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

[midnightroads]

"If I was any-fucking-one else, being able to point out that I'm here instead of in one of the bars would count as a point in my favor." There's only so much oomph to that complaint though.

[crushed_pearls]

"Buddy your sick driving skills won't let you dodge my love." Erin pointedly raises her eyebrows while she enjoys more sips.

[midnightroads]

"I'm kinda fucked up about it, and loving me won't make that go away, but it's also not your job to make me less fucked up about shit, either."

He pours himself a sludgy cup of the deepest black coffee.

[crushed_pearls]

"It's not, but we're still in this together." Sipppp. "Good news that's bad news for you specifically, you missed the pride party. It was honestly really good, Sharky put it on, lots of folks like, connecting or taking baby steps towards awareness. Things are rough, but...they're bending better."

[midnightroads]

"Mm. Okay, things I gotta ask...Crichton and Arthur: on again or off again? Friday gone off and killed anyone yet? It's October, any signs of possessions? The kids alright?"

Important this on the list.

[crushed_pearls]

"Off again, not to my knowledge, one unrelated possession that I'm not gonna talk about because that person's been through enough, and..." Erin shrugs, slumping. "It's been rough on everyone. The kids ain't alright."

[midnightroads]

"Okay." Bash takes all that in, making a mental note to text Crichton as soon as possible. "Any of the kids the ones I might be able to help at all?"

[crushed_pearls]

"...Mmm. Okie's still around, he could use a steady presence if you're looking for someone. Gwen's feeling real homesick, look for the lass with the watercolors and that's as good as I can describe that. You're not high, she does look like that." Erin chews her lip. "...Rita's kinda going through becoming less of an asshole, and like, either she's improving or under immense stress. Maybe you can figure out which."

[midnightroads]

"Do I count as a steady presence, so new back?" But he already is melting a little, because Okie.

[crushed_pearls]

"Come off it fucker, you know you do." Erin smacks the counter in Sudden Realization. "Hey - Ava and Peter got married, Mrs. and Mr. Starr now."

[midnightroads]

"Oh, good on them. I like them both. Though Ava might be weird about me being back here and pissing on my territory again. Metaphorically, that is. Strictly metaphorically."

[crushed_pearls]

"Try not to piss on Ava, yeah."

[midnightroads]

"I won't piss her off, either. She's good people. And Peter once bitched out my ma for me."

It is weird for that to be a fond memory?

[crushed_pearls]

"Good on him." Erin luxuriates in her coffee for a Hot Minute. "...Hey. You ever need to talk while you're here, you hit me up, yeah?"

[midnightroads]

"I think I just need to get laid. I'll be alright."

From anyone else, that might be mildly fucked up. With Bash's personal history?

[crushed_pearls]

Bash you're getting the Eyebrows.

[midnightroads]

And he gives a flat look back, and a stony midnight silence.

[crushed_pearls]

"I'll throw stones from inside my glass house, Bash, I'll take us both down. How sure are you about that statement?"

[midnightroads]

"Erin, if you were even slightly less adamantly a lesbian, I'd have already made a pass at you."

Does that answer the question asked?

[crushed_pearls]

She shrugs. "Alright. I ain't your mom. Just...take care of yourself, y'know?"

[midnightroads]

Bash is quiet for a moment. "How about you? You taking care?"

[crushed_pearls]

"...No." Erin sets her cup down. "But I've sicced my loved ones on me. I'm sure their gathering vengeance will be compassionate and unstoppable."

[midnightroads]

"If you see anyone who loves me, feel free to sicc as you've sicced upon yourself." Is that a dare? A self-pitying comment about being loved? who knows!

[crushed_pearls]

Erin looks directly at Bash, takes out her phone, and dictates a text.

Hey Cass love Bash is back in Sand Dollars come get his ass get the whole ass make sure your affection leaves him tragically deprived of an ass cannot stress enough that I am calling in a tactical friendship strike of such power as to blow his ass clean off ensure that Watson has to do research as to how he survived with no ass at all thanks love you.

[midnightroads]

"What the fuck, Erin." He laughs despite himself.