[log] The Hills Have Eyes [closed-ish]

[jumpthegun]

Characters: Watson, Charles, Davesprite, Bucky, Zell, Sora, Kunsel, Homura, and Quark
Location Building 235 (Aquarium) and Building 130 (Pharmacy)
Date: Day 162 - 164
Summary: Eyes appear all around, static and paranoia return, friends arrive with fire, hopefully no one is getting attacked. Later, Bucky, Quark, and John discover evidence of Fiona's murder.
Warnings: References to character death.

[The aquarium has the feel of a small-town tourist attraction, the sort built to give people just stopping to fuel up on petrol a reason to stay for an hour or two. There are various aquariums inside that, according to plaques beside them, once showcased various Alaskan fish; they're empty now. The whole atmosphere is kind of eerie, with the water casting rippling patterns on the walls, ceilings, and floors, but there's hot water in the sinks for anyone who wants it.

What's probably unwanted by everyone is the eyes. They're on the walls, drawn in the frost on the windows, they're on the ceilings, and the static crawls its way over walls and people. The sense of being watched, of being followed, is strong.]

Comments

[jumpthegun]

I'm not leaving you alone like this, Bucky. I won't. [There's a quiet conviction in that. He can be a stubborn mule when he wants to be.]

[advanced]

[He slams his fist, very suddenly, against the glass of the tank behind him making a dull boom reverberate through the aquarium.]

I said walk away.

[He's losing, he's losing, he's losing.]

[jumpthegun]

No.

Focus, Bucky. Not on the static, not on the eyes. Focus on something else. Focus on yourself. Focus on my voice. Pick something else or you're going to drive yourself up a wall, mate.

[advanced]

[How can he be so calm?

It's both grounding and infinitely frustrating at the same time, especially with how afraid he is that he's about to lose completely and finish what he started before.]

Please.

[It's soft, nearly inaudible. He doesn't want to hurt anyone else.]

[jumpthegun]

[He can do it because he's got something else to pay attention to. It's when he's left to his own thoughts and devices that John's own paranoia and panic start edging everything else out.]

Listen to my voice. Talk to me, Buck. [The nickname just slips out.] Talking's not going to hurt anything, right? It's just talk. Tell me about something outside this place? Tell me about a dame you liked.

[advanced]

[His hands fist into filthy hair, eyes on the ground between his feet, but he does make an effort to do as John says.]

There were a lot, I never went steady with any of them.

[He wracks his mind for even one, any one.]

Gals like a man in uniform, I stepped out with a different one every weekend.

[jumpthegun]

And what'd you do with them when you stepped out? Go dancing? Bet you're talented on your feet.

[advanced]

Yeah, I used to be a good dancer.

[Wouldn't think to look at him now.]

You said you took dames out when you were in the army, you go dancing?

[He doesn't sound like he cares at all, more like he's asking for the sake of having something to ask, to focus on.]

[jumpthegun]

Nah, I'm terrible at dancing properly. You'll have to teach me sometime. After lockdown one day once my leg heals up. That'd be fun. I liked to take them out to dinner, nice restaurants. Not bad pay once you make captain, yeah?

[advanced]

I wouldn't know, sergeant is as far as I got.

[A burst of static across his vision makes him shrink further into himself, hands visibly shaking.]

Walk away. [He knows he's said it before, he knows John said no, but he has to keep trying. He has to.]

[jumpthegun]

Think this place looks comfortable to sit, actually. Once I'm down, it's hard to get back up. [John ignores the fact that Bucky blinks out of existence as he says this. It's not real. His eyes are playing tricks. The man is still there.

He places his hand against the wall and lowers himself down, painfully slowly.]

Tell me about one of your fights. And good ones before you went off to the Army? Big-timers you took down.

[advanced]

[He could just about punch the other man when he goes and sits down in direct opposition to what he's been asked to do. It shows on his face, too, jaw tight and eyes hard.]

No.

[Seriously, man, he's trying to be the better man here.]

It's not working, and you're going to get hurt.

[jumpthegun]

I'm already hurt. Don't imagine there's much worse you could do to me.

[There's a lot worse, but John's going to stay calm, even, a steady voice and presence, whether Bucky likes it or not.]

Would it be easier with me talking about myself? I could tell you about my sister, Harry.

[advanced]

[He's half poised to get up and move away himself, it will be hard for John to follow with his leg as bad as it is.]

--Fine. Talk.

[But if this doesn't work, he's going before he does anything else he'll regret.]

[jumpthegun]

Harry's always been better with technology than me. She's big on computers, smart phones, social media. She was one of the first people to comment to my blog when I set it up. She gets really excited about things easily. And defensive for me. She's only a year older, but she tries to act like she's ages older than me sometimes. Bloody annoying, that.

[advanced]

[He tries to focus on the titbits of information being given. It's easier to tell himself that it's not all in his head when he hears things like this, they're flavour backgrounds he would never come up with for hallucinations.]

Tell me more, do you get on?

[jumpthegun]

No, not really. She drinks too much.

[This isn't something he'd normally share, but he's pulling anything he can to keep Bucky focused on the moment.]

We were better when we were little. She got picked on a lot after she came out. I helped her with the bullies. She's the only one who supported me going off to fight, really. Mum and Dad didn't like it.

[advanced]

Came out?

[What does that mean?

Came out from where? He's from the 1940s and his time as the Soldier wasn't exactly spent researching LGBTQ rights or terminology.]

Came out from where?

[jumpthegun]

The closet. Sorry. She's gay. Homosexual. [Which term will you understand, Bucky?] She was married to another dame named Clara. I liked her. She was nice - very sweet.

[advanced]

[That definitely pulls his focus, surprise painted clearly across his face. He's from a time where that sort of thing was still literally a crime, though he's seen an awful lot in between to mellow him on that kind of subject.

Married to another woman. Well. Wasn't that something?

He has no idea what to say to that, so he just nods awkwardly.]

Sorry it didn't work out.

[That was a strange thing to say. Moving on.]

The world has changed a lot since I was last dating anyone.

[jumpthegun]

Harry walked out on her. She can be a wanker sometimes--even gave me the smartphone Clara bought her as a present.

[He sighs.]

Like I said, we don't get on. But as much as the world changes, it stays the same. People fall in love, they get married, divorced. Had a few gals I thought might work out. Didn't end up that way. [Thank you, Sherlock Holmes.] But there are other people out there--men, women, whatever you like.

[advanced]

[Poor bastard. Seems like he really doesn't have much luck - a dead best friend, an alcoholic sister who he doesn't get on with.]

I don't think I'm going to be stepping out with anyone for a while.

[Or ever. He has other things to worry about. It's so absurd it makes him half smile, until a burst of static has him flinching back again.]

[jumpthegun]

Mm... still something to think about. If you see anyone you like. Meet anyone you like. Some bloke once told me our time here is short. Might as well reach for what happiness you can while you can.

[So it's a rephrase of what Bucky had told him, but he hopes beyond the static and the eyes that his own words echoed back at him can help him remember that these things happened. This moment is not every moment.]

[advanced]

[It does.

It's a strange anchor, another person echoing words back at him. They're not nearly as strong as 'til the end of the line', but they're definitely at least slightly meaningful. He grasps it with his full focus.]

What about you and Fiona?

[jumpthegun]

I think she's trading hats with Alfie. [One of the more bizarre euphemisms, but he's pretty sure about it. About them... kissing. Maybe doing other things. He tries not to think about it much.] Just to pass the time. I'm trying to move on from that, but at least I have her as a friend, still. And if there's someone else I find here, of course I'll try with them, instead.