side effect of the height you assume. After all, you’ve been driving for what seems like hours.

“You mind not snoring so loudly? Sorry, was just trying to listen to some music, and I-” Borislav, known as Bogdan by those kind to him, and Bogdana by those less so, stares back at you. Looking at his thin frame you notice the distinct lack of headphones, and a phone situated in his own parka’s hood, which is of course a very colorful lime and navy, contrasting your dark grey and pink. A designer brand, as always. Oh, Borislav… it’s like he doesn’t even realize he gets bullied for having money. Not that you’re going to bring that up.

“I-it’s fine, sorry.” You wince. The reedy sound of your voice sounds patronizing, and you can tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t anticipating it. Ah well. You’ll make it up to him the next time, presuming that there will be a next time. Getting kidnapped by your brother’s best friend was not exactly how you wished to spend the time you had left with him…

Before turning around, you glance towards your best friend. Dana has seemed distracted recently, and you don’t know why. A side effect of the meds she’s on, perhaps. You noticed the prescription last time you talked to her, though you didn’t bring it up. It didn’t seem like she was ready to talk about it. All that’s visible to you of her is a tilted neck, a reddish nose, and a mouth exhaling vapor towards the window. Michael insisted on little heating. Something to do with preserving the car’s battery. Looking at her, you’re about to suggest turning it up, when you see her stiffen. The red nose turns white, and beyond her, in the snow…

>A group of men hiking their way up the mountain
>A distinct lack of anything
>A view of the city below
>Other

>>1607176
>>A distinct lack of anything
Spooky

>>1607176
>A view of the city below

>>1607176
>>A group of men hiking their way up the mountain

>>1607176
>>A distinct lack of anything

(The tie has been broken. Writing now.)

Go to sleep patatoboi

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Beyond the car, beyond her gaze, you see it. Or, a distinct lack thereof. It’s like the car has been sucked into a black hole, warping your reality, altering your mind. You panic internally. What. Is. Happening. Where are you? Oh god, this isn’t a pulp sci-fi novel is it? Do you have to ask when, too?! You realize not soon after - you’re not moving. Jesus Christ, why aren’t you moving?! You turn slowly, Michael’s visage being slowly revealed to you. His hand caught flicking a stray piece of blonde hair, it’s like he’s paused. On second glance, it’s like everyone is paused. Borislav has his eyes up and open, as if to look at something the rest of you can’t see. His soulful brown eyes are strangely fixed on a point. However, you don’t have time to worry about that. Dina’s last breath is caught as if part of a piece of art. Lips slightly parted, the mist is just sitting there, looking all the while like congealed bacon fat.

You sit there, in shock. You sit there, as always, in shock. Freezing up is one of your bad habits but this is not a situation you can allow yourself to freeze in. You bring a hand up to your face, and you squeeze. Hard. The pain you feel serves to reassure you that you are in fact still alive, are in fact not dreaming. You can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Of course, this action brings with it its own consequences. It takes a moment, and then, it dawns on you. You stare at your hand like it is an alien being, but that’s not it. If anything, it’s the overfamiliarity that gets you. If everything is frozen, and you are surrounded by a void, how are you able to see your hand? As if a response, sounds blare out from behind you, scaring you, saving you.

*bzzzzzzt* Stop it Ruste- *bzzzzzt* -you’re just going to piss off Alexander, you know?

You turn around and see the source that has been providing you with light this entire time. A still image, lit like the moon, the size of a movie screen stands before you, a monolith on an ocean of darkness. A monolith that has no good reason being there. You don’t recognize the men, and the audio cutting in and out seems to almost be like that of a recording. But the occasional interference reminds you of something your class had learnt about when discussing Chernobyl. The sound of a Geiger counter. Radiation. Radiation?!

You shriek, and the moment you do, all goes black.

You wake up…

>A few hours later, when you have arrived at the campsite
>When you run over a bump in the road, impossibly closer to where you started
>Moments later, and your shriek is audible

>>1607404
>When you run over a bump in the road, impossibly closer to where you started

>>1607404
>>When you run over a bump in the road, impossibly closer to where you started

>>1607404
>When you run over a bump in the road, impossibly closer to where you started

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A jolt.


“Shit.”

“Ow.”

“Haa-aa.”

Huh?

With what felt like a quick kick to the rear end, you wake up. Looking around, it seems as if nothing had happened. You’re on the same track of road, in the same area, and it seems like you’re going the same direction. No one else seems to have noticed anything. In fact, it all seems fairly normal. It shocks you more than one would think. Are you going crazy? Maybe you should ask Dina about those pills - almost seems like you need them. However, you’re stressed, and you have been since before you ever (reluctantly) agreed to go with Michael on this trip. You’re ready to attribute it all to that when you close your eyes and take a nap, hoping to skip any more stress induced hallucinations by the time you get up the mountain. What feels like moments later, you’re poked in the back. By the same person. And he says the words you dread.

“You mind not snoring so loudly? Sorry, was just trying to listen to some music, and I-”

You cut him off there, his thin frame shivering, almost as rattled as your mind is right now.

“You want to listen to music? Got it.”

You turn around after making sure no funny business occurred with Dina this time around. At least, you think this time around. All you can tell is that you’re in for a very long, cold, and miserable evening - or possibly several.
~~~~~

(And that is where I will end for now, as it's 3 in the morning here and I have things to do tomorrow. Tomorrow I have D&D at 2:30 PM so I am unsure of my schedule for the rest of the day, but I may run late/later, as I did this evening. I hope you all enjoyed the first part of this quest. Judging by the pacing, I may be able to stretch out the sessions more than I thought I could. Have a good evening everyone.)

(I am back and writing anons.)

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As Michael drives, you stick your head against the freezing window, hoping to cool yourself down. Stress means sweat, and in a parka in the middle of a mountain, that isn’t exactly getting you enthused. The cold does little to help though. Your mind is still spinning. What exactly did you experience? How did you end up further back on the mountain? Who were those people? Where were you? The moon seems to unnerve you now. It’s light was the same thing cast by whatever that was - could there be a link? Are you overthinking this? What even is overthinking in this kind of a situation?

“Earth to Zoya - this is astronaut Michael.” All of a sudden, a familiar voice emerges from next to you, distracting you from your thoughts, which were distracting you from - huh?

“Shit, we’re burning up sir. Tell my wife and children I love them very much—” A pained cry from behind you.

“She knows!” You realize Michael and Borislav are singing Space Oddity. Of course they are.

Turning your head, you see what you had missed in your fugue state. You’ve made it to the campsite. It looks cold. Really cold. Michael sees the look on your face and frowns.

Addressing the car, he says, “Come on. It’s not that bad, is it?”

“When you said we were coming up here I assumed there would at least be a cabin,” Dina snaps.

Michael’s lip twitches. With a glint in his eye, he retorts, “Yes, because mountains are known for having a lot of wood to build with.”

“Calm down, both of you,” Borislav says hurriedly. Looking at him, he seems a bit on edge as well. He follows up though, albeit only muttering, “Although when he said we were going to investigate Dyatlov I had assumed we’d at least get a cabin too…”

Michael sighs quite audibly. Opening his door, he stands up, boots crunching in the freshly settled white powder. It must have snowed a bit while you were out of it. He turns to face the side of the car, and speaks with that same look in his eye. You don’t know how to describe it other than excited, like a kid in a candy store.

“Come on,” he bellows, “we’re all alone up in the mountains. What greater freedom is there than this?”

As if to respond to him, a snow falls off of the boulder he parked next to, and lands on his head. With the tension broken by that, you and the others exit the car and begin to unpack. It’s all going fairly normally, until Borislav turns around and points out a number of cabins with lights on in the distance. It’s a distance you would have to drive, but it appears to be inhabited. After some arguing (mainly Michael and Dina) you agree to head down there. However, it’ll take a while to get all the bags back in the car, and Michael wants two people to stay behind in case animals come and take them while he and someone go down to check it out.

Who goes with Michael?
>You
>Dina
>Borislav

>>1609978
>Borislav

>>1609978
>Borislav

>>1610003
>>1609978
changing to
>You

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>>1609986
Changing to
>(You)

Alright then. A 2d100 please, best of 3.

First roll - How the cabin visit goes
Second roll - ???

Rolled 35, 60 = 95 (2d100)

>>1610036

Rolled 25, 11 = 36 (2d100)

>>1610036

Rolled 51, 54 = 105 (2d100)

>>1610036

>51, 60

(Writing)

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Michael and Borislav take off in the grimy black jeep, while you and Dina are left alone. Underneath the moon’s watchful eye, you sit atop some of the snow dusted rocks standing out in the area you are in. The ones that wouldn’t lead to bleeding if you decided to sit on them, of course. Neither of you are talking. It’s pretty awkward, you think. You know why your mind is elsewhere, but Dina? No clue. After about 20 minutes, with Michael and Borislav seemingly still down there, you begin to talk. You decide approaching directly is probably for the best.

“What’s up?” Short and simple. Good, right?

“I’m in the mountains and it’s fucking freezing.” Or not.

“I take it you don’t want to talk?”

“It’s not that, it’s just - ugh, have you ever had a moment where the illusion of who someone you knew was shattered by them? Like, a statue carved really prettily out of, like, marble or something on the outside. Then it rains, uh, for a long, long time. Then you’re just left with some shitty rock on the inside that vaguely looks like it. That make sense?”

“More than you would think. Though my situation is kinda backward. My brother, you know him - of course you do, he’s my brother. I thought of him as a hardass, and while he kind of is, he needed the money to support my father’s business. That’s why I’m here, right? I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, but you weren’t there. Shit, I really needed to. He might die. Tonight’s the night the loan sharks come. Fuck. I need to be there, b-but I’m not.”

Your tears melt the snow, and all you can see is a blur of moonlight, rock, and snow. The rain hears your call, and it answers willingly. First a little, then a lot. You raise your head up firmly. Hopefully she can’t see your tears. It fails pathetically. Water gets in your eyes, and it stings. It’s not unpleasant, but you can’t keep it up for more than a moment. You stare back at the ground and blink. And as you move your head, the water that has collected in the hood of your parka lands on your head, soaking you.

“Shit. Shit, I’m really sorry. I’ve been off in my own world, with my own things. Let’s get this stuff underneath that alcove, come on.”

With that, Dina begins to move the gear, and you help too. Underneath the alcove, you have very little to say. Beyond you, you can see little - it is all mist, all rain, all night. What little light you do have comes from flashlights prepared beforehand, and your phone’s flashlight. You glance at Dina, hoping she would do something to break the building tension. And when you do, she walks up and hugs you. She’s sobbing harder than you were earlier, and now, the comforted becomes the comforter. The embrace holds for slightly longer than you would like, and then, in what feels like an instant, she kisses you.

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Of course, that is not what you are struck by, though it is bizarre. That is not what you are watching, though you see it out of the corner of your eye. Beyond you two, in the mist, something is standing there. And it looks human, but at the same time, not. You break away from the kiss quickly, more astonished than anything, and look at Dina. She’s blushing quite heavily.

>What was that?
>Behind you - there’s something there!
>Ignore it and talk to Dina (in what manner)
>Other

>>1609986
>>1610003
>>1610023
>>1610033
(apologies, I completely missed this changing bit. I had begun writing before this change and missed it when I posted the roll bit. If you like we can do a narrative switch to Michael + Borislav if needed.)

>>1610261
>Behind you - there’s something there!
Let's avoid getting gobbed before we deal with the makeout sesh.

>>1610261
>>Behind you - there’s something there!

(Writing.)

“B-behind you! Turn around, look!” You shriek.

As Dina slowly turns, you get a better look at the monster. It’s partially transparent, like ghosts from horror movies. While below the neck there isn’t anything distinctive, the face is clearly masculine, with a strong jawline and greasy hair. He appears to be Russian as well, which merely reaffirms the fact that it could be a ghost. It doesn’t appear to be coming closer, but it’s saying something, although you can’t make it out.

“What the hell is that?”

Dina seems to have noticed it now too. She looks at the thing, the light in her eyes a moment ago replaced by the same nervousness that you noted back when you were sitting on the rocks. She seems less scared than you, but that may be because she hadn’t

“What do we do, why is there a ghost, shit,” you mutter. You’re freezing up again.

“Wait, is that who I think it is?”

Dina rummages through her pack to find something. She pulls out a piece of paper with a photo photocopied onto it. It’s a group of men in parkas carrying toboggans and large backpacks, probably filled with supplies for wherever they were going. You recognize where they’re standing - it’s near the road you used to get up here.

“Igor Dyatlov…”

She points to a man in the photo. There’s no doubting that’s him. The same face staring out at you from the photo is standing - well, floating, right in front of you. When she says his name, the figure turns away, and disappears into the night. You vaguely remember Borislav mentioning the name in the car, and Michael talking about it some time earlier. Wait, it was back at your brother’s house! You weren’t just going into the mountains to mess around, Michael wanted to talk to locals about the Pass. Maybe even camp at the place where the bodies were found.

“W-well, that was odd,” comments Dina.

She seems a bit calmer now, which is surprising given the circumstances.

“Yeah.”

It’s just hit you that she kissed you.

“Uh, Di-”

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You’re cut off by the sound of the arriving car cutting through the pitter patter of the rain. Michael steps out, and seems to be walking over. You mentally note that you want to talk to Dina later about all of this. You don’t want her getting the wrong idea… He grabs the gear at your feet, and begins to move it into the car. Borislav is still sitting there, listening to music.

Dina inquires as to the lodging situation. “Do we have a room?”

“Uh, we can stay there during the day, but overnight we’re going to have to camp outside. They have to do things there that require where we’re going to be sleeping.”

Michael seems a bit sheepish, and isn’t looking either of you in the eye.

“Don’t tell me we’re sleeping in a stable.”

“Ah. No. A little better than that.”

“A house?”

“A barn.”

Dina makes a snowball and throws it at him. Just then, Borislav steps out of the car. Of course, he receives it in the face.


~~~~~


(End of session. Thank you for joining everyone. I’ve realised some flaws in my own writing so I’m going to try and rectify them and improve as we go along.

Next session will not be tomorrow, but will probably be Monday.)