LMNO-PI

[Hoshiko]

DOOM  

[Bella]

TRIPLE DOOM

[Gimoz]

OH NO! NOT DOOM!?

[Malaul]

cute avatar GIz

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

TRIPLE DOOM

No kidding. Even I was afeared.

[LMNO]

I stood up, stretching.  ,ÄúLooks like you need some sleep.,Äù

Erin just sat there, visibly drained.  Her luminous green eyes seemed almost sunken, and her lips were drawn thin as she gazed into the table.  The day,Äôs events had obviously taken their toll.  ,ÄúHey,,Äù I said, ,Äúlet,Äôs get some sleep.,Äù

Erin stood slowly, and we made our way out of the Caf?©, into the cold night air.  The City,Äôs oppression was less palpable tonight somehow, perhaps alleviated by the full moon glowing a tainted yellow, offering it,Äôs meager light to the sidewalk, which gobbled it up hungrily.

,ÄúThe Ocean,,Äù mumbled Erin.  ,ÄúGod,Ķ,Äù

,ÄúLet,Äôs get you home first.  We,Äôll deal with what we have to do next tomorrow.,Äù

Erin grabbed me above the elbow, like she was clinging to a life preserver.  And maybe in a way she was.  After all the different states she,Äôd had to go through, all the things she,Äôd seen, the only constant was,Ķ me.  Her fingers gripped tightly, and I could feel the heat from her hands radiate through my coat, into my skin.  She still walked with confidence, but she wouldn,Äôt be awake for much longer.  

Her hand let go of my bicep, and slid along my back.  Instinctually, I raised my right arm, and she moved up next to me, her head resting gently against my chest as I grasped her shoulder, gently steering her towards the car.  I could smell her again, like 4-day old lilies when they start to wilt, releasing their heady perfume into the air.  My head filled with images:  A half-drank cup of tea, waiting for a trip to the sink in the chilled morning air; a solitary charred log in a fireplace, gently smoking, the last ember of the last fire of the winter fading into grey; an empty jar of perfume lying on its side, kicked over in a fit of jealous passion; the desiccated hull of an old boat, ribs jutting out of a sandy beach,Ķ  Which brought me back to the Ocean.  Why was Erin so shocked when the Oracle told her to go there?  What was it about the Ocean that frightened her so?  Tomorrow, deal with it tomorrow, I thought.  Right now, you have to deal with Erin.  She,Äôs dead on her feet.

We reached the car, and I helped her inside.  ,ÄúLMNO,,Äù she said, ,ÄúI want to thank you for helping me today,Ķ,Äù

,ÄúHey, that,Äôs why you hired me.  Now let,Äôs get you home.  Where do you live?,Äù

,Äú1723 Heofon.  East Quadrant.,Äù

I whistled low.  ,ÄúPretty classy digs there.,Äù

She looked over at me.  ,ÄúI happen to be a pretty classy lady.  Or have you not noticed, since your tastes run towards the genetically modified, apparently?,Äù

,ÄúTrust me, I noticed.  But seeing as how you,Äôre a client, I tried to ignore it.,Äù

Erin sighed.  ,ÄúRight now, I just want to go to bed.  Could we get going, please.,Äù

,ÄúYou,Äôre the boss,,Äù I said, gunning the engine.  


Driving towards the East Quadrant, I glanced over at Erin.  She was still awake, gazing out the window at the Moon, which looked impossibly big tonight.  Her hands were resting in her lap, fingers twisted together, lifeless.  I caught the faintest sound of her humming over the engine noise.  It sounded like an old lullaby, probably sung to her decades ago, before the Rebellion, before the Sanctions, before the Mandated Plutocracy, even.  Before anyone would have known she,Äôd wind up in this car, having traveled through space-time and ancient mystic-space to get here, half-asleep, staring at the impossible moon.

The car roared on through the night.

[agent compassion]

 Ooooh...dramatic...

[Sepia]

I kep thinking 'it's gonna end with LMNO really being cthulhu or something' but it didn't and it worked well.

I liked.

[LMNO's Shadow]

I spoke to the bastard, and this story ain't over yet, unfortunately.

The son of a bitch is gonna keep yammering...

[LMNO]

The current chapter
takes the form of a haiku:
"Many Things Happened."

[Cain]

The current chapter
takes the form of a haiku:
"Many Things Happened."

[LMNO]

Oh, come on.  If you were reading a book, and an entire chapter consisted soley of that haiku, you'd think it was great.

[East Coast Hustle]

we just wanna know if you hit it.

[Cain]

Yes, but if I was reading a book, I would now be reading tomorrows edition, trying to eagerly piece together the many things that had happened from fragments of the conversation.

[LMNO]

Tough.