Kimmy goes to Silent Simfield, Part 3
I really don't have time to do this, but the person who's doing the walkthrough that inspired me updated, and I can't bear the prospect of facing the amount of work I have to do, so I'm procrastinating desperately. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
Kimmy trailed off the creepy plane back from Three Lakes and stepped out into the cold, snowy Simfield night air, carefully trying not to slip down the icy steps. Five things! She still couldn't believe it. She still had to go through three more creepy and death-defying scenarios. She really should have invested in running shoes. And weaponry. The guiding light in the distance seemed to be back in the country part of Simfield where she'd lived. No surprise there. She just wondered what she was supposed to be making up for next.
She walked slowly, literally dragging her feet and kicking up snow. There had to be a way to get out of this, surely. But Mzyra seemed to hate her, so it probably wouldn't be easy. Maybe if she said sorry...
Her phone vibrated with one new message: You'd have to genuinely mean it. And I can tell.
Damn. No way out of it then. And it was really weird that Mzyra could read her mind; she wished she'd stop with that.
Looking up again, she saw where the light was leading her; Christian's house. Would she have to do something for Christian? She wouldn't have thought so; if Mzyra didn't like her, she surely couldn't have liked Christian much more. The radio in her pocket started crackling as soon as she got near the house; there was clearly a lot going on here. The metal gate and front door each creaked open as she made her way through and she was struck again by how creepy it was seeing places you'd lived dark and icy. And with yet another flickery thing. She reluctantly pulled out the phone to take the picture and receive the voicemail message.
Her own voice came first. "Have you seen the state of this place?! You haven't washed the dishes properly, the fridge is completely disorganised, the counters need scrubbing, the whole place needs dusting and you should be hoovering the floor-!"
"I thought I was your babysitter, not your maid-" This... this couldn't be about Terry again, could it? She'd just done something for him!
"You're living in our house, eating our food, sleeping on our sofa, stealing our heating-!"
"Heat?! Ha! It's freezing in here, though you monsters are so cold hearted and cold blooded you probably can't even tell! And as for taking your food, sofa and 'heat'' - I'm also looking after your son! Your child, who you've never paid any attention to! Your child, who probably doesn't know who you are! You, who are probably the worst mother ever!" Kimmy was beginning to feel annoyed all over again.
"Could I just chip in here?" came Christian's polished voice before the sound of him punching Terry in the throat. Kimmy hoped she wasn't going to get punished for that - it was Christian, not her!
And then she heard vaguely in the background: "Unca Tewwy?" Since when had Tom been there for that?! Oh yeah, everything was so simple in retrospect!
"You will never insult my wife like that ever again or the consequences for you will be dire. Do you understand?" Then the sound of Terry getting kneed in the face - it was Christian, not her! "Do you understand?!"
"Yes."
"Unca Tewwy..."
Then she came back into the conversation again. "You see little brother, we're all family here really. And if you don't want to be left out, out in the dark and the cold, you just have to play your part... Now what would a little brother say to his big sister, hmm?"
She could hear the anger in Terry's voice, but "I love you Kimmy..." If she was honest, she'd known that was below the belt at the time. But she regretted nothing and she hoped bloody Mzyra could hear her on that!
"There we go, doesn't that feel better? That nice, warm feeling you get inside? Now... Clean up this dump or we won't bother to restock the fridge."
The voicemail message ended. Okay, this was definitely about Terry, but how many times did she need to suffer over him? And it was true what she thought, she didn't regret any of that. If she had noticed that Tom was there as an audience she might have made him be taken away, especially given what would happen later, but... he was only a toddler! Toddlers couldn't remember anything, could they? Anyway, she'd better get this over and done with... The front door was lit up again, so she stepped outside to be instantly greeted with another flickery thing.
"You know, I forget, how does it feel to be a new vampire? I'm afraid I've gotten used to it..." Oh dear. At least Kimmy knew when to expect the scream and start running this time...
"Where's Tom? What have you done with him?"
"Nothing. What should I have done? If you left him in bed he's probably still there. I'll deal with him later, I'm dealing with you now." Kimmy had a sudden realisation that Terry thought she might have been an abusive parent. God, nobody gave her any credit, did they? "Don't even bother to get up, you're wasting your effort."
"If Tom's still in there, that's where I'm going to be." What did he care? Tom wasn't his child! He seriously needed to get a life of his own.
"Oh no you won't. Haven't you figured out what this is about yet?"
"You being evil and twisted?"
"No, I've figured out your little plan and am putting a stop to it right now."
"My plan? My plan is to stay here until Tom moves out, protecting him and his happiness." Why couldn't he have just gotten a life of his own?! Then she wouldn't be going through all this!
"Ha, no. Your plan is and always has been to steal my son away from me, taking the love that is rightfully mine. That's why he doesn't love me."
"If your son doesn't love you, it's your fault for never showing him the slightest bit of attention! People can love more than one person at once, you know!" Not properly they couldn't. Terry was just a weird exception, she was sure.
"No. They can't Christian loves me and nobody else. Tom loves you and nobody else."
"And you love yourself and nobody else." Well, who else would have been worthy? "But I love... 6 different people and could love many more, given the chance."
"Then you're an idiot!"
"Well what are you expecting to happen now, Kimmy? You expect me to go away and get this family of my own and simply forget about Tom? It's not going to happen, even as a vampire I can come back here every night, dark-ish days, eclipses even and I will."
"No Terry, you won't. You haven't figured out anything here, have you Terry? You won't be back every night and I don't expect you to go and get a family of your own." Oh god, here it came. Kimmy wondered whether to do that thing athletes did where they crouched to get a faster start running. "I don't expect much of you at all, in fact. It's 6:55am, Terry. The nearest house is miles away. You've done all you can for this family now. So, to your former question: 'No, Mr Ryman, I expect you to die.' And try not to make too much of a mess on our pathway, 'kay thanks."
The scream echoed across the countryside and the blue ice streamed across the sky and ground, but it vital seconds before the light finally appeared - downtown from the looks of it. She had no idea what was there to find, but she was not wasting any time thinking about it. Feet pounding through the icy fields she briefly pictured herself entering the Olympics after all this, but was quickly put off by the mutants who were running at her from all directions - including the one in which she was going. Well, she wasn't going to detour or slow down for all the world, so she just tried to hit, slap and shove them away as best as she could while still running.
She knew she had thought some cruel things towards it, but she did miss the axe now; it had been one of the best friends she had ever had. Still, a torch was good enough to hit something with and probably would have left bruises if she had the time to look. And if it weren't for the fear - which she would never admit that she had, even if Mzyra could read it from her mind anyway - she knew her legs would hurt like hell. But fly or die - she would force herself to grow wings before she'd die, especially if it was a death being torn apart by mutant zombies.
Finally she got within the city limits, which was both a help and a hinderance - it gave the mutants fewer directions to approach her from, but it also concentrated them and gave her fewer directions in which to run. She was not getting stuck down a dark alley. Finally she found the source of the light - a park! But parks didn't have walls! What was going to happen?! She ran to the centre and then hoped like hell the ice would disappear or something. Looking around, she saw a teenage Terry sat on one of the swings, but there were still no doors or walls to keep the mutants out, and they kept running at her, she didn't want to have to fight them off again-!
But then they stopped, all in a circle around the park, like they were held back by an invisible forcefield. She tentatively approached the apparent invisible wall and looked at the hideous things in fascination. God, who had come up with all this stuff?
"What are you looking at?" Kimmy half jumped out of her skin as the teen Terry talked to her.
"You- You can see me?" Child Sean and Child Terry hadn't been able to... She'd like some freaking consistency!
"Why wouldn't I be able to see you?" he asked, puzzled.
"... What do you see behind me?"
"Er, some buildings?"
Kimmy checked behind her at the hideous creatures, who were still clawing fruitlessly at the invisible wall. She really, really hated this. Still, at least it was a break at the moment. She went and collapsed on the swing next to him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, seemingly concerned.
"Fan-freaking-tastic," she said ironically. She might as well get this over with. "What do you want, Terry?" God, it was like she was Santa. Still, he had died the morning after Christmas, hadn't he?
"What do you mean?"
What did he mean, what did she mean? How much did he know? If he was a teenager did he not know that she'd led to his death? "What do you want from me?!" She was way too stressed for this.
Terry looked at her contemplatively. It made her nervous. What could or would he ask for? What could she even do? "I'd like a hug."
"What?!" WHAT?! "Why?!" She stared at him.
"I just would."
"Do you know that I kind of killed you?"
He looked at her with a sad and distant look "Yes."
"And you want a hug?"
"Yup."
"Are you sure you don't want me to... say sorry or something?"
"I thought that might be unrealistic," he said diplomatically. He did have a point, but a hug?!
This was waaay too suspicious. Kimmy had to think about this; Mzyra had set this all up. Maybe if she did it he would suddenly morph into a mutant and kill her or something.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
It looked like that was the only way forward that she had. She shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't hugged anyone but her Dad since she was a toddler, and even then it was only when somebody hugged her or she wanted something. And she knew all those mutants and Mzyra would be watching... It would at least be embarrassing, if not a deadly trap. But what other choice did she have?
She stood up and vaguely put her arms out. God this was humiliating; she bet Mzyra was laughing. But Terry just came over without comment or judgement and put his arms around her. She vaguely patted him on the back. Although he was warm, making her the warmest she'd been since she'd arrived, she just really, really, really wanted it to stop...!
And then he was gone. As were the mutants and the blue ice. She was stood alone in the silence in the park in the snow. It had worked. It may have felt like somebody was violating her soul, but it was, essentially, just a hug. Other people did them all the time. So... she left a kid out in the woods and the dark and he was ultimately fine, but for that she had to fight off a legion of zombies with pretty much her bare hands, but for killing somebody all she had to do was give them a hug?!
Seriously WTFH?! she text.
... I'll explain later.
Hm. That wasn't a mocking response that Kimmy had expected.
She stood alone in the snow, thinking. A hug. If anything, she was more scared than she had been before.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kimmy trailed off the creepy plane back from Three Lakes and stepped out into the cold, snowy Simfield night air, carefully trying not to slip down the icy steps. Five things! She still couldn't believe it. She still had to go through three more creepy and death-defying scenarios. She really should have invested in running shoes. And weaponry. The guiding light in the distance seemed to be back in the country part of Simfield where she'd lived. No surprise there. She just wondered what she was supposed to be making up for next.
She walked slowly, literally dragging her feet and kicking up snow. There had to be a way to get out of this, surely. But Mzyra seemed to hate her, so it probably wouldn't be easy. Maybe if she said sorry...
Her phone vibrated with one new message: You'd have to genuinely mean it. And I can tell.
Damn. No way out of it then. And it was really weird that Mzyra could read her mind; she wished she'd stop with that.
Looking up again, she saw where the light was leading her; Christian's house. Would she have to do something for Christian? She wouldn't have thought so; if Mzyra didn't like her, she surely couldn't have liked Christian much more. The radio in her pocket started crackling as soon as she got near the house; there was clearly a lot going on here. The metal gate and front door each creaked open as she made her way through and she was struck again by how creepy it was seeing places you'd lived dark and icy. And with yet another flickery thing. She reluctantly pulled out the phone to take the picture and receive the voicemail message.
Her own voice came first. "Have you seen the state of this place?! You haven't washed the dishes properly, the fridge is completely disorganised, the counters need scrubbing, the whole place needs dusting and you should be hoovering the floor-!"
"I thought I was your babysitter, not your maid-" This... this couldn't be about Terry again, could it? She'd just done something for him!
"You're living in our house, eating our food, sleeping on our sofa, stealing our heating-!"
"Heat?! Ha! It's freezing in here, though you monsters are so cold hearted and cold blooded you probably can't even tell! And as for taking your food, sofa and 'heat'' - I'm also looking after your son! Your child, who you've never paid any attention to! Your child, who probably doesn't know who you are! You, who are probably the worst mother ever!" Kimmy was beginning to feel annoyed all over again.
"Could I just chip in here?" came Christian's polished voice before the sound of him punching Terry in the throat. Kimmy hoped she wasn't going to get punished for that - it was Christian, not her!
And then she heard vaguely in the background: "Unca Tewwy?" Since when had Tom been there for that?! Oh yeah, everything was so simple in retrospect!
"You will never insult my wife like that ever again or the consequences for you will be dire. Do you understand?" Then the sound of Terry getting kneed in the face - it was Christian, not her! "Do you understand?!"
"Yes."
"Unca Tewwy..."
Then she came back into the conversation again. "You see little brother, we're all family here really. And if you don't want to be left out, out in the dark and the cold, you just have to play your part... Now what would a little brother say to his big sister, hmm?"
She could hear the anger in Terry's voice, but "I love you Kimmy..." If she was honest, she'd known that was below the belt at the time. But she regretted nothing and she hoped bloody Mzyra could hear her on that!
"There we go, doesn't that feel better? That nice, warm feeling you get inside? Now... Clean up this dump or we won't bother to restock the fridge."
The voicemail message ended. Okay, this was definitely about Terry, but how many times did she need to suffer over him? And it was true what she thought, she didn't regret any of that. If she had noticed that Tom was there as an audience she might have made him be taken away, especially given what would happen later, but... he was only a toddler! Toddlers couldn't remember anything, could they? Anyway, she'd better get this over and done with... The front door was lit up again, so she stepped outside to be instantly greeted with another flickery thing.
"You know, I forget, how does it feel to be a new vampire? I'm afraid I've gotten used to it..." Oh dear. At least Kimmy knew when to expect the scream and start running this time...
"Where's Tom? What have you done with him?"
"Nothing. What should I have done? If you left him in bed he's probably still there. I'll deal with him later, I'm dealing with you now." Kimmy had a sudden realisation that Terry thought she might have been an abusive parent. God, nobody gave her any credit, did they? "Don't even bother to get up, you're wasting your effort."
"If Tom's still in there, that's where I'm going to be." What did he care? Tom wasn't his child! He seriously needed to get a life of his own.
"Oh no you won't. Haven't you figured out what this is about yet?"
"You being evil and twisted?"
"No, I've figured out your little plan and am putting a stop to it right now."
"My plan? My plan is to stay here until Tom moves out, protecting him and his happiness." Why couldn't he have just gotten a life of his own?! Then she wouldn't be going through all this!
"Ha, no. Your plan is and always has been to steal my son away from me, taking the love that is rightfully mine. That's why he doesn't love me."
"If your son doesn't love you, it's your fault for never showing him the slightest bit of attention! People can love more than one person at once, you know!" Not properly they couldn't. Terry was just a weird exception, she was sure.
"No. They can't Christian loves me and nobody else. Tom loves you and nobody else."
"And you love yourself and nobody else." Well, who else would have been worthy? "But I love... 6 different people and could love many more, given the chance."
"Then you're an idiot!"
"Well what are you expecting to happen now, Kimmy? You expect me to go away and get this family of my own and simply forget about Tom? It's not going to happen, even as a vampire I can come back here every night, dark-ish days, eclipses even and I will."
"No Terry, you won't. You haven't figured out anything here, have you Terry? You won't be back every night and I don't expect you to go and get a family of your own." Oh god, here it came. Kimmy wondered whether to do that thing athletes did where they crouched to get a faster start running. "I don't expect much of you at all, in fact. It's 6:55am, Terry. The nearest house is miles away. You've done all you can for this family now. So, to your former question: 'No, Mr Ryman, I expect you to die.' And try not to make too much of a mess on our pathway, 'kay thanks."
The scream echoed across the countryside and the blue ice streamed across the sky and ground, but it vital seconds before the light finally appeared - downtown from the looks of it. She had no idea what was there to find, but she was not wasting any time thinking about it. Feet pounding through the icy fields she briefly pictured herself entering the Olympics after all this, but was quickly put off by the mutants who were running at her from all directions - including the one in which she was going. Well, she wasn't going to detour or slow down for all the world, so she just tried to hit, slap and shove them away as best as she could while still running.
She knew she had thought some cruel things towards it, but she did miss the axe now; it had been one of the best friends she had ever had. Still, a torch was good enough to hit something with and probably would have left bruises if she had the time to look. And if it weren't for the fear - which she would never admit that she had, even if Mzyra could read it from her mind anyway - she knew her legs would hurt like hell. But fly or die - she would force herself to grow wings before she'd die, especially if it was a death being torn apart by mutant zombies.
Finally she got within the city limits, which was both a help and a hinderance - it gave the mutants fewer directions to approach her from, but it also concentrated them and gave her fewer directions in which to run. She was not getting stuck down a dark alley. Finally she found the source of the light - a park! But parks didn't have walls! What was going to happen?! She ran to the centre and then hoped like hell the ice would disappear or something. Looking around, she saw a teenage Terry sat on one of the swings, but there were still no doors or walls to keep the mutants out, and they kept running at her, she didn't want to have to fight them off again-!
But then they stopped, all in a circle around the park, like they were held back by an invisible forcefield. She tentatively approached the apparent invisible wall and looked at the hideous things in fascination. God, who had come up with all this stuff?
"What are you looking at?" Kimmy half jumped out of her skin as the teen Terry talked to her.
"You- You can see me?" Child Sean and Child Terry hadn't been able to... She'd like some freaking consistency!
"Why wouldn't I be able to see you?" he asked, puzzled.
"... What do you see behind me?"
"Er, some buildings?"
Kimmy checked behind her at the hideous creatures, who were still clawing fruitlessly at the invisible wall. She really, really hated this. Still, at least it was a break at the moment. She went and collapsed on the swing next to him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, seemingly concerned.
"Fan-freaking-tastic," she said ironically. She might as well get this over with. "What do you want, Terry?" God, it was like she was Santa. Still, he had died the morning after Christmas, hadn't he?
"What do you mean?"
What did he mean, what did she mean? How much did he know? If he was a teenager did he not know that she'd led to his death? "What do you want from me?!" She was way too stressed for this.
Terry looked at her contemplatively. It made her nervous. What could or would he ask for? What could she even do? "I'd like a hug."
"What?!" WHAT?! "Why?!" She stared at him.
"I just would."
"Do you know that I kind of killed you?"
He looked at her with a sad and distant look "Yes."
"And you want a hug?"
"Yup."
"Are you sure you don't want me to... say sorry or something?"
"I thought that might be unrealistic," he said diplomatically. He did have a point, but a hug?!
This was waaay too suspicious. Kimmy had to think about this; Mzyra had set this all up. Maybe if she did it he would suddenly morph into a mutant and kill her or something.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
It looked like that was the only way forward that she had. She shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't hugged anyone but her Dad since she was a toddler, and even then it was only when somebody hugged her or she wanted something. And she knew all those mutants and Mzyra would be watching... It would at least be embarrassing, if not a deadly trap. But what other choice did she have?
She stood up and vaguely put her arms out. God this was humiliating; she bet Mzyra was laughing. But Terry just came over without comment or judgement and put his arms around her. She vaguely patted him on the back. Although he was warm, making her the warmest she'd been since she'd arrived, she just really, really, really wanted it to stop...!
And then he was gone. As were the mutants and the blue ice. She was stood alone in the silence in the park in the snow. It had worked. It may have felt like somebody was violating her soul, but it was, essentially, just a hug. Other people did them all the time. So... she left a kid out in the woods and the dark and he was ultimately fine, but for that she had to fight off a legion of zombies with pretty much her bare hands, but for killing somebody all she had to do was give them a hug?!
Seriously WTFH?! she text.
... I'll explain later.
Hm. That wasn't a mocking response that Kimmy had expected.
She stood alone in the snow, thinking. A hug. If anything, she was more scared than she had been before.