Foxee's Island Breezes RPG Story Thread

[Foxee]

((Here we go! Go ahead and post your intros, picking up where this post leaves off. This will loosely determine what order everyone posts in from now on. If you have any questions please post them in the Profiles & Affairs Thread or PM a game leader. Have fun!))

Island Breezes: Welcome to Cassamay Island

Chills shook Danny Onego in his sweaty clothes. The cheap plastic flashlight lay smashed to bits behind him, a testament to the dangers of letting his mind wander to the frosted bottles of Pepsi in his uncle’s slide-top freezer.

The boy stood still, listening hard, the stubbed toes of one bare foot curled against the other for comfort, one hand cradling the opposite arm where it ached and stung.

The stories weren’t true. He’d been assured that they were only legends, fables made up by old men to keep young ones in the firelight. It didn’t keep the question from fluttering in his gut.

He was alone. Had to be. Alone, he could admit that he wanted to go home to mom. He felt like he was in the front of the class again, all those eyes eating at him.

Jeering at his fears, he padded forward into what felt like the waiting room of Hell. Heat drove weakness through him; sweat springing out once again on his shaking limbs.

When they came, they came silently.

Thousands of reptilian bodies closed in on Danny to either side, limned against the darkness like photoflashes against tar. Their eyes gleamed and teeth snapped, tongues flickering. Hungry.

The boy stood frozen, able only to swivel and look behind him.

Sinuous shapes flowed in from that way, too. Some leapt over others, thrashing in their eagerness to reach him.

Danny turned and ran.


The pilot of the mid-size plane fought the cross breeze on approach as they dropped through the cloud cover, the island appearing below like a torn postage stamp. The runway seemed even shorter than usual as it rushed up to meet them.

A screech announced wheels touching down hard and the heavily loaded craft bounced trying to slew around before settling down and shuddering the length of the runway. It came to a tentative halt with its nose over grass.

“Welcome to Cassamay Island,” the pilot keyed the mic as he began to taxi back to the waiting vehicles, “set your watches for 6:02 PM island time. As you can see there is some weather brewing so we’ll get you to the vans as quickly as possible. Thank you for flying Hal Burly Aire.”

A few raindrops spattered the windscreen. Replacing the handset Hal turned to the co-pilot.

“I sure hope there aren’t any prima donnas back there who are too good to transfer their own stuff,” he glanced at the clouds, “I’d like to get out of this storm before it hits.”



Chris, stood by one of the two blue vans as the plane approached, the engine pitch dropping. Paula stood by her van, too, looking ready for anything. The grasses of the landing field ruffled in the misty wind. Not only did they have passengers and all of their things to unload but a month’s worth of household supplies as well.

The plane stopped and Chris was moving before the steps unfolded to the tarmac. He had to restrain himself from jigging with impatience before the pilot’s blonde buzz cut appeared at the door.

Hal jogged down the steps without ceremony, giving Chris a hello and continuing on toward the luggage hold, waving Paula over as he went. The co-pilot stood in the doorway, helping passengers off and being polite.

Chris gathered the new employees together, counting heads as they came down the steps, nodding to Dr. Marsden. It was almost a shock to see her amongst the unfamiliar faces and he wondered what brought her back to the island. Now wasn’t the time to ask.

“Please load your things into the first van,” he addressed the group, pointing toward the one he’d driven, “and then please find a seat in either one. We’ll try to get loaded as quickly as possible and get you up to the house.”

[alanmt]

"…it's just the price I pay, destiny is calling me, open up my eager eyes…"

With the deftness born of constant repetition, Chad flipped his Ipod safety to the open position and turned the electronic device off, killing the Killers in mid-chorus. First minute on the job; I'd better pay attention, he thought, slipping the earplugs out of his ears and into his T-shirt.

He hung back, letting the others crowd around the hold as the pilot unloaded the luggage. As luck would have it, his two pieces were first out.

"Excuse me," he said, edging between a young woman and a very tall man. He slung his backpack over one shoulder, picked up his overstuffed duffel with the other hand, and moved back through the others and toward the vans.

Halfway to the first van, Chad slowed to a stop and took a deep breath. The air was warm and humid. After long hours restricted to a small seat on a climate-controlled plane, every sensation was magnified. Behind him, someone was barking out orders, but they may as well have been a world away. The heavy grey clouds, the pounding of the surf against rocks, the bright green colors of the thick foliage around the airfield, the strange wild sounds - all enveloped him in a wave. Although he was thousands of miles from Thailand, on the other side of the equator, he felt like he had come home. He grinned.

This is going to be great!

Cool drops spattered on his arms and legs.

Looks like we'll be starting with a nice tropical rain.

He hurried to the van, opened the back door, and stowed his gear. He decided to make himself useful, and waited for the next passenger, who was coming around the vehicle.

"Can I help you with that?" he asked, nodding toward the luggage.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
Great first post! ~F.

[Blossom]

“Which ones are yours?”

“The red wheely suitcase, and the brown and white backpack.” Hayley pointed them out to the pilot, who consequently thrust the backpack at her and dumped the suitcase on the ground by her feet before turning to the next passenger. Clearly he was anxious to leave before the storm hit properly, and Hayley didn’t blame him; she had never been a big fan of flying, less so in bad weather.

Slinging her backpack over one shoulder, she manoeuvred the suitcase through the small crowd of other passengers. Hayley had been somewhat surprised to see the planeful headed for Cassamay Island, but a couple of questions had revealed they had all been hired as domestic help. She herself had received an intriguing, but slightly cryptic, message asking her to fly back out and referring to possible further information about Derek Thompson’s illness, which she had unsuccessfully treated here just over a year ago. The message had provided her with the perfect opportunity, as she had been wanting to come back out to the small lab she had set up then and do some further research into the mysterious illness.

A few drops of cool rain splashed onto her arms and legs as she wheeled her luggage towards the vans. Looking up at the dark clouds, she realised the storm was going to be a big one.

Despite the rain, however, the air was as warm as she remembered, and she was glad of her light cotton tshirt and denim shorts.

"Can I help you with that?"

Startled, Hayley looked down, and then back up, at one of the other passengers. He spoke with an American accent, and was gesturing at her red wheely case.

“Oh … thanks, but it’s not that heavy,” she said with a smile. To prove her point she lifted it up and slid into onto the back seat of the van. Her backpack was tucked next to it, and then she turned and held out her hand to the guy.

“Thanks for the offer,” she said, “I’m Hayley Marsden.”

[alanmt]

Chad took her hand and shook it, returning her smile.

"Hi!" he said. "I'm Chad - Chad Anderson. Nice to meet you."

An attractive woman. With a cool accent. He wondered briefly if she was staff like him, or a guest. He wasn't sure.

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla held back from the others, a smile in her eyes as she watched them crowd around the cargo hold of the plane. She didn't know any of them yet, as she'd slept through most of the flight, waking up just in time for brace herself during the rough landing. The smile reached her mouth then. No worse than other flights, really, and better than some others she'd been on.

She swept the small bit of the island she could see with her gaze, feeling a deep contentment as her mind registered the sweet, fresh air, touched with a bit of rain, the verdant green of the plants and trees that grew in profusion around the landing strip, the sweeping view of the restless grey-green sea...the blue-gray of the thunderclouds.

Yes, this, this was what she needed. No more noisy traffic, no more desperate, last minute calls from strangers who needed their house cleaned only an hour before an important appointment or date.

Jingla stepped closer, slipping through the others with an ease given by years of working in restaurants. The smile tugged once more at the corner of her mouth, then she banished it as she picked her two pieces of sleek black luggage out of the pile.
Almost everyone here was tall here... Good. She wouldn't stand out so much.

She slid out the handles on her largest bag, piggy-backing the other on top of it as it had been designed to do, and turned to face the others. "Would anyone like some help with their luggage?"

She had to raise her voice a little to make herself heard over the rising wind, and as luck would have it, a little silence fell just as she asked. Her voice, trained to cut through the murmurs in a restaurant, yet still hold softness, echoed out through the air. She felt a hint of red touch her cheeks as she realized her accent had thickened.
She caught a strand of hair the wind had worked loose and tucked it back into place, looking around at the faces. So many different people. Involuntarily, she smiled again.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
A Nitpick - not everyone is tall! ~F.

[Suzip]

Kari Snider had wanted to wait for everyone else to leave the plane first. She felt nauseous. There were too many people, but she had been forced by her seating companion for forge ahead. . She had wrapped her canvas shoulder bag across her shoulder, holding it tightly with her right hand. She stood up and shakily walked down the steps to the unfamiliar ground.

The other travellers were mostly waiting together for their luggage. A few had already collected theirs and were already in the vans. She could hear some of them exchanging greetings and helping each other.
“How do they do that?” she muttered in frustration.
“Excuse me miss, what was that?”
Kari’s eyes widened at the sound of the unfamiliar male voice.
“Erm … err nothing…. Sorry …..excuse me….my bag.”
She pulled her jacket hood over her head and rushed forward towards the luggage area. She couldn’t even make herself look up at the man who had spoken.

Having been forced near the crowd Kari tried to find a gap, so she could grab her holdall and head for the safety of the van. There wasn’t much space and despite the instructions being shouted out there didn’t seem to be much order.

“Please load your things into the first van...."

Kari heard the man call out the instruction and lifted her head for the first time. The rain that fell on her face was very warm. It was nothing like London in the rain, when your hair was getting blown all over the place in the freezing wind. It was actually nice. She just hoped she could hold herself together long enough to enjoy it.

There was a gap in the crowd and she could see her holdall. She leaned forward and picked it up.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
They've been told to go to the vans, not back to the plane! May want to edit that for accuracy. ~F.

[Crazed Scribe]

Maria was glad that the flight was approaching an end. She had been unable to sleep so she was sore, tired and just want to get off this wretched plane. She didn't mind flying as it reminded her of her gap year. But she still felt uneasy as they bumped down to land. Maybe it was just the nerves anticipating her new job and life. She tried to convince herself that everything would be fine and there was nothing to worry about, it didn't work.


She could see one of the men as he addressed the group, “Please load your things into the first van and then please find a seat in either one. We’ll try to get loaded as quickly as possible and get you up to the house.” Oh no, she thought, they had to carry their own things! That stray thought reminded her heavily of her Mum and she pushed it out of her head vowing, to make up for it by helping others with their cases. This was what this was about, anyway, wasn't it? Doing labour for someone else to get as far away from her parents and their lifestyle?


As she got up and headed for the plane exit she saw another passenger take his earphones out, she wished she hadn't been foolish enough to put her ipod in her luggage because she'd been certain she'd sleep.


Great, it was raining. What a lovely welcome to the island she was hoping would be warm and dry, unlike home. Or should she think her past home? Hurriedly she grabbed her own luggage from a man she barely glanced at and dumped it in the van before asking if anyone needed any help with their luggage. She was surprised at how big the group was when they were all out of the plane.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
I like the snippy tone, very authentic. ~F.

[Aurasheild]

Yawning, Adiel struggled to keep up with the others. Each one seemed to have no trouble in rising and moving onwards to collect their bags. It would have been that way too, if his right leg hadn't gone numb from the flight. He began supporting himself with each flight chair he moved slowly towards the exit, suddenly he lost his grip and he leg went from under him.

"ARGH!"

Breathing slowly he realised he hadn't hit the ground, someone had grapped onto him, looking up, he managed a quick thank you before blushing and making his way to the bags, hoping no-one had noticed.

"Which ones are yours?”

Adiel lifted a finger and pointed towards four medium sized bags, each one a bright apple green with a large pink strip going across the front.

"Feck!" he muttered as he realised that these wouldn't help him hide, but accomplish quite the opposite instead. Quickly and rather embarressingly packed his bags away inside a van with a rather handsome man by it.

Well if you can't pick the vehicle, at least pick the hot driver, he thought climbing into the van, managing a quick glance at the man.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
Assuming that someone catches you is controlling another character, even if unnamed. I do like the touch of realism with the numb leg, though. ~F.

[Faustling]

Bruce wasn't really good around groups of people. Sitting with them in a confined space for a couple of hours didn't really help. One of the best things about being a cowboy was not being around people all the time. Sure, there were customers, other cowboys, drinking-buddies and the occasional poker game. But most of the time it was just Bruce and the cows. He liked that a lot. Not that he'd share such feelings in any deeper ways then; "Ah don' like bloody crowds, damnit. Can ya people try an' pipe down?". So he said that. During the plane ride he had probably said that phrase, or variants thereof, fifty times or so. Didn't help much.

When they finally landed and got instructed Bruce was happy at first. Didn't last very long though as he realized they had to get into cars. He'd really expected a place like this to have horses. Damn city folk, always the same, even in a bloody jungle.

Bruce headed for the baggage, lighting up a cigarette as walked, and quickly spotted his bag. Wasn't really a hard task, it was a worn out backpack with the Texan flag covering most of it. He made his way to it, mumbling his best excuse for an excuse as he walked by other folks, Texas style.

Having found his bag he walked towards the first van. A lot of his new amigos seemed to have packed more then one bag. Silly city dwellers. A man just needed some clothes to wear, booze to drink and a gun to shoot stuff with. Bruce didn't have his gun though, goddamn customs people had taken it, those pale-skinned sissies. A man needed his gun, damn it.

Without much caution Bruce tossed his bag into the first van and climbed into the other one. He didn't pay much attention to the people around him, he rarely did. Instead he leaned back as much as possible and covered his eyes under his hat, hoping to catch a few z's before they got wherever they were going. He remembered an old Texas saying; may God have mercy on the soul of the poor bastard who disturbs a cowboy's sleep.
***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
Ok, we get it. He's a cowboy and he's from Texas. If you want some enjoyable homework read some Zane Grey. ~F.

[seigfried007]

As he helped the falling man to his feet, Adam watched the other passengers amble towards the vans in the rain. Too shocked to comprehend the other man's murmured thanks, Adam numbly descended the steps and felt the wet taps of the rain's warm, heavy drops on his flawless skin... and how it rolled off his arms. He turned his face to teh sky of swirling stell gray, and the raintap-tapped on his broad cheeks. Like a shower... from a never-ending ceiling... He blinked and numbly stepped away from the plane as the sky's tears soaked through his khaki backpack, his clothes, everything he'd ever been given. Washing him of his past.

A smile stole his face. His tears of joy mixed with the rain that intensified until the vans and plane could only be seen through a gray layer of rain... one that he wanted to dance with.

This is what rain feels like, he thought as it pooled in his small, beautiful hands and reflected the whirling of heaven's anger.

His skin electrified under the rain and chilling breeze, Adam plucked goods for the house in his arms and hefted them through waving puddles to the second van as it hadn't been specified for any other use. Certainly someone would correct him if he were wrong, and possibly the repercussions for ignorance might be severe, but such things didn't amtter with the rain on his skin and the wind in his hair as a wall of water raged behind man and plane alike and the trees whipped about, pleading for the mercy of their sun.

The cloth interior of a van could not harbor more joy.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
Beautiful post and nice that you picked up on Adiel's fall. ~F.

[Darn Dame]

Marissa was ever so thankful to be off that god-forsaken plane. She had been a bundle of nerves since she left her home in Missouri. A four hour lay over didn’t help matters. She’d had plenty of time to think about this daring and impulsive life decision. Honestly, she was having some regrets.
When she saw the small plane that was to carry them to the island she almost swallowed her tongue. Instead, she stoically boarded the tin can, grabbed a seat, and began to pray.
The plane ride was as she expected, miserable. It was bumpy, it was noisy, it was hot. If she had to hear that cowboy grumble at everyone to “pipe down” one more time she was sure she would have hog-tied him herself. I bet I could have gotten some help too! she thought. Thankfully, her seat mate had slept most of the way and hadn’t seen Marissa’s white-knuckle grip on her seatbelt. It wasn’t like the darn thing would have saved her but she held on to it for dear life.
To make matters worse, there was a storm brewing. The ominous clouds and the beginning sprinkles of rain had her worried. I wonder if they have tornados here like they do back home? She kept a keen eye on the horizon as she stood amongst the crowd waiting to get her bags.
“Which one?” a man asked in a brisk voice.
“The black rolling suitcase, the black carry on, and the Hannah Montana backpack,” she pointed to each as she spoke. She ignored the quirk of the man’s eyebrow at the description of the backpack as he handed it over to her. “Thank you,” she replied.
She scurried over to the first van, past an odd man who was cupping the falling rain, and handed over her rolling suitcase and carry on to a rather large man who was piling luggage into the back of the first van. He reached out for the unconventional backpack but she held on to it. “Thanks, I’ll just keep this with me, if it’s ok.” She didn’t wait for an answer, but slipped the backpack on, while turning on her heel heading towards the plane, intent on helping the others load the supplies. She shared smiles with a few of the friendlier passengers as they worked. She caught a few curious glances at her backpack but no one remarked upon it and she didn’t offer an explanation.
When she had finished with that, she made her way to the waiting vans. She slipped the backpack off of her shoulders and hugged it to her chest as she waited to take a seat in the second van. When it was her turn she realized there were few seats left. She hoped her dismay didn’t show on her face as she realized she would have to practically crawl over the “cowboy” or ask him to move over. Neither scenario boded well as he appeared to be taking a siesta, his hat perched over his face.
Cripes! What am I going to do?
“Um, excuse me sir, can you move over?” she asked as politely as she could.

***
3 pts spelling/grammar
3 pts plot progression/support/timeliness
3 pts effectiveness of description/action/dialogue
Great first post! ~F.

[Blossom]

“Hi!” he said. “I’m Chad – Chad Anderson. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Chad Anderson,” Hayley grinned. She looked up as more drops of rain splashed down, and saw the grey storm clouds were rapidly moving in overhead. Glancing over at the other passengers she realised those that were still collecting luggage had noticed it too, and were moving with more speed towards the vans.

“Guess we’d better get in,” she said, climbing into the van as she spoke.

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla shrugged as no one even reacted to her question, then chose a box from the plane that looked to be about the most she could handle, and moved toward the second van to deposit it before she settled her luggage. The wind tugged at her brown beret with its accent of gold ribbon, but she had achored it firmly with several bobby pins before she'd left the plane so it didn't even flutter...unlike the long sleeves of her shirt. She almost wished she'd gone along with the designers first idea of close-fitting, short sleeves to go along with the fitted bodice. Just as well her boots were leather, and her slacks long enough to keep out the wind.

She moved quickly across the tarmac to the other van, carefully set the box she carried in, then hurried toward the first van where everyone else had gone. Two people were toward the back, a woman with wildly curly chestnut hair who was just climbing into the van and a young man whose short blond hair wasn't even being ruffled by the wind. She took another deep breath of the fresh air as she approached them, then spoke, trying to tone down the accent.

"Pardon, might I get past you for a moment?" She drew her luggage up beside her as she stopped, avoiding the open back hatch of the van with a quick duck.

[seigfried007]

As Adam waddled, laden with several boxes of house goods, towards the second van, he suddenly realized not only that he must be heading in the right direction but the young woman carrying another box of said goods ws also wearing a hat of mystical properties for it didn't move despite the gail, though her hair, sleeves and pant legs whipped about.

Was the garment glued to her scalp? Was it attached to a wig on her head?

Adam squinted and rubbed the rain from his eyes on the cardboard box nearest his face to no avail because even seeing her hat more clearly refused to yield the method by which she'd affixed it to her head. Strange, he thought as he leaned into the back of the van and slid his boxes on the coarse carpet flooring before finding the rear-most empty seat inside.

[Foxee]

The co-pilot had joined Hal in the hold and they were shuffling items to the tarmac as fast as possible. Paula and Chris were busy between the household goods and helping the passengers sort out their luggage. Ordinarily the four of them made an efficient team but so many more people moving around slowed the process down.

There were more raindrops sprinkling the tarmac now and the soft shuffle of feet, luggage, and boxes joined the wind and intermittent babble of voices blending together as Chris stuck his head and shoulders back into the hold to grab more items that Hal had pushed forward.

A small Asian-looking man and a tall chic woman had each taken some of the boxes while Chris had been helping passengers find their luggage. He shrugged. At least they were helpful.

((This is not yet the end of the round, I’m just posting this to keep things on track. I’m sure IvanTiger and Cefor will get their posts up soon. Please don’t get too far ahead of them with your posting.))