Not Until We Are Lost

The ship rolls and turns with the waves, unmanned at the moment, she is adrift. The wood creaks and cracks, the noises of a well cared for vessel on the water, adjusting as it must to stay afloat. The sails flap in the wind, too loose to billow and catch the breeze that they so crave.

Every bit of the deck is empty, the galley - empty, the store rooms - empty. All waiting for the bustle of life that they were made for. Only the bunks have bodies in them. Asleep and unaware that they've been moved. Taken from the danger of the island and the staff-abandoned resort. Taken from the teeth of monsters. Maybe even literally.

The waters around the floating ship are teeming with life. Things that would eat the haphazard crew just as quickly as those things on the island were looking to do. But the ship, something about it, keeps them from capsizing it and spilling the morsels into the water. Those aboard are safe as long as they stay aboard.

Food, clothing, fresh water, nameless pirate liquors, all of it is there for them. All they have to do is stay alive and man the ship. Luckily for them, they have one in their number who can help. Will they realize?

Though the sun beats down, the breeze cools the air. The temperature is not blistering, but rather refreshing. The smell of the salt fills it, and the sounds of sea birds calling is carried on it. Waves lap against the wood gently.

It's a strange new sight that awaits you as you open your eyes. Nothing like what you've seen thus far in your journey. There's also a general sense of calm that washes over you. Nothing artificial, mind. Just a sense of peace, of not being in a foreign place. Which, in and of itself, might be unnerving.

The walls and ceiling are metallic, and though they look like they should be cold, they radiate a warmth that never varies in intensity, and never gets too hot, no matter where it might be tested. These walls are thick and sturdy, and though you know they're metal of some kind, they're not a metal you know. It's nothing that you've encountered before at all, not on the planet you're from, and not on any of the planets you've ever visited. The floor is made to your personal preferences. Carpeting, if that's what you like, or hardwood. Maybe you've got a little Persian rug. Up to you, really.

More important than the room you're sitting in and what it might be made out of, and where that mysterious warmth might be coming from, is the fact that all your things surround you. Your clothing, your weapons, your gadgets. All of it is there. Feel free to paw through the dressers. You won't find anything that isn't yours.

If you walk out the door of the room, and yes, you're allowed to, you'll find a circular hallway that stretches out to either side, more doors like yours leading into more rooms that are likely similar - though missing your stuff from them.

But one of these doors is different, after all. It sticks out, now that you see it. Instead of opening vertically from the center, it opens horizontally. Once inside, you see two buttons. Only one glows. Pushing the glowing one shuts the doors and takes you down to the common area. It isn't closed off like the living area is, but wide open. You can see from one end of it to the other with no obstructions. You can see, now that you're adjusting to your surroundings, that there's an area for eating, a lounge, and a small reflecting pool.

You aren't alone down here.

They're here, with you.

The aliens.

The sky is a clear light blue with not even a single puffy white cloud to obscure the hot sun. The sand is fine and warm, the color of unpainted china. The beach covers half a mile of real estate all the way around the island, giving ample room for playing and romping without threat of the water or shade.

Interior of the island is an extremely lush forest, from which comes the sounds of various animals. Fruit can be seen in some of the branches, some of the underbrush is immediately identifiable as edible. The colors of green are wide reaching and deep, making the trees look as if they hold jewels, not leaves. The flowers are all in full bloom and range in a full rainbow of hues.

The ocean that spreads out goes all the way to the horizon. The only thing that breaks it up is the presence of another island, a mile away from the edge of the beach. It looks like it would be easy enough to swim to, and it's certainly close enough to have basic communication with. The second island is directly identical to the first, matching it curve for curve and leaf for leaf. The water laps lazily against the edge of the beach, inviting swimmers to come play in its waves.

There are no premade houses here, no sign of civilization at all. It seems to be the one spot in the entire universe that has gone wholly untouched by human hands. Within the lively forest there is a cave, it goes deep enough that the sun cannot breach the furthest parts of it, and no weather gets more than a foot within. The cave is big enough to house a family of five.

The sun rises, and the day begins, but life in this city has never stopped moving. It's a twenty four hour kind of town, and anybody can find anything that they need at any time. Time moves differently here, as if it doesn't have a care in the world. Though the hours and minutes themselves tick along just as they always have, everything seems to be outside of it. Untouched by it.

There's a rich sense of history in everything. The buildings are strong and well made. The cars sleek and fast. Despite the occasional stray paper floating on the wind, the city is clean. The air is fresh, the water sparkles.

The diner, Cup and Saucer, has a few fresh faces ready to serve and none of them bat an eye when an entire group of people pops out of thin air and fills the previously empty tables and booths. The waitresses simply descend on the tables with menus in hand, ready to offer service to these new customers.

Whether it’s the quality of light on the planet or something else, everything is in black and white and shades of gray. The people in this world have never seen colors and don’t know that anything is missing.

Beneath the seemingly innocent exterior of the city and the polite society in place, there is a seedy underbelly. There’s a gang that runs most of the street crime and there are bodies that keep popping up, in spite of best efforts to quietly handle such cases. There’s quite a lot of work to be had for the one private investigator in the city. In fact, more than his caseload could possibly handle. Perhaps there’s room for another game in town.

Eventually, Piotr decided that enough socializing had gone on. People knew that their friends and loved ones were here with them, and that was a good thing. They could catch up further later, however. If he didn't interrupt, the meeting would go on far longer than anybody wanted it to. He'd provided some snacks, but no actual food. There would be a need for actual food at some point.

He cleared his throat to get the attention of everybody present.

"We are all here right now for the same purpose." Piotr's voice wasn't loud, but it was demanding. His accent cut through everything else easily. The edges of it were sharp, the middles heavy. He wouldn't, couldn't be ignored. "All of us were brought to this place, world or dimension, and we have all been seeking answers since we woke up. It is time to share what we have found."

He smiled a little at Mary, at Cas, then at Rob, still not giving up his position.

"I will do this in the most orderly manner that I can, so we can get the information and compare notes as needed."

Piotr turned to Castiel, who had spoken up first.

Piotr was anxious to get everything rolling. While putting the meeting off had given extra time to round up others who might need to be in on it, it meant a delay of information that he wasn't truly comfortable with. He'd managed to play it off with everybody that he'd encountered, making as if this wasn't as big a deal as it really was to him. Inside, Piotr had been twitchy. Anything could happen at any time. They were all dealing with the unknown. There were too many variables, the risk was far too high. Lingering only swayed things away from their favor.

It was very domestic, the way he readied for the guests. He didn't let Max lift a finger. It was the only way he could keep himself from stewing, really. To move, work. Put plates together. Ready beverages. Create a spread that Martha Stewart would have been proud of.

He even dressed up.

Black suit, crisp white shirt, black tie, shiny black shoes, hair combed impeccably, guns tucked away in their holsters under his arms and hidden carefully by the jacket of his expensive outfit. Not a lick of metal showing anywhere to give him away, and that was more a throwback to the long nights of watching a mark than anything else. Piotr didn't have any good reason for it now, but it felt right.

When there was nothing left to do, he leaned against the arm of the couch and worried his lip between his teeth. There wasn't a watch to check on his wrist, so he glanced every few minutes at the clock on the wall, ticking away in its hideous orange and purple motif, strange detached bunny ears the hands, a mangled face grinning behind them. It was disturbing at best, though Piotr didn't really see the image, just the minutes.

The doorbell rang and he opened it, taking up the entire doorway. He smiled at the first guests and stood aside to allow them in. He made motions toward the table of snacks and directed them toward the kitchen for drinks. Every single newcomer got the same treatment. Max still not allowed to do anything that might have taken even an iota of the control out of the Russian's hands. They weren't military people, those who were showing up, they weren't highly trained like he was, but he would be damned if he wasn't in command of everything.

There were so many faces that he didn't recognize, and still no sign of the one that he was still seeking. Rayne was not with any of the others that showed up. Piotr couldn't help the worry he felt for his charge. The strange woman who he'd met in Malden, what felt like a hundred years ago now. He didn't ask after her, knowing that if any of these people knew her, she would have been here. He'd been careful to set the time of the meeting right after sunset to accommodate her and any others that might be like her. If she was here, by some strange chance, and had not been informed of the meeting, and hadn't come looking for him, if she had, in fact, decided to keep herself secret, then she had a reason for it, and it wasn't Piotr's place to draw attention to her. The hope of that was beyond slim, however, and he knew it. She wasn't here, he just had to admit it.

He let everybody mingle for almost an hour, to make sure that all the people that had been told had a change to show up. That and it was obvious that some of them had been looking for each other for a while, and they were just now discovering one another. He couldn't bring himself to break that up. He knew how he would have felt if he'd found his friend. He wouldn't have been able to focus on anything else but making sure that she was alright.

Finally, he stood in the center of the living room, his eyes skating over the seating, knowing that there wasn't enough for everybody and regretting it, and cleared his throat to get the attention of the assembled.

"We are all here right now for the same purpose." Piotr's voice wasn't loud, but it was demanding. His accent cut through everything else easily. The edges of it were sharp, the middles heavy. He wouldn't, couldn't be ignored. "All of us were brought to this place, world or dimension, and we have all been seeking answers since we woke up. It is time to share what we have found."

He smiled a little at Mary, at Cas, then at Rob, still not giving up his position.

There's a bite in the air that speaks of Autumn. Cool breezes that snake by, hinting at the winter that's on its way. The trees sport leaves of fire, red, yellows, browns, and everything in between. They fall on the wind and drift lazily to the ground. Some days the sky is bright and some it has a cloudy menace. The rain that falls is cold, almost threatening to be snow. There's even that certain fall smell lingering over everything. Spiced pumpkin pie, hot toddies, everything that signifies the first big holiday of the season, Halloween, is on its way. But look closer. The grass is bright green, flowers are in fresh bloom everywhere. The twitterpation of Spring can be seen in the butterflies and dragonflies that flit about here and there. Hummingbirds dart about, looking for sweet nectar. Baby birds can be heard chirping in nests, their parents busily worrying about their food and shelter. Children can be heard playing outside, seen running around in shorts and cute light weight dresses. Some days, they can even be found swimming and playing in sprinklers in the front yards of the neighborhoods.

This isn't the only strange juxtaposition happening. Houses are decorated with grand displays for Easter and Halloween. Some houses have both. There are costume stores that are always open, harboring frightening masks and fiendishly elaborate outfits. Stores have fantastic displays of plastic grass, egg dyeing kits, and selections of little toys made to fit in baskets. They have those, too. But there isn't always a clear divide for the two holidays. Pastel bats and skulls, black candy in the shape of little flowers, there's a great jumble, it seems as if any combination can be found alongside the traditional.

The people, outside of their devotion to this odd mixture of holidays that seems to occur year round, are fairly normal. Average folk who go to school and work. Who dress like average folk do. With, maybe, a little more in the way of sundresses and bonnets, costumes and black clothing, black bonnets... slightly creepy bunny masks...

One thing that they will all relate the same, however, is that one should not walk the streets at night. When the sun goes down, nobody can be found. Doors are securely locked - a bit more securely than even a paranoid shut in would think normal, curtains are drawn tight. Everything in the entire town shuts down. Not a soul can be seen before the first light of dawn cuts through the darkness, and all resumes as if nothing happened.

For you see, when the night comes, is when they appear. The monsters that inhabit the whole planet. Restricting residents to their towns and cities. Keeping them from fun overnight camping trips. Creepy animals that stalk any foolish enough to set foot outside of their homes after dusk. There are four that have to be watched for. Blood thirsty vampire ducks, ravenous zombie rabbits, horrifyingly persistent malevolent ghost chickens, and perhaps the worst and most confounding at all, the sheep that become monstrous wolves.

The process had been perfected. Once the transport was acquired, they were placed into a stasis so they could not be harmed and would not wake accidentally during their movement. The transports came from many different places. Some were snatched from the aether as they traveled to other worlds, others found in limbo-like locations going nowhere. Others yet were taken from their own worlds, from their lives. Picked by hand, watched, then abducted.

The transports lived on the ship in pods, all of their needs taken care of while they were carefully monitored to be sure that not one of them had any chance of waking or remembering the ship. When the collection was complete, they were all taken to the first world.

For some, it would seem strange, for others, there would be no difference. The council had constructed things to make the transports relaxed and happy. They even created entire cities, in a couple of cases. The transports would wake up in replicas of their own homes, with all their familiar things around them. Those that could, anyway. The aliens knew that there were a couple of transports in the group that would be very out of place. There wasn't a lot that could be done about it.

The Earth Clone matched the Earth in the current year, 2013. It was picked on purpose to help the transports adjust to their new lives. Everything about this current trip was for that goal. To introduce the transports slowly into the idea that their lives would never be the same again.

Each transport was placed where the council thought it best, and as the new day dawned, the stasis collars were removed. The aliens vanished from sight, taking their place far above the Earth Clone to watch. They hoped to learn more about the transports, there was much information on them, but documents and photographs did not reveal what their reactions would be. The Researchers in particular were curious to see how the transports would take their new surroundings.

For the most part, everything about the Earth Clone would be like their homes. The "humans" that inhabited the planet, however, were slightly different. The difference was small. Not immediately noticeable. Every council member wondered how long it would take for the transports to pick it up, and what they would do when they did.


OOC:The difference in the humans on this world is something that will be revealed in about a week. In the mean time, your characters can know there's something off, and even be bothered by it. It's nothing huge, just something about these people that's not quite the way it should be.

Your characters may travel anywhere in this world, and do anything that they feel like doing. They will have no memory of being taken, or being on a ship. To most of them, it should be just like their old life. For those that are not from a modern world, you may play it as you see fit.