TDM #003

[bequiet]

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
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NAVIGATION

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Comments

[bossily]

[Funny story, she's been crammed into a child's jumpsuit because the adult ones were too big on her. So his shirt is most definitely huge on her, but she doesn't seem to mind. Her arms go in the sleeves and she works to button up a couple buttons. It fits like a dress on her, and she's half tempted to find someplace to strip out of the jumpsuit and set it on fire. When she looks back up his way, it's with a grateful smile. Thank you, her mouths silently move to form the words.]

So you know about different universes here? Because I was thinking this might be a pocket dimension. I've fallen into one before and it was near impossible to get out.

[But it can be done, and the wheels are already starting to turn.]

[oorah]

[ he signs You're welcome without thinking about it, not really noting the slip once he's too busy reading her words. she's done this before? there were a few people like that, he notes her pins right before his shirt closes over and hides them. ]

i don't really know what that means, alright but it sounds like what this could be. no one really knows. but if you know how to leave people will be listening

[ which is a sort of warning. if this woman thinks she can get out of this place, great. frank wants everyone to be safe. but if she goes around saying she can get home to just anyone, it could mean chaos. ]

[bossily]

[No one really knows. There's more questions than answers here, and so she'll just have to make it a goal to learn as much as she can in as short of a time as possible. She wants to elaborate on the fact they'll need an advanced time machine in order to get out the way she's done it before, but she figures it can always be brought up again later. For now, her eyes look to his hands.]

That wasn't American or British sign language you just used. What country are we in?

[oorah]

you're english? i think it's france. or what's left of it.

[ he shrugs. alternate universe, pocket dimension... she should really talk to david this is so above his paygrade. ] my brother is here. he's better at this stuff than i am. you should talk to him about all that sci-fi shit [ rank points micro out where he's sat at their little stand, a dog lounging happily beside it. ]

[bossily]

[Clara sees the other man, but it's the dog her eyes fall on. She grins, because who doesn't love an adorable dog? She certainly does. Thoughts of worrying about pocket dimensions and ways out are momentarily forgotten as she's a little taken by something that brings her a brief moment of happiness. She'll take what she can get at this point.

Her communicator is shoved into the pocket on her jumpsuit and she reaches over to grab his hand. She tugs him right along after her, and he'll be able to see that she's surprisingly strong for such a tiny little thing.

While she tries dragging him along with her, she makes a motion with her hand to get the dog's attention. Maybe he'll come running their way.]

[oorah]

[ the way she grabs his hand is unexpected, but he doesn't try to pull away, allowing himself to be dragged. and yes, she is strong, but he's used to that from the ladies around these parts. frank forgets to let go of her hand while he types one-handed on his device. ] this is max

[ the dog comes up to sniff her once he spots frank, and smelling his shirt on her deems her an immediate friend, his tail going a mile a minute. ]

[bossily]

[The second Max is in close she grips Frank's hand a little tighter, but holds her other one out for the dog to sniff. She goes from uptight and high strung to relaxed and grinning in a matter of seconds, and eventually pulls her hand free so she can crouch down and show the dog some love. Petting and scratching behind his ears and under his chin, she just lets all her current worries flood right out of her.

That lasts as long as it takes to realize what kind of danger a dog must be in here. Her device is pulled back out so she can type,]

How do you keep him safe?

[oorah]

[ the squeeze to his hand gets a little intake of breath, but he otherwise doesn't react, both relieved and feeling oddly bereft when she lets go. frank puts both hands on his device so he doesn't have to think about it, watching her interact with max with a soft smile. having his little buddy here is like an automatic litmus for people to trust, and he couldn't be more appreciative of the fact. ]

he's smart. he knows the rules. [ frank slips his device away to demonstrate, signing hey to him to get max's attention. once the dog's eyes are pointed his way he signs quiet time and the dog silently eases himself into the grass again, smiling up at frank and clara. ]

[bossily]

[Clara moves to stand upright, and tries copying the hey signal just so she'll know in the future. It's a little hard to focus on doing it when the dog is so happily looking up at her, but she lets him have his quiet time so she can go back to talking with his owner.]

Will you teach me how to sign what you know? I'm too old to spend the foreseeable future texting

[oorah]

[ frank nods, that was all he wanted when he came here too. ] if you're too old then i'm a fuckin dinosaur. most of it's pretty simple. i'll show you what i know

[bossily]

[That earns a dimpled grin, and she gives him a thumbs up because why bother typing out a smiley emoji when she can just show that he's made her happy and she's grateful?]

I think this is the part where I'm socially obligated to ask your name. If we're gonna have signing dates I can't just call you Max's human. He might start to develop a complex.

[oorah]

[ he shrugs a shoulder, max nor his human would mind that title since it is highly accurate. ] hotdog [ yes really!! ]

[bossily]

[The look on her face just says what even. It eases up after a few seconds, giving way to amusement.] That's the single most ridiculously American name I've ever heard. I'm not calling you that! At least make it Frankfurter.

[oorah]

yeah well i'm as ridiculously american as you are british. [ he pauses a second, but it would be suspicious to let on she's too close. besides, it still means the same thing... which was the point of his joke so many weeks ago now. look, he's forgotten his endgame in that department and now everyone calls him hotdog so it's fine. ] that works too [ to show her how ridic american he is all over again he holds up an OK sign. perfect ]

[bossily]

Frank it is then. Or maybe Mr. Furter will do 🌭

[But ew, no Frankfurter. Don't. She rolls her eyes and closes her much smaller hand over that ok sign, pushing his hand down. Both eyebrows arch as she looks up at him, and she turns her hand so hers is once again holding his. The reset room isn't exactly her cup of tea, but they can talk there it seems. Since it isn't far away, she starts to tug and pull him along with her in that direction. Her device is pocketed so she can signal for Max to come along with them.]

[oorah]

[ frank. if more people here had gotten the joke, maybe it never would have gotten this far. he decides he doesn't care if she calls him his real name, especially if she doesn't know it is. mr. furter though. he doesn't get a chance to say anything else because she's already dragging him by the hand again. and max darts up from his quiet-time pose to follow on the adventure too. he shakes his head, he'll have to work on that. though he has a dangerous penchant for listening to pretty girls too so he can't really blame the creature.

he tucks his device away once he realizes her intention, narrowing his eyes as they clear the door and his boots hid red dust again. ] You could've just asked us to come with you. [ max and frank are an agreeable sort despite their intimidating looks, after all. he's the first to pull his hand away this time, signing speak at the same time he says it softly aloud. max gives a quiet little yap that turns into a vocalization, happy to get the chance. ]

[bossily]

[His voice makes her take pause as she files it in her memory, since she isn't sure how often she'll actually get to hear it. Max's speaking on command earns a little laugh, and she crouches down again to pet and scratch him.]

Didn't you know? Actions speak louder than words, any day.

[There's another little chuckle as she places a little kiss atop Max's head, and moves to stand back up again.]

Sorry, I just...I needed to properly talk. To hear more about the things that are out there. How much danger are we really in here?

[oorah]

[ his voice has a deep, gravelly quality to it anyway, rumbling almost. but here with disuse, it's become a little crackly too, like a patchy radio station. he smiles softly at max's attitude, holding out his hand for the dog who immediately butts his nose up against franks side and waits for his due pets. ]

Especially here. [ it's as serious as it is not, and if he had really minded he would have pushed her off the first time. her inquiry requires more thought and sobriety though, so it's a little while before he finds the words to answer her. ] Look, this whole thing... [ he gestures to constance and the greeting committee ] It's not the whole story. We still don't have all the pieces, and I don't think the Natives do either. All I know is that if you make a noise loud enough for those monsters to get curious, you die.

[bossily]

[There's a little gulp as actually hearing his voice and his tone being added in to the mix makes the reality a little more sobering. Hearing him explain isn't like the natives. He's been here for two months, pulled in the same as her. There's no logic to how any of this is happening, but she understands that not everything in the universe has defined logic that's meant to be followed. ]

But there's children here. I've seen them.

[Her face contorts into worry, and then anger. How is she supposed to help and protect them from something that apparently can't be fought?]

I can't just stand by idly and try living day to day, not when we could be figuring out a way to get them out of here and keep them safe.

[oorah]

[ a woman after his own heart, it would seem. first priority: children and dogs. he takes a deep breath and sighs it out, knowing he won't be able to soon enough. ]

We're all just tryin' to survive, the kids included. [ deciding he can trust her at least this much, frank glances around, making sure the natives aren't about before shifting in, conspiratory. his arm brushes hers until he can speak close, not quite in her ear but certainly for hers only. ] The Natives are scared. They need our help. I don't know if there's a way to defeat the Sound Eaters, alright? I don't. But if there's a way, then that's the way out.

[bossily]

Then we find a way to kill them. How hard could it be?

[There's no point in beating around the bush. If those things are what's standing in the way, then clearly they need to go. He doesn't know if there's a way to defeat them, but that doesn't matter. She'll have to stubbornly hold onto the idea that she can find a way.

Her hand reaches out to touch at his arm, mostly to keep herself steady as she starts to feel overwhelmed by the reality of the situation. She never does well feeling trapped or without control, and she's strongly feeling both things at the moment. It will pass, but as her fingers lightly curl around his arm and she turns her head so she can look him in the eye all she can feel is her anxiety rising.]

You said you've seen them before. Where?

[oorah]

Hard. [ he swallows. this is coming from a guy who kills all his problems, clara, so heed his warnings. ...or don't, he doesn't actually think she will. so maybe that's why he trusts her anyway. ] I've seen people powerful as gods get taken out in a second; just a flash. There's no fight. You're just dead. And then you reset.

[ or you don't. at the next, he glances back out the door, still scratching at max's neck absently. ]

It's about three days hike from here, one of their settlements. But they're everywhere, there's no telling how many places like that there are.

[bossily]

What are we supposed to do here, then? Live in fear until you wind up reset so many times you're not the same person that woke up here originally?

[Staying on Earth in a normal life was like hell to her, so having to be trapped here feels like punishment. One that's unfair, because while she knows she's not owed anything she most definitely feels as if she deserves better. Accepting that she's essentially powerless and can't do anything about it doesn't sit well.

So she pulls away from him and starts to anxiously pace. She can do this, really she can.
She's got this totally under control.]

Would you be willing to take me to the settlement you've seen?

[oorah]

[ he doesn't answer, just watching her. there's not much he can say to help her work through it anyway. when she gets around to the end, he nods. ] Sure.

[ frank doesn't tell her how risky it is, he doesn't need to. he knows she's like him -- she's made her mind up. she needs to see the threat for herself. ]

[bossily]

[She's expecting an argument that leads into a fight. When he just readily agrees all of the tension floods right out of her. He understands, and he's not going to try telling her it's too dangerous or that she shouldn't go because she's a woman. Emotion swells in her eyes as they get a little watery, but no tears fall. All she can do is gratefully smile and give a nod of her head.]

We don't have to leave right away, obviously. Suppose I ought to take the time to figure out where to stay and how I can best go about teaching here.

[And just like that, her anxiety is gone and she can focus. Things fall easily into place. Clara Oswald is always good at making a plan and being able to figure out what to do. She just has to get past her own racing thoughts to be able to do that sometimes.]