snowblindrpg | [network] @ADMIN; Obituary [Day 154]

[Tim.

Why, Tim?

After everything that's happened, after everything that's been piling up, this is just the final straw. Al feels something snap inside him and he's clutching the tablet so hard that he's surprised it doesn't break. He knows Zach and Church are somewhere in the house with him and he doesn't care, he doesn't have the strength to just move on again.]

No.

[His voice is small and furious, shaking and obviously choked with tears that he can't actually cry.]

Stop doing this! I know you can hear me, I know you're listening. Stop it! Stop it! Please...

*This is weird. He doesn't really care one way or another about Al but

well, he's not sure why he's doing this.*

he al ways comes
back

*Even if its been a few days since they found Tim's body at the morgue and he's starting to doubt it.*

[Church hears him - in a place like this, it's hard not to pick up even a quiet voice - and runs in, expecting to find an anomaly or an axe murderer or something.

When all he sees is Al at his tablet, he's not sure what to do. Should he just leave the kid to it? (And he is a kid, despite how big he is, that much is obvious) Or should he try to do something? What is he even supposed to do in this kind of situation?]

Uh. Al? Are you... what's going on?

[A lot of people might take comfort in that, but not Al. How can he ever take comfort in the fact people might revive here? For someone he cares about to live, that might mean others have to die, and he can't condone that.

He doesn't want to have that conversation now, it's the last thing he wants, so he just swallows it down with a thick gulping sound.]

What-- what do you mean 'always'?

you cannot get
rid
of him
eas ily

*Well, he never tried killing him before...but Tim came back fromt he dead once here.*

[He doesn't even look around.

He's hunched over his tablet, massive fingers nearly obscuring the screen, and yet his voice tiny in comparison to his size.]

I failed again.

[I failed again.

Something about those words, and the way he's saying them, tugs uncomfortably at Church. That almost-but-not familiar kind of feeling is something he's always instinctively ignored, somehow knowing that nothing good can come of trying to follow it to its source.

So, once again, he tries to push it out of his mind and just focus on whatever's wrong with Al, but it's not as easy as it used to be. A hint of that feeling keeps gnawing at the back of his mind.]

What are you talking about?

[There's sadness in Steve's voice too.]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

What happened?!

[He sounds angry. Or upset. Or incredibly guilty.]

What happened to him?!

[Just like his reply to Charlie's message, it takes him a while to get to this. He gets the text-to-voice stuff to read it out to him, his name there, like - like this town cares, like it gives any kind of fucks that it killed him in front of Steph, that it led him bleed out on her and clothes as she desperately called for help. They didn't do anything.

Also, Clint is also gone, which sucks, and Zach lets out a groan of anguish as the name is read out. Fuck, fuck, fuck this place.

The most important people that would want to know him back, they already know. But still - he feels like he kinda have to make a mention he's not actually dead anymore.]

I woke up this morning. [His voice is pretty weak.] I'm alive.

[He doesn't say 'you must be overjoyed' with his usual sarcasm, because he's working on himself.]

- Good to know.

[ It'd been a nasty shock to see Zach's name on the obituaries when they'd been talking just a few days ago and it'd seemed like things were going well for someone in snowhell.

Jim doesn't really know Zach well enough to ask what happened, really, so he settles on: ]

Are you alright?

No.

[There's no point in beating around the bush. He's so far from okay he can't even see what okay feels like anymore. Maybe - maybe once he gets Steph back.]

I'm blind. I'm not - okay.

Hey, easy, just calm down! It's going to be okay.

We have things under control.

[Well, thank god someone's come back.]

Don't try to leave wherever you are for right now, okay, Zach? D'you think you could switch to video? I can maybe tell you where you are and other people in the area can come and find you tomorrow when the weather clears up to help.

[Excuse me?]

Clint is dead. Just how is that under control? What happened out there, Tony?!

We got caught outside by one of the anomalies. There was nothing anyone could have done.

Just take a breath. Getting upset now isn't going to help.

[He says that even though he's upset, because he can't let it spread. Someone has to play leader.]

[Zach smiles, a watery chuckle leaving him as the worried tone of Watson's voice fill his ears. Man, he wishes he could see.]

I - I'm in the police station, down south. Steph helped me figure it out earlier, but thank you. I'm not moving today, don't worry about that. I think - I think Al's close.

[All of his sentences are stuttered, the words difficult still. He's cold, too, with no blankets to wrap around himself. The police station is not the coziest of buildings.]

I need to go north.

[He's known Tony to be cold and callous before but... Wow. Steve knew better than anyone what it was like to lose men. He had a lot of successes during his career, but also a lot of blood on his hands from men that entrusted their lives to him.

Steve's eyes harden.]

There were only three of you. The probability-- It's suppose to be low to run into one of them when there's less than four or five. What were you doing? Is this that thing you wanted to see?

Are you okay? I didn't even know-- Have you spoken to Steph? Stupid question. Sorry. Are you both okay?

[Zach's surprised - more than he probably should be. Angel is one of Steph's closest friends, and she cares about Steph's well-being. It makes sense.]

I mean, I'm blind, so I can't say I'm okay, no, but she is. She - I - [He doesn't want to say I saved her. She probably would have been fine, even without him around.] I spoke to her, yeah.

Sorry for the surprise, Angel. Didn't mean to.

Yeah, you're right. Odds are what we did brought it to us.

[He says that much without flinching. Despite all the issues he's had with confrontation before, he takes the criticism this time without argument.]

It was my fault. I was tampering with their devices. I wanted to see if I could get some answers and I must have triggered a defense protocol.

[It's Steve, a very upset Steve, so he gets audio rather than text like everyone else. Nat is still completely in guilt mode, so her voice is very quiet, just on the edge of emotional. At least Tony is taking care of the explanation part.]

I'm sorry, Steve.

Shit. Sorry, Ange. I've been all over the place.

You really think a mere apology is getting you out of this? Dying without notifying me personally beforehand - in triplicate - just isn't done.

Meaning there's no need to be sorry, you doof, I'm just glad you're okay.

Dude. Beyond understandable. I don't think I'd want to talk about it either, if - urgh. You're definitely okay?

[network] @ADMIN; Obituary [Day 154]

@LELRIC; audio

@totheark; text

action;

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@captsteverogers; audio

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@zachtastic; audio

@jphawkins, audio

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@IAmLegend; video;

@jwatson; audio

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@guardian; audio;

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@itsybitsy; audio; private

@Spoiler; audio;

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