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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 13:51:15 GMT -5
[Jim is cursed here]
Jim's boots hit the pavement, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. His eyes were fixed on the horizon, where the sunlight was fading fast...
No, no, no, no... Jim thought as the faint light of twilight bathed the park in gold. Jim came to a skidding halt, frantically looking around for the way out...
I'm not going to make it! Jim thought, his eyes jumping from shop to shop. There was going to be a full moon tonight... along with mass panic if he didn't get out of the crowds! There was no time to get back to the Misty Lady. He would have to wait it out here...
Jim turned the other way and ran, keeping a paranoid watch on the sky. The orange sunset was fading to pink, then purple, as stars began peeking out through the clouds.
Ahead, Jim spied the best choice he had for a place to hide: The Tower of Terror. Surely no one would come inside the gloomy old hotel...
Jim ran tripping up the overgrown path, groping for the door. He fumbled with the handle for a second just as the moon rose above the horizon. If one looked closely, a teenager standing on the Tower's entryway suddenly turned to rags and bones as he disappeared inside... But surely the figure was just a spirit of the past. The hotel did have its reputation for being haunted.
Inside, Jim closed the door as moonlight streamed through the cracked and aged windows, palely illuminating the cobwebbed furnishings of the hotel, as well as Jim.
Jim sighed and plopped into one of the worn leather armchairs near the empty hearth, looking at what was left of his hand. He flexed the ghostly bones and picked at the torn rags of his shirt, constant reminders of his own idiocy. Jim dropped the hand and leaned back in his chair, closing the blue eyes in his sockets.
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 14, 2009 14:01:16 GMT -5
Esmeralda and Djali was inside the Tower of Terror when they heard someone entering. The amulet around Esmeralda's neck started glowing, as always when something supernatural was near. Esmeralda started walking quietly towards the door. She heard some rummaging, and with her heart pounding in her chest, she made her way to the main entrance.
In one of the worn leather armchairs near the empty hearth, she noticed Jim, her beloved brother, looking at his hand. Or was it? In the moonlight he looked a bit different than he used to be. And the amulet was glowing when she held it in his direction. She came into the room, speaking to him softly.
"Jim? Jimbo? Is that you, my brother? What has happened to you?"
Her eyes were filled with tears of compassion and she sat down on the arm of the chair, pulling him gently into a hug.
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Post by Panchito on Mar 14, 2009 14:23:11 GMT -5
<<Can anybody join?>>
Panchito entered the Tower of Terror, whistling a jaunty tune. It had been a while since he rode this, but it was one of his favorite rides.
As he entered, he paused for a second to wonder why there was no line. Quizás there was a parade or something? Oh, well, he didn't care. He hated lines.
The rooster continued inside. There had definitely been some changes since he was here last. Maybe the drop would be even faster this time!
In the lobby, he spotted a familiar face. " 'ey, Esmeralda, my little fajita! You are looking so muy encantador in the moonlight."
"And who is your friend?" he continued, noticing the teenager in the chair.
<<Jim looks normal in here, right? No moon inside? I'll modify if I'm wrong.>>
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Post by Elisa Maza on Mar 14, 2009 14:29:06 GMT -5
Elisa walked through the Tower of Terror, following the sounds of voices. She didn't know what it was that lead her to this creepy hotel, but her instincts were telling her that a few of her friends were inside.
Coming closer to the voices, she recognized Esmeralda's easily, as well as Panchito's. Who were they talking to?
Elisa rounded the corner, unable to stop the gasp that flew from her mouth.
"Jim, what's happened?"
Elisa had only known the young teen for a brief period of time, but she still felt a bond with him. Whatever happened, she would do whatever she could to help. And judging by the look on Esmeralda's face, she was thinking the same thing.
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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 15:19:14 GMT -5
((There is moonlight coming in through the windows, so Jim is skeletal here, Panchito. ;3))
Jim's eyes flew open when he heard a voice call his name. No, not her... Jim thought miserably as Esmeralda flew to his chair, hugging him.
"Esme, I..." Jim tried to explain, tears he was unable to cry choking his voice. He gave up trying to speak and buried his skull into Esme's hug, wishing that he could cry and feel her warmth. Instead, all felt was empty nothingness.
Jim sadly looked up at Elisa and another creature that he didn't know, although he seemed to know Esme.
"Elisa..." He said, pulling away from Esme and burying his face in his hands. The gasp that had flown from her mouth cut him like a knife. He would've done the same if he had seen a skeleton, and any other monster for that matter. Jim's mind lingered on that word, monster. It was the only description he could come up with for his appearance.
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Post by Nani Pelekai on Mar 14, 2009 16:11:14 GMT -5
Nani, thoroughly unaware of the gathering crowd, stalked in front of the building at the street corner. Little by little, she discovered something to be out of place; at first, for several minutes, she was hearing the shuffling of hurried feet, which was without its alarm, in which was coupled with the crying of a young boy.
This state lasted very briefly, for she wasn't about to stand around like a frightened statue; she would investigate the cause. A decidedly vivid sensation of daring and curiousity accessed the deepest recesses of her mind, and she wandered in in search of the voices she kept hearing.
A body which was in contact with a rather comfy armchair, suddenly captured her interest and caused her to advance forward. Blue eyes glistened with mournful tears, grieving over his cursed appearance. Without so much as a thought, she neared him and flung her arms around him to smother him with compassion. She had never seen him cry before!
"What happened?" she asked, voice trembling, laced with sympathy and fear. She heard him utter something . . .
"Now, who did this to you?" she asked tenderly, stroking his hair.
"Was it Hook?" she guessed feebly.
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Post by Elisa Maza on Mar 14, 2009 16:11:50 GMT -5
Elisa's eyes filled with tears at the sight of Jim breaking down before her. It reminded her of when she found out Derek had been turned into a gargoyle creature. Though Jim was not her brother by blood, the pain at seeing him like this was just as raw as when she saw Derek.
Unable to deal with her "little brother" in so much pain, Elisa pulled him into an embrace. She fought to stop crying. She needed to be strong, for Jim's sake.
"Jim, what's happened?" Elisa asked again. "Who's done this to you?"
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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 16:49:51 GMT -5
Jim hung limply in Nani and Elisa's hug... it seemed that everyone he wanted to keep the curse a secret from had come. He was too ashamed to be embarased about crying in front of girls... Deep in his heart, he knew they wouldn't care anyway.
Jim broke away from the hug, walking across the lobby to stare out one of the grimy windows. The moonlight accented his macabre figure, streaming through his ribs and tattered clothes.
"No one did anything... I screwed up." Jim said, an angry tear falling down his cheekbone.
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 14, 2009 17:10:59 GMT -5
Esmeralda took Jim in her arms again, pulling him into another sisterly hug.
"Then what did you do, Jim?" she asked mildly. "We have to know, so we can help you. Don't you know how much we all love you? We are your sisters. You don't need to feel ashamed in front of us."
She watched him in the light from the moon and sighed.
"It's a curse, isn't it? From La Isla Muerta?"
She pulled out her crystal ball, and in the ball was the face of Captain Teague Sparrow.
"A tiny Captain chirped in my ear that I should look after you if I ran into you again."
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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 19:38:45 GMT -5
Jim's heart sank as he glanced at Esme's crystal ball. Teague...
"He told you?" Jim said, turning back to the window. "You're right... it is a curse, and I did get it at the Isla de Muerta.
"I was exploring the island back when Hook captured the Misty Lady, and..." Jim trailed off. He was about to mention her capture, but he couldn't bring himself to say her name. He was just a monster... he didn't deserve her.
"...And we landed on the island to recover." Jim finished. "I stumbled across this cave filled with treasure, and took a gold piece from this stone chest. It turns out that the gold was cursed. I don't know why, but if you take a piece from the chest... you're cursed for eternity."
Jim stood hunched over at the window, his hands on the sil, supporting his weight.
"I don't feel anything... Everything's just empty. And then I turn into... into this in the moonlight." Jim said, tears building up in his voice.
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 14, 2009 19:52:27 GMT -5
Esmeralda looked into Jim's face, as loving as only a big sister can be. She heard the tears in his voice, and her warm heart filled with compassion. A memory from her past flashed through her mind for a moment. She had seen that face expression before, heard those tears in a voice. But it was another face, another voice, another person. Quasimodo.
Just as rejected as Quasimodo had felt when she found him in Notre Dame, just as monstrous as he felt, she imagined Jim must feel right now. Esmeralda smiled gently, taking his hands between hers.
"Show me your hand, Jimbo," she said mildly, studying his hand. "Hmmmm.... that's strange, I don't see any."
She looked up, and met Djali's questioning gaze.
"Monster lines," she explained before offering Jim her own hand. "Now it's your turn. Do you see any monster lines in my hand?"
In the crystal ball Captain Teague Sparrow smiled to Jim, and then his voice sounded loud and clear in the room.
"Jimbo, me dear wee lad. `Tis good t' be seein' ye again. Let Esmeralda try t' help ye find a way t' avast th' wannion. 'Tis always a way ou', me lad. Jus' dasn't give up."
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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 20:20:55 GMT -5
Jim gave a tiny smile. "I don't have palms, Esme, you can't read them." he chuckled. "But I see what you're saying."
He beamed back at the captain in Esme's crystal ball, laying a skeletal hand on the glass. "I'm not giving up, Cap'n. Not yet." he answered as Teague faded from the ball.
Jim considered Teague's words. He wished that Esme, Elisa, and Nani could help, but the medallion was at the bottom of the ocean... no one even knew where it was, much less actually get to it.
Suddenly, and idea popped into Jim's head. "Esme! What do you want most?"
Jim plunged a hand into his tattered pants, pulling out a compass.
"Jack Sparrow gave me this when I ran into him in Tortuga. It may look ordinary... but this compass points to whatever you desire most. Except... I don't think I know what I want." Jim said, carefully avoiding the subject of what his conflicting desire was.
"I need to find the medallion that I took out of the chest to lift the curse. I dropped it in the ocean, but maybe..."
Jim handed the compass to Esme, Nani, and Elisa. "Maybe it'll work for one of you."
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Post by Nani Pelekai on Mar 14, 2009 20:51:54 GMT -5
She was wholly absorbed in the crystal ball, which revealed the long missed face of her dearest Captain Teague Sparrow, like a nostalgic dream.
All at once, on letting her glance fall over his visage, she beheld his sweet voice, on the verge of tears. Nani, torn from her concentration on Teague, began to watch the youth utter something about a compass, muttering something about its unique abilities.
She wouldn’t have believed him had she been new to all this, but after seeing such oddities, it was hard not to believe him.
“Can I hold it?” she asked, brushing her fingers over it hesitantly.
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Post by Jim Hawkins on Mar 14, 2009 21:11:50 GMT -5
"Yes, take it." Jim answered Nani, flipping open the lid.
"If you want me to be back to normal, then you want the medallion. It's the only way."
Jim handed her the compass, watching the needle jump between two points while it was in his hands. But if Nani or one of his other sisters held it, maybe it could point to the medallion.
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Post by Elisa Maza on Mar 14, 2009 22:15:14 GMT -5
Like her friends around her, Elisa's heart ached at the sight of Teague. She missed him so much, and she cherished the few precious moments when the old sea pirate appeared.
"Teague's right, Jim." Elisa said when the Captain faded from Esmeralda's crystal. "You can't give up. We won't let you. And we'll help you find your way."
Elisa watched in fascination as the needle of the compass spun around in Nani's hands. She hoped this thing would help. It looked as though it was Jim's only hope.
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