[network] @cgriffin; day 26 [open]

[coleader]

[ she's secluded herself in a room away from bellamy to make this post, because of course she has. they're all in here with her, anyway. they can't hurt him if they're with her. for the first time in awhile, she chooses the audio option. her hands are too shaky to type. more emotion in her voice than she usually shows, she says: ]

What are they doing to us? [ clarke takes in a ragged breath and sniffles a little. ] They brought— they brought people back. They're here.

[ men, women, children. radiation burns all over. ]

I think they're going to hurt him. It's all my fault. Because I— [ a pause. she can't say it. ] I'm scared they're gonna kill him. They're gonna kill Bellamy.

[ and then they're going to kill her. of course they are. an eye for an eye. clarke's far more deserving of it, though. she takes a breath and pulls herself together as much as possible. ]

I don't know how to stop it. Tell me what to do. Anyone. Please, give me a plan.

Comments

@TW; text;

[maskintape]

[ Sorry, but his voice is too shot to match Clarke's use of audio. TEST IT IS ]

who is it
who's going to kill him. is he near you
get a weapon and stand between him and them do you have anything like that

[coleader]

There's too many of them. And I don't even know if they're— [ Saying 'ghosts' sounds pretty crazy, so: ] Alive.

He's in the house, but they're all in here with me right now because I'm the one they really want.

[maskintape]

why do they want you OR him
I mean if they're following you then just stay where you are
can you talk to them will they listen

[coleader]

They want revenge. [ A pause, then: ] I would, too.

I did something bad, back where I'm from. They didn't want to talk then, either.

[ Besides, she's holed up in the closet right now, so unless they're going to yell at each other through the door... ]

@SummerVacation; voice

[desenchanter]

[ Hey girl, let's be crazy together. His voice responds to her, a passionate whisper, ]

I can hear them in the walls.

[ He has been obsessing over the wall in house 121 for days, he can hear something behind it. It makes perfect sense in the moment, listening to her fear, that the humming he hears is really a susurration of voices. ]

[coleader]

[ oh god stop enabling her roxas

There's a sharp intake of breath, then: ]

What walls? Where?

[desenchanter]

Shh.

[ He urges her to be quite, there's a clacking sound as he presses his tablet up against the wall. The sound doesn't translate well through the transmission. It's a low subtle noise, a deep hum of machinery. ]

Can you hear them? I can hear them, but I don't know what they're saying... Not yet.

private from here on;

[coleader]

[ The hum distracts her from her own hallucinations; it's familiar. It instills a sense of— foreboding? And she knows, knows that she's heard it before. ]

Wait. That sound. I know that.

[ Clarke pauses, thoughtful. Then she privates it, because she's not supposed to talk about it in public. ]

—In the school. I saw somebody. When I followed them, I heard that.

@Engineering

[prosopopoeia]

You allow your fear to blind you.

Control yourself.

[coleader]

[ You know, this really gets to her. It hits too close to home. She's been trying so hard not to let fear get the best of her all this time. When she speaks, she sounds more frustrated than scared for the first time. ]

I am trying as hard as I can!

[prosopopoeia]

[ Do or do not there is no try. ]

Would you like a medal for your efforts?

[coleader]

No. I don't want a medal.

[ She's clearly trying to control her voice, steady her breathing; the truth is that she doesn't want anyone to think she's weak. Even if it's a voiceless, faceless person called Engineer. ]

I want it to be good enough.

[ Clarke's always not trying hard enough, not doing good enough. She's sick of it. Then, with a sudden shift in tone: ]

I asked for a plan. You're not helping.

voice; @Chillinski

[figureitout]

[It's just as well, really, because Stiles keeps hearing wolves howling, keeps wanting to run outside and search and yell for them to come find him, except the still-rational part of him keeps repeating to himself that it's not real, not real, if anything, it's some kind of hunter trick and two wolves can sound like an entire pack and.

And he doesn't have one here, he's a part of one except he's also human and alone, so no, he's not running outside, howls or not.

(It's getting harder and harder to make himself believe in that, though.)]

Clarke- hey, talk to me, okay? Who's back? And why would they kill Bellamy?

[coleader]

[ The first few seconds are just Clarke taking a deep breath, as if she's preparing herself for something— then she sighs. ]

I can't tell you.

this is so late i'm so sorry

[figureitout]

Oh, come on--

[A sigh. Calm down, Stiles, Clarke is distressed and panicking but seriously though, this refusal to say anything isn't helping.]

Hey, you can trust me, okay? I mean, I can make this private or something if you think someone else will listen to this, and just... who would I even tell? I mean, I told you about all the supernatural stuff, right? You can tell me. Whatever is it.

[coleader]

[ A sudden wave of silence washes over her, or so it seems. Maybe she's just spent so much time repressing her emotions that she's finally learned how to induce numbness. More likely, she's feeling so much that she's become incredibly alert, listening for every movement or voice. ]

I know that.

[ Stiles is trustworthy. Stiles is just a kid who doesn't deserve to go through this Norfinbury hell. She knows that. ]

It's not that. You don't want to know. Just— I did something; something necessary, but I wish I hadn't. [ It's entirely nonsensical. If she hadn't done it, her people would be dead. She would be dead. Yet the little voice in her mind keeps asking, "What if there had been another way?" ]

voice - @claytonator

[dr_unconscious]

[So Clayton started out the night thinking that it would be wiser to stick to text; the messages being posted on the network have gotten increasingly more alarming to listen to, and Clayton's own composure isn't staying too stable, either, and the last thing he wants to do is to start broadcasting all of this to his last pillar of solidarity, Enoch, and have them both crumple under the stress and paranoia and delusions.]

[But by now he's basically given up on that illusion. They both know what's going on. They have each other, Clayton has a blanket over his head, they'll be okay. What's important is, Clarke needs something stable to hold onto--a voice, not just some words on a screen. He can give her that.]

Clarke? You're listenin'? [Clayton pauses for an answer, but continues regardless of if he gets one. He forces his voice level and maintains a calm, deliberate pace.] Can't do no plannin' 'til I know what's goin' on. Let's start from the top, alright? Real slow, one step at a time. I ain't goin' nowhere.

[coleader]

[ Oh, god, Clayton. Clarke doesn't want him to see her in an unstable, incompetent state. She's huddling in a closet like a child; he treats her like she's more than that. She doesn't want to lose that. ]

There are people. People who— aren't my biggest fans. They're here now, but I'm not sure if they're like us or... [ She trails off. Ghosts? A cruel trick by the Admin? ] I don't know what to do.

[ It's an ashamed admission. ]

[dr_unconscious]

[Nothing changes on Clayton's end. As far as he's concerned, Clarke is perfectly justified in being afraid--he's afraid, everyone's afraid. Why not her? It would take an awful lot to sway his opinion there.]

Don't worry. [This is more like the last step, but it's kind of a nervous habit of his to say it anyway.] Think through their options. If they're like us, then they're in the same boat--ain't got nowhere t' go an' we're all after the same thing. They may not like ya, but they'll have t' come 'round 'ventually t' help. That's just how these things work.

If they ain't, then they'll make it known. You got all a us t' help. 'Til then, treat 'em like the rest a us. They're yer allies now, like it or not. I know you can handle that.

[coleader]

Allies.

[ It's a ridiculous sound, so much so that she can barely form the word. They are not her allies. The Mountain Men have never been her allies. They have pretended to be, but they never had her fooled. There's no way they're her allies now, after all she's done to them. ]

—I wish they were my allies. This is... it's complicated. I'm sorry. It's a lot to explain.

@AK | text

[loopofunhappiness]

[FIVE YEARS LATE]

Clarke? Where are you now? Can you get somewhere defensible?
Do you have anything like a weapon you can grab?

[coleader]

[ a queen is never late, everyone else is simply early. ]

Weapons won't work. At least, I think they won't. I tried to throw something — everything goes through them.

I don't suppose you have any experience with ghosts.

action; late as always.

[disarrayed]

[ everything's strange in this place, never mind the strange fog that he seems to be in when he gets up this morning. he's equally surprised by the network post Clarke makes -- he's sure he can hear an echo of it somewhere in the house.

it's the desperation, the fear that he hears that makes him worried.

they're gonna kill Bellamy. that comes out of nowhere and he's walking through the house quietly, listening for her voice, and when he does finally hear it? he's faced with a closet door. he doesn't try the handle yet, doesn't even begin to breach her personal space, especially when she's like this. ]

Clarke?

[ he knows that feeling -- the awful, terrifying sinking feeling and he's feeling a bit of that himself. feels his eyes crossing when they shouldn't, but he blames it on fatigue. focuses on Clarke. Clarke is his priority right now. ]

~ur here now that's all that matters~

[coleader]

[ funnily enough, Bellamy is her priority right now, but both of them are so fucked up that they still can't get much done. at the sound of Bellamy's voice, she can't even say whether it's real or not. fantasy and reality are so blurred now that it frightens her, but she refuses to believe that anything she sees isn't real even though the voice in the back of her mind is doubtful. she's not going crazy. she's not.

she sets down her tablet immediately and opens the door. ]

You shouldn't be here. You need to go.

[disarrayed]

[ being trapped in the house is bad. he sees shadows at the corners of his vision, sees movement where there isn't any and it takes every ounce of will not to succumb to the fear, the paranoia. maybe Clarke was right -- maybe someone was coming after them. ]

Yeah, I can't exactly leave, Clarke.

[ he doesn't reach out for her, not yet. there's been miles of distance (emotionally and physically) between them it seems like, and he's not sure that crossing it now is the wisest idea. ] They can't kill me. [ he doesn't believe it, but he sounds like he does. ]

And I'm not leaving without you.