10:00 - HEATHER LANCASTER - WEST CANFIELD LOFTS

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The West Canfield Lofts always smelled like turpentine, but in a not entirely unpleasant way. It'd once been live-in galleries for artists, until the prices soared and sent all the artists packing. Still, it felt like a place you might see someone hauling around an easel and there were still a few art students with wealthy parents. The building was like a big brick, with large warehouse windows. It was funky and artsy and in a hip area with tons of galleries. Mini-Chicago, some said. Maybe someday you'd go to real-Chicago, at least if your friends got their way.

You had an appointment at 2PM at the Livernois PD. You'd never been out there, though you'd seen a few of the police stations in the city. They were invariably in the cruddiest parts of town, across the street from some crumbling strip mall or shanty town. Great material for shooting at least. Dad had given you stern warnings about how serious this job would be. The places had all been photographed and wiped already, but you might end up seeing something shocking if the investigation went that way.

((What time would she wake up for her meeting? It's at 2PM. Please describe how she'd wake up and what her room is like.))

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binarysunset

[binarysunset]

I set my alarm for 10 AM so I'd have time to take a shower and make some coffee before the meeting, which naturally means I don't get out of bed until 10:30. I figure I should dress up, so I throw on some makeup and a dress with a hemline just above the knee. Nothing too flashy, but it was better than the paint-stained t-shirt and jeans that I usually preferred on days when I wasn't working. Dad had told me that this case was important, so I wanted to make sure they could take me seriously.

I take my coffee and a protein bar into my room and crack open my laptop. Photoshop is open, displaying the work in progress of my latest project. Aliyah had taken a trip out to the art museum to do some sketching and I'd gone with her and brought my camera. Now I have more photos of busts of Roman emperors than I know what to do with, but if I prettied them up, I could probably use some of the damaged ones to make a statement about the decay of Western civilisation. Even as I played with the filters, I'm not even sure if I like what I've taken or not.

My desk with my laptop on it is tucked into the far corner of my room, away from my bed and up against one of the brick walls. It isn't just where I did most of my photo editing, it's also where I draw from time to time. I'm not particularly talented in that medium, but it's fun to just sketch things. Most of the walls in my room are decorated with taped up works of art: my photos and pencil sketches, Nessa's ink drawings, a few watercolours Aliyah had painted for me.

In the opposite corner, the one near my bed, I have a low bookshelf under my window. It's low enough I have a cushion on top of it so I can sit there. The shelf below it is lined with books: photography books, books of poetry (Whitman is one of my favourites), old antique books that I thought looked neat. They were bookended by two pieces of petrified wood I found online and thought looked pretty sick. Next to it are my two spare cameras: a modern Polaroid and a proper vintage Pentax K1000. I don't often shoot on film (especially because instant film is so pricey), but I love experimenting with the development process when I have the time. Currently, though, my Canon is my baby and it's what I use for work. On the opposite side is my bed, a twin with a simple wireframe and sheets in disarray. I hadn't bothered to make it and I probably won't until it'as time to wash the sheets or the messiness makes the whole thing unusable. Whichever comes first. I have no bedside table, instead opting to sleep next to a power strip and charge all my electronics there. Someday I'll get one, but money is tight at the moment and if I have to choose between buying better zoom lenses so I can do my job and buying a table to put my phone on overnight, I'll choose the lens every time.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

((Fantastic work so far! Thanks for being so descriptive. I just edited to set your text to cornflower blue RE: the post guidelines. No need to fuss on it though because I can fix anything. ))

Aliyah was bumbling around in the kitchen as you worked, you heard her opening and closing cupboards. Must be having a late start. The rain was really starting to pick up, hosing down your window and creeping through the cracks. It'd been raining so much lately that some small trees on the block were coming loose, poor things. What if it was pouring down rain the whole time you were out today? Would have to shoot with one hand and balance an umbrella on the other?

You heard Aliyah's footsteps down the hall and she tapped softly on your door.

((By the way, do you mind if I make up some stuff about Aliyah? Or do you have any specific ideas?))

[binarysunset]

((lol whoops. Will fix that in the future! Also feel free to make up whatever you want about Aliyah. The most I have for her is that she and Heather went to art school together and she likes to paint. I think she has a day job as a manager at a local craft store, but other than that, go ham))

I thought it was a bit strange that Aliyah was still home. She usually had the opening shift on weekdays and was out of the house before I even woke up. Unless she just didn't feel like going to work on a dreary day like this. I couldn't blame her, but it didn't seem like her to skip.I close my laptop and go to answer the door.

Heather-
"Hey, Liah, what are you still doing here? Graveyard shift tonight?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

((Thanks! Btw I forgot to mention this is the day after Halloween))

She opened the door, smiling wearily. The skin around her eyes was still stained greenish from her Incredible Hulk costume last night. What had the two of you gotten up to last night?

Aliyah-
"I called in hungover. I'm such a good girl, they'll never suspect me, heh heh."

She leaned against the doorframe and gazed out your window a bit melancholy.

"You're going out on that thing today, right? I hope you don't get soaked.
I still can't believe... ugh, it just sounds so awful."

[binarysunset]

I thought back to last night. I'd tried to take it easy, knowing that I had this meeting today. Aliyah, on the other hand, didn't quite have the same prerogative. We didn't go bar hopping often, but when we did... that girl sure did like her tequila. In my own somewhat-drunken haze, I hadn't kept track of how much she was drinking. It was apparently enough that she looked like shit.

I followed her gaze over towards the window, watching the rain stream down the thick-paned glass.

Heather-
"Yeah, Dad said it was an important case, and they're needing a photographer. Still not sure how I'm going to protect my baby, though."

I shrugged.

"It's my job. Someone's gotta do it. And besides, I'm pretty sure most of the crime scenes are cleaned up now, so I won't be coming home with an SD card full of fresh gore."

Though, I supposed that was more than a little unfortunate. I'd gotten pretty good at shooting blood splatters after the last couple of stabbings I'd had to document. Perhaps that thought process was a little macabre, but then again, so was my line of work.

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Aliyah-
"Yeah, you're right. I don't know, it just seems like... I don't know, I don't exactly believe in haunted houses but the stuff that happened there was so extreme. Maybe it's just because of Halloween, got me in that state of mind. Just be careful, okay? No ouija boards, ha ha..."

She looked around nervously.

"I'm making grilled cheese. Want one?"

[binarysunset]

I smiled. Aliyah certainly wasn't wrong: if you asked me if I believed in ghosts, my answer would definitely be yes. But just because they existed didn't mean they'd run into me, right? Still, I don't like taking my chances. If horror movies have taught me anything, it's not to invite that kind of shit into your house.

Heather:
"No Ouija boards, I promise. No seances, no spirit mediums, no spooky shit. Just me and some cops and a bunch of old, creepy buildings."

In all honesty, I thought it was a lot more likely that one of the old houses would collapse on me. But now that Aliyah had put the idea in my mind, I wasn't so sure that I was fearless as I was letting on. It hadn't occurred to me that the crime scenes might still be occupied, but now I was worried about more than just my camera.

"Grilled cheese sounds fantastic. You want any help?"

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She still looked a little unsettled, but smiled eagerly at the return to banal subjects.

Aliyah-
"Oh I'm fine, hon. I think I'll get these things fried and go back to bed for a while.
You just make sure you have your galoshes, okay?"

She was probably kidding, but the weather was seeming about right. Hopefully it was just going to be the house and the boat, and no tromping out in the woods to dig up bodies. Well, not just because of the mud...

She returned to the kitchen and called for you about five minutes later. She left your sandwich on the plate and was gone by the time you got out of the room. Must've had that headache come back. Rain beat against the windows; the cold, wet air suffusing through the glass. Natural light was nice, but the big panes had a way of sucking all the heat out of a room.

You had a couple hours yet before you needed to leave. The TV in Aliyah's room was on, a vague laugh track echoed through the apartment. How did you spend the rest of your time at home?

[binarysunset]

I watched the TV with Aliyah for a little while, before touching up my lipstick and going to pack up my camera equipment. The large bag I used was hard plastic with a waterproof lining, so it'd probably protect my camera from any harm. And I had a housing made for underwater use if the weather got especially bad, a Christmas gift from my parents last year. I hoped I wouldn't need it, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

Once everything was packed away, I threw on a pair of rubber-soled boots and a rain jacket before heading out to the bus stop.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The bus was late as ever, but at least you wouldn't have to transfer. The blackened clouds and blue lighting made mid-day feel like twilight, as though the sun would set at any moment. The bus was damp and miserable, and the wet coats and umbrellas of your fellow passengers made it even worse. The riders were weirdly silent today, just sniffing or coughing on occasion, the rain against the bus windows making up your morning soundtrack.

As you sprinted from the bus stop to your destination, you'd pass by the station's parking lot, which was completely full. The street parking was filling up too, good thing you didn't have to drive. On the way to the front door, you passed a car with completely fogged over windows. Maybe they just left, but none of the other cars were fogged.

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((Hey Tori, we're running out of time so I'd like if we can skip you ahead to the conference thread here: horrorboys.proboards.com/thread/1033/14-00-conference-livernois-pd You can go ahead and establish yourself there, maybe describing anything going through your head as you arrived.))