"I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

[gotbottle]

In Grant Park, there is a large statue of Abraham Lincoln. It's this massive, imposing bronze thing, showing our sixteenth President in repose, in a chair, looking very stern. It's near the lake. It's actually one of two statues of Lincoln in the city of Chicago created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens; the second, sensibly, is in Lincoln Park

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

This night is going to get weirder, Rachel, because there happen to be two people walking through the park, probably discussing recently found missing cats, or the recent insanity by the CLF, or the fact that Des certainly can't walk back to the house on his own because he got killed once on the street when there weren't crazy terrorists running around (don't ask)... or maybe they're discussing quantum physics. Yeah.

Either way, Des throws out a hand to stop the Doctor from walking when he notices that there's a girl sitting on that statue. Now either she's making some kind of statement or the Rift decided that it has a really sick sense of humor.

"Is Lincoln-sitting the new trend or do we owe you an explanation?" Des asks, walking up to the statue and grinning.

[gotbottle]

"Um."

Well, those guys on the ground aren't bronze, or dead, or former Presidents. And the one with the winsome grin can apparently see her just fine.

Sorry, Rachel. You're not dreaming.

She sighs. "I've never been much of a trendsetter. And while Honest Abe here has been, like, better behaved than most guys on whose laps I ever sat... I can't say any of this happened on purpose. So I think I'd like that explanation, if you wouldn't mind."

[thatsortofaman]

The Doctor peers up at her, grinning himself - it's hard to match Des and the Doctor for grins that are at once charming and extremely unnerving. "New wanderer," he murmurs to Des, leaning toward him a little. "Residual Rift energy - can feel it in the air, like static electricity... Then, that could just be the park itself, buut..."

He looks back up at the woman on the statue, and frowns a bit. "Do you want to... maybe... come down first? Not that I've anything against good old Abe, it's just if I ever leave here, I'd like to be able to look the man in the eye again." Thank you for clearing up absolutely nothing for the woman, Doctor.

[gotbottle]

"...Come down?" Rachel repeats, as if the idea totally hadn't occurred to her yet. Because. Erm. It hadn't.

Well. They certainly seem friendly enough, the two of them, down there, with those awfully bright smiles. And they're a hell of a lot more welcoming, at this point, than bony old Abe with his cold, cold leg.

"I, um. Yeah. Be right down. I think."

She surveys the President's lap, and realizes the only way down is to sort of... slide along it, and down one leg. Oh, Doctor. And you think you might not be able to look Mr. Lincoln in the eye ever again...?

Rachel reaches up and pats the statue's cheek again. "I'm so, so, so totally sorry, Mr. President," she murmurs. "Please don't, like, hold this against me

[duology]

Dev is wandering Grant Park, not just looking for monsters but looking for CLF as well. He and Ace are starting to wonder if this whole bait-and-switch thing is all in vain. They haven't seen hide nor hair of a CLF member, and despite their open poking at the Front, no one has yet come forward to poke back. Boredom has driven Dev back to Grant Park and its monsters.

He's passing near the Lincoln statue when he spots the girl sitting on him and hears her speak. He tilts his head and meanders forward, peering up at her with a faint smile.

"Don't think he'd much mind, really. He was an upstanding fellow, Lincoln was, or at least so I've heard."