Courier flys down the tunnel, the light from the flashlight allowing him to keep away from the walls. Within a minute he draws to halt in front of Gregory. The light shows a steel jacket door inset in the wall at the tunnel's end. A blank covers the hole where a knob should be. and the hinges and door are cursted with filth and oxidation. Clearly the door has not been used in some time.

"I'm Calypso, and this here's Seven," the nova answers placidly. "As for three women alone, I wouldn't say it's any more dangerous than one man alone. We've come a ways, and aren't strangers to trouble, though we don't start fights when it can be helped. As for where, my apologies, but we don't speak of our origins lightly. It's nothing personal on you...there are people who could force you to talk, or pluck the name from your mind as easy as breathing. We don't want to put anything like that on the trail to our home."

Let him chew on that. He can see Seven's gifted, but probably not how...and isn't sure about the rest of us. Dangerous situation for him to make a move unless he has backup.

"As for what to talk about, well, it's a bit unseasonably cold this year, don't you think?"

Doug sends to both the others,

*Well, good. It's not used. We could hide out on the other side next to the pool, no problem. Food is an issue but just having water is huge.*

*And you two are going to check it out anyway aren't you?*

There's some humor to that last question, he knows the answer.

Gregory just smiles back at Doug, as he waits for Raider to get him on the other side of the door.

Seven frowned, holding up both hands palms up then pointing at Franklin curiously.

Philip nods, "That's why I'm trying to leave, I've had enough of it."



"I ... I don't understand..." He looks confused and turns to Calypso, "Can she not speak? DO you know what she it trying to say?"

Raider shares Gregory's smile and nods. Grabbing the man's hand with his left hand and his flashlight with the other, he shifts the other man out of phase and goes right through the door. Once inside he whispers to Gregory, "Don't let go of me, we don't want to disturb anything." After that he flicks his flashlight on and sweeps it around the room.

seven glared at him. Was he another scavanger?

"She is speaking," Calypso says. "In her way. I think she wants to know more about you. She's a curious sort. Where are you from?"

She waves a hand airily. "I mean, generally, not specifically. I am from the north, originally. But I have traveled for some time, along the coast. Trading...meeting people and seeing places. What do you do?"

Phillip looks at Seven, his face not quite readable, "I see ... " he shakes his head, "Me, I am from, well, nowhere really, and everywhere. My parents were nomadic, raiding ruins and trading their finds for food and equipment in towns. I've been doung the same for years now." He moves closer still to the fire. "The fire it feels wonderful."

*****

Raider and Gregory walk into the other room and flip the light on. Immediately they see a man, or rather what remains of a man, bound to a barber or dentist's chair with barbed wire. The chest has been opened and the man's organs pulled out from his abdomen but not severed. A heavy twist of dirty rag is stuffed into his mouth and wrapped about his head as a gag.

The room itself is a filthy mess, blood and worse stain the walls, floor and even the ceiling. A pair of workbenches hold tool of torture as well as medical supplies. A small sink holds rust red water and the faucet has a slow leak at one of the valves which causes the sink to slowly drip from one chipped edge.

Expecting the other two to walk through the wall, Doug quickly gets out his flashlight and powers it up. After they do so, he turns it off expecting total darkness, then he turns it back on.

(Over the link to anyone who will talk to him) *Say, Calypso, Adam, Raider, Gregory, how is it going?*

Seven stared at him for a long moment. Was this guy someone she might have met before? Or... knew Don Henry?!? Instinctively, she shuffled closer to Calypso.

Gregory was horrified at what he saw. Combined with the noises from the man's evisceration and he wanted to retch.

He sends back * Someone killing people here. Blood everywhere. I heard him take man's insides out of the while man alive. Evil place. Many killed here.

Raider pulls Gregory back through the door and releases him. Giving a shudder he controls his own urge to revisit his last meal. He reaches over and places his hand on Courier's arm and whispers, "I'll shift you out of phase if you want to take a look, but it's pretty gruesome. We might need to explore upstairs to find out who is up there and using the place, but I don't think we need to worry about that room, it's a torture chamber of some kind. If we build a wall here in this tunnel it should prevent any noise from possibly alerting anyone that comes down to the room and we should be pretty comfortable back there in that previous chamber."

Gregory wanted to get as far from that room as possible. He also didn't know how they would prevent such a monster from coming after them. The prospects of having it sneak up on them while they slept, made his chest grow cold. As long as they remained in this loaction, Gregory would not sleep. It was too dangerous. If the others wanted to investigate further, it would be without him.

Survival is all that mattered.

Calypso is momentarily distracted by the telepathic voice, and takes a moment to answer: *A stranger has come to the fire. He seems friendly enough, if a bit nosy. I have not told him there are more of us.*

Then she says to the man, "That's a dangerous line of work. I've heard tell the old city here is populated by demons. I don't know if it's true, but we saw some dangerous looking folk about. We cut a wide path around them, and suggest you do the same. Assuming you're going that way."

Doug sends back,

*Good move. You and Seven aren't well known, KB is out. We're a bit far away right now so I think you're on your own if it gets nasty.*

Doug sends back,

*...So we're basically in Squid's basement? Or someone like him? If we had a way to get food this would almost be ideal.*

*I don't think food is an issue, we can always get Adam to drop us some if worse comes to worse. We have enough to last a few days with us. Lets get back and see about building a wall or maybe two between that room and this place. We can always come back and explore after we get settled. What do you think?*

Doug sends back,

*...risky... but it's probably a decent bet. Whoever is on the other side of that wall certainly thinks this is out of the way.*

*I think we have to do this. Let me check up on Adam.*

Philip looks through the woods in the direction of the city and shrugs, "I figured something lived there, that wall wasn't just random piles of debris. Still thank you for the warning, I had thought to try and scavenge from there come morning. Once I could see well enough to scale the wall that is. "

*****

Courier attempts to make contact with Adam again and recieves the following: *Now's not really a good time man, unless you are in some serious shit I can't spare the time or the juice. That storm picked up like you don't know after you left, the city is getting plastered, we're evacuating before we're all buried alive!*

Doug sends back,

*Thank you. Save yourself.*

...

(To Raider and the others) *Adam says the storm is much worse and they're evacuating the city.*

*Ack, we pissed it off! I think we should regroup and discuss. Going back might make things worse or better, plus now that we are here we should really look around and get a better idea about what these people are up to. If my evil twin isn't actually in charge here maybe we could deal with these people. If he is then we need to do everything in our power to take him out or sabotage the city. Besides, if that was an orbital platform in orbit above us we may have a much bigger issue that an angry snowstorm to deal with.*

Calypso considers that.

*Send me back to the city.*

*Wait, you mean our place? I don't think I can. Adam has no way to lock on you and he also has no juice or time to spare. I'm not sure I could even raise him again.*Doug sends, *There's no point in hiding here now. We might as well go back to the girls, oh, right, that'd be 'regroup'.*

*Even if we can't get Adam to warp us through, I could probably fly us there in an hour or two.*

Doug tries to estimate how far they are and how long it would take.

Seven frowned, looking over at Calypso with concern.

He sends back: Yes. I want out of here. Go back to girls.

The caves and tunnels had seemed such a great idea, but the images of that killing room were too much. He was not curious to see who it was who killed that man.

Doug grabs the other two and quickly rockets out of the tunnel system and out into the darkness of night. Within mere minutes they are out of the city once more and following along the wall toward the faint column of smoke that can be seen trickling up through the forest a mile or so from the city. A quick burst of speed, the cold dry winter air whipping through their hair and stinging their eyes and they circle down through the trees toward the camp, the fire casting a ruddy orange glow about the low wall of packed snow.

KB is curled under blankets and sleeping, Calypso, Seven and Philip sit near the fire talking as above them the sound of cracking twigs and bending branches alerts them to the return of the others. Doug sets down just inside the wall and allows Gregory to clamber down off his back.

Doug looks around and notices the stranger, he gives a wave and says,

"Hey there. I'm Doug."

When Gregory saw the stranger, he went white, literally. He became the color of the snow around him and he faded from view. Meanwhile, his mind shouted at him in amazement. How can it be?!.

Since he was still naked, and his clothing was lying by the fire near the girls, he would observe from afar. He was going to stay away until he knew what was happening.

* Doug... That is the dead man from the killing room. I don't know how he is alive. Maybe he have twin too.

Doug shrugs and continues walking towards him,

"Hey, are you from around here? I'm a shipper, if you have any idea what the locals want we should be talking about trades. There's lot opportunity in that sort of thing, plenty to go around for everyone."

Doug offers to shake hands,

"Pleased to meet you."

Raider sends *That guy looks remarkably like the guy that had his guts ripped out in that torture room. Like twin brother or clone. See if you can get any info out of him. I'm going to stay hidden and ready just incase.*

Phillip stands up as Courier and the others land his eyes sliding over Raider, possibly not seeing him. He watches as Gregory fades into the background but is left with little time for thought as Courier steps forward and offer his hand.



Phillip looks back at Calypso, "Freinds of yours I assume?" he asks as he reaches out to Courier's offered hand. "Hi I'm Phillip, I was just sharing the fire here with .... urrk!"

Phillip never completes his words as Courier gasps his hand in a vice-like grip and pulls the man into a massive bear hug. A twitch of muscle fiber and the sickening sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing breaks the serenity of the scene. Shards of shattered bone perforate Phillips skin, lungs, and organs; blood sprays from his twisted broken body as Courier literally crushes the life out of the man. It is all over in a second ending in a wet gurglign rasp as the last air, now mixed with blood, is forced from Phillips dead lips.

Calypso's mouth drops open in shock, and she scrambles back away from Courier and his *armfulla gibs. She gestures upward with an arm as she does, and snow rises up around Courier, compressing itself into ice as it goes.

"What is going on?!" she demands. "Why have you done this?!"

What's left of Phillip makes two thumping sounds as Doug drops him to his right and left. Doug's front is a solid red dripping down like he stepped out of the shower. He reaches up to wipe off his face and says coldly,

"Squidward had a right hand man. Shapeshifter. A Doctor friend of ours stole some equipment and a few hours later we found his several day old corpse. He'd been skinned alive, dude took his time at it."

Face somewhat wiped off, Doug nods towards the side of him that has the head and says,

"We found a guy with his face who'd been tortured to death. Funny that."

Calypso hesitates, the nods and makes a downward gesture.

The ice recedes around Courier's feet, sinking back into the snow.

"A warning would have been nice," she comments. "I thought you might be under control... But something about him did seem a bit off. Not -that- off, exactly...but a little."

She swirls a hand, causing snow to spiral around and melt into water which then spins up into the air in a sphere about as big around as a basketball.

"You'll want to clean off, I imagine."

Doug lets out a breath, and visibly tries to untense,

"Yes, thank you."

Doug reaches into the water and tries to push the globe around him to wash off the gore. He says with a forced cheer and shifts his gaze to KB's sleeping(?) form,

"I'd forgotten how messy this is... I haven't done this since... eruption."

Raider frowns and looks at the remains. Making one hand solid he carefully checks for any signs of life then goes through the man's pockets and such looking for anything that might give them a clue to who he was. He is also curious to see if the features reverted to some other form. Once he is done if no one else has questions he will attune the man and deposit him about 30 feet under.

What's wrong with Doug! Gregory was horrified. He wondered if his friend had gone crazy.

Even after hearing the explanation, he remained hidden. What if he thinks I am shape..shifter-thingy!. He even worried about the girls becoming his next victim. Suddenly, Gregory began to feel very woozey, as he started to wonder if the madness was catching. Afterall, Raider had already shown signs he was crazy when he asked Gregory to search for a coastline underground. Now Doug crushes a man to death. I don't want to catch what they have!

Gregory found himself on the verge of vomiting.

After he is clean Doug will check up on KB, noticing that Gregory still hasn't shown up he sends to him,

*You all right? Still with us? And you didn't see the Doc, he deserved this.*