Timbervale

[porter66083]

OH THE JOYS OF NOT BEING SICK ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!

So, I'm finally over being sick and finally got a chance to get a chapter written out as well as the next chapter(s) planned out. So, I have some major news. But first.... replies....

Replies:
art128: Thanks! I kinda reworked the snowy effect.... hope it turned out ok!
Pat: Good! That's what I was hoping for!
bat: Thanks!
projectadam: Awesome job! I'll probably have a character for you in chapter 7!
Pat(2): Oh great.... now I'm your dealer! Lovely...
mmorales2: Thanks!
mmorales2(2): Yeah.... being sick really sucks!
Pat (3): LOL! Calm down.... its here.... mmmk?
flyinbird93: Thanks!
projectadam(2): yeah.... it just took a lot out of me! Thanks for the get well!
threestooges: OK...... I was wondering when you would drop in...
Pat(4): Thanks.... and thats it. You're getting a character in a chapter.... 4 comments between one update.... You deserve it!
Simpson: Yes.... you did Thanks for dropping by and catching up though!

OK! So I'm finally done with a months worth of replies! So I imagine you guys are glad to know I'm finally over the wonderful virus that wanted so badly to develope into walking pneumonia. Now that it, and my finals for fall, are over. I now have a little more free time on my hands. And guess what?

Chapter 5 will be the very end of the character intros.

Which means, that yes, voting will open after the end of chapter 5.

I'll post the rules for voting on it ra few days before chapter 5 so everyone can be acquainted with them. Fairly simple, but people could have trouble nonetheless.

Now that that bit of news is out of the way, I want to introduce another feature of the story.

People have asked before what I like to listen to, what inspires me, yada-yada-yada. So, I'm going to post the song I was inspired by when I wrote each chapter, with links to youtube, so you all can enjoy them. You can access the video by either clicking on the Chapter Header or clicking on the link below it. This will in leau of the CJ/MD shout out paragraph, since I just dont have the time to rave about all the wonderful ones I lurk in.

So.... without further ado....



8) Angel- Sarah McLachlan LINK TO VIDEO

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Why did I do it back then, she wrote, scribbling her thoughts yet again in her jour nal. They should have meant the world to me! I could have gotten clean back then. Nothing is different than it was back then. God.... who am I kidding, everything is different. I was such a disaster back then. I was a junkie, a user, a prostitute and a terrible person to boot. It's probably a good thing I gave them up. Even if I could find them, they'd have every right to hate me.

Elsa Baum continued to scribble down her musings into the heavily-used book, tears slowly streaming down her face, occasionally putting her hand to her large round stomach and looking out the window to the dim snowy sky as morning soon approached.

It's hard to believe, that I've been lucky enough to get a second chance. I just wish there was some way to ... not that I deserve it... fix everything...  she wrote at the end of the page, and taking a deep breath, closing the diary, wiping away the tears around her eyes.

Hearing a yawn, she turned to her husband standing in the door way, as he held out a cup of tea to her and he continued drink the coffee in his other hand.

"You alright?" he asked, concern filling the features of his face.

"Hormones. That's all it is," she laughed, her voice still quivering, "And I have you to blame for it, Doctor!"

Looking down, he watched as she pointed to her overly swollen stomach and let out a loud laugh.

"Are you really sure you HAVE to go in person to that meeting in Seattle?" she griped, taking the tea and holding it close to her chest. "You know that Zoe is not going to stop asking when Daddy is coming home."

"Dear, you know I can't. They are insisting I'm there to make sure that the entire hospital staff has proper training," her husband calmly replied, pulling her into a hug as her continued, "I mean, it's not like I'm going to be gone for more than two days. And I may not even be able to go if this snow doesn't stop."

Scowling, she sighed and began to walk out of the room and made her way towards the kitchen.

"Hi sweetie!" she called to her daughter, who was sitting at the table, eating her Fruit Loops and watching yet another cartoon with some blatantly feminine, neon yellow blob and his mentally handicapped, pink star shaped friend. "You all ready for school?"

Severely engrossed with the show, the little, pig-tailed girl smiled and nodded as she took another spoon full of the cereal into her mouth.

Turning back to her husband, she smiled warmly, watching him sneak another gift from his laptop bag under the already overflowing Christmas tree in the corner.

"And what, Tristan, are you putting under the tree now?" she said, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows as she watched her husband jump at the sound of her voice.

"Nothing that concerns you," he replied, failing miserably to hide the fact the fact that he'd been caught in the act from his voice.

"Uh huh...." she replied, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her daughters backpack and jacket. "So I was thinking that I might go down the Central Plaza today and do a little more baby clothes shopping. And before you even say it," she continued, cutting her husband's complaints, "I will be just fine. The doctor said I'm not even due for another month and that I could go out and do things. You hover around me too much!"

"But..." he protested.

"But nothing! Conversation is over. I'm going shopping, and you're going to take Zoe to school," she countered, smirking at the man, and holding her hand up in the air, "And you better get going if you want to get her to school on time and make your flight."

Sitting down on the couch, she watched as he gathered up their daughter and helped her with her jacket. He leaned over her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek as she turned to say goodbye.

"I'll call you when I land. Love you..." he said, smiling at her several inches away from her face.

"Lies.... All lies I tell you..." she smirked as he turned, and lead the small girl out the door.

"Bye Mommy!" the young child called out, waving her arm in the air outside the apartment door.

"Bye sweetie! Mommy loves you!" she called out, smiling as the door was shut behind them.

Setting the now empty cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her, she sighed and slowly pushed herself off the couch, and made her way, or in her opinion waddled, back to the bedroom to get dressed for her shopping excursion.

After getting dressed and running a comb through her hair, she finally decided that she was as ready as she would be and walked out of the large apartment, locking the door behind her, and taking the elevator down the front entrance.



"Well, looks like we're just in time for the bus!" she said out loud, her head looking down to her protruding belly, as she pulled the thick jacket closer to her body as the she began to shiver slightly against the cold morning air and stray bits of snow slowly falling.

She looked up as the large gleaming bus stopped in front of her, and grabbing on to the hand rail, pulled herself up, taking note that she'd probably be standing as every seat on the bus was full.

Walking towards the back, she smiled as a blonde young boy stood up and graciously gave her his seat. Taking a seat, she looked up and smiled yet again as she studied him.

One would be about the same age, she mused, looking at him. In fact, she thought to herself, probably  a lot like the boy in front of her.Tall and lanky, hopefully as polite as the boy in front of her.

"Stop it," she muttered quietly to herself, not drawing any attention from the people around her. I can't think like that. I screwed up. I can't just go around and think that. I need to stop this!



Looking in front of her, she noted that her stop would be coming up soon, as the large bus turned onto the aging metal bridge into the heart of the downtown area.

If only I hadn't. Things would probably be so much different. I wish I could make it up to them. If only I could find them. Looking up she noticed the kind boy that gave her his seat jump and begin to point out the front of the bus as he began to yell out something. Turning her attention to the front of the bus, she gasped as the bus jolted and blood spattered the front windshield, the glass cracking into a spider web.

She, as well as many others let out a small gasp as what had just happened began to be processed in their minds. Her stomach suddenly feeling light, she realized quickly that the bus was beginning to sway, its tires screeching. Looking back in front of her, she watched as the boy that gave up his seat went flying through the air, the back of his head slamming in the metal pole in front of him, sending blood flying across the cabin of the bus as a giant semi hit the other side of the bus. Watching as broken glass went flying everywhere, she felt her heart stop in her chest, listening to the groaning of metal and tinkling of glass as time moved slower and slower.

She reached out to the boy, barely catching his shirt as he slumped to the floor, blood drenching his back and her hands. Pulling him close to her, she held him tight as the bus finally toppled to its left side, throwing everyone in the bus around, much like a bunch of rag dolls.



Squeezing her eyes shut, she thought her silent apology to herself as glass shattered around her, the metal body of the bus snapping loudly as if it were made of wood. She winced as the rain of glass made tiny cuts on her pale skin. Hugging the lithe blonde boy to her, she whispered those same thoughts out loud as the chaos ensued around her.

"I'm so sorry. Lukas, Sebastian, I wish I could have found you both and made everything up to you both. Tristan, Zoe, I wish I could have been with you both longer... I'm so sorry..."

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And last but not least....

[kelis]

Wooow y love the efects my friend
Niiice city

[Pat]

what the devil Jacob wow!!! Intense chapter this time around hmmmm.....  Talk about a twist a faith Lukas and Sebastian aint those the very two num nuts that caused the accident now unfolding??? OOOhh boy as Sam would always say lol

[bat]

That's a great new chapter there! The pictures are really excellent! Fantastic effects added there!

[urban]

very nice effects, reminds me on Gotham City somehow, and it reminds me how bad the weather is here in germany

[Zaphod]

Sorry for not replying sooner.

So it keeps on going? I wonder how all these people will be involved with one another after the accident?

Anyways, I have to admire your snowy shots there. Even though I live down in Texas the winter has been really...errr...wintery, this year? Even New Orleans got snow.

[sebes]

Jacob,

Well today I finally stumbled on your MD again.... I have missed the name change somehow. And because of that missed the chapters of your great story - I read it all today, and it touched me very deeply. The pictures shown in the MD are excellent and fit very well. Good job - I will be back to read how this continues....

Sebes

[threestooges]

Very interesting developments Jacob. I'm curious to see what lies in store, but I have no doubt that you have something good planned. Nice effects with the pictures. It really adds to the mood of the moment. The pics on their own, without the photoshopping, seem to be pretty darn good too. Hope all is well.

[porter66083]

Wow.... looks like I'm right now making monthly updates. Shameful of me. But, hey, those applications for schools aren't going to finish themselves and work doesn't just give me a free paycheck. This update was originally slated for the New Year's, but well, stuff happens.

The next chapter will be a major one. And I need everyone's help.
I will be opening up voting on the character tomorrow afternoon!

Before I post the update, replies:

kelis: Thanks! I think Photoshop may now officially own my soul. Damned Adobe.
Pat: Intense? Wait until you read the next chapter!
bat: Thanks! I try. I really really try.
urban: Yeah, kinda the effect I'm going for.
Zaphod: Oh, this is the last chapter of this section. it all comes full circle now.
sebes: Shameful! You haven't been fully dedicated to my story? That's it. No cookies for you until after this chapter. Bad sebes. Baaaaaaad... (Sneaks cookie)
threestooges: Ehhhhh, just work school and work. Oh, and sleep when available.


As some of you may notice, I'm using the name of Carmine Hilton (a user on ST) as one of the character's names. He won one of the two places in the "Guess the Car" contest. Projectadam will be added soon in a different update.

Ok. Now on to:


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"...Regenra can be known to cause low blood pressure, fever, vomiting, and serious skin reactions, along with bleeding issues at the site of injection. All medicines have benefits and risks, and there may be other options, so consult your doctor. Regenra: It's time to live to its fullest. NexGenics, A Tricell Company.



What do you say to exceptional handling and first class safety features? To truly advanced technology and a rich interior design? What do you say to the lowest cost, and only fully electric car in its class?  To winner of five different awards from JD Power?  Say hello to the future. Introducing the new Quantum QX1000e. We're thinking at the speed of Quantum.



Catch Governor Palin and Secretary of State Clinton face off at the third presidential debate, tonight during the continued coverage of Election 2012, here on CNN.



...Welcome back to the news room here at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Markets are opening high today with trends up in every market today as the communications sector sees yet another acquisition by Tricomm of the Windsor Park owned Interlink Communications. After FCC and government regulators gave the final approval to the Timbervale company, markets have continued their upward climb.



Also making headlines, the technology sector has seen a boost with the merger as Tricomm has officially announced the release of the much anticipated Evo 2, produced in an unheard of venture between Apple and Samsung. Release of the phone is expected to be this week, after finalization of the two companies' merger.



Also making headlines in the tech sector...."



As Carmine turned his attention away from the small flat panel in the break room, he focused back on the tray in front of him, stirring the creamer into the coffee as his mind drifted back to the troubling conversation he had overheard his boss having to some man on the phone the evening before...

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"... Good. And so how did you set it up? Ah, good. You did after all come highly recommended. And did you set the car up exactly as I wanted? And it's in the correct spot?" Duceppe Gaston asked to the person on the phone, looking out the window, the ever present evil smirk on his face.

"Um sir, I have some, uh, papers from the CEO for you to sign if you aren't too terribly busy?" asked Carmine in a whisper, the fear of the man easily heard in his voice as he poked his head in the door.

"Hilton, you continue to prove your stupidity to me every chance you get, don't you?" Gaston snapped, turning his angry glare to the blonde, "If you ever interrupt me on a phone call ever again, you damn imbecile, I will personally see to it that you suffer for it. And trust me, I will MAKE you suffer. Am I clear? And where the hell is my lunch? I ordered it 5 minutes ago. How about you get off your lazy ass and do what I tell you?"

Knowing better than to reply, Carmine slipped back out the door, forgetting to completely close the door. Trying to calm down before he made his way to the cafeteria for the man's lunch, he stood still, breathing deep as Gaston's voice carried out the door.

"Oh, that was just the bumbling idiot that they hired to be my assistant. I'd fire him and replace him with some proper eye candy, but then I'd have the board on my case. So you can guarantee that it will be done exactly as planned then? Good. I'll send the other half as soon as I see the proof myself. I expect you to send me photo proof of it, understood? Goodbye then."

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Taking his coffee mug with him, he walked over to his desk, surprised to see that the desk across from his was empty of the young blonde that usually occupied it. Didn't Lukas usually arrive before him, he wondered as he sat down, logging into the computer in front of him and checking the mail that needed to be sorted as the sun slowly started to peek through the flurries of snow slowly covering the city.

Personally, he was slightly envious of the kid. The kid really was a looker, and it was slightly unfair that he got the nicer guy to work for.

Huh.... and for that matter, wasn't the company head supposed to be here as well? Carmine continued to wonder to himself, his attention turning to the small icon on his desktop flashing to notify him of an urgent memo.

Opening up the file, he scanned through it, his eyebrows rising as he realized what its contents said. Terrible loss of the CEO in a car wreck, deepest sympathy from the new interim head of the company? Merger expected to be rescheduled for this afternoon instead of this morning?

"What the hell? The merger isn't until this afternoon!" Carmine blurted out under his breath, bewilderment playing across his face, "That can't be right. Someone must be playing a joke. This is just nuts! Even the time code is wrong..."

The shock continued to set in as he finally looked at the letter head and signature on the memo. His attention turned to the muffled sounds coming from the office behind. Getting up, he turned and walked into the office behind him, startled to see that his boss was yelling into the phone with his back turned to him.

"I don't care. We had an agreement. I told you that I wanted that bastard Handover dead, not his little street ----- of an assistant. No. I don't care what you have to do; you are going to take care of the problem. You listen here, I don't care if you have to shoot him yourself, but you ARE going to make sure he is dead. Don't give me that crap; I'm not paying you for doing a half ----- job! Don't you call me back until it's done!" Gaston screamed, slamming the phone into its cradle.

Swallowing, Carmine slowly started backing out of the office, reaching for the door knob behind him as the man in front of him began speaking in a low voice.

"So, I guess you didn't get the hint when I told you to never interrupt me when I'm in a phone call. I swear, good help really is so hard to find." Gaston said, reaching out the table against the glass window in front of him.

"You're a monster. And I'm going to the cops with what I have." Carmine said out loud, his voice gaining an edge on the discovery of what the man in front of him was doing.

"Ah my dear, dear Carmine, you truly underestimate how much smarter I am than you. You really think I wouldn't have a plan on how to deal with any problem that arose?" Gaston said, giving a sickly smile as turned around, bringing his hands behind his back.

"You know what, you don't scare me. I know you're going to go to jail for a long time. And if I could give YOU a word of advice, don't drop the soap," Carmine retorted, his cheeks flushing as his voice quickly gained volume, turning to walk out of the room.

Hearing a loud clicking noise, Carmine froze as his mind quickly processed what made that sound.

"Well let me give you a word of advice too. As my father always told me, all is fair in corporate warfare..." the man said flatly, pointing the gun at the blonds' back, "Oh, and never, ever, turn your back on a man when he has a gun pointed at your back."

Gulping, Carmine could feel his face draining of its blood.

"You won't get away with this..." he began, as Gaston pulled the trigger, sending out a loud bang in the office. Sending blood across the carpeted floor, Carmine slumped to his knees in agony as the bullet ripped its way through him and out his chest.

Walking over to him, Gaston began to laugh as he bent down placed a second gun in Carmine's hand, as the blonde struggled to breathe, blood gurgling out of his chest.

"Oh yes I will..." he replied, as he kicked Carmine fully to the floor as he stood up before he continued, "In fact, I'm going to make sure you help with my alibi."

"And if you could do just one more thing for me before I terminate your employment? Give our former employer my regards..." he said, smiling as he emptied his clip into the back of his former assistant, dropping his cell phone into a puddle of the man's blood.


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Extras:








Well. That's it! hope you all enjoy the voting tomorrow (today if you want to call it that)

Jacob

[bat]

Fantastic new chapter there - as always!!! Great work on it!!
Looking forward to more...

[Simpson]

Fantastic new update my friend, your city is super 

[CraigKingOfIreland]

Words aren't enough to describe just how great your pictures are...BTW, what happened to Obama 2012? 

[porter66083]

OK!!!! Voting is now open! Sorry for the wait, just been swamped with paperwork trying to get into a program at college for my career.

Anyways... your choices should be sent to me by PM.

Pretty simple. Remember, only choose someone on the list, which includes a small back story and a list of the injuries (for all you medical nerds out there like me).

Jacob

The List:

1) Lukas Overton- Shy teenager. Personal secretary to Brian Handover, CEO of Tricomm.
    21 yr old Male: Abdominal impalement, shattered scapula and superior portion of humerus, femur, and right clavicle, severe concussion, perforated small intestine and liver, massive blood loss.

2) Andrew Grensing- Intern at Timbervale Hospital Downtown. Hit by bus why walking across street with sister.
    26 yr old Male: Broken left and right femur, 3 broken ribs with outer perforation, collapsed lung, fractured left and right radius and ulna, fractured T1, T6, L1, L2, L4, bradycardia and hypotensive, massive bleeding of spleen, massive contusion of kidney.

3) Sebastian Overton- Brother of Lukas. Riding bus at time of accident.
    16 yr old Male: Severe concussion to occipital region of head, broken tibia, fractured C1 and C2, swelling in C-spine region of spinal cord and brain stem.

4) Elsa Baum- wife of Dr. Tristan Baum. Gave up two children (Lukas and Sebastian) for adoption at age of 17. Currently pregnant.
    38 yr old Female: Lacerations to face and hands, broken humerus, severe contusions to arms, back, and abdominal region. Fetal heart rate exhibiting bradycardia with signs of possible fibrillation.

5) Carmine Hilton (no relation )- Personal assistant to Duceppe Gaston, 'possible' suspect to planned assassination of Brian Handover.
    31 yr old Male: 6 GSW to thoracic cavity, 9 GSW to abdominal cavity. Possible trauma to right ventricle chamber, collapsed left lung, perforated stomach, perforated small intestine, perforated bowel, massive truama to left kidney, superior part of liver and inferior pancreas.

Enjoy! 

EDIT: Removed inappropriate content. - Dustin (thundercrack83)

[Pat]

OK Jacob now I will say something hehehe.... Yes I was waiting in the weeds for the voting to give my voice on the charater selection.... But first the story wow!!! Pics OMG!!! PLOT holly ________________ fill in the blank ehheeheh...

Are we looking at Zombies again here? I was wondering cause of the Regenra add hehehee  you get the point ehh??? hmmm are you hopping for the Clinton Palin factor in 2012 by a chance    Nice CNN tidbit for the debate.....

ooooo a Gaston and Carmine conflict niiiice!!! WOW talk about if one didnt know Gaston, you would have instant hate for the Son of the Gun... OK So hmmmmm the plot then thickens with twist of the fact of GSW's wow!!!

Time stamps all wrong OMG Jacob you got me on the wire tonight!!!!!

OK so you see you gotten me on this chapter wow and my voting choice hmmmm,

see your PM shortly as I have to do a little study of which and who by far would be a good choice to let follow next if I am not mistaken right?

[porter66083]

Ok. Two bits of news here. Nobody (2 people over 2 sites) has really sent their vote on the next arc. I need them if you want the next chapter to come out.

Which brings me to the other point. Looks like I'm going to have to redo the Timbervale region from scratch. For some reason, every time i try to open the region, I get a CTD. Even tried manually moving over cities to try and fix it, but looks like something happened the files. So it might be a little while before I post the next update (see: 1 month possibly).

Jacob

[sebes]

Nobody (2 people over 2 sites) has really sent their vote on the next arc.

So it's either a tie or a clear winner

Come on guys and dolls: try to imagine who's stories you want to see continued and kill the other 

[CarmineHilton]

Story would have been nicer if I didn't die in it, but well... it's still fabulous!!
For the voting, I dunno if I can vote as I'm in it myself..?

[porter66083]

OK. Finally got the new region set up for building. And I finished mapping out the city names. Also figured I'd get a little caught up on the replies here...

bat: Thanks! It took forever to finally perfect the fireworks in the pictures!
simpson: Thanks!
CraigKingOfIreland: Actually, that picture was made even before the elections were finished. I'm going to go with the Obama's wanting to have their kids out of the limelight.
Pat: Fill in the blank? Hmmmm... banana phone? Yeah, holy banana phone has a nice ring. Heh... ring ring ring... Maybe we're looking at zombies, maybe I'm just evilly plotting to have people look at that instead of other plots development. Who knows? 
Sebes: Thank you for the shout out to people. And actually, now its up to 4 votes. And a four way tie. So I'm REALLY going to need more votes!
CarmineHilton: Yeah, you can vote. It's open voting for everyone.

OK! Now to the new improved region!



I'm now off to the land of BATs and NAM'in.

Jacob

PS: Don't forget to vote people!

[Pat]

hey Jacob that map is looking fantastic!!!

[rooker1]

Hey Jacob,

I can understand why you haven't recieved to many votes.  Killing off a character with such a graphic description, most likely doesn't appeal to many, especially since this is a SC4 fansite.  I can usually read your story and sometimes like it, but in my opinion your true talent is your city building style and your ability to photoshop is next to very few others.
Anyways, this is just my opinion....

I always love your pics, your uncanny photoshoping skills and the map does look great.. 

Robin 

PS, maybe the character that is suppose to die, doesn't.....