Dovev wasn't quite sure how long the fall was - and he instinctively went for a roll even though Shirley (and in turn Schreber) still clung to him
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Shirley felt like she was in a clothes dryer, except it wasn't clothes on the tumble cycle, it was people. All she knew was that she felt dizzy, bruised, and -
oh lord. Oh lord.
"Er," Shirley says. Dovev's voice was under her, that means that she was on top of him. "Just bruised. Dr. Schreber?"
God, this was embarassing. More embarassing than the time she and Ryan had to pretend to be gardeners and use the worst possible fertilizer -
Wait. Ryan?
That was his name.
And Jack. Ryan, Jack, and Johnny. They're all at Curious Goods and they're waiting for her.
Shirley stops, and looks up at the sky. There are stars, and there are splotches of sunlight, as though a roof was cracking.
Dr. Schreber wheezes and lets go and rolls off and that's a bad idea because when you are on top of a three person pile there is a little bit of a drop.
*Thwomp!*
At least he still has his cane but it goes clattering when he falls the second time. He wheezes and coughs and doesn't answer for a minute. His back hurts and his leg hurts and his ribs hurt too because people aren't as soft to land on as you might expect them to be. Dr. Schreber lives in pain all the time but this is worse and he is just going to take a minute to make sure nothing is broken and try to breathe.
The rats are gone or dead though. There are a few dead ones around.
Dovev sucked in his breath, trying to focus on something else to alleviate the pain. In, out, in. Once he's no longer wheezing, he moves to crawl out from under Mickey.
"...What, isn't that sunlight?" The man asked as he stared up at the sky.
This isn't the first time he remembers seeing sunlight and that's confusing. But it means the city is really breaking down if there is daylight. The Strangers have officially lost control. He would cheer if he was not wheezing and trying to catch his breath still. He never has much breath to catch in the first place. He rolls over though and stares at the distant shafts of sunlight.
At least he is not on top of them but that also means if Mickey rolls off Dovev she just might land on him. Oops.
The man blinked his eyes as he adjusted to the change in light as he rise shakily to his feet once Mickey is off. "Looks like an earthquake hit this place." He murmured in almost a daze as he started at the twisted visage of the city.
"...Looks like we're following the yellow brick road." Dovev dusted himself off, and then pressed two fingertips behind his ear as he scanned the area.
Mickey is careful to roll off Dovev to the other side of Schreber. Not another personpile.
"That's... what's happened here? This place didn't look like this the last time we were here..." Mickey turns around, blinking.
"Aliens and memories and gators, oh my," she mutters. She dusts herself off a bit as she stands up. Mickey looks confused when Dovev puts his fingers behind his ear. "What's that supposed to do?"
"Not... an earthquake..." Dr. Schreber gets up on his hands and knees and then has to find the cane again so he can get the rest of the way up. There is a lot of wincing and maybe some more wheezing and he stops to check his heart rate. "It's falling apart. The... whole city is... it's loose in space. We're... not on a planet."
"Huh... what do you mean?" The man questioned, and realized what he was doing. "I'm not sure, maybe just a ha..." Dovev trailed off as the good doctor gave a summation of what might be going on.
"Wha...Wait?! We're on a spaceship?!" Dovev's expression lit up in alarm. "And it's breaking apart...."
"We're on a - a -" Mickey seems to be stalling. A space station.
She never suspected this. "We have to get off of here. Wait. Would they have some... some escape pods or whatever? In case something like this happened?"
"I... They... we came from some...where else." He frowns because he is starting to have some very strange memories coming back. "Maybe more re...cently than I thought. There... must be a way out." He is finally on his feet but there is really nowhere to go but the path. Everything is wreckage now. It's all falling apart.
And it isn't the first time.
Dr. Schreber can remember now that the Strangers were destroyed before, but that doesn't explain how They could rebuild the city and catch everyone and start it all again. He is pretty sure he's missing something here. Parts of the path look like pieces of Their pit thrown up and twisted so the damage is pretty bad, but there is still a path, and that means it goes somewhere. He doesn't wait for them but starts walking. "We must be close... to the center. We... just need to go deeper..."
Dovev reached down as if to unholster a pistol, only to grab at empty air. Damn it!
He brings up the rear as he noticed the clouds dissipating in places - the sunlight filtering in. "I wonder how long we were here." The man pondered out loud. "I don't feel like it's been more then a week, but with this mess, my internal clock might be way off." The man wasn't walking as so much that he was stalking.
"I don't know when the real memories of bar-singing begin and when the fake ones end," Mickey says. She shivers slightly. "What if we were gone longer than we thought?" What if the boys think she's dead?
"If we get close to the center, will we be able to get out?"
"I... don't know. I was go...ing to the center to try... to stop Them, but..." He makes a kind of limp gesture to the surroundings. "But I think it's o...ver. They've lost control." He feels very stiff and very tired and like just walking is taking a lot of energy. When he gets to the first spot of sunlight he stops and looks up. "Whoever is... left, they'll be there." He isn't sure if that means Strangers or people.
"Right. They might be closer to the entrance." Dovev assumes Strangers as he scooted on ahead when his eyes darted onto a dark-blue green strip of cloth fluttering in the wind - wrapped around a broken rifle.
Is that a...? He paused at the sight of the mottled pattern of gray, black, and white under the broken rifle. The man glanced to the path and to the clothing.
oh lord. Oh lord.
"Er," Shirley says. Dovev's voice was under her, that means that she was on top of him. "Just bruised. Dr. Schreber?"
God, this was embarassing. More embarassing than the time she and Ryan had to pretend to be gardeners and use the worst possible fertilizer -
Wait. Ryan?
That was his name.
And Jack. Ryan, Jack, and Johnny. They're all at Curious Goods and they're waiting for her.
Shirley stops, and looks up at the sky. There are stars, and there are splotches of sunlight, as though a roof was cracking.
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*Thwomp!*
At least he still has his cane but it goes clattering when he falls the second time. He wheezes and coughs and doesn't answer for a minute. His back hurts and his leg hurts and his ribs hurt too because people aren't as soft to land on as you might expect them to be. Dr. Schreber lives in pain all the time but this is worse and he is just going to take a minute to make sure nothing is broken and try to breathe.
The rats are gone or dead though. There are a few dead ones around.
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"...What, isn't that sunlight?" The man asked as he stared up at the sky.
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"What... Can we untangle ourselves, first?" The irish accent is still trying to hang on for dear life, but failing.
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At least he is not on top of them but that also means if Mickey rolls off Dovev she just might land on him. Oops.
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"...Looks like we're following the yellow brick road." Dovev dusted himself off, and then pressed two fingertips behind his ear as he scanned the area.
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"That's... what's happened here? This place didn't look like this the last time we were here..." Mickey turns around, blinking.
"Aliens and memories and gators, oh my," she mutters. She dusts herself off a bit as she stands up. Mickey looks confused when Dovev puts his fingers behind his ear. "What's that supposed to do?"
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"Wha...Wait?! We're on a spaceship?!" Dovev's expression lit up in alarm. "And it's breaking apart...."
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She never suspected this. "We have to get off of here. Wait. Would they have some... some escape pods or whatever? In case something like this happened?"
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And it isn't the first time.
Dr. Schreber can remember now that the Strangers were destroyed before, but that doesn't explain how They could rebuild the city and catch everyone and start it all again. He is pretty sure he's missing something here. Parts of the path look like pieces of Their pit thrown up and twisted so the damage is pretty bad, but there is still a path, and that means it goes somewhere. He doesn't wait for them but starts walking. "We must be close... to the center. We... just need to go deeper..."
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He brings up the rear as he noticed the clouds dissipating in places - the sunlight filtering in. "I wonder how long we were here." The man pondered out loud. "I don't feel like it's been more then a week, but with this mess, my internal clock might be way off." The man wasn't walking as so much that he was stalking.
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"If we get close to the center, will we be able to get out?"
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Is that a...? He paused at the sight of the mottled pattern of gray, black, and white under the broken rifle. The man glanced to the path and to the clothing.
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Schreber's words of 'it's over' make her not sure what to think. What about all the other people in this city? Where did they go?
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