The Holly and the Heavens

wait for deamon to enter and then maybe pm me before entering please (morning of day 2)

The sheriff's office is a squat, square building with a fairly plain exterior. Upon entering, a reception desk can be found on the right-hand side wall, which then opens into an office space behind it. The interior walls are painted a plain cream and the office features a set of desks with waist-high dividers arranged on one side of the room, along with a noticeboard holding faded team photos. There are CRT computer monitors on the desks but the towers they used to connect to have been removed. A small staff room can be found down a corridor from the office along with a bathroom. If you go left from the reception area, a single holding cell containing a simple cot can be found.
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Jilly
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The Holly and the Heavens

#1

Post by Jilly »

((Leslie Romero continued from the changing rooms the previous day))

Day 2.

Leslie made it to day 2.

Part of him wanted to jump for joy, but that was tempting fate.

It was already tempting fate holing up in a building, abandoned and broken as it was. Especially in what was ostensibly a police station. Like, ACAB and stuff, but you had to take what you could get.

It was tempting fate partnering up, too. Especially with her. But it was pretty... convincing when they got to talking. Not that Leslie especially trusted her considering her current track record, but for now it was probably the best move. Enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. He could deal with it later when the time was needed.

But, for now, an alliance. Thick as thieves. Sure.

He took another bite out of the loaf of bread that was rightfully his under the "finders keepers" clause, leaning his arm against the reception desk that he was barely taller than himself, barely illuminated by the blue natural morning winter light.

"Think anyone else is gonna be on there?" he asked, words partially obscured by his mouth full of bread and water.
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Deamon
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#2

Post by Deamon »

((Aracelis Fuentes continued from Ghosts))

The sheriffs office was as good a place to camp out as any. It had been secure enough and no one else had come in during the night. All they had to do was put up with the cold, musty interior. The cream walls—while still a colour that could be considered cream—were tinged with a dull orange brown and mould could seen in growing in the corners of the room. But it was secure and inside so it was fine.

It was about the only thing that was. She’d had to convince Leslie that working together was a good plan. Although if you asked Aracelis he owed her. She’d saved his ass. The very least he could have done was agree to team up.

As they’d been talking and traveling Aracelis had noticed that they were the same height. Leslie was bigger, obviously, heavier than her but height-wise they were equal. They were also both Cuban, although Aracelis wasn’t sure how much Spanish Leslie actually knew. For her it was what was spoken at home, when she had been younger her abuelita refused to respond to her unless she addressed her in Spanish.

Aracelis looked up from where she was sat on the floor, fiddling with one of her contact lenses when Leslie spoke. She’d worn them to sleep in and had woken up with dry eyes.

“Ye-“ She stopped, and reached a hand up to her tongue to pull out a long strand of hair that had been stuck in her mouth. She pulled a face and shook her hand to get it off.

“Yeah,” She replied, projecting certainty.

Then, as if their conversation brought them to life a loud whine of speaker feedback pierced the still morning air. Aracelis grimaced at the loudness and prepared herself.

It was strange hearing it all but she was also thankful that she was proven right.

Then Przemek’s name came up. He’d killed Ethan. So despite what had happened he’d survived. For a moment Aracelis felt relief at the knowledge. She hasn’t accidentally killed him. But that realisation fell away almost as soon as it came.

Przemek had survived.

Aracelis’ hands came up cover her face and she collapsed onto her back. It was a similar motion to a football player who had just missed a penalty.

Constance’s ruined face, the crater she’d left her features in appeared, bathing her mind in red. An image that already haunted and would only stick in her mind further going forward.

She’d been wrong the whole time. Everything she’d done had been operating off an incorrect assumption. All she’d succeeded in doing was getting some extra slices of bread for the low cost of putting a target on her back for everyone else.

A scream boiled up from her guts and forced its way up her throat, ripping and tearing every fibre and sinew it passed.

She sat up onto her knees and muffled the scream in her arms. A curse flung out against everything and everyone.
V8
Aracelis Fuentes
California “Cali” Fox
Darryl Smith Jr.
Jessica Romero
[+] V7
G047 - Aliya Kimia Nemati - Blowgun w/ 10 Poison Darts - you're nobody till somebody kills you - "I just wanted to talk." - DEAD
G001 - Arizona Butler - Camping Stove - Dead Bxdies in the Lake Part II - ""We got there eventually." - DEAD
B046 - Bret Carter - Weighted Net - Swerve - "I'll just be on my way and we can all continue with our evenings." - DEAD
G022 - Forrest Quin - Ball-gag and handcuffs - DRUGS SAV3D MY LIF3 - "Abe-" - DEAD
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Jilly
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#3

Post by Jilly »

Truth be told there were quite a number of names Leslie expected to see on that dox, moreso the quantity than the actual names. It wasn't out of misanthropy; just realism. This shit kept happening. It was just the world they lived in. No one cared to change it.

So Leslie kept eating and munching on bread while the list of the dead and the deaders was read out.

He froze at Jessica's name, hand in air with a fragment of stale bread. He set it down and resumed chewing what was already in his mouth at a slower pace.

Steve, too. He smiled to himself and cocked his head to the side and rapped on the desk with the bottom of his fist.

...Wait a minute. Something didn't add up here.

Almost as soon as Leslie made the calculation himself, Aracelis balled up and screamed and did the work for him.

Uhm...

...

Hmm.

Leslie took another bite of bread and a swig of water. He rapped a knuckle on the table this time instead. He went through every possible thing he could've said in his head like Dr. Strange peeking into every single universe.

"Uh...," he finally settled, gulping down the rest of the bread in his mouth. "I don't think anyone really liked her, anyway."
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Deamon
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#4

Post by Deamon »

Aracelis felt like she'd taken a step to the side and left her body behind.

Her shock taking out and away from the immediate reality of the moment.

How was Przemek alive?

She'd seen what she'd done to him. The blood draining from his face and onto the bat, his lack of reaction as she had pulled it loose. She'd felt the impact of her foot on his head and his head on the bat.

But there his name was, sitting on the wrong side of the announcement.

But at that moment Aracelis felt so far away, the ambient sounds and smells of the damp dusty office were forgotten. Replaced instead with a lightheadedness and weightlessness in every movement. At some stage, she had run her hands through her hair, which she saw was knotted from her time spent sleeping on the floor.

Leslie's voice cut through everything and suddenly she was back.

"No, not that," She croaked, her throat having been torn up by the scream. "I thought..." She began, but then trailed off. She didn't know why. Leslie had already seen her kill someone. He'd encouraged her to do it even. But something about saying it out loud herself gave it much more power. It was an admission of her own guilt, an action she'd taken knowing the consequences. Even though she had done it already believing she was already in line to suffer those same consequences.

"I thought I'd be on there for Przemek."
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Jilly
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#5

Post by Jilly »

"I know."

The breadcrumbs flew off the desk with a sweep of Leslie's calloused hand. Their faint plinks as they crashed to the floor couldn't cut through the oppressive blue air.

He took another swig of water and swished it around, clasping his hands together as he thought about what to say next.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe- maybe they forgot about him, o-or he's on his death bed still, if you got him that good. Some people are just built different."

Another shr. His eyes pulled up at the camera above, watching him and Aracelis like they were prisoners.

"I wouldn't put it past the dudes running this show to just up and lie when they want, either. They don't really seem keen on building trust and telling truths, so."

He broke off another piece of bread and swallowed it down.
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Deamon
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#6

Post by Deamon »

If Leslie was trying to make her feel better he was doing a terrible job of it. She didn't know what she expected from him she supposed. Probably down to some bullshit about being a real man.

"He hadn't killed Ethan when I-" Aracelis started before starting to bite her lip. "Forget it."

It seemed that expecting Leslie to understand seemed to be a doomed mission. After all, he hadn't killed anyone, he wasn't going to understand her. He hadn't felt the bat break through the skin and bone of Constance's face. The brief moment of resistance that was followed by cracking and tearing.

He owed her.

"Uh-huh," She mumbled in response to his continued talking as she pulled at the knots in her hair with both hands, trying to loosen them. It had only been a day and it irritated her when her hair got tangled.

"So," Was the opening she eventually settled on. "How much do you think we'll need to be set?"
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Jilly
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#7

Post by Jilly »

Leslie furrowed his brow at the sudden change in topic, moreso at his pep talk being completely dismissed by Aracelis than at the pivot. Didn't she want reassurance?

Whatever. Girls were weird and never knew what they wanted. He was gonna just let it go, not like they were or would ever be friends besides through circumstance. Besides, he didn't owe her shit; he didn't have to put up with this and could walk out at any time. He had the upperhand here.

She asked about how much they needed to "borrow". He took another bite of bread. It actually wasn't that bad, or maybe it was just the taste desperation already setting in.

He swallowed. "I don't know, I honestly thought it'd just be me, so..."

Another bite out of the half a loaf of bread left.

"We neef fo fe conferfafife."

Another gulp. He pushed the bread across the desk and away like he was stopping himself from loading up on rolls before the main meal.

"Food's the only real issue. We can just boil snow for water if we really had to, or if they gave other people Dasani. With Constance's stuff we have a little more breathing room, but it'd probably... probably be good to mug someone else as soon as we can. Maybe today or at least tomorrow."

He crossed his arms and leaned his back against the desk. "What's your take?"
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Deamon
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#8

Post by Deamon »

Aracelis nodded along with Leslie's explanation. She could sympathize with Leslie not expecting to be in a partnership but she didn't appreciate his tone. A partnership was better for both of them. There was no reason to discuss things further or back out. It was the smart move, and if he was bitter that she was also there he could grow up.

She nodded again as he continued and then asked her opinion on everything. There, teamwork, a partnership.

"Same as yours really," She said, "We're already gonna have heat on us and Joan will have snitched to anyone with ears."

It had occurred to Aracelis that evening, as she had been trying to settle down to sleep that they hadn't done anything about Joan. Leslie had to leave because everything was too much for him and she'd gone after him to pitch the partnership. They'd both forgotten that they had left a witness to the entire scene who could go around telling everyone what had actually happened. As opposed to whatever polished and sanitized version she and Leslie could have told anyone they met. After all, it would have been two and against one and Constance wouldn't have been able to argue her side.

"I think we should do it today." She finally announced.

"We'll still have the benefit of surprise. We just need to find one person by themselves and..."

Aracelis clapped her hands together to emphasize her point.
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Jilly
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#9

Post by Jilly »

Leslie revved up a joke about how maybe they shouldn't kill this next person, but he got the impression Aracelis wouldn't take very kindly to that for some reason. So instead he just nodded his head along and started packing away the rest of the bread, momentarily turning back to her when she clapped her hands together.

"Let's do it then, amiguita. By tomorrow at least."

He rapped his knuckle against the desk a few more times.

"Maybe we can luck out and take care of some loose ends, too."
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#10

Post by Cicada »

Four blips of light converged on an uncaring, unknowing canvas.









"Two people already in there."

The doors before the receptionists' desk swung open. Business-like, dispassionate.

- Ashlyn -

"Whoever's here, we mean no harm. We've got a couple other folks already, just looking for more friendly faces."

Lying was blink-of-an-eye easy if it was also, in part, to yourself. Ash glared at the doorframe through which their unseen peers lurked, as if it'd personally insulted her mother. Either the dead one or the alive one.

She gestured to point out to Juanita the direction they had to go once they got inside, then held up a hand to indicate they wait for a response.
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Deamon
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#11

Post by Deamon »

"Yeah, maybe," Aracelis agreed, sounding less than certain.

Her fiddling hands finally let her hair fall back down over her shoulders and upper back as she set to work packing up her things. If they were going to put their plan into action the sooner they made their way out the better. If they sat around they would just end up wasting daylight and opportunities. The sooner they got it over with the better.

A hand hovered over the handle of the bat before changing its target and pulling up the windbreaking that had served as a makeshift blanket. It had done its job but she wasn't in a rush to have to use it again.

She was stuffing the windbreaker back into her pack when she heard the doors to sheriff's office swing open. The delay and uncertainty were no longer present as her hand shot out and grabbed hold of the bat.

Her eyes narrowed at the voice and she slunk around the corner of the desk, putting it between herself and the entrance.

The instant reaction she'd had to the voice and what it said was that they could fuck off.

"Who's we?" She called out.
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#12

Post by Jilly »

Leslie quickly perked up at the sound and image of the front door opening. He snatched the remaining bread and water bottle and scrambled under the desk.

Fuck. Someone just came here after all, possibly with another or 2 or 7. Probably had a gun on them too or something. Fuck. That wasn't fair to gang up on people like that.

He poked his head out like a groundhog for a split second before disappearing back under the desk, throwing shit into his bag as quietly but panicked as he could with one hand clenching the taser, primed and ready to go.
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Gundham
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#13

Post by Gundham »

((Juanita Reid continued from Legion of Doom, Assemble!))

Juanita chewed her lip, standing well back from the doorway. She’d heard about that, somewhere. That cops and soldiers didn’t stand in a doorway if the room was darker than the outside, because the occupants could see you but you couldn’t see them. A silhouette was a target.

Whoever was inside the sheriff’s office didn’t sound familiar, or particularly friendly. Juanita couldn’t really blame them for that, after hearing the morning announcements. The game had started in earnest, and like eleven people were dead right out of the gate. She’d felt a pang of emotion hearing that Jezzie had gone out and stabbed someone forty times. After hearing Jack’s side of the Ingrid mess she’d wondered if kicking Jezzie out had been a mistake, but clearly not. They’d all dodged a bullet there, and she’d gone out and killed that Extreme Steve guy. Juanita wanted to feel more guilt about that than she did. She’d never liked Steve, not since that time he offered her one of his shirts for free and called it a “DDiscount,” with heavy emphasis on the double-D. One of the cheerleaders had smashed someone’s head in, too. It was hard not to be a little more suspect of Dani in light of that – not that Juanita had really needed an excuse.

The people inside wanted to know who they were. No point in withholding that information, Juanita figured. Better to sound forthcoming, if they wanted to convince these people they were worth trusting.

“It’s Ash Graves and Juanita Reid,” she called out, figuring that Ash’s name would probably carry more weight than hers. No need for more information than that. Neither of them had shown up on the daily announcements, so whoever was in there had to at least know that they weren’t killers. Well, not yet.

She looked back at Ash, and readied her haladie just in case whoever was inside didn't like their answer.
V8 Characters:

Juanita Reid
Rebekah Hayes
Karin Han
EXTREME STEVE Dodds
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Cicada
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#14

Post by Cicada »

Figured that bitch didn't recognize her.

"Girl's voice is Aracelis. You should remember her, she's the girl who tried for Cheer captain when the sem began." Ash said it sidelong for Juanita, calmly staring down the unknown that manifest itself in the shadows on the dull color walls. She intended it to be heard by all involved. Also broadcast, clear and clinical as an autopsy:

"Per Danya, Ara killed Constance Blanchet." Ash never understood how people had difficulty with names. Syllable syllable, face, voice. Picking people out of a crowd was easier than having a reason to. "I vaguely recall she went to parties, Salem might've known her better."

She'd seen Aracelis had at least one ally- a poorly lit face for a moment, gone as quickly.

"We're not here to get revenge for someone we don't know."

Now that one was the whole truth and nothing but, so help her, uncaring entity yet unfallen from their ivory tower in heaven.
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Deamon
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#15

Post by Deamon »

Yeah, she already knew it was Ashlyn Juanita, you moron.

It was interesting though wasn't it? They meant no harm and were just looking for friendly faces. But Ash immediately started chatting all that good shit. Bitches couldn't help being bitches she supposed. Juanita, well, Aracelis didn't know much about Juanita, again that familiar failing. As it turned out there had been a lot of JEM students outside of her immediate social circles she needed to be aware of. If Juanita was willingly traveling around with Ashlyn though it didn't speak well of her ability to judge someone's character.

Aracelis didn't respond to the jab, although she did let the feeling simmer, disgust flickering across her face. Ashlyn continued to talk proving she had the ability to listen and repeat information when she parroted what the announcement had said. Good for her.

She could see Leslie scrambling to pack all his things into his bag. The low light of dawn was giving them a layer of shade. The shadows helped obscure and hide their movements as they threw items into their packs. Leslie didn't look like he had any intention of sticking around and Aracelis silently agreed. But her curiosity as to what exactly was going on as well as a desire to get a shot of her own in made her call back.

"What the fuck do you want then Ash?"
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