Week 2

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Week 2

[The Champions have now been here for one week, and while the dud of a first incentive didn't tempt anybody, the fact remains obvious: a lack of murder isn't going to be the thing that gets you out of here.

Blaze Dudely and Rox have not made a reappearance since Tuesday, leaving you to your own devices for the moment. That door they entered and exited through remains locked, and there is no new area to access this week. Are you sure they're even still back there? Despite their absence, you all wake up on Sunday morning from strange dreams. What to make of it?

You can only hope it's not a bad omen for the rest of the week.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Don't forget to turn in your AC for Week 1, submit your memory regain, and turn in your Benefactor threads! ))

Comments

[stillstands]

Energetic?

[She does actually chuckle at that.]

She's definitely energetic. And... reckless sometimes. [There's a pause, and she looks a little subdued, before moving her hand over to the next girl in the picture - she's very pretty. Tall, with dark hair and a warm smile.]

This is Yuuri-senpai. She's... kind of big-sisterly, and very reliable. She keeps track of supplies and does a lot of the "responsible" things around the school as our club president.

[There's another, longer pause.]

She's probably mad at me right now though. I don't blame her. I'm mad at myself as well.

[hellahighwater]

[ She almost asks about the club, to confirm- what...is a school living club, anyway, but a frown takes over her face, at that last bit. ]

Why would she be mad at you? It's not like you asked to be kidnapped.

[stillstands]

I, uh. I messed up before I came here. Badly.

[She runs her finger down the edge of the album, hooks her finger under the page and flips it.]

It's fine, it was my fault, so... I just have to try my best to not do something that reckless again. [She should've thought things through better, really. Before she showed them those documents.]

[hellahighwater]

[ Ah... Something back there. Well, Chloe, patron disappointment, understands. ]

...If you two're friends, then...you'll fight and bitch, but at the end of the day, you've got each other's backs, right? From just these, she looks like the type who'd...fight a bear for you.

[ It's something in how she looks. This sweet, responsible type... Chloe thinks maybe she might be her own kind of dangerous. ]

What I'm saying is, she'll forgive you.

[stillstands]

... Maybe.

[She hopes. She wants the club to be together for a long time - the thought of being alone again just...

scares her. Deeply.

She survived it beforehand, but it wasn't easy. And the thought of being in that situation is almost more disheartening than the whole zombie thing altogether.]

But I can't turn back what happened, and it was... [life changing? ruining?] it changed things more than I thought it would. Not in the way I'd hoped to at least.

[She'd hoped they'd find something in that basement that would mean they'd be safe, and have less worries. Not something that would infect Kurumi.]

[hellahighwater]

[ She can't turn back what happened... Yeah. Most people can't. And even if they think they can, as it turns out, well--

There's something very somber in Chloe's expression. ]

Are they still waiting for you? Those two, and...this other one. What you last remember, are they there?

[stillstands]

Probably. We couldn't really leave the school... [And maybe it's a little more apparent that the title "School-Living" club name that might be scribbled on the odd page of the album is, in fact, a very literal title.

She points a finger at the last girl in the photos. Small, with pink hair and a cat hat.]

Yuki-senpai. The last I remember we were separate, but we were all still in the school. We wouldn't go anywhere without properly planning everything out first.

[hellahighwater]

[ Still in the school... GOD there's the question she wants to ask but it's kind of...obvious and sucks so should she even...... ]

Then...when we get out of here, you go back and make the best of...whatever thing is going on. And if you have to, kick and scream and punch your way through life with those people at your side. Tell the world to fuck itself, and you deal with whatever shit you fucked up together.

[ This is probably the most inspirational she can sound, but for Chloe, it's pretty inspirational. ]

[stillstands]

[Have you considered a career as a motivational speaking, Chloe? But to be fair it does startle a laugh out of her. ]

I don't know if punching our way to better things is the best way to go about it, but thanks. We just keep going, because each day is a new one and we can't stop living them just because things changed. It's even more important to live than just survive, or that's what Yuki-senpai showed me, in her own way.

[And thing she stops, fingers toying with the edge of the album.]

... Just ask. I feel like it's almost worse just tiptoeing around the subject. [The massive elephant in the room. She knows what Chloe's seen in that album.]

[hellahighwater]

[ >Implying Chloe's considered a career in anything
laugh track

But no, okay, with that genuine permission, Chloe winces and then glances away for a moment...then looks Miki right in the eye. ]

Your school. Why's it like it? Is it... I have a guess, but... Is the world you come from...full of zombies?

[stillstands]

[professional weed smoker?

Well that... direct eye contact lasts for about 0.5 seconds before Miki is looking away again. But she's looking back down at the album again, rather than awkwardly to one side. After a moment, she flips through the pages again, looking for where she starts showing up in the pictures.]

Yes. It wasn't always like that but... something happened, maybe around a year ago? [She stops on one of the pages, and lets it fall open in her lap.]

I wasn't in the school when the outbreak started, but a lot of the school clubs were still in session. A lot of damage was probably done during the initial stages of the outbreak--[that'd been what had happened where she was, after all]-- but some of it would have been damage over time.

They follow patterns, even after they change.

[It feels... almost clinical, telling this to another person. Someone who wasn't there, and doesn't know what it was like. Like she's watching herself explain things through the glass of a tv screen.]

[hellahighwater]

[ Professional disappointment! hey at least that wasn't her Champion title

Chloe listens, a bit at a loss for what to say. It's the answer she expected, but that doesn't make it any easier to wrap her mind around. ]

...Fuck. Miki, I'm so sorry. That... That really blows.

[stillstands]

[That's... a really succinct way of putting it actually. It's enough to get her to laugh, but it's a little forced and hollow.]

It... yeah. I wouldn't recommend it.

[She looks back down at the pictures. They're the first ones where she starts showing up - a lot of the pictures seem to be with Yuki.]

I was at the shopping mall when it happened, so I don't know everything that happened at the school before I ended up there. It must've been tough, though. Apparently my senpai were on the rooftop when everything happened. [It... was probably what saved them.]

[hellahighwater]

[ There's a big amount of "what do you even say?" to Chloe right now. What's she tell Miki? How does she react? At least she's genuine about it. ]

A fucking shopping mall... How'd you make it out? How...did you survive?

[stillstands]

They have trouble with stairs.

[She... hasn't actually spoken about this part, so it's.... slow coming out. Bit by bit, like trying to draw blood out from a stone.]

There were survivors there. We managed. But there was an accident, and there weren't any safe spaces on the top floor anymore. So Kei and I hid.

[She pauses again, focusing more on turning the pages of the album.]

[hellahighwater]

[ Who's Kei? No, it's alright. Don't get her off track. ]

Still in the mall? How'd you...find things like water, and...food...

[ Understanding's dawning on Chloe's face. ]

[stillstands]

When there were other survivors, we gathered supplies whenever we could. There was a grocery store in the mall, so we took bottles of water, canned food and stuff that would last.

A lot of surplus was stored in the safe room, for emergencies.

[Can you tell what happened, yet? :)]

[hellahighwater]

[ This is the question that's the hardest to ask, really. ]

How long were you in there for?

[stillstands]

...

[How long was she in there for?]

... I don't know. I tried to keep track of the weeks, but there were a lot of them.

[Months, Chloe. She was in there for months. And Kei was only there for some of it.]

[hellahighwater]

Jesus.

[ She mumbles it, but...yeah, that's fucking rough. ]

...But you got out, eventually. The... You met your senpai, so of course you did.

[stillstands]

I did.

[And hey, it was good. She's definitely smiling.]

It's still tough, but... not being alone is so much better.

[hellahighwater]

[ The next question of the hour is how she got out but... That can be a conversation for another day. Miki's talked about a lot and...they're both here.

Chloe's alive, for now. ]

Sometimes just one person's all you need. ...I'm glad you've got three.

[stillstands]

They didn't need to help me, but they did. I don't know if I can ever thank them enough for that - properly thank them. But I'm glad they did.

[And... yeah, she's probably at the limits re: what happened back home. So she focuses on Chloe instead - subject change now.]

What about you? You sound kinda familiar about it... do you have someone you're grateful for as well?

[hellahighwater]

[ Oh, um. Well, Chloe looks away a little. It's a softer Chloe than Miki's seen. ]

I do. You've seen my title, right?

[stillstands]

[Oh.

No. Chloe that's adorable? You're not allowed to be adorable. Yes you are.]

Champion of Max Caulfield?