Lieutenant JG Grace Hope - Falling Down a Scary Rabbit Hole

[Ben Stryker]

((Holodecks, RAFT-ONE))

Mason: Lieutenant, are you aware of where you are right now?  ::slipping off her light jacket, Cassie hands it to Lieutenant Hope.:: Klingons are more susceptible to the cold, right? Take it.

Hope: Half Klingon. I try not to give into weakness :: watches the doctor for a few seconds as her nose twitches. She nodded with a half smile, :: But you're right. As my mother would say, accept gifts from strangers. Thanks.

Mason: You both seemed almost in a trance, I followed to make sure you were both alright.

Putting the jacket on, Grace nodded and moved forward into the dark. Her night vision was a bit better than humans. Only slightly. However, her sense of smell was pretty strong. For a half Klingon.

Mason: Whatever this is, it’s very restless...

MacKenna: I tend to agree.

Grace was very hidden in the mist as she came in and out. Offering her hand forward, she cocked her head in a curious way and started waving through the growing mist. It was a very strange feeling in the holodeck.

MacKenna: Perhaps it was the boots. Nothing to worry about.

Grace turned to where Ash pointed and nodded

Collins: Hello? 

Grace: Hi.

Another Voice. A Woman's. Familiar: Right, sorry. Panicking won't help...

Collins: Room for one more, Commander?

Grace notice a new addition and smiled at his sudden appearance.

MacKenna: Oh! Quentin...

Collins: Doctor Mason! Wonderful to see you here amid the...gloom. ::he turns slightly to Hope:: Quentin Collins, lovely to finally meet you as well. Despite the circumstances.

Grace: Spooky entrance, Commander. Hope you're ready to get scared.

A sudden sound vibrated in her ear that she yelped only slightly. Soon, she snarled with annoyance. Soon, she started rubbing on her jacket and mumbled.

Collins: Oh, this is VERY good. Did you set this up, Ash? It's too early for my birthday!

Hope: This is a nice jacket. Keeping me warm.

And then the boots, which had all but enraptured them all, basically...sprinted up and out of the room. A heavy door "upstage" of them all swinging open suddenly to allow them through and then SLAMMING shut back. The room settled heavily and the fog continued, trailing through the flooring and ancient carpeting and into the doorway.

MacKenna: Do we follow them?

Collins: I think we have to, right?

Mason: We don’t have to...We don’t have to do anything. 

Grace turned to Cassie and smirked slightly.

Hope:  Scared, huh? Don't worry. I'll protect you. 

For a few seconds, they explored the area and proceeded carefully. However, before Grace had a chance to react, she suddenly slipped into a trapdoor. It was dark. The half Klingon hated the dark, although she wouldn't admit it.

((Interior. The Crypt.))

Grace opened her mouth and sneezed. She didn;t have a chance to cover her mouth and reacted with an exclamation. Shaking her head, dust seemed to billow for a moment. They were in an underground crypt. Coffins were everywhere, lining the walls in neat and straight rows, in alcoves, and in just about every possible available space.

Collins: Okay, I am loving THIS less...

MacKenna: Indeed.

Grace found herself exploring the abandoned crypt they fell into. Setting herself along the rowed tombstones, she dipped her head down under the archway and looked toward her group.

Mason: A little cliche if nothing else.

Hope: Spooky, too.

A sudden scraping in the darkness startled the half Klingon as a tombstone was opened. She swallowed heavily. It felt like more they explored, the deeper they went into this scary rabbit hole. 

Mason: We definitely have company.

 There were new sounds now. It was like something out of a cliche monster movie where skeletons came alive and started hunting them. Hunting. Not just haunting. Hunting. Grace shuddered again and not out of the cold. 

MacKenna: And perhaps not all dead.

Mason: I doubt it could be considered alive either, whatever it is.

Hope: Maybe it's a vengeful mother come back from the dead 

Collins/MacKenna: Response? 

Voice: Curiosity has led you astray.

 Suddenly, this voice that jumped out of nowhere chilled her spine to the core. They followed this clicking sound as the group huddled together.  

Collins/MacKenna: Response?

Mason: T...the coffin, a hand just… ::she wrapped her arms around herself, moving closer to the others as best she could in the darkness.:: Can we look for a way out? Please?

Grace found herself behind Cassie. Barely resisting the urge to scare the doctor, she smirked. Touching her shoulder, she suddenly shouted.

Hope: BOO!

Mason/Collins/MacKenna: Response?

Grace stifled her mouth and barely resisting laughing out loud.

Hope: Sorry.

Mason/Collins/MacKenna: Response

Grace looked around. Some torches were found lit. Taking one, she turned behind them as the torch-lit the darkness slightly. There were several skeletons coming their way. Stopping before the two paths that diverged, she waved her torch toward one of them and spoke in an eerie voice.

Hope: Two paths before our eyes. One leads to certain doom and the other is a way out.

She looked at her group and waited on their cue. Cassie was right. They needed to get out soon.

Mason/Collins/MacKenna: Response

 

TAG/TBC

Lieutenant JG Gracelyn Hope-Sheppard

Engineer

USS Arrow - NCC 69829

Writer ID: J239706HC0