Moth Park

Will: "H-hey Thomas, uh... you know that we're supposed to be exercising right? Not... meditating?"

Thomas took a deep breath as he walked with Will, taking in and savoring at least some of the Parks aromas while trying to ignore the ones he hoped had originated from someplace further away than he'd be going. The edges of a smile crept up on his lips has he enjoyed the gloomy lighting. Earlier, he had been worried that at best he'd sweating profusely, as though slowly turning to jerky as the sun kissed is pale skin with the seeds of cancer.... he wasn't an out doors person. Inside tended to be safe and if he needed exercise he could do that indoors as well. If he was lucky, his 'buddy' wouldn't have him coughing up a lung and vomiting from exhaustion from running all over the place.


Thomas pushed those negative thoughts out of head before they could spawn those that could get far darker and instead focused on his meditation this morning; that just because he wasn't as prepared as normal, didn't mean he was necessarily more vulnerable. It took him over an hour to come to terms with that concept for today, but he had managed. He'd left most, though not all, of his gear either at his apartment or in the car. He'd humor his 'buddy' Will, for today and if he survived it'd be back to the vest each day. Thomas shifted his thoughts once more to keep them out of the realms how he might deal with stress if he survived and something bad did happen. He tried to think that maybe he might be able to learn or improve in some way from today's outting and that perhaps it'd be worth the trouble. Still, he could feel his darker, more visceral thoughts writhing within him and instead tried to shift his mind once more.


Thomas tried to think of hope for the future, of humanity's progress as other park goers went past him. Instead what came up were thoughts of how happy everyone else seemed to be, how blissfully the all appeared to act or perhaps actually were. They didn't have to worry about so many possible futures, they didn't have to think about how their actions might impact people half a world away, they didn't have to....."What's that many mumbling?" Thomas thought to himself has he heard a man mumbling something in what seemed like a foreign tongue but one that seemed to faintly ring a distant bell in his mind. Thomas then realized that Will was saying something to him. Thankful for the distraction from his own thoughts and to have something to talk about to keep Will from suggesting running, Thomas gently nudged Will with his arm and tried to inconspicuously gesture towards the man. "Any idea what he's saying?" Thomas asked, trying to strike a balance between casual and curious in his voice. "Seems to be repeating himself." he added after a moment of hearing him repeat the words.

*edited to account for previous post*

Edmond wandered through the gloom, a thick green coat would protect him in case of rain. He was a thin, pale man, focused in a way that told others to keep away. He would often say that only his friends were permitted to call him Ed. Nobody called him Ed. He worked the grounds at a local college, and spent much of his time in the library besides. Around this time of day he would go to church, fall to his knees and pray as was his routine. Witnesses to his daily prayer would turn the rumor mill with unsubstantiated accusations of zealotry and a holier-than-thou disposition. They were wrong. Edmond knew he was no holier than anyone else, felt his damnation looming over his head. He would kneel before the statue of Jesus and silently plead for salvation but the devil would whisper into his ear that there was no salvation to be had.
Spurn the devil, Thought Edmond, The Lord eventually will hear me.
And so he continued his routine, only today found him crossing paths with Old Pete. Some of the folks had been known to ascribe the word 'crazy' to Old Pete. Folks could be cruel like that, and though Pete's mind was most assuredly lost, he was a man to be treated with respect like any other. Edmond pitied Old Pete, though it would be difficult to infer as much from Edmond's stony demeanor. It would do him no good, Edmond knew, to go ask the Lord for forgiveness if he was going to dismiss an opportunity to help the less fortunate to do so. He approached Old Pete, and in doing so saw two young men, probably college students, chittering between themselves. One was gesturing to Old Pete.
Yessir, Thought Edmond, Folks can be cruel.

"Peter", Said Edmond, "What are you going on about? You'll catch your death of cold out here."

Will wondered why Thomas didn't like to exercise. Perhaps he hasn't been outdoors much. But Will was afraid to ask since he still feels a little insecure around him. They only met like, yesterday. Will felt like he was leading today's activity, but if Thomas wanted to take a break, he'll let him.

Will looked around and saw "Pete." He's eavesdropped a few conversations. He saw another man approach and seemed to be talking to him. The man looked like he worked here at the university.

Thomas, what do you think they're talking about?

Will wished he had the courage to do things himself.

The ground was still a bit damp, which added to the slosh sound that Peter's waterlogged boots made with each step, as he walked toward Edmund.

The mumbling man straightened and looked at Edmund with clear lucidity, even his voice changed; not as some possessed spirit, rather his voice sounded more like what he must have sounded like before whatever had made him mad.

"She was here and now she's not. In Moth Park people disappear."

Peter looked around and noticed people where watching him, which made him uncomfortable. He begun to mumble again and walked away.

Thomas sighed and shrugged. I can't make it out at this distance, I don't think the one that's muttering is speaking English though. Thomas said as he started to move closer to the man, someone else had gone over to the guy. Possibly someone who knew him. Thomas tried to get a better listen at what was being said while trying not to draw much attention to himself. He thought he could better make out some of the three words now that he was closer, so he took out his smartphone and figured he'd try search them. If nothing else, he figured the guy talking to the mumbler wouldn't think he was going to start something, he thought he might've seen the man next to the mumbling one somewhere before but wasn't sure. Thomas figured that at least his 'buddy' should be a nice alarm if something bad was about to happen.

Edmond thought to say something as Peter left but decided it was best to let the man go his own way. Hopefully Pete was looking to get some shelter. Maybe not. Probably not. He'd been muttering something in what Edmond was sure was probably Spanish. Edmond didn't know Spanish, he figured the ravings of a madman were probably nothing to get worked up about anyway. Still, something unsettled him. Not what Pete had said exactly, Portland was a city after all and some crime was to be expected, but rather how he had said it. Edmond had noticed the one of the two boys had moved closer.
"Ain'tcha got nothing better to do than eavesdrop on folks?" Edmond scolded before turning to leave. He had something better to do. He needed to make his daily prayer. Likely the Lord would forgive him for being a little late, as he had the sudden urge to pick up a paper. If there was any truth to what Peter had said, there was likely to be mention of a disappearance.
He would pick up a paper, repent at the church, and then make his way home to look up what he needed.

Thomas looked up from the phone, so far nothing he wasn't having any exceptional success, but he did get some vague ball park info of 'Latin' if nothing else though he had to pocket the phone before he was able to see the results of his latest attempt. "Sorry, I heard something that wasn't english and it got my curiosity up. Do you know the man? It seemed he was saying the same three words over and over, according to my phone, seems like Latin if I spelled some of the words right. I'm not catholic, and I'm not fluent in it, but just three words over and over, a little bit concerned for him." Thomas explained, figuring that being honest wouldn't hurt and if this guy knew Latin, he'd have an answer that may or may not be correct, or maybe there was something unusual going on and things might be getting interesting.

The boy was a talker. Edmond rarely had much to say to anyone, and today was no different. It made him nervous to have so much shared with him by a stranger. Being nervous made Edmond's temper flare up.
"Now you hear me, that man's Old Pete, and he's been here a far sight longer than you and your buddy have, so you show him some respect." Edmond said, "He decides to come down the path singing God Save The Queen in Esperanto, you two best leave him to it without all your gesturing and your gossip."
Edmond stared the boy right in the eye and snorted like a dog giving warning. He had made his point. He had prayin' to do.

Thomas chuckled a little and pulled out his phone, just to make a point. "Where is she?" Thomas said, reading the quote on the screen. He then shifted his tone to one more serious. "Where is she? Where is she? Nothing, but that over and over and in LATIN.... I think your friend might need some help. Latin's only used by the Vatican and maybe priests for casual talk these days, perhaps a handful of academics as well. Why not ask in English? I'm curious and would like to help." Thomas explained, hoping the translation would get the guy to back off a bit with the suspicions.

"Then you go ahead and you ask the man yerself." Said Edmond, storming off.

"I thought this man was your friend? Aren't you concerned about what might be troubling him? About who it is he's looking for? Thomas asked as he tried to get the translator to work in another tab so he would find out what to say in latin instead of English. Specifically he wanted to know how to ask 'who is she?' and hopefully be able to help this man. Of course, he also enjoyed seeing the other guy who spoke English getting flustered by his helpful actions and demeanor. "If everything goes well I get to help a man in need, and irritate the crap out of someone who claims to respect the man I'm helping by doing something he can't.....bonus." Thomas thought to himself with an inner smile, he didn't want to provoke too much, but the man was going to get upset Thomas figured he might well enjoy it in the process.

T- Thomas.. why? W-what??

But it was too late, Thomas had already gone towards the men. Will stood in awe as in his head he struggled with thoughts in his head.

Should I go over there? But, I don't want to talk to him. But I don't want to be alone here. Mmmm >:(

It took several seconds for Will to make up his mind. By the time he arrived, he heard Thomas asking questions about Pete being his friend or something.

Will whispered to Thomas.

What's going on? Why did you confront them? Couldn't we have just stayed back?

To be honest, Will should've already known about Thomas's personality already.

Thomas sighed and started typing on the screen as if it were a test message for Will to see once he was done typing.

(If knew lang, save time. If friends w guy, hed help us. If foe, lots o witness 2 bak us)

Thomas waited to make sure Will had read and understood the message before deleting it.

Will received a text and looked at it.

Pete was speaking in a different language?

Will didn't understand the whole situation, but he'll just go along with it. At least he was with someone. He looked up at Thomas and nodded. He'll just be back up if Thomas needed help.

Once the man who was confronting him had walked out of earshot, Thomas turned around, deciding to deal with what might become a problem before it eventually became one. He gave will a disapproving look as he spoke.

"Will...., you don't know a lot about me, and I don't know a lot about you. But you have just shown me that you're the kind of guy who cracks real nice under even slight pressures. I try my best to keep my eyes and ears open for things that are out of place, people trying too hard to act casual to not being seen to being real nervous. I don't always succeed, but now you know a bit more about what to look for, who knows it might just save our lives one day. Foreign languages are a yellow flag, not a red one. A very shot repetitive phrase in any language is also usually a distress signal of some sort. Much like 'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.'"

Thomas said, slowing down his speech a bit for emphasis.

"At first wasn't sure what they were saying, but I was able to find out it was Latin, a 'dead' language that is usually learned as part of an elective highschool course here in the states in some places or as a college course. His appearance however raises a lot of questions as a result as did what that man told us about him. But back to what you asked, about being confrontational.... I am trying to see if someone needs help and if I can help them which seems more productive to me than why we originally came here. There are plenty of people around and I doubt the man had a gun on him, and if he attacked us we could easily defend ourselves and use self-defense if someone called the cops. I'm a little surprised and disappointed none of this entered your mind on its own. So, now that you know more, do you want to help solve this puzzle and hopefully help the man or do you think we should 'back off'. If so, why?"

Thomas asked, rubbing his eyes as he did so and readied himself for his 'buddy's' reply.

Will suddenly felt weak. His head started to feel heavy. He wanted to disappear. His palms felt sweaty. He took a step back.

It had to be me huh. Why couldn't it have been someone else? Why me?

Will didn't know what to say. This was supposed to be a fun day at the park. Maybe to get to know Thomas a little better. He didn't want to take a part in this. He always had kept out of trouble and avoided any kind of conflict.

Wel-

Will opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was trying to find the words.

Wel- B- But... but it's not our problem. W- What about that other guy? I'm sure he can handle it. They looked like friends. I- I'd prefer if we stay out of this. I mean, nobody gets hurt right? No one needs to get hurt. Nobody will get hurt.

Will nervously laughed.

L- Let's just call it a day. W- we can continue on our assignment tomorrow. We won't run tomorrow. We'll just do what you want to do. Tomorrow will be your day. Yeah?

Will took another step back and smiled.

Thomas let his mouth hang hope for a bit as he tried his best to convey a mix of shock and confusion, just to make sure Will got the message. "So, you're telling me, that if that man's suicidal, and tries to kill himself it's not our fault because we did NOTHING to try to HELP him and keep him alive?.....You did say you were a med student right? I know right to die is recent in some states, but I think it's very unlikely he'd be taking the medically painless route. Besides, if you're really so afraid about getting hurt I'll cover your hospital bills on this." Thomas explained, regaining his former composure.