event: portal one | the island

[mayfield_mods]

The first portal doesn’t take long to locate: it’s across the road from the Rec Center, in a field visible from the pool. There is no shimmering or flashy effects to indicate the portal’s presence. There is simply an eight-by-five-foot vertical hole in the middle of the air, a hole through which a vast expanse of sand and surf can be seen. Said hole is completely two-dimensional- walk to its side, and it will seem as though it’s disappeared.

There are times, however, when the portal seems to disappear even when viewed from the front. Every once in a while, the portal appears to flicker ever so faintly, like a television briefly losing signal. Don’t worry about it- it’s probably nothing. Those who visited the carnival last month and viewed the pockets of nothingness that plagued it may feel a familiar sense of physical discomfort when staring at the portal for too long- as if your eyes instinctively know that they’re looking at something that shouldn’t exist in this world.

Stepping through the portal doesn’t burn or hurt at all, although the temperature immediately rises on the other side from early autumn to the peak of a tropical summer. There is, however, a slight tingle to your skin that lasts only for moments upon passing through. Again, probably nothing. The portal does not vanish after you pass through it: behind you you can see the field and the rec center in the distance.

The island has no name. Its beach stretches from east to west as far as the eye can make out, and the great sea lapping at its edges is a bright, clear blue. Looking out at the ocean you can see that it’s calm, the waves soft and almost inviting. There’s no other land on the horizon, only a vast expanse of endless sea.

The only signs of human habitation you can make out are littered on the beach around you. A set of towels, beach chairs and umbrellas have been set up a short distance away from the portal. In the wet sand left in the high tide’s wake, a series of sand castles have been constructed, as well as a shallow pit where someone may have been buried in the sand.

On the opposite edge of the beach lies a forest of palm trees. The foliage is thick, but there seems to be a path carved into the flora a short distance away from the shore.

Comments

[imoutos]

[ It's good that Nadeko never got really far, so she's just still on the edges of the beach, but still.. she hardly knows what's happening, she's just staring at everything with wide eyes. She hardly even dares to move really, frozen there on the spot-- it's a good thing Kay is nearby to help her, right..? ]

[little_thief]

[Yeah, it's cool, Kay's got this. She grabs Nadeko's hand as she's running for the exit.]

Nadeko! C'mon, hurry!

[imoutos]

I-.. I-I'm coming..! [ Although she's more just running along - not like she has a choice, but even so, she's just.. scared to death, her voice shaking and she's already starting to get a little out of breath, she's not too good with this.. ]

W.. w-what's going on..?!

[little_thief]

Earthquake! Or something! I don't know! But it's bad!

[imoutos]

B-but.. [ still running, so her speech comes slowly - she hardly has enough breath for it. ] .. w-why now and here..? C-can we get out?

[little_thief]

I don't know, but we have to try! Back the way we came in!

[imoutos]

I.. is it t-this.. way..? I-I didn't get to look..

[little_thief]

Yeah, it's over here! Hurry!

[imoutos]

O.. okay...!

[ Honestly, at this point she just has her eyes closed, more or less - she doesn't want to see what's happening around them, she just wants to get out. And she figures that as long as Kay is leading her around like this, she'll be okay, so.. ]

[little_thief]

Aaaaah!

[A bolt of lightning hits just in front of where they're running, causing Kay to tumble backwards and land on her rear.]