[Mattie feels the ground give way under her feet, panic closing off her throat as she begins to fall, scrabbling uselessly at dirt and brush
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Willful children who know their own mind and rail against their unlawful incarceration strike a particularly familiar note with Godric. You could say he has something of a soft spot.
"Calm yourself," he begins gently, judging by her dress and manner that she'll be unfamiliar with the technology she's about to face. "You're in no immediate danger."
When Mattie discovers the tablet, she'll see a pale boy who looks not much older than she, but a closer inspection often tends to throw that observation into doubt. He doesn't behave quite like a 16-year-old boy from any era.
Mattie turns quickly at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, halting with a startled expression when faced with a still-empty room. Being far from dim-witted, however, she hesitantly follows the sound until it leads her to the tablet.
She's just not sure what to make of it, though. So she clasps her hands behind her back and eyes the image in front of her suspiciously.
"That is quite a statement coming from a devil in a mirror, sir. If you release me immediately, I will consider forgetting I ever saw you and will not send for a clergyman to perform your exorcism."
Mattie likely doesn't belief she's really speaking to a devil, but she tends to fall back sharp and clever words when in uncertain situations. This time her tone lacks a touch of its usual bite, however -- maybe the reassuring gentleness is working against her will, or maybe it's the influence of seeing a face familiar in age if not in gender.
For a moment, Godric smiles widely, amused. He's been called many things over the centuries, but 'devil in a mirror' is new and strangely appealing. Something to do with the common myth that vampires have no reflection, perhaps.
"If I had the power to release you, I would do so, but I fear I am as trapped as you. The image you see is no trick or magic, but merely the communication device we're all given upon our arrival in that room. I see you upon mine as you see me upon yours, but neither of us is in fact inside the device."
That coaxes a tentative little smile from Mattie in return, and she relaxes just a very little bit. His words make sense, even if what they imply seems impossible (and a little frightening).
"I do not see how a...'communication device' allows you to see through to another's face." It's not an accusation, more like a request for more information. (Granted, a request shaped very much like a somewhat childish demand.) "And I do not see how I can have fallen down a hole and come up in a prison instead."
Those are for storybooks, not practical young women like Mattie.
Elisa sizes up the clothes and general dialog for a second and comes to the conclusion that this girl may be from quite some time back. Or possibly a historical recreationist. She gives that about a thirty-percent chance.
Either way, she probably should sit this arrival out. But the girl also doesn't look much younger than Angela or Elisa's sister or Maggie, and that's enough to open up her heart.
Still, she wishes her tablet would connect to arrivals on something other than a visual.
"I can hear you," she says. "And I can help you get out too."
The new voice and face garner a more startled reaction than the first, partly because Mattie was not expecting a second to appear, and partly because this second one has a much startling appearance.
"I prefer that you tell me where I am and how I came to be here." If she wasn't sure about touching the source of the images before, she's certainly made up her mind about it now. As a general rule, Mattie doesn't hold with superstitions. But she's been raised a good God-fearing child, and there are some things that will shake even her own stubborn confidence.
Mattie doesn't care to let strangers see her as anything other than self-assured and in-charge. Later, perhaps, when she's come to know people a little better...
"I have never heard of such a place." Not that she's traveled widely enough to claim to know of every town that exists, of course. "And I do not remember being abducted."
Inside, though, she's worried that maybe not remembering a thing doesn't make it untrue.
"You'll break your hand before you dent that wall." The voice comes out soft but the astute listener will detect signs of strain, a certain underlying tautness. As for the accent, it's American, innocuous as a newscaster's.
Silence follows--Don leaves the tablet where it lies and gets to his feet. He forces himself to take a breath instead of going off in search of something to smash or a door to slam.
"Hello," he says, scooping up the tablet, speaking more authoritatively now. "My name is Don and I arrived here in the room you're standing in now. I can tell you the way out."
"My aim was to draw attention, not to knock it down," Mattie answers disdainfully. There's something about authoritative adults that tend to put her back up, like she's expecting to be ignored or dismissed. Mattie hates being dismissed. "I am no physician but I do know that bones are weaker than walls."
Still, a girl recently bereft of a beloved father and then separated from a surrogate she has developed a sincere fondness for, will naturally gravitate toward finding another way of filling that gap. So her next words are more conciliatory. "If you can, then please do."
"I wouldn't worry about that," he says--wryly--regarding her stated aim, but no clarification is forthcoming. The girl's manner of dress and style of speech mark her, unlike anyone else in the city, as from a time before his own. And miniaturized television sets broadcasting with an unreal clarity had given him enough trouble--more than enough.
"If you follow my voice it'll lead you to the pedestal. On top of the pedestal will be...it's a mechanism that opens the door, and it's housed in a small, rectangular box. You'll have to pick it up."
There's no reason for Mattie to trust anything she's being told, of course, but she does. Not because she's the kind of girl who blindly follows where she's led, but because she expects people to uphold a certain standard of decency. And decent people (unless they're murdering cowards) don't lie to young women.
"What will happen if I pick it up?" She hesitates with her hand over the pedestal, realizing that the thing being described is what she'd referred to with Godric as a mirror. It isn't mistrust of Don that stops her, but natural wariness of touching an alien object.
Mattie is beginning to wonder how it is that so many can see her, when she can find neither door nor window to this place. It's disconcerting, all these voices suddenly offering advice, but at least it is advice.
"I do not know what you are talking about, but I do know enough to understand what trouble is. And finding yourself locked in a strange room surrounded by strange voices is trouble."
"If you mean foreigners, I have certainly met more than one. Even in Yell County."
Really, it's a bit insulting to imagine that she's never come across an Indian or an Irishman before taking the train to Fort Smith, which isn't precisely New York itself.
Comments 69
"Calm yourself," he begins gently, judging by her dress and manner that she'll be unfamiliar with the technology she's about to face. "You're in no immediate danger."
When Mattie discovers the tablet, she'll see a pale boy who looks not much older than she, but a closer inspection often tends to throw that observation into doubt. He doesn't behave quite like a 16-year-old boy from any era.
Reply
She's just not sure what to make of it, though. So she clasps her hands behind her back and eyes the image in front of her suspiciously.
"That is quite a statement coming from a devil in a mirror, sir. If you release me immediately, I will consider forgetting I ever saw you and will not send for a clergyman to perform your exorcism."
Mattie likely doesn't belief she's really speaking to a devil, but she tends to fall back sharp and clever words when in uncertain situations. This time her tone lacks a touch of its usual bite, however -- maybe the reassuring gentleness is working against her will, or maybe it's the influence of seeing a face familiar in age if not in gender.
Reply
"If I had the power to release you, I would do so, but I fear I am as trapped as you. The image you see is no trick or magic, but merely the communication device we're all given upon our arrival in that room. I see you upon mine as you see me upon yours, but neither of us is in fact inside the device."
Reply
"I do not see how a...'communication device' allows you to see through to another's face." It's not an accusation, more like a request for more information. (Granted, a request shaped very much like a somewhat childish demand.) "And I do not see how I can have fallen down a hole and come up in a prison instead."
Those are for storybooks, not practical young women like Mattie.
Reply
Either way, she probably should sit this arrival out. But the girl also doesn't look much younger than Angela or Elisa's sister or Maggie, and that's enough to open up her heart.
Still, she wishes her tablet would connect to arrivals on something other than a visual.
"I can hear you," she says. "And I can help you get out too."
Reply
"I prefer that you tell me where I am and how I came to be here." If she wasn't sure about touching the source of the images before, she's certainly made up her mind about it now. As a general rule, Mattie doesn't hold with superstitions. But she's been raised a good God-fearing child, and there are some things that will shake even her own stubborn confidence.
Reply
"You're in a city called Taxon," Elisa begins. "I don't know where it is, or what country its in."
Or even what planet. Though her own body synced to the rhythms here well enough.
"But you were abducted. Brought here... basically, to be watched."
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"I have never heard of such a place." Not that she's traveled widely enough to claim to know of every town that exists, of course. "And I do not remember being abducted."
Inside, though, she's worried that maybe not remembering a thing doesn't make it untrue.
Reply
Silence follows--Don leaves the tablet where it lies and gets to his feet. He forces himself to take a breath instead of going off in search of something to smash or a door to slam.
"Hello," he says, scooping up the tablet, speaking more authoritatively now. "My name is Don and I arrived here in the room you're standing in now. I can tell you the way out."
Reply
Still, a girl recently bereft of a beloved father and then separated from a surrogate she has developed a sincere fondness for, will naturally gravitate toward finding another way of filling that gap. So her next words are more conciliatory. "If you can, then please do."
Reply
"If you follow my voice it'll lead you to the pedestal. On top of the pedestal will be...it's a mechanism that opens the door, and it's housed in a small, rectangular box. You'll have to pick it up."
Reply
"What will happen if I pick it up?" She hesitates with her hand over the pedestal, realizing that the thing being described is what she'd referred to with Godric as a mirror. It isn't mistrust of Don that stops her, but natural wariness of touching an alien object.
Reply
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"I do not know what you are talking about, but I do know enough to understand what trouble is. And finding yourself locked in a strange room surrounded by strange voices is trouble."
Reply
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Really, it's a bit insulting to imagine that she's never come across an Indian or an Irishman before taking the train to Fort Smith, which isn't precisely New York itself.
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