This is another member joint story. NO aliens please! Also, you must wait until 2 others have posted before you can post again. You may make up historical events if you wish. It starts with an imaginary war in 1932. I am hoping to have peace for a little while after this war, and then go into World War II. Enjoy!

Hugh shuffled up to the door of the house and knocked very solidly twice, even though O'Keneally himself had long since given him permission to enter without knocking. The stocky German would shout out in his gruff voice, "There's no need to stand outside freezing your nose off son!"

The word "house" didn't usually seem to quite fit the description of the cheery log structure. It didn't seem friendly enough somehow. Today though, it almost seemed to fit. Hugh was worried. This was only the second time he had ever seen the absence of smoke above his friend's chimney during the cold season. The first time was when he himself had come over to take care of the place while Mr. O'Keneally was away for a time. No one knew where he had gone or what he had done, but everyone who knew him well had recognized a definite change in his demeanor when he returned. As though a new burden had been placed on his wide, capable shoulders.

Hugh brought his hands up to his face inside large, warm gloves and stamped his feet in an effort to keep warm. After a few moments of going over in his mind what he had seen out in the field, he realized that the door was still closed. His heart started to beat faster and he knocked again, louder this time shouting O'Keneally's name above the sound of the wind. Hugh Russel was a big man and his pounding shook the door and the surrounding logs causing a cascade of snow to fall onto the base of his neck from on top of the roof. He let out a short squeak of surprise and then chuckled softly to himself at his foolishness. He began to shiver uncontrollably as the snow slid down under his coat. He fumbled with the latch on the door and wrested his way through the frame into the dwelling.

I can guess who's turn it is.

Yes, who's turn is it?

I was wondering why you had one specific person in mind...

Indeed.

Wow, this is getting interesting! Can't wait to see what's next!

I can't write on this again until more people write.

What was this all about?  Hugh stared at the note, perplexed.  Did it have anything to do with Brian being missing?

It was getting very late now, and curfew was in full force.  Hugh called Skyy, his dog, into the house and bolted the door and windows securely.  He put some water on to boil, and began mixing up some stew for dinner.  Skyy was circling the house restlessly, poking his nose underneath beds and scratching at the walls.  A crash sounded from the bedroom, and Hugh walked in to find Skyy had knocked over a lamp and glass and oil were spreading over the floor.  "Skyy, what's gotten into you!  Go sit by the fire!"  The dog sulked out of the room and went to lay down in the kitchen, abuse in every line of his body.

Hugh picked up the glass and lamp, and tried to figure out what he should do about the oil on the floor.  The oil had soaked into and between the wood planks, and there was no hope of getting it out now.  "Well, I just won't drop any matches there for now, I guess," he grumbled.  He glanced around the room, trying to see what had the dog so agitated.  If it was just a scent, there wasn't much he could do to detect it.  Then he saw a bit of black wool caught on the rough logs which made up his bedroom wall. 

He carefully pulled it away from the wall and with a sudden realization, compared it to the piece he had found in O'Keneally's house.  Hugh wasn't an expert on wool, but it definitely looked similar.

Well.  If Brian was somehow connected to this mess, then Hugh was definitely interested in finding out what was going on.  He put aside a set of clothes in a bag, along with other things he would need in case of an actual journey, which the note in the kitchen had implied.  Skyy would follow him whatever happened, of that he was certain. 

It was nearing midnight now, and he was tired from all of the work of the day and excitement of the evening.  He quickly ate his stew, and fed Skyy the leftovers, then lay down in bed.  He was asleep within minutes.

sky

:-)

I say it Sky-ee. To make it more interesting. :P

Though Hugh fell asleep quickly enough, Skyy didn't. He watched the rise and fall of his master's chest devotedly for several long moments, then tired of the activity, he rose. Stretching, he yawned - his tongue curling back for a moment.  He then padded out into the living room, a clock over the hearth ticking ominously. The tiles were still warm by the fire, and Skyy lay down upon them. He felt restless and couldn't seem to get comfortable however. He stood and circled once then lay back down. The clock continued to tick.  Skyy rested his head upon his paws, and closed his eyes, heaving a sigh. Just as he felt himself calm down, a footsept was heard just outside the door, the gravel crunching softly. Skyy's head rose quickly and his fur stood up. The clocked chimed 1 o'clock, and the door swung softly open.

From where he lay, Skyy saw a quick flash of black and white. It was headed towards Hugh’s sleeping form. It jumped up onto Hugh’s chest and curled up to sleep, seemingly unaware of Skyy’s presence. Presently Skyy heard another closer footstep, this time on the wooden floor inside the back door. He was about to let out a loud bark, when suddenly he was face to face with a familiar man who had the piece of lamb that he always carried with him just for Skyy. Even though Skyy knew this man very well there was something different about him. Maybe it was the strange smell came from the black skin on his friend’s back.

I was just reading over previous posts and realized that the door was bolted. I wonder how they got in?.......

yay for superhumanness! oh, wait. aren't we supposed to avoid that in this story? maybe they found a window or cut a hole in the roof...

Who's next?

Indeed not Sir Trenchcoat! You must contribute if I am to allow you to continue reading this enlightening story about how things really went. We wouldn't want you spreading the news and getting us in trouble!

-Appalled Quezers

I think changing the rules would be a good idea.. then at least we might creep along... a little quicker? :D  I AGREE, How shalt we deal out the punishments?

*looks idly at the one who STILL has not written, points at him, and looks back at Curly Que*  I SAY we start with him.

The newcomer murmured urgently into Skyy's ear in a flawless English accent, "Quiet Skyy!"

Skyy, though still unsure, was content to utter only a continuous low rumble in the back of his throat.

"It's just me!" hissed the man wearing the sheep skin, this time the voice came out sounding like a native Irishman.

Skyy's growl grew more pronounced and he dropped the forgotten piece of lamb to the floor.

The intruder backed away slowly and continued to plead with the dog in whispers, this time in the tones of a more frightened Swede. "Alright! Alright! Don't get excited! I'll take it off." Then under his breath, "don't understand what it is about it that bothers you so much though. Just don't wake 'im up okay?" He began to slowly and carefully remove the outer layer of sheep skin that he had thrown on over his sweater.

At first Skyy's growling grew even louder, eliciting a grumble and the sound of blankets being repositioned from the corner where Hugh was sleeping.

The stranger froze for a moment, before relaxing once Hugh's deep, steady breathing could be heard once more. Then he gazed sternly through the darkness in the general direction of the dog. "If he wakes up, it's your fault, remember that." This last sentence was again spoken in a Swedish accent.

The night-time visitor finally finished removing the sheep skin from his back as quietly as he could given the darkness. Continuing to move in exaggerated, slow movements, he set the skin down on the floor next to the furry, bristling form of Skyy.

Skyy bent down to sniff the skin and stiffened. He then padded over to inspect the impudent man who dared disturb his master. As he drew nearer however, Skyy's ears perked up and he began to whine softly in apology and wag his tail. He DID know this man. This man was a good friend. Skyy was sorry for growling at this kind friend. The sheep skin forgotten, Skyy trotted back over to where he knew there should be a discarded piece of lamb.

"That's right, me!" the man said in an exasperated whisper. "That's what I've been telling you all along." Shaking his head he pulled himself together and began to creep toward the bed in the corner.

A hand tapped him on the shoulder, "Don't you think you're a little old for this sort of thing Rob?"

The newcomer whirled to see Hugh standing behind him with an amused grin lounging on his face. He began an Irish stutter. "How?-When?" He tried again. "You were over there!" he blurted in explanation, as if it was unfair that that was no longer the case.

"I was. Was being the key word." Hugh smirked. "You were making enough noise to wake a full grown brown bear from hibernation in the middle of winter.

Rob looked crestfallen. Then he glared at Skyy. "It's all his fault" he said with an accusatory finger pointed at the dog. That seemed to satisfy him and he regained some of his bruised pride. The dog barely glanced up, wagging his tail briefly before getting back to the more important task of ripping at the lamb between his forepaws.

"How'd you know it was me?" asked the one called Rob, in an English accent this time.

"I heard you shifting from one accent to another flawlessly. Something that you do naturally when you are excited, but that most men would have trouble doing even when they are at their ease. Also, the cat knew you even if Skyy didn't at first. Sasha won't come through that door with just anyone, she is more careful than that." Then, "I am more interested as to the reason why it took so long for Skyy to figure it out."

"Oh, that's because he had problems with me wearing this old sheep skin."

Hugh looked intently at the skin frowning slightly. There was something familiar about it, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Hugh shook his head and dismissed the skin from his mind, deciding to study it further at a later date.
"It's good to see you again Robert old man!" He exclaimed, throwing an arm around his friend's narrow shoulders.

"Huh. Who are you to be callin' me an old man?" said an indignant Robert, in the tones of an Englishman.

"Haha" laughed Hugh. "Fair enough. What have you been up to?"

...What have I been up to... Rob thought to himself. ...Most men wouldn't believe some of the things I've made it a habit of viewing recently...then again, Hugh wasn't like most men, Hugh was different. ...Hugh just might...

“Uh… well, you come with me and I’ll tell you. I couldn’t help but notice that you have a bag packed, mind if I ask why?”

“Well…”

“Never mind that now, bring it along and tell me about it later. I’ll get Skyy’s lead. Come on Sasha.” Rob walked into the kitchen to get Skyy’s leash, with Sasha trailing behind. While Rob was in the kitchen, Hugh went and looked at the black wool his friend had brought with him. Suddenly Hugh realized that it not only looked like, but was the same as the wool he had found in O’Keneally’s house and his own. Huh… thought Hugh. This is a very strange night. I admit that sometimes Rob gets a little caught up in this new spy stuff people on the street have been talking about recently, but there’s something going on tonight…

Rob came back, carrying two leashes. “You know Skyy doesn’t need two leashes and as far as I know you’ve never put anything around Sasha’s neck, so we only need one lead.” Hugh told him.

“The second one is for you.”

“What!?”

“You aren’t allowed to see where I’m going to take you yet so I have to blind fold you and I don’t think you want to try and follow the sound of my footsteps because there won’t be any.” Rob said matter-of-factly.

“Alright Rob, I know this is exciting for you, but this time the teasing has gone a bit too far. I don’t want you coming here anymore in the middle of the night to end up saying that you were just kidding. Some people need to sleep at night.”

“It’s not going to end that way tonight. I need you to follow me without seeing where we are going. Sasha will follow without a lead and Skyy needs one because he’ll run off in the direction of every little sound if he doesn’t. It’s not like I’m going to make you crawl on your hands and knees. You aren’t even going to wear the lead. I’ll clip it to me and you’ll hold the handle. Anymore questions? We need to get going.”

DJ, it's your turn!



Or of course if anyone else could be inspired to write. ON ANYTHING!

Hugh and Rob walked for nearly an hour. Hugh wondered if Rob was purposely taking a longer route to try to confuse him. finally, Rob said they had arrived. He took the blindfold off Hugh's face and he found himself in a narrow alleyway.

"Hey, I know exactly where we are!" he said. In the dim lamplight Hugh noticed the color drain from Rob's alarmed face, his dark eyes wide.
Hugh laughed and slapped him on the back.
"I'm just fooling. I'm more lost than an American tourist in the streets of Italy," he assured him.
"Good," Rob said. People wouldn't be very happy with me if you decided not to join and you already knew where one of our hideouts was." Then he laughed to himself and turned towards a small pile of crates. He lifted one of them to the side about a foot and then, kneeling, he felt around in the dark for something out of Hugh's sight. He moved closer and saw more clearly what Rob was doing. It appeared that Rob was unscrewing a pipe from the wall. Then, after rapping on the pipe a few times he put it close to his mouth. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again looking back at Hugh for a moment.
"If you'd be so kind," He said while covering the pipe.
"Ah. Passwords," Hugh said, backing off a few paces.

Hugh took the time to examine his surroundings more closely. There was a lamp at the end of the alley casting a dim glow against the red brick walls. The ground was littered with crumpled papers and dirty leaves embedded in the muddy snow.

Skye whined and tugged against the leash in Hugh's hand. Then Rob stood up and told Hugh to come over. As he did this Hugh noticed that a portion of the alley floor had lowered significantly, revealing an opening large enough to allow a man to walk in without having to crouch too much. Rob lowered himself in first, then he took Skye and Sasha with him. Hugh followed. He still didn't know exactly what was going on, but things were starting to get interesting.

Heartily seconded!

I'm stumped here.