Start Ups Paranatural

[Taengoo]

She let out a snicker, then realized the other club members were there.

"Uh, I'll talk to you guys later.. Come on, Nick." With that, Ra lead Nick out of the mountains, and in the direction of her home. Of course, she kept the pace of a human, as not to get too far ahead of her friend.

After a few hours, they had come across a series of rather large cliffs overlooking a gargantuan lake. In the largest of the cliffs seemed to be a large hole, illuminated by candles and lanterns of the sort. Within it was a series of three rooms; it wasn't much, but it was enough to get by.

 

[Heroic Sociopath]

Nick was undaunted by the cold and the hike. He wasn't as adept at PSI as Jett, not did he have the innate power of Lilu or Riley. It might not be expected due to his timid nature, but he was tough. Still, he did notice that it was cold, and that made him realize how high up they were. Then he saw Ra's cave. Wait, Ra lived in a cave? Like a homeless person? There were candles and everything.

"It's...Rustic." He said, at loss for what to say. What could he say? It's not like he had found out any of his friends lived in caves before.

 

[Taengoo]

"It's better than living with my bitch of a mom," she replied with a sigh.

"I live on my own. It's enough to get by, I guess - but I can't really afford much."

 

[Heroic Sociopath]

Nick was sitting on a rock. He raised an eyebrow when he heard Ra mention her mother. He was very close to his own mom. But that was perhaps because his dad was never around. He had no resentment for his father, but sometimes wondered about him. He and his mom got by okay. But he couldn't imagine parents just leaving their kid to live in a cave.

"Your parents just up and left you to live here on your own?" He asked. His tone held a hint of anger, rare for the young man.

 

[Taengoo]

"Yeah." Was all she could manage in a mutter, sitting on the rather modern bed as she stared outside. It was a lonely life, sure. She didn't have the slightest idea what it felt like to have a family.

 

[ME Grimlock]

To answer Rileys question, Sid takes out a mini cake, removes the wrapper and holds it up. "They are kind of like edible golden sponges made out of sugar. And the best part about the sweets? Cream filling!!" Sids eyes light up and a small bit of drool rolls off his tongue.

The container is large enough that the whole club could live off of snack cakes for weeks if they wanted to, there is plenty enough for everyone and then some. Inside of the barrel there are several varieties, including a healthy version made out of wheat with a cinnamon filling, among others that were never released to the general public.

 

[Isaac Gates]

Rose sighed and walked and stood next to Ken - was it worth apologising now? Maybe later, she thought. "So are you going home now?" Rose asked him.

Axel headed back to the train station and was about to scan his student card, when he heard the soft clip clopping coming from the laid back horse man.

Axel didn't turn around. "What?" He asked, impatiently. "Um, so are you like, heading back to school?" Riley asked, nervous. "And why would I tell you that?" "...because you are now totally my team mate." Riley replied triumphantly. Axel rolled his eyes at him and sighed - he couldn't be bothered at this time of night to argue. "Yeah, fine, horse boy. Scan in your train card, and I'll take you there. Then you're on your own." He told him, scanning his own card. Riley shifted uncomfortably on all four hoofs, his tail swishing nervously. 'Yeah about that..."He nervously said. "You don't have a card, do you?" Axel said unfazed, not looking back and rolling his eyes."..." "Why am I not surprised? Fine I'll pay for you this once.' Axel said, before paying for Riley while Riley smiled appreciated.

After that, the two sat in a carriage, waiting for the train to leave for the school.

 

[Peaceful Giraffe]

Lilu had gone home, exhausted, but found herself unable to sleep. She was staring out the window at the sky. The moon was nearly full. Looking at it made her hair bristle and her eyes dilate. With an immense effort, she tore her gaze away from the moon, immediately feeling drained. She knew that when the sky became a magnet to her, there wasn't much time left.

Lilu crawled into her bed and tried to sleep.

 

[Yun]

(Yun is making a cameo as this episode's temp head. Time skip starts here.)

... is what was on the card directed to the Paranaturalists the next day. Carried there by a mailman - an obviously zombified one, at that - was a package directed toward the group. It was addressed to the group with the name "The Snoops", though the mailman was given explicit directions nonetheless. Not that it helped much, one could only surmise from the bird's nest on his head and wet shirt from falling into a river.

Nonetheless, the package was at its destination, and the mailman simply opted to knock on the door. Slowly. Continuously. Sooner or later, someone would answer.

 

[Heroic Sociopath]

After returning home the previous night, Nick had laid awake for hours. His mind raced as he went over the events of that evening in his mind, again and again, like he was shuffling a deck of cards. Learning of Ra's parents abandoning her angered him. But it also reminded him of his dad.

Nick's father had left when he was only about three. He just barely remembered him. He sometimes wondered why his dad had left. Had he just not cared about him? His mom wouldn't say anything, and it wasn't in Nick's nature to press her. She just never seemed comfortable talking about it. As Nick drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of his father.

Nick's alarm woke him up four hours earlier. He had gotten some sleep on the train ride back, so he wasn't as exhausted as he'd normally be. His mom was asleep when he got up, as usual. As usual, he made French toast and watched the news over breakfast. As usual, there were zombies walking around outside his window. Then Nick realized that wasn't usual at all!

Nick manifested his sword, then worked up the courage to get to the bus stop. It became apparent that he didn't have much to worry about when one of them snuck up behind Nick. It simply wasn't strong enough to break his skin with its bite, or cause any serious damage. Still, he was late to school because the undead were blocking traffic. He couldn't pay attention in class, because he was waiting for the Paranaturalists's club to meet and discuss this odd occurrence.

Nick was in the club room, sketching up a plan to capture the zombies. Then he heard a knock on the door. Looking through the window, he saw an undead. With a package? Well, he supposed that if the zombies wanted to become productive members of society, that was definitely a step up from blocking the roads.

"How can we help you, Mr. Um. Zombie Mailman?" He asked.

 

[Yun]

The mailman only responded in grunts, slowly lifting his hand to give Nick the package. On top of it was a clipboard, as was required of all mailmen to have so that the recipient could claim their package.

 

[Taengoo]

Ra was dozing off, her mind still on recent events. She wasn't paying attention at all, her crimson gaze unfocused as she stared at the wall. Something was bothering Ra, and she couldn't shake a cold feeling from her spine. Something would definitely go wrong.

 

[Heroic Sociopath]

Nick nodded, then reached into his pocket, taking out a Sonic the Hedgehog wallet he had recieved recently for his 14th birthday. He coudn 'to remember if you were supposed to tip delivery men. He ended up giving the zombie two dollars.

Nick then looked at the clipboard. If it had anything the said he was selling his soul or was otherwise out of the norm, he wouldn't sign it. Mailman or no, he was a bit suspicious about a dead guy trying to get him to sign something. Otherwise he'd take the package, thank the dead man, then open the box.

 

[Taengoo]

While she was thinking, the subject of her mother crossed Ra's mind for a minute. The thought was making her fume with outright anger; you could see it in her narrowed eyes and trembling fists.

Deciding she wasn't going to destroy anything else that week, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Unfortunately, it wasn't working.

 

[Isaac Gates]

Rose walked to the club, only to find Nick and a zombie mailman standing at the entrance. "Heyo." She greeted them, and stood next to Nick, peering over his shoulder to see what he was signing. "Hi Nick, zombie mailman what's up? And whatchya signing, amigo?" She asked.

Axel opened the club door from the inside, having had history in the classroom the period before. "Why are you all blocking the doorway?" He asked both annoyed and curious.

Riley appeared in front of them, having used magic to get there. He had root beer in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other. "Yo, yo what's up with the zombie mailman dud and what's goin' on?" He asked enthusiastically grinning before taking a long sip of root beer.

 

[Flaze]

"Hya!" Ken yelled out as he used his sword to stab at the zombie mailman as soon as he saw it, an expression of disgust and shock on his face. "Stupid zombie...oh hi guys," he waved at the others.

 

[Isaac Gates]

Rose turned around to see Ken stab the zombie. She stared at the zombie then at Ken, and immediately cracked up, laughing. "Ken...that's the mailman who's got mail for us!" She laughed, playfully punching Ken in the shoulder lightly.

 

[Yun]

The mailman had not made a passing glance down at the blade, opting only to turn and leave - without even waiting for Nick to finish signing for the package. With its package delivered, it had nothing else to do but report to its supervisor. Well, it would have, had a truck not barreled around the street at that very moment.

Inside of the package, the Paranaturalists would find both the card and a note inside.

"Hello there! I'm a stray spirit that could use a little bit of assistance. See, I'm going a little cuckoo and need something to keep myself rooted; unfortunately, the necromancer I had was an incompetent meanie. xP Think you guys can help me out?"

 

[Isaac Gates]

Riley watched as the zombie made its way out, only to be run over, "Zombie dude! Wait... you forgot to sign! Oh well." Riley said with a shrug.

"What's it say?" Axel asked squinting his eyes and trying to figure out what the message said seeing that he was wearing sunglasses and it was near impossible to make out any if the words.

 

[ME Grimlock]

A stray spirit? This sounds like a job for our club! Sid thinks after reading the note.

Well, it would have, had a truck not barreled around the street at that very moment.

The sounds of screeching tires alerts Sid to the rapidly approaching vehicle. Our friendly neighborhood zombie mailman was going to be dead meat unless Sid acts fast. He grabs the nearest object that he can get his hands on (an empty barrel) and rolls it at the zombie in an effort to bump the mailman out of the path of the truck!