Write the next passage...

[General Phoenix]

Ok, here's the deal. I'll start off by introducing a single character in a short passage. Everyone is welcome to add to it - feel free to do whatever you like, as long as your post builds upon the previous post in some way.


Jacob staggered out of the bar, narrowly avoiding the lightpost on the corner. He made his way to the back of the building and ducked down the alleyway, collapsing against a wall. His vision was blurred, his breath was shallow, and his heart was beating at an incredible rate.

Jacob would not usually be concerned about his condition, as he found himself in a similar state every Friday night. However, this was Tuesday.

And he hadn't had a single thing to drink.

Jacob leaned his head back, closed his eyes and tried to breath slowly and deeply. He remembered coming into the bar with his friends, who promptly hooked up with a group of girls and disappeared into the corner booth. Jacob, the only one among them who was in a relationship, had remained at the bar to get the drinks - but when he reached the booth, his friends were gone. That was when he met her...

She said her name was Eleanor, and she'd seen the group leave a minute or so before he arrived. She wasn't sure how he'd missed them. Neither was Jacob, for that matter, since he'd been only about ten feet from the entrance the entire time. But there was something about this Eleanor that intrigued him. Perhaps it was her soothing, smoky voice, or maybe it was the way her silky dress hugged her curves, suggesting a nice figure, but maintaining a sense of mystery - or maybe it was just the three beers he's had at the bar. A voice in the back of his head told him to forget it - to get a cab and head home. After all, Brian and Luke were big boys; they could take care of themselves. And he did have a girlfriend to go home to, after all. But a few minutes later, Jacob found himself at a nice quiet table with Eleanor, ordering a couple of cocktails.

'If only it had ended there,' he thought. A sudden gastric urge presented itself, and Jacob jumped to his feet and ran to the nearest trash can. As he leaned over the receptacle, he wondered if the night could possbly get any worse.

[moovok]

He placed the drinks onto the table, and looked at Elanor. Three beers, two cocktails, and one glass of water - one of the girls was a non-alcoholic, but then again, it didn't stop her taking large quantities of drugs to 'enjoy' herself.

Elanor moved closer, the red dress gripping her body tightly. Jacob sat down next to her, he had paid for the drinks already, it was a shame they would go to waste.
Elanor smiled, picking up a cocktail, in a V-shaped glass, the cherry still in the cocktail stick at the side, dipped in the liquid, bobbing like an apple.

"Do you know exactly where they went?" Jacob asked. They were probably alright, but without a word, he was a bit puzzled.
Elanor shook her head. She was a quiet one. Actually, he hadn't really met Elanor, he had just got into the wave of things, the boys going out, the girls being picked up, going into the bar and then... bang... vanished, without a trace. They were probably at a club or something.

Jacob lifted up the bottle of beer and placed it on his lips, looking at Elanor's body, before taking a long deep swig of the liquid, the alcohol pouring down his throat.
"Well, best not let this go to waste, good alcohol and all", he smiled.
She smiled too, pressing her red, lucious lips on the glass.

Jacob looked down at the trash can infront of him, the white contents, with liquid and parts of carrots, floating around the already smelly garbage which was exumed in it. His eyes began to focus slightly, only slightly, as he looked down at his hands, turning them to see his palms, he noticed blood. He looked down at his clothing, it was soaked in it, sweat and blood. Was he dying? Was this what dying felt like? ****ed, with a huge headache and that sicky feeling? Who's blood was it? He couldn't remember...

[General Phoenix]

Jacob gathered himself as best he could and turned away, intending to hail a cab and go home - this night was a bust. As he shuffled toward the street, his blurred vision created halos around the bright lights, and the sounds of passing cars seemed more clear than before. He felt a sense of relief wash over him as he neared the opening of the alley, but it was soon replaced by dizziness - he was surprised a few seconds later when the cement came up to greet his face. He had just enough time to wonder how his bruises would look in the morning before he lost consciousness.

Eleanor stepped out of the shadows and kneeled next to Jacob. She'd been getting impatient waiting for him to pass out - the back alley of a seedy bar was no place for a lady, after all. She rolled Jacob over on his back and placed two fingers against his carotid artery - he was still alive. Jacob had split his lip when he fell - she took a handerchief from her purse and wiped the blood from his mouth. She then produced a scarf, which she wrapped around his neck, careful not to pull it too tight. After that, she zipped his leather jacket closed as best she could, then slid him over to the wall where she could sit him up.

Just then, she heard the sound of a door opening behind her - she turned to see one of the bartenders stepping outside with a bag of trash. He walked to the trash can, glanced inside, and sighed. "F***in' drunks," she heard him mutter as he dropped the trash bag into the can. "I'm glad I don't have to handle this shazbot..."

Then he noticed her.

Eleanor tensed up for a moment, preparing herself for a fight.

"Hey - is he okay?" asked the bartender. Eleanor looked at Jacob for a moment, making sure that most of the blood was covered up.

"He's fine," she replied. She stood up slowly and wiped her forehead with the back of one hand. "I think he just had a few too many, you know?"

The bartender approached slowly, glancing at Jacob, then at Eleanor. Her dress fit her very well...

"Yeah, that happens. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Eleanor thought about it for a moment. The bartender looked pretty healthy, and she was pretty sure he wouldn't be missed for a while - not on a Friday night. But she decided to quit while she was ahead. She took a step toward the bartender and flashed a pretty smile.

"You could call us a cab."

"Will do," said the bartender, smiling back. He headed for the door, then turned back to Eleanor.

"I'd be careful back here if I were you," he said. "You never know what kind of creeps you're gonna find."

"Thanks," replied Eleanor.

The bartender disappeared into the building, and the door closed behind him. Eleanor turned to Jacob, who was still unconscious. He looked very peaceful, considering the circumstances. Eleanor knelt down beside him and brushed an errant hair away from his forehead.

"Don't worry, baby. You're gonna feel terrific in the morning..."

[Commodore-SirJohn]

"I found a test subject," Eleanor's voice said from the speaker phone. "He's physically perfect. Exactly what we've been looking for."

"Ex-military?"

"I assume so. He certainly fought like it."

"Excellent! How soon can you get him to the lab?"

"We're on our way there now."

"Outstanding! I'll have the equipment ready when you get here."

He was answered by the click of the phone at the other end.

"You think we can really do it?" one of the man's colleagues asked.

"Of course. After all, we proved the concept with Eleanor."