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[Snowpocalypse] Sleeping with Penguins (S 2.4)
Silica,
You woke up in the PPZ, Wonky was gone. His ride was gone, too. Just you and the penguins.
And Bloody Dracula. She's feeding a few, quietly talking to them.
This is Bloody Dracula:
What do you do?
You woke up in the PPZ, Wonky was gone. His ride was gone, too. Just you and the penguins.
And Bloody Dracula. She's feeding a few, quietly talking to them.
This is Bloody Dracula:
What do you do?
Comments
Had some kind of dream last night, about flying... or swimming maybe, deep underwater where it doesn't matter which way is up. Wasn't scary, for once... just lonely. I wish I could really feel comfortable with Wonky, but I just fucking don't... damn it. Maybe I'm expecting too much but I didn't expect to wake up with him gone. My welcome here seemed to pretty much rely on Wonky, though. I should bail.
Being alone in the aquarium is pretty weird. The room Wonky took me to is pretty big, rows of old seats long since stripped for burning leaving only the metal skeletons in neat, slightly curved rows.
I slowly stand, find my jeans and pull them on, then slip on my coat. I throw my backpack over a shoulder and stretch my neck as I head out. Every motion seems to echo down here and it makes me move really carefully, quietly.
But I walk out into the bigger room and find the penguins are still here and I'm surprised for some reason to find Bloody Dracula down here feeding them. Makes me smile a little. I slow my walk and stop a few steps into the room, kind of behind her and to one side.
"Whaddya feed 'em?" I ask softly, not wanting to startle the birds.
The penguins are pretty excited around Bloody Dracula. They all huddle in front of her, forming what almost looks like a line. Only one penguin at a time comes up for food. She's reaching into a metal bucket, bare-handed, pulling out little fishes.
Sometimes, a penguin will take the fish piece in its mouth, the shake it back and forth real fast a couple times, then gobbles it down. You can make out that there are little family clusters, or seem to be. Female, male, smaller ones. They are all so adorable, it's sort of insane.
Bloody Dracula looks over at you, not startled you're here, but surprised you're, you know, into this. She seems suspicious when she answers, "Underlake fish. We traded for it." She keeps peering at you, not marking territory, just not trusting you.
"My bro got mixed up in ice." She says it neutral, but there's something under it. "He beat me down a few times for jingle, just to get it."
I stay kind of aloof here, this place isn't in my comfort zone at all. Give her her space.
But when she goes on about her bro, I kinda snap back at her, "that's on him!" I hate this kind of shit, "ice don't just... make you do shit like beat your sister, allright?" I grit my teeth a little, realizing I'm getting too defensive here.
"Uh... yeah the Penguins are cute, huh?" I try to smile. Maybe it's all right.
BD was about to get hot, right back at you. But you back off, and ask about the penguins. She looks back down at them, answers, "Fuck yeah they're cute."
She feeds them some more, for a few minutes. You don't go, for some reason, the spell unbroken. Bloody Dracula looks over at you, "You mind if your hands stink like fish?" She sort of offers you the bucket.
Can't hide my smile as I step up to take the bucket from her. I crouch down to feed the little things, I don't care in the least about the smell.
The penguins waddle up in order and take a couple fish. You get slime splashed by one when he (or she, hard to know for sure) shakes the fish a few times, then swallows it down. BD giggles when you jump.
She's watching you do this, not offering advice or whatever. Like she knows you'll figure it out.
Then, when the bucket's nearly empty, Blood Dracula moves up to take the bucket from you, sort of giving out the last pieces of fish. She peers at you for a minute. "Wonky's dangerous. He'll hurt you. Like hit you hurt you." She doesn't tell you what to do about that, just tells you "how it is".
What do you do?
Feels like she slapped me. Yeah, fuck... I know. Shit.
I turn my head to look up at her, crouching there with my wrists resting on my knees and my hands kind of open, not wanting to wipe fishiness on myself.
I reply defensively, almost like she hit me, "Fuck..." a long exhale, "you think I don't know that?" I look back down towards the birds, going about their business.
Quietly I add, "he saved my ass... but it don't really mean nothin' anyway. I won't bring him back here, ok?"
Bloody Dracula makes a pfft noise, "Wonky'll be back here, Silica. He loves this place. That's not on you. We just, the Sk8rs, we decided to let him come and go, just stay out of his way. I mean, what're we gonna do, tell him no? Beat down."
She puts the bucket down, walks over behind you to kick a stone across the ice, "So, we just work around him." BD leans forward, her hair hanging down around her face, and looks at you sort of eye to eye. "He's like a big polar bear. Nice to look at, don't piss it off."
That said, she stands up, "Anyways... thought you should know. But, you do." She ambles over to pick up the bucket, moves to leave the PPZ.
She leans down to look in my face and tells me not to piss him off, I lean away from her slightly and say, "Ok... ok... I just.... just needed..." and lose my balance, catching myself before I fall with a hand on the ice behind me.
She's tryin' to be nice but she's makin' me feel shitty. She stands up to go, leaving me there feeling awkward again. Like I fucked up again. I stand, sort of quickly and defiantly, though nobody's watching. I shrug my coat back onto my shoulders and wipe my hands on some snow or something.
"I know!" I finally call after her like I gotta just get in the last word or something. Like I win or some shit.
Gonna get the fuck out of here.
BD's gone, in the breeze. It's a helluva walk to anywhere from the Shedd. Where are you going?
I emerge from sk8rtown and see the big 'scrapers across the flats to the West. Makes me think of One-footed and the underlake... I picture us climbing up there, that sound of the wind through the steel, the crunch of broken glass under my feet. You can see clear 'cross the lake on a good day. It shines like fuckin' magic. I'm tempted... I flex my leg a couple times to test it... not yet Silica...
I look over my shoulder towards the lake and I consider going back out to get her... that hurt on her face fresh in my mind. I stand there like a ghost, not quite knowing what to do with myself.
Then I realize I'm out here too close to the Soldia's and too close to Chi-town and it's not like the sk8r's are all friendly. I suddenly hurry the fuck up, taking off at not quite a jog towards the 'scrapers, hustling when I'm in the open and slowing in the shadows.
I'll pass through 'em and head into neutral turf. Get some food, chill a while, get off my feet.
Probably spend the night at the playground.
As a reminder...
When you head into gang territory looking for someone or something important, roll +Sharp. On a hit, choose options. On a 10+, you find what you're after. On a 7-9, choose one of the below options
- You can't find it/them
- You find what you're after, but there's trouble
On a miss, you're exposed and in some trouble. MC will detail.
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 2, 4. Total: 8)
When you come about half a block from the library, Lunch flies overhead. You hear his wings as he passes by, and he swoops over to land on one of his favorite perches.
It just so happens that underneath that perch are four Cs, all bundled up and looking around. They must know you stay there, or maybe it's just bad luck.
You can avoid them easily if you hit the sewers and go through the Freight Tunnels. That means you're traveling a while, alone, still no place to relax. If you stay aboveground, you'll be discovered by some of the Soldier Boys or Cs. Now, they might not think you had anything to do with the gennie theft...
Are they seriously waiting for me? I didn't do shit... just a fuckin' lookout! They're way outside their turf down here... I hiked all the way down here to get away from their asses.
Fuck.
Slowly, I back off. Passing through the ruined brick buildings along what was once 48th. I stay in the shadows now, moving as a fast walk, keeping quiet. I find the nearest underground, and struggle with the cover until I can slip inside.
I hate the tunnels, you know? But they're safe from patrols at least. I find my way through the relative darkness, the stone slippery and frozen under my feet. The broken light from the manholes and drains from the street give me just enough light.
Gonna head North, back towards town, at least a half mile or so before I emerge.
Where the fuck can I go? Back out to the underlake? Shit... that sounds like I'm admitting something if I have to run out there.
Maybe Jones park, they don't know about my stash at Jones Park do they? But that's a fucking long walk away... damn, I just passed by it earlier.
This sucks.
Rossi's got these safe houses set up, right? My nose curls up like somethin' stinks when I think of it, but I could go crash at one of them... if I'm lucky she won't be home.
You head on to the Scrapers, Rossi has a place there with Poptart. How has Poptart treated you lately?
The climb isn't fun, with your leg cut up, but it's much easier than that big wheel at the Pier. Which reminds you of One-Footed. And that look when you left her. How's that going for ya?
After maybe fifteen minutes of quiet climbing, you walk into the once snazzy apartment that Rossi staked out up here. You see some recently opened cans of food, signs of folks living here, even the remains of a small fire in the fireplace. Big cushy couch, a bunch of filed-down stakes and other what-not. Probably some food hidden in here, but no people.
What do you do?
It's going shitty, thanks for fucking asking.
I pull myself up to the apartment, good. Empty.
But not really good. I hate my fucking sister, allright? But I don't really want to be alone, if I could fight with Rossi at least I wouldn't have to think about anything else, and with the soldiers looking for me... are they really fucking looking for me?. I was kind of looking forward to fucking with her. And Poptart, we know whose side of this she's on. She thinks Rossi walks on water or something, like I'm the bad sister. Fuck her... but I bet she'd feed me.
I walk into the place, kicking a can or two across the room. I drop my bag near the couch and pick up one of those stakes. What the hell?
I'm hungry as hell, didn't have a chance to stop in and get a bite, but I'm dead tired. I lay down on the sofa and try not to think of how fucking alone it is here.
You head over to the couch, but before you can slump down on it, it moves. The middle cushion pops out and behind it you see... Poptart. With a hatchet!
She has it out like she wasn't sure you were you, her eyes scanning for trouble. Then, she sees you, and relaxes a bit. "Oh. Silica. Where's your sister? She's been gone for a bit."
"Fuckin'" I jump back, brandishing the sharpened stake like a sword or something, "you scared the shit out of me!"
I keep a distance, what the fuck. But I shrug at her question, "I don't fuckin' care..." well since the sofa's not available I start poking around the room for some uneaten food, "you worried? She's probably got broke off by some fucker for somethin' shiny, right?"
I pick up an empty can and toss it back down, "you got any food?"
"I've told you," Poptart says sharply, "Don't insult Rossi behind her back. It's gutless. You're better than that." She grunts as she steps out of the couch, moves past you towards the kitchen. "C'mon, I have some food."
What do you do?
I scoff, always her side, "I tell her to her face if she's here." I go to the window to look outside for a second before following her to the kitchen.
Outside, down a block, there are a handful of guys moving around. It's daytime, so it happens. But they look like Cs, all blue and orange clad. Lunch is flying around them, lazy circles.
"She came round last night, then left." Poptart says. She starts opening a can of some spinach, then starts poking at the dead fire to get it going again. She isn't facing you, but you know she's talking to you, "You're limping. What happened?"
I stay at the window. Out of sight but I'm keeping my eyes down low.
"I fell..." I lie, don't want to deal with her mommy shit, but I have to ask "have... uh... the C's been hangin' round your 'hood Poppy?" I watch the guys. Wish Lunch would fuck off.
Are they coming this way? Are they lookin' for me?
Poptart doesn't answer for a bit, still messing with the fire. Then she gets some ice in a pot to melt, starts throwing in some spices and stuff for a soup or something. She looks up, towards the window, "They came round earlier, didn't come up here, though. Their fat asses can't climb this far. heh."
She turns to look at you, like sizing you up. "Is it your time, Silica? You got the visitor?" You know she's asking if you are having your period, in her weird way.
"Oh yeah? So they been hangin' round..." that doesn't really make me feel better.
But she asks about my period and I suddenly look at her from the window, annoyed. "What? Whaddya you care, no... " like seriously. But then I keep watching, they've got me concerned... first at the Library, then hanging around here.
Poptart moves up on you at the window, her eyes showing that fierceness she gets sometimes. Like normally, she's withdrawn and neutral, just works hard, keeps to herself. Then, something will flip a switch, and she's all purpose and motion. "If you aren't on the rag, then you're lyin to me. Your leg's cut, I can smell the bleedin." She pushes a finger in your face.
Then, like that's enough, she turns back to check on the soup. Over her shoulder, she says, "Take off yer pants, Silica. Gotta stitch you up. You get it infected, you're in a world of shit."
She shoves that finger in my face and it just pissed me off, I slap her hand away but she's already backing off. I stand there pissed for a coupla seconds before saying, "doc take care of me allright? You 'aint gotta fuckin' worry."
Truth is, with all the shit I've been doing, it has been bleeding a little, but not enough to slow me down.
Poptart, spoon in hand, leaning over the pot and the fire, stops. She turns to look at you with this completely serious look, like challenging. "Take off your pants and show me then. If you're okay, then I'll give you one of my treasures. And if you're lying, then you have to read me a poem."
What are Poptart's treasures? You've got one in mind that you'd take in a heartbeat, what is it?
What do you do?
"Ok whatever," I take a couple of defiant steps towards her, unbutton my jeans and slide them down past my hips to hang around my knees. "You're the last fucker I expected to get me outta my pants today..."
Poptart makes sugar candy flavored with different oils or something. Like colored rock candy. Takes weeks to make 'em and I don't know where she gets so much sugar. But the crystals are big as your finger and taste like heaven...
I add, regarding the candy "it better be a big one." Standing here like a fool with my pants down.
Poptart hisses a laugh at your wry comment about her getting you out of your pants, but she doesn't retort. She puts the spoon down, comes over and drops to a knee, looking at the wound. "It's been seeping. You almost popped a stitch, this is shitty work." She looks up at you, "Nedd do this?"
Then, she touches it, hears you wince in pain. "It's goin to get infected if I don't put something on it. And your bandage is old." She looks up, narrow eyes. "You can take a candy, but I'm fixing Nedd's shitty work."
Makes me wince, even though I'm trying not to. "Yeah.... Nedd," how does she even know that?
"Fine, ok..." I hobble over to the couch and get my ass down on it, my pants around my ankles. Once I sit I pull them the rest of the way off and toss them over the back of the sofa next to me. "ok... ok... fix me up allright? Whatever..."
Poptart heads into the bathroom to get some supplies to clean the wound, and spends the next few minutes cleaning the wound, then taking a pair of tweezers to pop a couple stitches, which she carefully re-stitches shut. Then, some alcohol on the wound, which smarts LIKE HELL.
When you flinch or whatever, Poptart grins, "It'll be alright, Silica. Don't worry." She leans down and blows cool air over it. Which kinda works, mostly.
Then she puts a clean strip of cloth, looks like it was a bedspread, probably from another apartment in here, and bandages you up. "You might as well strip down all the way. I got some sweats and shit you can wear. These clothes are filthy, give you lice and shit." She picks up your pants from the floor, heads into another room, probably to get you those sweats.
Yeah I flinch, get some good saying fuck practice in too!
Hissing through my teeth I kind of sprawl out there on the sofa, trying not to move the leg, "I don't have fuckin' lice!" I call after her. "Seriously...."
I groan painfully as I get up on the edge of the couch. "You know I had a fuckin' shower just the other day," like that's something to brag about... and I wish I hadn't just reminded myself. I slip off the coat and shirt and toss them over the couch, making sure I've got all my shit from my pockets first.
Toss my panties on top and make a pile of everything for her, shoving my stuff in the backpack. I've got a change of underwear in the bag so I'll get those on.
Then I remember the fuckers outside and I'll go to the window to check.
Poptart comes back in the room with the sweats, picks up your dirties, "You smell a little, Silica. Go in the tub and wash, ok?" She comes up behind you at the window, notices you watching those C's, they've moved on, but only a block away.
"What do they want with you, Silica?" Poptart asks, and for the first time, it sounds, well, a little concerned. "You in some trouble? Like real trouble?"
"Fuck, Poppy, you serious?" but yeah head to the tub after watching the guys out on the street for a few more seconds, happy they're moving along. I drag my feet on the way to the tub but I get naked and get to washing up good... oh yeah. Penguin food, I smell like fish.
"I don't fuckin' know.... Poppy, I had a rough coupla days and they hanging 'round my place. Doggin' me... might be nothin."
hope it's nothing... shit.
Poptart lets it go, for now. At least while you're bathing. Good thing being an icewalker means a cold bath aint no thing, hunh?
Once you're done, you slip into your own clothes, I take it? Your coat isn't out here, your lovely yellow coat. Poptart must've taken it with her. She's in another room, or maybe down the hall.
Yeah, cold water isn't a problem. People have a misconception about icewalkers though. Wind still stings, water still drowns... not like I want to go out in a blizzard. It won't kill me but it still sicks, stings my eyes, my skin.
But yeah... I get good and clean, take my time even. When I'm done I slip on my jeans and shirt and wring some water out of my hair. Guessing Poppy reapplies a fresh bandage after I wash, too... fine.
I'd taken off my rings and shit and set them near the tub. I carefull put everything back in its place. My little bird earrings... take a little extra time regarding them in my palm.
"Where's my coat?" I ask, standing to go to the other room to find her. Maybe she's washing it? It wasn't very dirty yet.
You find Poptart in a room where she has a wash basin. The room has broken and cracked mirrors and some weird big metal machine with cables and metal plates in a stack with numbers all over. She's sitting on the built-in bench. The coat is hanging on a treadmill.
She looks up when you come in, she was scrubbing your clothes with some lye. "That coat? That was Nollie's. Damn shame about that girl."
I walk into the room and see the coat up there. Guess she is washing it.... good.
But then she has to go and say that and it just hurts. Like I've been punched in the stomach, "It's.... it's mine." I say, swallowing hard. There's no reason to be sad about... I get angry, suddenly crossing the room to roughly grab the coat and hold it to my chest like a precious thing.
I watch her, Poppy. Why am I so upset? She's being really nice... too fucking nice. She's not my fucking mother.
But... I shake the anger out of my head and ask, "can I have that sugar now?"
Fuck.
When you grab the coat, Poptart doesn't react more than a raised eyebrow. You ask for the sugar, Poptart answers in a neutral tone, "Suit yourself. You know where I hide it."
Where does she hide that sweetness? In this bachelor pad that she and Rossi claimed? Somewhere else on this level? Is it just hidden, or locked away, or what?
Well the stuff takes ages to make, got to be somewhere dry. It's hidden in what was the heater closet, a little too-small door out on the porch. There's a big vent in there which sucks air up and out, just from the action of the wind further upstairs somewhere. She hangs them in there on strings to grow... I don't know how his shit works but it works.
She keeps it locked, too, but I know the keys are in the old medicine chest. I'll go get it.
Why am I so on edge? Is it the soldiers? Is it her? Is it...
I pause out on the balcony to spit the little wet paper from my spent ice packet over he rail. It's just the size of a thumbnail, a little wet thing. Then I bite down with my back teeth to crack off a bit of the delicious sugar crystal.
I settle back down on the sofa, the chunk of sugar rolling noisily around in my mouth. It's still light out and I'm feeling refreshed. "You want me to go find Rosie?" My pet name for my sister, I know it bothers her.
Poptart has hung your clothes to dry and come back into the room to sit on the couch, on the opposite side of you, not close or anything. She's mending some of her own clothes. Sang thread she used on your leg. She looks up, "Hrm? Rossi? Yep. You should. Just be smart, with those Soldier assholes out there. Need a BM token or anything?"
"I don't need that shit to get by," fuck did I just volunteer to find my fucking sister? I get up from the sofa, rubbing my leg as I do. She's on her back somewhere, won't be hard findin' her, likely. But yeah, I don't feel like talking any more shit about her when she's not around. "She 'aint hard to find... not for me."
I pick up my pack and unzip it and consider slipping the yellow coat inside. It's easier to climb, keep quick without a jacket. And I sure don't fucking need a bright yellow jacket on me right now... I hold it in one hand, bunched up to stick in my pack.
It hurts to ask but I'm gonna ask, "Poppy, did... did'ja know her? How she... was lost." I raise the coat slightly to indicate who I mean, not that it isn't obvious. My mind is so muddled up about her though... Nollie. It's hard to even ask.
You have Poptart's attention when you brag about finding Rossi. "You two got a connection, Silica. It's important." She points a finger at you, like it would make it stick.
She watches you prepare to leave, then hold the coat. She seems to notice how you're holding it. You ask about Nollie and she takes a breath, sort of holds it for a moment, then lets it out, "Her dad, Frontie, he didn't let her out of his sight much when she was young. Then, she hooked up with some walkers, and just started taking off, for longer and longer. She'd come back, broken and hungry. They'd fight, she'd stay for a week or so, then she'd disappear."
Her voice softens, just a tad, "Nollie would come visit me sometimes. She didn't trust anyone, so she wouldn't stay long." Poptart looks at you for a long moment, but she's seeing Nollie, you can just feel it, Silica.
After a bit, Poptart sits back, looking at you, the real you, for a moment, sizing you up, in her own way. She sucks her teeth, then says, "She had a hard life, like you and Rossi. She wasn't tough like you two, though. She let herself be a victim, her only answer was to run away. But she couldn't make it on her own. One day, she didn't come back. I never gave her up for dead, even though I figured it was true. But she loved that damn coat. So, it must be true."
Yeah what does she know about me and my sister.
I stop and listen though when Poppy talks about Nollie. It's weird... talking about her like she's dead and not... here. I mean... I know that but it doesn't feel that way. Something happened with her father. I did something to him, and to myself.
I stand with lips tight together while she talks, almost interrupting a couple times to quip about my sister but I hold my tongue until she's finished.
"She was really brave..." I offer, nodding with some sadness in my eyes. I know exactly how she felt. I walk over to Poppy, fishing around for that photo of Nollie in my bag. I pull it out and stand next to her to show it to her, we both can look at it.
"You can have this shit... if... if it fuckin' means somethin' to you," the coat is still bunched up in my hand, "I don't need it."
Poptart doesn't say a word when you agree, just looks at you with that thousand-yard stare of hers, like she's there, but there's a part of her hollowed out. Worn thin. She follows your hand to your bag, sees you pull out the photo.
A gasp comes out when she sees the little pic of Nollie. She puts a hand up, against the small of your back, might be for support even though she's sitting, or could be for comfort. Yours. Hers. Hard to say.
She sniffs once, looking at the photo like it's the most precious thing she's seen in years. Out of nowhere, like some invisible master is talking through a Poptart puppet, this soft voice comes out of her when she says, "No, honeybear. No... you keep the coat. It suits you. Brings out your eyes." She swallows again, and blinks a few times, eyes glassy.
I stand next to her, kind of leaning back a bit. She touches my back as I show her the photo and she. I'm surprised at her reaction, how personal it seems.
What the... she freaks me out a little with the voice. I mean, Poppy does alright by me but she's always kind of matter-of-fact about shit. This is weird. It feels like... that bit of Nollie inside me wants to cry, wants to tell her I'm here... I'm alive. It wells up in my chest but I don't want to let it out... I clasp my hand tight and hit myself on the thigh a couple times.
"You thizzen Poppy..." I say like she might be crazy but I'm really just covering up my own distress. I turn around to face her, crouching down to look at her face. Somethin' wrong with her eyes.
"You sure? You gonna be allright'n I go lookin' for Rosie?"
Poptart doesn't move for a bit, lost in that photo. She answers, "I'll be fine for now. With those Solder Boys sniffing around, I may move for a bit. And yeah, go look for Rossi." She looks up at you, "Need anything?"
What do you do?
"I'm good..." there's definitely something there. Something really there... I stand back up and slip the coat on. I want her to see me in it... just feels like I should. I leave the photo in her hand. Seems like she needs it more than I do.
"Poppy she..." fuck, Silica... just let it go, shut the fuck up. "Nobody gonna hurt Nollie no more allright? That's just how it is." A long, sad nod... I need to get the fuck out of here.
"Ok I'll tell Rosie you worried..." I walk back out to the sofa, get my things together, tie my shoes on. "Gonna burn, allright? Don't get caught out," I gesture towards the window, meaning by the soldiers, of course.
Then the long climb down.
Poptart holds the photo tight, looks up at you like you just gave her a Christmas morning, even a smile cracks her face. "Be safe. Be smart."
You throw on your shoes and head out of the room. Right before you leave, Poptart says quietly, but enough for you to hear, in that soft voice again, "The coat looks nice on you." And she didn't say Nollie. You're sure of it. But you felt it.
How do you plan on finding Rossi, Silica?
She's my fucking sister. You know she has a way of showing up when I don't fucking want to see her. Which is pretty much always.
Makes the hairs on my neck stand up when she's around. Like... you know that energy I can see? She's got her own kind... too fucking familiar.
So you know... I get down to the street and calm myself. Wait till the leg stops hurting. Check the street. Then I let it in... open my head to the fucking blizzard I see behind my eyes.
Where are you sis....
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 1. Total: 7)
The snow floats around you, and you pull a few motes towards you. They melt into you and you see something in your mind's eye.
Disturbing images of pre-Freeze place that was once used to make things cold, now redundant. You see the one called Jester, strapped and held down. The chopper Dice raises his ice axe, and brings it down, like a guillotine, chopping off his foot.
Then again, the axe raises, and chops down. Like a replay. But this time, it isn't Dice holding the axe. It's your sister, and she's screaming out in pain and fear and chopping off Jester's foot. You feel her unspoken apologies and her sorrow and hurt.
Like a blood trail, you can track it. You can find Rossi by this. She's headed to Jester's moms. Have you met them before?
Some of the motes are curious, Silica. If you had to save Wonky or One-Footed, who would you save, and why?
What the...
The gruesome imagery takes me by surprise and it's almost like I can feel it. I cringe and yelp in fright when the axe hits ground. What? What the hell? My sister?
"Damn it..." I try to catch my breath as I shake the imagery out of my sight. Leaning a hand against the masonry of the building I hide near. I look up as the air almost like she can hear me, "the hell are you doing, Rosie?"
Maybe Poppy was right. She should worry...
I take a deep breath and follow the invisible trail of motes towards my sister but the fucking things follow me... drift along and glare in my eyes until it hurts and I can't ignore them... and they ask me things I don't want to think about. I hurry like I can outrun them and swipe my hands at the air but I know I can't escape...
What's that? If I had to... why the hell would I have to.. fuckin... get outta my head! Wonky doesn't need me... I don't give a fuck! But... she's... I'd choose her. Of course I would... I been thinking of her since I walked away.
Turns out, this is a long trail. Miles.
On one icy road, you're having to walk mostly on the road because of ancient snow drifts. You hear a truck coming up behind, turn.
It's Hadden's truck. Rossi is in the front.
Please go here.