>>6062738
>Girl
>Brother
>Pocket Knife
>You'd stay a wallflower
We are the nice girl at the store who is secretly batshit insane and why her brother ran the fuck away

>>6062738
>Girl
>Brother
>A screwdriver
>Socialite

>>6062738
>Boy
>Brother
>Flip Knife
>Musician

Boy with a hoodie, a little edgy but have not yet fully commited to the early 2010 edgcringe stereotype.

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Writing (If I disappear, my power went out)
>Girl
>Brother
>Knife
>Unsure

>>6062738
>Boy
>Sister
>Pocket Knife
>Pianist

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Yep, you're Jane Dawson. Plain Jane. That's what people would probably call you, if anyone actually knew who you were. You're the queen wallflower. No friends, middling grades, never been asked out, and no real plans for the future. Sometimes when you're sitting at the back of the class you fantasize about what your life would be like if you had different parents. Maybe you'd be some super popular girl with a ton of friends you'd gossip with? And a whole line of guys wanting to ask you out. You feel a little embarrassed when you think about that, since you've always tried to convince yourself that you don't care about those things. But may you really do? Or you'd like to enjoy that kind of life, if you could? But you can't. So there's no point in even day dreaming about it. Other times, you imagine yourself performing some song in front of the whole school. With everyone cheering like you're a pop star as you sing your favorites into a microphone. Everyone would realize how cool and talented you are. That day dream makes you feel even more pathetic. The truth is, even if your parents were rich, you'd probably still just be some wallflower. It's in your nature.

You have proof of that, too. Your older brother was never a wallflower. Victor Dawson. He was some kind of genius. Girls thought he was handsome, and guys seemed to flock to him. But he always did exactly what he wanted, and always succeeded. Your parents never gave a shit about that either, but it didn't hold him back at all. So that's the proof. You're just a wallflower by nature. The epitome of nothing-special. Plain Jane.

Your brother ran away right around the time that you got your part time job, and he gave you a an old wood-hilted pocket knife to protect yourself on the walk to and from work just in case anything happened. A part of you hates your brother for leaving you all alone with your dead beat parents, but still you carry it with you everywhere. You tell yourself that it's because it's a good-quality knife. The truth is, you kind of miss him, and you hope he's ok, whatever he's doing out there.

You snap out of your reverie and.... only a couple of minutes have passed. God, today really might be the most boring day of your life.

>>6062823
>Play with the knife behind the counter, while noone is looking

>>6062834
+1

>>6062834
I agree with this, who cares about our boss?

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You look around for ways to entertain yourself. You could stock some shelves... but honestly they hardly need it since it's been so slow today. You think about your pocket knife, that's at least something you could fuck around with.. but it might freak out a customer if someone comes in. That said, no one has really come in all day, why would they start now? You fish the knife out of your pocket, pull out the blade, and start tossing it back and forth between your hands, imagining yourself on some pirate ship or something.

*CRASH* The front doors to the convenience store fly open. You jump back and duck behind the counter. Shit! What the hell was that?

*THUMP.* *THUMP.* *THUMP.*

A slow, rhythmic thumping shakes the whole room. Did fucking bear come in here or something? It sounds more like a dinosaur. You weren't able to catch a glimpse of it before you ducked behind the counter.

What the hell should you do?
>Hang tight! Don't be a hero!!!! Bears and T-Rex's are both attracted to motion. If you channel your wallflower powers, it might leave you alone.
>CHAARGE!!! You had your knife out right when it came in, that isn't a coincidence. It's your destiny to do battle with this creature.
>Just try to peak around the corner at it.
>Wait for it to pass by and try to sneak out front.
>Write in.

>>6062869
>Just try to peak around the corner at it, knife in hand

>>6062871
+1

>>6062871
+1, don't want to be a hero.

Wallflower roll.
1d100, bo3. DC: 55

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>6062991

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>6062991
This bear or whatever should eat someone more interesting than us

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>>6063212
Your countless years of experience remaining unnoticed comes in handy as you creep around the counter to peek outside and, you instantly spin back behind the counter and your hand flies to cover your mouth to suppress a yelp. It doesn't seem like it saw you, but you can't say for sure. That is definitely not a fucking bear, or even a dinosaur. You have no fucking clue what it is. You only caught a glimpse of it, but it isn't like anything you've ever seen before. It's tall and muscular, and it looked like it had horns. And it was holding someone! He was covered in blood. Was he dead? You didn't have time to get a good look at him. Also, is the room getting hotter? Is this even real life? Are you still at home dreaming? You almost hope that it is real, because if you're dreaming that means you'll have to wake up and go to school and then start your boring ass shift over. On the other hand, not getting murdered by this demon monster thing would be ok too.

*CRASH* You hear the sound of something being tossed across the room, and a shelf falling over, sending packaged chips and candy across the floor. Well, one plus to the dream theory, or getting murdered, is that you won't have to clean that up. Although, at this point you're considering quitting your job. You glance down at the knife in your hand, even if you snuck up on that thing, would knife be able to do any damage to it? Surely your best bet is just to wait here and hope it leaves on its own... although the room seems to be getting hotter and hotter, you might pass out if it doesn't leave soon. Alternatively you could try to sneak out, or just make a break for it.

In any case, you better make up your mind quicky.
>Try to wait it out.
>Try to sprint out!
>Try to sneak out.
>Attack it with the knife.
>Try talking to it (???)
>Write in.

>>6063329
>Try to sneak out.
Time to use that wallflower expertise and get the fuck out

>>6063329
>Try to wait it out.
No movement is the stealthiest way. Hopefully whatever entered the store leaves soon.
>Look around for nearby items that could serve as improvised weapons

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>6063334(1)
>>6063363(2)

As if you're gonna try to sneak by some monster from the pits of hell. Nope. Not happening. It will probably lose interest and then be on its way. You have a lifetime of experience not being noticed by others, there's no way it will fail you now. Just in case, however, you start glancing around the space behind the counter for anything you can use as a weapon, hopefully something with a little more reach than your pocket knife. Oh, duh! Your boss, Jerry, keeps a wooden baseball bat under the register just in case there's ever a robbery. "Never open the register, never give them a money, always fight to your last breath to protect the store's profits." That's what he always says. There's never been a robbery though, so you completely forgot about it. The thing is covered in dust and cobwebs, you'll grab it if push comes to shove, but for now, better not to move.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* At first you can't distinguish the creatures footsteps from the pounding of your heart until at last, the creature's footsteps grow nearer to the back of the store. A bead of sweat rolls down your cheek, in part due to nerves, but it's also getting awfully hot in here. It's like this creature is radiating an amazing amount of heat. It almost feels like you're inside of an oven. You're not sure how long you can handle this.

The creature's footsteps stop and it seems to have approached the back wall. You imagine that it's too large to fit through the door into storage, so you pray that it will either break through the wall or just turn around and leave. You seem to have successfully evaded its notice, the only thing left to do is not burn to a crisp. There's no noise for at least a minute, and by that point your entire body is covered in a sheen of sweat. You slump back against the counter, taking shallow, ragged breaths of the hot air. Finally, you hear the creature move, taking its slow steps back towards the entrance.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

Until it stops, right behind you. Your eye lids grow heavy as the heat raises to unbearable levels, sapping you of your vitality. You blink once... twice... The last sight you see is the shadow of the creature on the ground in front of you, and you feel its presence looming over you.

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>>6064088
When your eyes open, it's cool again and you're no longer covered in sweat. You feel safe. So it was all dream. A wave of relief washes over you and the sense of panic fades. That is, until you realize you aren't in your bed. You're... somewhere? Or maybe nowhere? It's pure white in every direction, endlessly. You look down at your hands and... you don't have any hands!!! You don't even have a body anymore. Are you dead? I mean, what else could it be? So that gorilla-demon in the convenience store was real? You died at work.

And where are you now? The whiteness kind of seems like heaven but... isn't heaven supposed to be happy? It doesn't seem like hell either. After some thinking, you conclude it's probably purgatory, the perfect afterlife for a wallflower like you.

"Do not be afraid." A deep, masculine voice booms out reverberating throughout your whole essence. The infinite expanse of whiteness no longer seems empty, but instead overflowing with some presence. Wherever you look you still see nothing, but in the periphery of your "vision" you see millions upon millions of eyes, of various shape and size and color, all staring at you with neither benevolence or malice.

"W-who are you?"

In the center of your vision, between the infinite eyes, a humanoid figure appears. A man: tall, muscular, and beautiful. He looks like an angel ripped from some renaissance painting: long flowing hair, white robes, and a massive spear in his hand. "I am Gabriel, Archangel of the LORD." He responds.

"So I'm dead then." You conclude.

"You are not, for I have saved you."

"Oh. Thanks. So are we like, inside my brain or something?"

"Indeed." Gabriel responds. "I sensed your distress and rushed to protect you."

"Well... thanks. What was that thing anyway?"

"Hellspawn. Something like an animal, except native to the fiery pits of hell. I slew it when I came to protect you."

"Thanks..." You reply awkwardly, "Umm, that's my first time seeing one those. Did something happen?"

"Indeed. The prince of hell has ascended to the throne of the divine and has dominion over the heavens and the heavenly hosts. He has given the world to his demons to rule as they please."

"Oh." What the hell are you supposed to say to that? Is this a dream within a dream? Should you even entertain this madness? "So... what should I do?"

"My brothers and I, the first of the LORD's creations, have volition of our own, and need not obey the enemy's infernal commands. We seek to free the LORD from captivity and restore him to his throne. To do so, we will need to march on Heaven and strike down the enemy."

"... okay..." You mutter, feeling that your question has gone unanswered. "Umm.. good luck."

(cont.)

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>>6064120
"In Heaven's fall, my powers were greatly diminished. On my own, I would be hunted, and easily felled. By tying my essence to your own, I am hidden. You will be my champion, Jane. You will be the LORD's champion. When you awake, you must find safety. Then, you must seek out my brothers and any other allies we can bring to my cause. In time, once our power grows, we will march on Heaven, and strike down the adversary and return the cosmos to order."

What.

"I will be unable to provide much aid to you at first, so you must be cautious. In time, however, my power will grow, and together we will be capable of amazing things." The voice booms, full of hope and enthusiasm.

"I'm really sorry but... I think you might have the wrong person." You reply, "You should have just let me die. I'm a b-average student who works at a convenience store. I'm not qualified to save the world." You can't help but think of your brother when you say that. He's the kind of guy who's fit to be some archangel's champion and lead a resistance against the devil. You're more fit to be a bystander who dies in opening scene of the movie.

"Who you were does not matter, for I am with you. You mustn't fear. What is done is done. Our fate's are bound. While I cannot force you to take up this task, the very fate of the entire cosmos depends upon it."

A thousand thought fly through your head like bees in a hive. You want to plead with him to let you go. To let you die if need be. To do anything other than make you some anime protagonist who has to save the world. You're not cut out for that, anyone would know that, most of all you. But before you can argue further, your eyes open and you take in a large breath of cool air. *GASP.* You sit up and find yourself on the floor behind the counter. Your clothes are drenched with sweat, but you're alive. You sit there for a moment, wondering if it was all some fever dream that caused you to faint. You check your head for sore spots but can't find anything, so you slowly rise to your feet and look out at the convenience store. The shelves are knocked over, bags of chips and sweets are busted and scattered across the floor. The glass entry doors are shattered and knocked from their hinges. There's no sign of the creature you remember from before, but the man it was holding, an older man in a white lab coat, is in a pool of blood on the floor. You're unable to tell if he's alive or dead.

So it was real. At least the first part. You can't be sure if the part with Gabriel was just some dream you had while overheating or not, so you decide to call out to him. "Gabriel?" You say his name, feeling ridiculous.

Silence.

>>6064128
You sigh, picking up the baseball bat from beneath the counter, and thinking of what to do next.

>Check on the guy, if he's alive, try to nurse him back to health. If he's dead take his stuff.
>Take the guy's stuff and leave him whether he's alive or dead.
>Get out of there and try to head back to your house.
>Head to your school
>Write in.

>>6064130
>Take the guy's stuff and leave him whether he's alive or dead.
Don't have time for him, bro might be in danger

>>6064120
That is... unfortunate. Whew.

>>6064130
>Take the guy's stuff and leave him whether he's alive or dead.
It's brutal but we've got to look out for number one.

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>>6064136
>>6064218
Normally you might check up on the poor guy. But he just got fucked up by a demon, and you're no doctor, so even if he is alive, you're in no position to help him out. You don't even have time to stop and think this whole situation over and make sure you're not having some psychotic break. Your number one priority at this point needs to be SURVIVING whatever the hell is going on and avoiding any more of those "Hellspawn," or any other worse creature that might have made its way out of the pits of hell.

So you do something you're not so proud of and start searching the guy's pockets for anything that might be useful. First you find his wallet. He has about $60 on him. You're not sure if money is worth jack anymore, but you take it just in case. You also grab his ID, which has his name: Collin Hastings, and his address: 4245 7th Ave, Apt 205 (Only a few blocks from here). Next you find his keys. Lastly, inside his jacket pocket, you find a strange... object. It's made completely of metal, no larger than an apple, and in the shape of some kind of bat or bird? It almost looks like some kind of religious statue. You have no idea, but decide to grab it just in case.

You throw all of that in your back pack along with the cash from the register, $390, and some water and snacks, just in case. You figure you have enough to last you about four days, assuming you really had to stretch it.

Once you have all of that squared away, you're ready to go....

Where?
>Back to your home
>To the dead guy's apartment
>To your school
>Nowhere, just stay here
>Write in

>>6064312
>>To the dead guy's apartment
Closer to safety and we can turn on the news to see any updates.

>>6064312
>To the dead guy's apartment
If we know he's dead, we can loot it without risk.

>>6064720
>>6065168
Writing.

[Also, as a heads up, I'll probably post, at best, once a day Monday through Thursday and then have increased activity on weekends. My hope is to keep this going as long as people are responding to polls. Appreciate everyone who has participated so far and appreciate any feedback you have about the quest (other than my shitty art, which will hopefully get better over time). Thanks!]

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>>6065175
Going home is out of the question. It's a decently long walk and your parents will be worse than useless in an emergency situation. You might be able to find some companions at the school, but on the other hand, no one would even recognize you. The dead(?) guy's apartment seems like the safest bet. Even if he somehow survived that, he probably won't be coming back any time soon, and it's close. Assuming no one is else is there, it could be a decent home base, or at least a place to plan your next step.

You turn to face the front door of the market. It's significantly darker now than it was when the monster busted into the store. A long line of abandoned cars are in the street. How long were you unconscious? And did no one come and loot the market in that time? That seems unlikely given what you know about cataclysmic events from movies and tv shows. Maybe it was Gabriel's doing? You don't see the point in dwelling on it now.

You take one last look back at the interior of the market. Even destroyed, it conveys some sense of security to you. You'd be lying if you said you weren't scared. Surviving some hell-gorilla is one thing, being possessed by an archangel and expected to save the world is a whole nother. You take a deep breath and then finally stick your foot out and take your first step towards your future destiny.

Looking down the street, you see the extent of the chaos you apparently slept through. Several corpses are strewn about the ground in drying puddles of blood. Some look only like they were trampled, others have more unnatural wounds. 6 inch holes pierces through them in a perfect circle like someone took a chunk out of them with a cookie cutter, or half-corpses that look like they were bitten in half. You can't help but gasp, and the echo of your gasp sends you into a panic, like you just announced to whatever abomination caused this carnage that a late night snack had been served. A terrified part of you is begging to return to the store, but you steel yourself and press on.

Each shadow, bush, or alleyway seems a lethal threat as you tread quietly down the empty city streets, keeping your eyes straight ahead and stepping carefully to avoid having to see the gruesome sights all around you.

Occasionally, you see movement in your peripheral vision and turn with wide, terrified eyes to see someone staring out at you from some building window. When they see you've spotted them, they draw the blinds. Others are still alive, they're just in hiding.

Even at your slow pace, it's a short walk to the man's apartment complex. You make your way in through the empty lobby and head up the stairs to the second floor and find room 205. You dig through your bag and find his keys and try each in turn until finally the door unlocks, and make your way in.

"Dr. Hastings! You're finally back!" A male voice calls from another room.

>>6065232
Oh shit. Before you can decide whether or not to cheese it, a guy, maybe a few years older than you, with a blonde pompadour enters the living and gives you a shocked look.

"Who are you? Where is Dr. Hastings?!" He asks, sounding almost as scared as you are.

The apartment is cramped, certainly not a luxury apartment, but not a cheap one either. There's no television, and instead books are stacked up on shelves and the ground all around the walls and behind the furniture. A table is in the center of the room covered in paper that looks heavily annotated. Unfortunately, you don't have time to notice much else, you gotta figure out how to deal with this guy.

>Be up front, tell him Dr. Hastings is dead, you found his body and came here for safety.
>Lie, tell him Dr. Hastings sent you to give him a message to meet him somewhere.
>Just turn around and leave, this guy will probably never trust you.
>Write in.

>>6065239
>He is dead and I couldn't do anything, you need to find out what this statue does it might be humanity's last hope

>>6065239
>>He is dead and I couldn't do anything, you need to find out what this statue does it might be humanity's last hope

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>>6065570
>>6066133
You stand staring at the man like a deer in headlights.

"Well?" The man approaches you, sounding more scared than hostile. "Where is Dr. Hastings?"

"Um... Uh..." You begin stammer.

"Get in here." The man grabs you by the arm and pulls you into the apartment, locking the door behind you. "It's not safe outside." He lets out a long sigh and his shoulders relax. "Now look, I don't mean to scare you, but if you haven't noticed, the situation outside is serious. Dr. Hastings was supposed to be back hours ago. If you know something, I implore you to tell me."

The man's earnest demeanor makes you feel a bit guilty about leaving this Doctor guy behind. You were pretty sure he was dead but, you didn't even check. "I'm sorry but I-" Your voice catches in your throat. "I'm pretty sure that guy is dead." It's easier not to say his name. You've only ever known him as a corpse, and acknowledging his humanity will only make the guilt bear down on you even harder.

He stands stunned for a moment before falling back onto the sofa and putting his head into his hands. "I-I had a feeling... I told him not to go." He says sullenly, before picking his head up and staring at you with a frown. "What, so you looted his body or something is that it?"

Well.. yeah, it is! But it's not like you'd normally do something like that. The situation has gotten a little crazy out there if he hasn't noticed!!!!

That's what you wish you could say. Instead, you just stand there like an idiot searching for some excuse. Some justification for stealing a dying man's stuff. It doesn't arrive.

The man sighs, rubbing his temple. "I'm sorry. I know things are hectic out there. I'm sure you had no choice." He says, sounding more like he's trying to convince himself than convince you. "But please, if there's anything he told you, or anything at all you can tell me about what happened, it's very important that you do."

"I'm sorry... he was dead when I first saw him, at least, I think. Some monster came into my work place carrying him. I fainted, and when I woke up the monster was gone and he was... well..." You avert your eyes and then suddenly think of the statue in the bag. It means practically nothing to you, so if it'll console this guy at all, you'll happily part with it. You sling your back pack in front of you and take out the the strange idol. "He had this on him, though. For some reason I think it might be important?"

At the sight of the idol, the man's eyes widen and he stands up. "He found it!" He practically snatches it from you and walks over to the table. "Dr. Hastings predicted the events of today over a decade ago." He starts sorting through the papers. "He believed that there's some sort of ancien-" He looks up from the table and turns to you. "Sorry. I suppose I should introduce myself. After that we should probably figure out what to do with you. My name is Eric Compton." He looks at you, his former sullenness has been replaced by enthusiasm.

>>6066870
Oh, right! Now you have to tell him your name. You're not used to people caring who you are. "I-I'm Jane. Dawson."

“Nice to meet you, Jane. I wish it were under better circumstances. I am-" He winces, "Was one Dr. Hasting’s graduate students. He was an archeologist. To be honest, a bit of a fringe one. But brilliant nonetheless.” He waves his hands around beginning to ramble, a habit of his, you’ve noticed. “I can’t tell you that we can put the toothpaste back into the tube on this, but I think Dr. Hastings was on to something that might be a material aid, at the very least, to surviving this mess.”

For the first time since you left the convenience store, you think about Gabriel. Is this related to that? Gabriel seemed to think that there was some way to put an end to all of this. Does that mean you should tell Eric about that? Would he even believe you?

As you silently ponder that, Eric continues, “Now, I can’t imagine you want to go back out there, but if you do, I won’t stop you. You can even stay the night to plan your next steps.” He sighs, “If you want, however, you can go with me to figure out the mystery of this thing.” He picks up the idol.

Your plan from here?
>Team up with Eric, help him find this temple
>Plan to go your own way, you don’t have time to help this guy with his schizo-quest

If going your own way, what are your plans:
>Try to find any kind of enclave of society where you can find some relative normalcy.
>Try to find your own home base that only you know about.
>Write In

Regardless of your plans, you have a night to get ready for the path ahead.
>Shower, eat, try to find some clean clothes that fit, and get some shut eye.
>Get to know Eric some more.
>Try to get in touch with Gabriel some how?
>Exercise
>Write In

>>6066873
>Team up with Eric, help him find this temple

>Write-in: Turn on the tv and put at low volume to see any news of the invasion. At least knowing where there is resistance can help us avoid areas of conflict or data on how to hurt them.