Eric said he wasn't going to be able to be on until later today and we should run the game without him. Do you guys want to start another round? Post if you want to play, and then we can set it up.

Story so far:

Carl looked up as the telephone's loud ring echoed throughout the living room.

"Wonder who that is calling so late!" he thought.

He reached for the phone, his hand hovering, uncertain if should just let it go to voicemail. Reluctantly, he picked up the phone and held it to his ear. The whispery voice on the other end caused his heart to skip a beat.

"Hello?" he responded, almost recognizing the voice, but needing to hear more words to be certain.

"I said it's your sister Jo, dummy It's only been a couple of hours since I lasted talked to you," She replied.

"Jo? But it didn't sound like you," Carl replied, the confusion clear in his voice.

"John just called. I need you to take me to his house," she almost cried into the phone.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd rather not say on the phone. Can you come pick up or not?" she replied mysteriously.

"You call me dummy, then expect me to do mysterious favours for you in the middle of the night?!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry alright! Please come, it's about Tim, " she said.

"Tim?! I'll be right there," he replied, the worry bleeding into his tone.

He almost literally flew to his car. He knew it would normally take 30 minutes to get there on a clear day, but he could do it in 10 minutes flat he thought. He fumbled the key in the ignition, turned it and heard nothing but a loud click.

"#@&, #@&, #*@&" he exclaimed loudly as punched the steering wheel and dashboard.

As he sat there contemplating his next step and rubbing his sore knucles, he was was distracted by lights shining from his rear view mirror. Great. Just what I need he thought as Officer Lloyd Spencer stepped out of his patrol car. Lloyd had always been the bully when they were at school together, and becoming a cop had just made his attitude even worse.

"So, what do we have here?," Lloyd chuckled as he stepped up to Carl who was still sitting in his car with the window down.

Carl hesitated before speaking, trying to decide if it would be better to get rid of him as quickly as possible, or to try to engage his help. He settled on just telling Lloyd the truth at least as much as knew. Jo hadn't exactly been too forthcoming with information in the first place anyway. He did try to keep his sense of urgency out of his tone, knowing that Lloyd would start to move at a glacial pace if he sensed how worried Carl really was. Surprisingly, when Carl told Lloyd that the car wouldn't start he offered him a ride in the patrol car. Carl agreed hesitantly even though visions of him being stuck and locked in the back were running through his head. Carl hurried to the patrol car's front passenger door, not even giving Lloyd a chance to suggest he get in back.

"I got my stuff up front so sit in the back", Lloyd said. Laughing at the frightened face Carl made, Llyod said, "I'm just effing with you. Sit up front. Just don't touch my gun and junk."

Carl couldn't help an audible sigh of relief as he got in the front seat.

I was napping :x big surprise there! Now it looks like you are gone. I am debating going to church. I kind of want to stick around because if I do go morostide will start. If I stay home, it will not. Decisions!

I want to write more of this story! But the lag, it kills me every night when I get home. :(

The tension in the front seat was palpable but the ride to Jo's house was thankfully brief.

"Thank you," Carl said as he turned to close the door of Lloyd's car and caught an unsuspecting smile. He knew this probably wouldn't be the last he saw of the Officer tonight.

Carl started up the steps to Jo's house but hadn't even reached the landing before the door crashed open and Jo flew out.

"It's about time you got here," she practically shouted as she looked around. "Um, where is your car?" she asked inquiringly.

"we're going to have to take your car." Carl responded. "mine is on the fritz."

Looking nonplussed, Jo didn't say anything, just ran back inside to grab her keys.

As they hopped in her car, Carl asked Jo what this was all about.

"John got a call from the Mad River Asylum in California, " she said. "I'm sure you know what that means, right?"

"isn't the Mad River Asylum where John's mother is at?"

"Yeah, and apparently there is more to the story than that." "She disappeared from there last night while everyone was sleeping."

"She disappeared last night and we just now are finding out about it?"

"They made some long drawn out excuses, but it boiled down to no one noticed she was gone."

"That means she could be almost anywhere by now! You know how she always loved to hitchhike."

"Yeah," Jo said, "and John said something else that was kinda weird."

are you ever coming back to add to this story???

Jo told him bluntly, "They said her clothes, ALL of her clothes, were still in the room including what she was wearing last night."

Carl just turned to look at Jo, his mouth gaping open, at a complete loss of how to respond to that news.