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quietplacememes2018-02-28 08:56 pm
bequiet) wrote in quietplacememes2018-02-28 08:56 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #003
TEST DRIVE MEME
You wake, standing. A thick, muddy red dust coats your skin and clothes - it sticks to your tongue and blocks your vision. Inhale and it chokes you, exhale and your breath puffs out in front of your face in a transparent maroon cloud. It tastes of copper, tangy and harsh. Movement is difficult, every limb tingles and aches. Look to your left, your right. Evenly spaced in each direction stands another person indistinguishable in every way from the next. You're disoriented and lethargic, unable to grasp onto a single thought. A pinprick of light blooms ahead and grows steadily larger; a door has opened.
Hands grip your wrists, push at the small of your back and guide you out of the darkness into a room with four walls and a thin, sagging ceiling. The plaster is peeling, the air is musty, and the floor is slick. White plastic piping juts up from the center and curves into multiple spouts, clean water flowing in uneven streams. Those hands pull your clothes off and clear the dust from your body, redress you in handsewn jumpsuits.
A finger is pressed to your lips. Kind eyes meet your own and a single word is whispered - hush.
Led out of the room in a line, you’re taken down a short hallway and into another, much larger room. There’s a woman waiting for you there, a child hugging her leg, and a cloth bag in her hands. She reaches in and pulls out a device, passes one to each of you. Once finished, she begins to move both hands in graceful gestures, a language. One of the people who helped you lifts their device and the screen lights up, tracks the woman’s hands. Letters appear on the screen and you understand the device’s purpose. She tells you what she knows and it’s not much.
This world is haunted. Noise attracts them, so it is not allowed. Communication is through body language, soundless writing, and the device. She tells you that your feet must be light and your mouth never used. There is a community outside these doors, where you can survive together, but only if you agree to one thing: complete and total silence. You'll have time to talk it over. Acceptance allows you to journey outside. The ground is marked in pathways of sand, lining the paths to each building and everywhere in between. You notice that the locals hold their devices always, aloft and glance to it often. It will not vibrate or make a sound to signal a message.
Notices appear. Rules. Guidelines. Feet on the sand and never anywhere else. To open a door you brush your fingers along the hinges - oiled and you may enter. If not, take the brush from the can sitting nearby and coat the metal with the dark liquid. You're to settle into your new home.
Caught me unawares
Content Warnings: Confusion, disorientation
Themes: Survival, horror, it's like groundhog day
The ending of the floor has caught me unawares. This must be the reason why I’m falling down the stairs.
That night, when you fall asleep, you dream of your life before The Quiet Place. At first it's the happiest moments of your life played on repeat, over and over. Everything good and sweet and fun. The second night, it's much the same. You go to bed anticipating another restful and pleasant sleep. But on the third night it changes.
For everyone, it starts the same. There's a long hallway with a door at the end. You walk towards it with nowhere else to go. You twist the knob and when you step forward, the floor ends and you fall. Falling lasts for seconds, minutes, or hours and when you land, it's with a jolt and a cloud of red dust all around you. There's someone else next to you, stumbling, coughing and choking on that familiar dirt that coats your tongue and mouth. When your eyes meet, everything blurs and you're falling again - this time, when you land, it's inside that dream from the first night. Only you're not alone. They're with you. The only way out is to experience the dream together. And when you do wake up, for real, that same red dirt is on your hands.
Falling down the stairs
Content Warnings: Confusion, disorientation
Themes: Survival, horror, it's like groundhog day
The ending of the floor has caught me unawares. This must be the reason why I’m falling down the stairs.
That night, when you fall asleep, you dream of your life before The Quiet Place. At first it's the worst moments of your life played on repeat, over and over. Everything bad and sour and awful. The second night, it's much the same. You go to bed anticipating another restless and dreadful sleep. But on the third night it changes.
For everyone, it starts the same. There's a long hallway with a door at the end. You walk towards it with nowhere else to go. You twist the knob and when you step forward, the floor ends and you fall. Falling lasts for seconds, minutes, or hours and when you land, it's with a jolt and a cloud of red dust all around you. There's someone else next to you, stumbling, coughing and choking on that familiar dirt that coats your tongue and mouth. When your eyes meet, everything blurs and you're falling again - this time, when you land, it's inside that nightmare from the first night. Only you're not alone. They're with you. The only way out is to experience the nightmare together. And when you do wake up, for real, that same red dirt is on your hands.
OOC
From your mods:
Please remember to mark your content in your starters or subject lines as material comes up. The threads on this meme can be used as game canon. Feel free to thread out arrival style meetings as well! If you have questions, pp the mod account, use the faq or comment below. Have fun!
no subject
But, the hallway... This part is what he genuinely remembers now, thanks to some things having been jarred back into place. It's one of the hallways of the hospital he was in for years. One hand reaches out and he pulls Riley close, eyes tightly closed as he shakes his head. ]
I know...
[ The dream - the nightmare - has to end. He takes a deep breath, pulling back. He turns to face the hallway. The dream shifts.
They're standing in a doorway. The younger him is lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, expression blank. The time he was at his weakest. There's a man and woman - both at least in their forties.
"No way in hell is the money going to some brat."
The woman's voice is a hiss. The boy seemingly doesn't hear her, but... this nightmare clearly indicates it was heard. The man is laughing - it's filled with bitterness.
"It's his goddamn fault my brother's dead, anyway... If he'd just stayed his ass at home, none of this would have happened in the first place!"
The boy continues to stare at the ceiling. A young woman with blond hair, dressed in a nurse's uniform, is practically hissing at them, demanding they leave right this second.
"Let's get out of here."
After the woman's muttering, Zaen's eyes shift to watch them leave. They clearly don't notice. ]
Great people, huh?
[ Aiden's muttering this under his breath. His hand is covering his face, a somewhat bitter smile resting on his lips. ]
no subject
When Aiden reaches for him, he goes easily. Pressing his face into his lover's neck and just letting them both soak up the comfort it brings. Fingers curl into the hunter's clothes tightly.
Doesn't pull back until the other does but they don't get anywhere. They're in the middle of another memory, more distinguishable features. More people fighting over Aiden. A terrible situation for any kid to be in, especiallly one who just lost their parents.
The two relatives leave with a young boy's eyes watching them go.]
They're terrible people but it's their loss.
[Riley reaches up to pull that hand away a little before standing on tip-toe to press his lips to Aiden's briefly.]
We can't change the past, just make a better future for ourselves.
cw: murder of a child
Though... in spite of remembering this part now, it doesn't sting nearly as bad. It stung more after the memory returned... even with having learned of it having happened, in spite of his medical records having mysteriously vanished.
It's the words that ground him initially. Feeling that hand tugging at his own, followed by that opposite pair of lips, keeps him grounded. His expression softens considerably, warmth filling his gaze as he leans to press another kiss to his mate's lips. His smile holds some tired sadness within, but he nods. ]
You're right...
[ He lowers his gaze a moment in thought. ]
Life is only as good as what we work towards...?
[ He tilts his head to the side. He's... trying? But, it seems the nightmare doesn't care - it's moving forward. Suddenly they're outside. It's nighttime - pitch black compared to the dim lights of that hospital room. The him strictly from within the nightmare is simply "Aiden" now.
He's seventeen.
There's a group standing with him - they're staking out one of the packs. One of the members look to Aiden, spraying him down with something to mask his scent, and then instructing him to pull his hood up.
And there's only a nod from the teenager. His expression is pretty blank for now.
It's not even thirty seconds later, they're surrounding the wolves with a circle of flames - naturally, they intend to trap them. Nightmare Aiden tenses, his expression tensing. He knows what's coming...
He knows, if his face is anything to go off of.
Yet... it takes two of the other hunters to urge him to follow. Another nod. A blank expression all over again. He follows with steps that are initially unsteady.
It's a quick battle - this was training for Aiden...
... Most of the wolves are children.
They leave the last kill for Aiden - a girl who's maybe six.
She's glaring up at him. He's trying to glare back... He's trying...
The little girl lunges forward, and he reacts - seemingly without thinking. He stabs her, but of course that isn't enough.
He doesn't know the hidden symbolism of setting her on fire... but, even if he did, her screams of agony would still be enough to keep him awake at night for years to come. ]
no subject
Aiden already knows so much about him already but when Riley had wanted to know more, he hadn't wanted to do it like this. Hadn't wanted to learn the horrible things in a manner that would be so visual.
To be able to recognize the grief behind his smile. Riley wants to make this stop but he's not sure how, all he can do just doesn't feel like enough. He keeps that hand in his own while his other reaches up to curl into the fabric of his mate's jumpsuit, standing on tiptoe to gently bump their foreheads together.]
Idiot, why does that sound like a question? I'm never going to give up on us.
[On a better life once they're no longer in the crosshairs of the pack. He knows it won't always be easy... that it's probably going to be terrible before it can get better but Riley easily believes they can. He's seen it already in the few months they've been together.
Suddenly it goes dark and Riley turns his head to see where they are now. Outside and even his eyes take a minute to adjust but has no problem seeing after a couple of seconds.
The dark is quick to leave when the fire comes, a ring of flames and a pack of wolves. Children. All of them younger than Fara.
Even Riley knows what's coming, knows that the hunters are there to kill the children. He wants to look away, bury his face in Aiden's chest from the scene about to play out. But he doesn't and his hand clenches around the jumpsuit so tightly his knuckles turn white.
Silver ears flatten into his hair when the screams come wondering if this will leave him with his own set of nightmares now. Perhaps the girl will morph into Fara. Thoughts best not dwelled on.
Hands come up to frame Aiden's face, turning it down towards him.]
Hey, that is not your fault. The kind of life she must have had before, it led her to use magic so much that she had to kill to survive. Do you know how many times I wished Fara and I had just died? That someone would come to stop us?
I lost count in just a year's time.
cw: suicide
Aiden, too, will never give up on them.
Once this scene plays out, he lets his head be turned. He looks into Riley's eyes as he speaks, and those words have his expression faltering openly.
He closes his eyes, letting his head lower until their foreheads rest together. ]
... I'm happy that I failed. [ but he isn't just talking about killing Riley, because ] Want to know... a secret?
[ He gives a distant smile now... ]
The... truth is, I began to feel jealous of the packs we killed. I wanted-!
[ A brief tremble. He doesn't actually want to talk about this, but... ]
... Before you, I constantly wished that they'd failed to save me. Because, if I'd tried to stop being a hunter after joining, they would have killed me. Once someone becomes a hunter, the only way to stop being one is to die. Just before I met you, I started to consider--...
[ He holds a blink. ]
The reason I was alone, when we first saw each other... was because that was going to be my last mission.
[ He lowers his gaze, his own head still resting against Riley's. ]
Meeting you saved my life.
no subject
A life without Aiden isn't a life at all anymore. Now that he knows what it's like, he can't imagine how he ever survived without the hunter.
His mate's words strike deep. They hurt him to know that Aiden wanted to die but at the same time, he understands. Sometimes a person can only take so much before they just want to give up. Their world has a way of eating away someone's heart.
From the general hardships of trying to survive to the horrible aspects of just living. A soft huff.]
The relationships of a pack aren't that great, trust me. Bonding over torturing and killing is the worst. Sure they make it look like they're like a family but that's not the kind of family anyone should have.
[Wolves who force others to do unspeakable things, who will kill rather than release, who laugh when chomping on some innocent child. It was the kind of place where the only escape was to die but even that wasn't simple.
A quick death by hunter-suicide or prolonged one by wolf torture. Though whether wolf torture meant it being at the hands of other wolves or by transforming into one was the question.
His hands move so that his fingers can link on the back of Aiden's neck, ensuring that his mate won't be able to go far.]
You saved me. My sanity, my life, my heart. Who knows what I would have become had you not come. Had you not convinced me to go away with you.