Of zombies, and aliens, and angels
Replies
Hahaa thank you, Anon! ❤ Looks like it's time to ruin my badass image and make an embarrassingly cute HA with the cw This has actually happened to me once in real life, I entered an elevator and the lights went off once the doors closed... Wasn't a terribly fun trip from the 7th floor to the ground floor in complete darkness! (Same as Squid, I thought "server" meant the bartender at first huhuhu) E seems like a cool guy though, I like him! But why would that hooded person react to us like that? Whose diary was he reading, and why? And where's Bella and Grace? So many questions...!
@ Yuzuru I would actually die if that happened to me. I'm working on conquering a completely stupid fear of elevators but that would destroy me for sure.
/edit (( i just noticed that i wrote tanja to hit e with her elbow when he wasn't there anymore, that was supposed to be carlos! i think i forgot to close the spoiler tag, too. i'm so embarrassed haha. ))
You pick the diary up from the arm rest. Before you can decide on opening it or not, a few pages fall out of the book.
Look at what fell out
Perhaps it's not a prudent idea to open and read the entire diary, but you can at least look at what's written on these loose pages.
[spoiler=Transcript of the Pages]Jan. 10
It's been a while since I wrote on this thing so I'm going to get very rambly.
The office is oddly quiet this morning, I thought to myself. I heard someone knock on my door. Creepy! At the time, I was reading some journal articles about herniorrhapy to present to this class I was asked to teach on behalf of my father. I had no idea he thought of teaching clinical epidemiology. Or that he still read new articles. Wli Wills told me to get ready to leave. The lecture was still in the afternoon, so I did not understand the rush. We were headed to the medical centre first to discuss Grace's contract with the medical director. He told us to speak to the program director instead.
Finally at the program director's office. There was briefing about our appeal reading the contract. He told us it was fixed. We asked him what the catch was; He could not leave. Our proposal would not please the program director even with changes. We wanted to help him. I wish I was there to warn him about the loopholes in his contract. He's no longer a resident, he doesn't deserve this kind of unfair treatment just because we're "aliens."
At the place we were ret renting, I told Grace everything. It lit a fire in his eyes when I told him about Centropolis, it was his exit from being stuck in the medical centre at Saherimos. He told me he'd think about it, but then he agreed hesitantly. It's like something was stopping him from joining us.
...
Just as a certain fear would still be there. How long can I hide? I've been hiding it in my careful heart. Whenever he smiles at me, I feel like melting! It never gets old. How can I continue to talk like I'm a giddy little schoolgirl, when we've known each other for such a long time? I just can't help it, especially when I look at him... I don't know what I've done to deserve his affection! I can fill all the pages of this diary talking about him, but if it were a person, I'm sure it would have been tired of hearing every conversation I I make, day in and day out, centered around him. What I'm feeling... I can't bring myself to tell him. I'm ridiculously weak. What is he doesn't feel the same way? Hopefully before the Subetan winter ends, I can tell him how much he means to me. [/spoiler]
Tanja leans closer to you and whispers, "Did you see that?"
What, Carlos heading to the bar?
Your eyes quickly catch wind of Carlos talking to the bartender in the nearby bar.
Tanja cups her hands over her mouth and yells, "I'm not going to look after you if you get drunk again, Carlos."
Right after she says that, you see the bartender pour whiskey onto a shot glass. Carlos gleefully takes it and drinks it in one shot.
"Carlos, you IDIOT!" "What? It's just one shot." "One shot is too much! With such a low alcohol tolerance, this guy…" Tanja hits her face with both of her palms, and screams in frustration. "You doubt me too much, Tanja. Do you know how much this hurts me?" "My, my, my, it hasn't even been a minute since he drank and he's all emotional like this? So sad." "Tanja, I'm being serious here! I'm tired of being treated like a doormat, being stepped on all the time--" "Then stop acting like one!"
Tanja runs to where Carlos is seated, and pulls him out of his chair.
"Hey, what was that for?" "Get yourself together. We weren't here to drink. We're here to address a distress call, remember?" "You realise that I'm supposed to be off-duty today, right? I'm not even supposed to be here if you didn't lose your friggin' car." "Didn't you receive the call from this bar? You're so irresponsible!"
You stand between both of them just as Tanja prepares to slap Carlos, and tell them both to stop.
"This person is right, Tanja. I'm sorry I lost control of myself. I just have so many problems…" "We'll talk about that later. Let's look for those missing people first."
[[Proceed to 2.]]
What, the writing that suddenly turned pink as I was reading the pages?
You're not sure if you were just seeing things, or if some of the words in the journal changed ink colour as you read through them. It might be something important. But how could that have happened? Perhaps Lower Ziaran paper diaries have some odd technology unavailable back in the planet.
"The fire exit," Tanja whispers to you. "What about it?" "We should probably check that place out. A lead is a lead, we can always investigate deeper if it turns out to be a false one."
Just then, you notice Carlos sitting on a bar stool. The bartender pour whiskey onto a shot glass. Carlos gleefully takes it and drinks it in one shot.
"Carlos, you IDIOT!" "What? It's just one shot." "One shot is too much! With such a low alcohol tolerance, this guy…" Tanja hits her face with both of her palms, and screams in frustration. "You doubt me too much, Tanja. Do you know how much this hurts me?" "My, my, my, it hasn't even been a minute since he drank and he's all emotional like this? So sad." "Tanja, I'm being serious here! I'm tired of being treated like a doormat, being stepped on all the time--" "Then stop acting like one!"
Tanja runs to where Carlos is seated, and pulls him out of his chair.
"Hey, what was that for?" "Get yourself together. We weren't here to drink. We're here to address a distress call, remember?" "You realise that I'm supposed to be off-duty today, right? I'm not even supposed to be here if you didn't lose your friggin' car." "Didn't you receive the call from this bar? You're so irresponsible!"
You stand between both of them just as Tanja prepares to slap Carlos, and tell them both to stop.
"This person is right, Tanja. I'm sorry I lost control of myself. I just have so many problems…" "We'll talk about that later. Let's look for those missing people first."
[[Proceed to 2.]]
2
"Do we even know where to start? There's nothing else in this floor apart from a bar. Maybe we should try the third floor--"
"No, let's check the fire exit first."
"What for?"
"The pages that fell from the diary." Tanja is visibly frantic. "I-I can't explain it… but… but… the ink on some of the words just changed colour as we were reading it!"
"Why the hell are you reading someone's diary?"
"The pages fell off, okay? Don't blame me!"
"I'm not going to argue with you. Let's go!"
You all head towards the fire exit, conveniently located next to the elevator. The barkeep yells at Carlos, demanding that he pay for the whiskey he ordered. Carlos just yells back, "I'll be back!"
As soon as you open the door to the fire exit, decorated with an ominous "OFF LIMITS EXCEPT DURING EMERGENCIES" sign, a fire extinguisher nearby, you hear a loud noise coming from inside. On the junction between the fourth and third floors, you hear some noises coming from what seems to be the wall. Tanja knocks on the wall, immediately triggering a panel to fall into a gap. Green-coloured light floods a portion of the floor through the opening Tanja inadvertently made. She leads the way, and encourages you to follow her.
It's a lengthy stretch of hallway, illuminated with alternating green and blue neon lights. You all decide to keep quiet, just in case someone might be nearby. Sooner than you think, you reach the end of the hallway, where an unmarked door lies before you. Tanja holds the door knob, and gently turns it.
"They didn't even bother to lock the door."
The door opens to reveal what seems to be a control room. Multiple screens show closed-circuit camera feeds, including at least three that seem to monitor the hallway you just passed by. There is nothing else illuminating the room, apart from the screens and numerous flickering dots, which seem to be computer boxes of sort. Carlos locks the door behind the three of you, as Tanja and you look around.
"It's strange that nobody's in here." "Defeats the purpose of a security room, don't you think, Tanja?" "Indeed."
You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket.
"i tried to ask one of the employees of the bar for floor plans uhh i cannot use the free wifi or anything here so i cannot send it here go to the fire exit just until between the 3rd and 4th floor there is a fake wall just knock it over and go to the end of the hallway to the door you see thats a control room hurry up while the guard isnt there the server looks like a normal wifi router unplug it and take it with you -e"
It's from a different number from the one he used to text you earlier. You relay the message to Tanja and Carlos.
"But there are a lot of blinking dots here! How do we know which one is the correct router?", Tanja asks. "Just unplug everything you can, Tanja," you hear Carlos say. Tanja gets to work, and you begin to look for something that appears more like a wireless router rather than a CPU. After a bit of searching, you find a lone, red wireless router. You unplug it, and give it to Tanja, who may hide it under her suit.
"Are we sure this is the right one? Can you try calling E?"
You take out your phone again, and ring the number where E most recently sent you a text. After a while of waiting, a familiar automated prompt informs you that the number is out of service.
"Typical of him to do that." "Tanja, I think we've overstayed our visit. We should leave now."
Tanja stands back up, kicking the wires she unplugged to a place where the screens cannot shine light on them. You prepare to leave as soon as Carlos opens the door. The lit hallway you passed by earlier is now noticeably dark, and you are greeted by a hooded figure pointing a gun at you.
idk how phones work, man, but is getting texts from different numbers that fast normal??? And we're just stealing routers now??? And more guns????
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
This is getting spooky af omg The writing in the diary changing color as we read it is super cool, I'd kind of like to have that technology irl. I wonder if the hooded figure with the gun is the same one who ran away and dropped the diary pages? Was it a trap? :O
Thanks anon once again!
I admit that if a couple of diary pages just happened to fall in front of me, I'd read them. :)
Very cool that the writing changed colors, lots of info there.
Now we're grabbing everything we can unplug and have to face some menacing person with a gun?
I think we will prevail...
Anon, I am loving this whole story.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
Carlos isn't going to be the one to drive us back home, right?! Assuming we're making it out alive and unharmed... Once again I hope everyone will be alright and no-one gets shot!
(Sorry for the late response, I've been a bit busy irl... orz)
[edit]
"Neutral Force is conducting an investigation in this control room. Please do not interfere with our activities," you hear Tanja say. "Who gave you authorisation to enter private property?", inquires the hooded figure. Her voice is uncharacteristically saccharine, creating some kind of cognitive dissonance when coupled with her Unliving appearance. Perhaps she's not the kind of Unliving with damaged vocal cords? "Does the name 'E' ring any bells to you?" The stranger hisses. "That snake!" "Leave us be, or we will call the police to sic on your little party."
The hooded Unliving woman puts her arm down, and returns the gun to her pocket, walking away. Carlos walks close to the door, keeping an eye on what's happening outside.
"Good work, Tanja! I was so convinced you'd stutter there," he says. "Must be the adrenaline. Gosh, that was stressful." Tanja hits her forehead with her palm. Carlos then closes the door and walks closer to Tanja.
You feel a looming presence behind you. Turning around, you see three figures. It seems that their eyes of one of the strangers have met yours, but you recognise the other two people.
You tap the shoulders of Carlos and Tanja, who also turn around.
"Oh, these must be Grace and Bella! Glad you're safe," Tanja whispers, albeit audibly. She then points at the stranger. "Who's this person with you?" "This is our new friend. We were locked in a room with hospital beds." Grace looks at the door. "Tanja, we have to get out of here, quickly. But it's good that person who held you at gunpoint didn't seem to notice us." "Who was that?", asked Carlos. "That's Orin, the Unliving nurse who tended to us while we were in the room. No doubt she'll shoot us if she found out we escaped," says Grace. "We better keep quiet for now. Let's wait it out for a few minutes, then we get out of here," Carlos says just before he walks back to the door. "We also retrieved the server E was talking about." Tanja pulls out the red router from her vest, but quickly places it back inside. "That's a router, Tanja." Grace raises one of his eyebrows and gives her an odd look. "Let's talk about it later. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. You two are safe, and we have the router. We have no other business here."
You receive another text. It's from yet another phone number.
"i got rid of the guard get the heck out of there do not wait for me i will face master alone -e"
You show the text to your companions, who are surrounding you on all sides.
Will E be okay?
"He'll be fine. He might be like that, but he knows how to handle himself," Tanja reassures you.
"You have so much faith in him, Tanja," you hear Carlos say.
"We can't let E do that alone!", exclaims Bella.
"Bella, please." Grace rests his hands against Bella's shoulders. "We shouldn't interfere."
"What if he gets hurt?"
"We'll endanger more people if we go there. He'll be fine. I promise."
He did what to the guard?
"I don't think he killed the guard. That's not his style."
"What did he do, then? Poison the bugger?"
"Grace, can you see what he did?" Bella audibly whispers as she tugs on Grace's arm.
"I can't do that here and now!"
"What's that about?" Tanja turns her head around to face the two.
"It's nothing." Grace covers Bella's mouth with one of his hands.
"You read the text. Vamos, lovebirds!" Tanja leads the way out.
Well it's too long for even a spoiler, but thanks again anon. Can't wait to see what happens next. Glad that Grace and Bella are okay.
Excellent plot.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
Carlos stays behind until all five of you -- Grace, Bella, the stranger, Tanja, and yourself -- leave the control room. You return to the lengthy, neon-lit hallway, just to find that the break in the false wall that Tanja made earlier had been incompletely occluded with a steel trash can. Tanja pushes it away, and you safely descend the fire exit.
Leaving the building, you find yourself on one end of an empty, albeit dark and derelict alleyway. You can hear muffled music. A stray hospital bed blocks the way out. Pushing it to no avail, Carlos resigns to climbing over it. Tanja notices that the wheels of the bed are attached to both walls of the alley through welded chains. Grace and Bella motion for you and the stranger to go over the bed before them.
Before you can do so, you catch sight of the hooded figure from earlier, passing by. She seems too preoccupied with counting a fat pile of paper bills, humming a familiar, cheesy pop song. You feel someone pull you down, the draping sheets of the hospital bed covering you. As soon as she leaves your sight, you slowly stand up, and discreetly climb over the bed, taking care not to make any noise.
The woman in the orange hoodie is far from your sight by the time all of you go through the hospital bed. Tanja and Carlos high-five each other.
"Typical," Tanja mutters. "Of course E would bribe her." "I haven't been here for long. Are the people here in Lower Ziara generally… economically depressed?" "You can say that." "It's hard to believe, with all their technology and all these bars." "Ever noticed that the drinks are dirt cheap?" "How would I know, Carlos? I don't drink." "You should try it out sometime." "Not in a million years." "Anyway, these people know how to maximise minimal resources. Most of the plastic they use is recycled." "Fair enough." Tanja's hair sways gently as a gust of wind blows by.
Yet another hooded figure passes by in front of you, stopping in front of Tanja.
"I'm sorry, the Master you're looking for is in another castle." "What is the meaning of this, E?", inquires a slightly irritated Tanja. "That's what the guard told me after I gave her all that money." "How important is it that we find this 'Master' guy? My freaking car got missing AND I NEED TO LOOK FOR IT, UGH UGH UGH!" Tanja begins to bang her head against the wall. Grace and Bella take her by her arms and pull her away from the wall of ChouChou.
Through the distorted, distant sounds of what seems to be club music, you hear someone announce "Unleash your Chouchou!" loud and clear. "Should we still release the butterflies," asked Carlos. "I can't believe you kept those things on you!" "Well, give me your butterfly. I'm sure my daughter will love it." "That's all fine and dandy, but I need to find my car!" Tanja is visibly anxious. "Tanja, will you calm down for a second? I'll help you find your car, okay?" You all walk away from the building, heading towards Carlos' car, which is still where it was parked.
"It's fine, Carlos." E scratches his right cheek. "Take Grace and the others someplace safe. I'll help Tanja locate her car. Finding Master isn't much of a priority." He glances at the stranger, reaching his hand out to them. "Carlos' car might not fit all five of you. Why don't you come with us?"
Tell Tanja to show E the router.
Upon your reminder, Tanja takes out the router from her vest.
E's eyes light up. "That's the one. Take it apart and you should find a flash drive inside. I'll keep in contact via text." He then hands the router over to you. "Keep it safe. Hide it for now."
Carlos opens the passenger door in front for you, probably to leave Grace and Bella to sit together in the back. "I'd like to take the three of you to Club PLURality, but considering that your companions here were assaulted there, it might be more prudent to let you stay where I know I can protect you." "That person who joined E… was our companion. They helped us escape. Can't we take them with us?", asked Bella. "They'll be in good hands with E and Tanja. I'll tell them to follow us once they find Tanja's car."
Carlos starts the engine and begins to drive off.
((I'll put my comments here once I've had my morning coffee!))
I don't think I've said this before but Tanja is so funny haha. I'm happy we got Grace and Bella out of there safely! And Carlos better not be too drunk to drive a car... :v
I tried to post the next installment, but Anon had written too much to fit haha Glad to see it all got sorted!
/edit After just a few minutes of Bella and Grace filling Carlos in on what happened to them in ChouChou, you can't help but notice that Carlos' driving is becoming more… erratic, for the lack of a better term.
"Stop the car, Carlos. I'll take over," says Grace. "You can't even drive!" "Sure I can." "You don't have a license." "But you're drunk!"
Carlos parks the car at the shoulder of the road. He alights the vehicle, allowing Grace to take the driver's seat.
"I trust you not to speed or do anything stupid," says Carlos. "You know, driving etiquette where I came from isn't too different from how you Ziarans do it." "Where are you from anyway, Grace?" "Saherimos." "No, where are you really from? Your name doesn't sound… local to that place." "A bit invasive AND abrasive there, buddy." "I used to kinda dislike aliens. I didn't care for them all the time, but I witnessed these people talk about how ugly they looked, how you don't respect other species and only want to dominate worlds. Those were the days when we thought we knew aliens would have green skin and weird, bug eyes." You hear Carlos pause to retch for a moment. "But you guys are pretty cool. I don't get why those Anti-Alien Alliance guys hate you all so much." "That's what I don't understand. Brandon himself is an alien." Carlos makes a spitting noise. "WHAT?!" "I always knew he was familiar, but I didn't realise he was Albert's son--" Bella interrupts, "Albert Dorian… that murderer from back home?" "Yeah. I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner. I always felt like Brandon was just… misguided or brainwashed." "Who could have done it?" "I don't quite know. I can only see immediate possibilities; I can't look far into the past." "Would have been nice if Chronny was with us. What is that guy up to, anyway?" "The old fart is probably chronicling the history of Subeta. He always told me that history is his life." "Speaking of Brandon… where's Anjy?" "I haven't heard from her for a while now." Grace steps on the breaks, the car coming to a halt in the middle of the road. He then turns around to look at Bella. "I have a bit of a hard time focusing on the road if people are talking to me. Can I ask for some silence, please?"
You all oblige, and Grace continues to drive. As the car ascends through a bridge, you suddenly have a strange feeling in your gut. Over the bridge is a river whose water sparkles even at night. You see a discarded black shoe, but pay it no mind. As the bridge is close to its plateau, you notice someone with light blue hair, curled up in a fetal position, on the shoulder of the road. Before you can tell anyone about it, Bella tells Grace to stop the car. She immediately gets out of the vehicle, and Grace follows after her. Carlos opts to stay inside while you go out as well.
"Anjy?", asks Grace, as he approaches the blue-haired figure. She stands up and turns around to face you.
Bella runs to Anjy, and embraces her. "Who did this to you?" Anjy falls to her knees and begins to sob hysterically. "Where is he?" Anjy only responds through anguished crying. She holds on to Bella and buries her head in her chest, kicking her other shoe off her feet. "Shh…" Bella gently strokes Anjy's hair, accidentally pulling the blue wig out.
"Brandon…" "That rascal did this to you, Anjy? Where is he?" Far from the usual soothing tone of Bella's voice, she now sounds stern. "No… he took my place..."
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
Items
Woodsmoke Discarded Heel
Useless Rusty Knife
This is your first time opening this, so these items are now in your inventory!
Message After just a few minutes of Bella and Grace filling Carlos in on what happened to them in ChouChou, you can't help but notice that Carlos' driving is becoming more… erratic, for the lack of a better term.
"Stop the car, Carlos. I'll take over," says Grace. "You can't even drive!" "Sure I can." "You don't have a license." "But you're drunk!"
Carlos parks the car at the shoulder of the road. He alights the vehicle, allowing Grace to take the driver's seat.
"I trust you not to speed or do anything stupid," says Carlos. "You know, driving etiquette where I came from isn't too different from how you Ziarans do it." "Where are you from anyway, Grace?" "Saherimos." "No, where are you really from? Your name doesn't sound… local to that place." "A bit invasive AND abrasive there, buddy." "I used to kinda dislike aliens. I didn't care for them all the time, but I witnessed these people talk about how ugly they looked, how you don't respect other species and only want to dominate worlds. Those were the days when we thought we knew aliens would have green skin and weird, bug eyes." You hear Carlos pause to retch for a moment. "But you guys are pretty cool. I don't get why those Anti-Alien Alliance guys hate you all so much." "That's what I don't understand. Brandon himself is an alien." Carlos makes a spitting noise. "WHAT?!" "I always knew he was familiar, but I didn't realise he was Albert's son--" Bella interrupts, "Albert Dorian… that murderer from back home?" "Yeah. I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner. I always felt like Brandon was just… misguided or brainwashed." "Who could have done it?" "I don't quite know. I can only see immediate possibilities; I can't look far into the past." "Would have been nice if Chronny was with us. What is that guy up to, anyway?" "The old fart is probably chronicling the history of Subeta. He always told me that history is his life." "Speaking of Brandon… where's Anjy?" "I haven't heard from her for a while now." Grace steps on the breaks, the car coming to a halt in the middle of the road. He then turns around to look at Bella. "I have a bit of a hard time focusing on the road if people are talking to me. Can I ask for some silence, please?"
You all oblige, and Grace continues to drive. As the car ascends through a bridge, you suddenly have a strange feeling in your gut. Over the bridge is a river whose water sparkles even at night. You see a discarded black shoe, but pay it no mind. As the bridge is close to its plateau, you notice someone with light blue hair, curled up in a fetal position, on the shoulder of the road. Before you can tell anyone about it, Bella tells Grace to stop the car. She immediately gets out of the vehicle, and Grace follows after her. Carlos opts to stay inside while you go out as well.
"Anjy?", asks Grace, as he approaches the blue-haired figure. She stands up and turns around to face you.
Bella runs to Anjy, and embraces her. "Who did this to you?" Anjy falls to her knees and begins to sob hysterically. "Where is he?" Anjy only responds through anguished crying. She holds on to Bella and buries her head in her chest, kicking her other shoe off her feet. "Shh…" Bella gently strokes Anjy's hair, accidentally pulling the blue wig out.
"Brandon…" "That rascal did this to you, Anjy? Where is he?" Far from the usual soothing tone of Bella's voice, she now sounds stern. "No… he took my place..."
Thanks again anon... and dun dun dun... the plot thickens even more.
This is exciting and I appreciate all the work you've put into this.
hugs
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
I am SO sorry anon, I completely lost track of what's happening due to RL problems, I feel terrible cause I got all these gifts and I have no idea what's going on with the plot, I'll try to get back on track today, i promise!!!
If you need any art please let me know, I would feel so much better if I could help in any way <3 <3 <3
Damn Carlos, I knew he wasn't sober enough to drive a car!
Oh wow, so Brandon is an alien himself! I wasn't expecting that at all :o I'm so curious to know what's going on with him!
[edit] What exactly does Anjy mean by Brandon taking her place? You decide to ask her precisely that.
"He found me… and took my place…" "We can always talk about this when you're in better shape. Allow me to take care of you first." "Master took me to a warehouse… few days ago. He…" "It's okay, Anjy. You don't have to force yourself." "Please… please... save Brandon. He'll get hurt…" "I have to make sure you don't have any serious injuries, first." "We don't have time!"
"Anjy. You're my patient now. You're my first priority. We will get to Brandon once you're stable." Bella looks at Anjy carefully. After a while, she tells you and Anjy to stay put and wait before she runs back to the car. Speaking with Carlos for a few moments, you see him stir and take something from beneath the driver's seat. Bella returns to you and Anjy with a large first aid kit, tending to Anjy's injuries. Albeit laboured, she manages to lift Anjy once she had patched her up and disinfected her wounds, taking her to the car. She carefully seats her in the back, beside Carlos.
"What happened to her?" Carlos is about to lay a hand against Anjy's shoulder, when Bella swats him away from outside. She then enters the passenger door adjacent to the driver's seat, sitting beside Grace. "Carlos, do you have any extra clothes?" "Yeah, sure. Grace, can you open the trunk? There's a lever you can pull to your left for that." "Can you lend Anjy your jacket for now? She might catch a cold."
Taking off his jacket, Carlos drapes it over Anjy's shoulders. She gives Carlos her thanks and places the jacket over her lap, saying that her legs feel chilly. He gets out of the car for a moment, and swiftly returns with a non-coordinated set of clothing - a fuchsia henley and shorts that seem to be more at place in Peka-Boo than in Lower Ziara.
"I hope you don't mind that the clothes don't match. Sorry that they smell like an old cabinet. It's all I have." Carlos hands Anjy the clothes. "Thank you, stranger. Please tell me where I can return the clothes once I have washed them." "Keep them. I don't know why I kept those clothes in the trunk when I could have left them here at the back. I knew they'd come in handy some day."
Anjy puts the shirt and shorts on herself, thanking Carlos once again. "Do you feel better now, Anjy?" "Yes." "Just stay here in the car when we get there, okay?", you hear Bella say. "I can't just sit here and do nothing while Brandon is being--" "It's surprising. From your break-up until a few days ago, you hated him so much." "It's not his fault. He didn't know that I'm his stepsister, just like I didn't know about our relation to each other." "Wait, what?!" "That's why I broke up with him. Incest is disgusting! When we were still together, he was okay…" "Did you even tell him that you're related to each other when you broke it off with him? I think not." "Yeah… I just assumed he knew about it and got really angry at him. He only really started to become a major jerk ever since he got involved with the psychotrauma centre in Centropolis, which was after the break-up." "Well, that Wayne guy seemed really nice, but something about him was off, the last time we met." "That's because he has been manipulating people the whole time!" "What do you mean?" "Does it make any sense for an alien refugee to create an organisation that hates aliens? Think about it. Everyone who steps foot into that psychotrauma centre comes out worse than they originally were!" "Brandon's hatred seemed like he was pulling it out from something deep-seated. I never even realised that he's just like you, because I'm not the one who brought him to Subeta." "Then, who did?" "Grace, aren't we leaving yet?", asked Carlos. "I can't drive if people are talking, remember? It ruins my concentration." "Okay, I'm sorry." Grace turns his head around to look at Anjy. "Do you know where the warehouse is?" "I'll lead you to it."
He then turns his head to face you. "It might be dangerous to accompany us to the warehouse. Carlos, do you know of a place where we can safely leave our companion in the meantime?"
"Yeah, sure. You can stay in the spare room of my house for now."
"CAN'T I GO WITH YOU GUYS?"
You insist to join them in the warehouse. Surely it can't be that bad since there are five of you. Maybe four, because Anjy doesn't count.
"It's too risky," Bella whispers to you, as Grace starts to drive.
You're sure you can take care of yourself. Anjy gives Grace directions to the warehouse. For the next five minutes, that's the only conversation you hear. You arrive at your destination faster than you initially anticipated, passing by a few industrial-looking buildings along the way. It turns out that Brandon facilitated Anjy's escape from the place, but she was too exhausted to run past the bridge where you found her.
The warehouse itself looks run down and beat up. Bright lights flood the roof, making visible the rust and holes on it. The walls are stained from acid rain. Exhaust fans are spinning outside the facility. The main entrance seems to have been left open.
You all get out of the car, leaving Anjy inside. The interior of the warehouse is almost bare, illuminated through light that pours through one of the holes in the roof. Apart from a few boxes and crates littered about, you also find four tires scattered on the floor. You do not find any sign of Brandon.
"Anjy told you that Brandon was here, right?", Grace asks Bella. Bella inspects the boxes closely. "Yeah. Maybe whoever that 'Master' is must have taken Brandon away from here. Or what if Brandon was killed?" "Hopefully not, huhu. I doubt it." "Wait a second, did that box just move?", you hear Carlos ask. "It's probably the whiskey you drank earlier."
You notice the box with a "This side up" label. Carlos points at it again, insisting that it moved again. Bella walks closer to the boxes, opening the one Carlos was pointing at…
Too long to post, sorry
Thanks so much again anon, I'm enjoying this adventure you're taking us on. Will admit that I never click offsite links though.
So many unexpected twists and turns, love it.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
AGREE TO STAY AT CARLOS' HOUSE.
You decide to heed their advice and just stay somewhere safe. But is Carlos really okay with you staying over?
"My daughter is with my wife at the moment, so you won't really disturb anything. I can just text her that we're letting you stay there for now. I'm sure she'll understand." "Okay. Let's take her to your place first, before we head over to the warehouse."
Carlos gives Grace directions to his house. For the next ten minutes, that's the only conversation you hear. Rows of factories and industrial buildings transition into what seems to be an economically depressed residential area. Houses made of cheap materials are lined up in a series. Unlike the neon-lit cityscape where the clubs and restaurants were located, there is a certain dreariness to the place. At night, when at least a few houses should have their lights on, it seems like this part of Lower Ziara does not have access to electricity. Or perhaps everyone had gone to sleep.
"Okay, we're here." Upon hearing this from Carlos, Grace stops the car in front of a modest row house. It is taller than it is wide, and one of the lights seem to be open. You assume that Carlos is digging for his key in his pocket, since you can hear something jangling from it. He eventually pulls out a key, and inserts it onto the door knob's keyhole. He turns around to face his car, looking at the open window on Bella's side.
"Thanks for driving me home safely. Stay safe, and just return the car here when you're done." Bella waves at him, and you can see Grace nod from the window. Carlos waves back at them, and Bella closes the window.
"My house is small, I hope you don't mind that. You're safer here than in the industrial district or the commercial areas." You ask Carlos if he's sure with letting you stay over for a while. "Well, I'm guessing you don't really know many people here, do you?" Turning the doorknob, Carlos opens the door and gestures for you to get inside.
The living room is modest, barely containing any decorations save for what seem to be school diplomas and a few awards close to the wall. There is a small television set with a table and three chairs. The only division between the living room and the pantry is a bar-table with three tall stools. The place smells faintly of air freshener. Just then, you hear rapid footsteps, much akin to a gallop. A girl wearing a pajamas set, seeming around ten years old appears in front of you. Carlos bends down and pulls her up, hugging her.
"Daddy, why do you smell weird?" The girl then gives you a quizzical look. "Who is this?" "Oh, this is a friend. Uh." You realise that you haven't been properly introduced to each other. You then introduce yourself to Carlos' daughter. "Hi! I'm Rose! Nice to meet you!" She seems to be appeased by your smile. "Are you done with your homework?" "Yes, daddy." "Can we borrow your computer for a moment? Daddy has to do some work." "Okay!" With a gleeful smile, the girl leaves your sight, and you hear her run up what seems to be stairs. You look to one corner of the room and find a narrow stairway. Carlos ascends through its steps, motioning for you to follow him. Instead of a full-fledged second floor, it seems more like a loft or a mezzanine of sorts. The narrow, short hallway greeting you as soon as you get up the stairs has two doors, one opened, and another closed. You can't see much of the room with the opened door, but it must be the guest room Carlos is talking about. Carlos knocks on the closed door, and opens it.
All that's inside the room is a computer table, a shelf for books, a large bed, a wardrobe, and a large mirror. There is a door Rose is laying down prone on the bed, reading what seems to be one of her textbooks. She is facing away from the computer table.
"Do you still have the router?", asked Carlos. You reply affirmatively, and show him the red router. Following E's instructions, he aids you in taking it apart. Splitting the router into half through a crosswise crease that runs around the device, you see the usual chipboards and tiny parts that you anticipated to find in such a device. However, something seems to stick out like a sore thumb -- there's a plastic, light blue object lodged in one of the router's corners. You take it out and find that it's a flash drive. No wonder E couldn’t hack the server and needed to retrieve the physical device.
"I'm hoping that flash drive doesn't have any viruses," Carlos says as he boots his computer. He then asks you for the flash drive, as soon as the system restores from its previous session.
As soon as you insert the flash drive, its contents become visible to you.
(( Don't worry about these. The unblurred images are just mosaics of colour that I've coloured to look like they're suspicious images. I still can't show the original mosaics because they may look too suggestive! ))
I decided to visit Carlos, because honestly there's something about him that keeps bothering me but idk what it is... So I took the option that in fact sounded more risky to me! Like I wouldn't be surprised at all if he ended up selling me to 'Master' or something.
Thanks for the Vesnali coins anon, and for understanding.
I am truly enjoying this whole thing. I love your creativity. :)
Hope you are having a wonderful Vesnali and a beautiful life!
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
Oh wow I made a post the other day and it didn't go through. Silly mobile.
Anyway, I had just wanted to thank Anon for their amazing generosity, but also for their unbelievable creativity. You really are spectacular, and I envy you so much.
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
Thanks again anon. This has been the most interesting plot... I'm not at home for a few weeks so it's not as easy for me to access things, but I am enjoying this immensely.
"So the nudes were for real, huh?" Carlos nods, selecting all of the images and pressing a button on the keyboard. A prompt reading "Are you sure you wish to permanently delete these files" appears, and he clicks on the "Yes" option.
"Anjy should be happy now, and E would be relieved." "I don't think they can rest easy just yet." "What do you mean?" "The photos are online." "Why didn't you tell them?" "Oh, E knows about it. We've assisted Anjy and E in submitting a takedown notice to the owner of the website. But if it's that 'Master' who owns the website, he might not just comply with a request that easily." "What do we do, then?" "We'll look for his weakness. There must be something that means a lot to him."
You begin to think of what could mean a lot to people. Family. Friends. A lover. Financial success. Fame.
You hear Carlos sigh. "It's easier said than done. By the way, do you want something to drink? I'll go downstairs first. Please watch over Rose for me." He stands up and leaves the room. You comply with Carlos' request, finding Rose sprawled on the bed in a supine position, her chest rising and falling as she breathes. She must have fallen asleep.
It's tempting to use the computer to check your own social media accounts, or go snooping around his files. Will you take the risk? Should you take the risk?
Just then, a notification appears on bottom-right corner of the screen. It seems to pertain to some kind of chat program. Resting your hand against the mouse, you click on the notification.
As soon as you hear footsteps, you close the chat window. Carlos returns to the room with a pitcher of cold water, and two glasses. He pours water on one of the glasses, and hands it over to you, his arms trembling slightly.
"Hey, it's fine if you snooped around my computer." He walks closer to the computer, where another notification is visible on the screen. As soon as he clicks on it, you notice him become tense. He bends down and begins to furiously type on the keyboard, when the lights and the computer suddenly shut off.
"Damn it!" You hear him slam his fist against the keyboard, making a clacking noise. "Who was that, anyway?" "Just some guy who has some petty vendetta over me. He's pissed because my wife rejected him when he was courting her…" "Then what was that about not telling anyone about something? What are you hiding?" "I swear, if I had my car, I'd seize Wayne and beat him up to a bloody pulp!" "What are we going to do with the lights turned off?" "That just means the curfew is in place. Why don't you take a rest for now? You had quite a long day."
He leads you into the guest room amidst the dark. Faint moonlight from the window illuminates a corner of the bed.
"Good night."
From June 10th: Can't post the whole thing so here goes:
"Don't be scared, we'll get you out of here," says the girl, in an oddly familiar voice. She points at your right leg. "Try to feel for something that looks like a wire on your leg. When you do, yank it out!"
You don't see anything when you check your leg for a wire. Is this girl playing some kind of prank with you? You go ahead with it anyway, and palpate for something that feels like a wire on your leg, starting from your ankle. There's nothing on the anterior surface of your leg. You then try to feel for a wire on the back of your calf, brushing upward until you feel something behind your knee.
Your surroundings pulsate. You catch a quick glimpse of dimmed overhead fluorescent lights and steel panels. You pull on the wire gently, finding it strange.
You seem to no longer be inside a well-lit, cozy beachside hut. The wood panels behind the girl turn into a wall made out of corrugated steel panels. The girl still looks the same, her pink wings glowing against your drastically changed surroundings. It's dark inside what seems to be a warehouse. You pull your hand to your field of vision to find something resembling a chip with a peripheral cable. Its tip appears to be bloodied. The sensation of something removed from your body is there, but you are otherwise numb to pain.
"What is the meaning of this," you inquire, slightly irate. "I don't know, but I couldn't take it off from you." There is a look of worry on her face. "Actually, I don't know how to take you with me, if I can't even touch you in this form." "Then how do we get out of here?" "Just trust me. If you can trust that I can get us out of this place, just close your eyes. When I tell you to open your eyes, we should be somewhere else. No cheating!"
You close your eyes. At best, you'd end up somewhere else. At worst, nothing will probably happen.
This is getting very interesting, can't wait to see where it goes.
Won't be back home till the 24th so I can only do the bare bones minimum. Thanks again anon!
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
(For anyone following along at home, in the thread, we've been following a path for having gone home with Carlos, but there is an alternate path for going to the warehouse. I wanted to include that, but if I do, it's double the character limit :c Deepest apologies for taking so long eek)
Missing chat image from 06/08
Carlos's 06/10
"Hey, mind if I talk to you for a little while?", asks Carlos from outside.
Before you can give him a response, you hear the door to your room open. You see the glowing bottle that Carlos took from Tanja, still containing a faintly fluttering butterfly.
"Take this, I think my daughter would only want one. It must be too dreary and dark in that room." He places the bottle in your hand, and slowly closes the door. You place it on top of the nightstand next to your bed, when you hear a hushed "good night" from outside.
You sit up, stretch your arms, and yawn, rubbing your eyes. You're not sure if this is really what you're seeing.
Is your eyesight really this bad? It looks like this is where you really are. You try to feel for what you're sitting on. It's soft but firm, like a mattress. At least you still seem to be in a bed. As soon as you notice a breeze blow gently against your face, you can faintly smell… the ocean? One of the windows seems to be open. You stand up and walk closer to it to get a better view:
You look around and check for signs of any other people in the hut you're in, but all you can see are the bed, its sheets in disarray from your occupancy, the desk with what seems to be a partially-filled jug of milk and a few notebooks, and the windows lining the walls.
LEAVE THE HUT
The door is locked. No amount of agitation of the doorknob makes it budge.
[[Choose any of the other options.]]
CALL OUT TO THE PERSON OUTSIDE ONE OF THE WINDOWS
You walk closer to the open window, and call out to the person outside. They don't seem to notice you. In fact, they don't even seem to be moving. With the breeze that seems to come from outside, surely there must be something that should move? Anything.
It's then that you realise that the ocean isn't even making any waves. It's as though time had come to a standstill.
You decide to stick your head out of the window, and look up. Something is off about the sky. There's a sense of artificial-ness in it. You also notice that the 'breeze' is coming from overhead. With how focused it is with your head protruding from the window, it feels like it's coming from some kind of ceiling fan.
[[Proceed to "Look at the notebooks and their contents."]]
LOOK AT THE NOTEBOOKS AND THEIR CONTENTS
You walk closer to the desk, and examine the contents of the opened notebook. If only there was some way you can read what's written on it more clearly...
Notebook
You look behind you, and find someone on top of the bed you previously occupied.
(lineart by Rololi, coloured with permission)
"Don't be scared, we'll get you out of here," says the girl, in an oddly familiar voice. She points at your right leg. "Try to feel for something that looks like a wire on your leg. When you do, yank it out!"
You don't see anything when you check your leg for a wire. Is this girl playing some kind of prank with you? You go ahead with it anyway, and palpate for something that feels like a wire on your leg, starting from your ankle. There's nothing on the anterior surface of your leg. You then try to feel for a wire on the back of your calf, brushing upward until you feel something behind your knee.
Your surroundings pulsate. You catch a quick glimpse of dimmed overhead fluorescent lights and steel panels. You pull on the wire gently, finding it strange.
You seem to no longer be inside a well-lit, cozy beachside hut. The wood panels behind the girl turn into a wall made out of corrugated steel panels. The girl still looks the same, her pink wings glowing against your drastically changed surroundings. It's dark inside what seems to be a warehouse. You pull your hand to your field of vision to find something resembling a chip with a peripheral cable. Its tip appears to be bloodied. The sensation of something removed from your body is there, but you are otherwise numb to pain.
"What is the meaning of this," you inquire, slightly irate. "I don't know, but I couldn't take it off from you." There is a look of worry on her face. "Actually, I don't know how to take you with me, if I can't even touch you in this form." "Then how do we get out of here?" "Just trust me. If you can trust that I can get us out of this place, just close your eyes. When I tell you to open your eyes, we should be somewhere else. No cheating!"
You close your eyes. At best, you'd end up somewhere else. At worst, nothing will probably happen.
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
Thanks so much anon! :) This is quite the adventure you have us on!
It's too long so I can't post it, but can I have even a tenth of your creativity? Thank you for the gifts and this plot!
I hope you've been well.
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org
KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED FOR THE ENTIRE RIDE. It's fine, you can wait, no matter how long it takes.
Ten minutes that feel like forever pass, and you hear Bella say, "You can open your eyes now." You look around you, finding yourself inside Club PLURality. Tension fills the air. Instead of music blaring over the sound system, you hear indistinct chatter. An arms reach away from you, a portion of the dance floor is marked with crime scene tape. There are a few blood splatters on the adjacent wall. A motionless body lies on the center of the enclosed space, surrounded by officers of the Ziaran Police Department. One of the officers is taking photographs of the scene. Another person, who you also assume to be a policeman wearing full protective gear, is examining the perimetre. Yet another officer is interviewing some of the shocked bystanders. Two officers are preventing onlookers from entering the crime scene, despite their clamouring to take a better look at the victim.
"Are we too late?" Bella laments. Just then, you feel something tug at your arm, pulling you away from the crime scene. "Just let them do their job. We'll take care of Lisa later." The voice unmistakably belongs to Grace. You look behind you.
Right next to Grace is a stranger who seems to be rather frazzled. They seem vaguely familiar to you, but you can't recall where you've seen them before.
"Who are these?" asks the stranger. Grace gestures at your direction. "This is Squid, a friend of ours. The beautiful lady with pink hair is Bella, my fiancée." You exchange pleasantries with the now-acquaintance, who seems to be too rattled to give out their name to you. It might be best to let it slide, lest you add to their stress. They tell you that they helped Grace and Bella escape from ChouChou -- no wonder they were vaguely familiar.
You hear hurried footsteps coming from the side. E and three unfamiliar ladies try to catch their breath.
"Really? The one time I nap longer than usual and the club is suddenly a crime scene?" E shakes his head. The stranger close to E clears their throat. "You might have forgotten some other incidents." "But nobody died the last few times." "If this is why you wanted us to leave the room, you could have told us that the police were downstairs, Grace," says the lady who is clinging onto E's arm.
Grace looks at the woman with short, black hair. "Big Al, do you still have the remote?" She digs for something in her coat pocket, pulling out a remote control. "Yeah." "Put the club on lockdown."
With the push of a button, you hear multiple doors close around you.
"Okay, everyone gather around me for a while," Grace says, as he motions everyone to come closer to him. "Wayne wants all of you who know that he is the 'Master', dead. I had no other way to evacuate you all from the room, so I had to be… creative. His henchmen should be inside the room you previously occupied, right now. They won't be able to escape, with all routes blocked."
"What about the trapdoor?" the woman named Big Al asks. "It should be shut unless the automated mechanism is malfunctioning. At worst, they can get inside but remain stuck inside the vents. At best, they're trapped inside that room until you release all locks." You ask Bella why she brought you to Club PLURality with her. You're thankful she bailed you out of the other room, but couldn't she have taken you somewhere safer?
"I thought it would be safer here than anywhere else. I had no idea it would be chaotic today." "How were you even able to transform if you were cooped up with Squid," inquires Grace.
"I had to do it while Squid wasn't looking at me. Do you have any idea what forced us out of our human formes?" "It might be those SimuLife chips that were attached to us. I can't think of anything else."
"Oh, the one attached to our friend here from ChouChou? I found another one like it attached to Squid when I woke up in the garage." Bella shows Grace the chip you took out from your calf. She lifts the right sleeve of her coat up to reveal another chip, still attached to her.
"Can't you take it out?" "I can't."
What is all this talk about transformation? You decide to ask them.
"See, this is exactly what we mean when we say that we're aliens. How you see us right now, with these wings, is still not our real appearances," explains Bella. "If any mortal were to see our true formes, they could either go insane, or become blind," adds Grace. "Are you sure that isn't just some superstition people made--" interrupts E. "Poor Nikki from the Psychotrauma Centre comes to mind. I think it was Wilhelm that he saw in his true form?" says Big Al. "Wasn't he always just a nutjob?"
"Anyone who sees Wills' true forme would go insane," mutters Grace. He then continues in a more audible volume, "If you're curious, my true forme looks like a gigantic eyeball, while Bella is beating heart draped--" Bella quickly covers Grace's mouth. "Stop, it's embarrassing!"
I got about a little less than half done here. If you could post, I can add in the next portion. These character limits are rough!
bird and bear and hare and fish give my love her fondest wish
Here you go, hope you're having a wonderful week. :)
RIP Mom, I love & miss you more than you know. Tell Dede hi.
Ocean Conservation Namibia on YouTube... they do good work! https://www.ocnamibia.org