♛ ▌1 0 0 D A Y S ❣

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Turning at the voice she noticed movement in the darkness. Well, wasn't that dark now, as her eyes became well adjusted.

It was silly of her to be spooked at the sounds, forgetting she wasn't alone for a moment. She nearly laughed at her foolishness before returning to sit on her blankets. "Yeah, I'm right here." She said quietly but in a clear voice, finding herself still too tired to speak loudly.

 

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A small smile spread across her face as Elizabeth replied, "That's good, did you sleep well?" She asked, her soft voice filling the silence. "Hopefully this storm will stop soon and we can go home, it'll be nice to see family again."

Bzzzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzz Bzzzzzzzz

Her phone? Who could be ringing her? Maybe Tyler, that'd be nice. She fished about for her phone and muttering a slight apology to Elizabeth, she picked it up. The smile vanished from her face and she paled considerably, even though it wasn't visible in this light. She was silent for a bit before finally speaking, "No, no, no! You can't be serious. That's not possible, they can't have got out. No. But you promised! You're lying, how?" Her voice got shakier with every passing moment, "They'll come for me, you know. They'll find me." Tears ran unseen down her cheeks, as she listened to the other person speak, "No, you can't just pass me off again with that same old speech! You don't understand what they're capable of! You need to...no...please, don't let them find me." The phone dropped to her side, and all that could be heard was Abby's tears.

"I-I'm sorry, but could I ask well ask a favour?" She said to Elizabeth, her face awash with tears. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair. Why did everything bad have to happen to her? "C-can I have a hug? I-I know I shouldn't but right now I really really need one." Her body was physically shaking as she asked.

 

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{ TUMBLR • ACQUAINTANCES • MOST RECENT • WEARING }​

{ OOC : CHARACTER PLOT TWIST, WHAT }​

{ YOU • ME • NAMES • LINKS • DISDAIN } • { MOOD : TIRED }​

[/url] xxxxxxxxxx ❝I am stuck in this place, I am stuck in this mess you have made.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I am alone with this sinking feeling, I cannot stop the words you had said . . .
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx And with all of the secrets you have been keeping.❞

P L E A S E , xC A L L xM E xQ U I N T U S .​

O R xQ U I N , xI F xY O U xP R E F E R .​

xxxxxxxxxx She wouldn't tell anyone, but Kallisti slept awfully. After her run-in with . . . with Harley and his secret, she couldn't stop thinking about it. It didn't help with the knowledge of them being in the same building. No matter how big it was and how many other students there were, now that she knew he was here, she was bound to see him again. Her blood ran cold at the thought.

Her dark hair falling about her face, Kallisti sat up and looked around; there were some small candles lit near where she had slept, and then there were some lights that weren't too bothering placed strategically around the room. It looked like the teachers and other adults got the back-up generators running, so there was a bit of electricity circulating around the school. She wondered if they would be allowed to take showers at all . . .

When she picked up her phone, she found that the battery was down to 24%, and felt she was lucky she had even that much left. She thought to text Tyler about seeing Harley, but he didn't see anything past Harley's suave facade, and for that, she was sad - and relieved . . . Quickly, she grabbed her charger from her back and plugged it into the wall, making sure no one could see her phone or her plugging it in - that was the last thing she needed, to have her phone stolen . . .

Kallisti left the orchestra hall in search of solitude. She found the library, wondering if anyone was in there, but it seemed quiet enough.

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A yes was slip into the conversation the moment before a new noise came to her ears. A phone was it? Perhaps this meant her phone had signal once more, or Abby just had better service. Neither of these things seemed to matter at the moment though as something awful seemed to be happening. What? She had no clue. But it really did catch her interest.

Would this be considered eavesdropping? It wasn't like she was leaning against a door and pretending not to listen while standing near a group of people. They were in the same room, or building, and the only ones there. It was impossible not to hear it all as well. So it should be...okay?

Oh. New development. A hug? Well... even if they were practically strangers at this point was just too hard to deny such a request, especially from a crying girl. So she nodded, even if it went unseen, and moved closer in order to embrace Abby. What a small girl...one who seemed to have been dealt a hand much too hard and unfair for her.

 

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The hug helped so much. Abby closed her eyes as they hugged, even if it made no difference, and just used it to help her calm down. Things would be alright. She was panicking too much. They didn't know where she was, what she was now called or even what she looked like anymore. Maybe she was overestimating them and she'd be fine but somehow she still didn't believe it. Still the hug calmed her and the tears stopped flowing. She didn't want to let go at all but knew that she still didn't know Elizabeth that well and she didn't want to lose her chance at a good friend.

When she eventually let go, she was still shaking a bit but nowhere near as much as before. "I'm sorry, I know that I still don't know you that well so that might have been a bit awkward but thankyou, I really needed that. I-I just got some bad news that I never expected to hear. I have nightmares about this and now it's actually happened....I don't know what to do. I'm a mess, well, at least you can't see me. I hope you don't think too badly of me, I'm not usually this all over the place, honest" She said, genuine concern spread through her voice. She was afraid but now she just wanted to stay strong in face of it all.

 

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[Tumblr ❀ OOTD ❀OOC: none]​

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Spoiler: ☁

Aileen walked onto center stage where she would begin her solo. As she got ready in her opening pose, the audience's welcoming applause had died down. All eyes were on her. Perhaps she was just nervous, but it seemed to take longer to start her music than usual. She took this time to look for people in the audience. She scanned the front row, where her parents and elder sister were sitting. There was an empty seat next to Alice, where Brian was supposed to sit, but he got caught up with some other issues and could not attend. When the music began, Aileen focused. She had gone into the competition confident. She had practiced for many hours and she loved her solo. It was a re-choreographed version of Coppelia. She had done everything perfectly, and nearing the end, she only had one thing left to do and it was a grand jete. As she leaped into the air, legs in full split position, she waited to get back on the ground- but she didn't. She tried to move her arms and her legs, but she couldn't. Suddenly, she felt her right arm jerk upwards. Aileen looked to her right. A string was tied to her arm and was tugging it upwards. Frightened she looked to her left and then down to her legs, only to see strings attached to all of her limbs. The strings were tugged and her arms and right leg were pulled upwards into arabesque position. Then first position. Second position. She could hear laughter errupting. Her parents. Alice. Everyone. Laughing at her. From a distance, she could even hear the faint laughter of Crestatia. By third position she could feel tears in her eyes...

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Aileen awoke abruptly following her nightmare with a gasp. She had never had such a dream, and she wished that she hadn't- especially because it had to do with dance. She wiped her teary eyes, and looked around. The room was still dark, which probably meant that the power still hadn't been restored. She yawned, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back, then looked over a still sleeping Brian. He looked so peaceful, which was incredibly reassuring. Waiting for her best friend to awaken, she decided to quietly listen to music. ​

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She stuck her hand in her bag to try to find her phone. Once she did, she pulled it out and put the earphones into her ears. Normally she would close her eyes, in order to focus on the music playing, but she didn't have to. The room was dark already. It was amazing how much the loss of one sense could affect the others. While a random song began to play, she noticed that she could still smell the scent of roses from the other day. Aileen then remembered the lifeless Anthony being possessed on the stage. The same stage that she was facing now. Sitting in this seat in the auditorium, was okay yesterday, but today it made her anxious. She nervously waited for Brian to wake up, biting her lip.​

 

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[ ◦ ♥ ◦ ♠ ◦ ♣ ◦ ♦ ◦ ]​

Once she realized how the tears ceased Elizabeth gave a small smile. It felt nice being able to soothe someone's worries, even if only a little. What good use to be put to.

When the hug ended she folded her hands on her lap after shuffling slight back. Gosh, Abby worried about everything didn't see? So it seemed like she wouldn't become useless here any time soon. Not unless someone else came by, someone the other knew well. Until then...

"I rarely find things awkward, especially now. There's no time for that really..." A pause broke the sentence followed by a sigh. "Come on now, I can't think poorly of someone for crying. It's human to cry. Without tears every now and then we'd all go insane I'm sure. It's a perfect release, especially if someone awful has just happened. And by the sound of it something awful indeed just took place."

 

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That got a small smile out of Abby, after all how she'd been a complete and utter mess, Elizabeth still didn't seem to hate her or have turned on her. Maybe this girl could just be a really good friend, in Abby's eyes they already were. She just hoped she could be a good friend in return. When she spoke again, despite still being very shook up, her voice was much calmer albeit so so quiet. "Thank you, this means a lot to me, it really does. I guess you're right, I only didn't want you to think too badly of me. And yeah, something pretty awful has happened. I'm probably over-reacting and thinking of all the worst-case scenarios, it's just I've been terrified of this happening for most of my life and now that it has..." She trailed off, leaving the dark gym silent. She wasn't ready to share what had happened, not yet and not to someone she barely knew. Still...

"Can we be friends?" Her question was quiet but there was no denying that it was genuine and heart-felt. She appreciated all that Elizabeth had done so much and didn't want to lose someone who could be such a valuable friend. Maybe in time she'd tell her the truth about what she'd just discovered but she couldn't open up just yet.

 

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【WEARING | LATEST TUMBLR UPDATE | OOC | ♪】​

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Ugh...


It felt as if she had fallen asleep buried underneath bricks. Her body was still not functioning correctly; everything seemed extremely slow. Her head was pounding and her spine ached now from her awkward sleeping position. She glanced towards one of the large library windows. It was still raining hard, but the sky was a bit lighter now. How long had she slept for? She didn't know, but she wanted to get up. There was still no indication that Yuna was still in the library, but she wasn't worried about it.

She rolled onto her side and winced, wondering if something was broken. Everything hurt so bad, and her head suddenly felt too heavy for her neck. She laid there awkwardly in a fetal position for a few more minutes before slowly and steadily propping herself up with the arm that hurt the least until she was sitting with her spine straight.

Part of her felt nauseous and irritated that she had seriously slept the whole night there and no one had found her. She could have died there alone last night and no one would have come for her. But why would they? Why would anyone? Even Yuna, the girl who was literally right there didn't bother to help her or check on her. She hated her for that now. All traces of the respect Yuna had gained were gone. Madeline would remember this.

She clicked her tongue and pushed herself onto her hands and knees. She must have looked absolutely ridiculous. She was trembling as she tried to life herself onto her feet. Would she have to resort to crawling her way out of here like a dog? As if! She would rather suffer from internal bleeding and die than do that. Internal bleeding. She really hoped she was exaggerating this pain.

 

Yuna picked up her phone. She felt awful about not having checked on Madeline, even though she herself had had an anxiety attack and fainted soon after condemning Temperance. She dialed Madeline's number and held the phone to her ear. She let out a breath. Hi Madeline, it's Yuna. Sorry I didn't check up on you yesterday, but I had an anxiety attack and fainted. Hope we can still be friends!

No. Just no. Even in her head that sounded stupid. But what the hell was she supposed to say? The anxiety attack was true, was she just gonna lie and say she didn't know what to do? Yuna nervously stayed on the line, wondering what Madeline would say when she answered and heard it was Yuna.

 

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[ ◦ ♥ ◦ ♠ ◦ ♣ ◦ ♦ ◦ ]​

Well, that topic was done for. That was to be expected though, as Elizabeth was hardly someone Abby could share anything with. So her curiosity would just have to settle down and make do with what it had.

And then...this next thing. She always thought friendships simply formed over time, without either really mentioning it. So the question caught her off guard and gave her a blank stare. However that soon vanished and the smile returned.

"Of course we can."

 

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~♦~Tumblr~♥~ Mood: Drowning ~♦~OOC:-- ~♥~ Day: Seven~♦~​

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Temperance stood up on the counter. The water was starting to lap over the edges a bit. It had to be about three and a half feet deep now. They were running out of time and high ground. The rain hadn't seemed to let up at all outside, even though there was a hint of daylight breaking through the thick clouds. They couldn't leave. She was stuck in that god forsaken gas station, destined to die with some random late college cashier chick. If only she hadn't gone to the pharmacy like Cherno had suggested. ​

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She pulled out her phone once again and smashed the power button furiously. It had a full fucking battery. There was no reason for it to be dead. The screen began to glow and it made a small beeping noise, signifying that it was powering up. Thank god. Why wouldn't it work before? As much as she wanted to get out of there, she wouldn't risk making a deal with Crestatia. No good could truly come of that. Even she was smart enough to know that. Temperance tapped away quickly at the screen and pressed the phone to her ear.​

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"9-1-1 dispatch. What's your emergency?"​

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"My name is Temperance. I'm stuck in Little Sal's gas station across the street from Lacey's diner. The cashier Amber is here with me as well and we're running out of high ground. The water is over three feet deep and we have no where left to go."​

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"Calm down sweetie. We're doing everything we can to help those that are trapped in the flood. You're better off just staying put. Look for something to get you up higher. We'll send someone there as soon as we can."​

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"Right. Okay..." She hung up the phone and shoved it quickly into her breast pocket. There was no way Temperance would allow it to get wet. It was her only means of contacting the outside world at this point. "Amber, is there an attic entrance around here somewhere?" No reply. She shoved the cashier lightly and her whole body just toppled over into the water. "A-amber? Oh. My. God." ​

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Panic began to truly set in. The cashier was dead-- most likely from hypothermia. She was alone in this place with nowhere to go. Her green eyes searched the store for something, anything. She came up empty handed. The rain was still pounding outside and her feet began to feel chilled and wet all over again. Temperance's eyes moved downward, confirming what she already knew. The water was around her ankles once more. She pounded on the glass, frantic and desperate. Her heart was racing and blood pounded in her ears. "Help! Somebody. Somebody please!"​

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She began to choke back sobs. This was worse than anything else that had happened so far. Temperance was truly terrified. More than any other time in her life. She slipped her phone out of the pocket and opened tumblr. Her cold shaky fingers tapped away at the screen as fast as they could. The others should know. They won't have to fear for their own lives that way. Her heart was still pounding as she clicked the submit button. Was she really going to be next, or was it just her mind playing tricks on her? Either way, the situation looked grim.​

 

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[Tumblr]​

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Chase slowly opened his eyes. The floor beneath him was cold. With a moan Chase sat up and looked around, he was near the entrance to the courtyard. The last thing he could remember was falling asleep listening to Quin's music. After standing up and looking outside he must have came inside after the storm started. He got his phone out to check the time, it was...morning? No that can't be right...Somebody would have woken him up...He looked outside again, the storm looked awful...Maybe it was to do with that? He slowly made his way to the auditorium deciding if he was right then people would be gathered there.​

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When Chase arrived at the auditorium he heard music, when he looked around to find the source he found it was too dark to make anybody out from the distance. He made his way to the source of the music, sing his hands as a guide. He sat down and turned to the music and saw a girl he recognized. She had been at Lacey's a few days back. After a few moments of hesitation Chase murmured "Morning" In greeting.​

 

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[ scarf of the day | tumblr ]​

[ occ: n/a ]​

Oh, what a restful sleep Brian had. He dreamed of pleasant things; an event that hadn't happened for quite a while. His sleep was relatively peaceful, leaving the boy feeling refreshed as he awoke. With a yawn, the boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was cautious to open them because the light would most definitely blind him.

...Oh right, no power.

Opening his eyes slowly, Brian saw Aileen biting her lip. She looked... upset. Oh no. Despite the darkness, the boy could see her pretty well. With a stretch of his arms and another yawn, he approached her carefully. His eyes showed genuine worry for his best friend as he looked deeply into hers. He figured she'd been up for a while for something to bother her already; nobody likes to wake up to anxiety. The boy silently wished for the latter to be true.

Brian heard the doors of the auditorium close with a loud, an irritating, slam. He wondered who it could be as he squinted to see the figure better. He couldn't make it out until it was only a few feet away. Ah, a boy. The figure moved closer. Oh, it was Chase.

Chase greeted Aileen sweetly, leaving Brian to slowly back away to let the two converse. He sighed as he sat comfortably on his pillow, pulling out his phone to check Tumblr and to see if anyone had texted or called him. He was only on the phone for a little bit since he had to conserve battery. Nothing concerning him on Tumblr, which was almost a good thing...

 

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With all the heavy rain and loud roar of thunder, it was quite hard to believe that Altair managed to actually get a nice nap. With a relaxed yawn, Altair smiled awoke from his slumber. Hopping off the desk bed he made, Altair began to stretch "well that wasn't that bad of a sleep" Altair said but suddenly cringe "guh but the pain its truly staring to kick in...must have been from all the overexertion" Altair mumbled as he took a second to rest a bit. Once he was ready, Altair walked up to a nearby window and stared out at the deadly rainfall.

"The Deluge, the ancient flood of cleansing that's goal was to wipe out the sins of humanity" Altair said as he closed hie eyes and turned away with a smile "and end like that would really be crappy" Altair said as he head out the room. "hmm what to do now" Altair muttered. As he walked out the room he noticed that the backup lights were now up "hmm I guess I won't be whacking the nuts of those I despise today" Altair said quietly as he began to twirl his cane around and walk down the halls. "question is, do I have anything to eat?" Altair muttered as he reached into his pockets and pulled out his only source of food. "hmm mints...well at least my mouth won't stink" Altair said as he placed some of the mints into his mouth. He began to suck on the mints until finally a thought came up "ah the cafeteria should have some food" Altair said. With destination in mind, the teen headed off into the cafeteria

 

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◤ tumblr ▣ logic ▣ mood: rushed ▣ interaction: ▣ ooc: this post is ridiculously nonsensical, warning◢​

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◤ ♪◢​

02 | infinite asymptote​

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...

Spoiler

Please make it on time please make it on time please make it on time please make it on time please make it on time jesus hell four feet of water. Cherno you are a fucking idiot.

Four feet of water on the street in the lowest part of the city. He wished he was at Bellhurst where the ground was high enough from the water to not completely flood the ground. The levees had broken and had flooded the streets too. Fuck. Fuck. He wasn't a very good swimmer anyway. This was terrible. But he made a fucking promise and he would stick with it.
Cherno, by this time, had lost almost all of his stamina. The current could take him any minute as the winds roared on around him. But a long time ago he learned the fine art of screwing all the world around him as he concentrated. And concentrated. And there he laid on his belly, a metal pipe in his hand, his legs unable to move, floating on the makeshift pieces of the large Bitter Point Pharmacy sign, four feet of water on the street, towards the frayed glass of the building. His hand bled profusely and he held it close to him. Empty painkiller bottles floated around his small little raft, some still half-filled with pills, as a collection of them were snugly and tightly tied to his long black coat. Everything was wet. His hair was a mess. His cheeks were stained with tears. His teeth were locked in a perpetual state of gritting and angered grimace. His coat was more a formless towel by now, ripped in many places and missing buttons in others. But he needed to keep going. Right.

The Pharmacy had flooded. Four feet turned to five feet. People were evacuated, but he had little chance to escape with the water level there. The quickest way would have to be to ride the makeshift currents. And thankfully, the winds were moving the water southeast in this part of the city. But he never expected everything to turn into-- into this. Not in his lifetime.

Inching closer and closer. The rain never stopped. It struck at him with the force of an infinite asymptote, never ending. A constant among this wet deluge of hell. He was going to die soon. Every minute he felt his vision fading and blurry. His left arm, with the bleeding, stinging hand, was limp. His legs were numb from the cold. All he could feel was the icy darts of rain that pelted his body, the lapping fingers of the cold water, and the fiery, evangelical passion in his heart to not give up on his promises.
And ...

...

There!

He brought his arm back behind him, and let out a loud yell. Thunder cracked, as if acknowledging his plea to the heavens. And finally, he launched forward the metal pipe at the remaining glass of the gas station.
Smash.

The area was briefly blinded in lightning, and another snap of thunder struck the area. Cherno let out a chilling laugh.
And he called into the gas station, coughing up blood.

"TEMPERANCE! GODDAMNIT!

I'M THROWING YOU MY COAT! GRAB IT!

I TOLD YOU I'M NOT FUCKING LEAVING YOU ALONE!"

Cherno was never the type for dramatics. In fact. Cherno hated dramatics. He hated how he was stuck on this fucking floating pharmacy sign. Hated how he had his coat wet. Hated so, so much, how dirty everything must be. But sometimes? Sometimes his solutions were crazy enough to fit his solutions. Sometimes, he was able to overpower his own being.

 

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[Tumblr ❀ OOTD ❀OOC: none]​

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Aileen was in deep thought. Remembering the events that occurred in this very auditorium, made her think of everything she would lose if she died. Her best friend, ballet, family- her list went on. But would anyone miss me? Brian probably, but her parents would have Alice. It wasn't like they paid much attention to her anyways. How many days do I even have left? I got that email a week ago... She couldn't believe that a week had already gone by. Time was moving quickly and if today was Day 7, then she would only have 93 days left-if she didn't break any rules. Those rules...there were still the few that we couldn't get at Lacey's...I need to decipher them, but I can only do that on my laptop. For now... ​

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"Morning," said a familiar voice. The voice had startled Aileen giving her a mini panic attack. She hadn't heard any footsteps, or the door opening, but perhaps it was because she was so deep in thought. It was dark so she could not see clearly, but from what she could make out, it was Chase. Aileen put her index finger to her lips and quietly told him to shhh. She then turned to point at Brian, only to see him awake and looking at her. OMG. Another panic attack. ​

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"Sorry about that...Good morning, both of you."​

 

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[ ◦ ♥ ◦ ♠ ◦ ♣ ◦ ♦ ◦ ]​

As Abby had fallen silent for a time, Elizabeth withdrew her phone to check the signal once more. Ah, finally. With it she began calling her little brother, only for the call to fail. It took two more tries but she finally got ahold of him and was met with blasting music playing in the background. Even without power there's always iPods, though she wasn't even sure if the power was out or not at their house.

"H-hello? Anthony?" Ugh. Raising her voice was a pain.

"I SOLVED IT. AND DEFEATED THE RAIDERS. ALL IN ONE NIGHT. I'M A ****ING GENIUS."

"Watch your mouth." It wasn't like him to curse, so that was a shock. What in the world was he even talking about?

"Oh, sorry... I'M AMAZING."

"What do you mean. Is this about a-"

"Come on Lizzy you're distracting me. I'm not finished yet."

"Don't ca-"

Click.

Did...he really just hang up on her. If she wasn't so grateful that he was okay she'd be pissed.

 

Temperance was so startled she almost slipped off the counter. Not that she wasn't already standing in water on the counter. What...what was cherno doing here? He was drenched, worse than her. He...he came for her? Why? She buttoned the pocket on her jacket so the phone would be protected, slipped her purse over her shoulder-- she wasn't going to lose it, and grabbed the end of his jacket. Temperance pulled his ridiculous raft closer to the counter.

She shakily tried to jump on, almost toppling over and into the ever-raising water. "What are you doing here?!" With the broken glass, it became a lot harder to hear with the pounding of raining and the cracks of lightning. Before, it had been relatively quiet. Temperance sat down gingerly next to cherno on the raft. She set his soaked jacket down beside her and offered him one of the extras she was wearing. There was no reason for him to freeze to death after being mister heroic.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He did just risk his life to save her. Cherno looked terrible. She couldn't look much better, but still. All she could think about is: why? Even if he did say he wasn't going to leave her behind, to go to this extent? Really? She was so confused. At least...at least she didn't have to be alone anymore. Alone. The thought was so terrifying. Temperance curled up next to him, wrapped her arms around cherno's waist, and began to sob heavily.

She was so relieved to not be alone anymore. They would be safe if they just stayed out on the raft in the gas station. Everything had been so unnerving. She was exhausted. Truly, one hundred percent, exhausted. It was all so overwhelming and now she was relatively safe and not alone. "Th-thank you. Thank you so much." Her words were came out choked and muffled as she talked into his shoulder. She was so thankful to not be alone anymore.

 

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◤ tumblr ▣ logic ▣ mood: tired ▣ interaction: ▣ ooc: ◢​

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...​

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She--​

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She made it.​

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"Sie ist gerettet".
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Cherno closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. Among the torrential deluge and the rush of his own thoughts, he was too tired and dizzy to reply. But he was happy. Stuck in the worst part of his week so far -- among all of these deaths and emotions and visits to Lacey's -- here he was, floating on a broken sign, painkiller bottles everywhere, his limbs injured, in the middle of an enormous storm, wet beyond all measure, and unable to organize his thoughts. And despite-- despite all this, the simple feeling of Temperance being alive, of holding onto him, made him happy enough. She was not alone anymore. By god did he mean he was going to help tie these people together. He silently accepted Temperance's gift, but he placed it around both of them in such a way that they could share it.​

​

Temperance kept thanking him and thanking him.​

But bluh, he-- he was still nervous. Was he coming back to his senses? He blushed. And shivered. And didn't -- no, he couldn't say anything. Not in these conditions. He stayed silent. He was never good at comforting people, was he?​

​

So instead, he gently placed his free hand on the girl's arms around his waist, a bit shaky from the cold and the feeling of Temperance being this close. Ack, he really was a bit-- nervous, with this proximity. But this wasn't the time.​

​

The raft drifted away from the gas station. Empty painkiller bottles floated off behind them, as if giving away a trail. Cherno was so tired. So tired. He wanted to go home. He said nothing. The rain continued its mocking, senseless downpour. The raft was at the mercy of nature's unpredictable attitude. Just like Cherno's life, and the lives of the others, had been thus far.​

​

It was as if this very storm represented what was to come and what had already happened, at the same time. Each raindrop, a second, ticking and ticking away. Lightning struck.​

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And time continued her continual, never-ending threnody to a once-normal life. Was Cherno dreaming? The raft seemed stuck in a state of riding the waves of the zeitgeist. Uprooted saplings, dirt, rocks, wheels, metal pieces, boxes, knick-knacks, toys, kitchen supplies, devices, gardening equipment, wood, everything that made up a city and more passed them -- the very world itself, what made up all Cherno knew, floated around him in a senseless mess. And he was too dazed to react. He could not even feel the pain in his hand right now. ​

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And it seemed like an eternity. One thousand years? One million months, maybe. One hundred days. At least he was not alone.​

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...​

In the distance-- were those lifeboats? Thank god. They were filled with a few police officers. What is more, they were heading towards them.​

​

It looks like they had a chance to live after all. It looks like he was right for once. He didn't forsake someone. This time.​

Cherno probably looked terrible. But right now? Right now he needed to rest a bit. The last words he heard before he dozed off were the calls of the officers as they reached the makeshift raft. He hoped Temperance would do okay talking to them, and get herself home.​

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