day 20, video; ID: clem

[neverbitten]

[Until now, Clementine has mostly kept to text. Not necessarily for speed, since she stopped going to school at age 8 and isn't the best typer (though not bad for her age), but more for hiding the fact that she's an 11 year old girl. People don't usually take kids seriously, which can have its advantages - but not so much here.

In any case, now she feels like she'll do better to show what she needs to, and to explain it properly.]

Please listen, okay? I think... this might be important. I found something. Me and Lea - we were exploring in the tunnels, south of that giant wall. We found this door in the snow, but it's locked. It needs a key card, look -

[The video pans to the door of building 131, which does indeed need a key card to enter. There's a lot of ice and snow around it.] I'm gonna head back out the tunnels... I don't have much food left. Lea isn't with me anymore, he's - gone.

[He's dead; she knows that, and the despondent way she said that probably says as much. She's lost people, here in Norfinbury and many, many more back home. It's just something you have to live with. But it's still not something she likes admitting. At least she knows the threat of walkers here seems low.]

I thought it was important to let people know. Especially if someone out there found a card that could fit. I could show you where to go if you want.

Comments

voice; ID: tiro

[fataliteas]

[The voice of a fellow young girl offers a calm, if absently exhausted response, the composure of each word edged with deliberate control. The more she's worn down, the harder it is to easily pretend that she's all right.]

My group found a key card awhile ago. It belonged to a nurse that worked at a hospital, but there's a possibility it might open the door you're talking about.

[A pause. Then, real sympathy bleeds into her tone, but not enough to become overbearing or pitying.]

Thank you for the information, and my condolences for your loss.

threadjack ftw - voice - @claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton, on the other hand, makes no attempts at hiding his excitement. It might be an odd tone to take after hearing that Lea is gone, but he got the other fellow's message days ago--he's known for a while and has had time to talk things out with Clem and work through it. For the moment, his priorities are elsewhere.]

--To Jia Xú? Zelda's key from 'er--on the tablet--opened the tunnels up in the first place. Said somethin' 'bout bein' fer "medical personnel only." [There's a sound, like Clayton slapping his hand on his side.] That's gotta be it! Clem, I think ya found it!

voice;

[neverbitten]

[Clementine can't help but smile a little at Clayton's enthusiasm. This is good news, after all.]

It does make sense. There's even a pharmacy nearby. There must be a hospital under there... It's definitely worth checking for.

voice;

[neverbitten]

Clayton's right, that makes sense. Where are you guys right now? It could be worth checking out, right?

[Clementine can understand the exhaustion; she sounds kind of similar herself after losing Lea and spending a week in the tunnels.]

It's okay. Thanks.

video; @Zelda

[sageprincess]

L... Lea's gone.

[Any excitement Zelda might have had at this news is washed away by that statement, the euphemism doing little to soften the blow. She hadn't heard from him in a while, but... there have been no obituaries either, and some foolish part of her wanted to hope that things were alright.

Zelda is silent for a moment after that, her breathing rigidly controlled as she tries to keep herself in check. She forces herself to focus on something else Clem has said, as it's the only way she'll be able to speak at all. And the owner of the keycard has already spoken up, so--]

Do you think you will be able to make it to the school to resupply, Clem? We are on our way there as well; I could try to bring you something if you would like.

video;

[neverbitten]

I'm sorry.

[She can't think of much else to say on that. She wasn't as close to Lea as Zelda, but she liked him and had travelled with him for days before she had the great idea of splitting up to cover more ground.]

I can, yeah, but I'm still pretty deep in the tunnels so it might take me a few days. I... think I know where it is. [She's never actually been to the school, but she's seen it on other people's maps.]

[sageprincess]

It is not too difficult to find. Move in a northeast direction upon exiting the tunnels, and it should only take two or three days to find from there.

[Conveying information is easy. Less emotional. And often helpful in a way that deters people from asking questions about things that might be deemed less important. So that's what she does.]

The only entrances are on the east and west sides where the building has collapsed, however, and the closest shelter for the night is a shed to the west.

{ video | @Lavellan }

[carrywithyou]

[ Ellana's a little shocked to see such a young girl here, and it makes her even more angry at whoever is doing this to all of them. ]

I haven't found a key card, I'm afraid. But will you be all right? It sounds like you're alone now.

[ And now Ellana wishes she hadn't moved so far north. She would like to meet this girl and share her food. She's just been to the restocking convenience store, after all. ]

video

[neverbitten]

I'll be fine. I can take care of myself.

[She's not exactly irritated by the concern, she knows it's coming from a good place, but she's pretty insistent all the same.]

A lot of people here are alone.

[carrywithyou]

They are, but there's talk of created a base camp. No one needs to stay alone.

voice ; @d.malfoy

[alphaophiuchi]

[ regardless of Clementine's age, it's abundantly clear that she's doing much better than Draco is at all of this. Finding things. Knowing what's going on. Going through tunnels. He didn't even know there were tunnels.

[ He's trying very hard not to sound torn between constant nervousness and incredulousness and a few other emotions, most of which amount to 'panic and concern'. ]

How far down is all that?

voice

[neverbitten]

A few days walk from the south wall. I haven't been that far, since it's... hard to know where the buildings are down here.

[She hasn't been too far for that very reason. She really would like not to freeze to death down here.]

voice

[alphaophiuchi]

I haven't found the south wall yet.

Things get more spread out down there?

[ freezing to death certainly doesn't sound like a pleasant turn of events. ]

voice; @nanny

[jinxings]

[ Haku understands the sense of loss that's coming from the message, even if Clem doesn't directly say the word. Dead, that's what she means, but he chooses to ignore it. It's easier to just not think about those sort of things in this place, anyway. ]

Why would there be doors that require key cards in that sort of place? [ See, much easier to just focus on that. On this place, on figuring out what's going on, on trying to get out of here. ]

voice;

[neverbitten]

I don't know. But we - [That is, her, Clayton and the girl who seems to have the keycard.] - think it might be a hospital. I guess this is the staff entrance or something.

[Yeah, hole in the ground in some cave like tunnels... Admittedly a weird staff entrance.]

[jinxings]

That'd make sense.

[ For a hospital to have those at the staff entrances, anyway.. Because there's a lot of things that still don't make sense about the general situation, but at least that can be chalked up about how a lot of stuff doesn't make sense about this place to begin with. ]

It'd be useful to get in there. Maybe it'd give more information about what happened to the people here. [ Sure, there was that mass grave, but that doesn't say much about just what got them all killed to begin with. At least he's trying to be slightly (??) tactful by not saying "how they got killed" to a little kid. ]

voice; ID @ LELRIC

[armoured]

[Al feels a pang of loss for Lea. He hadn't known the other for long, but it was always a tragedy whenever anyone went missing here, plus he had seemed pleasant and very helpful.

He lets out a small sigh, but he decides he is best served by focusing on the more pertinent part of her broadcast.]

I didn't find it myself, but someone I'm travelling with has found a card like the one you're looking for.

voice;

[neverbitten]

[Interesting...] Yeah? Does it have any details on the card or anything?

[armoured]

Mm, it's for a lady called Jia Xú, and it seems like she was staff at a hospital of some kind. Does that make any sense to you?

[He's still new to keycards in general.]

video; id: LINK

[tapferkeit]

[ Zelda had been collecting those cards. Or trying to, at least. Link leans closer to the feed, as if that can let him see more. It would be something good to tell her - it might lighten Zelda's mood.

... And then the admission comes.

Gone.

Link isn't good with similie, metaphor, and euphemism. But Clem's voice makes it clear what she means. If he's not good with manners of speech, he is good with tones and expressions. That gets through to him.

His breath catches in his throat.

Lea had been a friend. Someone he could rely here, and someone who Zelda trusted too. He'd been good. Helpful. Friendly.

He lets out the breath he'd caught. ]

I'm sorry. About Lea.

[ ... ]

We're going to get food.

Come meet me and Zelda.

video;

[neverbitten]

[Clementine nods, her gaze dropping briefly.] Me too.

[There's not a lot else to say on it. Maybe Lea will come back, maybe not. They can't dwell too much right now.]

I'll try. You'll be at the school, right?

video;

[tapferkeit]

[ As hard as the subject is, Link agrees. There isn't much to say on it. He does, however, resolve to play Clem a song at one point. She had been close to him, traveling with him when it happened. It'd affect her hardest, he thinks. ]

We're going that way.

You know the way?

@Enoch, video

[warriorscribe]

I'm sorry you've found yourself alone again. But it sounds as if you should be meeting some of us soon.

[Clayton seems to have the thing with the key covered. He's more concerned about a child losing her traveling companion. Of being stranded here at all.

He does have that child's hat he found in the school...]

Ah...If you're coming towards us - myself and Clayton, that is - I found a hat. [He holds it up to show her. It looks like a wool hat, useful for this weather.] Do you think it would fit you?

video

[neverbitten]

It might... [And yet she's unsure. NOT THAT SHE DOESN'T APPRECIATE IT, BUT...

Well, her baseball cap is kind of sentimental. She doesn't take it off. Like, ever. Wearing a different hat would be strange. That's a kind of stupid reason not to take something as useful as a winter hat though. Maybe she could wear both - it'd look dumb, but she'd be warmer.]

Thanks. I'm meeting Zelda and Link first at the school, but I might run into you guys afterward.

Re: video

[warriorscribe]

[Enoch would be the last person to tell her not to layer her clothes. He sees nothing wrong with this plan.]

All right. The hat is yours when we meet.

[Not if. He didn't want to think about not being able to help this girl.]

Please be careful.

[He wishes he had more to say, but she sounds like a confident girl, and anything further would sound too patronizing. It's frustrating; there's no nice way to say how worried he is she'll find herself trapped outside the way he had, thinking he had more time than he did...]