"My grandmother always said to make sure you'd leave a beautiful corpse if you dropped dead unexpectedly," Anna commented, pouring a second cup.
"Your grandmother gave very good advice," Cynthia said, taking a small sip of her coffee and grimacing at the taste. "Now tell me, who are you two? I don't believe we have met yet."
"Oh, we're going to have this conversation," Anna's sister whispered to her.
"I ... um. I'm ... We're Anna. We're sisters. Twin sisters. In one body," Anna answered.
"Very pleased to meet you, Anna," Cynthia replied, taking another sip of coffee and grimacing yet again. "We are Miss Cynthia Ridley, heiress of Petrid Co., famed ambassador for veganism.... Did you say twin sisters in one body? My, my. I have heard of such medical mysteries. So good to see you out and about and enjoying such robust health. You must have quite a story, I'm sure."
"Now that you mention it I do have a very big sock problem, my left ones keep running away." Said he, replying with a disarming and cheeky grin.
"In all seriousness ma'am, as far as I am aware we are experiencing a simple power outage. No need for you to be concerned."
Kai folded her arms and looked down at Officer Evan's shoes. She flatly said, "Alright, I'm just concerned."
There were groups going in and out of the mansion, trying to figure out where they were. Kai, not wanting to get in anyone's way, went to the back of one room with windows. She moved a bit of the heavy curtain out of the way, unlatched the fine locks on the windows, and opened the window. It required some shoving, as it seemed to not have been opened for a century.She flipped the air settings on her compass and put it outside to analyze the breathability of the air. The compass reported that the ratio of hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen was identical to Earth, and the pressure was not overwhelming. She poked her head outside and put her night glasses on. The only word that described the surroundings was dead and dry.
"Well, a new place to map!" she murmered. She set her compass down, and it opened up a blue translucent touch screen. She opened a file titled "Cartography" and she worked on mapping her location. However, when she tried to make the interuniverse GPS find an approximate location, there was nothing but a dark screen. She raised her eyebrows.
She spent a few hours in the room, with only the glow of the screen illuminating her face. She heard some murmuring in the room nearby, and she stepped in the doorway. They were all talking about a death. The couple that had gone--the guy had died. However, before she could go down to see for herself, Death had given an announcement to nicely tell everyone to stop lingering around and ground themselves in one room for the night.
Kai ran up the stairs, skirting around a cat, Cynthia, whom she nodded to, embarassed having walked away from their conversation. She slipped inside one room, but, as with all her first nights on new planets, she did not want to fall asleep. Instead, she narrated the events on the evening to her compass and logged them away. Then she stared at the moon. Her last thought was that her machine was gone and there was no way to get out of there.
--
Kai woke up rather late. She shook herself, upset for falling asleep so unconsciously. She pulled back the curtains and let a flood of light in the room. It almost looked like a house in her Grandmother's inn, and she almost thought she was there. She looked at the barren ground and was reminded of the nights events. She went downstairs and saw a brown liquid that smelled nice, fresh rolls, and fruit. She took a cup of coffee and a roll, and looking around for a place to sit to finish her breakfast, she noticed Cynthia from the night before talking to a nervous-looking woman.
She walked up to them,
"Sorry to interrupt," she said, as Cynthia finished introducing herself to the other woman, "May I sit with you both?" Too tired to wait for an answer to that, she sat down and started blowing on the hot liquid in the cup in her hands. Through the billowing smoke, she caught a glimpse of Death and another man walking towards the back.
She wanted to follow them. She gulped down the liquid, which was too hot and therefore burned her throat.
"Excuse me," she said to the two as she rose from the table, reflecting that she was now building a reputation as a serial conversation abandoner in Cynthia's eyes. Kai stuffed the roll in her mouth as she silently followed Death and the man.
RL Sibling: CSLewisNarnia
It did not take long for Delia, Neal and Selena to find their way down to the conservatory. Delia stopped and knelt down at the edge of the pool, studying QED and the woman.
"Hello," she said quietly.
She remained just as Selena had last seen her, eyes fixed on the intruders and all senses alert for danger. She opened her mouth and tried a few throaty sounds, but nothing resembling human words would come out. Must be out of practice...
She gestured for them to come closer.
sig by me
But I am a cat, and no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer
Delia studied her for a moment, then hopped down into the pool and came close, checking Mr. QED's pulse as she did.
Selena followed Death's example and approached the woman while their hostess checked on the body.
"You can't seem to speak, but can you write?" Selena pulled a pen and mini note pad she had swiped from one of the rooms in the mansion on her back back to the pool. Setting the items on the ground between her and the strange woman, Selena backed up ever so slightly to give this new individual some space... and hopefully not scare her anymore.
Avvie by the great Djaq!
http://bennettsreviews.blogspot.com/
^ Short tribute to James Horner (1953-2015)
She swatted at Death when she grabbed Earnest's hand, but she stopped short of the intruder's face, watching intently all the while.
She beckoned the other woman closer, then leaned on her and rose to her full height, eyes never straying from Death
sig by me
But I am a cat, and no cat anywhere ever gave anyone a straight answer
When Jeff finally arrived at the conservatory, he found that the Death, Neal and Selena had beaten him there. "Got lost," he mumbled upon entering the room.
If you ain't first, you're last.
"No pulse, cool to the touch--he's been here a while," Delia said, ignoring Milady's shooing and checking him over. "Appears to have drowned--his lungs are fairly full."
She stopped and looked at the others.
"So he drowns in an empty pool, no sign of struggle. Great. I'll let Mr. Badge finish off."
Being used as a crutch for someone was... a new experience for Selena. At least Malcom wasn't around to see this. He would be making quips the whole time.
--------
Neal watched the whole interaction from the perimeter of the pool with mixture of bewilderment and amusement in equal measure. "I don't think she likes you very much, Delia."
"At least your not dead." Decker replied to Cowboy as he walked past.
--------
"So where did the water come from? There's none on this planet or world or wherever we are." Selena hesitated for a moment before continuing. "If there was, I would be able to sense it."
Avvie by the great Djaq!
http://bennettsreviews.blogspot.com/
^ Short tribute to James Horner (1953-2015)
"Well you aren't wrong," Jeff told Delia after a closer examination of the body. "Mr. Dint seems to have hit his head just prior to the time of death but based on the bruising, that impact wasn't what killed him."
The officer sat back on his haunches, considering the events of the past two days before giving his conclusion. "It's just like the electricity that didn't exist, I don't how how it is happening, but someone or something is killing off our fellow guests."
If you ain't first, you're last.
"Oh, well, that's an amazing idea," Delia replied, rolling her eyes. "Someone please give this man points for originality."