snowblindrpg | [network] @TW; Video; Day 12 [open, cw for corpses and horrible]

My voice is back.

[ Though for those who've heard Tim's voice before, it sounds much more hoarse than usual. Still, any voice is better than no voice! ]

I'm gonna - [cough cough] - I'm going to upload a video in a second. Some stuff I found yesterday. Kids shouldn't watch it. People who're already - you know, already freaked out by everything shouldn't watch either. It's not... I mean, it's. It isn't anything good, is what I'm saying. So.

[ He could try and filter the video away from those parties, but the thought doesn't sit well with him. The last time he tried to hide secret video footage from someone it kind of backfired spectactularly and people got killed and Tim got sent here by Tall McDarkandfaceless and everything was awful. He'd rather not repeat that, thanks. ]

[ When the promised video begins, it doesn't look very interesting. The camera is trained on the ground, where someone has been digging at the snow and dirt to reveal a layer of smooth pebbles. The cameraman - Tim, obviously, though he can't be seen - kneels in the snow, picks up a handful of the pebbles and brings them closer to the tablet. It's a little hard to make out since they're covered in dirt, but each of the stones is speckled in something that looks very much like dried blood.

The tablet is then propped up against something on the ground, showing a better view of the surroundings: a park complete with playground equipment. Tim walks back into shot, crouches, and resumes digging. After a minute or two he stops, a puzzled expression on his face, and pulls at something in the hole to get a better look at it.

There's a strangled gasp of breath that might have been an attempt at a scream, and Tim drops the thing like it's on fire. People with sharp eyes (or who pause the footage) will see that it was a human arm, dismembered just above the elbow. Tim scrambles out of view and the video briefly goes black as he turns off the tablet.

When the video resumes, it seems Tim has been busy. The view is panning across the ground again, revealing several patches that have been dug up to reveal frozen corpses. Some are bloody and horribly wounded, while others appear to have died less violently - the only thing they seem to have in common is that they're all remarkably well-preserved. And remarkably dead. That too.

Also worth noting is that the video is distorted badly. It's warped and stretched as if it's being tugged on at the edges, and there's a large amount of visual tearing evident in the footage. There isn't exactly a lot to be heard - wind noises and muted, huffy coughs - but the little audio that's there sounds tinny and distorted as well. It doesn't really make the fact that there's a mass grave in the fucking park any less horrifying, unfortunately.

After half a minute or so, the video cuts out. Mercifully. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...Clayton maintains that Tim is still bad at secrets.]

Mmhmm.

[See? That quirked eyebrow says it all. Won't press it, though, not unless Tim wants him to.]

...Yeah, I know what yer talkin' 'bout. Didn't remember it too well before, but the church was like that. The funeral home, too. Thinkin' the school looks the same way. [There's a long pause. Clayton leans slightly forward on his palm while he has a good think. He doesn't need to, because he's pretty sure he has an idea of what's connecting at least two of those places, but Clayton is all about leading questions.] ...Why those, ya think?

[ Oh god. If Clayton's thinking what Tim's thinking... ]

I guess they could - maybe... They're all grave sites?

Including the school?

[ After hearing the ghostly piano and seeing the shadow things on the tape, this... doesn't seem all that farfetched. Shiiiit. ]

[Bingo. Clayton noticeably winces--it's clear that he doesn't like this answer, even though he agrees with it. The idea repulses him on a fundamental level regardless of how strong his constitution is.]

Or they got bodies in 'em, least. The morgues in the church an' the funeral home...ain't heard of nobody comin' back from the school, but that might just be coincidence. I know Enoch said it forced 'em out, 'ventually.

Did you get that feelin' while you were at the park? I mean, I know you don't wanna be 'round there fer obvious reasons, but, you know--that "oppressive" feelin' in particular?

I - I dunno. I wasn't really - I've been feeling kinda off kilter since I came back from the dead, you know? So it'd have been hard to tell.

[ Shrug. ]

I'm - we're going back to the school for food soon. I'll, uh. I'll check things out while I'm there. Just in case. Might as well, right?

[Clayton slightly tilts his head. That sounded...oddly evasive. Or maybe Tim just legitimately doesn't remember and is too embarrassed to admit it. Well, Clayton supposes he can't blame him for that. Moving on.]

Alright, I gotcha. Wish it didn't have t' be where folks 've gotta go there, with how it is, but if yer goin' then yer goin'. Jus' make sure y'all keep an eye out fer each other.

[A beat. Clayton squints at the tablet.]

...You sure nothin' funny's goin' on 'round where you are right now? Yer camera, it's, ah... [He experimentally pats the side of his tablet.] ...it's skippin' a little bit.

[ Shit. His breath hitches and his eyes widen just a fraction before he quickly composes himself. ]

Uh, it - it is? I kind of fell on it - uh, earlier, when I. When I left the park, you know? So.

I guess I might've knocked something loose on it, or. Or something.

[Tim continues to be a very bad liar. Instantly Clayton's brows rise with suspicion.]

That so? [This is the slow, aloof tone of someone who has caught a whiff of some bullshit.] Funny that it ain't the same distortion that was showin' on your recordin', now ain't it? Almost like it ain't a problem with the tablet itself 're somethin'. Whaddya think, Tim?

[ His eyes flick downwards, but other than that his expression doesn't change. ]

I don't - I don't know. It's not - it isn't like it could be anything else. Unless you think I brought one of the bodies back in my bag. Want me to empty it out for you?

[ He laughs, but it's an incredibly strained one and he has to suppress a cough at the end of it. Hurgh. ]

[Clayton is almost tempted to call Tim on his bluff, but then the cough gets his attention. That's worrisome. Actually more worrisome than the tablet glitches. He's not off the hook, not yet, but Clayton has his priorities.]

...You gettin' sick, Tim? That's a nasty cough you got there.

Smoker's cough.

[ The response is so glib, so automatic, that it'd probably come off as unconvincing if he didn't pull a half-empty pack of cigarettes out of his pocket with a guilty grimace. ]

My doctor back home lectures me about it already, you don't have to go there...

[ HE WILL NEVER QUIT. Mostly because it make such a good coverup for spooky coughs. SCORE!! ]

[So Clayton doesn't need to lecture Tim about it, but that doesn't mean he isn't allowed to judge the hell out of him for it anyways. Clayton's gaze turns flat with only a single, unimpressed eyebrow raised.]

Well it sure ain't doin' you no good here, now ain't it?

It's not like I knew I'd be getting dumped into snowhell when I took it up, okay?

[ He tucks the cigarettes back into his pocket. Sulk sulk. ]

Or, you know. I'd have brought more than one pack.

[That's right Tim, you'd better sulk. The quiet judgment continues.]

Well alright then. [Good, is the unspoken conclusion Clayton comes to. He sniffs and haughtily squares his shoulders. Harsh, yes, but on the plus side, he's been thoroughly fooled into thinking this is where the mystery cough is coming from. Good job, Tim!] Ain't gonna make things any easier when you run out, but I guess that's one way t' quit, eh?

[network] @TW; Video; Day 12 [open, cw for corpses and horrible]

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