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TEST DRIVE ∞ May 2025
Test Drive ∞ May 2025
The First Collision
The Diadem is an invite-only panfandom game set in a retro-futuristic world where uprooted souls find themselves deep within an eerie wasteland of roads and highways frequently assailed by cosmic storms. Three united strongholds keep the population. Its capital is Panorama, a large metropolis at the planet's center.
Soon, you realize you aren't alone. Calling themselves fluxdrifts, the "locals" have similar stories to you, either for themselves or their ancestry. You speak to an old woman who claims she hailed from another star. You meet a young man who says his great-great-grandfather knew a strange language everybody spoke "back home." As you explore, you stumble across a coin you recognize or your sister's locket. How did it get here? What does this mean? That's for you to discover.
But first, you need to find a ride.
Soon, you realize you aren't alone. Calling themselves fluxdrifts, the "locals" have similar stories to you, either for themselves or their ancestry. You speak to an old woman who claims she hailed from another star. You meet a young man who says his great-great-grandfather knew a strange language everybody spoke "back home." As you explore, you stumble across a coin you recognize or your sister's locket. How did it get here? What does this mean? That's for you to discover.
But first, you need to find a ride.
No invites needed to play on the TDM. Everyone's welcome! Use the Invite Request thread below to request an invite from another player.
∞ Summary ∞
IC-wise, arrivals are scattered throughout the month. Events described on the TDM are also ongoing throughout the month. If you'd rather jump right into the action, you're free to begin in media res with your character having already been on the planet for several days.
Post-impact, characters will wake up in a med tent by the Scrapyard. From there, they must accept a vehicle on loan and make the 2-hour drive to the nearest city, Panorama. If they refuse the car because they don't want the loan, they'll be in debt for medical bills instead...so just take the car. It'll come in handy.
Some things to keep in mind when bringing in your character:
TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.
Post-impact, characters will wake up in a med tent by the Scrapyard. From there, they must accept a vehicle on loan and make the 2-hour drive to the nearest city, Panorama. If they refuse the car because they don't want the loan, they'll be in debt for medical bills instead...so just take the car. It'll come in handy.
Some things to keep in mind when bringing in your character:
- Pick an injury. At minimum, they got knocked out; at most, whatever they can recover from. Medicine is decently advanced so they'll heal faster if not painlessly.
- Decide items kept. Reasonable items on their person only: photos, keys, clothes, costumes. No pets or animal companions. Wildly out-of-place tech and personal cell phones will be damaged beyond repair.
- Select a weapon. Do this only if eligible. Guidelines about weapons and powers are on the FAQ.
- Choose a vehicle. Decide whether your character gets 2-3 options or if they're stuck with something they hate. Players can pick directly from our collection or source their own images. Anything under a similar aesthetic will work. If your character needs accommodations for driving, they can have them. Ask us for details.
- Get a phone. Characters have to obtain a phone (and a SIM card) themselves. If they've got one from home, it's damaged beyond repair. Phones are cheap. It'll only take a couple of weeks to afford one. You need to know the number before you text or call anyone. Read about phones and the Forum before you hop on it.
TDM threads can be canon if characters are accepted. Top-levels made to the TDM should be open to all.
Fluxdrift
Arrival & Introduction
Date: Throughout May
You've tumbled over a cliff. You were fighting for your life. You're on the cusp of death. You slipped in the shower. Whatever the catalyst, you struggle to cling to consciousness. As darkness overtakes you, a swirling vortex warps light and shadow in a way that defies all physics. A dark wail etches into your very bones. You couldn't describe it if you tried. You can barely comprehend what it is.
Then you open your eyes.
Through the figure's mask ©, you swear the face is grinning down at you. The tent you're in smells of antiseptic, and scratchy blankets line your cot. Injuries you've sustained have been bandaged. In the corner, you spot a MedBot that's fixed you up. Depending on the extent of your injuries, the doctor on duty might give you some painkillers before you go. Thankfully, your belongings are by the exit. Sorry if anything's damaged. Your landing was pretty rough.
You follow the figure outside. They are Yom Crook, here to lend a hand to fellow fluxdrifts like yourself. Their car's parked beside them. Actually, there are lots of cars around, but Yom Crook's stands out with its painted shark mouth. They explain they found you, unconscious, in a diffusion zone and brought you here. The nearest city is a 2-hour drive northeast. Forget about walking. You'll never make it. Also, you owe the doctor a lot of money for patching you up. But you're in luck: they've got some wheels for you and if you accept the vehicle on loan, Yom Crook will cover your medical bills. That's a good deal, right? It's not the shiniest car or motorcycle, but it'll do. If fortune favors, you'll get to choose between two or three options. Plus, if you need accommodations to drive—like adjustments to your seat height or modified controls—you'll receive all that for free.
Take the vehicle. (And the loan.) Yom Crook assures you that you'll have six months before collectors come around. Any time you're ready to pay a part of it down, return here to the Scrapyard. You'll get a receipt and everything. Paying off the loan in six months isn't impossible, but it will take a lot of work. Just don't get too lax. There's a good chance you'll be juggling multiple loans as you try to get by.
You either know how to drive, or you'll have a bare-bones manual to get you started. Road rules are more a suggestion than enforced, so just hit the pedal and go. The car has some basic features. The built-in compass will help you navigate.
Through the figure's mask ©, you swear the face is grinning down at you. The tent you're in smells of antiseptic, and scratchy blankets line your cot. Injuries you've sustained have been bandaged. In the corner, you spot a MedBot that's fixed you up. Depending on the extent of your injuries, the doctor on duty might give you some painkillers before you go. Thankfully, your belongings are by the exit. Sorry if anything's damaged. Your landing was pretty rough.
You follow the figure outside. They are Yom Crook, here to lend a hand to fellow fluxdrifts like yourself. Their car's parked beside them. Actually, there are lots of cars around, but Yom Crook's stands out with its painted shark mouth. They explain they found you, unconscious, in a diffusion zone and brought you here. The nearest city is a 2-hour drive northeast. Forget about walking. You'll never make it. Also, you owe the doctor a lot of money for patching you up. But you're in luck: they've got some wheels for you and if you accept the vehicle on loan, Yom Crook will cover your medical bills. That's a good deal, right? It's not the shiniest car or motorcycle, but it'll do. If fortune favors, you'll get to choose between two or three options. Plus, if you need accommodations to drive—like adjustments to your seat height or modified controls—you'll receive all that for free.
Take the vehicle. (And the loan.) Yom Crook assures you that you'll have six months before collectors come around. Any time you're ready to pay a part of it down, return here to the Scrapyard. You'll get a receipt and everything. Paying off the loan in six months isn't impossible, but it will take a lot of work. Just don't get too lax. There's a good chance you'll be juggling multiple loans as you try to get by.
You either know how to drive, or you'll have a bare-bones manual to get you started. Road rules are more a suggestion than enforced, so just hit the pedal and go. The car has some basic features. The built-in compass will help you navigate.
OPTIONAL PROMPTS: a flat tire; a body on the road (is it a trap?); a fender bender
Panorama
Explore & Settle In
Conditions: Warm spring temperatures, light showers
After 2 hours on the road, you find civilization. The largest of the strongholds, Panorama is where the economy thrives. Massive power plants glowing red make it visible from a distance. The city is divided into three districts. For now, you can access the Pavilion and the Blocks. Don't worry about the Sanctum; they're not letting you in.
You only need to know two things about Panorama: 1) it's big, the size of a modern metropolis, and you'll need your car to get around; 2) anything goes as long as you don't pick a fight with the wrong person. Street smarts will get you far. Despite its geographical size, the population isn't huge. With roughly a million people in a city designed for over twice that number, Panorama is far from deserted, but nor is it overcrowded. It's a good thing. Resources are limited as it is.
You only need to know two things about Panorama: 1) it's big, the size of a modern metropolis, and you'll need your car to get around; 2) anything goes as long as you don't pick a fight with the wrong person. Street smarts will get you far. Despite its geographical size, the population isn't huge. With roughly a million people in a city designed for over twice that number, Panorama is far from deserted, but nor is it overcrowded. It's a good thing. Resources are limited as it is.
The Pavilion: Free Samples
Like any large city, Panorama features a couple of supermarkets. The stock's not as consistent as a proper supermarket. On occasion, shelves can remain cleaned out for a week or two. Regardless, the long tradition of free samples remains. If you're not already shopping, you'll notice the crowded parking lot and clusters of lines inside.
Try samples, push through the crowds as you shop, or give yourself a five-finger discount. If you're cautious, you can pocket a few small items without consequences. The Pavillion doesn't have the infrastructure for surveillance; unless someone sees you, you won't be caught. Steal from the store or pilfer someone's wallet. Maybe you even make a new friend if you bump into another fluxdrift. Or, start a fight with somebody who cut you off in the cheese line. Don't make too much of a ruckus, or you'll be thrown out.
As you look around, you'll see posters advertising temporary positions for the cash register or graveyard shifts in the warehouse. Seems they might've lost several employees recently (how'd that happen?), which is good for you! It's just a 6-week position, but it'll get you on your feet. The city has temporary positions like this all over. Permanent ones are harder to come by when you're new.
Try samples, push through the crowds as you shop, or give yourself a five-finger discount. If you're cautious, you can pocket a few small items without consequences. The Pavillion doesn't have the infrastructure for surveillance; unless someone sees you, you won't be caught. Steal from the store or pilfer someone's wallet. Maybe you even make a new friend if you bump into another fluxdrift. Or, start a fight with somebody who cut you off in the cheese line. Don't make too much of a ruckus, or you'll be thrown out.
As you look around, you'll see posters advertising temporary positions for the cash register or graveyard shifts in the warehouse. Seems they might've lost several employees recently (how'd that happen?), which is good for you! It's just a 6-week position, but it'll get you on your feet. The city has temporary positions like this all over. Permanent ones are harder to come by when you're new.
Samples include: steamed cabbage dumplings, synthetic cherry juice, cheddar cheese, and chocolate-covered alien eggs (it's crunchy and weirdly tasty). They're served in the usual throwaway paper cups with little toothpicks.
The Blocks: Power Outage
Power's finicky in Panorama, especially in the Blocks. Saint Margery's Hospital, located in the same area, has priority for power so the first to go are the motels. Maybe you've been in your room for a couple of weeks, maybe you just got here—and by the way, every motel desk is happy to put the fee on your tab if you don't have the money upfront—but all the motels on the east side are in a blackout, leaving only the west side motels up and running.
What do you do? You have three choices:
What do you do? You have three choices:
- Risk leaving your room and head to the other side where there's power. Knock on some doors and negotiate with another to share the room. They might shut the door in your face, ask for a favor in return, or be nice enough to help you with no strings attached. There's no guarantee your unattended room will be untouched, though, and you'll be on the hook for any damages an intruder causes.
- Sit in the dark and deal. It's not the worst idea, but the TV's down, the vending machines are powered down, and with the entire place plunged into darkness, you risk getting robbed. If you struggle with defending yourself, you might want to find some trustworthy company. You can also sneak out of there and let them take your leftover pizza. It's not like you've got a ton of valuables, right? Plus, clobbering someone in the face with a frying pan sounds great until you realize you've gotta do something with the body. And what if this person's got a friend waiting?
- Get in your car and drive (or grab a friend for a road trip). If you scroll the Forum, you might notice reports on diffusion zones southward. Besides, these motels are hardly your forever home. The city can only provide so much. Why not go for a ride and see what you can find out there?
OPTIONAL PROMPTS: clean up on aisle 3 (what is that goo?); a knock at your door but no one's there; you hear screaming or a commotion down the hall
The Fringes
Quad 3: Lockdown
Conditions: Stormy, with flooding roads
Felix Bjurstrom
> Date: 125-05-17
> Time: 02:15:57
> Emergency road lights have been reported in Quadrant 3! Please, can someone go see what's there? When last we chasers investigated emergency lights, a whole truck filled with sour candy had tipped over. Our stores were stocked for weeks! Oh, be careful - reception looks bad in that zone.
> Date: 125-05-17
> Time: 02:15:57
> Emergency road lights have been reported in Quadrant 3! Please, can someone go see what's there? When last we chasers investigated emergency lights, a whole truck filled with sour candy had tipped over. Our stores were stocked for weeks! Oh, be careful - reception looks bad in that zone.
Through the open windows, a computer awakens and displays a cheerful smile. The lights inside switch on.
Pick your scenario role below. Your thread partner doesn't need to take the opposite role! They can join you in the same scenario (i.e. trapped together). Players are also free to create a generic NPC for the other side to facilitate the thread.
After characters escape, they'll find one bottle of antibiotics in their pocket or car, whether they remember taking it or not.
After characters escape, they'll find one bottle of antibiotics in their pocket or car, whether they remember taking it or not.
A: Sealed In
As you peer through the windows, you see crates of medicine floating around. Antibiotics in the diadem are valuable. Hospitals and doctors are always buying. You can keep it for yourself or make a quick buck. Or maybe you're compelled to help somebody back in the city who's in need. Whatever the reason, you decide to take the risk and step inside.
Water splashes around your ankles. The lock buzzes behind you. If you try to break the windows, you discover they're unnaturally resistant to shattering. With the whole place locked tight, the water begins to churn. Then the computer lights up again.
Warning, it flashes in large, bold text. Quarantine in progress. Release code required for exit.
- To find the code, you'll have to search. Duck under the water, go through sopping envelopes and sticky notes or pick the locks on the filing cabinets and desk drawers. You can also try hacking the computers. Use your computer knowledge or fall back on the age-old trick of seeing who wrote down their password.
- The files, notepads, and emails start innocuous, but as you look through them, disturbing phrases jump out at you—a dark thought you've had or a cruel taunt from someone in your past. The longer you're fixed on the terrible words, the higher the water begins to rise. Only another can break you out of your trance.
- With the rising water comes fear. And the more you're afraid, the more the water also rises. You begin to see faces in the water, bobbing like balloon heads. Do you recognize them? If you move to take a closer look, they will sink back beneath the surface as if never there.
- If you manage to swallow your panic, you can eventually find a triple-laminated binder with the release code and instructions. Bad news: you need someone on the outside to punch in the 6 strange symbols in order. The instructions explain that the code panel is located at the back of the building.
B: Set Free
As you peer through the windows, you see not just the crates of medicine but someone trapped inside. They look like they might be in trouble, and from your vantage point, you notice that the water is bubbling strangely. It's definitely not normal rainwater. As you watch, the water rises unnaturally, stopping and starting. It's as if the water level is responding to an external stimulus.
- The glass is soundproof. You can't hear what the person inside is saying, so you'll have to communicate with each other another way. Try charades, typing on your phone, or whatever you think of. Eventually, you determine that they're stuck and that you need to enter some sort of code onto a pad located—according to your trapped partner—at the back of the building.
- Around the back, shadows swallow your surroundings. The panel must be pried open, but a slippery substance makes it hard to get a good grip. Each time the substance touches you, you grow uneasy. You swear you see eyes watching you, though when you turn around, nothing's there.
- You can't seem to keep the instructions in your mind. And those symbols...they burn into your retinas. Through them, you glimpse an incomprehensibly massive figure unfurling in the darkness, pulsing as if in a deep sleep. When you snap back to reality, you realize you've injured yourself, slicing your hand on a sharp edge or a bruise you can't remember getting.
- Once you manage to release the doors, the water inside the office drains upward into the sky as though sucked out by a giant hose. The darkness spreads. Get out of there fast before the shadows drag you or your partner into the void.
Main Navigation ::: ⇅
Top
the fringes.
LOCKED INSIDE
no subject
It seems harmless enough, and literally just a here's what's up, go take a look kind of message. But for all he knows there's an ambush on the other side of that message. That possibility wouldn't and doesn't deter him, it's just a consideration, a thought that turns around in his head as he makes his way over. The rain is a new and old sensation; familiar, intense and unrelenting. He doesn't turn back, though, he goes forward, he makes his way inside. The medicine will be good to have. Of course, he's not thinking about it going anywhere in particular at the moment except out of this building. What he does with it later, well, that comes...later.
The sequence of events from there is swift, and when he realizes he's trapped, it's the closest he's felt to something like a creeping dread. Not fear, not panic, but the knowledge of being held here now against his will, and the sensation of discomfort it pulls forth is not something he feels often.
It's also, of course, not enough to stop or slow him down, even if that creeping dread now seems to leave a lump behind in his throat, when he starts searching for a damn code and he sees — things he shouldn't be seeing. Things this place couldn't, shouldn't know. He can't be losing it already.
There's gotta be — his thoughts come to a halt quickly when he catches sight of the woman nearby. How'd he miss her before? Hell of a place to be stuck with someone. The water seems to have a life of its own, and they're quite literally caught in the churn. He thinks he should make his presence known, but as he slowly moves towards her, Amos catches the way she seems stuck in something far away. A memory, maybe, or something worse. ]
Hey. Hey. Can you hear me?
no subject
the water picks up speed, and maybe even rises, and karen's body begins to sway a bit with it. there's a threat she could easily get swept away by the current, but she holds to the spot, her fingers tight as they grip the damening notepad, lines and lines of you don't belong, you've never belonged, they wouldn't care if you left and never came back written over and over and over in her own handwriting, and she doesn't know how.
she didn't notice that someone else joined her in this room, doesn't even recognize he's there even as he gets closer. hey, hey, can you hear me? she does, kind of, like someone speaking through a thick glass or water. her eyes are still a little glazed as the water seems to get faster, again.
he might need to some shake her out of whatever this is- before the water takes her with it. ]
no subject
There's a heat on the back of his neck, despite him being soaked through from the rain. He doesn't recognize these feelings, he's too removed from what it could be. He only knows that when he breathes in and then breathes out, that breath catches in his throat a half second longer than it should, than he's used to. None of this would matter, generally, and he wouldn't waste any time considering what the hell it is, why seeing his own words, his own memories, thrown back at him — is sticking with him like this, tilting him a little sideways.
But it is, and the water's churning, and she's going through some kind of hell herself. Neither of them have time to waste, so his next action is quick and decisive, his hand coming out to grip her arm, to keep her steady, to pull her out of this.
The only reason he speaks to her, the only reason he tries to move closer, is they're both trapped together. He can't just leave her behind — in a real, literal way — there's no choice in going anywhere else at the moment. They're all they've got until they get out of here.
The water pulls at him, but he's steadier holding onto her, and now he tries to simply grab the notepad out of her hand, get it away from her. They don't have time for this, and whatever she might be feeling — well, that heat on the back of his neck feels like a burn now. If shit from the past came back to him, it must have done the same to her. They'll have to deal with it later. ]
Listen to me. We need to get out and you gotta be with me.
no subject
it's the grip on her arm that does it - snaps her out of whatever trance had her there for who knows how long. it comes to her like a gasp, her whole body leaning back away from him and then coming back again. where before he'd seen something distanced and flat he now will watch as a kind of recognition surge back into it. not at him, but at the situation, at what they're doing, this place. karen looks around them, as if seeing the water, the level, the fact she's still standing here and she shakes her head. ]
How long- the water, it's higher. It's rising. We have to- [ that is when karen's eyes are back on the stranger's face, as if just not realizing it's his hand on her arm, that it's him that pulled her from the trance. she doesn't pull away from him- if anything, she reaches for his arms to steady her, some part of her overwhelmed with relief that she's not alone, though she also recognizes that means he's stuck in here too.
we need to get out of here he'd said, right? but they can't. karen looks around them, as if there might still be something in the water, something that isn't the shadows, the faces just out of view. she closes her eyes and shakes her head again, her grip on him still steady. ]
Wait- [ she swallows, and when she looks at him again, it's with a kind of settled determination. there is something to do. she doesn't know this man, has never seen him before in her life, but now that he's here with her she knows that she's not going to be getting out without him. whatever it is they have to do, whatever it is she has to, it'll be for them both. and maybe it isn't fair, that they don't know each other in the slightest, but she ties them both together so instantly, but there's something in his voice that tell her she should trust him. and maybe that gut feeling has burned her in the past, but right now? she doesn't have the privilege to second guess it. ]
There's a code, for the door. [ among these papers, in these desks. it's what she'd been looking for, back when... back however long it was ago when she was first searching. she takes a breath, her hands tightening on his arms. ] It has to be in here somewhere, but that's the only way we're getting out. Help me find it- please.
no subject
It's not because her hands are on him, too. It's not the physical tether between them at all. It's something else that he can't explain, doesn't even want to think about long and hard right now (can't really, they don't have time). It's the way she's living through something, something awful, and he's witnessing it and it doesn't belong to him, but it does. In a different way. She's experiencing it in a different way, too, but it doesn't mean it isn't there for him.
To Amos, sticking close to her right now doesn't make him at all like the kind of person who actually does good things and just doesn't know it about themselves. He isn't good, he's nothing like anyone righteous or decent out there. Best he can do, best he'll ever manage, he figures, is sticking close to the good people, the right people, the ones worth following and protecting. Like a damn code to the door they need to open, like the road that's gonna take them away from here soon, he has coordinates and maps and numbers and figures, and from that, he can carve a path of righteousness that isn't natural, that isn't his, that's all built from everything and everyone settled in his memories.
And that's fine by him. He's sharp edges and that feeling inside that's just a night that doesn't end, that absence of fear, the way everything that lives inside of people like Holden and Naomi, and maybe even her — this woman he doesn't know — and they can feel everything all at once, but for him it's all far away, it's gone. He does what he think they would do.
For him, the instinct to survive is always loudest. Whatever will keep him safe, alive, not caged in. If they weren't trapped together, he would have thought of himself first, would have made an attempt to leave. Keeping him from going too far would have been...them. The people he carries.
The thing about him, though, is once he's decided this — that him getting out of here means she gets out of here — he won't stray from that. ]
Whatever that was — [ He doesn't need to know, won't ask. ] you feel like you're gonna go sideways or anything...comes at you again, say something.
[ Anything comes at you is — what he can't put words to right now. But she was there, and he felt it, too. There's an equal determination in him, an ease with which he shrugs off those things trying to pull him under, like nothing really broke through. He doesn't linger in that, though, he lets go, pulls back, starts to search. Some part of him can't help thinking when they find this code, it won't be a simple escape. Not if it's already done some weird shit. It's just a building, but it feels like...something else. ]
no subject
she doesn't even know his name, but she recognizes just how much she's leaning on him. how it feels like the only thing tethering her to that moment, that place, and keeping her from getting swept back into whatever it was that had just held her so tight, is him.
whatever that was he says, say something. ]
There's something in the notes. I don't know how, but- [ she shakes her head, looking back to him and then extracting her hands from his arms. karen's not still, or calm, or fine by any means - but she's steady enough. ] Doesn't matter. It's fine- I'll be okay. Just- you too, okay? If you feel something, like a trance or if you start to see things you've never told anyone, just... don't look too hard. [ some part of her is almost embarrassed to have said that much, but she can't not warn him. some of what she read is still ringing, like a distant echo, in the back of her mind. she tries to shake her head clear of it, but it doesn't fade, so she focuses on something else. focuses, instead, on how even if she doesn't know how this all works, and if he falls into whatever it was that had taken her, she worries if she'll be able to bring him out of it, too.
and they have to get out - both of them.
he starts to search, and Karen moves to join him, keeping closer than she might have normally out of some latent fear of whatever that had been, and perhaps whatever that lingering, unsettling feeling of something in the water. she swallows it back and focuses. ]
no subject
He can't think of how to voice aloud what he's feeling, because it's so faint and unfamiliar, a heaviness around him and on him, and all he can do is breathe through it, be with her in this moment and the next.
What he's seen here already — glimpses of his past — are enough to rattle him, but also to turn him swiftly to action. In another situation, it would be enough for him to want to take those feelings out on something, someone, but it — settles him. That she's here. It's what she says, too, that makes that even truer. Start to see things you've never told anyone. ]
Yeah, that — [ With his left hand, he briefly rubs at the back of his neck, spares a glance at her. Is that why his neck felt hot? Like something burning him? This feeling like something hurt, but he didn't know why, and he might have gotten lost in it, too, but she was about to go...somewhere. He might not have been able to pull her back. And he figured he needed to try and grab her from whatever had a hold on her. What she's saying doesn't sound crazy, though. Not even close. ]
Both of us. [ This, he decides, is enough said for now. They get it. And this place is more than it seems. He starts rifling through every drawer he can find for something that would have a code of any kind. That water's still creeping, sloshing, but he has less of a feeling like they might drown here, like it's...settled down a little maybe? Just another fucked thing about this place. His fingers touch something, though, a binder of some kind, and he pulls it out, brings it close so she can see. ]
Instructions — right, couldn't start with that.
[ Despite the flatness of his tone, there is a trace of sarcasm there. Of course, it will unfortunately become clear to both of them that, unsurprisingly, instructions and a code are only half the battle. ]
no subject
she doesn't really want to extract herself from him, the physical touch doing a lot to keep her grounded, but she can't be the reason either of them are slowed down. there is a way out of this, and a key part is that both of them need to be able to move. to search. and there's something in his eyes, in the things he doesn't say when she mentions you too, okay? settles that for her, too. it isn't just a hallucination, it isn't just her own regrets coming back to haunt her. there is something going on in this room, in this building, is happening to them both. and if anything she just heard about herself might be something he is seeing, dealing with...
him being here is what pulled her out of her trance. so, maybe, her being here can keep him from doing the same.
he rubs at the back of his neck, and Karen watches him, waits - patient - for him to come to some kind of decision. when he spares her a glance, she gives him a small smile- trying to be reassuring, trying to communicate even a fraction of how relieved she is not to be doing this alone. he says both of us and she nods. ]
Both of us.
[ that is when he starts off, and she does too - hands flitting through drawers and stacks of notes, papers that mean nothing and mean, maybe, a little too much. but she's able to keep herself steady this time, glancing back to see the span of his shoulders not too far off every now and then, as if to remind herself, to root herself back in this.
she's tossing another box - some kind of research notes, she thinks, but she can't be sure - over the edge of the desk to get it out of her way when he comes closer to her, drawing her attention to the binder in his hands. instructions he says, flatly, and karen's already reaching for the pages, not quite ripping them out of his hands but very much taking them, her eyes scanning over the words and symbols. instructions, yes, but also the code- the code. ]
This is it. [ she says, definitively, her eyes turning to him with a kind of overwhelming relief. ] You found it! [ and then, without any warning, Karen is tossing her arms over his shoulders in a tight hug. it's a second later that she pulls away, realizing she'd gotten swept up in it all, and she looks a little sheepish as she scans the pages again. ]
Okay- okay. [ her eyes go over to the window, the glass that separates them both from the outside. she looks at him and then makes her way towards it, assuming he'll follow. ] If the panel's outside, then we either need to find a way to it, or- [ when they make it to the glass, karen's looking out into the darkness, worrying at her lip. ].
Someone just needs to come by, and we can show them this. They'll go back and punch it in, and it should open the window.
[ it's a bit delayed, the heaviness of her realization. of the understanding he might have had a few minutes before. someone else has to complete this next step. someone else, hopefully, who isn't locked in here with them. she scans the darkness and the rain outside of the window before turning back to him, doing just about everything she can not to let that brief flash of hope slip through her fingers.
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The feeling part of him is the part that he's less in touch with, not easily connected to, and if he was, maybe, his response would have been quicker, more immediate, more obvious. His logic and practicality, his mind (and less his heart) are what generally guide him, and that's enough to keep him there in the moment because she's hugging him and maybe it's something she needs to do and wants to do, and it doesn't upset him that it happens. Nothing important is lost because she hugs him. So — this is okay, he decides. Just as he gets to that point in his head, he starts to consider maybe he should respond, too. That it's the kind of thing people do, and he should try it. But she pulls back and he hasn't gotten to that part yet — to mimicking the motion of her arms, testing it, seeing if he gets it right and this is a thing he should repeat, wants to repeat.
That's fine, though, he reasons, because they need to get out of here.
Something he files away distantly in his mind is that she's the kind of person who hugs people freely, people she doesn't even know. Someone she's just met in this weird building. He's not going to go deep examining why she did it, other than just a feeling of relief, but she did it, is the thing. She hugs people and he trusts her for the length of time they're in this space together. That counts for something.
As she speaks, Amos listens, takes it all in, comes to the same conclusion. He's not the type to toss out words of comfort or positivity, though. Best he can do is — ]
That message got posted around — we ain't the only ones who saw it.
[ These aren't words for the sake of them, and they feel real enough to be a possibility. He feels like he sees it, maybe. Something a person like her probably has at least — a little more than he does. That kind of thinking where you know shit is fucked, but you believe there's a chance it can work out. While Amos doesn't believe they're completely screwed, he's less about having hope or not. Something will happen or it won't, and he's not the type to get stuck holding onto one belief or the other. He just wants to know what he's dealing with.
But something happened to her before, and the situation they're in still isn't better. They're still stuck here. That trapped feeling is still like a heavy grip around him, but he's finding that the more he focuses on trying to distract her, the more that feeling eases. So, he'll keep her talking. Maybe it'll keep something going in her. That, at least, is one thing he can possibly semi-control in all of this.
At the same time, he's thinking through all of their options right now while they wait. He hates that, feeling like he can't do anything but wait. So he rummages around in his pocket, pulling out his car keys. It's raining so heavy outside, he figures it won't help much, if at all, but it's more than he was doing a moment ago. So he stays in front of the window, holding his keys up to it, trying to catch some kind of light maybe, to reflect off the keys when the lightning flashes. If anyone comes by, they could see it. So he rocks his keys back and forth near the glass, while he looks over at her, to keep her talking, keep her with him. ]
What'd you drive here in?
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it's only one step, they're not out of the woods yet, but it's better than standing still.
but just as quickly as the relief and hope comes, the next hurdle makes itself clear. a hurdle that is officially, almost entirely, out of their control. maybe that's why the drop is so quick to come to her, a heaviness that she is usually much better about keeping out of her voice. after all this searching, after all of this work, all this luck, now... they have to wait.
the message got posted around he says, and Karen looks over to him. while he may not sound all that experienced in words of comfort, there is somehow something inherently calming about it. because he is right- the message did get posted around. and if he didn't actually believe they had a chance for someone to show up, she has a gut feeling he wouldn't have said anything at all. so that leaves them here, standing next to these windows, hoping to see movement, hoping to see someone else. were they back in new york, were she home, she wouldn't be worried - people are around every corner, down every hall, for better or for worse. here? here karen quite escape this feeling of emptiness, like they could be stuck here, in this room, and no one will know, or come for them.
it does not escape her that the only reason she doesn't spiral down into those thoughts is because he's here with her. that, at the very least, she's not alone as the water starts to rise, as she closes her eyes because there is that feeling again, of something watching. of something in the water, watching them just out of reach. the sound of the keys rattling catches her attention again, and when she looks, she notices him dangling the metal near the window, trying to catch light. smart. really smart. she exhales, not having realized she'd been holding her breath. ]
Hmm? Oh. [ he was asking her a question, and her eyes open a little further - her car. he's asking about her car. she points off a bit to the left, though because of the lighting and the rain, the most they can make out is a silhouette, about 70 years away. ] It's an old pickup with a truck cap, but I didn't recognize the make or model, but it looks like a F-250, older. Maybe '80s? [ it has been....some time since she's really thought about cars, but the knowledge comes back to her, unbidden. she never really considered herself a car person, either, but these kinds of things were important back in vermot, when your car (or, really, your mom or dad's car that you either got to use or 'borrowed') was your only means of transportation.
she takes a breath in, and then one out, steadying herself. realizing, in some distant part of her, that this is all they can really do right now. ] Yours?
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They said it was, uh — [ He searches for the word, unfamiliar. A slight pause as he keeps a look out the window. ] — jeep. Jeep Commando. [ He leaves out the year — '70s or '80s, he can't remember, and those are centuries way behind him. He doesn't know much about any of these vehicles in this world, he's not used to cars like this, but pickup means a little something because he remembers looking close at one before he'd landed on the one he got. So while it's hard as hell to make out anything through the rain, he's squinting and trying to identify shapes, and what he sees out there that actually catches his attention isn't a pickup, isn't his own car. ]
I think I see something. Someone else. Hard to make out a fucking thing, but — it's not just me, right? You see it, too?
[ A vehicle...smaller? And a shape, a shadow, a...person? Moving towards them? He starts to bang on the glass with his free hand now, like there might be a chance it's not just him seeing the wrong kind of things in the dark. ]
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[ to be fair to both of them, karen is also the type to wear everything on her face. she's an easy read, for anyone who is looking, which is a blessing as much as it is a curse. a blessing, in many ways, because sometimes all it does take is that catch of eyes, an affirmation that she's not alone, and he can see the barest hint of relaxing in her eyes. he might not have to say much, but she does appreciate it. she gets it.
and this is easy. they're talking about something normal. even if he seems to struggle a bit with the word. as if he was...what. unfamiliar? interesting.
she smiles a little and nods when he does answer. ] Jeeps are nice. A friend of mine had one in high school. They can flip if you get going too fast, but... yeah. [ she shrugs. she doesn't quite pick up on the why, but she has a feeling there's a little more to his tone that just being unfamiliar with car makes and models. something she might have to keep in the back of her mind as they keep talking.
that's when she notices the way he's looking out into the darkness, and she squints, pressing her face to the glass a bit like his. ]
Hey- [ it's quiet, more to each other, but then she sees it, something else moving in the rain. the urgency is back, surging up into her and breaking whatever tense quiet they'd be sharing as she bangs on the glass with her open palm, feeling the dull pain shoot up her arm. but it's fine- it's fine, because someone's out there. ] Hey! Hey- we're in here!
[ she hasn't figured out yet that it's soundproof. she will, soon enough, as long as the figures continues towards them like she thinks it is. ]
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the code
When he manages to make his way into the facilities he's drenched, but it doesn't take him long, not with determination, a little luck - and the distinct sound of frantic pounding. Drawing his blaster he rounds the corner a little more cautiously than before only to immediately making eye contact with the source of the sound: a wide-eyed woman holding something up to the glass.
A quick scan of the hall confirms there's no other soul waiting to ambush him and that's enough for him to holster is blaster and rush forward. It doesn't take him long to decipher what has to be done and that yelling is't going to do anything to serve them. Eyes dart from her in what he hopes is reassuringly before back towards the binder, missing the way the water seems to still and stare. As he mutters under his breath to himself the sequence of abstract lines and shapes there is one more thing that he needs to try and confirm.
What's the likelihood that she knows sign language? Slim; it wasn't common either and varied across the galaxy and he doesn't have time to figure out whether she does or not. Instead he whips out his phone quickly typing: ]
do you know where the panel or computer is?
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karen very nearly bursts into tears when she sees movement down the hall, though it might be hard to tell with how she's drenched, the current of the water trying to pull her from the window even as she fights it. her grip on the plastic-wrapped pages is tight, so tight she fears she might rip into it, but she can't let go. she can't let go. and she won't- especially not with the surge of energy the sight of someone else gives her.
at first she tries to motion - down around the hall, towards the back, but also- no, don't leave, he has to remember the code, she has the code, he can't leave yet and-
he's not leaving, he's just trying to find a solution, but Karen can't let go of the feeling that this might actually work. there might actually be a chance here, and if she can make sure he knows where to go, maybe things can turn out okay. he pulls out his phone (genius, really, relief flooding her) and as she leans down to make sure she can read his screen, she nods, desperate. she points first down the hall, continuing from where he'd come to a single door with a still-lit EXIT sign over it. she curves her finger, and then points towards the back, hopefully making it obvious it's in the back of the building. she points again at the code, tapping the plastic, when she notices something on the back of the page.
she quickly turns the plastic sheet over so the back of it is pressed to the glass, which also means that her savior is now going to get a - albeit a little blurry and distorted, but still legible - view of the instructions.
karen prays he can see them, understand them, because the water is still rising, and it almost feels like it's faster now. ]
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It's why he doesn't hesitate to help her now. Why he keeps his cool despite the mounting sense of urgency that is slowly building pressure in his head. It will help neither of them if both of them are panicking, nor will it help him in recalling the sequence of strange symbols that had been flashed at him through the droplets hitting the glass. His gaze follows the direction she points, turning back sharply when she taps against the glass again revealing instructions on how to use the panel.
His eyes narrow as he squints trying to get a general gist before he nods, committing it to memory. Before he steps away though he types one more message and presses his phone to the glass. ]
i'll come back for you
i promise
[ It does't take long to locate the panel. The sheer determination he has is the only thing that keeps him pushing past the living shadows that swells and undulates from the corners of the hall. A blaster shot does shockingly very little but leave singe mark on the panel door and it's only when his hands are on it does he realize that the reason for that is the odd sludge coating the door.
Gritting his teeth he tugs - hard - only to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and stay that way. Fighting the paranoia in his mind telling him to look back he layers on firm reassurances to himself and his nerves: There is nothing there. He's alone in his hallway and he has a job to do. But as the panel pops open his vision swims, suddenly unable to focus on the buttons before him that meld into senseless shapes. It's a miracle that he manages to type them in at all (though it does take him several tries before the lights flash green, constantly distracted and haunted by a pulsating mass that he can't rid from his mind's eye). By the time he's done he's fighting off nausea and the strange fear gripping his heart as he fights his way back towards the room not realizing he's sliced his hand open in the process. ]
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it's the fear, she knows it is, but he's there and the urge to cry gets worse. the hope, the sheer, overwhelming hope that maybe this could actually work. and it seems to go well enough, he is reading the instructions closely, which makes her think he wants to help. that he might help her. karen pulls her free hand up to her mouth, trying to hold it together. she just needs to hold out a little longer, and then he nods, and the sob wracks her body a little bit at that.
I'll come back for you his phone says, and her shoulders drop, her eyes turn to his face. he has to leave, she knows he does to find the panel, but her stomach drops with it, anyway, at the realization he's leaving. that in order to do this, he's going to have to head around the back, out of her sight, and-
she bangs against the window before he leaves, just long enough to get his attention back on her. he can't hear her - she knows that sounds aren't making it through. but even so, she sets her hand flat against the window, and mouths slow enough that he should be able to understand.
thank you.
maybe it's naive of her to believe that easily in whoever this man is. maybe she should know better than to think some random man will actually dive right into the whatever is going on here. but she does.
it takes time- a normal amount, if she wasn't panicking. but with each passing second it feels like the water gets ten times higher, churning faster and faster. the faces get thicker, more present, don't face away, but Karen refuses to look at them. she leans her forehead against the glass instead, closes her eyes, tries to control her breathing. if anything like what is happening in here is happening out there, which she has to assume it is, then- god. did she just sent someone into a death trap? did she just kill him? she can't believe that. she has to believe he'll be fine. she has to.
that's when she hears it - a kind of beeping, electronic, and then something shifting into place. she backs up from the window, looking around, unable to believe it when she sees the light start to blink. and blink. and-
the window starts to open back up again, slowly but surely.
it worked. ]
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He's already drawing his blaster, ready to shoot his way through the glass if he must - only to be greeted with the sight of inky black water being sucked up around her. Immediately he rushes forward, wrenching the door open. The water or whatever the kriff it is, tries to latch onto his boots and he kicks it away as he reaches for her.
The hair on the back of his neck still feels like it's standing on end. After a lifetime of trusting his instincts he knows what it means. Something is still here. Something is still watching. Bix and Brasso might tease and call him paranoid, but he knows in his gut that something here isn't right. Whatever he'd come here isn't worth the loss of a life nor any more harm than what she's already suffered. His fingers curl around her wrist, positioning himself so that she leaves the room first and that if anything in this room tries to retaliate, it will be he who gets attacked first.
There's no time to stop or look around for a sign for what could have possibly triggered this. They have to put as much space between this room, this building, as possible. All the same concern reaches through his words as he urges her forward offering himself as support should she need it. ]
Are you okay?
im sorry for the broken icon... sobs
first go the papers, and then the water starts to suck upwards, and the panic from before swells back in her chest. she turns to the glass and starts banging on it again, trying to get it open, trying to do anything at all, as the sucking noise increases. she starts screaming help, help! hurry! help! as she keeps pounding, hoping the man from before, or anyone at all, can hear her.
that's when he comes around the corner, some kind of gun in his hand. her eyes widen when she sees him, caught back up in the adrenaline - this could work. he did it! he's okay! and then he's working to wrench open the glass. she pushes with him, and with both of their combined efforts it starts to pry open, just as she feels the suction start to pull at her clothes.
when they finally get it open, his fingers curl around her wrist, and Karen latches onto his arm - stumbling free of the pull and immediately running after him - out of the room, the building, all the way out onto the street and into the rain. it's not until both of them feel far enough away from whatever that darkness had been that they come to a stop. they're both out of breath, the rain falling heavy and dark around them, and the man turns back to her - concerned, brows knitted. are you okay?
karen, instead of answering, throws her arms around his neck in a tight hug. it's hard to tell if she's crying with the rain, but the adrenaline rushing through her and now dropping, the relief that they'd made it out, the fact she'd been so convinced, had been so close to giving up, and then he'd showed up- ]
Thank you. [ she says, breathless, her arms tight around his neck. ] Thank you-
shhhh it's fine
Silently it's his way of telling her it's okay. She was going to be okay. He was here. They were in no immediate danger and it was okay to let her guard down because he would be here to watch out for her. Rain comes down in torrents around the awning they've taken shelter under and the flickering lights from the building don't make it feel particularly safe. But as he's learned from experience, the environment doesn't always matter so long as you've got someone there who feels like a safe place or someone to rely on.
And while he occasionally doubts how safe of a person he is, he can be that person for her at least for now in this moment. Others she might have been more familiar with may have scolded her or questioned her reason for being here in the first place when she may appear woefully unequipped. But he doesn't know her like that. And that's frankly, the very last thing she probably needs.
After a moment he pulls back but not away, brow furrowed in concern as he examines her more closely not that they're outside. ]
Did you injure yourself? I have a first aid kit in my car.
[ Leave it to him to ignore the fact that he's somehow managed to cut himself. ]
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she pulls back just about the same moment he does, turning away briefly just to wipe at her eyes (which should be answer enough, if he'd been wondering) and shakes her head at his question. ]
No- no I'm okay. I'm okay. Just- [ and he doesn't have to worry, because where he doesn't notice that he's cut, she will - immediately frowning as her eyes go to him and then his hand and back. ] You are, though. You have a first aid kit?
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But it's also, almost always, bent in the face of others who are hurting. Who are passionate and compassionate. And how can he turn a blind eye to that when he understands so intimately what it's like to feel adrift and alone and lost? It's almost enough to make him reach out to help wipe some of those telltale tears. He's only stopped because he comes to his own senses and because she simply moves to do it herself. ]
What?
[ In confusion he glances down at his hand. Blood curls around his hand like a red ribbon and it occurs to him that he doesn't remember how or when. In fact, that entire experience swims, slipping through his mind as he tries to recall it. He gives his head a shake trying to clear his head, his vision before nodding and motioning for her to stay here.
When he returns he's more wet than before but seems unfazed by the fact as he uncovers a blanket from beneath his jacket and drapes it a little awkwardly over one of her shoulders. ]
It's no towel but it's something to keep you warm.
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karen frowns, concerned. she opens her mouth to ask after it when he motions for her to stay there, and he himself rushes off. she steps after him, suddenly realizing she's alone and the rain is still coming down. she wraps her arms around herself, looking the other way down the road, towards more buildings, more lights in the dark. she can't help how her mind drifts back to the room, to the darkness there, to whatever it was that was pulling the water up to the ceiling, the feeling that it'd left behind.
he returns just a few moments later, drowned by the rain, and she turns back to him - eyes widening when he takes the blanket out from his jacket and pulls it around her shoulders, a bit awkwardly. she grips on to it, pulling it tight around her, not having realized she'd started to tremble just a bit. ]
Thank you. [ a beat, a small smile. and then her brow furrows a little. ] Did you get the kit? [ she asks, adjusting the blacket a bit. ] For your hand. You're still bleeding.
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This woman was safe. That was the priority. Not him. Hence handing her the blanket first. It doesn't escape his notice that she had begun to tremble; whether it was out of fear or the cold is hard to say (and maybe it's both), but it occurs to him that maybe they shouldn't be standing out in the cold like this while they're also soaked to the bone. At her prompt however he extracts that from his jacket too. ]
Here.
[ He nods towards their cars parked not too far away. ]
I probably should have suggested we move to the car so we could run the heater. You're shivering.
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thank blanket is a huge help, and she's appreciative of it. that's when he does take the kit out of his jacket, and Karen smiles a little as she takes it from him, starts to open it up and search inside when he mentions the car. her eyes go over to the vehicle, not that far away at all, and then back to him.
the idea of a heater is honestly... really nice. she lets out a breath, almost a sigh, but she does keep shaking just a bit even as she grips the blanket and the kit. ] I'm okay, really. [ a beat, where she considers it. then she lets out another breath, something like a sigh. ] But actually...yeah. That's- yeah. Only if that's okay? Mine's on the other side, around the corner. [ a beat, and then she tucks the kit under the blanket, and looks to him. ]
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