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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 21, 2013 21:29:45 GMT
"You're not saying it right," Alice said delicately. She really didn't want to interrupt him but maybe it was important and he was making mistakes. If he could show Alice what needed to be read she'd be able to do it better. It would be easier than correcting his words after he said them. The doll looked shaky and unsteady but one foot was outside of the circle. It was frowning fiercely.
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 21, 2013 21:35:24 GMT
"I know. I'm not very good at this." John said. He kept quoting Hebrew, but ended up dropping the Jewish holy text. "To hell with this." he said, firing one of his special shells at the doll.
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 21, 2013 21:41:17 GMT
The doll had the second foot outside the circle when Mr. Constantine fired the gun. The left arm broke off. There was a cackling sound and then the doll seemed to just vanish. "Um...Is that bad?" Alice asked uncertainly. "And is there something you want me to read?" She had been taught Hebrew from the age of two and was therefore perfectly fluent. Alice turned to where the arm had been a second before and was surprised to see that it had disappeared too. That was probably bad news.
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 21, 2013 21:43:50 GMT
"That shouldn't have happened." John muttered. "These shells contain rock salt and iron filings. Guaranteed spirit killer. Either I've killed it, or it's run away."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 21, 2013 21:45:46 GMT
"What's so special about rock salt and iron fillings?" she asked curiously. She had no idea what killed spirits or why. "Do you think you killed it? Is that why it disappeared? Will we be able to tell if it ran?"
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 21, 2013 21:57:08 GMT
"Salt is one of the more foolproof ways of banishing evil spirits. Iron is a magical defense." John explained. "Combine the two, and it's a surefire way to hurt whatever you're shooting." He took a quick look around. "I don't think it's dead. Just ran off, I think."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 21, 2013 22:03:30 GMT
"And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron," Alice quoted. "Maybe God was like a spirit then. And he couldn't use his magic because of the iron." She shrugged. "I don't know if I believe in God but most stories originally had some grain of truth. Do you believe in God Mr. Constantine?" she asked curiously.
"And if it ran off how do we find it again?"
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 22, 2013 20:32:38 GMT
"Perhaps." he said. The quote certainly seemed to fit. And now the question that had even the great John Constantine baffled.
"I don't know." was his answer. "If it ran off, it's good at cleaning up. Took its blown off arm with it."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 23, 2013 3:11:59 GMT
Alice beamed at Mr. Constantine. "Good. Then at least you don't think I'm odd. It's strange enough being a Jew. Weirder still if you're not sure you believe in God." She spun in a circle. "Well if I did believe in a God it would have to be a Jewish one. A vengeful and jealous God who would typically just watch. Maybe occasionally intervene if you were witty enough to capture his interest or if you prayed desperately enough to warrant his attention when he was bored. But for the most part...Just left everyone to their own devices."
She continued twirling. "If you want I can help you with your Hebrew later. In case you need it again," she said cheerfully. She wondered if he would care enough. There weren't that many Jews in the world. He probably mostly relied on the Christian bible.
"If you're not sure you believe in God how can you rely on all this religious iconography and stuff to beat spirits?" she babbled on. She spun faster. "Let me know if I can help you track Elle or whatever it is."
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 24, 2013 21:07:35 GMT
No, I definitely still think you're odd. John thought as he clambered the stairs to check the door. If the door had vanished, it might be unlocked now. "If you don't mind me saying, that kind of God is too cruel for my tastes."
"Simple. It's the only way to beat them. You can't exactly hit a spirit with a 9-iron and expect it to hurt. And it's still locked." he stood back and raised his gun, pointing the tip at the knob.
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 24, 2013 21:18:57 GMT
"But that kind of God would explain the world we live in. I find it hard to believe in merciful, empathic God," she explained. What kind of benevolent God would allow her kind parents to be murdered because they were honest business people?
Alice nodded her head in understanding at his explanation. She figured the door would still be locked. She was much stronger than she looked. She could probably knock it down but she'd wait and see if Mr. Constantine could handle it. She didn't want him asking why she was so strong, getting suspicious.
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 25, 2013 20:41:24 GMT
"I'm not exactly a nihilist. At least, not yet." John fired at the door and the knob blew clean off. He tapped the door and it swung open. "I'm starting to wonder if people have been in this house and locking you in whichever room you saw the doll in."
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 25, 2013 20:46:26 GMT
Good. He'd manage to open the door without her. She needed to appear normal. People might be looking for her.
"I have no idea what's going on. That's why you're here," she said brightly. "Hmmm? I don't think I'm a nihilist. I think knowledge is possible and that there are clear moral principles. It's just that I don't think life necessarily has a purpose beyond what we give it. We have to find our own place."
"So if people are locking me in do you think they're making the doll move and do weird stuff with technology?"
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Post by John Constantine on Aug 25, 2013 20:57:21 GMT
"Remote control technology has been improved significantly since it was created. If a 10-year-old can control a toy car in his back yard, why not a full-sized car? Or a tiny person?" It was plausible, especially if the person doing the breaking in had money to spend.
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Post by Alice Challen on Aug 25, 2013 21:03:50 GMT
"I can't imagine why someone would go through all that trouble for me." She killed criminals but she wasn't Batman or anything. She couldn't imagine she was too high up on the hate list. And if someone wanted her dead they wouldn't care about playing stupid games like these.
"So if that's the case does that mean I shouldn't have hired you? I'm not sure what proper decorum demands in terms of paranormal investigators," she admitted.
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