Hmm, if only we had a functioning team in the Inspectral story!
The team Collins walked over to the Device, which seemed to be shaking more white dust out of the air than it had been earlier, and stared at it for a moment. He reached for his phone, but something invisible and firm blocked him. “That’s a problem,” he said. “We’re both trapped in here then, and the Device is going to do… something?” “Yes,” said the Inspectral. He lifted one hand and turned it this way and that, looking at it to see if was noticeably more solid yet. Collins thought it might just be his imagination, but it seemed harder to see through the Inspectral than before. He yawned. “Move away from the Device,” said the Inspectral at once. Come over here, in fact; we both should stay away from it. If it does drain the living to reinforce the dead… well, I don’t want to have to fill out the paperwork to explain why you’re dead and I’m solid.” Collins shrugged, feeling lethargic and stubborn, but he recognised the look on the Inspectral’s face and started moving anyway. After a few steps the lethargy seemed to fade and the stubbornness went with it. “That’s a really weird feeling,” he said. “It’s like the Device is draining my will somehow. Does that make sense?” “Not really,” said the Inspectral. “Can’t you do something with your phone? You said you thought it would interfere with the Device.” “I can’t reach it now,” said Collins. “If someone calls me, that would trigger it, but… I don’t get a lot of calls.” If the Inspectral noticed how his voice got quieter towards the end of his sentence he was kind enough not to mention it. “This is where we could do with the team being together,” said the Inspectral. “Instead, we’ve managed to split up without agreeing on it or how we get back together. SNAFU.” Collins looked at the Inspectral, startled to hear that acronym from him, and thought that maybe there was the ghost of a smile on his face. “The light’s getting brighter,” said the Inspectral. “I wonder how long it takes?” There was a sudden click, and the door opened. Ethel stood in the doorway, holding it open, and looking worried. “What’s going on?” he said. “I got back as fast as I could, but these ritual-- is that Device on?” “Move,” said the Inspectral, but Collins didn’t need telling. Ethel was gently pushed backwards until he turned and headed out of the way himself, and the three of them hurried to the stairwell. “Good timing, Ethel,” said the Inspectral, and there was just a hint of a chill back to his tone. “Do you have a mobile phone?” “Of course,” said Ethel, reaching into an inside pocket. “I got an Android a couple of weeks ago; ritual magic messes up anything that doesn’t have hardened components. I—” “Can you call Collins’s phone, please?” “No.” Ethel looked surprised. “I don’t have his number.”
Although the result of the phone call (which will hopefully be made soon, assuming Collins knows his own number) still has the potential to be... well, who knows what will happen, really.
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Hmm, if only we had a functioning team in the Inspectral story!
The team
Collins walked over to the Device, which seemed to be shaking more white dust out of the air than it had been earlier, and stared at it for a moment. He reached for his phone, but something invisible and firm blocked him. “That’s a problem,” he said. “We’re both trapped in here then, and the Device is going to do… something?”
“Yes,” said the Inspectral. He lifted one hand and turned it this way and that, looking at it to see if was noticeably more solid yet. Collins thought it might just be his imagination, but it seemed harder to see through the Inspectral than before. He yawned.
“Move away from the Device,” said the Inspectral at once. Come over here, in fact; we both should stay away from it. If it does drain the living to reinforce the dead… well, I don’t want to have to fill out the paperwork to explain why you’re dead and I’m solid.”
Collins shrugged, feeling lethargic and stubborn, but he recognised the look on the Inspectral’s face and started moving anyway. After a few steps the lethargy seemed to fade and the stubbornness went with it.
“That’s a really weird feeling,” he said. “It’s like the Device is draining my will somehow. Does that make sense?”
“Not really,” said the Inspectral. “Can’t you do something with your phone? You said you thought it would interfere with the Device.”
“I can’t reach it now,” said Collins. “If someone calls me, that would trigger it, but… I don’t get a lot of calls.” If the Inspectral noticed how his voice got quieter towards the end of his sentence he was kind enough not to mention it.
“This is where we could do with the team being together,” said the Inspectral. “Instead, we’ve managed to split up without agreeing on it or how we get back together. SNAFU.”
Collins looked at the Inspectral, startled to hear that acronym from him, and thought that maybe there was the ghost of a smile on his face.
“The light’s getting brighter,” said the Inspectral. “I wonder how long it takes?”
There was a sudden click, and the door opened. Ethel stood in the doorway, holding it open, and looking worried.
“What’s going on?” he said. “I got back as fast as I could, but these ritual-- is that Device on?”
“Move,” said the Inspectral, but Collins didn’t need telling. Ethel was gently pushed backwards until he turned and headed out of the way himself, and the three of them hurried to the stairwell.
“Good timing, Ethel,” said the Inspectral, and there was just a hint of a chill back to his tone. “Do you have a mobile phone?”
“Of course,” said Ethel, reaching into an inside pocket. “I got an Android a couple of weeks ago; ritual magic messes up anything that doesn’t have hardened components. I—”
“Can you call Collins’s phone, please?”
“No.” Ethel looked surprised. “I don’t have his number.”
Greg - yes, if only :)
Ah, Ethel. The hero we deserve.
Although the result of the phone call (which will hopefully be made soon, assuming Collins knows his own number) still has the potential to be... well, who knows what will happen, really.
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