TEST DRIVE MEME #10

[sailmods]

a. that's where we both belong

[you wake up.

it doesn't matter where you were before. going to bed? dying? opening the door to face a great evil? same result. you wake up in a soft bed with starched sheets in a cool, darkened room, sunlight peeking out from behind thick curtains. maybe you're alone; maybe you aren't. maybe you immediately notice the folded paper on the bedside table near your head. if you don't, you better fix that real quick: you won't be able to even open the door before you read it.

the note itself is written in a neat hand on white card stock; there is a stylized logo of a ship with the words SERENA ETERNA printed underneath. the note reads as follows:

Dear Passenger(s),

As your cruise director, it is my great honor to welcome you aboard the Serena Eterna, your destination for fun and adventure! We know you could have chosen any cruise line for your vacation, and we're very grateful you chose ours! On behalf of the Captain, I would like to assure each and every passenger that will we do whatever it takes to fulfill all your needs and desires during your journey with us.

At your earliest possible convenience, please attend the mandatory lifeboat drill by the end of the day. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get started on all the fun and sun, but safety always comes first! You can find your life jacket in your cabin's closet; carry it to your assigned muster station on deck one, where I will take you through the drill. If you can't find me in the crowd, just look for the gal with the winning smile!

See You Real Soon!

Sincerely,
Gal Friday

you walk to deck one. you have no other choice: every time you try to step in a direction some unseen being considers "not towards deck one," you find your legs no longer move, staying stock still, frozen. whether compelled quickly by curiosity, or delayed by pure stubbornness, the result is the same, and you are left milling around with other similarly curious or stubborn people.

you see someone in uniform near the front of the crowd. she seems to be a gal, but is missing the winning smile, along with most of her other features. she seems to see you, though, rushing to your side and placing a lei around your neck with great formality. a voice, cheery but artificial, sees to come from nowhere and everywhere.]

Welcome aboard! I'm so happy you could join us!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.

after the drill is completed, you are seemingly free to go. or, well, your legs work, now. and maybe that's as good as it's gonna get.]

b. and there's plenty of that down by the sea

[it’s strange to think about, isn’t it? how all those new passengers, the ones grumbling or shouting their way through the forced muster drill, have absolutely no idea what happened just last month. no idea about the labyrinth. no concept of why anyone around them would be a bit more hesitant around shadows.

they’ll learn.

sometimes a shadow is darker than it’s supposed to be. very rarely does anything come of that; just a vague sense that someone is watching you, and little more. sometimes, though, the shadows move. sometimes they grab at your ankles as you walk. sometimes they give you a shove as you go down the stairs. sometimes they pull your hair, or pinch your arm.

sometimes you feel something sharp cut into your lower leg.

that’s not a shadow, though. that’s a fiddler crab. you see the crab, sometimes. the cut isn’t from its claws, which don’t look very intimating; it’s not a very large crab. the cut is from the large kitchen knife crudely taped onto its back. it’s probably fine. it's not chasing you. there isn't evil in its heart. probably.]

c. think I'll go back to the Keys

[one day, in the atrium, two pedestals suddenly appear. on each is a large button: one green, and one blue. pressing the blue button gives you a little treat, popping out of thin air next to you. pressing the green button sends a small electric shock through your body. weird, but, hey, pretty avoidable, right?

except, it seems to be spreading. to every other button on board.

in the elevator. on the soda machine. the arcade. your phone. the bell on Friday’s desk.]

Comments

C

[myagic]

[Is this a new passenger? Come to think of it, it's been a while since that happened. Sparkles must have interfered with the process before, or something... Rita casts Xellos a skeptical eye; it's not like he's the first person to be unusually cheerful about the kidnapping, but it's still weird.

He asks his question, and she sighs, glancing over the ice cream selection again.]

A few months ago, I would've just said to try them all since it's not like there were any limits, but... Hey, who the hell took all the chocolate?!

[She huffs, looking around as if the greedy culprit might still be nearby. The nerve of someone, to just empty that tub when stuff isn't getting refilled anymore!]

[dissimulates]

Well, you know how the saying goes, the early bird gets all the best ice cream...

[Having reached a decision, he scoops up ice cream from the tub labeled salted caramel. A sweet and savory mix is ought to be interesting!]

So a few months ago you had an infinite food supply? [On one hand, it's a shame to have missed it. On the other hand, maybe people will end up slaughtering each other over resources and it'll be great fun.] The current situation must be quite difficult, then! What happened?

[myagic]

Yeah, but not anymore, so--quit hogging the scoop! Hurry up!

[She wants some of that banoffee and he's taking too long. She holds her hand out for the scoop with a huff. She'll answer his question once she gets herself some ice cream.]

[dissimulates]

[He sure is taking too long to shape the ice cream into a perfect sphere, isn't he?]

Oh, of course. Here you go -

[Except he bumps his hand into the sneeze guard and the scoop slips from his grip and clutters to the floor. It's fine, five seconds rule!]

[myagic]

[He sure is!! Why even bother making it perfect when he's about to eat it? She doesn't need to point that out, though, since he does hand over the--]

Geez--talk about clumsy!

[...Rita clicks her tongue, letting out a sharp, irritated sigh, but bends down to pick up the scoop...and give it a swirl in the water bucket. Five-second rule indeed.]

So what are you supposed to be, again?

[Did she already forget she was supposed to answer his question? Maybe. Giving the introductory spiel in this place isn't really her style... And she's far more interested in getting herself a few scoops of banoffee ice cream.]

[dissimulates]

Me? Just a humble priest of mysterious origins!

[That's not a suspicious introduction at all.]

To be honest, my denomination seems to hold little meaning here. [His mistress will be pissed when she realizes he's missing.] Still, this place is quite fascinating!

[myagic]

[Oh, not at all... Just like she's not at all giving him the likely-expected skeptical side-eye.]

Ugh...nothing good comes from anyone who describes themselves as mysterious.

[Also, like..."fascinating" sure is...one way to put it...]

[dissimulates]

[Ah, the side-eye, as if he wasn't gunning for that very reaction.]

Really? I think a little mystery adds flavor to life.

[Quite literally in his case: the beloved old snack of suspicion with a touch of irritation.]

Though not always, I'll grant you that. In regards to the current predicament, I would rather unveil some of the mystery. You were saying something happened to the food supplies?

[myagic]

Sounds like something a fishy old man would say.

[Not that he looks old. Still, what a way to be reminded of that fishy old man from her world... She clicks her tongue in annoyance, because admitting she misses him of all people? Not happening!]

Right, food supplies. That.

[She finishes packing her waffle cone with ice cream and drops the scoop back into the bucket.]

It was all just constantly replenishing itself through some weird magic, but now that the power supply's apparently running short, well... [She waves a hand towards the empty chocolate tub.] The results are that.

[dissimulates]

Surely I don't look that old...

[He's an eldritch monster, but his projection is perfectly youthful and innocent! Xellos eats his own ice cream while waiting for the girl's reply; this salted caramel really is delicious.]

"Weird magic," huh? It must be incredibly powerful to create and maintain a constant supply. [That tracks. You'd have to be incredibly powerful to kidnap people like this, without as much as a warning. And such great power requires an equally powerful source...] How is the ship being powered? I noticed it's not moving, and there doesn't seem to be anything around except the ocean.

[myagic]

[He really doesn't look that old, but...she won't answer that particular comment. Let him wonder.

Anyway, she supposes the whole ship situation is kinda the more important topic here, especially for a newbie... Looks like she's going to have to explain some of it after all; Rita turns and leans against the counter after taking a lick of ice cream.]

Hm, you already noticed? This is a pocket dimension created by the captain. Just this bucket, a bunch of seawater, and us--there's nothing else alive here. It used to be powered by ghosts and a piece of the captain's self that he was too much of a coward to deal with, so he sealed it up, but--now it's out and the ghosts have been released, so...

[...She shrugs and returns to her cone. Or...looks at it, anyway, because just how long is the ship going to keep going like this?]