WAR: NNPack - Time to Wake Up (1/1) 
By: Susan B. & NNPack 
Time: Approx. 6:00 PM, November 8th, 2004 
Place: NNP HQ

-------------------

"Oh, that felt great," Soulseeker muttered as she woke up from her
very  long nap. With two small kids at home, it had been a long time
since she was  able to sleep for that stretch of hours - and in the
middle of the day yet.  The Theatre was very quiet. Practically
everyone would still be asleep, she figured, most having spent the
entire previous night travelling. But  there was work to do, and there
were plans to make, not the least of which  was to figure out how to
keep both sides happy when it came to finding a  possible cure for
vampirism - a possible cure for Nick. Sure, everyone wanted  Nick and
Nat together; but there were some - particularly Laila, Stacy, KC,
Luicia, and Lerie, that were emphatic Nick & Nat's eternal
relationship should be one of the darker variety. Still, most of them
would agree  that even a mortal bond was better than no bond at all.
She also wondered,  for a fleeting moment, why so many always came to
fight a War when the end  result was always the same. Hope, she
supposed. It was what had kept Nick  trying all these years, wasn't
it?

Kicking the thin blanket off herself, Soul immediately noticed 
November's chill in the room. Had she ever been in this theatre during
the cold  months? "Guess we better pick up some warmer blankets," she
muttered as she  pulled herself out of bed and headed for the Kitchen,
the glorious smell of  coffee growing stronger as she approached. She
stepped inside the room and saw Emily busy at the counter.

"Ahh, the Keeper of the Coffee Pot! That's just what I need!" 
Soulseeker exclaimed.

"Good timing," Emily replied. "I was just about to pour." Emily fixed 
two cups, brought them to the table, and sat down with Soul. "So what
do  you think?" she asked. "Do you really think there's anything to
this  puzzle?"

Soul took a long leisurely sip of the hot coffee before answering.
"I'm certain there is," she said, "but I'm not so certain that it's
what we think."

"But we are going to look for it, aren't we? The rock? We have to look 
for it - Nick's been waiting for a long time!"

Soulseeker smiled reassuringly. "Of course we are," she said.

"Of course we are what?" Mary asked as she made her way into the 
kitchen.

"Look for the rock with the puzzle," Emily told her. "Maybe we could 
talk to Rainey when she wakes up. Maybe she'll have a dream that will
help  point us to it!"

Mary popped open the fridge door and was delighted to find no one had
forgotten her. She pulled out a cold ginger beer and sat down with the
others. "And where do we start looking?" she asked Soul. "At the
beginning," Soul told her. "At the mouth of the Credit River,  and
head upstream from there. Of course, we won't find the French Trading 
Post there anymore, but an old lighthouse, a new hotel, a marina, and
such.  But there are still lots of rocks to examine, until and unless
we get some  more decisive clues."

"I'm not yet well enough to be climbing mountains and such," Mary 
reminded her.

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of things you can...," Soul suddenly 
reached over to the counter for the phone. "I can't believe it!" she
exclaimed.  "I haven't even tried to get in touch with the Natpack
yet!" She quickly  dialed the number to Nat's apartment, but there was
no answer. "That's odd,"  she muttered. "I'll try the morgue." But
there was no answer there either.  "Very odd," she said. "I wonder
where they are?"